Conventional Battle Lines
10/10/13
When we read about conventional warfare most of us can
understand that this involves two sides and hard battle lines that can be
defined with forward or backward movements.
This type of war is easily constructed but difficulty fought due to the
opposing powers struggling to make headway against the enemy. It does not take a larger force to maintain
these lines it just takes fighting personnel placed into strategic positions
that can be the most effective when the enemy attacks. As we portray our lives into this same
setting we must understand that our lives are used in the fighting of this
spiritual battle and that it is important that we know how to keep sight of the
defined battle lines as well.
Of all the war stories and books that I have read
concerning the birth and growth of modern warfare, they all have a few things
in common. One factor is that there will
always be two sides fighting each other; another factor is that some portion of
land will be fought over and it is certain that a large amount of material
structures will be destroyed and an additional common factor is that there are
defined lines that extend the limits to each side of the battle. These lines are sometimes long but can be
short in nature as well. It all depends
upon the participants and how they react when those lines are tested that will
take count at the end of the battle.
I remember watching some of the old World War II films
that portrayed some of the battles in which the major players of the war
“duked” it out for days at a time. Some
of the campaigns lasted for months with many men on both sides losing their
lives in the name of their countries.
War has always been around and people fighting over land, honor, and
freedom has been the battle cries of each charge. But what happens when the battle lines become
obscured and the defined roll of the soldiers is lost and their effectiveness
as a fighting unit stalls and eventually lose the will to fight? What happens when this setting occurs and how
can the soldiers regain their focus upon the cause of their country or even
their existence?
Throughout military history we can read where the
definition of battle lines is of the utmost importance and how those lines
determine how the overall goal of success is being achieved. I understand that not everyone likes war and
for the majority of us it is safe to say that war should always be the last
resort to any potential conflict with another human being or even philosophy
for that matter. However, we also know
that sometimes the political garbage that is thrown our way, along with the
same throwing process in our enemy’s direction, the shooting will eventually
begin and certain conditions will be set into stone. If we cannot define the battle lines then the
battle is already lost and we have no chance of winning the war since we are
not focused enough to recognize the simplest of war states.
The Zeigfried Line, the West Wall, the Atlantic Wall,
Volturno Line and the Barbara Line are all examples of some of the defined
lines of World War II battles. Each line
was represented in its own unique way and each had its own defensive measures
in place to make sure that the enemy did not cross the barrier and have direct
access to the land area behind it. The
defenses were made of the strongest known materials including the manpower that
reinforced its material needs. Both
sides of these lines understood that it would be necessary to fight their way
to up to this defined line and then would have to fight even harder in order to
break the defenses and cross these lines.
Every inch of territory gained could easily be lost within the next few
minutes so the highest amount of strength would have to be displayed at all
times. The job of each side was to advance
their own lines in order to strengthen their hold of the territory in doubt,
the lines had been set and the battle began and everyone involved knew that
there could be only one winner.
The goals of each side were strictly defined as well and
everyone involved knew exactly what the end destination was and they would give
their all in helping to obtain this goal.
Sometimes this meant sacrificing good men in order to disrupt the enemy
for the overall plan. These types of
actions actually kept the lines stabile sometimes but many of the times they
were designed to inactivate certain areas of the line in order to advance the
other side’s agenda. This tactic proved
to be highly successful and broke apart many defined lines all the while the
overall goal of advancement continued.
The lines were broken but not lost in their definition and the fighting
forces on both sides had to adjust to the new conditions of the battle.
This type of warfare is termed conventional warfare since
both sides of the conflict have a defined setting and goal with the position of
each fighting force known, so it is easy to draw a “line” and to know where the
brunt of the fight will be concentrated.
It is easy to recognize the enemy since each side wears identifying
uniforms and it is also common knowledge that if one that you do not know
begins to fire upon you, they are the enemy.
I was in the medical side of things when I was in the
USAF and even though I was trained in combat maneuvers my job did not require
me to be located within the front lines.
So my ears did not become trained in identifying the sounds of different
artillery, tanks, etc. However, those
who are located up at the front or in positions that hear the active sounds of
battle, can recognize the sounds of certain machinery and physical sounds of
the projectile begin launched towards them.
The sounds of close combat also determine the site and the strength of
the defined lines and it is necessary to test the qualities of the enemy’s
lines in order to determine the positions that your side needs to take. All of which paints an overall picture and
complete definition of the battle lines to which each side is fighting to
obtain or to hold.
It has also been noted that once the fall of a defined
line has accomplished, all information and stability of the established line
and the side that has built it will be in disarray. As WWII drug along people throughout the
world saw defined lines rise and fall, with both sides claiming victory with
the demise of each line. At the end of
the war it seemed like that only one side of the war was claiming victory over
these lines and everyone knows the ultimate outcome of that gruesome
conflict. The illusions of war can
become devastating if reality is not kept within every person fighting the
battle and once our focus is off or we are distracted in any way our enemy will
pounce and do their best to disrupt our lines.
This is done for one purpose and for one purpose only and that is to
gain access to our side and to break the lines for their advantage.
I know that I have touched on this subject before and
that some of the concepts that I am writing about now are similar, but it is
very important for us to understand what is actually transpiring around us no
matter what our immediate surroundings suggest.
We do have an enemy and our enemy wants nothing more than to destroy
us. The Church has had the concept for
centuries and God has had this concept even before our creation that our enemy
will stop at nothing to deceive us so that he can end our lives forever, both
physically and spiritually. The Church
has manipulated this concept for its own will and has personally destroyed
millions of lives in the process, but God is not in the habit of destroying
lives but only trying to get us to see the real battle that is ongoing and how
we are being defeated simply because we do not understand or ignore the true
battle lines that have been placed around us.
