Manspeak

by Jonathan Oldacre

I came across this sermon by John Piper a couple of weeks ago and I thought this excerpt might serve you men (you can watch Dr. Piper preach it on video here as well):

“Strength for Men in the Gospel

Men, boys, what about you? What do you dream of when you dream of being strong? That you can someday hold an Altoids tin and look “curiously strong”? Or to be the best player in a sport? Or to be the most shrewd stock broker and wield the power of money? Or to be educated and read Atlantic Monthly and listen to NPR and drop obscure names in cocktail conversations?

No. Only a fool wants fading power. Only a fool wants power that gives out just when you need it most. I’ll tell you the kind of power God is able to give you through the gospel. It’s the power to lead your wife and family in devotions; the power to say a simple word of truth when highly educated, secular, elitist complexity is all around you; the power to stand your ground and say no to a sinful behavior when everyone else is calling you weak; the power to press on against all obstacles in a cause of justice and mercy and truth when you feel that you have no more motivation.

Strength for All in the Gospel

God is able to strengthen all of you—men and women—with a kind of inner strength of soul through faith in Christ that makes you stronger in a wheelchair than ten thousand moral jellyfish drifting on two legs with the current of modern culture. What we want is the kind of strength that will be here when we are paralyzed and can only answer questions with our eyelids. And we know where it comes from: ‘Now to him who is able to strengthen you . . . be glory forevermore.’”

Amen! Let’s be strengthened by the gospel so that we won’t be “moral jellyfish drifting on two legs with the current of modern culture.”

Have a great week enjoying God!

By Jonathan Oldacre

“Ok, I got up on time, got my Bible, got my journal, got my pen, roommates are being quiet for once (heh-heh, I’m always up before those losers!), can’t think of any sins I need to confess, feeling pretty encouraged, I have exactly 30 minutes…yes, God is definitely going to meet with me this morning!”

Have you ever thought like this? If so, you’re not alone! I think many of us can often approach God in the mornings with a big basket full of our performance and then expect him to dish out grace based on that performance. Is that right? Can we obligate God?

If we really want to play the “x amount of things I do right = x amount of grace I get” game, let’s remember one very important detail: God is holy, and He requires perfect sinless obedience in order to dispense rewards of grace. Now that raises the bar a little! I’m sure we’ve all read in Romans 3 that “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one,” but do we apply this to our devotional life? Are you aware that any grace you receive in your time with God is a blood bought gift you didn’t merit?

Because of Jesus’ perfect righteousness and death on the cross in your place, there is a way for God to reward you for what you haven’t done this morning! For all those who trust in Christ, God looks to the perfect merit of His Son in order to determine how much grace He will dispense. The good news: CHRIST IS PERFECT IN HOLINESS AND RIGHTEOUSNESS AND MERIT! How much grace does that merit for you this morning? RICHES: BAGS AND BAGS OF LAVISH UNENDING GRACE!

“So what is God looking for in my time with Him?”

I beleive God is looking for two things:

1. He looks to see if you’re trusting in the Substitute He’s provided; Jesus Christ. God blesses you on the basis of Christ’s merit alone. About the Savior, God says “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). Due to the gracious initiative of God that united you to Christ through His death on the cross, God sees you clothed in the very righteousness of the One with whom He is “well pleased.” Based on that, do you think God wants to bless your time with Him? OF COURSE HE DOES!

2. Based on the grace God has already given in Christ, He is also looking for humble dependence

“But this is the one to whom I will look:
he who is humble and contrite in spirit
and trembles at my word.” (Isaiah 66:2)

Do you want to draw the gaze of God this morning? Then humble yourself and tremble at His Word. He’s looking for need, not merit, because Christ already has the merit covered. The Lord is just looking to pour out mercy this morning, and the question is, ‘Will you humble yourself and receive it?’

Men, let’s humble ourselves, let’s tremble at His Word, let’s depend on Christ alone for our righteous standing before God, and let’s come thirsty all the days of our life to the One who loves to pour out grace!

Have a great week enjoying God!

by Jonathan Oldacre

Eric Simmons, a pastor at Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, MD, posted this excellent article entitled “Pray.” Excellent stuff!

