Live for what matters

 Bryan Clark

“this is your life, and you only get one shot at it. You don't get to relive any days. So at some point, you have to say, this is my life, I own it.”

“He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning, even to the end.

There's a couple of things there that are really important. One is, what does he mean by eternity in our hearts? Basically what he's saying is this.

There's something deep within us that is dissatisfied with the emptiness of life. Something from deep in my soul cries out, there has to be something more than this. There has to be something different.

This can't be all there is. It's that emptiness that drives people to be more and more busy. The idea of eternity in our hearts is a reflection of what it means to be made in the image of God.

There's something deep within us that feels like I was made for something different, for something more. And the reason you feel that way is because you were. Genesis 1 and 2 paints this beautiful picture of what you were actually created for, to experience this deep, soul-satisfying relationship with God in a place God himself called paradise.

That's what you were actually made for. And that's what[…]”

“That which has been already, and that which will be, has already been. For God seeks what has passed by. Just want to highlight two points there.

One is he clearly says God considers each day a gift. The end of verse 15, God seeks what is passed by, basically means God is going to hold us accountable for the days we've been given, and what we did with those days. They may become monotonous to us.

They may just be one day after another. But to God, they're a gift. And he wants to know what did you do with the gift you were given?”

“Well, of course, the moment didn't last, and life goes on. A lot of years of Christmas shopping together, as a matter of fact, we never missed a single Christmas season until Ashley turned 25. She was part of the church planting team that was going to Spain with Ryan.

In December of that year, she wrote a blog entitled Things I Will Miss. Here's what she wrote. Every Christmas since I was, I think, four, my dad has taken me on a father daughter date to go shopping for my sisters and my mom.

Now that I'm an adult, it's become one of the holidays. It's become one part of the holiday season that I look forward to the most. Regardless of how much or little shopping I actually need to do, I love in all caps, the time with my dad.

Last night, we went shopping, so we drove home from Omaha with dinner leftovers and gifts in the back seat, listening to the Oak Ridge Boys' Christmas and watching the snow fall. I couldn't help but think how perfect the moment was, but it's only a moment. And as with most things lately, there is a sadness[…]”

“It's likely that will be the last time I go Christmas shopping with my dad. It was interesting she was having the same emotions that I had had 20 years before. Capturing the moment, because the moments don't last.

But what I've realized over the years, it's not so much that the moments just go away. They become part of the thread that makes up the tapestry of the story God is writing. Moments that matter, moments to treasure.

Woven in to the tapestry that become part of the story God is writing, that will ultimately matter.

Tomorrow Ashley turns 41. A few weeks ago, she texted me, hey dad, wanna go wander through some stores, do a little Christmas shopping, eat out together? I said, I'd love to.

Another moment to cherish. Another thread in the tapestry. Another part of the story that God is writing that will ultimately matter.

I promise you, every day in 2026, there will be moments if you choose to see them. Each day is a day you'll never get back, but each day has moments that you can treasure that you can ponder. They're the moments that give life meaning and purpose.

Moments[…]”

From Lincoln Berean Church: RETHINK // Don't Miss the Moments, Dec 28, 2025

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lincoln-berean-church/id1435127951?i=1000743021701&r=2208

This material may be protected by copyright.

From Lincoln Berean Church: RETHINK // Don't Miss the Moments, Dec 28, 2025

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lincoln-berean-church/id1435127951?i=1000743021701&r=2102

This material may be protected by copyright.

From Lincoln Berean Church: RETHINK // Don't Miss the Moments, Dec 28, 2025

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lincoln-berean-church/id1435127951?i=1000743021701&r=1032

This material may be protected by copyright.

From Lincoln Berean Church: RETHINK // Don't Miss the Moments, Dec 28, 2025

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lincoln-berean-church/id1435127951?i=1000743021701&r=735

This material may be protected by copyright.

From Lincoln Berean Church: RETHINK // Don't Miss the Moments, Dec 28, 2025

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lincoln-berean-church/id1435127951?i=1000743021701&r=697

This material may be protected by copyright.

Guilt Shame Loop

 Harp - Chris Harper, Better Man and Good Trouble, Arlington Texas, PhD from Talbot

Guilt-Shame-Death Loop

I’ve never been much for New Year’s resolutions. I think the devil loves them… Most are built on a familiar ethic: "try harder… do more… this year will be different."

