the qualities of a warrior

"Warriors do not react to their circumstances, they respond to God. They see everything as an opportunity to learn, grow, advance and increase faith. They have taken their own internal territory.

They do not avoid tough situations; they are not looking for rescue. They are developing a revelation of God so profound, it governs every facet of their lives.

Warriors know that Jesus reigns and everything leads to majesty. That means that every situation is not theirs to win; but theirs to lose.

Graham Cooke examines the qualities of people who fight from victory not towards it. He explores the attributes required for involvement with God at a high level of warfare. Warriors cannot be intimidated by the enemy, because they are too busy being fascinated by Jesus.

There is a place in the Spirit set aside for us where we make the enemy confused. We weary him by our rest. We discourage him by our faith. We demoralize him with our joy. We depress him by our endurance. He is dispirited by our favor; defeated by our grace. Warriors win by staying fresher, longer."

Graham Cooke is a prophet whose writing provokes me towards greater trust in God.The above is only an excerpt from the back cover! I just ordered a copy of this book and can't wait to begin devouring it's content.

"a prisoner of promise"

Normally when we think of a prisoner we naturally only think in negative terms. A prisoner is one who is being held against their will and dying to break free. A person who is held captive but someone or something greater than themselves...

What would life look like if that stronger, captivating force were the Promises of God?

Oh, to live the life of a prisoner of promise.

"..and now these three remain: faith, hope, and love.." (I Corinthians 13:13)

We definitely need God's faith for the present ("Now faith is.." Hebrews 11:1) but it doesn't help our past much. We need God's love to cover our past and all of it's failures.
And in regards to our future, it is true, biblical hope that draws us towards God's purpose and destiny.

Abraham was the father of our faith. The Bible says that when he found himself in a situation that for every good reason looked hopeless....he had hope....against all hope, he hoped.
(Romans 4:18)

The question reigning in the heart and mind of such a person is no longer "if" but rather "when".

Abraham's reliance on God was so strong that he was literally held hostage to hope and a prisoner of promise.

satisfied.

In Psalm 17 David prayed that God would deal with some of the people surrounding his life. People that were causing him some real problems. One summarizing statement describing this group of enemies can be found in verse 14:

"O Lord, by your hand save me from such men, from men of this world whose reward is in this life."

How easily all of us are prone to get focused on, pursue, become envious of, such temporary things. These other men gave into the temptation to live their lives based solely on the temporary and fleeting rewards of this life.

The cry of David's heart reveals a way to counteract this common temptation...Verse 15:
"I will be satisfied with the seeing of your likeness."

When we get a glimpse of our Father....our view towards everything else is radically adjusted.

Suddenly our souls can be at rest. Striving, competition, envy, rivalry, shortsightedness... all lesser ambitions are displaced with legitimate satisfaction deep within our souls.