This is not my opinion. This is truth. And as such, it must be heeded, for truth isn’t something you can afford to hear and ignore. I know this from personal experience --knowing truth-- but failing to do truth.  And usually, 100% of people who fail to heed truth will truthfully fail. Whether now or later, sandcastle kings will find out that the throne of their foundation is as unstable as the shifting sands.  And when the waves of life crash upon that kingship, every captain of their own soul will be forced to abandon ship.  Man-made foundations cannot stand.So along that line--what exactly does it mean to be a man? Notice I didn’t say “male”, because being a male doesn’t necessarily make you a man.  A godly man is one who trusts in God for His purpose and follows His blueprint for his plans. He is one who bows low before the Lord before he stands tall against the world. He is one who spends time in the Word because he knows nothing outside of the inspiration of the Word can steady his steps. A strong man isn’t one who can lift the most weights, but the one who can lift the most worship.  The plan is to stand strong as a man of character, a man of courage, a man of clarity, a man of conviction, and a man of compassion.  These 5 C’s were the basis of my message this past weekend at our Soldiers For Faith Men’s Gathering in Texas. This one-day event, held at Central Texas Speedway, was centered around the theme of “standing strong”; so with strong music by David Dunn (www.DavidDunnMusic.com) and strong messages by myself and Ryan Dobson (www.RebelParenting.org), we collectively challenged the males in attendance to “be strong and prove yourself a man” (I Kings 2:2).Today is the day to begin building your foundation upon Jesus Christ-- declaring Him king of your castle.  Christian men cannot stay silent any longer. We cannot sit off on the sidelines and watch the culture completely impose itself upon our families and communities. I often hear “where is the God of Elijah?” But that question need not be answered because the real question is, “where is the Elijah’s of God? Where are the men who are passionately following God? Pursuing love and mercy?We need to be those men!Enough is enough with feminized masculinity and the numbing of manhood. “Man up” I cry.  Because such tears reflect the heart of the Lion of Judah whose roar needs to be in us and whose strength is willing to go before us. Thus, Jesus is calling every male to ask himself, “Am I a man?” And if so, success will be defined by how I confidently trust in God’s plan for the formation of my character, the infusion of my courage, the transparency of my clarity, the strength of my conviction, and the grace of my compassion.Let this be our foundation. Let truth be truth!