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Boys Waiting for the Bus

Tom Gray — Tue, 22 May 2012 15:39:40 GMT

The other day as I drove by the corner near our house where the school bus picks up kids, I witnessed a poignant sight. It was the time for the middle school pick up. Five middle school boys were there at the bus stop. I caught a glimpse of the struggle of manhood in these boys right before my eyes.

The five boys carefully stood a few feet away from each other. Five isolated individuals having absolutely no interaction with each other, alone, waiting for the bus, "together". Each boy was too insecure to crack open his shell and launch into interacting with the other boys. However, in poignant irony, each boy stood with such a confident posture/pose that each almost came across as cocky.

They presented themselves as boys who were too cool to talk to one another, when the reality, I believe, is that they were actually too insecure to talk to one another.

This classic middle-school object lesson, unfortunately, is lived out in men's lives every day. Hopefully, we've all matured enough to recognize the juvenile, silly dynamics these boys were in bondage to that morning. I want to challenge us to make sure we're not in bondage to the same dynamics, only the slightly more sophisticated/manly versions of them.

It is a great temptation for every man to pose/posture as cool (or the more sophisticated man versions of that: self-sufficient, successful, accomplished). We are tempted to hide behind that facade, that image. We hide our sense of insecurity, our fears of inadequacy behind the shell we present to the world. We're around other people, isolated and alone.

If the boys at the bus stop would break their chains, be genuine, and reach out to the other boys, they all might have a blast together. They might end up being a great source of strength and joy to each other. Until one or more of them decides to be vulnerable and transparent, they remain in bondage to their insecurities, even while looking secure. Tragic, huh?

Truth truly frees! What levels of strength and joy might you be tragically missing because you're posing and hiding. Men, take the leap! Risk it! Be real and true, authentic and genuine! Be this with your wife, with your children, with the Lord, with the others/friends God has put in your path. Watch what strength and joy rises! Don't be one of the boys waiting on the bus!

Robbing God?

Tom Gray — Thu, 03 May 2012 20:16:04 GMT

Caveat: I write this for me, if you get something out of it fine J!

We are all familiar with God’s words regarding our stewardship of His money. When we’re not faithful to at least tithe, He says we’re robbing Him (Mal. 3:8-9)

There aren’t any verses specifically telling us we’re robbing Him when we’re unfaithful with the management of other resources He’s given us. My question for us today is, even though there aren’t specific verses saying so, are we not equally guilty of robbing God when we prove to be unfaithful stewards of other precious gifts He’s given us?

When we’re confronted as “robbers”, it convicts us to change our financial practices. Maybe it would help us to think of ourselves as “robbers” in other areas of stewardship as well.

Specifically, let us think about our prayer lives. We’ve heard the saying, “When we work, we work; when we pray, God works”. We may believe that in theory, but as highly competent and professional people, we are too often guilty of neglecting our prayer stewardship, and simply doing God’s work ourselves.

Prayer is about communion, relationship, and fellowship with God. We tell unbelievers all the time that God desires to have a relationship with them. Do we not believe He wants a relationship with us? Could it be we are robbing Him, and ourselves, of the thing He desires most, quality time (relationship) with us?

Prayer is the key to seeing God’s power unleashed on earth. It is the key to super-natural fruitfulness. Could it be we’re robbing the world from experiencing the revival-stirring, spiritual-awakening outpouring of God because of our prayerlessness? When we lead and work in our own strength instead of dependent prayerfulness, we’ve snuck into the treasure vault of heaven under the cover of night, stolen the hope diamond of God’s power, and replaced it with a cubic zirconium copy. We’re thieves.

Imagine what the ministers of our church could do if everyone of our church members faithfully tithed on their income. The financial resources unleashed for the Kingdom would be awe-inspiring. We can’t control that, but . . .

Imagine what would happen if a few of us prayed like Jesus did? That we can control. And, I believe, the results would be far more awe-inspiring than the release of financial resources for the Kingdom.

