“I don’t understand the bible,” you say? Pt 3

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Starting off where we left the last time, we were putting the bible in it’s order according to hermeneutical structure regarding it’s themes in styles of writing. 

We finished with the old testament in part two and will finish today with the new testament in today’s look.  The new testament is generally broken into three areas:  the gospels, the letters of the epistles and the book of prophecy.

The gospels include Matthew, mark, Luke and John and although not part of the gospels necessarily, the books of Acts also describes the works of Jesus after the resurrection and the work of the Holy Spirit through the apostles.  These books are more of a narrative type of writing and speak on the life and teachings of Jesus from the particular disciple and the audience intended.

The epistles to the churches included:  Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1, 2 & 3 John,  and Jude.   These letters are instructional and educational to the early church.  They teach  and explain how the early church and the church body today is to conduct itself on a daily basis inside the four walls of the church and outside of it.  Some of these epistles warned against heretics and charlatans and also against carnal Christians who lived in sin.  Other books like Thessalonians will go in depth about the coming of the Lord back to earth.

The final book of prophecy in the bible is probably the most famous book:  the book of Revelation.  This book is actually the revelation of Jesus Christ to the apostle John and to the rest of the Christians.  It is a book that is both terrible and wonderful at the same time.  A book that reveals literal billions of humans dieing as the wrath of God is poured out on all mankind who rebel against him.

Again, these sections are just for the beginners who want to get a general understranding of how the bible works, so that with the help of the Holy Spirit, any Christian can puzzle this wonderful book together. We will go into more depth as the series continues next time as we get into more depth with scripture torture or isogesis.

“I dont understand the bible,” you say Pt 2

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So to follow up from I don’t understand the bible part 1, which are you: a fake doubter, or an honest doubter. I’m assuming either you are already a Christian like most of Today’s Truth blog followers or you are a genuine doubter trying to find the truth.

One of the keys we will discuss in this blog today and the following will be how is the bible divided and understood according to its themes. You see, if you’re trying to get from New York to California, you have to be able to know what a map is and then you have to be able to discern and read it accurately by understanding the items in the map-key and how to use them with the map. This same principle applies to the word of God.

Once we understand the map-key of the bible, or how it is written regarding certain themes, we can then begin to ask intelligent and hard questions where scripture will begin to interpret scripture for us, answering many of our own questions even before we ask them. You see, most people think the bible only says, “you should not judge”, but that is because they ripped the other fifty pages out of their bibles about when and how we should judge. So the key is we must “study to show ourselves approved unto God, a workman who needeth not to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth (IITimothy 2:15).

I believe my hermenuetics 101 category will help my community at Todays Truth blog start out doing this properly in the basics.  These sections will help you Stop the train and get the revelation that the Holy Spirit is trying to convey to us through the Word of God.

Themes of the bible

Once we begin to understand these basic themes of the books of the bible then we know we are headed on the right road in the right direction.

There are seven different themes of the bible. The first five books are the law given to the Hebrew people on how to live and interact and to worship–the do’s and don’ts basically of God. The books of the law are “as is” and mean  what they say. It also includes the book of origins and the the Jewish race and culture. These would include the first five books of the bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

The next set of books would fall under the theme of books of history and there are 12 books in this category: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I Samuel, II Samuel, I Kings, II Kings, I chronicles, II chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther. These books give the history of the people of Israel over a period of about 500 years. When you read these books it states information more like “a-matter-fact”. This is the way it was and how it was written down like a reporter writing down the basics.  As one famous show said it best, “Just the facts, mam.”

The next theme would be the books of poetry including five books: Job, Psalms, proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs. These books concentrate on questions about pain, God, life and love. As a person who truly hates poetry, it amazes me that I love to read from the Psalms, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes so much. The scriptures in these books cannot always be taken literally or as facts 100% percent of the time such as in the Proverbs, where as a general rule of thumb they are true, but there are exceptions to the rules which must be considered  within the context of the statements.  For example in Psalm 91: does God have feathers?  It says he does.  I guess that makes us humans a bunch of little kentucky fried chickens then, huh?

