I found this note from my archives. From May 31, 2010:

“I want to live in such a way that the devil throws a party when he hears of my death.”

As some of you will know, this is not original with me (I forget which saint originally penned this), but it does succinctly capture one of my deepest desires. I want to live a dangerous life; that is, I want to live a life that is dangerous to Satan and to his kingdom, a life that demolishes his strongholds. I want my name on hell’s Post Office wall. I want there to be an ongoing APB (all-points bulletin) for my arrest and capture by the forces of this present darkness. I do not want to go quietly. I want my departure from this earthly field of battle to bring a sigh of relief from the prince of the power of the air.

And so that will mean that there are two celebrations at my physical death. There will be one in heaven as I enter into the joy of my Master (Matthew 25:21) and I get to worship my great God face to face with all the redeemed of all the ages (Rev. 7:9). Yes, there will be joy in heaven (Luke 15:7, 10) as I enter in.

And there will be another celebration in hell as this combatant falls asleep and the kingdom of darkness is finally rid of me.

Let’s all live so that there will be two celebrations upon our death.

SDG       rmb       7/21/2017

Consider the joy and the beauty of possessing a defining moment in life. Because Jesus Christ has bought me as His bond-servant and because I have repented of my sins and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, all that I do is now focused on Him. My life is defined by my relationship with Him.

My life has a defining moment, a point in time when life that is truly life began, and everything that occurs after that event takes place with reference to that defining moment. All my plans; all goals; all activities; all relationships; all joys and all sorrows; all of my future, both in this life and in the life to come – all revolve around and refer to Jesus Christ and receive their significance in reference to Him.

I am a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is what defines me, but that was not always so. There were 31 years when I did not know Jesus and therefore I had 31 years when my life progressed without anchor or compass. There was no foundation on which to stand and there was no direction in which to head. There was no destination to which I was going. There was no compelling, eternal purpose that was grand enough to live for and was valuable enough to die for. My life lacked definition because I lacked a defining moment.

But then I met the Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious God-Man, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, the One who rules heaven and earth. He called me to follow Him (Matthew 4:19) and I obeyed and thus was born again. At that defining moment, my old life was gone and my new life began. From that moment onward my life has been defined by that moment. Now I have a destination – heaven (Philippians 3:20-21). Now I have a purpose – to be an ambassador (2 Cor. 5:20) and a witness to the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 1:8). Now I have a lifetime task – to make disciples for Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:19-20). Now I have a mission – to proclaim Christ’s excellencies (1 Peter 2:9). At every point in my life, I can find meaning and solid ground because of the defining moment of placing my faith in Jesus.

The Apostle Paul knew this defining moment as well as anyone and he is the Bible’s outstanding example of this (Acts 9), but it is the privilege and the heritage of every believer to define our life with reference to our initial encounter with Jesus. There is a “before Christ” part of our life that may (or may not) be full of events and activity, but is lacking a central theme, and there is an “after meeting Christ” part of our life, which is dominated by the glorious theme of telling of Christ and of exalting Him in our lives.

Now to the day of our physical death we live our lives with purpose, “pressing toward the goal for the prize,” because of the Lord’s grace toward us in giving us a defining moment, that moment when we first encountered the Savior.

SDG       rmb       7/8/2017

Ecclesiastes is a book of profound inquiry into meaning and significance, especially in the face of the finality of death. In the course of his inquiry, Solomon makes this observation:

For whoever is joined to the living, there is hope. Surely a live dog is better than a dead lion. (9:4)

This article explores the question, “Why? Why is a live dog better than a dead lion?”

The obvious answer to this question would be that it is always better to be alive than dead, especially if you are only viewing life from the horizontal plane, from the perspective of life “under the sun.” If you cannot see the eternal, then surely it is undeniably true that “a live dog,” whether purebred or mongrel, whether well-groomed or mangy, still has the ability to bark and to bite and to retrieve a ball and to take action, whereas “a dead lion,” however regal and powerful he may have been in life, cannot love or hate or take action of any kind. The legacy of the dead is fixed. “Wherever the tree falls, there it lies (Eccl. 11:3).”

It is from Solomon’s perspective, from the view that the living can still act and can still love and make decisions and make changes and the dead cannot, that I want to answer the question, “Why is ‘a live dog’ better than ‘a dead lion’?”

First I want to consider the believer, the true follower of Jesus Christ. Why for the believer is being ‘a live dog’ better than being ‘a dead lion’?”

