The Autopsy of the Body of Christ

Happy 2024! Look who's back!!! I know it's been a minute, so my desire is to blog more this year as I did back when I started back in 2011. So, let's get started with my first post for 2024: The Autopsy of the Body of Christ!

First things first, autopsies aren’t done on a person that’s still living. They are done on a person who has passed away to determine the cause of death. Now, there will be some who say that the body of Christ (the church) is dead based on our conduct (which I agree with); while others will say that the body of Christ is alive. Let me address the latter first, if you believe that the body of Christ is alive; I say it’s on life support!!! And now, I want to address the former, and provide a plan for us to get us back in action in order to redeem the time remaining as the days are evil.

 

If I had to do an autopsy of the body of Christ, the primary cause of our death is due to too much sleeping and having no oil inside of us (reference Matthew 25:1-13). We place our energy on things that are outside of our control versus the things we can control. We have allowed our minds to be in neutral, thus failing to heed the warning in 1 Peter 5:8 to be sober as the enemy comes seeking whom he may devour. And he isn’t playing fair. Let’s be real, he’s increasing his rage against us to silence us, using our weak points or circumstances to attack us whether it be physically, mentally, emotionally, financially and of course, spiritually.  We see the havoc the devil has wreaked in the culture, now it’s inside the body of Christ. He has turned the gas up and now people are using the Bible to make it fit their agenda (from the pews to the pulpit). This explains why innocent people are offended and are hurt by the church. The church needs to clean house of selfish motives, cliques, agendas and people who are worshiping people and not God. 

 

My heart cries out for the body of Christ. We are so divided on things that are so minor and don’t play a factor in our salvation.  It’s this very thing the devil is using to break up marriages and all forms of godly agreements. We must understand that when there is no agreement but double standards, chaos increases and excellence is lost. 

 

I believe intercession is needed for the body of Christ. My assignment has been towards the body of Christ since the year 2000. We are losing sheep (inside the church) and are refusing to go after the one as Jesus talks about it in Luke 15 because we are too focused on the 99 found sheep.

 

Further in the autopsy report, the secondary causes of death include hypocrisy; lack of personal accountability; unresolved church hurt; lack of focus on our Kingdom assignment; focusing more on maintaining titles and positions; witnessing church and not Christ to the lost; double standards we hold like picking and choosing who we want to agape love and faking excellence to obtain man’s approval, yet our heart isn’t in it. 

 

Our oil has burned out, and this is why we’re sleeping (physically, mentally and spiritually). We’ve accepted anybody in pulpits, and no lives are changed for the glory of Christ. Churches have become social/country clubs and not a place of worship. There’s more that I could say on that, but I’ll stop here. To the body of Christ: we must take our witness seriously! 

 

So what is the plan to get back in action? We must remember that we have a mandate to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). We are to keep the main thing, the main thing. We can’t afford to focus on where we sit in church over the visitor who has come and needs to hear about Christ. Yes, we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, but we must have a heart for others at the same time. I implore all of us to put our personal agendas down, it’s about Christ, not us. If we really are sincere about surrendering (giving ourselves away like we sing about), then we have to be about His heart. We must be emptied of ourselves so He can fill our hearts. Once that happens, He will refresh our oil to be about His business. Understand this: the time is short. He is returning and the days are evil. We have a job to do! 

 

Blessings,

 

The Mayne Man

 

 

What It Means To Be #1 (#MayneMan on Leadership)

I was thinking about a leadership program that I was involved in 2014/2015, and one of the classes was called “The Power of One Degree” based on the book “212 degrees.” So let me say this: If you haven’t read the book 212 degrees, you are truly missing out on some great nuggets.

What does it mean to be #1, let’s talk football for a moment. For players who don’t make the playoffs, football season is over for them. For those that do, here’s what players get (and this is per person):

 

For the 2022-2023 season:

Wild Card teams were paid $41,500 and division winners were paid $46,500 for Wild Card games. Despite not playing a game, players on first-round bye teams still received $41,500 for the Wild Card round.

Players made $46,500 for the divisional round and $69,000 for conference championship games.

