Called to Fight

“The Lord gets His best soldiers out of the highlands of affliction.”

-Charles Spurgeon

As Christians, we have been given a unique perspective. Not only are we citizens of this world but we are also soldiers. When disaster strikes and spiritual warfare is present, we are the ones called to the frontlines. We take off running toward the sound of drums while “citizens” run for cover.

David demonstrated this quite well in his life. Even as a boy he wasn’t just a shepherd or common citizen. When spiritual attack came in the form of the warrior Goliath, David was elevated to a whole new level. He became a mighty warrior, and yet, even still, to the world he still appeared ordinary, not even big enough to wear King Saul’s armor.

The people scoffed until they saw David’s results, or more accurately, “God’s” results. If he can make a warrior out of David, he can make a warrior out of you!

The church needs to come alive and recognize that we aren’t in retirement or in a time of peace, a battle is still being fought and no one is exempt from the fight. I suppose you could say that if you’re a Christian, you’ve been drafted into this ultimate war where the victor is already decided and He has allowed us (given us authority) to share in His victory!

We are citizens of another realm, another Kingdom. Citizens of a world in which we have opportunities to be the love of Christ to those around us in our casual day-to-day. But never misplace your battle armor, keep it polished and cleaned, hanging on your wall as a daily reminder, that at any moment you may be called to fight.

The moment you hear that a friend has cancer, when disaster strikes (natural or not), when someone is going through loss, when you are called to pray over persecution in a region or against poverty, when the Holy Spirit points out something dark in the spiritual realm affecting someone’s heart, family, finances, etc….

The list goes on.

How do we fight? Through prayer, fasting, praise, worship, teaching, serving, and giving. I do not believe that God will call us to take up arms, literally. The battles that matter most to Him are in the heart/mind not flesh against flesh. And we have no greater weapon at our disposal than His great love.

Love trumps hate every time. And not the worlds love, His love. It dumbfounds the wicked and gives hope to the oppressed. Jesus is the greatest message of love freely given, and it is through His truth, the gospels, that we wage war and stand victorious.

And so, brothers and sisters, are you ready to fight?

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Giants

Dad: I heard you caught a big fish sweetheart, want to tell me about it?

Daughter: It was bigger than me!! I thought it was going to pull me into the water!

Dad: *Laughs* your mother said it was no bigger than your foot, and that you reeled it in like a pro. 

Daughter: Honest dad, it was BIG! It had rows of long jagged teeth and its body was stained red with blood!!

Dad: *Laughing harder* honey it was an Alaskan salmon, not a shark! and that’s their natural color! 

 

We are all prone to exaggerating, and not just to beef up stories. Sometimes we go so far as to beef up our problems too. Saying things like, “this is the worst!”, “I’m stuck!”, “I can’t do this!”, and ultimately, “I give up!”

we take our giants and make mountains out of them.

David never once believed that the bear was anything but a bear, and the lion just a lion. He struck both dead and when he finally came face to face with a giant, he saw just a giant, and at the heart of it…just a man.

You’re probably thinking, “Riley the kid killed a bear and a lion, two terrifying creatures to face alone, and a man who was a giant compared to David and all the people of Israel!” You’re right, he was a trained killer and roughly 9 ft tall, if anyone had earned the title of “giant” it was Goliath.

However, the spirit David carried within him was taller, more powerful, and had proven so in David’s life when his father’s flock was threatened by predators. You see, David never allowed himself a moment’s hesitation, a flicker of fear, that would make monsters appear greater than what they were in his mind. To him, they were nothing, and in fact, already conquered.

Wouldn’t it be awesome if we viewed our struggles as “already defeated”?

David was a zealous man, and when he was faced with opposition he was filled with righteous anger to put an end to it! It wasn’t what Goliath looked like that made him so mad, it was what he was saying. Goliath was making a mockery of God’s people and ultimately, challenging God.

The lion and the bear, they had sought to make a mockery of David’s authority over his flock. They sought to steal that which was entrusted to him by his father, and this Goliath was no different, he wanted to steal the authority of the Israelites, wanted them to be enslaved by fear, to give up the authority entrusted to them by their Father, God.

The Israelites had made a mountain out of the giant. And could any of them have defeated him if they believed like David? Yes. Remember, he was just a boy, too small for King Saul’s armor, not trained in military combat, not the favored child of the family (he had elder brothers already fighting), he was just a shepherd boy. And yet, God used him to crush Goliath in a single blow!

Do you know that God can do the same to your giants and that he wants to? You can carry the heart of David and crush them underfoot! The key is to view your problems through the eyes of all-powerful God. If you don’t, the flesh will make you think you’re surrounded by mountains, when really, God has given you the power and authority to stand at the very peak of them.

Don’t bow to fear, stand tall…place the stone in your sling, pull back, and let them have it!!

Become the mountain to your giants.

 

 

 

Our First Recording!

Hey everyone! It’s been a rather slow start to Hope Song Music since Aaron and I both have gotten ill over the past month! Now, we are officially back on track and recording songs for our youtube channel and facebook page!

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That Worn Book

That Worn Book

My grandpa was a quiet man

I often found him dull

I didn’t hear the still small voice

That quieted him in awe

 

He liked to read, and so did I

But I could hardly fathom

Why out of all the lovely books

It was the worn one he was grabbin’

 

It hardly ever left his side 

Though it’s pages torn and frayed

As it’s binding fell apart

His heart had filled with faith

 

I didn’t know that one worn book

could change more than one soul

Until my grandpa’s final gift

that worn book he bestowed.

 

Holding it with pages ripped

And creases down its spine

With golden letters, bold and etched

Calling me inside

 

I sat as he had often did

And gazed up at the sky

How could I have missed this?

I asked as tears fell from my eyes

 

Inside the book, my grandpa wrote

On every page and line

I pray my grandson grows to know

Our savior, Jesus Christ.

 

The greatest story ever told

resides not on a shelf

but in the heart of those who know

the author, God, Himself. 

 

I wonder what my grandson thinks

Does he feel God’s light?

I place the worn book in his hands

And pray he holds it tight.