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20514 Man in Mirror

I run into lots of men whose general sense of dissatisfaction bleeds over into many areas of life. Maybe a man’s wife is out of sorts, and he starts wondering, “Is she mad at me? Is she feeling okay?” But he doesn’t ask, so his stress and sense of futility begins to build. In another situation, recently a guy told me, “I just don’t want to go to church anymore. I feel like I’ve heard all the same messages for years and years.” And on yet another front, I talk to men all the time who feel unfulfilled in meaningful activity rather than just “going through the motions.” I believe that’s a very godly desire, placed in men by the Creator as one factor that actually defines manhood.  WEEK Week 1 16 Monday—October 2•A Sense of Purpose Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his ancestors... (Acts 13:36) in their work. “I don’t feel like my job really matters. I’m just checking things off a to-do list.” All of these kinds of dissatisfaction are rooted in one common factor: Men want to make a difference in the environment around them. They want to know their purpose so they can engage Prayerfully consider one area of your life where you feel a sense of dissatisfaction. If you could understand and act on your purpose in that situation, how do you think that would change the way you feel about it? Daily Reading: Isaiah 66:1–24, Philippians 3:4–21, Psalm 74:1–23, Proverbs 24:15–16 Tuesday—October 3•Responsibility The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. (Genesis 2:15) From the very beginning of the world, God gave man responsibility to cultivate creation. Genesis 2 shows that God created the world and everything in it. Then He planted a garden which had potential but was not fruitful on its own. He placed Adam there to tend it. He intended for Adam to cultivate it, making and maintaining its fruitfulness. He also gave Adam a helper in the form of Eve. So, God gave Adam a garden and a wife as his first two responsibilities. Then the serpent showed up. (See Genesis 3.) According to the scriptural account, the serpent only addressed Eve. But Adam stood right beside her, and he didn’t speak up as the serpent deceived Eve. He allowed both spheres of responsibility given to him by God to be violated. He was supposed to be a blessing to the earth, but by his failure to fulfill his God-given responsibility, Adam instead participated in cursing the earth. Now we struggle to bring fruitfulness in the areas where we hold responsibility.  WEEK Week 1 Genesis 2 explains that God made the heavens and the earth. Verse 5 says, “Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground” (emphasis added). What does that last phrase indicate regarding the importance of Adam’s responsibility in God’s plan for the world? If you need help, please read Genesis 2:4–17 to discover the context of verse 5. Daily Reading: Jeremiah 1:1–2:30, Philippians 4:1–23, Psalm 75:1–10, Proverbs 24:17–20


20514 Man in Mirror
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