Zechariah 9:13 says that the Lord will make us like a warrior’s sword. That got me thinking about how a sword is made and how it’s used by a warrior. The picture that emerges is a beautiful analogy of how we are exactly like a warrior’s sword in the hand of God.

Begin with how a sword is made. All swords start out as nothing more than a lump of iron that’s been pulled out of the ground. Then the iron passes through fire to burn off the impurities. Next, the iron is mixed with a stronger material to make it more powerful. Then comes the process of heating, beating, and cooling the metal until it is formed into a blade. The sword is not complete until a handle is fashioned and attached to it. Without a handle, the warrior has no way to interact with the blade. The handle is the most intimate part of the sword because it is where the sword and the warrior come into contact with each other. Lastly, the sword is sharpened until it becomes lethal. This process involves bringing the sword into contact with other metal until the edges are nice and sharp.

Now, you have a finished sword. It might be impressive to look at, but it’s quite useless and pointless until the warrior picks it up and takes it into battle. Also, the sword cannot take itself into battle. It must wait until the trumpet sounds and the warrior takes it up and charges into the fight. Lastly, it’s important to recognize that the victory belongs to the warrior, not the sword. The sword is just a tool that the skilled warrior uses to fight the battle, but the victory belongs to the warrior.

Now, reconsider what it means to be a Warrior’s sword in the hand of the Lord. The Bible makes clear that we are all dead in our sins until we come to Christ. But, just like the lump of iron that’s been pulled up out of the ground, we have been raised up from death into life through Christ Jesus. Also like the unrefined iron, Jesus says that He baptizes with fire, so our impurities are burned away. The same way the iron is mixed with a stronger material, we, too, are mixed with something stronger than ourselves to make us more powerful - the Holy Spirit. We also go through a process of refinement where we experience trials that can feel like we’re in a fire or being beaten, but we are also comforted by the rivers of living water that flow from Jesus. The Lord uses our trials to form and shape us into who He wants us to be.

Even as we start to take shape as a sword, we still need a handle if the Warrior, Jesus, is going to be able to use us in battle. Remember, the handle is that point of intimate, personal contact where the sword and the Warrior come in contact with each other. We form that contact through worship, prayer, Bible study, serving the Lord, and serving others. When we have a strong relationship with the Lord, it becomes like a handle on a sword where the Warrior can hold onto us tightly. We can’t forget about the sharpening process, either. “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17). When we are united with other believers, we become more sharp and more useful as a Warrior’s sword.

But, even after we are refined, formed, and sharpened, we are rather pointless and useless as a weapon until the Warrior picks us up and takes us into battle. We can’t charge in to battle on our own. We must wait until the trumpet is sounded and the Warrior charges into battle. Otherwise, we cannot win. Lastly, the picture of the Warrior’s sword reminds us that the victory belongs to Jesus. We are useful and powerful tools in the hands of a skilled and powerful Warrior, but never forget that the battle belongs to the Lord.

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Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a super-hero? My guess is that at some point in your life you imagined yourself as Superman, Wonder Woman, or some other hero with super-powers. If you’ve ever thought about that kind of stuff, then you’ve probably thought about which super-powers you would want and what you would do with them. If you’re like me, then you probably still think about it every now and then. Well, sit tight, because I want to show you how you can be a real life super-hero for God.

When you think about all the “Supers,” there’s one that stands out above the rest as an example of how regular people like us can become heroes. Spiderman. I’m sure you’re familiar with the movie starring Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, but if it’s been awhile since you’ve seen it, let me refresh your memory.

Peter Parker was just a regular guy. Actually, he was more like a guy that nobody ever noticed until something happened to him that changed everything. It all started when he came in contact with a spider. That’s not quite accurate to say he came in contact with the spider. Peter didn’t just see it, hear about it, or read about it. He had a personal encounter with the spider. Basically, he got bit. Afterwards, he became more like the thing he came in contact with.

The spider gave Peter everything necessary to become a super-hero the moment he got bit, but the change wasn’timmediate. He had to go through a process before he became more like the spider. After the change, Peter knew he was different. The new man was not the same as the old man, so he created a new identity.

Though he had changed personally, his life wasn’t much different. He felt better, he looked better, and he was more confident, but nothing had really changed in his life or in the lives of those around him. It wasn’t until he started using his super-powers to help other people that he became a super-hero. Once he started using what he had been given to help others, he became Spiderman.

