In a recent discussion, the issue about information came up. From a scientific standpoint, what is information? One of the most incredible discoveries in biological sciences was DNA and the fact that DNA contains information. DNA contains all the information that determines our height, build, hair color, eye color, skin color, curly hair, attached ear lobes, our joints, bones, and blood types. DNA contains all that information. But there is a problem. Many people have confused the information that DNA contains with the DNA itself. This is a common misconception but there are whole concepts and ideas that are built up and dependent upon this misconception. This misconception is the same as confusion the words on this blog post with the information contained within the words of the blog post.
Information by definition is non-material. It does not have a physical definition. It is an idea. A concept. Information can be carried in a wide variety of ways and manners. Written language is an excellent means of describing this distinction. The English language consists of 26 letters which compose every word we use. The letters themselves are symbols that represent various sounds or ideas. Exactly how these letters developed is beyond my realm of knowledge. But to make a long story short, in the English language, the 26 letters and the words from which these are composed are unanimously agreed upon by those who speak English to represent the words and ideas we understand. When we see the word "car" in written language, we automatically will have a picture of a vehicle that has four wheels, an engine, and often will seat 4 passengers including the driver. When we see the word "red" we immediately think of the color. But "red" has more than one meaning. To most it is just a descriptive color. But to some, it means a symbol of war. To others, it means a warning. What the word "red" means will vary depending upon who is saying it, who is receiving it, and the context it is being used for.
All forms of codes work the same way. Computer language, binary code, is interesting. We send a signal meaning 5V along a wire and the presence of the voltage is represented by a 1 and a lack of a 5V presence is represented by a 0. The sequence of 1s and 0s is not anything but a series of voltages and lack thereof. There is no information that itself. However, man has put meaning behind that sequence of 0s and 1s to create a massive complex of instructions that are now running our digital age. What is interesting is that the same sequence of 0s and 1s can represent a wide variety of different things. It can represent a color, it can represent a mathematical operation, it can represent a memory location or it can represent the contents of that memory location. How do we tell which is which? The same code is passed through different chips in the CPU and each chip knows exactly what it is dealing with. A memory chip knows by the order of 0s and 1s and the number of them if it needs to access a particular memory location or pull the contents of that memory location, or to store memory into that location. How? The easy answer is "we programmed it to do it". WE know what it means in that particular context so we can direct the chip to perform a particular action when it sees a particular sequence of 0s and 1s. And to make things easier, we represent these said action with a word used in our language which forms the basis of Computer Programming Languages. What is important is that the 0s and 1s are not the information itself but the medium through which the information is transmitted.
Where the confusion between information and the medium of information plays a role is in the Theory of Evolution. DNA and Computer Systems are strikingly similar. Why? They are both read digitally. Computer Systems are read in a sequence of 0s and 1s. DNA is read on a double-helix of four chemical compounds A, T, G, and C. When DNA is passed through the cells, the organelles that read the DNA pick up the context stores in the DNA and perform the instructions they receive. Another organelle will receive the same code but get different instructions. How could this be? Context. The same code read by one person will get one meaning but the same code read by a second person will get a different meaning because the context of the reader will be different. This is how coded messages work. The people who know the "key" to the code will get information out of the text or sequence, bot those who do not know the "key" will only see gibberish.
I have frequently seen people describe Evolution as the "gain of information". And they describe this "gain" with text. One example I have seen several times is if we have the word "red" but through a "mutation" we get "read", that is "new" information. But is it? Let's put that into context.
"I was driving down the road and I saw a red light..."
"I was driving down the road and I saw a read light..."
If this were to be in any novel, it would take the reader out the story and make the reader go back and read it again. Information here was not gained by lost. In this example, most readers would be able to back and make a mental correction and read what is actually intended.
One of the most amazing things about DNA is that is can self-repair. How does it do this? I'll be honest, I don't know the details. I just know it can and does self-repair. If DNA can self-repair, it must have a context, it must have some kind of mechanism that tells it something is wrong. What is more is that it must have some sort of standard to compare to in order to determine if something is wrong. The fact that DNA can self-repair flies in the face of Evolution, because the theory requires the mutations to gather over time. If DNA can self-repair, it would seek to fix any of these mutations. When it can't, it means something is wrong with the standard or the mechanism that does the self-repair.
There is a Law about Information. It states that every piece of information must originate from an intelligent mind. Considering information is the meaning behind the symbols/code/language, regardless of whether that information comes through a medium of written language, computer code, Morse Code, music, audio waves, digital waves, light signals, or whatever medium you choose, if you trace back information it will always come to an intelligent mind. Let's trace the history of the information contains in the movie "Troy" (2004 with Brad Pitt). The movie concept came from mind of the director, who before that got the picture of the movie from the screenwriter. The Screenwriter got the information from an audio copy of the book The Iliad or read the book. That book was translated from a copy of the original Greek to English and that copy can be traced eventually back to the mind of Homer. But there is more. Where did Homer get the information for his story? Obviously not all of it was true, but the information still had to come from somewhere. Part of it was traced back to a likely war between the Greeks and the Trojans. Homer goes into some of the reasons for that war. What inspired Agamemnon to attack Troy? Where did the ideas of the Greek gods come from? The latter question is rather interesting. Some more research needs to be done but some of the Greeks gods in name and origin actually trace back some of the names listed in the Table of Nations in Genesis 10. If we continue this path, we eventually will find ourselves with Adam and Eve and God. Adam and Eve's knowledge and information had to come from somewhere and the only logical conclusion is that their knowledge came from the source of all knowledge: God himself. Otherwise we will end up with an infinite regression that eventually will collapse on itself.
The study of information is incredible. How we can convert the meaning behind one medium of information to another without losing the meaning is proof that information is not the same thing as the medium through which it is carried. One must be careful not to confuse the medium of information with the information itself. When the two are separated into their proper places, it is all solid evidence that God is who he says he is in the Bible. Evolution cannot stand if these two are in their proper place. It must equate the two in order to try to make sense. But the two are not interchangeable and because of this, we have another reason why Evolution cannot hold water. I trust God is who he said he is and he meant what he said. And because information can be known, I have no excuse to not trust him.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Sunday, July 7, 2013
The Authority of Scripture
I often participate in various discussions on-line about the Creation vs Evolution debate. One of the issues that is critical in this discussion is the authority of Scripture. I am not out to prove that the Bible is reliable in this post (and I would need a MUCH longer post to demonstrate that), but I am going to compare three different ways the Bible is used in terms of being an authority in someone's life, using the Creation/Evolution debate to illustrate. The three ways are
1). The Bible is the Ultimate or Final Authority
2). The Bible is a authority.
3). The Bible has no authority.
