"So Joshua rose with all the people of war to go up to Ai; and Joshua chose 30,000 men, valiant warriors, and sent them out at night. He commanded them, saying, 'See, you are going to ambush the city from behind it. Do not go very far from the city, but all of you be ready. Then I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. And when they come out to meet us as at the first, we will flee before them. They will come out after us until we have drawn them away from the city, for they will say, "They are fleeing before us as at the first." So we will flee before them. And you shall rise from your ambush and take possession of the city, for the Lord your God will deliver it into your hand.'" -Joshua 8.3-7
The sin of Achan has been dealt with, and now God instructs Joshua on how he is going to conquer Ai. After getting God's battle plan, Joshua prepares his warriors for battle. Some of them are going to prepare an ambush behind the city while the rest draw the men out of the city. Joshua's instruction is for the them to be ready and close to the city.
They are going into a fight, and they must be ready for the right moment to attack. They must be dressed for battle with their weapons in hand. God's plan calls for careful timing and swift execution. If Israel is going to be victorious the men doing the ambushing must be ready.
Men, are you ready for battle? Are you dressed for a fight? Are your weapons close sharp and in hand? Most likely it isn't a physical fight, but are you ready for the battle for your heart?
The life group I lead is currently divided by gender and I am leading the guys through Wild at Heart. This past week we were in chapter eight which focuses on the enemies we do battle with. As I was preparing for our discussion I read something I knew would be brought up. John Eldredge shares the story of a young man who was heavily involved in sexual sin. Countless woman offered themselves to him and he accepted what they gave. Each time he would try to resist, but each time he gave in he resolve was weakened. The point of conversation was when john says the turning point came when the young man began to see it not so much as sin but more as a battle for his strength.
To be clear, John is not saying that the fornication is not a sin, he is saying there is something bigger behind it. I've been thinking about it for the past few days and I've realized something, the devil's goal is to possess us and keep us from serving and obeying God. The source of a man's strength is his heart, and that is what Satan fights to control, and in turn, keep God from controlling. He will do whatever it takes, in the case of this young man it was sexual sin that caused him to compromise his strength. What is it for you?
Each day we face battles for our hearts, are we ready to attack the enemy when he comes after us?
Let us be ready for battle so that we can strike at the right moment. Let us be armed and close by. Let us be ready.
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
Showing posts with label Wild at Heart. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wild at Heart. Show all posts
Friday, January 16, 2015
Friday, November 7, 2014
With You
"The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, with all those of us alive here today. The Lord spoke to you face to face at the mountain from the midst of the fire," Deuteronomy 5.2-4
Moses is about to recount the Ten commandments to the nation of Israel, reminding them of the covenant God made with them at Mount Horeb. And he quickly reminds the people that this covenant was not made with their forefathers, but with them personally. God spoke with them, face to face, and made this covenant with them.
In Wild at Heart John Eldredge points out how even the best earthly father can only take his children so far in their journey with God. There comes a point where they must leave the father and pursue God on their own. They must develop their own relationship with Him and begin to hear Him speaking to them personally.
Here Moses is telling the people that they no longer depend on stories of Abraham's day that have been passed down for centuries. They have seen the power of God first hand as He brought them out of Egypt and guided them through the wilderness. But they have also heard directly from Him. They have been invited into something bigger by God Himself. God has spoken with them personally.
Men, God wants you to have a relationship with Him. Regardless of what your parents believe or taught you, God wants to speak with you and teach you. God wants you to be in a personal relationship with Him and learn to communicate with Him. There are things that He wants to teach you about Himself that you can learn no where else except from Him. Do you want a personal relationship with Him?
God desires for each of us to know Him personally. He seeks each of us directly and wants to take us deeper. Our faith must be more than our parent's faith.
Let us learn to hear from God and speak with Him. Let us realize that God wants something personal with each of us.
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
Moses is about to recount the Ten commandments to the nation of Israel, reminding them of the covenant God made with them at Mount Horeb. And he quickly reminds the people that this covenant was not made with their forefathers, but with them personally. God spoke with them, face to face, and made this covenant with them.
In Wild at Heart John Eldredge points out how even the best earthly father can only take his children so far in their journey with God. There comes a point where they must leave the father and pursue God on their own. They must develop their own relationship with Him and begin to hear Him speaking to them personally.
Here Moses is telling the people that they no longer depend on stories of Abraham's day that have been passed down for centuries. They have seen the power of God first hand as He brought them out of Egypt and guided them through the wilderness. But they have also heard directly from Him. They have been invited into something bigger by God Himself. God has spoken with them personally.
Men, God wants you to have a relationship with Him. Regardless of what your parents believe or taught you, God wants to speak with you and teach you. God wants you to be in a personal relationship with Him and learn to communicate with Him. There are things that He wants to teach you about Himself that you can learn no where else except from Him. Do you want a personal relationship with Him?
God desires for each of us to know Him personally. He seeks each of us directly and wants to take us deeper. Our faith must be more than our parent's faith.
Let us learn to hear from God and speak with Him. Let us realize that God wants something personal with each of us.
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Where We've Been...
February feels like so long ago, and this year we've covered a lot of material, and before we move forward it's good to look back at where we've been. They whole those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it thing. If we know where we've been, what we've seen, the foundation we've established, we can begin to build on it.
First we looked at Wild at Heart. A book that unveils the secrets of the masculine soul. In the pages we saw three core desires on the heart of every man.
1. A battle to fight
2. A beauty to rescue
3. An adventure to live
These are the things we long for, these are the things we love in the stories and movies that excite us and capture our attention. Deep down we know that these are the things our hearts long for. God made us in His image, and gave us the heart that desires these things. We were made to join Him in battle against evil. We were created to rescue the beauty of creation. We are invited to join Him in an epic adventure of life to the fullest. And once we have identified the longings of our heart, we can begin to focus our lives on living them out.
And so we come to The Way of the Wild Heart. This is a map for the masculine journey. It outlines the main points along the way, and provides some instructions on how to get there, but largely shows us that we have to live intentionally aware of our surroundings, and in constant relationship with God.
The journey begins with the Beloved Son. It is here that we learn our identity, prized and loved children of God, sons of a strong and loving Father. Here we learn that we are loved, and part of this is being shown discipline and given correction. For the journey to be successful we must know who we are, and whose we are. Identity is the first thing that is challenged, and it is attacked longer and harder than anything else. This stage is crucial, because without this, the journey goes nowhere.
Next we grow into Cowboys. Here the focus is on adventure and hard work. A young man learns about his strength and how to use it. He comes to see that he is powerful, and learns to take risks. At the same time he learns to use his strength to make the world a better place. Rooted in his identity, the Cowboy can begin to explore the world and begins to get swept up in the epic adventure.
Eventually the young man enters the stage of Warrior. He begins to really focus on a cause and learns to fight for it. He learns self-discipline and commits himself to preparing for battle. He develops endurance, knowing that battles are long and hard. The tests of the Cowboy stage have prepared him to join the front lines. He now takes his strength and begins to offer and sacrifice it to save others.
As he grows the young man begins to see that there is more to life than battle, and begins the stage of the Lover. Here he begins to notice Beauty, and learns to have his heart loved and romanced by God. He learns to allow himself to be fully loved, and to fully love. He knows how to fight, and now he learns to find rest and refreshment from battle in the beauty the world has to offer.
And when all of this is transpired, the man is ready to become a King. After he has fought to establish peace and order he returns home to rule. His throne is not his for comfort and luxury, but for serving. He has learned to use his strength for others, and now uses his position to better the lives of those he leads. But more than that, he now focuses on friendship with God. He knows that he cannot be a fully effective ruler without the guidance and counsel of God.
Finally, the older man will step down and hand the throne to a younger King, just as he handed the bulk of the fighting over to younger Warriors. But a good man does not fade into obscurity, he becomes a Sage. Now without the burden of ruling he is able to focus on pouring into younger men. He has a life time of experience and wisdom to offer and assist those who are following in his footsteps. But most important to the Sage is his deep and intimate communion with God. He has time now like he didn't have at any other time in his life, and is able to pour into God, and others, like never before.
This is the map we have, this is what we've seen, and this is only the beginning. Let's journey on together.
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
First we looked at Wild at Heart. A book that unveils the secrets of the masculine soul. In the pages we saw three core desires on the heart of every man.
1. A battle to fight
2. A beauty to rescue
3. An adventure to live
These are the things we long for, these are the things we love in the stories and movies that excite us and capture our attention. Deep down we know that these are the things our hearts long for. God made us in His image, and gave us the heart that desires these things. We were made to join Him in battle against evil. We were created to rescue the beauty of creation. We are invited to join Him in an epic adventure of life to the fullest. And once we have identified the longings of our heart, we can begin to focus our lives on living them out.
And so we come to The Way of the Wild Heart. This is a map for the masculine journey. It outlines the main points along the way, and provides some instructions on how to get there, but largely shows us that we have to live intentionally aware of our surroundings, and in constant relationship with God.
The journey begins with the Beloved Son. It is here that we learn our identity, prized and loved children of God, sons of a strong and loving Father. Here we learn that we are loved, and part of this is being shown discipline and given correction. For the journey to be successful we must know who we are, and whose we are. Identity is the first thing that is challenged, and it is attacked longer and harder than anything else. This stage is crucial, because without this, the journey goes nowhere.
Next we grow into Cowboys. Here the focus is on adventure and hard work. A young man learns about his strength and how to use it. He comes to see that he is powerful, and learns to take risks. At the same time he learns to use his strength to make the world a better place. Rooted in his identity, the Cowboy can begin to explore the world and begins to get swept up in the epic adventure.
Eventually the young man enters the stage of Warrior. He begins to really focus on a cause and learns to fight for it. He learns self-discipline and commits himself to preparing for battle. He develops endurance, knowing that battles are long and hard. The tests of the Cowboy stage have prepared him to join the front lines. He now takes his strength and begins to offer and sacrifice it to save others.
As he grows the young man begins to see that there is more to life than battle, and begins the stage of the Lover. Here he begins to notice Beauty, and learns to have his heart loved and romanced by God. He learns to allow himself to be fully loved, and to fully love. He knows how to fight, and now he learns to find rest and refreshment from battle in the beauty the world has to offer.
And when all of this is transpired, the man is ready to become a King. After he has fought to establish peace and order he returns home to rule. His throne is not his for comfort and luxury, but for serving. He has learned to use his strength for others, and now uses his position to better the lives of those he leads. But more than that, he now focuses on friendship with God. He knows that he cannot be a fully effective ruler without the guidance and counsel of God.
Finally, the older man will step down and hand the throne to a younger King, just as he handed the bulk of the fighting over to younger Warriors. But a good man does not fade into obscurity, he becomes a Sage. Now without the burden of ruling he is able to focus on pouring into younger men. He has a life time of experience and wisdom to offer and assist those who are following in his footsteps. But most important to the Sage is his deep and intimate communion with God. He has time now like he didn't have at any other time in his life, and is able to pour into God, and others, like never before.
This is the map we have, this is what we've seen, and this is only the beginning. Let's journey on together.
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
Monday, June 17, 2013
Wild at Heart, Epiloge: What Now?
Yes, I actually read this part of the book. In college I had a professor who would give reading quizzes. We were able to take notes on them and use them for the quiz. Quiz day came, and there on the quiz was a question from the preface of the book. Who asks a question from the preface? Do people actually read them? Since that day I have read the preface, forward, and epilogue of every book I've read, and there has been some good stuff I've found in them. This book is no different.
"The journey has begun. The battle has been joined." But it's crucial to remember that this is just the beginning. Through these last few months, I have gained so much, but there is still a long way to go. But as we move forward there are some important things to keep in mind. John gives a few pieces of advice as the reader concludes this book.
"First, do not rush to the next thing. The church is full of fads, the world a circus of distraction... Your masculine journey is the central mission of your life; everything else depends on your success here. So stay with this!" I'm not a big fan of the current public education system. I feel that too much of it is focused on memorizing facts to put down on a test, and then it is all forgotten to make room for the next set of facts. How much is actually retained? We make people that are good test takers and short term memorizers, but how many learners are formed?
This is not a lesson to be learned to pass a test, this is life, and yours is not the only one impacted by your journey. Go back over things you don't recall or are still working through. Part of the point of writing this is so it is out there when you need it. The life that we were made for is there for us and "there is nothing to compare with the freedom and life that can be had. But you must choose it. You must be intentional. Or the world, your flesh, and the devil will have you for lunch." Don't treat this as a school lesson, this is too crucial to be memorized and forgotten.
Second, John suggests the Daily Prayer that can be found and downloaded at his website (http://store.ransomedheart.com/daily-prayer.html). I have listened to it, but haven't done much with it. But it is a very inclusive prayer, inviting God into every aspect of life. Listen to it; modify it to your life. In addition to this he recommends using the Field Manual he wrote for the book. I tried to work through it years ago but didn't get very far. I'm hoping at some point to actually be able to do a study like this with a group of men and at that point really dive into the Manual.
The next recommendation is where the blog is headed next, "Read Fathered by God next. I wrote that book as the sequel to this one; it lays out the six stages of the masculine journey and how to find the initiation we all need to become men in full, whole, and holy men. Wild at Heart is masculinity 101, Fathered by God takes you a whole lot farther down the field." Fathered by God is actually a reprinting of The Way of the Wild Heart, and it has a few chapters removed. I'll be working with the original text, and I recommend reading that one. And again, this is where I am headed next, so let's continue the journey together.
"Get some guys together. You need brothers. Allies... a band of very dangerous men." That goes without saying. My wife and I are beginning the next stage of life as Life Group leaders at church. Right now it is us and two other couples beginning to do life together. I don't know either of these guys that well, one of them at all, yet, but God has brought us together in order to become Men of God and spiritual leaders for our families.
We are also told to "Go after other men." This blog started as a burden on my heart. A burden to reach out to men, doing what I can to help them on this journey. We have the responsibility to help boys become men, and to help men become Men of God. The next book shows us a little how to do this. But it is a crucial part of the journey, and it is one of the most fulfilling aspects of masculinity.
"Now, if you are married, two things: Give your wife Captivating to read (it's the feminine version of this book)... Then the two of you should read Love and War, which Stasi (his wife) and I wrote together about marriage from this point of view." I have given my wife Captivating, and we do have Love and War, but it is packed in a storage unit at the moment, but as soon as possible I want to read it with her. I have wasted too much time not doing that.
"Pursue your further healing. Learn how to fight. Develop a conversational intimacy with God... This is only the beginning. There is an entire kingdom waiting through this door."
It has begun, keep pressing on with me my brothers.
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
"The journey has begun. The battle has been joined." But it's crucial to remember that this is just the beginning. Through these last few months, I have gained so much, but there is still a long way to go. But as we move forward there are some important things to keep in mind. John gives a few pieces of advice as the reader concludes this book.
"First, do not rush to the next thing. The church is full of fads, the world a circus of distraction... Your masculine journey is the central mission of your life; everything else depends on your success here. So stay with this!" I'm not a big fan of the current public education system. I feel that too much of it is focused on memorizing facts to put down on a test, and then it is all forgotten to make room for the next set of facts. How much is actually retained? We make people that are good test takers and short term memorizers, but how many learners are formed?
This is not a lesson to be learned to pass a test, this is life, and yours is not the only one impacted by your journey. Go back over things you don't recall or are still working through. Part of the point of writing this is so it is out there when you need it. The life that we were made for is there for us and "there is nothing to compare with the freedom and life that can be had. But you must choose it. You must be intentional. Or the world, your flesh, and the devil will have you for lunch." Don't treat this as a school lesson, this is too crucial to be memorized and forgotten.
Second, John suggests the Daily Prayer that can be found and downloaded at his website (http://store.ransomedheart.com/daily-prayer.html). I have listened to it, but haven't done much with it. But it is a very inclusive prayer, inviting God into every aspect of life. Listen to it; modify it to your life. In addition to this he recommends using the Field Manual he wrote for the book. I tried to work through it years ago but didn't get very far. I'm hoping at some point to actually be able to do a study like this with a group of men and at that point really dive into the Manual.
The next recommendation is where the blog is headed next, "Read Fathered by God next. I wrote that book as the sequel to this one; it lays out the six stages of the masculine journey and how to find the initiation we all need to become men in full, whole, and holy men. Wild at Heart is masculinity 101, Fathered by God takes you a whole lot farther down the field." Fathered by God is actually a reprinting of The Way of the Wild Heart, and it has a few chapters removed. I'll be working with the original text, and I recommend reading that one. And again, this is where I am headed next, so let's continue the journey together.
"Get some guys together. You need brothers. Allies... a band of very dangerous men." That goes without saying. My wife and I are beginning the next stage of life as Life Group leaders at church. Right now it is us and two other couples beginning to do life together. I don't know either of these guys that well, one of them at all, yet, but God has brought us together in order to become Men of God and spiritual leaders for our families.
We are also told to "Go after other men." This blog started as a burden on my heart. A burden to reach out to men, doing what I can to help them on this journey. We have the responsibility to help boys become men, and to help men become Men of God. The next book shows us a little how to do this. But it is a crucial part of the journey, and it is one of the most fulfilling aspects of masculinity.
"Now, if you are married, two things: Give your wife Captivating to read (it's the feminine version of this book)... Then the two of you should read Love and War, which Stasi (his wife) and I wrote together about marriage from this point of view." I have given my wife Captivating, and we do have Love and War, but it is packed in a storage unit at the moment, but as soon as possible I want to read it with her. I have wasted too much time not doing that.
