When I was in first and second grade, I remember being excited to get home from school, grab my favorite “action figure,” go in the backyard and construct a new action-packed reality through my vivid imagination. My favorite was a GI Joe with massive biceps and a scar on his cheek. Thoughtfully, I devised scenarios with GI Joe confronting dangerous situations, fighting, battling and winning. GI Joe, I became: wanting to be dangerous and brave, wanting to be a man of action.
It’s interesting that the most popular video games today follow the same theme: war, danger and action! Some three thousand years ago, when God was raising up David to be king of Israel, it was said of the sons of Issachar, “these men understood the signs of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take.” (1 Chron. 12:32, NKJV). They chose to fight for David. This tribe is noted in the Bible because they were men of action.
Luke’s second book, the sequel to his gospel, has historically been entitled, “The Acts of the Apostles.” It is so named because the whole book is about action figures: the apostles who acted.
Last night, September 9th, my 12-year-old daughter asked me for my Bible and showed me Luke 21:25, “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring.” Charity commented, “My friends and I were looking at this passage, Dad. There was a solar eclipse a couple of weeks ago and a hurricane just hit Texas. There is a hurricane hitting Florida right now, fires in the west, and a huge earthquake just hit Mexico. We need to do something! Gabby, Jordan and I want to do a bake sale.”
Recently, I received a text from one of our associate pastors, Bobby Sanders, about his plans to lead a team from The Road, the church I pastor, into the devastation in Houston, Texas.
On Saturday, we heard from Victor Marx about his recent trip into Iraq, rescuing little children from the evil clutches of ISIS.
Solomon writes, “To everything there is a season.” (Eccl 3:1, NKJV). We are living in times that require action. This is a season where men especially need to step up to the plate and become the men they were created to be: focused, men of action.
The Road is headed to Houston, Texas. Our kids are doing a bake sale. Victor’s rescuing children in Iraq. It’s time for action; join the road less traveled!
Living the action-packed life,
Steve
Steve Holt D.D. MA
www.steveholtonline.org
www.theroad.org
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