This morning I read the last part of Nehemiah. In chapter 13:25 he uses some unusual forms of pastoral encouragemnt.
25I rebuked them and called curses down on them. I beat some of the men and pulled out their hair. I made them take an oath in God’s name and said: “You are not to give your daughters in marriage to their sons, nor are you to take their daughters in marriage for your sons or for yourselves. 26Was it not because of marriages like these that Solomon king of Israel sinned? Among the many nations there was no king like him. He was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel, but even he was led into sin by foreign women.
I guess that this would reduce the counseling load for the pastor, huh? He may need a membership at the gym to help him keep up his stamina for the ministry!
This weekend I was talking to a good friend about the book Wild At Heart. It is a book for men. It asserts that American Christianity has tried to tame the aggressive male spirit in a way that is not good for men. Men need adventure, challenge, work, and victory to be fullfilled. If being like Jesus means being a whimp then we will never have fulfilled Christian men.
Often, Christian men think that the mark of secure manhood is the ability to be tough. I think the mark of secure manhood is to be sweet in the midst of turbulance and the battle! Often our men think that spirituality is marked by the ability to accurately critique others lives and ministries. No way! The mark of spirituality is the ability to fix problems, not point them out. To fix problems you have to be willing to get dirty. When it comes to doing God's work it means being willing to get involved in other peoples problems. It takes the tanacity of Nehemiah to get involved and the meekness of Jesus to do the fixing.
Anywho, I though my devotional time related to the weekend conversation a little bit.
25I rebuked them and called curses down on them. I beat some of the men and pulled out their hair. I made them take an oath in God’s name and said: “You are not to give your daughters in marriage to their sons, nor are you to take their daughters in marriage for your sons or for yourselves. 26Was it not because of marriages like these that Solomon king of Israel sinned? Among the many nations there was no king like him. He was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel, but even he was led into sin by foreign women.
I guess that this would reduce the counseling load for the pastor, huh? He may need a membership at the gym to help him keep up his stamina for the ministry!
This weekend I was talking to a good friend about the book Wild At Heart. It is a book for men. It asserts that American Christianity has tried to tame the aggressive male spirit in a way that is not good for men. Men need adventure, challenge, work, and victory to be fullfilled. If being like Jesus means being a whimp then we will never have fulfilled Christian men.
Often, Christian men think that the mark of secure manhood is the ability to be tough. I think the mark of secure manhood is to be sweet in the midst of turbulance and the battle! Often our men think that spirituality is marked by the ability to accurately critique others lives and ministries. No way! The mark of spirituality is the ability to fix problems, not point them out. To fix problems you have to be willing to get dirty. When it comes to doing God's work it means being willing to get involved in other peoples problems. It takes the tanacity of Nehemiah to get involved and the meekness of Jesus to do the fixing.
Anywho, I though my devotional time related to the weekend conversation a little bit.
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