III – Be – Page 5 – SemperVerus

Spiritual Fitness: Top 12 Acts for a Christian

The Bible extensively mentions the word heart more than 500 times in the New International Version English translation. It means the seat and center of all life; your inner person; the profound essence of your personality; the seat of your thoughts, passions, desires, affections, appetites, purposes, endeavors. It’s what drives you. Learn all the ways the Bible refers to the heart in the Encyclopedia of the Bible, free to read online.

Scripture emphasizes the phrase “with all your heart,” which conveys the message of unconditional, unlimited, resolute, total, complete, steadfast, ardent, zealous, all-in, no-turning-back involvement and commitment.

The following brief list is meant to help you, as a follower of Jesus Christ, focus your daily attention on the most important behaviors that make up the SemperVerus life. And the first one is the most important one; the one that should motivate us in doing all the others. “We are never nearer Christ than when we find ourselves lost in a holy amazement at his unspeakable love.” John Owen (1616-1683), An Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews, ch. III-V, in Works of John Owen, v.XXI, London: Johnson & Hunter, 1854, p. 528.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Situational Awareness: Spiritual Self-Defense ]

With all my heart, I will…

SemperVerus Helps You Be Authentic : The 2023 Word of the Year

Merriam-Webster logo The craving for authenticity in our internet culture of bogosity and the breakdown of society reflected in deepfakes, post-truth, situational ethics, “your-truth-is-not-my-truth,” and artificial intelligence, has resulted in Merriam-Webster declaring authentic its Word of the Year, based on the high-volume lookup data during 2023 on the dictionary’s website, driven by stories and conversations about AI, celebrity culture, identity, and social media.

Among the other highly searched words in the dictionary’s 2023 data, is deepfake: “an image or recording that has been convincingly altered and manipulated to misrepresent someone as doing or saying something that was not actually done or said.”

Authentic has a number of meanings, including not false and not imitation, and its synonyms include real, actual, legitimate, pure, reliable, and true.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Situational Awareness: Spiritual Self-Defense ]

SemperVerus is here to help you “stay true to what is right” (1 Timothy 4:16 NLT) by adhering to the teachings of Scripture; as Jesus prayed to God the Father, “Use the truth to make them holy. Your word is truth” (John 17:17 NIrV).

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Spiritual Fitness: How Long Does It Take to Read the Bible? ]

Personalize the following pledge and constantly remind yourself of it by wearing the SemperVerus^® waterproof flexible rubber inspirational wristband.

By semperverus
Posted on 11/28/202312/07/2023

Church Security Book Review: Defending the Flock

The US is in a heightened threat environment due to violent conflicts around the world, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Lone offenders, motivated by a range of savage ideologies, pose the most likely threat. DHS urges the American public to stay vigilant.

[ Read SemperVerus articles on the topic of Situational Awarenewss ]

Middle East expert Walid Phares says the charter of the terrorist organization Hamas calls for not only the killing of Jews and the elimination of Israel, but also for the killing of Christians worldwide. He says, “This is a jihadist movement, and it is manifesting itself in America and Canada, and in Western Europe. We have never been at this level of danger for our democratic world.”

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Chart: The Spectrum of Potential Threat Personas in Self-Defense and Church Security ]

Acts of targeted violence against houses of worship are a real—and potentially growing—problem in the United States, says the DHS. The best way to mitigate a potential attack is to take a holistic approach to security.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, A Prayer for Church Security Team Members ]

A necessary and excellent resource for establishing a well-rounded, comprehensive church security program is the book, Defending the Flock: A Security Guide for Church Safety Directors by veteran police officer, retired Army captain, and founder of Sheepdog Church Security (SDCS) certification curriculum, Kris Moloney.

Situational Awareness: Spiritual Self-Defense

Satan, also known as the devil, is real. Not only does the Bible make that clear, simply reading and watching everyday news of horrific terrorism and crimes of every sort is convincing proof that the devil’s work of motivating people to commit pure evil is rampant in the world.

The second element of the five SemperVerus components is AWARE, which means giving keen scrutiny to being diligently vigilant to your surroundings. It says:

II. Aware: heightening attentiveness to be alert to—and anticipate—dangerous potentialities and temptations, as well as edifying opportunities.

Being AWARE plus the sum total of the other four SemperVerus principles cultivates the strategic and tactical element of SELF-DEFENSE, which is the intelligent ability to responsibly protect yourself from menacing spiritual and physical threats.

Notice the inclusion of the spiritual aspect that is often overlooked when considering self-defense. In fact, in many ways spiritual threats are more dangerous than physical perils. “Our fight is not against human beings. It is against the rulers, the authorities and the powers of this dark world. It is against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly world” (Ephesians 6:12).