The Heart of a Warrior

But if we follow the tripwire to its source, the wounds and injuries we men carry are due to a lack of love—the kind of love received by a son from his father which makes him a man.

The names God gives us are more than mere compliments. They are identities—titles that define us, that say something important about us and are intended to inspire something deep within us. The bestowing of identity doesn’t happen just once to a man. There are too many roles and assignments in his life for him to be known or contained by one name o

I have found that the pace of the pen and the heart move well together. They seem to operate in third gear while the rest of my life is determined to lock into fifth. That fifth gear life is one of the great enemies of intimacy. Most men try to fit God into their lives rather than fit their lives into God. It doesn’t work. Think about it. Which is

“Who am I to you now God?” That was an initial question for healing and becoming the Beloved Son, and so that is an advanced, prayerful question for the Warrior.

In prayer, our Father helps us sift through our own thoughts. Inventory your thoughts, take them captive, see and hear . . . pay attention, observe! To find the source of a thought, play it out to its logical conclusion. You can tell where it came from by considering what fruit it will produce. Does it create blessing, encouragement, validation? Is

Here’s what I want you to do: find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace. (Matt. 6:6 MSG)

This is all-out, bloody battle, and there’s no giving it a “G” rating. This creature that lives within you wants to sin. John Eldredge calls it “the poser”; John Lynch refers to it as “the mask”; Paul calls it “the flesh.” The good news is, its lead role can be stripped from it and rightly reassigned to your true self, but its presence and power sh

Until we are trained, then regardless of our standing as believers, our false self will be the voice that speaks most of the time about most things. Complaining, accusing, labeling, judging, being impatient and frustrated, name calling, overdramatizing, getting angry and vengeful—all are a part of false self’s commentary.

The Heart of a Warrior must learn that God is good and is up to good in his life and in the lives of others. The Father’s aim is to deploy his Beloved Sons into many different situations where he wants a kingdom presence.