Timber and God 4/15/2015

Good Morning,

How about that? It's Wednesday already and I am looking forward to Friday with a passion. My coffee pot is calling out my name as the last drop of Door County Highlander Grog is brewed.
My goal this weekend is to do some final trimming on some apple trees and a little concrete repairs.

Where my family comes from there has always been a timber industry. Basically logging timber for wood products or paper has supported a few of my family members in one way or the other. As a kid I watched my uncle log, my grandfather cut fire wood and I have stacked my share. What every logger has to do is keep whatever cutting tool he is using very sharp. There is nothing worse than trying to take down a tree with a dull axe or a dull chain saw. Both need to be honed to perfect sharpness to cut safely through a log.

Every Christian man needs to keep sharp also.
Accountability. It’s an often neglected discipline in the church, especially in the life of a Christian man. The writer of Proverbs gives us a good look at  the purpose of accountability: As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. – Proverbs 27:17 -
The fact is, we were never meant to walk this life alone. God made that very clear when he stated it as His very reason for creating a partner for Adam in Genesis 2:18, “The LORD God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone.’” After God repeatedly says “it is good,” we get our first picture of what God deems to be “not good.” But why is it “not good” for man to be alone? Because we were created for community and partnership.
To hold each other accountable and make each other strong is not an option, it’s a command of Scripture. Paul commands in Galatians 6:2, “Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.” This brings forth the question, “How does sharing your burdens allow you to obey the law of Jesus?” Because when you have someone encouraging you to do what is right, and kicking your butt when you screw up, you’re going to be walking in the Spirit and following His law.

Proverbs 12:15 tells us, “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel.” This was likely written by Solomon, the wisest man in all of Scripture (aside from Jesus). Why would the wisest man alive have a need for counsel? Because counsel makes you wise. The Holy Spirit speaks through others, so it is wildly important that you keep close trusted Christian friends whom you can trust to advise you biblically. -

Men pick an accountability partner and start meeting with each other and praying for one another. Make sure this accountability partner is not of the opposite gender and do not use your wife to hold you accountable.

Be wise in your choice, but make haste to do so.

God bless,

Marty