Giving pride a much needed beatdown...

Last weekend I had the privilege of attending a great service at my parents church on the west side. I love it when you get these subtle nudges from God to get you to move in a different direction. The main message of the sermon was obtaining grace from the Lord. A quick search of the online dictionary defines grace as: a manifestation of favor, esp. by a superior. We all need grace. We need it in our jobs, especially in these troubled times. We need that favor in our relationships, we need it just to get by in our daily lives. What really spoke to my heart as I listened to the sermon is that too often we forget that pride is the arch enemy of grace. Simply having anger outside of righteous indignation is pride. Anger is pride externalized.

Pride is an effective, efficient killer, He's an old enemy who has survived throughout the ages. Pride can sit and wait in the shadows as an assassin and strike at the most opportune time to deal it's deadly blows. Pride will kill your relationships deader than dead. Pride will create enemies faster than you can befriend others and ultimately it will destroy the most important relationship you need to maintain...An open direct line of communication with the Almighty Father.

That was a serious wake up call to me. To have it dawn on me that anger is nothing more than a self centered, self justified emotion was like having a bucket of cold water thrown in face. My mind immediately flashed back to the times I became short tempered with my spouse and children. Every time I banged my desk in frustration and sworn obscenities of having to explain my instructions to a co worker or to a customer. When I had simply been impatient and frustrated with having to wait on someone else due to their slow gait.

Shame on me.

My anger was nothing more than the byproduct of being just plain lazy by not doing the job right the first time, instead of fuming over having to repeat my instructions it was MY own fault of not communicating correctly as I should have. By being frustrated with a person who didn't move as fast as I did, I failed to realize that it is through God's unfathomable grace that I have good health. That I too one day will be elderly and will have to depend on those younger to assist me in day to day living.

Shame on me.

Now after I had been humbled, I thought how could I defeat an enemy that knows me well and seems to beat me to the punch every time.

The only way to overcome pride is to obtain grace, to obtain grace to submit yourself to the spirit of God for it is written: God Resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. James 4:6.

This is the Lord's fight anyways. Step aside and let him do what he loves to do. Let him take control and soon enough under and through God's authority, pride can hold no dominion over you. You will be moving "like a butterfly and stinging like a bee." bobbing and weaving all day long around satan.

Let him guide your punches. Jab with mercy, cross with love and uppercut with kindness.

The key you have to realize is: You don't have to be right, first or recognized. The only applause you need to concern yourself with and hear from is the one with two scarred hands. When you act as such; God gives you that grace to see things through. His main job title that he is most fond of is..blessing things. The blessing business never goes through a recession. You can count on that.

So while under his employ remember who your boss is and while you're at it...focus on your job while he focuses on his.

Soldier on...

All Systems go...

Ahhhh.....What a sigh of relief. I can actually start blogging as I should. I am going to start importing all my notes I had previously wrote and will start using this site exclusively for all my media related thoughts going forward.

I sincerely welcome you to my page. My utmost goal of this page is to inspire and transform males from being passive, weak willed, lukewarm, limpwristed mealymouthed church attenders...into bold, courageous, passionate, spirit filled, mighty warriors of the living God. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And ultimately finally be devoted followers of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

This blog is a sparring mat and a workshop that will strip you down to very core and build you back up again to "Be strong in the Lord and his mighty power." I stand on the front lines in this battle for the hearts and minds of my fellow countrymen and to all that within the body of Jesus. I am waging a three pronged full scale attack against the progressive movement, the emasculation of the male figure in this country and the false prophets who preach "a separate gospel" of that of the infallible word of God.

As the famous Bruce Buffer would say: "Let's get ready to rumble!"