The book of Nehemiah is a great story that has much to teach us about courage, leadership, faithfulness to God's call and more, but can it really speak to us about sexual purity? Absolutely! Nehemiah provides a vivid word picture of God's plan for purity in our lives. To unlock the metaphor, you only need a few simple keys: Nehemiah represents Christ and the Word of God. The temple represents your heart. Jerusalem represents your mind. The walls around Jerusalem represent your relationship with Christ. The gates represent your eyes, ears and mouth, where information and images enter or exit your mind. By building your spiritual walls and guarding your eye, ear and mouth gates, you can overcome bondage to pornography and sexual sin. Michael is a leadership consultant with In-Reach Leadership, a company he founded in 2004 to help develop leaders within both business and church environments. He has facilitated throughout the United States and internationally to thousands of leaders in business, civic and church organizations. Michael's thirty-year struggle with sexual purity began when he was introduced to pornography at the age of seven. For many years, he lived a secret life of guilt and shame. But having experienced the incredible healing power of masculine transparency and vulnerability, Michael began learning how to get free in 1997. Michael and his wife Monica have been married for fifteen years, and they have three children preserved by God's grace. The family lives in Colorado at the foot of Pike's Peak in Colorado Springs. You can contact Michael at inreachleader@msn.com or visit his website at www.inreachleadership.com.
Michael currently serves as a missionary with an organization that works through churches in developing nations to serve the needs of poor children. Before that, he was an author and independent leadership consultant with In-Reach Leadership, a company he started in 2004 to help develop leaders within both business and church environments.
Michael and his wife, Monica, have been married for 18 years and have three children, ages 17, 14 and 11. They live in Chiang Mai, Thailand.