Romans 15:14, “Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.”

The Lord is the personification of perfect choosing, and His heart is always, always, always inclined to goodness, without even an inkling, a thin shade of anything less. In Exodus 34:6 goodness is a noun which goes with the verb, truth as a married pair, meaning the verb truth frames the noun goodness, they go together, are abundant, and make us beautiful in Christ.

Paul urged believers to be “full of goodness”. The word goodness meaning “the manifestation of kindness, equipped for action”, or “an abundant inclination to will and do what is merciful with hands of compassion”. God is a good God, and we, who are believers, are to be as He is. It is more than merely saying, “I’m a good person”, meaning we pay our bills, keep a job, care for our family, etc, etc….Paul’s intent was a call to be like the Lord, not just keep the rules which fetch us the approval of others. There is real power that comes from being good for the Lord’s goodness is precedence setting power. As Paul means it, it is an attribute of God, Himself, and is a quality we possess also because He lives in us, through Christ we have a bond to goodness that is everlasting. Be strong and courageous!

With the Lord compassion is a continual spring of water, a flowing stream making Him a pillar of support from beginning to end. The call of God bids us to be as He is. Within compassion is impartible hidden goodness, but it’s the kind of goodness that is concealed and also revealed. A little of God’s goodness in us goes a long way, or it could be said it is the “little which holds much”. A Godly attitude will overcome selfish motivations, until all our offense and defensiveness is won over by the goodness of God.

Psalm 86:5 “For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.” The Lord our God is shown, consistently throughout scripture as being abundant in goodness. The Hebrew perspective is that not only is the Lord good, but he IS goodness, or kindness, He instructs men in kindness, and mankind can only obtain kindness from God, who is the sole possessor of kindness. In the Lord’s lovingkindness, or His goodness and favor, i hide myself from darkness. i make Him as my fortress, My high tower and my deliverer, my shield and the One in whom I take refuge.

In this life, as hard as i’ve tried, i can testify and be firm, there is not another place or person like our God. His goodness covers us, and He acts towards us like the gentle Shepherd He is, mercifully treating our afflictions with everlasting kindness. Were it not for the goodness or kindness of God towards men, once again, there would be no hope of salvation. But God, gosh i love saying that, but God in His infinite goodness towards us, didn’t leave us to die in our estrangement and sin, instead gave to us a path out of the wilderness of sin and the growing distance between man and Himself.

When i was down a dead-end road of my own design and implementation, with no idea how to get home again. In His practice of compassion towards me, God’s goodness covered me like a morning cloud; He had pity on me. He extends His goodness to the lowly, needy, and miserable, and even extended it to me.

We should trust in, hope in, and rejoice in the goodness of God, for He has been liberal with favor towards us. He is abundant and rich in kindness, His goodness is endless. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives.

i’m Social Porter for Living in His Name Ministries

Hey! The phone is ringing! Aren’t you going to answer it? i’d recognize that ring tone anywhere, i guarantee you it’s Jesus calling and He wants to talk to you. That phone has rung everyday of your life, just answer the phone. What’s that? Oh, you’re sort of embarrassed because you figure you’ve not been living life up to even your own standards? (chuckle) Well, i have to tell you, i thought that too about my life, but one day i steeled myself and answered the phone. No, no, no, He didn’t want to blast me reciting all my should have’s and could have’s, He’s not like that. Nah, He just wanted to talk; He told me He loved me, that He even liked me and wanted to come by sometime. Trust me, He doesn’t want to whack you, He wants to hang out. Take a chance and answer the phone, Jesus is calling, just answer the phone!

i’m Social Porter and this is Outposts, a semi-live broadcast from the deck overlooking the beautiful banks of the Ockluhwahhah River. There is an urgency upon the world, in every corner, and it seems to be the Lord of the Universe is pressing closer to mankind with a pensive waiting for us to respond. The phone is ringing all over the world and i believe it’s time we answer the phone. There is someone at the door knocking, don’t you think we should answer the door? Yea, it is up to you to take the initiative and open the door, and no, you can’t speak to Him through the door or pass notes back and forth. You know who it is, what is the problem?

Have you ever been at church, someone is speaking, or it’s a time of prayer and the room is very quiet maybe, when suddenly someone’s phone rings? It doesn’t seem to matter if the ring is pleasant or not, instantly the entire room diverts its’ attention towards the sound of the ringing phone, all concentration takes a sharp turn in a different direction. The same thing happens anywhere, in a classroom, a doctors’ office, or in meetings of any sort where there’s a group of people gathered. When the phone rings it seems as if everyone gets this urgency about them to see who is calling, some even check their own phones to see if it’s them. The same thing happens if someone knocks on the door, all at once the attention of everyone in the room is completely diverted to the door with questions on their faces like, “who is here?”, “what do they want?”, or “is it someone i know?”. And then there’s the very inconsiderate person who, right in the middle of a meeting or church, not only did they forget to turn their phone off, they actually decide to answer! Ugh! And they always say, “Oh, I’ve gotta take this!” Now the attention of the room is totally diverted even more and everyone is abruptly involved in the other person’s conversation, trying not to “listen in”, but just can’t help themselves to know what was SO important, the person just HAD to answer the phone in the middle of the meeting.

Statistically speaking, at any given time in church, out of 100% of the people in the room, in their heads, 40% are thinking about yesterday, 40% are thinking about tomorrow, and only 20% are actually present and in the moment. But when someone’s phone rings, nearly all of the people, suddenly, are instantly brought into the present, accept now their attention is diverted from devoting their attention to the Lord to devoting their attention to that ringing phone. I want you to enjoy Lord. Some of us have a profound relationship with Him and have enjoyed His fellowship for many years. Others of us, well…you know about him. You know some of his rules. You know Christian activities like Bible reading, and praying, and church life. But God is not a precious personal, cherished treasure to you, and i think we can all do our relationship with God a good bit better.

God is not sitting at the gate of your heart and life as if in casual repose, He’s standing, which means His attention is towards you, His focus is on you; His posture denotes His readiness to assist, and there isn’t, not one diversionary tactic in the universe that’ll take His attention off of you. The fact that He is standing says you’ve got His attention. He wants to be involved with you. i think that’s so excellent that God wants to be involved with us and doesn’t just sit at a distance, checking His fingernails or His hair, pondering when we’re going to get it together, or dreaming of that great lunch He’ll get later. Wonderful and scary at the same time isn’t it? The phone is ringing, someone is at the door knocking, isn’t it time to see what God wants?

i had a dream where a friend of mine and i were in his house, in the living room talking and lounging. The dream went like this:

It was evening when suddenly there came a knock at the front door. i looked at my friend, who seemed a little paralyzed, and said the obvious, “Someone is knocking at the door.” But he just kept sitting there with this really worried look on his face. i said again, “Someone is knocking on the door. Aren’t you going to answer it?” For some reason he sat paralyzed just staring at the door. There came another knock, there was a pause and then the doorbell rang. With mild insistence, i suggested, “Just answer the door!” Finally, after many moments, with what seemed like trembling and trepidation, he got up and went to not open the door, but to look out the side window to see who it was, as if he didn’t know. He turned to me and said, “It’s the Lord! Oh man, what am i gonna do?” i replied that he should open the door. Instead of opening the door, he got a little note pad and pencil out and wrote on it one word, “Hi.” Then he folded the paper and slid it through the little crack between the door and the door jamb next to the door knob. The little note was pulled through from the other side, a moment went by, then the little note slide back to him through the same crack. My friend opened the note and it read, “Just thought I would stop by to say hello. Open the door.” My friends face blanched and he obviously took a fit of trembling. But still, instead of opening the door, he took another little piece of paper and wrote on it, “I’m not feeling well, and my house is a mess. Is this really a good time? Aren’t You busy or something? This seems very inconvenient”.

