"The Armor of God"

 

What I have learned from this study of the Armor of God: (Please E-mail me and get the full report!)

1)  Putting on the Armor of God is NOT like putting on a piece of clothing; it is a spiritual thing. You are putting on a custom suite of armor that does not wear out, get dirty, or lose it’s power. It is like a special ‘skin’ that is a part of your eternal spirit.

2) This is custom made for you by God! It is like no other suite of Armor ever made!

3) The Helmet of Salvation is like putting on ‘Night vision goggles’ only these allow you to see in the spirit world. You can see all the arrows coming at you, and the demons can’t sneak up behind you. It also provides you with insight when reading the Bible (really cool).

4) The Breast plate is like putting on a custom made flack vest which protects you from all the explosions going off around you (you are invincible).

5) Your loins are girded with the belt of truth. Your insides are holding the truth and the belt holds it in (no one can steal it – it yours and can’t be taken away).

6) Your feet have special boots on that will not allow your feet to step on land mines, or your feet to step on trip wires, or in sinking sand. Your walk is totally protected and you cannot step out into a dangerous alley without knowing where the danger is.

7) Your shield is so wonderful that you don’t have to turn to the left or right to stop the flaming arrows or darts of Satan (or his demons). The shield just goes between you and the darts. It is faster than you could think about having to do it yourself.

8) Your sword (the Word of God) is devastating to the enemy, when you draw it out the enemy flees so fast you are not sure they were even there to begin with.

9) The best part – when you put on the Armor of God; You instantly learn how to use them and your skill level will marvel you. You go from “new Recruit” to a fully trained battle trained “U.S. Navy Seal” and your place in the team is fully established.

10) Best of all YOU LOOK REALLY SHARPE!  

"BIG Bait"

(some) Solutions to PTSD’s

(according to FRED)

Please do not confuse any of these as “easy” to solve; many are very intricate and are interwoven into the mind.

Group A: Anger, Depression, Negative self image, Survivors guilt, Hyper alertness, suicidal feelings and thoughts, Fantasies of retaliation and destruction. These are related to feelings;

Feelings are fickle (they are variables and have no ‘volume control’; BUT they are “controllable”).

Group B: Cynicism and distrust of government Authority, Alienation, Isolation, Poor concentration, Tendency to react under stress with survival tactics, memory impairment, Hypersensitive to injustice, Loss of interest in work or activities, Problems with intimate relations, Difficulty with Authority, Emotional distancing, High Risk Employment and Recreation.

These are “choices” you can adjust with work and effort; you are in charge of what goes into your mind.

Group C:  Sleep disorders, Psych0logical and Emotional Numbing thoughts, Flashbacks to danger and Thoughts.

These are the most difficult to work with. You have to learn how your mind works on various inputs.

All the above listed symptoms are all conditions which are “solvable” to the point where a person can take control of these conditions. You have to first want to work with them!

Group A: These are controllable items that a person has trouble with.

1)    Anger: Anger is usually generated by ‘thoughts’; when your mind wanders around and comes across a ‘thought that generates rage’; you get angry. Most often this is a result of an “I” generated thought (a self centered idea).  

2)   Remember, these are thoughts! You are in control of these ‘thoughts’ that come into your mind. If it is something you do not want to think about, “get rid of it”!    I am not talking about a train coming right at you; I am talking about a thought! You can change a thought by saying Jesus (3) times and asking for His input! Or, ask yourself, what would Jesus think about when this happened? Now you have put your mind on a different ‘track’; now route that other ‘thing’ out of your mind.

Group B: You are in charge of what goes into your mind. Yes, you have had a lot of input come into your area; but you’re the one that filters it and sends it to an area where you will deal with it. Suppose a very ugly, foul smelling person asks you over to dinner? Are you going to go? NO! Not even, then why allow them to take up space in your thought patterns?   

1)    Cynicism and distrust of government Authority.

This may be a good thing! Remember when you were young and a friend you trusted betrayed you? You lost that ‘blanket’ trust element of that friend and when you make new friends, you have a ‘built’ in mechanism to allow yourself to only trust them with small things until they have ‘proved’ their trust level to you. Why would you trust something that does not care about you personally?

A little cynicism may be a good thing.

2)   Always remember “you are in charge” of what goes into your mind. I mean what stays in your mind. It is when you begin to focus on your Cynicism and give it more attention than it deserves that you get into trouble. The same would apply if the Government said it was invoking ‘Martial Law’ and you thought it would not affect you (very wrong).

Group C:  Sleep disorders, Psychological and Emotional Numbing thoughts, Flashbacks to danger and Thoughts.

1)    Dealing with the sub-conscious mind is the most difficult of conditions.  These disorders are inside the mind and not “just cast out”. Picture if you will a very small table top (6 inches by 6 inches) and a board laying on top of that table. This board is 3 feet by three feet; now all the stresses are just thrown on the table. When anything bumps that table, it begins to fall over and all the stuff crashes down to the floor, causing an emotional disaster. Sometimes of epic proportions.  

