Stay in the fight

Doesn’t life feel like a boxing match at times? You’re in the middle of the 6th round, tattered, weak, and desperately needing to sit in the corner and rest. How many times have you thought, If I could just sit out for a moment…?

Obviously, we need to rest at times, but sometimes rest can be used as an excuse to quit and not get back into the fight. I’ve heard it so many times: “I’m through.” “I can’t take it anymore.” Rest is supposed to be a temporary place to refresh, getting you ready to come out of your corner swinging—because in life the punches never stop coming.

Today I want to speak to the hearts of guys on the verge of throwing in the towel. Listen, we’ve all been there. If someone tells you they haven’t, that person hasn’t fought for anything worth fighting for in life.

As men we were designed not just to take punches, but to take on challenges and defeat them. Yet many times in life, we have opportunity to give up or give in because of:
bad decisions
wrong business moves
things beyond our control
where we came from
lack of resources
And this list goes on and on…

But it’s up to us as men of God to shake off the dust when we fall, get back in the fight, and finish what we started.

Proverbs 24:16
For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity.

One of my mentors, Dr. Edwin Louis Cole, said, “You’re a male by birth, but a man by choice.” We have to make the conscious decision to fight. And to keep fighting.

I remember when I first started sparring in kickboxing. I was totally geeked. I had the gloves, the outfit, and an idea of my Chuck Norris skill set. Before I knew it, I was lying on my back, staring up at the ceiling, thinking, “That dude just kick me in the face!”

I’m sorry to say, my reaction wasn’t, “Now I’m going to rip this guy’s head off!” No, my response was tentative, protective, and I found myself just taking punches.

Isn’t that how we react to life sometimes? We see how we want our marriage, our career, or our new way of life, to be. We have the “new outfit” and “the dream,” and suddenly, life throws a roundhouse kick of the century.

Let me encourage you, there is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9). Every man of greatness has fought a battle that was greater than himself. You are not alone in this! You have someone who is not only in your corner with you, but who is in the fight with you—Jesus Christ, the greatest champion that ever lived! He never gave up, and He stayed committed to the very end. He finished the fight. And won.

So, having Christ in us, we need to know what we’re made of. Yesterday, I was doing some light sparring with a retired boxing champ. He was training me and said, “Eric, your right hand has been attached to your body for 30 years, and you don’t know it!” In other words, “You haven’t tapped into the power and potential that’s already there.”

You have a power, a potential that is uniquely in you! Get to know that power by making a daily connection with your heavenly Father. You’re tougher than you think because your God is tougher than you think. He created you in His image and then even made you new in Christ.

Ephesians 2:10
10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

You are unique. You have a call that is vital and specifically for you. Your Father birthed a unique dream, a vision that takes a man like you to finish. That’s why you need to stay in the fight. For you and for others.

Live like the godly man only you can be.
Love your wife like only you can love her.
Fight passionately for the destiny of your family—the battle that only you can fight!

While in the fight, stay focused, keep your guard up, and don’t get distracted.

“You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.” Zig Zilglar

What is the greatest battle you are facing right now?

I’ve heard it said, “You cannot manage what you do not measure.” So you have to take inventory for a moment and honestly evaluate where you’re at in your fight. (What round are you in? Do you have godly life coaches to help you map strategy? Are you still giving 100% at this point?) Then spend time on your game plan. Write down some practical things you can do this week to help you not only stay focused, but win the fight!

We’ve all heard the saying, “To do the same thing over and over and expect change is insanity.” So let’s be smart about our dreams. What tactics do you need to change before you can win the fight? Are you willing to pay the cost to stay in the fight?

I hope so. Because what you’re fighting for is critical for you and your family. It’s worth it to keep throwing punches. Stay in the fight! You’ll be happy that you did.

