Dear Bros in Christ,

Proverbs 27:17 As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.

Brothers in Christ, this monthly devotional is sent and meant to be an encouragement to all
and to build up and edify in the Lord Jesus Christ. Oikodome means "Builder". The Lord has
put this on my heart to send out a monthly Iron Man Oikodome {oy-kod-om-ay'} to build
up and encourage the men who love and follow Jesus Christ in their walk with Him.
Hebrews 3:13 "But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of
you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness."
PRAYER REQUESTS: If you have any prayer requests please send them and I will send them
out to the bros for prayer, if privacy is needed I will send in a discreet way. There will be
hundreds standing in the gap with you and for you, what a blessing to know that your prayer
is being lifted up by so many on your behalf. Every bro that receives these prayer requests in
their email always tells me that they pray for each and every prayer request as soon as they
receive them. As bros in Christ it is such a privilege also an honor to be able to pray and lift
up the needs of the body of Christ to our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ that His Will would be
done in each and every situation and that He would be glorified.

APRIL 2009

“THE WORD”

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God.
We have all often heard that in Real Estate the three most important things to consider are
“Location, Location and Location” when considering a Real Estate investment or purchase. If
you want to be successful then you will need to apply these three principles of the same then
you have made a wise investment in this area. When you think of buying a piece of Real
Estate and do not apply these three basic principles before you make your purchase you
could be headed for a huge financial disaster.
But as Christians it can be said the same is true if we hold fast to the Word of God that is a
very wise investment. In fact it almost seems like the Real Estate market may have modeled
their location, location, location strategy on the way the Lord tells us about His Word in the
beginning. It’s all about the Word of God from the beginning it was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God, it’s the Word, Word and the Word…The Word is our life
preserver & Savior, our standard of measure, our road map, our life course, our directions,
our compass to show us which way to go and which way not to go when we compare anything
and everything that we could ever do or go through in our lives to the Word of God and weigh
it and measure it against and through the Word of God we know that When we start out each
day, each conversation, each thought, each action on and in the Word of God we can draw
nearer God receiving that precious investment of life more abundantly in Christ. We will have
made a wise investment in our life each and every time when we apply what Gods Word says
into each and every decision and situation. His Word gives us complete and absolute truth for
all our cares and every thing this life can throw at us. His Word will equip us for each and
every battle, every relationship issue, every type of problem we might ever face God has it
covered in His Word.
How much more do we need to know than this verse in John 1:1”In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”. The Lord is very clear that He
always was the Word in the beginning, and the Word is with Him, and the Word was Him. The
Word is faithful; the Word is always right for every situation in our lives and has been since
before the beginning even of God creating us in His image or mankind’s existence. The Word
is and always was even before the beginning, there is no beginning and end to God He always
was and always is and always will be. We can only imagine, we cannot fathom Gods existence
as we think of beginnings or the start of something or even the middle or the end which there
is neither of any of these to and in of God. God is God and the Word was with God always…
This particular story I want to share with you is how God used His Word through my next
door neighbor who was just talking with me one day as I was coming out of my apartment
quite a few years ago. What she shared with me caused a lot of heartache and grief in my
worldly walk…
We had many conversations during the time I lived there; you see she was a Christian whom I
avoided like the plague. But this one day she was talking with me and she shared His
Scripture that says “You reap what you sow” now I had heard that one, hundreds if not
thousands of times over my life. She was not beating me up with it but rather it came out as
we were just talking about something, in other words she was not directing it at me by saying
Dan “You reap what you sow”… But it had that effect on me none the less...

When she said it something happened in my mind that caused that Scripture to register. I
remember thinking of ways to try to get away from her, you know making excuses so I did not
have to hear what she had to say to me. But this day the Lord spoke to me through this
Scripture. You might be saying what could the Lord be doing by having her use this Scripture
or what could the Lord use me to say to someone? How could He use this to lead me to Him?

Well let me tell you He did plenty. Over the next two years I heard this Scripture His Word
that was planted deep in my heart and mind over and over in my mind and heart every time I
was partying when I came home and tried to sleep or really pass out I would hear this in my
mind over and over to the point I thought I was going to go crazy. It was like a broken
recording going over and over in my mind it would not stop I couldn’t stand it. I was so
convicted in my heart, and my mind would race as I kept hearing those Words over and over
from this Scripture “You reap what you sow” I would begin to tell myself I was reaping what I
was sowing and God showed me this, all the things I was doing against Gods will. I could not
sleep at night for two years this would not stop. I would go out of my apartment and come
home wasted and then pass out for maybe an hour and then the booze and drugs would wear
off and the Scripture would come into my mind and I would hear it and it would not stop. I
would begin to think of all the foolish things I had been doing while drinking and doing drugs
and living separated from God. My heart would be so convicted and completely and utterly
racked with guilt and shame and fear I would be so exhausted and drained each and every
day when I got up for work.
I am not saying that every time we share the Gospel or some Scripture it is going to have an
effect like this, but you better expect it though really you never know how the Lord will use
what you say to someone when you are sharing the Gospel. That is why we pray for the Holy
Spirit to give us discernment and wisdom and what He would have us share. You see God
knew what it would take to turn me and He used a Christian neighbor to deliver His message
His Word. It’s not like it was a surprise to Him that this Scripture worked in my heart and
conscience but He led this lady by His Spirit to send His message to convict my heart…and
eventually and ultimately His Word shared with me is what led me to the Lord. He was there
in the beginning speaking to me and I finally heard Him and submitted to Him.
His Word is powerful and never returns void, use it in all your conversations and you will be
amazed at what God will do through you when you speak His Word and share of the love that
His Word brings and the healing comfort of Gods every Word. He is the Word- “In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
Daniel Wright
Iron Man Oikodome
Proverbs 27:17

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