What is ”The Strange Him!!”? The Strange Him!! is a MAN who has conviction, courage, and strength. A “MAN” in today’s society is totally different than a “man”. A MAN is one who protects, provides, and leads. These MEN are truly strange to most people, and this newsletter is an observation and celebration of that MAN. Thank you for your support, and hopefully, you will like what you read. If you like this content, share this newsletter with another “strange” MAN. You can share the newsletter by simply clicking on the Facebook, X, Linked In, or email buttons above. Stay strange, my friend!!

I know I have not been here and shared these newsletters as I should. It takes an old country boy like me quite a while to put one of these together, and I often think I should just quit and not worry about it. “I tell myself, no one will miss it if you don't write anymore.” Then, out of the blue, someone mentions this newsletter, and I think, dang, maybe this is part of what the Lord wants me to be doing. So, here I am!

I am going to do my best to start giving a little something every week, even if it is just a blurb. Some weeks, the newsletter may just be a quote or a verse of Scripture or the copying of a devotional or summarizing a podcast.

But before all that starts, we have some unfinished business to attend to. The last newsletter was “Have You Equipped Yourself?” We have a lot of unpacking left to do from that newsletter; but if you recall, the first step in equipping yourself is to believe. I know some of you on this email list, but I don’t know others. I don’t know your life- whether you are married, single, or divorced; what kind of person you are; what state you are in emotionally; or anything about your spiritual life.

The one thing I can tell you about you, and you might disagree, saved or unsaved, is that you need Jesus in your life. Some of us may be believers, and Jesus lives in us, while some of us may have never experienced a relationship with Christ. In either instance, we are in need of Jesus in our lives. The saved man needs Jesus to help him walk daily and become the man Jesus wants him to be; the man Jesus wants us to be is a reflection of Him. The Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” and 1 John 2:6 says “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.” The only way to walk like Jesus is to be known by Jesus and be filled by Jesus.

Now, the unsaved man needs Jesus in his life to get past the first hurdle of equipping oneself, which is to believe. Of all the things discussed about equipping oneself, the most important is probably the easiest to do…Believe. I’m not saying that because we believe and let Jesus be the light of life that every day will be unicorns and rainbows, but like the old gospel hymn says:

“Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!”. 

Some of you might never have made the decision to give your life to Christ because you are still hanging on to the ways of this world. I hung on for a long time, and Christ has always had His arms wide open to welcome me to Him. He has always been near; it was I who carelessly wandered away of my own accord. As long as you still breathe the breath of life, it will never be too late to receive Jesus into your life. Some of you may be reading and wondering what this is all about. You have never had the gospel shared with you and have no idea what it means to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. For those of you who know but are still running with the world, and those of you who are in the world but know there is something better, stay with me for just a few more minutes and read a short account of the Gospel. My prayer is that the following words land on the ears they need to and that you allow the Lord to become the Redeemer of your life.

The Gospel of Christ

The Sin Factor

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth and everything in the heavens and in the earth, including man and woman (Genesis 1). Somewhere along the line, the devil, an outcast of heaven, deceived man and woman, and sin entered the world. Sin is described in the Bible as lawlessness and rebellion against God. In 1 John 3:4, it is written, "Everyone who practices sin practices lawlessness as well. Indeed, sin is lawlessness." Sin violates God’s laws. We as humans must realize that God is our creator and sin offends God and demeans his authority and character. We are born with a sin nature, and that defect burdens every human heart. Jeremiah 17:9: "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?"

God and Sin

God is perfectly righteous. What this means is that God is not impartial. He is just, but he is full of love and mercy. The character of God being a just God means that once sin entered the world (his law was broken), there had to be a punishment for sin. The punishment for sin is death. Death for physical life is evidenced by the fact that we will all die. Death, as it relates to our spiritual life, means that we will be separated from God for all eternity and face indescribable suffering. But…God, being a loving and merciful God, overflowing with grace, offers us a way to overcome death. This does not prevent the death of our human body, but offers our spirit the opportunity to live forever in eternity with the Lord.