Stay Strong,
Eric Shawn Raftery

The Good Stuff

Where’s Your Passion

Where’s Your Passion

The question for today: Do I have passion in my life?
When I study the lives of great men and women in history, there is one common denominator I find: passion. When anything of significance was created or battles of seeming impossibility were won, passion was at the forefront. The world system has its idea of passion, which mostly revolves around lust and sexual desire. Unfortunately, this misrepresents the depth of meaning in this word. There is passion that is positive and even necessary in life. We were designed to have passion (strong, COMPELLING emotions/feelings) in:

Our relationship with God the Father
Our relationship with our spouse
Our relationship with our children
Our pursuit of what we were created to do in life (career & areas of service)

We have been made in the image of God, who Himself is passionate about His love for us. So much so, He gave His only Son to bring us back into relationship with Him.

“For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.” John 3:16 (AMP)

That’s passion! And like our Father, we were created to have passion in our lives; it is within our very core.
The problem is that life can throw us a curve and cover that passion with apathy. Each one of us faces forks in the road due to life moments like a broken relationship, a parent or friend saying hurtful words, the loss of a love one, or a moment of injustice. We have to make a choice at that point: to continue a life of passion, fighting through the circumstance and pursuing God’s best for us and others OR to settle for a life of apathy, continuing on without our fight, completely numb to what once stirred our hearts.

In John 4, Jesus is a great example of a person of positive passion. Jesus takes the road less traveled—literally—as He purposely travels through Samaria, disregarding the cultural and religious barriers of the time. Filled with passion for humanity, He ministers to a woman who is viewed by others as worthless. As He does, He discerns that her own passion has been pointed in the wrong direction. By speaking the truth to her, He stirs up the right kind of passion in her, introducing her to the living God. Kindled with the right kind of passion, she spreads the message that touched her to the entire city, and many come to know Christ. The right kind of passion changed the entire community for the better. Notice: a person of passion will always leave a legacy.

So ask yourself: Is my life filled with the right kind of passion or am I walking down the road of apathy? The good news is that the road of godly passion can always be found through a passionate relationship with the Father. So focus on that relationship, and leave a legacy that only positive passion can.

Stay strong!

Unity Despite Diversity

click here to listen -Unity Despite Diversity

From the beginning of my ministry, I knew the world would be my backyard, that my reach would extend to the nations. Last week I had the privilege to spend some time in Penang, Malaysia, rescuing and furthering the dreams of everyday people.
In the midst of another culture, I spoke to the people of a nation with which I was not familiar. Yet we connected immediately. From the first note of my singing, we were kindred spirits. I felt like I was at home, in a familiar place; it was comfortable. What was this connection? What pulled my heart close to the people of Penang as we gathered together? The presence of God. As I enjoyed this feeling of closeness, I remembered Psalm 133:1 which says, How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity.
There is such an amazing feeling in unity. Unity brings hope and healing. It brings an atmosphere of breakthrough. How so? When there is unity, you feel like you can accomplish great things. Why? Where there is unity, there is collective strength and real power that follows. You are no longer by yourself, but in the fight with others. In Penang there was unity despite our diversity, and it was pleasant.
The cool thing was that we didn’t need to all be the same in every way, to look the same, think the same, talk the same, or have all the same opinions. True unity came from connecting to a move of God, connecting to His presence. That’s pleasant! Again, what made us brothers and sisters in that first moment in Penang? Was it our culture? Our language? Our specific church affiliations? No, it was simply our relationship with the Father.
Whether you understand it or not, the Christ-believing church down the street or around the world from you, shares one thing in common: our Father. As believers in Christ, we need to have true unity with all of our brothers and sisters. Romans 12:18 says, Do all you can to live in peace with everyone.
Sometimes I watch Christians have an easier time getting along with people who are un-churched rather than their own brothers/sisters in the Lord from another local church. Why? Usually it’s because of a difference in opinion or an offense. But this should not happen in the Body of Christ!
Don’t focus your life’s journey around an opinion or hurt feelings. Remember, the most important thing to focus on is what we all share in common as believers, our Father, His presence, and His Son sent to redeem us all. I’m not asking you to shirk your core moral values to make peace and achieve unity. However, let’s make it our goal to have the “pleasant feeling” of brotherhood in our churches and in our communities at all times through our connection with our heavenly Father.
Unity will always bring hope and healing. When you find yourself in unity, you will find the strength to do great things. This week I encourage you to connect with the Father. Then you’ll find it rather easy to be in true unity, to keep peace with all men.

