Knowing Your Kryptonite

If you were a young boy growing up in the 60’s, there is a very strong possibility that you were a comic book fan…at one point in my young life I must have read them all; from Richie-Rich, to Hot-Stuff and Archie. But my favorites were always the super heroes. It didn’t matter to me if I was reading a DC comic or Marvel I read and enjoyed them all. I can admit that I was drawn more-so to the Marvel comic book heroes, but there is one DC super hero who always overshadowed them all;. “Superman”

Everyday the entire country watched the television version of our favorite super hero. I remember how my brother and I would stand in front of our little black and white screen when the show came on. We’d follow along with the announcer reciting the show’s theme:

“Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive,

Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.

Look, up in the sky, is a bird, it’s a plane, no;

It’s Superman!”

This guy was so awesome that bullets bounced off of his chest, he could bend steel with his bare hands; he was so fast that he could even fly around the earth in outer-space at speeds that could turn back time all over the world. He could take on a hundred villains at one-time and defeat them all. “AMAZING!”

But even with all those super powers there was one thing that he had to avoid at all cost; Kryptonite.

There were five types of Kryptonite, however only three of them were detrimental to Superman. He knew the various effects that each would have on him if he were anywhere near them:

·         Green Kryptonite – Caused him to be weak and could be fatal

·         Red Kryptonite – its effects were only temporary but very unpredictable

·         Gold Kryptonite – Would permanently rob him of his super powers

 We all understand that Superman is merely a comic book/cartoon character who was created to entertain our imagination, but isn’t it fascinating how art has the ability to imitate life?

In his epistle to the churches in Galatia one of Paul’s themes was “A Defense of the (Christian) Doctrine”

So he takes pen in hand and writes: “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:16-21

When God created mankind he gave us dominion over every other creature on the face of the earth, (ref. Genesis 1:28). In like manner, before Christ was crucified he assured his disciples that he would give them power over all the power of the enemy… (ref. Luke10:19).

Yet with all of the power and authority that we’ve been given by God, we still struggle in the area of “fulfilling the lust of the flesh”. Our flesh is weak at times and yet it would seem that we neither recognize it, nor do we understand how to defend against it when the temptation to sin it’s near.

Anytime Superman thought there was a possibility of Kryptonite being in his immediate vicinity, he would arm himself with some sort of lead shielding to give him protection from its effects. Lead had the ability to render Kryptonite harmless.

In James 4:17 we read; ‘Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.’

A recovering drug addict or alcoholic must separate themselves every day from the circle of friends that they used to get high and party with. Former gang-bangers must avoid hanging on the corners of their neighborhoods, the sex addict must avoid pornography, and anything remotely resembling it….the list and the struggle goes on.

We are admonished to completely submit our lives to God, by doing so we will ignor (resist) Satan's prompting our thought process to commit sin in our flesh. (Ref. James 4:7)


Sin threatens to make us weak and rob us of our God given status in the Kingdom. It separates us from God and keeps us at a distance that interferes with our ability to share intamacy with him.

Essentially what Paul is saying in Galatians is; “Know Your Kryptonite”, and also know how to defend against. So he writes further:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” Galatians 5:22-25

Following after the Spirit of Christ is the way to avoid succumbing to our flesh. An old song that my mother used to sing was: “I’m wrapped up, tied-up, tangled up in Jesus and the world can’t do me no harm…” When we put on Christ, he becomes the lead shield which guards against our Kryptonite; therefore we will not fall so easily into the sins of the flesh…

“Do You Know Your Kryptonite?”

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Got Courage?

“What makes a King out of a slave? Courage.

What makes the flag on the mast to wave? Courage.

What makes the elephant charge his tusk in the misty mist or the dusky dusk?

What makes the muskrat guard his musk? Courage.

What makes the Sphinx the 7th Wonder? Courage.

What makes the dawn come up like THUNDER?! Courage.

What makes the Hottentot so hot?

What puts the "ape" in ape-ricot?

Whatta they got that I ain't got? Courage.”

(The Cowardly Lion from the Wizard of Oz)

One of my greatest fears used to be “Acrophobia”…the fear of heights. As a kid I wouldn’t dare ride on a roller coaster or ferris-wheel, I didn’t climb trees. So you can imagine the look in my eyes the very first time a traveled by airplane…and wouldn’t you know it; my primary job in the military consisted of climbing telephone poles using gaffs. Every day in wire school I refused to even practice pole climbing for fear that I might fall off of the pole and badly injure myself.

