Blog

Influencers Weekly Devotional

Monday, January 31, 2011

Influencers Cabinet Introductions

Greg Huett

And there arose a great storm. (Mark 4:37)

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

It’s an age old question. And since I’m an old chicken guy, I’ve always liked the question. The best answer I ever heard was, “It had to be the chicken”. Why? Well as always, the Bible provides the answer. In Genesis, we learn that God took six days to create the earth and everything in it, and then, on the seventh day he rested. And since we all know it takes 23 days to hatch an egg, it had to be the chicken.

Four years ago, I started a new food company after spending 25 years with Tyson Foods, the king of chicken. As with most start-ups, it has been a series of starts and stops and near-death experiences.

While trying to deal with the storms and trials associated with a starting a business, I have been pondering a similar but more spiritual question. Does God give us faith for the storms of life? Or does He give us storms to build our faith?

Based on my own personal experience, I don’t think God just gives us the faith for the storms in life. I think He gives us the storms to grow our faith.

I think God gives us a seed of faith and then, I think He allows storms in our life to grow that seed .

Remember the exercise room in “Journey to the Inner Chamber?" It represented the trials of life. You feed in God’s word, you exercise (face trials), you feed again, gaining wisdom and strength form God’s word, you rest, your muscles grow, and then, the cycle repeats itself over and over. And, as a result, Learner grew stronger and his relationship with God became more intimate as he made his way to the inner chamber. And what was the net result? His faith, and his ability to trust God, grew stronger. Why? So, he could fulfill the purpose that God had for him.

If you think about the men and women who were used mightily by God, they all had one thing in common. Think about Moses, Abraham, Joseph, Daniel, and Ruth. They all persevered through great trials. None of them just woke up one day and had great faith. Their faith grew with each trial they faced.

Lately, I’ve been reading “Streams In the Desert” by L.B. Cowman. If you are going through a trial of your own or you want to prepare for any future storm, I highly recommend it. In the book he says, “It is in the storm that God equips us for service. When God wants an oak, He plants it on the moor where the storms will shake it and the rains will bat down upon it, and it is in the midnight battle with the elements that the oak wins its rugged fiber and becomes the king of the forest”.

Jamie and I have been married for 22 years. We have four boys. Wil is 19 and attends the University of Arkansas, Austin is 16, Hayden 15 and Joseph 11. Jamie teaches at Shiloh Christian School. I became interested in The Journey after “flat lining” spiritually, ten years after my conversion at age 35. This was driven by a desire to see the fruits of the spirit in my life on a consistent basis. I felt God telling me to abide, but I didn’t really understand what it meant to “abide”. After reading "The Journey to the Inner Chamber", I called Rocky and got in one of the groups. I have a led a group each year for the last four or five years.

Category: Influencer's Weekly Devotionals

Read/Add Comments (1 Comments)

Thank you from Rocky

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Dear Influencers;

It is now two weeks past my recent surgery. As many of you may already know I had a complete knee replacement, the second within 5 months. As I compare it to the last one, i find that I am on par with the last recovery and rehabilitation. It is a slow, painful process that seems at times to be more than I can endure. But, each day shows improvement, and this brings me encouragement. I realize that I am being held up by the prayers of godly men and women, and I want to thank you for those prayers, and the encouraging words I have been given by you. If you have ever been at a point in life that a challenge seems to be won or lost only by your endurance in the battle, you will understand what it means to have friends and loved ones who stand beside you, cheer you on, and infuse courage into your exhausted spirit. This has been the case with me. I am reminded of Moses needing his friends to help him hold his staff up during the battle. It is God's gift to us, to have friends who care, and who hold us up when we need to be stabilized, when we need help in standing strong in battle, and to be reminded that we are not alone. Thank you my dear friends for standing with me during these last few months. May you be so blessed as I have been blessed.