The 'try harder,' 'do more' story rarely produces transformation. Typically, it produces early momentum, quiet fatigue, eventual failure, and then the added burden of shame for not becoming who we hoped we’d be. What starts as conviction becomes empty talk, leading to the guilt-shame-death loop. That is not how people are formed. It’s how they are worn down.

Recently, I came across the Vision – Intention – Means [VIM] framework thanks to Mason King. Developed by Dallas Willard, 'VIM' was his answer to a thin, behavior-driven Christianity that mistakes effort for formation and activity for obedience. At its core, VIM asks a fundamental question: How do people actually change?

Willard’s answer is both freeing and demanding. Real change does not begin with trying harder, but with seeing differently. It requires a compelling vision of life with God, a settled intention to pursue that life, and concrete means [practices, rhythms, and relationships] that slowly retrain the soul.

Willard always believed that spiritual formation is not an event [I agree]. And neither is it a resolution. Formation is the long, patient work of grace shaping a willing life. I need more of that in 2026... Maybe you do too?

Vision: What do I see?

Vision is a compelling picture of life as God intends it. Vision is not just information; it’s imagination baptized by truth. Vision answers:

What kind of man am I becoming?

What is at stake if I don’t change?

Without vision, change feels optional, and obedience feels burdensome. That’s because a man seldom fights for a future he cannot see.

Intention: What have I decided?

Intention is a settled commitment of the will. Intention is the line in the sand. Not "I hope," not "I’ll try," but "I have decided." Willard famously said: "Desire without intention is useless." Intention answers: Have I truly decided to change? Or am I waiting to feel ready? Is this a preference or a conviction? 

Without intention, vision stays theoretical and growth stalls at inspiration. Men default to posturing, and posturing is cheap.

Means: How will I train?

Means are concrete practices that reshape the soul—the disciplines, habits, and structures that make change possible. Willard was clear: "Grace is not opposed to effort; it is opposed to earning." Means include [but are not limited to]:

Spiritual disciplines

Community and accountability

Confession and repentance rhythms

Most men fail not because they don’t love God, or they lack information, but because their vision is vague, their intention is unspoken, and their means are absent. Willard’s insight is devastatingly simple: You never get transformation by accident.

I think that’s what I most appreciate about the VIM framework: it dismantles passive Christianity [God will change me someday], behaviorism [just stop sinning], and emotionalism [if I feel inspired, I’ll obey]. Rather than just trying, you get clarity and training—you get actual change. 

Vision inspires change. Intention commits to change. Means make change possible. That’s how souls are formed.

Harp’s VIM for 2026

I'm not just a preacher, I’m a practitioner… The four areas where I am seeking intentional growth in 2026:

Fatherhood presence

Vision: "I see myself as a patient, present father whose children associate me with peace, joy, and direction."

Intention: "I decide that my kids will not get my leftovers."

Means:

Preparing meals for children

Praying for and with children

Carrying others burdens

Scripture Engagement

Vision: "I see myself as a man shaped by God’s Word—steady, discerning, rooted."

Intention: "I decide Scripture will be a non-negotiable, not a spiritual accessory."

Means:

Scripture memorization

Read aloud [slows the mind]

Journaling / reflection

Anger and emotional regulation

Vision: "I see myself as a man who is slow to anger, firm but gentle, strong without being volatile."

Intention: "I choose to confront my anger rather than justify it."

Means:

Identity my triggers

Naming emotions before they happen

Scripture reframing [James 1:19–20]

Physical exercise

Develop my prayer life

Vision: "I see a life where prayer is my reflex, not my last resort."

Intention: "I decide prayer will shape my days."

Means:

Written prayers

Pray the scriptures

Prayer walk

I encourage you to use VIM this year. Pick 3 or 4 areas where you want growth [share your VIM with someone(s) you trust]. Give vision to each one. Name your intention. Get practical with your means. And when change isn’t happening, ask:

Is my vision compelling enough

Have I really decided or is this just mental talk

Remember, one missing piece breaks the chain. And you’ll be no better off than the 98% of people who leave the gym by February 15.

Here’s to REAL change in 2026.

