I promised to share about the Parable of the One-Arm Swordman two days ago. I am thinking twice now because I do not know whether the message will make an impact as it did when I attended the "Into The Word" course two days ago. I pray it will still.
Here goes the parable...
"There once lived a swordman. He was so good that he eventually went up the rung of the kung-fu world and became the head of all the swordmen.
Then came an evil swordman. He fought and killed all the other swordmen till it was left with the leader.
The final duel between the two was fought on a mountain. Swords drawn and the fight started. Ultimately, the leader was defeated. The evil swordman triumphed!
Just before the head swordman died, he called for his son and instructed him to go to another mountain to look for his uncle. He asked his son to learn all the kung-fu skills from his uncle so that when he has mastered them, he will avenge for the head swordman by killing the evil swordman. After saying that, the leader died.
His son began his journey to the mountain and after days of travelling, he finally found the hut where his uncle was staying. The uncle asked him why he had come and the son explained that his father had asked him to learn kung-fu from him. Upon hearing that, he told the young man that he had already retired from the kung-fu scene and asked him to leave. After saying that, the uncle went back into the hut.
The son refused to leave and knelt outside the gate and pleaded for his uncle to impart his skills to him. The uncle refused. Then the rain came. The young man was drenched but he was still on his knees.
Morning came and when the uncle peered out of the wooden window, he noticed that his nephew was still on his knees. Taking pity on him, he invited the man into his hut. The nephew pleaded for the last time. The uncle relented and decided to teach him what he knew. But he told the young man this, "My disciple, you must trust me." He nodded and the training commenced.
The two men began sparring with each other using their swords. Half-way through it, the uncle chopped off the right arm of the young man. The nephew was stunned and questioned his uncle for having done that. He told his uncle that the arm chopped off was his master-hand. The uncle replied, "Do you still trust me?" After much deliberation, his nephew nodded his head.
Days, weeks and months passed and finally the training came to an end. The young man had mastered all the skills needed to fight the evil swordman. He thanked his uncle and went down the mountain to look for that swordman who killed his father.
He found his father's murderer and challenged him to a duel. Again they went up to a mountain top and the fight began. Ultimately, the young one-arm swordman slayed the evil swordman. He had avenged for his father."
So what is the moral of the story. Christians of today need to use more of their left hand to defeat the devil! "Huh? What outrageous statement is that?" You may ask.
The speaker, Benny Ho, who was teaching about the Holy Spirit basically shared that the evil swordman was killed because he was not used to fighting with another swordman wielding a weapon with his left hand. This move threw him off and eventually he was killed.
Brother Benny reminded us that the devil has always been using the same schemes and ploys to defeat Christians all across the world. Some were defeated. Those still standing, he challenged us to use more of our left hand to fight. One solution is to engage the Holy Spirit in us to assist and teach us the ways.
Many times we Christians forget that the Holy Spirit is living in us. Whenever we are faced with trials or doubts, we tend to fight the battle alone. But now, Brother Benny wants Christians to tap on the power of the Holy Spirit. Together we can overcome the devil's tricks. By the way, do not forget that the devil had been defeated the day Christ died for all on the cross. But that does not mean he is not out there creating havoc.
I do not know whether the above-mentioned makes sense. Whether it did or not, it does not matter. What matters is that it kept me thinking of the warning that Brother Benny made. It is true that the devil has always been using the same old methods to cast doubts in the lives of God's children and it is equally true that many of us have fallen into his traps.
I pray I will always be on my guard against the works of the evil one. I am not going to fight him alone - with God and also my siblings-in-Christ's help, I will not let the devil take this salvation that God has given me. I will also help my brothers and sisters-in-Christ in this fight. Together we will press on in our walk till the day God is ready to take us to be with Him.
I went for a jog early in the morning. It felt good to do that again. No pain after the exercise. I guess I will not push my left knee too much yet. I shall strengthen my leg muscles first before attempting to go longer distrance. I told the Lord that I love running - in His grace and mercy, I hope He will heal my knee completely so that I can exercise regularly by running. :)
"Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings." 1 Peter 5:8-9
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:10-12
Here goes the parable...
