Good News Brief For Men

Psalm 34: 6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles.   (NIV) Good Day Men! Experience is a great teacher as David points out in today’s verses.   Three things happened here. First, the poor man called.   Second, the Lord heard him.   Third, The Lord saved him from all of his troubles.   Should we expect any less from our loving heavenly Father?   Of course not.   The problem arises when we feel that we don’t deserve this kind of grace, yet God promises to be there for us in times of need and even doubt.   But what happens when things are going fine and there is no apparent trouble in the present or immediate future?   We trust Him for those good times too.   We praise Him in all things good or bad.   He blesses us with His great grace and comfort in times of need as well as times of peace and contentment. Call to God in all times in your life, whether in praise and adoration, or...

Psalm 55: 22 Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.   (NIV) Good Day Men! David fully understands that God is in control and He loves his people.   As believers we are His people and God wants us to trust Him with our needs and concerns.   David knows from experience that God never lets the righteous fall.   The righteous?   That’s us, His children.   We are righteous because we are made right in Christ and right is being righteous. God cares for us and he doesn’t let the righteous fall.   We can fully trust Him in all things. God calls us to him through his Son Jesus Christ.   Accepting Christ as our personal Savior means we belong to Him.   We are forever righteous. Prayer:   Dear Lord,   Help me to believe that you will never let me fall.   Help me to trust you in ALL things. May God richly bless us as we continue seek His will, and His way, through Hi...

Psalm 25: 12 Who then, is the man that fears the Lord?   He will instruct him in the way chosen for him.   (NIV) Good Day Men! David’s instructions are quite clear.   When man is following God in obedience then we have no fear of God, only to fear His mighty judgment when we willfully stray away from His perfect guidance and direction for our lives.   I see also dependence upon God and His direction given by instruction found in His holy Word.   God has in fact chosen a direction for our lives and is more than willing to show that direction to us as we seek His will and His way through His Word. God’s mercy extends into the lives of those who choose to willingly follow Him.   To many, God is a casual God.   But that kind of understanding displays lack of knowledge and wisdom found only in God’s holy Word through the experiences of those who have gone before us leaving behind the rich legacy of life, knowing God.   True understanding a...

Psalm 31: 1 In you, O Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness.   (NIV) Good Day Men! As this verse may at first appear, it is not a reminder to God that David has called upon Him.   It is more an acknowledgement to God that David has done as God has called Him to do in times of trials and tribulations.   David has taken refuge in God.   David has retreated to his safe haven just as we should do in times of struggle in our lives.   Not only is David taking his refuge in God but also he is asking God to deliver him in a holy righteousness, God’s righteousness.   This man clearly knows what to do in times of trouble.   He is resting in God and is expecting God to deliver him.   David trusted God for the answers. In the remaining (4) parts of this devotional we will see other ways in which David sought refuge in God. God calls us to rest in Him in times of trial and tribulation.   ...

Psalm 37: 13   But the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming.   (NIV) Good Day Men! The end result of the unrepentant man is clear.   Their last act of defiance will be facing hell and all of its fury.   This is the promise of God for those who reject His Son Jesus Christ.   Just as the promise for the believer to inherit his place in heaven with the Father and the Son.   As sad as it is for anyone to go to hell it is clearly an outcome that they have brought on themselves.   This should identify our purpose in winning the lost for the cause of Christ.   However there are many who make horrible remarks and use God’s name in vain and slander our Savior.   These are some of those whom God will laugh at.   Their remarks and actions are fruitless and gain them nothing except for accountability when they stand in judgment before our holy God.   There will be no laughing at that time.   There will be on...

Psalm 37: 12   The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them.   (NIV) Good Day Men! You can take this verse and apply it directly to today.   The wicked do plot against the righteous and they do gnash their teeth at us.   They don’t like being made to feel uncomfortable in the world they live in.   So they lash out and we are their targets.   It was said of a radio host one time not long ago that he would be glad to see the rapture so the world will finally be rid of those Christian believers.   The world will finally be rid of those pests.   Little does that person realize the tribulation and hell awaits those who do not believe.   How sad.   We need to pray that God will reveal to us ways we can still be a testimony to even that kind of person.   The way he acts is natural for him.   He is an unrepentant sinner. Oh God, help us find a way to reach the unreachable in your name and for your sa...

