COURAGE pt.1

by Rev. M.D. Rogers

GOLIATH WAS A GIANT WITH GREAT PHYSICAL STRENGTH . HE WAS A TRAINED WARRIOR WITH POWERFUL ARMOUR. IN CONTRAST DAVID WAS ONLY A YOUTH AND A SHEPHERD BOY WHO HAD NEVER BEEN IN BATTLE BEFORE. IT APPEARED A TOTAL MISMATCH IN WHICH DAVID HAD NO CHANCE OF DEFEATING GOLIATH. NO ONE BELIEVED THAT DAVID WOULD DEFEAT GOLIATH.

Even in our lives we may face challenges which appear so overwhelming and we may feel that we are no match against such great odds . But the victory of David over Goliath should inspire us and give us great confidence in the battles that we face. Remember , the greater the battle , the more glorious will be the victory.
DAVID’S COURAGE WAS AMAZING WHEN HE FACED GOLIATH . THE ENTIRE ISRAELI ARMY INCLUDING KING SAUL WERE TERRIFIED OF GOLIATH. EVEN WHEN HE WAS SURROUNDED BY FEARFUL PEOPLE, DAVID STOOD OUT WITH HIS TOTAL FEARLESSNESS. NOTHING INCLUDING GOLIATH’S APPEARANCE , STRENGTH , ARMOUR , EXPERIENCE OR THREATS COULD MAKE HIM AFRAID .

Even in our lives we should be bold and fearless when we face our Goliaths . None of those who were afraid of Goliath were able to defeat him . The only one who was able to defeat Goliath was the one who had no fear of him. Therefore we should be absolutely fearless when we face our challenges in order to get the victory.

DAVID HAD TOTAL CONFIDENCE THAT HE WOULD DEFEAT GOLIATH .
" Now the Israelites had been saying, "Do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt his father’s family from taxes in Israel." David asked the men standing near him, "What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?" They repeated to him what they had been saying and told him, "This is what will be done for the man who kills him." I Samuel 17: 25-27

THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO DOUBT IN DAVID’S MIND ABOUT THE OUTCOME OF THE BATTLE. IN FACT THE FIRST WORDS THAT DAVID SPOKE AFTER SEEING AND HEARING GOLIATH WAS TO FIND OUT WHAT REWARD HE WOULD GET IF HE KILLED GOLIATH. DAVID SAW GOLIATH AS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO GET REWARDS IN HIS LIFE. HE DID NOT THINK OF GOLIATH AS A DANGER THREATENING TO DESTROY HIS LIFE BUT AS A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY TO RECEIVE GREAT BLESSINGS IN HIS LIFE.

Even in our lives we should be strong in faith expecting the victory in our battles . We should not allow doubt and unbelief to rob us of our victory and destiny. We should consider our challenges as blessings in disguise . We should look forward to the blessings that we would receive as a result of overcoming these challenges instead of losing hope and getting discouraged when we face trials in our life.
DAVID DID NOT ALLOW THE NEGATIVE COMMENTS OF HIS BROTHER OR EVEN KING SAUL TO DISCOURAGE HIM.
" When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, "Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle." I Samuel 17 :28

" Saul replied, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth." I Samuel 17: 33

DAVID DID NOT ALLOW PEOPLE TO ROB HIM OF HIS FAITH AND DESTINY THROUGH THEIR NEGATIVE COMMENTS . HIS ELDER BROTHER WAS ANGRY AND WISHED THAT DAVID HAD REMAINED WITH THE SHEEP . HE ACCUSED DAVID OF PRIDE AND WICKEDNESS . EVEN KING SAUL DISCOURAGED HIM BY SAYING THAT HE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO DEFEAT GOLIATH. BUT DAVID DID NOT ALLOW THESE NEGATIVE VOICES TO DISCOURAGE HIM.
Even in our own lives we should not allow other people to rob our blessings through their unbelief, jealousy and negative words . We should ignore the negative voices and press on to fulfill our destiny. We cannot expect everyone to rejoice in our progress and prosperity nor can we expect everyone to beleive in our vision and potential. Just as David faced Goliath without any encouragement from people , we should be willing to face our challenges alone with our faith in God and get the victory.

Accountable-Rev. M.D. Rogers

Men who are growing spiritually, emotionally and relationally know the importance of having other men in their lives who can hold them accountable. They also recognize the value of helping other men. Proverbs 27:17 says it well: “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” (NIV). We need one another in order to be sharp. We also need to realize that every man is sharpened differently.

