It’s Ok to Not be OK Devotion

Have someone pray and eat.

You guys probably greeted each other when you came in. You know when someone asks you how are you? What do we normally say? We’re doing good, or doing fine, or we are great. But are we always doing great? We are broken people, living in a fallen world. It’s ok, to not be ok all the time. You probably shouldn’t wallow in your pity, but we are not always ok and that’s ok.

Maybe you watched the news, that will depress you, or maybe someone recently died in your family, or you’re just not feeling good, or you’re sick of being sick. Or you’re having a bad day at work, or your home life just isn’t that great.

Men, lean on your brothers when you are having a hard time, we are here for each other. Simon Sinek is a motivational speaker. Simon says “Do you have 8 minutes to spend with a friend? In his video Simon says that his friend stated, you didn’t respond to my message when I needed you and Simon says, well your message didn’t indicate you needed me, or needed help, it started out like every other message. If you need help, let someone know, hey I really need you today. I’m having a hard day, or a tough time.

He goes on to say it just takes 8 minutes to make someone feel better, listen to their problems, pray with them and pray for them.

Ask Eddy to say Ecclesiastes

Turn to Ecc. 3:1 (Take turns reading)

1: For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

2: a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
3a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace. (Bible Gateway ESV 2025)

There is a time for everything, sometimes we are on the mountain, and sometimes we are in the valley.

But what is our hope in? Jesus Christ. Our hope is in Jesus Christ. If you believe in the good news, or the gospel of Jesus Christ, in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul lays it out for us, 15:1 “Now I would remind you, brothers,^[^a^] of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, ²and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.³For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁴that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (Bible Gateway ESV 2025)

If you believe in that, if Jesus is your Lord and Savior, we are going to spend eternity in Heaven with the Lord.

How long is eternity? When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we’ve no less days to sign God’s praise than when we first begun.

It’s ok, to not be ok, down here on this earth, but Jesus is coming back! And we are going to spend eternity with Him.

Steven share with the group how you get someone to open up and share what’s troubling them. So, let’s practice saying that we are not doing that good. Break into groups and ask each other how you are doing, and I want you to say I’m not doing that good today.

Now, I want you to ask how I can pray for you, and I want you to take turns praying for each other.

Does anyone have anything else on your heart?

Next month’s meeting, outside at a campfire? Watch a movie: The Forge? And if you want to give the next month’s devotion, let me know.

Brotherhood Covenant

Who knows what a Covenant is?

A covenant is a relationship between two partners who make binding promises to each other and work together to reach a common goal. They’re often accompanied by oaths, signs, and ceremonies. Covenants define obligations and commitments, but they are different from a contract because they are relational and personal. Think of a marriage—a husband and wife choose to enter into a formal relationship, binding themselves to one another in lifelong faithfulness and devotion. They then work as partners to reach a common goal, like building a life or raising children together.

There are some men in this room that have been married a long time. Who has been married the longest? Who has been married the least amount of time? Maybe we can learn from each other the importance of a marriage covenant. And maybe I just needed to hear this and research this. Maybe this is for me?

A few weeks ago, I was away for a class for three nights. I wasn’t gone long, but it reminded me how important a covenant is with God, and I was able to be still and reflect how important the covenant is between me and my Manuela. And how important it is to not break that covenant.

Jason Soroski writes “For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish… We have heard these words repeated in many wedding ceremonies, and if you are married you have likely said them yourself! What does it mean to be in a covenant marriage, and how does it enrich our lives and fulfill God’s purpose?

At the heart of biblical marriage is a covenant before God to cherish one another and continue to grow as one. At the heart of a covenant marriage is a desire to not just ‘get through’ life together but to thrive together. It means to love, encourage, and cherish one another while constantly seeking Christ in our relationship.

That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.” Covenant Marriage as presented in Scripture is not something to be taken lightly, but makes up the foundation for the family, the community, and the bedrock of a strong and healthy society.