"There once lived a swordman. He was so good that he eventually went up the rung of the kung-fu world and became the head of all the swordmen.
Then came an evil swordman. He fought and killed all the other swordmen till it was left with the leader.
The final duel between the two was fought on a mountain. Swords drawn and the fight started. Ultimately, the leader was defeated. The evil swordman triumphed!
Just before the head swordman died, he called for his son and instructed him to go to another mountain to look for his uncle. He asked his son to learn all the kung-fu skills from his uncle so that when he has mastered them, he will avenge for the head swordman by killing the evil swordman. After saying that, the leader died.
His son began his journey to the mountain and after days of travelling, he finally found the hut where his uncle was staying. The uncle asked him why he had come and the son explained that his father had asked him to learn kung-fu from him. Upon hearing that, he told the young man that he had already retired from the kung-fu scene and asked him to leave. After saying that, the uncle went back into the hut.
The son refused to leave and knelt outside the gate and pleaded for his uncle to impart his skills to him. The uncle refused. Then the rain came. The young man was drenched but he was still on his knees.
Morning came and when the uncle peered out of the wooden window, he noticed that his nephew was still on his knees. Taking pity on him, he invited the man into his hut. The nephew pleaded for the last time. The uncle relented and decided to teach him what he knew. But he told the young man this, "My disciple, you must trust me." He nodded and the training commenced.
The two men began sparring with each other using their swords. Half-way through it, the uncle chopped off the right arm of the young man. The nephew was stunned and questioned his uncle for having done that. He told his uncle that the arm chopped off was his master-hand. The uncle replied, "Do you still trust me?" After much deliberation, his nephew nodded his head.
Days, weeks and months passed and finally the training came to an end. The young man had mastered all the skills needed to fight the evil swordman. He thanked his uncle and went down the mountain to look for that swordman who killed his father.
He found his father's murderer and challenged him to a duel. Again they went up to a mountain top and the fight began. Ultimately, the young one-arm swordman slayed the evil swordman. He had avenged for his father."
So what is the moral of the story. Christians of today need to use more of their left hand to defeat the devil! "Huh? What outrageous statement is that?" You may ask.
The speaker, Benny Ho, who was teaching about the Holy Spirit basically shared that the evil swordman was killed because he was not used to fighting with another swordman wielding a weapon with his left hand. This move threw him off and eventually he was killed.
Brother Benny reminded us that the devil has always been using the same schemes and ploys to defeat Christians all across the world. Some were defeated. Those still standing, he challenged us to use more of our left hand to fight. One solution is to engage the Holy Spirit in us to assist and teach us the ways.
Many times we Christians forget that the Holy Spirit is living in us. Whenever we are faced with trials or doubts, we tend to fight the battle alone. But now, Brother Benny wants Christians to tap on the power of the Holy Spirit. Together we can overcome the devil's tricks. By the way, do not forget that the devil had been defeated the day Christ died for all on the cross. But that does not mean he is not out there creating havoc.
I do not know whether the above-mentioned makes sense. Whether it did or not, it does not matter. What matters is that it kept me thinking of the warning that Brother Benny made. It is true that the devil has always been using the same old methods to cast doubts in the lives of God's children and it is equally true that many of us have fallen into his traps.
I pray I will always be on my guard against the works of the evil one. I am not going to fight him alone - with God and also my siblings-in-Christ's help, I will not let the devil take this salvation that God has given me. I will also help my brothers and sisters-in-Christ in this fight. Together we will press on in our walk till the day God is ready to take us to be with Him.
I went for a jog early in the morning. It felt good to do that again. No pain after the exercise. I guess I will not push my left knee too much yet. I shall strengthen my leg muscles first before attempting to go longer distrance. I told the Lord that I love running - in His grace and mercy, I hope He will heal my knee completely so that I can exercise regularly by running. :)
"Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings." 1 Peter 5:8-9
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:10-12
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