{"id":1591,"date":"2018-01-08T21:19:29","date_gmt":"2018-01-09T03:19:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/?p=1591"},"modified":"2022-01-10T21:36:26","modified_gmt":"2022-01-11T03:36:26","slug":"first-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/?p=1591","title":{"rendered":"First Fight"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Saturday night just before midnight twenty something men<\/a> stood around a fire, bundled up as the wind chill temperature was hovering near the teens, to kick off a twelve week plan to spend more time seeking God, communicating with and encouraging each other, break old habits, gain some new ones, commit to exercise and physical discipline to better their health, and to read a book together over that period, discussing it to challenge themselves intellectually and spiritually. It\u2019s a men\u2019s ministry program called \u201cFight Club<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a>I participated in it last year<\/a>, and the leaders asked me to be their kick off speaker, to encourage the men and exhort them in their quest this year.<\/p>\n

Saturday was Epiphany, and I thought that appropriate and predictive of their success. Epiphany means an \u201cah ha\u201d moment or a divine revelation. The later is the true meaning of the word as it\u2019s been used from antiquity. Epiphany is celebrated the world over in Christendom as \u201cThree King\u2019s Day,\u201d or the first revelation to gentiles that the Christ Child was indeed the Messiah, King of Kings, and the Son of God. And I believe these men, if they can by the Lord\u2019s help, stay their courses are in for revelations and some \u201cah ha\u201d moments themselves.<\/p>\n

That we are in a fight with sin, our flesh, and dark spirits becomes clearer and clearer as we mature. Or when you look at human history as recorded in human literature. Or you can simply look into the best selling book of all times to read about the battle, the causes, and the cure.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I know I look forward to the new year more and more as they pass. I appreciate a time that seems naturally given to reflecting on life, making needed adjustments, then going again at life and living. The longer you live, you understand more and more, you need forgiveness, and you need help. In short, you need a Savior. And you need a Helper. A spiritual boost from a Counselor and Guide beyond the natural.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Thankfully we have both available to us, and we have the process and path outlined in Scripture, the same best selling book of all times I alluded to earlier. Seek Him, as the Three Kings did, and you\u2019ll find Him for yourself, just as they did. It\u2019s His promise.<\/p>\n

The Lord\u2019s blessings and nearness be on the men engaged in Fight Club.<\/p>\n

Best wishes to you and those you love for a happy and prosperous New Year!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.\u201d<\/em> Jer 29:13<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.\u201d<\/em> Matt\u00a0 2:10<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I looked, and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, \u201cDo not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.\u201d<\/em> Neh 4:14<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Saturday night just before midnight twenty something men stood around a fire, bundled up as the wind chill temperature was hovering near the teens, to kick off a twelve week plan to spend more time seeking God, communicating with and encouraging each other, break old habits, gain some new ones, commit to exercise and physical […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,10,9,12,7,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-friendoftheking","category-be-a-leader","category-be-a-man","category-bread-for-the-spirit","category-kingdom-events","category-understanding-our-times"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1591"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1591\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1605,"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1591\/revisions\/1605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}