"Pursue your further healing. Learn how to fight. Develop a conversational intimacy with God... This is only the beginning. There is an entire kingdom waiting through this door."
It has begun, keep pressing on with me my brothers.
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Wild at Heart, Chapter 12: Writing the Next Chapter
"Freedom is useless if we don't exercise it as characters making choices... Few things are as encouraging as the realization that things can be different and that we have a role in making them so." We were made to live free. In the beginning God created man and gave him freedom to live and explore the world. "Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.' Then God said, 'Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you;'" (Genesis 1.26-29).
That was what we were created for, live, work, explore, and enjoy all of creation. It sounds perfect because it was. But then the enemy launched his assault. He saw an opportunity and took advantage of it, and at that moment everything changed. There was now a curse on everything. Our strength had been sabotaged, the beauty had been imprisoned, and everything was now set against us. But God, the creator, is also the redeemer. He began preparing for D-Day, and began to work to bring His creation back to what He created it to be.
Jesus came, and He died on the cross so that we could be free. "It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery" (Galatians 5.1). We have been granted freedom from sin so that we can reclaim our masculine heart of strength. And if we do not embark upon this journey then our freedom is wasted. But this journey is simply the beginning. It is one we all must take, but it is not the end. We have freedom, and as we reclaim our hearts we take upon ourselves a God given role to join Him in His restorative work.
That is what we were made to do, Men of God is who we were create to be. But until we have gotten there we are stuck. "God will never reveal more truth about himself until you have obeyed what you know already." You know that you were made for more than existence. You know that you were made for life; a life of battle, adventure, and a rescued beauty. But none of this is possible until our strength has been recovered. And once it has been we begin to see life as it was meant to lived. And once we taste it, we will settle for nothing less than what we were made for.
At the very beginning of the book we read these words, "I know. I almost want to apologize. Dear Lord - do we really need another book for men? Nope. We need something else. We need permission. Permission to be what we are - men made in God's image." And here at the end of the final chapter we are given just that.
"Now, reader, it is your turn to write - venture forth with God. Remember, don't ask yourself what the world needs... What is the life you want to live? What is God calling you to through the deep desires of your heart and the move of his Spirit in you? The next chapter is yours to write."
Go on with God to the life He created you to live. Take risks and worship deeply. Embrace the role that is yours to play, and live fully alive. You, Man of God, fight the good fight of faith, finish the course, receive the crown, and glorify God.
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
That was what we were created for, live, work, explore, and enjoy all of creation. It sounds perfect because it was. But then the enemy launched his assault. He saw an opportunity and took advantage of it, and at that moment everything changed. There was now a curse on everything. Our strength had been sabotaged, the beauty had been imprisoned, and everything was now set against us. But God, the creator, is also the redeemer. He began preparing for D-Day, and began to work to bring His creation back to what He created it to be.
Jesus came, and He died on the cross so that we could be free. "It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery" (Galatians 5.1). We have been granted freedom from sin so that we can reclaim our masculine heart of strength. And if we do not embark upon this journey then our freedom is wasted. But this journey is simply the beginning. It is one we all must take, but it is not the end. We have freedom, and as we reclaim our hearts we take upon ourselves a God given role to join Him in His restorative work.
That is what we were made to do, Men of God is who we were create to be. But until we have gotten there we are stuck. "God will never reveal more truth about himself until you have obeyed what you know already." You know that you were made for more than existence. You know that you were made for life; a life of battle, adventure, and a rescued beauty. But none of this is possible until our strength has been recovered. And once it has been we begin to see life as it was meant to lived. And once we taste it, we will settle for nothing less than what we were made for.
At the very beginning of the book we read these words, "I know. I almost want to apologize. Dear Lord - do we really need another book for men? Nope. We need something else. We need permission. Permission to be what we are - men made in God's image." And here at the end of the final chapter we are given just that.
"Now, reader, it is your turn to write - venture forth with God. Remember, don't ask yourself what the world needs... What is the life you want to live? What is God calling you to through the deep desires of your heart and the move of his Spirit in you? The next chapter is yours to write."
Go on with God to the life He created you to live. Take risks and worship deeply. Embrace the role that is yours to play, and live fully alive. You, Man of God, fight the good fight of faith, finish the course, receive the crown, and glorify God.
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
Monday, June 10, 2013
Wild at Heart, Chapter 11: An Adventure to Live, part 5
Initially I was only going to do four posts on this chapter, but as I got to the end of yesterday's this just didn't seem to fit. I'm about to share a bit of my heart, something that those closest to me know about. But here is perhaps the deepest desire on my heart that will never be fulfilled.
I want to be a Navy SEAL. Everything I've ever done in life my goal has been to be the best, and the SEALs are the most elite commandos in the world. When I was younger I was terrified of joining the military because I didn't like pain and the idea of death scared me. It's not that either of those has changed, but I'm a lot tougher now than I was then, and I'm motivated now by something greater than self-preservation. But at this point in my life I'm too old, and too out of shape to attempt anything like that.
It's been difficult these last few years hearing about the different things they have accomplished, knowing that if I had gone for it and made it, I could have been on those missions. It isn't about the attention or the glory. It isn't about having some great stories to tell the grandkids, SEALs don't tell war stories. It's about being the best, doing something that very few can do, because you can. It's about serving others, and doing whatever is necessary so that others can be free and safe.
On May 25, 2013 I had an incredible moment; I met a SEAL, and not just a SEAL, but one of the original SEALs. I was at work and he was walking towards me with a Navy hat on. I thanked him for serving and asked if I could help him. He said he was fine, but as he walked past me I noticed something on his chest, a pin of the triton and eagle, the symbol of the SEALs. I stopped turned and asked him, and he then talked to me for about fifteen minutes. And as he talked I was glad that God had spared me from that life. Don't get me wrong, part of me still wishes I had tried; part of me still wishes I could do it, but I am so grateful that I have never had to experience war.
"We have desires in our hearts that are core to who and what we are; they are almost mythic in their meaning, waking in us something transcendent and eternal. But we can be mistaken about how those desires will be lived out. The way in which God fulfills a desire may be different from what first awakened it."
So how does God fulfill this desire to be the most elite commando in the world in my life? It's only possible when I see life as the war it really is. As a Christ follower I've enlisted in God's military, all of us have. Each of us plays a different role, we all have different callings and roles, and all of them are essential. It's not that pastors are any more holy, righteous, or important than any other Christian, we are just people who are striving to become more like Christ, but we have the added responsibility of leading and instructing people in spiritual matters. The Bible says in James 3.1, "Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment." Pastors are held to a higher standard according to the Bible.
In the first letter to Timothy, Paul warns that Church leaders are not to be put in place quickly and without prayer and careful consideration (1 Timothy 3). This is not a calling for everyone; it is not a life for everyone. Aside from the higher standard of God, we are also targeted by the enemy, and sadly, by people. When a pastor falls into sin everything he has worked for is undone, and so the enemy works hard to make him fall. People work to take down pastors when they do things that they don't like, even if it is Biblically sound and working to build the Kingdom.
Pastors deal with a lot, things that most Christians don't. We dedicate our lives to the ministry of the Gospel; our livelihood is dependent upon it. And while it brings incredible blessings, it is not in any way without its hardships. And in some ways, I feel like God's SEAL. He has placed a high calling on my life; I've been through training and battle, and have scars to show for it. But there is still work to do, there are still people that need to become like Christ, there are future leaders that need to be mentored and trained. No matter how hard the battle gets I can't quit. I must rely on my source of strength and the training He has provided me. And on top of that, there are the other members of SEAL Team Pastor. We have to stand together, along with all of God's military. We are at war, and all of us play a crucial role in the battle. Will you play yours?
We all have desires, and they may not be fulfilled in the way we first thought. I will never be a sailor in the US Navy, and without that I can never be a Navy SEAL, but God has called me to serve Him in a great capacity. What is your heart’s desire? How is God fulfilling it? How is your life the great adventure that your heart longs for?
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
I want to be a Navy SEAL. Everything I've ever done in life my goal has been to be the best, and the SEALs are the most elite commandos in the world. When I was younger I was terrified of joining the military because I didn't like pain and the idea of death scared me. It's not that either of those has changed, but I'm a lot tougher now than I was then, and I'm motivated now by something greater than self-preservation. But at this point in my life I'm too old, and too out of shape to attempt anything like that.
It's been difficult these last few years hearing about the different things they have accomplished, knowing that if I had gone for it and made it, I could have been on those missions. It isn't about the attention or the glory. It isn't about having some great stories to tell the grandkids, SEALs don't tell war stories. It's about being the best, doing something that very few can do, because you can. It's about serving others, and doing whatever is necessary so that others can be free and safe.
On May 25, 2013 I had an incredible moment; I met a SEAL, and not just a SEAL, but one of the original SEALs. I was at work and he was walking towards me with a Navy hat on. I thanked him for serving and asked if I could help him. He said he was fine, but as he walked past me I noticed something on his chest, a pin of the triton and eagle, the symbol of the SEALs. I stopped turned and asked him, and he then talked to me for about fifteen minutes. And as he talked I was glad that God had spared me from that life. Don't get me wrong, part of me still wishes I had tried; part of me still wishes I could do it, but I am so grateful that I have never had to experience war.
"We have desires in our hearts that are core to who and what we are; they are almost mythic in their meaning, waking in us something transcendent and eternal. But we can be mistaken about how those desires will be lived out. The way in which God fulfills a desire may be different from what first awakened it."
So how does God fulfill this desire to be the most elite commando in the world in my life? It's only possible when I see life as the war it really is. As a Christ follower I've enlisted in God's military, all of us have. Each of us plays a different role, we all have different callings and roles, and all of them are essential. It's not that pastors are any more holy, righteous, or important than any other Christian, we are just people who are striving to become more like Christ, but we have the added responsibility of leading and instructing people in spiritual matters. The Bible says in James 3.1, "Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment." Pastors are held to a higher standard according to the Bible.
In the first letter to Timothy, Paul warns that Church leaders are not to be put in place quickly and without prayer and careful consideration (1 Timothy 3). This is not a calling for everyone; it is not a life for everyone. Aside from the higher standard of God, we are also targeted by the enemy, and sadly, by people. When a pastor falls into sin everything he has worked for is undone, and so the enemy works hard to make him fall. People work to take down pastors when they do things that they don't like, even if it is Biblically sound and working to build the Kingdom.
Pastors deal with a lot, things that most Christians don't. We dedicate our lives to the ministry of the Gospel; our livelihood is dependent upon it. And while it brings incredible blessings, it is not in any way without its hardships. And in some ways, I feel like God's SEAL. He has placed a high calling on my life; I've been through training and battle, and have scars to show for it. But there is still work to do, there are still people that need to become like Christ, there are future leaders that need to be mentored and trained. No matter how hard the battle gets I can't quit. I must rely on my source of strength and the training He has provided me. And on top of that, there are the other members of SEAL Team Pastor. We have to stand together, along with all of God's military. We are at war, and all of us play a crucial role in the battle. Will you play yours?
We all have desires, and they may not be fulfilled in the way we first thought. I will never be a sailor in the US Navy, and without that I can never be a Navy SEAL, but God has called me to serve Him in a great capacity. What is your heart’s desire? How is God fulfilling it? How is your life the great adventure that your heart longs for?
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Wild at Heart, Chapter 11: An Adventure to Live, part 4
"I'm not suggesting that the Christian life is chaotic or that a real man is flagrantly irresponsible. The poser who squanders his paycheck at the racetrack or the slot machines is not a man; he's a fool. The sluggard who quits his job and makes his wife go to work so he can stay home to practice his golf sing, thinking he'll make the pro tour, is 'worse than an unbeliever' (1 Tim. 5:8). What I am saying is that our false self demands a formula before he'll engage; he wants a guarantee of success, and mister, you aren't going to get one. So there comes a time in a man's life when he's got to break away from all that and head off into the unknown with God. This is a vital part of our journey and if we balk here, the journey ends."
Adventure is not an excuse for irresponsibility. Saying you're on the journey to become the man you were created to be does not permit you to abandon the responsibilities of providing for the family God has given you. But what it does mean is that we must step out in faith and trust God. If we are to become men it is only by His grace and guidance, and so we must step out blindly in faith, not irresponsibility, and let God take us where He is leading.
This doesn't mean I dig myself into a hole and then ask God to pull me out of it. It means I am going to work as hard as I can; I'm going to give everything I have, and trust God to fulfill where I fall short. It means I'm not going to worry about my daily needs, but trust God to provide for them. It means I'm going to take a shot, my best shot, and watch what He does with it. But this is adventure, and it will require effort from me. It will require me to do my part.
And if this is something we refuse to do, the journey cannot continue. God cannot lead men who refuse to follow Him. God cannot show Himself to be trust worthy to men who refuse to trust Him. God cannot fulfill the short comings of a man who refuses to try at all. God cannot make a man out of a boy who refuses to act like one. We are called to and were made for adventure, and everything that entails, but we must be willing to take the first step and follow God down the road less traveled by.
"The only way to live in this adventure - with all its danger and unpredictability and immensely high stakes - is in an ongoing, intimate relationship with God. The control we so desperately crave is an illusion. Far better to give it up in exchange for God's offer of companionship, set aside stale formulas so that we might enter into an informal friendship."
Think back to the Great Commission. "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28.19-20). Jesus says "Go and do this... in this way..." and that's all the instructions He gives. He leaves so much open, but the last recorded words we have Him saying before returning to Heaven are, "I am with you always, even to the end of the age." There isn't the promise of answers or formula; there is certainly no control, simply the promise of His presence.
I think of what Paul said in Philippians 4.11-13, "Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Verse 13 is one of, if not thee, most misquoted verse in the Bible. What it means is that I can endure anything life throws at me, because no matter what, I have Christ.
"God calls you his friend. He wants to talk to you - personally, frequently." Think about that, God calls you His friend. There was a song we used to sing in chapel when I was in high school, "Friend of God". The lady who led the singing that year had us sing it pretty much every week, and like most things that aren't understood, people didn't see the significance of it, and in typical high schooler fashion, made fun of it. Until just a few minutes ago I didn't grasp what I think she was trying to do. I think she was trying to help us all understand that God, who created the universe, who spoke everything into existence, He calls me His friend.
God knows my name. God knows everything about me. And God wants to talk to me. He wants to speak to me in ways I will understand and relate to. He wants to talk to me all the time. God wants to spend every minute of the day with me, just by my side. I think there is a reason that "dog", is God spelled backwards; dogs mirror the relationship God wants with us, and offers to us. Right now my dog, Rosie, is laying at my side. If I get up she will follow me out of the room. If someone were to run into the room and try to hurt me, she would at the very least start barking. If I talk to her, she listens intently. The dog is man's best friend. And that is what God wants with us; He already calls us, and treats us like we are, His. It's time we returned it.
"Our whole journey into authentic masculinity centers around those cool-of-the-day talks with God. Simple questions change hassles to adventures; the events of our lives become opportunities for initiation." Do you see now how impossible it is to become a man without God? Do you see how dependent our masculinity is upon Him? Without deep and constant intimacy with God, we will never be the men we were created to be.
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
Adventure is not an excuse for irresponsibility. Saying you're on the journey to become the man you were created to be does not permit you to abandon the responsibilities of providing for the family God has given you. But what it does mean is that we must step out in faith and trust God. If we are to become men it is only by His grace and guidance, and so we must step out blindly in faith, not irresponsibility, and let God take us where He is leading.
This doesn't mean I dig myself into a hole and then ask God to pull me out of it. It means I am going to work as hard as I can; I'm going to give everything I have, and trust God to fulfill where I fall short. It means I'm not going to worry about my daily needs, but trust God to provide for them. It means I'm going to take a shot, my best shot, and watch what He does with it. But this is adventure, and it will require effort from me. It will require me to do my part.
And if this is something we refuse to do, the journey cannot continue. God cannot lead men who refuse to follow Him. God cannot show Himself to be trust worthy to men who refuse to trust Him. God cannot fulfill the short comings of a man who refuses to try at all. God cannot make a man out of a boy who refuses to act like one. We are called to and were made for adventure, and everything that entails, but we must be willing to take the first step and follow God down the road less traveled by.
"The only way to live in this adventure - with all its danger and unpredictability and immensely high stakes - is in an ongoing, intimate relationship with God. The control we so desperately crave is an illusion. Far better to give it up in exchange for God's offer of companionship, set aside stale formulas so that we might enter into an informal friendship."
Think back to the Great Commission. "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28.19-20). Jesus says "Go and do this... in this way..." and that's all the instructions He gives. He leaves so much open, but the last recorded words we have Him saying before returning to Heaven are, "I am with you always, even to the end of the age." There isn't the promise of answers or formula; there is certainly no control, simply the promise of His presence.
I think of what Paul said in Philippians 4.11-13, "Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Verse 13 is one of, if not thee, most misquoted verse in the Bible. What it means is that I can endure anything life throws at me, because no matter what, I have Christ.
"God calls you his friend. He wants to talk to you - personally, frequently." Think about that, God calls you His friend. There was a song we used to sing in chapel when I was in high school, "Friend of God". The lady who led the singing that year had us sing it pretty much every week, and like most things that aren't understood, people didn't see the significance of it, and in typical high schooler fashion, made fun of it. Until just a few minutes ago I didn't grasp what I think she was trying to do. I think she was trying to help us all understand that God, who created the universe, who spoke everything into existence, He calls me His friend.
