Time with Close Friends is Never Boring
JUNE 15, 2024
by Robert Wolgemuth
A case for drawing men into God’s Word
Imagine that you’re hosting an early breakfast with some of the men in your church. It’s February 12, the Monday right after this past Super Bowl (LVIII, I think that’s 58, right?). You may remember that the Kansas City Chiefs, under the leadership of Patrick Mahomes, their truly remarkable quarterback, defeated the vaunted San Francisco 49ers, featuring the equally outspoken Christian quarterback Brock Purdy, in overtime. On a few occasions in the past, Super Bowls have been snoozers. Not this time.
I’m picturing a handful of men sitting at a round table in the back corner of your town’s favorite diner, where the servers call you “honey” and can pour hot coffee from a height without spilling a single drop. You’ve seen this, haven’t you?
Because of the intensity of the game last night, regardless of which team you and your buddies where cheering for, the conversation is wonderful. And even at this hour of the day, the men are buzzing like sophomore girls. They wouldn’t miss this chance to be with their friends on this exciting, news-worthy day.
Everyone’s attention is at full. The guys are leaning in, each adding their own analysis of important moments in the game.
When Jesus walked the earth in person, speaking to mortals about eternal truths, sometimes he would say, “The kingdom of God is like . . .” (Matthew 13, Matthew 19, Matthew 25, Mark 10, Luke 18, etc.) Then he’d introduce something familiar. Maybe not quite as spell-binding as the Super Bowl, but never uninteresting. He’d talk about farming. Or sheep-raising. Or fishing. Or fathering. And because his audience knew all about these common and, for them, interesting, things, they could relate.
So, on this Monday morning, Jesus may have said, “The Kingdom of God is like the game last night.” And the guys around the table would have leaned in, fully alert to what He was about to tell them.
Many years ago, I began collecting stories, many from my own life, that illuminated a truth from the Bible. As I gathered these, I envisioned sitting down with another man, just him and me, telling a story, and then explaining how it could be connected to a story or a principle from God’s Word.
With two-hundred sixty entries in the Men’s Daily Bible, one for each weekday for a full year, I recommend a passage of Scripture to read, including a key verse just in case the guy is in a hurry. Then I tell a story to help illuminate the Bible text. Many of these are from my own life, just as I would, if I had the chance to actually be right there with this guy.
When the day’s entry is finished, my hope is that both of us “get it.” Sort of like, “The Kingdom of God is like.” And because what I had just read is fully understandable, my friend and I talk. What we’ve just experienced from this resource becomes the launchpad for good conversation. About God. About His Word. About our lives . . . our hopes. Our fears.
By the way, also tucked into this Men’s Daily Bible are short articles written by fifty smart men who are authors, pastors, theologians, good friends . . . like Steve Brown. These guys have volunteered to add their wisdom to the notes you’ll read. You will love what they’ve written.
My prayer, my sincere hope, is that my having spent a year (or more) with a new buddy, going through this special Bible, will be rich and not boring. It’ll be just him and me, together peeling back the layers of history’s best-selling Book. Hopefully, he and I will find ourselves more ready than we’ve ever been to face life now with courage, even a smile, and someday, our own eternity. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?