The Heart of a Warrior-Poet:

I stumbled upon this a few years back and I found it once more. This is such a beautiful letter, and one that has and continues to inspire me greatly. I hope it does the same for you!
(I know it is not Valentines or even close to the day, but it is still just as touching.)


(This is a REAL letter, written by a REAL (anonymous) young man, published in Leslie Ludy's Set Apart Girl Magazine (January/February 2011, www.setapartgirl.com). May it inspire you to greater man- or womanhood.)

The Heart of a Warrior-Poet:

  My dear love,

     I can hardly believe it is time for Valentine’s again.  It seems with each passing year my love for you increases – but then so does my patience as I wait for Jesus to bring you into my life.  I long to hold you in my arms, to caress your tender hands, to make you smile and hear you laugh.  I long to move forward into the future Jesus is scripting for us; to partake, with you by my side, all the adventures, discoveries, pains, joys, victories and triumphs.  But I want you to know, sweet love, I am patiently waiting.

     This is my time to wait.  A time for Jesus to shape me into the man you need and deserve.  As I think about the man I ought to be, I know I am desperately lacking in so many areas.  I long to move further down the frontier of Godly masculinity into the “measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13).  I want to be a man of such fullness!  I recognize Jesus will be stripping, forming, and shaping me into such a man throughout my entire life, but my desire is to be as far as possible down that path when you arrive in my life.

     If I may steal a phrase I read by C.T. Studd, I want no “namby-pamby milksop softie” sort of manhood.  I want the genuine thing.  I want to be both warrior and poet – a man of tenderness, love, and a soft heart while still being a man of steel, strength, nobility and honor.  Oh that you may see me as a man – a man as he ought to be.  I pray every ounce of weak and paltry imitation would flee so I may be a true man of God for thee.

     My dearest love, I may not yet know the loveliness of your name nor the beauty of your face, but it already takes my breath away.  As I wait expectantly for God to bring you into my life in His perfect timing, know you are continually upheld in prayer.  I pray Jesus would be the most important thing in your life – that not even I would be able to turn your gaze from Him.  I pray you allow Him to shape you into a woman of pure Godliness, without a hint of distraction, worldliness or impurity.  I pray He takes you deeper into absolute surrender and complete dependency upon Him, where the only explanation for your life is Jesus.

     Oh that He might form and craft you into the most radiant and captivating of set apart women, even now.  I know His work in your life will never be over, but my deep prayer and longing before we meet is that you would crave and go after the fullness of Jesus yourself.  I know the world is yelling in your face to lower your standards, to throw off your elegance and grace, to allure the men around you, and a host of other absurdities, but please oh please do not heed their voice.  I wish I could stand in front of you to take the blunt of the criticism and attack, but because I am not there, hide yourself ever more in Jesus.  Cling to Him all the tighter.  May each difficult “pressing” of life only press you deeper into Him.  And know, my dear love, I am standing in prayer beside you.  I am fighting and lifting you up in the spiritual realm on a daily basis.

     Please be patient, dear one.  I know as well how it can be a struggle to wait in seeming endlessness, but the time is not afar off when He will draw us together and enable me to sweep you off your feet.  Use this time to fall ever more in love with our Jesus.  Dive deep and drink of His richness.  Be consumed and passionately intimate with Him.  And know, for however long it takes, I am patiently and prayerfully waiting.

Now and forever yours,

Your future husband

I Am Ready Now:

I am ready to admit it...
I am ready to be honest with myself...
I am ready to be a hundred percent truthful with everyone else...
I am ready to say that...I am not okay!

Trials and weights, they say, make you stronger. But there comes a time when you just can't take it anymore. "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger." Those lyrics keep playing over in my head. My worries aren't about strength; I just want to fully live without all the regrets! There comes a time when excuses, lies, emotions, and the moments of "Woe is me" doesn't work anymore. It's not a matter of one needing to be perfect, superior, all put-together. All I want is....

Support.

Security.

Respect.

And Honesty!

