The Way of a Warrior is based on humanity, love, and sincerity; the heart of martial valor is true bravery, wisdom, love, and friendship. Emphasis on the physical aspects of warriorship is futile, for the power of the body is always limited. My dear warrior,
A warrior’s life is one that is given in service to others. It is not self-serving. A warrior lives to protect and defend others—not the self. That would simply be called self-defense. I have learned from the one who has gone before me that warriors take in a way that gives back to others, not a way that robs them or leaves them feeling empty or broken. A warrior protects, not only physically, but also emotionally and spiritually. A warrior is a protector of the entire person: body, heart and mind (or body, spirit and soul. Same thing, different languaging). How can a warrior take in a way that gives much?
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“God does what is impossible only when the possibilities of man are exhausted. The brilliant thing is, we can stand in our impossible situations and smile because we know now that I’ve reached the end of what is possible for me, I can step into the place of what is possible for Him.” My dear warrior,
In the previous posts, I talked about how we create our own ‘theology of suffering’ in order to be able to make sense of our circumstances. There is no way I could possibly write about every single situation that could possibly exist, but I do think there is a limited amount of scenarios, and that every person’s story is just a permutation of one of these ‘basic story structures’ (for lack of a better term). Today I want to share a different scenario with you: that of tests and territory. Often times, God puts us into certain territory because He wants us to conquer that territory. He wants us to take it for ourselves, to take the blessings that He has already put into it. It is ours …for the taking. It is ours, but it is up to us to conquer that territory.  Your name is Life, Your name is Hope inside me, Hope inside me. My dear warrior,
Just like the lyrics above say, His name is Hope, His name is Life inside of us! He is our hope. Beloved, if there is any place in your life for which you have no hope, it is under the influence of a lie. I will say that again. Any circumstance or situation for which you have no hope is under the influence of a lie. So if you have found yourself having thoughts that are hopeless, thoughts that leave you without hope, or thinking about things for which you have no hope, have another thought! Have a better thought. “Stand true to your calling to be a man. Real women will always be relieved and grateful when men are willing to be men”  My dear warrior,
I have become increasingly more aware of men struggling with what it means to be a man; struggling to understand what true masculinity is in a culture that is increasingly antagonistic towards what God designed men to be. Culture defines manliness as being tough as nails, showing no emotion; or demands men to be emasculated, submissive and sensitive; or downgrades/ debases/ demotes them to purely sexual beings, driven by their libido and knowing little more than animal instinct. None of these is correct, and each of them is a distortion of the reality set forth by our Creator. "Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance. The smallest good act today is the capture of a strategic point from which, a few months later, you may be able to go on to victories you never dreamed of. An apparently trivial indulgence in lust or anger today is the loss of a ridge or railway line or bridgehead from which the enemy may launch an attack otherwise impossible." My dear warrior,
A man is made by the small decisions he makes every day. The decision to do right or wrong; to indulge his fancy or be disciplined; to work hard toward his future or to lay back and enjoy folly; to dream big or resign himself to ‘que sera sera’. It is the small choices that shape our paths and therefore our lives. The choice to resist or give in to sin is always there. And no matter how large or small the instance may be, God is moved by our hearts when we choose to resist sin and (in our passion for Him) to live a life pleasing to Him. Likewise, even the smallest decision to give into sin (thinking ‘just this once can’t hurt’) causes us to be separated from God and leads us down the path of destruction.  For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. — 2 Timothy 1:7 My dear warrior,
I will begin by being open about something in my own life: I have struggled with the fear of man for years without ever even recognizing what it was. I understand how easy it can be to be overwhelmed by the enemy, to become fearful in any given situation because it all seems so much bigger than you. It’s easy to look at all the crises around the world, to look at ISIS, or to see the influence of the Masons at work in the media and to simply feel like you’re being overtaken by wave after tsunami wave. It can feel like you are drowning in it all, but I also know that this feeling (which is so easy to get) is a sign that you are focusing on the wrong things.  “A man is as free as he chooses to make himself, never an atom freer.” My dear warrior,
If you find that your wings are easily clipped, and your flight is quickly taken from you by discouragements (whether big or small), this letter is for you. You are so good at letting yourself become heavy-laden, so good at taking on the burdens of the world, and becoming wounded by the circumstances of life, but you are not so good at laying your burdens down. Since you are likely very good at negative self-talk, at reprimanding yourself, at flogging yourself with disparaging running commentary in your mind, it seems I have been given the unique opportunity to encourage you back to life.  “My responsibility is to obey, to surrender my heart and to yield myself to the will of God. It is in the process of obedience that we gain understanding." My dear warrior,
As Christians—as warriors for Christ—we must live with utmost intentionality. The rest of the world may be lazy in their dealings, drift through life, simply get lucky or live any number of ways, but we are not meant to live as the world lives. We are not meant to think as they do. Warriors are intentional about each and every action they carry out: from the way they hold their weapons down to the way they dress, making sure they are armed to the teeth without you ever knowing that they have even one weapon on their person. |
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Mere Humanity: Becoming a Mature Christian in an Immature World 
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