God's Lineman Organization Ministry

Author: Gary

  • Stand Firm And Act Like Men: Chapter 1

    By Joby Martin
    “What is a man?”
    For a building to be strong and able to withstand the elements, it must be built on a firm foundation. For a tree to remain standing in the wind, the roots must run deep. In the same way, to understand God’s intention for manhood, we must go all the way back to the beginning—back to when God created man and woman. We need to return to our roots in Genesis 1.
    In Genesis 1:26-27 we see the triune God create man and woman out of the overflow of His perfect and limitless love for Himself. God created both male and female, which means that neither a man nor a woman alone was sufficient to fully image God—both together reflect His nature. This is why an attack on gender is a direct attack on God’s character.
    Genesis 2:7 tells us that God formed man out of the dust of the ground and breathed His breath (ruach) into his nostrils, and Adam became alive. The first thing Adam saw when he opened his eyes was the face of God. Can you imagine that?
    The first thing God gave Adam was work to enjoy. Because this was before the fall, we know that work is not a result of sin. God created man to work, and He instructed Adam to subdue and cultivate the Earth.
    The second thing God gave Adam was a will to obey. God didn’t burden Adam with a long list of rules—there was only one: do not eat from that tree. God desired to commune with Adam and protect him from the one thing that would bring death.
    The third thing God gave Adam was a woman to love. God created Eve as Adam’s perfect companion, and together they were to worship the one true God as they lived with Him and enjoyed the garden.
    Unfortunately, we know what happens next. The serpent slithers over to Adam and Eve and begins to speak. In that moment, we see the greatest problem in all of manhood: passivity. Adam allows the serpent to deceive Eve and does nothing to stop it. He stands silently beside her and then eats the fruit she hands to him. They took the bait—and a seismic fracture occurs. Sin has now entered stage left and corrupts Adam’s work, will and relationships.
    The most devastating part of it all is that Adam and Eve can no longer commune with God. They must leave the garden. But, before they go, God makes garments of animal skin and clothes them. In doing so, God sheds blood to cover Adam and Eve—a foreshadowing of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the perfect Savior who would one day shed His blood to cover our sins.
    You might think that, as a man, you need to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and work to undo the curse Adam brought upon us. But the true way to stand up and act like a man is to first bow down and surrender to Jesus. That’s where it starts.
    What do I do now?
    If you have never surrendered your life to the lordship of Jesus Christ, you have an opportunity to do that right now. (If you are able, get on your knees and bow down as a symbol of surrender.) Talk to God and tell Him that you admit you are a sinner in need of a Savior—and that Savior is Jesus. Tell Him you believe that when Jesus died on the cross, it counted for you and confess that He is your Lord.
    If you have already surrendered your life to the lordship of Jesus Christ, bow before Him and worship Him. Reflect on the moment you surrendered, and thank Him for saving you.

  • Exodus 24:1-18

    The Old Testament is full of parallels of what is to come through Jesus Christ and Exodus 24 is full of them. First is the blood of the covenant. Moses and the Israelites sacrificed bulls and used their blood to seal the covenant between the Israelites and the Lord. They could not see the Lord until this step was completed. For us Jesus used his own blood for a permanent new covenant to where we could always have relationship with God through Jesus. Second is the written law. The Lord wrote the law on tablets for the Israelites and in Jeremiah 31 God promises to write his teachings on our hearts in the new covenant.

    “I will put my teaching within them and write it on their hearts.” Jeremiah 31:33

    Third, is the mediator aspect of how God is to be approached. In Exodus, Moses is the temporary mediator between God and the Israelites and in the new covenant Jesus is the permanent mediator that speaks to God for us.

    “There is one mediator between God and humanity, Christ Jesus.”
    Timothy 2:5

    Fourth, is how in Exodus the Israelites establish the covenant with God through a meal symbolizing fellowship with God. Jesus does this in the new covenant through the Lord’s Supper.

    “And he took bread, gave thanks, broke it, gave it to them, and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way he also took the cup after supper and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”
    ‭‭Luke‬ ‭22‬:‭19‬-‭20‬

    Last, is how Moses is the only one that temporarily gets to be in God’s presence through the temporary sacrifice in the Old Covenant. In the New Covenant, everyone now has permanent access to God because of the permanent and perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

    “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens — Jesus the Son of God — let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.”
    ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭4‬:‭14‬-‭16‬

  • Exodus 22:1-31

    Chapter 22 is a continuation of the written law that God gives to Moses to give to the Israelites. It is the law of by which God’s chosen people are to abide by. When reading chapters 21 and 22 we see exactly where our court system comes from. When our ancestors established our country it wasn’t perfect, but you can see how we tried to model it after this example in Exodus. One thing you can always count on from the beginning is that man is sinful and man will corrupt anything and everything if the man is not accountable to someone or something. It is simply the way we are. Any man that isn’t accountable to someone or something is a dangerous man because we are incapable of truly knowing what is good for ourselves. When we exclude God from our decisions because we think we know what is best for ourselves we fail every time. The only thing left that is good and perfect since the beginning is God. God is the source of what is good. God is the true vine and when we are disconnected from him we are incapable of being truly good. Without God we are prideful and selfish. In John 15 Jesus says this:

    John 15:4-5
    “Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me.
    I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me.”