The Bible declares marriage as the most important relationship one can enter into aside from their relationship with God, and Ephesians 5 gives us perhaps the most detailed explanation of how this plays out.

There is a full, beautiful meaning in the full context of these verses that reveals the beauty of what covenant marriage truly is: “Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior”.

”Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.” In this passage, it is reiterated that in a covenant marriage the husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her.

This is a picture of two people in mutual submission to Christ, and a wife submitting to a godly man who leads the home spiritually and who loves his wife more than he loves himself. As Christ was crucified for the sake of his ‘bride’ the Church, the covenant husband is willing to endure the same for his wife he has given himself to in marriage. This is the most beautiful of love stories. A story of mutual love and submission, of two individuals ever-growing more and more into one, entwined within the love of Christ and for one another.

Marriage continues to be the most beautiful ceremony we engage in. This is because within marriage we find deep and wonderful meaning. We see the beginning of a new life and an adventure of two people joining their lives together, entwining their hearts as one in the presence of God, friends, and family. It is the highest of vows. Near the end of a traditional marriage ceremony, we often hear the phrase, “Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” This phrase, drawn from the words of Jesus in Matthew 19:6, reminds us that marriage is a covenant initiated by God, which we agree to join into. When we commit to a covenant marriage, we are joining our hearts together in a supernatural way that only God can orchestrate.” (Jason Soroski 2021)

I came home to a couple that we know where the husband broke that covenant with his wife and with God. He cheated on his wife, and I got to hear about that and how it tears a family apart and how sad it is. They’ve got three kids together. I got to reflect on that when I got home.

I said all of this to remind us how important our covenant is not only between our wives, but how important it is to God. And to remind us men, that our wives are special and our marriages are special and that we should cherish our wives. We should strive to love our wives like Jesus loves us. Do we take that covenant serious enough?

We just had Valentines Day, so I got a good deal on these cards, grab a card and write your wife a special note, telling how much she means to you and your family. Or maybe you want to write your sister, or Mom or that certain special woman in your life a card.

So go home, give your wife a hug and a kiss and tell her you love her.

How Hot Is Hell?

It’s starting to get hot here in Arkansas. Yesterday’s high temperature was in the 90’s but it felt even hotter. Last weekend my family and I were camping at Gilham Lake, and I was in the sun longer than I should have been, fishing, playing, and swimming with my girls. At the end of the day, I felt terrible. My face was burning hot, and I felt like I had heat exhaustion. My wife said I looked like I had a 2^nd degree burn on my ears. I laid down to go to bed and I just didn’t feel good. I had a cold bottle of water on my chest to cool me down and another cold bottle of water to drink. I thought I needed to go to the doctor, but I laid down and prayed that God would make me feel better and that I would be alright.

Have you ever felt this way? Did you ever get too much sun and just feel terrible? Maybe some of you have had heat exhaustion or heat stroke. I can’t imagine what hell will feel like, but I wonder if that is anywhere even remotely close to what hell will be like? Probably not, hell will probably be much more intense, and it lasts forever, for eternity. There will be no relief from it.

What perplexes me is when people say they don’t care if they go to hell or not. WHAT! You don’t care if you go to hell? You must not understand what hell is? That scares the hell out of me, people that (think) they willingly want to go there. Elon Musk, I would submit that he is not as smart as people give him credit for. Or maybe he is too smart?

Elon Musk

@elonmusk

Replying to

@Almisehal

Thank you for the blessing, but I’m ok with going to hell, if that is indeed my destination, since the vast majority of all humans ever born will be there.

5:57 AM · May 9, 2022·Twitter for iPhone

Elon Musk on Twitter: “@Almisehal Thank you for the blessing, but I’m ok with going to hell, if that is indeed my destination, since the vast majority of all humans ever born will be there.” / Twitter

The Bible says there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. People in hell will be in so much agony that they will gnash their teeth down.