I leave us with a couple of challenges and a meditation:

1. Study and emulate the prayer-life of Jesus. Do you believe it is He, through the Holy Spirit, Who lives in you? If so, why would we think He would want to pray any differently through us than He did when He walked as one of us?

2. Tithe your time in prayer. As a way to boost you in the right direction, or as a way of life, give a tenth of your time (for a week, a month, whatever you decide) in prayer. (Gross or net J? - either) See what happens. In the same spirit of Malachi 3, when God says, regarding our financial tithing, “test Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “and see if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows” (v.10), let us test Him to see what happens if we offer Him the tithe of our time in prayer.

3. Meditate on these verses. Ask God to help us to believe and respond in faith to His Word.

James 4:2b “You do not have because you do not ask.”

1 Thessalonians 5:17 “pray without ceasing”

John 14:12-14 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”

Mark 11:22-24 “Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.”

James 5:16 “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much”

Two Blessings

Tom Gray — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 15:31:23 GMT

Two things to share that I believe will bless you:

1. Here is the link to David Benzel's talk at our last 6:13 - "Growing Champions for Life" - the video quality is poor, b/c we only had one stationary camera, and he came down off of the stage moving in and out of good lighting, but . . . the audio is great and the content superb. Enjoy!

David Benzel - 6:13

2. I'd love to have you join me in The Locker Room tomorrow morning from 6:30 - 7:30 - Student Center South. We're studying "How to Successfully Handle the Pressures Men Face". I hope I see you there.

Super Opportunity After Easter

Tom Gray — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 17:15:16 GMT

Men

I hope your heart is ready to worship the risen Christ this Sunday. I hope you have your plans to spend quality time with your family. If you're like me it will involve plenty of Master's coverage.

As you're settling in for this weekend, I want to invite you to reserve your place at a great event next week, April 12th. The deadline for the registration is Tuesday night, the 10th at midnight (it's been extended from the 8th).

Here's the essence and heart of the opportunity we have.

It seems as though I’ve always participated in sports. And, even before I was a dad, I envisioned doing sports with my children.

We know sports can train you for life, but even as a Christian man I have a tough time keeping my children’s sports performance in proper perspective. I find it so difficult to guide them toward reaching their potential while not driving them to hate the sport or me or both.

This is exactly why we have David Benzel coming to our next 6:13 on April 12th. His talk that night is entitled “Creating Confident Kids in a Critical World”. I believe his talk with have application for all dads, granddads and coaches!

It’s going to be a powerful program, which I am personally looking forward to.

You can familiarize yourself with David, his qualifications and his program at Growing Champions For Life

With the end of Spring Break and Easter between now and the registration deadline, it will be easy to miss it. So, please go to our registration page and reserve your spot right now. Dinner, starting at 6:13 p.m., requires registration and costs $10. The program beginning at 7:15 p.m. is free. Online Registration

While you’re registering, could you think of any other dads, granddads or coaches who’d get a lot out of this night also? I know it will be a great night. I hope you’ll come and bring someone with you as well.

Growing together,

Tom Gray

"Terror Gripped the Entire Church"

Tom Gray — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 15:19:50 GMT

When I recently read about terror filling a church, I was deeply troubled.

I hadn't just read about a church in Iraq, Egypt, Pakistan or India being attacked by gun or bomb-wielding terrorists. I hadn't just read a newspaper headline. What was more troubling than any of those scenarios was that I read the account in the Bible: Acts 5:11 to be specific. Most troubling of all was the source of the terror in the Jerusalem church. It was God, the Holy Spirit.

When I was in college I read a book called "Fireseeds of Spiritual Awakening" which taught me about the great awakenings our country has experienced historically. The book also challenged me to live my life as a seed for a future spiritual awakening in our land. Since then I have consistently prayed and organized/challenged others to join me in praying for a powerful awakening/revival in our land.

I've always envisioned that coming awakening/revival in Billy Graham Crusade kinds of images where we see thousands of people accepting God's grace and forgiveness and beginning to live their lives sincerely following Him by faith. Even though I know I've read Acts 5 many times before, The Living Bible version (1971) I was using the other night rocked me in a troubling and good way. It translated the passage "terror gripped the entire church", which very accurately captures the reality of the situation in the Jerusalem church when God killed Ananias and Sapphira instantly for lying to the Holy Spirit by lying to the church.