By Jonathan Oldacre

You may have seen this before, but I’m sure there’s enough of you who haven’t to warrant this post. One of our heroes, John Piper, uses this “IOUS acronym… almost every day in praying for those [he] love[s].” It’s a great way to begin your time with God in the morning, or to guide your prayers for those you love as well. If you’re anything like me, you usually wake up dulled, inclined to yourself, the eyes of your heart are clouded, your thoughts are pulled in a thousand directions, and you can often lack satisfaction in God prior to meeting with Him in the morning. I usually pray this before my time with God daily, and I receive immeasurable benefits as God answers these prayers by His grace for His glory:

“1. Ask God to give you an Inclination to his Word (Psalm 119:36)

2. Ask God to Open your eyes to see wonderful things when you read his Word (Psalm 119:18)

3. Ask to have your heart United in the fear of God rather than fragmented over a dozen concerns (Psalm 86:11)

4. Ask to be Satisfied in his steadfast love (Psalm 90:14).”

Enjoy the riches of grace that await!

(Adapted from this artcle by Dr. Piper)

by Jonathan Oldacre

Today on Manspeak I’d like to introduce you to an excellent resource that really helped me in learning how to profit more from my times with God. It’s called “Meeting with God,” and it’s a teaching series and booklet by Covenant Life Church pastor, John Loftness. I’ve had the opportunity to hear Mr. Loftness in person, I’ve listened to all of these messages, I’ve gone through the booklet, and his material is outstanding on the topic of communion with God. Here’s a blurb about the series from the Sovereign Grace website:

“Communion with God is the greatest good our Father gives to his redeemed, and desiring communion with God is part of what it means to be made in his image. Yet our sinful hearts often find excuses to avoid spending time in prayer and the reading of his Word.

The consequences are much more serious than we realize, as we become increasingly susceptible to the lies of the world, our flesh, and the devil.

This series is intended to teach you how to pray, how to profit from Scripture, and how to develop a plan for daily times of communion with your Father. Most importantly, it is intended to help you to grow in your passion to pursue and protect a daily time in which you can meet with God and be changed as a result.”

“Meeting with God” is a six-week series, here’s what’s included:

“This audio CD series and companion booklet are intended to teach you how to pray, how to profit from Scripture, and how to develop a plan for daily times of communion with your Father. Most importantly, they are intended to help you to grow in your passion to pursue and protect a daily time in which you can meet with God and be changed as a result—to help you make communion with God a daily discipline and delight.

The audio CD series includes six messages (titles listed below). The 72-page booklet is an aid to application, containing a detailed outline, discussion questions, and six days’ worth of practice questions as companions to each message.

1. Communion with God in a Fallen World
2. Knowing God in the Bible
3. How to Profit from Scripture
4. How to Pray
5. The Character and Content of Paul’s Prayers
6. Passion with a Plan”

Men, many opportunities for extended communion with God await this holiday season, and I think this resource will guide you into deeper communion with the only One who can satisfy your soul: the Living God! Would you consider adding this invaluable resource to your Christmas list this year? Can I challenge you to not waste your Christmas break but instead use it to grow closer to your Maker? Will you dull your mind and heart with the world this holiday season, or will you use this break to warm your affections for Jesus Christ? Take Psalm 16:11 to heart as you head back home:

“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

God is utterly delightful, and He alone possesses durable pleasures that never fade or run out! Delight awaits, and grace is available this Thanksgiving and Christmas! Get closer to God this winter, draw near to Him, order this resource, or ask for it for Christmas today. Better yet, listen to and apply this resource once you receive it and watch your heart become more inclined to your God and King.

Men, let’s lead the way in passion for our Savior! Let’s fight for joy this holiday season!

 by Jonathan Oldacre

Meditation. That’s a word that usually conjures up images of an aged Indian sage sitting cross-legged in a white robe. For me, I learned a special kind of meditation from an instructor here in Knoxville, Tennessee! I think I was in middle school at the time, the teacher was nice, he used a white board to teach us, and he even gave me a secret mantra to chant to myself in order to further peace and satisfaction in my practice of meditation. True story!

Check out this diagram to see what I learned (you can click it to enlarge)…

Thankfully, since that time God has radically saved me by the finished work of Jesus Christ, He’s changed my heart, and He’s put His Spirit within me. By His grace I’m able to discern the futility and falsehood of transcendental meditation, but I think the practice does reveal a lot about our sinful human nature, doesn’t it? Isn’t it interesting that this diagram maps out a path to “peace” that progressively focuses on you, on your-self! The goal is “pure, silent, transcendental consciousness” where all thought is eliminated. You transcend and transcend and descend and go deeper and deeper to find a capitalized “Self” sitting on the throne of your heart. And that’s supposed to be comforting? AHHHHHHH! If I’m the source of peace and satisfaction, we’re all in trouble!

