Thursday, December 14, 2006

Warfare, II

So, warfare is living to counter-act the effects of the enemy's work. It is living as close to God's ideal as possible. To demonstrate the wonder of life in God. Love, a renewed life and community that demonstrate unity and kindness are all "weapons" of God.

Is there a way to combat the mind-set and atmosphere of lies the enemy promotes? Visible reality in lives and community are valuable and important. They do produce the desired effect. But is it enough? There are so many voices in the world. Each one clamoring for attention. Each one is used by the enemy to distract people away form God's family. Each one claiming their legitimacy. How can we create a wind to blow away the smoke that clouds the heart of each person?

As mention earlier, each person stands at the intersection of two dimensions: the physical and the spiritual. A person communicates with the physical with his five senses. The person communicates with the spiritual with his heart. We interact with the spiritual by focusing our hearts on it.

There are many disciplines that strive to interact with the spiritual. Many forms of medication, magic, etc. They all focus their hearts into the spiritual realm, which often results in a response from the spiritual back into the physical.

Is there a method or means for God's family to project their hearts into the spiritual? God does favor some forms of mediation. But the most direct means for God's family to positively affect the spiritual world, and indirectly the hearts of mankind, is prayer.

Friday, December 08, 2006

Warfare

And then there is warfare. There is an enemy; he does seek the destruction of your heart.

But this warfare is different. First, God’s family wages war, but it does not destroy anything. It wins the war by bringing more people into the family. By making hearts whole. By reversing the destruction of the enemy in society, in culture, and in the environment.

Second, a person can also fight by making sure his heart is whole. There are different aspects to this. One, we need to be disciplined to recognize the lies and not let them get a hold in the heart. Two, we need to be open to God’s influence. Even as ruler of all, having our allegiance, living in our hearts, he does not force our obedience. So, we need to invite his influence, and his work, in our hearts.

A human being, living and becoming more what God made him to be, and attracting other human beings to live in allegiance with him, are strong blows against the enemy.

Healing

Another aspect of discipleship is healing. And I mean heart healing, in this case, not physical healing. Before we become a member of god’s family, we have no relationship with him. We have no communication. It is open season on our hearts. The enemy bombards it with lies, with the goal of distracting us from God.

If we hold lies in our hearts, we are not going to live as we should. We will have damaged hearts. So, God seeks to repair the damage. Bring the shards together and create a new heart.

There are a number of different healing methods He can use. Some are general, for everyone. Some are individual.