 

Here’s a #MayneMan Insert: Notice the increase from Wild Card to Division (and teams on a first-round bye get paid for not even playing – how’s that for a blessing). And those who didn’t make it to the playoffs don’t qualify for this extra money, fame, recognition and prestige. And don’t forget the increase from Division to Conference. Now, let’s look at the Super Bowl payouts to each employee.

 

Players on the losing team (the Eagles in this case) will receive $82,000 per player. Players on the winning team in Super Bowl LVII (the Chiefs) will receive $157,000 apiece. 

 

Do you see the importance of being #1? Mediocrity is not acceptable and neither is average (and possibly above-average). Oh, I forgot to mention this: winners also receive a championship ring, which are generally valued between $30,000 and $50,000. 

 

What are your takeaways on this? I see what my best man (at my wedding) said years ago, when you perform and qualify for the playoffs when the original season is over, you extend your season. Winners extend their season!!!

 

So let’s look at the flipside of this: there are many people who are striving to be #1, and there’s at least one person who is jealous of you (smiling in your face – you should know that song). The question is why are they jealous, especially when the person striving to be #1 wants them to come along – as that’s what a good leader does. Many would say low self-esteem, yet I would believe it’s a case of wanting to be #1 and not put in the work. It would require the jealous person to have to take a look at themselves and find out what they are doing wrong, and for some, pride may be in the way to where they won’t want to admit their shortcomings. 

 

Winners who strive to be #1 have the mindset to put in the necessary work and have the discipline to finish. It requires a commitment without taking any shortcuts. And that’s very important and I hear my best man loud and clear when he says that those who aren’t prepared look for shortcuts. Yes, I understand that favor isn’t fair, at the same token, wanting to be #1 without putting in the work is really an exercise in futility (translation: a waste of time)! 

 

My desire is to see people who are with me to strive for the same goal as we are all in the same boat. I do understand that not everybody will jump onboard due to mindsets. Winners understand that betrayal could happen. Now, let me qualify this: winners don’t go looking for those who could possibly betray them, as they are so laser-focused, they are just aware that it can happen. Those who run with turkeys will easily betray those who are flying with eagles. Another way I can say that is those crabs that are in the barrel will get mad when one crab gets out. The crab that got out the barrel understands that he’s free and there’s no one holding them back! 

Winners understand that “misery loves company” and will quickly disassociate from those who are a distraction in order to complete their mission – and why is it that people hate those who are so committed? Because they have no focus and no drive to stay committed to their respective tasks themselves. It’s easy to blame shift than to be accountable for your lack of focus and commitment. In summary of this paragraph, winners understand that criticism comes from the uncommitted, and it comes in the form of “you think you’re better than me!” By the way, not everyone will appreciate your shine, don’t let that get to you. Winners understand that people who don’t have the mindset of a winner will always operate in mediocrity!

 

Most winners are excellent leaders and a good leader will set a bar (and will not accept mediocrity or even above average), not to prove they’re better than others, but to encourage them that they can do it as well and is willing to pull them up with them. They only accept excellence and will expect it for others (holding them accountable to excellence), and especially for themselves (holding themselves accountable to excellence). Unfortunately, when a good leader desires to pull others up with them, many don’t want a hand up, they want a handout. It’s easier to be given a fish because it’s a state of complacency, teaching people to fish requires work with a greater payout. People want a reward, but don’t either want the process that comes with it or they failed to count the cost. Another issue as to why people don’t want a hand up is pride. They don’t want to admit they need help or to allow others to help them, so when it’s time to perform, they’ll fall flat on their face (thus creating more embarrassment). The key to getting to #1 is to swallow your pride, allow someone to challenge your potential so you can maximize your capacity.

 

You can’t control other people and what they say and do, you can control you, and when you’re with a team that’s committed to the same goal, being #1, the team works together completing the task and not competing with each other! The only competing should be to be better (challenging each other).

 

Do you remember back when we were kids, we used to play kickball, dodgeball, baseball and other sports? When we played those games, we always chose people who were winners and/or we knew who were focused on winning. Those who were lazy or we knew who couldn’t assist in winning were always chosen last. The same concept holds true in life. Winners will hang with other winners who are focused on winning and they will help others win. Selfishness is not a characteristic of a winner. So, if you see someone with you and they wreak of selfishness, they are not for you, and they don’t have a winning spirit!