Am I asking too much? Over the top? Too needy? I might believe it, if you didn't demand the same thing. The funny thing is that I have given all those things; only to be returned with more pain. I can only lay down and play dead for so long, and pretend like nothing is wrong. Sometimes you have to get up, dust yourself off and walk away. I am ready to do that now. I can't hold on if there is nothing there to hold on to. I know where I am going, I know what I want and how to get to that place. Make a choice, and make it fast if that road includes you!

I am ready to pack up and go, and I am not afraid to do it alone.

I AM READY NOW!

Purity Sets You Apart:

Patience is required for this journey

Unwavering hearts committed to Him is what helps one endure

Readily available to humble oneself is a necessity

Inspiring ones heart with His Words is what feeds the soul

Tiny steps add up to be big leaps

Young fire burns out, but a steadfast heart keeps on burning

Sin is like water that drenches the flame inside each passionate heart

Every move either, draws one to Him or pushes one away

Tease not the desires of the flesh, they come to quickly devour

Skillful tactics lie await to entangle, and entangle they will to the ones who placed them

Yonder is the road less traveled, and the road never coiled with traps

Ornaments that adorn, catch the eye of the foolish, but a lush heart is rare and sought by the wise

Understand what it is oneself is destined for and ones path will be straight

Apart from the Creator, one blows out the guiding light

Pray still until change is evident, and even then pray more

Arrogance and doubt will come to sway the body

Refuse and commit to the course

Teach those seen along this road, and never lose sight of the One who set you on this path!

Written by: LynnCheri J. Flowers
8-2-12

Fellow Traveler:

Teach me, Lord to be kind and gentle

In all the events of life:

In disappointment,

In the thoughtlessness of others,

In the insincerity of those I trusted,

In the unfaithfulness of those whom I relied.

Let me put myself aside,

To think of happiness of others,

To hide my little pains and heartaches,

So that I may be the only one

To suffer from them.

Teach me to profit by the suffering 

That comes across my path.

Let me use suffering that it may mellow me,

Not harden or embitter me;

That it may make me patient,

Not irritable;

That it may make me broad in forgiveness,

Not narrow and haughty,

Nor overbearing.

May no one be less good for having come

Within my influence,

No one less pure,

Less true, less kind, less noble,

For having been been a fellow traveler

In our journey toward eternal life...

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God:

Graduate High School, check. Enroll in College, check. Get financial aid, check. Set future plans, check.

Seems as though my life is set before me. I have everything planned and ready to go, now I just need to succeed. For some reason the thought of succeeding is almost scary, but why? Because it includes failing. I am determined to excel, I believe that I can therefore I will. The only thing that stops me from getting lost in the dream, is the fact that along the way it is inevitable that I will stumble and fall.

Failure.
Amongst success.

If I can jog without my throat going dry, why would I appreciate water? If I don't bleed after a cut, why would I want or need a band-aid? If I don't fail amongst the success, how can I give God the glory? If I always win "on my own" what is stopping me before I boast in "my strength"? I am who I am today, because of the one who died for me on the cross 2 thousand+ years ago. I live today, because of my Abba Father's everlasting grace.

What am I without  my failures? Those moments when I fell, were the moments He rose to the place He deserves in my life. Will I fail? Absolutely. That's not the question we should be asking though. The real question is, when we get to that low place will we stay there and learn to bow before the Lord while we are there? My life is set before me, God has already told me what it is I am called to do... 1. Do justice, 2. Love mercy, and 3. Walk humbly with my God. (Micah 6:8b)

I am excited to see what God has in store for me... Where my place is in college and furthermore where He will take me after. My life has only just begun!

Names of God

The Lord has really impressed upon my heart the importance of knowing who we are, not only that, but who we are in HIM! We were made in the image of God, right? (Genesis 1:27) If we are made in His image then we need to know who He is in order to fully understand who we are. How do we find out who He is? Let me ask you this, what is the first step in getting to know someone? It looks like this, "Hello, my name is..." The very first step is, learning their name. So, here is a quick study on only three of the names God uses.