    No matter how right and true we think we are about our decisions and choices, always pray that it comes from God and for his will and not our own. To make these “good” decisions you have to have spiritual wisdom and guidance that only come from reading God’s word, prayer, and by listening to the Holy Spirit. We can’t make spiritually wise decisions that come from a God that we don’t make time to listen too. Our lives can become full and busy to the point that we don’t leave time to hear from God. Make sure to set time aside daily to hear from the true vine, which is Jesus. We must be wise enough to not let our lives become so busy that we develop a blind eye and deaf ears to the only source of goodness in this world. Love y’all! Have a great day!

  • Exodus 21:1-36

    I’m no expert to the Mosaic Law so I’m not going to try to act like I am. One thing I do know is that once Jesus came and established the new covenant we no longer operate under these laws, but we now operate off of his mercy, his grace, and the intentions of the heart. Another thing to be careful of is to not take out of context of what a slave was back then and what a slave is now. Back in the days of Moses if anyone owed any type of debt to someone they could repay them with servitude for 6 years and be free of the debt in the seventh year. Hence the term “slave to the lender.” It is easy to get overwhelmed and to think that these laws apply to us. The truth is these laws don’t directly apply to us word for word today, but do not read these laws and skip over seeing God’s character in them. You can see in these laws that God cares about regulated servitude, required humane treatment, provided release, and protection. Today the New Testament moves further by instilling how we are required to treat people with dignity (Colossians 4:1) and see others as equals before God. In Matthew 22, when Jesus was asked by the Pharisees, which were the experts of the law, “what is the greatest commandment?” Jesus answers: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.” So long story short if you obey these two commands faithfully yow will be found blameless in the eyes of God. The condition of your heart is what truly matters to God. Love y’all! Have a great day!

  • Exodus 20:1-26

    In Exodus 20 God shows his power and Holiness to the Israelites at Mt. Sinai as he gives Moses the 10 Commandments. If you think about it, God has always communicated to his people through a mediator. Even today we can’t speak directly to God the father without Jesus being our mediator sitting at the right hand of the Father. We can only communicate with God the Father through Jesus and his righteousness. Without Jesus communicating to the Father on our behalf there wouldn’t be any communication. God chooses People (prophets) throughout the whole Old Testament (before Jesus) to communicate with his people. Moses could not talk to God because he was better than everyone else, it is only because he was chosen by God. God is the only source from which righteousness comes. There is no amount of works we can do to gain righteousness. Righteousness came at a cost that only Jesus could pay. This is why when we pray we should always pray in Jesus name. It is the only thing that qualifies us to even speak to God. Jesus was God in the flesh. He walked perfectly among us and lived the life me or you could not live and he freely laid his life down out of his great love for us. Everything we do we should do out of love for the Lord because he first loved us. We obey the 10 commandments not because we are trying to earn our salvation. We obey the 10 commandments out of our love for God and what he has done for us. We obey the 10 commandments out of respect for our Father in heaven. Love y’all! Have a great day!

  • Exodus 19:1-25

    In this chapter God gives us a clear picture that we as sinner’s cannot stand to be in his presence in our natural sinful state. God’s holiness and our sin is like water and oil. It doesn’t mix. You can try as hard as you want but it will never mix together. This is another reason why what Jesus did for us on the cross was so huge. When Jesus took his final breath and said “it is finished” he meant that the sin that separates us from him has been “finished” or removed. Sin no longer has a grip on us as long as we accept the free gift of mercy and grace that God has given us through his son Jesus Christ. Through his sacrifice he has made us righteous and made us new. The blood of Jesus was the only blood pure enough to atone for the sins of the world. We now dwell with the Holy Spirit inside of us to guide us through the rest of our lives after we receive salvation. God from the beginning has always meant for us to have a relationship with him. Love y’all! Have a great day!