 

I believe that’s why these teams who were in the playoffs made it to the playoffs, they had the mindset of being #1! In my book, those who made it to the playoffs are winners, as they qualified for the extension of their season when the football season was really over. Overflow is imminent when you extend your season – it comes with work, faith and patience. And for the Kansas City Chiefs (though I was routing for Philly), that’s how they made it to #1. With that, swallow your pride, challenge yourself and make it your resolve to get to #1 for yourself (and not for bragging rights). Encourage others to get to #1 too. It’s more fun when others achieve success alongside with you! Help others when they struggle, no one should be left behind (that’s if they really want it). We can do it together. 

 

Blessings,

 

The Mayne Man

Will You Be Made Whole? (Part 22: Men)

Happy 2023, I am declaring that this blogpost will be the final part to close out the series Will You Be Made Whole, which I started back in 2016. A lot has transpired during that time, learning a new job, getting married, finishing Bible School, completing the Ministry Internship Program and now seeing what God is going to do in my life (especially for 2023). Let me preface a few things before I get into this topic, as it’s strange that I have to talk about men, as I am one, obviously (smile). Anyway, if things come up as it relates to being whole in any area, I’ll just make it a bonus. Feel free to go back through some of my blogposts that I’ve written, not just this series, but other things that I’ve blogged about as I’m all about the heart and soul of man. With that said, let’s talk about men. 

 

When I was 24 years old (back in 1998) I left the military and attended Florida A&M University (which we simply call it FAM or FAM-U). One of the things I discovered during the course of talking to people was the following: most of these women problems are because of us MEN! The last two blogposts have been on absent fathers with a little dash of Mary J. Blige, so we’re going to build on that, and just talk about men. First of all, don’t take this blogpost as male bashing, as that’s not the intent. Granted, many people saw Waiting to Exhale as male bashing, I didn’t see it that way; however, I saw that when I was 21, and I saw it as women that I meet on a day-to-day basis picking men that aren’t even considered men (with the exception of Gloria’s character, who ended up with a man that I would call a MAN). I’ll shut it down here, so I don’t go into my soapbox about Waiting to Exhale. I have a lot of thoughts and comments that I will spare you all of. I will say this as I think about it, I wasn’t saved when I saw it, yet a lot of the views that I have about it still remained. My late father got upset with me because I took the movie personal. I felt I had the right to take it personal as a man because it’s men out there who don’t care about a woman, that will strip their identity, break their mental and emotional state and then they end up guarded, “bitter, angry and mean” (which I call it the BAM syndrome). I can’t begin to tell you how many women I’ve met in my life that are still struggling with relationships, many of them I’ve known since college and even high school. During my college years, I would strive to live life like a Kingdom man only for women who say they “luh” God to end up with some trifling boy! Yep, I said boy, because they’re not even worth being called a man.

 