In the dream i marveled at my friends use of the word “inconvenient”. i was shocked at his thought of God’s visit being an “inconvenience”. Nevertheless, my friend folded the note and slide it back through the door, wherewith the note was pulled through from the other side. i thought i heard a chuckle from outside, then the note appeared on our side again. This time, it said, “Of course I’m busy, but I am the Lord, so I’m never too busy for you. Just open the door.” Then came a light knock again. i asked my friend, “Would you really tell God His visit is inconvenient on the day of your visitation?” That was the end of the dream.

Some visitations of the Lord are truly hard to miss, but by far and large, we are often like Israel in Exodus 19. The trumpet blew loudly, it couldn’t be missed. And when Moses came down from the mountain and beckoned the people to go with God, but as one person, they preferred to have Moses meet with God and simply tell them what He said. Their opportunity for a personal relationship with God was passed by and they were satisfied to stand at a distance.

So i’m asking you, if the phone rings, and you know it is God calling, why wouldn’t you pick up the phone? If He’s at your door, knocking, are you going to pass notes back and forth with God or do the simple thing and open the door? Would you really tell God His visit is inconvenient on the day of your visitation? Inconvenient? C’mon, really?

Luke12:35-36, “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning,  like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him.” Jesus is at the door knocking and He’d like very much to talk to you. He is calling you on the phone and maybe you haven’t found the courage to answer it yet. Seeing as how you didn’t answer the phone, knowing it was Jesus calling, He did the next thing, like any good friend, and that was He’s come to your house and He’s knocking on the door. Just open the door.

2 Peter1:3, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”

The love of God is calling you, sometimes softly, sometimes right in your ear. His goodness and mercy have been pursuing you all the days of your life. God has called you and is still calling you, the phone is still ringing, and the door is still being knocked on, isn’t it time to see what the Lord wants?  Stop running, turn and embrace His life changing love. God isn’t interested in depriving you of any good thing. We may ask, “Goodness and mercy are after me?” i suppose the debate in your head is, “yea, but good according to who?” Do you really think the Lord is going to give you ugly things or is going to brutally take your precious stuff away? Where did we, as a people, get the idea our God is mean and vindictive? Think about it, does that sound like the actions of Heaven or hell?

Luke11:11-13, “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though predisposed to calamitous living, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Listen, all that drinking, doping, running and gunning in the streets and carrying on, knock it off, grow up and be conscious. We’ve gotta wake up. Time is short, the day is far spent, God isn’t going to quit calling and knocking. My friend, you, yes you have a call on your life and it’s time to respond. 1Timothy 6:12, “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called…” The call is there if we have ears to hear.

In Luke19:37-40, as Jesus was coming from the Mt. of Olives, the entire multitude of His disciples were praising the Lord, openly and loudly, because they had seen the Lord moving in power. They were saying, out loud, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in Heaven and glory in the highest”. Evidently this really irked the Pharisee’s who purposely made a request of Jesus to, “…tell those guys to shut up!” Can you imagine yourself in this procession? Take a moment and try and see yourself there. What do you think it all looked like, and where are you in the picture? Are you one of those praising the Lord in a loud voice? Are you one of the silent bystanders, observing but not participating? Or, are you one of the Pharisee’s ordering everyone to be quiet in their day of visitation? How would you react if you were at church and spoke praise out loud with everyone turning to look at you? Then later on someone pulls you aside (‘cause you know there’s always someone who feels the need to “counsel” you after such an intrusive outburst like that…and yes, i’m being a bit sarcastic. There will always be someone to complain about you), they pull you aside to advise you to “try and keep yourself under more control in the future because you’re disturbing other people?”

When Jesus comes in the house, i guarantee our eyes will abruptly come clear, luminous and shining creativity will spring up around us filled with gospel grace as the Light finds grip in us. In Luke 12:40, Jesus said, “…don’t be slovenly and careless. Just when you don’t expect him, the Son of Man will show up.”

The phone is ringing, He’s at your door knocking, it’s time to take-action. Answer the phone, open the door and let the Son of Glory in.

And of course, we all knew i couldn’t resist this scripture, so i’ll just go ahead and say it, Revelation 3:20-22, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” He was speaking to the church there, and that includes you and i.

In 2 Chronicles 20:17, the Lord uses the phrase, “Position yourselves”. In other words get ready, wash your face, put on your good clothes, and take up a stance that is ready to spring into action when the phone rings or when Jesus is at the door knocking. God does not take pleasure with those who sit in their easy chairs, drink their comfort drinks and wait for others to dig the well for them. It is our job to dig our own well and we each must have our own connection with God. We can’t have a relationship with God by way of someone else’s relationship. Life is completely imaginary when someone else is doing the stuff and we just dream of ourselves as being the hero, champion, or person of special note. i want to hear God for myself, and the Lord wants me to hear for myself, not that i don’t certainly enjoy hearing someone else’s wisdom, because i absolutely do, i just want my own encounter with God and i’m not satisfied to live through the life of another. Letting the pastor do all the work of looking up scriptures and expounding on things is not enough. We must be the ones to walk and talk with the Lord, each of us must answer the call of God, and no one can answer it for us.

Another angle to consider is this: look back on all the amazing mercies of God in your life, and then, and in the hope of more mercy, at this point you decide to make a new resolution to obey God better. Hey, don’t get discouraged, we all decide that at one time or another. But, the odds are not very good after our history of failure, that things are actually going to go better. Years of having few consistent successes, and now, today is the day where the failure stops? The odds of that happening are not good and therefore the hope is not great. Where it does improve is in our continual fostering of our relationship with the Lord. When He says, “Let’s talk”, we say, “Absolutely Lord! Let’s sit here because i want to hear all you’ve got to say!” as opposed to suggesting He wait till later because you’ve got more important stuff to do. You know, i think, and this is just what i think, that when someone tells me they’re too busy to reply, in my small opinion that really means “it isn’t important enough” and it’s just an excuse to say, “i’m busy”.

It’s nice to listen to name-brand people and quote other people’s hard-earned wisdom, but above all, what does God say to you? It’s glorious to hear of the extraordinary stories told of how this or that person answered the call and God led them into amazing situations, but more importantly, again, what does the Lord say to you? Great testimonies don’t exist merely so we can hear a great story. The testimonies and stories exist so we can come into a greater relationship with God.