In the first case, there are very few Ultimate or Final Authorities. As a Christian, the Bible is my Ultimate Authority. An Ultimate (or Final) Authority cannot reference anything else that is higher, otherwise that authority would be the Ultimate Authority. An Ultimate Authority can only appeal to itself. Two examples of this are mathematical axioms and the Rules of Logic. In math, an axiom is a statement that is assumed to be true but cannot be proven by outside means. It does however prove itself. Logic is the same way. There is nothing we can use to prove the laws of Logic other than with the laws of Logic. The same concept applies with the Bible. If the Bible is an Ultimate Authority, there is no authority that can prove it other than itself. It can only appeal to itself. Some may argue "God wrote the Bible, and as the author, he must be higher." That is true, but God by his nature cannot contradict his word. So I have to consider God and the Bible to be on the same tier in terms of authority and they do circularly appeal to each other. One thing I need to make clear is that ONLY with an Ultimate/Final authority does circular reasoning apply validly. Because an Ultimate Authority can only appeal to itself.
When someone places the Bible as their Ultimate Authority, it is the deciding factor on all cases. On any issue, an Ultimate Authority trumps what any other authority says. In the Creation/Evolution debate if the Bible is the Ultimate Authority, it must trump what any other person says, no matter their degree or field of expertise. The Age of the Earth issue is frequently brought up in these discussions. The Bible gives a historic account through the Genealogies (repeated three times in Genesis 5 and 11, in 1 Chronicles 1-9, and in Luke 3. In the Genesis accounts we have the ages of the father when the son was born and it does not take much to add them up and discover that the Bible records a history that is only about 6000 years old. There are many scientists that will tell us that the earth is billions of years old. If the Bible is the Ultimate Authority, then the Bible's take on it will trump what the scientists say about it. The Bible is not a science textbook, nor a history textbook, but it does say enough to give us guidelines on how to interpret and discern what man says in fields the Bible is not very specific on. The Bible contains a lot of history, but it is not about history. The Bible does not talk about how gravity works or about the history of the Mayan Empires. But it does give a timeline for when the major people groups dispersed and it gives guidelines that God is a God of order and structure, and that his creation reflects that character. It does talk about what took place and when and gives a clear enough picture to establish when and how any other events would take place.
Many however do not treat the Bible as their Ultimate Authority. They just use it as a authority. When it is just another authority, when you have to conflicting data points, it is arbitrary which authority is taken. I often hear people claim they can believe both "science" and the Bible at the same time, as though they think those who hold the Bible as their Ultimate Authority pit the two against each other. (Those who hold the Bible as the Ultimate Authority see science as supporting the Bible but must be carried out with the understanding that the Bible is the Ultimate Authority on the issue. That is: Science that reveals conflicting data with what the Bible declares needs to be revisited.) The primary argument sounds like this. "God is the author of the Bible and the author of nature and nature is a valid as a 67th book of the Bible." What this actually means is "the science done by secular means that does not consider the Bible as an authority is as valid as a 67th book of the Bible". The claim is that our studies of science (which does not consider input from the Bible) is on the same tier of authority as the Bible itself. And in actual practice, when something comes up that is debatable, very rarely is the Bible's take accepted. The Theory of Evolution states that all life came from a single common ancestor. The Bible says that all the life forms reproduce after their kinds. In comparing the two, more often than not, the Evolutionary approach will take precedence over the Bible when the Bible is just a authority and not the Ultimate Authority. When the Bible is just a authority, it gives liberty to pick and choose which parts are worthy of being authoritative and which ones are not. This makes the person the judge of which is a quality authority on whatever subject they want which makes themselves the authority. Many people say the Bible is only authoritative on religious matters but does not have the authority on history, science, etc. It just does not work that way. The Bible's religious matters are rooted in the historical documentations. Many will say the Genesis account of Creation, Noah's Flood, and the Tower of Babel are just myths based on other Middle-Eastern cultures. It does not take a genius to follow that logic and say the same thing about Christ. Many do make the arguments that Jesus' birth, life, death, and Resurrection were just a myth as well. If the Bible is just a authority, there is no logical place to determine where you use it and where you don't. And most of the time, in actual practice, it is "don't".
The last case is those that do not consider the Bible to be authoritative at all. These are the people that never open up the Bible, never read it, and do not seek to follow it in any regard. They see all the historical accounts as myth at best, or just fairy tales. They have no regard for the Law established by Moses, which Jesus upheld. They only follow the parts of that Law that coincides with what society has already established. When one does not have the Bible as any authority, discussions with said people can be a challenge. Paul had this challenge in Athens in Acts 17. He was dealing with the best of the best of the best of the philosophers in the world who had never heard of the Biblical account. It was foolishness to them. So Paul had to address them by establishing a new worldview for them, referencing the "statue to the Unknown god" and then making a Gospel appeal from there. He did not win many converts like Peter did in Acts 2.
So where does the Bible fall in your list of authorities? Do you ever think about it or follow what it says? Do you only follow some of it, the parts that seem and feel good to you? Or do you let it guide and direct every area of your life? The Bible is my Ultimate Authority. I do not always follow it as I should and when I fail, that is sin. And that is also WHY I need a Savior. But because I place the Bible as my Ultimate Authority, I must align my worldview and how I look at things in accordance to how the Bible does it. I must conform to what the Bible teaches, which will also conform myself to Christ himself. Now all this being said, if the Bible is the Ultimate Authority, it does not strip away what anyone else has to say. But as the Ultimate Authority, what anyone else has to say must be aligned with the Bible, and if what they say contradicts the Bible in any way, then they are wrong. Romans 3:4 says "Yea, let God be the truth and every man a liar." This includes me. What I say is subject to be tested in accordance to Scripture. If what I say goes against what the Bible says, I am wrong, period. If what I say is not explicitly stated in Scripture but does not go against what the Bible says, then I could be right. And if what I say matches what is explicitly stated in Scripture, then I cannot be wrong. What is your ultimate authority? Many people when they dig down will often find it is themselves which is arbitrary and often "what feels good at the moment". For me, I know I fall short. I know I am not a reliable judge of my own abilities. I stand in accordance to what the Bible teaches and when I judge, I seek to judge using the Bible as the standard. And when I call out a sin for what it is, I must also remember that I too am just as guilty and apart from the Grace of God, I would be no different than said person.
1). The Bible is the Ultimate or Final Authority
2). The Bible is a authority.
3). The Bible has no authority.
In the first case, there are very few Ultimate or Final Authorities. As a Christian, the Bible is my Ultimate Authority. An Ultimate (or Final) Authority cannot reference anything else that is higher, otherwise that authority would be the Ultimate Authority. An Ultimate Authority can only appeal to itself. Two examples of this are mathematical axioms and the Rules of Logic. In math, an axiom is a statement that is assumed to be true but cannot be proven by outside means. It does however prove itself. Logic is the same way. There is nothing we can use to prove the laws of Logic other than with the laws of Logic. The same concept applies with the Bible. If the Bible is an Ultimate Authority, there is no authority that can prove it other than itself. It can only appeal to itself. Some may argue "God wrote the Bible, and as the author, he must be higher." That is true, but God by his nature cannot contradict his word. So I have to consider God and the Bible to be on the same tier in terms of authority and they do circularly appeal to each other. One thing I need to make clear is that ONLY with an Ultimate/Final authority does circular reasoning apply validly. Because an Ultimate Authority can only appeal to itself.