C’mon all yall out there who believed that, you’re better than that.

Well, of course not, and God surely doesn’t have wings, but if we don’t understand the lanuage it was written in and the context behind it we can make the bible say anything we want it to(isogesis).  We’ll get more into that in our future segments. 

The last group for this blog is the books of the prophets including: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. These are books that deal in prophecy and God leading his people back to him in the Old Testament.  this would also include the final book in the bible, the book of Revelation.

The next section will be on themes in the New Testament.  What are your thoughts regarding these books and how they should be interpreted and read?  Which book and scriptures in the bible do you think have more scripture torture(isogesis) and what examples have you seen out there?  Looking forward to your thoughts.

 

 

 

 

 

“I Don’t understand the bible,” you say? Pt 1

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Have you ever seen a bible on  a desk or on a table with ten
years of dust on it? Let’s just say that some bibles get about as much
attention as a sealed off attic. Ever met anyone who said they didn’t
understand the bible because of all of the symbols, imagery or whether to take
it literally or figuratively?

I know when I was undercover for 27 years,  I was hard pressed to pick up my bible and read it. I remember sitting down and trying to read it a few times when I was in my teens and it felt like as about as hard as reading Chinese braille and I don’t even know Chinese. Matter fact, before I got genuinely saved back in 1999, the bible scared me off because I thought only adults could read and understand it and when I became an adult, I still hadn’t got any revelations, so that is why I generally dismissed it. That
was a big part of being of being an undercover Christian for so long.

This series is designed to open one’s eyes to the simplicity of
studying the bible. Remember the bible says in 2 Timothy 2:15, “Study to
show yourself approved unto God, a workman, that needs not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth. The bible, I have always said, is like a
puzzle-you’re not always going to get the answer straight from going to A to B
to C. Sometimes you’re going to have to take the scenic route, in going from A to X to G then back to B to C, being very patient in your learning, asking for wisdom from God daily, because it can be frustrating sometimes on your journey to piecing it together.

So the basis for this first part of I don’t understand the bible, is to get a general understanding of what a person’s heart should be and then in the future parts of the series, addressing certain questions we need to always ask when understanding the bible and putting it into context. Remember these topics are under hermeneutics 101, so we are talking the basics of interpreting the bible, so keep that in mind when going through my hermeneutics 101 categories for blogs to read.

Either a person doesn’t genuinely understand the bible and the
faith or they don’t want to understand the bible and the faith. It’s either or, no in
between- you’re either a fake doubter or an honest  doubter.

Fake Doubters

A fake doubter is simply a person that says the bible is not
true, don’t believe in the merits of it and Jesus wasn’t who he claimed to be and
there are no facts to claim otherwise. If they do ever get around to looking into the facts, they’ve already made their minds up and hearts are closed to the
power of the Holy Spirit the he could reveal anything to them.

Honest Doubters

An honest doubters is a person that doesn’t believe in the bible
or Jesus but really wants to know what the truth is either way and is willing
to be lead to where-ever the facts lead them. They do not have their minds made
up and are very genuine in finding the truth whether it leads to a dead Jesus
or a risen Savior.

Most Christians are honest doubters because they maybe had heard
the truth throughout their lives, with plenty of head knowledge but never came
to the saving knowledge and grace of God in Christ.

An honest doubter doesn’t know the bible at first, but they have
burning desire, after they become born  again, to understand it and learn how it was written and the  questions a person needs to always ask when trying to discern it and understand  the Word of God. We’ll go over some of the questions we should be asking in the  next part.

If we have proper hermeneutics it’s almost impossible to twist  the bible and make it say anything we want it to therefore stopping all  heretical teachings and doctrines. To end this segment, share your thoughts  regarding the following questions with the Today’s Truth Writer community. Do  you understand the bible as a whole? Do you know how to defend its words when  it seems contradictory or politically incorrect?

What makes a good & godly copywriter?

