The Power of Prayer

Prayer is really the only way a man can improve himself. It allows us to tap into the divine knowledge of God. Prayer is the only thing that can do that.

There is probably not a person, place or proprietor on the planet that doesn’t want to better themselves. Not just people, corporations, and even the cities we live in are constantly trying to present better images.

In Proverbs( 15:22) it reminds us that effective planning uses a multitude of counselors.

Getting credible advice from other experts and thought leaders on what they see ahead, enables us to prepare ourselves then we can make doable goals, based on our strengths.

That’s why the president has a cabinet, even the old testament mentions King David’s advisers, three mighty men, valiant warriors who were famous for killing hundreds of men in a single battle.

If you visited this blog more than once or twice you probably noticed that
I’m always tweaking with the layout and content of this site as I try to build a blog that enhances the user experience. I have been sorting through the advice on the Blog Squad, and I reached out to a purpose driven blogger, from my blogroll, Average Bro.

I asked him for his insights, he commented “you got to ask God for favor.” that was the best advice I’ve ever received.

Prayer is indeed the best way we can make positive changes in our family, community and ourselves.

Helping people find the information they want when they need it is a specialty that I use in marketing daily. Getting straight talk from my sources is important for my continued success. So I want to publicly thank AverageBro for his words of wisdom.
By the way, he has just been picked to appear on NPR News & Notes, check out his blog for the details.

Christian Agents of Change

Many of you have dreams and ideas, that you hope to accomplish in your lifetime, but without planning, researching and writing them down they will remain just that, a dream.

I've recently completed researching and publishing an article that can be helpful to you, Successful Marketing to the Christian Market. First, I want to share with you my idea of building a community around the Brother to Brother concept.

My mission is to establish fellowships of Christian brothers who desire to be agents of change, in their family, community and generation. This blog is just one small step on the road to a bigger vision. In the next few months you will begin to see some much needed changes in the blog.

To build a better blog, everything from the layout to the topic areas will be revisited and I will be addressing more topics that are plaguing Christian men and their families.

To enhance the user experience I’ll be including Christian podcast, webinars and workshops that are designed to empower the readers and visitors that frequent here.

By the way, do you recall the scripture (Habakkuk 2:2) where the Lord told Habakkuk to write down the revelation and make it plan on tables so that a herald may run with it?

I’ve heard it said that, “A dream doesn’t become a goal until it is written. ”

Often visions or dreams are God-inspired instructions for us to carryout. God spoke to Daniel in a dream, it was through dreams that John the revelator, was given the scriptures for several books of the New Testament.

What are the dreams that you have hidden inside of you? Once you write them down, they will be set free, then you can live your dream.

The Truth About Obama's Faith

Obama Plays Defense on Faith Issue



Obama’s past ties with Islam – including having a Muslim father and stepfather living in the largely Muslim country of Indonesia during his childhood, and having the middle name Hussein – fueled the conspiracy theory that Obama is a Muslim in disguise trying to take over the White House.
Full article available on www.christianpost.com.

This kind of politrickery can have detrimental effect on a candidate and his family. Children can become subjected to schoolyard taunts and may feel they have to answer questions about their faith from classmates.

Guidance For Parent's From The Holy Bible

In The Holy Bible, Joshua was faced with a similar circumstance. He assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem (Joshua 24:1-33) to confront the people whose domestic and religious lives involved immoral behavior, pagan customs and idol worship.

He publicly declared as for me and my house we will serve the Lord.

The advice given on parenting by Moses (Deuteronomy 10:18-19) was to fix the words of God in our hearts and minds and to teach them to our children is just as relevant today as it was in the Sinai Desert.

I want to share these modern commandments for parents living a faith-based lifestyle.

Ten Commandments for Christian Parents

1.Teach your children to have Faith in God, pray with them and for their salvation.

2.Encourage your children to seek fellowship in the church.

3.Always praise positive deeds and show patience when children fall short.

4.Allow your children to share in the planning and budgeting task for your home.

5.Value curiosity in each child and promote the love of whatsoever things are true, honest, and just.

6.Teach children to see obstacles as opportunities.

7.Remember the qualities you display are the qualities your children will desire to have.

8.Make your home a place where words filled with peace, love and happiness are spoken.

9.Plan for quality time with your children.

10.Give children love, support and confidence by encouraging their individuality.

OUR MEN IN UNIFORM AT RISK

View the You Tube video

The topic today is about an adversary that poses a threat, a serious threat, to the security of the United States of America. "It stifles free thought and crushes new ideas. It disrupts the defense of the United States and places the lives of men and women in uniform at risk."

You may think this is describing one of the last decrepit dictators of the world. But it’s not, this adversary is closer to home than you can imagine. No dictator, foreign government or television ministry can match the strength and size of this adversary.

It's the Pentagon bureaucracy. Not just the people,but the processes,the systems. These words taken from a speech delivered by former Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, at The Pentagon,September 10, 2001.