Psalm 37: 11   But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace.   (NIV) Good Day Men! Here we have reassurance that peace will finally come and the meek (those who are found in Christ) will indeed inherit the land.   Peace is what all believers seek.   There is peace in knowing Jesus as Lord.   There is peace in knowing our future is secure in Him for eternity.   This can actually allow us to become more courageous in presenting the gospel of Christ to a lost and dying world.   We go farther to explain the truth and spend more time in clarifying what Christ did on the cross.   As believers, we can be as bold as the unsaved and the wicked in presenting the gospel but never cross the line into the arena of argument or even heated discussion.   This is where Satan resides.   He doesn’t want you to be in control of any conversation with any unbeliever or a fallen believer (one who has wavered in his faith).   Satan wa...

Psalm 37: 10   A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found.   (NIV) Good Day Men! What joy it will be to no longer be confronted and even abused and persecuted by those who are wicked, unsaved and hate us as believers.   That sounds rather harsh, doesn’t it?   But the loss will be their own should they never accept Christ as their personal Savior.   That is a choice they have made.   But the echoes in our hearts will be, “what more could I have done to win them to Christ?”   This should give us greater desire to intensify our efforts to reach the lost for the cause of Christ in this present age.   Do we hate the wicked the same way the wicked hate us?   I hope not.   For Christ does not hate the sinner, He hates the sin.   He died for us all, but only those who have chosen to follow Him will be saved. In this present age we still face persecution and the devil is having...

Good News Brief Weekend Hebrews 13: 16   And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.   (NIV) Hello Everyone, How many wives have failed miserably in trying to change your husband?   To my knowledge some changes may have taken place but they went the wrong way.   These changes weakened the male spirit and watered down his desire to excel.   What causes this to happen is not the changes the wife is trying to make in her husband but it’s the fact that the man eventually finds himself unacceptable and his self-esteem becomes damaged.   He’s convinced that his marriage is in trouble because of something he did or failed to do.   The key word here is failed.   No one likes to face that word in any way shape or form. The problem began in the garden when Eve was not satisfied and began talking with the serpent.   She was looking for an edge in life and the conversation with the serpent...

Good News Brief Weekend Hebrews 13: 16   And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.   (NIV) Hello Everyone, How many of you wives have ever noticed your husband talking with a friend in the yard or driveway for what seems like hours, and when he comes into the house he suddenly becomes silent?   You’re ready for conversation but he just clams up giving you short single word answers to each probing question you ask.   What happened?   Well, Ladies, it’s not you.   It’s the nature of the man.   We as men tend to communicate better with our own sex.   Listen to our conversation when we meet some new guy who has just moved into the neighborhood.   Within three minutes we know where he works and what the does for a living, how old he is, and what his favorite sporting activity is.   Maybe, just maybe in the first conversation we might even find out if he’s married and has a f...

Psalm 141: 10   Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by in safety.   (NIV) Good Day Men! Here in David’s Psalm we see the end result of the wicked.   Wicked is referred to as the unsaved, and those whose practice is evil, which are unsaved as well.   Generally the wicked will fall into their own traps, devised by the evil one himself, Satan.   Satan’s great joy is entrapment of unbelievers, many of whom think that Hell is just a place to party with their other unsaved friends.   Many believers fall in Satan’s traps as well.   This is usually caused by lack of maturity in Christ.   When you tell someone the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16: 19-31) they tell you that it’s just a story from the Bible.   Jesus told the parable and it is in fact true.   The unsaved don’t like facing the truth.   Satan’s great lie is more fun. How sad to leave some of those we love and care for only to leave them t...

Romans 12: 9   Love must be sincere.   Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.   (NIV) Good Day Men! We are to hate evil as God hates evil.   As believers, there is no room in our lives and hearts for evil to reside, much less visit.   Our love for others in Christ must be sincere.   It must be genuine, just as Christ’s love for us is genuine.   We end with “cling to what is good”.   That is Christ himself, the absolute in all good. God’s Word has so much instruction for us to follow.   But God would not ask us to follow His instructions if we were not capable of doing so through His Son Jesus Christ. Prayer:   Dear Lord, Help me to seek you in following your instructions for our lives.   Only through You can I have that fruit bearing life that experiences abundant living that only You can provide.   In Jesus’ Name, Amen! May God richly bless us as we continue seek His will, and His way, through His Word. ...

