The Authority In Bowing

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on AppleSpotify, or Audible. 

Recognition of the proper chain of command is drilled into every soldier, and knowing and following that chain of command is essential to success. In fact, it’s so important that violating this hierarchy could result in court martial and a dishonorable removal from military service. 

This is just as true in our service in the Lord’s army. 

Pastor Dan Chastain noted how similar the US Army’s Non-commissioned Officer (NCO) creed is to the way Roman centurion’s operated: “I will know my Soldiers and always place their needs above my own. I will communicate consistently with my Soldiers and I will never leave them uniformed. I will be fair and impartial when recommending both rewards and punishment.” 

The centurion we meet in Luke 7:2-10 cared for his servants and understood the chain of command. He recognized the supreme authority that Jesus had, even His authority over death and disease. 

(Check out all of the Scriptures I mention in this post here.)  

Pastor Dan also noted that the backing for an NCO’s authority is fear. There is an understanding of the authority that officer has to both reward and punish. 

The Romans had perfected the torturous act of crucifixion. It struck fear into the hearts of their enemies. In Mark 15:15-38 we see just how well the Romans had developed this gruesome act to keep people living in fear of them. 

They knew just how much to flog their victims to demoralize them for maximum effect—just enough to take the fight out of them, but not too much that they died before being crucified.  

The death of Jesus, however, was probably not what the Roman kill squad expected. It was probably a bit of a letdown for them that Jesus died rather quickly because they were used to their enemies suffering for days. But they also knew they had to ensure that their victims were truly dead (see John 19:31-34). 

Governor Pontius Pilate was also surprised how quickly Joseph of Arimathea showed up to ask for the body of Jesus, so Pilate summoned the centurion who had been in charge of the crucifixions to verify that He was indeed dead (Mark 15:42-45). 

Did you notice that Pilate called “the centurion”? Who is this? He’s the one who oversaw the kill squad that had crucified Jesus and the two other criminals. 

This centurion was a professional soldier. He had obtained his rank by his military skill, his leadership capabilities, his bravery, and his rigidly following the chain of command. His climb through up the ranks would have had him saying over and over again, “Kyrios kaiser,” which means “Caesar is lord.” 

But notice that throughout the time that the Roman soldiers gambled for Jesus’ clothes, hurled insults and Him, and thrust a spear into His side that this centurion remained silent. There was something about this Man that was different. 

When Jesus breathed His last breath, this soldier didn’t say, “Kyrios kaiser,” but something entirely different—“And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how He died, he said, ‘Surely this Man was the Son of God!’” (Mark 15:39). He changed from “Caesar is lord” to “Jesus is Lord”!  

Just like the Romans terrified their enemies, our enemy wants to do the same thing—to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10); to prowl and growl like a lion (1 Peter 5:8). 

We resist him not by our show or force against him, but by our show of submission to the King of kings (Philippians 2:10-11). The devil isn’t afraid of you, and you aren’t strong enough to defeat him (check out what happened in Acts 19:11-16). But satan has been defeated by our King, and when you bow to Christ’s authority, then he must flee from you (James 4:7). 

Our authority comes from bowing, from giving up our way of doing things, from not trying to figure out solutions on our own. When we bow to our King, we have victory! 

If you’ve missed any of the messages in this series on spiritual warfare, check them all out here. 

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

Delight In Your Duty

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on AppleSpotify, or Audible. 

If anyone is known for attentively doing their duty, it is the members of our military. Duty is drilled into them over and over and over. Civilians could learn a lesson from this. We tend to be reward-motivated, that is to say, if we feel some sort of reward for our effort, we may stick to our commitment. But duty-bound soldiers stick to their commitment regardless of how they feel or what the circumstances are. 

We need to be especially on guard against Christian duties that seem to be thankless, or else we may forget about doing them or do them only reluctantly. 

