The Day My War Began

The Day My War Began

1/24/13

Many of us pose a question to God that goes something like this, God, why are these things happening to me or another question is will this trial ever end?  Any of those questions ring a bell to anyone?  Well, all of us know that being human brings adverse conditions at times and on a daily basis we are reminded that life is not always a bed of roses.  There is a reason for this type of activity that surrounds us and these conditions have their origin in history, ancient history to be exact.  But what many of these same people fail to realize that there is a reason for these trials and stressful conditions that we experience and each of us play a part in the role of Kingdom advancement and it does not matter if you believe in God or not, your potential is enough to war this war against you.

When you read history about war one will begin to understand that at some point in that period of time a certain event or chain of events actually point to the start of the conflict.  When you look at World War I and its time frame, it is generally recognized that the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria as one of the main catalysts that began this conflict.  Many also see Hitler’s invasion of the Sudetenland as one of the main focal points of the beginning of World War II.  Those are two examples of two major catastrophes of world history that had profound effects upon millions of people both then and now.  None of us are exempt from war whether it is in a personal struggle against a fellow human being or in a spiritual setting in which eternal life is at stake.  Both are situations are real and both are devastating when the battles are fought, and it does not matter who wins the fight either.

We always question God and the things that He allows us to face in life.  Sometimes we do not ever understand the exact meaning of the things we have to go through and other times we figure it out after the fight is over.  Whichever way God chooses to walk through these battles with us, we must be relatively certain that for some reason we are worth His time and guidance through these fights and as the song states “sometimes He calms the storm and sometimes He calms His child.”  But do we understand why we are subjected to these battles and what is it about us that our enemy desires most about us?  Our fight with the enemy goes back to the beginning of human history and it shall never change until the earth and our lives end as we know it.

Many people believe that our fight with the enemy begins when we are born.  This is a valid argument in the fact that when we leave the mother’s womb we are “then” considered to be alive and deemed worthy of life itself, so this could be a defining point of the war that we wage but why would our enemy pick on innocent life forms if the key was already not coded within us in some manner?  Being born into a cruel environment does not give enough definition either since here lies the inheritance of life is already set into motion, nor does being placed into a wonderful family gives justice for this motion either.

Other people will say that when you become a Christian is when the battle begins between you and your enemy.  I do not believe this to be the defining point either since if that were the case all the nonbelievers would be living normal, happy, peaceful, successful, healthy, and any other adjective that you could think about that would describe their life.  I remember when I gave my life to Christ back in 1982 in Cleveland, Texas but that evening was not the defining point or the beginning of my war with my enemy.

There are those that believe that their struggles against the enemy began when they got baptized, or married, or began teaching Sunday School, or being chosen to become an altar boy but the fact is none of these special moments in our life represent the beginning of our war.  And nothing that you can do in church or any position that you hold in the church can be the beginning of your war.  Now, receiving those positions and holding titles within your church can intensify your battles of course but it is not the reason why the enemy began his war with you.

See, the defining point of our war actually began long before you were even born, long before your parents and any portion of your family was present on this earth.  Your war with the enemy began at the same time my war with the enemy began and it was with the creation of the first human beings on earth.  It was at this time that the war began between Satan and humanity and it does not matter if you believe in the story or not, it is real and it is happening every moment of your life.  It does not matter what you do on earth but as long as you are on this earth and breathing the gift of life you have the potential to push back the enemy’s kingdom and prove to him that God was right all along.  It is for this purpose and this purpose only that your enemy, my enemy hates us so dearly that he will do anything in his might and power to keep you from the will of God and the plan that He has for your life.

Our enemy knows that God controls the playing field and says what can happen and cannot happen.  Our enemy knows the potential that you have in this playing field and it is his job to keep us from advancing in life.  See, God wants us to succeed in life, be healthy, have a sound mind, be productive in life, live life to the fullest at all times and understanding that God has given us this life in freedom, real freedom, but allowing us to realize this would be devastating to is cause, why do you think he tempted the first humans, why not start with the 10,000^th human or even the 1 millionth human?  The opportunity for his deception had to be at the beginning of humanity so that his access to future human natural laws would be intact for his manipulation.