When someone places the Bible as their Ultimate Authority, it is the deciding factor on all cases. On any issue, an Ultimate Authority trumps what any other authority says. In the Creation/Evolution debate if the Bible is the Ultimate Authority, it must trump what any other person says, no matter their degree or field of expertise. The Age of the Earth issue is frequently brought up in these discussions. The Bible gives a historic account through the Genealogies (repeated three times in Genesis 5 and 11, in 1 Chronicles 1-9, and in Luke 3. In the Genesis accounts we have the ages of the father when the son was born and it does not take much to add them up and discover that the Bible records a history that is only about 6000 years old. There are many scientists that will tell us that the earth is billions of years old. If the Bible is the Ultimate Authority, then the Bible's take on it will trump what the scientists say about it. The Bible is not a science textbook, nor a history textbook, but it does say enough to give us guidelines on how to interpret and discern what man says in fields the Bible is not very specific on. The Bible contains a lot of history, but it is not about history. The Bible does not talk about how gravity works or about the history of the Mayan Empires. But it does give a timeline for when the major people groups dispersed and it gives guidelines that God is a God of order and structure, and that his creation reflects that character. It does talk about what took place and when and gives a clear enough picture to establish when and how any other events would take place.
Many however do not treat the Bible as their Ultimate Authority. They just use it as a authority. When it is just another authority, when you have to conflicting data points, it is arbitrary which authority is taken. I often hear people claim they can believe both "science" and the Bible at the same time, as though they think those who hold the Bible as their Ultimate Authority pit the two against each other. (Those who hold the Bible as the Ultimate Authority see science as supporting the Bible but must be carried out with the understanding that the Bible is the Ultimate Authority on the issue. That is: Science that reveals conflicting data with what the Bible declares needs to be revisited.) The primary argument sounds like this. "God is the author of the Bible and the author of nature and nature is a valid as a 67th book of the Bible." What this actually means is "the science done by secular means that does not consider the Bible as an authority is as valid as a 67th book of the Bible". The claim is that our studies of science (which does not consider input from the Bible) is on the same tier of authority as the Bible itself. And in actual practice, when something comes up that is debatable, very rarely is the Bible's take accepted. The Theory of Evolution states that all life came from a single common ancestor. The Bible says that all the life forms reproduce after their kinds. In comparing the two, more often than not, the Evolutionary approach will take precedence over the Bible when the Bible is just a authority and not the Ultimate Authority. When the Bible is just a authority, it gives liberty to pick and choose which parts are worthy of being authoritative and which ones are not. This makes the person the judge of which is a quality authority on whatever subject they want which makes themselves the authority. Many people say the Bible is only authoritative on religious matters but does not have the authority on history, science, etc. It just does not work that way. The Bible's religious matters are rooted in the historical documentations. Many will say the Genesis account of Creation, Noah's Flood, and the Tower of Babel are just myths based on other Middle-Eastern cultures. It does not take a genius to follow that logic and say the same thing about Christ. Many do make the arguments that Jesus' birth, life, death, and Resurrection were just a myth as well. If the Bible is just a authority, there is no logical place to determine where you use it and where you don't. And most of the time, in actual practice, it is "don't".
The last case is those that do not consider the Bible to be authoritative at all. These are the people that never open up the Bible, never read it, and do not seek to follow it in any regard. They see all the historical accounts as myth at best, or just fairy tales. They have no regard for the Law established by Moses, which Jesus upheld. They only follow the parts of that Law that coincides with what society has already established. When one does not have the Bible as any authority, discussions with said people can be a challenge. Paul had this challenge in Athens in Acts 17. He was dealing with the best of the best of the best of the philosophers in the world who had never heard of the Biblical account. It was foolishness to them. So Paul had to address them by establishing a new worldview for them, referencing the "statue to the Unknown god" and then making a Gospel appeal from there. He did not win many converts like Peter did in Acts 2.
So where does the Bible fall in your list of authorities? Do you ever think about it or follow what it says? Do you only follow some of it, the parts that seem and feel good to you? Or do you let it guide and direct every area of your life? The Bible is my Ultimate Authority. I do not always follow it as I should and when I fail, that is sin. And that is also WHY I need a Savior. But because I place the Bible as my Ultimate Authority, I must align my worldview and how I look at things in accordance to how the Bible does it. I must conform to what the Bible teaches, which will also conform myself to Christ himself. Now all this being said, if the Bible is the Ultimate Authority, it does not strip away what anyone else has to say. But as the Ultimate Authority, what anyone else has to say must be aligned with the Bible, and if what they say contradicts the Bible in any way, then they are wrong. Romans 3:4 says "Yea, let God be the truth and every man a liar." This includes me. What I say is subject to be tested in accordance to Scripture. If what I say goes against what the Bible says, I am wrong, period. If what I say is not explicitly stated in Scripture but does not go against what the Bible says, then I could be right. And if what I say matches what is explicitly stated in Scripture, then I cannot be wrong. What is your ultimate authority? Many people when they dig down will often find it is themselves which is arbitrary and often "what feels good at the moment". For me, I know I fall short. I know I am not a reliable judge of my own abilities. I stand in accordance to what the Bible teaches and when I judge, I seek to judge using the Bible as the standard. And when I call out a sin for what it is, I must also remember that I too am just as guilty and apart from the Grace of God, I would be no different than said person.
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Celebration of the 4th of July
Today is Independence Day for the Unites States. While I am not please with the direction this nation is going, I have to give God thanks for placing me in this country where I have to freedom to express myself and to worship Jesus Christ freely without fear of government oppression. I do believe that time is limited and I have taken for granted this freedom too often. It is frustrating to see the hate and mockery spewed towards Christians, but I have to remember that the freedom I enjoy both enables them to do what they do, but it also enables me to do what I do. I also recognize that if the people who hate Christianity so much are barred legally from doing so, it would be a precedent that would end up being only used against Christians. That is the reality that we face. We live in a world that loves their sin, that wants to do things their way, and do not want to hear or see of the things of God. I often hear people talk about how the US was founded on Christian principles and I do believe that to be true. But reality is we live in hostile territory. We live in enemy territory with an enemy that hates us with a spirit and passion that most of us don't understand. And regardless of political pressures, it is our job as Christians to share the Good News and bring God's message as his Ambassadors into this fallen worldly system.
And this month I will get two opportunities to express this freedom we have in the US. On Tuesday, July 23, I will be interviewed on a new internet radio show for Christian writers. The show, The Write Stuff, started this week and runs on Tuesdays at 5:00pm Mountain time.I will be interviewed about my testimony, my fencing ministry, and about my journey as an author. I will be posting details about it as we get closer to that time. Then at the very end of the month, Wednesday evening on July 31, I will get the privilege to preach at my church. We are having a Wednesday night service throughout the summer for the purpose of evangelism and inviting non-believers to come to church in a more family-friendly environment. On the last date of those summer services, I will bring my fencing gear and bring a message about spiritual warfare. But I won't be merely talking about theory. I will be preaching on down to earth practical stuff, as I use the moves I do in competition as a visual demonstration of practical life lessons. I will only have 20 minutes which will be a challenge for me to determine what to include and what not to include. Since the last time I gave my presentation, I have picked up some new things so some of the material I will be using is brand new. The service that day will end with a baptism and I am praying and seeking how to use that moment for part of my sermon. I am really excited about these two opportunities.
