AN OLD ESSAY

Here is an essay I wrote back in 2000, before I came clean with my wife and family.  I had plenty of knowledge, but wasn’t living by it:

1John 2:16 says “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” These are three destroyers that may overwhelm the human spirit. The lust of the eyes is a destroyer of spiritual relationship, taking one’s eyes off the appropriate target (God, one’s wife, a God-given job, God’s provision) and stirring up discontentment (Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods). Jesus makes it clear in Matthew 5:28 that “whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart”, thus destroying the spiritual relationship with his wife and God.

The lust of the flesh is a destroyer of physical relationships. It pollutes what 1Corinthians 6:19 calls “the temple of the Holy Ghost”. Abuse of the body through drugs or gluttony or fornication reduces the mere physical ability to serve the Lord. Of the marriage relationship, Mark 10:8 says “And they twain shall be one flesh.” Adultery and fornication introduce multiple persons into that one flesh, detracting forever from the marriage relationship ordained by God. While I do not believe a Christian can be possessed by a demon, I do think that indulging the lust of the flesh invites the presence of demons and their influence.

The pride of life is a destroyer of self, putting oneself on a level higher than that ordained by God. One cannot be prideful and also be a true servant, because a servant must not put self first. In John13:14 Jesus set the example and told his apostles, “If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet.” Too often we are captivated instead by Satan’s sin, “": For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:” as he says in Isaiah 14:13. When we suffer from this “I” disease, we must be cast down and broken before being built back up by God into the Christians we are meant to be – extremely painful, but necessary.

All three – the lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, and the pride of life – are rooted in selfishness. To break free, we must be true Christians (“little Christs”), and live as selflessly as the God/man we model ourselves after.

The other side of the coin is man’s spirit, which must be properly fed to withstand these attacks of the flesh. Genesis 1:26 says “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness”, while John 4:24 says “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” Thus our spirit is the portion of man created in God’s image, designed for worship and fellowship with Him.

Diligent study of God’s Word (either the written word or in the person of Jesus Christ – John 1:1) is required to learn how God would have us live. 2Timothy 3:16 says “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” Action is useless if it is for the wrong reasons, and the Word teaches us what should truly motivate the spirit – love.

John 16:3 tells us “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth.” The Spirit of God is sent to come alongside us to lend guidance in our daily Christian life. The Holy Spirit is the “still small voice” mentioned in 1Kings 19:12 which speaks directly to one’s own spirit giving direction, motivation, and adding strength to the desire to perform God’s will. Without the Holy Spirit, the “Spirit of wisdom and of understanding” (Isaiah 11:2) it is impossible to correctly understand God’s Word.

The spirit within feeds itself and builds defenses against the attacks on the flesh by lust and pride. A spirit which is well-fed by God’s Word and in tune with the Holy Spirit will be robust, filling the heart and pushing aside the influences of carnal man. Galatians 6:8 – “The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” A poorly fed spirit will be small and weak, easily succumbing to the worldly influences within and without. Let us all pray to be filled with wisdom and the Holy Spirit, the better to serve God and reflect His image to all men!

OPEN BROKEN FREE

OPEN, BROKEN, FREE – the three words used to best describe WIT! Singles, Four Days to Freedom, and the Whatever It Takes! Ministries in general, all started through the awesome willingness of Paul and Jenny Speed to share their testimony with the world.

In a nutshell:

OPEN: Baring the utter depths of your sinful soul to the people closest to you.  As a married person, that means your husband or wife and children.  As a single that means your parents or the main authorities in your life.  It also means going to each person you have offended by your sin, to the best of your ability, and asking his or her forgiveness. There’s a lot more to it, but that’s the basic premise.

BROKEN: Taking full responsibility for your sin and the damage it has caused – no matter what, no matter how long, no matter how much it hurts.  When I first “came clean” with my wife, family, authorities, and people affected by my sin, I looked like a really good guy and received a lot of praise for my willingness to be open and ask forgiveness.  I wasn’t even close to being truly broken, and sank back down into hidden sin within months of confessing all.  It took getting caught again and Jenny Speed speaking the stark truth into my life before I really started on the path to brokenness.  Being truly broken means doing God’s will and not your own, through the power of His grace.  Again, lots more to it, but that’s a start.

FREE: The glorious realization that I am no longer held in bondage by Satan because there is no longer any hidden sin in my life.  Satan has absolutely no hook in me.  What is he going to say?  “If you don’t do what I say, I’ll tell your wife your deepest, darkest, most hideous sin…”  My response?  “Too late, Satan – I already told her!”  How about, “I’ll tell your friends and co-workers what a rotten person you really are.”  “Go ahead, Satan – I’ve already told most of them, and I really don’t care who knows.  It will give me an opportunity to share the freedom I have in Jesus Christ.”  True freedom is precious, beautiful, and wonderful!  I can ask my wife for prayer at any time for anything, and she will battle with me rather than condemning me, because she trusts me.  How many people can say that?!?

OPEN, BROKEN, FREE – the only way to live!

