others see it as foolishness

We don’t like to be told “no”, we don’t like to be told “you’re wrong”, if we don’t like a definition we change the word , or at least water down the definition of the word….that way the truth is hidden. Wait !……maybe we just don’t like the truth….or at least we don’t like the inconvenient truth. Of all the people in the entire Bible that I think describes all of us…you know, SOCIETY, it has to be Balak. We all know the story of Balaam when the donkey speaks (Numbers 22:28) but the story is about Balak the king of  Moab, he was afraid of the Isrealites (well he was afraid of their God) and sent for Balaam the prophet. Balak knew Balaam had a successful track record of curses and blessings. The strange thing to me is Balaam “knew” God but it didn’t seem to mean much to him..anyway, Balak sent for Balaam to curse Isreal. In Numbers 22 Balaam tells God what’s going on and he’s told to leave the Isrealites alone so he in turn tells Balak “no”. Well he obviously didn’t like that answer so what did he do? He sends a larger group of people even more distinguished than the last to ask Balaam the exact same question again. Well this time it worked , Balaam went to see him but he knew not to curse them, so when they meet he tells Balak to set up an alter of burnt offering and wait for Gods answer and God said to bless Isreal. Balak doesn’t like this answer (again) so what does he say? Numbers 23:13 “come with me to another place and curse them for me there” ,WHAT ???   how’s that gonna change anything? So they do this again at another place and the answer is for Balaam to bless Isreal….again. Balak doesn’t like this answer..(didn’t I just say that ?) so what does he tell Balaam? Numbers 23:27 “please come with me to another place……..” so they do this again at another place and the answer is (yeah you’re right) for Balaam to bless Isreal….again, and now Balak is angry because Balaam blessed them 3 times…well who’s idea was that?? :::::Insanity=doing the same thing repeatedly expecting a different result::::We may proudly speak of our own “stubborness”, but others  see it as foolishness, there’s a difference between stubborness and simply holding to the truth, and this story gives us a clear example this.

As I see ……..through a fighters eyes….

                                                  Michael W. Suggs

God is “just”…He’s not kidding !!!

God is “love”…yeah, we like that…….God is “merciful”….that’s good news !!!…..God is “grace”…we all agree with that. What about another trait of God….you know , the one nobody wants to talk about, the “justice” part of God. This is the part of God that gives us exactly what we deserve (the opposite of grace). We may feel this to be cruel, or maybe unfair but the reality is without this side of God would the other parts be necessary? Numbers chapter 16 introduces us to Korah, the great grandson of Levi,(you know the head of the tribe of Levi). Korah leads a large rebellion against Moses and announces that he is now in charge because Moses exalts himself above the congregation. Well obviously God deals with this, the ground opens up and swallows Korah, his followers, their families, and their possessions and went straight to hell…WHILE STILL ALIVE. Would young children with no real part in this deserve that? Remember God is “just” and our children are affected by our actions. What about Moses and Aaron, in Numbers chapter 20 Moses’ wife has just died and hundreds of thousands of people are complaining (as they had been for years) daily blaming Moses for their situation, and instead of speaking to the rock, he strikes it twice for water. What we may call a justified act of frustration, God called disobedience, and told Moses he will not enter the promised land and He will now kill Aaron. Now this brings us to Uzzah, 2 samuel 6:6-7. The Ark of God was about to fall off the back of the oxen and Uzzah put his hand on it to keep it from falling and God srtuck him dead for his irreverence. Well, God said it is forbidden to touch the Ark. I guess my point is, we have watered down so many absolute truths that we don’t even recognize one when we see it. To use a military term “shell shock” has now become “post traumatic stress disorder”…….we either add too many words to the definition or we change the word entirely and can’t even see the truth anymore. This can interfere with our relationship with God, we try to focus on the “candy” versions of God and not the traits that make Him God, like God is “just” , He’s not kidding………

as I see it………through a fighters eyes……..

                                                                          Michael W. Suggs

pray for Penn Gillette

This new post will be somewhat short, as I will let the video tell the story. Penn Gillette (I’ve also seen his name spelled  “Jillette”) of the magic act “Penn and Teller” which I am a big fan, has several videos on youtube of his “opinion”  of certain topics. I believe he is under Godly conviction after seeing this one. I am going to pray for Penn Gillette until God leads me elsewhere, and I call on  ALL of my brothers and sisters in Christ to do so as well.

I’m not talking about setting aside time in your busy day to do this , I’m saying  like me when you suddenly have a moment, voice a quick prayer for him and continue to do this often.

To see this video you can google “Penn says: gift of a Bible” and you will see what I am talking about.

Matthew 17:20 is where Jesus said our faith can literally move a mountain, and I believe we can actually change the physical location of a mountain if we abide in Him. Just think what a man like Penn can do for God with his abilities.