For the King,

— Harp

75 Strong

Each day

Read through the Bible in one year

YouVersion devotional studies each day - group of 6 or 7, group of 3, one on one with three, text a verse to one

Joshua Project, operation world app, pray for the world YouVersion app

Journal YouVersion reflections on substack

Journal interactive prayers

Lectio 365 - morning

 Stretch workout every morning - 30 minutes

Treadmill backwards .5 miles plus

Read 10-15 pages each day of a book

Walk 2.5 miles each day outdoors

Global Media Outreach - finish training/ participate

Willard Group once a week encouragement

Eat 2 fruits per day

Drink half gallon of water each day

Read Randy Alcorn devo each day

Post devotional on face book, praying that others read the scriptures 

Use right side of brain - imagination - music, art, drawing in artificial intelligence

Use left side of brain - word puzzles

Resolutions

1. “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.1.1-2.NIV

You Ca Trust God

 Amy Joy

You Can Trust God.

Most people think trust is a feeling.

Or a personality trait.

Or something, some Christians have more of.

But your brain tells a different story.

Your brain is designed to learn trust.

Not by trying harder.

Not by ignoring anxiety.

Not by “just believing.”

Your brain learns trust through repetition.

The brain builds faith the same way it builds fear

If you repeat a fearful thought, your brain wires it in.

If you rehearse worst-case scenarios, your brain memorizes panic.

If you dwell on “What if?”, your mind strengthens anxiety pathways.

Your brain does not care if the thought is real or imagined.

It builds whatever you repeat.

This is why imaginary danger can activate the amygdala

Like a tiger is chasing you.

And this is why truth has to be repeated, not just known.

Scripture says it first

Faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ.

Romans 10:17

Not hearing once

Not hearing when we’re stressed

Not hearing at church on Sunday

Hearing again and again.

Repetition is not weakness.

Repetition is formation.

Science finally caught up with the Bible

Neuroscience calls it neuroplasticity, the idea that repeated focus strengthens neural pathways. The more often a thought is activated, the more naturally your brain chooses it.

Scripture told us this long before MRI machines existed:

I will meditate on Your precepts and fix my eyes on Your ways.

Psalm 119:15

Meditation isn’t mystical.

It’s a rehearsal.

It’s training.

It’s rewiring.

Your brain learns what your spirit already knows

You were never asked to manufacture faith.

You were instructed to feed on truth

until your mind becomes convinced.

“Do not let your heart be troubled. Believe in God.”

John 14:1

Your heart follows what your mind rehearses.

Your mind rehearses what you feed it daily.

So feed it Scripture.

Speak it out loud.

Repeat God’s promises.

Train your thoughts the way you train a muscle.

Faith is not a feeling.

Faith is formed.

And your brain, created by God, is ready to learn.

Want more Christian neuroscience?

I send weekly content showing how

the Bible and the brain agree on mental health, peace, and spiritual formation.

💌 Hit Subscribe to join thousands of Christian minds being renewed on purpose.

My Podcast will be coming soon!! 

~Dr. April Joy

Grace is Who You Are

 Tyler Staton

Dallas Willard most famously defined grace this way:

“Grace is God acting in our lives to accomplish what we cannot accomplish on our own.”

He often paired that definition with his clarifying insight:

“Grace is opposed to earning, not to effort.”

“The Annunciation is a heavenly angel's announcement, claiming God's most ancient, most sweeping, most far-reaching promises must be believed personally, if they're to be received personally. A revelation made plain in the words of the angel Gabriel's lips, greetings you who are highly favored.

Another translation made famous by an old hymn is ‘Mary full of grace’ That's what the angel calls Mary with a little bit of a poetic imagination. Greetings, Mary full of grace.

It's a fitting title given all that Mary did to earn her decisive role in God's redemption. What the text said made Mary stand out from all the other potential candidates for the role of God's mother? What qualified her?

What about her did God find so impressive? How did she earn his divine favor and blessing and love? Nothing.

We're not given a syllable about qualification in the enunciation. It's just receiving. She receives the angel's announcement.”

The same grace describes the kingdom that has arrived.  It is what Jesus described by His kingdom come, His will be done.  Grace changes everything about us. Our identity becomes new in the context of the kingdom.   

