CHANGE HAS COME TO AMERICA

One of my granddaughters asked if I was going to say anything about what took place in America during the past few weeks. I didn’t think I would but here is my rant for the week.

 The Supreme Court and Congress made decisions that will forever change America. It is frustrating that many leaders in America fail to see the simple truth that these changes are not for the good. What is happening at the local, state and national level is an erosion of our rights and freedom in the name of equality, safety, and political correctness. HAVE THEY NOT READ HISTORY?

Our constitutional freedoms are slowly eroding, in some cases, quickly being taken away faster than we can do anything about it. President Barack Obama told us he was going to change America, and in fact he is doing just that. He is not the cause for the direction our country is going.

  People seem to be unmoved by the direction our country is going. Some are glad that we are rushing to ruin. After all, Jesus will not come back until evil has reached its peak. There are those who rejoice that we are coming to the end of the age. Their hope is in the idea that Christ will Rapture them out of all the misery the world is going to experience. These people are so heavenly minded, they are of no earthly value. I really don’t blame the LGBT people for the change in the marriage laws—I blame Christians. Christians put President Barack Obama in office. You might say, I didn’t vote so don’t blame me. Really? Then who am I to blame?

Over nine million evangelical Christians were registered but did not vote. But we're not talking about one vote. We're talking about one voice and one mind - the collective vote of millions of like-minded people of faith who stay away from the polls each year. Keep this in mind, 75% of all Christians do not exercise their convictions at the polls. If every Christians would register to vote and then support Christians values our country would not be where we are today. If you failed to vote you are part of the problem. If you ignore the political process and allow evil to prevail you are part of the problem. Don’t blame those who took an active part in securing their rights—even if we disagree with them. After all they valued their position enough to support it at the polls and in the political process.

In 1774, our founding fathers wrote this in the Journal of the Continental Congress: "It is an indispensable duty which we owe to God, our country, ourselves and posterity, by all lawful ways and means in our power to maintain, defend and preserve these civil and religious rights and liberties for which many of our fathers fought, bled and died, and to hand them down entire to future generations."

Let’s not forget that our nation has been going down this road for the past fifty years. This week is less of a turning point, it is an arrival at the destination to which we were driving all along. I, along with others have been lamenting the loss of Christian values in America but, Christians have tolerated sin for years. We have ignored the corruption within the church. We have allowed corrupt and evil men to change the laws, take away our freedoms, and lead us down a path of destruction.

Christians who have avoided their witness against evil are the reason our country is in the spiritual condition of lacking power and authority. Jesus said, we are the salt of the earth, but if the salt have lost its savor, it is good for nothing, but to be trampled on. We are being trampled on because we are no longer the salt, light and witness we were called to be.

What I find interesting is that those who are winning the moral war in America, have no problem standing up for what they believe. They have no problem offending those who do not accept their beliefs. They have no problem pushing their agenda in the courts. What are Christians standing around waiting to happen before we act?

It is the time to decide exactly what we are willing to sacrifice in favor of Biblical faithfulness. We need to decide right now what we will do once real persecution of Christians starts. To what lengths will we allow .ourselves to go in order to protect our 501 (c)3 status? Or to avoid a costly lawsuit because we refuse to obey the law? In the earliest days of the Christian church, the apostles were bold enough to practice civil disobedience when duty to country and duty to God conflicted. “We ought to obey God rather than men,” they said (Acts 4:29). I trust we have the courage to do the same? I pray that I will have the courage, to do what is right, when called to suffer for the cause of Christ.

The Destruction of a Nation--America

Today we celebrated the 4^th of July--Day of Independence for America from England.  I rode in the Lebanon, Indiana parade as an 1800’s Quaker minister, my message was the Declaration of Independence.  It was good to see the patriotic displays and the applause of the people as they heard the words from the Declaration Independence.  But I could not help but think of the direction our country has gone in the last fifty years.  We are in a battle to retain our freedom.  Not only is this a battle for freedom it is a spiritual battle for the soul of our Nation.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 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. Therefore put on the full armor 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. Ephesians 6:10-13

Paul in writing to the church at Ephesus knew the Church was in a spiritual battle that would require more than just a profession of faith.  It would require the Armor of God.  The battle the true believers are engaged in is the total destruction of the Christian faith.  This battle started in the Garden of Eden and will continue until the return of the LORD Jesus Christ. 

