HOT!  Like the rest of this summer, today is quite warm, morning temperatures in the shade hovering around 98 degrees.  But, I'm alive, enjoying my garden (and wireless Internet), and ready to pick up my first entry since April (ouch). 

True Warriors

I have refined my physical form.  I have begun eating a diet that is high in fuel and low in fat.  I have begun running several miles per week in preparation for a half-marathon.  I have begun doing Crossfit, which is like training functional strength to be a physical warrior.

And my body is doing things I 've never seen before.  I can see my abs.  I can run 3.2 miles in an average of 8 minute miles and that time is steadily dropping.  I can row 2000 meters in 6 minutes 53 seconds, faster than anyone at my gym.  I can hike for hours without tiring.  I have lost over 70 pounds since last September.

But I'm dreadfully weak.  I am no warrior for Christ right now.  And I need to seriously train or all of the above is absolutely WORTHLESS.  I mean that from the bottom of my heart.

Let me explain...

2 Timothy 2:1-3

"You then my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.  And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.  Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus."  Emphasis added.

Amazing, isn't it?  Those words, written by Paul shortly before his death, thousands of years ago, still have perfect meaning today.  Do you know why?  My opinion?  Because his words, like the rest of the Bible, were divinely inspired.  God used Paul to tell Timothy important things, but more importantly, God used Paul to tell YOU AND ME important things. 

And they are words I really needed to hear.  If you care to take a look, whenever you might be reading this, look at the date of this entry, then look at the date of the last entry before it.  August...April.  Whoops.  Four full months in between.  If you ever doubt for a minute that any one of us is a sinner with failings, don't!  I set out back in November to update this site regularly, I started out strong, but then I fell.  What lead to my failure?  Something that I believe leads to a lot of failures by a lot of well-intentioned followers of Christ.

Somewhere around April I began to fall of the grid in reading my Bible daily.  I didn't stop doing other important things, mind you.  I have been attending church pretty regularly, I have been giving my time and money, sharing the Way and Word with others, playing guitar for my church's worship team. I do believe I probably could have been tithing more, though.  I am not a strong tither.  I ask you to pray that I can improve on that. 

But...here's the worst thing I did:  I stopped reading my Bible every day.  And it had a PROFOUND effect.  My failure to read the Word caused me to stop updating this page.  And it also caused me to stop doing the most important thing we can do above all other things:  Glorifying God and forsaking everything else.

My friends, in certain situations for the last 4 months, I have been worrying.  I have been stressing about my job, stressing about making enough money, and worrying about taking care of my family.  I have been arguing with my wife more than usual, and I have NOT been as much of an outspoken soldier of Christ as I was when...

I READ MY BIBLE EVERY SINGLE DAY!

Trust me.  If you want to be in the Way, to not worry, to Glorify God, and to know what true love, peace, and security is, read the Word on a daily basis.  Immerse yourself in it.  Learn it, live it, love it!  Okay, that phrase is a little "wine and cheese" but it's true here.  We have to be daily warriors for Christ.  Doing so puts us in a place where all we want to do is love and serve others.  That's the whole point!

How can we do that if we go out with unloaded weapons against Satan, temptation, and sin (things like worry, stress, and thinking you're in control)?  We need to stockpile ammunition against sins like worry, stress, believing you are in control, temptation to cheat, look at porn, lie, steal, treating others badly, etc., by daily LOADING our spiritual WEAPONS (such as our personal ministry to others, through words or examples) with Scripture, the Word, the Way!

Simple, right?  Wrong!  Wrong, wrong, wrong!  It's not simple.  Why?  Because we're natural born sinners.  And The Dark Knight, Mr. Satan, knows that!  He capitalizes on it and feeds on us when we're weak, and that is how he uses us to go AGAINST God!  So it's actually a constant BATTLE, which is very complicated. C'mon, read the Bible.  This spiritual warfare has been going on since the beginning.  Little passage in Genesis involving a dude named Adam and a chick named Eve, a snake, a tree, some fruit...ring a bell?

You are not the first Christ follower to be tempted, to sin, to utterly fail your God.  But He loves you still. 

SO FIGHT FOR HIM!  Read your Bible daily.  Any place, any verse, and piece of the Word.  Reflect on how it affects your life in a literal since.  Send me an email and I'll chat with you about it to the best of my ability.  

We'll fight Satan, his temptation, and our natural tendency to sin together.  More importantly, we'll love more, serve others before ourselves more, and GLORIFY GOD FIRST!

Me?  I'm going to take my own advice here and stop being a half-cocked warrior.  How can I fight for Christ if I don't load my weapon every day?  I will make it a POINT to read my Bible FIRST every day for 30 mins or more in the morning.  That is my solemn oath I take now.

What is the point of having a strong, healthy body, if I have a weak, sin-riddled soul? 

Who is with me?

Until tomorrow...

Come Believe.