Accountability is not about asking a list of questions. It’s about being involved in another man’s life. It’s coming alongside other men. Godly men know they need to be accountable, but they don’t always know what that looks like. I’ve been in good accountability relationships and bad ones. I've noticed that the accountability partner has four key responsibilities.
Each job is a skill that must be developed and used at the right time in order to be make the relationship work.

Cheer
The man who makes himself accountable needs to know he is not alone. He needs to feel that someone is on his side. He needs someone to root for him, but not from the sidelines. An accountability partner is right on the field with him.

A cheerleader encourages and should always be genuine in his encouragement. He shouldn’t say “good job” if it’s not merited. Good accountability partners don’t lie or give fake cheers just to boost morale. The right type of cheering always says: “You can get there. Hang in there. With God’s help, you can do it!”

Challenge
A man plateaus at times and settles into a comfortable level. This is when the accountability partner needs to challenge. He needs to help his friend stay focused on the big picture, the vision and the mission. The accountability partner needs to help his friend see beyond his current circumstances. This is a good stage at which to talk about the kingdom of God, the gospel and eternal matters.

An accountability partner should also challenge his friend when it is time for the next step. A man needs courage to go into new territory. He needs to know that taking a leap of faith and plowing new ground is important to his growth as a man of God. Sometimes an accountability partner will help a man see further than where he is and challenge him to shoot higher.

Confront
Confronting a brother in Christ is the hardest job of an accountability partner. No one likes to confront, but when a man is willfully sinning, it is important that we step in and be “our brother’s keeper.”

Confrontation is needed when there is negative momentum. When sin and failures occur they need to be addressed. When a man is hardening his heart or not willing to take the next step, he needs to be confronted over his choices. When a man’s behavior is hurting others, it must be confronted. Confession and repentance are the right responses to confrontation.

Comfort
Every man experiences hurts, wounds, disappointments and failures. But it takes a man a long time to start talking about them. As your relationship grows, your friend will begin to trust you with the deeper things. He will slowly expose the hurts of his heart and his feelings about them. This will require that you learn to comfort and be a caring friend.

What's Your Definition Of A Provider? | Black and Married With Kids.com - A Positive Image of Marriage and Family

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What is Stewardship?

At a time when less than half of U.S. church members financially support their church, putting anything at all in the offertory plate is an achievement. And, while it’s true that the most important step in giving is to actually give something, many might be surprised to know that they have completely missed an equally important step in the process. What’s missing involves how we come up with the amount of money we write on our check.
People use a variety of different methods for coming up with the amount of money they choose to give. For some, it comes down to sheer practicality. They look at their checkbook and give what they think the can afford that month and still have money left to pay the bills. Others follow the Old Testament command of a tithe (Leviticus 27:30) and simply give 10% of their paycheck. On the other hand, examples of giving half (Luke 19:8) or all of your money (Mark 12:44) are praised in the New Testament. So what rule on giving are we supposed to follow?
The answer to how much we are supposed to be giving can best be seen in the story of the ‘Rich Young Man’ in Matthew 19. In it, we find a man very interested in obtaining eternal life. When he asks Jesus if he was missing anything, Jesus tells him to, “sell your possessions and give to the poor… then come, follow me.”
As I mentioned earlier, the Old Testament is clear that God expected his people to give at least a tithe at that time (a rule that I’m sure the Rich Young Man followed closely). Despite his command to sell and give all, Jesus was not, in fact, instituting a new rule on giving for everyone. There is no 11th commandment that says, “Thou shalt give all ye have to the poor.” So why did Jesus ask this man to give so much?
While it’s true that Jesus was not instituting a new rule here, it is important to remember he was on earth to institute a new Covenant (1 Cor. 11:25). This New Covenant removes us from the management of the Law of the Old Covenant, and instead places us as sons under the Lordship of Jesus Christ (Galatians 4:1-7). This is important because it’s this New Covenant that governs how we should give, not the old. It’s all about a relationship with a Man now, not a mere set of rules. Jesus commanded the Rich Young Man to give ‘all’ in order to highlight the fact that for all his rule following he had no relationship with the Lord. While he could submit to rules he could not submit to the Rule Giver!

