There’s no Purple Heart for combat related PTSD. Even if the wounds aren’t physical, PTSD is just as real, and sometimes the emotional and psychological trauma is more detrimental than a physical injury. Physical injuries can and do leave a lasting impact but the psychological ones can often be much harder to face, and live with. It changes the way we look at the world. It changes the way we live in the world. PTSD is often a cage we cannot escape from. We’ve all heard the phrase “not all wounds are visible.” As someone who’s faced the demons inside, and still do, the path, the journey is an up the mountain trek. We carry on our packs the rucksack of memories and feelings. The ruck carries every emotion, feeling, viewpoints, experiences and memories. It carries all the good and the bad. Every little thing we experience is a rock we pick up and put in our bag. It creates stress on the body that can be debilitating. In my time of recovery I learned slowly, how to put down the rocks I didn’t need. I learned how to lighten my load. Every therapy gave me new tools, and new techniques to cope with life of the present and the past. I learned how to take each rock and extract only what I needed to make me better, and I left the rest of the rocks on the mountain side. Much like the sword of Griffendor only taking in which makes it stronger. There are times I became over-encumbered and overwhelmed, I had to take time, make camp and go through the rocks again. Recently I was faced with an external obstacle that led me to an internal battle, one in which I found myself facing self doubt, anger, disappointment, hurt, and determination. It’s important to evaluate yourself with grace, but objectively and fairly. In order for us to grow we must accept any grains of truth that come from others, even the ones that may hurt our feelings. If there’s any truth we should not shy away from the truth, merely address the things within ourselves that may be shortcomings. We always have an opportunity to make ourselves better. At the same time, we must accept that, not everything said by someone is in fact the truth. Walking up the side of the mountain gives us plenty of opportunity to see the beauty and wonder of Gods creation. Creation cries out as evidence of an intelligent creator. We must enjoy this beautiful planet our Lord has made for us. We must see the wonder of it and see the good that’s all around us. We do face battles along the way, other travelers, weather, creatures, all manner of obstacles and challenges get out in front of us. PTSD is a lasting injury that stays with us forever. While you can heal and manage symptoms, the damage to the brain isn’t always repairable. We must learn how to live life again. Even though people around us don’t always understand, there are those who do. Sadly there’s no Purple Heart for the damage done to the brain, but regardless, we don’t suffer alone. We are the warrior. We are the Soldier, Marine, Airmen, Seamen, (spacemen?), coastguard. We may be different branches but we are all one family. If you feel alone, you aren’t. There are plenty of organizations, and resources to help those service members in need. My pack is lighter now than it’s ever been. I still carry the memories and the pain, but it no longer controls my day to day life. Once in a while, sometimes triggered, sometimes random, I have moments when my PTSD rears up and knocks me down. I have learned how to manage these intrusions, the intrusive thoughts, the debilitating feelings. It isn’t always an easy fight, but I know tomorrow is a new opportunity to get back onto the trail, and continue mission. I’ve regained my sense of self, and I’ve grown in confidence that I can face today, and face tomorrow, whatever battle may be lurking over the next horizon, I’m ready! I’m a soldier and I always will be. Never out of the fight. Hooah.
For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah, set to Alamoth. A Song. God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. — Psalm 46:1
“The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, Because he trusts in You. “Trust in the LORD forever, For in GOD the LORD, we have an everlasting Rock. — Isaiah 26:3-4
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. — Philippians 4:6-7
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. — Philippians 4:6-7
Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. — Philippians 4:11-13
For the vast majority of my life, I have been hunting, searching for, and pining for friendships. I grew up without a sibling, and spent a lot of time alone. I wanted nothing more than to have friends. After I moved to the trailer park when I was 5 years old, I found a friend after living there for a little while. It took years before I met other friends. I met the two others within a couple years of one another. I ended up having two groups of friends, Daniel my first, and Joe, and Josh my others. When I moved though, those friendships faded. Over the years the second group not only faded, but became ideologically opposed to me based on faith and politics. I was a Christian, they were not. I tried to keep in touch, but they stopped returning my calls. Though I was treated horribly in middle school, bullied, and eventually faced torture: the peeing on my shoes in stalls, the stealing of my clothes in gym, the theft of my personal property such as a gold necklace, the constant teasing, even so much as being told after my mothers attempted suicide, “even she hated you, she had to try and kill herself to get away from you.” I was in seventh grade when I felt the first major sting of betrayal. My mother told one of my newer friends mother personal things about my early childhood. His mother told him, and in the middle of the lunch line, he told everyone. I was standing two feet from him when he did it. I was mortified at the level of such a casual betrayal and how easy it was to betray his friend. He didn’t want to get picked on himself, so he gave his bullies something juicier, he gave them me. After I left lower Michigan after my emancipation, i moved in with my grandpa. I made some new friends, but over the years they too would largely disappear. My dating life would become difficult also. I would be heartbroken multiple times. One after another would break my heart and leave. It was often because of the way I looked and their lack of attraction to me, or they just felt I was too different. Could I have been feeling too deeply about them? Could I have been holding on too tight that I couldn’t see the warning signs? During my time in the military, while I was good at my job, I was different. I didn’t quite fit in. My personality was odd compared to everyone else. It wasn’t a lack of bravery, or skill, but something else, deeper into my personality. After I left the military, I felt more alone than I had ever felt in my life. Though some of my military friends stayed in touch once I left, I felt incredibly alone, and lost without a direction. Military friends are generally bad at keeping in touch. While there for serious matters, it took my 2016 incident for us to create a group chat to keep in touch. Before I discharged from the military I got married to a beautiful woman. I got married very fast. She had never been with a good guy, and I was her first. We had physical chemistry, but as we spent more and more time together, that wasn’t enough to hold the marriage together. Even though I was married, I was unable to make any lasting friendships. In reality, I made few friendships while living in Europe. Two years in Europe, and within a few months of leaving, the few connections I made vanished like a vapor. Nothing stuck, and while two of them can still be found on my social media, we don’t talk. After a while I moved back to the States. While there, I found myself at odds with who I was. Who am I that I cannot make or sustain any friendships? I would begin to struggle even more to find and make friends. Again, I got married, but that would offer me no help in making friendships, her friends thought I was odd and weird also.
For many years I was in a marriage where my true self was hidden, and suppressed. I was subjugated into suppressing who I was. For 15 years I lived in the same area, and you’d think I would have had plenty of opportunities to make friendships, but sadly opportunity and successfulness don’t always go hand in hand. I wonder what it is about me that’s led me to struggle with friendships? JI have often found myself time and again watching people leave out of my life and never look back. All the while these people have often claimed how important I am to them, how important our friendship is, and how much they care about me. In the end, they walked away, and several without a single word or explanation why they felt the need to leave. While I am considered to be friendly and personable by most, there’s something about me that has led countless people to leave unexpectedly, with no obvious cause. I often care very deeply for the people in my life, and to watch them leave, hurts a great deal. I was recently told that I “chase friendships”. The statement isn’t wrong. I have gone days without hearing from anyone in my contacts. I have gone months sometimes longer without hearing from individuals. When I left my home last year, next to no one reached out to check on me, and many still haven’t. And to head off any nay-sayers, yes communication goes both ways. For a long time I would send 40-70 text messages a day to contacts. Often I would just say hello, how are you, trying to make conversation. More often then not, I wouldn’t get a single response within hours, days, and sometimes never. Eventually when I didn’t hear from anyone, I stopped sending those initial texts. The people that smiled at me, talked to me, even claimed we were friends, nearly over night, stopped talking to me when I wasn’t in the same building any longer. This is simply a problem that sets up the greater question, what is the cause? Is there something about me that people don’t like, or grow to not liking? During those fifteen years I did not make any lasting friendships, even at the job I spent six years. I made limited friendships over the years, and the vast majority have since left, many without a single word as to why. I once viewed this as such: I am the common denominator. It’s me that must be the problem. I felt this way with my failed marriages as well. Perhaps in some ways that’s true, and for a long time I was incredibly harsh with myself. However, I have now come to realize, if someone leaves without a word, that’s more on them, than myself. Just because someone leaves doesn’t mean I did anything wrong. I am reminded of a quote from my childhood hero, Captain Jean-Luke Picard, Captain of the USS Enterprise, NCC. 1701-D. He said this, “It is possible to commit no mistakes, and still lose… That is not a weakness, that is life.” (Star Trek: The Next Generation, ‘Peak Performance’) If I examine the loss of friends, it is possible they left, each with their own reason, that doesn’t mean I did anything wrong.
