Welcome back to The War Series, Dressed To Kill. Week 8 is right, I can’t believe it. It feels as though I just started this series last week. Wow! But within the 8 weeks, we have discussed soo much stuff pertaining to Spiritual Warfare, The Roman Legionaries, the Military, and so much more. I hope this series has helped you and inspired you like it has for me. We are coming to a close on The War Series with next week being our last week of the 9-week journey. If you have missed any posts, please don't hesitate to go back and catch up when you’re able. So, let’s waste no more time, and let’s get into our prayer for today!
Spiritual Warfare Prayer: Dear Gracious Father, blessed are those who know you and that keep your commandments. Blessed are those that love and sing your praises. Father, you are so amazing in all your ways, you are the reason that we wake up in the morning and start our day. When trouble arises it is you that we lean on in times of comfort. Father protect and cover your people living in this fallen and dark world. Keep us lifted up and remind us where our help comes from. Only you can mend, bind together, and heal a broken heart because you, and only you, are the God who created it. Father, we sing your praises forever more. Amen.
ANALYZE: REVIEW YOUR PROGRESS
This is the final letter of the F3EA military tactic that helps identify and capture our target enemy. The last letter is A for Analyze. We have found our enemy in the FIND phases, we have put the enemy under surveillance in the FIX phases, We have attacked and captured the enemy in the FINISH phase, and we have showcased the enemy’s vulnerabilities and weaknesses and used them against me in the EXPLOIT phases. Lastly, we are going to A, ANALYZE our progress so the next time we are attacked by the enemy we are more proficient at it.
PHASE REVIEW:
I want to take this time to briefly review the major things that we should have taken from each of these phases. Next week I will break down a little further in our final review process of the entire series but for right now, I want to review on a broader scale for each phase.
Reception Battalion
It was here that we learned the groundwork of being and becoming soldiers in the Army of the Lord. We have to make up our minds that we will not be of the world but only in it. It is here we learned:
> Basic Requirments/ Guidelines and Rules
> Old Habits die Hard: they have to leave us
> Pick up a new way of thinking
> Activate our endurance
Phase 1: Red Phase
It was in the Red Phase that Discipline, Values, and Teamwork were the building blocks of our endurance. Consistency and self-control was the driving force that needs and needed to be activated to proceed to the next phases. Establishing structure and a routine in order to sharpen that discipline in the Word of God to be grounded enough not to be shaken by the threat or attacks of the enemy.
Phases 2: White Phase
It was the White Phases that we are expected to cohesively showcases a medley of our skills from the training that we have learned from previous phases. With new skills comes new tests to showcase your proficiencies. When brought completely out of our comfort zone, we should adapt and use our training to eliminate the enemy.
Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things.
They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.
1 Corinthians 9:25
WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED THUS FAR THAT HAS HELPED YOU?
Weeks 6-9: Blue Phase
During these 3 weeks of the Blue Phase, Warrior Trainees will be expected to build on their previous skills from the Red, and White phases. The Warrior Trainees will be put to their final test in hopes of completing their training. This is a phase of mastery, advancement, and a warrior’s mindset. It is here that these skilled warriors are qualified to be put in any given situation or problem and should be able to come out to the other side successfully.
The Warriors will continue to advance in marksmanship and maneuvering techniques. They will be working together as a unified platoon when coming into contact with targets and identifying and defusing advanced explosives. In training, they will learn how to handle heavy weapon machineries like machine guns, and tanks, and also develop the skill to throw live grenades and explosives.
The Blue Phase will also test the Warrior's survival, fitness, and Soldier skills in a multiple-day field training that they must pass. In the field training, the warriors will be tested on their land navigational skills as well.
So that the man of God may be complete and proficient,
outfitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:17
Spiritual Intel
When we advance to the Blue phase, What does that look like spiritually? How can we build on what we have learned? I too, asked these very questions when I reached a point in learning all I could at a given point. All the questions, tools, analogies that we have learned, the fundamentals of Roman culture, the phases, the similarities of military basic training, and how it relates to our spiritual training in being a part of the Lord’s army. All of that knowledge that you have now attained, you have to build on it and put it to work.
And what that looks like is using your knowledge and skill set on your life experiences and trials. No longer will you clam up when struggles confront you, no longer will you fold under the pressure of your problems. You must stand firm and fight, use your training soldier, don't you dare forget your training!
