Bob Barnes - 5-Minute Faith Builders for Men. Discovering Gods Tools for Wisdom and Success

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org); or from the New American Standard Bible, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Verses marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189 USA. All rights reserved.

Verses marked TLB are taken from The Living Bible, Copyright 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189 USA. All rights reserved.

Verses marked NIV are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Verses marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Verses marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Verses marked AMP are taken from The Amplified Bible, Copyright 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

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5-MINUTE FAITH BUILDERS FOR MEN

Copyright 2006 by Bob Barnes

Published 2012 by Harvest House Publishers

Eugene, Oregon 97402

www.harvesthousepublishers.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Barnes, Bob, 1933-

[Men under construction]

5-minute faith builders for men / Bob Barnes.

p. cm.

Originally published: Men under construction. 2006.

ISBN 978-0-7369-3057-4 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-0-7369-4198-3 (eBook)

1. Christian menPrayers and devotions. I. Title.

BV4843.B374 2012

248.842dc23

2011032581

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Printed in the United States of America

12 13 14 15 16 17 18 / BP-SK / 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To youthe man reading this book

Statistics tell us men dont read. Therefore,
you are to be complimented because you
break the stats. Youre a reader!

And even more than a readeryoure a
man under construction who wants to
become more like Jesus. There are many
ways this can happen, but one of the major
ways Ive found is through a willingness
to read, to apply, and to grow.

So my prayer is that as you read
5-Minute Faith Builders for Men youll
be built by the Spirit of God into a better
manand if youre married, a better husband,
and if youre a dad, a better fatherand
more conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.

May these daily nuggets enrich your life.

I believe God is at work among men in America as well as around the world in a mighty way. More and more men are hearing and responding to His call to be leaders in the family and the church.

Many men are naming Jesus as their Lord and Savior for the first time, and others are rededicating themselves to the Lord. If these commitments are to make a significant impact in our families, our nation, and our world, they need to be nourished dailyand that, I pray, is where this book of devotions will be helpful.

One way we sustain our commitment to the Lord is to read His Word daily. Each of the readings in 5-Minute Faith Builders for Men is therefore designed to encourage you in your spiritual journey by helping you understand what Gods Word has to say to you.

Each reading will start with a passage of Scripture and a short devotion based on what youve read. Then youll pray about what youve read and be uplifted by an inspiring thought entitled Todays Wisdom. Finally, youll be challenged to act on what youve learned. James 1:22 encourages us to not only be hearers of Gods Word, but to go one step further and be doers also. We must put Gods Word into action.

Dont worry about reading the book from front to back. Skip around if you like. At the top of the first page of each reading, youll find three boxes . Put a checkmark in one of the boxes each time you read that devotion. In this way you can keep track of those devotions youve previously read.

May the Lord richly bless you as you listen for and respond to His call to you to be a leader in your family, your church, and your community.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

JAMES 1:5

Our world is full of men who have an abundance of knowledge, but there are few of us who have wisdom. Knowledge is horizontal. Wisdom is verticalit comes down from above.

BILLY GRAHAM

I have found that any wisdom I may have is that which I have gained from the holy Scriptures. Anything else would be counted as knowledge. Knowledge is much easier and faster to acquire than wisdom. Gaining wisdom is a lifelong pursuit and cannot be attained in a college class or through a search on the Internet.

The Bible is full of wonderful assurances and promises for all who believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. But each person must accept Jesus as his own Savior before he can claim these promises personally. How can these promises be yours? The Bible says that you must

Recognize you cannot be saved by trying to be good, or because you are doing the best you can, or because you are a member of a social or religious organization. God says we are not saved by our good works.

By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast (Ephesians 2:89).

Confess that you cannot save yourself, that you are a guilty sinner worthy of Gods righteous judgment, and that you are hopelessly lost without the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior.

If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation (Romans 10:910).

Believe the good news that Jesus died for the ungodly (Romans 5:8). He also died for you and settled your sin debt by His death on Calvarys cross. Believe the blessed news that Christ was raised from the dead and now lives to save all who will come to Him in faith.

He [Jesus] is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them (Hebrews 7:25).