When troops in Iraq receive orders to go to Mosul, some may not be too eager to go. But being honorable soldiers, all salute and say, "Yes, sir!" Not so for another man who once received orders to go to Mosul.

Jonah was told by God to go to that city, which in his day was known as Nineveh. He replied to God's orders by running away. When it came to being a missionary, he said in effect, "Don't depend on me, God!"

Boarding a ship in Joppa, about 35 miles northwest of Jerusalem, Jonah thought he could get free of God's orders. But no one is ever free of God's orders. When God calls, a man is going to be unhappy and unfulfilled until he finally comes around to doing what God has called him to do.

John the Baptist came preaching in the spirit and power of the prophet Elijah (see Mal. 4:5; Matt. 11:14). He wore hair-skin clothing and ate locusts and honey (see Matt. 3:4). He was a man on a mission sent to prepare the way for Jesus. A lone voice, John cried out not in the big cities but in the desert. He didn't do it for headlines; he did it to make a people ready to meet Jesus so that "all people will see the salvation sent from God" (Luke 3:6, NLT). 

John's mission was from God, who gave him the message. John knew who he was and who he wasn't. He said: "'I am not the Messiah'" (John 1:20) and "'Someone is coming soon who is far greater than I am'" (Matt. 3:11). John was not a self-promoter.

From the time I was a little boy to this very day, I've always known that I was a man with a purpose. How did I know? Well, my mom reminded me regularly, "Carlos (my real name), God has plans for you." I knew Mom meant God had big plans for me, though I could not imagine at that time the many amazing things God would do in and through my life.

Growing up in abject poverty, with an alcoholic father, and being the shy, skinny, nonathletic boy I was, it was unthinkable that I would become a world karate champion, much less an actor seen and heard by millions of people around the world. But I always knew my life was not merely a cosmic accident. I knew I mattered. If nothing else, I mattered to Mom, and I mattered to God.

Every man needs a sense that his life has meaning. Without it, he will wallow in despair. Psychologists say the lack of meaning and purpose drives many men into deep depression. It causes others to settle for mediocrity, to never truly accomplish their goals or see their dreams come to pass.

Bob Keiderling is a disabled truck driver who is a recovering drug, alcohol and gambling addict, a high-school dropout ... and NCMM's Emerging Leader of the Year. This unlikely leader heads a ministry that last year helped churches in four states train more than 200 leaders and touch more than 2,000 men.

After growing up in church, Bob decided he couldn't live up to people's expectations and began a 20-year journey into drugs, alcohol and gambling.

A series of events in the early 1990s got Bob's attention--including his brother's accidental death and his wife's conversion to Christ. He became painfully aware of the mess he was making of his life and the lives of his wife and three children.

Here's some good news. As followers of Christ you and I can have access to a power that is far greater than anything we can bring about in our human efforts. This power is conditional, however, and here is where most men fall short.

You will never appropriate God's ultimate resources unless you develop an intimate relationship with Him--period. Without an intimate relationship with God you will never understand His purpose for your life: intimacy with God = strength of vision. 

There wasn't an election held, and Joshua didn't campaign for the job. But God chose him.

What was there about Joshua that God saw? He had the spirit of wisdom (see Deut. 34:9). After Moses died, God turned immediately to Joshua and chose him to be the next leader of the children of Israel with the assurance that God would not fail or abandon him (see Josh. 1:5).

God said: "'This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go'" (Josh. 1:9, NLT). When God owns a man, things that might normally be terrifying aren't. Whatever might stop him from going into battle doesn't.

Give the signal. Turn the key. Press the button. Release the power.

Men love the idea of ignition. We love initiating sequences that blow up or blast off things. At the moment of ignition, there's an excitement and a rush because we know a demonstration of power is going to follow. It is by design.

God wants you to be the ignition switch of His power by deciding to move your conversations over to Christ. According to Jesus, God's man can choose to experience the power of God by deciding to share his faith.