Restoring The Balance Volume II- The Spiritual Ironman® Blog

To be balanced is to have an even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady. Without balance, it is impossible to stay steady, and as men, our goal in life should be to remain upright and steady in all aspects of our behavior. I want to deal with two critical areas in the lives of men that are significantly out of balance. Those areas are commitment and passion.

First, we need to restore the balance in the area of our commitment. Before I proceed, let's define commitment.  Simply said commitment is a promise to do or give something.  It is a promise to be loyal to someone or something, and it is the attitude of someone who works very hard to do or support something. Based on the definition of the word, I can see why so many have a phobia to commit.

I came across this quote, I do not know who wrote it, but the source I got it from was iliketoquote.com: "Commitment means staying loyal to what you said you were going to do long after the mood you said it in has left you." What an insightful and profound statement.  How many times have I made commitments when I was feeling inspired and was emotionally charged only to later re-think what I committed to? When I was no longer excited or inspired by the moment, I had a different perspective.  Don't worry; it happens to the best of us.  However, a man of integrity will keep that commitment regardless of his mood, or emotional condition, and this is what makes you an upright and steady man.

We live in a time where commitment is sadly lacking. Fear to commit to anything seems to be running rampant, and men appear to be at the head of the epidemic. I question why so many men are fearful of commitment; perhaps it is because they do not know how to commit, or they have been hurt by past commitments. Whatever the reason, learn to overcome the fear of commitment and begin to engage. Only then can a man become who God has called him to "BE." Only then can a man become someone who restores the balance.

Here are some areas to work on relating to commitment:

-       Let us commit to spending more time with God by praying more and reading the Bible daily.

-       Let us commit to being true to our word.  If we say we are going to do something, do it! Stop making excuses. My father in the gospel the late Bishop Joseph always said: "Every excuse is a lie."

-       Let us commit to being better managers of our finances by becoming better stewards and seeking help when needed.

-       Let us commit to being better husbands, fathers, and sons.

-       Let us commit to living by Biblical values and doing the right thing, even if the right thing does not benefit us.

-       Let us commit to helping other men to become committed.  Remember, "Iron sharpens Iron."

Finally, let me close this blog by quoting what Abraham Lincoln said about commitment:

"Commitment is what transforms a promise into reality."

Be Blessed!

Your Iron Coach,

Bishop Roberto Jemmott

Restoring The Balance

Balance is defined as an even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady. The words upright and steady are not often used when referring to the character of most men, especially men who call themselves believers. Because of the many roles men are forced to play, it is sometimes difficult to maintain a balanced life; we may find it difficult to distribute the weights placed on us by the demands of this journey.

Author Gary W. Keller stated this about a balanced life:  “Work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. The other four balls - family, health, friends, and integrity - are made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably scuffed, nicked, perhaps even shattered.”  As Mr. Keller states some things in life don't bounce back like a rubber ball when we drop them, they get scuffed, nicked or even shattered.

One of the areas in our lives that have been shattered is our relationship with the Lord. Men are no longer leaders in spiritual matters; we no longer take the forefront in leading our families, nation, and church to the Lord. This lack of spiritual leadership has created an unbalance in our society.  Women are raising sons and daughters who have no concept or idea of what it is to be loved by a father or an example of what a real father should be.

The ancient Hebrew writer and prophet by the name of Joel wrote the following about the last days:

“It will come about after this; That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions. “Even on the male and female servants, I will pour out My Spirit in those days."

Joel 2:28-29 (NASB)

Did you notice the balance in the outpouring of God's Spirit in the text - "sons and daughters" and "male and female"? If you remove man out of the equation, there is no balance. While women may be more sensitive to Spirit of God, they do not receive more of God’s Spirit than men, it is an equal outpouring. It may be that men may have removed themselves from the equation, and as a result our society, our country, and the world are out of balance. Did you also notice that the text emphasizes the role of the man? The text specifically mentions, "old men will dream dreams." Where are the dreamers?  It would appear as if old men only reminisce about the past and are not dreamers, and "young men" are not visionaries, but only live in the moment. It is time to restore the balance.

The first place men need to restore the balance is in our personal walk with the Lord. It is time for us to take back our rightful places as spiritual leaders for our families, nation, the world and the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. Let's commit to doing the following so that we may begin to restore the balance:

1.       Let's start by repenting and turning our face to the Lord in prayer.

        

"The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.

You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God."

Psalms 51:17 (NLT)

"In every place of worship, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy."

1 Timothy 2:8 (NLT)

2.      After repenting - ask your families, friends, and church to forgive you for your shortcomings and neglect of your role in spiritual matters.

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues
those whose spirits are crushed."