Let’s allow the Lord inspire us to have our own words and stories instead of always copying someone else. We need our own. Listen, i would rather have a well that only yields a little bit that is mine, than to always be drawing from someone else’s well. The well that Jesus and i dug is mine, it’s what God gave to me. In the day of trouble, and trouble WILL come, we each need to have our own connection. Having a connection with God by way of someone else’s connection is really no connection at all. In Matt 25 there is the story of the ten virgins. They all had lamps, five had oil and the others did not. Now, i can’t tell you all the different metaphors and facets of God’s intent in this story, and there are many, but one possibility which does stand out to me is that the five who didn’t have oil might have very well been waiting for someone else to supply oil for them. Maybe they felt it was inconvenient for them to get their own. Quite possibly, in the past, they had relied on the other five who were diligent, then later on asked to borrow some oil for when they ran low. They seem to have set back in leisure because it was too inconvenient to draw their own oil. Maybe they claimed they were “too busy” to be bothered with getting their own oil, or maybe they felt themselves to be superior somehow, and told themselves they were delegating the task of getting lamp oil. All in all though, they didn’t do the work on their own behalf and came up wanting.

Jesus is calling, the phone is ringing, answer the phone. Jesus is at your door knocking, He’s interested in getting your attention, answer the door. Who cares if your house is a mess, it’s the day of your visitation and it’s high time to rise up, meet with God and see what He wants. Think about it.

Amos 6:1, “Woe to you who are at ease in Zion…”

It just seems so careless and indifferent to be caught with no bread and oil, all because it was too much trouble to answer the door or pick up the phone. i have my concerns about people who run from conference to conference, or from book to book, always quoting some name-brand-person who is the popular, or the relevant speaker of the day, but yet they themselves don’t really have much to say about what God says to them. i have this thought in my head, what if you were in a prison somewhere, isolated, with no access to big time conferences, popular audio works, or name-brand books, where would you be if all these years God has been knocking on your door or calling your phone, and it was too much trouble, or terrifying to hear what God’s got to say to you? Will we, as a nation, decide it is too inconvenient to open the door to Jesus on the day of our visitation? Your pastor is not the answer. Your church is not the answer. Going to church or having a pastor doesn’t make you a believer anymore than carrying a hubcap makes you a car. Jesus is the answer, He’s always the answer, and there’s never a time when He’s not the answer.

i’m Social Porter and this has been Outposts, cool jazz and contemplative conversation. This broadcast is supported by Living In His Name Ministries, Tony at McDowell Electric, Paul at International Tile, Jaan at Ojala Machine Works, the Mebane Freedom League, and Trinity Bakers on main street, where there’s always something good in the oven.

The phone is ringing, Jesus is knocking, answer the door, pick up the phone, Jesus has come calling on you. When Jesus comes in the house, all things get better. It’s time to attend to Kingdom business. Be strong and courageous this week, pray for your neighbors and i hope to talk with you next time. Amen.

Set and Bearing Or Application And Provision

In our beautiful Savior is justice based on accurate scales, He IS the perfect and just weight by which all standards of righteousness are based. He, himself, IS the Prince of Shalom, and Shayim, peace and wholeness. He is perfect in all His ways; He didn’t have any “daddy issues”, He loves His father and is complete in Himself.

i’m Social Porter and this is Outposts, cool jazz and contemplative conversation, at the end of our road is a transition place that takes us from here to where Jesus is. The Lord is waiting for you at the end of your trail, where you can dismount and stride towards the waiting arms of Jesus, imagine it, the closer you get to Him, the more the road worn clothing of this life will be transformed into the gleaming shape of forever and endless life.

Proverbs 22:17, “Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge…” This is a series of four programs concerning the subtle elements in the foundations of our heart which create our tilt and bend. First there was a discussion about influence, our impact and significance and how the Lord influences us to live a life free of the world, death, hell, and the grave; second was our impulses, the inclination and motivation from which the sparks in our imagination generate action. In that program the Lord asked me, “what are your inclinations and how did you come by them?”, and so i passed the question on to you. This evening is the third of four topics, which is about our set and bearing, the doctrine of direction as the Holy Spirit leads us on.

In the navigation of a vessel, how often have we heard in movies or in real life, the captain call to the helmsman to, “set a course for” such and such a place and then calls out the bearings? According to the dictionary, one definition of set is the manner in which we conduct ourselves, which even includes our postures and gestures. Our bearing is indicative of the direction we’ve set our hearts in, it is even evident in our demeanor, behavior, and conduct.

1 Kings 20:12, “And it happened when Ben-Hadad heard this message, as he and the kings were drinking at the command post, that he said to his servants, “Set yourselves and be ready.”” They set themselves ready for battle and their bearing was one of going forward into the face of the coming attack on the city. To “set yourself” means get ready to change the position of where you are and what you’re doing. If the Lord has given us the command to “set ourselves”, rest assured He is faithful to give us a new bearing. i heard a man say once, “Where the appointment is, therein is the provision.”, meaning, when the Lord assigns us a task, job, or position, He will not, ever leave us without the means to accomplish what He has asked of us.

i fully believe that the Lord never asks any one of us to do something we can accomplish, in and of ourselves.

2 Chronicles 20:17, “You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD is with you.”

Another translation, in an expansion on the idea of “position yourselves”, says to “stand firm, hold your ground, and see”. Note the three action verbs….Stand, Hold, and See, and while you’re doing those three, “don’t be afraid,” or be gripped by fear, nor “be dismayed” meaning “don’t fall to pieces in the face of your circumstances and throw yourselves on the ground.” Then the scripture gives the bearing, “tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.” “Tomorrow” meaning a time deferred, in a time not yet here. That is “set and bearing”, or what is behind the idea of “position yourselves.”

Here’s a sticky statement: If the Lord has sent you, He will go with you.

The action verbs, Stand, Hold, and See are infinitely important in our accomplishing the Lord’s work, this is our heart posture, the “set” or “how we lean in our heart toward God”.

The idea of “getting your bearings” means to “to find out where you are and keep your eyes and ears peeled for the Lord to reveal what you should do next.” The idea of “lost your bearings” is of course having lost sight of where we’re going and what we’re doing.” Both “get your bearings” and “lost your bearings” are idioms, a phrase who’s meaning isn’t easily discernable just by looking at the words. As a side note, do you realize how much of our communications are idioms? The Bible is absolutely full of them, yet so many don’t think that far. What? Is it too much trouble? Lazy thinkers rarely get far my friends.

Luke 10:26-27, Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

Among other things God has buried in this extraordinary statement, He said, “…with all your mind”. Every believer should exercise “prudence”, which is one of the Cardinal virtues. Incidentally, the word Cardinal comes from a Latin word meaning “the hinge of a door”. It is called “cardinal” because it is ‘pivotal’, meaning many, many things in life hang on common sense and thinking things through. Prudence being pivotal and an element of those with high moral character, means it is essential, fundamental, and central. Proverbs 8:12, “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion.” From all that, i’m sure anyone can see why the Lord would call prudence a pivotal virtue, a prudent person doesn’t strut how much that know, ignores insults, acts with knowledge and looks where their going. They see danger and act appropriately, and are crowned with knowledge. HA! Yea man, that’s good stuff, for sure! Sounds like something we could all use these days, yea?

