Dear... Home?
I am home. I've been home for over a week (and I still haven't posted anything!). So, would it be 'Dear Loved Ones'? 'Dear Friends'? That sounds sappy. Maybe I should say something that matches the title of my blog... Hail, Soldiers!
What does 'Hail' mean anyway? Where's a dictionary?
1. to cheer, greet, or salute; welcome
2. to acclaim; approve enthusiastically: the crowds hailed the conquerors.
That works! Thank you, Dictionary.com =)
But anyway, part of the reason I chose the title The Armor of God is because we are all at war. You know that war that started in heaven before the earth was created? That one where Satan was trying to get everyone to let him control them like a puppet master? It's still going. Our enemy, the enemy of all righteousness, is employing every evil, underhanded method he can think of to reduce mankind's control of themselves. I think drugs are his favorite weapon. Other addictions are very effective, too. And there's the emotional loss-of-self-control to worry about, also. The first emotion that comes to mind is anger, but there are others.
Satan is constantly attacking all of us, so whether we like it or not, we are IN the ultimate battle of Good vs Evil. That's why Paul said we need to put on the whole armor of God. We need to defend ourselves.
I love the war chapters in the Book of Mormon because just about every story in that section describes either what Satan is trying to do to us, or what we can do to counter Satan.
Example: The Nephites knew that a war was coming, so the Nephite war captain gave his soldiers armor and started building fortresses.
How it Applies: Satan may not be attacking us at his very moment (or maybe he's just being extremely subtle), but we can start defending ourselves right now. We can put on our armor and build up our fortresses by reading our scriptures and going to church, etc. So that when Satan DOES attack us, we'll be ready for him.
Another Example: The Nephites were trying to take over a Lamanite stronghold, but the Lamanites were too strong, so the Nephites drew the Lamanites out with a decoy, and captured to fortress without much of a fight.
How it Applies: Satan is trying to destroy us, but we have more power than he does, so he tries to distract us with things that don't matter so he doesn't have to worry about us so much.
By knowing what Satan is up to and knowing what possible counter-attacks there are and how well they worked for the Nephites and the Lamanites, we can give ourselves an upper hand in this battle.
God speed the right.
With love, from your Red-Headed Warrior, Andrew James Robarts.
2 comments:
One of the lessons I love in the war chapters is how the Nephites fortified their weakest cities first. When the Lamanites attacked and were unsuccessful, they decided to move on to one of the cities that used to be weaker but then found that it was even stronger than the one they had just been to. We know where we are weak; we need to strengthen ourselves there first.
Another tidbit from that particular series of events; when the Lamanites failed at one city, they moved on. If we're able to repel Satan in one aspect of our lives, that's great, but don't get comfortable. He may be about to switch tactics.
Post a Comment