11 High Impact men won the first battle at the CHOP, while 4 men ventured up to Milford for a Recon session as we prep to launch the next AO in Delaware- Next week Aug 29th!!
Warm up-
Capri lap
Windmill – 10
Cherry picker- 10
Moroccan nightclub – 10
SSH- 20
Mountain climber-20
Squats- 20
The Thang-
3 stations with 3 workouts each. Split into groups of 3 or 4., pick a station.
1- burpees
2 – merkins
3 – dips
4- burp jack
5- hair burners
6- American Hammer ( option with coupon)
7- slosh pipe squats
8- plank
9- squat overhead press with Cindy
Each man choose a station- you will do that exercise for 60 seconds or until Q calls for switch. Move to the next , repeat.
After each group has finished their station , we take a mosey lap around the block.
Come back to the next station, for 60 sec each or until Q calls switch.
Continue pattern until each man has done each station and run 3 laps.
Bolt 45’s –
15 squats to halfway down. 15 squats
halfway to full down. 15 full squats
Windmills – 20 IC
Imperial Walkers – 20 IC
Mosey .5 miles to “Oh Hill No”.
The Thang
After a 10 count, PAX completed a “Toy Soldier Set” of 50 LBC’s, 30 E2K’s each side, and 20 Big Boys. Extra credit for completing the set on the incline of “Oh Hill No”. Next, we partnered up and completed the Burp Back Mountain routine as per the Exicon, but modified for time. One PAX Nurs up the hill and runs down the hill 5 consecutive times while the other completes burpees AMRAP. The switch was made so all could enjoy the burn.
F3 message – see below
Mosey .5 miles back to CHOP.
Count-O-Rama, Name-O-Rama, and the Circle of Trust. Please keep all our HIM in your thoughts and prayers.
F3 Message 08/13/19 – Calming the Storm with Him Always Watching Your Six
Life is a journey of many trials and tribulations that shape and molds us into the person that we are or that we are to become. As men, we try and we do find some success in handling many of the smaller life issues on our own. Sometimes we develop an attitude that we can handle all or most things on our own. That is until the raging storm comes that is completely out of our control. We give everything we have on our own and we still aren’t handsome enough, young enough, wealthy enough, smart enough, or strong enough to overcome whatever situation that we may be going through. We don’t understand why God allows these storms to come, but we gotta trust and believe and have faith that God has a purpose that is far beyond our understanding. We have to remain steadfast in our faith and Let Go and Let God calm the storms of life that we encounter. He always has our “Six”. Allow Him to restore us to where He would have us to be, not where we think we should be. Faith as defined by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association website is as follows –“ In the Bible, “faith” means believing in God, and in what Christ has done for us to make our salvation possible–and then committing ourselves to Him. In other words, faith has two parts to it, and both are equally important. The first part is belief–belief that God exists, and that He loves us and sent His son into the world to save us. Faith isn’t a vague hope that God might exist; it is a definite belief that what the Bible says about Him is true. The second part of faith is commitment–a definite decision not only to believe in our minds that Christ can save us, but to put our lives into His hands and trust Him alone for our salvation. True faith not only believes Christ can save us, but actually trusts Him to do it.”
God did not intend for our faith in Him to only be present in the best of times. He wants us to trust Him with all that we are even when we are facing the fiercest storm or the strongest adversary. He has our “Six”
Joshua 1:9 New King James Version (NKJV)
9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
2 Corinthians 4:8-10 New King James version (NKJV)
8 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.
Psalms 107:28-31 New King James Version (NKJV)
28 Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble, And He brings them out of their distresses. 29 He calms the storm, So that its waves are still. 30 Then they are glad because they are quiet; So He guides them to their desired haven. 31 Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
Psalms 9:9-10 New King James Version (NKJV)
9 The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, A refuge in times of trouble. 10 And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You
As defined by the non profit organization “Got Your Six” and gleaned from their website.