God has been really good and there is far more to what God has in store for me than I know of at this time. I am enjoying the ride he has put me on. There are highs and there are lows. I feel like I have been in a low after coming back from the Colorado Christian Writer's Conference last month and with my birthday. I recognize the spiritual battle going on as I am seeking to take my faith to a deeper level. And the enemy has been waging war against me as I strive to head that direction. And laziness has been rearing its ugly head. It's a battle I must push through to overcome and it won't be an easy fight. But I know who has the ultimate victory and I have declared my allegiance to the King of Kings who will not lose. And as I use my speaking skills later this month, it will be God who gets the glory. I know none of what I will be sharing in the interview and when I preach is from me directly. It is all from God so all I can do it give it back to him. It is going to be a great to see God move.
And this month I will get two opportunities to express this freedom we have in the US. On Tuesday, July 23, I will be interviewed on a new internet radio show for Christian writers. The show, The Write Stuff, started this week and runs on Tuesdays at 5:00pm Mountain time.I will be interviewed about my testimony, my fencing ministry, and about my journey as an author. I will be posting details about it as we get closer to that time. Then at the very end of the month, Wednesday evening on July 31, I will get the privilege to preach at my church. We are having a Wednesday night service throughout the summer for the purpose of evangelism and inviting non-believers to come to church in a more family-friendly environment. On the last date of those summer services, I will bring my fencing gear and bring a message about spiritual warfare. But I won't be merely talking about theory. I will be preaching on down to earth practical stuff, as I use the moves I do in competition as a visual demonstration of practical life lessons. I will only have 20 minutes which will be a challenge for me to determine what to include and what not to include. Since the last time I gave my presentation, I have picked up some new things so some of the material I will be using is brand new. The service that day will end with a baptism and I am praying and seeking how to use that moment for part of my sermon. I am really excited about these two opportunities.
God has been really good and there is far more to what God has in store for me than I know of at this time. I am enjoying the ride he has put me on. There are highs and there are lows. I feel like I have been in a low after coming back from the Colorado Christian Writer's Conference last month and with my birthday. I recognize the spiritual battle going on as I am seeking to take my faith to a deeper level. And the enemy has been waging war against me as I strive to head that direction. And laziness has been rearing its ugly head. It's a battle I must push through to overcome and it won't be an easy fight. But I know who has the ultimate victory and I have declared my allegiance to the King of Kings who will not lose. And as I use my speaking skills later this month, it will be God who gets the glory. I know none of what I will be sharing in the interview and when I preach is from me directly. It is all from God so all I can do it give it back to him. It is going to be a great to see God move.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
30 Years and Counting
This past weekend I had my 30th birthday. It is a day not many who knew me growing up expected to come. I should not have seen my first birthday. I had all sorts of physical and mental challenges as I grew up. I could not play sports, let alone understand them until I was about 12 years old. Most kids know exactly why you run up and down a soccer field before they are five. I didn't until I was 12. I had no reading comprehension until I was 12 either. I could tell you what was on a page but I could not tell you what it meant. My brain is really good at memorizing what to do for a particular situation but has difficulty applying what I know to a different situation. This is why I did not drive until a year and a half ago. I had no problem operating a vehicle. I had problems knowing how to operate my vehicle in conjunction with other people operating their vehicles (and I have seen while on the road that this problem is not mine alone). The list goes on and on and I could write a full length novel about this.
But in all that I have been through, God has come through in style. Today, I am not the best as sports but I am generally at least decent at almost all of them. I started fencing 15 years ago and since them my athletic skills have dramatically improved. I never did read as much as people tended to give me credit for but in the last few years, I have written and published a fiction novel, something that someone in my situation growing up would never have on his radar. I have more books coming. As I have reflected over my life, I had a really slow start. But that does not automatically mean I am "behind". I often play video games and one of the games I would play is called F-Zero, a racing game for various Nintendo Consoles. Interestingly enough, my favorite cars to play were the ones with the slower accelerator (it took them a while to pick up speed) but the greater maximum speed (once it got to it's max speed, nothing could keep pace). My life has felt like this. I started out very slow, but once God started moving in my life, I have picked up more and more speed. At age 30, I am not sure if I have "caught up" with where I should be had I grown up "normally" or not, but I do know I am either nearly there or already surpassed it. What I do know for certain is that God made me exactly who I need to be to accomplish what he wants done.
What do I have coming? I am certified to be a teacher and I am waiting and searching for a job opening. I will continue my new found hobby of writing. I do not intend it to be my breadmaker, but you never know. I have a non-fiction book in the planning stages. In one of my posts from last year, I talked about how the Doctrines of Christianity trace back to the book of Genesis. With some feedback and some big names expressing a strong interest in this project, I am going to be getting started on it soon. That will be a multi-year project and from what I have heard from various people is that no one has attempted to do what I am going to be doing with this. So I have a potential really big hit with this project. I still plan to continue fencing, though due to finances until I get a full-time job, I have been forced to hold back on competition. That being said, I am still searching for opportunities to use my sport as a ministry tool. I will have my next opportunity coming up at the end of July with my church when we wrap up a 9-week Summer Wednesday night service, emphasizing on evangelism. I also have an invitation to speak about my fencing ministry and my books on an internet radio show in July as well. The network apparently has approximately 100K listeners. All I know is that God has big stuff planned for me and I am thoroughly enjoying this ride every step of the way. I have been through some tough trials and tribulations leading up to this and I know I have plenty more to come. But God is a big God and as long as I stay in the center of his will, nothing will bring me down. It's going to be a wild, fun, and intense journey to come.
But in all that I have been through, God has come through in style. Today, I am not the best as sports but I am generally at least decent at almost all of them. I started fencing 15 years ago and since them my athletic skills have dramatically improved. I never did read as much as people tended to give me credit for but in the last few years, I have written and published a fiction novel, something that someone in my situation growing up would never have on his radar. I have more books coming. As I have reflected over my life, I had a really slow start. But that does not automatically mean I am "behind". I often play video games and one of the games I would play is called F-Zero, a racing game for various Nintendo Consoles. Interestingly enough, my favorite cars to play were the ones with the slower accelerator (it took them a while to pick up speed) but the greater maximum speed (once it got to it's max speed, nothing could keep pace). My life has felt like this. I started out very slow, but once God started moving in my life, I have picked up more and more speed. At age 30, I am not sure if I have "caught up" with where I should be had I grown up "normally" or not, but I do know I am either nearly there or already surpassed it. What I do know for certain is that God made me exactly who I need to be to accomplish what he wants done.