These laws are still in effect within our lives today.  If you want examples then look at your children or in your siblings or find someone in your family and then watch them for a while.  Eventually, you will notice a similarity, and not in looks, that will remind you of someone in your family.  Listen to stories that your grandparents tell about their parents or grandparents, there will be a pattern that will show up at some point.  All of us have some similar pattern within our family that points back to a common thread and this is a result of our war and the things that we have to battle on a daily basis.  These reference points are the ones that open doors in our lives that we cannot understand why things happen but we sure do like to blame god when they arrive.  But it is not God who is responsible for these, the choice was made for us a very long time ago and we are made to clean up the mess, so to speak.

But here is the good news. J  There is a way around this scenario.  The battles cannot be avoided, they will come our way and we will have to stand our ground and fight them.  But when the choice was made for our lives a long time ago God did provide a way for us to be protected, which is another reason why your potential to humanity torments our enemy.  The protection is God and the blood of His Son Jesus.  God actually spoke of His plan while He was with the participants in the garden and from that moment on the war has been on for our lives. 

There are many things in our lives that are presented to us that we do not perceive as a hindrance or actually a part of our war that we are fighting.  But stop and think about it for a minute and really try and understand what some of the things that are in your life actually represent to you.  Are they a hindrance and an object that enables our enemy to gain access to us during our battles?  Do the things that we read, watch, say portray to others a sword of defeat in their lives?  How far have we allowed the enemy to penetrate into our beings that we do not even realize that he is maneuvering our actions in a detrimental way, to everyone and not just ourselves?

All of these things that we encounter have a certain meaning and plan for our life.  The things of the world only confound our problems with our enemy, we never truly benefit from them at all.  It is all part of our war that was waged against us many millennia ago and we are running to grab a hold of it as fast as we can all the while being blindly destroyed with each step we take.

This war will not end until you draw your last breath, and then our enemy does not care any longer you are physically off the planet and can no longer do any more damage, or have the potential to destroy his kingdom.  Your life is valuable and so important that God chose you over the angels as His messenger to the world and it is just as important for our enemy to shut you up and to hinder you from accomplishing your mission in life.  Each one of us has a purpose for our life and our enemy knows this and each purpose that has been given to us has the potential of pushing forward God’s Kingdom and pushing back Satan’s.  Our enemy has the home field advantage but we have the eternal manager that knows every detail about life and is willing to teach us everything that we can ever know the true meaning of life.  Our battles are tough, bloody and vicious in nature but the stakes are high and all sides involved know the end results.  You are worth fighting for and we all should know this by the battles that we constantly face each day.  So hold your head up high and watch out for those battle rocks and know that you are a child of the King.

DLB

Heads Up!

Heads Up!

1/13/13

Our bodies are equipped with a formation on the top of our structure called a head.  It is a fascinating object that sits there and basically controls every movement that we make.  We have many names for this object and while some of us see others that walk with their heads down most of the time we still have the capability to improve our posture and to raise up our heads and to see what is around us.  When are heads are down we blind ourselves to what is coming towards us and it is not until after we are hit with something that we tend to look up and see what just happened.  We need to change this habit of walking with our heads down so that we may have a fighting chance to defend ourselves with what our enemy is doing to us.

We have all heard of the phrase “head’s up!”  We all understand what that phrase means as well and if we ignore those words when they are spoken, or yelled, in our direction we increase our chances of being hit with some sort of flying object.  We also know that with everything that is going on around us it is physically impossible to always have our heads in the upright position and that we must rotate on a continual basis to grasp the full view of our surroundings.  However, if we continue to look in one direction, besides forward, in this type of manner we are surely going to have some type of problem in the very short future.  I guess that this type of human activity also falls into the same question as to why people at sea continually look up to the sky.

