Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Boot Camp

One of the things that I'm loving about my time here in PR is that after being away since December, I'm back in a spiritual atmosphere where the main drive of those I'm around is pouring their lives out for the name of Christ and I am trying to soak this in and remind myself again of why I'm here...where we're all going...what in life is important...

As a means to this soul and head reconnection, I've become a huge fan in the past two weeks of downloading John Piper's sermons at desiringgod.org. I am still blown away that they post his stuff for free!! He has really been reminding me that life is war. It is not about making my life comfortable or exciting and I have to ask myself if what I'm giving myself to is part of the battle or the luxury of independence.

One of the women for whom I hold the highest regard and hope to emulate has been accustomed to waking up at 4:30 every day, ever since her kids were young (30+ years) for the purpose of joining in the battle in prayer. On account of little sleep, this dear warrior often falls asleep at functions as evening approaches, but such tremendous fruit has been wrought from her life and ministry and when human eyes are fully unveiled to the enduring combat, what scores of souls will be dancing at her passage into glory!

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggles is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:10-12

2 comments:

Adam said...

Thank you for that post AJ. It is a double blessing - just to hear your thoughts is great since I haven't seen you in so long but to hear what the Lord is teaching you is even greater. Thanks for the encouraging reminder that we all should be eternity-minded when living our daily lives.
I hope the Lord continues to use and bless you in PR.

Adam said...

Thanks for the reply on my blog...glad to hear that you're checkin' them out. I could use the prayer for contentment - haha. I'm probably a little more blunt on my blogs than I sometimes intend to be, I can't complain about the state of life I'm in, God has been very good. But I won't complain once that "one" comes around :-) I wonder if at times I shouldn't be so forthcoming on my blogs...oh well...life's too short to sugarcoat our thoughts. Have fun in PR...see ya in September if you're around.