C.S. Lewis commented in Mere Christianity, “Prudence means practical common sense, taking the trouble to think out what you are doing and what is the likely outcome. Nowadays most people hardly think of prudence as one of the Cardinal virtues. In fact, because Jesus said we could only get into His world by being like children, many Christians have the idea that, provided you are “good”, it doesn’t matter being a fool. But that is a misunderstanding. In the first place, most children show plenty of prudence about doing the things they are really interested in, and they think them out quite sensibly. In the second place, as Paul points out, Christ never meant that we were to remain children in intelligence: quite the contrary. He wants a child’s heart but a grown-up’s head. He wants us to be simple, single-minded, affectionate, and teachable, but He also wants every bit of intelligence we have to be alert to its job, and in first-class fighting trim. He has room for people with very little sense, but He wants everyone one to use what sense they have.”

At the near end of every broadcast, i say, “Think about it.” That isn’t just some handy, clever thing to say at the conclusion of the program. Every time, it is a totally serious prompt to do more than just “get saved and do right”.

Let’s talk about the idea of “position yourself” or “set yourself” before we get into bearings. Our response to difficult times, challenging circumstances, and seemingly impossible situations is critical to being positioned to seeing God’s provision! I believe many times we miss opportunities because we are not positioned properly. How often do you miss the Lord because your head isn’t in the game? Maybe you’ve never done that but i certainly have.

It’s important that we initially respond to God, of course, but equally crucial is how we respond. Let me point out though, let’s not misconstrue that by thinking we need to hold our mouth just right in order to hear from the Lord, that’s just silly and it doesn’t work that way. But truly, there are a lot of people who seem to think if they don’t magically get everything right, then the Lord isn’t going to heal them, speak to them, or solve their problems. that somehow, if they’re obedient enough, often enough, then the Lord will bless or prosper them. You know, do good get good, do bad get bad, but that isn’t the nature of grace but is more in the context of “giving to get”, which is considered twisted thinking. It’s retributive theology, which doesn’t work nor does it hold any water against sound doctrine and scripture. It’s a positioning of ourselves alright, just in the wrong direction.

Psalm 23:6, says, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,” There is no sneaky, added requirement tagged at the end saying, “providing you are perfect and get all your legalities right.” i met a man who was ill and struggling. As we talked i asked him what he thought about the idea of God healing him. He laughed a little, then actually backed up a step away from me and stammered, “Oh, ummm. i don’t know about that, i’d have to get my faith w-a-y up to speed and take a long run at that hill before i’d even be willing to go there.” What he was saying was he was in no position, because he was not set, to receive anything as fantastic as the idea that God would heal him. He was positioned alright, just in the wrong direction. He had no expectation the Lord would provide him with new bearings even if he was positioned towards the Lord in faith. Later on i found out he regularly prayed for people to get well,  but he didn’t believe God actually healed people anymore…i wondered “then why do you do it?”; he regularly searched to know the heart of the Lord, but he didn’t believe God spoke to people anymore….i wondered “then why are you listening and searching?” He lived a life of oxymorons, a very sad life, and he saw himself as a small man with a small God who was no better than himself. Gosh, what a way to live, and what a life filled with disappointment at every turn. i mean, if that’s what your faith looks like, is it really faith at all?

To “set yourself”, to stand, hold, and see, starts with prayer, as with everything else, and not just every once in a while. Maybe you feel, or truly just don’t believe God wants to talk to you. Then friend, you are dead wrong. His heart is toward you and God is on your side, He wants your fellowship and relationship, His heart is to be involved with you in all of your life, all your heart, in all your thinking and all your feeling. “Set yourself”, or “being positioned” happens while in pursuit of the Lord. If you look for Him, He will find you.

Besides prayer, how about fasting? There are some people who can’t actually fast food, but there are other things we can fast from, and no, we don’t have to wait for Lent. How about taking time out from your phone or TV to hear the Lord? The point is to hear the Lord, to have a ready heart. Waiting until once per year to pursue the Lord in fasting isn’t nearly enough. How interested are you in connecting with God? Determine in yourself that you’re going to turn the distractions OFF for an hour per day, or half an hour per day or whatever time you dedicate to chasing after Jesus, just be consistent and repeatable. How about pursuing the Lord by reading your Bible, not a book about the Bible, but the very written source itself? Write down scriptures which are resonant with you, post them on the wall so you can see and read them often.

The goal is to connect with the Lord. Take the time to “set yourself” before the Lord and your eyes will be opened to see the greater purpose.

As to getting your bearing, your direction, or heading. Arriving at our bearing requires we have a reference point of some sort. How do you get a reference point so you can draw out your bearings? Everyone has ideas, but are they good ideas? It would be easy to quote some scripture, which, don’t get me wrong, that’s a good thing, but if it’s not really owned and practiced it’s not much of an answer. It’s more of a reply that sounds good, and makes us look like we know something, but really underneath the layers of acceptable Christian-eze,  we’re often still pretty clueless. We want to own our stuff, i mean take real ownership of our situation, and not blind ownership either, which means we just agree without knowing what we’re agreeing to, or we agree just to get someone off our back. Blind ownership is really no ownership at all, so we’ve got to be more surgical about getting down to the truth of exactly what it is we are owning about the Lord along with understanding our “set and bearing” in Him.

Having your bearing means we must, simply must have a good reference point. We say Jesus is our reference point above all reference points, but our attitudes and actions often point to a very different story. We don’t need “A” bearing, we need “true bearing”.

“Position yourselves”, as spoken of in 1Chronicles 20:17 is a key phrase as it relates to our “set and bearing”, set equaling the phrase “position  yourselves”, or how we Stand, Hold, and See, and, bearing speaks of our consequent heading with respect to our reference point, THE reference point of all reference points, Jesus our “true north”.

In 1Chronicles 20, Jehoshaphat is in a real spot, it was bad. The people of Moab and Ammon, along with other armies, even from beyond the sea, came to battle against him. Scripture doesn’t say what their problem was, but they obviously were all in agreement as to who they thought needed killing. i bet the King rallied the army to a defensive position, but according to scripture, Jehoshaphat’s first response was to go before the Lord. Verse 3, reads, “And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.” He positioned himself to hear and obtain the favor of God. At the end of his public prayer, in vs 12, his words are recorded as, “… For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” Did you get that? He said, “We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” He knew where to get his set and bearings when he had lost them. Although it doesn’t necessarily say this outright, but by evidence of his answer, it’s safe to say he believed God would direct their path. He believed God would hear and answer. As it turns out, the Lord did. In vs 17, God said, “stand, hold, and see”, and then gave them their bearings for the next day.

And what was the first thing they did? They bowed down before the Lord giving thanks and prepared to go out the next day. They knew where they were going to be tomorrow, so they understood how to be where they were today. And what was their great plan for tomorrow? Jehoshaphat put the worship team in the front of the army in all their holy attire, told them to sing, “Give thanks to the LORD, for his steadfast love endures forever”, and had them march and worship in front of the army, singing, blowing the trumpets, and banging the drums and cymbals unto the Lord.

