Category: Brother Al (Page 42 of 68)

Helen Smith in her book, “Men on Strike” writes  about “Uncle Tims.”  “An Uncle Tim is a male sellout who kowtows to feminists because he’s (a) just as left-wing as they are and thus agrees with the feminist worldview, or (b) too weak to stand up for himself and know that if he says anything he’s not suppose to, he won’t  get sex.”  Suzanne Venker comments Uncle Tims,  “are often the ones who lose in the end because all too often feminist wives regret their choice to make their marriage androgynous – and the men who give up their manhood, because they thought that’s what women and society wanted – are left in the dust.”  In other words, a feminized man.

An Uncle Tim in Britain, (artist Grayson Perry) put it this way, “I sometimes watch the evening news on television and think  all of the world’s problems can be boiled down to one thing: the behavior of people with a Y chromosome….The consequences of rogue masculinity are, I think, one of the biggest issues, if not the biggest issues, facing the world today.”  He advocates “resistance” in combating toxic masculinity. “Resistance needs to be woven into every moment, every thought, observation, and act.”  Mr. Perry finds himself questioning everything about his masculinity.  This is the sorry life of an Uncle Tim, having become feminized.

In an OpEd in the NY Times Richard Reeves and Isabel Sawhill made this amazing statement. “The old economy and the old model of masculinity are obsolete.  Women have learned to become more like men.  Now men need to learn to become more like women…cramped gender roles are bad for women.  It is becoming obvious that now they are hurting men, too.” The implication is that men should become feminized.  Uncle Tims will end up losing their masculine soul,  not being able to meet the emotional  needs of the women in their lives since they are now feminized.

I predict that there will be greater confusion regarding gender and the relationship between male and female.  As I have said often in my blogs, the key to bringing some sense of clarity to the roles of the male is for men to take the initiative in finding restoration for their masculine soul.  It means reaching back to the orders of creation, being made male and female in the image of God. Only then can men learn to relate compassionately to the feminine in our culture today.

This initiative will include the following essential elements.  First, and foremost men need to  find security and affirmation in their God-given masculine soul.  The masculine can not be swept away like some left over remnant of an oppressive past.  We need to reclaim our masculine soul for ourselves not embracing the distorted feminine perception.

Secondly, admit our failure to meet the needs of women.  Acknowledge how we have failed.  Men secure in their masculinity will not be defensive when faced with the anger of the feminine.  They are in the business of resurrecting the true masculine, while renouncing the distorted masculine of the past.

Thirdly, work at being sensitive and caring, but doing so from the healed masculine soul.  An authentic  male voice and spirit, not an feminized male voice is desperately need in our day.

Fourthly, this initiative needs to be  expressed with humility, brokenness, and forbearance due to the pain and brokenness women have experience from other men.  Sincere, open-hearted males can by their presence bring healing to wounded, closed-hearted women.

Fifthly, ask God for wisdom in knowing how to navigate the gender roles in your sphere of influence.  It will not be easy.  But it is our time to arise and shine for the  Lord.

These are the words of Hugh Hefner, the founder of Playboy, who recently passed away.  Eleven years ago, on Hefner’s 80th birthday, Charles Colson observed,  “Hugh Hefner did more than anyone else to turn America into a great pornographic wasteland.”  I remember as a young man in the 60’s having to deal with the erotic  mystic of Playboy magazines.  I can still visualize some of my struggles with the lure of the playboy center folds.

Camille Paglia, my favorite feminist,  maintains that magazines like Playboy represented “the brute reality of sexuality.” It is the unregenerate erotic urge found in  the male soul.   “Pornography,” says Paglia, “… is not a sexist twisting of the facts of life but a kind of peephole into the roiling, primitive animal energies that are at the heart of sexual attraction and desire.”  As a Christian man, with a biblical view of sex, I view this as a distortion of  sex as God’s good gift.  “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good” (Gen. 1:31). Hefner said that he started Playboy as, “a personal response to the hurt and hypocrisy of our puritan heritage.” In rebellion against repression he advocated indulgence. Isn’t it possible for God’s love (agape) to redeem the erotic impulse?