My fear threatened to hinder my ability to graduate and become a successful communications wireman. Truth be told, I  during that time I lacked the courage to climb high.

Many of you today still lack the courage to climb as high as necessary to achieve your goals or pursue the ministries that God is birthing in you.

Courage is defined as:

·         The ability to do something that you know is difficult

·         Mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear or difficulty.

After the death of Moses, Joshua takes up the mantle of leader over Israel (ref. Joshua 1:1-17); and is commanded by God to be strong and of good courage…The Lord knew what struggles and battles awaited the children of Israel once they crossed-over into the promised land, and, He assured Joshua that He would be with him as He was also with Moses. God intended to fulfill his covenant and promise to Abraham, (ref. Genesis 13:14-17, 15:1-21, 17:7-9).

In that same manner, God has also promised to be with us and work through us, He says in Jeremiah 29:11; “I know the thoughts that I think towards you, thoughts of peace, not evil; to give you an expected end.” We receive a similar promise from Christ (ref. Matthew 28:20b, John 14:12)

If the God of all creation has promised to be with us until the end, and has placed His very own Spirit within us, then why do we walk in fear? On 17 different occasions in Gods’ word we are commanded to “be strong and of good courage.”

When God gives the same command more than once, we must know beyond the shadow of doubt that He's also given us the victory before hand.

After all, we are the conduits through which the Holy Spirit operates for the purpose of fulfilling Gods’ plan in the earth realm. When we place our faith and trust in Him there is no task too difficult to carry out, and no assignment too hard to complete, “I can do all things through Christ which strengthenth me.” Philippians 4:13

I did finally gain the courage to climb the telephone pole to the very top and ultimately graduated as a school trained wireman…little did I know that some five years later I would be appointed the regimental wire chief in my last unit. I simply had to trust in God and keep climbing higher.

All it took was courage…

"Let's Get Ready To Rumble!!!"

"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:

 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled."

2nd Corinthians 10:1-6

 ________________________________________

 Defenition: "Warfare"

1: military operations between enemies : hostilities, war; also: an activity undertaken by a political unit (as a nation) to weaken or destroy another <economic warfare>

2: struggle between competing entities : conflict _________________________________________ 

Back in the mid-70's the U.S. Marine Corps had a nack for coming up with catchy recruiting slogans...ie. "I never promised you a rose garden"..."The Marines Have Landed"...just to name a few... One of my all-time favorites was:

 

 

"Nobody Likes To Fight, But Somebody Has To Know How"

 

 

When I arrived at Parris Island for basic training, I was amazed to see three of the smallest guys in my platoon; Pvt. Gimes, Pvt. James, and Pvt. Medena... each of these individuals was either 4ft 9in, or just at the 5ft mark.

 

 

My thoughts just by looking at their outward appearence was that they would washout in a week; and as the weeks went by I would continue to count them out in my mind. It didn't matter that they were always at the front of the pack when we ran 3 miles each morning, it didn't matter that they managed to last every PT drill we went through; they even managed to keep up during our rigorous force marches, yet I still couldn't see them surviving all the way to graduation.

 

 

I finally was convinced when we had our pugil-stick competition against the three other platoons in our series.

Those smallish Marine Corps recruits out-shined us all with their fighting skill and heart. In fact, they played a major role in our winning all three stages of the contest and bringing back the trophy, "a Bronzed Rifle" which Pvt. James can be seen holding when we posed for our platoon graduation photo.

 

 

In 2nd Corinthians chapter 10; Paul maintains a lowly thoughts and speaks humbly of himself in face of  the many mean and scornful words spoken of him by others. Paul was very aware of his infirmities, yet maintained humility even when he was reproached by men.

 

 

He understood that the work of the ministry is a spiritual warfare with spiritual enemies, for spiritual purposes; he also recognized that outward force is not the method of the gospel, but strong persuasions, by the power of truth and the meekness of wisdom. When the word of God, (His truth), is hidden within our hearts, men can be persuaded to God and their duty to serve Him. Therefore the weapons of our warfare are very powerful; the evidence and of truth of Gods' word is convincing.