2)   These items (the stressors) need to be arranged and placed order. Into some form of high Archie. Most stressors are just ‘lumped together and thrown into a corner and not ‘handled’. Now, let’s look at a squad of men in the military, (no training) and everyone was issued gear and they all just came in from getting all their gear and throwing it down in a corner. Think of what it would look like if all of a sudden; they are called into action and had to go out the door “Ready to fight”! Absolute kayos! This is what a person who is suffering from the psychological stress is dealing with.

3)   We as councilors have to come into their lives and provide the guidance to “organizing” their process of dealing with their stressors.   

Now I ask you this! Why is it that many of the very highly trained and skilled fighters have fewer problems with PTSD’s? Some do, and this no reflection on them. I believe that it is because they have ingrained in their discipline to have everything in order at all times. This is seen in their self discipline. If you were to ask their close friends and co-workers, they would tell you that these people were always “ready”, they were not uptight, but very organized and took care of their equipment at all times.

Let’s look at a person who is physically fit, healthy, and in good shape. This is no accident. It is a combination of choices. They have chosen what is important to them. Those of us who have made the decision to be slack in our discipline pay the price for our lack of discipline.   

 

"Our Covering"

Our woven covering

In our lives we take in various thoughts and sights, smells and sounds. These things become a part of our world! I, as a Christian, have learned that we “bind, weave, and tie” many things to our ‘spirits’. These things become a woven part of our fabric that we cover ourselves with. Remember in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were naked (all was visible to the eye). Then after they sinned and were cast out of the Garden of Eden, they were naked and were covered. This was because they wanted to hide their sin. The fabric that we hide ourselves in is woven with sinful things (thoughts, deeds, and events we participate in). Now, how can you get rid of these things which we have ‘bound’ ourselves with? Remember these things are also bound into your family, marriage, children, and the friends you “Bind” yourself too. 

We must become stripped of all this covering (before God). Then we start by tying what GOD wants for us. We must tie God into our whole being, through Jesus the Christ. Jesus can ‘clean us and our garments’, if we give them to HIM. He will remove the sin, so don’t bring it back upon yourself, LEAVE it where HE puts it. You will know where it is, but you must not go there again. Yes, the tree is still there, but DON’T EAT FROM IT! Now, everything that comes into your presence, you must go before Jesus and “Check with HIM” as to whether it is for your use and/or consumption. Now use your head in these things, your heart will tell you if it is meant for you. Remember, Jesus (his Holy Spirit) is in your heart. Once you start binding the ‘things’ of God to your life, you will “KNOW” what the Lord wants you to do, or what direction you should take. Even your family must be loosed so they can allow themselves to become what they were meant to become in God. Try and direct them to God.

Remember, all things that come into our subconscious mind is neither good or bad, it just IS! We are the ones who decide what stays and what goes. If someone was tracking mud into your clean house, you would tell them to stop and send them outside, but if they were dragging Gold and Precious stones into your clean house you would ask them to come anytime and bring more.   

When Jesus returns and takes HIS church out of this world, we will all be given a new robe, It will be whiter then snow (It will be woven of the things from God’s loom) and we will be covered with HIS righteousness (not anything from our sin nature).

"Wussies"

“Wussies”

I am a Point Man Outpost leader! I have heard about the returning vets who call the vets who want to go to PTSD meetings “Wussies” and such.

Well, it takes a real man to take on the powers and principalities of darkness. Oh, you may be able to hit a man at 300 meters or overpower him with hand-to-hand; but what do you do when in the night you wake up in a cold sweat and wonder why your dreams are destroying your rest – night after night. These night mares include but are not limited to: 1) Killing the same enemy time after time and him not dying, but still coming at you.

2) Then watching hundreds running across an open field at you, alone and you’re out of ammo.

3) Driving into an IED and your buddy just turning into a pink vapor before your eyes, or his brains decorating your uniform.   

You wake up tired and after weeks of this life you are exhausted and can’t think straight. Hmm, where is that tough warrior now? I too have recited the warriors 23 psalm, “Ye, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death and I shall fear no evil; because I’m the meanest S.O.B. in the whole damn valley”. Yep, it sounds real brave when you are sitting in the midst of your buddies and drinking a lot and self medicating! Yep, you are a real hero.  

Warning!  Warning!  Warning!

If this is anywhere near what you are experiencing, check yourself! You are about to leap off that high building to prove that your “SUPERMAN”! Or, you are checking to make sure the gun in your hand is loaded and you have just returned from going out to your secret spot and tested to be sure it fires (now you are asking yourself under the chin, temple, or the mouth? Check out the 22 warning signs of PTSD’s and see if you aren’t dealing with more than ANY man can handle on his own! At Point Man we work with the vet to get him/her in touch with how they can deal with this problem.

The Warning

Warning!

