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Wisdom isn't a finish line. The wisest men are the ones still willing to learn. When was the last time you said, "I don't know," and meant it? Proverbs 9:9 says even the wise can grow wiser. Luke 2:52 says even Jesus Himself grew in wisdom, as did the disciples, who spent years learning, failing, and being shaped. If Jesus modeled a life of growth, what's our excuse for getting comfortable? A wise man never stops growing. It's easy to reach the point of "I've been doing this for years" or "Nobody needs to tell me anything," but the moment we stop being teachable, we stop growing. Wisdom is more than information. It's about becoming a better husband, father, friend, leader, and follower of Jesus. Peter didn't become a bold preacher overnight; the man who denied Jesus was shaped through a long process. Maybe you're not where you want to be yet. That's okay, but don't use it as an excuse to stay there. Keep reading God's Word, keep asking questions, and keep listening to men further down the road. Growth takes humility: the willingness to say "I don't know," "I got that wrong," or "I need help." That isn't weakness, it's maturity. Don't settle for the man you are today just because you've gotten comfortable with him. Verse of the Day: Proverbs 9:9 Your Daily Man-Up Challenge In a moment of surrender, ask God to give you a heart that is willing to grow, then name one area where you'll let Him start. Tap HERE to send us a text! Support the show NEW TO THE MEN’S MORNING DEVOTIONAL?  Welcome! The Men's Morning Devotional is a podcast to help you man up in every way - in your faith, your family and your work - by spending a few minutes getting into the Word before you face the world.  Every weekday, you'll get a challenge and encouragement from Scripture that speaks to the pressures you carry as a husband, a father, and a leader. You’ll get truth you can take straight into your day. And you’ll know you’re not standing alone, because men everywhere are waking up to fight the same battle. Your hosts are Steve Alessi, pastor of Metro Life Church of Miami, FL, along with his son, Chris Alessi, and his sons-in-law Christopher Muina, Christian Calatayud, and Dani Burgos.  Join us every weekday to man up!  MORE PODCASTS YOU'LL ENJOY Find more podcasts about faith and family from Metro Life Studios, including: My Morning Devotional The Family Business with The Alessis The Mary and Martha Show  You can listen to all of these shows on our Metro Life Studios app here!  Get The Metro Life Studios app

The measure of a wise man isn't whether he needs correction — it's what he does when it comes. When someone who loves you tells you something you don't want to hear, what's your first move: defend, shut down, or listen? Proverbs 9:8 draws a sharp line: rebuke a mocker, and he'll hate you; rebuke a wise man, and he'll love you. Peter was passionate, confident, and flat wrong when he tried to talk Jesus out of the cross. Jesus corrected him and then kept walking with him. The question is whether we'd have let Him. A wise man doesn't run from correction; he grows from it. Nobody enjoys being told they're wrong, and admitting it can feel like weakness. But Jesus corrected the people He loved, especially His disciples, not to put them down but to build them up. Being corrected doesn't make you less of a man; refusing correction can keep you from becoming the man God made you to be. Your wife, your pastor, a friend, even your kids may see blind spots you can't. At the same time, not every criticism deserves a hearing. You need God's Word as your foundation to tell the difference between someone tearing you down and someone helping you grow. Don't live for people's approval, but don't get so proud that nobody can speak into your life. The strongest men are humble enough to receive correction and strong enough to change. Verse of the Day: Proverbs 9:8 Your Daily Man-Up Challenge  Pick one person you trust who has the courage to tell you the truth. Ask them: Is there any area of my life where you think I need to grow? Listen without defending yourself, pray about it, and be willing to make one change. Tap HERE to send us a text! Support the show NEW TO THE MEN’S MORNING DEVOTIONAL?  Welcome! The Men's Morning Devotional is a podcast to help you man up in every way - in your faith, your family and your work - by spending a few minutes getting into the Word before you face the world.  Every weekday, you'll get a challenge and encouragement from Scripture that speaks to the pressures you carry as a husband, a father, and a leader. You’ll get truth you can take straight into your day. And you’ll know you’re not standing alone, because men everywhere are waking up to fight the same battle. Your hosts are Steve Alessi, pastor of Metro Life Church of Miami, FL, along with his son, Chris Alessi, and his sons-in-law Christopher Muina, Christian Calatayud, and Dani Burgos.  Join us every weekday to man up!  MORE PODCASTS YOU'LL ENJOY Find more podcasts about faith and family from Metro Life Studios, including: My Morning Devotional The Family Business with The Alessis The Mary and Martha Show  You can listen to all of these shows on our Metro Life Studios app here!  Get The Metro Life Studios app

