Take a couple minutes to view this exciting story. 
Great things are in store for You!  Seriously!
                                                                                  ---Brother Jack

"WHAT'S UP FOR ME IF I ACTUALLY GET INTO
                                                                                            BODYBUILDERS WITH THESE GUYS?"
...if I had to boil it down I would say the very core of biblical manhood is---
                                                                                         the pursuit and experience of God Himself.

And therein lies what I believe to be a man's two
greatest challenges and obstacles to biblical manhood:  passivity and
pride.

A man quickly discovers that the authentic
pursuit of the triune God will take effort, not just daily, but breath by
breath.  I will quickly add that
God gives the grace for that effort so that ultimately we cannot take credit for
it, but we must act on that grace. He calls us and gives us the grace to
answer.

Men are pretty good about dealing in large
volumes of Christian information. We like God's statistics. We're not so sure
about going after His heart. Where we seem to get lost is in the actual pursuit
of the person of God, of intimacy with God. You don't see many modern-day
"Davids" writing passionate praise poems to their heavenly Father. We're much
more comfortable collecting and arranging and rearranging the
information.

I think we're passive about pursuing God Himself
because we know it will eventually require a breaking of our pride, and for the
man, pride is king. As long as we're just gathering facts and information about
God, we can keep Him at a safe distance. When we pull in close to Christ is when
we feel the coal being put to our pride. Better to be passive, we reason, than
to be broken.

I call it courageous humility, and biblical manhood
 absolutely demands that we go there.

And ....
how do I get "there"?  How do I get a desire for the person of God that is
greater than any other desire?  I turn off the T.V.  I unplug the video game.
I put this computer to sleep.  I go into my closet and close the door.
And I beg God for a passion for Him like I were pleading for oxygen. 


I'm not talking about "now I lay me down to sleep." I'm talking about pounding the
floor for more of Him in my life. And I do it every day.  Over time I experience
the unspeakable thrill of the being, and becoming---a biblical man.

Blessings,    John Thomas



I was blessed by this from:  http://www.iamaspirit.org/archives/1481 
Thought I'd turn you on to their site and share this teaching---

 Say that we’re in the Medieval days. And suppose there was a boy who grew up
in an orphanage, and at the age of 18, it was revealed that He was actually the
King’s son. The King, overjoyed to discover his lost son removes his son from
the impoverished living situation and brings the son into his palace.


Even though the boy grew up and identified himself as an orphan, he now has
the privilege to identify with his true Father rather than the past
circumstances. And from there, he can either choose to hold on
to his old lifestyle, way of thinking, and upbringing as an orphan, or he can
“renew” his perspective and embrace his new position as royalty
and the privileges and responsibilities that come with it.


But, so long as the boy identifies with the fact that he was an
orphan rather than the fact that he is now a prince, he will
behave as he used to behave because he does not understand who he has
become.


He will hide away his Father’s wealth for himself in fear that he might lose
it. He will not trust any of the King’s servants or his new brothers and sisters
because he secretly thinks everyone is against him because these were his
mindsets when he was an orphan.


He will be hesitant to talk to strangers because he is fearful that someone
will discover his past and scorn him for it. He will take any chance he can to
get position or power because he fears being controlled. He will cut down anyone
he feels has the potential to surpass him in skill or position.


He will do all of that because he still believes that is who he is. His
behavior was what was considered “normal” in his past (living in an orphanage),
and unless he is able to “renew” his perspective, he will be stuck living in his
“old man” — the way the “old man” thought and behaved
(Rom 12:1-2).


But, if the boy accepts his new identity as a son and
prince, then all of his old behavior will eventually be realigned to his new
identity (Rom 6:11). All of his old habits and mindsets will fade away when he
begins to realize that they are no longer consistent with his [new] identity
(Gal 5:24, Col 3:9).



So, when believers say, “Oh I’m just a sinner saved by
grace,” that is no different than the orphan boy saying, “Oh I’m just an orphan
who now lives in a palace.” It shows that the orphan still identifies with his
past (his “old man”) and has not learned to get his identity from his Father. He
has an identity in the “old man” rather than an identity in the King [of kings].
(Gal 3:26-27, Eph 5:8-9)


It comes to a point where the boy begins to realize, “Oh I was an
orphan (sinner), but now I’m royalty (saint)! That was my past
before my dad found me, but now I’m a prince in my Father’s Kingdom (Col
1:13-14)… so that means I don’t need to act like an orphan
anymore, because I’m not!” (Rom 6:6).