The most important thing that you as a believer can do as long as you have breath is to proclaim the excellencies of Christ (1 Peter 2:9). Both Old Testament and New declare that believers are to be witnesses for the Lord (Isaiah 43:10; etc.; Acts 1:8; etc.), so as long as we are “a live dog” we are to testify of His glory. When the demoniac was converted and sent out to preach, Jesus instructed him, “Return to your home and describe what great things God has done for you (Luke 8:39).” There is no reason not to take Jesus’ instruction to this man as applying to all believers. While we still have time on this earth, we are to scatter seed and sow (Matthew 13:3) the word of God. The believer is commanded to make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20) of all nations, so all “live dogs” should be involved in that task. And we are called to love one another (John 13:34-35) and to encourage one another (Hebrews 10:24-25). The perspective of the believer is to be, “As long as the Lord has given me another day to serve Him as ‘a live dog’ here on this earth, I will make the most of my time (Ephesians 5:15-16) and glorify Him.” The believer sees death not as an end to be feared, but as a deadline that marks the completion of their work here on earth, a deadline that limits how much they can do for the Lord here. Because our days on earth are as mere handbreadths (Psalm 39:4-5), the believer labors with urgency while it is still the day (John 9:4), since soon his work will be done and he will become “a dead lion.” So it is better for the believer to be “a live dog,” since the believer can still pour himself out for the Lord.

Now we will turn to the much more dire consideration of the unbeliever, the one who has never truly come to faith in Christ. Why is it better for this person to be “a live dog than a dead lion?” Simply put, it is better to be alive because, as long as they are still alive, they can still be saved. As long as they are joined to the living, there is hope. The one who has never trusted in Christ lives in the perilous situation of being one heartbeat away from a godless eternity, but as long as they are living, there is hope. There is hope that they will hear the gospel and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. O, it is infinitely better to be still joined with the living, because the moment after death will bring judgment (Hebrews 9:27). O, unbeliever, now you are a live dog! Fly to Christ for salvation before it is forever too late. “Seek the LORD while He may be found (Isaiah 55:5).” Now you can still act. Now you can still repent. Now you can still believe. While you are still joined to the living, there is still time to escape from God’s judgment, but if you delay, though you be a dead lion, you will forever feel God’s holy wrath against sin. There is hope now, but you must heed the call and come to Christ. Receive the forgiveness that He gives to all who believe on Him. He died for dogs like you and me, so that we might live forever with Him.

“Surely a live dog is better than a dead lion.”

SDG      rmb      7/3/2017

Brothers and sisters, here are some verses that will help you in the battle against fear and anxiety. First, acknowledge that this is a battle and so progress will involve warfare. But also resolve that, with the Lord at your side, it is a battle that you will win. Your goal is to so fill your mind with Scripture and be so ready to pray and to recite truth that there is no space for the enemy to insinuate his lies into your mind. Refuse to give the enemy a foothold of any kind.

Psalm 46:1-3 “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. THEREFORE we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea . . .”

Philippians 4:6-7 – “Be anxious for nothing . . .” Pray through these verses until you receive the “peace that passes all understanding.”

1 Peter 5:7 “. . . casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” I wrote seven blog posts on this verse on my Website (roybritton.wordpress.com) and they are practical and helpful.

Isaiah 43:1-7 – “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are Mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you and through the rivers they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”

Isaiah 41:8-16 – “Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”

Isaiah 12:1-6 – verses 2-3 “Behold, God is my salvation; I will TRUST AND NOT BE AFRAID, for the LORD God is my strength and song and He has become my salvation. Therefore you will joyously draw water from the streams of salvation.”

2 Corinthians 10:5 – “. . . and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” In my opinion this is the key to victory in the battle against anxiety. You have got to grab hold of your thoughts and make sure they do not go where you do not want them to go. Take EVERY thought captive to the obedience of Christ. At first you must consciously do this a LOT and ALL THE TIME, until you break the habit of running down trails that lead to fear and anxiety. STOP THE TRAIN before it leaves the station! Do NOT let your thoughts go to fearful places. Do NOT let your mind play “what if” games!

Jeremiah 20:11 – “But the LORD is with me like a dread champion.” Imagine the Lord standing behind you with His sword out of the sheath as your great defender. The LORD is your dread Champion. He is your Rock, your Refuge, your Defender. Trust Him!

Psalm 34:4, 6 – “I sought the LORD and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears . . . This poor man cried and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.” How does the LORD deliver you from all your fears? Is that even possible? Yes! The Lord delivers you from all your fears by replacing your fears with trust in Him. If you trust the LORD fully, then all your fears will be vanquished.

Psalm 40:1-3 – “I waited patiently for the LORD; He inclined to me and heard my cry. He pulled me up out of the desolate pit, out of the miry clay. He set my feet upon a rock, making my footsteps firm. And He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.”