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What makes a  freelance copywriter a good one?  I’m glad you asked.  In this world of fly by the seat of your pance antics, doing what you like, when you like, and how you like to-there are no more standards when it comes to work ethics as copywriters.

But I believe there are 4 basic standards to change  general copywriting  into good and godly copywriting.

  1. Have a passion for your craft and a desire to always get better, always educating yourself.  If your clients don’t feel and see that you love what you do and believe what you’re talking about, you’ve ruined your chance to make a great first impression.  Be ever learning the copywriting craft and write content that is fresh and lively.
  2. Give your clients a systematic plan that you plan to walk them throughout the process while completing their project.  This is a great way to impress the client right out of the gates.  Instead of the client worrying if your going to handle their project like one of the Three Stooges, they’ll know they made a solid choice in a copywriter because of the game plan are are able to lay out from the first phone call.  This plan needs to be turnkey, a proven success system that other copywriters have used in the past and has relative success.  When a copywriter can come aboard in the midst of  chaos and steer the ship into calm waters, you’ll win over that client and remember, happy clients talk.
  3. Be easy to work with.  This  goes without saying, you don’t want to be a person that your client is always second guessing, constantly on the verge of pulling a Donald Trump on you in a board room with two fingers in your face.  Be moldable within your game plan if the client’s needs change within reasonable boundaries.  You’re a Christian, so it should be of the utmost importance to portray a kind, and gentle spirit that moves the project along with care and tact, but yet forward enough to keep the project streamline and efficient.
  4. Last, but not least:  Always meet your deadlines and be a person of your word.  In all my years this is what kills more businesses out there than anything else.  Most people, including a lot of Christians that I have known, never do what they say.  The bible says in the book of Titus, “It is impossible for God to lie”.  Since this is true, shouldn’t followers of Christ make it their goal to meet deadlines, follow up quickly, submitting high quality and unplagerized work?  Shouldn’t we always be honorable and integral in what we promise to clients, never embellishing?  Many times, this is the only way that we can prove ourselves as followers of Christ, which is making ourselves one in the same with our words, as God does.

If you keep the LORD first and follow these basic standards for good and godly copywriting, I believe your career will take off with a major blessing from the LORD.  Any other items that have worked for you in creating good and godly copywriting?

 

Apologetics: Did Jesus always know everything? Pt 2

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Why Give Up Omniscience

Jesus is theanthropus: one-hundred percent God, one-hundred percent man. We know he claimed to be the same eternal God that spoke to Moses out of the burning bush (I AM) and that same God was also known as omniscient. Nevertheless, why did he voluntarily downsize? Why did he leave the unspeakable glories of heaven, light and omniscience for the land of shadows?

He gave up his omniscience simply because he loves you and me. He did the will of his Father in learning obedience through the things he suffered while on earth. Remember, no person, Satan, or Angel could tempt God or cause him to suffer in his Kingdom of Heaven.

So that was God’s challenge: to get himself into the Earth and save mankind by giving up all his power and divine attributes for a brief time, learning obedience through the things he suffered. God knew this would show supreme evidence of his love for us. The Bible says, “No greater love has any man than this: that he lay down his life for a friend.”

 So again, we know he did not always know everything, because he gave up many of his divine attributes for me and you. This blog was not written to show that Jesus was some how less than God or a weak version of god, but quite the contrary, it shows the greatness of our LORD & Savior in what he was willing to do to redeem us. Apologetics and hemenuetics help us accomplish this fact.  Therefore, it is obvious that when you sit on a tack you get the point.

How do you feel about downsizing now?  Be as transparent as possible, for it could help another person in the community open up to God.

Apologetics: Did Jesus always know everything? Pt 1

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Before we answer that question, we must first answer the bigger question it points to: who did Jesus claim to be? We know through the scriptures Jesus claimed to be the Son of God (equal with God). In Luke 23: 23 when Jesus was talking to the Pharisees and they said to him, “who do you think you are-are you greater then Abraham?”

