TITANIC MEN, WHERE ARE THEY? Part 2

It’s a rainy day in April (to bring May flowers) so I’ll delve into part two of this important topic.

 Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.”

Society surely has lost this definition for men.  We have the gender distinction issues raging these days, or should we call it the gender war.  Along with the effort to feminize the male gender.  The well orchestrated project of making sissies out of our men.

This was written in the news just weeks ago: The Equality Act, sponsored by Representative David N. Cicilline (D-R.I.) and promoted by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), “would add sexual orientation and gender identity to characteristics protected by the 1964 Civil Rights Act.” Presumably, this would enshrine in federal law a standard dictating that a man claiming womanhood must be allowed access to the women’s arena (e.g., bathrooms, locker areas, sporting events). In reality, transgender ideology seeks to erase women and men: The whole idea is that people have “gender” (a psychological designation), that gender should take precedence over “sex” (a biological designation), and that it’s fluid. The ultimate reality, the theory goes, isn’t that you’re a “man” or “woman” but that you reside somewhere on a spectrum. (Also note that there are plenty of women claiming manhood and access to men’s private spaces.)

But look, the article goes on to say, “In fact, studies show that upwards of 80 percent of girls and 90 percent of boys who strongly “identify” as the opposite sex naturally outgrow the psychological problem.”  A psychological problem and a sin problem, I say.

Here is an excerpt from a topic I wrote on long ago called the Masculine Journey. If you haven’t read that yet and you are a man you should go there later and be enlightened.  So here is what defines a male from the Bible as written in that post.  “This Hebrew word describes maleness in a basic and fundamental anatomical way.  The Hebrew word zakar is the word for “male” in the phrase “God created man adam, male zakar and female”, Genesis 1:27.  If you check the Hebrew lexicons you will see they list the root of this term as “the male protrusion or male phallus”.  According to Dr. Hicks, “This word reflects the phallic male in his most distinct sexual aspect”.  We at our most primal level are sexual beings. The Bible is clear on this and does not pretend we are anything other than stated.  To be a male means you are a phallic kind of guy and you do not have a need to apologize for being that way.  You should never, ever allow it to be denigrated by women or by some crazy or crass individuals calling themselves men.”

So, there you have it.  If the doc looks down and sees a penis, he says “It’s a boy.”  And guess what, It’s a boy.  Congratulations you are a male. And if there is a vagina he says, “It’s a girl.”  Simple as that folks.  And you cannot make one out of the other. All you can do is pretend.  And pretend in sin they do. You can wish to be something all you want but God defined your gender when you were first conceived and before you were born.

Back to the father thing, 42% of males are born with no fathers.  Many leave after the males are born so statistics are low.  Boy’s don’t know what it means to be a man any longer. Fathers are not real fathers and have lost the ability to do the job. Fatherhood has declined and it continues to drop like a rock.

Fathers have been completely distracted with having too many interests, too many sports, too many hobbies, and everything seems to be getting in the way of discipleship of their children.

It is not only happening in the secular world and there seems to be no difference between Christian men, fathers and husbands from most men in the world.  Sadly, most men that call themselves Christians are carnal or cultural Christians and they blend in with the worldly or pagan counterparts.  There are a few strong Christian men that stand out of the crowd, but the majority are unseen. Can we re-claim the Christ honoring definition for manliness and if-so but how?

Many women survived the R.M.S Titanic sinking to tell the story of April 14, 1912.  Communication back then was by newspaper predominately. It took a week for the news to get out across the land. 75% of the women were saved but 80% of the men were lost.  That was because of the old law of the sea and the Bible “women and children first.”

An elderly woman was interviewed recently and said, “that was back in the day when men were gentlemen.”  Today things are different, and the men would throw the women overboard. With exception, however, true Christian Men would lay down their lives to save women and children because they would follow the pattern of Christ. Christ is the Sacrificial Lamb that rules, protects, leads and guides which is the proper way for men.  On the other hand, paganism uses women.

