APRIL 2023

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April 11: CRBC Men’s Bible Study

Upon This Rock

We recently returned from a wonderful trip to Jordan and Israel. It really should be on your bucket list if it isn’t already. I’m still digesting everything I saw and felt. We saw so many things that help bring the Scriptures alive to me in a new and beautiful way. One of the most common questions I’m asked is, “What was your favorite place?” This is kind of like asking, “Who’s your favorite child or grandchild?” I love them all, and they are all my favorite.

One of the sites I was looking forward to seeing, and it didn’t disappoint, was Caesarea Philippi. It’s located about 25 miles north of the Sea of Galilee at the base of Mount Hermon. It has the largest natural spring that feeds the Jordan River. It was here that Peter first declared Jesus to be the Messiah. You can read about this in Matthew 16: 13–20.

The spring flows out of a big rock on the side of the mountain and creates a beautiful park-like area. The pagan culture in the time of Jesus worshipped the god Pan at this location. It was here that Herod the Great built a large temple in honor of Caesar Augustus. It was a massive, ornate marble building used in worshipping Pan. The marble would have been quarried form the local area. The whole area is extremely rocky. The ruins are amazing to see and to try to imagine what it might have looked like in its day.

The god Pan, which was the main god worshipped there, was usually depicted as half man and half goat. Pan was associated with wooded areas and pasturelands. Some consider him the god of fright, and thus the term panic. I have read of the different kinds of rituals that were practiced there, and it was disgusting.

The pagan culture of Jesus’s day believed that the spirits would go down into the center of the earth and rest until springtime. They believed this area was the gateway to the underworld. At springtime, the water flow would increase and they believed the gods would come out from the underworld to do what they do on the earth. There was a common belief that these gods blessed the people and the land with fertility.

I can imagine Jesus standing there and pointing to that big rock with the water flowing out of it and declaring, “On this rock, I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.” He could have been pointing to the very rock that was the center of pagan worship and was believed to be the gateway to the underworld. This would have been a bold statement declaring that his ragtag team would prevail over such a massive temple complex.

As we were standing there, Rick reminded us of that statement Jesus had made some 2,000 years ago. We were witnesses to the ruins. There were just remnants of the temple left, and yet the church is alive and well! He was right. The Bride of Christ is alive and prevailed against all odds.

Author: Dr. Curtis Brown

Be Relentless: Part 2

Welcome back to Part 2 of the Be Relentless column by Seth Humphrey. If you missed Part 1, you can find read it here. In this column, Seth describes The Vital 4 areas. He provides some practical solutions to get you moving in all areas of your life. It’s a quick read, and I think you can find some practical advice to help you become relentless.

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Now that we've decided to quit lying, we can look at the facts in what I call The Vital 4 areas.

1. Faith

2. Family

3. Fitness

4. Finances

We can then identify how the facts of our situation make us feel.

Example: Fitness: I'm 50 pounds overweight. I eat great during the week, and by Thursday, I'm overeating all weekend to take my mind off work. I work out but eat way more calories than I burn. I have no idea how many calories I burn a day, and I have no clue how many calories I need to eat to lose weight.

How does this make you feel?

We can't look at our feelings if we don't have the facts.

Most men have no control over their emotions because they go straight to their feelings instead of investigating the facts first.

Facts: Fitness: I'm 50 pounds overweight. I eat great during the week, and by Thursday, I'm overeating all weekend to take my mind off work. I work out but eat way more calories than I burn. I have no idea how many calories I burn a day, and I have no clue how many calories I need to eat to lose weight.

Now using only one word, explain how the above makes you feel. Here are some possible choices:

Feelings: tired, embarrassed, frustrated, weak, empty, depressed, anxious

Once we've identified our facts and feelings, we can look at where our focus has been.

Focus:

• I've been focusing on what the next meal is going to be.

• I've been focused on how I don't want to feel.

• I've been focused on what others should/shouldn't be eating.

• I've been focused on my story that “I work hard to eat what I want.”

What you focus on is what you get, so if we don't flip our focus, we'll never change our results.

Now that we have our facts, feelings, and focus, we can start to reverse engineer our fruit—aka results.

What would I like my fruit to be?

Fruit:

• I would like to weigh 200 pounds—aka down 50 pounds.

• I would like to know the number of calories I need to eat to drop weight.

• I'd like to figure out how to control my eating on the weekends.

Now that we have some clarity on what we want in the domain of fitness, we can start to build a plan.

Most men mess this part up because they try to make it hard, which leads to needing willpower (i.e., no carbs, doing old high school workouts, etc.).

The crazy thing about willpower is it will run out and leave you right where you started.

So let's go back to where we started and look at the fruit that we say we want and gain clarity on where our focus needs to be over the next month.

Fruit: Drop 50 pounds

Focus: I'll google to find out how many calories a man weighing 250 pounds should eat daily, or I'll hire a coach to point me in the right direction.

To get started this next month, I'll plug everything I eat into MyFitnessPal for 25 out of the 31 days.

I'll hire a coach to help me clarify the number of calories I need to eat to be in a calorie deficit.

I'll ask the coach for help with my eating on the weekends and to hold me accountable.

Above are measurable targets that we can work toward over the next month, and if I did all the above over the next month, it would make me feel . . .

• Energized

• Confident

• Excited

• Accomplished

• Aware

• Happy

Over the next month, my focus will be on the measurable targets I set out to accomplish, and at the end of that month, I'll repeat the process.

Most men may stop at fitness, or maybe they'll set some targets for their finances, but I believe that God created us to have dominion over all The Vital 4 areas of life.

God created us to be 4-dimensional men.

I believe that when I'm dead, God willing, I will make it to heaven and God will show me the version He created me to become.

And when I look at that guy, I want to resemble him as much as possible.

It won't be identical because perfection doesn't exist, but I'm all in to come as close as possible.

It's also my belief that God will judge us in two ways:

1. Did you use your God-given talents and go all out?

2. How many people received eternal life because of my bold faith?

It's hard to accomplish those two feats without investing in all The Vital 4 areas.

There’s something powerful about a man who owns everything about himself and will tell you the facts about his situation without blinking an eye.

That guy is leading on another level.

That guy is having tough talks.

That guy is setting the standard for his family.

That guy leads others to eternal life because his fruit attracts others to follow his lead.

The only problem is that the guy you are today will have to die to become the man God has created you to be.

I'm chasing that guy every day.

Be Relentless,

Seth Humphrey

P.S. I have a morning routine that I put in play every day for my Vital 4 areas. Once I complete these Vital 4 tasks, I'm empowered to produce for the day.

If you'd like me to share The Vital 4 with you, email me at Seth@TheVitalityMill.com with VITAL4 as the subject line, and I'll send it your way.

Author: Seth Humphrey