jeff warren Posts

The Triathlon of Manhood

01 Mar , 2010 1 Comment

I’ve learned many life lessons from triathlon and the many life parallels of being a man.  In 1 Corinthians 9:24, Paul says, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.” His point here is not so much about competing against others as it is about the how you run this race of life.  He says race to win. The triathlon is an image or parable of a man’s life in many ways. It’s not enough to start the race, you must finish the race strong.  (In fact, they have a term for it when you “DNF”- did not finish- too many men DNF in life).  Many men start strong but very few finish well.  Along the way you’ll suffer many setbacks, you’ll want to give up, you’ll never win every race, you’ll suffer injury along the way.  You’ll need to train hard.  You’ll need to live a disciplined life, and you will definitely need some men to come along side you and train with you.  As individual of a sport it seems to be, you cannot do it alone.

But here’s the KEY learning: The idea behind “the triathlon of manhood” is this: We must focus on three disciplines in order to finish strong.  A man must do well in all three areas of his life in order to succeed as a man.

The Triathlon of Manhood

1. His spiritual life

2. His relational life

3. His vocational life

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love.” 1 Corinthian 16:13-14 The NASB says it this way: “Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.  Let all that you do be done in love.” 1 Corinthians 16:13-14.  This passage has four imperative commands that tell us how to run and win this race.

Winning the Race

1.  Be on guard. Watch out! Be alert!  Many men are not aware of the schemes of the evil one.  You need know the Word of God, study it, and apply it!  Matthew 5:8 says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”  Listen: there are moral conditions for spiritual insight.  If you want an ever-expanding and clearer view of God, you must keep your heart pure.  Wake up! Do not give into sin.  .

2.  Stand firm in your faith. Hold tight to your convictions. Real men are unmoveable in their convictions.  Guard your heart, be alert regarding what goes in to your mind, what you see.

3.  Be the man. Be courageous.  The one defining mark of a real man is courage. Real men humbly listen to the audience of One.

4.  Don’t stop loving. Everything you do must be done in love.  We struggle in our culture to combine the rough, adventurous, masculine, barbarian spirit of men with a loving, kind, and tender heart (that’s a tough thing) but it is a potent combination in the hands of God.

The ultimate ironman: Jesus Christ. Jesus is the ultimate man and He has finished the race for us.  He becomes, at the same time, our goal and the means (the power) to finish the race strong.  Men, commit to the triathlon of life and you will finish strong!

Why Lent?

19 Feb , 2010 3 Comments

Growing up as a Baptist kid I didn’t know anything about Lent.  In fact, in North Carolina, I didn’t know many Catholics, (or even Episcopalians).  All I knew was they practiced some strange liturgy (at least to me, in my small little world). Praise God as I grew older I was able to get a broader picture of the Body of Christ through the study of Church history. Most of us protestants think of Ash Wednesday and the Lenten season as a “Catholic” thing while, in reality, it was part of the early church’s consistent pattern of worship.  Our earliest known reference is that of Ireneus (who died in 202 A.D.).  What I’ve sought to do is strip the Lenten season of anything that is not biblical but maintain the biblical focus of prayer, repentance, and sacrifice.  I’ve heard many sermons on Christ’s instructions to pray when He says, “When you pray…” pray like this.  But He also says, “When you fast…” fast like this.  He didn’t says, “if” you fast. Jesus expected His followers to pray and, at times, fast as a regular part of their spiritual pattern of worship.  Could it be that we (in North America in particular) could learn a few things about giving up so much of what we want and dying to our selfish need for more?  I am certain that prayer and fasting is greatly needed among believers in such an affluent culture.

What many have written off as “weird” (ashes on the forehead, giving up certain foods, etc.) I’ve sought to recapture in its purest biblical sense.  It is true that Ash Wednesday or “Lent” are not in the Bible (of course, neither are Christmas Eve services, Good Friday services, Advent, and so much of what others of us would call “normal”). You don’t see “Easter Sunday” in the Bible either (because every Sunday is Resurrection Sunday for the believer).

