The shortcut always looks faster. The workaround always looks smarter. And almost every time a man walks off the straight path, it doesn't feel like walking into sin — it feels like being clever.

In today’s episode, Chris works through Proverbs 2:15 and the picture of the man whose paths are crooked and devious. In Hebrew, crooked means something twisted out of its original shape: a path that should be straight but got bent and rerouted. And devious means to turn aside. Here's the catch: Solomon says these men left the straight path. It was a choice. There are no shortcuts to the life God has for you. The crooked path feels faster until it isn't.

The temptation toward the crooked path almost never shows up as wickedness. It shows up as a shortcut. Stretch the truth to close the deal faster. Avoid the hard conversation to dodge the conflict. Look the part without doing the work. But we've watched lives play out over and over, and the shortcut always costs more than the long road. Always. The man who cuts the corner isn't ahead of you — he's already lost.

Verse of the Day: Proverbs 2:15

Your Daily Man-Up Challenge

Where are you tempted to take a shortcut right now? Be specific — marriage, work, spiritual life, health, or finances. Name the shortcut. Then name what the straight road actually looks like in that area, and commit to it. And if you want to take it seriously, tell somebody about it.

Send Us A Message!

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 sons and other leaders of our Goodfellas men's ministry.

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 take God out of the equation, where does right and wrong actually come from? Culture is pushing that question hard right now — and a lot of men don't have an answer.

In today’s episode, Chris continues through Proverbs chapter 2, landing on verse 6: "For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding." Wisdom doesn't originate in experience, education, or the school of hard knocks — though God uses all of those. It originates in Him. And that leads to a truth our culture is fighting hard against: you can't separate morality from God, because morality doesn't exist without Him.

God isn't moral because He follows some standard above Him: God is the standard. Goodness isn't a rule He obeys; it's an expression of who He is. Asking whether God can be immoral is like asking whether water can be dry. The question is broken. He is the source. And a man untethered from that source has no compass and no fixed north — his standard just shifts with the culture around him.

Verse of the Day: Proverbs 2:6

Your Daily Man-Up Challenge

Identify one area of your life where you've let culture, convenience, popular opinion, or how you were raised shape your moral decisions instead of going back to God as the source. Name it honestly. Then take it to Scripture — what does God actually say about that area? A principled man doesn't outsource his ethics. He goes to the source.

Send Us A Message!

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 sons and other leaders of our Goodfellas men's ministry.

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 can't stumble into wisdom. It won't find you by accident, and you definitely don't already have it just because you want it. So how do you actually get it?

This week, Chris Alessi kicks off week seven of the Men's Morning Devotional as we move into Proverbs chapter 2. Working through the first five verses, Chris unpacks a principle that changes everything about how we chase after God: what you pursue determines what you discover. Solomon doesn't open the chapter with a promise — he opens with a condition. Four of them, actually, stacked one on top of another. Receive the words. Turn your ear. Call out for insight. Search like a treasure hunter. And only then comes the "then God will."

This isn't prosperity gospel. It's a promise with a condition attached — if we pursue, we will find. Jesus said the same thing: Seek and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened. But too many of us are hoping wisdom just shows up while we sit still. God is waiting on us to move first.

Verse of the Day: Proverbs 2:4–5

Your Daily Man-Up Challenge

Read Proverbs 2:1–4 and write out the four "if you" conditions Solomon lays out. What does each one actually look like in your life right now? Then write verse 5 at the bottom of the page as the promise you're standing on — and put it somewhere you'll see it all week.

Send Us A Message!

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 sons and other leaders of our Goodfellas men's ministry.

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 

Are you finding yourself just coasting through life? If so, you're in more danger than you realize. Thing is, complacency never announces itself as danger. It just feels comfortable - until it's too late. Most men think the greatest threat to their spiritual lives is outright rebellion, but they're mistaken. 

In this episode, Steve Alessi names the two things that quietly destroy a man. The first is obvious: knowing what's right and choosing your own way anyway. The second is far more subtle. 

Listen today to find out how you can become a man who sleeps differently, leads differently, loves differently, and faces an uncertain future differently — because his confidence isn't in himself, but in the One who never changes.

Verse of The Day:  Proverbs 1:32-33 

Your Daily Man-Up Challenge

 Ask one honest question: Where have I become complacent — my walk with God, my marriage, my health, my leadership, my parenting, my integrity? Choose one area where you've been coasting and start rowing again. Then make this commitment: I'm not just going to hear God's Word this week — I'm going to live it, and better yet, I'm going to be it.

Send Us A Message!

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 sons and other leaders of our Goodfellas men's ministry.

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 

Are you dealing with a harvest that you didn't realize you planted? That one lie, that one drink, that one click....these seeds never stay seeds. They become fruit. And sooner or later, every man eats from the tree he's been planting.

In this episode, Steve Alessi opens Proverbs to a sobering picture Solomon paints — of men who didn't drift away by accident, but who rejected knowledge, refused correction, and eventually ate the fruit of those decisions. But God's wisdom was never meant to restrict your life — it's meant to protect your future.

Listen today to find out why a wise man doesn't wait until the harvest to change, and why you must make changes today while you're still planting.

