Iron Sharpens Iron

On November 3rd, I will be starting a new Men's Group at my home. The group will be called "Iron Sharpens Iron", and it will be a place for men to come and connect with other men who are seeking God in their lives. The idea, or should I say calling, came to me this past spring, and I have put a lot of thought and prayer into it since then. In one of my recent blogs, I questioned the thought of God wanting me to be a Pastor. I still don't think that I want that title, instead, I like to consider myself a disciple (or a follower) and a Shepard of sorts. None the less, I am looking forward to the challenge of leading a group of men in finding their faith, and I thank God for His calling upon me to do this.

The name, "Iron Sharpens Iron", comes from the Bible passage - Proverbs 27:17, which states, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another". This is what defines us as men. We are to hold one another accountable for our actions. We are called to lead each other and to teach each other. We are responsible for each other and are required to live our lives by God's standards as we grow together.

I chose the symbol of the sword because it is a weapon of a true warrior that is made from "iron". The sword is the word of God in which He bestows upon us to fight the enemy, Satan. The Latin engraving on this sword, "In Hoc Signo Vinces", stands for, "with this as your standard you shall have victory", and according to legend, *(Constantine 1 adopted this Greek phrase, "εν τούτῳ νίκα", as a motto after his vision of a chi rho on the sky just before the Battle of Milvian Bridge against Maxintius on 28 October 312. The early Christian symbol consists of a monogram composed of the Greek letters chi (X) and rho (P), the first two letters in the name Christ (Greek: Χριστός). In later periods the christogram "IHS" both stood for the first three letters of "Jesus" in Latinized Greek (Ιησούς, Latinized IHSOVS) and "in hoc signo" from the legend. The historian Eusebius states that Constantine was marching with his army (Eusebius doesn't specify the actual location of the event, but it's clearly not in the camp at Rome), when he looked up to the sun and saw a cross of light above it, and with it the Greek words "εν τούτῳ νίκα" ("by this, be victorious!", often rendered in Latin as In hoc signo vinces). At first, Constantine didn't know the meaning of the apparition, but in the following night, he had a dream in which Christ explained to him that he should use the sign against his enemies. Eusebius then continues to describe the Labarum, the military standard used by Constantine in his later wars against Licinius, showing the Chi-Rho sign.)
*(by Wikipedia)

My prayer is that God will put it on the hearts of the men who have been invited to attend. Either way, it is in His hands and I will simply be His vessel and do what ever He asks of me with this. If you are a man in search of your faith, or wanting to connect with other Christian men, and this group sounds interesting to you, please call me at 513.403.5058 or email me at ncalcara@roadrunner.com.

Peace!