April 22, 2013
Well Armed
Bostonians were in house lock-down for 24-hours while law enforcement
went door to door looking for the suspected bomb terrorist. Putting myself in
their place I found an element of comfort in the fact that I had recently
purchased a hand gun and taken a gun safety class. It really wasn’t so much a
matter of my being able to protect myself against a man with guns, bombs and
grenades, but rather that I wasn’t at the total mercy of police officers to
come to my aid quickly enough if the terrorist was coming through the back
door. Spiritually speaking we find ourselves in a similar situation if we
aren’t prepared with Scripture written in our mind and on our hearts. When we
come under spiritual attack from the evil one we can’t expect preachers, elders
and deacons get to us quickly enough to defend us from the attack. Before Jesus
began preaching he was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the
devil. Jesus was armed with scripture and with each of his three responses to
the devil began with, “It is written…”
(Matt 4:4,7,10)
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1 comment:
Gail;
-----Sometimes your analogies just couldn’t be better. Maybe I figure this is one of those times because I strongly believe in a free and open society of responsible individuals with the right to protect themselves and their way of life. Maybe I so strongly believe that because it is a recurring theme throughout the natural processes of both physical and spiritual life. We don’t see Sister Nature (she was created just as were we, so she’s our sister, not our mother) arming and deputizing a vast troop of guard dogs throughout the world protecting all the little animals from each other. Each animal is armed with its own species’ defense mechanism which it must brandish its lonely self. Some do it well; the rest taste good.
-----We, too, must brandish weapons alone, especially the spiritual ones. For that spiritual whatever needing protection is within each of us, completely independent of others. I don’t mean to say the interactions and inspirations we are to one another are superfluous. These are essential weapons. Yet it is each lone person who must pick up an effective weapon for defeating what would otherwise effect his soul’s destruction. The same soul living here must stand before God in the sincerity of what it truly is before it can utter faith in Christ. No one can effect that sincerity except the soul itself. And I believe that sincerity is effected by each choice it makes.
-----Knowing you, I am sure any miscreant kicking his way through your back door will have kicked his way into serious peril, not because you brandish a handsome pistol indeed, but because you understand. You understand its usage. You understand your backdoor. You understand the implications of a door-kicker to the security of your household. So you understand the proper angle from which to shine your laser-sight and the proper timing of the trigger pull. Without the pistol all your understanding would be useless. Without all the understanding your pistol would be down your throat while the door-kicker would enjoy the rest of what God meant for you.
-----I don’t think Satan would have fled a step had Jesus not understood. The Scriptures with which He demolished those propositions were not mere incantations to Him. He also understood who it was He was addressing, why they were both there, and what was at peril. I think this is why folks get sidetracked by thinking the clergy somehow has our backs covered. They understand. We don’t. So to keep from getting Scripture shoved down our throat, we leave it alone. That is another of Satan’s silly propositions.
-----The call to understanding is replete in the Word of God. But the given means of attaining it is simple, “And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, to know Him who is true;” (I John 5:20a), “…[the Spirit of Truth] will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take what is Mine and declare it to you.” (John 16:13b-14). I think if a class were given on the proper understanding for brandishing the Word, its curricula would be: 1) get and stay sincere with God; 2) then try it, you’ll like it!
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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