Remember after the creation of man and women, Genesis 2:25 says, “The man and his wife were both naked and they felt no shame.”  It has taken me many years to come to peace witht the erotic energy of sex in my soul.  I felt it was like a fire inside my soul that had to either denied and avoided.  But I have learned that the answer is to redeem the energy of eros with the love of God (agape).  Eros is natural but it needs to be redeemed.  This can only happen if we acknowledge and embrace eros.

In those playboy pictures you could  feel “the intense sizzle of sexual polarization.”  Paglia calls it, ” that long-ago time when men were men and women were women.”  The erotic energy of the masculine, colliding with Playboy porn was explosive.  But Playboy is no more.   How is the Christian masculine soul dealing with  erotic energy today.  Pagila believes our gender-blending age as taken the sizzle out of sex.  The more the sexes have blended, the less each sex is interested in the other.  We live in a period of  complaint and dissatisfaction, resulting in sexual confusion and rancor regarding the genders.  Sexual energy has gone underground.  Rather then learning to embrace and integrate eros, today we are more confused then ever about sexuality.

Today Paglia sees, “men turning from women and simply being content with the world of fantasy because women have become too thin-skinned, resentful and high-maintenance.”  Could it be that men have abandoned sexual polarization, for the personal fantasy world of internet porn?  Ross Duothat believes, “Our era is less overtly sexually destructive in part because we are giving up on sex itself, retreating into pornography and other virtual consolations.”  There is less personal risk of failure in relationship to the feminine, if a man hides in the shadows of internet porn.

Paul exhorts us in I Thess 3-4, “Keep yourselves from sexual promiscuity.  Learn to appreciate and give dignity to your body, not abusing it, as is so common among those who know nothing of God.”  I know that this blog is read by many younger men.  My testimony is this.  I wish I would have come to peace with the erotic in my own soul years ago, learning to live with it in the “open spaces” of God’s light and grace.  I would have been a more healthy, passionate man both in marriage and life.

Recently actress Alyssa Milano used  twitter  to encourage women who’d been sexually harassed or assaulted to tweet “MeToo.”  She twitted, “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet.”  #MeToo has not only mushroomed on Twitter but it has flooded Facebook as well.  Milano was responding to a friend’s suggestion: “If all the women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote ‘Me too’ as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem.”

This suggestion comes in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal in Hollywood, exposing decades of harassment and multiple allegations of rape aimed at the big-name producer.  Popular Christian author Beth Moore tweeted, “A well meaning mentor told me at 25 that people couldn’t handle hearing about sexual abuse and it would sink my ministry.  It didn’t.  #MeToo.”  Moore decided to expand on the hashtag by suggesting how victims can get help.  “WeToo have a voice.  For all the times we were bullied into silence, we get to speak up and call wrong Wrong. #WeToo for fewer future,” she wrote.

#MeToo is,” as Sophie Gilbert wrote in The Atlantic, “simply an attempt to get people to understand the prevalence of sexual harassment and assault in society.”  It gives women and men as well, the opportunity to raise their voice in protest to sexual harassment and assault.

We read in Hebrews 13:3-4 from the Message: “Look on victims of abuse as if what happened to them happened to you.  Honor marriage, and guard the sacredness of sexual intimacy between wife and husband.  God draws a firm line against casual and illicit sex.”  Men let’s commit to moral purity and sexual integrity, aware of the vulnerability of women, while combating  the plague of sexual violence.

Our witness is greatly needed in this sexually confused and hurting society.  I agree with the challenge of David French, “Now is the time for Christians to leave their defensive crouch, to approach the public square with confidence.  A wounded and broken sexual culture searches for answers.  Who are we to withhold the truth?”