The enemy of our soul is also the enemy of our freedom.  This country was founded on the principles of Christianity.  The Founding Fathers had the idea that they could create a nation based on enduring principles which recognized human imperfection and the need to structure a limited government of laws, dependent upon the consent of a people who, themselves, understood the principles.  What made America so different than all other nations was:

• It acknowledged that individual rights are derived from a Creator not the government.
• It was based on enduring principles compatible with "the laws of nature and of nature's God."
• It recognized human imperfection and that a tendency to abuse power is ever present in the human heart.
• It restrained those in power through a written Constitu­tion which carefully divided, balanced, and separated the powers of government and then intricately knitted them back together again through a system of checks and balances.
• It left all powers with the people, except those which, by their consent, the people delegated to government ­and then made provision for their withdrawing that power, if it was abused.

For decades America was considered a Christian nation, based on our laws which were derived from Old Testament commandments.  Our government buildings, our money, and our Nation’s motto reflected our dependence upon God the Creator-In God We Trust.  Our national holidays are a reflection of our Nation’s dependence on God.  So what happened?

Our Country is in the midst of a spiritual conflict that will end in the destruction of this Nation.  The battle for total destruction has been in the making for years.  The enemy is destroying our nation from within.  By attacking the moral beliefs of the people the destruction of the country will take place.

The moral foundation of our country is the key element, if the morality can be controlled by changing the laws, you can quickly destroy the nation.  Taking control of the moral laws allows the enemy to control the mind of the people.  The enemy can shape the people’s view of life and their values upon which that life is based. Shape the mind, you shape the morals, shape the moral you control the direction towards spiritual destruction.

To bring about the destruction of a nation start by changing the perception of truth.  To shape the truth you must control the areas where truth is dispensed.  Early in America, truth was dispensed from the pulpits of the local churches.  The pulpit reinforced the Law of God.  The Law of God was reflected in the civil and criminal law as found in the Old Testament.  Laws that enforce punishment on those who would practice incest, assault and rape women, those who would murder, those who would steal and lie, those who would kill their children, and a list of sexual crimes. You may be surprised to know that the source of these laws came directly from the Bible and were given for the protection of the family and society. You can read these in Leviticus chapters 18-19-20.

Other examples of laws taken directly from the Bible are our laws regarding bankruptcy, laws in our courts that demand witnesses to a crime before one can be convicted, and laws that demand just weights for commerce.  Many of the past laws, like our child labor laws protected children from being exploited.  Even our government Child Protection Agency was created to keep children from abuse. Our civil laws were established to keep order in our society, and because our founding fathers believed in the principles of Christianity, they created a structure that was based on moral laws taken from the Bible. So to destroy a nation with moral laws and principles based on the Word of God the truth must be reshaped.

The manipulation of the truth has changed our nation.  Who controls the information controls the mind of the people.  If the information is constantly distorted, lies become accepted as truth, tell enough lies repeatedly and soon those lies are accepted as fact.   Spin and fabricate, misrepresent and influence using television, radio and print and you can manipulate the mind of the majority of the people.  Using false information about race, religion, history and sexual orientation can create internal discord as well as ridiculing, demeaning and challenging moral principles and national values in order to destroy the spiritual foundation.  

 Whoever controls the morals of the children will control the next generation. The decline in education started with John Dewey.  John Dewey is recognized as the Father of modern education. All he did was made possible by the theory of evolution being so strongly accepted after the writings of Charles Darwin. John Dewey wrote a theory of education and democracy that was based on evolution. 

