Frostbite
Journal 2005 01 14
Frostbite
Frostbite. The word alone brings fear and shaking into my mind. Prolonged exposure to weather cold enough to freeze parts of our bodies. I don’t want to be really hot, but I’m more afraid of being really cold.
Inadequate preparation for protection from the natural world is its cause. Private Whitehouse has feet so severely frostbitten this day that the rest of his party of hunters sent Private Shannon back to camp to get a horse to carry Whitehouse.
My mind is asking why only Whitehouse? Are the other men better prepared? Were bitterly cold feet the norm and frostbite was just a little farther down the line?
Preparation for the purpose at hand. A simple requirement for success. Are we prepared for something as simple as the weather where we live? Or do our feet get cold every time our hunger drives us outside to look for meat?
Spiritual frostbite.
Would we recognize it if we saw it? If we had it?
Prolonged exposure to spiritual warfare and harsh spiritual conditions without adequate preparation can result in a loss of feeling and a threat to our well being.
How do we “insulate” ourselves from the forces that would draw life from us and cripple us from moving as we normally would?
The blood stained robe of Christ separates us from all sin and unrighteousness. That is our first and foremost line of defense from the attack of the enemy that would lead to spiritual frostbite.
To that we add a safe place where a fire can warm a shelter and refresh and renew us from the harshness of the cold. I believe the shelter of His wings and fellowship with Christ are the best sources of spiritual heat. Worship and prayer usher us into His presence.
We are prepared for spiritual battle by training and equipping. His Word prepares us, trains and equips us, for good works. Bible study, personal and corporate, is required.
Finally, the whole body must be prepared to shun spiritual frostbite. We have been apprehended for a purpose. A purpose we cannot fulfill outside the body of Christ. Putting on insulated boots may protect the feet, but if you have arctic boots and are otherwise naked, you will still freeze to death. We need one another in the church.
Then we are able to meet the harshness of extreme “spiritual weather”.
Frostbite
Frostbite. The word alone brings fear and shaking into my mind. Prolonged exposure to weather cold enough to freeze parts of our bodies. I don’t want to be really hot, but I’m more afraid of being really cold.
Inadequate preparation for protection from the natural world is its cause. Private Whitehouse has feet so severely frostbitten this day that the rest of his party of hunters sent Private Shannon back to camp to get a horse to carry Whitehouse.
My mind is asking why only Whitehouse? Are the other men better prepared? Were bitterly cold feet the norm and frostbite was just a little farther down the line?
Preparation for the purpose at hand. A simple requirement for success. Are we prepared for something as simple as the weather where we live? Or do our feet get cold every time our hunger drives us outside to look for meat?
Spiritual frostbite.
Would we recognize it if we saw it? If we had it?
Prolonged exposure to spiritual warfare and harsh spiritual conditions without adequate preparation can result in a loss of feeling and a threat to our well being.
How do we “insulate” ourselves from the forces that would draw life from us and cripple us from moving as we normally would?
The blood stained robe of Christ separates us from all sin and unrighteousness. That is our first and foremost line of defense from the attack of the enemy that would lead to spiritual frostbite.
To that we add a safe place where a fire can warm a shelter and refresh and renew us from the harshness of the cold. I believe the shelter of His wings and fellowship with Christ are the best sources of spiritual heat. Worship and prayer usher us into His presence.
We are prepared for spiritual battle by training and equipping. His Word prepares us, trains and equips us, for good works. Bible study, personal and corporate, is required.
Finally, the whole body must be prepared to shun spiritual frostbite. We have been apprehended for a purpose. A purpose we cannot fulfill outside the body of Christ. Putting on insulated boots may protect the feet, but if you have arctic boots and are otherwise naked, you will still freeze to death. We need one another in the church.
Then we are able to meet the harshness of extreme “spiritual weather”.
posted by @2007 Dick Cinkovich | 12:10 AM
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