Psalm 25: 8   Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.   (NIV) Good Day Men! Here, the Lord is described as good and upright .   Is there any sinner who is good and upright?   Only those sinners saved by grace and are justified through Jesus Christ and the Cross.   These are called Believers and are no longer sinners since they have followed the instruction of the Lord and have Accepted Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross.   Many refer to Believers as “sinners saved by grace”.   How true this statement is.   How sad, there are many sinners who hear the instruction of the Lord and still they turn Him away. It was told me by a great Pastor some time ago that if we, as believers, really understood the torment of hell, we would work harder at winning the lost to Christ. Our focus is not to scare someone from hell, as much as it is to win someone to Christ through the Cross.   Fear is a great motivator, ...

Matthew 10: 5   These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions:   Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans……… (NIV) Good Day Men! The entire Chapter 10 consumed Jesus’ instructions to the twelve.   His instructions were intended to focus on God’s eternal purpose for the lives that these men were to reach in the name of Jesus Christ.   If you notice the Gentiles were excluded in His instructions.   Our inclusion would come later.   But now Jesus displayed great intention in his Father’s mission and purpose for these new disciples in Christ.   They were to follow their new leader, Jesus himself.   They were to display confidence in all He instructed them to do.   We hear of this mission’s success in Chapter 11.   They in fact did follow the instructions of the Savior, as we should do too. God knows the future and guides us with His mighty hand His end purposes to fulfill.   We must con...

Habakkuk 3: 2   …….I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord…….. (NIV) Good Day Men! Recognition of who God is in our lives is not only very important to Him, but it is also very important to us as believers understanding that all blessings come from Him.   We cannot fabricate blessings for ourselves nor can we have others bless us as God could.   Our relationship in Him deepens when we understand the uniqueness of our holy and mighty God.   We may never fully understand Him, but we can fully appreciate Him in recognizing Him as Habakkuk the Prophet did.   This is only a partial verse but it can guide us into a deeper relationship in Christ when we recognize who God truly is and the potential we have through Him as believers in His Son Jesus Christ. We need to continually seek to know Him better as He guides us into a closer relationship in Him. Prayer:   Dear Lord, may I more clearly understand your great love for me as I draw nearer to you each ...

1 Chronicles 17: 20   There is no one like you, O Lord, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. (NIV) Good Day Men! David is acknowledging the presence of our holy God in his life.   In verse one David acknowledges the place that his family has found in the presence of his mighty God.   God has blessed David’s life in so many ways that he truly senses a relationship grounded in knowing God and experiencing the level of spiritual intimacy that has developed throughout the existence of this union.   David’s experience with God did not remain a relationship only involving him and God alone.   It expanded into the life of his family as we see in the ways that his son (soon to be King) Solomon acknowledged the presence of this mighty God in his own life. Many wonderful things happen as we pass the heritage of knowing Jesus Christ down through the ages as we seek to have that same kind of relationship that David had with God. Pray...

Matthew 11: 30 For My yoke is easy, and My load is light. (NASB) How can we trust Christ to handle burdens that are heavy to us?   He is God and He cares for us.   He never struggles with what we bring to Him.   He ALWAYS has time to listen to our needs and respond to our heart’s desires.   Sometimes His answer doesn’t match our request as we see it but we must remember, God has a better plan for us than we could ever have or develop for ourselves.   We often don’t fully or even slightly understand His answer but we can trust the fact that He is God, and we can fully trust Him in all things.   His yoke is easy .   How can this be?   He simply knows HOW to carry our load.   All through our life we are learning HOW to carry our own burdens, and there’s Christ with the answer.   We need to trust Him.   His load is light .   This is because He is God, and we will never be able to over-burden His heart with our load. We ha...