What if the strongest thing you can do as a man is admit you're not the one running the show? Dani Burgos opens a new week in Proverbs 9 with the verse every believer has heard and few have fully lived: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Danny points to Jesus — the Son of God, holding all authority — who still said, "Not my will, but yours be done." If He submitted to the Father, what does that say about the independence we're so quick to call strength? A wise man knows who is in charge. The fear of the Lord isn't dread; it's deep reverence, recognizing that He is God and we are not. The world tells men that strength means self-reliance, but biblical wisdom starts with surrender. Jesus knew exactly who He was, yet He came to do the Father's will, not His own. In Gethsemane, facing the cross, He chose the Father's plan over His own comfort. That's what fearing God looks like in real life: before a decision, in the middle of conflict, under temptation, or leading your family, you don't start with your opinion. You start with God. Needing Him doesn't make you weak. It makes you wise. Verse of the Day: Proverbs 9:10  Your Daily Man-Up Challenge: Before making one important decision today, stop and ask: What does God want me to do? Then do that. Tap HERE to send us a text! Support the show NEW TO THE MEN’S MORNING DEVOTIONAL?  Welcome! The Men's Morning Devotional is a podcast to help you man up in every way - in your faith, your family and your work - by spending a few minutes getting into the Word before you face the world.  Every weekday, you'll get a challenge and encouragement from Scripture that speaks to the pressures you carry as a husband, a father, and a leader. You’ll get truth you can take straight into your day. And you’ll know you’re not standing alone, because men everywhere are waking up to fight the same battle. Your hosts are Steve Alessi, pastor of Metro Life Church of Miami, FL, along with his son, Chris Alessi, and his sons-in-law Christopher Muina, Christian Calatayud, and Dani Burgos.  Join us every weekday to man up!  MORE PODCASTS YOU'LL ENJOY Find more podcasts about faith and family from Metro Life Studios, including: My Morning Devotional The Family Business with The Alessis The Mary and Martha Show  You can listen to all of these shows on our Metro Life Studios app here!  Get The Metro Life Studios app

Money, success, and possessions all promise life, but only God's wisdom actually delivers it. So what are you really chasing? To close out the week’s deep dive into Proverbs 8, Chris turns to verse 35, where wisdom makes a bold promise: whoever finds her finds life and receives favor from the Lord. Every man is searching for something: success, security, purpose, a sense that his life matters. We work harder, earn more, and build bigger, trying to create the perfect life. But Solomon, a man who had it all, points to a different answer. Biblical wisdom isn't about becoming smarter. It's about learning to live God's way. Following God doesn't mean you'll never lose a job, face financial pressure, or walk through hardship. But when your life is built on God's wisdom, your circumstances don't get to define your identity or steal your peace. You can lose something without losing everything. You can fail without becoming a failure. And God's favor doesn't mean getting everything you want. Sometimes it's an open door. Sometimes it's protection from a decision that would have wrecked you, or peace in a situation that should have overwhelmed you. Sometimes it's simply His presence. The world is full of men who are successful but empty. God is calling us to be wise, grounded, purposeful, and alive. Verse of the Day: Proverbs 8:35 Your Daily Man-Up Challenge Replace 15 minutes of entertainment with 15 minutes of God's wisdom today. Put down the phone, turn off the TV, get alone with God, and read Proverbs 8. Then ask Him, "Lord, where do I need Your wisdom most right now?" Write down the first area that comes to mind and take one action today based on His wisdom in that area. Don't just read it. Apply it. Don't just ask for wisdom. Walk in it. Tap HERE to send us a text! Support the show NEW TO THE MEN’S MORNING DEVOTIONAL?  Welcome! The Men's Morning Devotional is a podcast to help you man up in every way - in your faith, your family and your work - by spending a few minutes getting into the Word before you face the world.  Every weekday, you'll get a challenge and encouragement from Scripture that speaks to the pressures you carry as a husband, a father, and a leader. You’ll get truth you can take straight into your day. And you’ll know you’re not standing alone, because men everywhere are waking up to fight the same battle. Your hosts are Steve Alessi, pastor of Metro Life Church of Miami, FL, along with his son, Chris Alessi, and his sons-in-law Christopher Muina, Christian Calatayud, and Dani Burgos.  Join us every weekday to man up!  MORE PODCASTS YOU'LL ENJOY Find more podcasts about faith and family from Metro Life Studios, including: My Morning Devotional The Family Business with The Alessis The Mary and Martha Show  You can listen to all of these shows on our Metro Life Studios app here!  Get The Metro Life Studios app