When we first ask God (Jesus) into our lives; we do not fully understand the relationship which we have entered into. We (being our own arrogant selves) believe that we are still in control of what WE do, say, and are! This is totally wrong. As in life we all have cancers in our bodies; some do not ever ‘grow’ and become malignant. They just sit dormant and never really bother us, some may develop a little and we have them removed. Others however do grow and become life threatening and some actually kill us.

Sin is like a cancer, it starts out small and then grows (all sin grows and feeds on what we give it). All our bodies will die. This is nothing new; but what we die of can be directed by our choices and we do have some control over it.

We say, “I chose God!” - but we did not. We only chose to ask God to come into our lives and He does when we invite Him in. This is where “choice” ends; He then becomes our GOD. You have surrendered yourself to Him. Just as when you “Joined” the military. You gave yourself (Body) over to the government to with as they pleased. You turned yourself over to a higher authority and subjected yourself to that authority. You subjected yourself totally to the military!  You became “U.S. Government Property”

You did not take them to be your friend, accessory. add-on, or optional equipment.

WARNING:

God is not an accessory, add-on; or an option!

HE is CENTRAL (the core) to our survival both now and always!!! You are HIS! Body, soul, and Spirit!

Without God, this entire universe would ‘evaporate’ in less than a mili-second. How can people think THEY are able to ‘exist’ without GOD? This just speaks to how arrogant they are. There is just no trying to change arrogance; it has to find out on it's own.

Now, I will admit that I have taken a pretty casual attitude (at times) with God; but I have had to sit down and ask myself just what does God to mean to me in my? This came to me.  God is not an accessory, add-on; or an option!

We are his whether we like it or not. He has us “Body, Soul, and Spirit”!

"Your Beliefs"

Your Beliefs!

As in the military you are taught to have ‘confidence’ in your superior Officers and N.C.O.’s. They are the ones who make the decisions and give the orders. This is the backbone of what keeps the men doing the job they are needed to do.

Now in your personal life – What are your beliefs? These beliefs are the forces that will keep you going when it seems that all other things are against you. Without a strong core of beliefs, you are doomed to fail before anyone with a strong belief system of their own would loss heart.

My personal beliefs are that God created the earth and all that is in, on, and over it. He also sent His Son Jesus the Christ (Messiah, redeemer and deliverer), All this along with the entire universe.

“Apostles Creed”:

 I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:  Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell. The third day He arose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the Holy Catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting.

Amen.

Without a firm foundation and understanding of “Your God”, you are pitting yourself alone against all the powers of this world and its’ forces who are working against you 24/7 in your success in this world. Now I’m sure you think you are “Superman”, but I have my doubts about that. I am not going to be Politically correct about this, but without Jesus the Christ as your personal savior and having a personal relationship with HIM; you are not going to make it. 

In God’s Sons Army, There are no Non-com’s and no Officers! You report directly to Jesus himself. He is your ONLY leader, there is no one in between!

 

"The Mind Field"

 I am not as qualified as some but here goes! P.T.S.D.’s and T.B.I.’s. I will refer to these as “The Mind Field”. As Point Men, we are the ones who will go out in front of the Warriors who are following. Our task is to lead the way (set a path) through enemy territory and find a safe path for our fellow warriors to follow without getting caught by the enemy in an ambush or caught off guard and have severe damage done to them. Sometimes we come into an enemy “mine field”. Our job then is settling down and finding a safe way through it. This is done by the skills that have come to us from dealing with many others and our own experiences. We have developed skills that are very useful to those who will follow.

        When a warrior returns home he/she returns with “baggage”. In this baggage there are things that have shaped their lives while “in country”. These things are not visible, they are invisible. This becomes the “Mind Field”! Some of these conditionings are more severe than others, all are capable of great destruction. This can be damaging not only to the individual, and to many of those around them. This can be ‘triggered’ by  sight, sounds, smells, and circumstances they walk into or that develop around them. Sometimes even a foreign language they have heard. These “triggers” are what we try and talk the vets through, so they deal with them on a more effective level than having the mine go off and cause massive damage. The resulting damage can range from strange or different behavior (sometimes overlooked) to yelling at a spouse or close family member; some are overly protective of their children. This mind field can also result in suicide, suicide by cop, volunteer for reassignment in order to get killed by ‘the enemy’. This can also take on the form of attacks on other persons, without an understanding or basis for the attack. These and many other combinations of happenings can be brought about by “Stepping on a MINE”. At Point Man we are available and looking for those who are walking in the mind field. We work to help the individual who has these items in their ‘baggage’ so when they are coming up against a mine they can learn how to defuse the massive damage that can take place and “minimize the collateral damage”. I have heard of a case where a man was driving down the freeway and crossed four lanes of traffic (without having an accident). He pulled over to the side of the road and got out. He told his wife she would have to drive. All because he saw a black plastic garbage bag in the median of the highway and it had reminded him of an I.E.D. incident in Iraq.