The Names of God:

The very first title of God that you will see in scripture is in Genesis 1:1.

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Genesis 1:1 NKJV

The Hebrew translation for the word God is, “El” or “Elohim”. This form shows up 2, 600 times in the Old Testament. El is the root word for “Elohim”; this name describes the greatness and glory, and reveals the power and sovereignty of God! As you see in the very first verse, God is the God who creates. Two facets of God make up the word “Elohim” so far.

1. Total power and might; and complete sovereignty;

2. Complete creativity.

Yet another fascinating thing about Elohim is that in Hebrew the ending is plural! It describes the divine trinity, the Godhead: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is so vast and wonderful that a singular word could never fully describe each element of His personality, or what He is about!

Think about it, if someone asks you, “Describe yourself in one word, and explain why.” What “one word” would you choose? He chose God, Elohim, The Creator, and the One who is full of power and great with sovereignty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit!

Do not think it stops there though, Elohim: also means the one who makes covenants with His creation! He wants a covenant relationship with the people that He created; he is passionately in love with YOU! He walked with Adam and Eve, He was building a relationship with them. When they sinned, God sought them.

Why is having knowledge of the names, and the meanings for the many titles God has important? It is simple, if we want to know Him we must know His name and the meaning describes who He is. Why does he use so many different names? He wanted to reveal to you, to me, to His creation the fullness of who He is! Not only that, but we are made in His image; if we know who He is, we know who we are! It is not about having head knowledge, but deepening your relationship with God.

Translated in English as “Lord”, Adonai is somewhat of a different name for God in that it reflects our responsibility as His servants. You just saw that God is a God who wants a covenant relationship with His people. Knowing Him as Adonai will help you in making a deeper commitment to Him.

Adonai is used over 300 times in the Old Testament alone, and it literally means “Master,” “Owner,” or “Lord.” This signifies His ownership and our responsibility to Him by being His servants. Adonai has an amazing facet to it that only one other name of God has—Elohim. It can be translated as both plural and possessive, which confirms the triune Godhead!

“The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.” Psalm 110:1 NKJV

In Exodus 21 you find that if an Israelite is starving, and in need of work he could work for a fellow Israelite for six years. If his “master” provides a wife for the “bondslave” (as he would be called)and she bore children after the six years were up the man was free. His wife and children were not however, so he had a choice to stay and be a bondslave forever or leave and be free forever. If he chose to stay, as any loyal husband and father would, the master would pierce his ear with an awl, and plug it with his coat of arms—representing ownership.

The Bible says, when Jesus’ time of physical death approached, He went to pray in the garden of Gethsemane. There was great struggle that day. I believe the Father said,

“Son, You don’t have to drink of this cup. But it is your Bride (Israel) and many children (the church).” 

By saying, “Not My will, but Yours be done,” Jesus was saying, ”I am more than Your servant; I am a bondslave to my Fathers will. I came here to complete My Father’s will, so I am willing to be pierced.”

Jesus became a bondslave to His Master, on our behalf as He was willingly pierced. It is a symbolization of ownership to the Father—He displayed the Fathers passionate love for His creation on the cross! Jesus displayed His commitment to His people, now we have the option of returning that call and allowing Him to be our Master forever!

If we truly understand what He did for us, and know what He requires of us, we can better serve Him as our Lord, our Adonai—Master! This is no bondage, being ruled by God, it is freeing!

“For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord’s freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ’s servant. Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men. Brethren, let every man, therein abide with God.” 1 Corinthians 7:22-24 NKJV

God wants to have a covenant relationship with you and He wants you to be far from the enemy by being your Master—now He says He wants to give you sanctification.

“Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the Lord your God. And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the Lord (JEHOVAH M’KADDESH)which sanctify you.” Leviticus 20:7-8 NKJV

By making God, Adonai we are letting Him guide our lives. God is a Holy and Upright God, and requires us to be sanctified—set apart!