Okay, let me get back on track. Trust me, I still have more thoughts about Waiting to Exhale. By the way, Mary J. did a song for that soundtrack called Not Gon’ Cry. Pencil that as we will come back to that song. So, let’s go back to my earlier statement: the source of most women problems are because of men. If you don’t believe me, just listen to a song from Mary J. Blige. She would be the perfect example, and I pray for her heart and spirit as well as she’s dealt with some trifling men in her life. Okay, staying on task here. If you listen to the lyrics to Not Gon’ Cry, Thick of It or Your Child (my prior blogpost was on this song), the focus of each of these songs are about TRIFLING MEN that broken women can relate to and understand. Thanks to the wonderful age of YouTube, you can watch Mary perform “live” and many of the women are cheering her on while she’s internally bleeding inside. In some cases, when she’s singing those songs, she’s bleeding on others who are struggling with their own pain. Question: when songs like that are being sung, who is getting healed? Help a brother understand. What I see is anger, unforgiveness and a hard heart, which could possibly lead to high blood pressure. Understand that the enemy is using that anger, unforgiveness and all that to bring on an illness – that’s the enemy’s plot, to keep you bound and you may not even be aware of it. Now I’m just using Mary as an example as there are so many people who are hurting and are bleeding on people who are not equipped to help you heal. We’ll talk about the healing piece later on in this blogpost. The more I think about it, I had a neighbor who slit all 4 tires to a man’s car, and I can imagine a song being written about it – the sad part is that women (saved and unsaved) who have done that would glorify the song. Now, I understand writing is therapy – this is what we writers do. What’s so important in what we write is that we write healthy solutions (especially if you believe God) to these problems as we are this world’s answer. Okay, continuing on.  A lot of the songs sung by women that have been out since the 1990s have been about women issues and “I don’t need a man” or pretty much talk about trifling men. Now to those women listening to those songs, especially if they’ve been hurt mentally or emotionally, they will gravitate to songs that speak on keeping your pride and not crying. That song by the way is Karyn White’s Superwoman (1988) – by the way, it was a good song. There was another one that came out in the same year that bothered me, and it was called Thanks For My Child. I saw that as an anthem for single mothers who got pregnant by a trifling man! Yep, here it goes again. I was 14 when that came out, and for that to bother me then speaks volumes of what God was doing with me. So, back to the pride piece, you do realize that pride goes before destruction (according to Proverbs), so that will require a little humility to swallow your pride. Yes, I know you’ve been hurt my sister, and you can heal the proper way (not by a song that’s just going to keep your wound open or cause your scars to become so callous). Understand that the devil thrives off of pride, as it opens doors to fear, anxiety, worry, insecurity – things that will contaminate your faith. And it’s pride that got the devil kicked out of the garden of Eden! Also know that the devil likes it when people are pride because he will attach you to someone else who is bitter, angry and mean (BAM) and then, no healing can really take place – just straight bondage. Galatians 5:1 talks about standing fast in the liberty which Christ called you to and to not be entangled with the yoke of bondage. Some of you ladies who have been damaged by men, just need to get away from them for a season, fast, pray, so you can heal properly. 

By the way, I said this when I was 24, many women think I’m hard on them, I’m worse with men. I’m still that way today. We men have got to get it together, I have to take my role as a husband, father and a man of God seriously, as we are losing men to the prison system, to the devil, and sadly, to death!

 

I’m not finished with this just yet. It’s sad that I have to talk about this, yet it’s so very important that it needs to be addressed. I remember writing a sermon via e-mail in 1998 about the concept of Defilement – what I was addressing was Genesis 34, where Shechem rapes Dinah, and then two of Jacob’s sons killed Shechem as a result. What Shechem did before he raped her was eyed her in a spirit of lust. And that’s what I saw going on during my time at FAMU (especially my first year) and many of the women were so gullible (like they dropped off all the spiritual wealth they gained at home) once they got to campus. And today, the concept still hasn’t changed. It’s men like that (with an evil eye and heart) seeking to damage women – of course, we all know it’s the devil who is after the woman. Why? Glad you asked, understand that it was the woman who birthed Jesus that would crush the devil’s head! And God even stated that he would put enmity between the devil and the woman (Genesis 3). And that’s the devil’s plan, to send men like Shechem to women with the sole intent to break you physically, mentally and spiritually to where you believe that you are damaged goods. What’s so sad and I’m glad my pastor (Dr. Mike Freeman) posed these two questions: how are we men not paying for the babies we made? And why are we letting women go to court to get us to pay child support? Another pastor (Pastor Ken Friendly) said this and I had to agree: it’s a tragedy when a man (father) won’t pay child support and have the audacity to live better than the children and mother who birthed his children. 

 

It's true, we men have to get it together. This absent father syndrome needs to stop, yet we men must be held accountable, considering the strength of a nation is determined by the male population. I’ve said this for some time and got flack (even to the point where someone verbally attacked me for it): at men’s conferences, we’re usually talking about sex or pornography, and that’s fine. We’re dealing with the acts and that’s fine, the issue is as follows: we’re not dealing with the whole man here. Many of the men don’t know what it means to be a husband, a father, or a man of God. I believe if we deal with those three, then the acts can clear up simultaneously. If we just keep talking about sex and pornography at these men’s conferences without teaching men how to be a man of God, a father and a husband, then men would never graduate from the “boy” state!