Mark 9:42 ^“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe and trust in Me to stumble [that is, to sin or lose faith], it would be better for him if a heavy millstone [one requiring a donkey’s strength to turn it] were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. ⁴³If your hand causes you to stumble and sin, cut it off [that is, remove yourself from the source of temptation]! It is better for you to enter life crippled, than to have two hands and go into ^[g]hell, into the unquenchable fire, ⁴⁴^[h][where their worm does not die, and the fire is not put out.] ⁴⁵If your foot causes you to stumble and sin, cut it off [that is, remove yourself from the source of temptation]! It would be better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and be thrown into hell, ⁴⁶^[i][where their worm does not die, and the fire is not put out.] ⁴⁷If your eye causes you to stumble and sin, throw it out [that is, remove yourself from the source of temptation]! It would be better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, ⁴⁸where their worm [that feeds on the dead] does not die, and the fire is not put out.” (Bible Gateway Amplified Bible 2022)

We just had someone die in our family. My Sister-in-Law’s Father-in-Law and we weren’t sure of their salvation. We are questioning ourselves, did we do enough. Did we talk enough about Jesus? Did we shine our light? I believe that people can be saved through the loss of others, so I pray that his death is not in vain. I pray for people that do not know Jesus Christ as their savior. I pray that someone will be sent into their lives to set an example to at least plant a seed so that God can do the rest.

Hell according to the Bible

Heather Riggleman 2021 says “Hell is a place of sorrow and torment. This truth is seen throughout the Bible in the Old and New Testaments. The Bible clearly and explicitly teaches that hell is a real place to which the wicked/unbelieving are sent after death. Hell is this infinite and eternal death which we have earned because of our sin. Christ talked a great deal about this subject. He describes “Gehenna” as a place where “their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:44, 46, 48). He spoke several times about weeping and gnashing of teeth for those who are “cast into outer darkness” (Matthew 8:12, 13:42, 22:13, 24:51, 25:30). He also gives the parable about inhabiting a “place of torment” (Luke 16:28). Jesus spoke about hell more than anyone else in Scripture.”

Heather goes on to say “As of right now, whether or not you believe in God—you are still experiencing His blessings. Even if your life is less than ideal. Even if you are sick, poor, or suffering in some way. You woke up this morning to the blessing of His breath in your lungs. He is ensuring your needs are met. If you’re alive and living on this planet, you have already benefited from God’s grace and goodness. Every sinner, saint, atheist, agnostic, and doubter have all received His gifts of being alive, witnessing God’s hand-painted sunsets, the breath in their lungs, or the love of a parent. Everyone has benefited from the goodness in this world that God not only created but provided. He’s given you free will and in Him, you live, move, and have your being—mind, body, soul, and spirit.”

“Hell was created for the rebellion of Satan and the angels that followed him (Matthew 25:41; Romans 6:23). Scriptures indicate God never intended Hell and the lake of fire for mankind but that is where all will go who choose not to put their faith in Jesus Christ. The most important question is not where hell is or even when it was created but how to avoid going to hell. We avoid hell when we choose to believe in Jesus Christ—the One who died to pay for your sins and all who choose to put their trust in Him.” (Heather Riggleman 2021)

When I started out writing this article, I certainly didn’t mean for Heather’s article to take over, but her article is so good.

And finally, how do we insure we don’t go to hell?

“One day each of us will stand before God and Jesus will say, “Depart from me for I never knew you.” After God’s judgment, seated on the ‘great white throne, (Revelation 20:11), anyone whose name is not found written in the book of life [will be] thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15). God has been patiently waiting as He does not want any of His children to perish. We can avoid hell by choosing to love God—by accepting His plan of salvation (Mark 1:15).” (Heather Riggleman 2021)

Here is a link to her entire article. What Does the Bible Say about Hell – Location and Description (crosswalk.com)