What do I have coming? I am certified to be a teacher and I am waiting and searching for a job opening. I will continue my new found hobby of writing. I do not intend it to be my breadmaker, but you never know. I have a non-fiction book in the planning stages. In one of my posts from last year, I talked about how the Doctrines of Christianity trace back to the book of Genesis. With some feedback and some big names expressing a strong interest in this project, I am going to be getting started on it soon. That will be a multi-year project and from what I have heard from various people is that no one has attempted to do what I am going to be doing with this. So I have a potential really big hit with this project. I still plan to continue fencing, though due to finances until I get a full-time job, I have been forced to hold back on competition. That being said, I am still searching for opportunities to use my sport as a ministry tool. I will have my next opportunity coming up at the end of July with my church when we wrap up a 9-week Summer Wednesday night service, emphasizing on evangelism. I also have an invitation to speak about my fencing ministry and my books on an internet radio show in July as well. The network apparently has approximately 100K listeners. All I know is that God has big stuff planned for me and I am thoroughly enjoying this ride every step of the way. I have been through some tough trials and tribulations leading up to this and I know I have plenty more to come. But God is a big God and as long as I stay in the center of his will, nothing will bring me down. It's going to be a wild, fun, and intense journey to come.
Thursday, June 6, 2013
The King's Mighty Men
What does it take to be listed as one of "God's Mighty Men"? My last couple posts have been about rising up to the task that God is placing before us. But what I am talking about is not just enlisting in God's army. I am talking about reaching that highest tier of that army. The examples we have of this upper tier is David's Mighty Men listed in 2 Samuel 23. David had a whole army of men that would fight and die for him, but of that army only 37 are listed as the elite of the elite. These 37 men were David's closest companions. They got to hear his inner desires. In 2 Samuel 23, three of these men heard David crying out in the Cave of Abdullam wanting a drink of water from the well at Bethlehem, his home town. They went out on their own, broke through a Philistine garrison, which occupied Bethlehem at the time, got the water and returned to David. Another stood his ground and slew 800 men. Another yet defending a field until his hand grew so tired it actually clung to his sword and he could not let it go. Another sneaked into Saul's camp with David, slipped into where Saul slept along with his personal guard, and stole Saul's personal spear and water skin.
The list of the stories of David's Mighty Men continue goes. But these stories often have the appearance of those of legends and myths. These stories are not mere myths and exaggerated legends. These stories are historical fact. They actually happened. And because they actually happened, what they did physically is something that we can seek to do spiritually. Every one of us has the opportunity to stand and join our King in the battles we face and to one day be listed among his Mighty Men (or Women). I am not saying that in order to be saved we must be one of these men (or women), but I am saying that as a born-again Christian, we have the opportunity to be one of these men (or women).
What does it take to be counted on this list? To understand this, we must look at what David's Mighty Men did. They did not win great battles to become among his Mighty Men. They already were his Mighty Men. David's Mighty Men were 100% loyal to David. They did not question him. They went out of their way to serve the needs of their king. They did not care about life or limb or their own safety. They would readily lay down their lives for the sake of another. They did not fear the ruling authority. Remember, at this time, Saul was still King of Israel and while David was anointed to be the next king, Saul was out to preserve his family line. David's Mighty Men joined the one true king at the cost of risking their lives and their families' lives. David not only had to survive Saul's hunting, but he also had wars to fight with the neighboring tribes such as Egypt, the Philistines, the Ammonites, and many others. They likely had bounties on their heads. If they had families, they would have to keep them on the move. They had to hide out in caves, and could not live in their homes. But yet, they remained steadfast because they were in the presence of the king.
One important thing to note was that because David was anointed to be the next king, the only thing that would prevent him from becoming that king was his own choices in terms of his obedience to God. The enemy could not touch him. Look at the exploits of his men. They fought giants. They killed hundreds of men. They killed lions and bears with their bare hands. Where is that kind of drive? Where is that kind of courage today? They did not consider the impossibilities. They did not think about the "What would happen if we fail?". They saw their goal and they sought to get it done and NOTHING was going to get in their way. I'm not 100% sure about the source here, but I think it was William Carey who said, "I am immortal until I have done everything that God has in store for me do to." As long as William Carey was in God's will, nothing could touch him until he completed God's plans for him. Where is that mentality today?
We need men and women to rise up and be counted as Christ's Mighty Men (and Women). There are some that are seeking that position. Eric Ludy is one. I seek to be one as well. I am not in that level where I could be considered on that Mighty Men list. I am definitely in the army, perhaps has a Captain or General in training, but to be on that list of 37 (there is no cap space on this one)? That is what I want to be. I want to be in a position where God could tell me his deep thoughts as he did with Abraham and as he did with David and as he did with Moses. Am I willing to toss aside the luxuries and comforts of life to get more God? It does not mean he will do so right at this time, but am I willing? I live in the desert and AC is a luxury. Am I willing to go without it? Am I willing to face impossible odds for whatever task God wants me to do? Am I willing to face down giants and charge into battle against the armies of the spiritual enemies we face? Am I willing to put my life on the line, even to the point of death, to serve my King? Many of us will not be able to say yes to these questions. In some of them, I can say yes without a second thought. But some of them, I must be honest and say I am not there yet. Until I can answer yes to all of these questions and those like it, I will not be listed with Christ's Mighty Men. To be in the presence of the King, to go with him into battle, to be able to hear his deep secrets that he wants to share with us, and to be counted on in 100% obedience, that is the goal. It is possible to reach that place. Several have already made the list. Amy Carmichael. William Booth. William Carey. David Brainard. C.T. Studd. David Livingston. If God has a list equivalent to David's Mighty Men, these people would be on it. These are not perfect men or women. Neither we David's Men. David himself was no angel. But which of us are going to make that step to get in closer to God? Which of us will risk it all to prove our God faithful without fear of possible failure? I want to be able to say I am one who will do it.
David's Mighty Men had to start somewhere. They did not just become his Mighty Men overnight. I'm just getting started on this journey to a much deeper level. It is going to be long. It is going to be hard. But I see the prize: intimate fellowship with the King. I don't want to wait until heaven to really get to know my King. I want to know him here and now. And if this is a journey I must take alone, so be it. But I challenge my readers to join me in this journey. It does not matter what happens to my body. As long as I obey God and seek after him and rest in his will, I will be invincible until I have done all that needs to be done. If what I need to do is endure physical torture and execution, then so be it. I obey, God wins. And that is the only victory that matters. I want to be like Stephen who saw the God of Heaven standing at the throne as he was being stoned. God was giving Stephen a standing ovation, even though it came at the cost of Stephen's life. I want to hear that line "Well done, Good and Faithful Servant." I can go on and on and on. But God is issuing a challenge. Will we rise up to it? God will never give us any task without first equipping us for it. And he will be with us, going before, staying behind, and covering our flanks. I am going to stand up and say "Send me." Which of you will do so as well?
The list of the stories of David's Mighty Men continue goes. But these stories often have the appearance of those of legends and myths. These stories are not mere myths and exaggerated legends. These stories are historical fact. They actually happened. And because they actually happened, what they did physically is something that we can seek to do spiritually. Every one of us has the opportunity to stand and join our King in the battles we face and to one day be listed among his Mighty Men (or Women). I am not saying that in order to be saved we must be one of these men (or women), but I am saying that as a born-again Christian, we have the opportunity to be one of these men (or women).