Case and Point:
If you have ever gone to college or had a job that required you to purchase/ read a book pertaining to the class or job that you wanted, you should know that at some point the teacher or boss will tell you to hold on to that information for future reference. I got that alot from teachers when I began to take my core classes in my major or field of study. The point of this is at any given time you will have to reflect back and analyze or review what you have learned to be effective in the present or future.
The same goes in this phase spiritually. In some areas, you will be proficient in, and in others not so much, and that's okay. There’s always room for correction and reproof so that you can be more trained in that area. Some may be great in prayer but not in reading the Word daily, some may be peaceful towards others but not fully equipt in their faith. With that being said, building a stronger foundation in whatever area that you were being attacked in after or before the battle is necessary.
It’s safe to say, your approach to handling things before, shouldn’t be the same as now. If it is the same, then we need to go back to Weeks 1-2, and really get an understanding of the Decision-Making Process but also, be able to use our self-awareness to evaluate the problems or issues that we have that are keeping us from the Lord.
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Spiritual Marksmanship
I mentioned earlier that the military continues to train the Warriors in marksmanship, which if you remember is a person that is proficient at shooting targets with precision at long ranges. I also mentioned that they use this time to identify and defuse advanced explosives.
Spiritually, our take on honing in on our marksmanship is refining our aim by sharpening it. If you refer back to Week 1: The Decision-Making Process, we discuss the ways we can shapen our aim by doing the following:
1. Developing a New Mindset in Christ
2. Seeking God for Everything
3. Seeking the Guidance of the Holy Spirit
4. Asking for Spiritual Vision
5. Praying Fiercely
6. Studying and Reading the Word
7. Letting the Bible Truly Transform You
8. Sharing Your Experiences with Others
9. Preparing Yourself for the Attack
It is within these daily tasks that we can be more proficient in the Blue Phase. As far as throwing grenades and defusing them, I mean, spiritually we are not throwing actual grenades. Apostle Paul said that our Shield of faith protects us from the fiery arrows of the enemy, well so do live grenades. Grenades are sent to destroy anything that is within a close radius of the target. Spiritual, targets can be your family, finances, employment, Friends, and your health and wellness; these are deemed as grenade-worth targets as we mentioned in Target Practice in Week 1 as well.
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All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful;
yet to those who have been trained by it,
afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
Hebrews 12:11
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Jack-of-All-Trades
Have you ever heard the saying, “Jack of all trades, master of none!” I was talking to a good friend of mine and she brought up this saying. I had never heard it before but it makes perfect sense in regards to our spiritual walk with Christ. There are so many skills and things that the Lord wants us to be working on each and every day. It is more important to God that we place our focus on learning all of the skills rather than forfeiting them all to focus on just one.
The phrase “Jack of all trades, Master of None” is an old metaphor meant to refer to a person who dabbles in a wide variety of skills, rather than honing on one specific skill in particular. Spiritually, we are the jack of all the pieces of God’s armor; but we are the masters of none of them. Why? Two reasons as to why, One, we are flawed to be the master of anything. Two, because at some point in our lives we will experience some things personally, individually, or as a community that is so catastrophic that it disrupts us and makes us forget where we were in our training. These catastrophes are not failures; instead, they expose us to the areas that we are vulnerable to which need the most attention, training, work, or practice.
Golden Words of Wisdom:
Practice keeps your skills sharp and your reflexes vigilant in battle.
Use and rely on your training!
Always stay locked in on God and your Word; the moment you lose connect from your source is the moment you become vulnerable to your target.
Questions To Consider: Ask yourself these questions and try to answer them to the best of your ability.
1. What are some areas that I need to build, work on, practice, or be more proficient in?
2. How well Am I Sharpening my Aim?
3. What are some areas that I think I am proficient in? Walking in peace, reading the Word, perhaps? Maybe praying?
Train yourself in godliness. Exercise for the body is not useless, but godliness is useful in every respect, possessing, as it does, the promise of Life now and of the Life which is soon coming.
1 Timothy 4:8-16
Stay tuned for the next blog post!!!
WEEK 9:[THE WAR SERIES, DRESSED TO KILL]: A Graduation
I really enjoyed what you wrote about spiritual marksmanship, sharpening our aim, good stuff!