As I see it……..through a fighters eyes.

POINT BREAK

No, you are not dreaming, Michael has his second blog entry within a week ! Let me blow your mind again, I have another entry ready to go after this one called “pray for Penn Gillette”.

Yesterday in sunday school I taught a lesson that had a verse included which I have never read, Numbers 14:12 . Actually the text is chapters 13 and 14.

Isreal is about to take the promised land and the spies were sent in to give a report of the land. I made the point there are always four steps to every command of God.

Step one: God gives us a command.

Step two: We give every excuse we can think of not to do it.

Step three: When confronted with the reality that it will get done, we whine, complain, and blame everyone for it.

Step four: God gets His way..with us or without us.

My point was the Isrealites were doing the same thing after the spies had given a bad report, all four steps present in chapter 13 and 14:1-10. And then the verse that totally blew my mind.

Numbers 14:11 is where God hits His breaking point, and verse 12 is where He is going to break His covenant with Abraham. Don’t tell me this is crazy talk and blaspheme, I’m looking at it right now…it’s there. God has had enough of Isreal and vows to smite them with pestilence and dispossess them, and vows to make a new covenant with Moses.

I warned my students, this shows us that God Himself has a breaking point, despite the signs He performed among them they still spurned Him, and He was tired of it ! God is still the same today as He was during the book of Numbers , our disobedience can still push Him to His breaking point. Let’s not find out where that may be !

I would have taken Him up on His offer, but Moses didn’t , he pleaded not to destroy them and that He will be glorified through this.

Two things: this shows that God will change His mind about His plans, especially if we drive Him past His “point break”. Secondly, like He did with Moses, He will listen to us and we can persuade Him at times, because He loves us that much.

Thank God for Jesus, that’s what He does for us, He intercedes on our behalf (“look Father I know their stupid but I think We can work with them”)…..thank you my Messiah !!!!!!!

As I see it…….through a fighters eyes.

My Witness

My lovely wife Dana very recently, had a discussion online with a group of people who seem to all have been under the impression that a witness for Christ is based on the life you live, the example you set for others to see. I have throughout my life, been told the same thing many times.

My first reaction to this is to say…..thats cowardly ! But as I so often find, it’s better to default to the Word of God and let that do its work.

Matthew 10:32 is where Jesus says if we confess Him before men, He will confess us before God. What is confess ? I will use two legal examples for this. The first is if a criminal confesses, what does that mean ? Does that mean the evidence against him (her) is enough to convict , the way they live their life , the example they are , what people see in them as a human being should be enough ? No, it means they admit to it, they tell the parties who need to know, what they have done. They communicate , or “confess” to what they have done.

Now that brings me to the point here, to be a “witness” for Christ. What does this mean? If the point of view is from those who believe your LIFE is all it takes, then as a witness in court all it takes is to stand there and counsel says “he is good person, he loves his family, his record is spotless and his reputation  speaks for itself…..and that proves innocence or guilt on the accused. Obviously not, a witness gets up and TELLS the court what they saw, what they heard, what they believe and what the truth is, a witness stands up publicly and tells those who need to know what the truth is.

The life you live, the example you set for others to see is fruit, it’s proof you believe what you say to everyone you witness to.

If  your life is your witness, then why was Jesus here ? If anyone had a life that was enough to be a witness, it was Jesus, but He got in many faces and “SAID” who He is. His last command was to teach all He had commanded us (Matt 28:20), and I have never been given a command that I didn’t HEAR.

As I see it………..through a fighters eyes.

when the glitter fades

I’ll first start by apologizing for not being a frequent blogger, my lovely wife Dana has that talent but I can go days before I have anything important to say.

My last entry paved the way for this one. As I spoke of the work God has done in the last 18 months , my passion for foreign missions has continued. The difference is I now feel what I had been doing in that fashion was flawed.

The karate organization that I am “loosely” affiliated with carries the banner of  foreign missions through karate, as in going to other countries as martial artists to gain attention to spread the Gospel.

Here is my moment of enlightenment. You may have heard of the Power Team, well the group I was with would use martial arts to do the same thing, breaking stacks of concrete, stacks of boards, tear phonebooks, drive nails through boards with our hands, etc. all to get a crowds attention to witness about Jesus as much as a foreign government would allow.

As we would walk through airports , hotels, streets of foreign cities we would have our jackets with USA on the back, our equipment bags with red, white, and blue colors and USA on them really looking the part of American athletes. That would get attention. In China I was given the Chinese name Chen Yan which means “loyal mountain of stone.” When you have over 1000 people chanting your name when you step up to those stacks of concrete and break them to an enormous eruption of applause, thats quite a rush !!!!

This is nothing more than self exhortation. Though the intent was good, the result was failed.

