Java for the Spirit: Fueled by Faith, Fitness and Coffee Grounds

When I think of the most influential men in my life, I think of the men who invested deeply and believed in me when there was not a lot to invest in. Each time, their continued investment in a troubled and struggling young man has helped me grow, helped me to understand more about what being a man means. They’ve shown me that real strength is leading with service and compassion. They’ve shown me that a real man follows Christ and never retreats on his responsibilities to his family and community. They’ve shown me a man of God’s responsibility is not to himself alone, but to the Lord, and to the ones the Lord’s given him to lead and shepherd. A man of God stands for what is right, when what is right is not popular. But a man of God acts decisively with courage, not fear; fierce love instead of fierce anger. He draws from the strength of God, not from his own strength. And when He draws from God’s strength, He seeks to strengthen others. His foundation should be Christ alone, an...

We all have daily wars we wage inside ourselves. We battle against guilt, anger, depression and insecurity. We fight fear, lust and addiction. Our minds and our hearts are under attack relentlessly by an enemy that wants to paralyze us and trap us inside our own minds and keep us constantly on the defensive. It amazes me how often we try to fight these battles without the most powerful weapon at our disposal - God's Word. Far too often, the weapon sits within our grasp at arms reach, but remains untouched as the world fires a barrage of bullets aimed straight at our hearts. The book sits on our coffee tables uncracked and the app sits on our phones unopened. Determined to fight the battles alone, we do not pick up the one weapon that has already won the war. 2 Corinthians 10:4 says, "For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but have the divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and tak...