The Arrow Preacher: a pseudonym I created that highlights both sides of myself. On the one side a nerd, a nerd of nerds, a lover of all thing’s superhero, science fiction, to fantasy. I love Star Trek, Star Wars, Marvel, DC, Crime Thrillers like Bones, and Castle. Military Dramas like Seal Team. The Matrix. The other side of me is my faith. I was told recently that I hide behind my faith. While it was said to me in anger, and meant as an insult, the truth is, I have done my best to let my faith be the shield in front of me. For someone to say in anger I hide behind my faith, only strengthens my growth in my walk with God. Years ago, I just started a podcast, a VLOG, and I was attempting to create something new. I wanted to stand apart from the world, I wanted to be different, because I am different. I began doing Christian content in my Green Arrow suit. I was told I shouldn’t do that. Someone I know and trusted encouraged me to stop filming in the suit. Even though I was hurt, and I disagreed with the reasoning, I obliged and stopped filming in the suit. It’s now been almost six years and I haven’t filmed a single video in the suit. A part of me died that day. I was being made to conform to the ordinary. Stifel my unusual individuality. I’m a nerd, a Christian, and I wear things like cloaks, a tunic, and a kilt. I wear Boston Scallys. I collect swords, and Lego, Batman figures, Star Wars items, and Star Trek ships. I take photos in the snow wearing a cloak and brandishing a sword. I have battle ready light sabers around the house, just in case the power ever goes out, or I need a blunt object for intruders, or just for fun. I have come to realize I am not everyone’s cup of tea. I’ve witnessed a lot of people leave my life without a single word as to why. Did they ever actually care about me, because from my point of view, and I’ve asked this many times over, “how could they leave, didn’t they care about me at all?” When I was a child, I was confronted with the same problem from my mother. See… Mom had some personal stuff, and she couldn’t be the mother she should have been. I have come to understand that I have abandonment issues. Even though I have deep rooted childhood trauma, and I fear abandonment, I don’t display the standard “insecure attachment style”. As a kid I experienced abandonment. I experienced being left alone physically, and also years of being alone emotionally. I often said, if mom loved me, she would change. If she loved me, how could she do that? I didn’t understand psychology the way I do today. I hold on tight because I don’t want people to leave, but I am incredibly kind and understanding. I’m often willing to talk about all manner of things, but recently have discovered I rarely stood up for myself. I would allow people to talk down to me. I would allow people to step on me, and get everything they wanted from me. Married twice, I would often find myself hurt by something, and when I would bring it up, I would be the one apologizing for bringing it up. I was not allowed to feel hurt and moreover, I was not allowed to talk about it. People are flawed individuals. I am a flawed individual. What I am is a red blooded, emotion filled, Holy Spirit led Christian conservative. There are a great many people who don’t like that at all.
It’s been a long road for me, and as I continue to deal with those who have recently left my life, I have to come to grips with the fact that I matter. My feelings matter. I have control over my own actions in life. While I am not willing to say I am perfect because scripture clearly tells us we are not, and I know my shortcomings, what I am willing to say is I have often done very little to deserve how I have been treated. I have had a history of allowing people into my life who only used me for my kindness, what I could offer them, or people who were nice, just to be nice. Only a few have held me as more than just a casual friend, and even then, many of those who did see me as a close friend, have also left my life. I have watched as people I love have used me, then discarded me once I no longer offered anything useful to them. This may sound melodramatic, but in reality, emotions aside, these are the facts. After my emancipation, and moving to a new city, having to make new friends, after leaving everything behind, I tried to latch onto people. I tried to make very deep friendships. Over the years I have found very few people that have had the same feelings towards me, then I do them. How do I manage this hurt in my life going forward? Seek Jesus, and know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.
John 14:1-4 14 “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And you know the way where I am going.”
My heart has been greatly troubled. Broken, shattered, and the only way to heel is to seek and find biblical counsel. Find answers in scripture. Seek what God’s word says on the matter.
John 14:18 18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”
Jesus comforted his future Apostles. The terminology of being called and described as orphans enters into my very soul. While I am not an orphan, I know what it’s like to be left alone. In one sense I have a small taste of what it’s like to be an orphan. My Lord Jesus giving His disciples comfort, comforts me 2000 plus years later. I have been told I chase friendships, and in reality, what I need to be chasing is Christ. If people will continue to fail me, what I need is to appreciate those in my life, even if they are few, who stay. I need to focus on my family, and most importantly I need to focus on my relationship with the Lord. This doesn’t remove the hurt in my heart that exists, but it does send me back to scripture. I must also remember that when Jesus was headed to the cross, after being betrayed by Judas, leaving 11 of the Apostles, 10 of the 11 would run, hide, flee from those who put Jesus in binds. John was the only one at the foot of the cross watching his Lord be crucified for our sins. That being said however, when Jesus returns, he shows love, kindness, and most importantly forgiveness towards his Apostles, most notably Peter, who didn’t just run, but denied knowing Jesus. Jesus shows us the model of what we should be, and who we should be.
Psalm 34:18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
And saves those who are crushed in spirit.
I am crushed in spirit. I am brokenhearted. Losing someone recently, who was very close to me, and very influential in my life, has left me with a deep cut, a wound that has rattled me. While my foundation is solid in the Lord, I am 100 percent certain, because I have grown so close to the Lord I am better at withstanding the hurt and pain I feel. I am not sure how this will affect my life going forward, but in life we are creatures of the now. We cannot live in the past. We cannot know the future. All we can do is make one decision after another. We can only decide how to handle and manage each second of our lives. In those actions, we understand cause and effect. Our choices have consequences, and we must face those consequences both good and bad. We must do all these things to the Glory of God. We must make our choices based on what brings our Heavenly Father a smile upon his face. We are not saved by our works, but our works when done in the name of the Lord acquire treasure in heaven. That treasure is not for us, but for us to present to Jesus, our Lord and Savior. We all get hurt by people. What I need to ask myself, is if I’m going to allow someone so much influence over my life, that I give up who I am to please them, and try to get them to like me by hiding or changing who I am to get them to like me? Or, will I be myself? If someone likes me for who I am they will choose to want me in their life. I have to believe it is better to be myself, then to constantly try to please others by sacrificing myself to do it. I allowed the Arrow Preacher to die. I allowed my spirit to be crushed, and I allowed the happiness and joy I once had to bring both fun and education of Jesus to the world, to be suppressed to please others. Will I continue to hold back who I am, or will I rise above, rising like the phoenix from the ashes that was once my old self burned and buried?
We should never allow anyone so much power over us to tell us who we are, or who we should be, sometimes people telling us who we aren’t. Does this mean we can live in sin? No, not at all. If we are living in sin, we should accept the words of those who only want to help save our souls that scripture supports. But if our ways, our methods are just different than the normal, we should follow the Spirit. People have expectations and sometimes think, we must conform to what is regular or normal. That even if someone’s personality is not regular or normal, they must somehow contort their being to fit what is commonly accepted as ordinary. I have been passed over for positions, I have had friends leave me, I have had loved one’s stifle who I was underneath, all because I was different, and through it all, I allowed it. I retreated into the darkness whimpering, too afraid to fight. I can have all the feelings in the world, but truthfully, if I allow someone to tell me who I have to be, I am denying the person God made me to be. I must remember and face one of the deepest truths of my current time, God made me who I am. He formed me in my mother’s womb. God saved me from death multiple times over the last 10 years, and in that, I have grown into a position where I am the most free I’ve ever been. Today I must continue to learn and grow to be who I feel the most comfortable being. Now, I have a choice in my life, what do I do with it? Batman once said, “It’s not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me.” Am I willing to stand out on that ledge and let my actions define me? Or am I going to hide the true me deep inside, and one day be forced to answer to God why I buried my talents deep into the ground. The Arrow Preacher, the man I became cannot hide any longer. “The Arrow Preacher, after 9 years battling in this life, I have returned with only one goal, to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. To do this, I have been made into someone else, I became something else. I am the Arrow Preacher.” “The Arrow’s long-lasting symbolism in human society is so powerful, so beautiful, I cannot overlook something so important, so beautiful in my own life. “The arrow on a compass pointed north, symbolizing the direction of God, we must always keep our arrow in line, and we must always remember which way to go. Draw back your bow, take aim, and as you fly towards your next chapter in life, remember to let God be the one to set your glide path.”
Continue to grow in the Lord. Continue to find peace with who you are. We cannot ever be comfortable living in sin, but being different, being a little strange or weird is not something to be ashamed of. Yes, I wear cloaks in public. Yes, I dress funny, or sometimes use movie quotes in normal conversation, or have an odd office space, full of collectables, and art of my favorite characters in fiction. All of my time being forced to ‘grow up’, having my childhood taken from me, and having very little has left me embracing the desire to do now, what I never could before, collect. In my youth I was forced to skip over important years of my life enjoying being a kid, through it all however, I never became bitter, angry, or hostile towards anyone. I kept my childhood ‘self’ alive, and I never allowed the world to kill him completely, even if that kid was buried deep down. Yes, for a time that little boy was suppressed and hidden, but after I met the right woman, and after I moved onto the path of serving the Lord daily, that person, started coming back. The Lord uses tragedy in our lives to push us. The Lord uses hurtful things to continue to forge us into something else. “We must learn to be more like the Sword of Griffandor. Be strong, be forged in the sanctification of our Lord Jesus Christ. Allow Him to shape our hearts, and our lives to look like Him. We cannot be forged like this though if we hold onto everything of the past.” (The Arrow Preacher, The Forging Of My Soul. https://thearrowpreacher.com/2025/04/10/the-forging-of-my-soul/) Like the Sword of Griffandor we must only take in that which makes us better. We must face this world daily and not give in to the Devils desire to break you, or to separate you from God. The Devil desires you to abandon your quest, the path the Lord has set you on, and in many cases, getting a believer to turn their backs on God altogether. “We must learn to Love all, to remember not to allow ourselves to be burned by the fire, instead allow it to burn away anything and everything that isn’t used to live a Godly life. While fire can burn away a life, it can create wonderful pieces of art. A sword for instance is a beautiful creation, a hand-crafted piece of steal that is forged in fire. A sword can break under great pressure, or can withstand the persistent blows it may endure to be used in protecting ones self.” (The Arrow Preacher, Forging Steel. https://thearrowpreacher.com/2017/08/11/forging-steel/)
While I was serving as a chaperone to the youth in my church, there were three young ladies who were quite obviously different. You could see their nature in the clothing they wore. Every week they wore clothes that were not of the normal. Sometimes it was old fashioned colonial style clothes, or even a hint of gothic mid-evil style. Sometimes it was a hint of steampunk, but no matter what it was, it was not clothes from Walmart. They wore these clothes every week, and didn’t care what anyone thought of them. They wore them because it was who they were. They weren’t trying to wear them for attention, perhaps quite the opposite. They wore them because they liked them. I admired those young ladies, and it often led me to wear what I liked as well, even though what I wore was very different. All this to be said, my journey is far from over. My path is one of continued service to my Lord Jesus. I will no longer answer to anyone else about how I choose to serve my Lord. I don’t care about the views or attention, but I will do everything I can to reach the unreached. I will continue my journey to reach the nerds, to reach the cosplayers, to reach veterans. I will allow the old me to return, so I can put on my true face. I no longer want to hide who I am. I don’t want to live that lie anymore. Who I am is not a sin, I’m just different. So, ashes to ashes, we all fall down, but I will rise again, a phoenix from the fire, different than what I was before, stronger, and more confident. Back to the path, back to the mission I was set on so many years ago. Today, I am still meeting new people, and some of them while new, haven’t run for the hills as I’m more open about who I am. Today, I know who I am. I am a child of God, I am created and loved by God, I am a soldier for Christ. We must be pulled back, before we can be let lose to fly, be an arrow for Christ, fly, fly towards the target the Lord has given you. Never quit, never surrender. Go in peace, go in love, go in courage, go with the strength of God behind you.
