YOU MUST MASTER IT...

It was a warning that an all knowing God lovingly gave to his son...a son who would hold the infamy of being the first to take human life. As rage and murder burned in the heart of Cain, God spoke to him words that now ring almost as clear in my own ears as if they were spoken to me directly: "Sin is couching at your door. It desires to have you, but you must master it." Lurking at the entrance to your heart...vigilantly waiting for it's opportunity. Engulfed with a desire to overwhelm you as strong as a newly-wed husband's desire for his wife on their wedding night. It's close...closer than you realize, and it's purpose is domination and control. Utterly. Completely.

But..."you must master it". There is an art of war that I must own. A warrior code that is to be as much a part of my life as breathing. A familiarity with the weapons of my warfare and the armor of God that make the word of the living God, the sword of the Spirit, feel as natural in my heart and on my lips as the clothes that hang on my body each day. "Praise be to the Lord my Rock. Who trains my hands for war; my fingers for battle." (Psalm 144:1) It is a quiet confidence in battle born out of the awareness of my dependence on God, and His loving validation, commission and protection of me. That he calls me, his child, to take my place on the spiritual battle plain and wreck havoc on darkness in the legacy of His Son. This Warrior Lamb who fought and won wars in wildernesses and gardens. And as his servant, my brother David did...standing defiantly before an enemy without a hint of fear or an ounce of compromise, intent on leaving the battleground with the rule and standard of God established in the void created by the resistance to, and the eradication of, evil. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done. In this place, as it is in heaven.

A soldier fashioned in the image of his Commanding Officer. Unmoved by civilian affairs. Seeking only to please the Master of all. (2 Timothy 2:3, 4) Hands that wield weapons with skill and precision. A heart that loves goodness with absolute passion. A humble child, in the shadow of a mighty Father, who has learned to put serpents and scorpions to flight. A heavenly host cheering. A proud Father smiling...whispering tenderly over his son: "That's my boy."

CHOOSE THIS DAY...

Well...some time has passed since I last put fingertips to keyboard in here. I'm not quite sure of the reason for the silence. It could be that I just didn't feel I had anything worthwhile to say for a while. Maybe it's the melancholy and depression I've been struggling against lately. Perhaps it's the disappointment and discouragement I feel over the often seemingly diluted nature of what I refer to as my faith in and devotion to Christ. Whatever the reason, I suppose it doesn't really matter too much. How does the saying go? "It's not the size of the dog in the fight. It's the size of the fight in the dog." I've been mindful again recently of the literal war that rages inside me for the dominion of my heart. Darkness...Light. Evil...Good. Hypocrisy...Integrity. satan...God. The former influences seduce, intimidate, deceive and manipulate. The latter invite, inspire, guide and liberate. And, in the midst of it all, the powerful weapon of choice has been entrusted to me. I'm granted the capacity to willfully align myself with either of these forces...to the eternal ruin or salvation of my soul.

There are many things in this life that I am unable to influence or control. I cannot control what the future holds and keep the challenges and storms of life at bay. I cannot change the fact that my existence in this world is etched out in territory under the influence of the devil...prone to corruption, imperfection and wickedness. I cannot change the fact that people around me will exercise their gift of choice in ways that don't always favor my preferences. I cannot change the reality that the road to moral, physical and spiritual degradation is almost always more pleasurable (at least in a carnal sense) to embrace than the road to honor, truth and goodness.

Yet I am not entirely without influence and choice. I can choose what I allow to be the focus of my faith. I can choose to buckle under the strife and strain of life or to stand confident in the grace and goodness of God. I can choose to focus on depression and despair or to celebrate the miracle of my sinful soul redeemed. I can choose to never, ever give up. To believe that in total defiance to all things painful and tainted, the flawless, unchanging faithfulness of Jehovah utters proclamations of hope, restoration, purpose and joy. To believe that in the end, in all things and through all things it is His sovereign word that rules over all. Over all. May he teach this vulnerable doubter to be a faith-soaked fighter.

LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!

I often hear of the analogy made between the Christian life and the practical waging of war...and rightly so. Battle and war imagery used in depicting spiritual warfare is not a foreign concept when it comes to the Bible. One of the most recent struggles highlighted in Christian media has been the concept of "Every Man's Battle"...the struggle and fight for sexual purity and integrity. Of course, this is a conflict that applies to women as well, and one which has been addressed in similar fashion. And sexuality is but one of the areas where battle lines are being drawn in the name of righteousness and the advancement of God's kingdom. Believers around the world are being taught and challenged to wage war against carnal and ungodly desires including greed, unforgiveness and pride. So...I got to thinking one day.

Looking at lust as an example...which I'll define as a harmful, idolatrous, deviant and obsessive distortion of the beautiful God-inspired pleasure and gift we call sex: The nature of war implies a willful, deliberate resistance against a detestable enemy...an enemy whose ideals and intentions I am in complete opposition to. War also implies an authentic, passionate devotion to the values and characteristics of the entity to which I've pledged my allegiance...be that a king, a country, or an ideology. If this be the case, what am I to do when the alleged enemy I face is not only one I fail to hate, but one I've learned to co-exist with and tolerate...even indulge? What do I do when the kingdom who's interests I'm meant to enforce fails to rouse the previously mentioned passion and commitment in my heart toward it? How do I effectively and perpetually declare and wage war on the enemy of lust or any other demonic vice? It's my belief that this war, and a war it is indeed, is first and foremost fought and won or lost in the deepest reaches of my heart.

It starts with a heartfelt cry to my heavenly Father to be blessed with the supernatural gift of loving what He loves, and hating what He hates. It begins with me being grieved by my own sin in the same way that my sins grieve the heart of my God...and as passion for the glory of His name begins to run through my veins like an unquenchable flame. It is upon this passion that virtues like self-control find their strength. It's to the degree that my own desires are conformed to the will and desires of God, that I can expect a sustainable, genuine victory over the onslaught of depravity launched against me. The greater my hunger for purity, the greater my dedication to the fight for it. (Proverbs 16:26) If my desire for obedience to God is complacent and apathetic at best, my chances of resisting the seductions of hell are about as good as a snowball's chance of surviving in it.