Verse of the Day: 

Proverbs 1:29-31

Your Daily Man-Up Challenge:

 Identify one seed you're planting that you don't want to harvest five years from now — procrastination, anger, neglecting your health, too much screen time, a hidden habit no one knows about. Don't make excuses. Pull the weed while it's still small. Then plant one good seed today: read God's Word, pray with your family, encourage your wife, serve someone, apologize. The life you'll live tomorrow is being planted by the choices you make today.

Send Us A Message!

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 sons and other leaders of our Goodfellas men's ministry.

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 

How does the enemy consistently get men to fall for temptation? Simple... he opens with an invitation, not immediate attack. And here's what most men get wrong: they think strength means seeing how much temptation they can handle. It doesn't. 

In this episode, Steve Alessi digs into just nine words from Solomon that carry a lifetime of wisdom. Temptation isn't a possibility for a man trying to live for God; it's a certainty. You will be enticed to compromise your integrity, cut corners, look where you shouldn't. Solomon's answer isn't "manage it" or "see how close you can get." It's simpler AND harder than that.

Listen to today's episode to find out how strong men avoid the effects of temptation with a simple strategy that can protect you from lifetime of regret. 

Verse of the Day: 

Proverbs 1:10 

Your Daily Man-Up Challenge

Ask yourself two honest questions: Who is influencing me? And who am I becoming because of that influence? If there's a friendship, a conversation, an account, or an environment constantly pulling you from God, have the courage to create distance. Then reach out to one godly man — text him, invite him to coffee, ask him to hold you accountable. Every strong man needs strong men around him.

Send Us A Message!

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 sons and other leaders of our Goodfellas men's ministry.

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 do YOU fear? Whether you want to admit it or not, every man fears something. Failure. Rejection. Looking weak. Losing control. Not making enough money. And here's the hard truth most men never face: whatever you fear the most will eventually become your master. So the real question isn't whether you're ruled by fear — it's what you've handed the crown to.

In this episode, Steve Alessi tackles this meaning of fear that our culture has completely misunderstood. When Scripture says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, what does it really mean? And when men refuse correction, resist accountability, and reject coaching, what's the uncomfortable truth that Scripture points out about them? 

Listen today to discover why strong men are teachable, why weak men defend themselves, and why discipline isn't God's punishment.

Verse of the Day: Proverbs 1:7

Your Daily Man-Up Challenge

 Before every major decision today, pause and ask one question: Does God honor this? Then pick one area where you've been resisting correction — your marriage, finances, health, attitude, work ethic, or spiritual life — and go to your wife, a trusted friend, or a mentor and ask: "Is there one area where I need to grow as a man?" Here's the hardest part: don't explain it, don't defend it, don't justify it. Just listen.

Send Us A Message!

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 sons and other leaders of our Goodfellas men's ministry.

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 

No man accidentally becomes a faithful husband, a godly father, or a leader of integrity — yet most guys quietly bet their lives on the lie that things will just "work themselves out." They won't. If your marriage, your finances, or your walk with God is running on autopilot, you're not coasting toward blessing — you're coasting toward the ditch.

In this episode, Steve Alessi opens the book of Proverbs and confronts one of the most dangerous forms of passivity in a man's life. Wisdom keeps you out of the ditch that deliverance has to pull you out of — but only if you build on purpose. In this episode, you'll discover the progression Solomon lays out. Listen to today's episode to find out how you can avoid drifting into a dangerously uncertain future. 

Verse of the Day: 

Proverbs 1:1-3 

Your Daily Man-Up Challenge

 Identify one area of your life that's running on autopilot — your spiritual life, your marriage, your parenting, your finances, your health, your work ethic. Then make one intentional decision today that moves you toward the man God is calling you to be. Don't wait until tomorrow.

Send Us A Message!

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 sons and other leaders of our Goodfellas men's ministry.

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 

One harsh word doesn't just leave your mouth and disappear. In this devotional, our host Christian closes the week in Proverbs 15 on a truth most men would rather skip. 

Proverbs 15 says a harsh word stirs up anger, and here's what most men miss: that anger doesn't stay put. There's a devastating result that every man should be aware of, and we're exposing it in today's devotional - as well as the key posture that can unlock blessings and favor into your life. 

Press play and find out how you can enjoy the fruits of honor today and every day. 

Verse of the Day: Proverbs 15:1

Your Daily Man-Up Challenge

Think back — was there a harsh word that almost came out of your mouth? Ask yourself honestly what a gentle answer would have cost you that pride insisted was too much to give.

Send Us A Message!

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 sons and other leaders of our Goodfellas men's ministry.

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's a way that feels right to every man — an instinct that sits so deep it's practically in your bones, and it almost never feels wrong. That's exactly what makes it so dangerous. 

In today's episode, Christian explores Proverbs 14 and lays that danger side by side with its antidote — a key phrase in Proverbs that can keep you from falling into the trap that captures so many men like you.  

If you're carrying fear or doubt right now, this devotional reframes it entirely. Press play and let's dig into the Word that can help you avoid the pitfalls of your own making. 

Verse of the Day: Proverbs 14:12

Your Daily Man-Up Challenge

Name one area where "this feels right to me" has quietly replaced "this is what the Lord says" — in your decisions this year, this week, today. Then hold that area up against the truth of Proverbs 14:26–27.

Send Us A Message!

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 sons and other leaders of our Goodfellas men's ministry.

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