We shouldn’t be surprised; we’re sinners to the core and we’re experts at loving ourselves. It was only a matter of time before someone slapped a really deep-sounding label on the restless evil known as self esteem! With an unchanged and unregenerate heart it only makes sense that the self is yet another member of our pantheon of false gods. Praise the true God for the gospel! Through the gospel of grace, God has changed us and our lives are very different now. We love God and we find our joy in Him. We read His Word and we love getting to know God better. Looking in the mirror isn’t as fun and as comforting as it used to be.

The diagram above represents a serious and fundamental difference between an ungodly, unbiblical, and destructive meditation and a meditation that pleases the true God of the Bible. Is there a meditation that is actually pleasing to God? Is it just mumbling God’s Words back to Him? What is the end of biblical meditation, and am I just looking for good feelings when I meditate on Scripture?

Here’s a sampling of the word “meditation” in Scripture:

Psalm 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”

Psalm 49:3 “My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.”

Psalm 104:34 “May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord.”

Psalm 119:97 “Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.”

Psalm 119:99 “I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation.”

Notice something different? Ungodly meditation focuses on the self, while God-glorifying meditation begins and ends with GOD. He is the Author of Truth, He is the Truth! Jesus said “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Joy and delight and peace are in God alone, and we obtain all these through the shed blood of a real person, the God-man Jesus Christ!

Biblical meditation is active, not passive. You want more of God, so you get to know Him better through His Word. You’re not trying to empty your mind of thought, you’re seeking to fill it with truth about God! You seek to think over what God says, you milk the truth for all it’s worth, you dig and find diamonds from the King’s treasure chest, you chew on it, you engage with the text, you think about the author’s intent, you think about the original recipients, you think about God’s character and attributes, you are active! As Mueller said, we “consider what we read, ponder over it, and apply it to our hearts.” That is biblical meditation, and that pleases God! He loves it when we give serious consideration to His precious Word, and He blesses the study of His Word.

Is your Bible reading dry? Then give yourself to meditating on and thinking over and praying over what you read and allow God’s Spirit to warm your affections. There’s more grace to be had Christian, have you meditated on God’s Word today?

By Jonathan Oldacre

John Piper explains in his excellent book entitled “When I Don’t Desire God,” that George Mueller, a man “famous for founding orphanages in Bristol, England” in the 19th century, made it his daily aim to get his “soul happy in the Lord.”At the age of seventy-six, Mueller, wrote the following:

“I saw more clearly than ever, that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend everyday was, to have my soul happy in the Lord.”

Piper goes on to explain that Mueller’s means (the “1. agency, instrument, or method used to attain an end”) for getting his soul happy in the Lord “stayed the same.” Mueller writes:

“I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God, and to meditation on it…What is the food of the inner man? Not prayer, but the Word of God; and…not the simple reading of the Word of God, so that it only passes through our minds, just as water runs through a pipe, but considering what we read, pondering over it, and applying it to our hearts.” (emphasis mine)

Two dangers arise from the neglect of reading and meditating upon God’s Word. 1.) Just like our bodies, our souls can become emaciated by lack of nourishment from God’s Word, and 2.) our souls can get fat, unhealthy, and glutted on the pleasures this world has to offer at the expense of soul-nourishment. Which of these are you more prone to?
Have you given yourself to reading and meditating on the Word of God today? Have you ruined your appetite by snacking on the world?

If you identify with either of these extremes, don’t be discouraged! Grace is available today! Forsake self-sufficiency and worldly appetites, put your faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of any and all sin relating to your neglect of God’s Word, and then take up the Word of God with fresh faith! Listen to Psalm 19:7-11; God desires for you to enjoy the same soul-nourishing benefits of His Word as He did for this psalmist:

“The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple;
the precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever;
the rules of the Lord are true,
and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
and drippings of the honeycomb.
Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.”

Nourishment and wisdom and the fear of the Lord and joy and delight all await you in God’s Word today!