A Christian’s worldview in an ever changing societal environment. How to get beyond the milk and learning how to wield a Christian’s greatest asset, the Word of God (the sword).
Come join me as I discuss a Christian worldview verses a secular worldview. How we should focus on facts and knowing scripture well enough for us to determine our beliefs about world events. But no matter what to be loving, caring, and willing to pray for those who may try to hurt us.
“Not all who those wander are lost” Tolkein. John the Baptist lived in the wilderness, living off the land, yet he was never lost. Christians often find ourselves living in a world designed by Satan to be hostile to Christians who do not stay silent about their faith. While martyrdom is fairly common place in places where the church is under constant attack, it’s less common here in the U.S. Recently a brother in Christ, Charlie Kirk was martyred for his faith in a public assassination/execution. In the wake of his death, many have begun to stand up and scream their faith from the highest mountain tops. Social media is flooded with new voices coming from the darkness to debate in the public square. College campuses have seen these new voices take on the secular world with boldness. Silence one voice and many will rise to take its place.
For a long time, I stayed quiet about my faith, afraid of pushing people away because I wanted to feel like I belonged. For a long time, I filled my life with those of the secular world, but as long as they called me friend, I overlooked blatant sin. Scripture tells us in 2 Corinthians 6:14, 14 “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?” How can a Christian live in this life and do so with so few standing beside them? Scripture tells us not to forsake the assembly (Heb 10:25). We must learn to stand together, join together, and together let our voices be heard. We are sojourners in this life, citizens of heaven (Phill 3:20). We are given warning in 1 Peter 2:11 11 “Beloved, I urge you as aliens (Sojourners) and strangers (Exiles) to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.” We must learn how to do this though, learn how to walk as an ambassador (2 Corinth 5:20) for the Lord.
In order for us to be ready for the war we face on earth, we must learn what each piece of the armor is for, how it works, and why. We must prepare our fingers for battle, the spiritual battle. We must be prepared to give up one’s life for the Lord if called upon. Scripture tells us to have a defense of our faith (1 Peter 3:15), to be able to articulate the Gospel to the non-believer. We must acknowledge that Paul calls us a soldier for Christ. 2 Timothy 2:3-4 3 “Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.” We know we will suffer for Christ because to pick up ones cross as we are called to do, Matthew 16:24 24 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.” We are to deny the lusts of this world, the lusts that draw us away from The Kingdom of God. When we focus on the riches, the baubles of this world, we take our eyes away from the Kingdom, and thus, that object becomes an idol. We must guard our eyes, our minds, our bodies of the draw of Satan, the desires that make us feel good in the moment, but empty and dead in the end.
The righteous man will fight the good fight, and train his mind, his body, and his soul for the battle ahead. We as soldiers must be prepared for the journey we face daily. The first thing we must do is the use the belt of truth. (Eph 6:14) What is truth, the Gospel, Jesus, the Bible is truth. Next is protecting your heart with the Breastplate of Righteousness. We must protect our heart, and allow God to make us born again, turning our heart from stone to flesh. From dead men to alive. Put on the Sandals of the Gospel of Peace. Everywhere we go we must walk with that peace. We must be willing to share the gospel and spread truth with every step we take. We must know that the sandals allow us to dig in when the storm comes, like cleats on the football field. This allows us to bury our feet into the ground with the spikes on the bottoms of the sandals. This symbolizes not giving into the attacks of Satan. Not allowing the secular world to change, alter, water down, or compromise the Gospel, the Truth of Jesus Christ. We must then take up the Shield of Faith. Knowing that the war is upon us, and the flaming arrows from Satan will reign down all around us, the shield protects us in our faith. There will be times when Satan will reign down hell upon us, and we must learn to ‘get small’ behind that shield. Allow it to take the arrows, allow your faith to absorb the attacks knowing that this is not home, and there is a far better place awaiting the believer. What is a little suffering compared to the eternity of Heaven? Little Christian, protect your mind by wearing the Helmet of Salvation. Be mindful of what you watch, read, and listen too. Guard your tongue and know that the tongue can build up or tear down. Proverbs 18:21 says the tongue has the power of life and death. What we say is a representation of what’s in our hearts. We must use the helmet to protect against the propaganda machine of the deceiver. Social media has leveled up the Devils ability to push his narrative, his lies, and desensitize us to the lies he spreads.
Finally brothers and sisters, take up the SWORD OF THE SPIRIT. Ephesians 6:18-20 18 “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, 19 and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.” The sword is the gospel, and with the spirit of God with us, we take our prayers to the Lord. We lift up our daily and continuous prayers before the Throne of Grace. Since we are against the spiritual, our weapon is the spiritual kind. The truth we find in scripture is the one and only truth, the way to heaven, and the way to life. Outside of the truth in scripture is death. For those who are not born again, for them, life has no hope. Death and darkness await the unbeliever. Many however, would be happy to lift the sword towards the believer of Jesus Christ. The sword of the spirit must be trained with. We must learn scripture, for there may come a day when the physical Bible we all have may be outlawed and we must rely on what we have stored in our hearts. If the Bible was banned today how much would you have to rely on? We must train our minds, train our souls for the war we are in. We must study to show ourselves approved (2 Timothy 2:15)
Little Christian, run the race, run with endurance, and never grow tired of doing good. Never grow weary, for when you do, pray to the Lord, and allow Him to give you rest in the knowledge that our suffering is only for a little while. When we find ourselves nearing the valley of death, do not be afraid. We wear the full armor, and this armor we never take off after we put it on. Never give the Devil one moment of opportunity where he could exploit your complacency. We wear the Armor which is the attributes of God upon ourselves. Each piece is an attribute of God, so let us run with assurance that if God is for us, who can be against us. Train to fight little Christian, train as if your life depends on it, because it does. Train to face the enemy and know that the moment you put on this armor the deceiver, the lion that wishes to devour you will begin the hunt. Be prepared for the fight to come.
We know that time is a vapor in the eternity of Heaven. We are a mere speck of time and our opportunities must be taken advantage of. We are called ambassadors, so we represent the country we call home. Let us represent Christ well. Let us share the gospel to the unbeliever spread the seeds of the Gospel everywhere we go. Let us face this fight together, and walk with a humble heart. Let us be rid of the pride and lusts that once held our hearts, and walk with meekness. Women, be women, be the helper God has called you to be. Be the nurturer of your home. Be the soft tone, and be the home for the husband to escape the snares of life. Husbands, guard your home and protect it. Be the spiritual head of the household, and be willing to die for it, as Christ died for the church.
Ephesians 5:22-30 22 “Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. 24 But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. 28 So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; 29 for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, 30 because we are members of His body.”
We each complement one another, and we must see each role as a place in a military squad. We have our duties, our responsibilities, and when we fill our rolls as God has planned, we can fight the fight together, instead of fighting one another or fighting the world alone. We are a team, one body, one flesh, and we fight together.
As a sojourner of this world, we all should have the same goal, please the Lord. In all we do let us do to bring glory and pleasure to God. When we finally finnish the race, let us do so with honor and present ourselves as a “olah tamid” a perpetual daily burnt offering to the Lord. This is where the Hebrew word for disciple comes from “talmid”. When we reach heaven let us be the disciple we are called to be. Let us be a complete burnt offering to the Lord, let us have given everything to the Lord and there was nothing left to give when we leave this life. Let our service to the Lord be a sweet aroma. And in the end, let us hear ‘Well done my good and faithful servant.’ Let us keep our eyes upon the Lord, and seek always the Kingdom of God.
Consequences: A result or effect of an action or condition. We as humans live here and now. We cannot predict the future, but we can in some ways be responsible for what happens. We are given the opportunity of free will to decide what we want to do. When we have a choice between two roads, one that leads to destruction, one that does not, we have a choice. Each choice has a consequence. We often want to blame others for the situation we are in. Sometimes our situation is caused by others, but in reality, we still have our own choices to make. How do we respond when things go wrong because of others? How do we respond when things go wrong because of ourselves? As Batman said “It’s not who I am underneath, but I do that defines me.” Who are you blaming for your woes? Who are you blaming for your own actions? And when the consequences come because of what you do, how are you behaving and how are you treating others?