Matthew 11: 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you shall find rest for your souls. (NASB) While we are resting in Christ as is told us in the previous verse, we need to learn from Him through His Word.   God’s Word is much more than merely substantial.   His Word is much more than we can imagine.   I know when I face hardships and trials and tribulations of any kind I often return to the more familiar verses like the 23 rd Psalm.   I know He guides me, but when I experience that Psalm again and again I see more clearly the love that God reflects through this great Psalm of David.   Sometimes I can hardly make it through the first part of the first verse, “The Lord is my Shepherd”.   Through each trial and hardship He allows before us, He is still the mighty, loving and compassionate Shepherd, and He is more than willing to guide us all the way through the end of our journey on this earth.   He pr...

Matthew 11: 28 Come to me all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. (NASB) What happens when you are facing trials and tribulations and times become unbearable? Where do you turn, and what can you do?   You may be facing unemployment, family troubles, marriage issues, health problems, or maybe even experiencing the loss of a loved one.   In any of these situations, God is ready to help and guide you through whatever it may be that you are facing.   He is still there. You may be weary of carrying any of these burdens on your own but God has other plans for your journey through this particular trial.   Looking at today’s verse we see Christ speaking and telling us to come to Him.   You may have been carrying this burden for a very long time.   You actually feel weighed down by all that this burden entails.   You are heavy-laden and God wants to give you rest through His Son Jesus Christ.   He never intended for ...

Romans 15: 13   May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.   (NIV) Good Day Men! Paul wanted the Romans to live at peace and to have joy.   Paul never knew that almost 1,953 later his writings would be seen, read, absorbed and lived out by those who believe.   But I also see in this verse great words of encouragement.   Paul’s missionary journeys were not easy.   He suffered some very hard times.   He suffered persecution, sickness, loneliness, captivity, just to name a few, and yet he encourages us to apply this verse to our lives.   Obviously this man’s joy and hope was in Jesus Christ and there is where he found his joy in all things. Key Thought: When our day looks to be a difficult one, Look to God, the finisher of our faith for He wants us to experience Him in all we say and do. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace a...

Acts 11: 4 So being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there to Cyprus. We can be used by God in the same powerful way as Paul and Barnabas, but we must be in tune with Him if we expect to experience the same level of spiritual sensitivity that they did in seeking God’s direction in their ministry. Send us out for the cause of Christ all other things are secondary.   If we put Him first, He will take care of our provisions along the way. Prayer :   Dear Lord Jesus, Help me to seek You in establishing clarity in the direction you would have me to go.   In Christ I pray, AMEN! May God richly bless us as we continue seek His will, and His way, through His Word. Have a GREAT Day!!! In Christ, Rev. Ted J. Wilkins Founder and Director of “Good News Brief For Men” Ministries © 2013 Ted J. Wilkins “GNBFM Ministries”                 ...

Matthew 20: 32 Jesus stopped and called to them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.   (NIV)   Good Day Men! I encourage you to read the entire story of these blind men that Jesus blessed with sight. (Matthew 20: 29-34)   The question in today’s verse is quite clear. “What do you want me to do for you?”   This is God speaking through His most holy son, Jesus Christ.   He is not telling us what He wants these men to do for Him.   He is asking a very personal question.   He is not making any demands.   He wants to know their requests.   God wants to know our requests as well.   The end of the verse shows the result of their request.   The fact is God showed grace through His Son and healed these men. God wants to know our hearts desire as well, and our greatest desire should be to follow Him Key Thought: God waits for us to come to Him, always anxious to answer our prayers.   Philippians 4:6 Do not b...

Hebrews 10: 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.   (NKJV) It’s hard to believe but sometimes we doubt if God is actually hearing us when we call out to Him.   In today’s verse we see that we should hold fast with a tight spiritual grip and don’t let go as to be sure and not waver in who we believe in.   The end of this verse is incredibly powerful, “for He who promised is faithful.”   This is not some flippant comment made by a ghostwriter.   This is a statement made by a writer who has personally experienced the faithfulness of his most holy God.   It is clearly reflected in how the writer puts this verse in our laps and expects us to experience that same power. So let’s step up men.   Our testimony is as significant as our ability and power through Christ to transfer this verse into the lives of others. Our families included. Prayer :   Dear Lord Jesus, Make me effective ...