“Lent” may not be in the Bible but seasons of sacrifice, confession, and repentance are.  In the church I grew up in we rushed to Easter Sunday without any preparation of the heart before God.  I’ve learned much from the larger Body of Christ as it relates to the spiritual disciplines solitude, prayer, and fasting. “Lent” of comes from the Middle English word “Lenten” which means “Spring”.  The Lenten or Easter Season is a focused time of confession and repentance from “Ash Wednesday” to Easter Sunday.  40 Days from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday (minus the Sundays leading up to Easter- because the early believers would not fast on Sundays).  Later many would go from Ash Wednesday to Maundy Thursday (40 days later).  Maundy comes from “mandatum”, meaning “mandate” or “command”.  Jesus said, “A new commandment” (mandatum nuevum) I give to you.”   So the Lenten season is a period of focused prayer and fasting (with special attention on confession, sacrifice, and repentance). Why 40 Days?  40 shows up throughout the Bible.  Moses, Elijah, and Jesus (Luke 4:1-2) all fasted for 40 days.

“Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Genesis 3:19

The ashes remind you of your mortality and of the need to repent of sin in your life.  It was common for Jews and early believers to mourn the loss of a loved one with “sackcloth and ashes”.  Ashes were also a sign of brokenness and repentance of sin.  Confession of sin is a private thing between you and God.  It is not something to be paraded around and seen by everyone but a private moment between you and your Savior.

Fasting is the act of the will through which the follower of Jesus puts forth spiritual control over the flesh (through sacrifice- not eating) with a view to a more personal and powerful experience with God in prayer. Fasting involves giving up but is much more about receiving.  You give up in order to receive.  You die in order to live.

Types of fasts:

Total fast (be careful and receive guidance)

Water only Prepare your body for it.  Hunger pangs will go away- first 2 days hardest.

Liquid only Juices- not milkshakes! (When you don’t eat you have much more time for prayer)

Eliminate certain foods No deserts, no caffeine, no junk food, Starbucks, etc… “Daniel fast”- healthy

Media fast NO television, NO movies, NO paper, NO internet, NO Facebook, NO video games, etc.

Multiple possibilities Be creative and specific-but a sacrifice- must cost you something

During a fast, when your earthly desires kick in, you turn to the Lord and you are reminded that He is more than enough to meet your every need.  It is a wonderful way to be drawn to the Lord and to overcome the desires of the flesh in many areas of your life.

“If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer.”  Psalm 66:18-19 What is David saying here?  I cannot harbor unconfessed sin or unresolved sin in my life.  Any Christian who desires to fully serve God and follow Him must attack sin from all fronts.  We cannot hold on to sin but release it and the first step is to confess it. To God first and then, to others.

“For me, to live is Christ and die is gain.” Philippians 1:21 To be alive to Christ and to live for Him means I must die to myself, my needs, my wants- continually.  “In the body” is where dying of Jesus is seen through my life and revealed to others.  It is, at the same time, the place where this life (the resurrection life) of Jesus is seen.  In the same passage he says, “so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in my body.”  My life then becomes a presentation of a story- the story of the passion of Christ.  I die to myself in order to reveal His life in my.  You see, you are called not only to tell the story of the Passion, but to LIVE it, experience it.  How?  By dying to self.  But the language used by Paul is a continual dying- the process of dying- you are continually dying.  To remind you of your mortality- your body is dying and to get you focused and busy on the eternal that does not die.  You see, death for Jesus was not the end- He lives. So, how can we position ourselves to move to this dying of self?  How can I be touched by God to go to deeper levels?  By confessing my sin to Him, by showing Him that He is all I want- all I need.  Fasting is that spiritual discipline that helps us live that out in unique ways.  It’s why Jesus says, “When you fast…” (Matthew 6:16)- it was an expected practice of the believer.  It’s a way to deny yourself of earthly things in order to focus on heavenly things.

