by R. Herbert | Dec 10, 2017 | The Church & the World, Warriors of the Way
World War II Memorial on Omaha Beach, Normandy, France
Militarily, a beachhead (so named because it is often a literal area of beach on a sea coast) is an area that an army secures as the initial foothold in enemy territory.
Once the beachhead is established and reinforcements arrive, the invading army can then begin to extend its position and radiate out into the territory it seeks to capture. But it is vital that the beachhead be firmly established and controlled for expansion to occur.
One of the most famous operations of this type in modern history was the Normandy beachhead established on the French coast by Allied troops in World War II – allowing the invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe and the eventual overthrow of that dark regime in the countries it had conquered. That beachhead cost the lives of thousands of brave soldiers, but their sacrifice made possible the invasion that brought freedom to multiple millions.
Earlier in history, at the beginning of our present era, we find something similar occurred in the establishment of Christianity in Jerusalem and its eventual expansion from there. It’s an analogous situation that helps us to understand a number of scriptures in the New Testament.
Early in his ministry, when Jesus first sent out his disciples, we find that he commanded them: “… Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel” (Matthew 10:5-6). Later, after his resurrection, his command changed: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15). Was this a contradiction, as is sometimes claimed? Why the change? The answer is simply because the spiritual “beachhead” of Jerusalem and Judah had to be first secured through the teaching of Jesus and his disciples. Then the preaching of the Kingdom of God could progressively radiate out from Jerusalem. We see this expansion in Christ’s own words: “… you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
In the invasion of Normandy, the allied troops were not simply spread out across the whole French coastline where they would have had no effect; rather the invading forces established a specific beachhead on “Omaha” and its adjoining beaches. The establishment of Christianity was no different. Jesus himself said “… I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel” (Matthew 15:24), and that is exactly where he concentrated his disciples’ efforts at first.
This fact explains two more scriptures that are sometimes thought to show contradicting accounts. Early in his ministry, Jesus sent out his disciples, telling them: “Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt” (Luke 9:3). But later in his ministry Jesus specified “… the one with a purse should take it, and likewise a bag; and the one without a sword should sell his cloak and buy one” (Luke 22:36). In the first instruction Jesus made sure the disciples would not have the necessary supplies to go beyond the borders of Judea, where he was sending them. At the end of his ministry, once the “beachhead” was established, Jesus instructed them to take the things they would need for longer journeys into more distant territory. In fact, the “bag” (NIV) they were told to take means a “backpack” or “travelling bag” and is so translated in many versions of the Bible (ESV, Holman, etc.).
But if this analogy helps us to better understand several scriptures regarding the original establishment and expansion of Christianity, it should also remind us that like the beachhead of Normandy, Christianity’s beachhead cost many lives to make freedom from the powers of darkness, and ultimately salvation, possible. Principally, of course, it cost the life of the “captain of our salvation” (Hebrews 2:10 KJV), but we should remember that the Book of Acts shows that many others also gave up their lives on that original beachhead as they followed Christ.
Today we are called to lay down our lives, too – even if only metaphorically – for the sake of others. The message of the Kingdom of God has spread out into the world, but not all the world has been reached. Wherever missionary activity is occurring, beachheads exist. Some are in distant lands, others are in our own communities. But if we are following the command given to the followers of Christ, we can give and serve to help establish those beachheads whether in person or in prayer. On which beachhead are you fighting today?
by R. Herbert | Nov 12, 2017 | Growth, Overcoming
The letters of the apostle Paul to the Thessalonian church – a strong church that Paul had planted and nurtured – are, in effect, spiritual report cards. The context is clear; Paul is writing to his best students – these are a teacher’s letters to those who have done best in class. Just how good were they? Paul tells us in congratulating them:
“And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere” (1 Thessalonians 1:7).
But Paul doesn’t stop with congratulations – in fact, he only begins there. Having complimented the Thessalonians on their spirituality, notice how he continues: “…brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more” (1 Thessalonians 4:1).
The Thessalonians clearly received a grade of “A” in pleasing God, but Paul urges them to do more – and he doesn’t stop with the first subject: “Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for … you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more” (1 Thessalonians 4:9). Another “A” – another still not good enough. Paul proceeds in the same way through all the subjects in which the Thessalonians had excelled: “Encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:11).
Paul’s second report card to the Thessalonians is not much different: “… brothers and sisters … your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing” (2 Thessalonians 1:3); “… brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good” (2 Thessalonians 3:13).
The pattern is clear. Even though they were his best students, the apostle repeatedly urges the Thessalonian believers, strong as they were, to do more and more – never to stop doing more and more.
