After the LORD reminded me, I wanted to remind you to put on and keep on the full armor of God. Not one or two pieces. All of it. We never know when the enemy will come, and we can’t afford to get lazy or be found unprepared, caught up in the world.
And once we’re outfitted and ready for battle, we must pray in the Spirit.
Just as we’re called to now walk in the Spirit, by the renewed hearts and minds given to us by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that we might obey Him and do all things in His power, so we are called to pray in the Spirit, asking Him to reveal to us the will of the Father, and then pray. Because without Him we can do nothing, but in Him we can do all things.
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of Him.” 1 John 5:14-15
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
Stand firm then, with the
belt of truth buckled around your waist,
with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
In addition to all this,
take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
Take the helmet of salvation
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” Ephesians 6:10-18
Seventeen years ago this month my life turned upside down. Or more accurately, I was already upside down and God was turning me right side up.
A lot has happened in that time. A lot of mistakes, a lot of learning, a lot of growing, and a lot of healing.
Not the kind of healing I originally wanted, but certainly the kind I needed. The kind a good and loving Father knows His child needs, and ultimately wants.
In January 2004 I had some symptoms, but nothing too concerning yet. What did concern me is that I kept hearing one phrase from the Lord – “Be strong and courageous.” I heard it at church, on the radio, and in my own studies. Four times that month I heard “Be strong and courageous.”
The first time: Yes, that’s an encouraging word. The second time: Yep, I want to be strong and courageous. The third time: Hmm… “Lord, what are you trying to say?” The fourth time: A friend at church who I’d talked to about these repeated commands from the Lord turned around during the teaching and we just looked at each other. What could this mean?
Then, long story short, one Sunday afternoon in February, I found myself at the hospital being evaluated.
“Be strong and courageous.”
I have meditated on and prayed about these words ever since. And little by little, the Lord’s helped me understand them. The funny thing is, its meaning is so simple, yet the application can be so difficult.
The phrase can be found eleven times in the Old Testament (and one time in the New, but that’s a slightly different story for a different day), most of them as Joshua was about to lead Israel into the Promised Land.
Moses had just died, and God had called Joshua to lead His people. God speaks to Joshua, letting him know that without a doubt, through every obstacle they would face, He would lead them there.
Joshua 1:6 – “Be strong and courageous…” Joshua 1:7 – “Be strong and very courageous…” Joshua 1:9 – “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
In each of these verses, the word “strong,” in part, means “to fasten upon; to seize…”
The dictionary says fasten means “to attach firmly or securely in place; fix securely to something else.”
Now, fast forward to Jesus talking to His disciples.
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears muchfruit; for without Me you can donothing..” John 15:5
During this conversation, Jesus uses the word abide, or remain, seven times.
The word “abide” means “to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy): – abide, continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain…”
He’s driving home the fact that, just as a branch must remain attached to the vine so the branch can receive life, grow, and produce fruit, we must remain in Him. Our growth and ability to produce spiritual fruit hinges on us continually abiding, remaining, making our home in Him.
God told Joshua over and over to be strong, to fasten himself, to hold onto God who would do everything needed to ensure their victory as they crossed into the Promised Land.
Jesus reiterated His Father’s words, telling His disciples, and us, to abide in Him, to remain in Him continually.
Don’t break off from Him out of fear, anger, anxiety, or just being plain confused and not knowing what to do. Remain in Him. Obey Him. Trust Him. Join with Him in prayer. Abide in Him as a branch abides in a vine, so we can grow and bear much fruit.
The word courageous means “to be alert, physically and mentally, to be steadfastly minded, establish, make strong…”
The Israelites would meet enemies along the way, and so will we. As we abide in Christ, we must also remain alert and steadfast, remembering that though we have an enemy who will try to trip us up, the Lord has gone before us, and if we’ll remain in Him, He will make us more than conquerors.
And one more note.
