Monday, April 11, 2011

Preparing For War

I was going to title this “Going to War”, but I didn’t, for a reason that will be forthcoming.

Going to war precludes that you have prepared. Only those who have “signed up” will go through the proper training that will prepare them for war. Today, in 2011, many wars are going on around the world, more than at any other time in the history of the world. These fighters or warriors, have all had some kind of training, some very technical while others will just point and shoot. I will be the first to admit that war is ugly and a disgusting thing, but there are right and wrongs in this world. But some people just don’t like other people, because of race, religion, or a dozen other ridiculous reasons. It is wrong to commit murder, the taking of another person’s life for no reason; and then there is war, which is defending one’s own life and property. Your “rights” stop at the end of my nose.

Back to the training part: Proper training will, in most cases, assure victory. Plans, equipment, strategy, personnel and execution will produce success. The main problem with victory and success is that casualties will occur. The main point of “Basic Training” is to create a unit, defined as “many parts working as one”. That process is done by stripping away “self” from the individual and rebuilding a bond with other members. Some of you may have seen the movie, “Band of Brothers”, that’s what it’s all about. Something happens when people share things in common and have a common goal and purpose. Not everyone will be doing the same job or task, but all will do his part to accomplish the mission. The mission is bigger than the “sum-total-of-it’s-parts”. Some army’s will look disheveled or rag-tag, while others will be decked out in the finest of uniforms. Think of the movie “Braveheart”, here you had a bunch of farmers, going up against the King’s finest, in full “battle array”. A modern saying is, “It’s not the dog in the fight, but it’s the fight in the dog, that makes the difference”. Preparation starts in the heart and in the mind. Do I believe in what I’m fighting for? What am I willing to give up something (self), to defend what is right and true? What will it cost me to prepare for my mission?

The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, that the “body (one) is made up of many parts (hundreds or thousands; millions or billions if you break it down to the cellular level). Each part has its own thing to do, but when done properly, functions with other parts, doing something different, functioning with other parts, that makes the whole thing “work”. Oh! Did I mention… God caused it to be. I could get off on just talking about how complex and complicated the body is, but that is not my point. The bonding agent in the human body is called laminin. Under the microscope it looks like an x with one leg longer than the other three, thus the shape of a cross, interesting.

Back to the war and the battle: That’s almost like, “back to the future”, where the war and the battle will take us. Remember “Doc” saying when the picture or writing was erased from the paper, “Of course, your future isn’t written yet, nobody’s is”, another reason to prepare now. We may not know what the future holds, but we know Who holds the future.

So… how are you preparing for your future? Are you preparing spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically? And then… what does each look like?

Spiritually: Do you have a good handle on the word of God? Do you continue to read and dig and study to know God? Or, do you read just to have more knowledge? Steven Hawking has been considered one of the most brilliant men over the past decade, yet he knows nothing about God, at least I have never heard him or his narrator say anything about the great God and creator of the universe. The Bible tells us over and over, that we are to be like Him, and those who seek Me diligently will find Me, do you want more and more of God’s kindness, learn to know Him better and better. If you don’t know Him better than you did last year or last month, you are not seeking Him. Romans 12:1,2 “Therefore, I urge you brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world: but be transformed, by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable, and perfect, will of God”.

Mentally: Does anyone lack wisdom, let him ask God, who gives abundantly. That is from the book of James in the New Testament. The entire book of Proverbs is full of the wisdom of Solomon, on about every topic you can imagine. This wisdom is about life and how to live it, and in some cases, how not to live it. It won’t tell you if you should buy a new car, but it will give you strong guidelines as to how to make such decisions.

Emotionally: I’m sure you have heard the phrase, “He really doesn’t have his heart in it”. That’s your emotions. Do you go around in a “hap-hazard” or “willy-nilly” way, with no real purpose or direction? I know that from time-to-time we all have those days when we think, “I really don’t care what I do today, or what happens today”. But a lifetime of this kind of thinking is not good for one’s mental or emotional being. What’s your heart telling you? Do you need to get it engaged? In The Gospel of John Chapter 21 verse 15 - 17, Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love Me more than these? Peter answered, Yes Lord You know I love You? Jesus answered, Feed My lambs.” Then Jesus said to him again, “Peter, do you love Me? He answered, Yes Lord You know I love You. And Jesus said, Tend My sheep”. And then a third time Jesus asked him, “Peter, do you love Me? And Peter was grieved because He asked him the third time, Do you love Me? And Peter said to the Lord, Lord You know all things and You know that I love You. Jesus said, Feed My sheep”. So my question is, “Do you love the Lord? Is your heart in it, all of it”?

Physically: I am trying to get my body, what there is left of it, back into better working condition. I know I will never be able to do what I did when I was in my
20’s or even 30’s, but I can be better than I am now. The physical has a lot to do with the other three areas mentioned above. Stuff goes on in the body, chemical reactions, that create and cause the mind and the emotions to function better. The last thing you want to do is withdraw or sit idle and do nothing, which is what happens if we get depressed. We just want to sit and click the clicker. “I want someone else to fix me, but I don’t want to do anything about it”. A verse that is coming back to me more frequently, these days is found in the Old Testament book of Jeremiah, Chapter 12 verse 5, “If you have run with men and they have tired you out, then how can you compete with horses? If you fall down in a land of peace, how will you do, in the thicket of Jordan”? I believe this verse speaks to more than the physical, but if you walk around the block and get tired, what are your chances of running a marathon? Come on… get busy!

Are you “chomping at the bit” to get into the game? Are you getting ready to get ready? If the “Coach” were to call you for that “last second shot”, are you ready? If not, what are you waiting for? Get engaged, head, heart and gut. Some of you need to “suck it up” and get busy. Not just for busyness sake, but get to know Him and let Him direct you where He wants to use you.

War is hell… but someone needs to stand up and fight for what is right! By the way, I wrote a peace entitled, Head, Heart, Gut, if you haven’t read it, let me know and I will send it to you, reskew@aol.com, or check out my blog, reskewsquad.blogspot.com, for other writings that may inspire you.
Following the Shepherd,
Ron

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