The Danger of ANGER!!! Follow the Leader: Proverbs 19:11, 19, 20:3 The Man Card Study

Proverbs 19:11, 19 20:3

A man’s discretion makes him slow to anger,
And it is his glory to overlook a transgression.

A man of great anger will bear the penalty,
For if you rescue him, you will only have to do it again.

Keeping away from strife is an honor for a man,
But any fool will quarrel.


-Where does your mind go when you read this?
-What is the key word here?
-Define anger using only one sentence.
-What is our greatest barrier to living this out?

Share your answers and ask some of your own questions! Come visit me at facebook.com/follow2lead

You gotta work every day. But work SUCKS!!! Follow the Leader: Genesis 3:17-19 The Man Card Study

Genesis 3:17-19

Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’;
Cursed is the ground because of you;
In toil you will eat of it
All the days of your life.
“Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you;
And you will eat the plants of the field;
By the sweat of your face
You will eat bread,
Till you return to the ground,
Because from it you were taken;
For you are dust,
And to dust you shall return.”

-What's one key word here?
-How important is this? Why?
-Does this mean work is a bad thing? Explain.
-How does this change our perspective for tomorrow?

Throw your answers down below and come say hi at facebook.com/follow2lead

Don't be LAZY! Follow the Leader: Proverbs 19:24, 20:4, 11, 13 The Man Card Study

Proverbs 19:24, 20:4, 11, 13

The sluggard buries his hand in the dish,
But will not even bring it back to his mouth.

The sluggard does not plow after the autumn,
So he begs during the harvest and has nothing.

It is by his deeds that a lad distinguishes himself
If his conduct is pure and right.

Do not love sleep, or you will become poor;
Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with food.

-How do you feel about these verses?
-What are some examples of these?
-How important is this?
-What are we going to do differently tomorrow?

Share your answers with me and come say hi at facebook.com/follow2lead

Are we guilty from BIRTH?! Follow the Leader: Ezekiel 18:4, 19-20 The Man Card Study

Ezekiel 18:4, 19-20
“Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die.

“Yet you say, ‘Why should the son not bear the punishment for the father’s iniquity?’ When the son has practiced justice and righteousness and has observed all My statutes and done them, he shall surely live.
“The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father’s iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son’s iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.

-What comes to mind as you read this?
-What's the main idea?
-How does a father's sin still affect his children?
-What does this mean for us right now?

Tell me what you think! Thanks for your answers and comments! Ask me anything!
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What's the best way to look SMART?! Follow the Leader: Proverbs 17:9, 27-28 The Man Cards Study


He who conceals a transgression seeks love,
But he who repeats a matter separates intimate friends.

He who restrains his words has knowledge,
And he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise;
When he closes his lips, he is considered prudent.

-What do you think about this?
-What's the main idea?
-What's the most important takeaway here?
-Should lie for others? How does this fit with integrity?

Tell me your answers, ask me your questions!
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Be a man. Be GOOD! Follow the Leader: 1 Peter 3:8-13 The Man Card Study

 1 Peter 3:8-13
To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit;
not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.
For,
“THE ONE WHO DESIRES LIFE, TO LOVE AND SEE GOOD DAYS,
MUST KEEP HIS TONGUE FROM EVIL AND HIS LIPS FROM SPEAKING DECEIT.
“HE MUST TURN AWAY FROM EVIL AND DO GOOD;
HE MUST SEEK PEACE AND PURSUE IT.
“FOR THE EYES OF THE LORD ARE TOWARD THE RIGHTEOUS,
AND HIS EARS ATTEND TO THEIR PRAYER,
BUT THE FACE OF THE LORD IS AGAINST THOSE WHO DO EVIL.”
Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good?

-What is your least favorite part?
-What is the central theme?
-What does zeal mean? Make that one sentence.
-What is our biggest barrier to achieving this?

Share your answers with us in the comments! Come say hi at facebook.com/follow2lead  !!!