As it turns out, that was exactly the right thing to do. The Lord went before them, delivering Judah from great harm. Now, i think that’s about one of the most incredible stories i’ve ever heard.

That is an example of having lost your set and bearing, finding it, then taking action! All i can think is, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

Friends, let us understand that once we receive our set and bearing from God, the timing is also very important.

What if King Jehoshaphat had not set himself and Judah in the presence of the Lord? Or if they had not listened to the word of the Lord which came from (yakh-az-ee-ale’) in 2 Chronicles 20:14-17, but instead went out to battle against the multitude in their own strength?It is an extremely high probability they would have been slaughtered.

What if Rahab the harlot of Joshua, chapt 2, had not positioned herself at the right place and time? Scripture doesn’t exactly say it, but i believe she had thought about her situation and seriously considered her options. She was practicing prudence. Evidently, Rehab had already set herself, and according to vs9 and 10, God had already given her her bearings. When the Israeli spies were suddenly at her door, she knew what to do, she had her bearings. If she hadn’t positioned herself before the Lord to stand, hold, and see, she would have lost the opportunity for the salvation of her family and herself.

Before i moved, for 4 years, every day, all day, even when i was working, my eyes were cast to Heaven, i set myself before the Lord who is my true north. In doing that i found the strength to stand firm, hold my ground in pursuit of the Lord. Additionally, the Lord gave me eyes to see into the distance of what was to come. By finding my “set” i also acquired the courage to act when the time came. By and by, the Lord gave me my bearings. My direction and heading became clearer and clearer. By the end of 4 years i knew where i was going, how i was going to get there, and all that was left was the doing. One day, among other obvious confirmations, He plainly said to me in a dream, “The wind and tide are with you. Hoist your sails, weigh anchor, drop the tiller, get up and get gone.” So i did. i had already reduced all my property and belongings down to one truck and one RV. So i bowed down, thanked the Lord, and left where i was, driving 2700 miles all the way across the United States to my new home. What if i had just left on my own? What if i just never did anything but whine and moan about things? What if i had not positioned myself before the Lord, determined to wait on God?

i believe the Lord our God wants us to live our lives in a constant state of “being set”, or “being positioned” before Him, always being ready, constantly being “set”, and just waiting on the bearings for the time when He says “Go!”.

In 2Tim4:2, “…preach the word; be ready in season and out of season”, which means we are to live in a continual state of “set”, our bearings may change from time to time, but our state of heart is steady and ready.

When we don’t move with God, we usually miss out on great blessings and even prosperity. When opportunities arise we need to, in faith, step out into the flow that God has provided for us and move forward. In this next move of God we all need to position ourselves more in His presence so as to be prepared to move when His glory cloud moves.

Think about it!

In Exodus 8:20, the Lord told Moses to “stand” before Pharaoh. That word “stand” means to plant your feet, to hold firm against something or someone. God gave Moses his bearings, he had the vision of “Let my people go!”  Moses didn’t do the work, he had learned a hard lesson about taking matters into his own hands. He knew God would do the work, was the only one who could do the work, and would literally squeeze Pharaoh until he squealed. With all power, Moses set his face to the Lord, and took God’s bearings to accomplish what had been put before him.

The Holy Spirit took Jesus to the wilderness to face the devil down. Jesus was fasting and hungry, but full of the Holy Spirit. Every time the devil attempted to manipulate scripture and the word of the Lord, Jesus had already positioned Himself and knew His bearings. He was ready and had His bearings. The Lord planted His feet and would not be moved, right to the face of the ultimate enemy.

i want to be like Jesus. i want to resemble Him, reflect His character, and continually be positioned before Him. i want us all to live life at the ready, and all we need is our bearings.

i’m Social Porter and this is Outposts, cool jazz and contemplative conversation, hoping to inspire listeners to step a little deeper with the Lord, stretch your arms a little wider to hold Him closer, and take the reins and think, not allowing ourselves to become lazy thinkers, getting swallowed by the secular drift.

Support is from Cecil at the Skyland Petroleum Co on Spartanburg Rd, my good friend Clifton at the Hasty Tasty, home of the best burgers in town, the Mebane Freedom League, the Skyland Hotel at Oxford 3-4241, give them a call, Betty will be glad to take your reservations, and of course, our beloved Trinity Bakers, where there’s always something good in the oven.

It is highly probable that all our problems in life stem from our failure to apply the gospel. Friends, “position yourselves”, “stand firm, hold your ground, and see the Lord do His work”, and while you’re doing those three, “don’t be afraid,” or be gripped by fear, nor “be dismayed”, don’t fall to pieces in the face of your circumstances and throw yourself on the ground. The Lord is faithful and will answer, incline your heart to always know God hears you and He will answer, maybe not in your time frame, but He will answer. Where the Lord’s appointment is, therein is His provision, guaranteed! If He has sent you, He will go with you. You are not alone in His calling.

Be strong and courageous, take your time and think, consider carefully, research, and read everything righteous you can get your hands on. Go forward this week with all your breathing, all your feeling, and all your thinking, and i’ll talk to you next time. Amen.

          In the early 1970’s Luther Ingram and Mack Rice, who were song writers for Stax Records wrote a song released by the Staple Singers titled, “Respect Yourself”. The lyrics were, If you disrespect everybody that you run into, how in the world do you think everybody’s ‘sposed to respect you? If you don’t care about the man with the Bible in his hand, just get out of the way and let the gentleman do his thing. You the kind of gentleman want everything your way. Take the sheet off your face boy, it’s a brand new day. Respect yourself, ‘cause if you don’t respect yourself, ain’t nobody gonna care, respect yourself.

Everyone wants respect in one form or another. Some get it through reckless criminal lifestyles. Others by way of academic achievement or even political notoriety. From God’s point of view though, which in the end is the only view that actually counts, how does He see the concept of respect? Can we honor someone without respecting them? That’s a question we must all, as individuals, wrestle to decide.

Are people generally worthy of honor? Not as in lifting them up, or having respect for them, but in recognizing them as someone of worth because God loves and gave His life for them. Can we honor someone yet find virtually nothing about them worthy of any respect? Does it seem a bit off center to think someone can conduct themselves in a way as to be someone of no respect but yet be called honorable? It seems like an oxymoron to say honorable yet of no respect in the same sentence, doesn’t it?

“Respect” in Rom13:7 is in the sense of giving reverence to those who wield power and authority. The Hebrew idea of respect means “to lift up” among two other implications. “To lift the hand” while taking an oath was a show of respect, and an outward sign of good conscience, confidence, and favor. “Lifting up the eyes” was also a metaphor for having respect.

i’m thinking of “respect” as a subset under honor, except i’m having trouble with the idea of honoring someone whom i really have very little respect for. i may “respect” the position of someone in public office, but i find no respect for them as a person in my heart. i think in the way people see honor they confine their thinking to “respectful behavior”, as in being polite, courteous, and having good manners, and i think that’s pretty narrow. When i was young i learned manners at an early age, sort of. “What a nice little boy” people would say, meaning they approved of my behavior. Well, i guess kudos to me for being “a nice little boy”, in their opinion!