The education theories of Dewey would not have been so acceptable to people had it not been for the previous acceptance of Darwin's Theory of Evolution. That theory was widely received around the world. Evolution praises change and declares the highest good is a positive change.  The question that should be asked is whose defines positive change? Darwin's theory helped strengthen the ideas of relativism and positivism which had been around for ages but were reinforced by John Dewey. 

John Dewey developed ideas of evolutionary democracy and evolutionary education and evolutionary law. Those ideas had as their foundation the premise that nothing is constant. He said the only constant good is change for the good. He did not measure things from any absolute standards, but from a relative perception based on human desire. 

Relativism denies absolutes. God is absolute. The word of God teaches absolutes. Evolution flies in the face of God's word.  The destructive ideologies taught by Dewey resulted in children being manipulated away from truth.  It should be noted that these ideas were used by John Dewey and Carl Marx and even Joseph Stalin to lead people astray. 

Engels wrote that if you could remove a people from their roots, they could be easily swayed to your point of view. This is happening in America with the destruction of our godly heritage in public school courses, government laws, and court rulings. By omission the godly heritage is being lost to our children. The schools are simply not teaching the godly heritage of this nation. Instead the schools are teaching children to become better citizens of the new world economic order. 

It is important in the destruction of a nation to develop the minds of the children with principles that are sympathetic to your philosophy.  Make future generations weak in mind, body and spirit.  Avoid teaching children the basic facts about their own history, constitution or rights.    Teach them that any basis of a moral foundation, like the principles of religion, is a weakness to be avoided in the name of freedom and also redefine the concept of patriotism to support your views.  Teach them to cast off old values and traditions in the interest and name of sensitivity—after all, we wouldn’t want to offend anyone with our old fashioned or traditional beliefs now would we?  And guns, guns are wicked, dangerous, and socially unacceptable—an evil that must be eradicated from society—for the good of the children of course.  Every time there is a school shooting there is a renewed interest in banning guns.

One of the major problems in our country today is the appointment of people to run our government.  If you want to destroy a religion, a nation, or an organization whenever and wherever possible place those sympathetic to your philosophy into office at all levels—the higher, the better—so they can sway the direction of the country within every function of government, promising solutions, handouts and benefits for all.  In such a way you can tilt legislation toward incrementally increasing the control of and dependency on government—a government that you are shaping.  

The past few weeks has shown this to be true.  If you can pack the courts with appointed judges who will not hold the people accountable to the law and its constitution, you can act with virtual impunity.  

There was a time in America where we were all Americans.  Today, we have hyphenated Americans.  To destroy the unity of a nation or people reshape the sense of nationalism, dilute the culture and language.  A strong nation has a foundation in culture and common language.  The bottom line, the culture and language defines and unites a nation.  If you can manipulate these two critical elements through legislative action, social pressure, or unchecked immigration, you can weaken the foundation of any country.  Force the acceptance of multi-cultural concept and refusal to have a common language will divide the nation.  In short, prevent cultural assimilation and undermine any sense of nationalism.  

Our country is just a few years away from the same social problems facing France, England, Germany, and the Netherlands. That problem is immigration. Immigrants to Europe come from the Middle East and Africa with different religious and cultural values.

This would not be a problem, except that large numbers of those immigrants have no interest in accepting the values and customs of their host countries, instead living in closed communities, demanding that their host countries bend their customs and laws to accommodate them.  All you need to do is:

·     Witness the huge problem of conservative Muslim immigrants taking over whole parts of      cities, often with police hesitant to enter.

·     Witness these immigrant communities insisting on their right to perpetuate their intolerant traditions against women and non-believers, at times even attempting to institute their undemocratic, mercilessly medieval Shariah law.

·     Witness this in their originally welcoming democratic host countries, from England to central Europe and even the Scandinavian countries.

It's no wonder many citizens and politicians in European countries are fed up with this abuse of their tolerance. Believe me, with our immigration "problem," we are the envy of Europe.  But if we continue to allow immigration from Middle-East countries and accept Sharia Law our country will no longer resemble the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave.

