This week we will make a distinction between the judgment of God and murder.  One of the commandments from God was 'You shall not murder' found in Exodus 20:13.  You will hear some people quote this commandment as 'Thou shall not kill', but that is 100% wrong.  If a policeman is a Christian and a bad guy pulls a gun, that Christian needs to aim for center of mass.  Murder and killing are two different things.  Bad theology could cost that Christian policeman his life if he just tries to 'wing' the bad guy instead of hitting center of mass.  What about a Christian soldier in the military?  Bad theology could cost this soldier his life or the lives of his men in his unit.  This is extremely important.

I had a lady tell me one time that she did not believe in a God who would command the complete destruction of a people from men, women, children and animals as seen in Deuteronomy 20.  Yes, that story is tough to understand, but that was God's judgment on those people for their actions.  I explained to this lady that the people who received that judgment from God were involved in some extremely bad things which included everything from sex with animals to witchcraft.  This woman was involved in channeling spirits and I told her that God judged these people for doing the same thing she was doing. 

Deuteronomy 20:10-18
10 "When you approach a city to fight against it, you shall offer it terms of peace. 
11 If it agrees to make peace with you and opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall become your forced labor and shall serve you. 
12 However, if it does not make peace with you, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it. 
13 When the Lord your God gives it into your hand, you shall strike all the men in it with the edge of the sword. 
14 Only the women and the children and the animals and all that is in the city, all its spoil, you shall take as booty for yourself; and you shall use the spoil of your enemies which the Lord your God has given you. 
15 Thus you shall do to all the cities that are very far from you, which are not of the cities of these nations nearby. 
16 Only in the cities of these peoples that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, you shall not leave alive anything that breathes. 
17 But you shall utterly destroy them, the Hittite and the Amorite, the Canaanite and the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, as the Lord your God has commanded you, 
18 so that they may not teach you to do according to all their detestable things which they have done for their gods, so that you would sin against the Lord your God. 

I have heard preachers try to make excuses for God giving this commandment.  Hey preacher; you do not need to defend God.  All you need to do is just present the facts and let the facts speak for themselves.  Just take a look at these people and you will be on God's side.  God makes it very clear that He loves His people Israel and He is just trying to protect them from themselves.  You are not any different.  Look at chapter twenty of Leviticus which is one place in scripture where God provides a detailed list of activities by the people in the land. 
child sacrifice in verse 2, 
mediums and spiritists verse 6 (witchcraft), 
dishonoring parents in verse 9 (having this listed with these other infractions tells you how important God considers this), 
adultery verse 10, 
incest verses 11 and 12, 
homosexuality verse 13, 
marriage with both a mother and a daughter verse 14, 
sex with animals verses 15 and 16, etc. 
There is more, but this list just turns my stomach.  Do you have a problem with God protecting His children from these people?

Would you want your kid exposed to this filth?  God pronounced judgment on these people and I understand why.  The sad part is that this looks like a regular night of TV programing in the United States except for the child sacrifice and sex with animals.  I guess our society has not dropped that far yet, but we are just a few small steps from the edge.  Rise up man of God and make a stand! 

Leviticus 20:22-24
22 'You are therefore to keep all My statutes and all My ordinances and do them, so that the land to which I am bringing you to live will not spew you out. 
23 Moreover, you shall not follow the customs of the nation which I will drive out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I have abhorred them. 
24 Hence I have said to you, "You are to possess their land, and I Myself will give it to you to possess it, a land flowing with milk and honey." I am the Lord your God, who has separated you from the peoples. 

Do you see how important it is that we evaluate the whole of scripture?  Do you see how important it is to distinguish between judgment and the commandment of 'do not murder'?  As a Christian, what is the greatest commandment?  Matthew 22:37-40 tells us to love God and then our neighbor.  As a Christian, if I go home and find my wife and children tied up and beaten by a bad guy, what should I do as a Christian?  Yes, call the police.  But assuming it is all up to me, what should I do as a Christian?  I always get one answer from the crowd that 'I need to love them and forgive them'.  Maybe later, but right now that is wrong.  That bad guy had better pray for the mercies of God to fall upon me before I get my hands on him because I would tear him limb from limb.  Do you understand the whole of scripture as it relates to judgment as compared to the commandments?  This bad guy is not acting like a neighbor.  This bad guy deserves judgment.

