Week 38 GraceMen Weekly Update

This Week:
1. Prayer
2. Meditation
3. Quote
4. Events
5. Book Recommendation

Grace and Peace to you brothers.

This week we focus on endurance – not merely surviving trials but finding strength and purpose through them. The apostle Paul’s words in Romans 5:3-5 reveal a transformative truth: God uses our struggles as a pathway to develop unshakeable character and authentic hope. This isn’t about gritting our teeth through hardship with stoic resignation, but about recognizing that every trial we face has divine purpose in forging us into men of proven character. True biblical masculinity isn’t measured by avoiding difficulties or displaying outward toughness, but by how we allow God to shape us through adversity. As we enter this week, remember that endurance isn’t passive survival—it’s active faith that trusts God’s process of character development, knowing that the pressure we feel today is producing the perseverance that will define us tomorrow. Let this prayer and meditation guide you toward embracing God’s refining work in your life with confidence and hope. 

Prayer:

Father, help me to be a man of endurance in the face of trials. (Romans 5:3-5)

Meditation: 

Reflect on how enduring trials can produce character and hope in your life.

Quote:

“In every trial and tribulation, let us find comfort in the knowledge that God, in His infinite wisdom, orchestrates all for the good of His chosen people. God’s hand is behind every event, crafting our lives for His glory.” – John Owen

Events:

Tuesday - September 16, 2025

Morning Bible Study - 6am - 7:15am

• At the Church in the Tower Room 

Thursday - September 18, 2025

Evening Bible Study - 8pm

• At the Church in the Tower Room

Saturday - September 20, 2025

Morning Bible Study - 7am

• At the Church in the Prayer Room
• Topic: Hosea 3:1-5 Love that Redeems
• Facilitator: Eugene Allen

Book Recommendation:

Faith on Trial: Psalm 73 by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

In the wake of Christian conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s shocking assassination on September 10, 2025, at Utah Valley University – gunned down while discussing mass shootings with students – millions of Americans find themselves wrestling with the ancient question that drives Psalm 73: Where is God when evil triumphs? Lloyd-Jones’s masterwork addresses this exact spiritual crisis, providing a biblical roadmap for believers watching a 31-year-old father murdered for his convictions while his killer carved messages of hatred on his rifle. Rather than offering shallow platitudes, Lloyd-Jones demonstrates how the psalmist Asaph worked through identical doubts about God’s justice, moving from near-apostasy to profound worship through what he calls the “sanctuary experience” – gaining divine perspective on temporal injustices.

Faith on Trial equips readers with practical tools for spiritual survival during national crisis, showing how to transform trials into spiritual victory rather than allowing them to destroy faith, find contentment in God’s presence rather than demanding favorable circumstances, and process grief and anger in ways that honor God rather than feed the political bitterness consuming our nation. The book’s most powerful insight centers on Psalm 73:23’s “Nevertheless I am continually with thee”—revealing that God’s faithfulness transcends our spiritual failures and provides stability even when young activists are murdered and political violence threatens to tear America apart. As Kirk’s widow vows to continue his mission while the nation processes this tragedy, Lloyd-Jones’s exposition offers not merely academic theology but a lifeline for modern believers, demonstrating that the same God who sustained Asaph through his crisis of faith will sustain His people through ours

In His Service,
GraceMen