Honor is different. In the way the Lord uses it, honor comes when we recognize someone’s worth or value, it doesn’t mean we endorse their behavior, but are conducting ourselves in a way which conveys that they have value. i think maybe respect focuses on behavior, like doing “the right thing”, whereas honor comes from the heart. Respect acknowledges a persons conduct, while honor attaches worth. Respect teaches manners and the seemingly flexible phrase “proper behavior”, so i suppose we should also wisely ask, “proper behavior” according to who? Respect carries the idea of being like a vapor, and it can rise and fall, but honor teaches something deeper. Respect can make us look good to others, but honor “builds the hidden bonds that provide strength and unity”, which is my deduction from looking at the Hebrew letters. Respectful behavior is incomplete in and of itself. Teaching respect is not enough. As “Respect” rises and falls … “honor” has weight and glory. It’s one thing to obey the deputy out of respect for his position, but it’s another to honor him because you know him as a friend.

When someone’s choice dishonors themselves and shames another, are they also someone who gets no respect until their actions are rightfully dealt with and rectified before the Lord along with those who were wounded by their actions? When someone has stepped into adultery, they diminish and dishonor themselves, shame the other person, degrade their testimony, cast a shadows on the upright people whom they fellowship with, and transgress the blood covenant with the Lord. Respect for them plummets to zero. After God has brought them through their dark time of reconciliation and restoration, their testimony should not be one of their downfall, but more gives respect and honor to God’s love and deliverance … the focus is on God’s redemption rather than on their disgrace.

Both honor and respect have their place. When children are young, they learn respectful behavior, but as they grow older, as parents we should develop a heart response of honor as well. It’s good to teach respectful behavior but it’s important that we not stop there. Honor adds a deeper dimension to relationships and helps us address conflicts in relationships, it’s like a character trait rather than only giving respect to someone of position and title.

In Mark15:43, it says “Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus”. The word “respect” is used in the sense of being honest and orderly, and of someone with blameless conduct.

Paul wrote to the church at Rome to “Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed”. Every living soul has value, or else Jesus would not have died and rose from the dead for the sins of the world, but not everyone conducts themselves in a way that we owe them respect. Do you get the picture?

When scripture says that God is no respecter of persons in Deut1:17 and Acts10:34, it doesn’t mean He thinks we are all pitiful scum to be tolerated, but that He’s not impressed with someone’s position, title, personal authority and charismatic power. Our position and title here in the world is not what gains us anything with God. He doesn’t hear a CEO over a janitor, a world financier over a tile layer. A just judge regards causes, not persons. For instance if you promote someone to a professorship for the reason, which is the cause, of their having sufficient knowledge, we would consider that “due cause”, not how much we appreciate the person. But, if we promote that person because of favors, charisma, or personal power for the reason that they are that particular person, then there is respect of the person. A just judge regards causes, not persons. Everyone has worth and value, but not everyone conducts themselves in a way worthy of respect.
What do you think?

Intentions and inclinations.

i believe anyone with a prophetic gift struggles with where God’s word to them ends and their imagination begins and it is hard won wisdom and maturity to sort those things out to do our gifting well. The following is about the struggle at the intersection of our need to feel heard and have value, and giving away our bread to the poor while taking no credit.

Many times my phone rings,

most of the time i hear,

most often i know who it is,

most of the time i answer.

Sometimes my phone rings

i pretend to not hear,

i ignore and don’t answer,

i know i should,

but i don’t.

Oh, big lazy,

Just let it go to voice mail,

i know He’s faithful,

Hopefully

He will leave a message.

Occasionally i merely wish my phone would ring,

i wish it would ring,

really bad.

But the truth is, sometimes it isn’t ringing,

but i answer anyway,

“Hello! How are you?” I pretend.

i’ve gotten good at pretending,

pretending when the phone doesn’t ring,

Indenting a prayer so others will subtly note,

my pretended throne room conversation.

i do it so well, it causes people

to perceive and think,

his phone always rings. Oooo! Excuse me, is that the phone ringing as we speak?

i think others think “Wow!”  i chuckle, and think,

When i see their reactions,

as people see through their own spiritual haze,

in my dreams i hear them say, “Wow, isn’t he amazing?!”

i can sound like i’ve got all to myself,

an incredible connection going on.

A better connection than anyone else, you know

It makes me kind of elite.

The truth is, though sad to say,

the truth is that i like that. i don’t like to like that, but it’s true.

Even worse, i think i need that.

How sad.

Don’t answer the phone,

Don’t pick up if it doesn’t ring.

Just leave it at peace

Even when we wish it would ring,

Really bad.

Our connection is real,

The Caller will call,

He will and we know He does.

But don’t answer the phone

if it didn’t ring.

Don’t pretend the call,

Don’t make a face.

Just so you can say, “He called”

or say, “I heard”

Just so you can say, “I know”.

So i sit here waiting,

Waiting in the hall.

Maybe the phone will ring,

Because i don’t know what to do,

At all.

I actually have a vision,

Which i don’t know how to do.

Maybe the phone will ring,

Waiting for the phone to ring,

i’m sure the phone will ring,

How ’bout you?

i’m Social Porter for Living In His Name Ministries.

John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him, shall be saved.” – OR – God sent the world an invitation to come to His house, live and eat at His table, but it is up to us to RSVP (répondez s’il vous plaît, meaning “reply please” or “please respond”). We must RSVP. Respond please.  What a beautiful thing that would be, to eat at God’s table, and live at His house, and all we have to do is respond. That sounds simple to say, “all we have to do”, but the truth is our RSVP is, of course, not just a onetime response, but many responses across the course of a lifetime, in many situations. That is RSVP in an “on and on” motion, as in continuously. The Lord will extend us an invitation to join Him in many adventures, and then He’ll wait for our RSVP. We must RSVP.

i consider it the supreme and highest honor that the King of the Universe has invited me to dine with Him at His house. i’ve wondered out loud, Lord, who gets invited to dinner at your place? How do we get on God’s friend list? It would seem to be a point of believing in Christ, who is the Messiah, and has God-built character, character attributes like “Walk straight, act right, tell the truth; “Don’t hurt your friend, don’t blame your neighbor; “Keep your word even when it costs you, make an honest living, never take a bribe.” There was Abraham in James 2:23 “And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God.” Or there was another fellow, Theophilus, whose name means “friend of God”, which Luke addressed the Gospel of Luke to in Luke 1:3, and Acts 1:1.

Do you believe you are a friend of God? How did that happen? You know, we can’t just go buy God a Hallmark card and mail it to Him to show our appreciation, i think He’d much prefer we give Him our time and attention instead of just dropping a couple dollars on a gift for Him and hope He understands when we say we’re just to busy to visit, but it’s a really nice card. How do you think we get on God’s dinner list? Good question. You know i heard a man say once that when people say they don’t have time to RSVP or even simply take 10 seconds to reply to a text, what they’re really saying is “it isn’t very important to me to RSVP”.