When a person who’s been a repeat offender gets mad when family or friends no longer help when time after time, wrong choices continue to be made. Who’s to blame? When someone continually puts themselves in harm’s way or in toxic relationships and environments when they have options not too, who’s to blame when things go bad? In the whole of human history, we have seen what happens when the bill comes due, and we have to then answer for our actions. Adam when confronted by God quickly turned the attention off of himself, and said, “The woman YOU gave me.” A bold statement, that in one foul swoop Adam blamed both the woman, and God for his actions. Now, let’s not forget that the actions of Eve cannot be undersold either. She had a choice, a chance, and in that moment of temptation from the snake, she thought in her mind, “I could be like God.” And perhaps even further, ‘if I could be like God, I don’t need God.’. Her actions and the subsequent lie that came, and behold, sin entered into paradise, eternity was fractured, and time began ticking, the slow decay of life and death. Cause and effect. This isn’t a new concept, and one, I do not feel the need to reinvent, so instead, I shall borrow what’s already been said. “Causality my love.” The Merovingian’s wife, she said this to her husband when she betrayed him and led Neo, and the others to the key maker. Unfortunately, even though cause and effect is often highlighted with high stakes in the movies, life can be more subtle.
A wife is struck by her husband. She returns to him after leaving for a week. In time though she continues to return, even if the violence continues to escalate. The process inevitably repeats itself. Who is at fault? The man, of course, but unfortunately and as callous as it may be, the women who went back the first time, and then continued to return afterwards. Actions no matter how we may understand the want, the desire to overlook someone’s behavior, or even try to justify it, at the base root, actions have consequences. Someone picking up a syringe that first time, pressured by friends to shoot heroin. Is it the friend’s fault, sure, but the root again stems with a single starting choice, to be there, to pick up the needle, and not to say no. Everything after can be excused by the inevitable snowball as life gets away from us and we get trampled by the very snowball we ourselves created. Scripture tells us many warnings of such events. David is one.
Here’s a king who was considered by many to be great, anointed by God. The kid who won a war, defeated the giant who made men quiver in their armor. The boy whose hand did not cut the head off the king who pursued him. David who chose not to go to war with his men, but to stay and be exactly in the wrong place. We all know the story, David and Bathsheba. Choices that led David to be on that roof, looking down at Bathsheba cleaning herself. David who didn’t look away. David who knew who she was after asking her identity. David who brought her to the palace. David who got her pregnant. Then, the man who at this point allowed the snowball to escalate tried to hide, to conceal the truth, and in doing so resorted to murder. That baby died because of David’s sin, and his choices. Only because he was king was his own life not forfeit. [(David is king. While the law states the offender should die, no one has the earthly authority to kill the king. David also has not had the baby Solomon, which is Gods plan for the line for Jesus to be born. We also see, only the King can affect or change how the law is the be carried out, when his son raped his sister. David does not act to pass the death sentence required by law, effectively pardoning his son. This leads to Absolom performing an effective coup against the throne and plunging the country into civil war. God spared David the earthly penalty for his crime, and chose a different punishment instead, the death of the child. Anyone else would have been stoned to death for the same crime.) Added after publication.] How far can a person be driven when our choices lead us along like the carrot on the end of a stick.
GOD’S WARNING:
1 Peter 5:8 8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
We must keep our minds sober, for when we cloud our judgment sins often happen. When we are told to put on the full armor of God, this tells us we are soldiers. Ephesians 6 for the armor. In 2 Timothy 3 “3 Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” As a soldier we must be prepared for the battle. As a soldier in Iraq, I often found myself on duty as something known as QRF (Quick Reaction Force). I needed to stay alert and ready to go on mission at any time. I cannot say how many QRF missions I went on as it was too many to count. As a soldier I knew and understood the need to be ready for the fight, and to be fit to fight. As a soldier I understand that if I do not practice with my rifle, I will not be mission ready. As such, if I do not read my bible and attend worship, I will not be fit to fight the forces of evil. I also understand that in Ephesians we are told that Eph 6:12 “12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” As a soldier having put on the sandals of the gospel of peace, how then do we hold fast when the Devil attacks? We get our answer in 1 Corinthians 10:13 “13 No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.” Being like Christ is our choice and chance to resist the temptation of sin. Will we sin, sure, Paul reminds us that in Romans 7:15 “For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.” Scripture gives us what we need to live in the world that hates us so much, and in doing so resist the Devil with everything we have.
I’ve counseled a lot of people over the years, and one thing that has remained a constant was the person ignoring advice, and finding themselves in the same problem over and over again. In life, we must put our pride and ego aside to look at ourselves and see our actions do have consequences. While I do understand sometimes our situation is impacted by the choices of others, this is a reminder that sin doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Sin affects everyone around us, and we cannot do much about the actions of others, but we must stay vigilant to police our own actions. While we understand that sin happens, we must be ready for the wave occurs when it happens near us. A person’s actions will indeed hit us, and sometimes it’s a tsunami and it destroys relationships, and lives. As a Christian we must keep our wits about us and remember the words of Dumbledore, “Soon we must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy”. Being a Christian has never been, and will never be easy. This means we as Christians will face difficult choices along the way. Will we be swept up in the ways of the world, or will we maintain our choices to be that representation of Christ? It’s easy to want to help someone you feel sympathy for, but it’s also okay to forgive someone and set healthy boundaries. We do not want to accidentally enable continued bad behavior. There must be true repentance sometimes for us to be able to help someone in need who has, in the past abused the kindness and caring of others. It’s okay to say no.
Even when we know people who make bad, unhealthy choices, all we can do is pray for them continuously. We need to pray for people, pray for their choices and souls, and be kind in telling them the truth. We must be gentle but stern in our delivery, never resorting to our impulses to sin, but rather hold fast to our Christian faith, and our need to do our very best to be Christ like.
We live in the present, and we can only control this very moment. Let us be in control of ourselves, and represent Christ the best we can in each moment of each day.
Have a blessed day, please leave a like or comment, and if you’d like to message me you can email me, the email can be found in the about me page.
There has been a lot of talk in recent days about the freedom of speech, particularly recently of those being infringed upon, or allegedly infringed upon. Before we dive into this topic, let’s look at what the constitution says about free speech.
Amendment I. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press, or the right of the people to peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
There’s a lot to unpack in this paragraph but let’s take a simple quick look. Congress being the subject matter’s main character. Simply put, the who is congress. What, the what is fairly simple, cannot pass laws in violation to some simple thoughts, speech, press, assembly. In recent days, many people have become upset at the firing of Jimmy Kimmel over something he said on his show. Well, let’s look at what he actually said on his show. “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Obviously this has been found to be incorrect, as the kid by both family and eye witnesses was indeed radicalized by the left. Jimmy’s quote it would seem, came to control a narrative and purposefully muddy the water and mislead people into believing a lie. The biggest point is though, the FBI, and local law enforcement had already shed light on the idea that this was someone radicalized by the Left, as Kimmel’s show was September 15th. CK was shot on the 10th. Intentionally lying even after devises had been collected, and information given to the public, Kimmel lied and made up his own narrative, not as a joke, but as a political narrative. One thing I want to point out is this, ABC is a subsidiary company to Disney, which has been known to swing far left for many years. Also, I would like to point out that the TV show “The View” is also owned by ABC and have been hit with massive slander lawsuits against right leaning conservatives. Yet, the view and all of its hosts are still working for Disney (ABC). Remember this, Disney is a business, and businesses are in the business of making money. If the Kimmel late night show has had problems, or perceived problems, and wasn’t profitable, of course the show would get canceled. But, remember, at the root of the problem, Kimmel made a bold statement lying to the American people. His firing was from the network, not the government.
The truth is this, Jimmy knowingly spread a lie, and lost his job. What is so different about Jimmy and the other hosts on the “View”? Honestly, I don’t know. The view has lost Disney a lot of money in court cases, and yet they are still around. Regardless, in the same breath, when Gina Corino was fired for speaking truth about Covid and the vaccine, no one said a word on the left about her right to free speech. Let us remember one other note, the former president when he was speaking his mind, was removed from twitter. Twitter and a network TV show are not the same thing, and yet like many others who were censored during that time period on social media, it was actually at the bequest of the Biden Administration that censored millions of people on social media, including the former president of the United States. This is actually against peoples 1st amendment rights, but nothing was done about this. Those in charge never faced accountability for their coercion of the tech companies to silences the voices of millions of Americans not happy with the covid-19 mandates. Even listening to old speeches from the left during the time of the Biden admin about censorship, and then the speeches given within the last 24 hours of this publication, the lack of empathy or sympathy is staggering. Let’s look at free speech though, and determine if either of these was in violation to their first amendment rights.
In a short answer, no, neither of these things is a violation of free speech. Free speech does not mean freedom from consequences of what you say. While we may disagree, Disney is a private company and they have the right to fire someone for what they say, if what they say goes against what the company wants for their image, or if they feel what’s being said will cause financial troubles. Now, yes, that seems like it may be a slippery slope, but even within the context of the two people we are referring too here, Gina’s comments turned out to be true. Her concerns over the way covid was being handled and her realistic concerns over the ‘vaccine’ turned out to be both reasonable, and accurate. Jimmy’s comments were neither, in fact, with just a hair bit of time, it turned out to be false. One lied, one told the truth. Jimmy was not fired by the right, or even because of anything the right had to say, he was fired by a left leaning organization, that has kept members of the view in place. Why the difference? Some have suggested his contract was about to be up, and there was no desire to re-up his contract. Instead, they found cause to remove him early. This is speculation, but if it’s true, it had very little to do with freedom of speech, nor Disney’s stand point on the Kirk assassination, but more about money and business. If Kimmel truly feels he’s being wronged, he has the right to take his firing before a court to see if a mistake was made in the eyes of the judicial system.