“My food” Jesus said, “is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work.” John 4:34 During a fast He is your food.  The will of God that becomes your sustenance.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10) Let this be your prayer this Easter season.  As you journey with Jesus to the cross, this will be the most meaningful Easter you’ve ever known.

Birds and Bees

14 Feb , 2010 1 Comment

The “birds and bees” is an odd euphemism for human sexual relations and reproduction- namely because the way birds and bees create baby birds and bees is radically different from the way humans do.  Most children (and adults) probably know more about human reproduction than they do about birds or bees.  Of course, most of us know that birds lay eggs but you may not know that most birds are monogamous- they stay together to raise their little family. You may not know that bees actually start the process of making baby bees in mid-air (wow) and shortly thereafter, the male bee dies. Now, there’s an abstinence plan we have not considered.  Just say “no”… or else!

Hosea 4:6 says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” Perhaps, in no other area of life is this truer than in the area of gender, sex, and relationships. Throughout February we’re bringing much-needed truth to the topic.  Let’s start with some of the wonderful, God-given male/female differences:

He said, she said…

1. He is purpose-driven; she is heart-driven. Men are more driven than women to “get ‘er done”.  It’s why a boys’ soccer game will not stop if one of the guys goes down with an injury, (that’s an advantage)!  A girls’ game may not start again.  The feelings of the one matter more than the purpose of the game.

2. He is goal-oriented; she is feeling-oriented. Girls- ever had this happen to you?  You’re talking with a guy (husband, friend) and you’re just sharing your heart and he starts to offer solutions.  Men- she talks to get closer to her feelings not to get solutions (and besides, she doesn’t think you’re that smart). Girls talk to get to their feelings. This can be a problem because guys have a short attention span ‘cause he’s thinking, “Get to the point!” Fellas, that is the point.  Conversation is the point.

3. He operates specifically; she operates holistically. Men are segmented, women are connected. Men are like waffles, women are like spaghetti.  An example of this is shopping- guys are from Walmart; women are from Nordstrom.  Walmart is more of a hunt and is designed for the kill.  Nordstrom is an experience (they have a guy playing the piano in there)!

4. He needs admiration; she needs affection. Author John Eldridge noted that every guy is asking the question “Do I have what it takes?” Every girl is asking “Am I lovely?” Men tend to strive toward independence and women strive for relationships but men need relationships and women need to find their worth apart from any man.

Words to live by: Men want to hear: “That makes sense. Thank you. You’ve been so helpful.”  Women want to hear: “I understand. Tell me more.”  Try these pointers and watch your relationships thrive.

What’s Next is Now

31 Jan , 2010 No Comments

Every decision you make sets the course for the future.  The choices you make today are tied to every other decision you’ll ever make.  In a very real sense, the future is being played out today.  What’s next is now.  Jesus taught that if we want to live for Him it happens as we chose to follow Him every single day.

Then He said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Luke 9:23

Perhaps you’ve heard the story- in some form, of the Chicken who suggests to his friend the pig that they help provide breakfast for a friend- the Pig notes that, for the Chicken- only a contribution is required a chicken can simply lay an egg and then resume normal activities), while for the Pig a “total commitment”- a total sacrifice is needed (in order to make ham or bacon, the pig must be slaughtered).

Too many of us want to be the like the Chicken and we’ve decided that we will give our lives to Christ and follow Him; but on our terms, not His.  C.S. Lewis stated, “Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be, is moderately important.”

I know so many people who are almost committed to God.  A lot of people are almost sold out to Him, but not really.  Some people live their lives and then die, almost fully devoted to Him.  When Jesus says, “Follow me”, He is not asking for a moderate commitment.  Today is the day.  What are you holding back?  What’s next is now.

Martin Luther King, jr.

18 Jan , 2010 1 Comment

A fun twist on one of the greatest speeches of all time:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0F4iXEzOqY&feature=player_embedded#]