What does it take to be counted on this list? To understand this, we must look at what David's Mighty Men did. They did not win great battles to become among his Mighty Men. They already were his Mighty Men. David's Mighty Men were 100% loyal to David. They did not question him. They went out of their way to serve the needs of their king. They did not care about life or limb or their own safety. They would readily lay down their lives for the sake of another. They did not fear the ruling authority. Remember, at this time, Saul was still King of Israel and while David was anointed to be the next king, Saul was out to preserve his family line. David's Mighty Men joined the one true king at the cost of risking their lives and their families' lives. David not only had to survive Saul's hunting, but he also had wars to fight with the neighboring tribes such as Egypt, the Philistines, the Ammonites, and many others. They likely had bounties on their heads. If they had families, they would have to keep them on the move. They had to hide out in caves, and could not live in their homes. But yet, they remained steadfast because they were in the presence of the king.
One important thing to note was that because David was anointed to be the next king, the only thing that would prevent him from becoming that king was his own choices in terms of his obedience to God. The enemy could not touch him. Look at the exploits of his men. They fought giants. They killed hundreds of men. They killed lions and bears with their bare hands. Where is that kind of drive? Where is that kind of courage today? They did not consider the impossibilities. They did not think about the "What would happen if we fail?". They saw their goal and they sought to get it done and NOTHING was going to get in their way. I'm not 100% sure about the source here, but I think it was William Carey who said, "I am immortal until I have done everything that God has in store for me do to." As long as William Carey was in God's will, nothing could touch him until he completed God's plans for him. Where is that mentality today?
We need men and women to rise up and be counted as Christ's Mighty Men (and Women). There are some that are seeking that position. Eric Ludy is one. I seek to be one as well. I am not in that level where I could be considered on that Mighty Men list. I am definitely in the army, perhaps has a Captain or General in training, but to be on that list of 37 (there is no cap space on this one)? That is what I want to be. I want to be in a position where God could tell me his deep thoughts as he did with Abraham and as he did with David and as he did with Moses. Am I willing to toss aside the luxuries and comforts of life to get more God? It does not mean he will do so right at this time, but am I willing? I live in the desert and AC is a luxury. Am I willing to go without it? Am I willing to face impossible odds for whatever task God wants me to do? Am I willing to face down giants and charge into battle against the armies of the spiritual enemies we face? Am I willing to put my life on the line, even to the point of death, to serve my King? Many of us will not be able to say yes to these questions. In some of them, I can say yes without a second thought. But some of them, I must be honest and say I am not there yet. Until I can answer yes to all of these questions and those like it, I will not be listed with Christ's Mighty Men. To be in the presence of the King, to go with him into battle, to be able to hear his deep secrets that he wants to share with us, and to be counted on in 100% obedience, that is the goal. It is possible to reach that place. Several have already made the list. Amy Carmichael. William Booth. William Carey. David Brainard. C.T. Studd. David Livingston. If God has a list equivalent to David's Mighty Men, these people would be on it. These are not perfect men or women. Neither we David's Men. David himself was no angel. But which of us are going to make that step to get in closer to God? Which of us will risk it all to prove our God faithful without fear of possible failure? I want to be able to say I am one who will do it.
David's Mighty Men had to start somewhere. They did not just become his Mighty Men overnight. I'm just getting started on this journey to a much deeper level. It is going to be long. It is going to be hard. But I see the prize: intimate fellowship with the King. I don't want to wait until heaven to really get to know my King. I want to know him here and now. And if this is a journey I must take alone, so be it. But I challenge my readers to join me in this journey. It does not matter what happens to my body. As long as I obey God and seek after him and rest in his will, I will be invincible until I have done all that needs to be done. If what I need to do is endure physical torture and execution, then so be it. I obey, God wins. And that is the only victory that matters. I want to be like Stephen who saw the God of Heaven standing at the throne as he was being stoned. God was giving Stephen a standing ovation, even though it came at the cost of Stephen's life. I want to hear that line "Well done, Good and Faithful Servant." I can go on and on and on. But God is issuing a challenge. Will we rise up to it? God will never give us any task without first equipping us for it. And he will be with us, going before, staying behind, and covering our flanks. I am going to stand up and say "Send me." Which of you will do so as well?
Monday, June 3, 2013
The Call To Arms
We are at war. I am not talking about Iraq, Afghanistan, the conflicts in Syria and potentially in North Korea. This war is bigger than the the War on Terror. It is bigger than the Cold War. It is bigger than World Wars I and II combined. It has lasted longer than recorded history. It is a war on the grandest of epic scales. It is the ultimate showdown between good and evil. This war is a spiritual war. The battlefield is both further away and closer than any of us realize. It is off in some distant land on the other side of the planet. It is numerous cities throughout the world. It is also in our own city. It is in our backyard. It is in our homes. And it is within each and every one of us. The object of the war; the reason this war is being fought, is us. We are the sought out prize: the spoils of the war. Satan is out to destroy us so he can spit in the face of God. But God is not content to just let us go and be victims of Satan's accusing, destructive schemes. He has fought back and continues to fight. Now, God and Satan are not on equal levels. The two will never be equals. God is always above Satan and when God fights, he always wins.
But God doesn't always win. Why is that? Why does it seem that evil is getting more and more powerful? If God is all-powerful, why doesn't he stop all this evil going on? Here is why. God wants a relationship with us. That was how he created mankind back in Genesis. But sin put a huge rift in that relationship. God has fought back to make it possible to close that gap. This was done by sending his son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross. God is not just a loving God. He is a Just God. Sin must be punished. It must be dealt with. God cannot be called either loving or just if he just allows sin to fester. God loves us so much he will do what it takes to clean us. He is jealous and he will not tolerate us going after other gods in the same way a husband will not let another man take his wife. What is more is that God wants us to learn to trust him more in the same way a child trusts his parents. If God did everything behind the scenes, we would not pick up anything from it. Nor would we appreciate what he is doing. But here is yet another reason God chooses to work through us. It is the ultimate smack-down to Satan. Satan thinks he has victory because he was able to deceive us and trick us into sinning and rebelling against God. But God gets the last laugh because he uses the weak, the pathetic, the poor, the uneducated, the few, and the defenseless to defeat that accuser.
Here is the problem. Those God wants to use to defeat evil are not fighting. It does not matter whether we fight for God or not, Satan still treats each and every one of us as an enemy. His goal is to steal, kill, and destroy. He will seek to be friendly and seek our friendships, but his goal is our destruction. God knows this. So not only did God give his Son to us so that he would pay the price for our sins, he has given us armor and equipment to rise up, make a stand against the forces of darkness and beat it back. Not only just beat it back, but to take the offense and drive it out. The major pieces of this equipment is the Armor of God. That will deserve its own posts. But this Armor is just accessible to just anyone. To use it, you need to be born-again. You need to renounce your citizenship to the sin in your life and claim Jesus Christ and your King. A lord in the Medieval days would never allow a soldier from an enemy army to don his knights' armor. How would he so that solider would not just betray him? It's the same reason why in order to wield God's equipment, you need to be loyal to him. But as Christians we have the equipment necessary to win our battles in this war.