What if all these years I've been praying for revival/awakening, I've actually been praying for God to terrorize us, not fill stadiums with people responding to altar calls?

What if the first step to revival and awakening in our land is for a holy fear to fall upon Christians/the church? If you've been in church for any significant part of your life you've heard the term "holy fear" enough that it has become vanilla to you. The truth of holy fear could be better captured by using the terms "utter terror".

Imagine what would happen this Sunday at church if God instantly killed everyone who told a lie that morning. What would happen in the hearts, minds, attitudes, behaviors, convictions, habits, and practices of everyone who miraculously survived? (can we say "Revival"?) The life-altering responses to such terror-inducing acts of God would change a lot of people. A lot of change would take place, wouldn't it? Maybe that would be the start of the kind of revival and awakening I've been praying for, more than the sweet sunset stadium scenes I've always envisioned.

If that's true, do you still want true revival and awakening to come?

Maybe we can and should begin by asking God to give us a healthy dose of godly fear. Will you ask God to thoroughly change everything in you that would change if hundreds dropped dead this Sunday at church?

When revival happens "in here", then awakening has a chance of happening "out there". Are you willing to be revived?

Pressure

Tom Gray — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 13:58:49 GMT

From Pat Morley's great book, "Man in the Mirror": "Has anybody ever won the rat race? . . . The proverbial questions of the rat race - 'What's it all about?' and 'Is this all there is?' - have tortured us all at one time or another. No matter how successful we become, these questions always lurk in the shadows, just waiting to pounce on us when life's inevitable problems overtake us. We strain to keep it all together, but the pressure is often like a tight band around our chest. Sometimes, the gravity of our debts and duties weighs us down so much that our interior posture is in a slump - even if we fake it and stand tall to the world."

Living under any pressure these days?

Join me over the next 8 Friday mornings (except April 6th, Spring Break) in The Locker Room: 6:30 - 7:30, Student Center South. We are going to explore biblical perspectives and remedies for the pressures men face.

"There's No Way"

Tom Gray — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 12:35:20 GMT

Following Jesus is the path to the manliest adventure that exists. It's not for wimps! When fully understood and experienced, this relationship with Jesus leads us to a front row encounter with God's miraculous power.

God came to Abraham decades after he would have been biologically able to have children, and decades after his already barren wife would have been conceivably able to conceive, and invites him to trust Him for an unbelievable adventure. God tells him He's going to make him the father of many nations. "There's No Way!"

And yet Abraham took Him up on it, "in hope against hope he believed." Romans 4:18

What are you facing today that seems hopeless to change or overcome? Could it simply be presenting an opportunity for you to trust God to do what only He can in your life.

Abraham knew one thing about God. He "gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist." Romans 4:17 The God who spoke the universe into existence can do anything. There is nothing impossible for Him. When all seems hopeless, in Christ there is hope. The circumstances and challenges that make us say, "There's no way!" are His specialties.

The invitation to the trust walk with Jesus, is an invitation to see Him pull off the impossible in and around our lives. Will you give your hopeless situations to Him and trust Him and His Word? Abraham's faith led him to be "fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform." Romans 4:21 Trust Him today! Give Him your cares! Follow what He's leading you to do, and watch what He does. Watch your faith grow and your joy flow.

Teach What You Know

Tom Gray — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:08:42 GMT

One of our biggest hold ups about leading our families spiritually is the sense that we don't know enough. Men hate to be exposed as inadequate for any task. We will avoid things to keep from being seen as inadequate. Satan uses this against us very effectively. He leverages our tendency, to convince us that we don't know enough or aren't "expert" enough to serve as the spiritual leaders, shepherds, mentors of our families. Consequently, great damage is done to us and our families as we abdicate our responsibility to lead.

