By Jack Bishop

The Christian is often referred to as a Soldier in the Lord’s army. What does that mean to us? I think that it depends on our personal experiences and world view. It depends if we see that there is a spiritual war being waged everyday in both the seen and unseen worlds.
10And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. 11So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. 12This is no afternoon athletic contest that we'll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.
13Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet. 14Truth, righteousness, 15peace, 16faith, 17and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them throughout your life. God's Word is an indispensable weapon. 18In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out. Ephesians 6:10-18 MSG

Like it or not we are in a battle. The truth is we are either on God’s side or the Devil’s side. There is no neutral ground. To put it in military terms there is not a “demilitarized zone.” In our hearts we have set up camp on one side or the other of the line. There is a line between what is life giving, right and true and what produces death that is wrong and full of lies. God calls his children to stand firmly on His side of the line and to help others come to Him.

When we are firmly rooted on His side He can use us in powerful ways we can’t even imagine before they happen. Too often in our human weakness we begin to think we can dance around the edge of the line. Sometimes we fool ourselves into thinking we can be a double agent. At first as we step slightly onto the line, thinking we can straddle the line. At first when we get over the line and feeling a little dirty we quickly jump back into God’s territory. The more we play this game of fooling ourselves, the easier it gets until all of a sudden we find our selves totally on the wrong side of the line. At that point we are like a soldier that heads into battle without loading his weapon. He might believe he is ready for battle, yet in reality he is useless. He might believe he can lead others to God’s side of the line, yet he is like a lost man without a compass.

The hope that we have is when we find ourselves in this situation we can call out to Him and He will rescue us and clean us up and reload our weapons. Our mission is then to cultivate the weapons of the Kingdom and to dwell in the Kingdom. We need to get trained in the things of the Kingdom: Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Faith, and Salvation. A soldier practices warfare and we can do so by praying, reading His Word the Bible, and asking Him to keep us camped on His side of the line. Then He can use us in the battle to bring others to His side of the line because we will not only have a compass we will know the way. Our weapons will have the ammunition of truth, hope and life.

Father, help me to be firmly rooted on Your side of the line. I want to be filled with the ammunition of Your truth, hope and love. Show me anywhere that I have dabbled in the wrong side and gently guide me back. It is my true desire to be used by You to draw others to the life side of the battle line. You are so good Father, mold me to Your model for us Your Son Jesus the Christ, Amen.


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By jack bishop

God judges what we give by what we keep. –George Mueller

My friend told me this story. When he was a young man living at home with his parents they were at church one Sunday morning as a family as was their practice. On this Sunday at the end of the service the pastor announced that they were going to take up a special collection for a family that was in need. His father pulled out his wallet and in it was seven dollars, this was all the family had to carry them through the next week. He explained to his wife what their situation was and they both agreed that they would make it through the week one way or another. My friend’s dad put the families last seven dollars in to the collection plate. They went home after the service and his mother went about finding something to make the family of five for Sunday dinner. When they had been home only a few minutes there was a knock on their door. His father answered the door and it was the pastor of their church. It turned out that the collection that was taken up was for my friend’s family.

There is no way for us to know what is being loosed in heaven when we choose to do what we know is right. Not a thing we have would we have if it weren’t for God’s gracious generosity. To give to His work or His children in need is our privilege that God would us to bless others. We give because we are thankful for what Jesus has already done for us, yet there is a dynamic in the Kingdom of God that the more we give the more God gives to us.

41 And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. 42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. 43 Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, "Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on."
Mark 12:41-44

My friend’s father had no clue that the collection was for himself and his family, he like the widow was giving sacrificially. We can give monetarily to the Kingdom, but we can also give ourselves. Sacrifices of our time, our skills, and our belongings can change a person’s life and set things in motion within the Kingdom we never thought of. Giving is never about the amount whether it is money or time it is about the motive and the condition of our heart.

Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice was based on His deep love for us. Just as Jesus gave of Himself we are called to give of ourselves. We are not called to give to earn anything because we can’t earn God’s love or Grace for us. We are called to give out of gratitude for his love and grace towards us.
Father, thank you for the way you love me. Help me to love others with a heart of gratitude. Help me to be generous with all you have given to me. Help me to be an agent that acts in a manor that looses things in your Kingdom for good. Mold me into a giver. In Jesus name, Amen.


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By jack bishop

There are 504 verses in the Bible containing the word "hear' in them. Some are God saying; "Hear me now", some are mankind calling out to God; "hear me now", some are how mankind refused to listen, and some are how mankind respond to God's voice. The best are the ones that reveal how God's love and blessings flow when we respond and God answers us beyond our wildest dreams.

Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice. Psalm 55:17

I have been thinking of the Verizon Wireless commercials with the man asking, "Can you hear me now?" Next they added the mob behind him representing the network that is supporting the wireless service. Now they have the customer asking for directions and the town's folk telling them it is a dead zone. The Customer turns and asks the Verizon man if there is a signal. He turns looks to the mob they say "you're good." He then turns and tells the Customer "you're good" and the Customer turns to the town's folk and says "we're good." Then the Town's folk tell them that something else is going to be wrong with where they are going.

These commercials remind me of the reality of God's kingdom. If we call out to Him there is always a signal. God always hears the prayers of the faithful. There is a mob of His angels surrounding us at all times ready to protect us and guide us. All we need to do is call out in prayer and He will hear us. It wasn't always this easy. We used to have to be tied to wires to make telephone call and we used to have to go through the priests and sacrifices required in the Mosaic Law to talk to God.