To destroy a nation shape the economy.  Regardless what you see in the news media our country is in serious financial trouble.  There are 47 million people who depend on the government for the necessities of life.  The true unemployment as reported this past week is over 49 percent.  The America of the past that was independent and free, many have surrendered to surrendered to government dependence.  In 1913 when our government turned the economy over to a private company-the Federal Reserve, America lost control if its economy.

If free people don’t depend on their government, that government has limited sway over them.  By legislating large sums from the public treasury you accomplish two important goals.  First you create dependents of the public and private business that are now subject to conditions, rules and regulations you dictate.  Secondly, you are putting that country into unsustainable debt, reducing the value of the currency while undermining its economy.  And of course, to support all this spending, you now make the case that the people must “invest” in all these government provided “benefits” so the government can tax them relentlessly stealing money from their pockets and independence from their lives.  Eventually, if you tax and spend enough, you financially oppress the people to the point of serfdom and overload their economic structure to the point of collapse.

 Through patient manipulation and clever coordination of these areas, you can, in time, weave the downfall of even the most powerful nation, using its own citizens and systems to orchestrate the destruction.  

 The irony is that in just a few generations, the indoctrinated masses will be convinced this trail which has been shaped for them is truly the enlightened path for mankind and they will unwittingly look forward to the trip!  You now have taken control of a powerful rival without firing a shot or spilling a drop of blood. 

 One of the most obvious issues for manipulating the American mind is promoting deviant sexual behavior. The American people have been under a barrage of the most sophisticated propaganda and brainwashing techniques ever seen outside Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. One should remember that promoting sexual sins as listed in the 18^th chapter of Leviticus is designed to destroy the family and nation. Satan can only be successful in a Godless society and that's why this big push to destroy Christianity in this country and make the word of God something to deride and manipulate for the latest "tolerance" issue. Controlling the American mind to reject all social values that have held this republic true since the Pilgrims landed is the number one goal of political correctness. Is there hope? Yes.

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

"Therefore, son of man, say to your people, 'If someone who is righteous disobeys, that person's former righteousness will count for nothing. And if someone who is wicked repents, that person's former wickedness will not bring condemnation. The righteous person who sins will not be allowed to live even though they were formerly righteous.' Ezk. 33:12

A Message For the Warrior

As Christians, we have been commissioned to represent the Kingdom of God. The Great Commission was given to go into the entire world. "But ye shall receive power, after that, the Holy Ghost has come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." Acts 1:8.  The stipulation was that the disciples would first receive the Holy Ghost before they would become a witness. Jesus gave the disciples the power and authority to carry out this task based on receiving the Holy Ghost. 

Before a warrior goes into battle, he must have a purpose. The only people who are in the spiritual fight for Truth are followers of Jesus. Our mission is to spread the Good News of the Gospel. If you aren't a believer, you're not just fighting an uphill battle; you are the opposition and enemy of God. 

By nature, the Bible tells us that we are children of wrath. We have rebelled against God by our sinful nature. We become warriors and co-heirs in the Cross's victory when the Holy Spirit calls us to repentance and a life of obedience to the Gospel. This marks the start of a battle between a believer and the enemy of their soul. As believers, we are not bound to sin, but we will still stumble in our imperfect human form. By grace, it is so undeserved but more significant than all our weakness, shame, and the sin that God has forgiven us and made us joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. We don't earn power or authority on our own merits. Still, by the goodness and actions of Jesus on the Cross, the Holy Spirit empowers us, and we have authorization by the blood of Jesus to make war against the enemy and sin. A warrior must die to himself before he becomes alive to fight!

To be a Warrior of the Cross, we must bear the Cross. We must spiritually pick up our Cross and march up the hill—we must accept the walk as Jesus did. This is not a spectator sport but requires the Warrior to be an active participant. The era of television has turned many Christians into watchers. Often Christians get so carried away with the final victory (I am waiting for the LORD to return) that they have remained blinded to the ongoing battle, and the oil in their lamps is slowly going out. As Christians, we need to understand that the Cross leading to eternal life, and the way of the Cross means there is a battle to be fought. There are all those who have fallen away under the pressure of warfare that they have refused to fight in the Army of God as a Warrior of the Cross. These are the armchair churchgoers who have hindered the Warrior from successfully defending the Cross. 