Humanly, it’s natural to want to rest a little after our battles, savor our victories, enjoy the report card and take a break before hitting the next semester. But Paul knew that the more we do with God’s help, the more we become capable of doing. God doesn’t want us to serve and help in any way other than to the fullest extent of His help. He also doesn’t want to reward us minimally, but to the fullest extent possible. That’s why Paul urges us repeatedly, if we are doing what we should, that is well and good! Now do more and more!
by R. Herbert | Nov 5, 2017 | Warriors of the Way
The story of David and Goliath may be the most famous conflict story in the Bible, but an earlier battle fought by Abram, before his name was changed to Abraham, was perhaps even more impressive. The story is a fascinating one that carries important reminders for modern warriors of the Way.
In Genesis 14 we are told that Sodom and Gomorrah and other cities of the Dead Sea Valley had long been subject to the kings of Mesopotamia (“Shinar”), but that while Abraham was living in the area of nearby Hebron they rebelled against this foreign rule. The Amorite Mesopotamian king assembled a large army including his Elamite, Hurrian, and Hittite allies. The massive force overwhelmed Sodom and its neighboring cities, seizing the goods of the cities and taking many of their inhabitants as slaves. In doing this they also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since Lot was living in that area (Genesis 14:12). But Abram was informed of what had happened and took decisive action:
“A man who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near … Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshkol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram. When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people” (Genesis 14:13-15).
Many people may be surprised to read in this account that Abram had over three hundred “trained men” which shows the size of his household. In fact, these trained men were not simply shepherds and other workmen hastily handed a sword or other weapon. The Hebrew word hānīk means an “armed servant” and was used of men whose primary function was to provide military protection. These men were essentially a small private security force in full-time service to Abraham. Together these men pursued the returning Mesopotamians, catching up with them near Dan on what was later Israel’s northern border.
But what is truly surprising in the account is the daring raid that Abraham and his small force executed to rescue Lot. Militarily, a raid is usually a carefully planned small-scale attack on enemy forces, conducted covertly with speed and surprise – often at night and behind enemy lines – on an unsuspecting enemy. An extraction raid is one planned to rescue captured soldiers, hostages or other friendly elements and the idea is almost always “quick-in, quick-out.” Abraham’s raid against the Mesopotamian allied forces was a classic extraction raid, conducted under the cover of darkness in a skillfully planned attack – but it was anything but a “quick-in, quick-out.”
After his attack Abraham and his small force continued to engage the enemy over an extended distance – a further fifty miles from Dan to Damascus. These men did not just hit and run – they stuck with their mission until it was successful and Lot was rescued. Abraham’s men probably did not carry much food or supplies in order to travel quickly and catch up with the enemy force, but they travelled a considerable distance of at least 153 miles (247 km) – from Hebron to Damascus and beyond – and then returned to the Dead Sea Plain.
Abraham and his men gladly gave credit to God for their victory against a vastly superior force (Genesis 14:20), but we should not forget the part these men played in the conflict and the things they did that were militarily sound. Even apart from the successful tactics Abraham employed in utilizing a night attack to maximize confusion and with divided forces closing from different directions (Genesis 14:15-16), we see three key factors aiding the mission’s success.
Abraham didn’t set out unprepared. His men were properly trained and ready, as we have seen (Genesis 14:14). He didn’t try to go it alone. He involved his allies, the men of Mamre, Eshkol and Aner (Genesis 14:13, 24). These men were not just his neighbors – the Hebrew says they were “sworn allies” (literally “possessors of the covenant of Abram”), so these were allies Abram could trust. Once the fighting began, Abraham and his men persisted – they “went the distance” till their mission objective was fulfilled.
Simple as they may sound, these three principles are fundamental to our own spiritual warfare. Warriors of the Way need to train well to be prepared for the battles we will inevitably have to face. We then need to utilize the allies we are given in the form of fellow-believers – allies we can trust. And when the battles begin, we need to proceed with a warrior’s attitude of persistence till we have fulfilled the task we have been given. The very characteristics so clear in Abram’s victory over physical enemies are ones we need to develop in our spiritual lives, too.
by R. Herbert | Oct 29, 2017 | Prayer, Tactical Articles
By R. Herbert
Not all prayer is asking for something, but a great deal of it obviously is. When we do ask, do we pray mainly for our own physical and spiritual needs and concerns? There is no doubt that it is acceptable to pray for these things – we have Christ’s encouragement to do so – but that is only part of the picture we find in the words of Jesus and in the New Testament as a whole.
Jesus certainly commanded us to pray about our own needs. “Give us this day our daily bread” lies at the heart of the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:11), but we should never forget that all the petitions in that guide to prayer are for the needs of others – “us” – as well as our own.
Asking in Acts
If we continue in the New Testament and look at the Book of Acts, we find something very interesting. Acts continually speaks of prayer in the Church, but if we set aside the scriptures that simply tell us that the early church members prayed and we look only at verses telling us what the early believers were praying, in most translations we find only two verses in that book showing people praying for their own situations and twelve verses showing believers praying for the needs and welfare of others. This means that of the recorded prayers in Acts, some 83% are prayers on behalf of others rather than prayers for the individual who was offering the prayer.