Some of you might be saying, “‘Christian’ and ‘duty’ doesn’t sound right in the same sentence. Isn’t everything we do for Jesus supposed to be delightful?” Paul said to Timothy, “Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:3). 

(Check out all of the Scriptures I use in this post by clicking here.)

And listen to these words from Jesus—

     Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, “Come along now and sit down to eat”? Won’t he rather say, “Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink”? Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, “We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.” (Luke 17:7-10) 

Why does the military drill the idea of duty into every soldier? Because doing your duty is indispensable to success in battle! 

In the New Testament, we meet three Roman soldiers who did their duty. Only one that we know of became a follower of Jesus, yet all three were pivotal for two key leaders in the early Church. These Roman soldiers were important because doing their duty helped Peter and Paul get where God had called them. 

Peter—Jesus called on Peter to be one of the foundational leaders of the Church (Matthew 16:18). But Peter never stepped fully into this role until a Roman centurion named Cornelius did his duty. 

In Acts 10:1-7 we meet Cornelius who followed the command of an angel without question, just as a dutiful soldier would. This dutiful act helped Peter understand what God was calling him to do (10:15-16, 22-28), and then helped him explain what the rest of the Church was supposed to do (11:18; 15:7-11). 

Paul—Lysias was the commander of the Roman garrison in Jerusalem. He saved Paul from literally being torn limb-from-limb by an angry mob, and then he safely transported Paul to Caesarea to avoid the assassins who were laying in wait to ambush Paul (Acts 21-22). 

Then when Paul was being sent to stand trail before Emperor Nero, a centurion named Julius also went to extraordinary lengths to see that Paul made it safely to Rome (Acts 27). 

All three of these Roman soldiers were merely doing their duty—obey orders from their commanding officers—but their dutiful service allowed Peter and Paul to get to the places where God needed them to be. 

Earlier I asked if the Christian life was supposed to be delightful. It may not be delightful here, but doing our duty may be tough at times. Paul said he rejoiced in the difficulties (2 Corinthians 12:10). 

Truly, doing our duty here is noticed by our Commander and King. Allow me to paraphrase Matthew 25:21 for the reward that Jesus gives those saintly soldiers who do their duty—

Our Commander will reply, “Well done, good and dutiful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” 

Do your duty—for your sake, for the benefit of others, and for the glory of our King. 

If you’ve missed any of the other messages in this series called The Lord’s Army, you can find them all here. 

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

Perfect Tactics

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on AppleSpotify, or Audible. 

In the mid-1930s, a German who fought in World War I as a lieutenant colonel published his book Infantry Attacks. This book recounted his heroic and innovative tactics that earned him battlefield success throughout that war. As World War II loomed, the popularity of this officer and his book compelled Adolf Hitler to appoint him field commander, even though he didn’t come from the prestigious family lines that were typical of other German officers. 

This field commander began adapting the tactics he had used with his infantry in WWI to the tanks that were now under his command in WWII. His success was so swift and noteworthy in northern Africa that he quickly earned the nickname “the Desert Fox.” This is Edwin Rommel. 

In Infantry Attacks, Rommel describes how his shock troops used speed, deception, and deep penetration into enemy territory to surprise and overwhelm. He used innovative tactics like assigning a small team of men to approach enemy lines from the direction in which his enemy expected the attack, which was really just concealing the bulk of his troops who were sneaking to the flanks and rears of the defenders to take them by surprise. These tactics usually intimidated his enemies into surrendering, which helped him avoid unnecessary risks to his supply lines and soldiers. 

But were these tactics truly innovative? If we look back in history we will discover a masterful tactician that used these maneuvers with his troops 3000 years before Rommel did! 

Joshua was the renown field commander of the Israelite army as they moved into the Promised Land. See if some of his tactics sound similar to those Rommel employed. 

