Are You Attackable?

David Judson

Description

Are You Attackable?

The storm is brewing. There is a spiritual battle raging all around us. As God sees the enemy lurking in the shadows, He reaches out to help us—but do we embrace Him, or do we slap His hand away?

When lightning strikes your peaceful and predictable life, how do you respond? Do you grip the hem of Jesus's garment in the face of betrayal, sickness, hardship, or debt, or do you allow the enemy to tear you away from your relationship with God? The Bible is full of stories of men and women who came under attack and emerged victorious, because they chose God.

Your time to prepare for battle is now. The Biblical principles in "Are You Attackable?" will help strengthen your relationship with God, as you stand against the enemy's schemes.

It's your move.

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Philosophie et théologie
• Christianity

Informations

• Publié par: eBookIt.com
• Date de parution: 28 juillet 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781939748751
• Langue: English

Extrait

Copyright © 2014 by David H. Judson

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form whatsoever — including electronic, photocopy, recording — without prior written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Unless otherwise noted, scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version ® . NIV ® . Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked “KJV” are taken from the Holy Bible, King James Version. KJV. Public Domain.

Scripture quotations marked “ESV” are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version ® (ESV®). Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked “NKJV” are taken from the Holy Bible, New King James Version . Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Cover design and author photo: Emmett Photography

First Edition

ISBN-13: 978-1-9397-4875-1

Published in eBook format by



P.O. Box 2839, Apopka, FL 32704

Converted by http://www.eBookIt.com

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this book are solely
those of the authors and other contributors. These views and opinions
do not necessarily represent those of Certa Publishing.



Dedication


For Jesus; without Him,
the words in this book are meaningless.