Our nation has lost it moral compass. Improper sexual behavior is only going to increase. More women will become victims of male predators.  “They’ve refused for so long to deal with God that they’ve lost touch, not only with God but with reality itself.  They can’t think straight anymore.  Feeling no pain, they let themselves go in sexual obsession, addicted to every sort of perversion” (Eph. 4:18-19 – Message).  This describe men who are like wolves in sheep’s clothing, intent on satisfying their unrighteous passions.

Men, I ask you to pledge with me to be a virtuous man when it comes to your public demeanor towards women.  Join me in 1) Giving thanks to God for the wonderful gift of sex, along with the guidance given to us in Scripture,  2) Being accountable to your wife for your moral purity and sexual integrity,  3) Purpose in your heart never to objectify other women in your life,  4) Ask God to build a wall of fire around you, so that other women know you are off-limits,  5) purpose to not flirt or countenance another women in an unrighteous manner,  6) ask for grace to avoid online porn, and 7) cry out to God for strength to remain pure and virtuous.

Remember Paul’s warning, “Since we want to become spiritually one with the master, we must not pursue the kind of sex that avoids commitment and intimacy, leaving us more lonely than ever” (I Cor 6:18 – Message).  Commit to being a “one-women man.”  Pray daily with your wife concerning the intimacy of your marriage. This includes body, soul and spirit.

Men are conflicted about  the NFL.   It has become a platform for politics and grievance.  Men are upset because one of their established bastions of male bonding and celebration, Pro football, is being invaded by a national controversy regarding the flag and the national anthem.  “We stand,” writes David French, “in respect because the flag represents a specific set of values and principles: that all men are created equal and that we are endowed with our Creator with certain unalienable rights.”

This controversy has forced me to elevate my fondness for  Pro football.  I enjoy watching and have used my interest as a bridge to connect with men.  But I need to  view NFL football more as casual entertainment that I can live without.  It can’t be a preoccupation in my life.  I wonder with John Stonestreet, why we have this present national preoccupation  when there are so many other pressing issues to focus on.  Could it be that we are witnessing a “descent into triviality.”  I certainly feel this when I listen to sport talk radio as I drive long miles to see our children’s families. Sport talk is dead serious about this issue.  It seems like idolatry because of the passion and commitment.

I keep thinking about Paul words in Philippians about kneeling. “….at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth” (Phil 2:10).  Could it be that men are caring more about things that aren’t important, while being distracted from things that truly are important.  Bending the knee implies an allegiance to someone.  I ask myself; “Are you willing Al, to kneel publicly out of reverence and submission to the Lord Jesus.”  If so, it will influence my attitude as to how others view the flag and our national anthem.  My commitment to Jesus helps keep this controversy in perspective.  I can be more objective, respecting why others use Sunday afternoon for accusation and grievance

I  wonder if some of the fuss about taking the knee during the national anthem among Christian men, is evidence that we might be  wrapping the flag to tightly around the gospel message.  While I consider myself to be a patriotic guy, I have a deeper allegiance to the kingdom of God.  The symbol of the cross has much more significance for me then the flag.  With Paul I pray, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal. 6:13).

I also wonder if there isn’t an underlying, unspoken discontent with men in regards to the NFL.  When men are together enjoying the games, there is a kind of brotherhood that men long to experience.  The political correctness that has brought a  feminine perspective to the commentary of the game, seems like an invasion to many men.  Professional football is a male sport.  Women do not have the experience.  This is what Cam Newton meant when he said, “It’s funny to see a female talk about routes.”  He later had to apologize for this comment.

Again my contention is that if a man is secure and comfortable in his  masculine soul, he can navigate these “minefields” of controversy, without emotional attachment.  The invasion of the feminine is here to stay.  Political correctness is integral to our national dialogue. With “the mind of Christ” (Phil 2:16) we can find a solid place to stand and still be able to enjoy the NFL on Sunday afternoon.