When the glitter fades, the lights go off, the arena is now empty, what do they remember? The name Jesus that they had never even heard of before,or the Americans who broke everything in sight and gave them an autograph and a good show. This I will never do again !!

Matt 28:19-20 says to go and make disciples, though we saw some salvations, I have to say I don’t think we made any disciples.

This is what this means to me, Jeff Easly heads up the Aquila Project which is a ministry that goes into countries that are new to Christianity and trains the local pastors (who are also new) to shepherd the flock of their own people more effectively.

THAT’S THE GREAT COMMISSION, THAT’S MAKING DISCIPLES, THAT’S FOREIGN MISSIONS !!!!!

I would rather go up to someone in a foreign country and quietly give them the name of Jesus,and tell them what He did and continue on. Let them wonder who that American was that told me about this Jesus I have never heard of, and let powerful name do its work, than remember anything else.

Thats running the race that Paul talked about.

To the finish…or to the death…or to BOTH !!!!  hallelujah ! AMEN !

As I see it ….through a fighters eyes.

the narrow gate

For the last 18 months  I have to say God has either brought me farther in my walk with Him than the last 42 years, or I simply have been saved.

You may think that sounds crazy, wrong, misinformed, radical, whatever term you may choose, but I have been in the Word more in these 18 months than ever before, even 42 years combined and 3 verses stand out and tell me salvation may well have been my experience.

I walked down the aisle at the age of around 8 years but I do remember that day. I told the pastor “yes I believe Jesus died on the cross for my sins” and was baptized that night with my brother(what an evening for mom).

There were 2 things said in these last 18 months that have stuck with and changed me, the first was Brad Fogerty preaching on 2 peter 1:1-11 when he said “if these things do not excite you then you have a knowledge problem on who God really is.” The second was our youth pastor Jeff  said “walking down the aisle doesn’t save you.”

Here are the problems, for 42 years when asked if I was sure I was going to heaven there was panic, hope, and reasoning that ‘yes’ I am. Looking back I have to say I simply couldn’t say for sure in my heart, but this could be contributed to the simple lack of commitment of my walk with God. Therefore, salvation may not have been the issue, it may well have been my knowledge problem on who God is and what He is capable of.

The second problem, walking the aisle doesn’t save you, ephesians 2:8-9 says by GRACE  we are saved through FAITH not by WORKS. Therefore if claiming salvation because you walked down the aisle and correctly answered all the questions, you may be trying to enter through the wide gate of destruction (Matt 7:13) because that would be claiming salvation through works.

Doing and saying specific things would be WORKS and that does not save. That is why you see people in church walk the aisle and get excited for a bit but seem to fall away, they were confronted with the reality of God and realized their sin, but never commited to Jesus. I will boldly say they never received salvation. They didn’t lose it, they simply never had it to begin with. This is where the 2nd verse comes in, Matt 7:21-23 where Jesus said calling Him Lord will not get you into heaven but doing the will of My Father, many…again MANY will come to Me on that day and claim ‘did we not prophesy, cast out demons, perform many miracles in Your Name’, I will declare I NEVER KNEW YOU.

That verse literally scares the hell out of me! Again those are works but you would think it takes a Godly person to do those, but Jesus said many will come on “that day” claiming that and He will deny them. This is why despite my love and desire for foreign missions, the focus of my walk with Jesus is inward toward the church. How many are lost inside the church ????

You may be saying “well Mike what does save you then?” Every salvation verse I have ever read contains the same word, BELEIVE. Like Acts 8:36-37 believe with all your heart.

The 3rd verse, Luke 9:23 where Jesus said to follow Him you take up your cross DAILY. To me that means salvation is a daily thing, not that you can lose it, but it can grow weak to the point you may not recognize it anymore.

BELIEVE AND SURRENDER !!!!! Jesus you’re the Son of God and You died for me, I will go anywhere and do anything You ask………daily.

As I see it …..through a fighters eyes.

still alive !!

Well the recent plunge in hits to this blog show a real lack of activity on my part, but that is due to a nasty illness. Now as Dana will have you believe, I’m simply a “wuss” when I get sick. Hold on…..I understand she courageously continued on working and running a household during her bout with this “bionic cold” everyone has been suffering from, and all 3 kids fought it, but none of them seemed out of action for more than a day or two. I can’t be that oblivious to the suffering of my family, can I ?

What about the other end : injury, I live my life with pain and my “grocery list” of injuries is as long as a “bad idea” list of Brittney Spears. Working with a broken right hand (that was never casted) until it finally healed, something torn in my left ankle where I just wore a medical boot (as a truck driver in a standard rig) until it finally stopped hurting, try to drive with a concussion, sprains and pulls of all kinds. Always training , fighting and working with something injured. I am the Terminator, you can’t stop or hurt me.