 When that shift happens “identity in Christ” is no longer a church cliché. It
becomes the basis from which you live.


So when Christians say, “Oh I’m just pessimistic, I’m just lazy, I’m just an
angry person, I’m an introvert, I’m bitter,” they often feel powerless to change
because they still believe they are an “orphan.” They do not realize that their
nature has changed, and when they shed the old identity, the old behavior and
mindsets will follow suit. When they finally believe they are now a prince in a
palace, they will realize how foolish it is to behave like an orphan (1 Peter
1:14-16).


My friend Daniel said this:

If God is love, and I am one spirit with Him, what does that make me?


… it’s not about going out and TRYING to love people, but rather about going
out and just being who you already are. In fact, the entire
Christian life is not about TRYING to be something or become something, it’s
about being who you are. That’s why it’s important to see yourself as God sees
you.


It’s not about trying to manage who you were. It’s about learning to
live out who you have become. It’s not an attempt to change behavior,
it’s a change in natures; it’s not changing the orphan’s behavior, it’s a prince
who is no longer an orphan.


The bad mindset of being unable to love people disappears when you realize
that Love is who you are. The bad habit of responding in anger crumbles when you
realize that your nature is to be patient (Gal. 5:22). Now, love and patience are natural outflows rather than
forced behaviors.


You were living in fear but then you realize it’s
your nature to be bold (Prov 28:1). You don’t feel like you’re capable of transforming the
world around you and then you realize that it’s your nature to be leaven. You
were stuck in anxiety and worry and then you realize that it’s your nature to
have peace (Isaiah 26:3, Rom4:17, Isaiah 9:6). You were stuck in depression and then you realize it’s a
lie because that “old man” died and the new man’s nature is joy (Rom 14:17, John 15:11).


I don’t need to try to be holy, I need to understand it’s already in
my nature to be holy (2 Cor. 5:21). I don’t need to try to be bold, it’s who I am. I
don’t have to try to be patient, it’s who I am. I don’t need to try
to get out of depression, it is my nature to be joy. I don’t need to
try to be less pessimistic, I live and breathe hope. It’s not that I’m
ignorant of the fact that I used to try and fail, it’s discovering that
in Christ, I have a new predisposition to be everything I used to try
to become.


 It’s when you realize who you are, that you realize that you were
behaving below your nature — you were living short of your potential. 
 

One time, I was at the hospital to minister to people with my friend Susan.
Things were going slow, I didn’t feel like ministering to people. I felt like I
had to try to show people the love of God. I  randomly started thinking
about lights and lightbulbs… I realized, they don’t try to stay on — that’s just
how they’re wired. If they have electricity, and the wiring is right, it will be
“on.” It doesn’t struggle to try to stay on. It doesn’t have to force
itself to pierce darkness, that’s just what it was made to
do.


Immediately my perspective shifted, I no longer felt like I had to try,
because I already was. It’s my nature to love. It’s my nature to
demonstrate love. Immediately I found joy in ministering to people because I was
just expressing myself and my nature instead of trying to
become an expression.


You are to model your life after Jesus (Luke 6:40, John 14:12, 1 John 2:6, 1 John
4:17). This is the essence of the phrase “identity in Christ.”
Jesus was Love, was Peace, was Life, was Healing, was Deliverance, was
Salvation, was the Rock, was Joy, was Holy, was Patient, was Humble, was Hope
etc etc. A revelation of Jesus is a revelation of yourself. Who
Christ is, is who you are empowered to become and partake in the same
divine nature (2 Peter 1:2-4). Ever hear the phrase “like father, like son”? That is the
goal. When you read the Word (John 1:1), you should
discover Jesus– his character and nature. That is who you were created in the
likeness and image of (Gen 1:26).


If you get this, learning to look more like Jesus is no longer an effort, but
just a simple act of renewing your mind. You will no longer
“try” to be humble, “try” to be holy, “try” to have faith, “try” to love
neighbors and strangers, “try” to be happy/joyful… let me reiterate what my
friend Daniel said:

…it’s not about going out and TRYING to love people, but rather about going
out and just being who you already are. In fact, the entire Christian
life is not about TRYING to be something or become something, it’s about being
who you are. That’s why it’s important to see yourself as God sees
you.


That’s great news to me, because the last time I checked, God sees Jesus when
He looks at me.