With great appreciation to you and our King,

Rocky

Category: Influencers News

Add Comment

Influencers Weekly Devotional

Friday, January 21, 2011

Influencers Cabinet Introductions

Frank Khalil

It was a cold December day when I was on my way home and felt that small voice within my soul to stop by and visit a friend. This friend was and is one for whom I have much respect and admiration, a friend who, each and every time I would see him, would shine as if he was Jesus. This friend is Jim Holder, a man that I have learned to love and admire as he walked this journey with me. You see, that December day, I stopped by Holder's office just to say hello and wish him a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Little did I know that God had a divine appointment set for me that day. Jim had just gone through The Journey and was well on his way to intimacy with Jesus. Jim was on a life-long journey, and he wanted to share it with those God sent his way. Well, I was one of many men to whom Jim introduced this process of The Journey.

It was early 2007 and what appeared to be impossible, God made possible for me. My wife Julie was pregnant with our first child after a long battle to conceive, and I was working long, crazy hours as an undercover narcotics officer with Tulsa Police. This could not have been a worse time in my life for me to commit to such a study. Well, it's amazing what God does if we simply obey, for obedience to our Lord and Savior changes everything. I took time off in the middle of the week, during the workday, to meet with a group of men to go through this process called "The Journey". Men, it has been the best decision I have ever made in my Christian walk. You see, I was the young man who gave his life to Christ at the age of fourteen. I was the young man who got involved in every opportunity that came my way to help grow my faith and walk with Christ. I was the young man who became the youngest deacon I had ever known at the age of 24, and yet, I felt empty inside. I was like so many today who are just going through the motions every Wednesday and Sunday. I was the young man who was a Sunday school teacher and went to every men's retreat. I was the guy who kept running after the wind like Solomon and continued to be empty inside.

Now, as I began this Journey process, I began to understand the simple steps of being enlightened by God. I began, for the first time in my Christian walk, to understand that the Almighty God knows and cares about me. I began to understand that He not only knows and cares about me, but He is willing and able to do mighty things in my life as long as I ABIDE in Him. Wow, that was the cry of my heart for so long. This process was real and this daily journey with my Lord was impacting my life in ways that I had never imagined. I was “all in”, and I was beginning to understand that He, the Lord of all creation, was calling me, Frank Khalil, to change the world around me. He was calling me to have a vertical relationship with Him...a relationship that has brought me to the hardest time of my life, and yet, He is there making it very evident that He is with me every step of the way. Men, words cannot express what the almighty God has done in the life of this man. Words cannot explain to you what I have seen God do in the lives of other men in the past 4 years now.

I'm a Tulsa Policeman who has been serving this city for over 11 years now. I've been married to my beautiful wife Julie for over 10 years and we have a 3 year old daughter named Grace and a son on the way. I have been in a storm of a lifetime these past four years, learning to have "total self abandonment and absolute trust" in my King. My heart's desire has been to reach men all around me, including my fellow policemen, to come to know Jesus in an intimate way. The battle has been intense these past several years, and yet, God has blessed me with the strength and courage to facilitate four journey groups, and I'm getting ready to start another one with my fellow police brothers. My favorite verse that has seen me through so much is Philippians 4:13 which says, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength". I have stood on these words, and I have been able to do all things and get through the darkest valleys by standing on this verse. God is so good and He is good all the time.

I could share so much with you, but I must end this note by saying that God is doing mighty things through this ministry. I am honored that Rocky has asked me to be on the Cabinet to take this ministry to the ends of the earth. I am committed to doing just that, and as you may know, Rocky and I just went to Brazil in November and watched God do mighty things there. I have continued my relationship with the men in Brazil and Journey groups are well on their way. God has called me as an ambassador to Brazil, and I look forward to many more opportunities that will come our way. Men, it is my prayer that you will get involved and take those opportunities that come to you to share this process with those God puts in your life. Know that men all around us are empty and hungry to have an abiding relationship with our Savior, and you may be the vessel that will point them to Jesus. Take the time to share your love for the Father as He gives you Divine appointments along the way. This is a life-long journey, and Jesus wants us to go and make disciples. God bless you and watch over you as you go and share the good news.

