"War must be, while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all; but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory, I love only that which they defend.
" - Tolkien God's word tells us that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against a spiritual realm of wickedness that has as its goal, to overcome, or defeat us.
We are in a battle against a foe that, as Kyle Reese, a character in the "Terminator" movie, so aptly stated, "can't be bargained with, can't be reasoned with, doesn't show pity or remorse or fear, and absolutely will not stop, ever, until we are dead!" War is upon us! And, it is very real.
Fortunately, God has given us a winning strategy for defeating our opponent that goes something like this: Humbly submit to God, clean up your act and Resist! James 4:7 tells us to resist the devil and he will flee from us.
This is why boys need to learn how to wrestle.
Wrestling teaches them to Resist! Of course, there are numerous ways that wrestling can be used as a tool to train boys to be men and many pages could be written listing and explaining how this is so, but for us, the primary goal is to learn to resist.
In wrestling, the actions and reactions that go on during a contest, are called, "moves".
With every "move" taught, a counter "move" is also taught.
And so, a typical match consists of a constant chain of moves and counter moves.
When performed by skilled wrestlers the movements are happening so fast that many may go unseen by the untrained eye.
As a boy's training grows, his discernment of the strategies of his opponents grows and therefore his resistance to those strategies gets stronger and faster and more aggressive.
His senses and muscles become so finely "tuned" that his movements are more like trained reflexes.
Whatever the opponent tries, he counters.
He then, when the opportunity arises, attacks at his opponents weaknesses and uses his offensive moves in hopes of achieving the victory and subduing the opponent.
This is wrestling: the art and science of resistance.
If we call ourselves Christians, then we are wrestlers, like it or not, we are all in a wrestling match that we are commanded to win.
"Do not be "subdued" by evil, but "subdue" evil with good", says Romans 12:21.
Our opponents are fierce and relentless and seek to humiliate us at every stage of the battle.
But, "Greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world.
" We must go to work! The American Church is weak, soft and lazy; we have forgotten how to resist anything.
We are on our back and about to be "pinned".
We must train our boys up in the way that they should go and teach them to Resist! In wrestling, passivity is penalized, in today's churches it is rewarded.
Let's raise up a generation of boys who humbly submit to God and who aggressively resist the world, the flesh and the devil with such skill and righteousness that their opponents flee from them! There is a battle being fought, someone ought to tell our boys about it and prepare them for it.
God has given us the gift of wrestling to help teach our boys to resist; let's use it to His glory! And the next time the devil attempts to "take us down", let's remember that " the gates of Hades shall not prevail against the church", and then, "SPRAWL!", throw in a "whizzer" and give him a "cross face" he will never forget!
" - Tolkien God's word tells us that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against a spiritual realm of wickedness that has as its goal, to overcome, or defeat us.
We are in a battle against a foe that, as Kyle Reese, a character in the "Terminator" movie, so aptly stated, "can't be bargained with, can't be reasoned with, doesn't show pity or remorse or fear, and absolutely will not stop, ever, until we are dead!" War is upon us! And, it is very real.
Fortunately, God has given us a winning strategy for defeating our opponent that goes something like this: Humbly submit to God, clean up your act and Resist! James 4:7 tells us to resist the devil and he will flee from us.
This is why boys need to learn how to wrestle.
Wrestling teaches them to Resist! Of course, there are numerous ways that wrestling can be used as a tool to train boys to be men and many pages could be written listing and explaining how this is so, but for us, the primary goal is to learn to resist.
In wrestling, the actions and reactions that go on during a contest, are called, "moves".
With every "move" taught, a counter "move" is also taught.
And so, a typical match consists of a constant chain of moves and counter moves.
When performed by skilled wrestlers the movements are happening so fast that many may go unseen by the untrained eye.
As a boy's training grows, his discernment of the strategies of his opponents grows and therefore his resistance to those strategies gets stronger and faster and more aggressive.
His senses and muscles become so finely "tuned" that his movements are more like trained reflexes.
Whatever the opponent tries, he counters.
He then, when the opportunity arises, attacks at his opponents weaknesses and uses his offensive moves in hopes of achieving the victory and subduing the opponent.
This is wrestling: the art and science of resistance.
If we call ourselves Christians, then we are wrestlers, like it or not, we are all in a wrestling match that we are commanded to win.
"Do not be "subdued" by evil, but "subdue" evil with good", says Romans 12:21.
Our opponents are fierce and relentless and seek to humiliate us at every stage of the battle.
But, "Greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world.
" We must go to work! The American Church is weak, soft and lazy; we have forgotten how to resist anything.
We are on our back and about to be "pinned".
We must train our boys up in the way that they should go and teach them to Resist! In wrestling, passivity is penalized, in today's churches it is rewarded.
Let's raise up a generation of boys who humbly submit to God and who aggressively resist the world, the flesh and the devil with such skill and righteousness that their opponents flee from them! There is a battle being fought, someone ought to tell our boys about it and prepare them for it.
God has given us the gift of wrestling to help teach our boys to resist; let's use it to His glory! And the next time the devil attempts to "take us down", let's remember that " the gates of Hades shall not prevail against the church", and then, "SPRAWL!", throw in a "whizzer" and give him a "cross face" he will never forget!
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