(”means” definition courtesy of dictionary.com)

Posted by Jonathan Oldacre

I loved Mike’s “mini-message” to the kids at church yesterday. When I wasn’t dying laughing I was deeply affected by our mission of passing the baton of the gospel to future generations. Isn’t it amazing that the gospel is so basic and easy to understand that children can grasp it?

Mike likened the gospel to a gigantic present, the likes of which nothing on earth can contain. It’s a treasure that’s more valuable than anything we can imagine. Do we see the gospel like that? Do we hold it tightly? Are you and I keeping the gospel central today? One of my heroes, C.J. Mahaney, says that every day we have a tendency to move away from this “main-thing” of the Christian faith. We think the gospel is basic, it’s meant for the non-Christian, and now that we’re in the kingdom it’s time to move on to the hard work of Christian discipleship.

For the next few weeks on Manly Devotions we’re going to take a look under the hood of our devotional lives. My car has been in the shop for a couple of weeks and I just got it back, so sorry, I’ve got “cars” on the brain. What was the problem with my car? A faulty engine control computer. The cost? You guessed it: ten billion dollars! What does the engine control computer do? Everything. It is the brain and central computer of my tricked out 1992 Acura Integra. It makes the car go. Without it working properly the car just sits there trying to start when I turn the key, but nothing happens. Now before I tempt you to jealousy with my gold package, custom antenna, and tape deck, just know that the odometer is sitting at over 200,000 miles and the car has definitely seen better days! Guys if your devotional life is like a car that won’t start or it’s not running too well right now…maybe we need to look under the hood and check out the engine control computer for your times with God: the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Without daily application of the gospel, you will lack the joy you so desperately need to glorify God. Christian discipleship will flounder, and you’ll likely be discouraged by your sin as you try to fight it without first being nourished by grace at the foot of the cross. Are you reminding yourself daily that: 1) God made us in His image for His glory, 2) We’ve sinned against him and because of this we deserve death and eternal punishment in a real place called hell, 3) BUT, In His great mercy God sent His Only Son, Jesus Christ, to live the perfect life you and I were supposed to have lived and to pay the penalty we deserve by dying on the cross for our many sins! Isn’t that good news?

Let me encourage you. If you’ve not kept this message central, you can tighten your grip by preaching the gospel to yourself today! Preach forgiveness of any and all sins because of the blood of Christ! Preach justification! Tell your soul, “Soul, because of Christ’s death for you, God sees you just as if you’ve never sinned AND just as if you’ve always perfectly obeyed!” Preach to yourself that there is no wrath left for you today because Jesus drank the cup of God’s wrath dry! Doesn’t joy and thanksgiving well up in your heart when you preach the good news to yourself? Why not do that every day! Why not start today?
Men, there is great joy and grace and strength to be had through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let’s preach it to ourselves today!

Ahhhh, snuggly blanket, your Bible, early morning dew, a butterfly on the window sill, and a steamy peppermint-soy-half-caf-extra-skinny-mocha-with-organic-whipped-cream, and that ‘quiet time’ feeling…

Is that what you think a devotion is? Do devotions look different for men than they do for women?

If you are a man and you do identify with that description, please never tell me who you are or I’ll be forced to send Maples to your house or dorm room. He’ll be equipped with a wiffle ball bat, a roll of duct tape, and a hankerin’ to break you down. Please don’t make me do that. Anyway, since I’ll be posting on Manly Devotions, I thought this would be a great time to lay some groundwork for a healthy, biblically masculine, devotional life. What is the foundation of a quiet time, and do devotions look different for men than they do for women? Is grace available every morning?

1. Rooted in grace, a quiet time is…
“Time with God.” I love that description. It’s simple, intentional, and releasing at the same time. That’s the phrase Jerry Bridges uses for his “quiet time” or “devotion.” If you’re not familiar with Jerry Bridges, think about him like this: If there were an ultimate fighting championship where all the giants of the faith came together to slug it out, Jerry Bridges would be the number one contender in the ‘Grace’ category. This man knows how to receive the grace of God! See, your time with God in the morning is about receiving grace, not earning grace. It’s time spent receiving from God. It’s fellowship with Jesus Christ. You come needy to a God who is not needy. He is completely satisfied and He loves to give lavishly, richly, and overflowingly! The focus of this time should have at its center this same God who at great cost to Himself sent His only Son to bear the wrath you so richly deserve. He gave His Son for you, won’t He provide you with grace today (Rom. 8:32)?