Almost every Christian has experienced a real struggle to live the Christian life. On the one hand, there is an idea of the kind of life that should be lived. There is a desire to do right, but living a righteous life seems so difficult. It can be discouraging trying to live the Christian life. There is the struggle of doing the same sins all too often. Christian people may respond to this struggle in different ways. Some seem to give up and quit. They can't seem to live the Christian life, so they no longer profess it. The term for this action is backsliding. Some keep on with the struggle, yet they go around with a defeated look lacking the joy of their salvation or the victory over sin. Their life is not a good witness for the Lord. They are without the hope that it is in redemption. As Paul states, they are most miserable.

Paul shares his own experience with the battle to overcome sin and please God. In chapter seven of the Book of Romans, Paul describes the spiritual warfare we must face to defeat sin in our lives.

The enemy of our soul is the sin nature. Sin enslaves us to do the will of our Adversary—Satan. In verse 14, he says, but I am carnal, sold under sin. That is an apparent reference to slavery, which was so prevalent in Paul's day. The sin nature is so strong and powerful; it feels as though the individual has been sold as a slave under the controlling power of sin. It is ongoing enslavement with lasting effects, for the verb "sold" is in the perfect tense. Paul uses similar language in the last of v.23, where he says he felt that he was brought "into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members." In this context, he is speaking of warfare in one's soul, and in those days, those who lost the war were often sold as slaves. When sin wins the victory in the spiritual struggle, the believer becomes a slave to the sin. In the last of v.18, Paul goes on to say, "to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find." He wanted to live right, but he found himself doing wrong. Sin controlled him even when he tried to do right! He had the will to obey God, but he lacked the power to obey God. Sin is a tyrant that dictates hate, and Paul loathes it and tries as he might; he could not defeat it. This does not mean that sin always triumphs in the act, but only that it is a power from which the soul cannot free itself. For all his desire to obey God's Law, he is compelled by the destructive force within to disobey it. The power seemed to be on the side of indwelling sin.

At the end of the chapter, Paul's cry was a plea for deliverance from the body of sin and death. It seemed that there was no hope in defeating the power of sin in this life. There is a transition that takes place between chapter seven and chapter eight. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2 For the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the Law of sin and death. 3 For what the Law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4 That the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Roman 8:1-4

In his letter to the Church at Rome, Paul has established that man's carnal nature is the enemy of God. It will not submit or yield to the will of God. The carnal nature or self can hide under all forms of goodness and gain a more unmovable abode in the ways of goodness than it can as a sinner. This thought ought to alarm us all. Self can watch and fast, pray much and preach long, become religious, take pleasure in its duties, and be exceedingly diligent in its services.

5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and Peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the Law of God, neither indeed can be. 8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. Romans 8-5-8

We must die to self, but this cannot happen until we know what self is. If we cannot see how the carnal nature of self hides in a cloak of religion, all teaching and effort will be vain. We may be ready to die to this nature and not know that the stronghold is in the temple—our bodies are the temple of the LORD. This carnal nature-self will make a pretense of yielding to God or dying but will retain its control over the soul. It is only when we begin to fear the elusiveness of this nature and realize that in ourselves, we cannot bring this nature to its death-- that it is an act of the Holy Spirit. Only when we yield our entire being to God is that we have any hope of conquering this nature, casting as the whole of ourselves, in utter despair, on God alone to do the work.

Only when the soul is brought to believe in its entire and utter weakness to deal directly with this nature will it begin to get an insight into the absoluteness of the surrender to God and the trust in Him. This is needed if He alone is to do the work for us and in us. Christ conquered sin by His death. Nothing that we do ourselves can have any good in it because it is self-working in us. The good in us is the work of God's Spirit, and it is all preparatory to that full death to self to which He seeks to bring us and in which we are entirely yielded up to God to work all in us. 