Hell is real and it is a place of constant sorrow and constant torment. It’s a place I don’t want to go. And anyone that wants to go there, quite frankly, scares me. It’s hard for me to believe they even have a clue as to what they are talking about. Don’t be like Elon Musk and believe in the saving grace of Jesus Christ who died for you and me, so that we don’t have to endure the agony of hell. How hot is hell? I don’t know and I don’t want to find out! However, I do know that the rich man wanted a drop of water to cool his tongue. Luke 16:24“And he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in severe agony in this flame.’ ²⁵But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things [all the comforts and delights], and Lazarus likewise bad things [all the discomforts and distresses]; but now he is comforted here [in paradise], while you are in severe agony.” (Bible Gateway Amplified Bible 2022) God Bless You!

Fish/Jesus Sign Fell Off (Ichthys)

On the way to work today, I got behind a car. It was an older Honda that had the fish/Jesus sign (Ichthys, Greek word for fish) removed, or maybe it fell off. It was an older car. I couldn’t help but think that since it was an older car that either the sign that portrays the sign of Jesus being a fisherman either fell off or perhaps it was sold to someone that didn’t have a relationship with Jesus and didn’t believe in Jesus and took it off. Either way, a non-believer or the Jesus/fish sign falling off breaks my heart.

It made me sad. I wanted to talk to the person driving the car and ask them what happened to their sign, did they still believe in Jesus. Did they ever believe in Jesus? Is there any thing I could do to help them restore their relationship with Jesus?

All I can do is pray that they will put their Fish/Jesus sign back on their car and display their belief in our Savior Jesus Christ proudly.

What if You Knew Your Destiny?

What if you knew your destiny? What if we knew when we were going to die and how? Would you want to know, when and how? I don’t think I would want to know. Then we could possibly change the outcome? I don’t want to know the date I’m going to pass away. I would be more focused on that date than living my life. Would it change the way you’re living if you knew your destiny?

We should live our lives to the best of our abilities like today is the last because tomorrow is not guaranteed to us. I believe each day is a gift from God and if you’re not living the way you should, we may not live a long and fruitful life. On the flip side of that, is it so bad to die? I mean the ultimate goal is to live a life pleasing to God and to go to Heaven, through our belief in Jesus Christ and God’s grace. However, I will feel sad for the people that I leave behind that love me, my wife, my children and loved ones.

I believe we should shine our lights and try to sow seeds with unbelievers, so they can have what we have, everlasting life. I think that if you are not trying to expand God’s Kingdom, we may not live a long and fruitful life. If you have everlasting life and you’re not worried about dying, or what happens when you die, then you can focus on living your best life and spreading the good news about Jesus and telling people that Jesus died on the Cross for our sins so we don’t have to worry about dying and going to a Devil’s Hell, which wasn’t even created for us, therefore we do know our destiny. If you’re a believer, you’re going to Heaven and you’ll have everlasting life.

Dallas Cowboys VS Jesus Christ

I was running errands the other day around town and I was wearing a Dallas Cowboys’ hoodie. The weather has been what I call in between here in Arkansas. It’s been in between a hoodie and a short sleeve shirt, for me it hasn’t been really warm enough for a shirt without sleeves, but I could just be a wimp.

I noticed a lot of people commenting on my Dallas Cowboys shirt. I got a couple “Go Cowboys” comments. I was also wearing a cross around my neck; now to be fair some of the time I had my cross tucked into my shirt, so I got my cross out and displayed it on the outside of my Dallas Cowboys shirt to see if I can get a “oh you’re a fellow believer, or “Go Jesus.”

Like I said, I didn’t have the cross displayed the whole time, but I got four “Go Cowboys” and no Go Jesus comments. Now, I do want to walk around with a Dallas Cowboy cap, or shirt with my cross displayed more to gather more results, but it’s sad to me that it seems like we get more responses from sporting our favorite jersey than we get from supporting or Savior Jesus Christ, why is that? Let’s make Jesus famous instead of the Dallas Cowboys – Go Jesus!