But back to this “wuss” thing, I can’t be that out of touch with my families pain, I remembered them all being sick and I asked each one (except Brooklyn) ‘how long before you started feeling better’ and all said about a week. Well it was day 7 and I was steadily getting worse, I missed my favorite holiday and slept through the entire Thanksgiving weekend.

I’m a Suggs, we fight and eat, and if I give up the chance to do both with my family something beyond a common cold is wrong !

I was on the verge of conceding and admitting to being a wuss, acknowledging to Dana I don’t get any more sick than she does, I simply can’t deal with it. Until yesterday when I received the MEDICAL PROOF that I’d been seeking for years…….when we get sick, I get it worse than everyone else.

My doctor said when he examined me, that I “must have more going on than they did, your throat is as bad as I’ve ever seen and I need to get you started on some antibiotics…..a real googly throat.”

Surprisingly I am still not winning this argument at home, he is a doctor and if that’s not proof I dont know what is. All super heros have a weakness, it proves they’re vulnerable, and like the terminator you can’t stop or hurt me, but you put a “bug” in my system and I will shut down. Maybe we all have a little “wuss” in us after all.

As I see it………..through a fighters eyes.

This I will not do !!

I had a tantrum all ready to go…..a FIT of massive and even dangrous proportions on it’s way to the internet hall of fame. All set to draw a line in the sand and let the sides be chosen.

But I heard that Still Small Voice.

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I’m very politically active. I have worked on two presidential campaigns and a local for a good friend. I quite frankly have seen enough already this month, and was about to let go. But this I will not do!

When (very recently) I started this blog it was specifically to share my relationship with my God and Messiah, and my family He has blessed me with, as well as my Christianity and journey into being a better human being. And thats WORD !!!!

Politics is dividing, but Christ is a gathering point. Traditionally when you announce your political position you also lose half of the audience and I want Jesus to be the center of everything I do.

So the only step I will take is to cite two sources: Jamie Dupree (white house correspondant for decades) and Websters dictionary.

Dupree: “when it comes to spending, there is not a dimes bit of difference between either party.” (Neal Boortz radio talk show)

Websters: capitalism-business privately owned and operated

                 fascism-business privately owned and government operated

                 socialism-business owned and operated by a government

Yesterday in sunday school I told my students America looks very different now than when I was their age,so much so that when I compare the time frame, I almost dont recognize it. Gas stations have been an example of fascism for years, privately owned but the government regulates the price. Each day our government reveals a new “bail out” for another sector of the economy which gives them ownership rights,and though the banks, credit lenders, auto makers are still the owners of their business the government says it will “regulate” its operations. (refer you to the definition of fascism)

My question is…does this country look as it did when you were in school ?

This is why I pray for our country and its leaders. My God is bigger than all of them. He can destroy ANY king on his throne, and anyone in the oval office. We as American citizens need our leaders to perform well.

I believe Gods hand is on this country, that is why whoever our leaders are I will be praying that He direct their paths.

As I see it…..through a fighters eyes.

pray with me

Father You are God. You are not the “one true God,” You are not the “God of gods,” YOU ARE GOD!! There are no more.You are what You are and all else falls short, Your existance stands completely unequaled and for that I’m grateful. You dont have to love us, You dont have to protect us, You do that willingly and for that I’m thankful.

I thank You for Your Word and Your Spirit and I pray They consume me. Help me to see others the way You do, and remind me I have something in common with everyone I see. You died for both of us.

I pray for our countries leaders, guide them whether they know it or not. Direct them even if they believe it’s their ideas. Enforce Your Goodness on them and let them know You are God, we in this country need them to perform well. Do not remove Your Spirit from this country !

I pray for my brothers and sisters all over this world, those who are risking their lives to serve You and praise You, give them protection. Give them special blessings that we here have not earned. I especially pray for the ones I have lost contact with.

I thank You that Your hand is on my son Austin. I pray that you give him courage and leadership, as well as direction to take Your Gospel all over the world.

I ask You to give my son Chandler an understanding of Your Word that few others have, insight into Your Word that reminds people of Solomon and they seek him out for his view.

I also pray for my baby Brooklyn, give her a faith and dependence on You that allows her to move mountains like You promised in Matt 17:20.

I pray for the young girls and little boy you are preparing for my children, I ask You to make them ready for each other and bring them together in Your time. Give Dana and I grace to be here for those moments.

I ask Chandler and Brooklyn confess You as Lord and Savior, I dont want them to spend one second of their lives out of Your hands. Bring about the events to make that possible quickly and feel my tears as one day I want to tell You “while I was with them, I was keeping them in Thy name which Thou hast given me; and I guarded them, and not one of them perished.”

I ask You to speak to all who have joined me in agreement with this prayer, and also speak to those who do not.

In Your name……..Amen

Prayer changes things. Maybe together we can all change a lot, just let me know I’ll be there.

As I see it…….through a fighters eyes.