cheers to the godly men in our lives!

DEVOTIONAL READING
Grandfather - G is for Great. How great thou art! You have aged like a great wine!
Father - F is for Faith. Your faith is an example to others! A father of faith is worth rejoicing!
Son - S is for Sunshine. You are like sunshine wherever you go - a true light-bearer in this world!
Grandson - G is for Giving. You have a giving heart! You give me great joy in my life!
Uncle - U is for Unwavering. You do not waver from what is right! You are firm in your beliefs!
Nephew - N is for Noble. You have a noble attitude and are worth all the king's gold!
Friend - F is for Fine. You are one fine person and fine company! You are a fine person to count on!
Colleague - C is for Christ. You have Christ-like qualities and sacrifice in your livelihood!
Husband - H is for Honor. It is an honor to know you for you are a honorable man!
Brother - B is for Broccoli. Broccoli are little trees, and you have been as strong as a tree since you were little.

Exodus 20, Verse 12 - “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you.
Ephesians 5, Verse 25 - Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.
1 Corinthians 13, Verse 13 - But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Proverbs 31, Verses 8-9 - Open your mouth for the mute, For the rights of all the unfortunate. Open your mouth, judge righteously, And defend the rights of the afflicted and needy.
Philippians 4, Verse 8 - Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
Romans 12, Verses 4-6 - For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly
Romans 9, Verse 22 - In the same way, even though God has the right to show his anger and his power, he is very patient with those on whom his anger falls, who are destined for destruction.
Matthew 17, Verse 20 - And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.
Titus 1, Verse 2 - In the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago.

The Golden Rule
"You must love your neighbor as yourself." - Romans 13:9
"Do to no one what you would not want done to you." - Tobit 4:15
"So always treat others as you would like them to treat you." - Matthew 7:12, Luke 6:31
"One should seek for others the happiness one desires for himself." - The Buddha, Indian
"The true rule of life is to guard and to do by the things of others as one would to his own." - Hindu scripture
"He sought for others the good he desired for himself. Let him pass." - The Egyptian Book of the Dead
"What you would not done to yourself, do not to others." - Confucius, Chinese
"In your dealings with others, harm not that you be not harmed." - Seneca, Roman
"We should behave toward friends as we would wish friends to behave toward us." - Aristotle, Greek
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Song of Songs 1, Verses 13-16
“My beloved is to me a pouch of myrrh
Which lies all night between my breasts. [woman]

“My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms
In the vineyards of Engedi.” [man]

“How beautiful you are, my darling,
How beautiful you are!
Your eyes are like doves.” [man]

How handsome you are, my beloved,
And so pleasant!
Indeed, our couch is luxuriant! [woman]

Genesis 1, Verses 27-28 - God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Genesis 2, Verse 7 - Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
Genesis 2, Verse 18-24 - Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.” For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.
Genesis 6, Verse 5-8, Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. The Lord said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them." But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

DEVOTIONAL MESSAGE
Cheers to the guys in our life who are Godly and righteous! We all know at least one man who is great, faithful, a light-bearer, giving, unwavering, noble, fine, Christ-like, loving and/or honorable. Such a man will give to the needy and protect his loved ones. He will adore his wife and children, nieces and nephews. He will remember his sisters and brothers, his friends and his community. He will be a blessing to his parents when they are old. He will be known among Christians and a contributing member of the body. He will embody what it means to love others, and stay beholden to the Golden Rule. He will keep his word. For a righteous man is an example for ladies and gentlemen, just as righteous ladies are an example to men and women both. The righteous shall lead by their hearts. Cheers to the righteous men!

Males and females have often lacked the influence of great men in their lives. Sin can take hold through bad influences combined with our own bad choices. Young and old men alike give into reckless desires! Women do it too! God always exercises great patience over sin and reserves judgement for a time. God created man and woman in His image, and then wiped out humanity by flood for great wickedness, except through Noah. Yet here we are today, living in a world of both harshness and blessings, of abundance and poverty, of war and peace. Many of us have a decent amount of personal freedom, and we all have the freedom to choose God's way for our life (unless the hardening of a heart). We should not seek to have hardened hearts through abundant sin, but seek faith continually. It only takes a mustard seed of faith to revive a dusty heart. Cheers to dusting off our hearts!

Losing a great man also causes much grief, but if we have hope in Him and eternal life we can be at ease about someone's passing. When I was 21 years old I lost my dad. It still is a difficult loss 17 years later, but I cherish the upbringing I had from both of my parents. I miss him dearly because he was a great man; he was often my rock growing up. His example still influences who I am today. Women have to be especially careful not to lose their way when someone of good influence exits their life. Instead, people should find healthy ways to heal, love others and give back during grievous times. Cheers to the Godly men from our past!

DEVOTIONAL PRAYER
Dear God, I pray that the righteous men in my life are overwhelmed with blessings throughout their days for striving to be Godly men. There are men in my life who are more righteous, and others who lack more. I pray they all move in a more righteous direction according to Your will. Men are the protectors in our lives; You are also a protector. Some males are givers with helping hearts; You are also a giver and a helper. Others often exercise great patience; Your patience is great. My dad was a warm, loving and kind father; You are a warm, loving and kind God. Yet sometimes men fall short in a number of areas, just as I do, and I pray for those shortcomings. I also pray that as a wife, daughter, aunt and friend that I am always equipped to deal with the shortcomings of others, including those closest to me. Many people are looking for a Godly spouse, or more righteous men and women in their lives. God speed their entry! My husband is an answer to many of my prayers, and I am thankful for the marriage I have today. I always want to enjoy this life, and the more I work on my relationships with others, the more that happens - that work includes my own mental and spiritual growth. Thank you for Your influence and direction in my life (and the life of others) - through exposure to the truth in numerous ways and by the Spirit. For the men, women, girls and boys I know, I ask You to be our rod and our staff to comfort us, and to keep us in good health. Help us all to be an example to others striving to be Godly people, especially to the young people of this generation. The world is in dire need of good leadership in the homes, schools, churches, social groups, communities and workplaces. Thank you for all the righteous men in my life, and for the ones who surround others or take leadership roles in places of dire need. May blessings and peace abound, all around!  Amen.