If we have not thought about this topic before, the statistic may seem unexpected. Perhaps we would expect the ratio to be about 50/50 – prayer for others just as much as for ourselves. But the 83% prayer for others we find in Acts is a powerful statement of another way of looking at prayer – and the Book of Acts is not alone in taking this view.
Paul and Prayer
When we look at the writings of the apostle Paul, we find the principle corroborated. Paul speaks of prayer some 50 times in his epistles. Apart from non-specific examples, when we look at the nature of the prayers Paul mentions we find only three instances of praying for one’s own needs. Seven times Paul speaks of praying generally; but in some 40 of the 50 instances (80%) where he mentions specific things being prayed about, we find him speaking of praying for others or urging people to do likewise. For example, Paul tells us that he and his fellow workers prayed constantly for the spiritual needs of others:
“Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12).
And he urged others to continually do the same:
“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should” (Ephesians 6:18-20, etc.).
So the pattern we found in Acts where we are told what people were praying for is repeated in the epistles of Paul where he so frequently tells what we should be praying for. These facts should speak to us. It is not a matter of attempting to establish Christian practice through statistics. It is simply acknowledging that of the prayers recorded and commanded in the New Testament Church, the great majority – somewhere around 80% – are prayers for others.
Applying a Principle
That’s why we can think of this fact as the 80% principle of what we ask for in prayer. It’s an estimated number with no claim to being correct to the third decimal place, but it’s a rounded number with a clear message. The 80% principle does not mean we should not pray for our own needs – and in some circumstances, of course, our own needs may be urgent and take full precedence in our thoughts. But the 80% principle opens a window for us to see how the early Church saw prayer, how Paul encouraged us to pray, and it gives added meaning to Jesus’ words that we pray for “us” in the plural.
We certainly don’t need to feel constrained to structure our prayers to a certain percentage in a certain way, but if we are growing more and more like the One to whom we are praying, the chances are that our prayers will become increasingly full of the needs of others and reflect our concern for them. If our prayers are growing in that direction and we begin to see the needs of others as usually greater than our own needs, we can trust that God will be pleased with our prayers – perhaps 100% pleased.
by R. Herbert | Oct 22, 2017 | Positive Living
It may not sound like a very spiritual question, but it is a serious one.
Few of us are in danger of not getting enough sleep because we participate in all night sessions of prayer and study. The problem that most Christians face is trying to pray and study effectively – rather than sleepily – at the beginning or end of the day when they usually have opportunity for these spiritual activities.
But when we are tired at the end of the day or still tired in the morning after not enough sleep, it is difficult to seek God intently. Sometimes we need to seek God in very difficult situations – perhaps in the middle of the night – but under normal circumstances, in our regular day-to-day lives, if we really want to draw closer to God we need to “rest to be at our best.”
The principle is seen in an interesting story in the Old Testament. The Book of 1 Kings tells us that before meeting with God in difficult circumstances, the prophet Elijah did not study, fast, or meditate to be in top spiritual condition; he slept – and the account tells us he slept not once, but three times:
Elijah … went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. There he went into a cave and spent the night” (1 Kings 19:3-9).
Notice a couple of things about this unusual story. Elijah was on his way to meet with God at Horeb, the “Mountain of God,” but the account mentions specifically the sleep he took on the way – at least two naps and, presumably, a night’s sleep in the cave. Then God spoke to Elijah and the prophet entered into a conversation with him.
Fast forward to the New Testament and we find Jesus sleeping in the back of the boat before calming the storm (Matthew 8:24). This is not to say that Jesus had to rest before performing a miracle, but that he knew the value of rest even when conditions were difficult. That is why we find him telling his disciples to “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest” (Mark 6:31), and the word translated “rest” in this verse can mean sleep as well as relaxation (as in Matthew 26:45, Mark 14:41).
Now the exhortation is to get “some rest” or “rest awhile,” as some translations have it, not to rest or sleep all day or in times when we urgently need to be seeking God (Matthew 26:40-41). But again, we are talking about our normal day-to-day activities and what is effective and what is not when it comes to spending time with God.
The truth is, none of us can perform at our best spiritually on an ongoing basis when we are not getting the rest we need. The Book of Psalms tells us: “In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat— for he grants sleep to those he loves” (Psalm 127:2). We can apply this principle to spiritual food also. The point the psalm is making is that God gives sleep to his people, those he loves, for a purpose – not just to be able to do another day’s work, but to help us most effectively seek and walk with him. David also put it this way: “I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me” (Psalm 3:5 ESV).
Sleep is a gift that we need for our spiritual lives as well as for our physical well-being – we just have to decide to accept the gift.
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