God knows my name. God knows everything about me. And God wants to talk to me. He wants to speak to me in ways I will understand and relate to. He wants to talk to me all the time. God wants to spend every minute of the day with me, just by my side. I think there is a reason that "dog", is God spelled backwards; dogs mirror the relationship God wants with us, and offers to us. Right now my dog, Rosie, is laying at my side. If I get up she will follow me out of the room. If someone were to run into the room and try to hurt me, she would at the very least start barking. If I talk to her, she listens intently. The dog is man's best friend. And that is what God wants with us; He already calls us, and treats us like we are, His. It's time we returned it.
"Our whole journey into authentic masculinity centers around those cool-of-the-day talks with God. Simple questions change hassles to adventures; the events of our lives become opportunities for initiation." Do you see now how impossible it is to become a man without God? Do you see how dependent our masculinity is upon Him? Without deep and constant intimacy with God, we will never be the men we were created to be.
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Wild at Heart, Chapter 11: An Adventure to Live, part 3
"The spiritual life cannot be made suburban. It is always frontier and we who live in it must accept and even rejoice that it remains untamed." It's unknown and uncertain. We hear in the Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey "Home is now behind you. The World is ahead." Bilbo says in the The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, "It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to." But such is the way of adventure. There in the mystery and uncertainty, and that is what our true hearts long for.
"The greatest obstacle to realizing our dreams is the false self's hatred of mystery. That's a problem, you see, because mystery is essential to adventure. More than that, mystery is the heart of the universe and the God who made it." Proverbs 25.2 says, "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter." We'll see in The Way of the Wild Heart, that every one of us is to be a king, its part of the masculine journey. But if we are ever to get there we must embrace adventure. We must seek out the mysteries of God if we are to reclaim our real heart of strength.
And all of this is unique to each individual. "There are no formulas with God. Period. So there are no formulas for the man who follows him. God is a Person, not a doctrine." I think this is one of the biggest things the Church has missed, we have reduced God to a statement of beliefs and we hold more tightly to doctrine than faith. One Sunday I was speaking at a church on some passage out of Philippians. I think it was on the Savior or Lord form Philippians 1.27-2.11. Afterwards a lady came up to me and said, "That was really good. And it's Nazarene." I didn't say anything because it would have caused more headaches than it was worth, but I was thinking, "No it's the Bible. It's God, and it's the Person of Jesus."
We cannot reduce God a five step set of instructions, a "do this and everything will work out." "The problem with modern Christianity's obsession with principles is that it removes any real conversation with God. Find the principle, apply the principle - what do you need God for? So Oswald Chambers warns us, 'Never make a principle out of your experience; let God be as original with other people as he is with you."
I can tell you have God has spoken to me. I can tell you what I have done to connect with Him. I can share with you things He's shown me to be a better man and a more Christlike disciple. But I think it needs to be more a story of God's faithfulness and blessings instead of spiritual check list. Just because God has worked and spoken to me in some way doesn't mean He will do it in the same way with you. He is personal, and He has invited you into a relationship with Him that allows the two of you to be deeply personal. God wants you to share your heart with Him, and He wants to share His heart with you in a way that is unique to you.
"Originality and creativity are essential to personhood and to masculine strength. The adventure begins and our real strength is released when we no longer rely on formulas. God is an immensely creative Person and he wants his sons to live that way too." Last Sunday in Church I was a bit overwhelmed, not in a bad way, almost with excitement about future possibilities. I don't know how exactly to describe how I was feeling but I knew that I needed to get away with God. And so I headed back to The Ledges, a place in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park where I've gone before to try and escape. It isn't exactly wilderness, but it's about close as you can get in North East Ohio.
My plan was to sit and read Proverbs 3, it's been on my heart and mind a lot recently and I wanted to really sit an meditate on it. In the past during times like this God has spoken to me through Scripture. But that wasn't how God wanted to speak today. I had hiked about a mile and a half to get there, and as I sat in the shade on a rock ledge I pulled out my phone and pulled up a couple of worship songs on YouTube. There in the woods I worshiped and connected with God. My heart had peace about the decisions that had to be made; all thanks to time alone with God, hearing Him speak as He chose.
That decision is one that requires faith and trust. It's the sort of thing that if it's God's will I can only fulfill it with Him guiding me every step of the way. That's how adventure works, and this is just that, adventure. "When it comes to living and loving, what's required is a willingness to jump in with both feet and be creative as you go." There is only so much we can plan and prepare for; a lot of it ends up being reaction and a refusal to give up. And that's why adventure is so satisfying. It tests you and shows you who you are as a man.
"This is where we are now - in the midst of battle without the training we really need, and there are few men around to show us how to do it. We are going to have to figure a lot of this out for ourselves... We know how to be nice. But we don't really know how to fight, and we're going to have to learn as we go. That is where our strength will be crystallized, deepened, and revealed. A man is never more a man than when he embraces an adventure beyond his control, or when he walks into a battle he isn’t sure of winning." That type of life demands total reliance upon God, deeper faith in Him than we've ever known. And that is how we are called to live. Who’s ready for an adventure?
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
"The greatest obstacle to realizing our dreams is the false self's hatred of mystery. That's a problem, you see, because mystery is essential to adventure. More than that, mystery is the heart of the universe and the God who made it." Proverbs 25.2 says, "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter." We'll see in The Way of the Wild Heart, that every one of us is to be a king, its part of the masculine journey. But if we are ever to get there we must embrace adventure. We must seek out the mysteries of God if we are to reclaim our real heart of strength.
And all of this is unique to each individual. "There are no formulas with God. Period. So there are no formulas for the man who follows him. God is a Person, not a doctrine." I think this is one of the biggest things the Church has missed, we have reduced God to a statement of beliefs and we hold more tightly to doctrine than faith. One Sunday I was speaking at a church on some passage out of Philippians. I think it was on the Savior or Lord form Philippians 1.27-2.11. Afterwards a lady came up to me and said, "That was really good. And it's Nazarene." I didn't say anything because it would have caused more headaches than it was worth, but I was thinking, "No it's the Bible. It's God, and it's the Person of Jesus."
We cannot reduce God a five step set of instructions, a "do this and everything will work out." "The problem with modern Christianity's obsession with principles is that it removes any real conversation with God. Find the principle, apply the principle - what do you need God for? So Oswald Chambers warns us, 'Never make a principle out of your experience; let God be as original with other people as he is with you."
I can tell you have God has spoken to me. I can tell you what I have done to connect with Him. I can share with you things He's shown me to be a better man and a more Christlike disciple. But I think it needs to be more a story of God's faithfulness and blessings instead of spiritual check list. Just because God has worked and spoken to me in some way doesn't mean He will do it in the same way with you. He is personal, and He has invited you into a relationship with Him that allows the two of you to be deeply personal. God wants you to share your heart with Him, and He wants to share His heart with you in a way that is unique to you.
"Originality and creativity are essential to personhood and to masculine strength. The adventure begins and our real strength is released when we no longer rely on formulas. God is an immensely creative Person and he wants his sons to live that way too." Last Sunday in Church I was a bit overwhelmed, not in a bad way, almost with excitement about future possibilities. I don't know how exactly to describe how I was feeling but I knew that I needed to get away with God. And so I headed back to The Ledges, a place in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park where I've gone before to try and escape. It isn't exactly wilderness, but it's about close as you can get in North East Ohio.
My plan was to sit and read Proverbs 3, it's been on my heart and mind a lot recently and I wanted to really sit an meditate on it. In the past during times like this God has spoken to me through Scripture. But that wasn't how God wanted to speak today. I had hiked about a mile and a half to get there, and as I sat in the shade on a rock ledge I pulled out my phone and pulled up a couple of worship songs on YouTube. There in the woods I worshiped and connected with God. My heart had peace about the decisions that had to be made; all thanks to time alone with God, hearing Him speak as He chose.
That decision is one that requires faith and trust. It's the sort of thing that if it's God's will I can only fulfill it with Him guiding me every step of the way. That's how adventure works, and this is just that, adventure. "When it comes to living and loving, what's required is a willingness to jump in with both feet and be creative as you go." There is only so much we can plan and prepare for; a lot of it ends up being reaction and a refusal to give up. And that's why adventure is so satisfying. It tests you and shows you who you are as a man.
"This is where we are now - in the midst of battle without the training we really need, and there are few men around to show us how to do it. We are going to have to figure a lot of this out for ourselves... We know how to be nice. But we don't really know how to fight, and we're going to have to learn as we go. That is where our strength will be crystallized, deepened, and revealed. A man is never more a man than when he embraces an adventure beyond his control, or when he walks into a battle he isn’t sure of winning." That type of life demands total reliance upon God, deeper faith in Him than we've ever known. And that is how we are called to live. Who’s ready for an adventure?
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
Friday, June 7, 2013
Wild at Heart, Chapter 11: An Adventure to Live, part 2
"Two roads diverged in a wood and I, I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."
I've heard that line from Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken so many times, but until now I don't know that it ever really made sense to me. The road that is well traveled is safe, and easy to follow. At one point or another all of us have taken that path, and while life does not allow us to go back, it does constantly present us with forks in the road. But the longer we choose the easy path, the harder it gets to leave it. But leave it we must for the road less traveled by, and that will make all the difference.
Something that just came to my mind is from my first backpacking trip with Jeremy. Our initial plans had been scrapped, and so we were sort of making up our own route as we went. We were hiking along the shore of Lake Michigan so there really wasn't any way to get lost, but we simply had a map and were figuring it out as we went. We had just gotten to a small town on the shore, one of those summer retreat places that rich people have, and we had taken off our packs to rest. We pulled out the map and were planning our route back to the truck and we started a conversation with one of the locals. He looked at our map and told us about another path, one that would be a bit of challenge, but was a more direct route to where we needed to get.
I'm not even sure if it was really a hiking path. It wasn't on our map at all. But we decided to follow his directions and go for it. It took us about an hour to hike to the "secret" path, and when we did there was a truck pulling off of it. He stopped and we asked if it lead to where we were going. His reply, "Yeah. You've got a [heck] of a hill to climb." He wasn't kidding. We were passed by two or three other vehicles, one of them was a park ranger who was amazed we were hiking this path with 40 pound packs, but no other hikers. This was definitely the road less traveled by. The regular path followed the shore line and was pretty level, and we passed a ton of people on the beach. But this one really tested us, and there is still a sense of satisfaction I have today because we took that path.
In life our way is similar. While the travelers of this path are few, we are in good company. We walk in the footsteps of the heroes of the faith. Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, Daniel, Paul, Jesus, they have blazed this trail, we must choose to follow, and because they have gone ahead of us, we are able to.
"Where would we be if Jesus was not fierce and wild and romantic to the core? Come to think of it, we wouldn't be at all if God hadn't taken that enormous risk of creating us in the first place. Most men spend the energy of their lives trying to eliminate risk, or squeezing it down to a more manageable size... If it works, if a man succeeds in securing his life against all risk, he'll wind up in a cocoon of self-protection and wonder all the while why he's suffocating. If it doesn't work, he curses God and redoubles his efforts and his blood pressure. When you look at the structure of the false self men tend to create, it always revolves around two themes: seizing upon some sort of competence and rejecting anything that cannot be controlled."
Where would we be if Jesus was not fierce, wild and romantic? Stuck as slaves to sin, trying desperately, and failing miserably, to fulfill the law. If God hadn't created us we simply wouldn’t be. If He hadn't taken the risk of love and therefore free will, we wouldn't have any choice in what we did or what our lives looked like. We are made in the image of God who risks everything for us, and so we are made for risk.
But many spend their lives working to reduce it. They sacrifice their strength for security and end up miserable and bored. The more we try to control life the more life we lose. "You literally sacrifice your soul and your true power when you insist on controlling things." What excitement is there when everything is under control and predictable?
Yesterday as I was writing there was some commercial on that had something to do with some tropical beach vacation. I think this is a perfect example of all of this. Most people that I've heard talk about their ideal dream vacation involves something like that, but I have to ask why? What excitement is there sitting on a beach or a boat? Why do people enjoy going somewhere to sit in hotel? I'd be bored to death in that setting. "How do you beat boredom... Adventure?"
Take the beach, give me the mountains with my backpack. Give me a river with my canoe and some camping gear. Let me explore the wild with just my knife, fire starter, and some essential equipment. Put me somewhere that things aren't planned out and controlled. Let me be somewhere where anything can happen. As Jeremy and I hiked that first day we kept looking at the sky behind us, it was getting dark and looked like it might storm. As we got our campsite for the night, one of the rangers warned us of a bear that was occasionally seen in the area. I was sad we only had two days up there.
Life does happen. There are things we can't avoid and have to take care of. But let me ask you a question, "If you had permission to do what you really want to do, what would you do?" Anything at all what would it be? "Don't ask how; that will cut your desire off at the knees. How is never the fight question; how is a faithless question... How is God's department. His is asking you what. What is written in your heart? What makes you come alive?... You see, a man's calling is written on his true heart, and he discovers it when he enters the frontier of his deep desires."
John points out that this is not permission to engage in sin. This is not permission to leave your wife or abandon your kids. "There is a design God has woven into the fabric of this world, and if we violate it we cannot hope to find life." Permission is not given to us to engage in sin, God does not give us sinful desires of our heart. Galatians 5.1 says, "It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery." That same chapter contains the Fruit of the Spirit. We recover our hearts of strength in order to live righteous lives serving God. And at that point our desire is for God and His will, and our hearts are free to receive all of His blessings. But this cannot be done when we insist on being in control. Adventure is not controlled.
"To recover his heart's desire a man need to get away from the noise and distraction of his daily life for time with his own soul. He needs to head into the wilderness, to silence and solitude. Alone with himself, he allows whatever is there to come to the surface. Sometimes it is grief for so much lost time. There, beneath the grief, are desires long forsaken." And there we find out calling, we find the will of God that will challenge us, but also satisfy us in a way nothing else ever could.
Strength demands risk. Two roads diverged in a wood, which one are you taking?
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
I've heard that line from Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken so many times, but until now I don't know that it ever really made sense to me. The road that is well traveled is safe, and easy to follow. At one point or another all of us have taken that path, and while life does not allow us to go back, it does constantly present us with forks in the road. But the longer we choose the easy path, the harder it gets to leave it. But leave it we must for the road less traveled by, and that will make all the difference.
Something that just came to my mind is from my first backpacking trip with Jeremy. Our initial plans had been scrapped, and so we were sort of making up our own route as we went. We were hiking along the shore of Lake Michigan so there really wasn't any way to get lost, but we simply had a map and were figuring it out as we went. We had just gotten to a small town on the shore, one of those summer retreat places that rich people have, and we had taken off our packs to rest. We pulled out the map and were planning our route back to the truck and we started a conversation with one of the locals. He looked at our map and told us about another path, one that would be a bit of challenge, but was a more direct route to where we needed to get.
I'm not even sure if it was really a hiking path. It wasn't on our map at all. But we decided to follow his directions and go for it. It took us about an hour to hike to the "secret" path, and when we did there was a truck pulling off of it. He stopped and we asked if it lead to where we were going. His reply, "Yeah. You've got a [heck] of a hill to climb." He wasn't kidding. We were passed by two or three other vehicles, one of them was a park ranger who was amazed we were hiking this path with 40 pound packs, but no other hikers. This was definitely the road less traveled by. The regular path followed the shore line and was pretty level, and we passed a ton of people on the beach. But this one really tested us, and there is still a sense of satisfaction I have today because we took that path.
In life our way is similar. While the travelers of this path are few, we are in good company. We walk in the footsteps of the heroes of the faith. Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, Daniel, Paul, Jesus, they have blazed this trail, we must choose to follow, and because they have gone ahead of us, we are able to.
"Where would we be if Jesus was not fierce and wild and romantic to the core? Come to think of it, we wouldn't be at all if God hadn't taken that enormous risk of creating us in the first place. Most men spend the energy of their lives trying to eliminate risk, or squeezing it down to a more manageable size... If it works, if a man succeeds in securing his life against all risk, he'll wind up in a cocoon of self-protection and wonder all the while why he's suffocating. If it doesn't work, he curses God and redoubles his efforts and his blood pressure. When you look at the structure of the false self men tend to create, it always revolves around two themes: seizing upon some sort of competence and rejecting anything that cannot be controlled."
Where would we be if Jesus was not fierce, wild and romantic? Stuck as slaves to sin, trying desperately, and failing miserably, to fulfill the law. If God hadn't created us we simply wouldn’t be. If He hadn't taken the risk of love and therefore free will, we wouldn't have any choice in what we did or what our lives looked like. We are made in the image of God who risks everything for us, and so we are made for risk.
But many spend their lives working to reduce it. They sacrifice their strength for security and end up miserable and bored. The more we try to control life the more life we lose. "You literally sacrifice your soul and your true power when you insist on controlling things." What excitement is there when everything is under control and predictable?
Yesterday as I was writing there was some commercial on that had something to do with some tropical beach vacation. I think this is a perfect example of all of this. Most people that I've heard talk about their ideal dream vacation involves something like that, but I have to ask why? What excitement is there sitting on a beach or a boat? Why do people enjoy going somewhere to sit in hotel? I'd be bored to death in that setting. "How do you beat boredom... Adventure?"