Make no mistake. During our time with God, we read His Word, we pray, and we meditate on Scripture, but Jesus sacrifice on the cross is complete and sufficient. God doesn’t need you to add anything to it for Him to bless you. No Bible-reading, praying, or thinking over God’s Word “makes” God bless you. As John Piper says, “…you can’t get His arm behind His back to get Him to bless you.” Christ already did the work so that you could get riches of grace each and every morning! Why is this foundation of grace so important? It’s important because we can be tempted to try to add to Christ’s finished work by our Bible reading, prayers, journaling, etc. In effect, we think we can coerce God into blessing us by what we do, but the Bible says that Christ’s work is finished (John 19:30). Hebrews 12:2 says that Christ is “seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” What do we do when we’ve finished our work? We take a seat. He’s done, He was faithful to the end, He paid our penalty in full, and it’s over! There’s nothing for you to contribute this morning!

2. Christian men and women meet with God using the same means of grace…
Christian men and women both have the privilege of reading God’s Word, praying, crying out to God for grace, enjoying God’s grace, and singing praise to Him. However, I do think men should be leading and setting the pace for spending time with God and having passion for Jesus Christ. Period. Men, ask yourself, “Are the women I know more passionate about the Savior than I am?” “Do the girls initiate more conversations about God than I do?”Ask for input from godly men you know as well.

3. Christian, grace awaits you this morning!
In light of the wrath we deserve every single morning, isn’t it amazing that God wants to meet with us? Think about that. You and I wake up every single morning as sinners, and God is holy. Really holy. He’s three times holy the book of Isaiah tells us, and yet this holy God of the universe loves to be with those who trust in His Son! No wrath awaits you, Christian! You and I have an open invitation every single day to be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ. There is no reluctance in God’s heart to meet with us because the penalty we owe for violating God’s holy law has been paid! We’re in Jesus Christ; what great news (Ephesians 1-2)!

Yes, you can draw near to God today!

posted by Jonathan Oldacre, Contributor
FYI- Over the next few weeks we’ll be unpacking different aspects of our “Time With God.” Thanks for reading!

Note– If even the thought of getting up before 10:00am makes you sleepy, allow me to introduce my friends at Starbucks. They keep gallons and gallons of this hot, caffeinated substance called coffee on hand just for you! But please keep it within the realm of the masculine. No soy, no organic, nothing fruity…just coffee, ok!

You made it. The long awaited day has finally arrived; it’s time for Manspeak to start churning out posts on all the things you guys want to know about! These are real posts from real men like you and me, workin’ men, coal mining men, men who greet the dawn with a thunderous belch, men who feel the irresistable impulse to punch each other in the gut, men who are as tough as nails, men who are strong as the day is long, men who….ehh, who are we kidding!

Does being a man necessarily entail a life of strenuous back-breaking manual labor? Does being a man mean that you’re good at bossing others around? Does being a man mean you slight the opposite sex? Does being a man mean that you get to do what you want to do when you want to do it? If you haven’t noticed, our culture is seriously confused about the roles of men and women. Does it not seem odd to have mothers fighting in the deserts of Iraq? Does the idea of a ’stay at home dad’ bother you a little? Is the proverbial ‘TV sitcom dad’ a good example of masculinity?

Most men today have a thing or two to learn about being a man; especially what it means to be a godly man. Does the Christian faith have something to do with how we act as men? What is God’s will for us as men? Will it look different for us to live out the Christian life as men rather than women?

Welcome to Manspeak. We’re 7 guys from different backgrounds who mess up all the time! We do, however, have the most important things in common. We’ve been saved by God’s grace. We want to follow Jesus Christ in all He’s called us to do. We want to be godly men for His glory. We also have a lot to learn, and we’re so thankful that God has placed us in the context for Christian men to grow and prosper in the Lord: the local church. We’re on a journey, and we want to bring you along for the ride as we seek to understand and apply God’s revealed will for us as men.

Now punch your friend in the face, check out the site, and grunt and growl a little.

Our schedule for postings is on the left. We have pages for bios, evangelism, resources, and the ‘Man Law’ videos are coming soon. Feel free to leave comments and check back with us daily. Thanks for stopping by!

-The Manspeakers