Livestong!

Ephesians 6:10 "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might." If you might allow me to paraphrase... Paul was simply saying, "LIVESTRONG!" Livestrong against sin! Livestrong against temptation! Livestrong against the Devil! Livestrong against addiction! JUST LIVESTRONG! The only way to do that though is through the omnipotent power of Christ!

Later in this chapter Paul gives us the armor necessary to join the fight against Satan and his demonic forces...

LIVESTRONG and Join the fight.

-R

That Time of Year Again... Joys For Toys!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, RU FAMILY!

You know, for many of us there is NOTHING more merry than this time of year! We celebrate the birth of our humble servant King, family, friends, lights, trees, and gifts... Smiles abound, laughter and giggles fill the chilled December air. Aromas of pine, and fireplaces, are mingled with Christmas dinner. What a happy, joyous Season!

That is, of course, unless you are the child of a parent whose life is ravaged by some form of crippling, and debilitating addiction. If you were that child your Christmas would be starkly different! Instead of constant loved ones filing into your living room you might witness lust-filled men filing into your mother's bedroom so that she can feed her insatiable addictions. Joy and smiles replaced by longing. You might not see a tree, but rather empty bottles and prescription cases strewn about. No, sweetness of pine, but rather the dank stench of stale cigarettes, and burned up crack, crank, and smack... No Jesus! Only demons in this house! The only thing you would share this time of year with the rest of the world is the chill that's in the air; but for you that chill is a deep freeze...

These scenes are best not thought about by those of us who will enjoy the splendor of the Season... For if we think about them we MUST do something about them! We MUST do what little we can to bring some joy to some suffering child this Christmas! It is not the child's fault for the choices and mistakes of the addicted parents, yet all suffer!!! There truly are some "innocent victims"!

Please consider what YOU might do to bring joy by providing a toy or a monetary gift this Season to Reformers Unanimous Chapter #520. ONE HUNDRED PERCENT of proceeds collected will be handed out to needy families during this most joyous of seasons!

Merry Christmas,

-Richard

During This Morning's Work-out...

As I continue meditating upon the fact that everything that we do is "spiritual" and for the glory of God I thought about this.

You know we ALL have these sins, fronts, and junk that make-up our "outer man". However, if you've trusted Christ, as I have, we also have an "inner man" which is the Spirit of God... One-third of the God-head resides inside of me. As I was lifting this morning the Lord laid on my heart that if we could do spiritually the things that we do physically to look better we would be a whole lot more loving, joyous, and peaceable.

Seriously, I know that below my physical body are muscle groups that when exercised, coupled with sacrifices being made in calorie intake, and fatty food consumption begin to gain strength and what was once hidden away begins to gain strength and becomes evidenced on the outside of the physical body.

The same is true spiritually. We have this amazing all-powerful "inner man" that resides just below the surface of the "outer man". When we begin to exercise (as Paul exhorts us to) the "inner man" in prayer, Bible reading, memorization, meditation, self-sacrifice, and God's instruction those things that were once hidden by years of bad habits, addictions, and sins are now becoming more evident and are being seen where once sin was all that could be viewed.

Continue to exercise your entire life in holiness... Remembering that ALL things are "spiritual" and that we are commanded by God to be Holy as He is holy. And my friends... THAT'S HOLY!

From my heart,

-R

Hey, Guys, Tonight Is Our Night...

Fellas, do not forget that tonight at 6:30 we will be meeting at Buffalo Wild Wings (BW3) in Lewisville for a night of wings, fun, and fellowship.

I would love to see a good turn-out tonight! I have been standing idly by as Satan is picking off some of our friends, and church-members. Whether it is through addiction, sexual sin, improper priorities, job loss, or a host of other issues the Body of Christ is hurting. The truth is, as men we often want help, and friendships but find ourselves either to proud or to shamed to asked for it.

Well, I am standing by no more! I am not waiting for men to admit what I already know, and I am certainly not waiting for the Devil to claim one more life, marriage, family, or career!

So, tonight we begin... Meeting. Sharing. Caring. Bearing. Daring to be the men that God has called each of us to be!

Avail Yourself This Week...

The power of the Reformers Unanimous program and the Lifechangers Group is the God of the curriculum of Reformers Unanimous. The only great thing about either one of these great entities is the fact that they both point to the supernatural power of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The RU curriculum does such a great job of getting our eyes off of ourselves and our problems and putting them on the Lord Jesus Christ. This week let me encourage you to avail yourself to these great tools!

During this Friday's "Third Talk" we will continue our teaching from chapter number 6 in our text book, "Nevertheless I Live: Living Freely In A Bound World". May I ask and encourage you to read this chapter in its entirety this week so that you will come with a prepared heart to receive what God would have for you to get.

Blessings,

-R

RU Awake...

RU Awake is something that due to my schedule and travel I have gotten away from promoting, pushing, and even attending this great morning Bible study and fellowship opportunity. Well, beginning this Thursday morning at 6 a.m. that will all change! I am re-committing myself to attend these meetings and I would ask that you do the same!

There is nothing better to start your day than fellowship, the Word, and good Starbucks coffee!

We meet every Thursday morning at the Starbucks location on FM3040 at the intersection of Morriss and Gerault.

Mike Z. (the Journeyman) leads this group and he is phenomenal... Let's get out and support him!

Another Lesson From the Gym...

I have been several months in the gym now... I am an observer of people, and I have been noticing something in others that I hate! And the reason that I hate it is because I absolutely see it in myself.

Here it is... People come to the gym (and to God) wanting to better themselves, but being fairly good in some aspects, and completely weak in others... Instead of strenthening our weaknesses we do the less difficult thing which is to accentuate our positives...

Let me illustrate... I am weak in my legs, and don't enjoy cardio, but truly enjoy a good upper bash workout. Always have!

The point here is this... So many of us have gotten "good" in one facet of our "spirituality" and we are anemic in all other areas... Some folk are great "church attenders" but lousy Christians... Others are prayer warriors, but fail to open the Scriptures... Know what I mean?!

I won't tell you where I stand and where I fall, but this much I know... Today I am asking God to reveal to me my weaknesses so that I may exercise them unto godliness.

I'm just sayin',

-R