Skip to main content

Enemy-Occupied Territory

I'm just going to quit apologizing for the gargantuan gaps of time between my posts.  I never promised to be on a schedule anyway.

Plus, I'm pretty sure I'm allergic to deadlines.  It's a problem.

So, today I am sitting in the old coliseum, which I will miss terribly when/if they tear it down.  Through running all the miles and stairs this building and I have bonded.  Also, there's never anyone in here other than the occasional intense power walker or P.E. majors, which makes for a good place to run as well as just sit and think or get into some scripture.  I love this place :)

This past weekend, Jay (my hilarious, 10 year old brother for those who don't know) and I spent a couple of hours bonding over one of the best PS2 games ever: StarWars Battlefront.

*Dork Alert*

But seriously, we love that game.  I definitely do, since its one of very few video games I can comprehend enough to play well.  If you have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about, the gist is simple: you shoot the bad guys and capture their bases until either they are all dead or you have captured all their bases. (In the second game there's all these objectives you must complete in order to win the battle, but that's a different thing so we won't worry about it today.)  Anywho, Jay and I had the best time blowing things up, trying to kill enough people to win, and not get killed ourselves-we hollered at each other the whole time:
"COME BACK ME UP!"
"WAIT! NO! TURN AROUND!"
"WHERE ARE YOU GOING!?"
"YOU JUST SHOT ME, YOU DUMMY!"
"Oh, hahahaha, sorry!"
"THERE THEY ARE! LIGHT EM UP!"

...Yeah, fairly intense. Ha! (I promise I'm about to make it connect.) Today I noticed a quote in the book I'm currently reading (and will be studying with the 7th-9th grade girls this summer, woop woop!).

"Enemy-occupied territory--that is what this world is.  Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed...and is calling us all to take part in a great campaign in sabotage."  -C.S. Lewis

I instantly thought about playing Battlefront with Jay.  We were going into each battle with a strategy about which bases to go after first and which routes were the least occupied so we could attack from those directions unnoticed...we play this game way too much...and my favorite thing to do personally is just go running into a base shooting everywhere.  Now, in reality, this probably wouldn't be the best strategy, but it can work out well in the game if I have plenty of ammo and manage to dodge the lasers, etc. heading my way.

The Yavin 4 Arena battle can be a pain sometimes. They are all over that bottom base in the middle!

The more I thought about it, the more I was convicted.  I mean, we ARE in enemy-occupied territory.  Ephesians 6:12 says, "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."
Sorry if this ruffles your feathers, but spiritual warfare is real, and here we are in the middle of it.  Right after that verse in Ephesians is the armor of God passage...why would we need armor if we aren't going into battle?  Armor is super heavy, so it's not given to us just to walk around in, annoying everyone with the clanking sound.  No, armor is made for protection in battle.

I went searching in my Strongest and found the greek word for armor as it is used in this passage:
panoplia, n. -full armor, worn by a heavily armed soldier

Heavily armed.  Not oblivious, not just hanging out, not jamming to Jesus music, not just hoping, but suited up and ready for battle, backing each other up, and sometimes running all up into the heart of enemy territory.  The war is already won, Christ is the ultimate victor (Praise God!), but we are still here fighting this present darkness (Eph. 6:12) because we are in enemy-occupied territory, and he will sink his claws into anyone he can get them on.  1 John 1:5-7 talks about how there is no darkness in God, and how we should walk in the light as He is in it.  Light doesn't shine in light, it shines in darkness, and in order to shine in the darkness, I must be continuously filled with His light and walk with Him in it.

So wether your assault be on Yavin 4, Geonosis, your lunch table, or bio lab group, go running into the heart of it! Be ready at your weapons, take some back up, and remember your glorious Leader who is always with you. :)

Comments

  1. Battlefront FTW! Jared and I played that game ALL the time back in the day, totally know the intensity you speak of when you're in the heat of battle, lol.

    As for the post itself, very insightful; a great read as always.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Here goes nothing!

 So, I got the idea of starting a blog from my mom (who is a totally AMAZING woman of God), and after sleeping on it I decided it wasn't such a bad idea. I am simply going to share some of my life and things that I learn with the world.  Not that the whole world necessarily wants to know my daily thoughts, but anyone that does is welcome to whatever I share! Warning: I am a rabbit chaser, long winded, my grammar is also not that of a best-selling author, I misspell words, use dashes-commas-and ALL CAPS frequently and perhaps inappropriately, but that is okay. :) oh yeah-smileys too ;)  I do enjoy writing, and believe that God bestows gifts to us for us to use-so here goes nothing-hope you enjoy!   P.S.- I will not begin every entry with an awkward intro. That was just for today. :) Alright so I got laughed at by a REALLY cute guy today, and then God used it to teach me later (of course).  See, my roommate, Shelly, and I are walking back from the overflow parkinglot-which is like

A Red Penguin Mug

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmaaaasss!! :) And I am slightly excited-it is without a doubt my absolute FAVORITE holiday in the history of the whole world forever and ever.  :) This is only reinforced by the fact that I am currently sitting in my favorite chair watching some incredibly predictable Hallmark Christmas movie while sipping hot chocolate out of a big red penguin mug.  I just LOVE it!! ...so, slightly excited may be a serious understatement. For real though, it is my favorite holiday.  I firmly believe that this is the case, because I am still very much  a little kid at heart.  I love the fact that my family has a real Christmas tree in our living room and that it is decorated with multicolored lights and hodgepodge ornaments accumulated over the 23 years my parents have been married.  It's always my job to set up my mom's really pretty nativity scene in our living room.  I love the smell and sound of a fire in the fireplace, and eating way too many

yeah, we went to China.

I now fully understand what Amanda Bynes meant when she said, "Jet Lag" in that scene where she and Colin Firth bonded over a bowl of Coco Pops in the middle of the night.  I am pooped.  Yet, I would gladly give up my soft mattress and fork to stay a few extra weeks.  Which is quite a turn around from how we were feeling that Monday.  After the kids were all in bed that night, I seriously wondered how we were going to survive the entire week.   Check Philippians 4:19, kiddo. He did provide everything-from patience, to a tea that was cold and almost sweet.   This trip was absolutely the most humbling one I have ever embarked on. The Lord continuously gave me peace and patience, which I am so thankful for.  There is no way we could've done it all without Him.   Now, go a page back and check 4:4-5.  Go ahead and memorize that. ...especially not when we came out the wrong exit of the train station and were almost hom