Spiritual Warfare(Feet?)

Since it is a new year, like you I am going to start it off on the right foot. I'm sure many of you have made New Year's resolutions to lose weight and get in shape. And most of you know the best way to lose weight is running, we GOTTA RUN. For those you know me I am pretty active, if I am not biking, I am running, walking or lifting weights in the gym. I have different types of shoes for each activity. All runners know how important it is to have a good pair of running shoes. According to Chinese medical knowledge, our human body has over 360 acupuncture points, with more than 60 acupuncture points found on the sole of the foot alone. Our feet, also known as the "second heart", are the reflective zones of our internal organs, a potential home for toxins and a potent avenue to accelerate body detoxification through, avoiding the healing crisis effect of other rapid detoxification methods. You can treat everything from depression to arthritis via the foot.

No wonder the apostle Paul told the church in Ephesus, "For shoes, PUT ON the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared." When we don't protect our feet, we are dancing in minefields. While writing my last blog, I learned about one of my agents and friends in Atlanta had passed away. Gwen had been a close friend and a lot of encouragement. Gwen suffered from rheumatoid arthritis and spent a lot of her time treating her illness. She had recently contacted me and asked me if I would work with her at a new agency she was opening in 2011. According to her niece, Gwen died from an enlarged heart that ruptured. Gwen was so pre-occupied with her arthritis and the new agency that she didn't see the signs of her heart condition. The Bible has a lot to say about our feet and running. So that is what I will discuss in this blog, how to run, walk and stand in this hectic race we call LIFE. Chuck Swindall once said, noise and words and frenzied, hectic schedules dull our senses, closing our ears to His still, small voice and making us NUMB to His touch."

During the six years that I walked away from God and lived in darkness, I never forgot a Scripture I learned as a teen. I can even remember times it came to mind while I was heading to the bars or clubs. Too bad I didn't listen. In his second letter to his protégé Timothy the apostle Paul warned him, "flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth."(We'll talk more about truth later in this blog.)


RUN?
In his book Hedges, Christian writer Jerry Jenkins(thanks so much Jerry for sharing this great tool with me, it is in my toolbox for later) writes, "as much as people don't like to hear, read, or talk about it, the fact is that most Christian men do not have victory over lust. I have a theory about that. Scripture does not imply that we ever shall have victory over lust the way we are expected to win over worry or greed or malice. Rather, Paul instructs Timothy, and thus us, not to conquer or stand and fight, or pray about or resolve, but to flee lust. I know he specifies youthful lust, but I don't believe he's limiting it to a certain age, but rather is describing it, regardless at what age it occurs. The little boy in me will have to flee lust until I flee life. Think about that. Isn't that freeing? For how many years have we males resolved to quit lusting, to put away impure thoughts, to keep our minds pure regardless of what images the media might offer them? We've turned over new leaves in other areas of our lives. We may have become more sensitive, more helpful, more spiritual, better husbands, better fathers-- yes, sometimes in large part because we decided to apply ourselves. But this, this DIRTY LITTLE SECRET, bites when we least expect it and despite all our human efforts. What's wrong with us?.. Don't study it. Don't pray about it. We're given permission to flee! Head for the hills. RUN for your life."

I learned as a little boy not to play with fire. King Solomon asks in the book of Proverbs, "Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned? Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched?" I concur with Jerry, when temptation comes knocking at your door, you better run, run. When it comes to spiritual warfare, running is a confusing subject. It is natural for us to run from anything that we are afraid of or what we may think might hurt us isn't it? But when it comes to sin and temptation, we tend to run towards it like a moth drawn to a flame.

Jenkins continues, "I once knew a denominational leader in his sixties who carried on a year long affair with a younger woman. Call it what you will, but a man with as perfect a wife as he could ever want is still capable of lust, of a senseless seeking of that which would destroy him and his family if he does not fear his own potential and plant a hedge around himself and his marriage, he is headed for disaster. So we run scared? Yes! Fear is essential. 'There are several good protections against temptation', Mark Twain, 'but the surest is cowardice. ' Look around. Let your guard down, but remind yourself that you made a vow before God and men, don't set up barriers for your eyes, your mind, your hands, your emotions, and see how quickly you become a statistic."

