Rekindle the Fire

Fellas,

Many of you asked where you could read the story of Samson. You can find it in the book of Judges, Chapters 13 - 16. The next question asked was how does the story of Samson relate to The Alliance?

Given the lack of passion and desire that has been waned from you, this story is very relatable. Samson was depressed after loosing his wife. So depressed, that he got drunk, slept with a harlot, and escaped his death once again. Later he falls in love with Delilah and her daily persistence of asking him where his strength lies, eventually wore him down. He told her all of his heart.

As men, our Delilah are the daily, weekly, and monthly struggles we have with commitment, structure, self doubt, anxiety, hurt, frustration of job, lack of money, sexual temptations, sexual perversions such as masturbation, porn, strip clubs, web surfing, and just plain ol’ lustful thoughts. We fight these constantly and eventually give in to them. Like Samson, our giving in, is us giving our power away to false images and incorrect beliefs. When we do that, our heart is weak. The engineered thought has taken its power.

My question to you is: "Where has the passion died for you? When did you give in to the power of Delilah?" Are you as excited about The Alliance as you first were when the group started? Do you still feel the strength you felt when you first experienced your growth as a result of The Alliance? If you haven't gotten anything from The Alliance, maybe you haven't put anything into it.

Re-discover your passion. Stir up the gift that God has placed inside of you. Do what is asked of you even when you don't feel like doing it. Do it for the generation of men who will travel the same road you travel and will need your input on how to overcome.

Prior to a Championship Football game my senior year in high school, my coach quoted Vince Lombardi and said this: "A man can be as great as he wants to be. If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive, and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done."

Magnify, thank, pray, read, speak, obey, and worship are ways to rekindle the passion that may have set inside you. Lead men, change lives, bring strength, impact people......Alliance Strong!

Koop

The Refiner's Fire

Malachi 3:3 says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."

My father often told the story of a goldsmith and how the life of a goldsmith is a replica of God's Character and how he sees us in the scheme of life, regardless of what we are going through.

There is a process of refining that a goldsmith goes through when purifying gold. He holds the gold over the fire and lets it heat up. He holds the gold in the middle of the fire because that is where the flame is the hottest to burn away all of its impurities. When gold is first found in the crevices of the ground, rocks, caves, roadsides, or mountain-sides, it is full of dirt and other impurities that give the gold a dull look.

Think about how God is holding us in the palm of His hand, much like the goldsmith does. The hot spots are the daily, weekly, and monthly struggles of finance, relationship, sexual temptations, anger, confusion, indecisiveness, pride, jealousy, time management, hopelessness, fear, anxiety, faithlessness, and disbelief.

Like the goldsmith in the scripture, God watches us until we are purified. The goldsmith watches the gold the entire time that it is in the fire; never taking his eyes off of the process of the refining of the gold. He does this because if the gold is left in the fire to long it would be destroyed.

My father goes on to say that the goldsmith knows when the gold is refined when he can see his face in the reflection of the gold. Wow! That's how it is with us and God. Our troubles seem to burn us to the point of hurt, but God knows exactly how much of the heat we can bare.

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you. Whatever you are going through, you will be a better person in the end.

I close with a statement from a friend of mine. She didn't say this but she heard it from someone else and I can't remember who it was nor can she. It goes like this: "Life is a coin. You can spend it anyway you wish, but you can only spend it once."

I am proud of you guys. I love doing life with you. Lead men, change lives, bring strength, and impact people.

Keep The Alliance Strong!


Koop