  • A fake frontal assault to distract the enemy from the concealed special forces—Joshua 8:1-7, 18-19 
  • An early-morning surprise attack after an all-night march—10:7-10 
  • A divide-and-conquer campaign: the southern campaign was a relentless push (10:29-38, 41-42); the northern campaign relied on a surprise attack (11:1-9) 

(Check out all of the Scriptures in this post by clicking here.) 

Joshua knew God’s voice (Exodus 33:11) and we see it in his tactics. Notice how many times we read about Joshua hearing God’s voice (8:1, 18; 10:8, 10, 42; 11:6, 8). In fact, “The Lord said” appears 15 times in the Book of Joshua! 

The only time Joshua experienced any casualties at all was when he attacked the little town of Ai after their major victory at Jericho without getting God’s tactics first (7:1-12). In this case, Joshua made his tactics based on what “they said.” 

Presumption is so dangerous! We should never think, “This is how God did it last time, so I’ll just copy-and-paste that same prayer and that same tactic in this situation.” After the Israelites repented of their sin, God did give them the precise tactics to defeat Ai, which is what we already saw in Joshua 8. 

The next update we read about Joshua’s troops is, “The whole army then returned safely to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah” (Joshua 10:21). That isn’t miraculous, but it is the expected outcome because all of Joshua’s tactics were from God Himself.

The United States had a general who matched wits with Rommel in WWII. General George Patton wrote this in his diary, “In forty hours I shall be in battle, with little information, and on the spur of the moment will have to make the most momentous decisions. But I believe that one’s spirit enlarges with responsibility and that, with God’s help, I shall make them, and make them right.” 

General Patton was half-right: God will give directions, but we don’t have to wait until we’re in the heat of the battle; God can give us perfect tactics before the battle begins. 

This reminds me of what God said through the prophet—“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a Voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it’” (Isaiah 30:21). This is foretelling what Jesus said the Holy Spirit would do for us (John 14:26, 16:13). God’s Voice must be the one and only Source of guidance in our spiritual warfare. 

Remember what God told Joshua in Joshua 1:7-8 that he should read and meditate on God’s word at every moment. The writer of Hebrews addresses the same idea about God’s Voice that is heard through His Word, and how this is to be our weapon and Source of strategy as well (Hebrews 4:1-12). 

The perfect tactic for every situation, every conversation, every attack, every opportunity is found in the inspired Word of God. Never presume you know what to do, but let the Holy Spirit illuminate the perfect tactic to you for each unique situation. 

If you have missed any of the messages in our series called The Lord’s Army, please click here. 

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

Practice For Precision

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on AppleSpotify, or Audible. 

An old Sunday School song had me joyfully singing, “I’m in the Lord’s army!” I loved playing “Army” with my friends and I also loved this song and the idea behind it, but it seems like many seasoned saints today get a little uncomfortable with the idea of a militant Church. But military-like precision was drilled into everything the Church was taught from the days of Moses all through the end of the New Testament. 

Let’s just consider the precision of the movement of the tribes of Israel. For 40 years in the wilderness they were an army on the move, and they moved with precision that was drilled into them. 

  • Numbers 2 lays out the precise encampment arrangements. 
  • Numbers 10:14-36 tells us precisely how they marched out with the vanguard, supporting troops, and rearguard. 

(Check out all of the Scriptures in this post by clicking here.)

Charles T. Crabtree wrote, “As spiritual people we are to understand spiritual warfare. We are to be alert to the devil’s devices. We are not to be obsessed with demonic strategy; we are simply, through God, to understand it and be superior to it.” 

We are in a spiritual battle that requires spiritual armor (Ephesians 6:11-13), and we must practice for precision in which armor and which weapons to use (2 Corinthians 10:4; 2 Timothy 2:3-4). 

My friend Dan Chastain spent more than 20 years serving in the US Army, and he notices several parallels between what the Bible says about military leaders and what he learned in his long military service. He shared four key characteristics of warriors: 

  1. Dedication to honorable service 
  2. Obedience and loyalty to whom and what they serve 
  3. Integrity at all costs
  4. Selfless service 

Dan also shared the US Army’s model of Be, Know, and Do. Which is also vital for Christian warriors today. 