But having the equipment does not address the problem. It only makes the problem worse. It is bad enough that the people are not fighting. It is worse that people have what they need to fight and aren't. Satan loves having people enlisted in God's army step to the side and not fight. That makes his job easier. We are in the battle whether we want to be or not. We cannot claim to be neutral and watch the war from the sidelines, cheering God's army on. Too many think they are doing that. No, in this war, if you aren't fighting, you are in the middle of the battlefield taking crossfire from both sides. You are like a player on a basketball team that is doing nothing to help your team score and doing nothing to help prevent the other team from scoring. You are making the few that are fighting have to fight harder because you are not doing your job. God is calling us to take up his arms, to follow him and to take the battlefield. But God is not a mere general that stands on the hillside from afar to watch and direct the battle. He is willing and wants to come and fight by our sides. He goes before us. He stands behind us. He covers our flanks. God fights for us and with us. And when we join him in the battle, we will not lose. The battle is only going to get harder because Satan knows his time is running out. He is getting ready for a final offensive front that will be carried out in the End Times. Are we going to be ready to make the stand we need to take? The spoils of this war is no trifle. It is not just your soul at stake. So is the soul of every person you encounter. And not one of us who are born-again and know Jesus personally as our Lord and Savior would be here if someone did not make a stand and fight for us.
How do we fight? What will be involved in the battle? How do we use this equipment God has given us? I'll be going into detail on this shortly. I'm raising a Call to Arms. To take up the Armor and the Weapons God has given us and to put them to use. It is a call to get off our seats and make our lives productive and useful for a purpose greater than ourselves. It will not be easy. It will be difficult. But the prize, the spoils of war, are valuable beyond measure. Will you join me?
But God doesn't always win. Why is that? Why does it seem that evil is getting more and more powerful? If God is all-powerful, why doesn't he stop all this evil going on? Here is why. God wants a relationship with us. That was how he created mankind back in Genesis. But sin put a huge rift in that relationship. God has fought back to make it possible to close that gap. This was done by sending his son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross. God is not just a loving God. He is a Just God. Sin must be punished. It must be dealt with. God cannot be called either loving or just if he just allows sin to fester. God loves us so much he will do what it takes to clean us. He is jealous and he will not tolerate us going after other gods in the same way a husband will not let another man take his wife. What is more is that God wants us to learn to trust him more in the same way a child trusts his parents. If God did everything behind the scenes, we would not pick up anything from it. Nor would we appreciate what he is doing. But here is yet another reason God chooses to work through us. It is the ultimate smack-down to Satan. Satan thinks he has victory because he was able to deceive us and trick us into sinning and rebelling against God. But God gets the last laugh because he uses the weak, the pathetic, the poor, the uneducated, the few, and the defenseless to defeat that accuser.
Here is the problem. Those God wants to use to defeat evil are not fighting. It does not matter whether we fight for God or not, Satan still treats each and every one of us as an enemy. His goal is to steal, kill, and destroy. He will seek to be friendly and seek our friendships, but his goal is our destruction. God knows this. So not only did God give his Son to us so that he would pay the price for our sins, he has given us armor and equipment to rise up, make a stand against the forces of darkness and beat it back. Not only just beat it back, but to take the offense and drive it out. The major pieces of this equipment is the Armor of God. That will deserve its own posts. But this Armor is just accessible to just anyone. To use it, you need to be born-again. You need to renounce your citizenship to the sin in your life and claim Jesus Christ and your King. A lord in the Medieval days would never allow a soldier from an enemy army to don his knights' armor. How would he so that solider would not just betray him? It's the same reason why in order to wield God's equipment, you need to be loyal to him. But as Christians we have the equipment necessary to win our battles in this war.
But having the equipment does not address the problem. It only makes the problem worse. It is bad enough that the people are not fighting. It is worse that people have what they need to fight and aren't. Satan loves having people enlisted in God's army step to the side and not fight. That makes his job easier. We are in the battle whether we want to be or not. We cannot claim to be neutral and watch the war from the sidelines, cheering God's army on. Too many think they are doing that. No, in this war, if you aren't fighting, you are in the middle of the battlefield taking crossfire from both sides. You are like a player on a basketball team that is doing nothing to help your team score and doing nothing to help prevent the other team from scoring. You are making the few that are fighting have to fight harder because you are not doing your job. God is calling us to take up his arms, to follow him and to take the battlefield. But God is not a mere general that stands on the hillside from afar to watch and direct the battle. He is willing and wants to come and fight by our sides. He goes before us. He stands behind us. He covers our flanks. God fights for us and with us. And when we join him in the battle, we will not lose. The battle is only going to get harder because Satan knows his time is running out. He is getting ready for a final offensive front that will be carried out in the End Times. Are we going to be ready to make the stand we need to take? The spoils of this war is no trifle. It is not just your soul at stake. So is the soul of every person you encounter. And not one of us who are born-again and know Jesus personally as our Lord and Savior would be here if someone did not make a stand and fight for us.
How do we fight? What will be involved in the battle? How do we use this equipment God has given us? I'll be going into detail on this shortly. I'm raising a Call to Arms. To take up the Armor and the Weapons God has given us and to put them to use. It is a call to get off our seats and make our lives productive and useful for a purpose greater than ourselves. It will not be easy. It will be difficult. But the prize, the spoils of war, are valuable beyond measure. Will you join me?
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Becoming a Warrior for the Kingdom of God
The last two months have been a life-changing process in my life. I am only scratching the surface of it right now but I am feeling God moving in my life in a far greater degree than I can recall at any one point in time. God is a GOOD God. He is loving and kind, but he is a God of Justice. He loves me so much that he want to work out every area of shadow, of darkness, in my life .I have to admit that for the last few years, I have pretty much been on cruise control in my walk with Jesus Christ.
The last time I experienced a life-changing moment remotely to this caliber was six years ago this July. I was working at a small grocery story witnessing to a co-worker and in the process, I stirred up a dormant demonic stronghold in his life that soon manifested itself through my co-worker. It was the most intense and brutal spiritual battle I have encountered to date. My faith grew to a new level with that battle. I came out on top, but my co-worker refused to surrender his life to Jesus Christ. That battle was part of a new stage in my life where God called me into writing. I used that battle as a key plot point in a spiritual warfare novel that is now between contracts with publishers. More on that on a later post.
But in the last few years, I have seen a little growth spurt here and there but nothing that would qualify as going to a deeper level. Until the last two months. It began with a sermon at my church, Restoration Fellowship. My church in the last ten years has grown but lately has started to wane. And my pastor gave a stirring message that has begun a movement to step it up. The very next day, my brother introduced me to another pastor/speaker, Eric Ludy, via a few of his YouTube clips. Eric Ludy, most well-known for his books and talks on dating/marriage relationships and courtships, is now leading a leadership training program called Ellerslie in northern Colorado. His short sermon: "The Gospel" awoke me to something I had never seen. The clip is posted here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPIOkdNL-QQ&list=PL0AD28844A82EDD10&index=2
This presentation is not about "How to get Saved" but rather, what is the "Good News" and what does it mean? I have 22 years of missions experience and I have never seen what the Christian life should be summarized so simply and yet so deep. I'll go deeper into what that all has entailed at another time. To make a much longer story short, I began to listen to other short sermons and even some of his full-length ones. I also began to listen to some of Paul Washer, Leonard Ravenhill, David Wilkerson, and a few others. And a lot of what I have been hearing from these men is a great lacking of spiritual fervor in the American church. We don't have great men of faith anymore. That's not a God-problem. That is a church-problem. But some men are rising up and saying, "We need what the church was meant to be." Ludy is one of them, and he has inspired me to join him.
