“The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice. It is conformity.”~ Rollo May
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Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs
Through the weekly and daily devotionals you can be constantly encouraged in your great role of parenting, the highest career in the nation. You can also stay updated on what's happening with the Above Rubies ministry.
“The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice. It is conformity.”
I believe that most men respect the manly virtue of having backbone for it speaks of the ability to stand up in the face of opposition. A man may appear strong physically but if his spine is injured, he is still a weak man. There is something wrong when a man speaks the truth but backs down when he is opposed by friends or foes. He reveals that he is a pushover.Every man should stand by his convictions to truth and never back down, not for anyone, no matter how many important or wealthy they may be. It is morally wrong to cave in and compromise on matters of truth.
Speak the truth and stand by it, come hell or high water!
We are living in days of much pressure to compromise on moral values such as homosexuality, abortion, and adultery. If we keep compromising, the day will soon come when we will not know right from wrong and we will start calling what is wrong right. This is the world we are facing now.
There will always be multitudes who will pat you on the back when you compromise values to their way of thinking, but deep down they would respect you more if you stuck to your guns about the truth.
"Buy the truth, and sell it not" (Proverbs 23:23).
Be encouraged,
Colin Campbell
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Who can tolerate spineless men?This nation needs men with BACKBONE—
Men with BACKBONE in their commitment to Christ and His course.
Men with BACKBONE in the battle of life.
Men who WILL NOT BEND or bow in the face of opposition.
Men who WILL NOT QUIT no matter what the enemy may hurl at them.
As the saying goes: "Winners never quit and quitters never win."
God’s calling to the men of today's Christian church is the same today as it was in the past. We are either the salt—halting decay and corruption, or we are "good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men" (Matthew 5:13).
We are the light scattering the darkness or light that is hidden and of no use.
Which one will you be?
Be encouraged.
Colin Campbell
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When the leadership of a nation is corrupt, how can God prosper it?Psalm 9:17 tells us: "The wicked shall be cast into hell and all the nations that forget God." Forgetting God is wickedness for it replaces truth with lies. It does not fear God and casts aside His judgment on sin. When we forget God, we elevate man.
Integrity is vital to the preservation of the nation, the city, the family, the church, and the individual. If America is going to survive this time of gross darkness it will need a revival of old-fashioned, and yet as modern as tomorrow, integrity.
David's prayer in Psalm 25:21 is, "Let integrity and uprightness preserve me."
Can a man's word be trusted these days? Have we forgotten that the one who weighs the hearts of men on His scales of perfect justice observes our national and individual behavior?
"Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord" (Hebrews 10:30).
Will you be a man of integrity? It begins with the individual, then the home, then the church, and spreads out across the nation.
Be encouraged.
Colin Campbell
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These are men who are worthy of being imitated. Jesus Christ was, and still is, forever the perfect man, who is infinitely more worthy to be followed and imitated than all other men.The supreme reason why God gave us His Holy Spirit is that we will be conformed into the image of His son. Romans 8:29 says: "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren."
The Apostle Paul was called by Christ to be an example. Acts 9:15 says: "He is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel." Paul himself stated in 1 Corinthians 11:1, "Be ye therefore followers of me, even as I also am of Christ."
In this desperate hour in our nation, we need Christian men who will not be content with the status quo. We need men who will refuse 21st century normality. We need men who will be an example for others to follow.
Be encouraged.
Colin Campbell
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This nation needs men who will not compromise their moral values, even under extreme pressure. It needs men who will not compromise truth, even if it financially advantages them to do so. Some men will say anything to get what they want, whether it be in marriage, promotion, election to public office, or even government hand-outs. The list is never ending.There is an ever-increasing percentage of our nation who want the government to look after them from the cradle to the grave. They have compromised all personal responsibility and have sold out their souls to the devil's lie.
God said that man should work by the sweat of his brow, six days a week, whether that work be in the office or in the field. If a man does not have a full-time job, and is capable of working, he has a full time job looking for a job. A man who works full time looking for a job will soon have a job.
The rich who work hard should not be penalized to support and provide for those who compromise work values. This is communism and it has never worked in any country. It compromises creativity and the nation becomes bankrupt and third world!
Be encouraged.
Colin Campbell
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God is looking for men who will not compromise, no matter what! Uncompromising men are few and far between, but thank God, there are some.The Holy Spirit who indwells all Christians is not compromising. He must be grieved at the way we compromise so easily over divorce, accepting the children He wants to give us, and homeschooling them to save them from humanistic propaganda and morally corrupt peers.