The God who set the boundaries of the sea and hung the stars is more than capable of holding your life. Your worth doesn't start with what you've built. It starts with the One who built everything. Today’s verse describes wisdom’s perspective at the moment of creation: when God set the heavens in place, marked out the horizon, fixed the fountains of the deep, and gave the sea its boundary. Echoing Psalm 19:1, Chris reminds us that creation is constantly preaching a sermon. The oceans say God is powerful. The mountains say He is established. The seasons say He is faithful. And every sunrise says He's given us another day. Men often measure their value by what they produce: income, success, responsibility, or reputation. But before you ever accomplished anything, God created you, and Proverbs 8 says He delights in mankind. You don't have to spend your life proving your worth; you can live from the confidence that you were made by God and for God. And if He's wise enough to keep the waves at the shoreline and the planets in motion, He's wise enough to guide your family, direct your future, and handle what you can't control. Sometimes a man needs to step outside, look up, and remember: we are not in control. God is. That's not something to fear. It's something to rest in. Verse of the Day: Proverbs 8:29–31 Your Daily Man-Up Challenge Go outside for ten minutes today without your phone. Look at the sky, the trees, the clouds, the water, whatever part of creation is around you. Thank God for three things you see. Then pray: "God, if You can create and sustain all of this, I can trust You with my life. Show me where I'm trying to control something I need to surrender." Then surrender one specific thing to Him: your finances, your marriage, your children, your career, your fears. Give it to the Creator. Tap HERE to send us a text! Support the show NEW TO THE MEN’S MORNING DEVOTIONAL?  Welcome! The Men's Morning Devotional is a podcast to help you man up in every way - in your faith, your family and your work - by spending a few minutes getting into the Word before you face the world.  Every weekday, you'll get a challenge and encouragement from Scripture that speaks to the pressures you carry as a husband, a father, and a leader. You’ll get truth you can take straight into your day. And you’ll know you’re not standing alone, because men everywhere are waking up to fight the same battle. Your hosts are Steve Alessi, pastor of Metro Life Church of Miami, FL, along with his son, Chris Alessi, and his sons-in-law Christopher Muina, Christian Calatayud, and Dani Burgos.  Join us every weekday to man up!  MORE PODCASTS YOU'LL ENJOY Find more podcasts about faith and family from Metro Life Studios, including: My Morning Devotional The Family Business with The Alessis The Mary and Martha Show  You can listen to all of these shows on our Metro Life Studios app here!  Get The Metro Life Studios app

A title doesn't make you a good leader; wisdom does. The question isn't whether you're leading, it's what's leading you. In verses 15–16 of Proverbs 8, Solomon declares that even kings, rulers, and nobles depend on wisdom to govern well. We may not have princes anymore, but we have CEOs, business owners, police chiefs, and executives. More importantly, if you're a husband, a father, or someone people look to for direction at work, you're a leader too. And the people with the most authority in the world still need God's wisdom to lead. You can have authority and still make terrible decisions. You can be strong and still be foolish. Godly leadership isn't about getting your way; it's about having the wisdom and character to do what's right, even when it's hard. Your wife and children are watching how you handle pressure, how you respond in anger, and whether your faith holds up when life gets difficult. And here's the key: leadership begins with submission. A man who refuses God's authority will eventually misuse his own. So before you decide, pray. Before you react, pause. Before you demand respect, examine your character. The world defines leadership as power; God defines it as responsibility. Verse of the Day: Proverbs 8:15–16  Your Daily Man-Up Challenge Identify one person you influence today: your wife, your kids, a coworker, an employee, a friend. Ask yourself, "What kind of leader am I being to this person?" Then do one thing that demonstrates godly leadership. Encourage instead of criticize. Listen instead of interrupt. Apologize instead of defend. Serve instead of demand to be served. If a hard decision is ahead, pray before you act. Lead one person today the way Jesus would lead them. Tap HERE to send us a text! Support the show NEW TO THE MEN’S MORNING DEVOTIONAL?  Welcome! The Men's Morning Devotional is a podcast to help you man up in every way - in your faith, your family and your work - by spending a few minutes getting into the Word before you face the world.  Every weekday, you'll get a challenge and encouragement from Scripture that speaks to the pressures you carry as a husband, a father, and a leader. You’ll get truth you can take straight into your day. And you’ll know you’re not standing alone, because men everywhere are waking up to fight the same battle. Your hosts are Steve Alessi, pastor of Metro Life Church of Miami, FL, along with his son, Chris Alessi, and his sons-in-law Christopher Muina, Christian Calatayud, and Dani Burgos.  Join us every weekday to man up!  MORE PODCASTS YOU'LL ENJOY Find more podcasts about faith and family from Metro Life Studios, including: My Morning Devotional The Family Business with The Alessis The Mary and Martha Show  You can listen to all of these shows on our Metro Life Studios app here!  Get The Metro Life Studios app