To Lisa, whose unwavering belief
in me made this book possible.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Introduction
Are You Attackable?
Knowing God
Recognizing God’s Enemy (is our Enemy)
Building a Strong Relationship with God
Building Godly Character
Leading in the Face of Opposition
Facing Your Giants
God Equips Us for Battle
Be Courageous
Talent and Purpose
Showing God
God Chose You
An Invitation
Acknowledgements
Bibliography
About the Author
Introduction
I love roller coasters! Whether they are fast, high, twisting, or looping, I’m screaming at the top of my lungs until my breath runs out, laughing uncontrollably in fear, and wiping the tears from my eyes at the end. On a bright sunny day or when skies are cloudy, I enjoy the waiting, the riding, and the reminiscing. When coasters are lit up in the dark of night, I’m ecstatic. But, I don’t do spinning rides. No teacups. No spinning balloons. No scramblers or spiders or anything close. No way, no how, no negotiation. I ride the coasters in our family and my wife rides the spinning rides. For me, the amusement park is all about ups and downs and twists and turns. It is not about spinning.
I wish the things I like best about roller coasters were confined to the ride. Too often, real life feels like one roller coaster ride after another. Outside the amusement park gates, we label these rides as peaks and valleys, storms, challenges, or even battles. I have found that experiencing roller coaster moments in life aren’t nearly as much fun as they are at the amusement park. First of all, they last much longer than three minutes, and secondly, they can be the loneliest and hardest journeys to endure. But when I look back, I realize how much I learned and grew in my relationship with God, as a result of the circumstances I persevered through.
It takes commitment to walk with the Lord as we face these ups and downs. Following His lead and walking a straight path can seem impossible when the world is whizzing by, and we are hanging on for dear life as our knuckles turn white. At times, the roads we travel are filled with danger and we feel like we will be launched out of the roller coaster car we are riding in. I have found the best way to ride a big and scary roller coaster is with a buddy. Even my children would rather ride a roller coaster with their dad than alone. When it comes to facing life’s dips and turns, God is the best riding buddy I could ever choose. He provides the strength I need to face the unexpected roller coaster moments in my life; moments during which God never intended the seat next to me to be empty.
This book is the result of an awakening in my spirit that God chartered as my life encountered some really wild rides. My journey has included deep suffering (i.e. really scary roller coasters) and some dramatic moments. I am grateful for my relationship with God, because He has been with me as a companion and protector all along the way.
As a first-time author, I believe it is important for you to understand my credentials. When someone speaks, we want to know the source of their authority. Have they received a degree or licensing from a reputable organization that provides credence to what they are saying? How have their perspectives and opinions been shaped by unique experiences?
My credentials are simple and sincere. I am a son, brother, husband, father, uncle, friend, boss, employee, and teacher. I have been the husband to my wife, Lisa, for over 25 years. I am the proud father of eight children — two biological sons and six adopted daughters. I have been a business leader in three different companies. My life has included numerous joys and sorrows which have formed my Christian walk and shaped my relationship with God. Allow me to briefly expand on these statements to help you better understand me.
While many marriages today end in divorce, I am blessed to have a wife who has stuck with me through the high and low points of our relationship. No relationship is easy and when the trials of life come, too often relationships crumble. Lisa and I have weathered many storms together, facing some very difficult times. We have experienced joy, excitement, and love, as well as anger, hurt, and frustration. I am grateful that our relationship has matured through our trials together. By God’s grace and strength, we remain lovingly committed to each other.
We have a very unique family. When our boys were teenagers, God led us to adopt special-needs children from China. At this time, we have adopted six girls, four as toddlers and two as pre-teens. As you can imagine, we have faced many challenges during the adoption and integration process. Each child’s adoption and transition period put pressure on our finances, generated mountains of paperwork, and required many family adjustments. All of our children have unique and changing needs as they grow and work to overcome their challenging pasts. This is a continuing journey, as it is for every parent.
As a business leader, I have tried to balance my work and family life. God has taught me many valuable lessons, through success and failure. I have experienced the pride of developing employees to positions of promotion inside and outside the organizations I led. I have delivered multi-million-dollar projects that improved business processes and results. I have also dealt with challenging bosses and customers, downsizings, and the need to dismiss team members. I understand the difficulties of being a strong, credible leader in an imperfect business world.
Like many of us, I have endured trials throughout my life. I experienced an extended personal illness when our boys were young. I’ve known financial hardship, the weight of debt, the loss of loved ones, and the pain of broken relationships. Although this suffering bruised my ego and hurt my self-esteem, God has blessed me and delivered me from each of these trials. He has healed my hurting heart. I now know that living on this earth can be difficult, but I also know God walks with me every step of the way.
It is my intention that through this brief description of my “credentials,” you will understand that I have lived through circumstances similar to those you have faced, are facing, or may face. It is my sincere desire that you know and believe that God desires to walk with you each day. Although I am imperfect, I serve a completely perfect God. As you read the words of this book, I hope you will be inspired to build a deeply personal relationship with Him that will equip you not only to survive, but also to thrive in the battles of life.
The idea for this book was born one Saturday morning as my wife and I were talking about our dreams and God’s plans for our future. In one memorable moment, my wife asked me, “Are you attackable?” Her question was so simple, yet intensely deep. What is it about our lives that make us attackable? As we discussed this question, we began to realize that the opposite is often true – we aren’t attackable; we are ignorable.
For many of us, our lives are no different than the world around us, and our relationship with God is limited to one hour a week in a Sunday morning service. That simple question from my wife took me down a new path with God. Since that discussion, I have seen things with my spiritual eyes that scare me. I have experienced more pressure and strife than I ever expected, and I have matured in my relationship with God in ways I would have never dreamed possible.
This book is the result of reading God’s Word and regularly journaling with that one nagging question in mind: “Are you attackable?” God has a lot to say in His Word about battles, strife, suffering, and, of course, victory. My journey has taken me to a place where I have begun to understand the subtleties and tactics of the enemy – even though I still fall prey to them. I have also been forced to ask more questions of myself: “How well do I know God? Do I know of Him? Do I know about Him? More importantly, do I know Him ?”
My journey has also taught me something that is very important and has become the foundation of His ministry in my life. We must know God in order to truly have a relationship with Him. Before this journey, I knew a lot about God and I knew what Jesus did for me when he died on the cross for my sins. But I did not have the drive and comm