An ever-increasing percentage of "Christian" homes are infected with pornography, and now we have same sex marriage, and the mutilating of our current generation with transgenderism! May God have mercy on America and help us to repent quickly for we are trampling underfoot the gracious liberty He has given us. We desperately need a revival of good old-fashioned biblical holiness.
We Christian men can, and should, fast and pray against all forms of moral compromise. This in turn will have its cleansing effect upon the church and then the general population.
Hebrews 12:14: “Without holiness no man shall see the Lord.”
Be encouraged.
Colin Campbell
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One of the greatest acts of courage in the Bible (and of course there are many) was displayed by Jonathan, King Saul's son in 1 Samuel, chapters 13-14. In 1 Samuel 13:5-7 we read, "And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horseman, and the people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude . . . When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, (for the people were distressed,) then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits."That was a scary and terrible time for Israel. But in chapter 14 we read how Jonathan and his armor bearer courageously, and against all odds, discovered themselves to one of the Philistine garrisons. Jonathan spoke words of faith and courage when he said to his armor bearer: "Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the Lord will work for us: for there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few."
In that first encounter, Jonathan, with his armor bearer, slew about 20 men, then God took over. Remember that the only people in all Israel with sword and spear were Saul and Jonathan. Through the spiritual weapons God has given us we can be like Jonathan. Through prayer, we can expose ourselves, slay about 20 devils, and just see what God can do with the rest!
Like Jonathan, we just have to GET STARTED—and watch God do the rest!
Be encouraged.
Colin Campbell
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Men, if we are going to be men of courage, we must speak up for what's right when the opportunity presents itself. If you have got any truth in you, for goodness’ sake, SAY IT! Do not hide truth behind closed doors.Edmund Burke wrote, "All it takes for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing."
The question we need to ask ourselves is, how righteous are we really when we do not speak up when we should? God is calling for all Christian men to use every opportunity possible to be light shiners and salt preservers. When someone is telling a lie, speak up and tell the truth.
True men will always cringe when they see men sucking up to the false, especially when the false are rich, predominant, popular, physically stronger, or politically powerful.
It is high time for us men to tell it the way it is, no matter who is listening.
We may get persecuted for it.
We may lose our job for it.
Even our friends at church, who we wish to impress, may despise us when we do not toe the party line.
So what! It's time for men to be men and get rid of all that is yellow and gutless.
No more time for powder puffs who hold their peace when the sword should be drawn.
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“Where lies the strength of a people? Not in its arsenals, not in its army or navy, but in its men. The supreme need of a people is something higher than the making of wealth; it is the making of men. The highest of all social necessities is the making of new men, possible only by the preaching and the teaching of the gospel of Christ.”~ Peachey
Picture by teacherforjesus.com
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Where, oh, where are the true fathers? Oh, how the world is desperate for men to take up the mantle of biblical fatherhood.Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers” (1 Corinthians 4:15).
True fathers are the desperate need of the anchorless age in which we live. Without fatherhood flying high on the flag poles of this nation we will flounder around like a rudderless ship and eventually become ship-wrecked on the rocks of liberal values. These liberal values regard the state (government) as the modern-day parents of the nation.
Fathers are mothers and are no longer the real owners of their children.
When I woke up this morning the Lord’ s prayer rose up from my spirit. The first words of the Lord’s prayer, “Our Father which art in Heaven,” hold the keys to understanding the value of fatherhood. Jesus Christ introduces God in Heaven as “our Father.”
Our God, who is in Heaven, is our ultimate Father, the greatest Father of all. Fatherhood is not just an earthly title given to men of the earth. It is exalted to a high, “far above all,” heavenly title. God has given you, men, the privilege and responsibility to also bear this name of father.
Above all other names, God wants to be known as Father and He wants the name of Father to be hallowed (venerated, highly regarded, and greatly esteemed). Unfortunately today’s world has lost the true understanding and value of fatherhood. The further we drift away from God being our Father the more depraved we be come of all the great blessings that this amazing name implies.
True fatherhood reveals a very loving, intimate, and personal relationship with his children and family. This is exactly the way God wants us all to view Him. Jesus spoke more about God being a Father than all the other writers of the Holy Scriptures.
We are desperate in need of a great revival of true biblical fatherhood. Just this week a good friend of mine told me of a TV questionnaire panel where the first of three contestants to push the button in front of them would win the point.
The question was asked, “What are the missing words in the Lord’s prayer. “Our Father which art in Heaven . . . . . . . Thy kingdom come.” Not one contestant knew the answer of “Hallowed be thy name.” How sad that they did not know the most hallowed name in the universe. This is indicative of a nation that does not know the value of fatherhood. The more this hallowed name is lost in our nation, the more we will suffer.