 

 

Opposition against the Gospel and Kingdom of God come from the powers of sin, and Satan in the hearts of men. But conquest is gained through the power of Gods' word.

 

 

Remember; it was Paul who informed us that the forces we're fighting against are not physical, but very spiritual in the heavens, (ref. Ephesians 6:10-18)...

 

 

I want to encourage you to maintain a spirit of humility and meekness. Let the presence of the Holy Spirit, and the power of Gods' word operate in you and through you; that's how victory in this warfare is accomplished...By the way, there is another saying we had in the Marines:

 

 

"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog"

 

 

It doesn't matter what peeople may say or think about you intially, just know that Jesus is living big on the inside of you; and through His Spirit, you know how to fight.

Reaching The Finish Line...

Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! 1st Corinthians 9:24 (NLT)

I remember the Friday evening when I surrendered my life to Christ, I was singing on my high school gospel choir at a church youth night. On that particular evening, the preacher shared the Gospel in such a manner that my spirit man was deeply affected by what I'd just heard. That very evening I asked Jesus to come into my heart. Boy what a feeling!

I couldn't sleep that night, one may have thought it was Christmas Eve and I was waiting to see what Santa left under the tree. The next morning right after breakfast I ran around the corner to my cousin's house to share my joy with them; "hey everybody, I got saved last night!"...my statement prompted the following question from one of my elder cousins; "saved from what?"

The question made me feel as if someone had just let the air out of my balloon, and for the next few days I was confused and discouraged. It wasn't too much longer before I fell back into my old ways again, there-by placing myself in a backslidden status.

The Apostle Paul, who founded the church at Corinth on his second missionary journey; wrote this epistle because the church had become infested with the evils that surrounded it. The Greeks were proud of their learning and philosophy, but at the same time were addicted to gross immorality.

On the other hand they were very fond of oratory. Its apparent that Apollos, an eloquent Christian Jew; had come to Corinth and had captured the imaginations of the Greek Christians (ref. Acts 18:24-28). This fact led to the drawing of comparisons between him, with his silver tongue; and other religious leaders. Especially to the discredit of Paul, who's bodily presence seems not to have been impressive (ref. 2nd Corinthians 10:10).

All of these issues combined no-doubt led to the many schisms in the church (see chapter 1:11-13)... It was Paul's desire to purify the church from partysim and immorality, which was the primary cause for his writing of this epistle.

In chapter 9, Paul gives the example of his surrendering certain rights and liberties for the sake of winning men to Christ. History will show that Paul finished his walk and his work in honorable fashion to the glory of God.

In the book of 2nd Samuel you'll find the story of a man named Mephibosheth, (formerly called Mirab Baal - meaning opponent of Baal) the son of Jonathan; (King David's best friend), and grandson to Saul, the former king of Israel... After hearing that King Saul and Prince Jonathan had been killed, his nurse picked up the then 5 yr old boy and fled. Unfortunately for him the nurse fell while carrying him and his back was broken leaving him paralyzed in both legs. This new turn of events is why he was now called Mephibosheth which meant, "man of shame."

They would flee to a city called Lodebar (translated not-no) where he would reside for what seemed like the remainder of his life. Many of us were at one time spiritually crippled for one reason or another and hid out in Lodebar. It seemed as if we would never make our way back into the Kingdom of God. Some were handicaped by drug addictions, others by sexual sins, and still others by educational and financial circumstances and church-hurt. But Christ was constantly searching for us, "His lost sheep". It wasn't very much longer before King David would inquire if there was anyone who remained from the household of Jonathan. He was informed of Mephibosheth and right away sent for him.

Once he was found, King David not only restored him back to a position of royalty, but gave to him all of the land once owned by his father and grandfather...plus, Mephibosheth would always dine at the kings table and be cared for all of his days. Can you just imagine the shock and amazement of the others sitting around the table? Many were jealous and envious of Mephibosheth who as gone from being a man of shame, to a permanant guest at the kings table. This man began his life as a prince, was forced into the life of a fleeing, crippled fugitive; only to finish as a dear friend to the king with the benefits of royalty. You may have found yourself being tripped-up out of the starting blocks, however you must remember that the race isn't over until you reach the finish line. This walk of salvation is a marathon with many pifalls along the course. Often time the elements: rain, heat, come into play and take a toll. But you just have to keep on running, because victory and restoration await you at the finish line. (Ref. Joel 2:24-26)

"In The Right Place All Of The Time"

When we look at Psalm 91 we see an illustration of God’s ongoing, sovereign protection for His people, from ever-present dangers and terrors that surround humanity.