Why life should be SIMPLE!!! Follow the Leader: Ecclesiastes 9:9-12 The Man Card Study

Ecclesiastes 9:9-12

Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun; for this is your reward in life and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun.

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.

I again saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift and the battle is not to the warriors, and neither is bread to the wise nor wealth to the discerning nor favor to men of ability; for time and chance overtake them all.

Moreover, man does not know his time: like fish caught in a treacherous net and birds trapped in a snare, so the sons of men are ensnared at an evil time when it suddenly falls on them.

 

-What do you think about this?

-What's a different way to say this?

-Is this meant to convict or encourage? Why?

-In light of this, how do we live?

 

Share your answers below!!! Ask me anything or just say hi at facebook.com/follow2lead

Should Christians be ASSERTIVE?! Follow the Leader: Titus 2:15, 3:1-3 The Man Card Study

Titus 2:15, 3:1-3
These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you. Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed,
to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men.
For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.

-What comes to mind because of this?
-What's one key word here?
-How does this encourage us?
-Does this convict us? So what will we change?

Give me your answers, ask me your questions!!! Come chat over at facebook.com/follow2lead

Hold fast, pray SLOW!!! Follow the Leader: Romans 12:12-15 The Man Cards Study

Romans 12:12-15
rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer,
contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.

-what stuck out the most to you?
-What's the key word?
-In one sentence, what is this passage about?
-What normally stops us from doing these things?
-How can we master those obstacles?

Give me your answers, or ask some new questions!!!
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What does God TASTE LIKE???!!! Follow the Leader: Psalm 34:8-14 The Man Card Study

Psalm 34:8-14

O taste and see that the LORD is good;
How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
O fear the LORD, you His saints;
For to those who fear Him there is no want.
The young lions do lack and suffer hunger;
But they who seek the LORD shall not be in want of any good thing.
Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
Who is the man who desires life
And loves length of days that he may see good?
Keep your tongue from evil
And your lips from speaking deceit.
Depart from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it.

-What comes to mind because of this?
-What's the central theme?
-What does "do good" mean?
-What's going to be easy about this?
-What's going to be hard about this?

Give me your answers! Ask me your questions! 
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God ordained BBQ!!! Follow the Leader: Genesis 9:1-3 The Man Card Study

Genesis 9:1-3
And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.
“The fear of you and the terror of you will be on every beast of the earth and on every bird of the [fn]sky; with everything that creeps on the ground, and all the fish of the sea, into your hand they are given.
“Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant.

-What does this make you think?
-What's the main idea?
-How do we see this in the world today?
-What's the most important takeaway here?
-What does this mean for us right now?

Give me your answers below! 
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You have to WORK!!! Follow the Leader: Proverbs 12:10-11, 14 The Man Card Study

Proverbs 12:10
A righteous man has regard for the life of his animal,
But even the compassion of the wicked is cruel.
11
He who tills his land will have plenty of bread,
But he who pursues worthless things lacks sense.
14
A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his words,
And the deeds of a man’s hands will return to him.

-How do you feel after reading that?
-What's on the author's mind here?
-Have you heard this same thing somewhere else?
-What does this mean for us?

Talk to me! Come on over to facebook.com/follow2lead

Men like TREES!!! Follow the Leader: Jeremiah 17:5-8 The Man Card Study

Jeremiah 17:5-8

Thus says the LORD,

“Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind

And makes flesh his strength,

And whose heart turns away from the LORD.

“For he will be like a bush in the desert

And will not see when prosperity comes,

But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness,

A land of salt without inhabitant.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD

And whose trust is the LORD.

“For he will be like a tree planted by the water,

That extends its roots by a stream

And will not fear when the heat comes;

But its leaves will be green,

And it will not be anxious in a year of drought

Nor cease to yield fruit.

 

-What comes to mind?

-What is a good modern analogy for this symbolism?

-Where have you seen this in life around you?

-What does it mean to trust God?

 

Talk with me!