Last week we looked at David and Solomon.  Both saw fire come down from heaven and light up an offering after they had prayed to God.  That also happened to Elijah.  Elisha saw his friend get taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire.  This week we will look at Elijah.  Three things are associated with Elijah; miracles, prayer and Elisha. 

Major miracles are only recorded three times in scripture; the time of Moses, the time of Elijah and the time of Jesus.  Jesus told the Pharisees that if they did not believe Him, at least believe the miracles.  Elijah prayed for the rain to stop and it did not rain for three years.  He prayed for it to rain and God sent rain.  Elijah prayed for the life to return to a child and God answered the prayer as a testimony to the mother.  Elijah prayed for fire from heaven as a testimony to God's people and God answered Elijah.  Just as Moses gave his command and power over to Joshua, so Elijah gave his mantle over to Elisha.  Jesus gave His disciples the power to perform miracles as a testimony to those who observed.  The power of those miracles decreased over the course of time for the disciples. 

Because the names of Elijah and Elisha are so close, some people do not know that they are two different people.  Elijah was not the first prophet, but he is the chief prophet.  Moses is described as a prophet, but Moses represented the law of God.  Elijah represented the prophets.
Open your bibles to . . .

1 Kings 19:9-13
9 Then he came there to a cave and lodged there; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" 
10 He said, "I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword.  And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away." 
11 So He said, "Go forth and stand on the mountain before the Lord."  And behold, the Lord was passing by! And a great and strong  wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind.  And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 
12 After the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing. 
13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave.  And behold, a voice came to him and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

What are you doing here?  As a Christian, what are you doing here?  Are you seeking the face of the Living God?  Do you really want to see the face of Jesus as your Christ?  Are you prepared to see that He is not what you thought He was?  What are you doing here?  Were you looking for Santa Claus or, maybe, your reflection in the mirror?  Get ready, because God will blow your mind.  Man can not comprehend God; His love, His kindness, His holiness, His righteousness, His compassion, and His judgment, His wrath, His sword, etc.  God is law and grace.  God is judgment and mercy.

This story of Elijah meeting God is a great lesson for all of us.  God is not Who you might think that He is.  Do not make the mistake of placing God inside a mental box so that you can understand who He is.  Religious people try to control God because they do not understand God.  They think God is this and God is that and therefore He must do this and He must do that.  Watch out. 

God revealed Himself to Elijah as a gentle blowing after God shows Elijah the wind, earthquake and fire.  God controls the mighty wind which breaks rocks.  God controls the earthquake which is the foundation of our world.  God controls the fire which consumes everything in its path.  These are just His elements which He controls.  God revealed Himself to His prophet as gentle and loving, but He wants His prophet to understand that He is also a God of judgment and wrath.  As a Christian, you have got to deal with God as a whole.  I love to talk about gentle Jesus, but I also love to talk about my Jesus who turns over the tables in the temple or my Jesus who goes toe to toe with the religious leaders and called them sons of the devil.  Any other man would have been killed on the spot, but Jesus gave His life.  No man could take His life from Him.  He gave Himself as a gift.  He was a sacrifice for you and a sacrifice for me.  Thank you Jesus.

Open your bibles to . . .

1 Kings 17:22-24
22 The Lord heard the voice of Elijah, and the life of the child returned to him and he revived. 
23 Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house and gave him to his mother; and Elijah said, "See, your son is alive." 
24 Then the woman said to Elijah, "Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth." 

John 18:37-38
37 Therefore Pilate said to Him, "So You are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say correctly that I am a king.  For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth.  Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." 
38 Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?"  And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, "I find no guilt in Him. 

John 16:13
But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.

