Men of the Morning Prayer Line

Many of us have heard the story at one point in our lives. Yet the significance behind the heart wrenching scene is often missed or misunderstood. This is not simply some “good teacher” being crucified for his beliefs. It was God in human form who hung on the cross, bridging the gap between sinful people and a holy God. Matthew’s gospel tells us that when Jesus hung on the cross he cried out, “My God! My God! Why have you abandoned me? Many Bible scholars believe that those words marked the precise moment at which God placed the sins of the world upon his Son. The Bible speaking of God says, “You are a purer eyes then to behold evil and cannot look on wickedness.” (Habakkuk 1:13) For that reason, the Holy Father had to turn his face and pour out his wrath upon his own Son. On the cross, Jesus receive the wages that were due us. He was not heard by God so that we might be heard. The ear of God was close to Jesus for a time that it might never again be closed to us. Let us pray - ...

​Let us pray - Heavenly Father you are the spark of all creation, and we are humbled to be your sons. During the time of Genesis, you created us from dust by exhaling your life into our existence. Your love for us created our spouse. A gift of a perfect garden was our land for eternity to live and prosper in. All creation, all of it was given to us. It was not enough... We failed. Sin entered the world and disputed all that was good. The cleansing by flood and a new covenant was not enough... We continued to fail. You sent your son, perfect in every way. Your only son, sacrificed for us your creation that you love so much. The spotless lamb. The lamb sent from God the Father to sacrifice for our sake; to save us from sin and death. Was this enough? There are no amount of good deeds, no amount of prayers, no amount of fasting, no amount of sacrifice that we can do to save us. There is no amount that can equal the Father's love for us. What is enough? Enough is what...

The Word - John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” A story - Dad comes home drunk and mad, he pulls out a gun and shoots his wife and turns the gun on himself and pulls the trigger. The little girl sits behind a couch crying. The police came and took the little girl to a new family, and she went to her first Sunday school at church. She walks past the building and sees a picture of Jesus on the cross. The little girl then asks the teacher "How did that man get off the cross?" the Teacher replied "He never did" then the little girl argued "Yes he did. Because the night that my mummy and daddy died he sat next to me behind the couch, telling me everything was going to be alright". Our prayer - Dear God, Thank you that you make all things new, and comfort us in times of need assuring us that that all will be alright . Thank you for the victory and pow...

​Our world is filled with events and situations that can cause great fear and anxiety. It’s easy to become overwhelmed and live imprisoned by fear. We are promised in God’s Word that he is faithful and will protect us. God wants us to let go of fear and to live life to the fullest! When you are overcome by worry, pray for protection to remember who God is and the protection he has promised you. Let us pray - Jesus, we come to You today, bowing in our hearts, asking for protection from the evil one. Lord, we are assailed moment by moment with images on television, the internet, books and newspapers that leave us vulnerable to sin of every kind. Surround each man here this morning with Your divine hedge of protection. Encompass us round about with Your strength and Your might. Let all who take refuge in You be glad, let them ever sing for joy. And may You shelter us, that those who love Your name may exult in You. For it is You who blesses the righteous man, Jesus, You surround him...

Spiritual development is achieved by daily persistence in living the way God wants you to live. Like the wearing away of a stone by steady drops of water, so will your daily persistence wear away all the difficulties and gain spiritual success for you. Never falter in this daily, steady persistence. Go forward boldly and unafraid. God will help and strengthen you, as long as you are trying to do His will. Let us pray - Lord our Savior - It's crazy, absolutely crazy here. The ability to stay focused on Your will for us is hindered by the craziness of this broken world that surrounds us. We beg you to clear our minds and help us to remain ever focused on your goodness for us and our families. To love our wifes, our children and our loved ones as you so love us. Lord, you see it all. All the pain, all the hate, and all the confusion. Yet your love for all creation reigns supreme and uninterrupted. We ask You to help us see through the smoke of distractions, through the haze of bro...