Now, with my sick sense of humor I have always found the statement of head’s up to be kind of funny.  In my opinion if you are not paying attention to what is going on around you and you hear this phrase the first thing that humans usually do is look up and find the person or people who are saying the warning phrase.  Then, by the time you locate that specific person and look up in the sky to see where the object is coming from most of the time it is already too late and you have just been hit or the object has landed close by the position that you are in at that moment.  So, because of that scene that I have in my head that should tell you that I have heard that phrase coming from someone but have never actually been hit with an object that I was not expecting and I shall not bring up any past experiences where I have been expecting objects to approach my position but have totally missed them and gotten hit anyway.

And all of us have witnessed or have wanted to witness someone walking along the street or sidewalk while reading a book or newspaper or with the new fad today with people texting away and then smacking into an object that if they only had their head up would have missed completely.  Even though this is funny this portion of the scene is not the best part.  The best part is that the people who accomplish this sometimes painful but hilarious act immediately begin to look around and to see if anyone saw what had just happened, dusts themselves off and continue on the street doing the exact same function that caused them the pain and embarrassment in the first place.  So all of you kids out there whose parents ask you if you have your head on straight there is a reason for this statement and it is only for your own good.

It is inevitable that if we continue to walk with our head down and refuse to look up and pay attention to what is coming and going around us, we will at some point run into trouble and pain will be inflicted on our lives, this is not a maybe this is a guarantee.  Humans also tend to forget that this type of activity occurs within our spiritual lives as well.  When we are travelling along our spiritual path of life these spiritual rocks become a part of our path and if we do not have our heads up and looking about, they will hit us and leave us to die.  These rocks may be spiritual ones but they also affect our physical lives as well and since we have to react to these circumstances it is a must that we understand that they exist.

There are three types of rocks that cause us to look down on this path.  The first type is the ones that are buried within our road in which we have no option of avoiding, these are a part of our lives that we inherit and we live with these our entire lives.  They are big enough that we have to stop and go around them as we pass their presence in our path.  These types of rocks are embedded within our path and cannot be removed but in certain instances we are reminded of their existence and that is when they become a distraction.  This type of rock was discussed in the Bible in the Book of John about a blind man but it was God who changed the inherited path of this person.  The person could not remove this rock from his life and even though he had lived with it for his entire life he inherited the rock and the man trusted God enough to change the “composition” of his rock. 

This type of rock will appear at any time along our road of life and we must understand that it is a product of man and not of God.  It is also a rock that we do not have an option to correct either and it is totally up to God and His healing power to correct.  This type of rock is a burden on our lives and many times we do not understand why God has allowed this type of rock to be developed within our lives but we do have the comfort that God does know what is happening within our lives and even though we have to bend down and maneuver around this rock He is right there to guide our steps as we pass the rock.  It is at this time when we are watching our rock passing our enemy that we like to believe will leave us alone with our inherited condition brings his own frustrations to a head within our lives and complicates our maneuvers around the rock.  Yes, our enemy is that cruel and this is when he shows the world his true colors. 

The second type of rock is the type that we voluntarily place on our path.  This type of rock is dangerous since we place it on our road.  We call them defensive mechanisms and we place them in strategic places within our lives (road) that we believe will protect us from going through similar circumstances in the future.  We may think that what we are doing is a security measure but in reality we are placing obstacles in our life that we will have to go back and remove in order for our road to be correctly travelled upon.  It is this type of rock that hurts the most since it is one that was not present our entire life and that we have built it well enough to that we incorporate these rocks as permanent structures within our lives.  They are built to last and since we dig into our lives and prepare the ground for the new protection it is our inner being that attaches to this rock and views it as a healing measure and mechanism when in fact that the rock becomes a source of decay and eventual death of our inner man.