“In the military, “got your six” means “I’ve got your back.” The saying originated with World War I fighter pilots referencing the rear of an airplane as the six o’clock position. If you picture yourself at the center of a clock face, the area directly in front of you is twelve o’clock. Six o’clock is what lies behind you. On a battlefield, your “six” is the most vulnerable. So, when someone tells you that they’ve “got your six,” it means they’re watching your back. By extension, that person expects you to have their back as well. “Got your six” is now a ubiquitous term in the military that also highlights the way military members look out for each other.”
Isaiah 58:8 New King James Version (NKJV)
8 Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
Warmup: All IC 25 SSH, 18 Cherry Pickers 18 Moroccan Night Clubs, 18 Windmills, 18 Mountain Climbers
The Thang Mosey around the block Bring Sally Up with Burpees on Up (30) Mosey around the block Burp & Merk Pyramid up to 10 and back down. Start with 1 merkin 1 burpee, 2 merkins 1 burpee, 3, …100 merkins 19 burpees.
Mosey around block Cptn Therkin 1 Big Boy 4 American Hammers 5 Merkins, up to 5 Big Boys & 20 Double Count American Hammers with 5 merkins each time. Mosey around block
Brief message about F3 encouraging us all to win the 1st battle each morning by posting and how we all benefit from surrpunding ourselves with other HIM.
Q: Waterfall The PAX: Toy Soldier, Summit, Ruxpin, Ying Ying, Chairman, Gump, Doubfire, Chattahoochee
The Warm Up: 20 SSH IC, 20 Diaper Pickers IC, 20 Moroccan Night Club IC, 20 Windmill IC, and Superman Banana! Superman Banana starts in the superman position. When Q yells BANANA you roll over on to your back in a reverse of the superman so you are curled up like a banana. When the Q yells SUPERMAN you roll back. Rolled back and forth like a bunch of crazy people a few times.
The Thang #1: Route 66 and a bag of chips. We did the Route 66 from telephone pole to telephone pole. We did it decessending from 11 burpees at the first telephone pole down to 1 burpee at the last telephone pole for a total of 66 burpees. For added suck we also did LBCs ascending. I’m calling the additional exercise “and a bag of chips” since it was added on.
The Message: The story of the Rich Young Ruler. His good works weren’t good enough. Jesus invited him to follow him. But the young man went away sorrowful because he wouldn’t give up his lavish lifestyle to follow Jesus.
The Thang #2: Waterfall likes the wall! Wall of Burpee for an additional 3 burpees. Each PAX takes the chair. We go down the row doing 1 burpee each. Then we went down the row again doing 2 burpees each. Next we did Mexican jumping beans and overhead claps ascending up to 10 jumps and 40 claps. With a few minutes left we ended with some Mary.
Bolt 45’s –
15 squats to halfway down. 15 squats
halfway to full down. 15 full squats
Cherry Pickers – 15 IC
Chilcutt Plank Jacks – 15 IC
Windmills – 15 IC
Mosey .5 miles by way of the merkin
mile to the school. Each ¼ mile, all Pax
stopped to complete 25 merkins.
The Thang
Q brought a modified Super 21 beatdown for the hot and humid morning that Summit dubbed “a friendly 82” degrees at 7:00 a.m. 1 Merkin to 1 Big Boy Sit up. 2 Merkins to 2 Big Boy Situps. 3 Merkins to 3 Big Boy Situps, etc., etc., etc. Since we had excessive heat and humidity, Q elected to start at 21 in descending fashion. Each merkin/big boy set was followed by 21 prisoner squats. All Pax completed the round of 21 descending through the round of 16 before taking a break for the third F. After the message, Pax completed the Super 21 descending through the round of 10.
Mosey .5 miles back to Aegis. Pax stopped twice on the return mosey and completed 25 merkins at each stop to complete the merkin mile.
Back at the Aegis, Pax completed the modified Super 21 from the round of 9 descending to the round of 1.
Count-O-Rama, Name-O-Rama, and the Circle of Trust. Please keep all our HIM in your thoughts and prayer.
F3 Message 07/20/19 – Q shared from Ron Hutchcraft Ministries in regards to how Jesus, the Cross, and the Bible is being systematically removed or “stolen” from our daily lives because it offends someone. As Christians, we must remain vigilant and defend the One who sacrificed all for us.
