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Spiritual Warfare – Rule #1

1 Comment / Answers to Prayer!, Overcoming / Tom Stuart

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood. Ephesians 6:12

“You can’t defeat the enemy unless you identify the enemy.” Those are the very words I heard myself declaring in a dream I had several months ago. It was one of those morning dreams you recall just as you are waking up. All I could remember was the setting, a church, and I was preaching. Beyond that the only other fragment of the dream I retained was that phrase, and it was reverberating again and again in my soul. It impressed me as being a very important sermon and I wish I could have heard myself say more.

Being at a stage in life when I have kindly been classified as a senior, I have come to appreciate the scripture that says “your old men will dream dreams.” (Joel 2:28) It is a wonderful promise for any man whose hair is thinning, receding and/or turning gray. Check, check, check, yep, all the above. So when I dream, it could be God speaking and I’ve learned to listen.

As it turned out, it was indeed a very timely word from God for me and necessary reminder of an important spiritual principle. In the spiritual realm we have enemies and we are at war. And as in any natural war, unless we can clearly identify the enemy, we will always be vulnerable, under attack, on the run and ultimately defeated. That is rule #1 in spiritual warfare.

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5 Ways to Revive Your Prayer Life

2 Comments / Check this out!, I wish I'd said that., Prayer / Tom Stuart

“When was the last time you found yourself flat on your face before the Almighty? When was the last time you cut off circulation kneeling before the Lord? When was the last time you pulled an all-nighter in prayer?” Mark Batterson
When a guy asks questions like these you know he is taking prayer pretty seriously. And if you can’t answer these questions with recent occurrences you know you aren’t. The questions are from Mark Batterson’s recent book The Circle Maker. This book on prayer is the best I’ve read in years.
If your prayer life is missing a beat, on life support or has given up the ghost, this book, like an AED, is guaranteed to shock it back to life. Covering nearly every facet of prayer while using many faith-building stories it will inspire and revitalize prayer in your life once again.
The book’s title and guiding illustration for effective prayer is based on the true story of a first Century BC praying Jew who lived in the generation preceding Jesus’ birth. At that time a devastating drought threatened Israel. This eccentric sage by the name Honi with a six foot staff in his hand drew a circle around himself and kneeling inside that circle prayed “Lord of the universe, I swear before Your great name that I will not move from this circle until You have shown mercy upon Your children.” And immediately rain began to fall.
Launching forth from this story the author does a masterful job of awakening faith in the reader as he unfolds what it means for us today to pray Circle Making prayers. He divides the book into three key topical challenges to true circle-making prayer: Dream Big, Pray Hard and Think Long.

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When dreams are not meant to be!

2 Comments / Growth & Development, Overcoming, Relationship with God / Tom Stuart

“Are you seeking great things for yourself? Don’t do it!” Jeremiah 45:5 (NLT)

I find myself cringing when I hear people say “You can be anything you set your heart to be.” It is not true. It sets people up for misguided lives fraught with unfulfilled expectations and disillusionment. I understand the reasoning behind such a statement, particularly when it is directed at children and youth. It is important to instill a dare to dream mentality and a can-do attitude in every human heart. But dreams, like everything in life have parameters and exacting conditions that are necessary for their fulfillment. And it is not just a matter of faith and hard work.

A more accurate statement to inspire young and old alike is to say “You can be anything God has created you to be.” That maxim acknowledges the requisite talents and motivations endued at birth. And it also takes into account the times and seasons in which a person is living and the necessity of divinely ordained opportunity.

Michael Jordan is a great illustration. In 1993Jordan retired as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, after leading the Chicago Bulls to three NBA championships. He quit basketball to pursue a lifelong dream of becoming a professional baseball player.

He spent two years bringing his well-documented dedication and intensity to baseball, but ended up being a journeyman player at best with a .252 batting average and never made it to the big leagues. He returned to the Bulls for the 1995-96 season and proceeded to lead the Bulls to another three-peat series of NBA championships.

What was the cause of the disparity in the outcome of Michael Jordan’s pursuit of two dream careers? Obviously the measure of inherent talent was one. Another was the contrast in experience and time for skill development. But an intangible may have been his chemistry with his teammates and his coach. Dream fulfillment is complicated business.

In the waning years leading up to the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians in 586 BC, Jeremiah the prophet was busy warning both the king and religious leaders of God’s impending judgments. He had a faithful scribe named Baruch to whom he dictated his prophecies and through whom a number of them were personally delivered.

Baruch, who’s name means “blessing” was hoping against hope that the recipients of these prophetic messages would repent and that his ministry would be successful. As a spokesperson for Jeremiah he had dreams and career aspirations of a position of influence in a reformed society. (Not unlike Jesus’ disciples.) It was not to be.

In what appears to be a parenthetical

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