Most of the terrors in this Psalm were intentionally left undefined, so that no one kind of danger could be omitted when this word is applied to the life of the believer.

New babes in Christ as well as mature saints can read this Psalm and learn that nothing can harm them unless the Lord permits it; and if He does permit it you must know beyond the shadow of a doubt that He has a purpose geared to your ultimate success.

(Ref Job)

However, it is very common in the “Body of Christ” to think that this particular Psalm applies to everyone in the church.

                       

                            “THIS IS NOT SO!”

 Notice that the 1^st verse begins with “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High…”

The word “Dwell” means: To live and have a home in a particular place; to reside.

Everyday we wake up and get out of bed in our homes; we shower, maybe have breakfast, kiss the wife/husband and kids and then set out to work. While at work our mind often reverts back to home; we find comfort at home, our loved ones are at home, and there is safety at home. Home is the very place we’d rather be than anywhere else in the world.

What the Psalmist is in fact saying is this: everyone who lives in the presence of God (El Elyon) everyday; “not just on Sunday;” I mean when you wake up in the morning you feel Gods presence because you were with Him before you went to sleep the night before and you spend time with Him early when you rise. Before you set out to work or school you embrace God, on your job you just can’t stop thinking about Him and His goodness. You call Him up on your lunch break; and when it’s quitting time you hurry home because you just can’t wait to talk with God some more; “Why?” Because He comforts you when you’re sad and lonely, when you have a need He makes provision for you, when danger is all around He’s your shield and buckler; but most importantly, “He loves you.”

This particular Psalm can be broken down in the following manner:

I.   The Lord’s Protection (91:1-13)

II. The Lord’s Pledge (91:14-16)

I. The Lord’s Protection (91:1-13)

We must first understand that the “secret place of the Most High” is an intimate place of divine protection. Here the emphasis is on El Elyon; it is in this capacity that God insures His people that absolutely no threat can ever overpower Him. He proved this very fact at the Red Sea when Israel was caught between a rock and a hard place, and at Calvary. Intimacy with God far exceeds just accepting Jesus into your heart; it’s more than just merely loving God: Intimacy in this case is “being in love with God.” Remember the first time you really fell in love? You couldn’t see past your wife/husband. They became the direct object of all your affection and desires, your every thought was on your boo and wanted to do nothing short of keeping them happy and in love with you regardless of what took. He/she became your reason for living, and you made it your absolute business to know all that there was to know about them.

Knowing that Christ freely gave up His throne in glory, and became the ransom payment for our sin-stained lives; knowing further that He loves us with an un-conditional and undying love alone should be enough reason to direct all of our affection towards Him. But it goes even further than that, He placed His Spirit within us; and in our weakest moments Christ shows himself strong enabling us to do all things through Him. The list goes on and on…”We love Him because He first loved us.” Ultimately our love for Jesus, drives us to worship Him in all of His glory, to praise Him for His goodness, grace, and mercy; and from the rising of the sun till the going down of the same we long to bask in His presence.

Now that we’ve become intimate with El Elyon, we can “abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”

Much can be said about abiding under Gods’ shadow, but just imagine living under desert conditions where the sun can be oppressive and dangerous; a “shadow” is understood as a metaphor for care and protection from the glare of the sun and the blazing heat.

Often-times life places us in very “heated” situations, (Hebrew boys in the fiery furnace and Daniel in the den of lions: ref. Daniel 3:13-30, Daniel 6), (the shadow of the Apostles providing healing as they walked by: ref. Acts 5:12-15)…it’s during those times that God provides safety on our behalf whereby we can rest in Him.

What were the factors which caused these biblical heroes to rest under the Lord’s power and protection?

