Draft "Illustrated Edition" for ON SPIRITUAL COMBAT (Memes)

By Lt.Col. Dave Grossman

This is a collection of the "memes" or graphics I created to support our book, On Spiritual Combat (written by Dave Grossman and Adam Davis).

Link to the book on Amazon: https://lnkd.in/dCqPiht

Some of these graphics were posted, individually, as a "one-a day countdown" for the release of the book on 5 May 2020. This was intended to serve as a rough draft to demonstrate the possibility of an "Illustrated Edition".

They memes were very popular, with great numbers of LinkedIn members "viewing" and "reposting" the images. In addition to providing a rough draft for a possible future book, this also makes the "complete collection" available to anyone who is interested.

I pray that this will be a blessing!

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From: ON SPIRITUAL COMBAT by Grossman & Davis:

...We are just simple sheepdogs. The obedient, faithful, loving hounds of heaven. We have a pure, intense, dog-like loyalty, and we love our Master with a simple, strong love, with all of our hearts and all of our might. And we strive to love others, every bit as much as we love ourselves. Maybe even to love others more than self. To have such a deep, burning love for others, that we are willing to fight and die to protect the innocent. 

Or to give our lives as a living sacrifice, in thankless, selfless service to others, for a lifetime. And most especially, we are the hounds of heaven, relentlessly, doggedly, lovingly bringing the message of God’s salvation and his redeeming love to all the world. 

Then the sheepdog can finally rest at the feet of the Great Shepherd.

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...Do you believe there is evil in this world? How can anyone deny it? Then you must believe there is also a powerful force for good at work in our lives. Isn’t it odd how some people can accept the presence of evil in this world, but they cannot accept God and his heavenly forces of good?

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." —Edmund Burke

From: ON SPIRITUAL COMBAT by Grossman & Davis:

(Wonderful image based on a James Bullard painting. You can get a copy of this amazing artwork at www.NoGreaterLoveArt.com)

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"Sheepdogs—military and first responders—have to put their lives on the line every day. All too often, these heroic men and women must die, for us to have the safety and security that we enjoy. A vast line of sheepdogs, going far back into history, have died to give us the freedom and security that we have today. 

Go to a veterans’ cemetery or war memorial, and dwell on the fact that they all died to give us what we have today. And were we to go but a single generation without such magnificent men and women putting their lives on the line for us, we would surely be both damned and doomed. 

Sheepdogs have to die to give us safety and security here on earth. That is just the way the universe works. 

In the same way, the Great Shepherd had to die, once and forever, to give us eternal safety and security. That is just the way the universe works. 

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...Some would say, “I’m a person of science, and I cannot reconcile faith with science.” Well,

-Dark energy makes up 68% of the universe, and dark matter makes up 27% , adding up to 95%. Scientists have absolutely no idea what that 95% could be. But they think it might be all around us.

-Could dark energy be God’s angels? And perhaps dark matter is heaven? 

The point is this: No. One. Knows. We cannot know. 

Belief is a choice, and you can make the choice to believe in God. 

If we are wrong, we lose nothing, and we have led a good life, one that has meaning and is worth living. The kind of life that has been proven across the centuries to build good, strong, happy families and nations. The kind of life that can help ensure freedom, prosperity, and peace across the generations. 

If we are right, then we gain everything. Everything! 

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People say: “Don’t you think God will protect you from violence? Don’t you have enough faith?” So I ask, “Don’t you think God will protect you from fire? Why do you need those fire exit signs or that fire extinguisher? Throw away that fire exit sign! Throw away that fire extinguisher! Show us your faith!”

No. It doesn’t work that way. Please don’t curse God when bad things happen. In the end: We. Will. All. Die. 

God’s greatest achievement (far greater than a few more days on this weary world) is not to protect us from bad things. God's most amazing achievement is his promise of eternal life through his Son, Jesus, who paid the price for our sins. 

His promise of eternal life is just one of the many reasons we can find our rest in him no matter what this world throws at us. In life or in death, in physical or spiritual battles against evil, our hope is in God, and he has an amazing future in store for us, especially after we leave this world. 

And, as Jimmy Meeks, the founder and one of the trainers at the Sheepdog Seminars, tells us: “God loves us, and he has every intention of doing something in response to these tragic times. He sent you.” We believe, as it says in the book of Esther, that God has put you here “For just such a time as this.”

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...Rev. Andrew Grossman, in his book Revealing the Revelation, says:

If you are in a loving relationship with Jesus – you have eternal life. It’s that simple. If you are not in that kind of relationship with Him, simply ask Him to come in, and relinquish control of your life to Him. Pray a prayer like this: 

Dear Jesus, 

Thank you for loving me. Thank you for dying for me. Thank you for the wonderful plans you have for me. I have not been following you. Please forgive me. Help me to live for you from this day on. Give me eternal life and help me to overcome the trials and temptation of this life. Please be the Lord of my life. 

