On Being A Spiritual Warrior

My apologies as I haven't posted for ages.  Life has been busy, and tough at times and this blog has been forgotten.  However, I was asked to give a presentation on my journey a Spiritual Warrior.  It came after I just had stepped out of an oppressive situation and was quite unexpected.  This is my what I said.

Please note all scripture used is from NIV

My Journey As A Spiritual Warrior

The Oxford English dictionary defines a warrior as ‘a brave or experienced soldier or fighter’ however when I think of woman warrior, I think of Xena, Warrior Princess. In the TV show, Xena was tall, strong, wise, thoughtful, and protective of friends, not vindictive nor was she easily angered. Xena never second guessed herself and knew exactly what to say or do and more importantly, when to say or do it – someone I thought was the complete opposite of me.

I read this quote the other day. “We fail more often, not because of whom we are but because of whom we think we aren’t”.

So often we judge ourselves by who we think we aren’t instead of whom we are, or rather whose we are, in whom we are and who lives within us.

Several years ago, I had a revelation from God after reading these verses in Ephesians 6,

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.13 Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Over the years I’ve heard a zillion sermons on the armour of God but none really spoke to me. They were usually about putting on the armour of God and that always got me wondering if we took it off, how we took it off and why.  Or how do you actually put it on?  So I did what I usually do when I get stuck on something, I ask God what it’s all about. This is what I believe He said to me. The Armour of God Is Jesus. All of a sudden verses to support that idea came flooding into my head. 

First of all, we are told to stand strong in His mighty power. We are to trust that Jesus will do what He said He will and defend and protect us. 

Psalm 118:14

The Lord is my strength and my defence; he has become my salvation.

We are not run about yelling or complaining but rest in the Lord and in His mighty power.  Resting in the Lord doesn’t mean doing nothing but lay around, it means to simply trust Him to be the Lord, our defender and the lifter of our heads.  Phil Drysdale says, “Spiritual Warfare has nothing to do with fighting and everything to do with resting”

We already have the belt of truth buckled around our waists.

John 14:6 

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 

Just as a belt holds your trousers up or shapes your dress, the truth of Jesus holds and shapes our lives. 

We have the breastplate of righteousness in place.

1 Corinthians 1:30

It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.

This breastplate of righteousness is placed on our chests, to protect our hearts from the hurts of the world.  Yes, people we love and trust will betray us but because of this breast plate we don’t hold on to that hurt or allow it to wound us terminally.  An example of this is when Jesus was in the upper room and washed the feet of his disciples.  Jesus knew that he would be betrayed by one of his disciples and the rest would desert or deny Him but he physically demonstrated his love for them.

Our feet are fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

Isaiah 9:6

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Gospel of Peace means good news of peace. The good news of Jesus is with us all the time.  We can’t take a step without Jesus being with us wherever we go. Which can be either comforting or very scary...

 We are to take up the shield of faith.

Psalm 28:7

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.

The Lord is my shield.  He actually makes Himself our shields.  We don’t have to carry on or beg Him to look after us or protect us.  It was God’s decision from the beginning of time to protect us.

We are to take up and put on the helmet of salvation.

1 Corinthians 2:16

for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

We have the mind of Christ! However, our minds are the place most of us forget to look after.  We forget to protect our minds and because of this they can become a battlefield. We start to worry or doubt, or maybe get concerned about what others think of us and we begin to feel condemned.  We need to actively take up our helmet of salvation and remember according to Psalm 62:7  My salvation and my honour depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge.

And also take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

John 1:1

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

And

Revelation 19:15

Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations

There are two words here. Jesus is the Word (uppercase w) and the Bible is the word (lowercase w).  I need to wear Jesus and I also need to pick him up daily and to wrap myself in Him from head to toe.  And not only that, I need to allow Jesus to fully live in me...not just when I feel like it or when things are tough but all the time.   

And because I know God has endless patience with me, I asked Him How do I practically do that?  I believe this is the answer:  Every morning when I wake up and before putting my feet on the floor I acknowledge Jesus, thank Him for always being there for me, for enveloping me like a glove and for living inside of me. I also ask Him for eyes to see the things he is showing me, ears to hear what he is saying, a heart to accept and a mind to understand it all.