Jesus answered, “Before Abraham was, I AM”, a direct reference to being the exact same God that spoke to Moses in the burning bush. 

A lot of us Christians assume since Jesus was God that he always knew everything but when this question is studied out, the bible demonstrates that he did not.

 Now I’m sure some of my Christian brethren are saying, “Oh, wait, stop the train!”  Did the devil put this man up to saying these blasphemous words?

No, not even a chance. I said the bible demonstrates this to be truth.

Voluntarily Downsizing

Downsizing is like a four letter cuss word to most people in this world. It’s not a fun thing to do. It’s like you get bad news from work:  You know you and your family are in trouble when your dental plan at work has been reduced to a company kit – some string, pliers and two ibuprofen.

Most of the times people are forced to downsize do to loss of income, divorce, death, etc. Whatever the reason, all of a sudden like a tsunami, it assaults there standard of living.

However, we see a different picture in Jesus. In the Bible, it gives another name of Jesus as the Word. Starting in John 1:1 It states, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” Then it states in verse fourteen, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among men.”

That is the greatest voluntary downsizing plan in the history of the universe. God became a peon for all of humanity, giving up omniscience along with all of his other divine attributes. We also know he was not all knowing while on the earth because in the bible,  Hebrews it says he had to “learn obedience”. However, this did not make him any less God and I will explain later.

If he had to learn, we know he certainly was not omniscient while on earth. In reference to when Jesus is coming back to the earth, the book of Mark says, “Know one knows the day or hour when these things shall happen, not even the angels in Heaven nor the Son himself. Only the Father knows.”  How has this made you look at the scriptures, concerning Jesus and his not knowing everything while on Earth?  Please share your thoughts with everyone.

Tyrone went to hell

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Most people don’t believe hell is real, they think that it is just  a figment of the imagination.  You can talk to a person until you look like Poppa Smurf in the face, but sometimes  it just takes that person to hit rock bottom before they can hear you.

Years ago at work, I remember explaining an issue on a bill to this elderly lady,  being as patient as I possibly could, clearly articulating what the issues were and how they could be resolved.  However, she kept saying, “What, what did you say sonny? I can’t understand what your saying” 

After this happened several times of going over the bill, she blurted out again, “You’re not clear.  I cant understand you, sonny-are you speaking English?”

As calmly and poingantly as I could, I said, “Mam, we have went over this three times now and I’m clearly speaking English.  The question is: are you hearing me in a different language?”  Of course, maybe not one of my best moments, and she was shocked at my being so blunt,  but amazingly she was able to catch on fairly quickly afterwards.

The point is, sometimes it takes a lot of waisted time and finally a watershed moment for a person to actually catch on, gaining deep insight and revelation. 

I think Tyrone does an excellent job of showing us this exact point in his testimony about going to hell.  Some people don’t believe in hell, thinking hell is on earth or in their own minds, but the bible says none  of the above in Mark 9:47-48. 

I got the opportunity to call and talk to Tyrone about his testimony and he is just as genuine in person as he comes across in this video and we’ll remain friends not just in this lifetime, but for all eternity and I am grateful to the good LORD that he has given us this opportunity to partner up and save souls across the world. 

Although the video is 50 plus minutes, it seems as though it only lasted 10-15 minutes because he is very personable and the Holy Spirit is clearly speaking through him in this video. 

What did you think about Tyrone’s testimony and/or what the LORD was saying to you through him about eternity without Christ? How would this video testimony affect your lost friends and family members?  Please share with the Truth Writer community.

Apologetics: How can a Christian be worse than an Unbeliever?

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What do you get a dead beat dad for father’s day?  A brand new shiny orange jump suit, that way not only does the judge know he has been making money under the table to avoid paying child support but also that he fully expects jail time when he is waiting for the verdict.

How can a person be worse than an unbeliever, though? Is there another place under hell where these people go? The shame of even the very thought of any Christian bearing this label would be too much for any soul to withstand.
First of all we must establish the definition of an unbeliever.
 