Take the beach, give me the mountains with my backpack. Give me a river with my canoe and some camping gear. Let me explore the wild with just my knife, fire starter, and some essential equipment. Put me somewhere that things aren't planned out and controlled. Let me be somewhere where anything can happen. As Jeremy and I hiked that first day we kept looking at the sky behind us, it was getting dark and looked like it might storm. As we got our campsite for the night, one of the rangers warned us of a bear that was occasionally seen in the area. I was sad we only had two days up there.
Life does happen. There are things we can't avoid and have to take care of. But let me ask you a question, "If you had permission to do what you really want to do, what would you do?" Anything at all what would it be? "Don't ask how; that will cut your desire off at the knees. How is never the fight question; how is a faithless question... How is God's department. His is asking you what. What is written in your heart? What makes you come alive?... You see, a man's calling is written on his true heart, and he discovers it when he enters the frontier of his deep desires."
John points out that this is not permission to engage in sin. This is not permission to leave your wife or abandon your kids. "There is a design God has woven into the fabric of this world, and if we violate it we cannot hope to find life." Permission is not given to us to engage in sin, God does not give us sinful desires of our heart. Galatians 5.1 says, "It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery." That same chapter contains the Fruit of the Spirit. We recover our hearts of strength in order to live righteous lives serving God. And at that point our desire is for God and His will, and our hearts are free to receive all of His blessings. But this cannot be done when we insist on being in control. Adventure is not controlled.
"To recover his heart's desire a man need to get away from the noise and distraction of his daily life for time with his own soul. He needs to head into the wilderness, to silence and solitude. Alone with himself, he allows whatever is there to come to the surface. Sometimes it is grief for so much lost time. There, beneath the grief, are desires long forsaken." And there we find out calling, we find the will of God that will challenge us, but also satisfy us in a way nothing else ever could.
Strength demands risk. Two roads diverged in a wood, which one are you taking?
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Wild at Heart, Chapter 11: An Adventure to Live, part 1
As I begin the work with this chapter so much of it is speaking to me. I'm at a point where the words written on these pages are the ones my heart needs to hear right now.
Adventure is written onto the heart of every man. It is a desire that God has given us, and because of that it is ok to live them out. Adventure, the thing your heart craves, is part of your calling from God. "The place where God calls you is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet." As I read that my mind went to Psalm 37.4-5, "Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it."
These verses tell us something incredible, each of us is individually created. Each one of us have different passions, different desires, and different callings. God wants us to live out our passions. "Life is not a problem to be solved; it is an adventure to be lived." We were created to live fully delighting in and trusting God. "He [God] rigged the world in such a way that it only works when we embrace risk as the theme of our lives, which is to say, only when we live by faith. A man just won't be happy until he's got adventure in his work, in his love, and in his spiritual life."
We each have deisres that are written into our hearts. God want's us to live them out because as St. Irenaeus said, "The glory of God is man fully alive." God is glorified when we we live out the deisres He has given us. We live in a world where this is only possible if we take risks. None of our true desries can ever be acheived without risk. We can't play it safe and live adventurously.
"God is intimately personal with us and he speaks in ways that are peculiar to our own quirky hearts." Each of our hearts are unique, each of our life callings is individual. The desires you have on your heart are things God wants to give you. He wants to do the things you yern to do. But they can only be accomplished by trusting and delighting in Him. He is glorified when we live our the desires He has given us because when we do that we are doing what He created us to do.
This book contains a quote I heard years ago, and it fits pefrectly in this chapter. "Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." The world needs men who are men. Men who live from their strong hearts. Men who delight in and trust God. When we are alive we take risks and even if we fail we know that we attempted something that challenged us.
As John writes he tells part of the story of how he got where he is. Here are his words, "God was thickening the plot, testing my resolve. Down one road was my dream and desire, which I had no means to pay for, and an absolutely uncertain future after that; down the other was a comfortable step up the ladder of success, a very obvious next career move and the total loss of my soul."
Right now this is where I find myself. At work they offered me a full time position if I moved from garden to electrical. I had a heads up that something like this was coming, and it's something I was not looking forward to. I got this job for something temporary to help out financially until the right ministry position opens up. It worked out that I was able to get something where I could learn about an area that I was interested in. But now I've come to a difficult position, move into something with security, and better pay, or trust what God has been leading me to.
It's one of those situations where the human side of you says "You're nuts if you don't take this", but your heart is saying, "You know this will suck the life out of you if you do this". Before writing this I told two people about this offer, my wife, and one of my brothers. If my parents found out I'd never hear the end of it. They don't really understand the whole living from your heart and going for your dream, they are responsible people. But like I said, this position would suck the life out of me. And just as John said, God is thickening the plot.
Almost two weeks ago I got an email from churchstaffing.com that had a posting for my dream job. A young adult pastor position at a church that is the Church. The staff is a team that works together and is building the Kingdom all around the world. I read the job description and at first I was overwhelmed and scared. At first glance I was like "I haven't done most of this before, and it doesn't matter because I don't have the large church experiance they are looking for." But then I read it agian, and then again, and then again.
I started to work on my resume, updating it and making it more attractive. And as I did that I realized how much of what this church is looking for that I have actually done. Yes this would be a larger scale than before, but I have done it to some extent. As I read the job description over and over I noticed something, the aspects of the job that I didn't have the most confidence with are stated as being done with others. It isn't something that I'd be thrown out there on my own to figure out, but I'd be working as part of a team.
Over about a week and a half I worked on my resume, cover letter, and short account of my spiritual journey. Through the whole time I heard everything I've been told over the years, "You won't make it in ministry." "The age of the professional minister is over." "You come highly reccommended but we really want someone with experiance." "Thanks for applying, but unfortunatley we have decided to pursue other candidates."
But then I had this thought, "Maybe every door has closed so I'd be available for this moment." I thought about Ephesians 3.20-21, "Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen." This job would be just that, far more abundantly beyond all that I could ask or think.
Yesterday I sent in everything to the church. It's a risk, but it's one that is well worth it. If this is God's plan then I'll be in an envirionment where I will be able to help build the Kingdom in ways I never thought I would. Yes it will stretch me and challenge me. It will pull me out of my comfort zone but it will cause me to grow. It will be adventure that I have craved.
"Two roades diverged in a wood and I, I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
Adventure is written onto the heart of every man. It is a desire that God has given us, and because of that it is ok to live them out. Adventure, the thing your heart craves, is part of your calling from God. "The place where God calls you is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet." As I read that my mind went to Psalm 37.4-5, "Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it."
These verses tell us something incredible, each of us is individually created. Each one of us have different passions, different desires, and different callings. God wants us to live out our passions. "Life is not a problem to be solved; it is an adventure to be lived." We were created to live fully delighting in and trusting God. "He [God] rigged the world in such a way that it only works when we embrace risk as the theme of our lives, which is to say, only when we live by faith. A man just won't be happy until he's got adventure in his work, in his love, and in his spiritual life."
We each have deisres that are written into our hearts. God want's us to live them out because as St. Irenaeus said, "The glory of God is man fully alive." God is glorified when we we live out the deisres He has given us. We live in a world where this is only possible if we take risks. None of our true desries can ever be acheived without risk. We can't play it safe and live adventurously.
"God is intimately personal with us and he speaks in ways that are peculiar to our own quirky hearts." Each of our hearts are unique, each of our life callings is individual. The desires you have on your heart are things God wants to give you. He wants to do the things you yern to do. But they can only be accomplished by trusting and delighting in Him. He is glorified when we live our the desires He has given us because when we do that we are doing what He created us to do.
This book contains a quote I heard years ago, and it fits pefrectly in this chapter. "Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." The world needs men who are men. Men who live from their strong hearts. Men who delight in and trust God. When we are alive we take risks and even if we fail we know that we attempted something that challenged us.
As John writes he tells part of the story of how he got where he is. Here are his words, "God was thickening the plot, testing my resolve. Down one road was my dream and desire, which I had no means to pay for, and an absolutely uncertain future after that; down the other was a comfortable step up the ladder of success, a very obvious next career move and the total loss of my soul."
Right now this is where I find myself. At work they offered me a full time position if I moved from garden to electrical. I had a heads up that something like this was coming, and it's something I was not looking forward to. I got this job for something temporary to help out financially until the right ministry position opens up. It worked out that I was able to get something where I could learn about an area that I was interested in. But now I've come to a difficult position, move into something with security, and better pay, or trust what God has been leading me to.
It's one of those situations where the human side of you says "You're nuts if you don't take this", but your heart is saying, "You know this will suck the life out of you if you do this". Before writing this I told two people about this offer, my wife, and one of my brothers. If my parents found out I'd never hear the end of it. They don't really understand the whole living from your heart and going for your dream, they are responsible people. But like I said, this position would suck the life out of me. And just as John said, God is thickening the plot.
Almost two weeks ago I got an email from churchstaffing.com that had a posting for my dream job. A young adult pastor position at a church that is the Church. The staff is a team that works together and is building the Kingdom all around the world. I read the job description and at first I was overwhelmed and scared. At first glance I was like "I haven't done most of this before, and it doesn't matter because I don't have the large church experiance they are looking for." But then I read it agian, and then again, and then again.
I started to work on my resume, updating it and making it more attractive. And as I did that I realized how much of what this church is looking for that I have actually done. Yes this would be a larger scale than before, but I have done it to some extent. As I read the job description over and over I noticed something, the aspects of the job that I didn't have the most confidence with are stated as being done with others. It isn't something that I'd be thrown out there on my own to figure out, but I'd be working as part of a team.
Over about a week and a half I worked on my resume, cover letter, and short account of my spiritual journey. Through the whole time I heard everything I've been told over the years, "You won't make it in ministry." "The age of the professional minister is over." "You come highly reccommended but we really want someone with experiance." "Thanks for applying, but unfortunatley we have decided to pursue other candidates."
But then I had this thought, "Maybe every door has closed so I'd be available for this moment." I thought about Ephesians 3.20-21, "Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen." This job would be just that, far more abundantly beyond all that I could ask or think.
Yesterday I sent in everything to the church. It's a risk, but it's one that is well worth it. If this is God's plan then I'll be in an envirionment where I will be able to help build the Kingdom in ways I never thought I would. Yes it will stretch me and challenge me. It will pull me out of my comfort zone but it will cause me to grow. It will be adventure that I have craved.
"Two roades diverged in a wood and I, I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
Friday, May 31, 2013
Wild at Heart, Chapter 10: A Beauty to Rescue, part 4
Every beauty needs to be rescued, the question every man must answer is, "Will you fight for her?" Will you risk your life to save hers, or leave her to fend for herself in the tower? She must be rescued, and if you refuse to do it, she will look for it in someone else.
Back in college on of my RA's (Resident Assistants) told me something I haven't forgotten, "Too many guys treat the girl like a princess until they get her, then they stop. It's like once they have her they think they don't have to try anymore." When he told me that I knew that I wanted to be the guy who never stopped, sadly I can't say that I haven't.
I don't always treat my wife like the princess that she is, and honestly I hate myself for that. I hate that I've let other things take up the few precious moments we get to spend together. I hate that I am silent and kill her with it. I hate that I get impatient with her. I hate that there are times I haven't fought for her.
"And it's not just once, but again and again over time. That's where the myth really stumps us. Some men are willing to go in once, twice, even three times. But a warrior is in this for good." There is nothing that could ever make me leave my wife. Never once have I thought, "I wish I could get out of this." But there are times I've treated her like I think that way. The times I don't make her a priority. The times I let the chaos of life overwhelm me to the point of complacency. The times when I let my frustration with circumstances come out as anger directed at her. Those are the times I have dropped out of the fight for her heart.
I'm not saying a husband and wife will never fight or argue, that's unavoidable when you bring two people with two decades of separate lives together into one. I'm not saying there won't be times when things come up that demand your attention. But we do have a choice in how we react during these times. Even in those moments it is still possible to fight for her heart. I'm learning how to.
If we rescue the beauty it says so much about who we are as men. "The universe is so vast and so ageless that the life of one man can only be justified by the measure of his sacrifice." Only I can be a husband to my wife and father to our children. My goals and dreams don't matter if it costs me my family. And so the question is what will I sacrifice? Will I give up the princess for myself, or myself for the princess?
I choose her. Yes it does mean the hardships of battle, but it also means her love. That is worth every wound I will receive in the fight. And with her it opens the door to a whole new life of adventure.
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
Back in college on of my RA's (Resident Assistants) told me something I haven't forgotten, "Too many guys treat the girl like a princess until they get her, then they stop. It's like once they have her they think they don't have to try anymore." When he told me that I knew that I wanted to be the guy who never stopped, sadly I can't say that I haven't.
I don't always treat my wife like the princess that she is, and honestly I hate myself for that. I hate that I've let other things take up the few precious moments we get to spend together. I hate that I am silent and kill her with it. I hate that I get impatient with her. I hate that there are times I haven't fought for her.
"And it's not just once, but again and again over time. That's where the myth really stumps us. Some men are willing to go in once, twice, even three times. But a warrior is in this for good." There is nothing that could ever make me leave my wife. Never once have I thought, "I wish I could get out of this." But there are times I've treated her like I think that way. The times I don't make her a priority. The times I let the chaos of life overwhelm me to the point of complacency. The times when I let my frustration with circumstances come out as anger directed at her. Those are the times I have dropped out of the fight for her heart.
I'm not saying a husband and wife will never fight or argue, that's unavoidable when you bring two people with two decades of separate lives together into one. I'm not saying there won't be times when things come up that demand your attention. But we do have a choice in how we react during these times. Even in those moments it is still possible to fight for her heart. I'm learning how to.
If we rescue the beauty it says so much about who we are as men. "The universe is so vast and so ageless that the life of one man can only be justified by the measure of his sacrifice." Only I can be a husband to my wife and father to our children. My goals and dreams don't matter if it costs me my family. And so the question is what will I sacrifice? Will I give up the princess for myself, or myself for the princess?
I choose her. Yes it does mean the hardships of battle, but it also means her love. That is worth every wound I will receive in the fight. And with her it opens the door to a whole new life of adventure.
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Wild at Heart, Chapter 10: A Beauty to Rescue, part 3
"Most men want the maiden without any sort of cost to themselves. They want all the joys of the beauty without any of the woes of the battle." Most men want to look like the warrior, but don't want to bleed like one. They want the beauty without going through the dragon, and it doesn't work that way.
A friend of mine is working on a series of novels. I'm pretty stoked about reading them, and not just because one of the characters who is alluded to in book one and shows up in book two is based on me. It's a story about an epic journey, full of battles and boys becoming men and those men becoming warriors (can't give much more than that, but trust me, you'll want to read them). He would talk with me about the series back when we were in college and as he would describe situations my character faced he'd occasionally ask if I had any ideas.
On this particular occasion we were talking about some battle and I recommended an epic speech. Every series needs to have an epic speech before a battle, it's a rule. I suggested something along the lines of "Freedom is never free. There is always a great price that must be paid for it. Those who are willing, follow me." And then it all begins. (Who else is ready to read these?)
Freedom isn't won by people who sit at home. The beauty is never yours without a fight. "Pretty women endure this abuse all the time. They are pursued, but not really; they are wanted, but only superficially. They learn to offer their bodies but never, ever their souls. Most men, you see, marry for safety; they choose a woman who will make them feel like a man but never really challenge them to be one."
This is one of the saddest realities out there. Boys who have never really become men get to the point where it is time to find a life mate. But because there has been no initiation for them, they have no strength to offer to her. We end up with lonely women left to raise the kids on their own. You have a wife who feels abandoned and who remains in the tower because the one who is supposed to rescue her refuses to. He is in this for himself and doesn't want to be challenged to be something more. And so he marries someone he thinks will make him happy without asking him to rise to a challenge.
These are the guys who can't rise to the challenge. They can't suit up and storm the fortress because they don't know how to. But then there are the guys who won't. They guys who for one reason or another find a reason not to offer what they have. "Why don't men offer what they have to their women? Because we know down in our guts that it won't be enough... This is where many men falter. Either they refuse to give what they can, or they keep pouring and pouring into her and all the while feel like a failure because she is still needing more."
This points to a reality for both them and us. "She needs God more than she needs you, just as you need him more than you need her." I never dated in middle school or high school. In college I dated one girl, and I'm really glad that ended. But as senior year came around, pretty much everyone I knew was either married, getting married, planning on getting engaged, or really seriously dating, and I was single. It was a rough and slightly depressing stage of life. But in that time God and I got close. I got to the point shortly after graduation where I realized that I didn't need a wife, that I was enough in and of myself to be able to do what God had called me to do ministry wise. Now I'll be the first to admit that having my wife makes things so much easier and that I don't ever want to have to do this without her, but before I could marry her, before I could begin to rescue her from the tower, I had to be more dependent up God, and closer to God, than I ever would be to her. And before she could ever be rescued by me, God had to rescue her.
"Do you see now that you can't bring your question to Eve? No matter how good a man you are you can never be enough. If she's the report card on your strength then you'l ultimately get an F. But that's not why you love her - to get a good grade. You love her because that's what you are made to do; that's what a real man does."
My strength comes form God, and so I offer what I have to her, knowing that I can't satisfy all her needs, knowing that I can't bring all of the healing to the brokenness. But as it says in Ephesians 5, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself" (verses 25-28).
