Young men crave heroes to imitate, but a neutered, castrated society produces precious few, if any – and many of the heroes of history are hidden away and forgotten. Ever prescient, the author C.S. Lewis warned of the dangers of such a society – dangers which young men in particular now face. Lewis wrote: “Where men are forbidden to honor a king, they honor millionaires, athletes, or film-stars instead: even famous prostitutes or gangsters. For...

Through the work of the Spirit in our lives and through the discipline of our minds (Romans 12:2), the roots of our lives must become firmly planted in the reality of God’s love as revealed in Christ. Like the ground from which a tree’s roots are nourished, God’s love is the one source from which we are to drink and derive nourishment. When we are empty, we are to drink the fullness of God’s love. When we face temptation, we are to drink the...

“Honor” is one of those intangible aspects of life. Many of us seek “honor” in various ways. But, as Proverbs says, “Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool.” (26:1, ESV) Scripture portrays the honorable and the fool as opposites. So, who exactly is the fool? Scripture gives us the explanation. “The fool says in his heart, there is no God.” (Psalm 14:1a, ESV) Paul said this in his letter to the believers in...

I owe this one to my (famous) twin brother Roger. My “Men of Valor” focus was inspired by a message he gave to my church’s men’s group on a Veterans Day weekend. His opening thoughts were from the movie “Gladiator,” as Maximus goes down the line of his commanders, they grab each other’s right arm and say to each other, “Strength and honor!” I want you to observe how he engages his men and how they look at him. They know his care and...

Doctors do it. Detectives do it. Aliens allegedly do it. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines the verb form of a “probe” as follows: “to search into and explore very thoroughly:subject to a penetrating investigation.” Probing is a long-accepted military practice. In combat operations, a commander will probe the enemy’s defenses to find a weak point to exploit. As soldiers of the cross, our enemy is probing us for weaknesses in our...