I remember the first time I really gave any consideration to the Holy Spirit.  One third God and most of us do not understand anything about Him.  We must understand this; the Holy Spirit is truth.  The Holy Spirit is wisdom.  The Holy Spirit is the Helper.  The Holy Spirit produces miracles so man can see the hand of God.  Jesus did not do any miracles until after the Holy Spirit descended upon Him.  The miracles testified about Jesus.  Jesus testified about the Holy Spirit.  Remember our discussion about the form and function of God. 
Open your bibles to . . .

1 Kings 18:36-39
36 At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came near and said, "O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and I have done all these things at Your word.
37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that You, O Lord, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again." 
38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
39 When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, "The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God." 

James 5:16-18
16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed.  The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. 
17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. 
18 Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit. 

Acts 2:42 says the early disciples read scripture, prayed and had fellowship with each other. Prayer is talking to God.  Reading scripture is God talking to man.  Elijah prayed and God spoke to him.  We see the man Elijah when he is hiding from Jezebel.  Elijah thought he was the only believer left, but God told him that He had 7,000 believers in Israel.

Elijah saw fire fall from heaven and consume his offering.  WOW.  2 Kings 18:19 and 2 Kings 18:40 says Elijah destroyed the 450 prophets of Baal.  I can only assume that the destruction also included the 400 prophets of Asherah, but they are not specifically mentioned in the text.  That is a lot of men to die in the brook of Kishon by the hand of Elijah.  That would be the entire religious order under Queen Jezebel which is why we find Elijah hiding in a cave.  This is the same guy who spoke to Jesus with Moses at the transfiguration in Matthew 17:3.  Did he commit murder or did he execute judgment?

Open your bibles to . . .

2 Chronicles 21:12-18
12 Then a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet saying, "Thus says the Lord God of your father David, 'Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father and the ways of Asa king of Judah, 
13 but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and have caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to play the harlot as the house of Ahab played the harlot, and you have also killed your brothers, your own family, who were better than you, 
14 behold, the Lord is going to strike your people, your sons, your wives and all your possessions with a great calamity; 
15 and you will suffer severe sickness, a disease of your bowels, until your bowels come out because of the sickness, day by day.'"
16 Then the Lord stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and the Arabs who bordered the Ethiopians; 
17 and they came against Judah and invaded it, and carried away all the possessions found in the king's house together with his sons and his wives, so that no son was left to him except Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons. 
18 So after all this the Lord smote him in his bowels with an incurable sickness. 

2 Kings 1:14-16
14 Behold fire came down from heaven and consumed the first two captains of fifty with their fifties; but now let my life be precious in your sight." 
15 The angel of the Lord said to Elijah, "Go down with him; do not be afraid of him."  So he arose and went down with him to the king. 
16 Then he said to him, "Thus says the Lord, 'Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron-is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of His word?-therefore you shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but shall surely die.'" 

Genesis 15:4-7
4 Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, "This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir." 
5 And He took him outside and said, "Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them."  And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be." 
6 Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. 
7 And He said to him, "I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess it."

Elijah was God's messenger to the kings of Israel and Judah.  Notice that it is the Angel of the Lord who is speaking to Elijah in 2 Kings 1:15.  It is the Word of the Lord speaking to Abraham and He refers to Himself as the Lord.  Remember John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Open your bibles to . . .

2 Kings 2:11-14
11 As they were going along and talking, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire which separated the two of them.  And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven. 
12 Elisha saw it and cried out, "My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!"  And he saw Elijah no more.  Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces. 
13 He also took up the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and returned and stood by the bank of the Jordan. 
14 He took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and struck the waters and said, "Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?" And when he also had struck the waters, they were divided here and there; and Elisha crossed over. 

John 3:13
No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.

Elisha was picked by God not Elijah.  Funny, Elisha has more miracles recorded than Elijah, but Elijah gets most of the credit for most of the miracles because their names are so similar.  2 Kings says Elijah was taken into heaven by a whirlwind, but Jesus in John 3 says no man ascended into heaven. So where did Elijah go?  If he went to heaven, why would he leave paradise to come back to earth and talk to Jesus about what he was about to accomplish at the transfiguration?  Remember our discussion about Abraham's bosom.  Jesus used this story in Luke 16 to describe a temporary holding place for saints until after the Messiah had put an end to death.  This is a spiritual death. 
Open your bibles to . . .