All Christian life failures are due to this one thing that we seek to do in our strength what God Himself by His Spirit alone can work in us. To die to self, to come from under its power, cannot be done by any active resistance we can make to it by nature's power. To exchange the life of self for God's presence, to come out of the darkness of self into the light of God, is a work we cannot do. It is the man who ceases from self, sees and accepts in the death of Christ, his death to self, and enters into the life that God has promised us. 

What is the correct way of dying to self? How can a man be led to understand and desire and find what the death to sin and self in Christ gives him? It is the way of patience, meekness, humility, resignation to God. Dying to self, turning away, and ceasing from it, refusing to be led by it, can be effected in no other way but just bowing low before God in the confession of sin and feebleness and the patient waiting for His work in us. 

There are transitions in the life of the Christians that take place when filled with the Holy Spirit, going from the servant to son, the soldier to Warrior, and carnal to spiritual. The difference between soldiers and Warrior is a little confusing. The two words, soldiers and Warrior, are often confused when it comes to their meanings. They appear to be words that give the same purpose, but, strictly speaking, there is some difference between the two terms. A soldier is one who is a militant follower of an organization.

On the other hand, a warrior exhibits bravery and courage under the given circumstance. He demonstrates courage towards an organization. This is an essential difference between the two words. A soldier is a fighter by profession, whereas a warrior exhibits remarkable courage when the time comes, though he is not a fighter by profession. 

A soldier is a paid individual who fights the opponent to protect his King or the country. The family of a soldier is taken care of in case of any casualty to the soldier's life in the battle. The soldier works in an army as he is a paid fighter. Also, not every soldier goes on to fight. There are many parts to an army. Some of the soldiers work in offices and do not go to the battlefield at all. The bottom line is the soldier is a servant of the King or country he serves. He may not know his leaders' plan or goals, but act on their orders-he is their servant.  

In the Old Testament, the scriptures speak of the servants of God. The Holy Spirit did not lead them, but rather the Holy Spirit came upon them. The Spirit did not dwell within them. The great prophets of the Old Testament "spake as the Holy Ghost moved them: 2Peter 1:21 

A soldier (servant) can become a soldier (servant) of righteousness and still be driven by the Spirit rather than led by the Spirit. The solider can be in bondage to the Law, which makes the solider a servant. 

Since the soldier is not made aware of the King's goals and plan, there can be confusion among servants of righteousness concerning God's righteousness. Some will impose the Law without Grace. There will be those who will impose the Law with some Grace. What the solider servant fails to see is that it is all Grace and no Law. It is Mercy without sacrifice. It is Peace without division or confusion. There cannot be sin and righteousness, good and evil, blessed and cursed, death, and life. 

In contrast to the soldier, a warrior is a fighter who exhibits great courage when the time comes, though he is not a fighter by profession. In other words, a warrior does fight when the occasion arises, but he does not work for money. A warrior always has something to give for the kingdom or an organization based on the relationship with the King. 

A warrior can be working with the army or away from the military. The Warrior can work from outside of the army as he is not a paid fighter. Often, a warrior works for the betterment of society as a whole. Unlike a soldier, a warrior goes to the battlefield. 

The relationship of the Warrior is that of a friend, son, or brother of the King. John 15:15 Henceforth I call you not servants ... but friends.  Galatians 4:7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son. Philemon 1:16  Not now as a servant, but above a servant a brother. Jesus said, Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. 

Paul, writing to the Galatian Christians, told them they were no more servants, but a son; and if a son was then an heir of God through Jesus Christ. The higher calling of the Warrior is that the Spirit of Christ dwells "within you." The Warrior is led by the Spirit rather than driven by the Spirit.  

Let him who thinks he stands to take heed lest he falls (1 Corinthians 10:12).

Someone once asked the great evangelist Charles Finney, "Do you believe in a literal devil?" Finney responded, "You try opposing him for a while, and you see if he's literal or not."