“You are not your last name or your family of origin or your socioeconomic status. You are not your weight or your waist size or your desirability according to any cultural standard. You are not your relationship status, your parenting status, your friendship status or your social calendar.

You are not your last year, your last week or your last mistake. You are full of grace. You are Richard full of grace.

You are Bethany full of grace. You are Nate full of grace. That is who you are.

And the fight of your life is and always will be to trust that grace continually. To not merely believe God once, but to trust God continually when he says that's who you are. To know Mary, not as one lucky exception, but the first in a long line of grace carrying, grace trusted, grace defined disciples.

It is grace that found you first. It is grace that renamed you. Grace that called you, filled you, and redeemed you.

And it is grace that finds you again today. Grace that reminds you who you really are. Grace that calls you by the only name that heaven knows you by.

“And the fight of your life is and always will be to trust that grace continually. To not merely believe God once, but to trust God continually when he says that's who you are. To know Mary, not as one lucky exception, but the first in a long line of grace carrying, grace trusted, grace defined disciples.

It is grace that found you first. It is grace that renamed you. Grace that called you, filled you, and redeemed you.

And it is grace that finds you again today. Grace that reminds you who you really are. Grace that calls you by the only name that heaven knows you by.

Grace that refills you. Grace that keeps on reminding you of that till he's washed out every trace of that old lie within you. As it says in Titus 3, but when the kindness and love of God, our Savior, appeared, he saved us not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.”

“Your life will be every bit as much of a complicated mess as Abraham's and Mary's and everyone in between and it will be just as eternally consequential, cosmically meaningful as those whom all generations would call blessed to the degree that like your ancient ancestors, you learn to trust his grace. Grace in the midst of your fear of all that you want to control but can't. Grace in the midst of all the plans you had that now lie shattered on the floor in front of you.

Grace in the face of all that you found security in that has been swept like a rug out from under you. The friendship that you lost, the relationship that you lost, the job that you lost, health you lost, money you lost, house you lost, future you lost. Grace washing over the mistake you made that haunts you but you can't undo, the people that you hurt, the fool that you made of yourself, the shame that you wear.

Grace that sounds like, where can I go from your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I rise up to the heights, you're there, and if I make[…]”

From Bridgetown Audio Podcast: First Light: Advent 2025 - Mary (Love), Dec 22, 2025

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bridgetown-audio-podcast/id84246334?i=1000742280526&r=2097

This material may be protected by copyright.

From Bridgetown Audio Podcast: First Light: Advent 2025 - Mary (Love), Dec 22, 2025

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bridgetown-audio-podcast/id84246334?i=1000742280526&r=1526

This material may be protected by copyright.

Grace that[…]”

From Bridgetown Audio Podcast: First Light: Advent 2025 - Mary (Love), Dec 22, 2025

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bridgetown-audio-podcast/id84246334?i=1000742280526&r=1495

This material may be protected by copyright.

Gaslighting

 

Jesus was so sure of his identity, that he did not have to PROVE himself. When Satan came to tempt him by questioning His position as the Son of God. Jesus did not engage by ‘proving’ himself or trying to convince Satan that He was the son of God. No, Jesus, responded with the security and proof of God’s word. Gaslighters will lure you in to engage in a battle of words. They will lure you into behaving in extraordinary ways that do not honour God. You must make a deliberate decision not to engage, so that just like Matthew 4:11, they will eventually leave you and angels of the Lord will minister to you, strengthening your heart and mind.                  “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.” - Hebrews‬ ‭4‬:‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus prayed that they would be forgiven. Even if it feels like the perpetrator knows exactly what they are doing, the truth is that when we sin, we behave outside of the identity that Christ died for us to have. The ‘gaslighter’ is still worthy of grace, and room to grow out of their manipulative behaviour. To withhold grace from someone is to deny God’s ability to transform people regardless of their past wrongs. Though it is hard, we must forgive. This is Christ’s response. “May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭19‬:‭14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Trevor Hudson - being an ameteur

“Your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”

—Matthew 6:6 (NKJV)

 I remember the moment when I knew that I always wanted to be an amateur Christ-follower.

I was driving along a gravel road when I saw some children playing soccer. They were barefoot, the goal posts were makeshift, the field was dust. They were excited, passionate, and having great fun. They were playing soccer for the love of it!