It is while we are building this type of rock that we are looking down towards the ground and it is assured that some type of added circumstance will occur while we are constructing this rock within our life.  What is interesting about this type of rock is that is made of human origins.  The stones that we make come from the ground, our own composition which our inner beings accept as a natural replacement and therefore do not fight the building process.  Think about that statement for a bit and it will become clear of why the walls that we build serve as a natural barrier in our lives and are so easily built and very difficult to let o of when the time is needed.  I have a feeling that I will be dealing with type of rock in a future article. J

So at another point in our lives it never fails that we end up having to deal with these types of rocks in our path and when this time occurs it is a painful process and it is never easy.  This is true even if we allow God to take care of as well.  Yes, God will be glad to break this rock up and He has no problem with this but in this instance we will be reluctant in accepting this process and usually stand around and try and “help” with the rocks as He is breaking it up and some of us actually pick up the pieces and try to place them into our “pockets” for future remembrance.  It is difficult to rid ourselves of this type of rock since it is a part of our lives which has basically the same consistency as our composition and another reason is that we made it and we do not especially do not want to give up since the definition of mine is exemplified in the structure of the rock.  But God does have a plan for that rock and that plan does not include its presence on our path but we still have to deal with the scars that it leaves behind, but this is where the rocks become strangely dim after their proper removal from our lives.

The third rock is actually the rock that I had wanted to deal with in depth but after reading the previous two types of rocks I do not know how much more in depth I can get with this rock.  This type of rock is the ones that our enemy loves to throw at us along our road of life.  It is these types of rocks that are foreign to our lives since they are not of our knowledge and they are constructed of elements that are designed to inflict the most damage when they hit our lives during an unexpected attack. 

Our enemy loves to watch us as we proceed on the path of life, he even skips along with us and shows himself to us on a daily basis and in some instances stays with us for an extended period of time so that we becomes comfortable with his presence.  It is at this comfortable time in our lives that he decides to leave this position and to carry on his mission elsewhere but even though he is out of our sight we are never out of his mind.  His thoughts of us are always dedicated with a plan of action that is against us even though our path seems to be all roses at the moment.  This action by him is all part of his mind games that he plays with us, yes he knows that he is short on time but he also realizes that the events that have been foretold have not come into play as of yet so in that sense he has ample time to execute his plan to a gullible world and with the reality of him knowing that this type of scenario is being accepted by billions of people around the globe he has the opportunity to continue his plans of rock throwing almost unabated.   

Our path of life is a long one and we have no idea of what is hiding just around the corner.  We cannot even tell you what is ahead of us even when we are on an open portion of the path and have clear skies all around.  Life is an adventure and all of have experienced bumps in the road at some point in time.  Our enemy loves to gain access to our lives and then create a rock that will do as much damage as possible when it strikes us.  However, the enemy knows that at first if he stands in front of us and shows his hand at his plan we will stand up and know what is going on but as time advances and we continue our journey he then can gauge how to act when we are going fulfilling our daily patterns. 

Our enemy likes to hide behind bends in the road and wait till the time is right to hurl these rocks towards us direction.  So, he bides his time until we approach the bend.  To us the approaching bend looks like another ordinary curve in the road in which we are preparing to deal with.  We turn our heads for a moment to make sure everything is ok to encounter the bend and as soon as our eyes move from the forward direction our enemy is ready to launch the rock.  He throws this rock and its projectory is straight, fast and has no obstacles in between him and the target.  He does not care that you are not looking for the object and he is relieved that his plan is being completed without any hitches and he formulates a huge smile of satisfaction on his face when the rock hits its target.

The rock that he has thrown is made to have a meaningful impact on our lives and it is designed to have a profound effect not only to us but for those around us as well.  As a kid growing up in the south snowy winters were very rare and deep snow levels were nowhere to be found.  So when it was time to drive out to Colorado to visit family for Christmas or New Years it was a grand time to go play in the deep snow.  We would have awesome snowball fights and build huge snow forts and perfect snowmen.  But when the snowball fights would occur it would not be too long until someone had a cheap shot opportunity and when this would occur it was executed perfectly.  So, when the snowball hit what was the first thing that the person who just got nailed thought about?  Right, quickly make another snowball and find the culprit.  Even though it was all in fun and jest the same concept play out when we get hit with a rock thrown at us by our enemy.

