Mighty Man of God by Sam Laing: Introduction, Chapter 1, Appendix
Dear friend,
Today’s quiet time begins with a book titled: Mighty Man of God: A Return of Glory of Manhood written by Sam Laing. A good friend kept encouraging me to read this book. You can find a used copy on Amazon.com for 44 cents. The content I’ve read so far is pure gold: inspirational, challenging, and encouraging.
I read the introduction, first chapter, and the appendix. The rest of this post will be quotations, my thoughts and notes. If you have a copy I encourage you to follow along.
Introduction
The introduction begins with a letter from Sam to a select group of men:
“They were brave warriors, ready for battle and able to handle the shield and spear. Their faces were the faces of lions, and they were as swift as gazelles in the mountains.” - 1st Chronicles 12:8.
He challenges them to read, study, and meditate on 1 Chronicles 11, 12 and 2 Samuel 23:8-30 for preparation. He genuinely believes in his men and challenges them to be whole-heartedly prepared or not to come to an early morning meeting at 5:30AM. He also says he wants the men to prove themselves through actions instead of just words. Reading that letter alone challenged the tar out of me. I’d like to say I would like to attend a meeting like this, but not in my current spirituality.
That morning 29 men stood up to the challenge to become mighty men of God. Laing also describes how he used the Bible to inspire and radically changed the men in the coming months. He also bluntly lays out the sad state of what “manhood” has come to. I never thought of it before, but Laing mentions: where are the Churchills and Lincolns. Where are the great men of old? “The presidents and leaders seem unable to remain faithful to their own wives, much less inspire a nation to greatness.” I don’t know why, but that quote really resonates with me.
In the last part of the introduction: Laing calls men to wake up, because there must be true men out there. He calls men to conquer weaknesses and fears; and to forge onward to become a mighty man of God.
Chapter 1
Chapter one focuses on the Spirituality of men.
- We need depth spiritually
- We need consistent study of God’s word
- We need to be devoted to prayer
- We need to continually grow
- We need to begin today
Appendix
The appendix has stories from the first group of mighty men and their accomplishments. Two of Laing’s sons also participate in this program. The appendix is truly inspirational. It got me fired up again. It’s been a long time since I felt that.
Anyway, I hope to grow and make some positive changes within my life and learn from this book. Who knows maybe I’ll create my own Mighty Men of God group.
Peace be with you,
~Hoo
Quiet Time: Tact, Actions, and Listening
I know I haven’t posted consistently for a while. There are several factors, but the major ones are that I am lazy, I have lacked transparency, and I lost discipline. Those will change. I will do an experiment to keep track and blog twenty times a month- essentially every week day for one month to see if this helps me or not.
I read a lot in my quiet time today.
Here are three scriptures that resonated with me today.
Actions are the ultimate way to measure something.
Proverbs 20:11 - “Even a child is known by his actions; buy whether his conduct is pure and right.”
When I watch people there are many who just talk, but don’t live out their values by actions. It’s as they say, “Actions speak louder than words.” I personally need to work on this. Yesterday, I made a promise to God and people that I will not be late. I hate being tardy or late to things.
Listen completely and don’t interrupt.
Proverbs 18:13 - “He who answers before listening- that is his folly and his shame.”
I got in an argument with my girlfriend yesterday and one of the major issues that she had with me is my constant, pre-emptive strikes when she speaks. I have a tendency to not wanting to listen when the conversation goes the “wrong” way so I cut them off. However, after she mentioned what she was going to say afterwards, I was reminded that I need to wait and listen until the other party has done speaking.
Use tact while speaking.
Proverbs 17:27 - “A man of knowledge uses words with restraint, and a man of understanding is even tempered.”
I have a tendency to be unwise when I speak, most of the time this is because I speak before thinking. This is a disease that affects too many people. I’d like to change this. I know tact, discernment, and wisdom can save me from a lot of trouble and help me in the future.
I hope I can remember these three things for at least today.
Photo: http://flickr.com/photos/cleversimon/
What I learned from
I’m done reading A.J. Jacobs’ The Know It All. It was a good book- definitely entertaining. I’m not planning on reading the Encyclopaedia Britannica, but its nice to know that I won’t be spending a year reading 33,000 pages, 44 million words, and 10 billion years of history.
However here are some key points I would like to remember from it:
- This too shall pass - everything has an end- except for God, but I can’t really prove that
- Focus on the good stuff - be positive, love life and enjoy it while it lasts, there is something magical about every moment
- History contradicts itself and people are hypocrites - just accept it and move on
- Say yes to adventures or you’ll have a dull life
- Knowledge and intelligence are different
- Pursue the joy of learning
If you have a couple of hours I encourage you to check out his book. I recommend reading the book and not the encyclopedia. Reference books should be used just like that… as a reference.
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