It is my job to love my wife, and lead her to God. I am to show her that God will protect her and fight for her as I do. I am to show her that God will delight in her beauty and be captivated by her as I am. I can give her but a glimpse of who God is, and that is the role I must play. But before I can lead her to God's strength, I must first recover mine. Before I can point her to God, I must know God deeply and intimately.
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
A friend of mine is working on a series of novels. I'm pretty stoked about reading them, and not just because one of the characters who is alluded to in book one and shows up in book two is based on me. It's a story about an epic journey, full of battles and boys becoming men and those men becoming warriors (can't give much more than that, but trust me, you'll want to read them). He would talk with me about the series back when we were in college and as he would describe situations my character faced he'd occasionally ask if I had any ideas.
On this particular occasion we were talking about some battle and I recommended an epic speech. Every series needs to have an epic speech before a battle, it's a rule. I suggested something along the lines of "Freedom is never free. There is always a great price that must be paid for it. Those who are willing, follow me." And then it all begins. (Who else is ready to read these?)
Freedom isn't won by people who sit at home. The beauty is never yours without a fight. "Pretty women endure this abuse all the time. They are pursued, but not really; they are wanted, but only superficially. They learn to offer their bodies but never, ever their souls. Most men, you see, marry for safety; they choose a woman who will make them feel like a man but never really challenge them to be one."
This is one of the saddest realities out there. Boys who have never really become men get to the point where it is time to find a life mate. But because there has been no initiation for them, they have no strength to offer to her. We end up with lonely women left to raise the kids on their own. You have a wife who feels abandoned and who remains in the tower because the one who is supposed to rescue her refuses to. He is in this for himself and doesn't want to be challenged to be something more. And so he marries someone he thinks will make him happy without asking him to rise to a challenge.
These are the guys who can't rise to the challenge. They can't suit up and storm the fortress because they don't know how to. But then there are the guys who won't. They guys who for one reason or another find a reason not to offer what they have. "Why don't men offer what they have to their women? Because we know down in our guts that it won't be enough... This is where many men falter. Either they refuse to give what they can, or they keep pouring and pouring into her and all the while feel like a failure because she is still needing more."
This points to a reality for both them and us. "She needs God more than she needs you, just as you need him more than you need her." I never dated in middle school or high school. In college I dated one girl, and I'm really glad that ended. But as senior year came around, pretty much everyone I knew was either married, getting married, planning on getting engaged, or really seriously dating, and I was single. It was a rough and slightly depressing stage of life. But in that time God and I got close. I got to the point shortly after graduation where I realized that I didn't need a wife, that I was enough in and of myself to be able to do what God had called me to do ministry wise. Now I'll be the first to admit that having my wife makes things so much easier and that I don't ever want to have to do this without her, but before I could marry her, before I could begin to rescue her from the tower, I had to be more dependent up God, and closer to God, than I ever would be to her. And before she could ever be rescued by me, God had to rescue her.
"Do you see now that you can't bring your question to Eve? No matter how good a man you are you can never be enough. If she's the report card on your strength then you'l ultimately get an F. But that's not why you love her - to get a good grade. You love her because that's what you are made to do; that's what a real man does."
My strength comes form God, and so I offer what I have to her, knowing that I can't satisfy all her needs, knowing that I can't bring all of the healing to the brokenness. But as it says in Ephesians 5, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself" (verses 25-28).
It is my job to love my wife, and lead her to God. I am to show her that God will protect her and fight for her as I do. I am to show her that God will delight in her beauty and be captivated by her as I am. I can give her but a glimpse of who God is, and that is the role I must play. But before I can lead her to God's strength, I must first recover mine. Before I can point her to God, I must know God deeply and intimately.
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Wild at Heart, Chapter 10: A Beauty to Rescue, part 2
"Just as every little boy is asking one question, every little girl is, as well. But her question isn't so much about her strength. No, the deep cry of a little girl's heart is am I lovely? Every woman needs to know that she is exquisite and exotic and chosen. This is core to her identity, the way she bears the image of God. Will you pursue me? Do you delight in me? Will you fight for me? And like every little boy, she has taken a wound as well. The wound strikes right at the core of her heart of beauty and leaves a devastating message with it: No. You're not beautiful and no one will really fight for you."
The attacks are directed directly at the image of God we bear, what else does the enemy need to take out? If he gets that, he gets it all. I really shouldn't be after reading this chapter as many times as I have, but I'm amazed at the number of women who have been hit. Many of them you'd never suspect, just like many guys who are posers, but in some way every woman has been wounded.
When asked if they will be pursued the answer is "No, I'll call you when I need something." When asked if they are delighted in the answer is, "No, you are here to please me." When asked if they will be fought for the answer is, "No, I am going to use you." This is what happened to my wife before me, and this has happened to many women that you know. So many of them are constantly hit with the message, "you are not desired; you will not be protected; no one will fight for you. The tower is built brick by brick and when she's a grown woman it can be a fortress."
And it is for this moment, this battle, that a man must be a man. He must step up and play his part. He must display the image of God that is his to bear. "She needs a lover and a warrior, not a Really Nice Guy." She needs someone who will love her passionately, something that goes far beyond sex, and who will fight for her no matter what the odds are against him.
Right before my wife and I got together she prayed for guidance, and God gave her a song, "Lead Me" by Sanctus Real. I made her a CD for her birthday with this as the first song. The chorus says this,
Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can't
Don't leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, but what about us?
Show me you're willing to fight
That I'm still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone
That is the cry of a woman's heart. She wants, no needs, someone that will stand up and defend her against the attacks that are aimed at her. She needs someone to stand to her right in the phalanx. She needs someone who will love her, who will help her to see her beauty and how captivating she is. She needs someone that will fight for her. Someone who is willing to risk his life to rescue hers. And with this there is a crucial question that ever man must ask himself, "Am I willing to bleed like a warrior for her?"
As I'm writing this I'm being reminded, by God, about how often I fail in this area. How impatient I can be, and how at times I get to the point where I'm sick of fighting and wonder if it's all worth it. But it's at that point that I remember my wedding ring. My ring has groves cut into it across the middle. I picked this ring out to be a constant reminder of Ephesians 5.25, " Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her".
This is the part of the letter that is written to me, this is the part that I am to focus on. My job is to love my wife as Christ loves the church. And how did Christ love the Church? He died for her. He bled for her! "The number one problem between men and their women is that we men, when asked to truly fight for her... hesitate. We are still seeking to save ourselves; we have forgotten the deep pleasure of spilling our life for another." If I am to truly be like Christ, I must fight for her, no matter how difficult it might get. I must shed blood for her, and when I do, she will nurture my wounds. After all that is part of the image she bears.
When a man refuses to bleed women are left in the tower. "When a man withholds himself from his woman, he leavers her without the life only he can bring. This is never more true than with how a man offers - or does not offer - his words. Life and death are in the power of the tongue, says Proverbs (18:21). She is made for and craves words from him." One of the most crucial ways we fight for her is with our words. Shockingly, this is hard for me at times. Writing is easy for me, but sometimes saying things sound cliche or cheesy, and I really don't want to give that to my wife. But the lack of my words leave her feeling empty and alone. Even though I'm right next to her in the room, my silence is deadly.
"If the man refuses to offer himself, then his wife will remain empty and barren. A violent man destroys with his words; a silent man starves his wife... A man who leaves his wife with the children and the bills to go and find another, easier life has denied them his strength. He has sacrificed them when he should have sacrificed his strength for them. What makes Maximus or William Wallace so heroic is simply this: they are willing to die to set others free."
If we want to be men, we must rescue the beauty. We must offer our strength and shed our blood. The only way for the princess to be rescued from the tower is for the man to offer his strength. When he does she is given new life, and the two of them share in the deepest intimacy possible between two people, again, something so far beyond sex. They share their lives, they join their lives. But only when a man offers his strength and spends himself for the beauty.
"There under the shadow of a man's strength, a woman finds rest. The masculine journey takes a man away from the woman so that he might return to her. He goes to find his strength, he returns to offer it. He tears down the walls of the tower that has held her with his words and with his actions. He speaks to her heart's deepest question in a thousand ways. Yes, you are lovely. Yes, there is one who will fight for you. But most men have not yet fought the battle, most women are still in the tower."
On the front of the CD I gave my wife I wrote four words, "I Am, You Are". I am willing to fight for you, you are the love of my life.
So Father, give me the strength
To be everything I'm called to be
Oh, Father, show me the way
To lead them
Won't You lead me?
To lead them with strong hands
To stand up when they can't
Don't want to leave them hungry for love,
Chasing things that I could give up
I'll show them I'm willing to fight
And give them the best of my life
So we can call this our home
Lead me, 'cause I can't do this alone
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
The attacks are directed directly at the image of God we bear, what else does the enemy need to take out? If he gets that, he gets it all. I really shouldn't be after reading this chapter as many times as I have, but I'm amazed at the number of women who have been hit. Many of them you'd never suspect, just like many guys who are posers, but in some way every woman has been wounded.
When asked if they will be pursued the answer is "No, I'll call you when I need something." When asked if they are delighted in the answer is, "No, you are here to please me." When asked if they will be fought for the answer is, "No, I am going to use you." This is what happened to my wife before me, and this has happened to many women that you know. So many of them are constantly hit with the message, "you are not desired; you will not be protected; no one will fight for you. The tower is built brick by brick and when she's a grown woman it can be a fortress."
And it is for this moment, this battle, that a man must be a man. He must step up and play his part. He must display the image of God that is his to bear. "She needs a lover and a warrior, not a Really Nice Guy." She needs someone who will love her passionately, something that goes far beyond sex, and who will fight for her no matter what the odds are against him.
Right before my wife and I got together she prayed for guidance, and God gave her a song, "Lead Me" by Sanctus Real. I made her a CD for her birthday with this as the first song. The chorus says this,
Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can't
Don't leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, but what about us?
Show me you're willing to fight
That I'm still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone
That is the cry of a woman's heart. She wants, no needs, someone that will stand up and defend her against the attacks that are aimed at her. She needs someone to stand to her right in the phalanx. She needs someone who will love her, who will help her to see her beauty and how captivating she is. She needs someone that will fight for her. Someone who is willing to risk his life to rescue hers. And with this there is a crucial question that ever man must ask himself, "Am I willing to bleed like a warrior for her?"
As I'm writing this I'm being reminded, by God, about how often I fail in this area. How impatient I can be, and how at times I get to the point where I'm sick of fighting and wonder if it's all worth it. But it's at that point that I remember my wedding ring. My ring has groves cut into it across the middle. I picked this ring out to be a constant reminder of Ephesians 5.25, " Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her".
This is the part of the letter that is written to me, this is the part that I am to focus on. My job is to love my wife as Christ loves the church. And how did Christ love the Church? He died for her. He bled for her! "The number one problem between men and their women is that we men, when asked to truly fight for her... hesitate. We are still seeking to save ourselves; we have forgotten the deep pleasure of spilling our life for another." If I am to truly be like Christ, I must fight for her, no matter how difficult it might get. I must shed blood for her, and when I do, she will nurture my wounds. After all that is part of the image she bears.
When a man refuses to bleed women are left in the tower. "When a man withholds himself from his woman, he leavers her without the life only he can bring. This is never more true than with how a man offers - or does not offer - his words. Life and death are in the power of the tongue, says Proverbs (18:21). She is made for and craves words from him." One of the most crucial ways we fight for her is with our words. Shockingly, this is hard for me at times. Writing is easy for me, but sometimes saying things sound cliche or cheesy, and I really don't want to give that to my wife. But the lack of my words leave her feeling empty and alone. Even though I'm right next to her in the room, my silence is deadly.
"If the man refuses to offer himself, then his wife will remain empty and barren. A violent man destroys with his words; a silent man starves his wife... A man who leaves his wife with the children and the bills to go and find another, easier life has denied them his strength. He has sacrificed them when he should have sacrificed his strength for them. What makes Maximus or William Wallace so heroic is simply this: they are willing to die to set others free."
If we want to be men, we must rescue the beauty. We must offer our strength and shed our blood. The only way for the princess to be rescued from the tower is for the man to offer his strength. When he does she is given new life, and the two of them share in the deepest intimacy possible between two people, again, something so far beyond sex. They share their lives, they join their lives. But only when a man offers his strength and spends himself for the beauty.
"There under the shadow of a man's strength, a woman finds rest. The masculine journey takes a man away from the woman so that he might return to her. He goes to find his strength, he returns to offer it. He tears down the walls of the tower that has held her with his words and with his actions. He speaks to her heart's deepest question in a thousand ways. Yes, you are lovely. Yes, there is one who will fight for you. But most men have not yet fought the battle, most women are still in the tower."
On the front of the CD I gave my wife I wrote four words, "I Am, You Are". I am willing to fight for you, you are the love of my life.
So Father, give me the strength
To be everything I'm called to be
Oh, Father, show me the way
To lead them
Won't You lead me?
To lead them with strong hands
To stand up when they can't
Don't want to leave them hungry for love,
Chasing things that I could give up
I'll show them I'm willing to fight
And give them the best of my life
So we can call this our home
Lead me, 'cause I can't do this alone
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Wild at Heart, Chapter 10: A Beauty to Rescue, part 1
"From ancient fables to the latest blockbuster, the theme of a strong man coming to rescue a beautiful woman is universal to human nature. It is written in our hearts, one of the core desires of every man and every woman." If that is the case, then "Why do most of us get lost somewhere between 'once upon a time; and happily ever after?'
This chapter has hit me hardest to date. I've been married for almost two years, but in reading these pages, again, I've seen so many ways I need to fight harder for the heart of my princess. This is the most crucial part of the battle for me right now, and if I lose this one, I've lost so much. As with any battle, we cannot rush in unprepared or naive. Quite often there is so much more of a fight here than we initially realize. It's not her fault, it's the world we live it.
"We've overlooked two very crucial aspects to that myth. On the one hand none of us ever really believed the sorcerer was real. We thought we could have the maiden without a fight... And second, we have not understood the tower and it's relation to her wound; the damsel is in distress. If masculinity has come under assault, femininity has been brutalized."
This battle is crucial because it is brings us perhaps the greatest reward we could ever receive on this earth, the beauty that all of us long for. Men are strong, powerful and dangerous, it's how God made us, and it is the part of His image He has made us bearers of. But the woman is different. "She embodies the exquisite beauty and the exotic mystery of God in a way that nothing else in all creation even comes close to. And so she is the special target of the Evil One; he turns his most vicious malice against here. If he can destroy her or keep her captive, he can ruin the story."
Think back to Genesis 1 and 2, "Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth'" (Genesis 1.26-28).
"Then the Lord God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.' Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. The man said, 'This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.' For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh" (Genesis 2.18-24).
Man and woman are both made in the image of God. Initially man is formed from the dust of the earth, and in the beginning he bore the full image of God. But here we see that God exists in relationship and community, and since man is made in His image, he is created for that same existence. And so God causes him to fall into a deep sleep, He removes a rib, which in Hebrew is the word tsela`. It is a feminine noun, and refers to God removing the feminine part of His image from man and forming a woman who is now the bearer of half of God's image. It is in marriage, that the two become one, that the halves become whole, and the full image of God is displayed to creation.
This is the last thing the Enemy wants. He attacks the strength of a man so he is unable to fight for the woman. He brutalizes a woman's beauty so that she is locked high in a tower, unable to be rescued. If each half is unable to be what it was created to be, then there is no danger for the whole to be completed. He is working to prevent the full image of God from being displayed, and so his attacks are directed at the aspects of the image we each bear.
If we are to rescue the beauty, we must recover our strength. We must storm the tower, battle the dragon, rescue the beauty, and ride off into the sunset. But this mission will not be easy. Just as we have had to fight to recover our own hearts, that was simply preparation for the battle to rescue the beauty. But rescue her we must, because without her things just are how they were intended to be.
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
This chapter has hit me hardest to date. I've been married for almost two years, but in reading these pages, again, I've seen so many ways I need to fight harder for the heart of my princess. This is the most crucial part of the battle for me right now, and if I lose this one, I've lost so much. As with any battle, we cannot rush in unprepared or naive. Quite often there is so much more of a fight here than we initially realize. It's not her fault, it's the world we live it.
"We've overlooked two very crucial aspects to that myth. On the one hand none of us ever really believed the sorcerer was real. We thought we could have the maiden without a fight... And second, we have not understood the tower and it's relation to her wound; the damsel is in distress. If masculinity has come under assault, femininity has been brutalized."
This battle is crucial because it is brings us perhaps the greatest reward we could ever receive on this earth, the beauty that all of us long for. Men are strong, powerful and dangerous, it's how God made us, and it is the part of His image He has made us bearers of. But the woman is different. "She embodies the exquisite beauty and the exotic mystery of God in a way that nothing else in all creation even comes close to. And so she is the special target of the Evil One; he turns his most vicious malice against here. If he can destroy her or keep her captive, he can ruin the story."
Think back to Genesis 1 and 2, "Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth'" (Genesis 1.26-28).
"Then the Lord God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.' Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. The man said, 'This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.' For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh" (Genesis 2.18-24).
Man and woman are both made in the image of God. Initially man is formed from the dust of the earth, and in the beginning he bore the full image of God. But here we see that God exists in relationship and community, and since man is made in His image, he is created for that same existence. And so God causes him to fall into a deep sleep, He removes a rib, which in Hebrew is the word tsela`. It is a feminine noun, and refers to God removing the feminine part of His image from man and forming a woman who is now the bearer of half of God's image. It is in marriage, that the two become one, that the halves become whole, and the full image of God is displayed to creation.
