Thursday, October 4, 2012

The Call to Be Peace Warriors

UV 538/10,000 I Timothy 6 v 12 The Call to be Peace Warriors Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hath professed a good profession before many witnesses. Fighting for one’s faith is as high intensity as warfare itself. The expression “ war footing” implies that one needs to mobilize all of one’s strength and resources in order to fight victoriously. There are no consolation prizes for losers. It is a mighty war calling for the manifestation of the power of the Almighty for we battle not against flesh and blood but against the powers of darkness. We are called to be peace warriors. A peace warrior is one who fights the battle within against fears, guilt, greed, lust, pride, anxiety and doubts. The Lord says, “ be a warrior not a worrier.” When we have won the battle within, no force on earth can withstand us. As scripture says, “ The riders on horses will be confounded.” The “riders on horses” implies those who are occupying positions of power and influence much higher than us will be confused and defeated as we face them unarmed but in the strength of our courage and faith. We face the challenges that life throws at us with the word of truth, the power of God and the armour of righteousness. Wearing the full armour will protect us from the deception of the enemy. The chief weapon of the enemy is to delude and deceive us. The respiration process of the peace warrior is prayer, continual prayer. We do not fight in the manner of flesh but fight in the spirit, tearing down spiritual strongholds of disbelief and deception. This is the “ good fight” where we shed love and peace and not blood or violence or hatred. We do not do shadow boxing or in other words we do not loose our focus and priorities but remain focused on the goal of winning the incorruptible prize of eternal life. We will not only start and continue the good fight but also finish well. Our faith and our resolve will not get weakened with time or circumstance. The essence of the victory of the peace warrior is the confession or profession of faith that he or she makes. The confession releases the power of God. When I told my then boss, the Superintendent of Police of the district where I was working in May 1991, “ My God will save me..”, without my knowing, it released the power of God to save me in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. If we confess before any human witnesses with our mouth, we are bringing our mouths in alignment with the mouth of God. We confess and profess as God speaks and the witness or the audience or the person listening to our words will see the mighty power of God at work in our lives. Though we are unarmed and vulnerable, our words will become armed with the very power of God. Prateep V Philip

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