Right about now, you’re probably asking yourself what this has to do with being a super-hero for God. Follow me through this story, again.

We all start out like Peter Parker until we come in contact with Jesus. I’m not talking about reading or hearing about Him, but actually having a personal encounter with Him. Once we come in contact with Jesus at that level, we start to become more like Him. And just like Peter, we get everything we need to be a super-hero for God the moment we enounter Jesus personally and ask Him to be our Lord and Savior. For the most part, though, the change in our lives is not immediate. We go through a process, just like Peter did. Not only that, but we also get a new identity in Christ. The old has gone, the new has come.

As we continue to change, we may feel better, look better, and be more confident in Christ, but it doesn’t mean much if nothing else in our life or the lives of those around us changes. We can’t become a super-hero for God until we start using what we’ve been given to help others. I’m not saying we’ve been given super-powers, like shooting webs out our wrists, but we have been given super-natural powers. Jesus said that through the Holy Spirit we will be able to do everything He did and more. Think about that for a moment. Jesus walked on water, raised the dead, commanded the wind and the waves, multiplied food, and a whole lot of other stuff. He said we would be able to do all of that and more. I can’t think of any super-hero with that kind of power.

But, there’s more to being a hero than encountering Jesus, becoming more like Him, and using what you’ve been given to help others. Basically, it comes down to love. Jesus said that the two greatest things we can ever do is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love others as ourselves. In order to be a hero, you have to love like a HERO.

Let me show you what I mean. HERO is an acronym for what it takes to be a super-hero for God.

H – Heart. Like Jesus said, you must love God with all your heart. When you do anything with all your heart, it means that you give everything you have. That’s how we must love God. With everything.

E – Emotion. You also love God with all your emotion. When something touches your soul, it moves you at an emotional level. At the very core of what drives you and moves your spirit. That’s where we must love God so that everything we do is driven by a love for Him.

R – Reasoning. You love God with all your mind. We must choose each day to serve the Lord. Scripture also tells us to capture every thought. The thing about captives is you either put them to death or you put them to work. Every thought that comes from the flesh should be put to death, while every thought that comes from the Holy Spirit should be put to work. To be a hero, you must love God with all your reasoning.

O – Others. As Jesus said, you have to love others as you love yourself. Don’t overlook the last part of that command. You have to love yourself. And what’s not to love? God loved us even when we were unlovable. He thought enough of us to send His Son to save us, even when we didn’t deserve it. If He loves you that much, then you must be pretty lovable.

So, there you have it. Now, you know how to be a real life super-hero. Come in contact with Jesus. Go through a process. Become more like Christ. Use what you’ve been given to help others. Love like a HERO.

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Take courage in knowing that your temporary condition will never change your eternal position. Whatever you’re going through will pass, but your position in Jesus Christ is eternal and can never be taken away from you, tarnished, or diminished.

“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.” – Colossians 3:1-3

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If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to be a super-hero, check out “The Gospel According to Spiderman” under the Pages tab.

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The Marines may have gotten the whole “improvise, adapt, overcome” thing from Paul. He was doing it long before our honorable men and women in uniform. Check out the “Paul Was A Marine” page under the “Pages” tab.

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In Acts 19, Paul asks some disciples in Ephesus whether or not they received the baptism of the Holy Spirit when they believed. The only reason I can think of that would cause him to ask this question is because he didn’t see any evidence of the Spirit at work in and through their lives. James 2:18 says, “Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.” Evidently, the believers in Ephesus had no visible fruit of the Spirit or good deeds that would indicate they had received the baptism of the Holy Spirit when they first believed. As interesting as Paul’s question is, it’s the answer from the believers that caught my attention.

They had only been taught repentance, but had never been taught about the power they had been given nor the responsibility they had to put their faith into action. Repentance is when we renew our mind and change the way we think about sin. Repentance leads us to stop doing the things we’ve been doing. Repentance is absolutely necessary and important , but we can’t stop there. If we never move beyond repentance, we will never live a life that’s pleasing to God. We will be more concerned about what we should not be doing instead of doing what we should. Unless we understand that we have a responsibility to put our faith into action through the Holy Spirit, we will have nothing more than a form of godliness that denies His power.

Living your life for Christ is not about what you should stop doing as much as it’s about what you should start doing.

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