I have a dream, you see. I have a dream of a different thing. I have a dream of a new thing. I'm a believer you see. I'm a believer in the Spirit of men. I'm a believer in the realm of men. I'm a believer in the men of the west.
Times and measures are backwards now. Things don't look so well for the people of western civilization. We've gone off in search of many schemes. But this isn't the end. A decline isn't a fall.
If we're children of a benevolent creator, and I believe we are, then everything can change. Everything will change. We must believe it can. We must change. And we will.
We know the problem, don't we? Men used to be honorable. Men used to be brave, strong, and courageous. That is the natural state of men. We are to fight for honor, fight against evil, and uphold the good. We are to be the righteous heroes of the stories. Instead we've become the villains, predators of a kind, with no honor, no dignity, stalking weak willed women, inventing new ways of doing wrong, lazy, hopeless, and faithless. But it doesn't have to be that way.
I know, personally. I have a dual doctorate in despair and self destruction. It was fun for a while, sure. But eventually the raw heart begins to cry out for something more. Something different is required.
The Lord said in Isaiah 43:19 (ESV) Behold, I am doing a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
What does it mean to be a man? It seems to me, to be a man is to be honorable. It means bravery and strength. To be a man means protecting the weak, and helping the poor. To be a man is to be a higher being, a Jedi knight, a chivalrous knight, a defender, a rider of Rohan, a soldier of Gondor. To be a Christian man, is to be something even greater. To be a Christian man is to be the crew of a hover ship, it is to be a revolutionary, a member of the Maquis, a Dutch resistance fighter, a loyalist, a patriot militia fighter, a hero on the battlefields of Europe.
One man, even one man can change the world. One man change everything. One man who believes and stands for something he believes in can change everything. God will bless that. The Bible is full of examples of God using a single person, or a few good men, who truly believed and sought a return to holiness, to change everything. He takes our small effort in faith and multiples it by a thousand. I've seen it happen in my life already. It's shocking and powerful. I'm genuinely shocked by it at times. Especially when I see it happen, months later, after a single prayer. Something huge in the USA changes, and I'm like woah. Was that God's answer to my prayer? Incredible.
I'll give you an example. One thing I like to do is share Christian stuff on my social media accounts. I have two Facebook accounts, Twitter accounts, and accounts on Pinterest, Goodreads, Academia.edu, Live Journal, Tumblr, YouTube, and Reddit. I found channels on YouTube mainly from the Veritas Forum, Cross Examined, and Reasonable Faith. I loved watching The Veritas Forum and many other channels to study their methods. Naturally I would share these videos a lot on social media. When I first started sharing videos from the Veritas Forum, and others, most of the Christian videos had maybe 3,000 to 8,000 views. These days when I watch those same videos, the views are up between 100,000 and 500,000. All we have to do is step out in faith, pray, share, and watch God do incredible things.
I digress, I digress. In the history of planet Earth, perhaps one of the most incredible men to walk the Earth was a man named David. He dropped goliath with a rock, remember that story? David had a troop with him in the wilderness, when he was on the run from all kinds of trouble. The scriptures record them as "David's mighty men." The saying is true that those who are with us during the hard times are the ones who will be with us in the good times. David had truly loyal friends. He had Jonathan, the dearest friend one could hope for.
Is that desire dead within the hearts of men? To be brave? To be honorable? To be the righteous hero against the forces of darkness? Must we become shadows? Must we flee all along the nights? Will there always be too many of them, and not enough of us? When is day break? When is the dawn?
I'm tired of the sex obsession of the culture. I'm tired of the lack of dignity. I'm tired of the lies and deceit. I'm tired of so many people always looking to get an edge, to cut a deal, to give up their honor for a dime, and I'm so so tired of people trying to sell me things. I'm tired of men who care about nothing but money and sex. I'm tired of it, and I won't stand for it anymore. I will see men become men of honor again. I will see it in the name of Jesus Christ, the savior of man kind.
It ain't so bad. Who said it was? I know the media always paints good as "boring." And it usually paints evil, depravity, and random sexual encounters as "awesome, fun, exciting." They don't show the next week of paying child support. They don't show the abortion operation. They don't show the divorce court battles. They don't show the guilt felt by the man, or the lostness in the eyes of the woman. What is difficult and boring? Being stuck in the same cycle of dissatisfaction in empty pursuits. Day in and day out, always feeling guilty, empty, depraved, a hole in the chest. Always on the run from reality.
"But I don' believe in God" you say? It's never as simple as that though, is it? Maybe you've been frustrated by the actions of churches. Maybe you've been hurt. Then again, maybe you have honest questions. If you've got honest questions, seek the truth! God will reveal it to you. But let's proceed forward with the assumption that we know there is a God. Most of us do, but maybe we're afraid it'll be too hard. Maybe we're afraid that we can't live up to the impossibly high expectations.
I'm not saying we're gonna be perfect today. Not saying that at all. But if you're reading this, a man, confused, which direction do I go? I'm telling you the truth, this is the way. You don't have to be perfect today. But you can start today.
James 4:8 "Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded."
It's all in the book, the Bible. Now don't worry, I'm not saying you have to start wearing button up shirts, going to cheesy conferences, and sit in pews on Sunday. That's not what I'm saying. I'm not saying "join evangelical culture." Because a lot of that is just luxury society BS. I'm saying radically follow the Jesus of the Bible. I'm saying fight for justice. I'm saying fight for political liberty. I'm saying battle the corruption of big business and big banking. I'm saying fight for the gospel. I'm saying fight for the orphans, the widowed, and the sick and dying. I'm saying take up the lost cause of hope, dignity, truth, and morality in this crazy backwards society of depravity!
James 1:21 "Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you."
He is doing a new thing. The West will have one more great awakening before the fall of all things and the coming of Christ. I'm praying for God to raise up a generation of mighty men of honor, might, and renown. Men of the west. Men of the United States. Men who will fight for the cause. Men who don't fold. Men who don't harm. Men who lead men. Men of dignity. Men of loyalty. Men of respect. Men of passion. Men of honor. Men of God.
Be one of them. Start today. Be a hero. Be a man of honor.
2 Cor 6:6 (NLT) We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love.
Romans 12:10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.
2 Cor 6:1-10 (ESV) Working together with him (Christ), then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For he says,
“In a favorable time I listened to you,
and in a day of salvation I have helped you.”
Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. 3 We put no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, 4 but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, 5 beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; 6 by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; 7 by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; 8 through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; 9 as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; 10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.