 

In summary, we all (men and women) need to go to work on our lives and be healed and whole from the damaged that was done to us from our past. Now let’s talk about this thing called “work.” Praying and declaring the Word and healing scriptures is fine. Some work is needed, seek Holy Spirit and not your inner conscious (Proverbs 3:5), talk to a counselor (secular or Christian), talk to a pastor, allowing yourself to be vulnerable to an authentic pastor and to God so that your scars and open wounds can heal properly. If you pray and declare without doing the necessary work, you’ll still end up bound – considering, faith without works is dead. Take that first step, so that you can let God know that you’re serious – understand that the enemy will seek to stop you whether it’s to prevent you from taking that first step or midway. The key is to have the discipline to follow through! I trust and believe that you can be made whole. Remember the story in Luke 17 where the 10 lepers got healed, two came back and gave thanks, and they received wholeness. There’s a difference between the two, healed is for a certain thing, wholeness is for everything! In your process of getting whole, give thanks in the midst of your process! Look to the promise while going through your process. You can make it; you have the Mayne Man in your corner routing for you and most importantly, God is routing for you! 

 

Blessings,

 

The Mayne Man

Will You Be Made Whole? (Part 21: Hole In The Heart)

In the previous part, I talked about absent fathers. I want to stay on this topic because I heard something yesterday that brought me to tears. I remember 22 years ago, I was in a music store and I heard Mary J. Blige’s song Your Child being played. Now, I remember when she came out on the scene with her debut album What’s the 411 in 1992, and most of her songs have a theme: Women Empowerment/Women Issues With Men.

 

Personally, Your Child is my favorite song from her, as it talks about Mary being with this guy yet he is denying a child that he has with someone else – the mother of the child confronts Mary and tells her the truth that it’s actually his child. Well, I managed to hear the live version of this song (recorded at the House of Blues back in 2004). As the song was coming to an end, it was like Mary snapped. Allow me to share a clip of this because what she says is very important and I know a lot of people will be able to relate to this. And if this is you, stay with this blogpost till the end. Here’s the dialogue with the audience:

 

I’ve got a question for you. How come these brothers and some of these mothers, they leave these children, abandon them and then they don’t want to take care of them? They don’t want to tell them they love them. And when they grow up, they’re going to want to know, how could you do it?! How could you do this to me, I was your baby. Why didn’t you love me? Why didn’t you hug me? Why didn’t you kiss me? Why didn’t you teach me? Why didn’t you tell me I was beautiful? Why didn’t you teach me how to walk like a lady? Daddy, where were you?! They were touching my body, where were you?

 

The song finally closes at this point, and she’s in tears (and granted, I’m in tears typing this up). I can feel her pain, as I can imagine that Mary’s father abandoned her (left her when she was 4 years old, he suffered with PTSD and he would assault Mary’s mother). So, let’s pick up from where the music breaks, because there’s more to what Mary has to say (and this is the most important piece).

 

It’s killing me! I’m so sorry, but it’s killing me. Where were you daddy?! Where the f*** were you, excuse me, but where were you? That’s why we got to take care of the babies. I know this is a club and you all probably don’t want to hear that, but it’s real. It’s the reason why we are all f***** up in our head right now because nobody wanted to love us.

 

Here’s where I break out in tears for the second time. I have a question to everyone reading this, how many of you can relate to the pain that Mary is feeling at this moment? If you can, my heart cries for you. If you were abandoned, broken, unloved by your parents, abused by someone in your family and your parents didn’t take your side (or they were the abusers), you definitely have a hole in your heart. No matter how you try to camouflage it, it’s there. Now, if you went to counseling, praise God. So many times, we neglect counseling thinking we have the strength to do it by yourself. Or we just deal with it on a surface level because of the shame that’s buried underneath. There’s nothing wrong with counseling, it can be secular or spiritual (whatever your religion). The key here is to get your pain out, because if you keep it inside, the hole in your heart will become enlarged and you will end up with a heart that is beyond repair, that could remove years of your natural life. 