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The secret to a GREAT LIFE!!! Follow the Leader: Ecclesiastes 12, 13 14 Man Card Study

Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14
The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.
For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.

-What do you think about this?
-What's a different way to say this?
-What does it mean to fear God?
-How can we fear God? 
-What does that look like day by day?

Tell me what you think! facebook.com/follow2lead

Are you content? Follow the Leader: 1 Timothy 6:6-8 Man Card Study

1 Timothy 6:- 8 NASB
But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.
For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.
If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.

-What thoughts come to mind?
-Who is this aimed at?
-How important is contentment?
-How does being content benefit you?
-How can we be more content tomorrow?

Share your answers, questions, comments, concerns, or cries of heresy below!

Talk with me at http://www.facebook.com/follow2lead  !!

What’s Righteousness? Follow the Leader: Psalm 1 Man Card Study

 

Psalm 1
How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.
The wicked are not so,
But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the wicked will perish.

Most commentaries picture the first verse or so as a progression. Walking with wicked, standing with sinners, and sitting with scoffers. First you go with the wrong crowd, then you stay there, then you get comfortable. As Casting Crowns says, “It’s a slow fade when you give yourself away.” A little sin is all it takes sometimes.

The bible can be a tough read for modern readers. “His delight is in the law of the Lord.” It’s difficult to balance an easy reading translation of the Bible with a super accurate translation. I cheat and try to have both. I use a really accurate, hard to read english translation (like NASB) for study and specifics, and I use a modern english version (NLT)for when I want to just enjoy reading and get the big picture. It’s important to find a way to enjoy reading the Bible. Read one book in an entire sitting in a modern English version and then go verse by verse in a more exacting version.

What is meditating on scripture? Are you really going to recite a verse over and over again like a mantra? No, but memorizing helps. Another way is to simply sit and thing, really chew on a verse or two and explore all the ways you could apply it.

“He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water reminds me of Captain America from this moment of the Civil War comics. Captain America has an amazing statement about when to be stubborn for what’s right!

The wicked lose in the long game. They may win in the short term, but it’s the long game where they see the business end of justice

The whole point of this is to do your best to be a good person. Not that you would earn salvation, but that you work to take part in your ongoing sanctification with God. It’s not about saving yourself from hell with good works. God has already saved you through the work of Christ. Now we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which were prepared beforehand that we would walk in them. As a show of gratitude for God’s mercy, we should strive to be virtuous.

Tell me what you think about this passage, or ask any question! Feel free to share your questions, comments, concerns, or cries of heresy in the comments! I’ll see you next time.

God Speed.

God loves LIFE!!! Follow the Leader: Genesis 9:5–7

 

Genesis 9:5–7“Surely I will require your lifeblood; from every beast I will require it. And from every man, from every man’s brother I will require the life of man. “Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man. “As for you, be fruitful and multiply; Populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it.”

-What do you think about this?

The context is that after the flood, Noah gets out of the ark and presents an offering to God. God chooses to lay down some ground rules at this time. This is the first time we have any explicit commandments given directly to man from God (other than the implied “murder is bad” I’m looking at you Cain!). I think the instructions here are pretty straight forward. This is a basic endorsement of corporal punishment, followed by “have lots of kids.”

This is a biblical precedent for slaying animals that have harmed or killed humans. I’m from Alaska and it’s standard practice that whenever a bear has attacked a human, that bear is hunted down and killed. That’s actually why the pepper spray for bears has orange paint in it. It marks the bear as the one that attacked you so the authorities can identify it later.

There is a biblical authority for man to execute justice over animals, and other people. These are general rules for all of humanity and they should apply to any properly functioning secular government. This is because we are all made in the image of God, and are valuable because of it.

Next is a command to hang out and have kids. Just enjoy the world and live here. Sadly, western culture has become afraid to have kids.