  • Exodus 18:1-27

    No man is perfect. Not even Moses. Moses had a hard time speaking in front of people so he had Aaron. Moses was appointed as a judge by God to enforce the law and God sent his father in law to direct him to appoint people he trusted over a few so he would not become burned out. We must remember that even the best of us were born sinners and live in the flesh which is sinful. I say this because it is essential for us to surround ourselves with people that we trust to keep us accountable and to keep us accountable in the right ways. Everyone has heard the expressions “you are who you hang around” and “that groups rise and fall according to leadership.” We cannot go through this world alone. God has created us to work as a community. Man by himself is sinful but by taking all of the good qualities and strengths from individuals as a group we become a body of believers and disciples. Jesus himself is our example and he carefully chose the disciples that he surrounded himself with and they all had different spiritual gifts but worked together for one goal and that was to spread the good news and the truth of who Jesus Christ was and what that meant to each individual. I can’t emphasize how important it is to surround yourself with a group of believers that are working together for the same goal and that goal is to make disciples. God commands us to make disciples, not perfect people. A group of believers that are blameless because of their obedience is the example Jesus gave us to be able to change the world and to bring glory to him. Be careful not to go this world alone. We were not meant to. If we try to take on this world alone we will fall every time. Be careful and intentional about who you let in your inner circle. Your inner circle is one of the tools God uses to mold us and make us who we are. Love y’all! Have a great day! Happy Easter!

  • ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭16‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ , ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭6‬:‭13‬-‭14‬

    I’m reading this book called “Stand Firm And Act Like Men” by my favorite pastor Joby Martin. At the end of the first chapter of his book he challenges men to write these verses down and put them some place where you can read them everyday and make them a permanent place in their memory. There is a deep meaning to what it means to be a man in this world. It is easy to say and hard to do. Being a man is actually having the courage to read God’s instructions and to listen to that feeling in your gut and actually do what you know is right. This world says that a man is only as important as what he can consume, conquer, or control. The first step to biblical manhood is bending the knee to our lord and savior. Then and only then can a man understand what it is to truly be a man. Being a male made in God’s image doesn’t mean we go around pounding our chest saying “we got this.” Being a male made in God’s image means that God gave you manhood for his glory and for the provision and protection of everyone he puts around us. We live in a world that says to be a man you need to act more feminine, be more in touch with our feelings, and be more like a woman. We should never apologize for having God given dominion and being born a man. In saying this, not apologizing for being a man does not mean to be abusive, dumb, manipulative, controlling, or to cause fear. It does not mean to take advantage of your God given gifts for your own benefit. Men are to be respected because everyone should know we are willing to die for them and for our faith. Men are to be respected because our actions and thoughts come from the God that we worship and pray too. Everyone around a man should feel the presence of God and feel the light of Jesus because Jesus is the one that the man is humbly bowing too and allowing to lead through him. Bend your knees to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ today because he loved you enough to die for you. Happy Easter everybody! Love y’all! Have a great day!

  • Hosea 4:1-19

    In Hosea 4 we see that the Lord is speaking to the Israelites about why judgement has become inevitable to them. It is because of the lack of 3 foundational things. It is their lack of faithfulness (loyalty), love (steadfast covenant love), and knowledge of God. It has led to a culture of cursing, lying, stealing, murder, and adultery. If this doesn’t sound familiar it should. This is exactly the world we live in today in America. What is scary to think about is that because of these traits God is telling the Israelites that judgement is inevitable. One of the main reasons I believe God has called me to start the God’s Lineman Organization is because of the lack of knowledge portion of this chapter. I believe that in our generation we use lack of knowledge as an excuse for the things we do. What God is saying here to the Israelites is that their lack of knowledge has come from ignoring knowledge. In today’s generation, especially in America, churches and bibles are in abundance everywhere we turn. God’s word, especially in the south, is in just about every home, hotel, or airport. We can get it on our phones, tv’s, or computers. Using the excuse for lack of knowledge is not an excuse at all. We as a nation have intentionally rejected spiritual knowledge by not taking the time with God’s word that we should. We choose work, hobbies, material things, and other activities to fill up our days instead of taking time to pray, meditate, and read God’s instructions to us in his word. God’s word has been given to us throughout the generations and we can literally hold it in our hands in one book. Sometimes I think we forget how amazing this is. Our whole purpose for living and the way to a relationship with the God of the whole universe that created us can be held in our hands and read anytime we so choose. I pray that we do not take this for granted and start seeing the word of God for how amazing and precious that it is. I also pray that we start to give God’s word the reverence that it deserves. I love y’all! Have a great day!

  • Exodus 17:1-16

    We see here how the Israelites once again doubt that God is with them. They get to a place with no water and cannot see why God would have brought them there. The same happens to us when we are tested and tried in this life. It is never easy to trust and follow God. When you follow God and let him lead your life you will often times get to a place where you think there is no way God has led me to this point. I oftentimes get to a place where God is leading me to do something and my initial thought and reaction is that there is no way he meant to choose me for this or this path is meant for someone better than me. What we have to realize is that God is not depending on us. God’s plan will prevail with or without us. It is by God’s power and not our own that makes his plan work. All we have to do is be open and available for God to use us. When God saves us he gives us the gift of his Holy Spirit. When we are one with the Holy Spirit God can do things that are bigger than we are. Trust that God is with you always, trust your instincts, and trust where he is leading you. He is not going to lead you to do something for no reason. It is always for his glory. Love y’all! Have a great day!