January 2021

Nougat 13

Published on

January 13, 2021

My dear,

I tell you – with all the First World fines and restrictions, walking around in canine-loving Europe can be risky if you are wearing slippers! Some folks just don’t opt to scoop after their dogs. Of course, in the real world where wars abound, dogs are the least of one’s worries. As we chew on today’s Holy Nougat, I invite us to say a prayer for victims and survivors of land mine explosions

“Strap up your feet in readiness with the Good News of shalom.” Ephesians‬ ‭6:15‬ ‭TLV‬‬

To be in readiness is to be prepared. It shows in all facets of our being, even in our stance (you disagree? Check the posture of any martial arts expert or military trained personnel in public and their feet tell the story).

Spiritual warfare is no exception. There is a stance that defines a seasoned warrior. Having been casualty and victor in their share of skirmishes and battle royals, the seasoned warriors has a sense of danger zones and how to counter them. Usually their experience affords them the ability to have a cool head (ie a calm disposition) in any crisis. For that is what protects our feet as we navigate spaces littered with spiritual land mines – the Peace that keeps us even in the worst circumstances.

The fact is, Peace can often send or take us places that other attitudes and emotions cannot. It has the potential for deescalating some situations and allowing us to escape some.

Because the seasoned warrior has had Jesus as our ‘battle’ (Cam that was all for you); we KNOW that God’s got this and that God’s got us. We are no longer afraid of the arrows that fly by day nor are we perturbed by the terrors that comes by night. Neither the plague that envelops the world, nor the noonday scourge can rattle us, since we carry our home with us, (the Secret Place of the Most High) and we’ve made the Lord of Hosts our habitat. (Check out psalm 91 for more details) A seasoned warrior HAS battle scars; but has the experience to know that when the Lord of Hosts is our Commander-in-Chief, even injury has value.

And, armed with the experience of drills, maneuvers and live battles, the seasoned warrior is ready for anything that comes her/his way. S/he faces life with God’s Shalom, listening only to the Commander-in-Chief; confident that God will keep in perfect peace the one whose mind is Soully attuned to God.

Remember that walking is a whole-body experience; and so the shoes we wear must fit comfortably. It must protect us from danger; and also enhance posture, be durable and take us wherever we need to go. Moreover it must protect us from land mines and dogs. The Good News of God’s Shalom does all that as stated above and then some.