Pacifist Fight Club: September 2012

Saturday, September 15, 2012

FROM PACIFIST FIGHT CLUB: ROUND 3 - SATURDAY, SEPT.15, 2012
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Friday, September 14, 2012

HOW TO FIGHT LIKE A CHRISTIAN

Know your Enemy.

"Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." - (1 Peter 5:8)

Understand who is NOT your enemy.

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." - (Eph. 6:12)

Know your weapons.

"The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds." - (2 Cor. 10:4)

Understand your mission.

“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.” – (Matt. 5:44-45)

“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them.” – (Luke 6:27-29)

Wear your armor.

"Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes." - (Eph. 6:11)

Understand the nature of your struggle

"If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer." - (2 Cor. 1:6)

Be confident.

"No weapon formed against you shall prosper" - (Isaiah 54:17)

Understand your covert strategy.

"I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." - (Matthew 10:16)

Claim the victory.

“…I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." - (Matthew 16:18)

Summary:

No human being is your enemy.

Your warfare involves prayer, love, and becoming a blessing to those who hate you.

Lives may be lost in this battle, and your own life is most certainly one of them.

If blood must be shed it must be your own.

You must look out for the well-being of your fellow-soldiers, and your enemy.

You are a sheep, not a wolf. Trust in your Shepherd for protection.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Warships Full of Buckets: Or Ambassadors and Their Enemies

by Chase Andre

On the anniversary of Sept. 11, men — protesters? terrorists? — breached the walls of the US embassy to Libya, tore down the American flag and murdered the US Ambassador, J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.

To the Libyans, Stevens was functionally President Obama. An ambassador carries the authority of the one he represents. With this authority, Ambassador Stevens managed to transform the civil war-torn country. “It’s especially tragic that Chris Stevens died in Benghazi, because it is a city that he helped to save,” President Obama declared of the fallen US hero.

President Obama went on to say, "There is absolutely no justification for this type of senseless violence," and has vowed to seek justice on the perpetrators.

If you mess with an ambassador, you better be prepared for the wrath of his higher up. Wars have started because an ambassador was mistreated. That’s why no one has expressed much surprise at the Pentagon’s decision to deploy two warships to the coast of Libya. While the White House has, rightfully, been careful not to blame Libya or Islam for these actions, it is too early to tell what sort of “wrath” will befall on those who pulled the trigger.

In the meantime, I mourn with the families of the four people who lost their lives today.

This story grabbed my attention because I find myself fascinated with the relationship between ambassadors and their homeland, as well as their relationship with the land they occupy.

In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul instructs us to relate to God and to the city around us like Ambassador Stevens related to President Obama and to Benghazi, Libya. Paul knew a lot about this ambassador relationship to which he called the Corinthians (and us); he lived his life as an ambassador, and often encountered those who disrespected the Authority he carried. Stoning and imprisonment were regular rhythms of his life as Christ’s ambassador.

But he understood this relationship to another degree, too. See, in a past life, Paul — or Saul, as he was known then — sought out and murdered Christ’s ambassadors, protesting the spread of the Gospel. In response, Christ turned his wrath on Saul. He deployed the warships of his gaze onto the enemy of His representatives. As a result, Saul became Paul. The enemy became the friend became the ambassador. The wrath which Christ turned on the terrorist of the Church was the fullness of His love.

This is how the enemies of God are treated. P(ost-S)aul says it plainly in Romans: “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” (5:10).

As Ambassadors of Christ, we are called to treat our enemies in the same way. “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Matt. 5:44). As Christians, the warships sailing toward our enemies’ shores mustn’t hold Tomahawk missiles, but meals, prayers, and buckets to wash the feet of those who intend to dance on our graves.

It’s easy to talk about this when it’s a conversation springboarded off of a tragedy on the other side of the world. When it’s someone else’s enemies. When it’s someone else’s coast.

But what about our enemies at home?

Who do you perceive to be your enemy? Is it someone who shares your blood? Someone in your office? Is it someone who lacks the right “papers”? Police officers? The church on the corner? Politicians or murderers? The monkey suits in Wall St, or the jumpsuits in penitentiaries?

What is your God-ordered role as an Ambassador to those enemies? What about to those in your city? Will they say, as President Obama said of Christopher Stevens, that it’s a city you helped to save?

Remember, the way the world responds to tragedy and persecution isn’t the way heaven does. We are here to represent heaven’s King, and are called to respond to His enemies as He does. May your warships be loaded with love, may grace be its cargo, and may there be reconciliation in its sails.

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JOIN US AT PACIFIST FIGHT CLUB: ROUND 3 ON SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 AT BIOLA.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

JOIN US: ROUND 3 - "The Least of These"

Make plans now to join us for Round 3 of Pacifist Fight Club on Saturday, September 15th.

PACIFIST FIGHT CLUB

We will fight for peace, but we will do no violence

Saturday, September 15, 2012, 9:00 am to 2pm, Biola University.

Round 3- "The Least of These"
This is a FREE Event.

NOTE: *BRING YOUR OWN SACK LUNCH *WATER, COFFEE & TEA PROVIDED

Our Fighters will be:

*Crissy Brooks; MIKA CDC (Poverty and Immigration)
*Wendy Tarr; CLUE OC (Poverty and Immigration)
*Leia Smith; ISAIAH HOUSE (Poverty in Orange County)
* Dr. Deshonna Collier-Goubil; Author of "Does Religion Affect Peaceful Behavior?" (Torture and Prison)

LOCATION:
Biola University, Business Building - Room 201.
Address: 13800 Biola Ave. La Mirada, CA 90639

Directions:

Biola is easily accessible off of the 5 freeway (coming from the North take the Rosecrans exit, coming from the South take the Valley View exit).

Details:

The Business building is #50 and is the first building on the right through the main entrance on Biola Avenue.

Parking:

Visitors can park in the visitors parking lot (Lot D) adjacent to the Business Building. Parking permits will be handed out the morning of the event.