So, here it is again: When Jesus came and got eyelevel with mankind, Who is on God’s ultimate dinner list, as in the last supper? Judas was on the list. Judas was invited to the dinner table of Jesus. Even though there was a very difficult moment when it was revealed who would betray the Christ, Judas was still a part of the 12. Peter was there. He was a rough ol’ fisherman. Tough, testy, made lots of mistakes although he was the only one of the 12 who walked on water with Jesus. He talked when he should have been listening, he was argumentative and even had a problem telling the truth sometimes, but he was on the dinner list of the Son of God. Paul was a murderer and God included him on the dinner list. You might not include yourself because you’re so neurotically obsessed with all that you are not, but God isn’t doing that.

Here’s another invitation from God for us to join Him in His work: John 1:12, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:”. There is a key word in John 1:12 and in John 3:16. For John 1:12 the key word is “receive”, and in John 3:16 the key word is “believe”. To receive Jesus, and to believe Jesus is an action on our part, it is something we do, it is our RSVP to God that we accept His invitation to participate in eternity with Him.

Though there is the initial RSVP required to dine with God, there will be, in our lifetimes, oceans of invitations from God, some to do dynamic things, some to simply grow up and be mature, some to confront, some to accept His comfort when life is at a low ebb. Our RSVP represents our suppleness in the Master’s hand, our willingness to bend and go with God in the sense of being like joints that work together.

i’ve wondered how many people get God’s invitations in their mail, read it, and then set out to re-write it so it says something other than what it does? It wasn’t enough that the invitation simply said, “Come join me for fellowship and conversation. Love you, God”, but we re-write it to say, “I am so impressed with you, therefore I, the Lord am sending you to do amazing things in the earth that will stand as a sign for all others to see your greatness. Come talk to me when you have time. Love you, God.” We invented that and that’s not what His RSVP said. Some of us may simply scratch out a word and write in another, and yet i believe there are others who go so far as to actually reprint the invitation, and then tell others of the “extra-special” invitation they got from God.

We should all know that our Heavenly Father has a way of addressing all our needs, and even the ones of re-written invitations. His main interest though, is that we actually do RSVP. He has plans for each of us, but none of us can enter in to those plans if we don’t RSVP God. RSVP please.

i’m Social Porter with Living In His Name Ministries.

As the sun sets low and evening settles in until morning, the sky is absolutely hypnotic with its midnight blue directly overhead then fading to deep azure, and blazing pink and orange at the horizon. The world’s edge is so brilliant this evening it almost looks like it is on fire. It is my pleasure to witness such visual beauty which God has built into every evening.

i’m Social Porter and this is Outposts and before we get to our topic, here’s a side bar of interest, which is  the idea of “functional and relational boundaries”. Functional boundaries refer to a person’s ability to complete a task, project, or job, and relational boundaries refer to the ability to speak the truth to others with whom we are in relationship with.

Many people have good functional boundaries, but poor relational ones; that is, they can perform tasks at high levels of competence, but they may not be able to tell a friend that they don’t like their chronic lateness. Some people can be absolutely honest with others about their likes and dislikes but are unable to get up for work in the morning. Boundaries are a way to describe our spheres of responsibility, what we are and are not responsible for. How are your boundaries? Do you respect your neighbors’ boundaries or are you a boundary buster, just walking all over folks and don’t even know it?

Our main topic is “What is your armor made of?” The world around us, especially law enforcement and the military, put hundreds of thousands of dollars into research for better armor every year. Yet, there is a part of ourselves for which there is no armor except the armor which God supplies us by way of believing on the name of Jesus and having a relationship with God Almighty. What kind of armor will stand up under the onslaught of darkness, and the fiery darts of the enemy? It’s got to be made of some really a-m-a-z-i-n-g stuff!

From Wikipedia, Personal armor (also known as body armor) involves the whole gambit of protective clothing, designed to absorb and/or deflect slashing, bludgeoning, and penetrating attacks. They were historically used to protect soldiers, whereas today, they are also used to protect various types of police, private citizens, private security guards or bodyguards. There are two types: regular non-plated personal armor, and hard-plate reinforced personal armor, which is used by combat soldiers, police tactical units and hostage rescue teams.

Around 500b.c. the early Celts began using body armor, like chain mail, but the entire idea has come a long way since then. As weapons have advanced so has the need for armor. In early China and Japan armor was made of hardened rhinoceros hide. Amazingly, today’s personal armor has moved far beyond the plate armor worn by European knights and similar plate armor which was worn in one fashion or another by Israel’s army. One example is the well-known story of David and Goliath in 1 Samuel 17, where before David went out and met Goliath, and tried to put himself in array like other soldiers. He wore Saul’s tunic, and tried on the armor only to discover …not the armor, the tunic, nor the sword would work for him. In 1 Samuel 17:39 it says, “for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him.”

Not only did it not fit him, but as far as David was concerned, it was untested, or unproven. In other words, David wasn’t confident in the ability of Saul’s idea of battle dress to protect him – i believe he felt God’s ability to defend him was far superior to any man made armor.

David wisely knew it would probably only serve to get him killed. It may have been suitable to protect Saul because it was made for Saul, but David needed armor made specifically for himself. From this i reckon, and yes i said reckon as in … i have considered and drawn a conclusion… it could be said we each must wear our own armor God has uniquely made us, fitted to us, tested and proven for each of us as individuals. My armor won’t work for you. You must have your own. True, we who are believers get to wear a breastplate of righteousness, but yours is specifically fitted to you and mine is specifically fitted to me. Not only that, but God didn’t supply us armor just so we could polish and posture around in it. He gave us armor for the same reason He gave us His peace: He knew while we live in this world, not only would we need His peace, He also knew we would need personal armor superior to anything man can make.

There are three basic elements comprising the art of war: mobility, firepower, and security. Weapons alone seldom determine the results of battle, particularly when both sides are evenly matched. There are other determining factors in waging a battle, and even winning a war, for example the skill with which strategy and tactics are deployed, the spirit of the commander in directing troops, and how about the precision troops handle their weapons. Let me also add, any warrior who doesn’t believe the weapons of their warfare, offensive and defensive, are effective, is no better than a soldier with a large target on his back. Another good point is that regardless of mobility, weapons, armor, tactics, or firepower, the Bible makes it clear that the most decisive factor in Israel’s success was their obedience to the Lord. Can obedience to God be a type of armor? i say, yes. To you i would say, validate that in scripture, for scripture and the word of the Lord is our bottom line. Remember, TAV, trust and verify. Look it up for yourself, after all, you are responsible for what you believe. Don’t just take my word, or anyone else’s word for it. See it for yourself, that way you will know because you searched it out and God revealed it to you. Make it your own.

We all know we are in a spiritual war… 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” Let’s take just a moment to reinforce that part about thoughts. Friends, if you don’t take your thoughts captive, good and bad alike, they will take you captive, because any way you cut it, one way or another, somebody is going down in chains, and we, being more than conquerors, we are to be the captors, not the captives. If we’re going to be more than conquerors and ultimately overcomers, then there’s got to be some overcoming going on.