Rev.M.D. Rogers

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Jesus Has No Part-Time Disciples

Matthew 16:21-28 moves from a focus upon Jesus and his vocation to his demands for disciples. Jesus has just congratulated Peter for his recognition that Jesus is "the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Moreover, Jesus' language has intimated authority and privilege: Peter the Rock provides the church's foundation, he receives the keys to the realm of heaven and his earthly authority carries heavenly significance. But now Jesus begins a process of reinterpreting what being the Messiah really means -- and what following that Messiah entails for the disciples. If Peter cannot bear the revelation of Jesus' coming suffering (16:22), how will he respond when the focus shifts to disciples whose fate mimics that of Jesus?

Some people hardly need to hear this news. Moment by moment, many of us are constantly mindful that we fall far short of Jesus' standard. By contrast, our culture needs the reminder. The prosperity gospel holds greater sway than many of us want to admit. According to a 2006 Time magazine poll, 17 percent of Americans claim allegiance to the movement, while 61 percent agree that God wants us to be prosperous. Maybe our preaching doesn't draw folks who think that way. Then again, we find all sorts of surprising attitudes in our congregations, don't we?

Whatever the threat posed by the prosperity gospel, a more insidious assumption definitely lurks among us: that God wants us to be happy. Countless praise choruses celebrate how much Jesus loves us, how much we love Jesus and how great God is. Self-help books pack the inventories of Christian bookstores. This happiness assumption has sunk so deeply into our collective psyche that even the words of Jesus can hardly challenge it. Are we even capable of hearing that God might call us to radical sacrifice, even to danger? Can Jesus' words get past our ears?

Skills for Men - Things Men Should Be Able to Do - Esquire - StumbleUpon

Skills for Men - Things Men Should Be Able to Do - Esquire - StumbleUpon


A man can be expert in nothing, but he must be practiced in many things. Skills. You don't have to master them all at once. You simply have to collect and develop a certain number of skills as the years tick by. People count on you to come through. That's why you need these, to start.
Read more: http://www.esquire.com/features/essential-skills-0508#ixzz1XT171BDA

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Be Clutch, Don't Choke: How to Thrive in High Pressure Situations (Part... - StumbleUpon
When you practice something over and over again, the knowledge of how to do that task gets burned into your unconscious and into your “muscle memory.” Your body can instinctively remember how it feels to do something right.

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You Snooze, You Lose...Rev.M.D. Rogers

It was 5:30AM and the alarm had just elevated its piercing voice and shook me out of my sleep and slumber. I really didn’t feel like getting up that morning. I mean I really wanted to steal a few more moments of blissful unconsciousness. It was one of those days where we had plenty to do. It was one of those days where we had to get up, pack the car, and get out on the road. You see it was time to take that long trek to see family members in a far away town. But like any trip, it required preparation. We had a lot to do. In fact, we had to do some things that we normally wouldn’t do at 5:30 in the morning. Because of this realization, I simply hit the snooze button every 15 minutes to prolong the sleep, but also the agony of realizing that I was stealing more and more time away from the preparations that needed to be done. However I promised myself that after this time hitting the snooze I would get up.
You ever felt like that? Sleeping, but needing and in some way wanting to get up, but our body wants to continue on in the daze of semi-awareness of what we must do. Wanting to sleep, but also wanting to awake and get the day started. The Apostle Paul is speaking to a group of people just like that. These Roman Christians were such that felt like hitting the snooze button and sleep a little longer. They wanted to continue living in the Roman world as if it would go on forever. They wanted to simply hit the snooze button. You know when you hit the snooze button you don’t have to get up. When you hit the snooze button you delay the final reckoning.
God Waiting on Us
You know and understand what I am talking about. Some have just simply hit the snooze button on God’s plans for them. We are not ready to go forward so we do whatever it takes to lesson the call of duty or responsibility on our soul. Many have simply hit the snooze button. We have been sleeping and the time to wake up has come. The alarm clock is shouting at you to get up. Some folks alarm clock is a child that was unexpected and unanticipated. And too many of us have simply hit the snooze button to continue life as it has always been. Perhaps the alarm clock to your soul has been a graduation which means it is time to stop being a burden to begin bearing burdens, but then some just hit the snooze button. Perhaps the alarm clock to your soul has been the call of God into ministry, but instead of moving forward into God’s plan we hit the snooze button and go on to as if nothing has changed.
The snooze button is so comfortable. The bed is so comfortable. Sleep is so comfortable, but we also must acknowledge that this sleep after an alarm ain’t really sweet. When God needs you to get up the sleep is not so sweet. And sometimes God will do whatever God has to do to wake us up from that rest of semi consciousness.

That Night In Atlanta