Malachi 4
1 "For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze," says the Lord of hosts, "so that it will leave them neither root nor branch." 
2 "But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall. 
3 You will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing," says the Lord of hosts. 
4 "Remember the law of Moses My servant, even the statutes and ordinances which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel. 
5 "Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. 
6 He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse." 

What is the 'day'?  This is the 'day' that Jesus died on the cross and the 'day' Jesus raised from the dead.  The day is not a 24 hour day, but a period of time.  These major events in history are shown to prophets like a man looking over a mountain range and seeing multiple mountain tops.  The prophet can see one mountain top behind another mountain top.  They might look close together, but in reality they might be hundreds or thousands of miles (years) between mountain tops.  Prophets see events in history like these mountain tops.  Prophets can not tell the distance between mountain tops (world events), but every prophet saw one very big mountain top in the background which is the day of the Lord followed by another really big mountain top which is the second coming of Christ.  The first big mountain top was Jesus' sacrifice as the Lamb of God.  The second big mountain top is the day when the Lion returns.  We sit between those two mountain tops today. 

Notice the reference to the name.  Jesus is the name.  Remember John 14:6.  Moses was told a name that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob did not know.  You know a name that Moses and Elijah did not know (Jesus), that is until the transfiguration.

Exodus 3:13-15
13 Then Moses said to God, "Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you.' Now they may say to me, 'What is His name?' What shall I say to them?" 
14 God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM"; and He said, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" 
15 God, furthermore, said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.'  This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations. 
 

Exodus 6:2-4
2 God spoke further to Moses and said to him, "I am the Lord; 
3 and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name, Lord, I did not make Myself known to them. 
4 I also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they sojourned.
 

Exodus 15:3 
"The Lord is a warrior; The Lord is His name.

Daniel 2:44 God describes a kingdom that will never be destroyed and a stone striking the Roman empire.  Jesus is the stone and it was during the Roman Empire that He would establish His kingdom.  Jesus told Pilate in John 18 that He was born to establish His kingdom.
Open your bibles to . . .

Matthew 11:7-15
7 As these men were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, "What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 
8 But what did you go out to see?  A man dressed in soft clothing?  Those who wear soft clothing are in kings' palaces!
9 But what did you go out to see?  A prophet?  Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet.
10 This is the one about whom it is written, 'Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You, Who will prepare Your way before You.' 
11 Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist!  Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 
12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force. 
13For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 
14 And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come. 
15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
 

Matthew 17:10-13
10 And His disciples asked Him, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" 
11 And He answered and said, "Elijah is coming and will restore all things;
12 but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands." 
13 Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist. 

Amos 3:7 says that the Lord does nothing unless He reveals it to His prophets.  God provides mankind a roadmap of His journey if mankind would only open their eyes and recognize His presence.  God said Elijah would return to prepare the way for the Messiah.  John himself did not recognize who he was in history.  When asked if he was Elijah, John said no, but he was one calling out in the wilderness. 
Open your bibles to . . .

Mark 1:7-8
7 And he was preaching, and saying, "After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the thong of His sandals. 
8 I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

Jesus said He came to testify to the truth.  The truth is the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit testified about Jesus by the miracles.  John might not have recognized who he was as Elijah, but he did understand his purpose.  He was getting the people to look ahead for the Messiah.  Do you know who you are in Christ?  Maybe not, but do you at lease understand your purpose on this earth? 

Christians are suppose to point mankind to Jesus as the Savior of the world.  We are to do battle with the man in the mirror and claim the authority of the Anointed One over our wicked hearts and minds.  Remember the greatest commandment is for me to love the Lord my God with all my heart and with all my mind and with all my strength.  That means that I set aside my love for myself and place Him first.  Then I am to love my neighbor as myself.  That means I am to set aside my love for myself and place others next to me.  Do this for the honor and glory of Jesus as our Christ. 
Open your bibles to . . .