I’ve been going through a group study with a book called Abide In Christ by Andrew Murray. I highly recommend it. It was what drove home the truth of what God was saying to me seventeen years ago, and how He enlightened and assured me further. As I was praying during one of my study times, the Lord spoke to my heart and said, “I will sustain you.”
You might guess what I did. Yep, went to look up the word sustain. I found it in Psalm 55:22:
“Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.”
Sustain means “to keep in; to maintain, be able to abide…”
Jesus said “Abide in Me, and I in you.”
The Lord’s promise to all of us who abide in Him is that not only will He abide in us, He will enable us to continue abiding in Him. He will maintain us, support us, bear us up under trial or affliction, just like He’s done for me the last seventeen years.
So be strong and courageous. The world doesn’t seem to be letting up on the crazy, and I suspect it won’t. But as we abide in Him, God Himself will abide in us and take us victoriously into the Promised Land.
I recently watched Behind Enemy Lines again, and there were so many spiritual parallels I had to share what God showed me.
Even though it’s a 20-year-old movie and surely the statute of limitations for spoilers must have run out by now, I’ll try not to give away anything too important in case you haven’t seen it.
Owen Wilson plays Lt. Chris Burnett, an American naval flight officer stationed on an aircraft carrier in the Adriatic sea during the Bosnian War.
For Lt. Burnett, being a soldier, so far, has been a lot of drills, training, exercises, and routine assignments and he resents it. It hasn’t been the thrill ride he thought it would be, so he’s handed in a letter of intent to leave the Navy to his commanding officer, Admiral Reigart, played by Gene Hackman.
The admiral tries to make him understand the importance of his training, but Burnett’s not impressed. He’s done.
Admiral Reigart decides the lieutenant needs a little discipline, so he assigns him, along with another pilot, to a routine mission on Christmas day, but the situation soon turns into far more than anyone expected.
The title says it all: behind enemy lines.
When we look out at our world today we may feel like we’re behind enemy lines. There is warring all around us, fighting, hatred, violence, attacks on the Christian faith. The whole world seems out of control and we feel like we’re in a place we don’t understand and don’t belong.
And the truth is we are behind enemy lines and we always have been. Much of the world has been experiencing it, and lately it’s become far more apparent to us than it was before. The curtain’s been drawn back a bit and we’re seeing the havoc wreaked by the enemy in the ugliness of the sin in the world on display in our own backyard.
We’re seeing the spiritual warfare Paul talked about in his second letter to the church in Corinth.
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds…” (2 Cor. 10:3-4)
And because we’re in the midst of spiritual warfare, an object of the enemy of God, we are soldiers in that war. Paul reiterated that in 2 Timothy and in Philemon:
“You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please Him who enlisted him as a soldier.” (2 Tim 2:3-4)
“…to the beloved Apphia, Archippus our fellow soldier…” (Philemon 1-2a)
If God has called us into faith through Christ, we are soldiers in a spiritual war that’s been going on since the Garden of Eden.
As soldiers, God’s been training us, preparing us to be strong in the faith, to have courage to weather the battles. We grow from discipline to discipline until we are changed into the likeness of His Son, the perfect soldier, who was our example of enduring warfare.
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:2-4)
We’ve all read that and maybe, like Lt. Burnett, we haven’t seen how we can have joy in our training, how there could possibly be any purpose in our suffering. We haven’t fully understood that our trials are our testing, our discipline, teaching and training us to be mature in the faith, to persevere in trials, to trust God more and more to give us wisdom and understanding as we face the next hardship, and the next one, and the next… We don’t know what we’ll face, but God does, and He knows what He’s training us for.
“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.” (Hebrews 12:11-12)
Whatever trials we’ve gone through or are going through right now or will go through tomorrow, don’t let them be for nothing. Let them train us. Let us humble ourselves under our Father’s mighty and wise hand to make us disciplined soldiers in His army, fighting His way with the spiritual armor God’s equipped us with.