This is the last thing the Enemy wants. He attacks the strength of a man so he is unable to fight for the woman. He brutalizes a woman's beauty so that she is locked high in a tower, unable to be rescued. If each half is unable to be what it was created to be, then there is no danger for the whole to be completed. He is working to prevent the full image of God from being displayed, and so his attacks are directed at the aspects of the image we each bear.
If we are to rescue the beauty, we must recover our strength. We must storm the tower, battle the dragon, rescue the beauty, and ride off into the sunset. But this mission will not be easy. Just as we have had to fight to recover our own hearts, that was simply preparation for the battle to rescue the beauty. But rescue her we must, because without her things just are how they were intended to be.
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Wild at Heart, Chapter 9: A Battle to Fight: The Strategy, part 6
As we come to the end of what this book has to say about battle it is crucial to note one final thing, "you will be wounded." This is war after all. And it isn't with all of the "sophisticated" technology and equipment of today where a general pushes a button and launches a missile. This is Normandy, Thermopylae, Falkirk (Brave Heart), or the opening scene of Gladiator. This is brutal, in your face, up close and personal war. And though it isn't a physical battle, there are still wounds.
"Just because this battle is spiritual doesn't mean it's not real; it is and the wounds a man can take are in some ways more ugly than those that come in a firefight... You will be wounded by the Enemy. He knows the wounds of your past, and he will try to wound you again in the same place. But these wounds are different; these are honor-wounds... 'It is an honor to be wounded in the service of the Lord.'"
Let's go to 300 one more time. After Stelios has killed the messenger and opened a path for Leonidas to throw his spear at Xerxes, arrows begin to rain down on the Spartans and soldiers move in to take them out. All of them are killed but there is a moment when Stelios, with two arrows in his chest, pulls himself over to Leonidas, who is also mortally wounded, and says, "My King! It's an honor to die at your side." Remember what he had said earlier about a beautiful death? He has given his life for his King, and his city, and it is an honor for him to be able to die next to his leader.
Scars are not sources of shame at this point, but badges of honor that we can be proud of, and boldly show off. The scars we now carry are from the battles we have fought and won. They are a reminder of what God has done and how we have been used in his service. They are nothing to be ashamed of.
I heard a story last year that I haven't been able to find on the internet and verify, but it came from a credible source so I don't doubt its truthfulness. A plastic surgeon was asked once about the strangest surgery he had ever been asked to perform, and he told a story about a Navy SEAL. The SEAL came to him and was ashamed of the fact that he didn't have any battle scars. He hated playing basketball with other warriors because when they took their shirts off to go skins, everyone had scars except for him. And so he asked the surgeon to give him a scar, something that looked like a bayonet slice across his abdomen. He wanted a scar that said, "I've been in combat, I've survived war."
All who fight in this war we are swept up in will be wounded. And because of this, we must be fierce. "'The kingdom of heaven suffers violence,' said Jesus, 'and violent men take it by force' (Matt. 11:12 NASB)... Hopefully by now you see the deep and holy goodness of masculine aggression... If you are going to live in God's kingdom, Jesus says, it's going to take every ounce of passion and forcefulness you've got. Things are going to get fierce; that's why you were given a fierce heart."
One myth that culture has placed on Christianity is that coming to Jesus solves all your problems and eliminates your troubles. As many will attest, the opposite is actually true. Coming to Christ means enlisting in His service, and it makes you a target for the Enemy. Do not be surprised when things get hard. Don't be surprise when you take hits. Don't be surprised when the Enemy strikes back, this is war after all.
But scars, my scars and yours, are badges of honor. They tell the story of what we have been through. They are reminders of the battles we have fought for the Kingdom. And scars are also a sign of the healing God has done in our lives. So wear the proudly, and don't be afraid to share the stories they carry.
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
"Just because this battle is spiritual doesn't mean it's not real; it is and the wounds a man can take are in some ways more ugly than those that come in a firefight... You will be wounded by the Enemy. He knows the wounds of your past, and he will try to wound you again in the same place. But these wounds are different; these are honor-wounds... 'It is an honor to be wounded in the service of the Lord.'"
Let's go to 300 one more time. After Stelios has killed the messenger and opened a path for Leonidas to throw his spear at Xerxes, arrows begin to rain down on the Spartans and soldiers move in to take them out. All of them are killed but there is a moment when Stelios, with two arrows in his chest, pulls himself over to Leonidas, who is also mortally wounded, and says, "My King! It's an honor to die at your side." Remember what he had said earlier about a beautiful death? He has given his life for his King, and his city, and it is an honor for him to be able to die next to his leader.
Scars are not sources of shame at this point, but badges of honor that we can be proud of, and boldly show off. The scars we now carry are from the battles we have fought and won. They are a reminder of what God has done and how we have been used in his service. They are nothing to be ashamed of.
I heard a story last year that I haven't been able to find on the internet and verify, but it came from a credible source so I don't doubt its truthfulness. A plastic surgeon was asked once about the strangest surgery he had ever been asked to perform, and he told a story about a Navy SEAL. The SEAL came to him and was ashamed of the fact that he didn't have any battle scars. He hated playing basketball with other warriors because when they took their shirts off to go skins, everyone had scars except for him. And so he asked the surgeon to give him a scar, something that looked like a bayonet slice across his abdomen. He wanted a scar that said, "I've been in combat, I've survived war."
All who fight in this war we are swept up in will be wounded. And because of this, we must be fierce. "'The kingdom of heaven suffers violence,' said Jesus, 'and violent men take it by force' (Matt. 11:12 NASB)... Hopefully by now you see the deep and holy goodness of masculine aggression... If you are going to live in God's kingdom, Jesus says, it's going to take every ounce of passion and forcefulness you've got. Things are going to get fierce; that's why you were given a fierce heart."
One myth that culture has placed on Christianity is that coming to Jesus solves all your problems and eliminates your troubles. As many will attest, the opposite is actually true. Coming to Christ means enlisting in His service, and it makes you a target for the Enemy. Do not be surprised when things get hard. Don't be surprise when you take hits. Don't be surprised when the Enemy strikes back, this is war after all.
But scars, my scars and yours, are badges of honor. They tell the story of what we have been through. They are reminders of the battles we have fought for the Kingdom. And scars are also a sign of the healing God has done in our lives. So wear the proudly, and don't be afraid to share the stories they carry.
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Wild at Heart, Chapter 9: A Battle to Fight: The Strategy, part 5
In order to win a battle we must know who we are fighting, and we must know how our enemy functions. But all of that is useless if we go into battle unarmed and unprepared for a fight. We have weapons for war, and it is crucial that we arm ourselves and train with them so that we are skilled and ready for combat.
"Against the flesh, the traitor within, a warrior uses discipline." This is all about connecting with God. To quote James 4.7 again, "Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." Discipline and connecting with God, is all part of the submission. "Most men have a hard time sustaining any sort of devotional life because it has no vital connection to recovering and protecting their strength; it feels about as important as flossing." (Which is actually a really important part of health) "But if you saw your life as a great battle and you knew you needed time with God for your very survival, you would do it... We give a half-hearted attempt at the spiritual disciplines when the only reason we have is that we 'ought' to. But we'll find a way to make it work when we are convinced we're history if we don't."
Remember, the Enemy works to cut off our communication with God. Part of the reason that quite time and devotionals can be hard, is because the are about connecting with God. The Enemy will do whatever he can to try and prevent them. My schedule has been so busy and random the last few weeks. When I do find myself with some private moments of solitude my mind wanders and it's hard to focus. This is the Enemy working to disrupt communication with God.
No communication means no connection. No connection means no submission. No submission means no resistance. No resistance means no victory. We must connect with God, everything depends upon it. And it can actually be easier than we might think.
"Time with God each day is not about academic study or getting through a certain amount of Scripture or any of that. It's about connecting with God. We've got to keep those lines of communication open, so use whatever helps... The point is simply to do whatever brings me back to my heart and the heart of God."
In college there was a prayer room, a place free of distractions devoted to time spent with God. Since then I've tried to find solitude in nature, but certain areas of Ohio don't provide much of that. I've done a lot of connecting through this book and blog. There have been a few songs that have hit me and spoken to things that I'm going through. I enjoy times of silence, alone with God, (this is something I find most easily in nature). And of course there is Scripture. Over the last few years I've come to really see that it isn't about how much I read, or how many times I read it, but again, it is about connecting with God through His word.
"The discipline, by the way, is never the point. The whole point of a 'devotional life' is connecting with God. This is our primary antidote to the counterfeits the world holds out to us. If you do not have God and have him deeply, you will turn to other lovers." We all serve something, and if we are not submissive servants of God, we are enslaved to the Enemy. If we are not connected with God, who were are told in the Bible, is the source of life, then we are empty and searching for it. Without God, we don't really live, simply exist until we die.
"The believer is in spiritual danger if he allows himself to go for any length of time without tasting the love of Christ... When Christ ceases to fill the heart with satisfaction, our souls will go in silent search for other lovers." And these others never satisfy, they leave us empty and searching. Without Christ we are warriors with no cause to fight for. And so we must be disciplined. Every warrior is disciplined, because that is how a man becomes a warrior. Without it there is no training, there is no perfection of skills, and without those he will be killed on the battlefield immediately.
Our first weapon is discipline so that we can connect with God. And it is with this first weapon that we receive the second. First we must overcome the traitor within, they we are ready to take on the enemy outside the city. "Against the Evil One we wear the armor of God." Ephesians presents an incredible picture that I don't have the time to go into now, but will at a later date. But in this we see God's gifts to us so that we can stand firm and confident on the battle. The belt, breastplate, shoes, shield, helmet and sword are ours to use in combat. And we have a connection with the Holy Spirit that instructs us how and when to use them.
And as we go into battle we are given something more, a purpose and the authority to fight with. "And we walk in the authority of Christ. Do not attack in anger, do not swagger forth in pride. You will get nailed... All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus Christ (Matt. 28:18). He tells us this before he gives us the Great Commission, the command to advance his kingdom. Why? We've never made the connection. The reason is, if you are going to serve the True King you're going to need his authority. We dare not take on an angel, let alone a fallen one, in our own strength. That is why Christ extends his authority to us... Rebuke the Enemy in your own name and he laugh; command him in the name of Christ and he flees." Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee.
A warrior is only a warrior if he fights for someone greater than himself, we are warriors for God. It is in His authority that we advance HIS kingdom. And it is by His authority that all enemies flee. Again, submission to God is so crucial, it is the most essential part of our lives.
One final thing we have as we go off to war is each other. A fight is between two people, one on one. But a war involves armies. And so, "Don't even think about going into battle alone. Don't even try to take the masculine journey without at least one man by your side. Yes, there are times a man must face the battle alone, in the wee hours of the morn, and fight with all he's got. But don't make that a lifestyle of isolation. This may be our weakest point... a man need other men."
The Spartans were, arguably, the greatest warriors of all time. And while each one was disciplined, highly trained, heavily armored, and deadly, one Spartan on his own was nothing compared to a group of Spartan's standing in the phalanx. In my book on page 177 I have nine names written down. These are not my accountability partners, they are my brothers. they are fellow warriors who I have fought alongside of, guys who have my back. We all need that. We need a band of brothers, we need the phalanx. "The whole crisis in masculinity today has come because we no longer have a warrior culture, a place for men to learn to fight like men. We don't need a meeting of Really Nice Guys; we need a gathering of Really Dangerous Men."
"Yes, we need men to whom we can bare our souls. but it isn't going to happen with a group of guys you don't trust, who really aren't willing to go to battle with you. It's a long-standing truth that there is never a more devoted group of men than those who have fought alongside one another... We need a band of brothers willing to 'shed their blood' with us."
Earlier this week I contacted the three names on my list that I am closest to, asking them to join me in prayer, and I thanked them for having my back. They are my brothers, they have fought with me and I with them. And though I don't have the time with them that I would like due to our geographic locations, there are no three people in this world that I trust more than these men. We all need brothers like that.
With these weapons we will overcome for the glory of God.
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
"Against the flesh, the traitor within, a warrior uses discipline." This is all about connecting with God. To quote James 4.7 again, "Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." Discipline and connecting with God, is all part of the submission. "Most men have a hard time sustaining any sort of devotional life because it has no vital connection to recovering and protecting their strength; it feels about as important as flossing." (Which is actually a really important part of health) "But if you saw your life as a great battle and you knew you needed time with God for your very survival, you would do it... We give a half-hearted attempt at the spiritual disciplines when the only reason we have is that we 'ought' to. But we'll find a way to make it work when we are convinced we're history if we don't."
Remember, the Enemy works to cut off our communication with God. Part of the reason that quite time and devotionals can be hard, is because the are about connecting with God. The Enemy will do whatever he can to try and prevent them. My schedule has been so busy and random the last few weeks. When I do find myself with some private moments of solitude my mind wanders and it's hard to focus. This is the Enemy working to disrupt communication with God.
No communication means no connection. No connection means no submission. No submission means no resistance. No resistance means no victory. We must connect with God, everything depends upon it. And it can actually be easier than we might think.
"Time with God each day is not about academic study or getting through a certain amount of Scripture or any of that. It's about connecting with God. We've got to keep those lines of communication open, so use whatever helps... The point is simply to do whatever brings me back to my heart and the heart of God."
In college there was a prayer room, a place free of distractions devoted to time spent with God. Since then I've tried to find solitude in nature, but certain areas of Ohio don't provide much of that. I've done a lot of connecting through this book and blog. There have been a few songs that have hit me and spoken to things that I'm going through. I enjoy times of silence, alone with God, (this is something I find most easily in nature). And of course there is Scripture. Over the last few years I've come to really see that it isn't about how much I read, or how many times I read it, but again, it is about connecting with God through His word.
"The discipline, by the way, is never the point. The whole point of a 'devotional life' is connecting with God. This is our primary antidote to the counterfeits the world holds out to us. If you do not have God and have him deeply, you will turn to other lovers." We all serve something, and if we are not submissive servants of God, we are enslaved to the Enemy. If we are not connected with God, who were are told in the Bible, is the source of life, then we are empty and searching for it. Without God, we don't really live, simply exist until we die.
"The believer is in spiritual danger if he allows himself to go for any length of time without tasting the love of Christ... When Christ ceases to fill the heart with satisfaction, our souls will go in silent search for other lovers." And these others never satisfy, they leave us empty and searching. Without Christ we are warriors with no cause to fight for. And so we must be disciplined. Every warrior is disciplined, because that is how a man becomes a warrior. Without it there is no training, there is no perfection of skills, and without those he will be killed on the battlefield immediately.
Our first weapon is discipline so that we can connect with God. And it is with this first weapon that we receive the second. First we must overcome the traitor within, they we are ready to take on the enemy outside the city. "Against the Evil One we wear the armor of God." Ephesians presents an incredible picture that I don't have the time to go into now, but will at a later date. But in this we see God's gifts to us so that we can stand firm and confident on the battle. The belt, breastplate, shoes, shield, helmet and sword are ours to use in combat. And we have a connection with the Holy Spirit that instructs us how and when to use them.
And as we go into battle we are given something more, a purpose and the authority to fight with. "And we walk in the authority of Christ. Do not attack in anger, do not swagger forth in pride. You will get nailed... All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus Christ (Matt. 28:18). He tells us this before he gives us the Great Commission, the command to advance his kingdom. Why? We've never made the connection. The reason is, if you are going to serve the True King you're going to need his authority. We dare not take on an angel, let alone a fallen one, in our own strength. That is why Christ extends his authority to us... Rebuke the Enemy in your own name and he laugh; command him in the name of Christ and he flees." Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee.
A warrior is only a warrior if he fights for someone greater than himself, we are warriors for God. It is in His authority that we advance HIS kingdom. And it is by His authority that all enemies flee. Again, submission to God is so crucial, it is the most essential part of our lives.
One final thing we have as we go off to war is each other. A fight is between two people, one on one. But a war involves armies. And so, "Don't even think about going into battle alone. Don't even try to take the masculine journey without at least one man by your side. Yes, there are times a man must face the battle alone, in the wee hours of the morn, and fight with all he's got. But don't make that a lifestyle of isolation. This may be our weakest point... a man need other men."
The Spartans were, arguably, the greatest warriors of all time. And while each one was disciplined, highly trained, heavily armored, and deadly, one Spartan on his own was nothing compared to a group of Spartan's standing in the phalanx. In my book on page 177 I have nine names written down. These are not my accountability partners, they are my brothers. they are fellow warriors who I have fought alongside of, guys who have my back. We all need that. We need a band of brothers, we need the phalanx. "The whole crisis in masculinity today has come because we no longer have a warrior culture, a place for men to learn to fight like men. We don't need a meeting of Really Nice Guys; we need a gathering of Really Dangerous Men."
"Yes, we need men to whom we can bare our souls. but it isn't going to happen with a group of guys you don't trust, who really aren't willing to go to battle with you. It's a long-standing truth that there is never a more devoted group of men than those who have fought alongside one another... We need a band of brothers willing to 'shed their blood' with us."
Earlier this week I contacted the three names on my list that I am closest to, asking them to join me in prayer, and I thanked them for having my back. They are my brothers, they have fought with me and I with them. And though I don't have the time with them that I would like due to our geographic locations, there are no three people in this world that I trust more than these men. We all need brothers like that.
With these weapons we will overcome for the glory of God.