Christ defines manhood and what headship should look like.  All that is needed is to look to Jesus Christ. Jesus is love, Jesus is sacrificial, and love is service to others. Jesus taught that when he gave himself on the cross for us.  I find it ironic that I am writing this today which is the day before Easter and the day after Good Friday.  Good Friday is our Christian Holiday commemorating the day when Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross at Calvary to save us all from sin.  And tomorrow it’s Easter, the most important and oldest festival of the Christian Church, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ and held (in the Western Church) between March 21 and April 25, on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the northern spring equinox. He is risen!

Christ is the bridegroom and biblical manhood understands what love is.  The bridegroom gave his life for the bride, which is His church. You and I if you call yourselves Christian. Love is sacrificial it is not sentimental, and it is service to meet the needs of others.

We should be very concerned with this generation because they don’t care about the Bride. Nor do they care about the Bridegroom.  They don’t care about the Lord Jesus Christ.  When we have our young males not caring bout the bride of Christ how can we expect them to care about a bride (a woman) they going to marry.  The bride we are called to sacrifice for is the Church of Jesus Christ.  The second bride we are to sacrifice ourselves for (if married) is our wife. A man must be sacrificial, Paul said in Chapter 5 of Ephesians that men should give themselves up just as Christ did. (Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,  That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church.)

The Bible has all our instructions and men should be following the Pattern of Christ.  What is happening in our societal breakdown is that humans out there want to change things and erase the important laws and historic things provided to us. They certainly want to change or erase the Bible when it does not agree with their agenda. These people try to infect the thoughts of Christians with the idea that there is no divine pattern in the Bible, and they have the right to change things to fit our culture or whatever we deem necessary. Sadly, many of these change artists are teaching our children. Did you know that 90% of Christian parents send their children to public school to be controlled for 7 hours a day where there is no mention of God? That in itself is scary but then again in most Christian homes when the child gets back God isn’t mentioned there on a regular basis either.  For these people to reject the idea that God has given us a divine pattern to follow is to reject the Scriptures themselves because they clearly teach that we are to follow God’s Word. For example, Paul told Timothy: “Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 1:13) So you see, Paul says there is a divine pattern while the people that want to change it say there is not. The writer of Hebrews quotes what God says to Moses, “For He said, “See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.” (Hebrews 8:5) Reading this passage shows there was a divine pattern that Moses had to follow and there is a divine pattern for us to follow under the new covenant. Let us all strive to follow it.

Please allow me to spotlight the captain of the Titanic, Archibald Gracie.  Mr. Gracie was groomed for greatness and he sprang into action. It was women and children first and he made no bones about it. He went down with the ship. He was able to climb on a piece of something floating, was rescued and testified about the incident but later died from his internal injuries sustained when he went down. He was a courageous man because as a young man his father modeled how to be a man.  His father modeled what a Christian man is to be like, and he mentored his son into manhood. He was prepared by his father and his family and he was used by God to save many.

I’m out of space and time today folks and I’m just beginning, so please come back next time and I’ll write about our societal thing called Adolescence and the “Five Imperatives of Christian Manhood.”

If you are a male and wondering how you can possibly rise above all the attacks and be strong enough to stem the tide just stay with this and the answer will be revealed.

CLICK HERE TO JUMP TO NEXT POST AND KEEP READING

God bless you all and Happy Easter,

FJ1

 

 

 

 

The Tubthumper

The Sage: ZAKEN; The Fulfilled Man

“Delighted to be but wise, for men improve with the years.”  William Buttler Yeats

Well guys, this is the last stop on the “Masculine Journey”.  This last stage of life is ideally conceived in the scriptures and we will try our best to portray it here.  I think it’s appropriate and perfect that I’m writing this on Father’s Day.  I’ll ask forgiveness up front for the length of this one but assure you it’s a good read.

Zaken is a Hebrew word that literally means “Beard”.  The Zaken is the gray headed man.  The meaning is a time of being old or becoming old. Getting to the Zaken stage and title is the goal of manhood.