Fearing God isn't just about what you love; it's about learning to hate what pulls you away from Him. And sometimes the evil you need to confront isn't out there. It's in the mirror. Today, Chris continues through Proverbs 8, turning to verse 13, where Solomon paints a clear picture of what it means to fear the Lord: a growing hatred for pride, arrogance, evil behavior, and perverse speech. Our culture tells men to be confident, assertive, and unapologetic, and there's nothing wrong with confidence. But Chris draws a sharp line between confidence and pride. Confidence says, "I know who I am because I know who I belong to." Pride says, "I don't need anyone, including God." Pride is dangerous because it convinces a man he's doing fine while he's actually drifting. The proud man refuses correction, always has an excuse, blames everyone else, and can't say "I was wrong." The godly man is different. He can receive correction, apologize to his wife, tell his kids "Dad was wrong," and go before God saying, "Lord, change me." That's not weakness; that's strength. And hating evil doesn't mean hating people who do wrong. It means hating what sin does: the marriages it damages, the trust it destroys, the children it wounds. A man who fears God doesn't ask how close he can get to sin without crossing the line. He asks what he can remove from his life that's pulling him away from God. Verse of the Day: Proverbs 8:13 Your Daily Man-Up Challenge Ask yourself one uncomfortable question today: What is one attitude, habit, or behavior in my life that I know God wants me to change? No excuses, no blame. Name it, even out loud. Then take one specific action to confront it. If it's pride, apologize to someone. If it's anger, walk away before you react. If it's temptation, remove the access point. If it's bitterness, choose forgiveness. If it's hidden sin, bring it into the light with God and, when appropriate, a trusted godly man. Don't manage your sin. Confront it. Tap HERE to send us a text! Support the show NEW TO THE MEN’S MORNING DEVOTIONAL?  Welcome! The Men's Morning Devotional is a podcast to help you man up in every way - in your faith, your family and your work - by spending a few minutes getting into the Word before you face the world.  Every weekday, you'll get a challenge and encouragement from Scripture that speaks to the pressures you carry as a husband, a father, and a leader. You’ll get truth you can take straight into your day. And you’ll know you’re not standing alone, because men everywhere are waking up to fight the same battle. Your hosts are Steve Alessi, pastor of Metro Life Church of Miami, FL, along with his son, Chris Alessi, and his sons-in-law Christopher Muina, Christian Calatayud, and Dani Burgos.  Join us every weekday to man up!  MORE PODCASTS YOU'LL ENJOY Find more podcasts about faith and family from Metro Life Studios, including: My Morning Devotional The Family Business with The Alessis The Mary and Martha Show  You can listen to all of these shows on our Metro Life Studios app here!  Get The Metro Life Studios app

Wisdom isn't hiding — it's standing right where your life is happening, calling out. The only question is whether you're listening. This week, Chris Muiña continues through Proverbs 8, landing on verse 3, where Solomon paints a striking picture: wisdom stands at the city gate, the place of business, leadership, and decision-making, crying aloud for all to hear. Chris pushes back on the idea that wisdom comes automatically with age or experience. You can make the same mistake for twenty years and simply become very good at making bad decisions. Wisdom has to be pursued, and God keeps placing it in front of us: in His Word, in the counsel of godly men, in correction we'd rather not hear, in consequences, and in the quiet conviction of the Holy Spirit. Foolishness rarely screams; it whispers. You deserve this. Nobody will know. Get even. Deal with it later. Meanwhile, God's wisdom stands at the gate saying, "Choose the better way." Every decision a man makes in a day, how he responds to his wife, disciplines his kids, handles money, or acts when no one's watching, is a chance to listen or ignore. A strong man isn't the one who never needs correction; he's the one humble enough to receive it. And a godly man doesn't wait for his life to fall apart before seeking wisdom. He seeks it before the decision, before the argument, before the temptation. Verse of the Day: Proverbs 8:3  Your Daily Man-Up Challenge Before one important decision today, stop and seek wisdom first. Find a quiet place and spend ten minutes in God's Word, asking Him, "What are you trying to teach me, and where do I need to listen?" Then be still and listen. Identify one area where you've been ignoring wisdom, whether marriage, finances, parenting, work, habits, or your spiritual life, and take one step of obedience today. Don't just hear wisdom. Act on it. Tap HERE to send us a text! Support the show NEW TO THE MEN’S MORNING DEVOTIONAL?  