$2.3 Trillion Missing While Senate investigates Televangelist

Former secretary Rumsfeld also stated that an estimated $2.3 trillion dedicated to the “War on Terror” couldn’t be tracked.

When this much money is missing, you would think that Sen.Charles Grassley of Iowa, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, would be investigating this matter. No! The Senate has formed a panel probing televangelists. Sen. Grassley asked several ministries to turn over their financial records.

What is it that Sen. Grassley hopes to conclude from this investigation?

Maybe he doesn’t know about the problems in The Pentagon or care that there is a family attached to each one of those dollars, working their butts off,paying $6,000 in taxes every year. Sir, why isn’t the committee looking for our trillions?

Doesn’t he realize every dollar squandered, convening this panel, is a dollar denied to the war fighter. Maybe his colleagues have mislead him to believe, these funds have been sent to televangelist.

Jesus and Nicodemus

The New Testament sums up a meeting of Jesus and the Jewish ruler Nicodemus, (John 3:19) noting people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.

The Senate panel (John 3:20 Everyone who does evil hates the light)has chosen to allow the Pentagon bureaucracy to continue in darkness. While trying to use politricks to focus our attention on Crefelo Dollar, Joyce Meyers and other ministries that they seem to be targeting.

What is the honorable senator from Iowa really planning to tell us? Is it that the cab drivers in Des Moines and the dishwashers in San Francisco, should stop sending money to television ministries and send more to the U.S Government?

IT'S YOUR CHANCE TO SAVE A LIFE

"We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline."

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.



The other day I was faced with the opportunity to save a life. Sitting in front of me was a bowl with only a few measly grains of rice, that I could miraculously turn into a full bowl, so that someone in another part of the world would not have to go to bed with an empty stomach again.

Immediately I thought about the parable (Matthew 25:31-46), where Christ described those who will be cursed and sent into an eternal fire. “For when I was hungry you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty you gave me nothing to drink.” their desperate reply was, “ When did we not help you?”

His answer? “Whatever you did not do for the least of these, you did not do for me.”

If you care, there is a way for you to help, if you have the time or inclination to give up a few minutes of surfing time each day. All you have to do is define a few words. At FreeRice.com for each word you define correctly, 20 grains of rice will be donated to the United Nations World Food Program.

Why not try it, not only will it save a person from starving, you’ll feel better every time you visit the site knowing that you are doing more than just paying lip service to the problem of World Hunger.

Here is your chance to create life change, world change, so shut up or put up a few minutes of your time, helping someone less fortunate.


HERE IS YOUR CHANCE TO MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE

Today is set aside to honor and remember Dr. Martin Luther King, It was his philosophy of "tough-mindedness and tenderheartedness" that gave the civil rights movement an inspiring moral authority and grace.

Most people are not aware of the service component of the holiday, encouraging the participation of as many individuals and organizations as possible, to take action on the day we celebrate Dr. King's life and teachings.

MLK Day of Service seeks to engage more people in projects such as tutoring, mentoring children, painting schools and senior centers, delivering meals, building homes to honor Dr. King's legacy.

Christians and their friends

(photo from Flickr:daveofcali)



What do you tell a friend whose life is filled with wine, women and song and they constantly are experiencing financial, physical and other set-backs, but they continue to live as if there is no tomorrow?

I’m reminded of a story I heard about two men, a Christian and his friend that were traveling on the highway to heaven, when they met a man headed in the opposite direction named Atheist who asked them where they were going.


We are going to Mount Zion they replied.

Then Atheist fell into laughter and told them, “I too have been looking for it for the past 20-years and I’m going back and reclaim all the things that I’d foolishly given up for something that I can’t see."

Immediately Christian told his friend, "cease to hear him, we know that he has been blinded by the God of this world. Let us go on, knowing that we have belief in the truth."

Have you been influenced by stinking thinking?

Christ came not the destroy, but to fulfill.
Not to separate us from good things, but to give us life more abundantly.


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Everyone likes to get free stuff take a look at what this site and see what treasures can be found.

Improving Self-Esteem for Christian Men

Are you a Christian man who is easily angered, do you feel that other people are to blame for your problems? You may be suffering from low self-esteem.

In one of the most gruesome murder cases to hit Texas, a man has allegedly told police he was instructed by God to kill his girlfriend and cook parts of her body.

That’s a lie from the pits of hell and the voice he heard was from the devil and not from God. Galatians 5:14 reminds us that you should love our neighbor as yourself. That hinders eating, beating, lynching, or murdering anyone unless that’s how you would treat yourself.

This was obviously an act of hate, anger and other hostilities that were built up inside this young man.
I pray that no Christian husband is this lost and can’t tell the difference between a voice that comes from God or Satanic thoughts.
This guy had stinking thinking and should have read my spiritual checklist and he would have been able to identify that hate and anger have no place in his life.

Most people that have low self-esteem tend to be easily angered and offended, it becomes difficult to communicate with them because no matter what you say they take everything personal.
It’s important that you know that you are wonderfully made by God to do good works, because God doesn’t make junk.