Since the Kirk assassination there have been many who have been fired from their jobs or expelled from schools because of social media posts, or their actions being filmed. Once again, I say this, the First Amendment does not guarantee anyone’s right to say whatever they want free of consequences. “In 1789, this meant that Congress was prohibited from engaging in the practice of “prior-censorship” – prohibiting a speech or publication without advance approval of an executive official. The courts today give a much broader interpretation to the clause.” (McClellan, J. 2000. Pg 418) This next session is what I want us to focus on. “This does not mean, however, that the First Amendment guarantees any absolute or perfect freedom to shout whatever one wishes, print whatever one likes, assemble in a crowd wherever or whenever it suits a crowd’s fancy, or present a petition to Congress or some other public body in a context of violence.” It goes on to say “The Constitution recognizes no “absolute” rights.” (McClellan, J. 2000. Pg 418)
Members of the left side of the political spectrum had no problem when people were getting fired from their jobs for speaking truth about Covid during the 2020-2021 years. People were being censored on the right for their concerns over the vaccine, their unwillingness to take it, or opposing the ‘science’ that was being touted as absolute truth. Many disagreed with the closure of schools, or the effectiveness of masks, who would find themselves without a Facebook page, or worse, without a job. Later, it was revealed by Facebook and others that the government urged them to take down information referring to the Hunter Biden laptop, anything referring to covid that didn’t fit their narrative, even though those things were true. In fact, this was in absolute violation to the censorship the constitution referred too, as a violation of the rights of the people. Where was the outrage over government censorship? The first amendment does not protect speech that may be violent in nature, or even lying.
I wrote this recently on a different platform:
“I think people may have a misconception of what “Free Speech” means. Let me give you an example… If you go to work, and you tell your boss to “F” off, it’s likely you won’t have a job anymore. If you slander someone and ruin their reputation and damage their life in some way by telling a lie, you may face and be guilty of slander before the court. Same for libel (Slander in written form, Thank you Spider-Man). All of this to say, while we do protect free speech, such as going to a soldier’s funeral and protesting at the funeral (West-Boro Baptist Church in the early 2000’s). These things still come with consequences. I was very clear in my last message what I thought about this, but if you say things, your business has every right to decide if your words and actions represent the company or not. Words and actions still have consequences. Free speech does not mean no consequences, it means you have the right to say what you wish. You cannot yell fire in a crowded room. So, free speech does come with some common-sense exceptions. I would not feel safe, or comfortable seeing a doctor who cheered on the death of another human. If you have a business, you do not want to put off half the population of the US. Remember what they said in John Wick? Consequences. It’s important to pray for one another. It’s important to come together and cool the fire. As the famous Bob Marley once said, “Don’t worry, about a thing, every little thing’s gonna be alright.” Jesus is King. Jesus is Lord. And we shall continue to share the love and life of Christ with everyone. Seek first the kingdom of God and you shall be saved. Be in peace, and go in peace.” (Arrow Preacher, 2025)
We must be knowledgeable about what we say, and the sheer number of the masses claiming their free speech has been violated, doesn’t understand the constitution. Private businesses, and organization have the right to let people go from their employ if what they say is violent or incendiary in nature. Free speech is not an absolute right with absolute immunity to whatever you want to say. While we must be cautious as a nation even within the private sector how we respond to someone’s comments, we should not be virtue signaling and cherry picking based on political sides. In this authors opinion it’s strange that Kimmel’s show would be canceled from the same network that allows the View to constantly get themselves in trouble for slander. It’s more likely that the ratings on Kimmel’s show were a major contributing factor to his firing. It also seems to me that the left are now seeing the swing, the turnaround, the uno reverse, to years of censorship and cancel culture finally coming back around.
Free speech comes with responsibility. We must be careful with what we say because in the age of digital warfare, many people have chosen to be vicious and cruel, uncaring, and vile. We as Christians have the responsibility to share the gospel in a time when the hatred for the Christian is once again becoming publicly evident. In recent days the quote, unquote free speech has revealed that people are no longer just in disagreement, but are also callus and apathetic about the death of another person. When we begin to dehumanize people because of their beliefs we lose our humanity. When we as a people celebrate criminals or even murderers, over someone who simply and respectfully debated others in a public forum, we have lost something. Desecrating memorials or attacking people at a vigil, shows that the devil is in fact winning ground. Scripture teaches us that we must fight against the devil. “Ephesians 6:12 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” We have seen the continued attack and hatred towards Christians in recent years, and this will not stop any time soon. We must continue to speak the truth, even when we are hated because of it. We must continue to stand up and proclaim the name of Jesus, even when people attack us for it. We must continue to wear the full armor of God and prepare ourselves by keeping sober minded, “Romans 12:21 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Evil and violence will never be defeated by perpetuating more hate and more evil deeds. We must remember that while speech does come with a cost as I have afore mentioned, we must remember what scripture says. “James 3:6-8 6 And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. 7 For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. 8 But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.” We will never be able to stop people from being evil, or their hatred, but what we can do is continue to pray for them. We must pray for our enemies and ourselves to focus on a Christ centered life. “Proverbs 15:28 The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, But the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.”
A few days ago I also wrote this.
“It’s been a few days now. As I scroll social media, I find my heart swelling with emotion. Evil reigns here on earth. But our Lord Jesus reigns in Heaven over all. What evil meant to destroy, Jesus will use it for good. I am filled with so much heart breaks from my brother whom I just met, passing, the anniversary of my father’s passing before I met him, my best friend’s death anniversary is approaching, my dear Riley my service dog nearing the end of her life, I am broken. Jesus is my Lord and I know he was Charlie’s Lord as well. Yes, tears continue to fall for my brother in Christs family, but I know CK was met by Jesus, a martyr’s welcome. A crown of glory was placed on his head and we here are left to pick up the pieces. We will continue to spread the gospel, unapologetically, but in love. It’s not loving to lie to someone, so we tell the inconvenient truth to the unbeliever. We will continue to fight against the powers of darkness here in this world. We will pick up the pieces of our broken hearts, and wipe away our tears, but we will fight. For those celebrating his death, and maybe some of you reading this, I preach and teach the same messages as CK did, should I also die for my beliefs. I am public about the gospel also. Should I be taken from my family? If you wonder why those are being fired from work for what they say, it’s this simple truth, when you celebrate violence, and you work for a company, work with kids, or the medical field, or other, how can you be expected to treat others whom you’re supposed to serve, if you so publicly hate those who might be conservative? How much is my life worth, when I believe many of the same things? In this time of brokenness, let us pray for those around the world who turn to violence. Those who threaten or propagate violence in their lives, let us pray for them. Church, be strong, courageous, but be firm. We may be broken, but we are not out of the fight. Jesus, thank you for being Lord over my life, for saving me and lifting me out of death. Bless this nation that I have sacrificed so much for. Turn hearts from the black sludge they are to heart of flesh, on fire for you. Thank you, Jesus, and watch over and protect us. Amen.”
I pray that because I am conservative that others would not wish for my death. I pray that while I am a Christian, I am not marked for death by someone with evil intent. Those celebrating and trying to mislead the people about the ideologies of the Charlie Kirk assassin are doing so for a purpose of hiding the true nature that is befalling this country. Hatred, and violence are becoming the calling card for those who disagree and do not care to continue to have a reasonable, peaceful debate of ideas and thoughts. The perpetuation of hate and lies must stop. We can disagree about policies, and ideas all day long, but once we start lying to protect those ideas, or to mislead the people to believing in something that is not true, we risk the collapse of this Republic. We must be honest and truthful, and as Christians we are called to share that truth lovingly. We must not celebrate death, for each and every death of the innocent is still a tragedy. The celebration of the death of the unborn is a vile and evil thing. The celebration of a man taken from his family and children is tragic. It is quite possible that the perpetuation of hate speech is exactly how and why the CK killer turned to evil, as he became radicalized at school, from those who use inflammatory language to bring people to hate the other side. It’s interesting to see those call Charlie a racist, when he did a great deal for the black community. It’s interesting that the left, the side of tolerance, would attack him for him sticking to his beliefs as a Christian, and that being true to himself. How can you claim tolerance, and then attack a man who truly lived out his faith both publicly and privately. He didn’t do anything violent, or vile, and yet he is attacked as if he did. Not very tolerant if you ask me.
I would like to point out a simple truth. The left has come to a point where they openly call themselves socialists, or in some cases support communism. This same side has gone to calling the President as bad as Hitler. They say the right is full of fascists. However, these tactics go back to Hitlers 1925 manifesto Mein Kampf. In the writing is something known as the ‘technique of repeating a big lie, to make it believable. The following is part of the ideal.
The Big Lie: Stating a complete falsehood and repeating it often enough that people begin to accept it as fact. Hitler argued that “in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility”.
Name-Calling: Attaching negative labels to opponents to bypass rational thought and incite an emotional reaction.
Creating a scapegoat: Blaming a specific group for a country’s problems to unify followers and justify aggression against that group. In Mein Kampf, Hitler blamed Jews for Germany’s woes.
The Truth: The truth is the left has become a party that hates religion. The party that wants population control and is doing so by devaluing human life including the life of the unborn baby. Devaluing the life of anyone who stands in its way to control. By calling the right Nazi, and fascist, if done enough people will begin to believe it. This while attempting to radicalize the kids of this nation to believe that socialism, and communism are far better options than freedom and capitalism. The socialist parties over the world have always started by limiting freedoms one by one and calling it safety. We are seeing this happen around the world. People being arrested for speech, and for prayer. The banning of simple items such as katana’s, machetes, firearms, mace, pepper spray, etc, in the name of safety. While the right is not innocent in all of this, the right is not calling for the murder of babies, and the right generally is also not or has not celebrated the death of a public figure such as Charlie Kirk. Both sides do need to come to a cooler point for us to be able to share ideas, and disagree. In this nation we are built as a nation by those who believed in God. While some where deists, some were Christian, some perhaps catholic, all believed we as a nation should be rooted in faith. John Adams said this, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” John Jay said this, “Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.” Many argue we are not a Christian nation, but over and over again, while the founders did not want to establish a set governmental religion, it was firmly believed that those who founded this country had a strong belief in the Christian Bible.