Things got even more interested two weeks ago when I attended the Colorado Christian Writer's Conference in Estes Park, Colorado. While there, one of the authors/speakers addressed the need for the church to get ready for spiritual warfare. The US has not endured times of harsh persecution but it is coming and it is coming fast in order for the End Times Prophecies to be fulfilled. This author asked me and a few others to help him work on a massive scale project God has called him to design.
The concept is "What if there was a role-playing game that helped you deal with your problems before your problems deal with you?" One of the ideas of this game/project is "Every army in the history of the world has use "war games" to prepare its soldiers for war, except one: The Church. Why? It is a spiritual battle and how can you "war game" a spiritual battle? This game is one way we can do. We can practice testing what the enemy would do and how we would respond to such situations. My job in helping him with this game is to develop the "warrior's order". In Star Wars' terminology, I would be not only creating the lightsaber but establishing the Jedi Order. My job is to dig deep into the Armor of God and come up with a martial arts tactic system on how to use that Armor in a metaphor of the spiritual battle.
As I have thought about this, I came back to my spiritual warfare novels. I now have a contract offer from OakTara Publishing for my first book and the sequel which is now with beta readers. I did not realize I did this, but my books do exactly what the game above intends to do: War Game. My book is a very practical covert spiritual warfare training manual put in through a fiction story, and yet reveals some of the ways we can and do engage in spiritual warfare. I have more books to come but this is a potentially HUGE thing God may be doing.
God is calling me to sound the "Call to Arms". For the church of God to rise back up. He is taking me to a brand new level so I can come back and bring others with me to that deeper level. The foundation is laid. It is time to start digging. There is too much to say in one blog post and I intent to be blogging a lot more frequently that I have been lately so I have a means of getting my thoughts down and sharing what God is giving me. I need prayer in this time. Prayer that I will have the strength and the courage to expose my areas of sin to my Father so he can clean them out. I need prayer for the endurance and the drive to dig down to this level. And I need prayer that I will be alert to the whims of the enemy as he seeks to keep me back or knock me down. What is going to come from this process will be bigger than I can imagine. Bigger than I can contain within myself. And I believe it has the potential of changing a generation. I have lived a life of the impossible where God shows up bigger and mightier each time. What I am about to take on is bigger than my abilities, but it is not too big for God to carry it through me. War is coming. And I intent to rise up to meet it head-on. More to come later.
Charlie
The last time I experienced a life-changing moment remotely to this caliber was six years ago this July. I was working at a small grocery story witnessing to a co-worker and in the process, I stirred up a dormant demonic stronghold in his life that soon manifested itself through my co-worker. It was the most intense and brutal spiritual battle I have encountered to date. My faith grew to a new level with that battle. I came out on top, but my co-worker refused to surrender his life to Jesus Christ. That battle was part of a new stage in my life where God called me into writing. I used that battle as a key plot point in a spiritual warfare novel that is now between contracts with publishers. More on that on a later post.
But in the last few years, I have seen a little growth spurt here and there but nothing that would qualify as going to a deeper level. Until the last two months. It began with a sermon at my church, Restoration Fellowship. My church in the last ten years has grown but lately has started to wane. And my pastor gave a stirring message that has begun a movement to step it up. The very next day, my brother introduced me to another pastor/speaker, Eric Ludy, via a few of his YouTube clips. Eric Ludy, most well-known for his books and talks on dating/marriage relationships and courtships, is now leading a leadership training program called Ellerslie in northern Colorado. His short sermon: "The Gospel" awoke me to something I had never seen. The clip is posted here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPIOkdNL-QQ&list=PL0AD28844A82EDD10&index=2
This presentation is not about "How to get Saved" but rather, what is the "Good News" and what does it mean? I have 22 years of missions experience and I have never seen what the Christian life should be summarized so simply and yet so deep. I'll go deeper into what that all has entailed at another time. To make a much longer story short, I began to listen to other short sermons and even some of his full-length ones. I also began to listen to some of Paul Washer, Leonard Ravenhill, David Wilkerson, and a few others. And a lot of what I have been hearing from these men is a great lacking of spiritual fervor in the American church. We don't have great men of faith anymore. That's not a God-problem. That is a church-problem. But some men are rising up and saying, "We need what the church was meant to be." Ludy is one of them, and he has inspired me to join him.
Things got even more interested two weeks ago when I attended the Colorado Christian Writer's Conference in Estes Park, Colorado. While there, one of the authors/speakers addressed the need for the church to get ready for spiritual warfare. The US has not endured times of harsh persecution but it is coming and it is coming fast in order for the End Times Prophecies to be fulfilled. This author asked me and a few others to help him work on a massive scale project God has called him to design.
The concept is "What if there was a role-playing game that helped you deal with your problems before your problems deal with you?" One of the ideas of this game/project is "Every army in the history of the world has use "war games" to prepare its soldiers for war, except one: The Church. Why? It is a spiritual battle and how can you "war game" a spiritual battle? This game is one way we can do. We can practice testing what the enemy would do and how we would respond to such situations. My job in helping him with this game is to develop the "warrior's order". In Star Wars' terminology, I would be not only creating the lightsaber but establishing the Jedi Order. My job is to dig deep into the Armor of God and come up with a martial arts tactic system on how to use that Armor in a metaphor of the spiritual battle.
As I have thought about this, I came back to my spiritual warfare novels. I now have a contract offer from OakTara Publishing for my first book and the sequel which is now with beta readers. I did not realize I did this, but my books do exactly what the game above intends to do: War Game. My book is a very practical covert spiritual warfare training manual put in through a fiction story, and yet reveals some of the ways we can and do engage in spiritual warfare. I have more books to come but this is a potentially HUGE thing God may be doing.
God is calling me to sound the "Call to Arms". For the church of God to rise back up. He is taking me to a brand new level so I can come back and bring others with me to that deeper level. The foundation is laid. It is time to start digging. There is too much to say in one blog post and I intent to be blogging a lot more frequently that I have been lately so I have a means of getting my thoughts down and sharing what God is giving me. I need prayer in this time. Prayer that I will have the strength and the courage to expose my areas of sin to my Father so he can clean them out. I need prayer for the endurance and the drive to dig down to this level. And I need prayer that I will be alert to the whims of the enemy as he seeks to keep me back or knock me down. What is going to come from this process will be bigger than I can imagine. Bigger than I can contain within myself. And I believe it has the potential of changing a generation. I have lived a life of the impossible where God shows up bigger and mightier each time. What I am about to take on is bigger than my abilities, but it is not too big for God to carry it through me. War is coming. And I intent to rise up to meet it head-on. More to come later.
Charlie
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