Who Stole the Cross? – #6479
Thursday, November 10, 2011
“Somebody stole the cross! Go figure.
Well, I mean that was a news story that got my attention a while back. The missing cross was a six-foot-tall metal structure that was embedded in rock and concrete, and it was perched high up on Sunrise Rock in the Mojave Desert. Veterans actually placed it there to honor those who’ve died fighting for their country. And wow! It’s been there for 75 years—no problem; suddenly—problem. People who didn’t want it there argued against it all the way to the Supreme Court. And for the time being, the Justices said that it could stay. But then somebody just went up there and stole the cross. It’s crazy.
I’m
Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You about “Who Stole the
Cross.”
As
soon as I heard the story, something much more troubling hit me. The cross has
gone missing a lot of places these days; places that matter a lot more to God
than some mountainside in the desert. I’ve listened to lots of sermons and
Christian radio programs, and sometimes I’ve heard little or nothing about
Jesus’ cross. I’ve heard lots of Christian talk about how to have a great
marriage, or how to raise your kids, how to manage your money, how to have a
good self-image, but somehow they never got to the cross.
I’ve
heard some great Bible teaching that was deep and powerful, but the cross was
on the margins or not even on the page. We’ll talk a lot about important things
like justice for the oppressed, compassion for the poor, and help for families,
and God cares about all of them. But we never get to God’s game-changer for a
sin-broken planet, and that’s the cross of Christ.
Sadly,
I think of lost people I’ve known for a long time and talked to about a lot of
things, but somehow I’ve never told them about the cross where Jesus died for
them. I suspect I’m not alone. Too often, Christians talk a lot about their
church or their faith, but not much about their Savior. Oh, yeah, somebody
stole the cross…from our conversations, from our ministries, maybe even from
the center of our hearts.
Oh,
I know who took it. The one Jesus called “…the thief who comes only to
steal, kill and destroy” (John 10:10). The devil hates the cross because as the Bible says,
“having disarmed the powers and authorities, (Jesus) made a public
spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Colossians 2:15).
You
know, Satan’s death warrant is signed in the blood of Jesus. He knows the power
of that cross. The oft-quoted Charles Spurgeon called the cross God’s
“magnificent magnet.” And in our word for today from the Word of God
in John 12:32, Jesus said this about His cross: “When I am lifted up…I
will draw all men to Myself.” No wonder Satan says, “Hey, go ahead.
Talk about everything you want. Just don’t mention that cross.” Talk about
your church. Talk about your faith. Talk about your family values. Don’t
mention the cross! The enemy of our souls knows its power and does whatever it
takes to erase the cross from our view.
Now,
veterans are outraged that the cross was stolen from that hill. We should be
outraged! We’ve allowed Jesus’ cross to be stolen from the center of our
hearts, and our ministries, and our conversations. “The message of the
cross,” 1 Corinthians 1:18says, “is…the power of God.” I need to be as
passionate about elevating that cross as the world and the devil are about
eliminating it.
I have the unspeakable privilege of taking a lost friend by the hand and walking with them up a hill the Bible calls Skull Hill, and standing there at the foot of an old rugged cross, and sharing with them the greatest love in the universe. “What He did here, my friend, was for you.” Without that cross, there is no hope…no heaven.”
Great times! For this time of year as PAX rotate out on vacations it was awesome to have 11 HIM drop the DRP and post for the Field of Dreams [delirium] workout. It wasn’t always this way, so its exciting to still see double digits when others are out. Plant, Grow, and Serve small workout groups of men for the invigoration of male community leadership–on mission!
So here’s the skinny, it went a lil’ something like this:
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH’s – 18 IC
SwartzJack’s – 20 IC
Seal Jack’s – 18 IC
Plank Jacks – 18 IC
Merkins – 10 OYO
Crab Flippers – 18 IC
The Big Dice
THE THANG:
Upon returning to the AO following a nice brisk 0.5 mile Patriot Run around the block, PAX divided into 2 teams. Teams took turns rolling the 3 dice until reaching the opposite end of the field.