I am a simple sheepdog, and I do love my Master with a pure and simple love. It is all I have to give, and it is all he asks of me. The more time we spend together, the more I bond with him and the greater my love and devotion to him. 

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God’s love is sacrificial. So he honors that degree of love coming from others. This is why Jesus said, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). This is a vital messages for all Christian warriors who put their mortal body in peril. The risks we take and the sacrifices we make matter, especially to the God of love.

The belt is truth. Truth can be found in God’s Holy Word. And his truth liberates us. When we “know the truth... the truth shall make [us] free” (John 8:32).

The belt is righteousness. If we know the truth and accept Jesus as our Savior, then we have his righteousness.

The belt is love, a symbol of humble service. Jesus "wore a towel for a belt" as he washed his disciples' feet. If we have truth, if we follow the path that a loving God has set for us, then we have God’s love in our life, and we will strive to love God and love others as much as we do ourselves. Or even to love others more than self. 

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With credit and appreciation Steve Goad for this amazing image. Get a copy for yourself at www.SteveGoadArt.com

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…If you want to be a better person, spend time with better people. (The same logic should also apply to selecting your spouse.) 

The other side of that equation is to be the kind of person that others would want to spend time with. Build a strong foundation of mutual support, trust, and respect. 

Here is the critical component in spiritual teamwork: you need to be a part of a body of believers. You need to be part of a church body. You will have trouble finding that good, godly spouse and those good, godly friends outside of a church. That is one reason we are commanded, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another” (Hebrews 10:25). 

The church provides a structure of fellowship and kindred spirits that, when all is well, can truly “be like to that above.” 

You will not find true companionship and fellowship on the internet or through Facebook. These can be tools to help hold a community together, but they must never replace the “assembling of ourselves together.” 

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Counting our blessings isn’t just a cute suggestion in a Hallmark card. Slow down and enjoy the miracles of today or the daily blessings we have received!

Every “hill” you ascend, every “valley” that you scramble out of will give you strength and faith to face the next one. If you need to deal with worries, concerns, and cares in your life, you can renew your faith by remembering God’s past faithfulness. 

We can see this in a young shepherd named David, who had to fight a giant warrior who taunted the forces of God. David said: 

"While I kept keeping my father’s sheep, both a lion and a bear attacked the flock. I killed them both, and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like them." The Lord that gave me victory over the lion and the bear, will give me victory overthis Philistine. (1 Samuel 17:34–37) 

David is basically saying, “Hey, this is just another day at the office.” 

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Spiritual combat is like the US during WWII. The entire nation was focused on victory. They bought war bonds, collected scrap metal, and accepted war rationing. Everyone was part of an effort to achieve victory.

In the same way, every believer in Christ is part of a similar, vast endeavor, striving toward a single goal. In World War II we won, in large part, by killing the enemy. In this war, we win by saving them! 

In WWII, troops in the front lines did the fighting and everyone else was in support. In this war, everyone is in the fight. There are no rear lines. A grandmother praying in Chicago can turn the tide of battle on the other side of the planet. 

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." But there are many ways to give your life. This also applies to the mother who lives a quiet life of sacrifice, totally, lovingly, and prayerfully devoted to the welfare of her family and to others. She can be the one who will set the stage for victory in an epic battle between good and evil. Sometimes the greatest love is not to sacrifice your life but to live a life of sacrifice.

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Belief is a choice, and you can make the choice to believe in God. You can create a tiny seed of belief from your desire to believe. Then you can invest that tiny seed of belief in prayer for more belief. You can walk that path of faith and prayer, and in the end, you can reach a place where you are empowered to fight, effectively and triumphantly, to defend all that you love in this vast spiritual battle that rages around us. 

If we are wrong, we lose nothing, and we have led a good life, one that has meaning and is worth living. The kind of life that has been proven across the centuries to build good, strong, happy families and nations. The kind of life that can help ensure freedom, prosperity, and peace across the generations. 

If we are right, then we gain everything. Everything! 

Thus we dedicate ourselves to casting off evil, to seeking out God’s will, to fighting for what is good in God’s eyes, to living the full, rich life that our loving heavenly Father desires for us, and then to dwelling with him forever. 

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As a sheepdog, your mission is to man the ramparts of our civilization honorably and well in this dark hour; to retire honorably and well; to raise your grand- children and your great-grandchildren in the Lord, straight, tall, and true; to raise the next generation of sheepdogs under the Great Shepherd, straight, tall, and true; to crack the bones and suck the marrow from every single day that you have been blessed with. 

Then, at the end of your days, the sheepdog can finally rest at the feet of the Great Shepherd, and we yearn to hear those words, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” (Mat. 25:21). 

It is my hope and prayer that I can keep doing what I do, for decades to come. I hope I can see you out on the road at one of my presentations. 

But the Great Shepherd can call me home any time, and if he does, I will have no cause to complain. It has been a very good ride. To live is Christ, to die is gain! 

If I get there first, I’ll save you a place by the fire. 

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