By all means,don’t fall for the world’s definitions of success and happiness as portrayed on television, in movies and magazines. These images are not a standard to use to measure yourself they are just for entertainment.

You don’t need a high-powered job or steroid induced body to be a valuable member of society.

God didn’t just create elephants he made ants too and each of us have our own unique position in our families and this world.
Nothing is wrong with wanting to obtain a better job or live in the biggest house on the biggest hill. If that is a Christian's main objective in life then that’s where the problem begins. Because far more important than any of those things are:
having a peace of mind, good relationships, good health and faith in God.

Here are some tips on improving self-esteem taken from Les Brown, in his book, Live Your Dreams.

You have to learn to attack the problems that you can change and become accepting of those that you cannot.

Good things happen to positive people
Tap into the positive current each day.
Life is an adventure enjoy each day as part of the journey
Avoid toxic people, they drain your positive energy and then leave.

By the way, don’t forget to check your spiritual health. And anyone looking for better paying jobs here is a job list to get you started.

If you like free stuff,check my next post.
(credits are in order for the photo above from photobucket)

Christians Men Considering Marriage or Divorce

I didn't intend for today's post to be related to the preceding topic, but it very well may be, for the Christian men who fails to curtail their lust of the eyes may find themselves headed for divorce court.
There is not much you can do to bring your relationship back from the ashes,once it has disintegrated into a courtroom battle so it's better to use preventative measures before your marriage crashes and burns


The scriptures refer to being unequally yoked,(2Corinthians 6:14) this should be your first consideration, when it choosing a spouse. You may not think it's important that your spouse shares your religious beliefs, or what about political beliefs, differences in how children should be raised or personal habits.
It may seem like a little difference when you first get to know a person but after years and years of tolerance it can all at once become intolerable and you find yourself headed to divorce court.

Often people marry with the idea that they can change their partners but most of the time that doesn't work out. Somethings need prayer and to be resolved prior to making a vow of "till death do us part".

Let me share a few sources that I found, these should be useful for anyone that may be thinking about divorce, but would rather work on their relationship. These are in addition to using your Pastor and the available resources of the church you attend.
The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work Written by John Gottman,Ph.D. This book's author believes that the emotional intelligence of a couple is the key factor to keeping a marriage alive. Simply put the emotional intelligence is, embracing the positive thoughts and feelings about each other and not focusing only on the negative parts of a relationship.
If you are considering marriage then look at the marriage basics on Findlaw.com there you will find a host of advice about the legal aspects of family law.

None of these will help if you don't begin a relationship with a earnest commitment to God and each other. Let me paraphrase a scripture that every single man should know, if you seek first the kingdom of God then the wife you need will be added unto you.

Christian Men and Thier Habits

Do you know any Christian men that find it hard not do a double take of a woman in a mini dress or a pair of daisy dukes? It's only hard if you have not come to the realization that women or not objects and that everything that looks good to you is not good for you.
Sure I was a girl watcher and knew all the words to the song by the Intruders too, I have even been put in check by several former girlfriends, on more than one occasion, about doing this formerly bad habit while I was on a date or in the company of a female.

I finally realized that if my eyes where portals to my soul as a Christian I should be careful about what’s placed in front of my eyes, from the television shows to the Jet Magazine centerfolds that I used to collect.

If you know someone who needs help with this annoying habit, then you may want to share a couple of articles I found on how Christian men are handling the rising hemlines and falling necklines.
The article on Beliefnet.com discusses what some young men see when they look at women. While the topic on Christiantytoday.com covered how young women viewed their role in a relationship.

The Word has plenty to say to Christian men about this not so modern topic. Proverbs begins with a fathers words of wisdom to his son and he is hardly into the second chapter when his discourse offers advice about girl watching and dealing with the opposite sex.
“Discretion will protect you and understanding will guard you”

Use discretion today instead of allowing your eyes to wander, “check yourself before you wreak yourself” as a former girlfriend once told me about eyeballing other women.

Great Debaters

An Oprah recommendation recently turned "Eat, Pray, Love." The spiritually-inclined travel memoir, into a genuine online phenomenon. Now I hear that Denzel Washington opens and closes The Great Debaters with a prayer.

That would not have been allowed past the censors at any one of the major studios. “The Great Debaters." Is only the second directorial effort from Denzel Washington. It depicts life at a Black college in Texas in the 1930’s. “The Great Debaters." A Harpo production has local ties to Houston, Henrietta Bell Wells, a Phyllis Wheatly graduate was the only female member of the 1930 Wiley college debate team.
“It’s great to see an A-list actor giving God the glory for his gift. Denzel does just that in his interview with Belief net’s Michael Kress. The star tells us how he studies the Bible daily, prays every morning and night, and sees his films as a form of preaching.
What does that say about the movie, does that make it a Christian movie, a movie by a Christian, After I see it this weekend I'll let you know if this in fact a Christian film or a film showing christian values or the prayers are just a secondary theme to lure a few moore viewers to the movies