When Joshua—the general of the Israelite army—took over, he was given this directive by God: Meditate on God’s Word so that you can live by it (Joshua 1:6-8), and the New Testament would agree (2 Timothy 3:16-17). So we, too, will learn from the military leaders that Scripture has given us how to practice our precision in the Lord’s Army. 

Let’s make sure we can finish well. As Paul said to Timothy, “Fight the good fight of the faith. … I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (1 Timothy 6:12; 2 Timothy 4:7). 

You can start today by applying Be, Know, and Do with the Training Manual for the Lord’s Army every single day: 

  • Be in the training Manual every day 
  • Know the Manual 
  • Do what the Manual says 

Follow along with all of the messages in our series on The Lord’s Army. 

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

The Lord’s Army

An old Sunday School song had kids joyfully singing, “I’m in the Lord’s army!” Children who enjoyed playing “Army” with their friends loved this song and the idea behind it, but it seems like many seasoned saints today get a little uncomfortable with the idea of a militant Church. 

But from God’s well-ordered instructions in the Old Testament of how the tribes of Israel were to move out with military precision, to the New Testament’s directions of how Christians are to wear their spiritual armor to fight their battles, it’s clear that saints are indeed a part of the Lord’s Army. 

On the pages of Scripture, we are introduced to military leaders—some who are among God’s people and some who are outsiders. From each of these leaders we can learn invaluable lessons for our lives. I hope you will join us for this informative and applicable series of messages.

Check out:

Links & Quotes

Jesus showed us how to remain faithful as a shepherd even in the face of painful attacks. If you are a pastor—or if you love your pastor—please check out my books Shepherd Leadership and When Sheep Bite. 

I have a lot of new video content on my YouTube channel every week. Please check it out and subscribe so you don’t miss anything.

Every year I see the same unsubstantiated claims that the Christian celebration of Christmas is a hodgepodge of pagan and cultic myths cobble together and hijacked by Christians. Here are three myths refuted by archeological evidence.

Dr. Allen Tennison points out how Luke emphasizes the work of the Holy Spirit all throughout his Gospel, and then continues that theme as he moves into the Book of Acts.

“One of the first gospel blessings is that of complete justification. A sinner, though guilty in himself, no sooner believes in Jesus than all his sins are pardoned. The righteousness of Christ becomes his righteousness, and he is accepted in the Beloved.” —Charles Spurgeon 

“For the apostle Paul, as, indeed, for all the apostles and early Christians, the Church is the Body of Christ, the continuing incarnation of the reigning and conquering King of Glory. The Church, according to the apostles, is the centerpiece of Christ’s historical agenda (Matthew 16:18). Whatever Christ intends to do on earth prior to His imminent return, the focal point of that work will be in and through His Church. … We do not have the mind of Christ if we are not thinking the same way about His Body, the Church. We need the Church, and if we do not think this is so, then we do not have the mind of Christ. We need the Church. But we need it according to the purpose with the guidance and blessing of the Lord Jesus Christ.” —T.M. Moore 

What an amazing story of faithfulness! The faithfulness of God is seen in the loving actions of an unnamed Sunday School teacher and in a lifelong missionary.

Cold-case detective J. Warner Wallace contrasts blind belief and unreasonable belief with what he calls forensic faith. His conclusion: “A forensic faith gives you confidence in uncertainty, strength in adversity, and the ability to engage intellectually with both believers and skeptics. It transforms faith from mere hope into informed trust, and that makes all the difference in how you live out your beliefs in a world that’s constantly questioning them.”

“Depression is one of satan’s most dynamic weapons to divert you from God’s purpose for your life. If he can scatter a little dejection here and there in your thoughts—and even in your prayers—he can convince you to remove your breastplate of righteousness because it is too cumbersome and will go against your material and temporal interest. Do not give in that easily!” —William Gurnall, The Christian In Complete Armor 

Contend For People

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on AppleSpotify, or Audible. 