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Ephesians 6:12-13
Let us then, in Christ, strengthen our feeble arms and weak knees. In other words, let us put aside our complacency, any weakness of faith, any unbelief or fear, put on our armor and be strong and courageous as we stand to face our spiritual enemy, knowing we’ve been trained and we are equipped, and in Christ we have the victory.
The Lord has been putting this word on my heart lately.
Remain steadfast.
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.” 1 Peter 5:8-9
This is Peter telling us this.
Peter, the one who told Jesus he would never deny Him – even if he had to die with Him.
Peter, one of the apostles whom Jesus took and asked him to pray the night before He was arrested, and then fell asleep.
Peter, the one who impetuously drew his sword and cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant.
Peter, the one who vehemently denied Christ three times.
But all that doesn’t make him less credible; it makes him more.
He’s saying don’t do what I did! He learned what the devil had been up to and he wanted to warn his brothers and sisters in Christ to be aware.
To remain steadfast in the faith – steadfast in our convictions, steadfast in the truth, steadfast in our reliance upon Christ and Christ alone, now and forever.
The devil’s ways are the same as ever. he’s looking for people who are at a weak place, who aren’t being alert and vigilant to the devil’s ways, who aren’t steadfastly trusting in the power and righteousness of Jesus Christ.
Right now, when the world seems like a raging sea, is an opportune time for the enemy to try to discourage us, to trip us up, to question Jesus, and maybe even walk away from Him, even a step.
But we who are in Christ can confidently “lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever…” Hebrews 6:18b-20
No matter what happens in this life, we don’t have to give in to fear and be tossed around in the waves of confusion. We have an anchor of hope.
We have the promises of God, all of which in Christ are yes and amen. His promises are for this life and extend all the way behind the veil that lies between this life and the next.
Our sure hope, our anchor in rough seas, is that Christ is with us now, and He will surely call us to live with Him in His home where we’ve laid up treasures beyond comprehension, and where love and peace and joy are the way of life.
And we’re reminded of this hope every time we pray, every time we read God’s Word, and every time we enter into fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Our steadfast anchor of hope will keep us steadfast, too.
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” 1 Cor 15:58
That’s the question on a lot of minds on a day like today.
And I understand that question. There are many events in my own life I’ve wondered where God was.
It was a day none of us will forget for so many reasons. The day quickly became dark and tragic, but there were also more acts of heroism that day, of light in the darkness, than we will ever fully know.
Like 24-year-old Welles Crowther who called his mother from the South Tower to let her know he was okay, and then began to lead others to safety, carrying an injured woman on his back down 15 floors and then returning to help more.
And Rick Rescorla who, as a head of security in the South Tower, ignored orders to keep employees at their desks, saving 2700 people.
And Army Specialist Beau Doboszenski who was working as a tour guide on the other side of the Pentagon. Upon hearing the chaos, he ran to the crash site and spent the next several hours helping co-workers and running into the flames to help bring people out.
These acts of heroism are amazing enough, but looking at their backstories, we can see just a little bit of the hand of God orchestrating the saving of so many lives.
Like the fact that Welles Crowther had been a volunteer firefighter in his teens and was well prepared to confidently lead. Even the fact that somehow that day he had been wearing a red bandana that was able to keep him from breathing in too much smoke as he saved at least 12 people. His body was found in a stairwell headed back up with the jaws of life.
And like the fact that Rick Rescorla had served in Vietnam, with distinction, and had the wisdom to lead his people to safety. And for years he had the forethought to have the employees practice fire drills. Because of that, more than 2700 people made it down the tower to safety in 16 minutes. Rick Rescorla’s body was never found.
And like the fact that Beau Doboszenski was a former firefighter and a trained EMT.
Too many lives were lost that day. The enemy of all that is good and right and holy was there to cause death and destruction and what he’d love to leave in his evil wake is a doubt and mistrust that God was there or that He even exists.
But God is the one who prepared people years in advance with special training and placed them where they needed to be when they needed to be there.
God is the Giver of strength, courage, wisdom, and perseverance.
God is the one who instills in people His love, the greater love that lays down his life for others.