This is the person who has thumbed their nose up at God, full of pride and sin, rejecting his saving grace and gospel message of the cross.  So then how can a Christian be worse than an unbeliever, you ask? Now that we know what an unbeliever is we must establish the context of the main scripture of 1 Timothy 5:8 (NIV) “if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”
 
Paul was making a statement regarding the treatment of the widows and the orphans of this day.  These people in society, back then and still are currently the most likely to be taking advantage of and are the most vulnerable to crumbling under the pressures of society. We know that if a father or husband passed away, it was typical for them to be ignored and basically a nonentity to the society.  Now if the male or leader of the home just cuts out on their responsibility for their family, then it becomes a grave violation in the eyes of God.
 
Christianity 101 is to love the LORD your God with all you heart soul and strength and none less great, love your neighbor as yourself–justice, mercy, good faith, and love. This is the greatest commandment and the heart of all the law.

Even the heathens know to take care of their own family members and they reject the gospel message and the love of Jesus. So the point is if there is someone who professes faith in Jesus but doesn’t even demonstrate the very basics of that faith as in taking care their own family, the bible considers that person worse than an unbeliever.  If we are are aware of this major sin against God by another so called Christian, then we must call it out and or leave them over to Satan as the bible says if they are unwilling to repent.

Even in James 2:17, we see James making a case that a person who just claims faith without any deeds is dead–It doesn’t mean a thing to anyone who has eyes and can see one’s lifestyle compared to their “lip service”. Of course, it doesn’t establish, iron clad, whether a person is saved or not but it is a good indicator of fruits, which Chrsitians are suppose to judge.

Being worse than an unbeliever would be like being 10,000 feet up in a hot air balloon and all of a sudden all the hot-air being released out; its dread to know what awaits you at the bottom;it just ruins your day. Can you imagine looking into God’s eyes and he establishes you as worse than a sinner on the Day of Judgment?

Not only are supposed Christian men who don’t take care of their families worse than an unbelievers, but also those who hinder others from supporting, helping and seeing their families like broomstick mothers. These are the single mothers that accept financial support from the fathers but refuse to allow and hinder access of their children to those very same men. Woe to this type of person also.

C’mon all you dead-beats and broomstick- mothers out there, you’re better than that.

So to recap, we must understand that this scripture doesn’t mean a person is automatically on their way to hell if they violate it,(only the person who rejects Jesus Christ as Saviour is 100% doomed) but it simply compares just the common morals of an unbeliever who knows better than to leave his own family helpless and destitute, to fend for themselves.

Do you know someone who is not taking care of their family or denying another family member access to their immediate family members in order create friction and trouble?  Has this article helped you to see this scripture in its proper context? Please share your thoughts with the community.

 

j.d.’s Error Report: In trouble on the job

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Sometimes when I go to work I have to remind myself that I am there for a purpose even though I am not in the “specific calling” of the LORD fulltime. My calling is what I am doing now, of course: writing– I love to share the gospel through my writings and defend the faith through the words of the bible and the Spirit of the LORD.

I work in the credit department at Qwest, disconnecting delinquent accounts, collecting on old accounts and setting arrangements to avoid disconnects. Even in the midst of my daily work, I feel as if I am in a state of ambivalence. The desire to do my job with complete excellence in Christ rages against the fact of whether I shall orshall not share the gospel with a particular person that is having financial, family and other issues, who I know can benefit from hearing the gospel and understand Christ is the answer to all their woes.

Last month I was helping out a women regarding her services and making arrangements, but during the review of her services, I noticed a movie she had rented on her account about exorcism. I proceeded to ask her about it and a long discussion ensued. The conversation was long and engaging. The bottom line was that over 30 minutes later, I had explained to her about the manuscripts of the bible, who Jesus claimed to be and that all  scripture is God-breathed.

The customer gave me her point of view and in the end, I knew she didn’t have a clue about who the real Jesus of the bible really was– she was more lost than Bug’s Bunny missing his left turn at Albuquerque.