Let me go ahead and get this out of the way. While working on this blog I accidentally ran into someone I care a lot about and the way she acted hurt me and I ran. The next morning I woke up and my heart had grown hard and I was BITTER, I was actually happy. I thought that now I don't have to hurt anymore. Until I began to study for this blog and read a quote by Ray Pritchard in his book Stealth Attack he writes, hatred is the most damaging emotion, for it gives the person you hate the double victory-- once in the past, once in the present. No time to hate? Not if you have learned how to forgive. Forgiving does not mean whitewashing the past, but it does mean refusing to live there. FORGIVENESS breaks the awful chain of bitterness and insidious desire for revenge. As costly as it is to forgive, unforgiveness costs far more." In his letter to the church in Ephesus the apostle Paul warned, "do not let the sun go down while you are still angry."

Pritchard continues,"that is don't go to bed angry. Ephesians 4 looks at anger in our relationships. Even if your anger is justified, don't go to sleep that way. Deal with it, talk it out, pray it out, walk it out, but don't try to sleep it off, that won't work. Anger can quickly lead us in the wrong direction thus rather than bring us to right the world's wrongs, it can lead us to putting our own desires ahead of our loved ones. The very next verse in Ephesians offers this warning:'do not give the devil a foothold.' All rock climbers understand that verse. In order to get up the side of the mountain, you've got to get a firm foothold. That's what Satan wants to do in your life-- he wants to use your anger(even your legitimate anger) to get a foothold in your heart."( I'll talk more about mountains later)

After I read that I pleaded with God not to let my heart get soft again. Then I realized that in the smoke of this spiritual battle, sometimes we forget who we are supposed to fight or trust. Are you fighting God or THE GOD OF THE DEVIL? Are you running from God or to Him? It was then that I realized I am still running. Don't feel bad if like me you just wanna run, it is natural to want to do the running man. Don't we all run from broken hearts, broken dreams and God as well? Remember Jonah or how about Moses(I'll explain later.) David ran to his hiding place. You see, it doesn't matter if you are a Christian or not. You are in spiritual warfare. The only difference is who you are fighting and running from. We are all chasing something aren't we? I can honestly say I'm tired of running from my feelings and from God, at this point in my life all I can do is SURRENDER to God and this new heart He has given me. I know I can't this feeling anymore.

So now I run to you, God. Oswald Chambers once famously said, "My determination is to be my utmost for His Highest." To get there is a question of will, not of debate nor of reasoning, but a surrender of will, an absolute and irrevocable surrender on that point. An overweening consideration for ourselves is the thing that keeps us from that decision, though we put it that we are considering others. When we consider what it will cost others if we obey the call of Jesus, we tell God He does not know what our obedience will mean. Keep to the point; He does know. Shut out every other consideration and keep yourself before God for this one thing only - My Utmost for His Highest. I am determined to be absolutely and entirely for Him and for Him alone. "

According to Luke's account of Jesus' parable of the lost sheep, "suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn't he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it" so I know God is searching for me. But Jesus goes a step further in the parable of the lost son doesn't He? According to Luke's account of the parable about the lost son, "but while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him." So here Jesus tells us that God runs to us. Are you chasing CASH OR CHRIST, WHAT YA WANT? Is that woman you are pursuing a PROVERBS 31 WOMAN or a JEZEBEL?

If you have ever really run for exercise, you know how bad running hurts. Sometimes I even think that my HEART STOPS. But I know in the end after I have as the apostle Peter writes in his first letter to the early Jewish Christians, "suffered a little while, God will restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast." There is an old cliché about life being a marathon and not a sprint. A marathon by it's nature is an endurance race that tests and tries the body, eventually taking it beyond it's breaking point. Once Glycogen stores are depleted, and electrolytes are burned up, and any stored proteins that the body possesses are consumed, in order to continue, the body converts any sugars that remain into lactic acid, which now residing in the muscles causes cramps, and charlie horses, and excruciating pain. And from there your body begins to consume and cannibalize muscle, fat, and anything else it can feed on to survive. Unfortunately, a marathon isn’t over until you reach a distance of twenty six miles which is three hundred and eighty five yards, so you don’t have the luxury of stopping. Thomas Guthrie once said, "let no man lose heart, and abandon a good scheme because he meets chopping seas and cross winds at the outset, since God may be thereby driving him on a better course, and toward greater ends than he ever dreamt of."