A man named Apollos serves as a great example which we should follow. We find a great account of his activity in Acts 18:24-28 (read the passage for yourself). He was effectively teaching about Jesus, though his knowledge was limited. God was using him powerfully. He taught what he knew! Then, through Aquila and Priscilla, God taught him more. He learned and then had the more complete understanding of the gospel to teach from that point forward. Acts 18:27 says about him, "he was a great help to those who by grace had believed." You and I will also prove to be a great help to those we're called to lead, if we'll start leading and teaching right now.

If you only know one truth or scriptural principle, share it with, teach it to and model it for your family. You can be sure God will be eager to teach more to you! Don't buy the lie that you have to have it all together or be some kind of expert to lead your family spiritually. Don't abdicate your responsibility. God is with you. Your family needs you. Teach what you know.

An Invitation to Inspiration

Tom Gray — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:54:41 GMT

Guys - please take two and a half minutes to view my invitation to you - to a special night out which I believe will be a great blessing to you and yours.

Tom's Video Invitation

This next link will get you straight to the event registration page.

6:13 Registration

Finally, just in case you're interested - if you'd like to see a preview of Joe Kissack, our speaker, you can see him at this link

Joe Kissack - our speaker

But she. . .

Tom Gray — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 20:08:28 GMT

These are two of the most unproductive words a man could ever utter. They can actually exacerbate a bad situation.

The first and most important step a man has to take to be the leader in his home as God wants him to be, is to focus on changing himself, not his wife. The irony is that the only positive way to influence change in our wives is to realize change in ourselves.

I once spent many hours counseling a man going through major marriage problems. When I challenged him toward some God-ward changes he needed to make, he kept wanting to redirect the conversation toward her issues with "But she . . . " I don't know what he hoped I would do for him, but his consuming focus was on the countless ways she was at fault for their struggles. She was demeaning, nagging, unrelenting. She didn't try to understand him. She had ridiculously unrealistic expectations of him. She was hypocritical and hyper-critical - yada yada yada.

His focus on her issues didn't change her. He didn't change (which was their hope and he couldn't see it at the time). Their children are deeply wounded and they are miserably divorced today.

Guys, let's completely drop "but she"from our vocabulary and from our mindset, it's counterproductive.

One time Peter asked Jesus about John “Lord, what about him?” and Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” (John 21:21-22)

Your wife is human, a work in progress still, and yes, she may have a long long way to go, hear Jesus say to you today, "what is that to you? You must follow me."

I focus on me to change and grow

I focus on her to serve and know

Bold Moves

Tom Gray — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 17:19:19 GMT

As the days speed forward, my sense of urgency for the state of our nation and world continues to rise. I am increasingly convinced the day has come for men of God to be bold in their commitments to grow in their faith, pray for revival and awakening, and witness to the world ambitiously about the grace and forgiveness of God through Jesus Christ.

To that end, I invite you to start this year making a bold move with me. Come join me on our mission trip to Honduras, February 8-12. The registration deadline is 9 days from now, January 15th. Below are the instructions for how to register.

Whether you've never been on a foreign mission trip before or not, this will serve as an unprecedented time of personal growth in Christ and fruitfulness for Christ. This is a multi-faceted trip from light construction to evangelism and other significant serving opportunities. Though the Men's Ministry is sponsoring it, it is open to women as well.

Take a few days off from work, make the financial investment and come! We'll be forever changed and will forever, in His strength, change the lives of others.

For Him!!

Tom

1. Visit www.johnsonferry.org

2. Click Mission tab (top)

3. Click “Register for a 2012 Mission Trip” (top right) – this will send you to JF Access

4. View mission trips or Click “Register for a Mission Trip” (top right)

5. If you are not logged into your JF access account, you will be asked to login or create an id/password.

6. Verify personal data (especially Birth Date). If you are traveling internationally, please update passport information. Only Global Ministries staff will have access to view this information for ticketing purposes. Click Submit when verification complete.

7. Select appropriate mission trip from the drop down list and complete registration.

8. Enter payment information for trip deposit.

9. Select Finish to complete registration.

Conspicuous

Tom Gray — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 18:00:29 GMT

The following chunk of scripture is full of rich meat and potatoes for our souls. I encourage you to chew on it awhile, but I want to draw your attention to two phrases for this entry. Notice those highlighted below. "As a bridegroom adorns . . ." and "as a bride adorns".