Let’s be encouraged, men, to be the fathers God wants us to be, fathering in His image.
Blessings to you and your family from COLIN CAMPBELL
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I would encourage you with all my heart to listen to this message by Pastor Ray McCollum. I attended this meeting last Saturday night and I believe it is one of the most powerful messages for fathers and young men. Fathers, I encourage you to listen to it with your sons.
“The majority of America’s problems can be solved with a return to the biblical principles of personal responsibility and accountability.”
~ Pastor Ray McCollum
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Barna Research found that only 33 per cent of adults now say they attend church service during a typical week which shows a decline representing the loss of about 15 million church-going adults each week.
Hebrews 10:28: “Not forsaking the ASSEMBLING of ourselves TOGETHER, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another, and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
As the head of your home, are you taking your family to church each week?
~ Colin
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“If the church is not in possession of truth, truth as an understanding that corresponds exactly to what is in reality, and corresponds exactly to what is in the will and character of God, then it has been left speechless. It has nothing to say. . . . Why, then, has the evangelical church arranged itself around the marketing dynamic rather than around the truth which it is its birthright to proclaim?“In the evangelical church, the belief in truth has substantially eroded. It is no wonder, if a majority no longer believes in absolutes of any kind, that the evangelical church is finding itself without a voice in a culture which likewise does not believe in absolutes.
“The church has been most influential in those moments when its contrition reached down deeply into its soul, when in its known weakness it cried out to God from the depths, when it sought to live by his truth, and on his terms, when it sought to proclaim that truth in its world, when it was willing to pay the price of having that kind of truth, when it was willing to demand of itself that it live by that truth, when it sought above all else God in his grace and glory. At such moments it has soared and out of its own inherent weakness found extraordinary strength and power. When all of these things have been present, then the church has been the church. “
David F. Wells (ABOVE ALL EATHLY POW’RS)
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Men who do not have "spark" are bland and boring. Their eyes are dull and lifeless. They have no oomph in their personality or spring in their step.We know how bad it is when we keep pulling the rope to start the engine of the lawnmower but there is no spark. You feel like throwing the wrench at it! The truth is that some men can be like this.
No woman should marry a man like this, and no one should ever hire such a man.
Spark denotes life.
As they get older, men tend to lose their spark and zest for life, but I do not believe it should be this way. Men should take all the corrective measures possible to stop themselves from oxidizing and getting rusty. We know that drugs, alcohol, and pornography can ruin a man's personality. Sitting around and living a sedate lifestyle, coupled with laziness, and not showing initiative will also take the spark out of a man.
Mountain climbers would never dream of taking a man without any spark on such a dangerous expedition. God also wants men like Abraham with lots of spark to climb His mountains. It takes spark to climb mountains.
Be encouraged.
Colin Campbell
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It was a sad day for me last Saturday as I protested with a small group of believers at the entrance to a local drag queen celebration in Franklin, Tennessee.Franklin is smack in the center of the Bible Belt of the USA. Churches are on nearly every street corner as well as in between. And yet in this Bible Belt it was so grieving to me to behold hundreds and hundreds of cars, packed with families (parents with young people and children) pouring into such an abominable and morally decadent evil place—an arrogant, prideful celebration.
The traffic was jammed for a large distance in both directions to the main entrance. We were forced to stand on the opposite side of the road so we would not be in the face of the crowds entering the park. However, because of the slowness of the traffic going into the park, the people had plenty of time to observe our placards against this mockery of morality.
Many of them gave us the fingers and some screamed out their rejections to us. However, for approximately 1 1/2 hours in the very hot sun, without any shade, we held our protest against this wickedness.
As an older man of 83 years I cannot help but reflect upon the general attitude of the western population toward homosexuality. For the first half of my life even secular people regarded this lifestyle as a terrible sin. People in general held a greater sense of the fear of God because they were more acquainted with the teachings of the Bible regarding the holiness of God.
For the last 2,000 years up until the last 40 years or so homosexuality was called sodomy because of the terrible judgment that fell on the twin cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18 and 19). This particular sin was singled out for destruction because it goes against the divine order of procreation through the means of holy matrimony between one man and one woman.
The sinfulness of Sodom and Gomorrah and its judgment from God was without doubt given as an example to warn all nations of what can happen to them when such deviant sinfulness reaches to a certain level of grossness where God is forced to step in and deal with it.
In the last few years, this sin has quickly risen to such heights of defiance against our holy God. It is now fermenting every area of our modern society and sadly, even many churches. How utterly despicable that certain churches are ordaining homosexual pastors. What a mockery of His glorious holiness!