God is very big on making amends. In terms of priorities, Jesus says you should picture this: You are standing at the altar getting ready to present a gift to God. You then remember someone has something against you. Jesus says you should drop everything, first go and make amends with this person, then come back and present your gift. Needless to say, making amends is a big deal to God! Making amends is not just about expressing our opinion but also in seeking to understand the other party. And remember, God doesn’t leave us to figure all this stuff out on our own. He is ready to help us as we seek to make amends. The Holy Spirit will guide us and help us – God’s grace and strength is all we need! His strength is indeed perfect. Let us pray - Father, I have wandered so far from You— From Your ways, from Your leading, From Your purpose, and from Your love. At first, it didn’t seem like a great distance, But, over time, I have come to realize My departure has been Far greate...

​Lord, at times I am weary. My energy is sagging, and my motivation is lagging. And I am so in need of you. I need your strength and your inspiring touch to get back on track again. Your Word says the joy of the Lord is my strength. If that's true, then I need your joy to replace all the bone-tired parts of my mind, body, and soul. The pressures of life sometimes push me into a corner, rendering me helpless to move forward. A hundred voices call my name, and I feel paralyzed at times to answer, not knowing where to turn. Lord, help me not to quit, to keep running the race faithfully, and to find strength in that safe, secret place of yours, under the shadow of the Almighty. I need your strength to say no when I'm tempted to surrender to harmful things, or when selfishness clings to my clothes and won't let go. I need your strength to say yes, when cowardice and fear nudge me to deny the convictions of my heart. I need your strength to reach out in love to those both clo...

Good morning, Lord! Today's a new day, a chance for a new start. Yesterday is gone and with it any regrets, mistakes, or failures I may have experienced. It's a good day to be glad and give thanks, and I do, Lord. Thank you for today, a new opportunity to love, give, and be all that you want me to be. Today I want to start the day with you on my mind and in my heart. As I dress, let me wear the armor you've provided daily: the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, the belt of truth, the shoes of peace, and the sword of the spirit—with prayer on my tongue: praise for you and petitions for those around me and those I meet. Feed me today with your daily bread. As the Bread of Life, your food, like manna, will sustain me throughout any trials and hungers. Help me to set my thoughts on things above and to speak only what will help and encourage others. Keep me from putting my foot in my mouth, and help me guard the affections of my heart...

There has never been anyone like Jesus. For starters, Jesus was not conceived in the womb of his mother through natural means. Rather, he was supernaturally conceived in the womb of a young virgin named Mary. Because of his supernatural conception, Jesus, who is wholly God, also became wholly human. Though Jesus is God, he chose to lay aside the privileges of his deity to live on earth as a man. The Bible, describing the sacrifice Christ made in becoming a man, says that Jesus "gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross." Philippians 2:7-8. It is extremely important to note that Jesus did not cease to be God when he came to earth. He simply laid aside his divine privileges and walked the earth as a man. In doing so, he was personally to experience the gamut of human emotions, ranging from happiness to so...

These are all things we desire and search for in life. Despite steps each one of us takes to find purpose and meaning in life we still feel empty and unfulfilled. This is because there’s a spiritual emptiness in each of us. We each have a hole in our heart, a spiritual vacuum deep within our soul - a God-shaped blank. Possessions alone won’t fill this hole, nor will success. Relationships alone cannot satisfy this emptiness, and morality, in and of itself falls miserably short of occupying this space. In fact, even religion cannot fill this void in our heart. There is only one way to effectively fill that void. This way will not only help us to have a life that is full and rich on this earth, but more importantly, it will give us the absolute hope of spending eternity in the presence of God. Before we can truly appreciate this good news, though, we need to understand the bad news, which is a serious problem we all have. The problem: Sin. The Bible clearly identifies our serious...

Image: This is how you want the world to see you. You control it. Your dress, your jewelry, hairstyle, walk, talk, etc... These are the tools used to create your living Avatars. Reputation: This is how the world sees you regardless the image you put forth. People see us through different lenses. We have no control over how people view us until we develop a relationship with them. Truthful relationships create a positive reputation. Dishonesty creates the obvious. Character: Regardless of image and reputation, this is the real you. Character is about what you do when no one is looking, and it's deeper than that, character is about what you do when only God is looking.