Psalms 34:18 (NLT)

3.      Promise to take your place in your home, church, community, and the world and become the man God destined you to be.

"But there is one thing I want you to know: The head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God." 

1 Corinthians 11:3 (NLT)

4.      Continue to excel, grow and become the man God has called you to be, by devoting yourself to prayer - personal and corporate study of the Word of God.

"Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth." 

2 Timothy 2:15 (NLT)

5.      Commit to mentor, father, teach and lead other men to become the man God has destined them to be.

"Until I get there, focus on reading the Scriptures to the church, encouraging the believers, and teaching them."

1 Timothy 4:13 (NLT)

Remember the balance can only be restored when man takes his place and becomes all that God has destined him to be!

It's time to restore the balance!

Be Blessed,

Your Iron Coach

Bishop Roberto Jemmott

It's Time To Move On

Adapted from Bishop Roberto Jemmott’s sermon and monthly publication “The Bishop’s Pen" – It's Time To Move On (December 2014)

Joel Osteen writes the following in his book Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential: 

"You must make a decision that you are going to move on. It won't happen automatically. You will have to rise up and say, I don't care how hard this is, I don't care how disappointed I am, I'm not going to let this get the best of me. I'm moving on with my life."

I agree with Joel Osteen when he says that moving on "won't happen automatically." It will take time, but we must move on. Yes! It will take time to move on because one of the most difficult things to do is move on from the pain, the hurt, from disappointment and the many setbacks you have experienced. The reason so many people find it so difficult to move on is because moving on means leaving the familiar, even if the familiar is a painful or difficult experience.  Some of us have become comfortable with the pain, or we have developed coping mechanisms that allow us to live with the pain and disappointment. 

If you are going to transition into the next phase of life and become the man or woman God has created and called you to be, you must move on from the pain of your past, and anything that is keeping you from becoming your best you! If you fail to move on, you will stay anchored to the place of pain, failure and disappointment. Even when you experience success you must learn how to move on and build from that place of success and become greater.  We can't allow success to become a shrine and miss the next level of success.  Prior to the iPhone's successful introduction, the Blackberry was the leader in smart phone devices. Everybody had a Blackberry, but the company failed to build on its success.  They failed to innovate and lost the market to the iPhone because Apple has learned how to build on their success. They keep innovating the iPhone, which is why we have the iPhone 6 Plus.

The children of Israel teach us a valuable lesson on moving on. In the book of Deuteronomy, we are told how God's commanded them to move on from Mount Sinai. "When we were at Mount Sinai, the LORD our God said to us, you have stayed at this mountain long enough." Deuteronomy 1:6 (NLT)

Mount Sinai was a very special and significant place to the children of Israel. It was the place of their greatest revelation, the place where God revealed Himself to them and gave them His Laws and commandments. Mount Sinai was also the place of their greatest failure; it was there that they worshiped the golden calf and began their journey into idolatry. Don't allow failure or success to keep you from your destiny. The Promised Land was their destiny not the wilderness.

We are in the early days of the New Year, 2014 is behind us. You need to move on from the pain, hurt and disappointments you experienced in 2014. Like the children of Israel, you have been staying in the place of pain, sorrow and disappointment long enough.  

It's time to move on!

Alternative

Alternative

Adapted from Bishop Roberto Jemmott’s daily publication “Words of Encouragement" – The Lord's Servants Must Excel (October 16, 2014)

Growing up I hated when my mother would tell me not to do something without given me an alternative or another option. My mother would say, "Don't go swimming in the lake." I would question her as to why I should not go swimming in the lake, and she would answer "because I said so." I hated that response and I promised myself that I would never say it once I became a parent, but when I became a parent I did the same thing. What my mother should have said when I questioned her was that the lake was filled with alligators and that I should only swim in the pool or beach. The Bible is replete with alternatives, one such text is Ephesians 5:18 (NLT): "Don't be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit,"

The Second Epistle to Timothy was written during Paul's second arrest and imprisonment, which eventually resulted in his execution. This Epistle was Paul's final message to his spiritual son Timothy. Paul warned Timothy that he should not quarrel; but that he should be kind, teachable, and have patience when dealing with difficult people.

"A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people." 2 Timothy 2:24 (NLT)

Notice the one negative (must not quarrel) and the three positive things that Timothy needed to excel in rather than to quarrel with people. Let's look closely at each positive thing Paul instructed Timothy to excel in.