USA Today claims, “The cost of raising a child today is $233,610 — excluding the cost of college — for a middle-income family, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

In a pig’s eye! They say it’s before college is factored in. Look man, that just isn’t true. I’ve provided for 5 kids on less than 50,000 a year for the last 9 years. Walmart diapers and Groceries are priced right. Don’t let garbage lies dissuade you from doing the greatest thing you’ll ever accomplish. Ask any parent who loves their kids. Sure, they’re expensive, but that’s preposterous. Kids are work, and well worth it.

-What’s the most important word here?

LIFE! God loves life. Preserve life. Help Create life. Live your life. God wants life to flourish on this little ball of ours.

-What’s the main idea?

Live and let live. We need to respect life, the image and breath of God. I becomes necessary that those who carelessly disregard that life, be removed from society. This is not done lightly, we must be motivated by our respect for the life of others.

How does this change your understanding of things?

Does it?

Tell me what you think? Am I wrong? What are some simple ways we can respect life?

God Speed.

Use the strength God gave you to WORK!!! Follow the Leader: 1 Peter 4:8–11 Man Card Study

Use the strength God gave you to WORK!!! Follow the Leader: 1 Peter 4:8–11 Man Card Study

1 Peter 4:8–11
Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies — in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Quite a bit there. Just surveying the passage we see that Paul starts with showing everyone sincere love. Then he gets more practical and says to show hospitality without complaining. You’ve been given a gift, use what you have.

This informs what a Christian man is. Someone who shows love and kindness to everyone around him. A Godly man uses the gifts God gave him to serve others. Using his words and actions to better the lives around him.

Don’t complain, be welcoming, serve others; this is how we bring glory to God. This is how we use our lives to glorify the Lord.

It’s important to remember that your strength is not your own. Your skills, knowledge, strength, and abilities are all gifts from God.

I know it’s hard to serve your family when you’re tired, sore, or just don’t wanna. It’s okay to rest when necessary, but make sure you’re not copping out.

Use what He gave you.

Tell me what you think? Am I wrong? What are some ways you serve your family?

God Speed.

Jesus is the MAN!!! 1 Timothy 2:1-6 Man Card Study

Jesus is the MAN!!!

Did you know that Jesus is the Man?

1 Timothy 2:1–6 First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.

The first thing I always notice in this passage is that Jesus is the Man. This always makes me chuckle. You have a Bible verse that straight up calls Jesus the man. I love that.

Paul speaks in run-on sentences, but if you boil it down he says, “Pray for everyone, because Jesus is the Man.” Paul elaborates in the middle of that with, “Everyone means Kings and presidents and everyone, so we can live quiet, peaceful lives. God loves quiet, peaceful lives because he wants everyone to be saved.” He then clarifies at the end, “Jesus is mediator because he was sacrificed for our sins.”

The main point is that we need to pray without ceasing for all of mankind. God wants us to function as ambassadors saying, “Be reconciled to God.” He wants everyone to come near through Christ into a saving relationship. We need to pray for that, and for our nation’s leaders, our community leaders, our church leaders, and our family leaders.

I love the aside Paul gives that tells you God loves peaceful Godly lives. Not everyone can be Billy Graham. God approves of the quiet construction worker or accountant that simply does his best. We lose sight of that sometimes.

Sometimes I stress out too much about not doing enough for the Kingdom. I forget that all God wants is me to do my best day to day.

So what? How are we going to live now? I want to pray more. An easy way to pray more is to stop and take a moment to pray for the first responders whenever you hear sirens. Those guys have hard jobs and are going where people need God the most. Police never know if they’re pulling over a nice little old lady, or about to get shot at by drug dealers. Emergency Medical Technicians are always taking care of people at the brink of death. The professionals need God’s presence, as well as those they go to help.

The Goal is just to practice being more intentional about slowing down and praying a little more. I also want to take some time and just slow down and be a little more intent. Just realize being content with life is Godly.

Tell me what you think? Am I wrong? What are some ways you slow down and appreciate a quiet Godly life? What are some things you do to remember to pray more?