That evening, on the news channel, I listened to our country’s soccer professional players give their reasons for refusing to play. Their pay demands had not been met by the national soccer association.

That was the moment I knew that I always wanted to be an amateur Christ-follower. Someone continually learning to follow and serve Jesus, simply out of love for him.

Let me be clear. I know the importance of accreditation, standards, accountability. I myself belong to professional bodies regarding aspects of my own work and ministry - roles.

However, in my heart I always want to be an amateur Christ-follower.

I always want to be an amateur in prayer. There are no experts when it comes to prayer. I will always remain a beginner. When I need someone to pray for me, I ask someone who prays because they are in love with God.

I always want to be an amateur in loving. Learning to express the love of Christ has been a lifelong longing. My greatest failures in life have been those in loving. Thankfully, God doesn’t give up on me in my failures and helps me to begin again.

I always want to be an amateur in spiritual companionship. To accompany another seeker along the Way remains one of the great privileges in the Christian life. In the words of D T Niles though, it is definitely for me a case of one beggar helping another beggar to find food.

Contemporary life has been carved up into compartments, each with their own professional experts who are regarded as having the most important say in their spheres. I remain deeply grateful for their knowledge and skill acquired through years of academic studies. My life has been literally saved through the expertise of the medical professionals.

However, when it comes to following Christ, I do not want to be an expert. I always want to be an amateur.

In sharing this reflection, I wonder how you respond to this descriptive word “amateur” when used in relation to our life as a Jesus-follower. 

Does it suggest incompetence, lack of expertise, and the absence of real knowledge? Or does it perhaps come across as an invitation to find our deepest identity beyond our professional roles as persons loved by Christ? 

Eulogy of Gratitude

Len Sweet

So I sat down to try. Immediately, something surfaced: I couldn’t tell the story of my vocation without telling the story of my gratitude.

If there is one metaphor for my life’s calling, it is this: I have lived the life of a salmon — head toward the Headwaters, swimming against the current, nose tuned to the scent of the Source.

Eighty books, thousands of published sermons, hundreds of LenTalks — trace them all upstream and you find one long pilgrimage. And here is the truth I cannot tell without thanksgiving: I never swam alone.

People often assume that upstream swimmers are solitary, self-willed, stubborn. But the only reason I could swim against the cultural and ecclesial current is that others stood on the banks and cheered me on. Some even waded into the river to clear debris, pull away nets, defend the spawning grounds where dangerous ideas could breathe.

For that, I give thanks.

My Work in One Litany

If I have done anything, it has been this: I have tried to help the church trade the safety of the familiar for the adventure of the Spirit.

It sounds like this:

While others talked numbers, he talked narratives.

While others counted statistics, he collected stories.

While others organized retreats, he hosted advances.

While others touted apologetics, he talked aesthetics.

While others preached carpe diem, he sang carpe mañana — the grace of God’s tomorrow tugging us forward.

When others talked leadership, he talked followership. Jesus never said, “Be a leader.” He said, “Follow me.”

When others talked justice, he talked Jubilee — where mercy outdances measure and forgiveness resets the score.

When others joined the Order of St. Roberts — patron saint of metrics and managerialism — he pledged allegiance to St. Paul’s Rules of the Spirit: faith, hope, love. Those were the only KPIs that mattered.

When others talked propositions, he talked relationships. Truth is not a statement. Truth is a Savior.

When others claimed information, he claimed imagination.

When others built systems, he cultivated symbols.

When others trusted techne, he trusted tekton — the Artisan still crafting new worlds.

When others chased vision and the next big thing, he listened for the next small sign.

When others colonized the mind with certainty, he invited the whole person into mystery.

When others turned the Bible into a library of chapters and verses, he returned it to a garden — alive, wild, blooming with metaphor.

When others declared the death of metanarratives, he celebrated the One Grand Story that runs from Genesis to the maps.

When others turned faith into argument, he lived it as adventure.

When churches were busy writing mission statements, he urged them to craft mission stories and tell them on video — where today’s world actually listens.

When others defended doctrine, he discerned semiotics — the dance of signs by which the Spirit still whispers.

When others bowed to an imperial imagination, he stood in an incarnational imagination — God with us, in us, among us, for us.

When others separated sacred from secular, he insisted on whole-earth holiness.