(a). Absolute Confidence in God: The experience of being able to trust God to bring them through every situation, no matter how un-foreseen, un-crossable, or un-penetrable. (Ref. Gen 12:4-5, Exodus 14:13-22, Joshua 6)

(b). Divine Provision: God provided whatever was needed under very dire circumstances. (Ref. Gen 22:1-14, Exodus 16:11-15)

II. The Lord’s Pledge (91:14-16

The Lord promises that He’ll come to our rescue, and help us in times of trouble. All this is made possible not just by our belief in who God is, but also by believing in His name. He further promises to answer when we call, which means He’s always listening out for us. Can you imagine being honored by the God of all creation, even when we’re at our lowest state? Isn’t it wonderful to know that the King of kings is ready, willing and waiting to meet you at the very point of your need? That’s not all; the Lord says that because we love Him, He’ll not only grant us His salvation, but life everlasting. Indeed God is not a man that He would tell a lie, we can take Him at his word. All that He requires from us is:

·         That we purpose each day to emulate the life of His son Jesus the Christ

·         Proclaim His glory throughout the world daily by the way we live

·         Praise Him from the moment we awake each morning and before we rest at night.

  (Ref. Psalm 34:1-15, 46:1, Proverbs 18:12, Psalm 113:3, Philippians 2:9-7, Hebrews 11:16)

It’s so good to know that our Savior is walking hand and hand with us; it’s also good to know that no matter what our current status is, because we accept/accepted Christ as Savior and Lord, we were in the right place all of the right time.

         

            

When Buried Treasure Buries You...

As a kid it was customary to attend Saturday matinees at the local theater.

I was always drawn to the adventure movies such as, Jason and the Argonauts, Hercules, The Adventures of Sinbad (In Dynorama)…etc.

A common theme to those movies was always a crew of sea fairing sailors in search of wealth and forbidden treasures that didn’t belong to them.

 Another common theme to those movies is that there was always one shipmate among them who was full of greed; wanting all the treasure for himself. The films never end with all of the characters surviving the journey; most were killed off at one point in the movie leaving only a handful of the crew and their captain to share the loot.

 Webster defines treasure as:

•   Accumulated wealth in the form of money, jewels, or other valuables

•   Something stored away and hoarded

 There are those in the body of Christ who over the course of many years have accumulated hidden treasures and have buried them deep within their spirit. I’m not talking about love; joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance against which there is no law.

 I speak of the fleshly desires,  longings, habits and things that saints continue to re-visit to the point of losing touch with God’s will for their lives; and just like in those adventure movies friendships, relationships, and destinies have been lost in the search.

 It’s easy to hoard these desires deep within our spirit-man forfeiting our place in Gods’ economy for the purpose of wealth, position and self-gratification.

As a prelude to mans anticipated disregard for God’s commandments; God Himself blesses us with everything we need in life to survive, all the while knowing that we’re about to blow it all (commit sin) at any given moment. Isn’t it strange that right after God comes through for us; frees us from being caught between a rock and a hard heard, we slip right back into our flesh. Let me give you some real revelation; and its nothing deep; are you ready?

“Your Flesh Doesn’t Care About You, Or Anybody Around You.”

 Your flesh is not concerned with God’s grace or His mercy; your flesh could care less about the consequences of sin. It doesn’t matter how good God has been, flesh will commit treachery in order to satisfy itself. In James the 1^st chapter beginning at the  13^th verse:

“Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth

death.”

Achan; whose name translated in the Hebrew tongue means, to trouble or troublesome; acted treacherously’ and committed a breach of faith by taking the accursed thing. He committed this act in the midst of victory that God had given Israel over the stronghold known as Jericho. Many of you today are living testimonies to God’s power of deliverance; some were liars, backbiters, whoremongers, thieves, alcoholics, and drug abusers, yet God; who’s rich in mercy and slow to anger, worked His power in you and set you free only to watch in sorrow as you ran after the accursed thing.

Exactly what is the accursed thing?

In the Revelation 17:5, Babylon is recognized as “The Mother of Harlots and of Abominations of the Earth” This title speaks directly to the culture that has taken a foot-hold in our society today…

 Before Achan conceived in his heart to steal this
treasure and bury it in his tent, God had already
consecrated them unto Himself.  

Joshua 6:19 – “But all the silver, and gold, and
vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the
Lord: they shall come into the treasury of the
Lord…”

 News flash, God predestined us for greatness. He created us and consecrated us unto Himself. God saw us as a treasure to be desired. He desires our obedience, our worship and our praise. Paul writes in Romans 12:1-3;

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed, by the renewing of your mind that ye may prove, what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

He desires to be in relationship with us; but our sinful nature separates man from God renders us accursed.

