Entries from August 1, 2006 - September 1, 2006
Thoroughly Equipped (Part 3)
Jesus says, “Come to me.” I think our unconventional weapon against the confusion and the angst is authentic praise and worship. Authentic in the sense that it comes from our heart and from the reality of the horror we’re facing. I certainly don’t mean you should be able to whistle some peppy church choruses while your life is falling apart. Authentic worship can guttural – it’s visceral. Read the Psalms. The “man after God’s own heart” has no qualms about pouring it all out.
Scott Bane
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EmailThe Special Forces Group Podcast
I'm thrilled to announce that The Special Forces Group has just launched an audio podcast! Now you can not only be encouraged and equipped by the written word, but with audio messages as well. I've designed a separate site devoted to the "SFG Podcast." The address is http://podcast.thespecialforcesgroup.com. Once you've landed at the site, you can subscribe to the podcasts through your email address just like you do the written articles. There will also be a permanent link available in the "Blogroll," under the name "SFG Podcast" at the main site, www.thespecialforcesgroup.com.
Thoroughly Equipped (Part 2)
Our life began with rest. Our strength is renewed through rest. Our burdens are relieved when we rest. We win spiritual fights when we refuse to fight them. I don’t mean pretending that problems don’t exist. “I’m not sick, I’m not sick, I’m not sick…” Those of you (like me) who’ve tried that know that it doesn’t work. By refusing to fight spiritual battles I mean abandoning the notion that we’re able or even supposed to be able to take care of ourselves. When terror strikes your life God is not expecting you to dig in your spiritual heals and clench your spiritual fists and grit your spiritual teeth. There’s no end to that process. The moment you think you’ve won some sort of victory you’ll be drawn into something else. Your Christian experience will be a constant drain – always bouncing from one fight to the next. Jesus simply says, “Come to me…” (see Matthew 11:28-30).
Thoroughly Equipped
I’ve been a student of the Bible (not just going to church, but literally a studier of God’s Word) for 20 years. Do you know what astounds me the most about the Bible…? How much I realize I don’t know each time I read it. Every time I open its pages I’m reproved or corrected or instructed. My doctrine evolves. I abandon things that don’t work all the time. I think this is a good measure of the Word’s influence over our lives – What have you abandoned lately? How has the Lord reproved or corrected or instructed you through his Word? It’s time to abandon the notion that we’re capable (or even supposed to be capable) of fighting a spiritual enemy. The greater message of God’s word concerning spiritual warfare is, “This battle is not your’s,” God says. “It’s mine!”