The Substitution

As we discussed previously, God is merciful, and God did not want us apart from Him, so he made a way for us to live with him in paradise forever. God offered a substitute for our death. This substitute was Jesus Christ, as stated in 2 Corinthians 5:21: “ God made him who had no sin to be sin(or sin offering) for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” To be more exact, God sent his son Jesus, a man perfect and without blemish, to take on the sin of the world and die for us so that we might live. As John the Baptizer said, “…Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”- John 1:29

The Cross and the Resurrection

Jesus was born of a virgin mother and lived a perfect life. Jesus, being perfect and without blame, was sentenced to die, even though Pilate, the one who sentenced Jesus to death, told the people, “I find no basis for a charge against him.” But the Jewish people wanted nothing more than the death of Jesus. With the sentence of death placed on him, a crown of thorns was jammed down onto his head as a mockery of his statement that he was “King of the Jews. " He was beaten and flogged with a cat-of-nine-tails that literally ripped the skin from his body and was then made to drag his cross to Golgotha , “Place of the Skull, " where he was then nailed to said cross and stood up for all to see and then watch die. Before Jesus committed his spirit to the Father, he said tetelestai, or in English, “debt paid in full. " It was at that moment, when Jesus died on that cross, that our payment for sin in the eyes of God was satisfied. After Jesus was pulled down from the cross, he was buried in a borrowed tomb, and on the third day, he rose from the dead. It was the resurrection that shows Jesus overcame death and that believers are justified before God with no condemnation. All we have to do is believe and repent.

Salvation

Salvation is a free gift given to anyone who believes in Jesus' death and resurrection and repents of their sins.

 ^“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.“ John 3:16

This gift is a free gift for anyone, but it is not something you can earn.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

No amount of good works can get you to Heaven. Helping little old ladies across the street, giving money to the poor, caring for the sick, or believing you are just a plain good person- none of these things will get you to Heaven. The only way is to put your faith in Jesus Christ and repent of your sins. Anything else is a one-way pass to hell. If you have never received Christ into your life, it is as simple as praying something like “Lord, I am a sinner, I believe Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead 3 days later for me, to wash my sins away and leave me blameless in the eyes of God. Cleanse my life of the sins I have committed and make me a new creature so that I may live for you.” It is as simple as that if you truly believe and are truly sincere about your repentence.

If you have questions about the “good news” or salvation or need to talk to someone about this, shoot me an email at [email protected], and we will work out a time to talk one-on-one.

This is the greatest decision you can make for your life. I hope you invite Jesus to be King of your life.

I love you, Brothers!

If you don't follow The Daily Blade, listen as you head into work tomorrow. I promise that you will be inspired by a straight and to-the-point teaching of The Word of God. The Daily Blade is a short-form podcast(usually about 5 minutes) hosted by Joby Martin, the Senior Pastor of The Church of Eleven22, and Kyle Thompson, the producer of the Undaunted Life podcast. It aims to help Godly men embrace their anointed roles as men of God! You won't be disappointed. After just one listen, you'll be hooked, and it will undoubtedly become a great starting point for your morning. 

As always, I am going to plug my cult. There is just something that bonds men when they do hard things together. It is because of this bond that these men are a special part of my life, and I am a better man, physically, mentally, and spiritually, because of the men of this group. F3 groups are popping up nationwide. This is a great way to find a great group of MEN. Find a group of guys for you!

I am also going to continue plugging GORUCK. This is an activity you can do with a group or by yourself….anywhere you go. Get Heavy…GORUCK!

The Art of Manliness is a men's interest and lifestyle website with content geared to helping men become better men. You can find anything here from how to grill a steak to how to fall asleep in 2 minutes. It is just an interesting place for men to learn about men stuff.

Thanks again for subscribing, and Stay Strange, My Friend!