Brian Tome - Move Devotional: A Guide to Get Up and Go Forward

T hroughout the Bible, God is repeatedly referred to as Father. For a long time, that image didnt help me because my dad and I are very different. Im over six feet; he is under six feet. I had bad grades at a low-grade college; he was on the deans list at multiple Ivy League schools. He loves James Bond; I prefer Thor. He has never finished a beer; Ill drink multiple beers in the same sitting. His job is troubleshooting nuclear reactors; I have a hard time troubleshooting my motorcycle. He has never had tobacco; I love tobacco in nearly every form.

I came to the conclusion that my dad isnt like me and doesnt understand me. Believing this caused distance in our relationship. And for a long time, I felt the same way about my heavenly Father. I was driven away from God, and there was a barrier in my relationship with Him because I thought He had nothing in common with me and therefore couldnt understand me. I now know that He does understand me, and He even likes me. But not every man has come to that conclusion.

I believe its hard for men to get to know God because we dont know how to spend time with Him. Much of what helps other people spend time with God doesnt help me. Maybe thats because Im a man, and there isnt much on the market written with me in mind. Its no secret that the vast majority of churchgoers are women, and preachers consciously or unconsciously speak to their core audience. Its well-known in the publishing industry that 80 percent of books are bought by women, whether Christian or not. Even a recent book I wrote for men called The Five Marks of a Man has been purchased by more women than men. It is likely that a woman in your life bought this book for you. Thats a smart woman. Please thank her on my behalf.

Im a fifty-three-year-old man who has been walking with God for thirty-seven years. Over that span of time, Ive learned a lot and taken my share of punches. As Ive aged, things that Ive shared on the back deck or around a campfire have often proved helpful in many lives. Those lessons are recorded in this book, and they come directly out of the Bible and have been verified by my life experience.

Contained in this book are seventy readings that will help men in their understanding of God, which will result in having more strength to lead a life that works. Not all of these devotions will be immediately applicable to every man. But I can promise you that there is something here for every man looking to operate with spiritual power in a life that is moving in the right direction. Some sections will be incredibly invigorating, and others unduly offensive. Im talking to you the way I would if you were with me on that back deck or around that campfire. If it is helpful, great. If not, set it aside.

For each reading, Ill give you a verse, some teaching on that verse, a prayer you can pray, and then tactile things you can do if you want to get off your spiritual couch and get your rear into gear. It is what you do that defines your relationship with God, not what you think or feel. Jesus says that you know a tree by its fruit, not its feelings. This book is written to push, challenge, and spark you into movement. By opening these pages, youre inviting God to push you. If you dont want to move, you might as well put this book down right now.

Still reading? Good. Most men I know want to move; they want to do things. Jesus didnt come to hold class; He came to change the world. He came to move you and me out of the place of apathy and into a place of challenge.

Some friends and I started an unfiltered and challenging experience designed to move men to a new place spiritually. Over the last few years, Ive spoken to and camped with fifteen thousand men from around the country at this thing called Man Camp. Man Camp is for a specific type of guy. There is a kind of guy who doesnt understand church speak, but when spoken to directly about spiritual things, he responds. There is a kind of guy who has no room in his schedule or his mind for theological philosophies. There is a kind of guy who wants to build a fully engaged lifephysically, mentally, and spirituallyinstead of just having some spirituality on the side. This was the vision for Man Camp, and it is the vision for the book you are holding.

Something special happens when men are with men who want to move to the next level. Ive seen a fifty-year-old man put his hand on the shoulder of a twenty-year-old guy who was stressed about the future and say, You are going to be fine. Stop wasting energy thinking about what could go wrong, and put your energy into making things go right. I saw the stress drain from his face and shoulders. We need encouraging and helpful straight talk like this, which is what this book is designed to give.

I was around one campfire when a guy started whining about how his wife was cheating on him. Another guy felt a prompting from God and said, And how many women have you had sex with outside your marriage? He was busted, and his life turned around that night with that straight talk. He went home and moved on his new convictions. He changed the way he treated his wife. He got off the spiritual couch and got into the game.