If you want to find out if there is a literal devil, then start walking with Jesus Christ and seeking to be in the will of God. You will find just how real he is. After they have decided to follow Christ, many people are surprised to find that the Christian life can be so difficult, so intense sometimes. It isn't a life of ease, but one of conflict, warfare, and opposition. Our choice is simple: Will we be victorious? Or will we be victims on the spiritual battlefield? 

It has been said that you can tell a lot about a man by who his enemies are. The same is true for us. We are no longer opposing God, but we now have a new, very powerful foe, and he is described in the Bible as the Devil. Of course, the Devil is not happy because he has lost one of his own. He is angry that you have surrendered your life to Jesus Christ. Now you have become a potential threat to his kingdom as well. 

The battlefield in which our spiritual warfare takes place the most often is in mind. We wrestle, or strive and struggle in our minds against world systems, the flesh or the carnal nature, and the Devil. The mind encompasses our thoughts (imagination, reasoning, and intellect) and our emotions and will. In all of these aspects lies the very heart of an individual. By our thoughts and feelings, we determine our will and purpose for our lives. As Christians, we seek to live by the Truth and power of God because they are our assurance of God's promised victory in every situation in life. We are not ignorant of the reality of evil and the destruction that surrounds our world daily. In this process, we will encounter a genuine spiritual struggle in our thoughts, emotions, and well, because the adversary knows that these areas are directly related to the power of our faith and means to receive the promises of God. The adversary's goal is to weaken the hope of every Christian.  

If you choose to live a half spiritual and half carnal life, you jeopardize much of your victory in Christ. Although you received Christ and are assured of your salvation at the moment of conversion, your heart still needs to be right with God in your commitment to follow Him. When you follow Him you build a sure foundation, in which Christ said, Luk 6:47 - 49 "Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built a house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great." 

There will be times when necessary and an act of wisdom to retreat or step back a little from forging ahead spiritually and take the time to reflect, renew our strength, and gain perspective for our lives. Even Jesus knew the importance of retreating into the mountains to renew his Spirit. However, he did not remain in the mountains. He came down to face the enemy once his Spirit was revived. 

After struggling through a spiritual battle that has drained us both physically and spiritually, we may even begin to feel a sense of relief and become complacent. If we are tempted to remain complacent, we should remind ourselves of the lives we will never touch, the spiritual heights we will never reach, and the force of faith that will no longer impact the invisible world to keep the enemy at bay. The Christian Warrior can never remain away long from the battlefield. Keep in mind there are legitimate struggles in life, and we can become discouraged, but even if we feel discouraged, we keep placing our trust in the Lord, for He will not fail us. Some battles may be lost because lesser obstacles were overlooked at the start, and there are times, out of enthusiasm, we move ahead of our present capacity. It is not wise to tackle unfamiliar territory unless the Holy Spirit leads us. To do otherwise is to witness the casualties of spiritual warfare. 

The clang of the swords had died away, the shouting of the slaughter was hushed; silence lay on the red-stained ground. Swords and Shields covered the field, and broken blades lay where the dead were placed in heaps. The nerveless hand yet gripped the broken hilt: helmeted heads, back-drawn in the death throes, tilted red beards and golden beards grimly upward, as if in a benediction of life. Every Warrior faces the battlefield of fear, doubt, depression, physical problems, condemnation, obsessions, worry, despair, or hopelessness.  

All through the history of mankind, there has been a group of individuals, in a scared and unbroken succession, who have confessed that they were pilgrims and strangers upon this earth. They can be found wandering the deserts and in the mountains, dwelling in the dens and caves of the earth, to which they have been driven by those who would wage war against them. They can be found in the marketplace and homes of men, distinguished only by their simpler dress, their girded loins, their restrained appetites of worldly pleasures; their loose hold on gold; their independence of the opinions and applause of the world around them. In their eyes, the far-away look now and then glows from a particular affection centered not on the transitory things of time and earth, but on those eternal realities that, lying beneath the visible veil, are only revealed in faith. These are the Warriors of the Cross.