Charles Spurgeon said this “Sin and Hell are married unless repentance proclaims the divorce.” We as Christians have a responsibility to point out sin in both our government, public figures, others around us, and within ourselves. We must seek to repent of our sin, at the same time sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a loving way to those who are still asleep in their sins. Spurgeon also said this “If you have no wish to bring others to heaven, you are not going there yourself.” We must share the gospel and do so from a point of kindness, but also loudly. I firmly believe we are seeing a shift within our country, where those who hate the Christian nature of America have been attacking her from within for many years. Water down Christianity, get generations to turn their back on the Christian faith, then watch as Satan begins to work. Spurgeon said this “Satan can make men dance upon the brink of hell as though they were on the verge of heaven.” Have we not seen the celebrations, and the heartless postings, and quotes from people that show the lack of humanity? Yes, indeed, I believe this shows us Christians, the nature of those whom we now fight against. The forces of darkness have risen and now cover the land.
Those who hate you for your faith, who like the recently spoken words of the Dearborn Michigan mayor who told a Christian resident that he wasn’t welcome in the city anymore, simply for sharing his belief as a Christian, against a Muslim who killed many. This in the heart seems to be a moral collapse. C.S. Lewis said this about moral collapse, “Moral collapse follows upon spiritual collapse.” In his recent book “Wimpy Weak and Woke- How Truth Can Save American From Utopian Destruction” John Cooper said this, “Today, truth is viewed as a matter of perspectives derived from experience. To deny someone’s experience is to deny ‘Their truth.’ To deny ‘their truth’ is not only a denial of their suffering, but of their very existence. This is because in postmodernism, the closest thing to ‘real’ is one’s experience.” We must focus on the truth. When lies are told, it doesn’t matter what side of the fence, we must remember we aren’t supposed to lie. Yet, when it came to Charlies “truth” house democrats slandered his memory on the house floor. Where is your tolerance for someone’s truth now? There is absolute truth, and scripture is our measure of what is true. Voddie Baucham said this, “The Ninth Commandment simply states, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Exodus 20:16). However, this commandment carries more weight than one can imagine. Falsehood and lies are reprehensible because they not only harm those to and /or about whom they are told, but they also blaspheme the very character and nature of the God who is truth (John 14:6), whose very Word is truth (Psalm 119:43,160; John 17:17), and whose very essence is that of ‘the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17). (Voddie Baucham, Fault Lines). In the heart of the matter, Jimmy Kimmel lied on national television. He knew he was lying when he said it, and yet for the click bait, or for the ratings, or just to rile people up, he said it. The consequence of his words was to be fired. It is not because of the right, it’s because of what he said. Words cannot go without consequence. Words carry weight, especially when you are a public figure. Both sides have been guilty of this, and we must remember that not everything said needs to carry this kind of response. For instance, J.K Rowling has often been highly critical of the left and its LGBTQ agenda and stance. This is her opinion. It does not cast a lie on a person who committed a public execution of a political and religious figure. They are not the same. If you do not like what she said, you don’t have to support her by buying her books. Stephen King recently lost his publisher because he lied about something Charlie Kirk had said. Without doing any research he made a claim that Charlie had said gay people should be stoned to death. For this blatant lie and slander about someone who was just killed, his publisher dropped him. The difference between J.K and Stephen was the slander. It was a false narrative that led to the decision to drop King from their platform. When Gina was fired from Disney for her statements about covid her thoughts and opinions turned out to be true, not a lie. As I stated before, if someone such as a doctor celebrated the death of another human, I as a conservative Christian, would not feel comfortable having that doctor as my doctor. Would I be safe in that situation?
We must be careful that we protect the people’s right to free expression and speech, but this is not a blanket freedom. There are exceptions to the rule, and in the recent week, we have seen dozens of examples of people taking speech too far, and expecting to have no consequences for their actions.
In the book “The Christian Left” (By Lucas Miles), it highlights the ongoing problem where “Christians who have adopted (either knowingly or unknowingly) leftist, socialistic, and communistic thinking, ideals, values, and innovations.” This ongoing hijacking of Christians, leads me to one point, Satan is working hard to destroy. When someone on the right calls someone on the left a socialist, or communist, this isn’t actually slander, or hate speech. The left have now openly admitted to being socialist, and we know socialism is a cousin to communism. Both socialism and communism are anti religion. The government or leader is often deemed to be their ‘god’. In every version of socialism or communism religion is either banned, or controlled by the government. Free speech is also controlled by the government, and rights such as second amendment gun owning rights are often disbanded. While all Nazis were fascists, not all fascists were Nazis. The unusual truth is the left is moving more Marxist, socialist every day, however there is still a difference between what they believe and fascists. Many use this world flippantly, but the truth is the left is absolutely supporting socialism, and its ideals. All this to sum up, we must be careful what we as a people say. Words do come with consequences, and as my old law teacher once said, “It’s not slander if it’s the truth.” The key here, is that it must be true. The government is not forcing any company to fire employees over their beliefs. The government has recently leaned on schools to reign in some rhetoric that has led to violent protests. Going back to the 1st Amendment, you do have the right to your opinion, but your protest must be peaceful. Burning down buildings, attacking police officers, throwing bricks and stones onto police cars from overpasses, etc. does not constitute as peaceful. We all need to take a step back, and work together to live in this place peacefully. We must have peaceful dialogues and we must stop being so hateful towards one another. We as Christians must expect that the enemy will continue to gain ground if we do not stand up and without shame, proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let us continue to speak the truth of Christ, and never water down the gospel. Let us be sober minded and prepared for the deceivers’ schemes and attacks. Let us love our neighbor as ourselves, and be in constant prayer for the enemy. Let us show love and compassion to those who are need of prayers. Let us pray for those who are anti-Christian, and who wish to be rid of the church. Let us pray for those whose eyes need to be opened to what Christ might have for them. Let us not rejoice in the consequences, but rather let us pray for them to seek and know Jesus as Lord. I wish no one would perish to the eternity of Hell, but that all would come to know the love of Jesus. This world as it falls further and further away from Christ is one step closer to its destruction and judgment. Let us continue to be the salt of the earth, and the light of Christ. Let our goal be to make heaven crowded. Let us take the gospel by the sandals of peace, and share the good news with all whom we encounter. Be at peace, and go in love.
In 2016, after I put that bullet through my shoulder, I began a new journey. Over the next couple months, once I dealt with my life being flipped upside down, I began to hear names in the Christian circles, to include John MacArthur. I realized that I heard that name before, and after thinking about it for a bit, it was the name on my Bible. Within a few months I began listening to sermons he had given. Over the years since then, I have listened to a hundred or more sermons from John MacArthur. My walk with Christ was fueled by many videos, podcasts, and books by MacArthur. His zest and zeal for the truth, fueled my desire to grow in Christ and with it, wisdom and discernment. Without MacArthur, I’m not sure I’d be who I am today.
Everyone has a roll to play in God’s tapestry of His Story.
Romans 9:21 21 Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use ( or Dishonor )?”
No matter who you are, God has a plan for your life. God had a plan for Pharoah, Harod, Benito Mussolini, and Hitler. In reality, no different than, Moses, King David, Paul, Martin Luthor, Charles Spurgeon, John MacArthur. We are all sinners before the cross, but before Christ in our lives, sin is sin, punishable by eternal death. The blood of Jesus washes that sin away for those who surrender to Christ, and repent of our sins. Thus, the transition and distance ourselves from those aforementioned individuals who performed awful and unthinkable evils. In our time there have been several pastors who have guided and been shepherds of sheep. MacArthur, R.C. Sproul, Voddie Baucham, Paul Washer, who have, in this author’s humble opinion, joined the ranks of the great theologians from church history.
All those who walk in righteousness, who carry the name of Christ, die as saints. Ephesians 1:15 “15 For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints,” here Paul is giving gratitude to the believers at Ephesus. While I do not believe Pastor MacArthur would have rated himself highly, I believe he would have rated himself at least with the believers, the body of saints. I believe his books, and teachings will live on, and my prayer is more people come to hear his messages, and read his books so they too will know have a moment in their lives when they give their life to the Lord Jesus Christ.
I am a sinner, saved by grace, and death is prevented by mercy, where a dead heart used to exist, now a heart of flesh, forever changed by the blood of Jesus. God uses everyone, but some, like Pastor MacArthur are much more visible, prominent, and far reaching. To his family my prayers are with them during this time of sorrow and loss. But to the believer, rejoice in the life used by a righteous and holy God. My heart is torn, one of sorrow, that I will not hear a new sermon preached by such an eloquent and educated theologian, but also of envy, that he has gotten to meet his savior, and now sits in the presence of Jesus himself. What a day that must have been, a day of rejoicing from all the angels when such a beloved man went home, his tour of duty finally ended. A soldier, a Captain in the earthly army for Christ. Pastor MacArthur’s flock will surely miss him, and I cannot imagine the sorrow they feel right now. As I sit here and right this, I cannot help but cry for a man I’ve never met. I pray though that while people remember Pastor MacArthur, it’s Jesus they see. The work of Jesus through a devoted man. Rejoice that Pastor MacArthur went home to be with HIS Lord and Savior, and one day, I’ll meet him in glory, and sit with other prominent saints that went home before.
To Pastor MacArthur: My dearest brother in Christ. We will keep the torch lit, and we will continue to fight the good fight. By your obedience and teaching many came to know the Lord Christ. We will continue to fight the good fight till we too are called home. Thank you for your thousands of hours of study, and dedication to the truth that is Jesus Christ. While you would not want people to remember you, but that they would see Christ, I assure you, your legacy will inspire others to seek Christ, and they too will come to know the everlasting love of the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ. Thank You, for all that you did to help build the church. Rest easy now, we will take the reins, though, I say, on my best day, I don’t think I’ll ever know as much about God’s holy word, as you did. Be at peace, and enjoy Heaven. I’ll see you soon, when my time will end, and I will also be welcomed into glory. Your Brother in Christ, Arrow Preacher.