  • Today in our society men are burning out at alarming rates. We feel as though time is running out and we are not there yet.
  • Scriptures provide a much longer look at manhood than we do. At 40 we just kids, guys.
  • Moses wrote a song- to remember what God had done. “Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee.” (Deuteronomy 32:7) This is so when one generation is denying what God had done and the ability of God, they would bring in the elders; The elders will tell what really happened.
  • It’s about what was learned from life, not what was accomplished. “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” (Psalm 37:25)  Your goal men, is to be gray headed and to pass great wisdom on to the next generation.

However, having gray or silver hair alone does not mean you are wise. “I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.” (Psalms 119:100)  “And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said, I [am] young, and ye [are] very old; wherefore I was afraid, and durst not shew you mine opinion. I said, Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom. But [there is] a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. Great men are not [always] wise: neither do the aged understand judgment.” (Job 32: 6-9)  To become wise you must have the study of scriptures, faith in God,, trust in Christ and the obedience to the truth. You must be doing things while you are young to ensure that when you are old you have the wisdom through scriptural insight and obedience.

THE BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE

Respect and honor for the elder is rooted in the Ten Commandments, where God says, “Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” (Exodus 20:12)

Please don’t miss the interesting concept here.  As we give respect to our older parents we ensure that we have greater longevity for ourselves. So, read between the lines men, if you do not want to live long go ahead and treat your parents with animosity.

“Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 19:32)  In other words, stand up when your elder enters the room and have some respect. Do this because you have the fear of God in your heart. This isn’t an old wives tale from the south. It was part of the law of Israel.

“Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.” (Proverbs 23:22)

If these verses were obeyed, if people today heeded these instructions it would make our society so much better.  “This one section of biblical admonition could radically change our culture,” says Robert Hicks. It would change how parents are treated, how grandparents are treated and how seniors are dealt with and with no question, the change would be for the better.

ZAKEN: A Time of Fulfillment

Our society is looking for fulfillment in all the wrong places and all the wrong times. We constantly sacrifice the good of the present for the might-bes and wannabes of the future. We are rarely satisfied. Ultimately God must be the source of our satisfaction. Jesus said it, “Only those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (which comes from God) will ever find it and be satisfied. (Matthew 5:6)

We do not think about how we want to die.  We are going to die and this culture does not prepare for it. We are a death-denying culture.  People today do not want to come to grips with death.

From a biblical perspective the Zaken is the time of ultimate fulfillment.  It is the time to prepare for a natural death. A natural death with all business taken care of and with all relationships reconciled.

If you notice how most people die today they go to death cantankerous, bitter, demanding and regretful.  And this is not totally because of physical pain and discomfort.

Three conditions make the Zaken time less than fulfilling.

  1. No Zakens in the family. “Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father’s house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house. And thou shalt see an enemy [in my] habitation, in all [the wealth] which [God] shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever. And the man of thine, [whom] I shall not cut off from mine altar, [shall be] to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age. And this [shall be] a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them.” (1 Samuel 2:30-34)  Eli died alone with no other family and no connections.
  2. Grieving the needless loss of life from unnatural causes. “Moreover, thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet. Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace.” (1 Kings 2:5-6) This is reference to both needless killing and also death from accidental means.
  3. Suffering the loss of our own young. Our children should never precede us and when it happens it takes a major toll. It robs a man of the joy of old age.

The two things these three issues have in common are the loss of life and the loss of family connections. The number one commonality on people that live long lives is the ability to suffer loss and move on from it.

The key to fulfillment is RECONCILIATION, having our important relationships maintained. We should do our best to reconcile any relationships severed or harmed in earlier times.

Zaken: It is a Time of Significant Contribution

We should not be short sighted and in a hurry.  Life is not over at age 40, not at 50, not at 60, 70 or even 80.

