Photo by Matt Collamer on Unsplash Fruit of the Spirit Pursuit: Becoming a Man Led by the Spirit Opening Thought Do you see kindness as a weakness—or controlled strength in action? God’s word and the world are at direct odds in their definitions. God’s word sees kindness as essential; it reflects God’s heart. The world considers kindness as optional—something...
Photo by Levi Meir Clancy on Unsplash Fruit of the Spirit Pursuit: Becoming a Man Led by the Spirit Recap: In Kindness, we learned that compassion isn’t just a feeling—it’s love in motion, choosing to care when it’s inconvenient. Opening Thought Goodness doesn’t trend. It doesn’t get shared, reposted, or noticed. Moral excellence may be a definition for goodness that sounds...
Photo by Levi Meir Clancy on Unsplash Fruit of the Spirit Pursuit: Becoming a Man Led by the Spirit Opening Thought The world treats faithfulness as conditional, situational, and often negotiable. Faithfulness, in modern culture, lasts only as long as it’s convenient—as long as the effort is paying dividends. I’m writing this post in December, as end-of-year...
Photo by Chris Bai on Unsplash Fruit of the Spirit Pursuit: Becoming a Man Led by the Spirit Opening Thought We may have similar definitions for these three terms, so, to keep things straight, the Bible defines Kindness as compassion in action, Goodness as moral integrity and righteous action, and Gentleness as strength under control. The world teaches men that gentleness is a...
Image by Pexels from Pixabay Fruit of the Spirit Pursuit: Becoming a Man Led by the Spirit Opening Thought Do you see self-control as restriction—or real freedom? The world and God’s Word couldn’t be further apart on what it means to be free. The world says, “Do what feels good.” God says, “Do what is right.” The world celebrates indulgence; God calls it discipline. The world...
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay Fruit of the Spirit Pursuit: Becoming a Man Led by the Spirit Opening Thought The Fruit of the Spirit isn’t a list of behaviors to achieve — it’s the evidence of Who’s in control. We hear about the Fruit of the Spirit all the time in church, but many guys don’t know what it looks like when these behaviors are applied to their lives, at work...
Photo by Ben White on Unsplash Fruit of the Spirit Pursuit: Becoming a Man Led by the Spirit Opening Thought The world tells men joy is a byproduct of achievement. Climb faster. Be stronger. Earn more, then you’ll be happy. That form of joy is momentary. One misstep, one weakness, one layoff, and a man’s world comes crashing down. The world says joy is pleasure...
Photo by Deepak Gupta on Unsplash Fruit of the Spirit Pursuit: Becoming a Man Led by the Spirit Opening Thought The world talks about peace in a completely different way than God does. In the world’s view, peace shows up only when life finally stops pressing in on you—when the tension at home settles down, the stress at work lets up, the drama with the kids cools off, the bills...
Photo by Barbara Burgess on Unsplash Fruit of the Spirit Pursuit: Becoming a Man Led by the Spirit Opening Thought Today’s world is addicting us to speed—overnight deliveries, instant streaming, immediate answers. Anything that makes us wait is unacceptable. In Real Faith Isn’t Based on Results, we touched on how impatient we’ve become, but let’s lean in a little closer. When a...
Photo by jesse orrico on Unsplash Faith in Action Pursuit: The Call to Serve Opening Thought As we open this subject, let’s ensure we distinguish between simply helping because there’s an obvious need and a man’s calling. Helping or volunteering is about saying “yes” when someone asks you to stack chairs, greet at the door, or direct traffic in the parking lot...
John is a best-selling author, technologist, and entrepreneur with a passion for helping men grow in faith and purpose. He combines decades of experience in business and ministry to write books and devotionals that speak to the real-life challenges men face.