 

Now as a man of God, I have to tell you that the best way to have the hole in your heart filled is to give it all to Jesus. He cares for the broken hearted. He will be the first to tell you that what you went through was not your fault!!! Please understand, I don’t care with other people say to you. He loves you. And you might be questioned, why didn’t He protect you when all of this was going on? Excellent question, He was there – in that pain with you. Give it all to Him, and your life will never be the same. I love you all, and I’m here if you need to vent.

 

Blessings,

 

The Mayne Man

P.S. I don’t know if Mary is healed from her father wound or not. I do pray for her regardless of her state. I believe everyone could use prayer – even me. If you are in need of prayer due to a parental or familial wound, drop a comment below and I’ll pray. Oh, and if you are healed from your familial wound, feel free to share your story in the comments below.

Will You Be Made Whole (Part 20: Absent Fathers)

This part of the series has been on my heart for quite some time. I don’t know who this is for, however, I know someone who will be ministered to with this. I dedicate this blogpost to anyone who physically didn’t have a father present in their lives; or had a father, but was emotionally or mentally absent. For this, I want to look at Genesis 19 for a reason, and I want to dissect the first few verses for a reason.

 

Genesis 19:1-8 (NKJV)

Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground. And he said, “Here now, my lords, please turn in to your servant’s house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.” And they said, “No, but we will spend the night in the open square.” But he insisted strongly; so they turned in to him and entered his house. Then he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. And they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally.”So Lot went out to them through the doorway, shut the door behind him, and said, “Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly! See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof.”

 

Wait, press the brakes! Did Lot just say to the men, “here are MY two daughters, do to them as you wish.” Wait, did you catch that. What father, in their right frame of mind, would prostitute their daughters? Lot was not in his right frame of mind. Now how many of you women would wish their father be absent if they ever did something like that to you? Think about it. The men wanted the angels, Lot is trying to protect the angels as if they couldn’t defend themselves by giving his daughters to men who wanted to get busy with the angels. Lot right there was absent, although physically present, he was definitely absent mentally, spiritually and emotionally. 

 

If you grew up without a father, you need a father. Now this father may not be earthly, you need a Father who is not going to prostitute you, who will love up on you to heal those father wounds. Many people would call this concept of children without a father, a mother (or without both parents) an “orphan spirit.” 

 

I believe truthfully, this is the first case of sexual abuse recorded in the Bible. I can tell you story after story of young girls (and even young boys) being prostituted to other adults by their parents. It’s wrong, cruel, and God is not please with any adult who does this to their child!!!

 

As we look further into the chapter, you will find that the daughters that Lot was about to pimp out to the Sodomites would sleep with their father. One tribe would be called Moabites and the other Ammonites. They would turn on each other in 2 Chronicles 20 and be destroyed. 

 

If you suffered any parental abuse as a child, my heart goes out to you. Know that you can be made whole from this pain. The key is: how bad do you want to be free. Wishing it away or sweeping it under the rug is not going to get it. Give your pain to God, He will hear you. He’s not like man and will lead you down a path of pain and sorrow. I will pray for you if you want me to.

 

Blessings,

 

The Mayne Man 

How Spiritual Warfare & Rocky Tie Together

Good evening everyone. If you’re like me, you are a fan of Rocky Movies. I was walking during my lunch break yesterday (Thursday, June 2^nd to be exact), and I was thinking about a trial I’m experiencing in my life. And I saw clips of Rocky 3 in my mind. In Rocky 3, Rocky (played by Sly Stallone) doesn’t face tough opponents until he accepts to fight Clubber Lang (played by Mr. T). Now, for many of us, we are coasting through life. Not everyone can say that, I sure can’t. And you haven’t met a challenge of some sort (whether it be physical, mental, spiritual, emotional or financial). Well, Rocky takes on that challenge and loses the fight and the belt. Now, the question is, why did Rocky lose that fight? Rocky didn’t properly train for that fight, he was training like he did for those fights that weren’t tough opponents. Clubber Lang trained like a pit bull for that. Rocky didn’t study his opponent. Now, you have to study your opponent and take nothing for granted. This is how spiritual warfare is. You have to study your opponent. My pastor said to us men, that we can’t have a causal disposition with a vicious devil! And that is so true! You can’t fight a spiritual war without proper preparation. The main thing you have to understand is that Ephesians 6:12 has to be on lockdown in your spirit and in your mental understanding. 