Trying to please people based solely on your perceived notions regarding their faith does nothing to satisfy their needs for the truth. I am the first to agree that bombarding a person with sanctified holiness, grace-filled righteousness, or a cup of Cap’n Bible Crunch, is no way to witness to a person in need or innocently ignorant of the truth. Until men break free from the fear of disapproval we will continue to be reluctant to share the powerful message of the Truth that God wants to communicate through us. Simply put, God can’t use us the way He wants to. Our testimony is stifled. Jesus employs us to to be messengers. Do not be reluctant. Do not fear to share your faith because of your thoughts and misperceptions about possible disapproval. We are men who never have to be afraid. Let us pray Heavenly Father and protector. Strengthen your men. We pray that our Rock is Our Lord and that we cling to Him with the deepest faith when troubled in this vale of fears. We pray that ...

Heaven Father - We thank you for your Son Jesus. We come to Him this morning in prayer of thanksgiving for all the blessing you have bestowed upon us. Our health, family, finances, food, friends, employment, and a whole host of other blessings that many others do not have. We ponder and think, what makes us so worthy of your blessings, we admit through our own humility that we are your creations and that you love us very much. We are so grateful for your love and daily protection. Guide our every action today, keep our eyes, ears and emotions focused on you. Help us Lord in those moments of frustration and lack of patience, help us to pause and regroup, ever remembering to respond always with you in our heart and your words on our tongues. You know our weaknesses and failings, and that without Your help we can accomplish nothing for the good of souls, our own and others’ Grant us, therefore, the help of Your grace. Grant it according to our particular needs this day. Enabl...

It’s one thing to fish on the weekends. It’s something else to fish every day for a living. Peter, Andrew, James and John fished on the Sea of Galilee year-round. They either sold their fish locally, or the fish were salt-cured and sold as far away as Spain. You wouldn’t get rich that way, but a hardworking man could take care of his family. Now it is morning, and Peter and the others are tired, exhausted, dejected, and probably in a foul mood. Fisherman like to say that “your worst day fishing is better than your best day in the office,” but I’m not sure Peter would have agreed at that moment. Now they are busy mending the nets—time-consuming work made more difficult by the frustration of knowing they caught nothing the night before. When Jesus asks Peter if he can use his boat for a pulpit, Peter immediately agrees. He knows Jesus and admires him greatly but until now has never made a wholehearted commitment. How fitting it is. Jesus comes to the scene of Peter’s failure and u...

While it’s true that God made us to be social creatures as stated in the Bible, Genesis 2:18, “It is not good for man to be alone,” sin has corrupted this desire for relationships. And instead of building healthy friendships, we end up gossiping about someone else in an effort to tell the truth, our truth. If you are anything like me, your first reaction to gossip, lies, and slander, is to defend yourself.  I used to jump to this immediately.  “Lie about me?  I’m going to set you straight!  I’m going to email you right back and tell you like it really is.  Then, I’m going to call all my friends and family members and tell them what you just did to me, and make sure they know the truth!  Gossip is sickening. Yes, your name is out there.  Yes they are talking about you.  Lies are told, and your name is being slandered.  The bible itself says in Proverbs 16:28, “A perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends.” Stir...

I've asked our Lord for an Agape love for wife and family. I ask for agape love because human love has limits. Jesus gave us a new commandment that empowers limitless love - Agape love. He said that we should love one another as he loved us. That’s a lot of love, that’s a love without limits, that’s agape love! There are six actions that drive agape love; these are leadership actions, and making these behaviors part of our lives makes us Christ-like leaders. 1. Lead by example: John 13:15 - I’ve given you an example to follow. Now, do as I have done to you. 1 Timothy 4:12 - ...set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity. 2. Challenge all to live a life of purpose: Matthew 28:19-20 - ...go make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. 3. Affirm everyone’s potential: John 14:12 - Anyone who has faith in me will do what I have b...