When others glorified the literal, he tended the littoral — where heaven kisses earth and parable becomes portal.

When others talked youth ministry, he talked future ministry.

When others talked generations, he talked cultures.

When others feared cultural change, he welcomed it as gospel compost — rich soil for new shoots of grace.

When others defined church as institution, he described it as Jesus’ Studio — a place where disciples apprentice themselves to divine imagination.

When others preached “work harder,” he preached “play better” — worship as the Spirit’s playground.

When others tried to “save souls,” he tried to sozo humans — mind, body, spirit, community, creation made whole.

When others imagined eschatology as ending, he imagined telos — a beginning in disguise.

When some complained, “Your sermons are pointless,” he smiled. Because making points was never the point. The Point is a Person — Jesus Christ the Lord. The gospel is a pointing, not a point.

When others talked power, he talked presence.

When others obsessed over the politics of party, he obsessed over the politics of Jesus.

When others clamored for position, he claimed posture: the Orant stance — standing, eyes open, arms raised, palms outward, face lifted toward the future.

While others hugged the middle lane, he waved a sign that read: “The Bell Curve is dead — long live the Well Curve!” In a polarizing world where opposites happen at the same time, the way forward is not compromise. It is construction.

And while others stayed in the mainstream, he kept swimming upstream — 

where the water runs clear and cold,

where the spawning ground of ideas is sacred,

where the currents of culture cannot drown the currents of the Spirit.

A Small Story of Upstream Faithfulness

Once, when I was still in my thirties, the church tried to give me her highest honor. I interrupted the voting, asked for a moment of personal privilege, walked to the microphone, and took a swan dive in the form of a belly-flop: “If you want to ruin me — and ruin my ministry — elect me bishop. God has not called me to the episcopacy.” Then I sat down.

And I swam on — upstream again. Homeward, toward the Headwaters. Calling is a direction, not a destination. 

A Stone Beside the River

This is not a eulogy. I pray I’m not finished. 

It is an Ebenezer — a stone of remembrance beside the river. A marker where grace found me, strengthened me, sent me swimming again.

I have written not to build a brand but to scatter seeds;

not to carve monuments but to kindle fires;

not to win arguments but to open imaginations.

If I have done anything, it is this: I have stood in the river of the Spirit, swimming toward the Source, inviting others to hear the music in the current . . . 

and follow it home.

And for every person who cheered me upstream, cleared the path, took a risk on a salmon who kept veering from the mainstream — thank you.

Gratitude is the river that carries me.

Affirmation / Encouragement

 

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Affirmation

If they're breathing... 

HARP DEC 5

READ IN APP

“I can live two months on one good compliment…” — Mark Twain

Jeff Foxworthy recently told a story about being mentored by Truett Cathy. Jeff grew up in the same town as the first Chick-fil-A, back when it wasn’t an empire, just a restaurant cooking up some anointed chicken.

One day Truett asked Jeff, “Do you know how to tell if someone needs encouragement?” “No sir…”Jeff replied. Truett smiled: “If they’re breathing.”

That line changed Jeff’s life. From that day forward, he woke up every morning asking one question: Who can I affirm...who can I encourage today?

---

What is affirmation?

Here is how I define affirmation: Affirmation is the holy practice of calling out the image of God in a man while strengthening the parts of him that sin and shame have tried to break.

Affirmation seeks to fortify what the world has tried to fracture.

---

Why Men Need It

Every man you know—no matter his age, income, or toughness—is asking the same silent questions: “Does anyone see me?” “Does my effort matter?” “Am I enough?”

1. Men carry weight no one applauds.

Most of what makes a man a man happens in silence. He bears responsibility, pressure, fear, and sacrifice, usually unseen. Affirmation doesn’t coddle him. It acknowledges the load.

2. Most men don’t know how to ask for it.

Women reach out naturally. Men don’t. Affirmation steps into that silence with words of strength, not sentimentality.

3. Every man fights spiritual discouragement.

Scripture commands daily encouragement because without it a man’s heart grows hard and vulnerable to temptation [Heb. 3:13]. Affirmation is spiritual warfare.

4. Affirmation reinforces a man’s God-given design.

Men are builders of families, cultures, churches, and businesses. Builders need reinforcement. Affirmation is spiritual rebar.