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:1-5&14

Jesus became human to make the way for us to be reconciled to Himself. We no longer need a Priest to go between God and ourselves. Jesus fulfilled the requirements of the Mosaic Law. We have direct access that never looses signal. We can bring anything to Him and He will "hear us now."

The town's folk saying something else is wrong are like Satan and his demons trying to keep us from connecting with our Father. We must train ourselves to ignore their lies and distractions. We must hold firm to the truth. The truth that Jesus is the Word of God and we can be in connection with Him at all times.

Father, Thank You that you "Hear me now" and that You love me beyond anything I can understand. Help me to turn to You for everything in my life the good, the bad and everything in between. Help me to "hear You now," I need to hear from You all the days of my life. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit, Amen.


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By jack bishop

It is human nature to try to hide from others our fears, our weaknesses, and our short comings. We put on a happy face and act as if everything is right in our life whether it is or not. In sports it would be called putting on your “game face.” The world tells us this is a good thing, but this practice of hiding ourselves is the very thing that puts distance between ourselves and God.
8When they heard the sound of GOD strolling in the garden in the evening breeze, the Man and his Wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from GOD.
9GOD called to the Man: "Where are you?"
10He said, "I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked. And I hid."
11GOD said, "Who told you you were naked? Did you eat from that tree I told you not to eat from?"
12The Man said, "The Woman you gave me as a companion, she gave me fruit from the tree, and, yes, I ate it."
Genesis 3:8-12 MSG

We become really good at putting on our masks. We might have one we wear at work, another we wear at home, and yet another mask we wear at church. This results in our never being truthful about who we are with ourselves or before God. The longer we wear these masks the more we begin to believe that they are the truth. The more we lie to ourselves and others the more we start to think it is the truth.

We might be able to fool ourselves, our friends, even fellow church members, but not God. It is so very egotistical to think being God’s created children that we can fool Him. When I was a little boy and didn’t like what was for dinner would steal dry Jello mix from the cupboard and eat it dry. When I would get caught I would try to deign I had taken it as the colorful powder would puff out of my mouth as I earnestly stated my innocence. My lips, tongue, and teeth died the color of the Jello. It is the same with our trying to mask ourselves from God. He can see right through them and our sins leave a stain on our hearts only He can remove.

If we pray and ask the Holy Spirit will help us to remove our masks and free us from the bondage of the sins we have been trying to hide. If we will be real and truthful be for our Father he will forgive us and cleanse us.

8If we claim that we're free of sin, we're only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. 9On the other hand, if we admit our sins--make a clean breast of them--he won't let us down; he'll be true to himself. He'll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing. 10If we claim that we've never sinned, we out-and-out contradict God--make a liar out of him. A claim like that only shows off our ignorance of God. 1 John 1:8-10 MSG
Once we have taken off our masks before our Father in heaven we can then leave them off before our friends and family. If we will trust Jesus and His promises and be open and real with each other in our churches and all our relationships we will revolutionize our world around us. God is truth and will only pour all of His blessings out in community that is (3endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:3 NKJ).

We can minister to one another once we take off our masks and can be real with each other about the struggles we have had and How Jesus has brought us through them. When we are real with each other we can ask for the prayer we need to get beyond the hurts and struggles of this life.

Father, Thank You for the real and patient love you have for me. Help me to trust you to help me to be open and honest before you. I don’t want to hide any longer. Help me to have the faith to trust you to forgive me of all my sins. Remind me daily that you love the real me. That you made the real me and you will help me become the best me I can be through the power of Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus powerful name, Amen.


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Ephesians 4:
1As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to one hope when you were called-- 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
7But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.


To live a healthy Christian life good communication is an important aspect. Too many times in life we fail to communicate clearly and misunderstandings result that cause rifts in personal relationships and in congregations. The break down in communication results in hurt feelings and misassumptions that create mistrust and bring out the worst in human nature. It is our duty as a follower of Christ to strive for healthy communications.

As a Christian there are things we can do and choices we can make to improve communication between our fellow believers. The first is to choose to believe that our brothers and sisters have our good at the heart of their actions or words. We need to not rush to a conclusion that someone is “out to get us” or “doesn’t like us.”

There are times when our communication is like the cell phone commercials where the call is dropped and the person talking thinks that the other person is upset with what is being said. They start apologizing for an assumed offence. Too often we are like that first person who is going through life constantly apologizing for assumed offences they have done that don’t really exist.

If we love Jesus we are called to love his people. If I love you and you love me we should be able to come to one another and talk through any thing. If you think you have offended a fellow believer go and ask if you have offended them. If you have, apologize and if it is simply that you where misunderstood explain your true meaning and intent and press on in unity.

Unity doesn’t mean that we have to agree on everything in life. There are things in the Christian life that are fundamental truths that we must adhere to as a follower of Jesus. There are a lot of other things that are more about how we practice the Christian faith and life that are personal preferences and on those things we do not have to agree on to be in unity. God is big enough to allow us to worship Him in a manor that draws each of us closer to Him.


Father,

Thank you, for the depth of Your grace. Help me to be an agent of Your grace. Make me ready to give my friend the benefit of the doubt, wishing him and believing well of him. Grant me the grace to hear clearly and to speak clearly with everyone I come in contact. Thank You for believing the best about me. Amen.


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