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Soldier, run the race

Endure hardship with us like a good solder of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs -- he wants to please his commanding officer. Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules. (2 Timothy 2)


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 struggle 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. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Eph 6)


The LORD is my light and my salvation --
    whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life--
    of whom shall I be afraid?
When evil men advance against me
    to devour my flesh,
when my enemies and my foes attack me,
    they will stumble and fall.
Though an army beseige me,
    my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
    even then will I be confident.

One thing I ask of the LORD,
    this is what I seek;
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
    all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
    and to seek him in his temple.
(Ps 27)


The joy of the LORD is your strength. (Neh 8)


Praise be to the LORD my Rock,
    who trains my hands for war,
    my fingers for battle.
He is my loving God and my fortress,
    my stronghold and my deliverer (Ps 144)


Though the fig tree does not bud...
yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
    I will be joyful in God my Savior.

The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
    he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
    he enables me to go on the heights. (Hab 3)


I love you, O LORD, my strength.

The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
    my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.
    He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise,
    and I am saved from my enemies.

For who is God besides the LORD?
    And who is the Rock except our God?
It is God who arms me with strength
    and makes my way perfect.
He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
    he enables me to stand on the heights.
He trains my hands for battle;
    my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
You gave me your shield of victory,
    and your right hand sustains me;
    you stoop down to make me great.
You broaden the path beneath me,
    so that my ankles do not turn.

I pursued my enemies and overtook them;
    I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
I crushed them so that they could not rise;
    they fell beneath my feet.
You armed me with strength for battle;
    you made my adversaries bow at my feet.
You made my enemies turn their backs in flight,
    and I destroyed my foes.

The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock!
    Exalted be God my Savior! (Ps 18)


Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith... (1 Peter 5)


Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4)


Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead. (Judges 7)


I realized that God had not sent him ... He had been hired to intimidate me so that I would commit a sin by doing this... (Neh 6)


So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! (1 Cor 10)


Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but my body is weak. (Matthew 26)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jHL9_zijiQ - Fight on, Fighter (+testimony)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXGuWHb5INk - Fix my eyes


Recently He gave me a vision of me fighting in a battlefield. I saw me (looked rather young) wearing a Roman soldier's armor, and the helmet was highlighted. It felt like the LORD was asking me, "Do you sense any fear?" And I went, "oh, no I don't." For the next couple of days, "helmet of salvation" was highlighted to me individually, as well as from a few other people.

    • In God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? (Ps 56)
    • The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? (Heb 13)
    • I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mortal men, the sons of men, who are but grass, that you forget the LORD your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, that you live in constant terror every day because of the wrath of the oppressor who is bent on destruction? (Isaiah 51)
    • Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. (Matt 10)
    • Perfect love casts out fear  

The LORD had been putting it on my  heart to watch 'Dunkirk' for a while, and while I was watching last night, he save me some insights:

  • There are different types of soldiers -- army, navy, airforce, like intercessors, prophets, apostles, teachers, who work together as body of Christ
  • The soldiers are ready to die at any moment. It takes that kind of resolve.
  • Will you sacrifice yourself to save one? To save others?
  • It is foolish to go into battle without your armor :)  (Eph 6)
  • When God, our commanding officer, who can see the big picture and is the best strategist, gives us orders, it is wise to obey, for our own good.
  • On the other hand, we battle from a place of victory, KNOWING that our war is won.
  • We go into this with joy, not fear. JOY of the LORD is our strength. We are alert, sober, but not fearful.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Heb 12)


Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do  not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (1 Cor 9)


Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Phil 3)



I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day -- and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. (2 Timothy 4)


Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Cor 4)


I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. (Rom 8)


Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (Col 3)


Sub-topic: Discipline

In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons:

"My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
because the Lord disciplines those he loves,
and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.  

Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. "Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.


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