 

Let’s move to the second fight within Rocky 3. Apollo Creed (played by Carl Weathers) trains Rocky as Apollo was Rocky’s opponent in the first two Rocky movies. As the second fight begins, each fighter is in their corners. This is where you regroup, recalibrate and refocus. After the first round, Clubber Lang is stunned. That’s how you know you have the upper hand. The second round, Clubber Lang comes back hard and the part that stuck out at me was when Rocky said “You ain’t so bad, you ain’t nothing!” That’s confidence even though Clubber nor Apollo understood it. And our enemy is nothing no matter what he throws at you. It may not “FEEL” like it in the natural, that’s why that understanding of Ephesians 6:12-18 is so important. Mind you in the second round that Clubber tried to keep him in the corner to where Rocky was at Clubber’s mercy and he actually knocked Rocky now. Rocky would eventually get us. In this spiritual war, the enemy wants to keep you in the corner to take you out and eventually take you out of the game. Remember what Rocky said to Clubber, he’s nothing. When Apollo confronts him asking what he’s doing, Rocky says “I know what I’m doing.” Apollo got it right, and said, don’t just know, DO IT! And that’s what we’re missing. A lot of people know the Bible, but aren’t doing it! This is why so many Christians are getting their head bashed repeatedly. In the third and final round, Rocky eventually implements his strategy and the training Apollo taught him and knocks him out winning the belt.

 

In the fourth Rocky, Apollo and Rocky are confronted with a Russian boxer named Ivan Drago (played by Dolph Lundgren). Now, if Apollo would’ve taken Rocky’s advice and learned more about their opponent and trained like he taught Rocky, Apollo would’ve stood a chance against Drago. Tragically, Apollo dies in the ring in the second round. Rocky studied his opponent and watching Apollo lose his life, Rocky trains like his life depended on it. And Rocky went the distance with Drago going all 13 rounds to eventually win the fight.

 

Understand this, in this life, we have to go the distance with the devil, and you have to stay on guard with the Word of God, hearing it and doing it – when it feels good, and when it doesn’t feel good. Just wanted to encourage you as this encouraged me yesterday.

 

Blessings,

 

The Mayne Man

Lessons from Joe & Irma Garcia

Happy 2022, I know I haven’t been blogging like I should, this tragedy in Texas struck a cord with me. Within this tragedy, I heard about the passing of Joe Garcia, the husband to the late Irma Garcia. I just posted this on Facebook, and now I want to share this with everyone.

#MayneMan on Real Love (and not the Mary J. type, either)! Now that I have your attention, I heard about the tragic death of not only Irma Garcia, but also the death of her husband. I don’t want to minimize the weight of any death that has occurred in these shootings and those that died tragically, I just want to park here to talk about the love these two have.

I don’t know what all of what their marriage entailed, and we will never know. Based on this photo here is very telling. I know I’m coming up on 3.5 years of marriage, and it’s definitely a learning institution I will never graduate from. What I found interesting is that they were high school sweethearts and their marriage was for 24 years. They stayed true to their vows, and that’s the first thing that struck me (till death do they part). The honor of Joe, he went to his wife’s memorial and he passed due to grief. If this isn’t love, I don’t know what is. Yes, both of their deaths were tragic, but their living out this thing called marriage speaks to me. Men, brothers, this is how our wives want to be loved, where we would sacrifice for them (even if it means we cease from living to protect them) and to always agape and honor them. We are in a covenant with our wives and our marriages are so important to the world and to God. Joe loved Irma so much that he would lose (sacrifice) his life in honor of his wife. That’s what agape and honor looks like. His heart broke over the loss of his wife. To me, that defines a covenant that they had. Ladies, I know this story of their passing is heartbreaking, let their marriage relationship minister to you (whether you’re single, married, etc). 

Think about this, the bridegroom gave up His life because He honored His bride. The bridegroom’s heart breaks when our hearts break. This is when two really become one (this is known as the power of covenant)!

My condolences go out to the Garcia’s children and to the families who lost loved ones due to this tragedy. 

#irmagarcia

#JoeGarcia

#GarciaStrong