Maybe this is why the apostle Paul instructs us in his first letter to the church in Corinth, "do you not know that in a race all runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." Most of the times that I go on long bike rides I am burned out and ready to quit by the last two or five miles and my only motivation to keep going is the bowl of ice cream that is waiting on me at home that I bought from the Big Dipper, a local ice cream shop. That is what I focus on to help me overcome the pain. It has been said, ""Never give up on something( or someone) that you can't go a day without thinking about." Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope."

Ken Hutcherson says, Knowing that we have an eternity ahead of us that is perfect in all its aspects gives us the motivation and courage to do the things we know we need to do in order to experience the best in life. It's like an Olympic swimmer who has to get in the pool every day to train. Every morning she wakes up, heads for the pool, and jumps in. Lap after lap she pushes herself to the limit, gasping for air as she recovers, only to repeat the drill again and again. And when the coach whistles the end of her workout, she voluntarily grinds out a few extra laps. Why would anyone subject themselves to such pain? Because she pictures herself standing on the awards stand at the Olympic Games, bending slightly as the official places the gold medal around her neck. The hope of earning that medal kept her going in that pool. Heaven gives you that same hope. It motivates you to do the right thing—to get up every morning, jump into your day, and live like a champion. Even though your future in heaven was secured the moment you became a Christian, you continue to be faithful because you know what awaits you there—and it's a lot better than a gold medal."

Jonathan Edwards says, "The way to heaven is ascending; we must be content to travel up hill, though it be hard and tiresome, and contrary to the natural bias of our flesh." I recently came across a poem that says, " "When things go wrong as they sometimes will, when the road you're trudging seems all uphill; When the funds are low, and the debts are high. And you want to smile, but have to sigh; when care is pressing you down a bit- Rest if you must, but do not quit. Success is failure turned inside out; the silver tint of the clouds of doubt; and you can never tell how close you are. It may be near when it seems so far; so stick to the fight when you're hardest hit- it's when things go wrong that you must not quit." When I was in Colorado I heard a joke about Two hikers on a trail came around the bend to find an enormous brown bear about seventy-five yards up the trail. The bear spies them and begins running toward them at a full gallop. One hiker drops his backpack, sits down, throws off his boots, and starts lacing up a pair of running shoes. The other hiker says: "What are you doing? You will never outrun that bear!". The first hiker replies: "I don't have to outrun the bear, I just have to outrun you!"



In his book Running on Empty author Fil Anderson explains, "running on empty. Had I died 15 years ago, this is how I most likely would have been remembered. I hate being harried and hassled by life's demands and pressures, I love being in demand. Late at night, while Lucie and our children slept, I would lie awake fearing that I had come to the END OF MY ROPE. My despair was the by-product of the life I had created for my family and myself. It had not appeared overnight. What finally came crashing down was the result of 15 years of relentless striving. While attempting to enable others to encounter God, I had succumbed to the power of my own compulsions and illusions. The lifestyle that appeared to enhance my friendship with God had become instead a terrible threat. What had driven me to speak more about God than with God? What had driven me from one event to another, one project to another, one relationship to another? Why could I never say no? These questions would resurface during the rare moments of calm and quiet in my life. Perhaps in the daylight hours I was trying to hide from memories buried deep within. Perhaps I was more interested in the approval of people then the love of God. Perhaps I was sinking beneath the weight of an image-- that of having it all together-- which was too heavy for me to project any longer. The questions came unbidden, and I knew time was about to run out."

Most runners know that you have to control your breathing and pace yourself. If you must from time to time, WALK, but DON'T EVER GIVE UP. The writer of Hebrews puts it this way, "therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith." Then the writer of the book of Hebrews encourages us, "you need to PERSEVERE so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised. For 'in just a little while, He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will WALK BY FAITH. And I will take no pleasure in no one who shrinks back.' But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved."

