[…]sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword’ ” (Matthew 26:52). Jesus wielded His influence, not his power, to accomplish the prophecies concerning Him. Man’s natural inclination is to think: He who carries the biggest stick wins. Instead of condoning Peter’s protective gesture, Jesus healed the servant’s injury and told Peter to put away his weapon (John 18:10-11). Jesus could have responded to the arresting entourage with a show of His mighty power or through a simple appeal to his Father and the thousands of angels standing by for Jesus’ use. […]
[…]and faith must be in Him. So, as Jesus said, be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves (Matthew 10:16) in these times of challenge. COL Douglas Mastriano is currently at the US Army War College, a member of the 2010 Class. This article was printed in the August 2010 issue of […]
[…]light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16). In this present world, you’re fighting a spiritual battle as well as a physical one. Ephesians 6 instructs us to fight the spiritual battle with the armor of God–the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, feet fitted with readiness, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. Examine these components and I believe you can see these weapons as fellowship, prayer, and the Word. I remember a different kind of warfare from my active duty days–cyber-war, in […]
[…]words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matthew 7:24). I think that deep down inside most of us generally have a sense of how to respond to adversity and challenging circumstances. So the question isn’t “What should I do?” but “How will I choose to respond?” Will you succumb to the demands of the event or will your response come from the foundation of your spiritual life? Jesus said that everyone who hears and acts on His words is wise. That wise one will be the person […]
[…]openly from the middle of a Muslim country (Saudi Arabia). A group of us read through the book of Matthew and just discussed whatever stood out to us. It added a new perspective being this close to where all the events we were reading about happened. For example, it’s cold at night in the middle of winter there. I’d always wondered if it were really cold when Jesus was born, being so near a desert and fairly far south. If He really were born around Christmastime as we celebrate it, yes, it would have been cold in that stable! And […]