The Church itself had the idea and concept that it had
the authority to draw the battle lines and to take stake in their
creation. The Church did this by
establishing itself as the sole authority, in human terms, to control the human
population by what it says and does rather than what God wishes for His
people. This is manipulating the battle
lines with the help of our enemy with the Church’s blessings added to the
mix. The battle lines are not the Church’s
to draw or to define because if it were our responsibility then there would
have been no reason for Jesus to establish His Church in the first place and
every aspect of the life of Jesus would have been totally different. In addition, if the Church was responsible
for this definition then the only way that we would accomplish this would be to
place it on human terms and limitations, and this is exactly what the Church
has done in the past and we are now reaping these benefits of our haughtiness.
This action by the Church has distorted the battle lines
and has allowed the human nature effect to infiltrate behind the lines due to
its limited and flawed concepts. There
is a reason why it is not our responsibility to draw these lines but to
recognize them and to make sure that our lines are advanced instead of being
drawn. The battle lines for our lives
have already been drawn and it since this has been achieved, there is no reason
that we should redraw them. The battle
lines are between two kingdoms and both kingdoms are immortal enemies and
cannot get along in any capacity. We are
the instruments that have been created, then deceived and now responsible for
advancing one or the other kingdom. In
short words one is always advanced for good and the other one advances through
the destruction of the players involved, which in truth is us.
Look at what we have done to people in our past when they
have not conformed to the ways that we believe that they should follow. Even our current history we have allowed this
same content and desire to infiltrate our reasoning and then display it
publically with boastful insight. What
deems us, a human being who is flawed in every manner the one who creates what
is right or wrong? We have even obscured
these lines and with these actions too, destroyed millions of lives in the name
of freedom. God is the only one that can
define what is good and what is evil because every time we try to do this act,
we fail miserably. I am glad it is not our
responsibility to create these battle lines, for if it were my doings, one would
find out pretty quick that I am no artist when it comes to drawing.
It is however, the responsibility of the Church to
understand the battle lines and to find out what the battle lines are
exactly. We as the Church cannot do this
if our eyes are on the world and what it has to offer. The world is part of the enemy, plain and
simple. It may look fine to accept but
in reality it brings nothing but shame and death to our side of the battle. We cannot afford to thin out our defenses and
allow the enemy to attack our lines when it is weakened. For if we allow this penetration the world
will gain its foothold within our doors and allow itself to grow, and then it
will establish itself and grow further and eventually begin to dictate its
message to the Church. When this occurs
the enemy has its foothold and will take every advantage in order to establish
its authority behind our lines.
We must continually keep our eyes on God so that we may
always understand the battle lines. Keep
His word close to our hearts and to understand the importance of every detail
of His word, not just the rosy portions.
The Bible clearly defines this battle line and we must continually study
this map in order to comprehend our weaknesses and how to defend against sneak
attacks. The Bible is filled with
situations that occurred in people’s lives and if you read these examples, you
will find correlation after correlation to our lives as well. This means that the battle lines have not
changed since before time so why would we wish to redefine them on a human
level? We have witnessed mankind trying
its best to re-write history to satisfy the current thinking of the day and if
we continue to try this with God’s Word we will fall prey to our enemy with
devastating results being unleashed upon our lives.
When we allow our battle lines to become out of focus it
is a guarantee that sometime in the near future that our defenses will soon
fall. It is not a matter of “if” but “when.” Our enemy has one goal and he will use
everything within his chain links to complete this mission. The question that begs is why are we
continuing to add links to his chain by our allowance of worldly standards
within the confines of the Church? It is
our choice in this matter and our choices will have severe consequences if we
do not realize what we are actually doing by choosing the world instead of God. Do not allow pride to rule our day, for we
all know what happens when pride becomes our savior and standard. God wishes for us to live in peace and in harmony,
with Him supplying every need that we might ever dream about, but He cannot do
this if we do not place Him first in our society and personal lives.
It is obvious that the mankind has drawn a battle line so
do you ever wonder why our enemy has not?
God and Satan did draw this line and it is not our place to redefine it
according to our standards. Trying to
redraw this battle line is a perfect example of a bad idea and we must flush
this concept out of our hearts immediately.
The Kingdom actions that we portray allow either God or our enemy to
advance these lines, not redefine them.
God continues to send out His message of restoration and
it is His desire that we hear what He is trying to tell us. He knows the patterns of man and He
understands that at some point man will fall upon his own sword because of our
selfish ways. There is a way that we can
skip this pattern and turn our lives around but we must include God in this
turning and to place Him first and above everything else in our lives. Once we allow God to take control He will
guide us back to the position of understanding and knowing about the defined
battle lines. He will lead us as we
advance His Kingdom and push back our enemy but we must continue to not dictate
our lives by our own accord. God loves
each and every one of us and it is His desire for each of us to live fully in Him
and in His ways. It is a simple process
and if mankind would follow His ways what an exciting life we would live and
witness each day as we rise out of our beds.
Turn and accept God’s ways once again and the problems that we are
facing will be gone for God will grant us the wisdom to solve each arguing
point within our world. God is good and
He loves us so much that He has provided a Holy and complete plan for each of
us with no one left out, however all He asks is that you love Him in return and
to keep His Word within your heart and seek Him in all of your ways.
DLB
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