WALK?
Personally, I am annoyed by people who consider walking exercise. The average person walks five miles a day just in their every day life(walking around the house, working, to and from the car) but then considers it exercise when they get on a treadmill and walk one or two miles, I can't help but laugh. Unless they or someone who is morbidly overweight there isn't too much benefit from walking for exercise. I have been told that, "I just don't want to sweat." They don't understand that in exercise and in our faith, we must SWEAT IT OUT if we are going to get STRONGER. That is why the apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the church in Philipi, "therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed-- not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence-- continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose."But Jesus' half-brother goes a lot further doesn't he? For James tells us, "faith without works is dead."

To be honest with you, that is what is happening not only to America, but to the church. We have gotten caught up in this "easy" Christianity and I wonder if Jesus isn't spitting us out. We know we are called to be disciples of Jesus, but we've forgotten that to be a disciple means to be disciplined. In his book Velvet Elvis, Rob Bell explains that, "if a rabbi believed a kid did have what it took, he would say, come, follow me. The student would probably leave his father and mother, leave his synagogue, leave his village and his friends, and devote his life to learn how to do what his rabbi did. He would follow his rabbi everywhere. He would learn to apply the oral and written law to situations. He gave up his whole life to be just like his rabbi. A friend of mine was in Israel a few years ago and saw a rabbi go into a bathroom and his talmidim(disciples) followed him. They didn't want to miss anything the rabbi might say or do. This kind of devotion is what it means to be a disciple."

Are we following our teacher that close? Doesn't the apostle Paul say in his letter to the church in Rome, ""How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring the good news." Then Matthew tells us that Jesus instructed his disciples, "if anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town and move on." Maybe this is why John tells us in his letter to the Gentiles that Jesus, "poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciple's feet. He came to Simon Peter, who said to Him, 'Lord are you going to wash my feet?' Jesus replied, 'you do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.' 'No,' said Peter, 'you shall never wash my feet.' Jesus answered, 'unless I wash you, you have no part with me.' 'Then, Lord,' Simon Peter replied, 'not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!' Jesus answered, 'those who haven't had a bath need only to wash their feet; the whole body is clean."

Bell continues, one of the earliest stages of the Mishnah,Yose ben Yoezer, said to disciples,'cover yourself with the dust of [your rabbi's] feet. This idea of being covered in the dust of your rabbi came from something everybody had seen. A rabbi would come to town, and right behind him will be his group of students, doing their best to keep up with the rabbi as he went about teaching his yoke from one place to another. By the end of the day of walking in the dirt directly behind the rabbi, the students would have the dust from his feet all over them. And that was a good thing." If we really are trying to live and walk like Jesus we could do a lot more for the kingdom couldn't we? Maybe like Peter we would follow Jesus out of the boat and WALK ON WATER. But we don't do we? Instead I guess we get scared and just WALK AWAY. But we are in good company aren't we? Peter soon walked away, didn't he? How many times did David walk away?

Jerry Jenkins continues in his book Hedges, "look at the account of David's failure in second Samuel 11. Here was a man after God's own heart. Have you ever wondered why he didn't go to battle? Scripture doesn't give a lot of detail about this incident, but the question arises: was David too old, too tired, too successful, or too something else to lead his army? Or is there some subconscious, or not so subconscious maneuvering to get himself into a position where he could get next to Uriah's wife? Why did he take a walk on his veranda that day? Was Uriah's wife not aware that her bath was within sight of the king's palace? An innocent walk and a bath in the open air could be considered early innocent indiscretions. Give Sheeba the benefit of the doubt, but David should have turned away when he saw a naked woman. The fact that even a man after God's own heart was unable to do that lends credence to the theory that we are to flee rather than to try and conquer lust."

Personally, I believe there is a fine line between lust and love and it's called marriage. From the time we are in Sunday school to pre-marriage counseling we are taught that sex is a gift from God and as long as it is kept within the boundaries of marriage it is alright and as I mentioned in my last blog , it is an "extra blessing." The question is do you plan to WALK THE LINE or STRADDLE THE FENCE like David and most Christians do today. Oprah and the world tells us there are MANY ROADS to Heaven, but the Bible tells us there is only one and Jesus is leading the way. Let me go ahead and assure you, there are times it is hard. I'll be the first to tell you I have blown it royally when it comes to sex in my past. That is why I am DESPERATE for my second chance. And I believe one day like Jesus we will be WALKING ON THE STARS, that is why I try to I WALK WORTHY with Him and not run from Him. Or the junk and mistakes of my past, like the prophet Moses did.