At the funeral of Cardinal Meisner in  Germany, a short message was read from Pope Benedict, who had resigned a few years earlier.  It included this telling paragraph:  “We know that this passionate pastor and shepherd found it particularly difficult to leave his post, especially at a time in which the Church stands in particularly pressing need of convincing shepherds who can resist the dictatorship of the spirit of the age and who live and think the faith with determination … in this last period of his life, he learned to let go and to live out of a deep conviction that the Lord does not abandon his church, even when the boat has taken on so much water as to be on the verge of capsizing.”

This was not the first time Pope Benedict sounded an alarm regarding the health of the church.  Back in 2005, the then Cardinal Ratzinger spoke prophetically regarding the church in the West.  “… Relativism, that is, letting oneself be ‘tossed here and there, carried about by wind of doctrine,” seems the only attitude that can cope with modern times.”  “We are building a dictatorship of relativism that does not recognize anything as definitive and whose ultimate goal consists solely of one’s own ego and desires.”  Then later as Pope Benedict XVI he warned that the spiritual crisis the West faces is worse than anything since the fifth-century fall of the Roman Empire.

In 2010, as Benedict XVI, he  gave an address at Westminster Hall entitled “The Real Challenge for Democracy.”  He said: “If the moral principles underpinning the democratic process are themselves determined by nothing more solid than social consensus, the fragility of the process becomes all too evident.”  I personally believe the former Pope has courageously spoken as a prophet in an attempt to wake up the church in the West to the dangers it faces.

Christian Smith, a sociologist at Notre Dame, sees “Moralistic Therapeutic Deism” (MTD) displacing authentic Christianity among American Christians.  The highest goal of MTD is to be happy and feel good about oneself.  It is a religious practice that suits a self-centered, consumerist culture.  “America has lived a long time off its thin Christian veneer,” Smith observes.  “That is all finally being stripped away by the combination of mass consumer capitalism and liberal individualism.”

Men, my advice, as it has been throughout all my years as a pastor, is when we become  confused and uncertain in the midst of cultural storms, look to Jesus, cling to Jesus and cry out to Jesus for mercy.  Put yourself under the lordship of Jesus and rejoice that you are part of his everlasting kingdom being manifested in the earth.  Pray prayers of protection for yourself and your family.

Remember Paul’s words: “And so I insist – and God backs me up on this – that there be no going along with the crowd, the empty-headed, mindless crowd. They’ve refused for so long to deal with God that they’ve lost touch not only with God, but with reality itself.  They can’t think straight anymore.  Feeling no pain, they let themselves go in sexual obsession, addicted to every sort of perversion” (Eph. 4:17-19 – Message).

Take this warning to heart.  Be careful not to absorb the conflicting narrative of the dominant culture.  Separated from ultimate truth, it becomes “empty-headed,”  “mindless,” out of touch with reality, and unable to think straight.  Often the result is to become obsessed with sexuality and perversion.  Rather, cling to the Lord:  “Because he clings to me I will deliver him; because he knows my name I will set him on high” (Ps. 91:14 NABRE)

In this  blog I  am wading into some turbulent waters regarding human sexuality.  The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW)  released a new declaration,  reasserting the significance of biological sex and traditional marriage over society’s growing LGBT acceptance.   “The Nashville Statement”  has generated a  mixed reception from evangelical leaders.  The statement defends the importance of our creation as male and female, as it relates to issues regarding marriage, same-sex attraction, relations, and self-understanding, and transgender persons and transgenderism.   I encourage you to read the statement for yourself – Nashville Statement. org.

After some hesitation I want to express public approval of this statement.  The preamble states that our culture, “has embarked upon a massive revision of what it means to be a human being.”  Human identity as male and female is not longer seen as God’s plan, but rather, “an expression of an individual’s autonomous preferences.”  The question is asked, “Will the church…lose her biblical conviction, clarity, and courage, and blend into the spirit of the age…. .. Our true identity, as male and female persons, is given by God.  It is not only foolish, but hopeless, to try to make ourselves what God did not create us to be.”