Welcome! The Men's Morning Devotional is a podcast to help you man up in every way - in your faith, your family and your work - by spending a few minutes getting into the Word before you face the world.  Every weekday, you'll get a challenge and encouragement from Scripture that speaks to the pressures you carry as a husband, a father, and a leader. You’ll get truth you can take straight into your day. And you’ll know you’re not standing alone, because men everywhere are waking up to fight the same battle. Your hosts are Steve Alessi, pastor of Metro Life Church of Miami, FL, along with his son, Chris Alessi, and his sons-in-law Christopher Muina, Christian Calatayud, and Dani Burgos.  Join us every weekday to man up!  MORE PODCASTS YOU'LL ENJOY Find more podcasts about faith and family from Metro Life Studios, including: My Morning Devotional The Family Business with The Alessis The Mary and Martha Show  You can listen to all of these shows on our Metro Life Studios app here!  Get The Metro Life Studios app

You don't have to make the mistake yourself to learn from it; you just have to be willing to listen to someone who already did. Today, Solomon is handing you the ending of the story before you have to live it. Chris closes out the week in Proverbs 7, where Solomon comes back to the voice he started with: a father speaking directly to his son. After all the keeping, the binding, the writing on the heart, and the story of the young man in the twilight, verses 24–27 land as something closer to a plea than a lecture. It's what a father says when he knows exactly what's at stake and needs his son to actually hear him. Learn from someone else's window instead of your own wreckage. Solomon says her victims are many and her slain are a mighty throng. That isn't a rare danger he's describing; it's a well-worn path with a long casualty list. Men of strength and reputation walked it. Men who were sure they had it handled. The wrong path doesn't discriminate, and it will take down the man who thinks he's too strong to heed the warning. What Solomon offers here is the wisdom of a father who has watched from the window and knows how the story ends. Receiving that from a wise earthly father, and always from your heavenly Father, isn't weakness. It's wisdom. Keep it, let it keep you, listen and live. Verse of the Day: Proverbs 7:24–27 Your Daily Man-Up Challenge Write down one piece of wisdom a father figure has given you that you haven't fully applied yet. Your dad, a pastor, a mentor, or God through Scripture. This weekend, apply it. Don't let it just stay advice you heard. Move it from your head to your heart to your hands, until it becomes a life you've actually lived. Tap HERE to send us a text! Support the show NEW TO THE MEN’S MORNING DEVOTIONAL?  Welcome! The Men's Morning Devotional is a podcast to help you man up in every way - in your faith, your family and your work - by spending a few minutes getting into the Word before you face the world.  Every weekday, you'll get a challenge and encouragement from Scripture that speaks to the pressures you carry as a husband, a father, and a leader. You’ll get truth you can take straight into your day. And you’ll know you’re not standing alone, because men everywhere are waking up to fight the same battle. Your hosts are Steve Alessi, pastor of Metro Life Church of Miami, FL, along with his son, Chris Alessi, and his sons-in-law Christopher Muina, Christian Calatayud, and Dani Burgos.  Join us every weekday to man up!  MORE PODCASTS YOU'LL ENJOY Find more podcasts about faith and family from Metro Life Studios, including: My Morning Devotional The Family Business with The Alessis The Mary and Martha Show  You can listen to all of these shows on our Metro Life Studios app here!  Get The Metro Life Studios app

Before a man ever makes a choice, especially a bad one, he starts walking towards it. If you’ve felt like you’ve been drifting recently, today’s episode is for you. Chris moves into the body of Proverbs 7, where Solomon stops instructing and starts telling a story. From his window, he watches a young man who hasn't done anything wrong yet. He's just walking near her corner, taking the road toward her house, at twilight. Solomon, with a wise father's eyes, can already see where that road ends. Two things stand out in Solomon's description. First, the young man isn't lacking talent, strength, opportunity, or even good intentions. He's lacking sense: the practical wisdom that reads a situation correctly and acts accordingly. He can't see what Solomon sees from the window. Second, there's the timing: twilight, evening, darkness. That isn't a scheduling accident; it's a choice of environment, a place where the light is low, and the consequences are harder to see. Men do this constantly. The late-night phone in a dark room. The trip taken alone with no one checking in. The conversation drifting somewhere it shouldn't. The guarded man knows his own vulnerabilities well enough that he doesn't trust himself to make the right call at the corner. He stays away from the corner. Verse of the Day: Proverbs 7:6–9 Your Daily Man-Up Challenge Ask yourself honestly: what direction am I walking in that's heading somewhere I don't want to end up? Not a decision yet, but a pattern, a habit, an environment you keep returning to. Name it, then take one step to redirect it before the corner becomes a choice you can't take back. Tap HERE to send us a text! Support the show NEW TO THE MEN’S MORNING DEVOTIONAL?  