For Moses explained to the people of Israel in the book of Exodus, "one day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. Glancing this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong. 'why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?' The man said, 'who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?' Then Moses was afraid and thought, 'what I did must have become known.' When Paraoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he set down by a well....Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. It was there the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from within the bush. Moses saw that though the bush was ON FIRE it did not burn up. So Moses thought, 'I will go over and see the strange sight-- why the bush does not burn up.' When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, 'Moses! Moses!' And Moses said, 'here I am.' 'Do not come any closer' God said. Take off your shoes, for the place where you're standing is HOLY GROUND." You see Moses, like us, ran from his mistakes and God until an angel(not God) got his attention. Then God was able to talk to him and get him to stand still, but first he had to take off his running shoes didn't he? Then he learned to BE STILL and afterwards He walked with God just like Adam and Eve did in the garden . What if God had never sent that angel to Moses? I wonder HOW LONG that angel had tried to get Moses' attention and I wonder how many demonic forces fought to keep the Angel away, remember that battle in DANIEL 10? Do you know where you stand? Are you standing on Holy ground, are you here in His presence?


STAND FIRM?
Fil Anderson continues in his book running on empty, "my ability to see clearly had become nil, outside efforts to get me to change course were refused, and my last bit of fuel was being depleted. I was obsessed with helping others have the kind of relationship with God that I had never known. My life was filled with doing things for God rather than pursuing intimacy with God. I had perfected busiiness but failed miserably at stillness. Although I knew the facts and ideas about Jesus, I didn't know what it meant to be His friend. I had confidence in my ability to do the work of God, but I was clueless when it came to letting God work in me. How did I ever get this way?"

Joshua Harris explains in his book Dug Down Deep, "the word orthodoxy literally means 'right opinion.' In the context of Christian faith, orthodoxy is shorthand for getting your opinion or thoughts about God right. It is teaching and beliefs based on the established, proven, cherished truths of the faith. Orthodoxy matters because the Christian faith is not just a cultural tradition or moral code. Orthodoxy is irreducible truths about God and his work in the world. Our faith is not just a state of mind, a mystical experience, or concepts on page. Theology, doctrine, and orthodoxy matter because GOD'S REAL and He has acted in our world, and His actions have meaning today and for all eternity. Do you remember the story Jesus told about the wise and foolish builders? Simple story. The wise man dug in the ground and built his house on the rock. When storms came, his house stood firm. The foolish man built his house on the sand. When the wind and waves arrived the house was swept away. As children we used the same story in Sunday school, complete with hand motions. Now that I think of it, this is really quiet dramatic concept for children to sing about-- houses toppling and all. But it never really scared me because I went to church, and of course I was a 'rock person.' At least that's what I thought. But listen to how Jesus describes what building on the rock symbolizes. This is what I had always missed. The wise builder is the one who comes to Jesus, listens to His words, and then puts them into practice. This activity--- this faith filled approach to Jesus, acceptance of His truth and then the application of the truth--- is what Jesus said is like a man who dug down deep and built a solid foundation. When problems and trials and the storms of life came, the 'house' of his life kept standing. Jesus is telling us that there are stable and unstable foundations on which to construct our lives. Regardless of our intentions, it's possible to base our confidence and trust-- the very footing of our lives-- on what is insecure and faulty. On shifting sand."

I looked up the Hebrew word for truth and was amazed at what I discovered! The Hebrew word for "truth" is אמת [emet]. Like truth, the word אמת is perfectly balanced … in more ways than one. First, the word begins with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet א [alef], ends with the last letter ת [tav], and includes one of the two middle letters מ [mem]. It is thus balanced throughout the Hebrew alphabet. What's more, each of its letters' forms is balanced; each has two "legs" to stand firmly on the baseline. Will your faith stand or come TUMBLING DOWN?

