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Battle Bible

             Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8)

 

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6:14-18)

 

So, you’ve settled down to whatever you do on a weekday afternoon. The lights go out. You have your cell phone, but there’s only a 25% charge. Drat! Why didn’t you charge it last night? Feel free to add details to this daydream. Include your favorite disaster or one that is likely where you live. Earthquake? Fire? Chemical contamination? Invasion? Nuke? No matter which one you choose, your basic options are two: bug out or hunker down. For a select few, there is also report for duty. Do you know what to do in any of those cases? Could you pull your act together in under 30 minutes? Do you have supplies on hand to get you through 3 days either at home or on the road?

Let’s change the scenario. It’s not that the disaster from the last paragraph took place. It’s that you find yourself in a spiritual battle. It might be a temptation, an emotional crisis, a tense discussion, a major circumstantial setback. To make things worse, it doesn’t only affect you. What you go through rarely affects only you. There are family members, friends, and even strangers who may encounter you and therefore, come in contact with your internal emergency. They may not even know what’s happening.

I won’t say there are only three responses to a spiritual crisis as there are for a physical emergency, but hunkering down (resting, hiding, sheltering), bugging out (fleeing) and reporting for duty are among them. Do you know what to do? Do you know how to do it?

When I worked for the County of Erie, one of the tasks I was given was to develop an emergency procedure manual for each of the county buildings. I go through phases in which I recognize that I am unprepared for an emergency. For the past couple of years, I’ve been trying to figure out ways to be better able to take care of myself, whether there’s an emergency or not. I can’t say I’ve done as well as I’d like. I also have to admit that I haven’t paid a lot of attention to the spiritual end of things whether we’re talking about the spiritual aspects of a physical emergency or the spiritual response to a spiritual emergency. Today’s passages touch on the issue.

Of course, everyone is likely to start out their list with “The Bible.” Great idea. You can access it online or on your phone or e-reader, except your phone has 25 % power. Even if your e-reader is at full power, how long will it last? Your best bet is a physical, printed Bible. But are you going to carry around a full-sized study Bible everywhere you go? Will it fit in your go-bag or glove compartment? Perhaps you need to contact a Gideon or find a little pocket New Testament somewhere. In the meanwhile, what verses do you need to know? Your other options are to memorize and to create your own little Battle Bible.[1]

What are your favorite verses – or what verses can you find that touch on whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and/or praiseworthy? What are verses that speak to you of truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, the word of God, and/or prayer? Can you print out a few sheets of verses you can put in your purse, your wallet, your glove compartment – in places where you’ll have them if you need them? What verses would you include?


[1] Someone else may have already taken this name, but it is nicely alliterative and I like it.

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