May the Peace and Love of Christ fill your life,

George

Calling all singles

If you are single, you need to attend this conference…

WIT! Singles

Singles Conference Overview

A Life-Changing Conference for Singles!

During the past several years, Paul and Jenny have had the joy of speaking to thousands of young people across America. They have watched as many of these same young people find “Mr.” or “Miss Perfect”, but are soon sitting before them in tears, disbelief, and hurt. They are searching for answers to issues they are facing in their marriage that they never expected to encounter. As the Speeds began to counsel these young couples, they thought of how much heartache and damage could have been avoided if only these couples had learned certain truths BEFORE they married and not after. Thus, the idea of “WIT for Singles” was born!

“Whatever It Takes!” Singles Conference promises to be a life-changing, world-altering weekend! We will dig deep into our hearts and souls to expose all the hidden lies and strongholds that have kept us from becoming the person God has created us to be. The goal of this conference is to help you identify the areas of your life that need God’s wisdom and understanding applied to them. Not only will it prepare you for marriage, but it will prepare you for Life! You, by the grace of God, will never be the same!

Conference topics include:

• Love God, Live Life!
• Openness and brokenness
• Exposing lies that shape your thinking
• So, who is your “real” enemy?
• How to throw your bags overboard!
• Hanging on when you should be letting go!
• Moral purity in an immoral world
• How do you find Mr. or Mrs. Right when everything is wrong?
• …and much more!

Attendees must be 18 years of age or older.

The Holy Spirit

I am reading "Forgotten God:Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit" by Francis Chan, and this passage grabbed my attention:

"My guess is that you would love to be filled with supernatural power from the Holy Spirit. You probably wouldn’t be reading this book if you didn’t. The question I want to ask is why? Recently, a man dying of cancer asked the church elders to anoint him with oil and pray for his healing. Before we prayed, however, I asked the man a question I don’t normally ask: “Why do you want to be healed? Why do you want to stay on this earth?” The man, as well as everyone else around, seemed a bit surprised that I would ask such a blunt question. The reason I probed like this is because in the epistle of James, we are reminded that we often don’t receive the answers to our prayers because we ask for the wrong reasons: “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions” ( James 4:3 ). Our desire to live should be for the sake and glory of the God who put us on this earth in the first place. So, really, why do you desire the Holy Spirit’s activity in your life? Do you want to experience more of the Holy Spirit merely for your own benefit? When the answer is yes, then we are no different from Simon the magician, who tried to buy the Holy Spirit’s power from the apostles. Peter’s response to Simon in that situation was strong; he said, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!” ( Acts 8:20 ). The Holy Spirit is not a commodity to be bought or traded according to our individual wants, whims, or even our felt needs. We absolutely cannot have this discussion about the Holy Spirit without calling our motives into question. Right now I want you to take a break from reading and spend some time asking yourself why you want the Holy Spirit. Is it for power? Is it for your own betterment and purposes? Or is it because you want to experience all that God has for you? Is it because you love the church and desire to be a better servant to your sisters and brothers?"

I think I usually want His power to correct what's wrong with me so my wife will like me or forgive me, or so I can be a "better Christian" (so that others will look up to me), or so I can say some profound thing to wow the people around me. I think I'm afraid of experiencing all that God has for me...I need to get over that fear. I definitely want to be a better servant.

Food for thought.

My love be with you all in Christ Jesus (1 Cor 16:24)

Christians, Are You Out There?!?

Tonight I am going before the leadership of the Gospel Martial Arts Union to lay out my dreams for GMAU Fencing.  I figure I should lay them out for anyone else who might be listening as well…

 

The reason GMAU Fencing exists, first and foremost, is to advance the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to make disciples who will spread the Gospel to all the corners of the fencing world.  See our web site, www.gmau.org/fencing, for more of our vision.

 

As part of my dream, I would like to have a network of professing Christians in the fencing world who are willing to team with GMAU Fencing in spreading the Gospel.  I would like to have a newsletter listing the accomplishments of our affiliated fencers and containing articles written by fencers from all over the world.  I would like to see the GMAU Fencing patch on a lot of shoulders out there (I’ll give them to you), worn by fencers who are not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, and who are willing to share their faith.  I would like to see GMAU Fencing tables set up at fencing meets, and eventually at World Championships and Olympics venues, filled with tracts and information, manned by Christian fencers.

 

Please, please contact me if you are willing to share this vision and affiliate with us.  Contact me at gmaufencing@gmail.com.

 

May God bless you and keep you!

 

George Ganahl, International Director, GMAU Fencing

Purdue Spring Open

Two of our fencers, Coach Ganahl and Drew Myers, competed in the Purdue Spring Open on March 27, 2010.

The épée tournament was brutal, with 27 of the 58 fencers rated at C or better. We had a fair showing, though just missed breaking the top ten.

Drew Myers fenced in his first-ever USFA foil tournament, and placed 18th out of 35 fencers.

Congratulations, Drew!

Fencing tonight

Come join us for fencing tonight at New Hope in Jamestown!