Although I knew I was compassionate, truthful and right in all the information I had carefully shared about scriptures to her, I was still wrong. The bible has other principles in it regarding the principle of stewardship (my time usage) and the principle of authority (honor those over me by obeying their rules). Jesus said when you go to work, we need work as if we were working specifically for Jesus himself. I realized I was wrong in the usage of company time in witnessing to a customer. Although the company didn’t get angry with me so much for what I said and how I said it, but more for the lengthy amount of time wasted on the clock.
 
The book of Ecclesiates 3:1-8 about there is a time for everything, but that wasnt the time for my long drawn out witness because they pay me for a task to be completed and I wasn’t completing it.  1 Peter 4: 12-14 talks about how a Christian is blessed when they are persecuted for being godly and suffer but 1 Peter 4:15 talks about how it is not a good thing to be in trouble and persecuted for doing something that violates Gods laws or the authority he has set over us.  The principle of authority is laid out in Romans 13:1-7 .
Although I was doing a godly thing in trying to bring someone to Christ, I am not supposed to use company products and services as a vehicle, which the authority over me set rules in place follow.
 
I’m sure this incident and others like it from me in the past have not pleased the LORD very much and for that, I repent. I must grasp that being a good steward of my time at work and obeying the authoritative rules are actually a part of my ministry and witness to those who are watching “my walk” and the sooner I can understand those principles in my heart, the sooner the LORD can trust me and move me into a full time writing ministry and the true riches of the Kingdom.
 
May I continue to ever learn from my mistakes in this world, casting down the ugly spirit of pride that my LORD detest. May he renew in me a right spirit and help me glorify his name. May I be found worthy to receive the crowns given to the overcomer’s who shall reign as kings after that glorious  judgment day in his kingdom.

Two Little Girls declaring war on the devils kingdom

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It was an ordinary night as Ivy and myself tucked our two little girls, Imani(4) and Iyonna(2), in their beds after our traditional little prayer. We kissed and hugged them and affirmed them with our love and made sure that they understood their heavenly Father, who they could not see, also loved them more than they could ever dream.

We turned off the lights and did our good nights and “I love you” back and forth like a verbal tennis match, as Ivy and myself went off into the office to get a little work done.

Ten or fifteen minutes later we don’t hear the normal ensemble of gospels melodies sung back and forth between the girls, but quiet talking. But it was more than a little chat because as I tip-toed closer to their bedroom, plans were being given and orders taken.  Were my ears deceiving me? No, it was a battle plan-a rant against a familiar foe.

My eyes widened as I listened to the General(Imani) speaking to her private first class(Iyonna), as I flattened up against their bedroom wall in the hallway to listen closer.
The general  continued the speech for what seemed like over 5 minutes of a pregame pep-talk, “Iyonna, we must be strong. We love God and we hate the devil-he’s the bad guy and isn’t very nice. We always have to love God because he’s on our side. And Iyonna, we have to help God out because the devil is trying to get us, but God is stronger than the devil so we can’t be afraid. We have to pray to God and he will hear us and we have to obey mommy and daddy,  not disobey.”
The general sat at the end of her bed, tiny legs hanging over the edge, with a little finger pointing in the air at the first class private, miraculously, still with her little Snoopyhouse slippers on.
 
As my wife joined me in my little spy setion, the little half pint, first-class private replied to her General in a voice so tiny and cute that her words just barely made it to our ears,  “Yeah, God is best.”

Then the General proceeded to show her how to win the battle by singing the proven battle song she had sang many times before to defeat the enemy, “Jesus loves the little children, all God’s children of the world, red, yellow, black and white they are precious in his site, Jesus loves the little children of the world.”

By this time our hearts were so warmed and proud of the moment that we broke in on the little praise-platoon meeting and just hugged our little girls and kissed them to pieces,  telling them how proud we were of them for standing up against the devil and not being afraid of him.  God is surely gonna get what he paid for in these two little warriors

If these two little girls can be this bold for Christ and stand against the kingdom of darkness, how should grown adults act on a daily basis who intimately know the risen King and understand his grace,  dominion and love?