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.

n.o.w.

It is so easy to forget that this life and all that we see will not always be here. When the Bible speaks of our lives, it refers to the sum total of our years as, "but a breath." There is a time coming soon that God the Father will wrap up this whole story we call HIStory.

Ephesians 5:15-20

¹⁵Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise,
¹⁶making the most of every opportunity,
because the days are evil. ¹⁷Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.
¹⁸Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. ¹⁹Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, ²⁰always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let's pray together..."Holy Spirit fill us in such a way that we are able to live in the NOW."

N - No
O - Opportunity
W - Wasted

happy day

By far the number one song request in my house is "Happy Day" by an artist named Tim Hughes. My 3 yr old son, Judah, goes absolutely wild when he hears the song....jumping...dancing...and spinning all over the living room.
The song speaks about Easter, the day we celebrate Jesus Christ's resurrection from the dead.

It was a good day for all of us, but the worst day for the Son of God. The man that was totally God-forsaken,and the God that was totally man-forsaken. He hung on that cross totally alone...the only person to ever experience ultimate rejection and isolation....and yet there was a powerful picture in His mind that awful day...

"who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning it's shame..."
(Hebrews 12:2)

Happy Day (Easter) was on Jesus' mind that Good Friday. Every sick person who would receive healing because of His sacrifice were on Jesus' mind that day. All the people who would ever be set free from the bondage of sin were on Jesus' mind that day. People from every tribe, language, and nation filling heaven's banqueting table were on Jesus' mind that day. The image of a 3 year old dancing across my living room to the truth of that day, was on Jesus' mind that day and helped keep Him hanging on that old rugged cross.

Jesus made happy days possible. Happy Easter!