Fri.2.6.15...Being a Godly MENTOR...Encourage part 5

He was having a good time fishing on that lazy river. He had an ice chest full of beer, his headphones on and the tunes blasting. Though the fish weren't biting, he was happy to just drift along. He even got in a snooze. But when he woke up, the little boat was being pulled powerfully downstream. The current was far too much for his little battery powered trolling motor to conquer. He slept through the warning signs on the banks and the people yelling at him from the banks. He was horrified as were the people who watched him perish over the Niagara Falls. The story is fictional, but there are people dumber than that.

This is the last picture of Jessie Sharp, who attempted the feat of going over Niagara Falls on June 5, 1990, in a whitewater kayak without a helmet or a life vest. He confidently had dinner reservations downstream, as his plan had been to continue riding the Niagara rapids after he successfully went over the Falls. His body was never recovered. (There is no cure for stupid!)

Alright, back to my story regarding the danger of drifting. Hebrews 2:1 says, “We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.” Think of how badly Solomon drifted away from the truth. He was the wisest man on Earth and wrote the book of Proverbs, Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes. Yet he drifted from what he knew to be true and ended his life in a shambles- as foolishly as the above kayaker. Solomon built high places for the vile gods of his many foreign wives and even worshiped them! Ugh!

If even Solomon could drift so far from the Lord, what hope is there for us? Plenty! The verse we just read tells us- “We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.” We need to pay careful attention to God’s word. So how can we do that? You are doing even now. You are reading the word of God daily and writing down MP3 verses to reflect on, pray over, praise God for, and pass on to others. The daily intake of God’s word is essential to keep us from drifting. As it’s been said, “This Book will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from this Book.”

But the book of Hebrews reveals another key to keep us from drifting to our ruin as Solomon and sadly so many others have. “Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” Heb.3:13. Daily encouragement is vital. It was fairly easy to do, in small villages when believers would see each other often. But now we are scattered so far from each other. Yet technology has now made it easy to encourage one another daily. We can do that on our blog as we post encouraging comments to one another. And we can do it via texts, emails and phone calls. Imagine how encouraged a wobbly, new believer protégé would be if he got almost daily calls. But you calling him so often might seem a bit much. If only there was a way to frequently contact him and each other for that daily encouragement!  Would you like to know a simple strategy for powerfully accomplishing such? Great! I look forward to sharing it with you at our Sunday meeting.  

1.-Share one thought from today's blog.

2.-Heb.3:13 is such a important verse. Please write it out on your MP3 card “Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”

We are all battling against sin's deceitfulness. So please pass on some encouragement to a fellow soldier battling to stay strong as you are. Do this especially for the "last man standing" above your comments today. Thanks!

3.-R?

4.-A?

5.-Please help me help you. Write just 2 or 3 sentences regarding what you really like about M3. Write it as if you were sharing such with a man you are seeking to recruit. I will edit this into an outreach tool that you can then pass on to men you are seeking to recruit.

Here's the link to our M3 website that you can pass on to men you're reaching out to- http://multiplyingmanlymen.wix.com/m3-gst  This site is newly updated. Pass it on! It will help you influence others. 

Words Worth Repeating
Alvin wrote: "The thing that stands out to me is the idea that we need to think of Job in context. We have the benefit of knowing the end of the story, but Job was not privy to the final chapter of his own book. Job had to go through what he did without the knowledge that God would restore everything he lost and then some! Oh that I would have that type of submission!"

Announcements
See you this Sunday at Jack's 10749 Cherrywood Dr. Palos Park.
We'll start our important meeting at 3:00 sharp so please be early. Please remember to bring a free will offering to defray the cost of the award pins and such. Thanks! (And thank you Jack for lightening my load and being our treasurer.) 

And yes, you may invite men to come to our M3 meeting. I think that is a great way to help them to experience what a great group of men on a mission they could join. 

As you know, you're also welcome to join "The Bible" DVD discussion. It starts at 1:00 with refreshments.

What an Unstoppable team! I commend you for Attacking so faithfully in prayer as well.

	1 Tim.4:15	G=God's Word	Right Wrongs	E	A= Attack Prayers	T	(Men Recruited)
		For Wed.2.4.15
	Alpha Force
	Fire Team 1
1	Jack Rogers U.2	Y	R (Our Respect)	GDP done	A		Daniel & Roger
2	Daniel Contreras U.1	Y		GDP done	A		Vince & Antonio
3	Vince Diaz U1	Y		GDP done	A
4	Roger Vinlasaca U.2	Y		GDP done	A
	Fire Team 2
1	Israel Fuentes U.2	Y		GDP done	A
2	Sam Vargas U.2	Y		GDP done	A		Robert
3	Robert Roman U.1	Y		GDP done	A
4	Antonio Palomar	Y		GDP done	A
	Delta Force
	Fire Team 3
1	Alvin James U.2	Y			A
2	Dave Heidekruger U.2	Y		GDP done	A
3	Mike Pagan U.2	Y		GDP done	A		George
4	George Rabiela	Y		GDP done	A
	Fire Team 4
1	Eddie Morales U.2	Y		GDP done	A		Gary, Ismael, Kentrayle
2	Gary Remson U.2	Y		GDP done	A
3	Ismael Andrade U.2	Y	R (Our Respect)	GDP done	A
4	Kentrayle Adams U.1	Y	R (Our Respect)	GDP done	A