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
Friday, May 17, 2013
Wild at Heart, Chapter 9: A Battle to Fight: The Strategy, part 4
At this point the battle may feel like it's over, but the Enemy has one more move to attempt. It's a last ditch effort made in an attempt to turn defeat into some sort of victory. Sadly many men buy into it and are taken down. "The third level of attack the Evil One employs, after we have resisted deception and intimidation, is simply to try to get us to cut a deal. So many men have been bought off in one way or another."
Many men see the battle as over after stage two ends. The waves of heavy assault have ended, and the enemy appears to be defeated, and so they lower their guard. But though wounded, the enemy still has some fight left in him and our brothers have been taken out in the third stage of the attack.
John shares a brief account of a ministry leader who had fallen into an affair. This story is one that has effected my own life. Years ago my grandfather was pastoring a growing church. I don't know all of the details, and honestly I don't really want to, but he got involved in an affair. He and my grandmother split up, at least three of his four kids slipped away from God, and there has been issues in my family since that day.
My grandfather never planned for that to happen. I don't believe anyone starts ministry for God with the intention of ruining everything one day with something like an affair. "What man begins his journey wishing, 'I think one day, after twenty years of minstry, I'll torpedo the whole thing with an affair'?", no one. And yet it happens all the time. Why?
"He was picked off;the whole thing was plotted. In his case it was a long and subtle assignment to wear his defenses down not so much through battle as through boredom. I knew that man; he had no great cause to fight for, just the monotony of 'professional Christian ministry' that he hated but couldn't get out of because he was being so well paid for it. He was set up for a fall. Unless you are aware that that's what it is, you'll be taken out too."
As I typed that my mind thought back to the verses from 1 Peter 5 and James 4 that have been mentioned in this chapter. 1 Peter 5.8, "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." Be so sober spirit, be on the alert. The devil is prowling like a lion, at this stage in the battle a wounded lion, just looking to take someone down with him. Don't turn your back, don't drop your guard, or it will be you. The battle is still going on, we are still at war. James 4.7, "Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." Do you realize what a bribe is, what making a deal with the Devil means? It means submitting to Satan rather than God. And we cannot resist something we are enslaved to. The fight is still going on around us, even if a majority of it has ended, there are still enemies out there looking to take out as many as they can. We continue to fight as warriors, or we become casualties of war.
"Notice this - when did King David fall? What were the circumstances of his affair with Bathsheba?... David was no longer a warrior; he sent others to do his fighting for him. Bored, sated, and fat, he strolls around on the roof of the palace looking for something to amuse him. The Evil One points out Bathsheba and the rest is history - which, as we all know, repeats itself."
David, a man after God's own heart, was taken out by the enemy. Christian leaders, men we would call Men of God, have fallen into the same trap. It isn't just with an affair. It could be dishonest business, it could be betraying others to advance yourself. It could be an compromise of morals and integrity.
This is war, that's what all men are born into, and that is why we all must be warriors who are constantly on guard, even when things appear to get easy. "We have known many who have joined the army of Christ and like being a solider for a battle or two, but have soon had enough and ended up deserting. They impulsively enlist for Christian duties... and are just as easily persuaded to lay it down."
In one of the final scenes of 300 Leonidas and his Spartans are alone, surrounded by Persians. They have held their ground and fought valiantly, and are now faced with a choice, take a bribe, or fight to the end. Xerxes messenger extends the kings offers, "Leonidas, my compliments and congratulations. You surely have turned calamity into victory. Despite your insufferable arrogance the god-king has come to admire Spartan valor and fighting skill... You will make a mighty ally. Despite your several insults, despite your horrid blasphemies the lord of hosts is prepared to forgive all and more, to reward your service. You fight for your lands. Keep them. You fight for Sparta. She will be wealthier and more powerful than ever before.
You fight for your kingship. You will be proclaimed warlord of all Greece answerable only to the one true master of the world. Leonidas, your victory will be complete if you but lay down your arms and kneel to holy Xerxes."
Leonidas is silent. He removes his helmet, drops his shield, and after brief words to the traitor Ephialtes, he drops his spear and falls to his knees. For a moment Xerxes seems to have won. But then Leonidas calls for Stelios who runs, jumps over the king and kills the messenger clearing his way. Leonidas grabs his spear as we hear "His helmet was stifling. It narrowed his vision, and he must see far. His shield was heavy. It threw him off balance and his target is far away." He throws his spear and though it does not kill Xerxes it cuts his face and he bleeds.
The Spartans were killed that day, but they were warriors to the end. I have been to Thermopylae, and on the hill where the final Spartans were killed there is a simple monument that reads in Greek, "Go tell the Spartans, passerby that here, by Spartan law, we lie." The Spartans never ran, they returned to Sparta carrying their shields, or on them. They fought to the end, and because of them victory was ultimately won.
There are casualties in every war, but may we go down fighting. You have come too far, and fought to hard, to be taken out now by a cheap shot. Don't lower your guard. Submit to God, resist the devil to the end. Fight the good fight, finish the course, and if we do give our lives in the service of our King, we will be rewarded with the crown of righteousness.
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
Many men see the battle as over after stage two ends. The waves of heavy assault have ended, and the enemy appears to be defeated, and so they lower their guard. But though wounded, the enemy still has some fight left in him and our brothers have been taken out in the third stage of the attack.
John shares a brief account of a ministry leader who had fallen into an affair. This story is one that has effected my own life. Years ago my grandfather was pastoring a growing church. I don't know all of the details, and honestly I don't really want to, but he got involved in an affair. He and my grandmother split up, at least three of his four kids slipped away from God, and there has been issues in my family since that day.
My grandfather never planned for that to happen. I don't believe anyone starts ministry for God with the intention of ruining everything one day with something like an affair. "What man begins his journey wishing, 'I think one day, after twenty years of minstry, I'll torpedo the whole thing with an affair'?", no one. And yet it happens all the time. Why?
"He was picked off;the whole thing was plotted. In his case it was a long and subtle assignment to wear his defenses down not so much through battle as through boredom. I knew that man; he had no great cause to fight for, just the monotony of 'professional Christian ministry' that he hated but couldn't get out of because he was being so well paid for it. He was set up for a fall. Unless you are aware that that's what it is, you'll be taken out too."
As I typed that my mind thought back to the verses from 1 Peter 5 and James 4 that have been mentioned in this chapter. 1 Peter 5.8, "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." Be so sober spirit, be on the alert. The devil is prowling like a lion, at this stage in the battle a wounded lion, just looking to take someone down with him. Don't turn your back, don't drop your guard, or it will be you. The battle is still going on, we are still at war. James 4.7, "Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." Do you realize what a bribe is, what making a deal with the Devil means? It means submitting to Satan rather than God. And we cannot resist something we are enslaved to. The fight is still going on around us, even if a majority of it has ended, there are still enemies out there looking to take out as many as they can. We continue to fight as warriors, or we become casualties of war.
"Notice this - when did King David fall? What were the circumstances of his affair with Bathsheba?... David was no longer a warrior; he sent others to do his fighting for him. Bored, sated, and fat, he strolls around on the roof of the palace looking for something to amuse him. The Evil One points out Bathsheba and the rest is history - which, as we all know, repeats itself."
David, a man after God's own heart, was taken out by the enemy. Christian leaders, men we would call Men of God, have fallen into the same trap. It isn't just with an affair. It could be dishonest business, it could be betraying others to advance yourself. It could be an compromise of morals and integrity.
This is war, that's what all men are born into, and that is why we all must be warriors who are constantly on guard, even when things appear to get easy. "We have known many who have joined the army of Christ and like being a solider for a battle or two, but have soon had enough and ended up deserting. They impulsively enlist for Christian duties... and are just as easily persuaded to lay it down."
In one of the final scenes of 300 Leonidas and his Spartans are alone, surrounded by Persians. They have held their ground and fought valiantly, and are now faced with a choice, take a bribe, or fight to the end. Xerxes messenger extends the kings offers, "Leonidas, my compliments and congratulations. You surely have turned calamity into victory. Despite your insufferable arrogance the god-king has come to admire Spartan valor and fighting skill... You will make a mighty ally. Despite your several insults, despite your horrid blasphemies the lord of hosts is prepared to forgive all and more, to reward your service. You fight for your lands. Keep them. You fight for Sparta. She will be wealthier and more powerful than ever before.
You fight for your kingship. You will be proclaimed warlord of all Greece answerable only to the one true master of the world. Leonidas, your victory will be complete if you but lay down your arms and kneel to holy Xerxes."
Leonidas is silent. He removes his helmet, drops his shield, and after brief words to the traitor Ephialtes, he drops his spear and falls to his knees. For a moment Xerxes seems to have won. But then Leonidas calls for Stelios who runs, jumps over the king and kills the messenger clearing his way. Leonidas grabs his spear as we hear "His helmet was stifling. It narrowed his vision, and he must see far. His shield was heavy. It threw him off balance and his target is far away." He throws his spear and though it does not kill Xerxes it cuts his face and he bleeds.
The Spartans were killed that day, but they were warriors to the end. I have been to Thermopylae, and on the hill where the final Spartans were killed there is a simple monument that reads in Greek, "Go tell the Spartans, passerby that here, by Spartan law, we lie." The Spartans never ran, they returned to Sparta carrying their shields, or on them. They fought to the end, and because of them victory was ultimately won.
There are casualties in every war, but may we go down fighting. You have come too far, and fought to hard, to be taken out now by a cheap shot. Don't lower your guard. Submit to God, resist the devil to the end. Fight the good fight, finish the course, and if we do give our lives in the service of our King, we will be rewarded with the crown of righteousness.
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Wild at Heart, Chapter 9: A Battle to Fight: The Strategy, part 3
Stage one of the battle was simply feeling out the opposition, sending a small force seeing if any more was needed. Now that the Enemy sees that we are for real, that this is going to be an all out war, he sends in the main force. "The Enemy, once discovered, usually doesn't just roll over and go away without a fight." In James it says to "Resist the Devil" that word is anthistemi (the e is pronounced like a long a, and the i at the end is a long e sound), and it means "to set one's self against, to withstand, resist, oppose". This is a fight, this is war, and we are to be set against Satan, withstanding his attacks, resisting his temptations, and opposing his advancement.
In stage two our resistance is tested because Satan uses the tactic of intimidation. "That is the next level of our Enemy's strategy. When we begin to question him, to resist his lies, to see his hand in the 'ordinary trials' of our lives, then he steps up the attack; he turns to intimidation and fear." Once we realize that he is here and involved, he unleashes hell. "Satan will try to get you to agree with intimidation because he fears you." Or rather, he fears God in you. Remember James 4.7 says, "Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." Before we can resist, before we can set ourselves against Satan and oppose him, we must first take up arms against him by submitting to God. It is God that he fears, and he must flee from us because of God. "You are a huge threat to him. He doesn't want you waking up and fighting back because when you do he loses... So he's going to try to keep you from taking a stand. He moves from subtle seduction to open assault... the Evil One is trying an old tactic - strike first and maybe the opposition will turn tail and run."
That is intimidation. If Satan can overwhelm us with the means at his disposal then our resistance of him fails. that is why the first crucial step to resisting him is submission to God. It is only in His power that we can stand storm the gates of Hell. A few years ago I moved to Michigan to take a job at a church. It was a big step in my life because it was moving out of state, being fully on my own for the first time. At one point I almost turned the job down because I was overwhelmed. But I really felt God leading me to go there, and to help me out He gave me a promise that I know I am not the first one to receive. " Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1.9).
Joshua was given those words before he led the people into the Promised Land, and began the conquest of the land. And God shared those words with me as I prepared to move to Michigan. My time there was short, and honestly just before it ended I did have the feeling that my job there was completed, but I did make some impact on a few lives while I was there, and looking back, I believe Satan was trying to keep me from going. I learned some things, saw some sad truths about the Church, and was able to impact a few lives along the way, and Satan didn't want that.
God is with us, no matter where we go, when we submit to Him. Looking back to Joshua, God gave him an additional promise, "Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you." Just as I was with Moses, and remember that Moses is who is first referred to as "A Man of God", I will be with you. My mind goes to 1 Timothy 6, seen on the left, where Paul calls Timothy a man of God, and instructs him to pursue righteousness. We are men of God, just as Moses was, and just as God was with Moses, God is with us. That is the promise that we have when we have submitted to God.
"How did Jesus win the battle against Satan? God was with him. This really opens up the riches of the promise Christ gives us when he pledges, 'I am with you always, even to the end of the age' and 'I will never leave you nor forsake you'... It means he will fight for us, with us, just as he has fought for his eople all through the ages. So long as we wlak with Christ, stay in him, we haven't a thing to fear." Are you getting how crucial the submission to God is? Have you picked up on how key that is? When we are submitted to God, He is with us. And when He is with us, we can resist the Devil and he must flee. And his intimidation will not work, because we know that God, who is with us, is far greater than our enemy will ever be.
In 300 (yes I do know that the movie is extremely historically inaccurate, but the scenes depicted in it portray these concepts, and our response to them, so clearly) we find a group of Spartan's building a wall to funnel the Persian army into the narrow pass of the Hot Gate. Another Persian messenger is sent to try and convince the Spartan's to give up before the battle begins. As he talks he notices the bodies of the Persian scouts he has just made reference to built into the wall. One of the Spartans, Stelios, tells about how the wall was built by their ancestors, and how the scouts have supplied the motor to rebuild it. The Persian yells, "You will pay for your barbarism!" and begins to swing his whip. Stelios leaps into action, and severs his arm from his body.
The Persian falls to the ground holding the stub that is left and yells "My arm!" to which Stelios tells him, "It's not yours anymore. Go now, run along and tell your Xerxes that he faces free men here, not slaves. Do it quickly, before we decide to make our wall just a little bit bigger." The Persian here moves to step two, "No, not slaves. Your women will be slaves. Your sons, your daughters, your elders will be slaves, but not you. No, by noon this day you will be dead men. A thousand nations of the Persian empire descend upon you. Our arrows will blot out the sun." Stelios, unintimidated, announces, "Then we will fight in the shade."
That is courage. That is strength. That is the answer given by a warrior. "When a man resolves to become a warrior, when his life is given over to a transcendent cause, then he can't be cowed by the Big Bad Wolf threatening to blow his house down... The most dangerous man on earth is the man who has reckoned with his own death... I'd rather go down swinging. Besides, the less we are trying to 'save ourselves' the more effective as warriors we will be." Earlier in the movie, Stelios, another Spartan, and another Greek solider have gone to scout out the Persian army. The other Greek, overwhelmed by the magnitude of the force against them says, "There can be no victory here." Stelios simply smiles, and the Greek asks why? Here is his response, "Arcadian, I've fought countless times, yet I've never met an adversary who could offer me what we Spartans call 'A Beautiful Death.' I can only hope, with all the world's warriors gathered against us, there might be one down there who's up to the task."
He knows there is a battle to fight, and if need be he is prepared to give his life for Greece. This section of the book ends with a quote that hit me so hard the first time I read it. "Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die. 'He that will lose his life, the same shall save it,' is not a piece of mysticism for saints and heroes. It is a piece of everyday advice for the sailors or mountaineers. It might be printed in an Alpine guide or a drill book. The paradox is the whole principle of courage; even of quite earthly or quite brutal courage. A man cut off by the sea may save his live only if he will risk it on the precipice. he can only get away from death by continually stepping withing an inch of it. A solider surrounded by enemies, if he is to cut his way out, needs to combine a strong desire for living with a strange carelessness about dying. He must not merely cling to life, for then he will be a coward, and will not escape. He must not merely wait for death, for then he will be a suicide, and will not escape. He must seek his life in a spirit of furious indifference to it; he must desire life like water and yet drink death like wine."
If we are to really live, we cannot fear death. We go into battle ready to die, willing to die if need be, and intimidation has no power over us. It is our submission to God, that gives us the peace to die for Him, knowing that He is waiting to welcome us into His presence for "fighting the good fight of the faith." So when Satan announces that his fiery arrow will blot out the Son, simply tell him, that you will fight in the shade, knowing that the Son cannot be blotted out because He is by your side on the front lines.
Two waves have been overcome, one final one remains. Don't lower your guard because the battle rages on.
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
In stage two our resistance is tested because Satan uses the tactic of intimidation. "That is the next level of our Enemy's strategy. When we begin to question him, to resist his lies, to see his hand in the 'ordinary trials' of our lives, then he steps up the attack; he turns to intimidation and fear." Once we realize that he is here and involved, he unleashes hell. "Satan will try to get you to agree with intimidation because he fears you." Or rather, he fears God in you. Remember James 4.7 says, "Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." Before we can resist, before we can set ourselves against Satan and oppose him, we must first take up arms against him by submitting to God. It is God that he fears, and he must flee from us because of God. "You are a huge threat to him. He doesn't want you waking up and fighting back because when you do he loses... So he's going to try to keep you from taking a stand. He moves from subtle seduction to open assault... the Evil One is trying an old tactic - strike first and maybe the opposition will turn tail and run."
That is intimidation. If Satan can overwhelm us with the means at his disposal then our resistance of him fails. that is why the first crucial step to resisting him is submission to God. It is only in His power that we can stand storm the gates of Hell. A few years ago I moved to Michigan to take a job at a church. It was a big step in my life because it was moving out of state, being fully on my own for the first time. At one point I almost turned the job down because I was overwhelmed. But I really felt God leading me to go there, and to help me out He gave me a promise that I know I am not the first one to receive. " Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1.9).