To His Glory,
Frank Khalil

Category: Influencer's Weekly Devotionals

Read/Add Comments (1 Comments)

Influencers Weekly Devotional

Friday, January 14, 2011

Influencers Cabinet Introductions

Bryan Craig

As Rocky stated in last week’s devotional, for the next few weeks you will be hearing from the Influencers Cabinet, the team which was formed to lead Influencers into the future. Our first introduction is Bryan Craig:

I remember the day I met Rocky Fleming in Siloam Springs in the Fall of 2005, after being handed a manuscript called, “The Journey to the Inner Chamber”. The Journey books had not even been published yet, but I was hearing about this new discipleship process to help men. Since 1997, I had been trying to help men in Tulsa, OK find a deeper walk with Jesus, and I had been searching for a tool I could use. Many men had gone to Promise Keepers conferences and men’s retreats and were fired up to change their lives. So, we tried Accountability Groups and Bible Studies and Prayer Meetings, which were all good, but it seemed we needed something deeper. We needed a process to help them get hooked up to The Vine and to help them understand the power of God’s Word. God guided me to Rocky and to The Journey!

We started one Journey Group in early 2006, with 15 men from all different churches and backgrounds. Myself, and Evans Rector (whom you will meet in coming weeks), signed on to be Guides/Participants of this first Tulsa group. Most of these men were leaders in their own right, but when they heard that this new process was about “intimacy with Christ”, they were intrigued to know more. One of those men, when I was recruiting him, said, “Bryan, it sounds great, but my life is like one of those 10-lane highways, with 5 lanes going in each direction, and I’m in all 10 lanes.” I said, “Well, I don’t exactly know what this is all about, but from what I gather, The Journey is the Scenic Turnout.” He paused for a moment and then said, “I’ll be there.”

Since that first group, we have multiplied Journey Groups each year and 2011 marks our 6^th year of Journey Groups, with over 350 men having gone through. Personally, I have helped to Guide six Journey Groups, as well as a Pilot Journey for Couple’s group. It has been so rewarding to see God get hold of the hearts of men, as well as their wives. There are SO many more men we want to reach, and I plan to keep challenging men to lead Journey Groups until we reach every man in Tulsa whom God will send us.

But The Journey is much bigger than just Tulsa. I’ve had the privilege of serving Influencers on a worldwide scale, and I see God paving the way for this message to reach men in all sorts of new ways and in new cities. I got to be with Rocky in Alexandria, Egypt as we explained “intimacy with Christ” to 30 Egyptian Christian businessmen through an Arabic translator. As I saw these men take hold of this message and realized how the message transcended culture and geography, I believed The Journey to be anointed by God. Since then, I’ve seen Him guiding our steps to reach more men. We have such a dependence on God for each and every step, trusting that His Spirit will show us the way. We don’t want to build a mega-ministry. We want to follow God.

I own a small business, called Sigma Sales, in Tulsa. I have been married to my college sweetheart, Missy, for 20 years. We have 4 daughters, Natalie (14), Annie (11), Isabelle (9), and Meredith (2). My desire is that my business could be successful enough to fund my ministry efforts with Influencers, so that I could devote more time to God’s work. However, it has been a very difficult past 2 years with the economic downturn, so I’ve never been more challenged in my “personal abandonment and absolute trust.” I know God is faithful, and if He has something for us to do for Him, He will make a way for us to do it. I love Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” I believe it!

I look forward to seeing what God is going to do this year with Influencers. Already, since Rocky formed this Cabinet, doors of opportunity are opening. YOU ARE PART OF IT! We need you men to answer the call and make yourselves available for where God wants to take you, to the men He wants to reach. And Jesus promises, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Your brother in Christ,

Bryan Craig

Category: Influencer's Weekly Devotionals

Read/Add Comments (2 Comments)

Rocky is doing fine!

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Just a quick report that Rocky made it out of surgery and is doing FINE. Thanks for your prayers.

Category: Influencers Prayer

Read/Add Comments (21 Comments)

Rocky has Surgery Today!

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Keep our founder, Rocky Fleming, in your prayers today, as he undergoes a knee replacement surgery on his other knee. This is the same leg on which he has had numerous surgeries.

Category: Influencer's Weekly Devotionals

Read/Add Comments (2 Comments)

Influencers Weekly Devotional

Friday, January 07, 2011

Go With ME

Embracing our Sacred Responsibility with Christ

Who am I? - Where Am I Headed in Life? - How Will I Get There?