5. Most men never heard it growing up.

Most men walk into adulthood with wounds from silence. Affirmation becomes the blessing their father never gave.

6. Affirmation reflects the voice of God.

God’s words to His sons are never shaming—they strengthen, steady, and call us up. When you affirm a man, you echo the Father.

“There are no ordinary people,” Lewis said in a sermon. “You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilization—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendours.”

Excerpt From

What Good Is God?

Philip Yancey

Draw Near

 “Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord.

His coming is as certain as the dawn;

He will come to us like the rain,

like the spring rains that water the earth.”

—Hosea 6:3 (NASB)

That evening  I didn’t go hunting for this verse in Hosea on my own. A friend brought it up to me not long ago, just in normal conversation, and I went back later and read it for myself. As I did, something on the inside of me burned in a way that’s hard to explain—what the old saints used to call “being quickened in your spirit.” I knew right then the Lord was putting a little check mark next to that verse just for me.

It is only a sentence. 

It carries the power of the Holy Spirit: 

“Let us press on to know the Lord.”

Press on.

Keep moving.

Lean forward.

Don’t let comfort lull you.

Don’t let discouragement freeze you in place.

Don’t let yesterday’s failure convince you that tomorrow is already lost.

Press on.

Hosea spoke these words to a people who had drifted away from God without even realizing how far they had wandered. Their hearts were divided. Their worship had grown thin. Their prayers were a whisper. They still belonged to God… but something precious had faded.

Sound familiar, dear one?

Sometimes the distance between us and the Lord doesn’t come from rebellion. Sometimes it comes from fatigue. Life gets loud. Responsibilities pile high. Wounds accumulate. And little by little, without meaning to, the fire cools.

But Hosea stands on the pages of Scripture like a watchman calling through the night:

“Don’t settle for a far-away God when He longs to be near.

Don’t stay in the shadows when His light is rising over you.

Press on. Chase Him. Seek Him. You’ll find Him.”

And then Hosea gives the most comforting promise:

“His coming is as certain as the dawn.”

Think about that.

Every morning… without fail… light breaks through darkness.

Even on cloudy days.

Even when you can’t see the sun.

Even when the night felt endless.

The dawn always arrives.

So does God.

When you lift your heart toward Him—even with trembling hands and weak prayers—He comes. He draws near. He leans in. Maybe you don’t feel it right away. Maybe it begins as a quiet warmth in the soul. But beloved, His presence moves toward the one who seeks Him. It’s His nature to come.

And then Hosea adds one more picture, soft and beautiful:

“He will come to us like the rain.”

Not like a storm.

Not like a hammer.

Not like condemnation.

Like rain.

Gentle enough to soften hard ground.

Strong enough to awaken buried seeds.

Steady enough to turn a barren field into a garden again.

Maybe that’s what your heart needs today—not a lecture, not a rebuke…

just rain.

Rain that washes off the dust.

Rain that restores tenderness.

Rain that nourishes dry places you haven’t touched in a long time.

Rain that whispers, “I am still here… and I am not finished with you.”

Beloved, Hosea’s invitation is simple, but it reaches down into the secret place of the soul:

Press on.

Return again.

Seek Him again.

Pray again.

Hope again.

You’re not chasing a distant God.

You’re not pursuing a reluctant Father.

You’re running toward the One who is already running toward you.

The God who meets you in the morning.

The God who rains on thirsty hearts.

The God who delights to be found.

He is coming…

as surely as light breaks into darkness…

as surely as rain finds dry ground.

So come, dear one.

Take one small step toward Him.

Lift one honest prayer.

Whisper one simple desire.

Turn your face—just a little—and watch Him meet you in the turning.

He has never ignored a seeking heart.

And He will not ignore yours.

Beloved, if your spirit feels tired…

if your fire has dimmed…

if you feel far from the Lord and don’t know how to find your way back…

come.

If you’ve stopped praying because you felt unworthy…

come.

If your Bible has been closed for too long and you feel ashamed…

come.

If you want Him—but something inside you feels stuck or numb…

come.

Lift your hands.

Lift your eyes.

Lift your desire.

Say with Hosea,

“Lord, I’m pressing on to know You again. Let Your rain fall on me.”

And beloved… He will.

He surely will.

With Love,

Steve Porter

www.morningglorydevo.com