Samuel D James expresses my sentiments when he observes, “The Nashville Statement is an attempt – an imperfect one! – at theological clarity.  It summarizes in direct language what these evangelicals believe about sex, marriage, and identity.  If it fails to speak accurately for every participant in this theological conversion, then we must acknowledge our own limitations and yearn for the day when we all shall know as we are known.”  Knowing it is difficult to deal with the complexities of transgenderism in a concise declaration,  the statement attempts to apply a “integrity lens” to the integrity of sex and gender as created by God.

This statement is a “line in the sand.”  Those who hold an orthodox faith have been too passive in the past regarding the sexual revolution and its effects upon our culture.  While  the content might seem too direct and uncompromising, it is a statement that is needed at this time in the life of bible believing Christians.  The president of CBMW observed the statement to be an “effort to produce a statement of evangelical unity on these matters that can serve as a reference point for the churches and Christian organizations that are looking for confessional language on these issues.”

My hope is that all the men who read this blog, will read the statement.  In my opinion it give biblical understanding to “the hyper-activity that is afflicting people on all sides of debates surrounding sex and sexuality.”  “We aren’t expressing some peculiar or eccentric claims of Christian theology,” noted Alastair Roberts, “but upholding creational realities that have been generally recognized across human ages.”

The Nashville statement is needed for clarification, when compared to a statement put out by a group calling itself “Christians United in Support of LGBT+ Inclusion in the Church.”  Their statement declares “A new day is dawning in the Church, and all Christians are being called to step out boldly and unapologetically in affirmation and celebration of our LGBT+ siblings as equal participants in the Kingdom of God.”  While the Nashville Statement might be too blunt, lacking pastoral empathy, its value, in my opinion, is in presenting a clear biblical expression of human sexuality.

Human sexuality and identify is not something we can agree to disagree on.  Paul exhorts  us in I Thess. 4:3-4 “Keep yourselves from sexual promiscuity.  Learn to appreciate and give dignity to your body, not abusing it, as is so common among those who know nothing of God.”

Included in this blog is an inspiring  prayer, adopted from Daniel 9:4-19,  written by Christina Walker, who is Associate Director of Academic Programs at the Billy Graham Center.  I belong to a small prayer group that meets at my church every Wed. morning.  I am highly motivated to drive into town each week because the others in attendance are intercessors like myself.

The words of the prophet Habakkuk  help shape  our prayers as we cry out to God for mercy. “I have heard about you, Lord.  I am filled with awe by your amazing works.  In this time of our deep need, help us again as you did in years gone by.  And in your anger remember your mercy” (Hab. 3:2).  We join Nehemiah as he prayed, “….let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel.  I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s house have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you” Neh 1:5-7).

Here is The Prayer.  “Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong.  We have been wicked and have rebelled against the Gospel of Love; we have turned away from your commands to care for the least of these and to consider others’ needs before our own.  We have not listened to your servants, who spoke through scripture in your name to our leaders, and to all the people of the land.

Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame – the people of America.  We, and our leaders, are covered with shame, LORD, because we have sinned against you.  The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; we have not obeyed the LORD our God or kept the law of love you gave us in Scripture.  Your Church  has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you.

Therefore, we face the judgments written in your Word.  “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Matt. 7:1-2).  We know the judgment of God’s household will be first ( I Peter 4: 17), yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth. The Lord will not hesitate to bring the disaster on us, for the Lord our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him.

Now, Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand, who raised Christ for the dead and conquered sin and death, and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong.  Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger.  Our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors have made your church an object of scorn to all those around us.

Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant.  For your sake, Lord, look with favor on your church.  We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy.  Lord, listen!  Lord, forgive!  Lord, hear and act!  For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your people bear your Name.”  ( Adaptation of Daniel 9:4-19)

Men, use the content of this prayer to help you wade through the turbulent times we live in, as you contempt the direction of our nation.

