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Walking in the Spirit

We do not have to look too far to see people who are being led around by their desires. Whether it is sex, cars, clothes, success, or status we are told that our identity needs to be wrapped up in these items. Thus, they become our desires and we will stop at nothing to accumulate as many of these “things” as possible. We see this played out over and over in the news and even possibly in our own…

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#abiding #Manhood #Men&039;s Issues #righteous living #Spirit #Thrival Man

Devouring One Another

After the completion of two political conventions and in the midst of an election year, it appears everyone has an opinion. Which is fine. Everyone is entitled to their own view, but where we have fallen so far, and hard, over the past few years is our vile hatred and negativity which is being spewed as rapidly as possible.

We have become a shoot first ask questions later culture who are…

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Do You Know Your Neighbor?

Loving your neighbor is challenging even under normal circumstances. Yet, in a time where people seem to be more on edge and quick to anger, loving your neighbor can be more of a challenge. Especially when we go beyond our neighborhoods.

I am continuing a dive into Galatians 5 where Paul talks about the fruit of the Spirit. This week we are looking at Galatians 5:14 where Paul reiterates the…

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Not Having to Defend Our Actions

Over the past few months I have had the privilege to talk with adults, young adults, and youth about what they are currently seeing around them. Across all age groups the message is coming through, that people are just a little on edge. The added stress of restrictions, social distancing, masks, riots, social unrest, and political division is taking its toll on everyone.

We see first hand…

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Countering an Evolving Definition

In early March I spent time researching the top 10 issues which affect men and planned on spending time writing about those issues. Little did I know at the time how much would change only a week later.

I recently spent some time reflecting upon those issues like anger, anxiety, fatherhood, marriage, pornography, and career. While these issues still persist in our society the weight upon…

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A Life of Fortitude

I spent the week with my nose in the book of Daniel preparing for a message this weekend. While I have read through this book a dozen times, reading it through the lens of Covid, quarantine, protest, riots, angry mobs, and political unrest gave me a very different perspective.

The story of Daniel is mostly overshadowed by his time in a den with a bunch of lions. Unfortunately, because of this…

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Dealing With Our Anger

Last week we began the discussion of attempting to understand our anger. Where does it come from, why do we respond the way we do, and understanding Jesus’ anger in the scripture. Since we now have a foundational understanding of our anger, we need to look at attempting to deal with it appropriately.

A Biblical Perspective

The Bible is not short on passages to explain how we should act when…

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Understanding Our Anger

Anger is one of the top ten issues men deal with in the course of their regular lives. And why not, when we think about the normal challenges in daily life we can probably all agree that everyone gets angry every once in a while. Especially at the guy who is cutting into your lane on your way to work. When we add on top of the daily issues the quarantine, job instability, riots, protest, negative…

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Perfecting the Practice of Joy

Joy can be a difficult concept to achieve even in good times, let alone during disrupting times. Which is why I feel, at times, joy is some elusive emotion or thought which is just outside my reach. Yet, feels like something we can use a whole lot more of during these times.

Definition of Joy

First off, let’s decide on how we really define joy? The dictionary defines joy as “the emotion of…

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It is Well - Part 2

It is Well – Part 2

Last week I mentioned my struggle in even listening to the song “It is well.” Through my own struggles and trials, I did not feel that my soul was well. God felt far away in the midst of my turmoil. My prayers felt like they fell flat and I was very spiritually isolated. In the midst of these challenges I started digging deeper into the meaning of this song written almost 150 years ago by Horatio…

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It Is Well - Part 1

It Is Well – Part 1

“It is Well With My Soul” is a popular hymn, written in 1873, which has been sung for generations. But honestly, a statement I had difficult speaking or singing for the past few years. With so much of life seemingly working against me, it was difficult to sit and state “it is well.” So, I took some time to dig into the lyrics itself to see what I could learn from the song, the story, and the man…

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How To Recover Your Soul in Disruptive Times?

I have to admit I am kind of tired.

I was having one of those really good days this past week. Those days were you truly realized how blessed you are, regardless of what is going on around you. Then I sat on a call with the county health department where they discussed more restrictions they were going to implement in the country. This took all the wind out of my sails.

These new changes…

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Changing the Heart of Man

I struggle to write this! With the actions, protests, and violence of the last week I honestly do not know where to being or how to put my thoughts into words. I am frustrated, confused, and bewildered at how we have complicated a simple issue. An issue of love!

First off, we have to come to understand that we are all broken sinners. None of us has a corner on truth and righteousness apart…

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The Gift of Community

You truly do not know what you have until it is gone.

When the “stay at home” orders first came through I know I was too distracted to truly understand the ramifications of how this would play out. We jumped right in getting our high schoolers setup for doing school at home. We were also in the middle of a move and job loss and the complications both of these brought in the midst of a…

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Are You Awake?

I have written in the past about the importance of men being on guard. Specifically, in the points of realizing the influence this culture and world has upon them, their wives, and children. Then standing firm in the gap in order to have the ability to ruthlessly pursue Christ above all other issues, options, or distractions.

But there is another area men need to be on guard, and this in the…

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Thriving in Disruption

I spoke a few weeks ago, in our service, about how disrupting life has been lately (while sitting in an empty sanctuary staring into a camera). Whether it is staying home from work, losing your job, homeschooling your kids, not being able to go see friends, or travel. Our lives have all been disrupting in one way or another. Life is not what it used to be.

But when we look through the Bible…

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More Than Conquerors

Fear appears to be an emotion which is begin peddled in abundance lately. Whether it be about Covid-19, being contagious, the economy, job loss, or what the future holds. While the arguments for each of these categories can be persuasive, what we have to come to understand is that they are purely worldly arguments.

For if we put our trust and faith in this world, then we will always have…

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#Covid-19 #Eric Eaton #fear #Manhood #Men&039;s Issues #Thrival Man #Thrive

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