With recent events affecting my recovery, I have been inundated with emotions. We think I may have something called Diaphragmatic stimulation. This could be caused by one of the leads for my pacemaker. It not only causes spasms of the diaphragm, but breathing issues, and the spams cause pain in my ribs. It’s quite painful. On top of that, after a 15 hour stay in the emergency department, three days later, and I am sick. Coincidence? I think not. Now, I can add coughing to the list of things causing me distress. However, while this is part of the emotions I’m feeling at the moment, there is something else, siblings. I have recently found one of the two of my siblings, and have attempted to open a dialog with them. Not everyone communicates as I do, and I often have unrealistic expectations of people. This, has led me to having feelings, that I really cannot verify as realistic, or based on facts. During DBT one of the things that kept with me was the ‘Check the Facts’ sheet. We had to match our feelings to facts. And if they were facts, do the level of feelings, match the situation. While, in part the feelings I have right now are legit, the question is what is the cause? Obviously, the cause of my feelings is the lack of reciprocal conversation, but realistically, what is causing the lack of reciprocal conversation? That’s the point where my investigation ends. In my mind, I have been distressed that this is being caused because they don’t care. They want nothing to do with me. Why hasn’t my sister reached out? Does she not want to talk? Why doesn’t she want to talk? Things aren’t always as they appear to be.
One of the things I have struggled with in my life is trusting in God’s timing. When I was younger, I struggled with relationships. I was kind of the ugly duckling, except I stayed the ugly duckling. In middle school while people where pairing off and I developed my first crush, she was the beauty of the school. I fell ‘in love’ with her. It was a crush, a heavy heartfelt crush, but still a crush. She however wanted nothing to do with me. How could anyone care for someone who looked like me. I was a nerd also, I was never going to find anyone. Then, when I did, it took me moving to a new school, three hours away. There, my relationship life flourished. I did date, and I did fall in love, the real kind of love where it was reciprocated. But, there were times when I didn’t wait for God, and I made my own choices, which eventually led to destruction, and despair. I once again experienced these feelings in Korea, when I couldn’t hardly get a woman to talk to me, let alone go on a date. I felt discouraged. Eventually things would turn around, but as one relationship ended after another, me being the one getting dumped, I had a realization… I was the common denominator. I would rush to get married to a woman who was in reality, broken. We had a great relationship for a little while, till we moved to Germany. Then slowly but surely that relationship turned sour, and she’d have an affair. Then a few years later I’d get married again, and that one lasted seven years, before, she’d have an affair also. The second one I held on to for a long time. I wasn’t going to go through divorce again. I was left a broken man, so much so, it put me in the hospital. I was impatient, and it showed in the types of relationships I got into. I have often had a problem where I don’t wait for God to give me the green light on something, or I want God to move faster.
Psalm 13:1 How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
I have used this verse a few times in recent weeks to highlight the normal reaction to call out to God, but specifically, the ‘how long’. We often want God to move today. Israel waiting 400 years before God broke the silence. Could you imagine going 400 years without hearing from God? We often don’t want to wait a few weeks, or even a couple years, but 400? While I’ve been waiting for my brother to reach out, and I’ve been littered with thoughts, I can only guess, that Satan is the one whispering in my ears. The helmet while it may protect my mind from many things, the Devil is cunning. The truth is, I don’t know much about my brother, and I cannot say if he’s willfully ignoring me, or if it’s something else. The Devil would have me believe he’s ignoring me, but is that because in time, I may be able to share God’s word with him? Or, in reality, the Devil is my enemy, and I fight with him on a daily basis. I don’t know who wrote it, some have claimed C.S. Lewis, but regardless this quote has stuck with me, “My prayer is that when I die, all of hell rejoices that I am out of the fight.” Obviously there is some theological questions here, such as does hell rejoice, but the point of the quote to me, is that when I die the demons and Satan will be glad I am no longer here on this battlefield. I need to take a moment to pray though, and not come to snap conclusions in which I have no evidence to support it.
We cannot always know what God’s plan is, or how something fits into the grand scheme of things. We cannot know what someone is thinking all the time, especially when you don’t know them. You don’t know what someone is going through, unless they’ve told you. There’s a common phrase going around, ‘everyone is fighting a battle you know nothing about.” Many people fight, and keep it to themselves. It’s important to not see yourself on an island. If you put yourself on an island, you are essentially putting yourself in your own version of purgatory. In 2017 I wrote this, and oddly enough, it’s just as valid today, as it was them.
We must not get stuck in our feelings, and one thing I have noticed about myself recently, is that I am using compartmentalization again in my life. Thankfully, this time around, I know that my trauma, or hardships cannot stay in that box for long. It’s important that we seek God and trust in His power and sovereignty to see us through hardships. Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.” This isn’t an easy thing, and takes a lot of effort and practice, but I assure you, the more you dive into scripture, and the more you get closer to God, the easier troubled waters become to navigate. We must take time and just like practicing a sport, we must put effort into growing closer to God. IF we do not seek Him, then how do we get to know Him? If we do not study and grow within His Holy Bible, then how do we know what’s right or wrong for our lives? We must not make assumptions about God, just as we must not make assumptions about people. Grow in the Lord and bury His word to the roots of your heart, so it would spring forth a beautiful tree of God’s attributes. Let your faith produce good works, and let your love in God produce beautiful faith. Go in peace, and in love, and face those demons with the Lords word as your shield, and as your two edged sword, cutting deep like a scalpel. Let the Lords will be done in your life, seek patience in your ways, your path, and your thoughts. Be calm and give the benefit of the doubt where you can.
Sometimes in our life, things happen that move us from one place to another. In ancient days, Jesus, was moved for His safety from Nazareth, to Egypt. Today, in my life, I moved from one place, rural, to the urban city. Personally, I’m not a city boy, so living in the city, is always a challenge for me. Moving into the city has stressed and challenged my personal life like little has in a long time. Not only has my life turned upside down, heart surgery, moving, now, I have new relationships, which challenge my emotions. My battle zone has changed, and now, I find myself learning to fight in a far distant land.
The Apostles, after the day of Pentecost, began to spread themselves to share the gospel. They left the comfort of their homes, and found themselves in hostile territory. Missionaries of today are the most like the Apostles of old. Even though we don’t always pick up our stuff and carry on wherever we need to go for God, we are called wherever we go, to share the gospel. The life of those who are followers of Christ, will find themselves in battles, and those battles will vary in difficulty. Recently the battles I’ve faced have been different than anything I’ve faced in the past. All the experience of the past however, the good and the bad, have prepared me for such battles.
How can we know we are ready for the battles to come? The answer is fairly simple, but difficult to master. We must study. We must spend time in the word of God, and in that word, we must understand the message being delivered to us. Reading scripture is fine, but if we don’t take the time to truly dive in, seek the meaning behind the words, the language, and the people it was written to, we often miss the nuances of scripture. How scripture builds upon what was written, how the past points to the future, and the future points backwards to the past, and the sheer number of seamless cross references shows us the impossibility that scripture was simply man-made. Knowing and growing in the word of God, allowing those words to seep into our hearts, and most importantly, not letting the words get stuck in our minds, but rather, allowing the words to penetrate into our hearts, and changing who we are. If we read scripture and it doesn’t change us, we are essentially no different than the demons of the enemy’s army. The demons know scripture, and we cannot just know it, but we must live it.
I have found my patience being tested and having major revelations coming to my attention, I am dealing with a major change, a change in the dynamic of my family. How does one deal with discovering truth, which is opposed to the truth of an entire life? When new truths become evident, and one is left to deal with the emotions of it, and we have to face those truths, it can be a challenge. I have found it difficult to put into words the emotions I have felt. How am I supposed to feel? What are the normal feelings for this kind of situation? I have been seeking God for answers and asking for prayers to find the answers I seek. My world has changed, forever changed, and a title I have had my whole life, something I felt was part of my identity, is no longer true, and now I must face the truth, learn about my new family, and discover a new dynamic. God does nothing by mistake, and it is my responsibility to wear the name of Christ, to be the ambassador, marching into this situation, wearing the full Armor of God, and above all standing against the prince of the air, the ruler of this world. Even though I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders, I must endure, I must try my hardest to be the example, and point those whom I encounter to a very real Christ. Jesus is not just a story in some ancient book, but the son of God who rose from the dead, overcame death, and with that same resurrection power, those who believe in him, obey him, seek him, acknowledge their own sinful nature, turn from that sin, and see Christ as the only way to the father, the forgiver of sins, the blood spilt for us, so it would bridge the chasm between us and Heaven. We must believe and spend our days serving the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords. No matter the storm I find myself in, Jesus is the captain of my ship, and I shall always keep Him at the helm, and I will go where He takes me. I will fight the good fight, and continue to hold the line. I may be in the storm by Jesus my Lord is with me. I may be in the fire, but Jesus my King is with me. I will never face my trials alone, for my Savior is with me. Forever, till the end of the age.