Psalm 27:1-14 – “The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the defense of my life. Whom shall I dread?”

Romans 8:31-39 – “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also, with Him, freely give us all things? . . . for I am convinced that neither death not life . . . shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

In the midst of a terrifying storm, our Lord stands up in the boat and speaks to the hurricane, “Hush! Be still!” And the winds and the waves heard the voice of their Creator and Master and instantly obeyed and a great calm resulted. Then the Lord speaks to His disciples and asks, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:35-41) O, how many storms do I have to go through before the Lord who has bought me at the price of His own blood will no longer need to ask me that question? O, Lord, let me be one who trusts You no matter how fierce the storm.

SDG        rmb        5/9/2017

This is the seventh and final blog on 1 Peter 5:7 about casting all our anxieties on the Lord and in this blog I want to consider one more aspect of anxiety; When we encounter a threat or a tribulation or a distress, we need to recognize that there are two different agendas that are potentially at work in that situation.

As Bible-reading believers, we must realize that threats are a part of everyman’s experience in this fallen world. Adam’s sin brought with it the guarantee of threats (Genesis 3:17-19; Romans 5:12) and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself promised His disciples that they would have tribulation (John 16:33). In the book of Job we read that “man is born for trouble as the sparks fly upward (Job 5:7).” So the question is not whether we will experience trouble or not, but how we will respond when we experience troubles, distresses and threats

Or more to the point of this writing, “Whose agenda will you and I follow when life brings us threats?” Be aware that there are two competing and very different agendas at work in any perceived threat or trial, Satan’s agenda and the Lord’s agenda, and these produce radically different outcomes.

Satan’s plan is to use troubles and difficulties to create fear and anxiety within the disciple so that the disciple will DOUBT the Lord’s power and authority and love, and so that the disciple will become DISTRACTED from the Lord’s mission and purpose. Satan is the father of lies and is the one who hates Christ and hates all of Christ’s followers. As such, Satan has desires to render you and me useless for the Kingdom of God, and one of his most effective weapons is to create and encourage fear and anxiety. Thus when we begin to act with anxiety, we need to realize that we are acting according to Satan’s agenda. Satan desires to see the Lord’s chosen ones become soldiers who have lost sight of the true enemy, who have dropped their weapons, who have forgotten their mission and who are prone to retreat. This is Satan’s agenda.

But the Lord also has an agenda in the presence of tribulations and threats. As biblical Christians, we know that the Lord does all things for His glory and for our good. Since that is the case, it must be that the Lord allows or even creates threatening situations for His glory. (This is repeatedly the situation in the Bible. Consider Jesus in the storm on the lake in Mark 4:35ff or consider the death of Lazarus in John 11. Or consider again the trials of 1 Peter 1:6-9 or the extreme tribulation of the Thessalonians in 2 Thess. 2 or the suffering of the martyrs in Revelation 6:9-11. Or think of Hezekiah before the Assyrian king Sennacherib in Isaiah 36-37. How about the threat of Goliath before he was vanquished by the shepherd boy, David? All of these [and there are many more] are examples of situations where the threats appeared hopelessly overwhelming until the Lord rescued His people and thus glorified Himself. Isaiah 12:2) So what is the Lord’s agenda in threat and tribulation? The Lord’s plan in threats is to PROVE once again that He is the one true and living God and that he is trustworthy and is faithful to His people and to His promises and to remind His people of their PURPOSE, that they are to be His witnesses and are to proclaim His excellencies throughout the earth.

Satan desires to create DOUBT and to DISTRACT. The Lord desires to PROVE His faithfulness and to renew our PURPOSE. To which agenda will you conform? Decide today to refuse to submit to the enemy’s agenda

PRACTICAL TACTICS AND STRATEGIES

When you feel fear and anxiety beginning to rise, immediately take action to “resist the devil so that he will flee from you (James 4:7).” Here are some steps to take:

• Ask yourself, “What could the Lord be teaching me through this threat or trial?”
• What action should I take by faith? (Remember that the faithful in Hebrew 11 ACTED by faith. Therefore, consider if there are actions that you need to take.)
• How should I specifically pray? Dependence and trust in the Lord is demonstrated by prayer.
• What truth from Scripture can I bring to bear on this situation? Cling to the Word. Have a ready arsenal of Scripture passages for those times when you feel yourself succumbing to Satan’s agenda of doubt and distraction.

Do not submit to the enemy’s agenda! Do not give him the satisfaction of having any victory in your life. Refuse Satan’s plans! Instead, run to the Lord and the power of His might.