We’ll never fully understand the whys this side of heaven, about that fateful day, or about tragic days in our own personal lives.
But God knows.
Years later we can catch a small glimpse into the behind-the-scenes stories of that day, shining a light on some of the good, among countless other similar sacrificial stories that took place among the evil and about how God was there in their midst.
God sees the full picture. And we can trust He was there that day giving strength to heroes just as He’s with us every day, including our worst days, filling us with His strength, courage, and hope.
And someday maybe God will show us all the behind-the-scenes stories of those awful days in our own lives and how He was right there with us in the midst of it all.
“For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” 1 Cor. 13:12b
Heavenly Father, thank you for never leaving us or forsaking us. Thank you for preparing a home for us and giving us the hope of being with you someday, when you will have struck down evil for the last time, and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. Thank you for the incredible bravery of so many men and women on that day, for giving what we know was even beyond their own strength . We pray for those who lost loved ones that day. We ask that you would be especially near to them today, and that you would comfort them with your peace that passes all understanding. We know that you will prevail, that you’ve already conquered evil at the cross, and we pray for many more souls to come to know Christ as their own Lord and Savior, even today. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
There are days, months, years, when I feel like I’ve been on a 1000-mile march, uphill, carrying 500 pounds on my back. Maybe the apostle Paul knew that feeling, too, and guessed Timothy might also, and why Paul wrote to him:
“You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please Him who enlisted him as a soldier.” 2 Timothy 2:3-4
That word “good” means beautiful, honest, worthy, valuable, virtuous (for appearance or use.)
Be sure we’re in a war, and maybe now more than ever. But we don’t walk alone. God is with us, strengthening us, empowering us, enabling us to finish in victory.
So keep walking. And look up. Cause things may seem bleak right now, but it ain’t over yet. (Spoiler Alert – God wins, and if we’re with Him, so do we.)
Heavenly Father, help us keep moving and to endure the hardship we encounter in this life, not as those who is endure alone or needlessly, but as a people who, in Christ Jesus, oppose your enemy who prowls around looking for someone to devour, and to be witnesses of your great grace and mercy and proclaimers of the power of the gospel to save. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
Last weekend our church had the distinct privilege of hearing this man give a little bit of his testimony about what happened on the day this photo was taken and afterward. You might be familiar with this image of Chris Fields and Miss Baylee Almon that was taken, unbeknownst to him, on April 19, 1995, the day of the Oklahoma City bombing.
He described a little bit about that horrific, rainy day that would end the lives of 168 people, 19 of them children, and injured more than 500. How rows of first responders dug their way through rubble, 5 gallon buckets at a time, passing each one behind him or her until late into the night, looking for people, dead or alive. How they had to try to match body parts to the rest of the body. How they came across a woman, barely alive, and were able to get her to safety, only to learn later that she and her unborn baby didn’t survive.
And how another firefighter handed Miss Baylee (the name her family called her) to him for a few moments while he went to find something to lay down so they wouldn’t have to lay someone’s precious child directly on the ground. Even how the Pulitzer Prize winning photo itself caused a lot of grief and controversy.
Chris struggled hard to deal with all that had happened. Sometime later, when the smell of wet cement triggered a flashback of that day, he began to realize just how much the events were affecting him.
Chris talked about the fact that his mom had always been the family’s prayer warrior, and she told him God had a plan for him. But Chris didn’t see it, and he decided to make his own plan, and he moved away from his wife and young sons.
Chris’s wife, Cheryl, talked about the fact that she didn’t grow up in a Christian family like Chris had. Still, when her husband left, she turned to the Bible. People encouraged her to read the Psalms, and when she didn’t understand something, she called Chris to explain. And she began to pray.
She didn’t try putting on pretenses with God. She was honest. She prayed that if Chris wasn’t coming back, the Lord would take away her love for him.