Hurricanes are devastating events. It is hard to comprehend the suffering the people endure -particularly in the aftermath of a Category 4 or 5 storm.  With tears in my eyes, I have observed brave people from all walks of life rescue thousands of people from dangerous flood waters.  In most of those cases, men have risked their lives on behalf of others. Yes, there have been brave women as well, but the majority have been men.  Following Hurricane Harvey in 2017, one of my favorite groups was ” the Cajun Navy.”  As one man said so matter-of-factly, “I’m gonna try to save some lives.”  I was deeply moved to hear the heartfelt gratitude of whole families rescued from rising floodwaters.

It takes a humanitarian crisis for a tone-deaf culture to realize how distorted the false narrative of extreme feminists has become.  It has gained prominence partly through the dominant media spreading the warped idea of toxic masculinity.  One woman tweeted in response to a 2017 photo-gone-viral of SWAT officer Daryl Hudeck rescuing a mother and her infant child: “It’s not that women aren’t brave. They are. But this is just what men do. Great, gloriously toxic men. Love them to death.”

What we have witnessed in so many of those dramatic pictures is the true chivalric nature of masculinity. These were ordinary men acting upon their innate sense of responsibility to be protectors.  They courageously responded in the face of real danger, helping to dispel the “toxic masculine” narrative. “Seemingly overnight,” wrote Mark Tapson, “our culture has unquestion-ably embraced the term “toxic masculinity.  Male nature itself is the problem, we are told, and the solution is the deconstruction of our understanding of what it means to be a man.”  But the photos and news reports coming out of the devastation wrought by hurricane after hurricane and natural disaster after natural disaster are putting to rest this skewed idea.

Men, when you feel intimidated by the persuasive voices of radical feminism, along with men who accept their narrative, remember the brave “toxic” men mounting heroic rescue efforts. Rise up with inner strength and courage – and allow your protective “juices” to flow. Do what honorable men have always done. Take responsibility for the care of your family and work for the good of those who are less fortunate in your community and in the world. Live out of your God-given masculine soul.

Remember Peter’s words: “In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives.  Treat your wife with understanding as you live together.  She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life.  Treat her as you should so our prayers will not be hindered” (I Peter 3:7 NLT).  A footnote in the NLT Study Bible states: “Peter was probably thinking of the woman’s physical strength and perhaps her social status.  Since women are typically physically weaker than men and were often less able to assert themselves in that society, husbands had the duty of protecting and caring for his wife.”

My bride is an equal partner, but she does not have the same physical strength I have. Even so, she is strong spiritually, continuing to spiritually challenge me with her consistent walk with the Lord.  God has called me to be her protector, both physically and spiritually.  I take seriously the warning of our prayers being hindered if I am not taking responsibility to protect her.  Men, stand up in the strength of the Lord and fight for your family, for others, and for the Kingdom of God.

We are into the NFL season.   I am pulling for the  Minnesota Vikings.  I have to admit that my bride and I get  “jacked up” over our team.  The Star Tribune recently had an article in which  Sam Bradford, our quarterback, talked about his faith.  The bar has been raised high for this coming season.  Our quarterback in under a lot of pressure.  He acknowledged that his faith helps him handle the stress. “A lot of it is my faith and knowing the Lord has a plan for me, and I put my trust in him.”

The sports writer, Brian Murphy observed, “Relinquishing oneself to a higher power is counter intuitive to a profession driven by control freaks, its simplicity almost too much for  data driven fans who define players by algorithms and fantasy rankings and wanting Bradford to deliver wins.”  Bradford talks of giving up control. “You give up control of your life to God and you allow Him to take control of your life.  We get in our own ways a lot of times, but by turning it over to Him and coming in here every day and focusing on what I can do to become a better quarterback….”

Now I have learned not to put too much stock in what professional athletics say about their faith.  However, I would like to take Bradford’s expression of faith at face value.  Yes, it takes  lot of faith to put our trust in God and get out of “the driver’s seat.”  The Message puts it straight forward in  Matt.  16:24-26, “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead.  You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am.  Don’t run from suffering, embrace it.  Follow me and I’ll show you how.  Self-help is no help at all.  Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to find yourself, your true self.”

