THE WAY OF THE WARIOR

This last week was my Dad’s 66th birthday. Being the magnificent answered prayer of a son that I am, I took dad off for three days of R and R and a whirlwind tour of Texas colonial battlefields. It was a hoot.

I get my love of History and all things Texas from my Dad. He totally buys into the mythical side of our glorious history. So there we were, out stomping around on places preserved and some barely marked because we are nerds and proud of it.

Our smorgasbord of Texas warfare included these items on the Menu.

The old coleman House
Elizabeth coleman looked up from her garden just in time to see 300 Comanche warriors attacking her farm in 1847. It Turned out to be a really bad day for her and her kids. We drove past the place some thirty miles East of Austin.

The battle site of Brushy creek.
In the heat of battle against the Comanches who murdered Elizabeth Coleman, Killed young Albert Coleman and kidnapped her 5 year old, A man named Burleson knew he could not win with just one man and a 14 year old boy. There at brushy creek, Burleson shouted to the pair to get back on their horses and retreat. Just as Burleson started to spur his horse into a run for safety, he saw that the teenager was having trouble getting back onto his nervous mount. Burleson jumped out of his saddle to lend a hand and caught an Indian bullet in the back of his head.

He dropped dead as the the boy climbed onto the horse and escaped with his life. His older brother, Edward Burleson, a brigadier general in the militia, soon arrived with reinforcements. There at Brushy Creek, the general rode after the Indians who had killed his brother.

Dad and I went out there just to feel the dirt and smell the air, again, because we are nerds.

We also went to the Alamo, Washington on the Brazos and even San Fillip.
All told, we covered about 500 miles on our journey of Texas Battle fields. Being somewhat of a wordsmith I entitled our trip, “The way of the warrior”


A Warrior Bride
Part of my love for battlefields doesn't just come from my six generations as a Texan. It comes from the Kingdom of God. Jesus is a king but know for a certain that He is a Warrior King.

Revelation 21:8 informs us that there are no wimps or cowards in Heaven. That makes heaven all the more glorious to me. We are called the bride of Christ which means we are totally fixated on the bride groom, but know this, we are a warrior bride. Undefeated and fully capable. Confident, positive and at full ease in an environment that is otherwise hostile.

There is more victory attached to you than you can even imagine. Here are just a few of the Brewer’s notes on the walk of Christians which is every bit the way of a warrior.

We are not Spectators, we are warriors!
One of the world famous “decisions that define us” from the same titled book by Dave Crone is “We have decided to be the ones telling the stories of God's power - not the ones hearing about them.” That is a decision all of us need to make.

There should be no separation between the pew and the pulpit or the sacred and secular. All of the church belongs to Jesus so get up, get out and get after it! An adventure in Life is waiting for you.

Comfort kills!
Jesus says in Luke 10:3 that he is sending us out as lambs among wolves ,not a potatoes among couches. We are not tourists on vacation and life is not a perpetual spa experience. Our God given ability to hang in there when things are extremely tough is essential to the way of a warrior and paramount for victory. Remember,
better is better but better will not be easier or more comfortable.

We are called to be peace makers not peace keepers. I like to think of the ill relevance of so called peace keeping forces through out the world as they stand by and watch a million massacred in places like Rwanda. I also remember the effectiveness of the Texas Rangers with a pistol called a peace maker. The way of the warrior is all about peace making not in making deals with the enemy.

We do not have to be defeated by a defeated devil! My friend, Graham Cooke says in his book series, The way of the warrior. “ We can weary him with our rest.
We can discourage him by our faith. We can demoralize him by our joy. We can depress him by our endurance. We can dispirit him by our favor...”

I agree with you Graham.

The way of the warrior is attached to the passionate heart of the King of Kings himself. I want to encourage you as you read this, to know that there is still a lot of living for you to do. Jesus is not just the strength giver but actually is your strength all together. So, now that you know you were born to be a bad motor scooter, I think it is high time you and I become who we really have been all along and just didn't know it.

Romans 8:19 (NIV)
The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.


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