Some people might not dare pray a prayer like that. Some people might just get mad at God and not pray at all. And they might miss out on all God wants to do in their lives because of it.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29
Cheryl kept praying, and never once did God turn her away for praying that prayer. On the contrary. Sitting in the presence of God, over and over, allowed God to work in her heart. Of course, God didn’t take away her love for Chris. He strengthened it.
God filled Cheryl with His amazing grace. And when Chris called one day about a year and a half after he’d left, Cheryl said, “Come home.”
And he did.
I’m sure the road since hasn’t been easy. There’s been counseling, and Chris still gets emotional talking about it. But with God they’ve persevered.
Since then Chris and Cheryl have spoken to many groups about PTSD, and about the hope that God gives. Looks like Chris’s mom was right (as moms often are).
The enemy does not have the last word. he will not have the last word as long as we sit with God and pour out our hearts to Him. He will never turn away someone who’s genuinely seeking Him, no matter what the prayer.
God’s not one bit surprised at the thoughts we have. He knows our hearts better than we do and already knows the thoughts we have. He just wants us to be honest, and know we can go to Him with anything. He’s our loving Father, and He wants us to know that no matter how broken our hearts are, if we’ll offer up those pieces to Him in prayer, He can put them together even better than they were before. If we abide in Him – cling to Him – through the good, the bad, and the ugly, He can fill us with His love and grace and mercy, fulfill His plans for us, and set us on a path we never dreamed possible.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you so much for all you do. Thank you for loving us through everything, for giving us your strength and courage as we go through trials. Help us to give you our hearts, no matter how dark they seem or how many pieces they’re in, so you can heal them and fill them with your light. Help us to daily abide in Christ. Help us hold onto Him, to pray without ceasing, no matter what. Make us more than conquerors, Lord, and we pray that you have the last, victorious, glorious word in our hearts and in our lives. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Dear Heavenly Father, we praise you, and we thank you for all you’ve blessed us with. Forgive us for the times we take those blessings for granted, and we ask that you would remind us often to be grateful to you for pouring out onto us more blessing, more freedom, more love and grace than we can imagine. I pray our gratitude will lead us to be a fountain of that love, grace, and mercy that you’ve so generously given to us.
Lord, we lift up our brothers and sisters around the world who are being persecuted for their faith, those who are in prison, who are being tortured, who are separated from their families. Father, in Jesus’ name I pray you would fill them with your Holy Spirit and your might so that all you desire to accomplish in and through them will be done. May you do miraculous things, things that only you can do.
Lord, please fill them with your peace that passes all understanding; fill them with your strength to go on from one hour to the next; fill them with your love and forgiveness so that their hearts don’t become hardened or bitter; fill them with your joy so they are a light to those around them; fill them with boldness to continue proclaiming the gospel and the name of Christ; fill them with hope as they remember their great reward is with you.
May they feel your presence with them, and may you, in the mighty name of Jesus, bind the hand of the enemy. May our brothers and sisters continue to trust you, put their faith in you, and may they see, even if only a little bit, the fruit of their labor. And may we always remember them in our prayers, and honor them with our lives, boldly and freely proclaiming the gospel and the name of Jesus Christ. It’s in His precious and matchless name I pray, amen.
As we reflect on this day 17 years ago, we are reminded that in an instant everything can change.
Whether the change involves an entire country, or our own personal sphere, we never know what a day can bring. Life is short.
All around us there are lonely people to love, hurting people to comfort, hungry people to feed, thirsty people to give something to drink, impoverished people to clothe, imprisoned people to visit, and lost people to tell the good news that a Savior has come.
May the remembrance of this day, the soberness of the hour of our lives, and our love for Jesus be the catalysts that seek the power of the Holy Spirit, minute by minute, to “lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Let us look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and your hearts give up.” Hebrews 12:1-3 MEV
Though we will have trouble in this world, let us rejoice and have peace – Jesus Christ has overcome the world.
with this image of Chris Fields and Miss Baylee Almon that was taken, unbeknownst to him, on April 19, 1995, the day of the Oklahoma City bombing.