I also need to know the other word, the Bible, so I can stand up when I feel that the enemy is attacking or oppressing me.  Our battle isn’t against flesh and blood but against the enemy.  Jesus quoted scripture when the devil tempted him in the desert and we can do the same. I’m also learning to speak in faith. I admit that I struggle daily with trying to not be negative and to pray blessings upon those who are my enemy or who hold things against me.  And at the end of the day, all we can do is remember that in I John 4:4, John says You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

Be-ness

God created us to be human beings not human doings.  There’s nothing wrong with doing things to for God but I truly believe God wants us to just be and rest in our be-ness* and to know that we are loved beyond measure and nothing can remove us from his love.  

 As it has been said, there are no servants in God’s family...only sons and daughters.  

What does that mean? 

I think it means we need to...

be thankful

be positive

be determined

be strong

be the church

be all you can be

but most of all, be His!

If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or we die, we belong to the Lord. Romans 14:8

You can't give up hope because things look hopeless.

Matthew Mitcham, Australian Olympic and Commonwealth Games gold and silver medallist, has this quote on his Facebook page “You can't give up hope because it's hopeless .You have to hope even more, and block your ears and go "blah blah blah blah blah blah blah..." ”

To be honest, I think most of us like to throw ourselves a pity party once in a while.  However, if we wallow in self pity for too long, like sticky mud, hopelessness it will attach itself to us, seep into our very pores and can be really difficult to remove.   

It’s easy to give up when things look grim, but God wants us to trust him and in turn, when we trust him we find safety and rest.

And you shall be secure and feel confident because there is hope; yes, you shall search about you, and you shall take your rest in safety.  Job 11:18

A boy and his importance in the kingdom of God

Have you ever felt that you are too unimportant or ordinary to make a difference?   Maybe it’s time to think again.

 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”  Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). John 6:9-10

When you read the story of Jesus’ miraculous feeding of the 5000 people with bread and fish, you may notice that only the men are counted.  Yet it was a boy, who wasn’t even counted, that supplied the basic bread and fish for Jesus to miraculously multiply.    

This boy isn’t named and most probably felt that he was just another kid in a village.  However, he stepped up, offered what he had, and in doing so played a huge part in enlarging the kingdom of God.

So next time you feel ordinary, remember this boy and then remind yourself that no one is too unimportant to make a difference in the kingdom of God. 

Let Your Light Shine

It’s pointless turning on lights when you are standing in bright daylight, but when you are trying to find your way from one place to another in the dark, lighting become invaluable.

Recently new outdoor lights were installed in the property of one of our churches.   These new lights are great and while it’s not as bright as standing in daylight, it’s much easier to see the trees, their roots as well as the car park when you are on the grounds at night time.

Jesus said, “You are the light of the world” Matthew 5:14

So today, if you find yourself surrounded by darkness, turn on your light, let it shine and show the world Jesus who lives within you.

Loving God

    Jesus said, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’  Matthew 22:37 (MSG)

I have often thought that if I only spoke with my husband once a week, if our conversations were one sided and I didn't listen to him, if everything I said to him was written by someone else and if I didn't put any extra effort into spending time with him, would that make him happy?  Would we have a relationship or would I just be his wife in name only? 

That's about my relationship with my husband...but what about Jesus?  Several times in scripture, the church is referenced as the Bride of Christ, so have you ever wondered what loving God and being the Bride of Christ really means practically?  Or have you thought that its a nice idea in theory, but in real life the hour we spend in church each week should be enough to keep him happy?

This week, I am sharing a quote by author Francis Chan, which really speaks to me about my part in maintaining my relationship with God.

    “When you are truly in love, you go to great lengths to be with the one you love. You’ll drive for hours to be together, even if it’s only for a short while. You don’t mind staying up late to talk. Walking in the rain is romantic, not annoying. You’ll willingly spend a small fortune on the one you’re crazy about. When you are apart from each other, it’s painful, even miserable. He or she is all you think about; you jump at any chance to be together. We need to be like this with God.”

May our ears be ready to hear God's voice, may our hearts be open to his heart, and may we fall in love with Jesus a little more every day.

A Marvelous Love

God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending Jesus to suffer and die so we could enter into religion.  He sent Jesus in order for us to enter into a relationship with him.  God’s biggest desire is for us to know him as a loving father who would do anything to spend time with his kids.   After all, he didn’t make us robots that mindlessly carry out lists of tasks.  God created us to be the objects of his love.    

His love for us isn’t based on our performance or whether or not we love him back.   He just loves his kids because we are his kids.  And what an wonderful, amazing and marvelous thing it is to be called a child of God!

What marvelous love the Father has extended to us!  Just look at it—we’re called children of God!

1 John 3:1 (MSG)