 Jesus admonishes us:  “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Matthew 6:19-21

 Please know this, you are very precious in His sight; so don’t let buried treasure bury you.

Walk Like A Man...

There are many perceptions in today’s society of what a man is supposed to be. Some perceive that a man is the supreme ruler of his household; others see a man as someone who simply provides for his family.

 Then there are those who believe that making babies is the official seal of manhood while some see a man as this macho, pseudo-tough guy. How we’ve come to all of these conclusions is a mystery to me. None-the-less we’ve been taught time and time again that man was created in the image of God which is true, yet our everyday habits and actions would seem to reveal the image of another.

 Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have the same testimony as Enoch whom the Bible says walked with God? (Gen 9:24)  We have become creatures of habit who constantly walk in a way that seems right to us, but leads to our demise. (Proverbs 14:12) 

 The word of God teaches us what it truly means to be a man: “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law doeth he meditate day and night.”  (Psalms 1:1-2)

In this day and age our walk is very vital to our relationship with God, but if we’re not walking as the Psalmist described, our example could be very harmful and detrimental to all those around us both spiritually and physically. Today, purpose in your heart, to walk according to the precepts found in Gods’ word.

 Let Him direct your path. (Ref. Proverbs 3:4-6)

Hebron Shophar

Obeying Your Thirst

During my third year as a Marine, I was assigned to carry out the task of running a wire-line from the communication center where my unit was located in the Mojave Desert to an artillery battery which was located about 8 miles from our camp. I gathered the two Marines that would make up my crew, had breakfast; then we loaded our gear and headed off to the middle of the desert. I was certain that the job would take no longer than a day and maybe a couple of hours the next morning.

What I failed to do was take into consideration how rough the terrain would be in areas where we’d be required to lay some of our line underground. I also neglected to give much thought to our water supply because I anticipated a fairly quick job.

The assignment took about three and a half days and for the last day I hardly drank any water even though my body was trying to tell me it needed refreshing. Needless to say, by the time we returned to our base camp, I became disoriented, weak, and dizzy to the point of finally blacking out.

I was later awakened in the sick-bay tent by a tank filled with freezing ice water being hosed onto my body to bring its temperature back to normal. Did I mention that I only had a half canteen of water when we started out that morning? I didn’t think I’d need more than that… (Poor Judgment, lack of attention to detail)

In the 4^th chapter of John, Jesus stops by a well in the Samaritan village of Sychar, where he meets a woman whose lifestyle is pretty much in question; but she doesn’t seem to think she’s in need of what the Savior has to offer, nor does she feel a need to be of service to Him. Jesus petition’s her for a drink, however she’s not just startled by the request; but also at the idea that Christ, a Jew; would even approach a Samaritan woman. Quite-frankly, this woman does not see the importance of listening to the Father or even having conversation with Him; and in so many words she makes her point understood and replies by saying: “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”  Jesus promptly responds to her statement and says:

“If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”  (vs.10)

This woman was so comfortable with her lifestyle; she was married four times prior to meeting Jesus, and the man whom with she was living at this particular time was not her husband. The well-meaning citizens of Samaria wanted nothing to do with her and avoided her like the plague. Yet she was comfortable in her own skin and poor decision making; not realizing that her spirit was crying out for the Lord. In all of her self-righteousness, she questions whether Jesus is equipped to draw from her well; and basically accuses Him of thinking more of Himself than she believes Him to be…but now her curiosity has peaked. Jesus realizing this says to her:  “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

By neglecting to spend time in Gods’ presence and His word daily, our spirit man is left to wander through the barren and desolate issues of life with no relief in sight. We become easy prey for an enemy who walks around looking for a weak link in the Body of Christ solely to destroy their purpose and steal their joy; leaving them spiritually unconscious and dry.

One cannot navigate through the pressures of this life without the thirst killing power of Gods’ word and His awesome presence, to guide us through the difficulties that we are bound to face during the course of each day.  The enemy sends stress, hardship, and disappointment our way, attempting to dry us out spiritually. Obey your thirst, and let the words of Christ flow within you daily to strengthen you; and increase your faith, which comes from simply hearing and meditating on His word each morning, noon and night.

You have a long and busy day ahead…..

”OBEY YOUR THISRT”….seek the presence of God and the refreshing, thirst quenching power of His word daily.

 (Ref. Isaiah 44:3 and John 7:37b)