Samurai of the Almighty

The modern warrior in reality is not the martial arts and weapons master of popular story, but the one who walks so as to give no inward place to the Devil, who walks humbly and meekly before God and man, yet has the authority and the power to lay waste demonic strongholds. The modern warrior's rule is purity of heart, simplicity of life, and the presence of God. Such a one can call on the Almighty, and is His samurai in the nether realms, wielding a lightning sword, the sword of the Spirit.


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My custom Ruana knife
with its blade long enough
to fight and kill a bear
is of no use to me in the wilds
I am now in, once again
the wilderness of hearts –
where woodsman survival skills
avail not

here survival is of a different order,
discerning the narrow path
revealed to me hour by hour
and step by step
as the guide of my spirit and heart
leads me through the labyrinths
of warring relationships
amid those humans around me

destruction is as possible here
as in the mountain fastnesses
I roamed in upstate New York,
where there also the Lord was my shepherd
as He is here in the Middle East.
Keeping the eye of my heart on Him,
resting in and keeping His word,
I am wonderfully safe amid myriad dangers!

And He has given me a companion,
a wife, a woman wise in her own right
in the ways of her God,
a good counselor to me in this distant land
and strange terrain.
My survival blade here – another of His gifts –
is the sword of the Spirit,
that wondrous blade of light and power

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THE BOTTOM LINE

is that whatever happens
in the inner life
or the outer
I must be of high spirits
with poise of mind
and gentleness of heart

otherwise the Lord's samurai of spirit
roils the serene depths
from which he fights
in the global arena of consciousness
on Apokalypse Field,
a muddied pool

It is here the Way of the cross
is the Way of life,
to let go what doesn't matter,
to yield to another's will
when principle is not at stake;
in losing one's life one gains it

for the power of my blade is the Spirit of Light
Who arises from the crucified life.

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O Citadel Awake!

It is a crime to be silent
or to sing pretty nothings
as though all were well
and peace reigned,
while the murder of a world is at hand.

The siege is mounting
in its fury
and determination
to destroy the citadel
defending humankind

and yet in the “civilized” world
it proceeds under cover
of enlightened thought
and law,
binding warriors’ hands as they sleep

O Citadel awake!
O poets rouse yourselves!
O name the Name
that shines in darkness
and gives strength to the faint

Reclaim our calling
as the Lord’s seers and singers,
flee the bog of modern poetry
and its brilliant obscurity,
sing clear and true with full breath

of the things of Heaven
and eternity,
of the human condition
we are given to defend,
loving not our lives even unto death.

__________________
Steve Rafalsky
Elder, International Evangelical Church (Reformed)
Limassol, Cyprus

"I am set for the defense of the gospel" (Philippians 1:17)

"Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious
power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness..." (Colossians 1:11)