He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas (which means Peter).” John 1:42 - ESV

I listened intently to the sermon, and a derivative of the questions I had heard in my past were appropriately asked, for it was the first Sunday following New-Year’s day when most people make their new resolutions. I had also heard the questions asked of me over 10 years ago by a friend, for I was feeling God’s call to follow a new life path, and he wanted to help me find it. My friend had read the questions in the latest self-help book about empowering one’s self to be the “man you always wanted to be.” It was one of the latest books concerning SELF and had made its way from the mainstream business culture to the Christian businessman’s self-help book list. I respectfully listened to him, as I always did, for I knew he meant well. But I couldn’t grab hold of his questions and answer them at the time. Don’t misunderstand me. It wasn’t that I couldn’t grasp the theory being espoused, for I had worked in the business culture for over 30 years. I had worked and succeeded in a goal-driven, commission-oriented profession my entire career to that point. When I was a new businessman, right out of college, forty years ago, I read most of the fad books, and I had applied the principles of these books as a perceived way to achieve success and personal happiness. I wanted to get ahead. I wanted to be a success. I wanted to become an outstanding professional, a great husband and father, and a powerful, rich, individual. I say, individual, but is there anything individualistic about those aspirations? Are these not the life goals of most men since the beginning of time? And yet, here I was hearing the same questions and same solutions being provided, as if it were something new. Only this time, it was for a Christian man to find his answers to life’s riddles using the same formula. The truth is that these questions never helped me in the past find what I deep down longed for, because I didn’t understand what was missing. So, here’s my problem with the questions, and why I feel great caution. You see, I don’t think anyone can answer the questions that follow, if he cannot answer the first one, which is “Who Am I?” If he doesn’t know who he is, then he will hope to become a persona of someone based on achieving his goals and objectives. If he somehow catches his illusive target, he will always identify himself not by who he is, but what he has accomplished, and he will never grasp that which is of greatest value. But the greater problem in this thinking is the failure to consider God’s plan and purpose for our life, and in leaving this out of our thinking, it will surely lead to disappointment in the end.

I am reading a very good book a friend gave to me by Mark Buchanan called, The Rest of God. In this book, Mark observed, “Wise people ask, ‘Does the path I’m walking on lead to a place I want to go? If I keep heading this way, will I like where I arrive?’” When I read this question I could grasp it and understand its depth, for as Christian men, we are all on a spiritual journey. So, the most accurate question is: Am I on the right path? The right path will lead to the right destinationand choosing the right path should be our greatest objective for living a right life and achieving a right finish in our life race. But we cannot be on the right path headed in the right direction, unless we nail down who we are. Allow me to give an illustration of what I mean by this:

Consider the Apostle Peter. In the scripture above, Simon meets Jesus for the first time. Immediately, Jesus nicknames him Peter. Who was Simon at the time? He was a fisherman, so he was also a laborer. When he sold his catch, he was also a businessman. When he went home, he was also a family man. But, who was he? All we could say to this point was that he was identified by what he did at work and home. Jesus would spend the next three years preparing him to understand who he was not by his vocation and accomplishments or lack of them, but rather by who he was in Christ. Peter would become “The Rock,” and Jesus was beginning His work in Peter’s life at this time to accomplish this.

Three years later, Jesus had been crucified, resurrected and ascended to heaven. But before He ascended, Jesus asked Peter this question:

“Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.)And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.” John 21:17-19

With all this in mind let’s ask Peter himself the questions: “Who are you? Where are you headed? How will you get there? Does the path you are walking on lead to a place you want to go?”

Interviewer: “Simon Peter, who are you?”

Peter: “I’ll answer you truthfully, but it might be hard for you to understand. I am a friend of Jesus, and God’s child. Everything else about my identity flows from there.”

Interviewer: “You are right about not understanding it, for your answer is kind of vague. Maybe we can clear it up asking you where you are headed in life?”

Peter: “Well, I’m not sure where I’m headed. I was told by Jesus to follow Him. He said the Holy Spirit would come and fill me and would lead me from that point. I’m counting on Jesus’s promises to me to be true. I know this must look aimless and reckless with my life. But the truth is that I feel that I am on the right path with Jesus, and He will lead me to my life purpose.”