1 Kings 19:15-17
15 The Lord said to him, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus, and when you have arrived, you shall anoint Hazael king over Aram; 
16 and Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place. 
17 It shall come about, the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall put to death. 

What about thou shall not kill?  Please understand the difference between murder and judgment.  If you do not firmly get a grip on the difference between judgment and cold blooded murder, you will not love the Lord. 

Just like the story of David's baby with Bathsheba being sentenced to death.  God loves that baby and God called that child home to Abraham's bosom until Jesus raised from the dead.  That baby is God's and if He wants to call that child to Himself that is His business not yours.  If you stand in judgment of God, you are on the wrong side of things.  God pronounced judgment on certain peoples and told King Hazael, King Jehu and Elisha to act as His tool for that judgment. 

2 Samuel 12:22-23
22 He said, "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, 'Who knows, the Lord may be gracious to me, that the child may live.' 
23 But now he has died; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me." 

Within God's law, He shows care and concern right beside death and destruction.  As an example, Deuteronomy 21:10-14 describes a situation where a man goes to war and takes a beautiful woman captive.  God does not allow her to be mistreated and prescribes a month of mourning for her before the man can take her as his wife.  If that does not work out, God does not allow the man to sell her like a slave.  In Deuteronomy 24:19-21 God says the man harvesting his field or vineyard must leave the leftovers for the alien, orphan or widow.  God loves all mankind and He wants His people to reflect His love toward others.  God is also a God of justice and we must reflect His righteousness as well.  Our lives are to be a balance of His love and justice just like Jesus is the balance between the Lamb of God and the Lion of Judah. 
Open your bibles to . . .

2 Kings 10:28-31
Thus Jehu eradicated Baal out of Israel. 
29 However, as for the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin, from these Jehu did not depart, even the golden calves that were at Bethel and that were at Dan. 
30 The Lord said to Jehu, "Because you have done well in executing what is right in My eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in My heart, your sons of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel." 
31 But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, which he made Israel sin. 

Jeroboam was the first king of Israel after the nation was divided after Solomon between 931-910 b.c.  Elijah lived during the time of King Ahab of Israel and his wife Jezebel between 874-852 b.c.  Jezebel had 450 prophets of Baal who ate at her table and she tried to impose her ancestral religion on the people of Israel.  Jezebel kill all the prophets of the Lord that she could find as told in 1 Kings 18.  This is the situation Elijah finds himself facing.  King Ahab describes Elijah as the troubler of Israel. 

Elisha ministered under King Joram, King Jehu, King Jehoahaz and King Joash of Israel from 845-800 b.c.  During his time the Arameans were the greatest enemy of Israel.  2 Kings 6 records how the Aramean king tried to capture Elisha by sending his army.  Elisha prayed to God that He would blind the army and then Elisha simply guided them into the hands of the army of Israel.  Elisha instructed the king of Israel to feed the Aramean men and then let them go in peace. 

The sin of Jeroboam was this; King Jeroboam placed a golden calf in two different cities in Israel and told the people not to go down south into Jerusalem.  Jerusalem was located in Judah.  God instructed His people in Israel to go into Judah three times per year to Jerusalem to worship.  Jehu was the tenth king of Israel and God gave him the task to clean up Israel.  Jehu got rid of Baal, but he did not get rid of the two golden calves. 
Open your bibles to . . .

2 Kings 2:23-24
23 Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up by the way, young lads came out from the city and mocked him and said to him, "Go up, you baldhead; go up, you baldhead!" 
24 When he looked behind him and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the Lord.  Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two lads of their number. 

Do not mess with God's men.  I relate to Elisha because I too have lost most of the hair on top of my head.  I also relate to Jehu because I am a hairy man.  Like Jehu, I am also a violent man down deep inside my heart.  I try to walk in humility and gentleness, but on occasion I feel that violent man raise his head in my heart.  God is a warrior.  I like to think of myself as a warrior, but standing next to God the warrior, I fell like a little Cub Scout.  I just need to make sure I know who the enemy is and focus the fight in that direction.  My battle begins every day against the man in the mirror.