ROUTINE: Roll dice, both teams Bear Crawl to dice, execute the corresponding number of Burpees rolled (teams were to remember total number rolled. Team with highest number determined the punishment of lower scoring team at the end of the field).
Team 1 rolled 4x – Roll dice, Bear Crawl, Burpees. Rinse & Repeat…
Team 2 rolled 3x – Roll dice, Bear Crawl, Burpees. Rinse & Repeat…
Team 1 Rolled the highest number, though neither team remembers the exact number due to burpee delirium. Guestimates are as low as 77, but it was more likely closer to 100.
Da MATH: Neither team rolled less than 11 (77 Burpees would be the bare minimum), but there were rolls of 16, 14, 13, and 12. I.e. just know that the PAX executed ALOT OF BURPEES!
Rolling the highest accumulated number, Team 1 determined they would do 15 Merkins, while Team 2 was assigned 30 Merkins.
PAX took the long Mosey back to the AO, taking turns swapping out holding the dice overhead. They’re not heavy but THAT did create a different dynamic for the mosey.
Meanwhile back at the AO: 3rdF Message…
(The following thoughts adapted from R. Kent Hughes in Disciplines of a Godly Man)
Harry Blymires, in (The Christian Mind) said, “The Christian mind has succumbed to the secular drift with a degree of weakness and nervelessness unmatched in Christian history.” He sees our generation as suffering from religious anorexia (anorexia religiosa), a loss of appetite for Christ.
The bottom line is: this comes from a declining willingness to properly program the amazing instruments God has given us. Christians leave their 12 billion cells unguarded and unthinking—and undisciplined. When we turn to God’s Word, we’re aware that the Biblical writers understood the problem in a less technical way. “Above all else, guard your heart,” says Proverbs, “for it is the wellspring of life” (4:23). “For as a man thinks within his heart, so is he” (Prov. 23:7). The Scriptures tell us rightly that INPUT DETERMINES OUTPUT — that our PROGRAMMING DETERMINES PRODUCTION.
The one thing that will always shape your life is the condition of your heart. The Apostle Paul told us in Philippians to think on explicitly positive things: The true. The noble. The right. The pure. The lovely. The admirable. This is more than the power of positive thinking. They all defy negative exposition. I.e. each is a matter of personal choice — and our choices make all the difference in the world. We all can CHOOSE a thought “program” which will produce a Christian mind.
2 AREAS OF PERSONAL APPLICATION:
#1 – I have great sympathy for those whose past has been a series of bad choices. I understand that if over the years one has chosen the impure and the illusory and the negative, it is very difficult to change. But as a biblical thinker I give no space to myself or to anyone else who rationalizes his present choices by the past. Brothers, as followers of Christ we are free to have a Christian mind/a biblical worldview. It IS within our reach, and it is our duty.
#2 – We should be aware of the wise warnings against using words like “all,” “every,” and “always” in what we say. Using absolutes is dangerous. But I’m going to do it anyway. Here it is: IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR ANY FOLLOWER OF CHRIST WHO SPENDS THE BULK OF HIS EVENINGS, MONTH AFTER MONTH, WEEK UPON WEEK, DAY IN AND DAY OUT WATCHING THE TV AND WATCHING VIDEOS TO HAVE A CHRISTIAN MIND. This is ALWAYS true of ALL Christians in EVERY situation. A biblical mental program cannot exist with worldly programming. Again, INPUT DETERMINES OUTPUT — PROGRAMMING DETERMINES PRODUCTION.
Where the Bible says “think about such things” (Phil 4:8), the word that is used is “logidzamai”, from which we get the mathematical computer-like word logarithm. It means a “deliberate and prolonged contemplation as if one is weighing a mathematical problem.” It’s like getting junk mail versus getting the new Shooters Magazine, Runners World, etc. Or like getting junk emails versus emails from F3 or GoRuck, etc. You throw out the junk after a brief scan, but you take deliberate and prolonged contemplation over the new items from your favorite sources.
Even more so, we are to think about the good and positive elements God wants us to put into our computers/minds. God calls HIM in His Word to a massive and positive discipline of the mind. You cannot be profoundly influenced by that which you do not know. I.e. INPUT DETERMINES OUTPUT — PROGRAMMING DETERMINES PRODUCTION.
“Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me. I have more insight than all my teachers, For I meditate on Your statutes. I have more understanding than the elders, For I obey your precepts.” (Psalm 119:97-100)
Last but not least A Round of Mary:
Flutter Kicks – Courtesy of Chattahoochee
Box Cutters – Courtesy of Vanilla
Big Boys – Courtesy of Gump
LBC’s – Courtesy of Summit
American Hammers – Courtesy of Ying Ying
COT/BOM:
Announcements: Warm-Up VQ scheduled for Gump @ Primis. Be there!
Prayers: Chattahoochee, Bill Crouch, YHC, etc. Plus, as always prayers were lifted up for each PAX to be a HIM in his home, his workplace, and in his community in which he serves.
That’s a wrap. Lot’s of PAX on vacation but we still posted 11! Way cool to see the continued growth of this group and of each individual PAX getting stringer and better as they keep posting. YHC was once again honored to lead!
Warm up. 20 SSH. 15 windmill. 15 cherry pickers. Butt kick around half the circle, high knees other half. Right shuffle around half circle, left shuffle other half. Right karaoke around half circle, left karaoke around other half.
Mosey to middle school.
Start at first sidewalk (five total). Bear crawl to second and do 25 super squats. Lt Dan to third sidewalk and do 25 switch kicks. Lt Dan to fourth sidewalk and do 25 windshield wipers. Bear crawl to fifth and do 25 leg bicep curls each side.
An set. 10 big boys. 20 leg raises. 30 reverse crunches. 40 long arm crunches.
Do the same workout above except backwards, so we nurred where we lt danned and we crawl beared where we crawl beared.
F3 LAX (crab vs bear soccer. Split into teams. And everyone on one designated side of field (offense or defense) did crabwalk and the other side did bear crawl, switch every goal. (15-20minute game). Ended 5-4 with a ruxpin game winning goal.
3rd F on how to pray and the Lord’s Prayer Vs our prayers.
WARMARAMA: 20 Moroccan Nightclubs IC , 20 SSH IC , 20 Copperhead Squats IC, 20 Cherry Pickers IC, 20 Mountain Climbers, 15 SSH IC
The Thang 1: Mosey to Shipbuilders Village and partnered off. Partner 1 runs to Spinnaker Lane and nurs back while partner 2 is doing merkins and then switch. Then Partner 1 runs to Genoa Ln and nurs back while partner 2 is doing side plank leg lifts switching sides at 10 counts. Then switch with partner.
Thang 2: Mosey to Post Office circle. Same partners. Partner 1 bearcrawls halfway around circle and crawlbears the second half of the circle while Partner 2 does 80/40/20 super toy soldier set. Then switch.
3rd F – First Watch Psalm 143:8 Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.
I have struggled all of my life with a shallow relationship with my heavenly father. I have tried since I was 15 years old to have a daily quiet time with him. I have had spurts of success, but never sustained. Some events in my life over this past year have caused me to reflect on that issue and I have made some major changes accordingly. I belong to a Christian business leaders group called C12 Group. About 5 years ago I was at a C12 conference in Orlando the founder, Buck Jacobs gave a stirring message about how important it is to have a consistent daily time in the Word of God and prayer. He said the best success for that time is the first hour of every day, no matter what you do. Make it non-negotiable. At the prompting of a very good friend of mine, Herb Troyer, whom I ironically introduced him to C12 4 years ago, he suggested I revisit that message. I did, and I have successfully adopted this routine into my life now 138 days straight (Buck is on day 10,000+-). I would encourage each of you to consider this to be part of your life, a non-negotiable start to your day. God will redeem your time and rest.
Apart from Christ, we are all creatures of our fleshly desires and habits. Even though He promises that our salvation is secure, our commitment to living under the Lordship of Christ must happen one day at a time as we react to the many challenges and temptations which come our way. Our ability to provide Godly leadership stems solely from our daily intimacy with Christ. Unless we abide in Him by routinely accessing His means of Grace (i.e., Bible, prayer, worship, fellowship, witnessing), it is easy for us to get off track and be compromised in our ability to be ambassadors and make disciples.