First, be kind; not just to the saints or his friends, but to everyone, even those outside the faith. Remember, kindness is part of the fruit of the Spirit. "But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,"   Galatians 5:22 (NLT)

Second, he tells Timothy to teach at every opportunity. As believers, we need to be teachers not only with our words but with the lives we live. "Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others." 2 Timothy 2:1b (NLT)

Third, Timothy needed to learn how to be patient with difficult people. This is perhaps one of the most difficult things to do because difficult people don't make it easy for us to be patient with them; nevertheless we need to do it. Here is my confession and prayer:  Lord, you know I need help being patient with difficult people!

Remember, the Lord's servants are to be kind to everybody, teachers of the Gospel and patient with difficult people.

Be Blessed,

Bishop Jemmott

Believers' Ethical Living

Believers' Ethical Living

Adapted from Bishop Roberto Jemmott’s daily publication “Words of Encouragement" - Believers' Work Ethics (October 9, 2014)

The following paragraph was taken from the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics web page, the article was written by Thomas Shanks, S.J.:

"In The Leadership Compass, John Wilcox and Susan Ebbs write, 'Moral behavior is concerned primarily with the interpersonal dimension of our behavior: how we treat one another individually and in groups — and, increasingly, other species and the environment.' The key here is that morality brings us into contact with others and asks us to consider the quality of that contact."

As believers what is the quality of your contact with others, do they see Christ from your contact? Is your contact different from that of the world?

As believers, our morality is governed by the Scriptures and when we come into contact with people who have a different morality how is the quality of that contact? Does the contact bring glory and honor to the Lord? Read Paul's instructions on how our lives should contact and impact the world of the non-believer.

"Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before. Then people who are not Christians will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others."

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 (NLT)

When we fail to live ethical lives as believers we allow the world to criticize the Church because of our behavior. It's time for believers to live according to the biblical standard. From the above text the Apostle Paul gives us instructions on how to live ethical lives:

First - The believer must "live a quiet life"; a better translation could be to live a tranquil life. Have you ever met someone who is boisterous, always talking so that every one can hear his conversations whether you want to are not! Well Paul instructs us to be the opposite of that person. However, living a tranquil life is not hiding behind closed doors, waiting for the rapture; it's going about living our daily life in a tranquil fashion.

Second - As a believer you must "mind your own business"; don't be a busy body. Let me tell you what Paul is not saying, he is not saying that we should not get involved in the community, work place or the church. What he is saying is that we should not be gossipers or walk around stirring up strife.

Third – Believers, you must "work with your hands"; in other words, be productive. Every believer should be productive; we should not live from hand-outs, we should work. God created us to be fruitful and to multiply; everything you need to succeed is within you.

If we practice these fundamental principles outlined in the Word of God for living ethically, non-believers will not only respect our way of living, but will also join us and become believers.

Be Blessed

Bishop Jemmott

The Difference Between A Mature and Carnal Believer

The Difference Between A Mature and Carnal Believer

Don Clowers, in his book, Spiritual Growth, says the following:

"The fact that a Christian is carnal does not mean he or she is not born again. The carnal Christian may be a new convert who is just beginning to grow. Or it could be someone who has been saved for many years but is still a baby in the things of God. He accepted Jesus years ago but made no effort to develop and mature in spiritual matters. That person chooses to be fed with milk instead of meat. The flesh rules and there is no indication of a daily trusting in God."

Truly Mr. Clowers hit the nail on the head when he says that carnal a Christian chooses to be fed with milk instead of meat, and their flesh is in control of their life. The apostle Paul shows us the difference between the mature and carnal believer. Read what he says about the difference between the carnal and mature believers in 1 Corinthians 3:1-4 (NIV)

​"Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? For when one says, 'I follow Paul,' and another, 'I follow Apollos,' are you not mere human beings?"

Allow me to outline a few differences between the carnal and mature believers.

Carnal believers live by the flesh, in other words their flesh and its desire control them.  The mature believer is controlled by the Spirit and lives by the Holy Spirit. Notice I said control. To control something is have dominion over that thing.  So, if your flesh controls you, it has dominion over you.  If the Holy Spirit controls you, He controls your life.  Again Paul writes "So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law." Galatians 5:16-18 (NIV)

How do you know if you are controlled by the Spirit or by the flesh? Your behavior will reveal who is controlling your life. What kind of behavior is being manifested in your life, what is growing out of your life? Paul also said: "The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."  Galatians 5:19-23 (NIV)

Are you controlled by the acts of the flesh? Then you are carnal. Is the fruit of the Spirit growing in your life? Then you are a mature believer.  Mature believers live by the Spirit; mature believers live by the Word of God; mature believers are not jealous and don't argue and quarrel with one another; and finally, mature believers don't choose sides. 

If you are a carnal believer, it's time to put away your carnality and begin to grow in Christ.  It's time to stop drinking the milk of the Word and eat the meat of the Word of God. 

Be Blessed!

Bishop Jemmott