Interviewer: “That brings me to my next question, but I don’t know just how to ask it now in light of your other answers. But, I’ll try anyway. How will you get to where you are headed, if you don’t know where you are going, and what you are supposed to be doing?”

Peter: “Oh I didn’t say I didn’t know what I am to do or where I would end up. Jesus has given me my new vocation to feed His sheep, and He told me where my path would lead. He said I would be eventually taken to prison, and would be crucified. That is the path I am on, and the one He has chosen for me. He also told me at another time that he would be with me where ever I go, as I fulfill His great commission. Between now and then, I have a life to live, and my life is to be lived to His honor and glory and with His help.” Peter continues, “One of the reasons you are having such a hard time framing your questions is that they don’t fit a man who is sold out to Christ. You have borrowed questions from a textbook about being in control of one’s own life and having as a primary objective to be happy and fulfilled. Your questions don’t consider that my life is no longer my own to do as I wish. I had that kind of life before Jesus came to me, and it only led to frustration and fear and efforts to overcome my troubles by my own resources. I don’t want to ever return to that life. But I almost did, until Jesus asked me if I loved fishing more than I loved Him.”

Interviewer: “Did Jesus ask you that question?”

Peter: “That was the point He was making. I had just gone through the most disappointing time in my life because I had denied Jesus publicly. I was a failure as His friend and disciple, and I was about to return to my life as a fisherman. But it was on the shore of the lake that Jesus asked me the questions about loving Him. He asked me three times the same question, and then I remembered I had denied Him three times. I then realized that He had forgiven and restored me. My life will always be defined from now on by my love for Him and His love for me. For this reason, your questions cannot be answered clearly except the first one. I am a friend of Jesus. He loves me and I love Him. Everything I do in life flows from this relationship, and this is the path I am on. Will I like where it leads and the kind of death I will face? It will be painful. But it will lead to His glory, and that is my life’s purpose. The path I am on leads me to His plan for my life. He will get me there, and He will secure for me that which I deep down am longing for. Do I know who I am, where I am headed and how I will get there? You bet I do! More than you can imagine!”

Men, choose your path wisely, for it is the path, not the goals that lead to a life that will lead to a successful life. You will be told that you’ve got to make it happen if you want to change your life, and much of the advice you will receive is rooted in the ways of the world rather than the ways of God. Simply get on the right path, by nailing down who you are in Christ first, and then, things will fall in place after this. Since it is a new year, let this be your first resolution. Get alone with Him. Spend time with your Best friend and allow Him to direct your steps, after He has drawn you near to Him.

This devotional represents the last of the “Go With ME” series. I must take a little time off for another surgery, for this will be the third in thirteen months, and I am a little challenged right now. Hopefully, it will lead to greater strength, stamina and less pain, for I have a great race ahead of me that my King wants me to run. I will begin a new series in a few weeks called, “Abide With ME.” I am excited about it. While I am out of touch, it is my pleasure to ask our Cabinet members to share their hearts with you in place of my devotionals. These men represent the leadership of Influencers, as it is their primary responsibility to expand Journey Groups around the world. You need to get to know them, for they are great men who love the Lord, and are called by him to lead Influencers into the future. These guys can answer quickly who they are.

God bless you all. If God be willing, I will return in a few weeks to do that which I have been taken captive by Christ to do.

To His great glory,

Rocky

TO DOWNLOAD A COPY OF THIS DEVOTIONAL, CLICK HERE

Category: Influencer's Weekly Devotionals

Add Comment

Influencers Ministry

Categories

All

Influencer's Weekly Devotionals

External Links
Links & Resources
Influencers West
Influencers- Bakersfield, CA
Influencers-Bayside Church, Northern California
Oswald Chambers, "My Utmost for His Highest"
Tulsa Men of Christ

	May 2013
S	M	T	W	T	F	S
			1	2	3	4
5	6	7	8	9	10	11
12	13	14	15	16	17	18
19	20	21	22	23	24	25
26	27	28	29	30	31

Archive By Month
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
September 2012
August 2012
July 2012
June 2012
May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011
December 2010
November 2010
October 2010
September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009