Welcome! The Men's Morning Devotional is a podcast to help you man up in every way - in your faith, your family and your work - by spending a few minutes getting into the Word before you face the world.  Every weekday, you'll get a challenge and encouragement from Scripture that speaks to the pressures you carry as a husband, a father, and a leader. You’ll get truth you can take straight into your day. And you’ll know you’re not standing alone, because men everywhere are waking up to fight the same battle. Your hosts are Steve Alessi, pastor of Metro Life Church of Miami, FL, along with his son, Chris Alessi, and his sons-in-law Christopher Muina, Christian Calatayud, and Dani Burgos.  Join us every weekday to man up!  MORE PODCASTS YOU'LL ENJOY Find more podcasts about faith and family from Metro Life Studios, including: My Morning Devotional The Family Business with The Alessis The Mary and Martha Show  You can listen to all of these shows on our Metro Life Studios app here!  Get The Metro Life Studios app

If you want to learn how to build strong foundations for your life, then keep listening. The walls that protect a man under pressure get built long before the pressure arrives.  After Solomon teaches his son to guard wisdom, we now see how he flips the script in Proverbs 7:4–5. He says, "Call wisdom your sister, call insight your closest friend, and she will keep you from the smooth words of the adulteress." Not an acquaintance you consult occasionally, but family. Someone whose voice you know and whose presence you're at home in. You keep wisdom, and then wisdom keeps you. This week isn't about the man who picks the right road; it's about the guarded man, whose own faithfulness becomes his defense. The man who has spent years keeping his thought life clean isn't starting from zero when temptation shows up. The wisdom he kept has already built walls he never had to consciously construct. As Chris puts it, you don't set up boundaries when you're weak; you set them up when you're strong. The man who has been honest for years finds that when the pressure comes to lie, something in him resists before he's even made the decision. That's why the small daily disciplines matter so much. Every morning given to God, every harder right chosen over the easier wrong, is building something that will stand between you and destruction on the day the smooth words come. Verse of the Day: Proverbs 7:4–5 Your Daily Man-Up Challenge On your drive or your run today, ask yourself: where has wisdom already kept you? Find a temptation you didn't fall into or a decision you got right, and trace it back to the discipline behind it. Let that be your evidence that this works. Then name one discipline you need to strengthen so it can keep you next time. Tap HERE to send us a text! Support the show NEW TO THE MEN’S MORNING DEVOTIONAL?  Welcome! The Men's Morning Devotional is a podcast to help you man up in every way - in your faith, your family and your work - by spending a few minutes getting into the Word before you face the world.  Every weekday, you'll get a challenge and encouragement from Scripture that speaks to the pressures you carry as a husband, a father, and a leader. You’ll get truth you can take straight into your day. And you’ll know you’re not standing alone, because men everywhere are waking up to fight the same battle. Your hosts are Steve Alessi, pastor of Metro Life Church of Miami, FL, along with his son, Chris Alessi, and his sons-in-law Christopher Muina, Christian Calatayud, and Dani Burgos.  Join us every weekday to man up!  MORE PODCASTS YOU'LL ENJOY Find more podcasts about faith and family from Metro Life Studios, including: My Morning Devotional The Family Business with The Alessis The Mary and Martha Show  You can listen to all of these shows on our Metro Life Studios app here!  Get The Metro Life Studios app

