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Monday—May 20 • Finishing the Race I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 2 Timothy 4:7
For over four decades of ministry, I’ve watched men get all amped up about Jesus. They rush headlong into their newfound faith, and then they experience opposition. They are shocked at the sin that continues to trip them up. Men tell me they are frustrated that they cannot sustain their faith. At Man in the Mirror, we’ve recently been struggling with two major development issues. Both projects are fraught with challenges. Although I’ve walked with Jesus Christ for almost 40 years, when I face challenges, my strongest impulse is still to control events and live by my own strength rather than living by faith. If there were no resistance, then maybe we could live in the lovey-dovey bliss of gooey grace and eternal happiness. But every day, we face headwinds that try to knock us over. How can
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a man sustain his faith in the face of such resistance?
The apostle Paul stands out as a man who responded to Jesus Christ with great passion, and maintained that passion throughout his life. I believe that happened because he truly understood God’s grace. MIMBS 4 What has challenged your faith in the last week, and were you successful in maintaining your passion for Jesus, despite that difficulty? Why or why not? Share your thoughts with another man. Daily Reading: 1 Samuel 26:1–28:25, John 11:1–54, Psalm 117:1–2, Proverbs 15:22–23
Tuesday—May 21 • Paul’s Need for Grace All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. Ephesians 2:3-5
In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul explained that we all deserve God’s wrath. I think Paul understood this better than anyone. You could say he was the Hitler of his era. Just as Hitler tried to exterminate Jewish people, Paul ruthlessly tried to exterminate Christians. Today we would put him in the category of crazy people who should be tried for heinous crimes against humanity. Then he met Jesus, and everything changed. Paul understood how much he had been forgiven. I’ve noticed a tendency among Christian men, including myself. As we grow in our relationship with Christ, our behavior really does get better, and we start thinking, “I’m not so bad after all.” We gloss over
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the heinous ways we offend God. Let’s be frank—I can give a scintillating, powerful message based on Scripture, and then drive away from the auditorium and see a woman dressed provocatively, and just like that, I can falter and then become discouraged. Paul’s passionate faith endured, because he never lost sight of his need for grace. MIMBS 4 List three habits that would help you keep God’s grace at the forefront of your thinking today. Daily Reading: 1 Samuel 29:1–31:13, John 11:55–12:19, Psalm 118:1–18, Proverbs 15:24–26