Start small, 10-15 mins everyday. Routines become habits, habits become part of us, good or bad. This will change your life, I promise you.
Psalm 119:11 Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
Ephesians 6:13 ..put on the whole armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
It was great to once again have a Cousin Eddie with us. We had 2 PAX from different regions in SC last week and today we extended a warm (very warm!), humid, and sandy welcome to JAX FL, Gecko. Nothing like getting that F3 Passport stamped! That made it a 12-pack for the beatdown.
This Gloom’s “gameful employment” brought to you by Nugget’s influence. Our brother has a reputation for bringing games into his Q’s, so YHC, looking for a fresh Q idea, decided to throw-down with a man-sized game of sandbag Tic-Tac-Toe. a.k.a. Tic-Tac-Gohhh! Of course, we started with the warmup…
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH – 18 IC
Swartz Jacks – 20 IC (just pay attention Leatherman, you’ll get ’em figured out)
Imperial Walkers – 20 IC
Hill Billy Walkers – 18 IC
Crab Flippers (a.k.a. Cherry Pickers) – 20 IC
Flying Squirrels – 10 OYO
Mosey down N. Bedford Street to the field on North Bedford Street Park, where PAX would find what pre-ruck rucker Ruxpin caught YHC red-handed setting up prior to the workout: A man-sized Tic-Tac-Toe painted on the field (shout-out to sprayable sidewalk chalk!) YHC should’ve taken a pic because, you have to admit, it did have a cool F3 symbol painted in the middle square.
PAX counted-off by 2’s…well, some of us did. Uh, hem, Doubtfire! It took a couple tries but we got it figured out. Nonetheless, 12 PAX beat the Fartsack to post for this highly excellent game! 12 PAX equals 2 teams of six. Y’all started your Saturday with 2 Six PAX! Here’s how it all went down:
THE THANG:
Teams were set up EXACTLY 100′ feet apart. Team X, with 5 40lb sandbags stacked at their cone marked with X’s. Team O, with 5 40lb sandbags stacked at their cone marked with O’s. On the count of 3, 2, 1 Gohhh! PAX took turns and had to carry a sandbag and carefully place it (like a baby, per Q’s instructions) into the tic-tac-toe design in the middle of the field trying to get 3-in-a-row-tic-tac-toe! Teams played to win the best of 7 rounds.
Round 1: O’s win! (wouldn’t you like to hear THAT more??)
Winners, Plank.
Losers, 25 Sandbag Squat Swings
(Yes kids, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose!)
Round 2: O’s win! (yep, you heard it here first, folks! O’s won 2 straight!)
Winners, Plank.
Losers, 25 Sandbag Squat Curls
Round 3: X’s win! O’s 2 – X’s 1
Winners, Plank
Losers, 25 OH Shoulder Press
Round 4: X’s win! O’s 2 – X’s 2
Winners, Plank
Losers, 25 Bulgarian Ball Busters
Round 5: X’s win! O’s 2 – X’s 3
Winners, Plank
Losers, 25 Sandbag Pulls (vertical…sack to your Bombjacks!)
Round 6: O’s win! O’s 3 – X’s 3
Winners, Plank
Losers, 25 Plank Pulls
CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND, Round 7: Teams compete with their best line-up
Jack Wins! SOG…Son Ofa Gun!
Losers, 18 Burpees (both teams)
Great competition, great fun! We all got stronger, so yep, it looks like everyone actually did win. Hmm…
3rd F Breather: YHC shared a rinse and repeat of a 3rd Word he shared from a life experience which really drove home the Word of God:
Exodus 33:13-15. Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but You have not let me know whom you will send with me. you have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with Me.’ If you are pleased with me, teach me Your ways so I may know You and continue to find favor with You. Remember that this nation is Your people.” The Lord replied, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. Verse 15 reads: Then Moses said to Him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not lead us up [to the Promised Land] from here.“
As leaders, what’s one thing we CANNOT do without? God’s presence!
Earlier in verse 2 it says that an angel would go with them, but NOT God’s presence.