Wisdom only changes a man when it moves from his head to his heart. If you’ve ever struggled with doing the right thing, this is one episode you can’t afford to miss.  Chris continues the week in Proverbs 7. After Solomon tells his son to keep wisdom three times in the first two verses, verse 3 takes it deeper with two images that work together: bind them on your fingers, and write them on the tablet of your heart. Most men have plenty of wisdom stored up in their heads from the sermons, books, and podcasts they've taken in. The problem is that knowing and being are two different things, and "if I know better, I'll do better" doesn't always hold. Wisdom written on your heart leads differently than wisdom sitting on your shelf. Your fingers are always in use, so whatever is bound there shapes your work, your parenting, and every conversation you have. The heart, in Hebrew thinking, is the seat of will and decision. What's written there drives your choices when no one is watching, when you're tired, and when the pressure is on. The man with wisdom only in his head will abandon it under pressure. The man with it written on his heart holds the line when it costs him something. And that writing happens the way anything gets written: slowly, repeatedly, every day, through prayer, Scripture, honest self-examination, and community. Verse of the Day: Proverbs 7:3 Your Daily Man-Up Challenge Pick one verse, principle, or truth you know in your head but haven't fully lived yet. Write it down somewhere you'll see it all week, and read it morning and night. Start moving it from your shelf to your heart. Tap HERE to send us a text! Support the show NEW TO THE MEN’S MORNING DEVOTIONAL?  Welcome! The Men's Morning Devotional is a podcast to help you man up in every way - in your faith, your family and your work - by spending a few minutes getting into the Word before you face the world.  Every weekday, you'll get a challenge and encouragement from Scripture that speaks to the pressures you carry as a husband, a father, and a leader. You’ll get truth you can take straight into your day. And you’ll know you’re not standing alone, because men everywhere are waking up to fight the same battle. Your hosts are Steve Alessi, pastor of Metro Life Church of Miami, FL, along with his son, Chris Alessi, and his sons-in-law Christopher Muina, Christian Calatayud, and Dani Burgos.  Join us every weekday to man up!  MORE PODCASTS YOU'LL ENJOY Find more podcasts about faith and family from Metro Life Studios, including: My Morning Devotional The Family Business with The Alessis The Mary and Martha Show  You can listen to all of these shows on our Metro Life Studios app here!  Get The Metro Life Studios app

If you hate losing, then today's episode is for you. A man has to guard wisdom the way he guards his home and family, because what you don't guard, you will lose.  So what are you actually guarding right now? Chris Alessi opens a new week in Proverbs 7, where Solomon returns with another warning and another man standing at a crossroads. But before the warning comes a command, repeated three times: keep. In the original language, it's a soldier's word: to guard, to watch over, to protect. Most men treat wisdom like content to consume: a podcast, a sermon, a verse they immediately think someone else needs to hear. Solomon has something far more active in mind. What you don't guard, you will lose. You don't casually lock your doors or occasionally set the alarm. You guard what matters constantly, because you know what's at stake. Solomon goes one step further: keep my teaching "as the apple of your eye," the most sensitive, instinctively protected part of your body. That's the posture of the principled man toward wisdom: reflexive protection of something he can't afford to lose. Whatever you protect most reveals what you value most. Verse of the Day: Proverbs 7:1–2 Your Daily Man-Up Challenge Take inventory today. What are you actively guarding: your marriage, your mind, your integrity, your time with God? Or is it your comfort and your pride? Name one thing you've been passive about and decide today to guard it on purpose. Tap HERE to send us a text! Support the show NEW TO THE MEN’S MORNING DEVOTIONAL?  Welcome! The Men's Morning Devotional is a podcast to help you man up in every way - in your faith, your family and your work - by spending a few minutes getting into the Word before you face the world.  Every weekday, you'll get a challenge and encouragement from Scripture that speaks to the pressures you carry as a husband, a father, and a leader. You’ll get truth you can take straight into your day. And you’ll know you’re not standing alone, because men everywhere are waking up to fight the same battle. Your hosts are Steve Alessi, pastor of Metro Life Church of Miami, FL, along with his son, Chris Alessi, and his sons-in-law Christopher Muina, Christian Calatayud, and Dani Burgos.  Join us every weekday to man up!  MORE PODCASTS YOU'LL ENJOY Find more podcasts about faith and family from Metro Life Studios, including: My Morning Devotional The Family Business with The Alessis The Mary and Martha Show  You can listen to all of these shows on our Metro Life Studios app here!  Get The Metro Life Studios app