Joshua was given those words before he led the people into the Promised Land, and began the conquest of the land. And God shared those words with me as I prepared to move to Michigan. My time there was short, and honestly just before it ended I did have the feeling that my job there was completed, but I did make some impact on a few lives while I was there, and looking back, I believe Satan was trying to keep me from going. I learned some things, saw some sad truths about the Church, and was able to impact a few lives along the way, and Satan didn't want that.
God is with us, no matter where we go, when we submit to Him. Looking back to Joshua, God gave him an additional promise, "Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you." Just as I was with Moses, and remember that Moses is who is first referred to as "A Man of God", I will be with you. My mind goes to 1 Timothy 6, seen on the left, where Paul calls Timothy a man of God, and instructs him to pursue righteousness. We are men of God, just as Moses was, and just as God was with Moses, God is with us. That is the promise that we have when we have submitted to God.
"How did Jesus win the battle against Satan? God was with him. This really opens up the riches of the promise Christ gives us when he pledges, 'I am with you always, even to the end of the age' and 'I will never leave you nor forsake you'... It means he will fight for us, with us, just as he has fought for his eople all through the ages. So long as we wlak with Christ, stay in him, we haven't a thing to fear." Are you getting how crucial the submission to God is? Have you picked up on how key that is? When we are submitted to God, He is with us. And when He is with us, we can resist the Devil and he must flee. And his intimidation will not work, because we know that God, who is with us, is far greater than our enemy will ever be.
In 300 (yes I do know that the movie is extremely historically inaccurate, but the scenes depicted in it portray these concepts, and our response to them, so clearly) we find a group of Spartan's building a wall to funnel the Persian army into the narrow pass of the Hot Gate. Another Persian messenger is sent to try and convince the Spartan's to give up before the battle begins. As he talks he notices the bodies of the Persian scouts he has just made reference to built into the wall. One of the Spartans, Stelios, tells about how the wall was built by their ancestors, and how the scouts have supplied the motor to rebuild it. The Persian yells, "You will pay for your barbarism!" and begins to swing his whip. Stelios leaps into action, and severs his arm from his body.
The Persian falls to the ground holding the stub that is left and yells "My arm!" to which Stelios tells him, "It's not yours anymore. Go now, run along and tell your Xerxes that he faces free men here, not slaves. Do it quickly, before we decide to make our wall just a little bit bigger." The Persian here moves to step two, "No, not slaves. Your women will be slaves. Your sons, your daughters, your elders will be slaves, but not you. No, by noon this day you will be dead men. A thousand nations of the Persian empire descend upon you. Our arrows will blot out the sun." Stelios, unintimidated, announces, "Then we will fight in the shade."
That is courage. That is strength. That is the answer given by a warrior. "When a man resolves to become a warrior, when his life is given over to a transcendent cause, then he can't be cowed by the Big Bad Wolf threatening to blow his house down... The most dangerous man on earth is the man who has reckoned with his own death... I'd rather go down swinging. Besides, the less we are trying to 'save ourselves' the more effective as warriors we will be." Earlier in the movie, Stelios, another Spartan, and another Greek solider have gone to scout out the Persian army. The other Greek, overwhelmed by the magnitude of the force against them says, "There can be no victory here." Stelios simply smiles, and the Greek asks why? Here is his response, "Arcadian, I've fought countless times, yet I've never met an adversary who could offer me what we Spartans call 'A Beautiful Death.' I can only hope, with all the world's warriors gathered against us, there might be one down there who's up to the task."
He knows there is a battle to fight, and if need be he is prepared to give his life for Greece. This section of the book ends with a quote that hit me so hard the first time I read it. "Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die. 'He that will lose his life, the same shall save it,' is not a piece of mysticism for saints and heroes. It is a piece of everyday advice for the sailors or mountaineers. It might be printed in an Alpine guide or a drill book. The paradox is the whole principle of courage; even of quite earthly or quite brutal courage. A man cut off by the sea may save his live only if he will risk it on the precipice. he can only get away from death by continually stepping withing an inch of it. A solider surrounded by enemies, if he is to cut his way out, needs to combine a strong desire for living with a strange carelessness about dying. He must not merely cling to life, for then he will be a coward, and will not escape. He must not merely wait for death, for then he will be a suicide, and will not escape. He must seek his life in a spirit of furious indifference to it; he must desire life like water and yet drink death like wine."
If we are to really live, we cannot fear death. We go into battle ready to die, willing to die if need be, and intimidation has no power over us. It is our submission to God, that gives us the peace to die for Him, knowing that He is waiting to welcome us into His presence for "fighting the good fight of the faith." So when Satan announces that his fiery arrow will blot out the Son, simply tell him, that you will fight in the shade, knowing that the Son cannot be blotted out because He is by your side on the front lines.
Two waves have been overcome, one final one remains. Don't lower your guard because the battle rages on.
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Wild at Heart, Chapter 9: A Battle to Fight: The Strategy, part 2
Chapter 8 focused on who the enemy is, but knowing that is only part of the battle. Yes, we have to know who we are fighting, but if we want to win, we need to know more. We've got to know how the enemy fights. We need to know how he attacks so that we can counter it and fight back. We've got to know how the enemy works so that we can be victorious.
This battle, like D-Day, is a crucial fight that must be won. June 6, 1944 as he closed his message to the troops about to storm the beaches of Normandy Eisenhower said, "We will accept nothing less than full victory!", and that must be our mentality as well. The battle we fight is not simply for us, but for our marriages, our sons, and the souls of the world.
The enemy attacks in three stages, as I read about them I kept thinking about scenes from the movie 300 that line up with the three of them. Near the beginning of the movie a messenger from the Persian King Xerxes arrives in Sparta and offers a simple request to King Leonidas, "Earth and water." Presenting the front that all Xerxes wants is to get along, and that if they comply nothing will change.
Our enemy begins his attack in the same manner. His first tactic is to convince us "I'm not here - this is all just you." The reason being "You can't fight a battle you don't think exists." If you don't think there is an army on the way you aren't going to train for combat. If you don't believe there is an enemy at the gates you aren't going to dress for battle. And if our enemy can get us to ignore him, to simply allow things to continue as they are, believe nothing out of the ordinary is happening, then he never meets any resistance.
1 Peter 5.8-9 says, "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world." "What is the Holy Spirit, through Peter, assuming about your life? That you are under spiritual attack. This is not a passage about nonbelievers; he's talking about 'your brethren.' Peter takes ir for granted that every believer is under some sort of unseen assault. And what does he insist you do? Resist the devil. Fight back, take a stand... when you ignore the Enemy, he wins. He simply loves to blame everything on us, get us feeling hurt, misunderstood, suspicious, and resentful of one another."
Think about it, if we're so focused on how messed up we are, or how someone else has thrown us under the bus or screwed us over, do we even give the real enemy a second thought? It begins with a lack of communication. "Before an effective military strike can be made, you must take out the opposing army's line of communication. The Evil One does this all the time- in ministries and especially with couples... Most of all the Enemy will try to jam communications with Headquarters." Most problems arise from a lack of communication. In marriage, in ministry, in life, so many issues could be avoided if communication took place, and so the first thing the enemy takes out is our communication lines.
Things get in the way and take up the time we have just to talk to each other. Feelings get hurt for one reason or another and conversation doesn't take place to resolve it or heal it. Instead walls are built, relationships fall apart, and we are left all alone felling like we've failed and messed everything up. And that is just how the Enemy wants us to feel. If our focus is on us, it can't be on him. And if we don't have communication with God, we don't have the voice of truth speaking into us, helping us be aware of what is really going on. "Oswald Chambers warns us, 'Sometimes there is nothing to obey, the only thing to do is to maintain a vital connection with Jesus Christ, to see that nothing interferes with that."
Too often we leave the communication lines unguarded, and once they are taken out, step two of the "I'm not here" attack begins. "Next comes propaganda... the Enemy is constantly broadcasting messages to try to demoralize us... he is constantly putting his spin on things. After all, Scripture calls him the 'accuser of our brethren'."
This is always against your identity. This is why knowing your real name is so crucial. Jesus' identity is the thing that Satan attacks during the wilderness temptation. John points out how this attack is so subtle that it seems true at the time. This happens to me. I listen to other great preachers and I think, "I have no business doing that. I can't speak like they can. I can't talk as long as they do, I don't think of the stuff like they do. I'll never be able to do that as well as them, so what's the point?" And that is how the Enemy wants me to feel. Preaching is something I love. It's something I've been called to do, and I've been told that it's something that I'm gifted at, and so this is what the Enemy attacks in one way or another. I once had a lady tell me, minutes after getting done with a Sunday morning message, that I was nothing more than a teacher and that I needed to watch TV to learn how to preach, I'm not kidding that really happened, and it was a move of the enemy.
We all face things like this, but let me offer some encouragement, it's a good thing. "Follow this; so long as a man remains no real threat to the Enemy, Satan's line to him is You're fine." Difficult and painful as it is, the attack on your identity is affirmation that you are on the right path. It is affirmation that you are dangerous and a force that cannot be ignored, not because of you, but because of your submission to God. As it says in James 4.7, "Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." Take God's side and the Enemy goes on the hard offensive, but stand firm, submitted to God, and the Enemy will have to flee. Be encouraged by the attack.
And when the propaganda doesn't work, the "I'm not here" stage makes its last attempt, "Finally, he probes the perimeter, looking for a weakness... He knows your story, knows what works with you, and so the line is tailor-made to your situation." This is where it gets personal, and difficult. This is a last ditch effort so nothing is held back. Here is a cornered animal trying to get out. "When Satan probes, make no agreements. If we make an agreement, if something in our heart says, Yeah, you're right, then he pours it on." Do not buy into the lies of the enemy. Don't agree with what he is trying to feed you, he is a liar, capable of telling nothing else. Stand firm don't give in.
After the dialogue with the Persian messenger, Leonidas considers what has been said as he thinks how to respond. He has been told, "Choose your next words carefully, Leonidas. They may be your last as king." He pauses, looks around the city, and then draws his sword backing the messenger up to a pit he declares, "Earth and water, well you'll find plenty of both down there. You bring the crowns and heads of conquered kings to my city steps. You insult my queen. You threaten my people with slavery and death. Oh I've chosen my words carefully Persian, perhaps you should have done the same." The messenger is fear and anger responds, "This is blasphemy. This is madness." Leonidas lowers his sword, pauses, and then says, "Madness?" And then yells, "THIS IS SPARTA!" as he kicks him into the pit.
"When we are under attack, we've got to hang on to the truth. Dodge the blow, block it with a stubborn refusal, slash back with what is true. This is how Christ answered Satan- he didn't get into an argument with him, try to reason his way out. He simply stood on the truth. He answered with Scripture and we've got to do the same. This will not be easy, especially when all hell is breaking loose around you. It will feel like holding on to a rope while you're being dragged behind a truck, like keeping your balance in a hurricane... but this is where your strength is revealed and even increased- through exercise. Stand on what is true and do not let go. Period."
Granted this is simply the first attack, more will follow, but as Thomas a Kempis said, "Yet we must be watchful, especially in the beginning of the temptation; for the enemy is then more easily overcome, if he is not suffered to enter the door of our hearts, but is resisted without the gate at his first knock."
We've survived the first wave, now breathe, the next blow is coming quickly.
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
This battle, like D-Day, is a crucial fight that must be won. June 6, 1944 as he closed his message to the troops about to storm the beaches of Normandy Eisenhower said, "We will accept nothing less than full victory!", and that must be our mentality as well. The battle we fight is not simply for us, but for our marriages, our sons, and the souls of the world.
The enemy attacks in three stages, as I read about them I kept thinking about scenes from the movie 300 that line up with the three of them. Near the beginning of the movie a messenger from the Persian King Xerxes arrives in Sparta and offers a simple request to King Leonidas, "Earth and water." Presenting the front that all Xerxes wants is to get along, and that if they comply nothing will change.
Our enemy begins his attack in the same manner. His first tactic is to convince us "I'm not here - this is all just you." The reason being "You can't fight a battle you don't think exists." If you don't think there is an army on the way you aren't going to train for combat. If you don't believe there is an enemy at the gates you aren't going to dress for battle. And if our enemy can get us to ignore him, to simply allow things to continue as they are, believe nothing out of the ordinary is happening, then he never meets any resistance.
1 Peter 5.8-9 says, "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world." "What is the Holy Spirit, through Peter, assuming about your life? That you are under spiritual attack. This is not a passage about nonbelievers; he's talking about 'your brethren.' Peter takes ir for granted that every believer is under some sort of unseen assault. And what does he insist you do? Resist the devil. Fight back, take a stand... when you ignore the Enemy, he wins. He simply loves to blame everything on us, get us feeling hurt, misunderstood, suspicious, and resentful of one another."
Think about it, if we're so focused on how messed up we are, or how someone else has thrown us under the bus or screwed us over, do we even give the real enemy a second thought? It begins with a lack of communication. "Before an effective military strike can be made, you must take out the opposing army's line of communication. The Evil One does this all the time- in ministries and especially with couples... Most of all the Enemy will try to jam communications with Headquarters." Most problems arise from a lack of communication. In marriage, in ministry, in life, so many issues could be avoided if communication took place, and so the first thing the enemy takes out is our communication lines.
Things get in the way and take up the time we have just to talk to each other. Feelings get hurt for one reason or another and conversation doesn't take place to resolve it or heal it. Instead walls are built, relationships fall apart, and we are left all alone felling like we've failed and messed everything up. And that is just how the Enemy wants us to feel. If our focus is on us, it can't be on him. And if we don't have communication with God, we don't have the voice of truth speaking into us, helping us be aware of what is really going on. "Oswald Chambers warns us, 'Sometimes there is nothing to obey, the only thing to do is to maintain a vital connection with Jesus Christ, to see that nothing interferes with that."
Too often we leave the communication lines unguarded, and once they are taken out, step two of the "I'm not here" attack begins. "Next comes propaganda... the Enemy is constantly broadcasting messages to try to demoralize us... he is constantly putting his spin on things. After all, Scripture calls him the 'accuser of our brethren'."
This is always against your identity. This is why knowing your real name is so crucial. Jesus' identity is the thing that Satan attacks during the wilderness temptation. John points out how this attack is so subtle that it seems true at the time. This happens to me. I listen to other great preachers and I think, "I have no business doing that. I can't speak like they can. I can't talk as long as they do, I don't think of the stuff like they do. I'll never be able to do that as well as them, so what's the point?" And that is how the Enemy wants me to feel. Preaching is something I love. It's something I've been called to do, and I've been told that it's something that I'm gifted at, and so this is what the Enemy attacks in one way or another. I once had a lady tell me, minutes after getting done with a Sunday morning message, that I was nothing more than a teacher and that I needed to watch TV to learn how to preach, I'm not kidding that really happened, and it was a move of the enemy.
We all face things like this, but let me offer some encouragement, it's a good thing. "Follow this; so long as a man remains no real threat to the Enemy, Satan's line to him is You're fine." Difficult and painful as it is, the attack on your identity is affirmation that you are on the right path. It is affirmation that you are dangerous and a force that cannot be ignored, not because of you, but because of your submission to God. As it says in James 4.7, "Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." Take God's side and the Enemy goes on the hard offensive, but stand firm, submitted to God, and the Enemy will have to flee. Be encouraged by the attack.
And when the propaganda doesn't work, the "I'm not here" stage makes its last attempt, "Finally, he probes the perimeter, looking for a weakness... He knows your story, knows what works with you, and so the line is tailor-made to your situation." This is where it gets personal, and difficult. This is a last ditch effort so nothing is held back. Here is a cornered animal trying to get out. "When Satan probes, make no agreements. If we make an agreement, if something in our heart says, Yeah, you're right, then he pours it on." Do not buy into the lies of the enemy. Don't agree with what he is trying to feed you, he is a liar, capable of telling nothing else. Stand firm don't give in.
After the dialogue with the Persian messenger, Leonidas considers what has been said as he thinks how to respond. He has been told, "Choose your next words carefully, Leonidas. They may be your last as king." He pauses, looks around the city, and then draws his sword backing the messenger up to a pit he declares, "Earth and water, well you'll find plenty of both down there. You bring the crowns and heads of conquered kings to my city steps. You insult my queen. You threaten my people with slavery and death. Oh I've chosen my words carefully Persian, perhaps you should have done the same." The messenger is fear and anger responds, "This is blasphemy. This is madness." Leonidas lowers his sword, pauses, and then says, "Madness?" And then yells, "THIS IS SPARTA!" as he kicks him into the pit.
"When we are under attack, we've got to hang on to the truth. Dodge the blow, block it with a stubborn refusal, slash back with what is true. This is how Christ answered Satan- he didn't get into an argument with him, try to reason his way out. He simply stood on the truth. He answered with Scripture and we've got to do the same. This will not be easy, especially when all hell is breaking loose around you. It will feel like holding on to a rope while you're being dragged behind a truck, like keeping your balance in a hurricane... but this is where your strength is revealed and even increased- through exercise. Stand on what is true and do not let go. Period."
Granted this is simply the first attack, more will follow, but as Thomas a Kempis said, "Yet we must be watchful, especially in the beginning of the temptation; for the enemy is then more easily overcome, if he is not suffered to enter the door of our hearts, but is resisted without the gate at his first knock."
We've survived the first wave, now breathe, the next blow is coming quickly.
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)