In verse 3, going into the Promised Land, victory was promised
BUT…God’s presence WOULD NOT go with them. Before Moses pleaded with God later in the chapter, we read that God had planned to withhold His presence from His people.
Have you ever thought about why? This used to confound me until I was walking a trail in the woods across the parking lot from my church years ago, with 2 of my 3 boys. After playing with every stick (guns/swords) and every rock (grenades) it was time to start heading down through the woods, across the field and parking lot toward home. But the boys would not stay with me! After repeated urgings for them to stay with me, without their corresponding response to do so, I, slightly ahead of them on the trail just simply stepped behind a large tree. I literally hid or withheld my presence. I’m their father, so I didn’t do it to be mean or even to make them suffer. I didn’t go home and cruelly leave them in the woods to fend for their 2-yr-old and 3-yr-old selves. I stepped behind the tree to hide my presence for one reason: To hear the words “Daddy, where are you?” They cried out almost immediately and I responded almost immediately. That’s when it hit me! When God hides His presence from us it’s not because He’s mean, wants us to suffer, and it’s not that He is cruel. He simply wants us to recognize His absence and to call out to Him and say, Daddy, where are you? I need your presence in my life, my leadership! I need you God. That’s what Moses cried out on behalf of himself and the nation. And God answered and said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
As men, husbands, fathers, and leaders what’s one thing we cannot do without in order to be HIM? God’s presence! When you notice His absence, repent (turn) and cry out to Him.
The Thang 2:
10 Swerkins, run (kinda) across field – 20 Carolina Drydocks
10 Swerkins, run (kinda) across field – 15 Split Jacks (15 each leg)
10 Swerkins, run (kinda) across field – 10 Mtn. Man Poopers
10 Swerkins, run (kinda) across field – 05 Nipple Scraper Merkins
Prayers: Chappie’s teens; Gecko’s teens; Chattahoochee; etc. Thanx for taking the hand-off Vanilla!
Thanks for the opportunity to lead HIM! Thanks for your ear at Coffeeteria, Gecko. What are the odds that you show up in DE and post at exactly the same time we’re working through almost identical issues with sons? Perhaps Soul-Q might’ve had a hand in our schedules.
PAX partnered up for B.O.M.B.’s on
the Hill. One PAX Soldier Crawls
(Spiderman Crawl) up the hill and mosey’s back down while his partner completes
a series of exercises. Each team completed
a total of 50 burpees, 100 Overhead Claps completed as SSH’s, 150 Merkins, 200
Big Boy Situp’s, and 250 Squats.
However, Q had each PAX carry his own weight and complete half of that
total exercise amount before moving on to the next exercise….25 Burpees, 50
Overhead Claps completed as SSH’s, 75 Merkins, 100 Big Boy Situp’s, 125 squats. A little chatter in regards to the pain
station prompted a response by Q to blame it on the milkshake he indulged at
the fireworks display last night.
F3 Message – See below
Mosey .5 miles back to CHOP by way of
the Patriot Run.
Count-O-Rama, Name-O-Rama, and the Circle of Trust. Please keep all our HIM in your thoughts and prayer. Save travels and a shout out to Bovine and Chappie as they were completing a 17.76 mile Ruck during this morning’s beat down.
F3 Message 07/04/19 – Excerpts were utilized by Q from the re-post below from Christianity Daily as well as Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
Happy Independence Day 2017: Bible Verses
and Quotes To Reflect On What Freedom Means In America
JUL 02, 2017 07:26 PM EDT
From Christianity Daily.com
Fourth
of July marks the moment in history when representatives of a new government
uprising signed the Declaration of Independence in the United States on July 4,
1776. The document listed grievances suffered by the U.S. colonies under
British monarchy and justified a desire for liberty. It was penned by Thomas
Jefferson. Also known as Independence Day, it is an annual holiday that
symbolizes freedom. It is celebrated nationwide in 2017 on Tuesday, July 4.
Although declared in 1776,
Americans were not delivered from bondage until 1783. The high cost of freedom
was paid for in blood, in what historians estimate to be the death of 25,000
American Patriots. It took eight years, four months, and fifteen days of war between
America and Great Britain during the American Revolution to be fully attained.