When a groom and bride dress for their wedding, in any culture, they stand out from the norm. They are conspicuous. Sometimes when I'm around the church building on a Saturday, I'll see a groom and his groomsmen milling around waiting for the ceremony to begin. They are conspicuous. Immediately I know who they are, why they're here, and what they're involved with.

To those of you my brothers whom God has saved, when He shed His blood for you and gave you salvation and righteousness, He intended those garments to be as conspicuous as wedding garments. Are they? I love Tim Tebow (why he didn't go to Vanderbilt is beyond me, but . . .) because He is a great demonstration of living conspicuous. Are you? Are we? We are supposed to be. We can, without being obnoxious. As Christmas approaches and a new year quickly dawns, put on your wedding clothes so all know who you are, why you're here and who you belong to. It's time for His people to live conspicuous.

Isaiah 61:9-11 says about followers of God, "Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the LORD has blessed.” ¹⁰ I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. ¹¹ For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations."

Join Me On Mission Liberation

Tom Gray — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 14:56:39 GMT

    This Summer I had the privilege to go to Bratislava, Czech Republic. While there, I came accross this amazing statue. It clearly commemorates the struggle the Czech people endured while subjugated under totalitarian communist rule. The inscriptions loosely translated mean "he who dies in the fight for freedom does not die", and "after the battle, fredom does not die". What a powerful truth the Czech people have embodied over the last few decades. Freedom has prevailed there.
    This truth experienced in the political and economic realms by the Czechs is paralelled even more powerfully in the spiritual realm. The freedom the gospel of Jesus Christ gives cannot be stopped. The freedom force of the saving grace of God transforms and liberates oppressed souls everywhere it is proclaimed.
    In this sense, every Christian man is a freedom fighter: serving, sacrificing, demonstrating, and speaking the gospel of freedom. The scriptures say, 2 Corinthians 3:17 "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." Galatians 5:1 "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."
    I'm leading a special liberation mission October 12-16 to the Dominican Republic. We are going to live and speak the gospel to many people there. The force of freedom will surge powerfully in and through us as we serve alongside Dominican believers reaching those who are today spiritually subjugated by the power of sin. I ask you to join me. The registration deadline for the special current price is tomorrow night, September the 8th. Please click on the below link and register right away. I believe it will be the trip of a lifetime.

Dominican Mission Trip Registration

Our Freedom Matters

Tom Gray — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 15:20:22 GMT

Men

I'm sending you a link to a powerful talk about the American spirit. I believe Christ-like character traits lived out extraordinarily through the lives of our citizens, often Christ-following citizens, are most responsible for American Exceptionalsim.

Enjoy this short speech. Listen for important truths about communication. This has application to our marriages, our parenting, our working and out witnessing. Listen for the commitment to the value of every individual human life - a hallmark of the judeo-Christian foundation of the United States in jeopardy today. Listen to the willingness of men to sacrifice themselves for others, also at the core of Christ-likeness.

Enjoy, and may we be inspired to live and influence for Christ and the freedom which honors His creative design lodged deep in every human heart.

Brig. Gen. Steve Ritchie

Call to Me

Tom Gray — Fri, 13 May 2011 15:13:00 GMT

God invites us in Jeremiah 33:3: "Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know."

C.S. Lewis once wrote, "If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling around with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

Like in Lewis' quote, Jeremiah 33:3 offers us the promise of grandeur. God will show us great and mighty things which we do not know. When God says that, He means "great and mighty things" by His definitions of "great and mighty." He has promised to unleash His supernatural wonder and power in, around and through us, in our day, in our world. When He says, "which you do not know," He means outpourings of His Spirit which will blow our minds. He will answer our prayers with bigger and better answers than we even have the imagination to know to ask for.

The one thing He requires of us to receive these unfathomable blessings from Him is, "Call to Me." The New Testament tells us we have not because we ask not (James 4:2). Why is getting people to pray the hardest thing to pull off in Christianity?

