The Call to Arms

The Call to Arms: The Battle for the Hearts, Minds, and Souls of Men. The moment we give our hearts and lives to Jesus Christ we are enrolled into great spiritual battle. The unholy trinity (the world, the flesh, and the devil) wars against us daily. There is not a single arena in the world we live in that isn’t involved in the struggle we face as Christian men and women. It’s the battle for the hearts, minds, and souls of men, men who love and have embraced Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and for men and women who have yet to give their lives to Him. My prayer is that this book would be a call to arms to each of us. In God’s economy it’s always about the heart; our hearts. Our mind dwells on the things it does because the mind dwells on what already exists within us; within our heart. Throughout our years, especially before coming to faith in Jesus Christ, we filled our hearts with “you name it;” we harbor within us corrupt data from which we draw upon to make sense of our lives and the pain and hurts we’ve known. The corrupt database within us must be over-written with the Word of God. Renewal in the life of a Christian comes by refilling our heart with the Word of God. Only this can bring about the end of the garbage in – garbage out that we have known and all too often walk in. That’s the transforming power of the Word of God. We must be about filling our heart and mind with the Word of God. We must give the Holy Spirit something to work with so at the moment of an errant or sinful thought or temptation that He might bring to mind a Scripture that will thwart the enemies attempt to derail us. In the great spiritual conflict we are in daily we cannot physically see Satan’s whereabouts. If we could we would be rocked by his immediacy. The enemy of our soul is ever around us. The intel we can gather about our enemy, his presence, his schemes and strategies, comes from the Word of God. God is our Supreme Commander and we, as soldiers in His army, must know His commands and directives for us. We must be aware of the schemes of our enemy. We must be aware of the lures he tosses in our direction. We are to serve as a Watchman on the wall so as to identify him in his whereabouts and actions, and to sound the alarm to the church and to those around us There are many things in this world that call out to us. These things are the ‘drug of choice’ over the hurts and disappointments we have known in our lives. This drug of choice exists within us; the old way of handling hurt, etc. We have all known suffering in our lives. This book, in part, addresses three areas of pain for men; divorce, loneliness, and the father wound. The list of the sources of our pain are as if limitless. We are assaulted at all sides; our sexual identity is under attack, the lure of temptation, lust, pornography and any number of other things all vie for our attention and allegiance. Satan wants to neuter the Christian male so that we no longer reproduce our own kind – other Christians. He wants to rob us of our testimony and in doing so, to silence us. No doubt we Christian men, at one period of time or another, have dropped the ball on our faith walk with Jesus Christ. We’ve gone AWOL. We’ve so easily retreated to our former ways – even to the very caves we once lived in so as to isolate ourselves from the world around us; escapism - to again become self-absorbed. Brief Book Summary There are six chapters in this book and each chapter ends with a Study Guide, where room is provided for the reader to pen answers to the questions and responses to the Scriptures therein. I offer the following brief descriptions of each: In chapter I examine the Battlefront of the war we as believers are called into. I address the world, the flesh, and the devil – the enemies against the Kingdom of God. In chapter 2 I take a look at what the Word of God says about the heart of man and the challenges that confront us. I touch on what we house in our heart, the woundedness within us, and a brief look at the beauty of brokenness. In chapter 3 I examine what the mind of man dwells on and our great need for renewal through the Word of God. I continue to find great comfort in both His Word and His presence in my life, especially since the amputation of my left leg. In chapter 4 I ask “what is it to act like a man?” per 1 Corinthians 16:13 “Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.” Our thoughts, words and deeds are examined, as is love. Chapter 5 is about when and how God speaks. I speak of God as our Supreme Commander and the qualities and attributes of God; and at our role as Warrior. I include personal testimonies about hearing God speak to me. The final chapter, chapter 6 is a call to Re-Enlist as a soldier of the Cross and an invitation to come to saving faith to the man and woman who do not yet know Jesus Christ. Additionally, I speak personally of my re-enlistment. I invite you into the glorious battle all Christians are enlisted into. My prayer is that you will find great encouragement and direction in the words the Lord has favored me with in the writing of this book. I have benefitted greatly in this endeavor. May it be for our good and His Glory, Amen!