SDG        rmb        4/20/2017

In this brief verse, Peter gives profound instruction to the disciple of Jesus Christ for dealing with anxiety in their life. This is the sixth in a series of blogs exploring how to have victory over anxiety and then how to apply Peter’s instruction to every believer’s everyday life.

“casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”

Anxiety may be defined as “a persistent fear or worry or disquieting of the mind caused by some perceived threat that distracts the disciple of Christ from being fully engaged and focused on the Lord and on His glory and from being fixed on the mission the Lord has given His disciples to accomplish on the earth.” In the last few blogs, I gave what I believe are four solid strategies for effectively “casting your anxieties on Him (the Lord).” There is, no doubt, overlap between those strategies, but I think that if these strategies are employed consistently in a believer’s life, both the level of anxiety and the frequency of experiencing anxiety will radically decrease.

Now I want to move from broad strategies to specific tactics for defending against and defeating the feelings of anxiety in your life and in my life. We want to use these tactics as weapons for “casting all your anxiety on Him.” As already stated above, there can be overlap between one tactic and another and between strategies and tactics, but this overlap should just serve to make the disciple’s defenses against fear and anxiety that much stronger.

TACTICS FOR TACKLING FEARS

• Trust the Lord – Psalm 37:3-6; Proverbs 3:5-6
• Wait patiently for the Lord to act and to intercede – Psalm 40:1-3
• Pray fervently and without ceasing – 1 Thess. 5:17. Pray not only for courage and for greater trust in the Lord, but also pray for others and pray for the gospel to move forward with power everywhere. Pray on the offense.
• Be content with the Lord’s provision – Phil. 4:11-12; Luke 3:14; 1 Tim. 6:6-8. Strive to be content with whatever the Lord gives you and in whatever circumstances the Lord places you. Have the attitude of Paul and Silas, who, after they had been beaten and been thrown into a jail in Philippi, were singing hymns of praise to God (Acts 16:25).
• Persevere and be resolved to never shrink back. Decide now to never give up. Quitting is simply not an option for the Christian (Hebrews 10:39), so take surrender off the table and consider it no more. (Phil. 3:13-14)
• Give thanks to the Lord for specific things. Do not be vague. God has specifically blessed so He should be specifically thanked.
• Have a well-defined mission (Acts 1:8 [witness] and 2 Cor. 5:20 [ambassador] will serve well as a mission if you cannot think of another.) and keep your eyes fixed on that mission.
• Remind yourself that this is a fallen and very imperfect world. Our world is broken and therefore we should expect to experience trouble (Job 5:7; 1 Peter 4:12). For the one who expects difficulty, the world’s threats are not as daunting.
• To the limit of your ability, obey ALL the commands of the Scripture. Let obedience consume your thoughts. (Song of Solomon 2:15 – “the little foxes spoil the vine,” meaning that small sins beget bigger sins.) Tolerating one sin in your life opens the door of opportunity to Satan (Ephesians 4:27; 2 Cor. 2:11), and sin in your life will plant the seeds for anxiety. All sin has consequences, and if you deal with anxiety, your sin will probably produce anxiety.
• Remember that God, my God, is sovereign over all things and He has ordained all my circumstances for His glory and for my good. “The Lord has put me here and I will glorify Him.” The Lord is for me; who can be against me? What can mere man do to me? Romans 8:31; Psalm 56:4.
• Seek out Christian fellowship and tap into it often. Allow your brothers and sisters to help you and encourage you. Hebrews 10:24-25.
• Determine that you do not need to understand everything to be content in life. Live with the attitude, “Not my will, but Thy will be done.” Luke 22:42.
• Identify threats and be strong and let your heart take courage, and act by faith. Part of casting anxiety onto the Lord is taking a stand against the threat and then taking action to overcome the threat. Psalm 27:14; 1 Chronicles 28:10, 20; 1 Cor. 16:13; “By faith” in Hebrews 11. Note that the “by faith” verses in Hebrews 11 almost all involve a believer of old acting by faith. Their faith was not a passive faith, but was one that saw an impossible situation and nevertheless acted in obedience, trusting the Lord to accomplish the impossible because the LORD had called them to the task. Just so, we cast our anxiety onto the Lord and we act by faith.

You probably have other tactics that you can employ, but the point is that the disciple has weapons from the Lord to vanquish anxiety and, if we will develop the habits to continually use these tactics, we will be ready whenever the feeling of anxiety arises so that it will be rooted out.

Our final look at resisting anxiety will be next time when I will consider God’s purposes in allowing threats and fear in the life of the believer as opposed to Satan’s purposes in threats and fear. Join me for our study then.

SDG         rmb          4/9/2017