Surrender is not a  popular concept with men.  It seems to implies failure or defeat, while for women surrender seems more like abuse or use of power.  For men surrendering  feels like a diminishment of our manhood.  We prefer autonomy and control, wanting to be in “the driver’s seat,” thinking self-control will bring  freedom, significance and respect.   Yet if we are honest there is much in life that is unpredictable  and out of our control.  Rather than facing the vulnerability and risks of life, we choose to be willful, living with resolve and self effort. For Christian men  will power and discipline can easily produce a religious self with  a “clinched fist.”  The result can be  rigid and prideful person, lacking authenticity, vitality and spontaneity. God save us from men with this kind of religious presence.

In the church this is expressed in the words of the Pharisee, “God, I thank you that I am not like other men…even like this tax collector (Luke 18:11).  But the tax collector prayed, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner” (13).  Jesus said of these two men, “This tax man, not the other, went home make right with God.  If you walk around with your nose in the air,  you’re going to end up flat on your face, but if you’re content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself” (Luke 18:14 – Message).

There are many men who do not know who they are in Christ, because they have built up a hard shell around their inner life, choking off the vitality of the Spirit, who brings forth our true self.    It is sad how often our “spiritual self improvement projects” really protect us from ourselves, while only reinforcing our false religious self. Remember it always, “letting go and letting God.”

This is another of those personal blogs from yours truly, brother Al.  Yesterday (Aug. 31st) was not a good day for me.  Using the analogy of a storm, I would say my day started out rather sunny and peaceful.  I was looking forward to being at my desk studying, praying and writing.  In the afternoon I would be out in the woods chopping wood.  I then would treat myself by watching the Golden Gophers play their first game against Buffalo.  But then came the storms.

These were two emotional storms that got the best of me.  The first storm involved my dear bride and I having an altercation, which I always dislike, because I  get  resentful and feel like a failure.  The second storm involved  the grader coming by, plowing our gravel road, resulting in dusting being stirred up by passing cars.  I was under the assumption that the grader would not grade in front of our place.  After the grader went by I got angry over the prospects of having to deal with dust. How trivial compared to Hurricane Harvey.  I had been broadsided by two storms.

I was not be the same for the rest of the day.  I was constantly reminded of Eph 4:27-28: “Go ahead and be angry.  You do well to be angry- but don’t use your anger as fuel for revenge.  And don’t stay angry.  Don’t go to bed angry.  Don’t give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life.”  Men, with all my heart I want to grow in Christlike character and in holiness.  But on the 31st I was broadsided by storms.  Sometimes l weather them in fine fashion, but on this occasion I failed miserably.

For what is’t worth, here are some learnings from your truly, who has navigated many emotional storms over the years, but is still needing grace and mercy for continual storms.   First, for the most part I have learned to admit to myself that I am angry.  I was able to process my anger in an open space of my soul, rather than deny the storm within.  David said, “Don’t sin by letting anger control you.  Think about it overnight and remain silent” (Ps 4:4).

Secondly, I knew from the beginning of the storm that I had to ask forgive from my wife and to forgive the country supervisor for his policy.  Forgiving the supervisor took some doing.  I worked in the woods all afternoon, clewing on my resentment for his decision.  By the end of the day, I was able to let the man go. I am learning that the Lord is “a refuge from the storm.”   Holding on to resentment would only cause the storm to linger longer, settling as a cancer in my soul.  Today (1st) I am ready to ask my wife for forgiveness.  If I don’t it would erect a barrier between us.

Thirdly, it takes time. This is not easy for me to admit.  I thought I was strong enough spiritual to weather storms.  I was wrong.  I have a long ways to go.  It takes time for God to form the soul, and it takes time to get over emotional storms

Fourthly, the distaste for these storms. I don’t like what I feel and experience during these storms, especially when I know they are of my own making.  It makes me what to “grow up” in the Lord

Fifthly,  the storm has mostly  passing in my heart and soul.  I thank God that I can make confess of my unspiritual behavior due to this self-inducted storm.  I pray I will  be more mature and vigilant for the next emotional storm that will surely come.