There are decisions you can make in a few minutes that will affect your life for years. A few minutes can damage a strong marriage, destroy trust that took decades to build, and cost you your kids, your reputation, and your walk with God. So why does the moment always feel so convincing? Pastor Steve closes out the week in Proverbs 6 with one of Solomon's most sobering warnings. He starts with a hungry man who steals food. We understand why he did it. But understanding the temptation doesn't remove the consequences. If he's caught, he still pays. Then Solomon turns to adultery, and his words get even stronger: the man who commits it lacks judgment and destroys himself. Because sexual temptation convinces a man to think only about right now. Who will know? What's the harm? I deserve this. It's just one time. Wisdom doesn't look at the moment. Wisdom looks way down the road. The enemy never shows you the price tag when temptation shows up. He just shows you the pleasure. God shows you the consequences, not because He's keeping something good from you, but because He's protecting everything good He's already given you. That's why a wise man builds boundaries before temptation ever arrives. He doesn't wait until he's emotionally involved, the texts have turned inappropriate, or the friendship has crossed the line. Strong men don't just resist temptation. Strong men build boundaries that keep temptation from getting close. Don't trade what you want most for what you want right now. Verse of the Day: Proverbs 6:30–33 Your Daily Man-Up Challenge  Take an honest look at your boundaries today. Is there a relationship, a conversation, a text thread, an online habit, or a situation you know is getting too close to the line? If there is, don't try to manage it. Delete the text or the picture. End the conversation. Create distance. Tell someone you trust. Strengthen the boundary. Protect today what you don't want to lose tomorrow. Tap HERE to send us a text! Support the show NEW TO THE MEN’S MORNING DEVOTIONAL?  Welcome! The Men's Morning Devotional is a podcast to help you man up in every way - in your faith, your family and your work - by spending a few minutes getting into the Word before you face the world.  Every weekday, you'll get a challenge and encouragement from Scripture that speaks to the pressures you carry as a husband, a father, and a leader. You’ll get truth you can take straight into your day. And you’ll know you’re not standing alone, because men everywhere are waking up to fight the same battle. Your hosts are Steve Alessi, pastor of Metro Life Church of Miami, FL, along with his son, Chris Alessi, and his sons-in-law Christopher Muina, Christian Calatayud, and Dani Burgos.  Join us every weekday to man up!  MORE PODCASTS YOU'LL ENJOY Find more podcasts about faith and family from Metro Life Studios, including: My Morning Devotional The Family Business with The Alessis The Mary and Martha Show  You can listen to all of these shows on our Metro Life Studios app here!  Get The Metro Life Studios app

Who has permission to tell you you're wrong? Not criticize you. Not tear you down. But look you in the eye and say, "You need to rethink that." If you can't name anyone, that's a problem. When we're young, we think our parents know everything. Then we get a little older and decide they know nothing, because now we know everything. And somewhere down the road, if we're wise, we realize there were things our father and mother were trying to teach us that we should have paid a lot more attention to. Solomon's word to his son is simple: don't forget what you were taught. Bind it on your heart. Because there will be a moment in a business meeting, in a conversation with your wife, or in a decision about your kids or your finances when that wisdom comes back to you right when you need it. Men love instruction. Tell us how to do it, and we'll do it. But we don't always like correction. Something in a man wants to say, "I've got this. Nobody needs to tell me how." Yet the most valuable voice in your life may be the one willing to say you're wrong. A foolish man gets offended by correction. A wise man gets better because of it. And the older and more successful you get, the easier it is to surround yourself with people who only agree with you. Don't. Keep people around you who love you enough to call you up. Verse of the Day: Proverbs 6:20–23  Your Daily Man-Up Challenge Ask yourself: Who has permission to correct me? If no one comes to mind, that's something to work on. And if someone corrects you today, resist the urge to immediately defend yourself. Listen first. There may be wisdom in it that keeps you from a mistake. Stay teachable. Tap HERE to send us a text! Support the show NEW TO THE MEN’S MORNING DEVOTIONAL?  Welcome! The Men's Morning Devotional is a podcast to help you man up in every way - in your faith, your family and your work - by spending a few minutes getting into the Word before you face the world.  Every weekday, you'll get a challenge and encouragement from Scripture that speaks to the pressures you carry as a husband, a father, and a leader. You’ll get truth you can take straight into your day. And you’ll know you’re not standing alone, because men everywhere are waking up to fight the same battle. Your hosts are Steve Alessi, pastor of Metro Life Church of Miami, FL, along with his son, Chris Alessi, and his sons-in-law Christopher Muina, Christian Calatayud, and Dani Burgos.  Join us every weekday to man up!  MORE PODCASTS YOU'LL ENJOY Find more podcasts about faith and family from Metro Life Studios, including: My Morning Devotional The Family Business with The Alessis The Mary and Martha Show  You can listen to all of these shows on our Metro Life Studios app here!  Get The Metro Life Studios app