"The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name." (Exod. 15:3)

Some of Proverbs 16

All man's ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord.

Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the Lord a man avoids evil. When a man's ways are pleasing to the Lord, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him.

In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.

Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord. The wise in heart are called discerning, and pleasant words promote instruction.

There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.

Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life.

Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city.

Now, it says better a patient man than a warrior, but it does not say that there are not times to be a warrior. As the verse in the title exclaims, God is a warrior. We are made in the image of God. If you are a man, you are a warrior. Plain and simple. Now for some of Eldridge and Scripture:

"The Lord will march out like a mighty man, like a warrior he will stir up his zeal; with a shout he will raise the battle cry and will triumph over his enemies." Isa. 42:13

"But the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors wil stumble and not prevail." Jer. 20:11

"Lif up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle." Ps. 24:7-8

"And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back." Rev. 12:6-8

"One of the servants answered, 'I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows hot to play the harp. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the Lord is with him.'" 1 Sa 16:18

"One of you routs a thousand, because the Lord your God fights for you, just as he promised" Joshua 23:10

Paul discusses fighting as well.

Judges 15:9-16

Throughout the Old Testament the Spirit of the Lord came upon His servant's and they fought and conquered.

"When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. IN the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, 'Get out of here! How dare you turn my Father's hous into a market!'" John 2: 13-16

Eldridge

"Our God is a Warrior because there are certain things in life worth fighting for, must be fought for. He makes man a Warrior in his own image, because he intends for man to join him in that battle."

"There are certain things worth fighting for. A marriage, for example, or the institution of marriage as a whole. Chlidren, whether they are yours or not. Friendships will have to be fought for, as you've discovered by now, and churches, too, which seem bent on destroying themselves if they are not first destroyed by the enemy who hates them. Many people feel that earth itself is worth fighting for. Doctors fight for the lives of their patients, and teachers for the hearts and futures of their students. Take anything good, true, or beautiful upon this earth and ask yourself, 'Can this be protected without a fight?'"

"We live in a world at war. We are supposed to fight back. It is apparently a difficult reality to embrace, as witnessed by the passivity that marks much of modern Christianity. We just want the Christian life to be all about the sweet love of Jesus. But that is not what's going on here. You may not like the situation, but that only makes it unattractive--it does not make it untrue."

Adam.."He is created to act, endowed with the image of a mighty God who acts and intervenes dramatically. Adam did not, and whatever elese got passed on to us men from the first man, we know that paralysis--another word for passivity--is certainly one of them."

"...In the saloon, they try to rouse the men of the town to action. One of the local tradesmen says, 'It's a shame what this town's come to,' to which one of the cowboys replies, ' You could do something about it.' 'What?' the frightened man replies. 'We're freighters. Ralph here's a shopkeeper.' Then my favorite line: 'You're men, ain't ya?'"

"...Passivity has no place in the lexicon of true masculinity. None. And to overcome passivity, God has set his warrior heart in every man."

"The Warrior must learn to yield his heart to nothing. Not to kill his heart for fear of falling into temptation, but to protect his heart for more noble things, to keep the integrity of his heart as a great reseroir of passionate strength and holy desire. That was Jesus' battle in the wilderness, as Satan tried this way and that to get him to surrender his integrity."

Rudyard Kipling, "If"

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
...Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

Eldridge:

"By the way--there is a place for comfort in the masculin journey, a place for mercy and rest and being ministered to. It's not all trial and test and battle, not by any means. It's just that most often, good comfort comes after the fight, and is so much more enjoyable in this way. One of the spoils of war."


Go and fight. For there is war. You are called to fight as servants of the Lord. Be strong and courageous. Victory is yours. Do not be discouraged. The Lord has promised to be with you always. We aren't the only ones fighting, remember the angels. There is hope...always has been...always will be. Hold strong. Find truth and cling to it for life. Fear the Lord for His name is Yahweh. All glory is to His name. He is your father. His love cannot even be fathomed. But not only is He going to Glorify Himself, He brings is family with Him. Strength brothers and sisters.