The Oxford dictionary defines
freedom as “the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants
without hindrance or restraint.” It is also defined as the “absence
of subjection to foreign domination or despotic government,” and “the
state of not being imprisoned or enslaved.” Christianity Daily compiled a
list of Bible verses and quotes that shed light on the true meaning of freedom.
As
the United States of America celebrates Independence Day on July 4, it’s worth
noting the nation was founded upon the idea that God created human beings to be
free. The Declaration of Independence states that people “are endowed by their
Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and
the pursuit of Happiness.”
But
what is “liberty,” exactly? Is freedom based upon the country where you live,
or can it have a deeper meaning?
Here
are some key ideas from the Bible about freedom—including how to find true
freedom in your life.
1. People have been searching for it for thousands
of years.
The
quest for freedom is a theme found throughout the Bible, from Genesis to
Revelation. Just three chapters into the story of God’s creation, humanity gave
up its freedom by choosing to rebel against God. From that time forward, the
perfect freedom God created in the Garden of Eden was gone, and the long-term
effects were both physical and spiritual.
The
Old Testament of the Bible records how God’s people lost their physical freedom
time and again as various empires overtook them (most notably the Egyptians, as
recorded in the book of Exodus).
The loss of physical freedom was often
tied to spiritual disobedience like worshiping false gods. But time and again,
the one true God forgave His people and rescued them. When God freed the
Israelites from slavery in Egypt, He was foreshadowing the arrival of Jesus Christ,
who came to free humanity from sin—the spiritual slavery that leads to death.
Today, many people are living in
spiritual slavery without realizing it. They chase false gods of money,
success, personal comfort and romantic love—only to realize they still have an
emptiness that can’t be filled by any of those things.
2. God’s answer to our loss of freedom has always
been Jesus Christ.
When Jesus began his short period of
ministry on the earth, He announced He was the One that God’s people had been
waiting for since the fall of humanity. He did this by reading a particular
passage from the book of Isaiah—a passage his listeners knew was referring to
the Messiah, or the Savior of the world.
The words had been written hundreds of
years earlier and spoke of a new freedom that was coming in the future. When
Jesus stood up to read, He was saying the future had arrived. Liberty would come through Him.
“And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He
unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to
the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are
oppressed, to
proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’
And he rolled up the scroll and
gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the
synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, ‘Today this
Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing’” (Luke 4:17-21, emphasis added).
“For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him
should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
The Good News—the best news ever—is
that faith in Jesus frees us from the death we deserve for sinning against God.
It frees us from the punishment that would be inflicted upon us at the end of
our lives for the evil things we’ve thought and done.
While Christ followers still battle
with sin, they are no longer slaves to it. Through the power of Christ, His
people can be set free from the bondage of greed, vanity, pride,
pornography, addiction, abusive behavior, gluttony, selfishness—and any other sin under the
sun. Here’s what Jesus
said about the freedom He offers:
“If
you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,and you will know
the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32).
“Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone
who practices sin is a slave to sin.The slave does not remain in the house
forever; the son remains forever. So if
the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:34-36).
God created human beings, not robots.
We don’t have to accept the freedom He offers us through Jesus Christ. He gives each person the free will to accept or reject His salvation.
But the Bible warns that hell is a real place where real people end up when
they knowingly reject the truth.
Likewise,
those who choose Christ are not forced to obey Him at every turn. But God makes
it clear: the best life is one that’s devoted to honoring Him. As the Apostle
Paul explained to some of the first Christians:
“’All things are lawful for me,’” but not all things are
helpful. ‘All things are lawful for me,’ but I will not be dominated by
anything” (1 Corinthians 6:12).
“For you were called to
freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the
flesh, but through love serve one another” (Galatians 5:13).
From cover to cover, God’s Word points
to freedom in Christ. And God doesn’t leave us wondering how to grab hold of
the freedom He offers. It starts with acknowledging our brokenness—and
admitting we are slaves to sin. And it ends with choosing Jesus and following Him daily. Only He
can break the bonds of slavery and lead us to true freedom, now and forever.