As my battlefield has changed recently, the battle remains the same. As a Christian, we fight against power well beyond our weight category. Ephesians 6:12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” When we consider any sport that involves fighting, we should look at the weight class, and on our own, we are outclassed every time. We cannot stand against demons who are bred, created for war and service. We don’t have all the information on angels and demons, simply because God didn’t give us that much information. We know that there are angels, like Michael that can fight. An angel can stand toe to toe with a demon because a demon is a corrupted angel. We are a human, what chance do we have? We have the armor of God. The armor gives us the protection we need against demons. Another thing we have on our side, is the word of God. In fact, I would suggest, the word of God is the most effective thing we have. Demons tremble at the voice of Christ, and while we don’t have His voice, we have his words. When we are in scripture, and we are seeking God, we learn about our armor, we learn about how to protect our minds, our hearts, and learn how to walk with Christ using the sandals of the gospel of peace. We hone our armor, and our skills, by reading and growing in scripture.
As my battlefield has changed, and I’m having surprises come into my life I could have never expected, it’s tested my emotions. I have found myself questioning myself, wondering if my continued rocky path, isn’t of my own making. I have questioned if I was worth anything, and if I was worth saving. In reality, this is spiritual warfare, but nevertheless, it’s the emotions and feelings I’ve been having. I’ve experienced major changes in my life over the last 3 months, and those changes often play with your emotions. Very little of what I’ve wanted to do has worked out the way it was supposed to. Even the simple things, that were given thought, haven’t worked out. Changes to my family have left me facing some long past hurts. Changes to my living space, has left me frustrated, and trying to find peace. Peace in my years, is all I’ve been seeking. While I realize I would have no peace in this world as long as I was a soldier for Christ, I long for peace in my home. The psalm of David rings in my ears,
Psalm 13 How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?
3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,
4 And my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.
5 But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness;
My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me.
I ask the same question today. My enemy is not a man, or men, but rather the demons that seek to destroy me, and who I am. How long oh Lord, how long? With my physical pain keeping me from doing basic things, to the family, to the living space, I am met with much in the way of fodder for the devil to use. There are many areas right now under construction for him, the father of lies to use against me. The battle is being waged, and my prayers mirror the prayers of David. I will fight, and continue to fight the good fight. I will continue to serve, and be of service. I am the Lords, and I will do what I must to keep moving forward, relying not upon my own strength, but the strength of God within me. I do not fight the demons alone, for God is on my side. I know, either in this life or the next, Jesus is victorious.
Today, March 4th, 2025, I remember my fallen brothers. 20 years today, they fell in battle. While on mission in Ar-Ramadi, the explosion ripped through the truck, almost everyone was dead in an instant. One survived, but would die of his injuries shortly after. 20 years, has gone in the blink of an eye. We survive on, keeping their memory alive. Our battlefield has changed, but we still fight. Each of us fight in our own way now, 20 years and some of us are still close. It’s hard to believe it’s been 20 years, but here we are. This time 20 years ago, I was reeling from the explosion, and the horrific aftermath. The things I would see that day would haunt my eyes, and mind to this very day. You can take the man away from the battle, but the battle will always live inside the man. The battle continues, but let us remember the fallen today. Let us remember their lives, and their sacrifice.
I can remember the day, September 11th 2006, one week before I put a 9mm hallow-point through my shoulder. I had just learned about my wife’s affair, and I was a devastated mess. My mind raced, and I was far from free. My mind was becoming a prison, one that would take a long time to be free from. It took years for me to be able to sit in a quiet car without worrying about my mind racing, full of negative thoughts. The day you surrender your life to Christ isn’t a magic wand that makes everything else fade away. Just because you give your life to Christ, the healing process of past hurts, still takes time. For me, the day I gave my life to Christ, was the most freeing moment of my life. I grew up in the Catholic Church, and knew Jesus, and assumed I had a relationship with Him because I had gone to church growing up. I assumed because I had gone through the sacraments, first communion, baptism, confirmation, confession, that I would be allowed into Heaven. It was not till I was older that I realized, the demons know Jesus also. Knowing Jesus does not mean you have a relationship with Him. Even scripture tells us this,
Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’
— Matthew 7:22-23
There are those who follow Jesus because they believe it will make their life better, such as the prosperity gospel. Jesus wants you to live your best life now. If you follow Jesus because you believe, He will grant you the desires of your wicked, selfish heart, then you may be a believer of the prosperity gospel, but that is not the gospel of scripture. I realized later in my life that it wasn’t about what Jesus could do for me in this life. Jesus already did the most important thing in my life, one, sacrificed Himself for me, and the second changed my heart from a heart of stone, to flesh. I’ve found many people follow Christ not because they truly believe in His teachings, but rather the fire insurance. In reality to be a follower of Jesus, we must seek Jesus, and the gift of Heaven is secondary, an added bonus if you will. Many want the gift of Heaven; they just don’t want God to be there. It’s the surrender part that really gets most people, and stops them from being a true follower of Christ. People enjoy the savior part, but are put off by the Lord part. We cannot have salvation without both. We cannot have Heaven without God. We, as a fallen sinful race, have trouble letting go. We want to be plugged into the system of this world, because we love it. We love the freedom to sin, to do whatever we want. We love the pleasures of this world, the money, wealth, and power we may get to have here in this life. Sadly, as a whole, people tend to think this life is all about the money, and stuff, power, prestige, etc. When we follow Jesus, we have to give up much of our old lives, and we have to obey His commands, because if we love Jesus, then we are to love His commands as well. Jesus tells us in Luke 9:23-25 “And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself?”
To live for Christ is to die to one’s self. to live for Christ is to sacrifice one’s life to serve Christ. It isn’t about being saved; it’s about following Christ because He is the truth. We don’t follow Christ because of what we benefit, we follow Christ because His words are true, and the eyewitness testimony of His life and resurrection are the truth. His miracles which were never refuted by anyone, not the Jews, or the Romans, were done by the only Son of God. How could we not follow him?
In reality, the thing we must do is surrender ourselves to the Lord. The day I surrendered to the Lord I realized my way was folly. I think of what Boromir said in the Fellowship of the Ring, “it is folly.” Boromir discusses the trouble of taking the one ring to Mordor. Not with an army, could it be done. He made a decision based on his understanding of the world as a soldier. Unable to see the world in a different perspective, he truly believed it couldn’t be done. We are very similar as a people. To follow Jesus is just folly to the atheist. The people of the world, reject Christ, because in reality, they want to be their own god. The sin that snared Eve in the Garden, was pride. The snake said “You’d be like God’. Eve jumped at the opportunity to be like God, and we sinful creatures jump at the opportunity to be hostile to the one true God. No other religion in the world is treated with such hostility as Christianity. I myself am not a follower of Christ because I was raised too, or even because of culture, I am a believer because it’s the truth. When you follow the evidence to its logical conclusion, Christianity is the truth. To get there though, one must free their mind, let go of what the world tells them to think and believe. Christ showed us the truth through His signs and wonders. He showed us the truth in His eye witnesses. As J. Wallace talks about in His book “Cold Case Christianity” one piece of evidence may be circumstantial, but when you begin to add up all the evidence, it’s impossible to be a coincidence anymore. I had to let go of wanting to do this life on my own. I had to realize the phrase “I got this” was not true at all. In fact, the ideal that I had it, got me to the dangerous side of the long-distance whole puncher. When I look at today’s life, I realized I, in fact, don’t got it. My way often led me to more trouble. When I try to fix anything on my own accord, I tend to screw everything up. Our way is not Holy, and when we do it our way, we, in our hubris, think we are just as good as God. We must reject ourselves and follow Christ, and we must reject the world, and follow Christ.
In this life, we have a choice, to answer the call of the Holy Spirit upon our hearts. Do we unplug from the world, forsaking this life, to allow God, allowing Jesus to take up our life? If Christianity is not true, we lose nothing in this life. If it is true, and we do not follow it, we lose everything. Jesus is the WAY, the TRUTH, and THE LIFE, NO ONE GETS TO THE FATHER BUT THROUGH JESUS. Jesus gave us all the evidence we’d ever need to justify what scripture said, that we may look upon the cross and believe, that we have hope by looking at the empty tomb. Let us let go of the world, for those who let go of the world, shall inherit the kingdom of God. For it is our faith in Jesus, and we are saved by His grace, and His mercy. The truth will set us free. The truth will unplug us from the world, and we are adopted as citizens of Heaven, and we become ambassadors in this world. We have a mission to set more minds free, and share the gospel with everyone. We are to study to show ourselves approved. We are to understand and share the Word of God, with those around us. We are to make disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. We must help unplug more and more people from the world, share with them the truth, and show them the way.
Years later, I was driving in the car and I realized I had not turned on the radio. I realized I had not turned-on music from my phone. I realized I was sitting in absolute silence. I no longer had the intrusive thoughts I once had. I realized, in that moment, years of studying God’s word, going to church, and different therapies to help with the past trauma, led me to a point where I saw healing in my life. The day you give your life to Christ and become unplugged is the day you start a new journey. Just like Neo in the ‘Matrix’, he didn’t know everything about the Matrix, that took time for him to learn, to grow. Our day of Justification (Just as if I never sinned) happens one time. But, the growing in the Lord, the becoming more like Christ, takes time, a lifetime in fact. We never stop growing, and never reach our full potential till the day we breathe our last here on Earth, and open our eyes in Heaven. Just because we are followers of Christ doesn’t mean we don’t struggle, or have trials. On the contrary, we will have trials, and we will struggle, and we will be forged in fire. We must see through the eyes of Christ and see the world for what it is, the devils playground. We must face the ever-growing threat of darkness all around us, and prepare for the battle that looms ahead. Now we’re unplugged from the world, we face an army of sentinels, and agents, demons, and humans still plugged in to the system Satan has control over. Our job, is to continue to grow in our strength for the Lord, study to show ourselves approved, put scripture in our hearts to not sin against God, but to also resist the lies of the world. Let us face the army of Satan together, as brothers and sisters of Christ. Let us be the resistance, as we resist the attacks, the army that wages war against us. The truth, Jesus Christ, will set you free.
The Arrow Preacher 