Therefore, we who fear God and hate homosexual activity should at the same time demonstrate the God’s love toward those who are ignorant to the gravity of the offence of their sin towards God. It is not loving to not warn people of the seriousness of the consequences of this sin as far as God is concerned.
The gay community are so deceived that they believe that those who believe and stand up for righteousness are the narrow-minded bigots who deserve punishment and not themselves. This attitude was prevalent in Sodom and Gomorrah at the time of God’s judgment.
“Who will rise up for me against the evil doers? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?” (Psalm 94:16).
Colin Campbell
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God is looking for men who will deny themselves the easy road, especially if the easy road includes the lusts of the flesh and yielding to temptations. Everything is acceptable on the easy road as long as it makes you feel good and requires no moral resistance.
The New World Order is easily embraced on the easy road for it provides a life of ease and total government dependence. But it ends in destruction. Their No. 1 mandate is: “You will own nothing and be happy!”
They will eventually take over all property, all large and small businesses, including all financial institutions and private homes. They will seek to control all media, hospitals, schools, and transportation. They want to control all churches, including what is spoken in these churches.
The government will dupe the masses into believing they are better off, but in truth, the wealthy ones will only be the elite government officials who rule with an iron rod. This is all part of the broad way which is the easy way.
Matthew 7:13-14 says: "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth until life, and few there be that find it."
When nations surrender their moral values to take the easy way, they soon find out, as have other nations who have sold their souls out to the easy road, that the easy road lands them in destruction.
May God save each one of us personally and save this nation from taking the easy road.
Be encouraged,
Colin Campbell
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God is looking for men who will stand out from the crowd. Men who will not be crowd lovers, crowd blenders, crowd pleasers, or crowd followers, but men who will dare to be different.The crowd mentality is the herd mentality. It doesn't take a lot of brains to follow the herd. Most animals think this way. They instinctively feel safer in the herd. Those big fat cattle do not realize that their benevolent farmer, who provides them with fields of luscious green grass and grain, is about to send them in trucks to the slaughterhouse to feed the crowds of his own species.
Socialism is a "give me" mentality. Let the government provide my food, clothing, and shelter, All I have to do is as little as possible in a government paid job. The government demonizes private ownership of homes, business, and wealth. It whips up the crowd to vote for them and then leads them to the slaughterhouse where all freedoms, liberties, personal ambition, and wealth are destroyed. The government does all the thinking, makes all the decisions for the crowd, and stamps down on all opposition including Christianity.
Let’s be men who STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD.
Be encouraged.
Colin Campbell
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God is looking for men who will deny themselves the easy road, especially if the easy road includes the lusts of the flesh and yielding to temptations. Everything is acceptable on the easy road, as long as it makes you feel good and requires no moral resistance. Homosexuality is okay on the easy road, as is abortion, drugs, sex, alcohol, and witchcraft.
The New World Order is easily embraced on the easy road for it provides a life of ease and total government dependence. But it ends in destruction. Their No. 1 mandate is that “You will own nothing and be happy!”
They will eventually take over all property, all large and small business, including all financial institutions and private homes. They will seek to control all media, hospitals, schools, and transportation. They want to control all churches, including what is spoken in these churches.
The government will dupe the masses into believing they are better off, but in truth, the wealthy ones will only be the elite government officials who rule with an iron rod. This is all part of the broad way which is the easy way.
Matthew 7:13-14 says: "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth until life, and few there be that find it."
When nations surrender their moral values to take the easy way, they soon find out, as have other nations who have sold their souls out to the easy road, that the easy road has landed them in destruction.
May God save each one of us personally and save this nation from taking the easy road.
Be encouraged,
Colin Campbell
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When a real man of God goes to work, he rolls up his sleeves, gets stuck in, and does his very best. And he does this consistently.It's easy to cheat on your employer by using your personal phone work hours. A real son of God will not text in the boss's time. This is all part of the easy road. No, a thousand times No to all these slouchy easy-going attitudes.
If you are in a job where the unions are forcing you to take your time and drag your feet, look for other employment. It is bad for your character to be submitted to such godlessness.
The easy road is filled with takers that think the world owes them something. They always have their hands out to get paid for doing next to nothing. The easy roaders wait for others to pay for them at the restaurant. They love to eat food provided by others. Away with such nonsense. God did not create man to be so apathetic and useless. He created us to be people of character.
Those walking the narrow road have true servant hearts and can't wait to do something to help their fellow man.
Be encouraged.
Colin Campbell
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