Jude calls Christians to contend for the faith without contention and without compromise. As we wrap up this series, there is one final question that we should ask: What are we contending for? 

I believe the bottom line for Jude is that we are contending with saints for people. In other words, we have to be united in our efforts as we seek to expand the Kingdom of God. 

The first hurdle we need to overcome is eliminating the dividers. Paul told the Ephesian elders about these people (Acts 20:29-30). And Jude describes them in verses 12, 16-19 as…

  • blemishes 
  • self-serving and boasting about themselves 
  • unfruitful 
  • grumblers and faultfinders 
  • ungodly desires 
  • following natural instincts = governed by their appetites 
  • who divide you 

(Check out all of the Scriptures in this post by clicking here.)

Jude then makes a stark distinction—saints are to be different! Saints are to be united in their love for Jesus and their love for each other. In fact, this is what Jesus said would distinguish His followers (John 13:35) and Paul elaborates on this in Philippians 2:1-4. 

In verses 20-25, Jude calls saints to live in contrast to “these men” who divide. He challenges saints to—

  • keep being built up in our faith (see also Ephesians 2:20; Colossians 2:7) 
  • praying in the Holy Spirit 
  • keeping ourselves in God’s love 
  • waiting in assurance for Christ’s imminent return 

And as we are building, praying, keeping, and waiting, we must also be rescuing people from their path toward Hell. Our battle is never against flesh and blood. Our battle is against those powers that divide and those powers that bind and blind (Ephesians 6:12; 2 Timothy 2:26). 

We must not get sidetracked or distracted, we must not contend in a contentious way, but we must remain united with Jesus and united with fellow saints as we seek to expand the Kingdom of God. 

If you’ve missed any of the previous messages from this series on the Book of Jude, you can find them all here. 

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

Training For The Fight

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on AppleSpotify, or Audible. 

Last week I challenged all of us to ask the Holy Spirit to check our attitude to ensure we indeed have the attitude of a secure servant. This is especially true when we remember that we are in the midst of a spiritual battle and that Jude writes this letter to us to encourage us to “contend for the faith.” 

When Jesus told His parable about the sower, here’s what He said about the seed that fell on the hard path (Mark 4:15 AMPC). Jesus said the forces of evil want to try to bring down the Kingdom of God (Matthew 11:12).

(All the Scriptures I use in this post may be viewed here.)  

Are we willing to engage in this intense battle? Will we strive with the forces of darkness for the sake of seeing lost people saved? God told Isaiah that it was so easy to give in—to throw our hands up (Isaiah 64:5-7). Paul extolled a Christian brother named Epaphras for his willingness to wrestle in prayer for the saints (Colossians 4:12). 

Indeed wrestling for the saints is what Jude had in mind. 

I like the phrase “contend for the faith” in the Message paraphrase: “Fight with everything you have in you.” 

The Greek word Jude uses here is the only time it’s used in the New Testament. It means:

  1. To enter a contest—1 Corinthians 9:24-26 
  2. Contend with adversaries—Colossians 4:12; Ephesians 6:12 
  3. Struggle through difficulties—Colossians 1:28-29 
  4. Endeavor with strenuous zeal to obtain victory—1 Timothy 6:12; 2 Timothy 4:7 

The root word is agonizimai which sounds a lot like our English word “agonize.” This is an all-in mentality. Sitting on the sidelines, casually interacting, dabbling in it every once in a while won’t lead to victory. 

The stakes are too high, our enemy is cunning and desperate, so nothing less than agonizing training that will not quit no-matter-what will do! 

What exactly are we training to do? 

Too many view salvation as just saved from Hell. That’s part of it, but not all of it. We’re also saved to display the glory of God. The first part is accepting Jesus as Savior; the second part is accepting Jesus as Lord. The salvation we share is not either-or, but it is both-and: Jesus is both our Savior and Lord. 