Stay Strong!

Unity Despite Diversity

3 MIN LIFE MOMENT -DON’T CHASE THE TURKEY

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN-MP3

I remember like it was yesterday. It was deer season—my wife’s least favorite time of year, I think. Nothing like spending the whole day away from the house and then coming home with nothing. But that’s a whole another subject. Anyway, it was dark and freezing, but I was determined to come home with a huge buck that day. Making my way through the forest, I found a perfect tree to climb and wait in until light. As I sat in silence, shivering from cold, a million thoughts ran through my mind, namely why in the world am I here right now? At this point, I’m totally hating deer hunting. But then it happened: something huge started coming my way. I couldn’t see it, but from the sound it was making in the brush below, I knew it was enormous. How many points was this monstrosity going to be? My heart racing, I prayed it would stay in range of my tree until dawn. I couldn’t see it, but I knew it had to be a beast.

My point: I was in the dark, getting excited about something I couldn’t see.

As the sun finally rose and I slowly turned to put this record-breaking deer in my sites, what did I find just a few yards away? A large, ugly, wild turkey! What? Are you kidding me? I had waited in anticipation for this?

How many times have you found yourself in a similar situation? You were excited about something—a business deal, a dream date, some perfect opportunity—and yet when the light was shined upon the subject, it was…let’s just say, less than desirable.

As we all know, life is full of surprises, yet we don’t want to waste time chasing turkeys if we don’t have to! That’s why I love PS 119:105: “Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” I love the idea of having a lamp to light my path so I’m not tripped up by what lies ahead in the dark. The wisdom of God found in His Word can illuminate our journey so we navigate more easily and see those occasional turkeys from the very beginning. Not that our lives are without hiccups or frustrations at times, but the light of God’s Word keeps us from unnecessary problems, chasing what isn’t real, and getting stuck in disappointments.

Yet here’s the catch: in order to enjoy a lit path, we must make the conscious decision to use the lamp (the Word of God). It’s our choice to pick it up and carry it on our life journey.

Stay Strong – Eric Shawn

Right Place, Right Time, Right Guy is not Enough

You can be the right guy at the right place at the right time and still fail. We see throughout the book of Exodus that Moses is doing some amazing things. He’s parting the sea, getting water from rocks, food starts falling from the sky… Come on, he’s the man, right? Well, one day he runs into a fierce nomadic tribe, the Amalekites. The Israelites at this moment look like an easy target. Moses does what he does best and relies on the same God who parted the sea, etc. Moses basically tells Joshua, “Take your bravest men and go kick some tail.” The once slaves in bondage for hundreds of years are now fighting against a fierce war machine. This on paper looks bad for Israel. But, God! I find it interesting how I find myself in predicaments that have the potential to get ugly, yet when I bring them to God, everything works out. That’s why I continue to trust in Him and not just my good ideas.
So picture this: Moses on top of a hill, the right man at the right place at the right time, holding out his arms and Israel is winning. Yes, everything looks great! Smooth sailing from here until Moses starts to get weak, to lose strength. As his arms fall, Israel begins to fail. Moses is doing the very thing he’s meant to do, designed to do, yet he’s about to fail. Right guy, right place, right time and now losing. Thank God he had the right people around him. The story says Aaron and Hur picked up a rock, sat Moses down, and held up his arms.
We need the right people around us. We need the right support team in order to fulfill our destiny. We need each other. So you have to ask yourself this question: Am I surrounded by people who will help me when I lose strength? You cannot do it alone. I’ve heard it said, “People are like elevators: they will take you up, or they will take you down.” Who is it in your life that can help you when you lose strength? Because I can guarantee that it will happen at some point. But if you have the right people in your life to support you, you can go on, you can succeed. However, being the right man at the right place at the right time is not just for yourself, but also to help others.

ECC 4:9-12 (NLT)
9Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. 10If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. 11Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? 12A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.

intro to life moments

Penang ’10

Posted via web from LifeRaftonline – Eric Shawn Raftery