Remember the old phrase Kill two birds with one stone?  This phrase actually comes into play when our enemy decides to throw a stone our way.  See, when he accomplishes his mission and nails us with a stone our immediate reaction is to bend over and pick up the stone and throw it back at him.  However, there is one problem that we tend to forget about and that is that the stones that he throws at us have no effect on him they just pass right through him and begin their trek towards the person or group of people that are in close proximity.  What happens?  Well, they are hit with the stone that you just threw at them so they decide to retaliate in return and the problem escalates from there.  It does not matter what type of stone that is thrown in your direction our enemy is counting on you reacting in the normal human fashion to the situation and launching the stone or another stone that has been strategically placed close to you into the direction of where the stone was thrown at you.  You are being baited and the majority of us fall for it every time.

We must remember that Satan is our enemy and that he has no desire for us to have any peace within our lives.  Look at the world and all of the conflicts that are presently ongoing.  Then turn to history and read about all of the civil and military actions that have occurred over the millennia.  This is all part of his plan to create division within the people of the world and we are falling for it right and left.  Even if the battles are justified and rights and liberties are being threatened this is still an opportunity to create division amongst people and when we really dig deep into history we will see that he has laughed at us for the same amount of time because we have missed the concept of his existence within our world and pathways of life.  And when you put this type of activity into our fore thinking it really brings home the concept that man will act according to what he believes is right.

The path of life will always bring encounters with the enemy.  The path of life will always have rocks within our path that we have to endure from time to time.  But the rocks that we chose to create for our lives do not have to be an issue if we choose to not create them because of past issues.  Our enemy will always throw rocks at us and it is our responsibility to be on the lookout for when they are heading in our direction.  We also must know, understand and believe that we do have a protection system in place that helps us against these thrown rocks.  But for a number of reasons most of the world chooses to ignore this protection system and then curse the system for not working when the rocks hit their mark.  Our enemy works in socialist capacities on this front and does not care if you believe in the protection system or not he is going to throw rocks at you because he knows and understands your potential against his kingdom.  Our enemy will not be derelict in his duty towards you so why don’t you decide to restore the beliefs in our holy protection once again?

DLB

The Loss of a Warrior

The Loss of a Warrior

1/5/13

Throughout history we have read where cities, countries, territories and nations have had many great names in each of these specific societies and that these names have stood out to everyone around those areas as an example that all others look up to.  These well known figures have stood the test of time and have proven themselves as leaders for their families and nations and provided an inner strength to those who admired their talents.  Yet most of these figures live their lives in a quiet manner trying not to direct attention towards them and keeping a humble approach to the conflicts in which they are involved.  These people are the warriors of their realm and serve to advance their countrymen’s defenses in order to preserve their way of life. 

A warrior’s presence is not always warranted just on the typical battlefield.  It is common place to believe that warriors are only needed during times of stress and conflict which only places their usage during wartime.  Their presence on the battlefield is priceless and can turn the tide of a battle with just a few words or strategic positioning and when the foot soldiers look to these leaders for guidance it comes with commanding authority.  It has been traditionally said that to die on the battlefield is of the greatest honor and having studied military history and general war history for some time I would tend to agree with this statement.

This conception of a battlefield warrior cannot be denied but one large portion of being a warrior is sometimes overlooked and that is their conduct within their community.  Their presence and authority within their own circles is just as important and valuable as on the typical battlefield, with some people arguing the point that this aspect of their lives is served as the face of the true warrior.  This type of presence is heartfelt and true to the family nature which instills balance and desire to know what is taught to the people of the group and it allows for these people to teach other the values that have been incorporated into them by these warriors.  A warrior’s ultimate goal is for the fight not to happen but to be avoided by decisions of their people and of others to prevent the fight to occur, but if it must be an active fight they too are prepared for the ensuing fight.

A warrior also knows when to mention things that have been placed upon their heart and they also know when to sit and listen to those around them during harsh times.  It is a warrior’s gift to hear what is being said and then to say it correctly to the needed individuals in the correct timing.  It does not matter if the information I favorable or not but the warrior understands that the truth needs to be told to whomever it is relevant.  A warrior does not make things personal unless it is warranted and when this time comes it is never against the person or people in general but an instruction for them to realize and to understand that the path that they are on is harmful to themselves and for those around them.