What are these weapons and armor Paul speaks of? What can they be made of to withstand the onslaught of our most bitter enemy?

Of course, our first line of defense is prayer. Prayer provides firepower in that it covers us from the attacks launched by the enemy. It makes our assault on the kingdom of darkness more effective. Through prayer the attack of the enemy offensive can be deflected. Not only is prayer a defensive weapon, it is an offensive weapon. James 5:16, “The prayer of a righteous man is a force to be reckoned with and is highly productive.”

i’ll say it again, prayer is like a God-sized deflecting shield and a direct assault of offensive firepower against the kingdom of darkness. Each prayer is like a missile attack launched at the enemy. But what is it in our prayers which makes them so powerful? Is it because i, yes “I”, the great and mighty “me” have spoken magic words that will turn the tide of a battle or conflict? Is it because i, yes “I”, the great and mighty “me” know amazing words of power, and just because i, yes “I” claim something to be true, “it shall be so”, like i am some shaman or magical mystic? Absolutely not. My prayerful offense and defense is due to the Power of Jesus Christ and Christ alone in me. In light of all that, i’ve got another idea: do you want to spend your time wrestling and fighting with the enemy, swinging in the dark, or do you want to spend your time interacting with God? Some folks just seem to be absolutely obsessed with doing battle, and i’ve got to say, all that fighting and doing warfare seems pretty pre-occupying when our real strength is in our focus on Jesus, not being pre-occupied with the devil.

Personally, years ago, i initiated an intercessory offensive upon a principality in such a way God did not ask me to do. Yes, He did ask me to pray, but to directly engage a principality beyond His request to pray was of my own volition. Why would i go beyond God’s simple request to pray? There truly was a need for intercessory prayer, but in my heart, i was arrogant. At the time i thought that i, yes I, “I”, the great and mighty “ME” figured if i declared it so then it would happen as i said. Yep, in the end God pulled my fat out of the fire, but all in all, i paid a terrible price because i wasn’t obedient to the word of the Lord, and i didn’t wear my armor well. i didn’t understand it, and it wasn’t proven. There were even results in the physical realm. My crops failed, the dog died, the cats ran away, something killed every last chicken and 2/3’s of the goats, even one horse died. i lost the entire farm and ended up moving away forever. It was a terrible cost all because “I” decided to go to war in such a way God had NOT asked of me. i do believe that’s called presumptuous disobedience. The Lord, in His mercy, defended me from the worst of things, but all in all, i was out of line, and had taken it upon myself to go toe-to-toe with a principality. i’ve thought back upon those days and also realized, out of my own glaring ignorance, i was trying to put into motion scripture, you know, the part about “whatever i ask in His name He will do”, and “whatever you bind on earth is bound in Heaven (or something like that), etc, etc. i believe God honored me by taking down the principality eventually, but it was because of the Name of Jesus, not because i decided to go to war in all my self-importance. Truthfully, i thought i knew something, but i’ve realized that Francis Chan was right when he said, “whatever you think you know, you don’t”. Those days of many years ago was a time in my life when i learned the value of my armor, the value of being obedient, and the value of the weapons of my warfare. i also learned to spend my time wisely, in other words, spend my time with God instead of fighting with principalities. Don’t you know the enemy of our soul would love to keep us enthralled in a fight, ‘cause as long as we’re embroiled in a fight with darkness, we are not involved with the Lord. It’s sort of like having hands full of throwing stones. If your hands and pockets are full of throwing stones (John 8) that means they are empty of God-things.

i learned my armor, as is described in 1 Thessalonians 5:8, was far more powerful than i could grasp. Again, i didn’t understand the weapons of my warfare, and did not trust my untested armor, gosh, i was so ignorant i didn’t even realize it was untested.

Scripture says, “But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.” Can you see those key words? “Faith”, “Love”, “Hope”. Those are attributes of our God and they are substantial and impervious. Our armor is made of the kinds of stuff which the enemy has no weapon which can penetrate. Faith, hope, and love are only three.

Matthew Henry wrote that in the four gospels, Jesus put on righteousness as a breast-plate in all his proceedings, guaranteeing the defense of his own honor as a breast-plate defends vital organs; and then he put a helmet of salvation upon his head; Jesus was so sure of His work that He took salvation itself for his helmet, which was the impenetrable helmet of God. Righteousness was his coat of arms, and salvation his crest. Because Jesus has it, we can wear it and it is among the pieces of a Christian’s armor that shine and gleam in the light and dark. By the Blood of Jesus we have the breast-plate of righteousness, and for a helmet the hope of salvation, and it is called the armor of God, because he wore it first and so fitted it for us.

Ephesians 6:13-18, “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 praying for all the saints.”

Our armor, designed by God, tested and proven by Jesus, is fitted uniquely for each us as individuals, it is unique to you and does not fit another. We can’t lend someone our personal breastplate which defends our heart because each person’s heart is unique, specific to that person, Holy Spirit tailored just for you. We each must wear our own armor.

Your God-given defense is impassable, impermeable, impervious, nontransferable, solid, substantial, and unpierceable. Let me say for greater clarity: We do not take it off when we go to bed at night nor would we ever have a reason to take it off. Romans 13:12 says to put on the armor of light, and Romans 13:14 says to put on Christ. So if you have put on Christ, your armor of light, how would you take off your armor, unless you remove Jesus from your life?  i figure people who say they “forgot to put their armor on” surely have just heard someone else say the phrase, don’t understand what they’ve said, and actually mean they are simply having a hard time. Consider carefully the words of our mouth lest they stick to us.

Why, oh why would anyone want to take it off to begin with? The attributes of the Living God are our defense. Again, anyone who thinks of their armor as something like clothing to be put on and taken off, really does not understand what they’ve got, which really inspires me to think that also, they do not understand the weapons of their warfare. Remember, any warrior who doesn’t believe the weapons of their warfare work and are effective, is no better than an unarmed soldier on a bomb-exploding, bullet flying battle field with a big target on their back and a sign with an arrow pointing to the bulls eye which says, “Aim Here”.

The attributes of God are what our armor is made of. Truth, righteousness, faith, readiness, salvation, and the Word of God. The straps are made of sincerity and passion, the buckles of grace and sanctification, the bracing is of strength and stability. Our feet are shod with preparation and wisdom, with rivets of promise, character, and diligence. We are buffed to a high shine with the polishing salve of favor, grace and goodness – in light of that, we now stand in Christ before the universe, shining like lights on a hill in the deepest night. Stand up and praise Him under the banner of the Lion of Judah, fear not, wear your armor well, and hold the line!

Our armor was created by God, tested and proven by Jesus Himself, and is uniquely made from the attributes of God, able to withstand anything the devil can throw at us, if we’ll simply be willing to trust in what God has done in us. Trusting our armor, ahh, now there’s the deal. First we’ve got to have faith it is really there like God said it is, and then we’ve got to trust God that it is all He says it is. It’s more than just plate steel, it’s made by the Son of God; our armor knows no weakness, and will never fail.

Be at peace, hold the line and do the right thing. It’s always the right time to do the right thing. Until we meet again, Think about it!