We need to strive to obtain the fullness of Christ’s nature in us. People should be able to see and feel a difference in our lives without us even opening our mouths. Francis of Assisi said, “Preach always; if necessary, use words.” To that end, he offered this prayer—

“Lord, make me a channel of Thy peace, that
where there is hatred, I may bring love;
where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness;
where there is discord, I may bring harmony;
where there is error, I may bring truth;
where there is doubt, I may bring faith;
where there is despair, I may bring hope;
where there are shadows, I may bring light;
where there is sadness, I may bring joy.”

Will you be all-in?
Will you wrestle in prayer?
Will you let go of earthly things so you can cling to Jesus?
Will you display His light through your life?
Will you be ready to use words, if necessary?

Let’s make sure we are ready to contend for the faith the right way! 

P.S. Speaking of prayer, my new book Amen Indeed is a prayer guide for pastors. Please consider giving a copy of this book to your pastor! 

If you’ve missed any of the other messages in our series Earnestly Contend, you can find them all here. 

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

Links & Quotes

Have you felt under attack spiritually lately? Especially when things are going well, we need to stay on guard because the enemy of our soul is always looking for an opening. Don’t give him any opening at all—stay vigilant!

I have a lot of new video content on my YouTube channel every week. Please check it out and subscribe so you don’t miss anything.

“All men are ordinary men; the extraordinary men are those who know it.” —G.K. Chesterton

I thoroughly enjoy reading the words of Oswald Chambers (check out my lengthy Thursdays with Oswald feature). Dr. Steve Nichols shared a mini-biography about this extraordinary pastor on his 5 Minutes In Church History podcast.

Over a week before the assassination of Charlie Kirk, Abdu Murray had a chilling prediction in his commentary From Cancel Culture to Assassination Culture.

“Practice, which some regard as a chore, should be approached as just about the most pleasant recreation ever devised.” —Babe Didrikson Zaharias 

Using a question about the recreational uses of marijuana, John Piper notes something deeper: “The church for a long time has leaned too heavily on the overlap between the state and the church for the strength of our conviction concerning what is right and wrong.” This post is a call for Christians to dig into the Scriptures for what we believe, and not just follow what society says.

“The man who thinks he can live without others is mistaken; the one who thinks others can’t live without him is even more deluded.” —Hasidic Proverb 

This 12-minute video from Daniel Pink has some solid insights on higher productivity.

The Enemy Within

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on AppleSpotify, or Audible.

Confuse them, Lord, and frustrate their plans, for I see violence and conflict in the city. Its walls are patrolled day and night against invaders, but the real danger is wickedness within the city… (Psalm 55:9-14 NLT) 

David sees violence and conflict, but he is quick to conclude that the enemy is not “out there” but “in here.” Notice the phrases “in the city” and “within the city.” 

This is why Jesus tells us to deal with the plank in our own eye first (the things in here), and then I can see clearly to address what may be out there (see Matthew 7:1-5). He also tells us to pay attention to the clear indicators that something is wrong “in here” in Matthew 15:18-20. 

Yes, we should address false gods and evil practices. But G.K. Chesterton warns us to make sure we are addressing the right things—

“Idolatry is committed, not merely by setting up false gods, but also by setting up false devils; by making men afraid of war or alcohol, or economic law, when they should be afraid of spiritual corruption and cowardice.” 

God-fearing leaders must always address their own areas of corruption as the first and highest priority. It’s only after this heart-check that we can truly lead people away from things which are holding them back from fully following God. 

Holy Spirit, if I feel the need to point my finger at what’s wrong “out there,” may I first yield to Your finger pointing out what’s wrong “in here” in my own heart. Once I have recognized, confessed, and corrected what’s wrong in me, equip me to be a lovingly-strong and empathetic guide to help others around me. 

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