I want to challenge you:

* not to have too weak a desire for the great things of God

* not to be half-hearted creatures

* not to be like ignorant children content to make mud pies

Let's pray! God may indeed grant a great outpouring of His Spirit in our community, in our day. Let us come together and ask Him for revival and awakening!

Here are the details of a great opportunity for us to come together and seek Him. I hope you will join me tomorrow morning.

What? Pancakes & Prayer-Walking or Prayer-Driving (your choice)

When? THIS Saturday, May 14

Where? Room 108 (formerly The Net) just inside north covered drive-under

Time: 8:00 -10:00 a.m.

Eat: Pancake Breakfast and coffee

Cost: No charge

Road assignments with maps and prayer guides will be ready for you. Prayer-walk or prayer-drive it if it's raining. Already on a fire team? Go out with your team. Not on a Fire Team? Come and we'll get you partnered with other guys. Power in numbers. We'll be done by 10:00.

Please join me this Saturday for Pancakes and Prayer, and let's Call to Him on behalf of our community!

6:13 from 4-14

Tom Gray — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 14:08:00 GMT

Men

To watch Bryant's talk from our latest 6:13, click the link below

6:13 from 4-14

Revolutionaries? Go on Mission

Tom Gray — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 02:10:00 GMT

Men

another inspiring installment of what your life could be like - yes, you are called to be a revolutionary in this dark and decaying world which so desperately needs life and life more abundant

enjoy

click the link, less than 5 minutes

Men on Mission - Meet Revolutionaries

What is God Looking For in a Man?

Tom Gray — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 13:26:00 GMT

In First Samuel 16, verse 7, the Bible says, "But the LORD said to Samuel, 'Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.'"

In this verse we have a powerful insight showing that God evaluates us very differently than we tend to evaluate ourselves or each other. When comparing King Saul with anointed David, we catch a critical perspective which ought to shape our lives as men.

This Thursday night at our 6:13 program, we have the privilege of having our Senior Pastor, Bryant Wright, teach us from this powerful passage. I know our time together Thursday night will be time well-invested in our lives, our families and our futures.

Please join us at 6:13 for dinner in the Fellowship Hall - the cost is $8 and you may register at this link - 6:13 Online Registration

Or you may join us only for the program in the Student Center North from 7:15-8:30 - no registration required, no cost.

Me? A Revolutionary?

Tom Gray — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 13:41:00 GMT

If I could pull off only one thing as a minister to men, it would be this: to help men see themselves as revolutionaries.

Jesus said, "You are the salt of the earth" (Matthew 5:13) and "You are the light of the world" (Matthew 5:14). By their very nature, salt and light change every environment they come into. They influence significantly wherever they go. That's who you are designed to be. Embrace your identity and role in this world as that agent of change and influence.

You're on a mission to change things with the love, truth, power and presence of God through you. Your family, work environment, neighborhood, country club, sports league, the world, whatever - when you are there, you're there as a revolutionary.

To illustrate and inspire, I like to highlight ordinary men, young or old who are living as revolutionaries. At 6:13 we typically include a "Meet a Revolutionary" segment. The link below is to the segment we showed at the last 6:13. If you'll take the time (it's just over 9 minutes), I trust you'll be inspired to live as salt and light.

Enjoy!

http://vimeo.com/20807203

Mercy!!

Tom Gray — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 17:38:00 GMT

Of the many pictures and images that are tearing my heart this week, this one stands out. Men, please! - as we drive around this week in our nice cars, and go to sleep in our nice houses, let us never forget that we are but dust, completely dependent on the mercy of God every moment of every day. Let us cry out for his mercy every day for ourselves, our families, and our world.

Psalm 103:14-16 "For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust. As for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. When the wind has passed over it, it is no more, and its place acknowledges it no longer."

Let us never allow ourselves to fall under the delusion of self-sufficiency, thinking we can provide for ourselves in our own strength. The cities we've built could all be rubble tomorrow. Let's live deliberately dependent before circumstances rudely remind us of our utter dependance!