Warriors never like to see a fight or a battle take place nor do they revel in its glory after the battle is over.  A true warrior looks over the battlefield and realizes that lives were lost and that there could have been another way to solve this issue.  A warrior also will keep the battle into focus and try to resolve future issues in another way so that lives can be saved and brought home to their families instead of burying them as the sun sets for the day.  A warrior loves to defend life but he also enjoys living life to its utmost more and they revel in knowing the fact that things that can be avoided before they happen, through their anticipation of the situation at hand that leads to peace within everyone’s land.

So when a true warrior leaves this world a visible void occurs within the community and a state of mourning begins.  The community begins to understand the warrior’s code and desires for their lives in the loss but they also have the hope and strength to know that the warrior cared and loved for each one them that knew about the warrior.  The warriors knowledge, mentality, love and honor is automatically passed to those who knew and respected their message and in this death that message rings loud and true to everyone who has heard the words of the warrior.

Many of the world’s population do not recognize a special kind of warrior, one who does not portray a warlike spirit but a spirit of meekness and humility.  We also do not recognize that this type of warrior does see battles and has witnessed many atrocious results of these battles, not always in the physical realm but mostly in the spiritual realm.  It is these battles that we tend to ignore in our lives and place them as insignificant but God delivers these battles to the spiritual eyes of a prayer warrior and the battle begins with a single spoken word.  Not all battles and issues are known to the prayer warrior but God gives certain details to the warriors that allow them to understand what is going on and what needs to be prayed about.  It is a special calling that requires an extraordinary person to accept for the conditions of the battles are of great importance to another person or group of people.

Today we celebrate the life of one of those prayer warriors.  It has been a privilege to know this warrior for a good majority of my life.  This warrior loved life itself, loved God with all of her heart, loved her family to the highest degree, and the loved church with a servant’s heart.  There is no question about it that everyone that knew this warrior understood that her goals were not of this world but those of God.  Many times this warrior held her family together, her small community together and her church together.  I cannot even imagine how many hours that she has prayed for all of the above mentioned situations yet has time to complete her everyday necessities within her own household.

This warrior is the exemplary example of a true prayer warrior that no matter what her own circumstances were she understood that God had a better plan for someone else’s life and that He showed her what to pray for within their lives.  These prayers were never vengeful nor were they damning but they were always for the person, group or church to see what God has for their lives and to be aware of the dangers that they were following.  Ad when you stop and think about what her life meant, that is exactly what God has planned for our lives for all of us to be so in tune with God that we desire only Him within our personal lives so that we can avoid the rust of the earth.

A quick story about this warrior before I close and it has to do with me.  I remember many times when I lived in the same area as this warrior.  I was a young punk who thought that I knew everything and that I was in control of my life no matter what people said to or about me, boy have I learned things since then.  But I remember that this warrior would come up to me and look me in the eye and say absolutely nothing to me, and she would just stand there and smile at me.  At the time I had no idea of what she was doing or what she had prayed about for my life I just thought she wanted a hug from me.  While this was true I had no idea or clue of what was actually occurring within her realm of activity and I also had no idea of exactly what battle was begin waged for my life, soul or spirit at that moment or in my future, but she did.

I thank this warrior for listening to God and that she spent those minutes, hours and days praying for me and my family.  I know this prayerful activity of hers continued for decades and continued until the day she left us.  I also know and believe that she prayed for each and every one of you in the same manner no matter what your circumstances were and are.  She loved each and every one of you with a Godly love that cannot easily be understood based on human reasoning but rest assured that as you seek God further, as she would have wanted, her prayers for you will come into light and you too can one day understand the significance of this valuable warrior. 

We all shall miss your presence Shirley but we comfort in the fact that you are now in front of God’s throne continuing the interceding for our lives on the same spiritual plane.  Your life continues within the lessons that you have taught us and through us we will be allowed to pass the good news of Christ to others.  We love you and will miss you but we shall never forget you.

DLB