The Zaken of Israel defended their region.  “And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob: And they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that we may fight with the children of Ammon. And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, Did not ye hate me, and expel me out of my father’s house? and why are ye come unto me now when ye are in distress? And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Therefore we turn again to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead. And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, If ye bring me home again to fight against the children of Ammon, and the Lord deliver them before me, shall I be your head?And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The Lord be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words. Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and captain over them: and Jephthah uttered all his words before the Lord in Mizpeh.” (Judges 11:5-11)

The Zaken defended their families and their cities. “And Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, unto the rulers of Jezreel, to the elders, and to them that brought up Ahab’s children, saying, Now as soon as this letter cometh to you, seeing your master’s sons are with you, and there are with you chariots and horses, a fenced city also, and armour; Look even out the best and meetest of your master’s sons, and set him on his father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house. But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, Behold, two kings stood not before him: how then shall we stand? And he that was over the house, and he that was over the city, the elders also, and the bringers up of the children, sent to Jehu, saying, We are thy servants, and will do all that thou shalt bid us; we will not make any king: do thou that which is good in thine eyes.” (2 Kings 10:1-5)

The Zaken furnished counsel along with the priests and the prophets. “Mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumour shall be upon rumour; then shall they seek a vision of the prophet; but the law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the ancients.” (Ezekiel 7:26) “Then said they, Come and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.” (Jeremiah 18:18)

Zaken is a Time for Mentoring

The concept of mentoring is coming back full-circle. All the major companies today are adopting mentoring concepts and relationships. Mentoring gives you a brain to pick, a shoulder to cry on and sometimes a good swift kick in the pants.  A mentor cares for a younger man in the totality of his life. A mentor helps the student to become successful in Life.  Not in accumulating things but successful in how to live.

There is a huge need for elderly (Zaken) mentors for young people today.

As a professor at the Dallas Seminary, Dr. Howard Hendricks always passed an anonymous paper to every one of his students. So here it is:

ADVICE TO A BORED YOUNG MAN

“Died age 20; buried age 60. The sad epitaph of too many Americans. Mummification sets in on too many young men at an age when they should be ripping the world wide open. For example: Many people reading this page are doing so with the aid of bifocals.  Inventor? B. Franklin, age 70. The presses that printed this page were powered by electricity.  One of the harnessors? B. Franklin, age 40.  Some are reading this on the campus of one of the Ivy League universities. Founder? B. Franklin, age 46.  Others in a Library. Who founded the first library in America? B. Franklin, age 25. Some got their copy through the U.S. Mail. Its father? B. Franklin, age 31.  Now think fire. Who started the first fire department, invented the first lightening rod, designed a heating stove still in use today? B. Franklin, age 31, 43, 36. Wit, Conversationalist, Economist, Philosopher, Diplomat, Favorite of the capitals of Europe.  Journalist, Printer, Publisher, Linguist, (spoke and wrote 5 languages).  Advocate of paratroopers (from balloon) a century before the airplane was invented. All this until age 84. And he had exactly two years of formal schooling. It’s a good bet that you already have more knowledge than Franklin ever had when he was your age. Perhaps you think there is no use trying to think of anything new, that everything’s been done. Wrong. The simple, agrarian America of Franklins day didn’t begin to need the answers we need today. Do something about it. Tear out his page and read it on your 84th birthday. Ask yourself what took over in your life, indolence or ingenuity!”

Zaken keeps connecting, keeps contributing and makes his reconciliations.

JESUS IS THE VOICE OF GOD!

Men, Jesus moves us from one stage to the next. Jesus is the only one that can empathize with us where we are. He can help us because he experienced the same stages. “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15)

Because Jesus is the second Adam he was very much human. He was tempted in every way.

He was a warrior.

He was a wounded male. See Luke 22:39 through Luke 23:25.

He was the mature man during the resurrection. Wise beyond His years. (And that is an understatement!)

He is our sage.

It is FAITH men, day by day, event by event, stage by stage, that gets us through to the other side. New expressions of FAITH EVERY DAY!

I hope you got as much out of this Masculine Journey as I did.

Many thanks to Robert Hicks and his book The Masculine Journey, Understanding the six stages of Manhood.

God bless you men.  “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.” 1 Corinthians 16:13

Until next time,

The Tubthumper