There is a saying in Colorado I heard that I really like. "If you have ever stood on solid ground and looked down at an airplane while it was in flight, you might be from Colorado." Ironically I got to stand on top of pikes Peak and look down at the Blue Angels as they flew over the Air Force/Navy game. And what a feeling it was to be safe and secure on top of that mountain, as long as you don't stand near the edge while the wind blows. If we Christians stand on the solid rock. The apostle Paul tells us in his letter to the church in Ephesus, "then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead speaking the truth in love we will in all things grow up and to Him who is the head, that is, Christ." What did Jesus do when He was in the boat and the storms came? What did his disciples do? So, after the storms come and the devil attacks us are WE STILL STANDING?

Doesn't God promise that, "I WILL STAND BY YOU" when we need Him? While writing this blog, I spent Christmas with my mentor in North Georgia. That evening we watched the Christmas episode of Dog the Bounty Hunter in which Dog's son Gary had stopped believing in Santa Claus. So Dog arranged a little adventure for Gary to capture Santa Claus. After a few near misses,he had RECAPTURED Santa Claus, Dog asked his son why he doubted Santa was real. To which his son answered, "because my friends and I had never seen him." Dog explained to his son, "believing in Santa takes faith and faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." The apostle John Mark gives an account in his letter to the Christian Gentiles in Rome about Jesus healing a boy possessed by an evil spirit. "Jesus asked the boy's father, 'how long has he been like this?' 'From childhood,' he answered. 'It has often thrown him into fire and water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.' 'If you can?' Said Jesus. 'Everything is possible for one who believes.' Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, 'I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"

Later in Luke's letter to the gentiles we find the apostles struggling with Jesus command to forgive a brother that keeps wronging you. The disciples then pleaded, "increase our faith!" I wonder if Luke is trying to tell us that there is a connection between our faith and forgiving? From these two passages Jesus is clear, when your faith is firm, you're not shaken. WHEN YOUR SPIRIT GETS WEAK, you can have peace because you know God will RUN TO YOU. Hudson Taylor once said, "God always gives His very best to those who leave the choice with Him." To those of you who know me or have ever received an e-mail or message from me on Facebook, you may have noticed I always close with my favorite Scripture from the apostle Paul's first letter to the church in Corinth in which he wrote, "be on your guard; STAND FIRM in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love."

1 Corinthians 16;13 is important to me for two reasons. First is literal, when I had my accident I was able to stand but it was pretty shaky and unstable. To be twenty one and unable to walk or even stand up is pretty humiliating for a man. Diane, I'm sure you can sympathize with me on that. I recently had to send my medical records to apply for a grant and it stated, "ambulating(walking) 2000+ feet on varied surfaces with standby assistance and queing. The patient has a gait and balance difficulties." Gait and balance problems exist when a disease process, trauma, or aging result in the inability to control one's center of gravity (COG) over the base of support (BOS) in static or dynamic tasks and environments. Needless to say I could walk but often worried about What if I stumble. I didn't want to fall. The other reason this is my favorite verse is it was the theme of the first Promise Keepers conference I went to with both my father and mentor back in 1998. It has become my creed, my motto. Pretty appropriate for us men, isn't it? Because of it I've seen God work miracles when I let go.

And I am right here waiting for one more(any guesses?) I have even written a full-length screenplay based on this verse. Any second thoughts Dallas? Be BRAVE, stand your ground, don't cower when things get Hard and just HOLD ON to that rock. There is a flipside to this principle. In closing this blog lets look at the Hebrew word for "falsehood" [שקר, sheker] is unbalanced. The base of the letter ש does not stand balanced on the baseline. The form of the letter ק includes an extended left-sided stroke that descends below the baseline. So too with the letter-form of the ר, as it includes no "supporting" stroke on its left; according to its form, it should fall. Mark Twain once famously said, "a lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on shoes." What have you built your life on? The truth of the Gospel or the lies of the world? Are you running to it or from it? Do you walk in it or away from it? Do you have NO WORRIES? In his second letter to the church in Corinth the apostle Paul warned,"So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall." Maybe this was his way of telling us we need hedges and boundaries in our lives, right Jerry? But we Christians, we fall down. Don't we? That is why you must be careful WHEN YOU STEP. Too bad teen idol, Miley Cyrus didn't read this passage three years ago. This is the reason why it is important to protect our feet in SPIRITUAL WARFARE.









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