Articles with spiritual fitness

SemperVerus and the Way of the Wise

The Way of the Wise illustrationThe pastors of Ada Bible Church, Grand Rapids, MI—senior pastor Jeff Manion and teaching pastor Aaron Buer—delved into the Bible book of Proverbs for their multi-Sunday sermon series, The Way of the Wise. This series unpacks Proverbs and explains how it presents a path toward a wise life by challenging us to make the right small (and large) decisions every day so that we eventually end up our lives at the right destination.

Contributing to our spiritual fitness, it’s exactly the message of SemperVerus to stay true to what is right with every decision we make throughout every day. We encourage you to carve out time to watch all the sermons in the series to benefit from the wise teachings of Proverbs.

As an example, here’s the video of sermon #10 in the series, “100 Steps in the Right Direction.”

[ Read the SemperVerus article, SemperVerus™ Brotherhood/Sisterhood Launches to Help People ‘Stay True’ ]

Invite SemperVerus to present its 5 life-changing success-generating components—prepare, aware, be, know, do—to your organization to inspire and motivate your members.

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Concealed Carry Daily Prayer

More than two-thirds of Americans pray and a majority pray every day. According to a 2014 Pew Research Center survey, 55% of Americans say they pray every day, 16% say they pray weekly, and 6% pray monthly: add them together for a total of 77% of USA citizens say they talk to God in prayer.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Spiritual Fitness in the USA Military ]

And according to a LifeWay Research survey, most Americans who pray (83%) think at least some of their prayers are answered. Their topic of prayer focuses mainly on their family and friends (82%) or their own problems (74%).

Chart: What People Pray For

Depending on God for guidance and protection are common themes of everyday prayer. And since carrying a firearm for self-defense is such a high responsibility, it makes sense to turn to the highest power to request divine care in properly meeting that commitment.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Jeff Cooper’s Principles of Personal Defense ]

Here’s a prayer by SemperVerus® you may want to say when you arise every morning:

Concealed Carry Daily Prayer

My Father in Heaven, your will be done.
 
I pray today that I will love you with all my passion, character, intellect, and muscle and that I will humbly love the people with whom I come in contact.
 
Help me to be a disciplined peacemaker—a wise discerner of good from evil—proactively alert and aware of my spiritual and physical surroundings.
 
I pray I will never be forced to use my weapon. But if I must as only the last resort in self-defense, make me courageously fast and accurate to stop the attack.
 
Amen.

(Concepts for this prayer are taken from Matt. 6:9-14, Mark 12:30-31; Heb. 12:14; Phil. 1:9-11; 1 Pet. 5:8-9; and 1 Cor. 16:13-14)

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

Invite SemperVerus® to present its 5 main strategic principles—prepare, aware, be, know, do—to your organization to inspire and motivate your members.

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Jeff Cooper’s Principles of Personal Defense

A vertical image of Jeff Cooper's Situational Awareness color codes

Col. Jeff Cooper, creator of the “Color Code” that sharpens a person’s situational awareness, is also the author of the booklet, Principles of Personal Defense, in which he describes 7 characteristics a person should strengthen in themselves to best be able to ward off a violent attack. They’re primarily technique-oriented.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, The 5 Elements of Self-Defense Law ]

SemperVerus® has added the component of biblical insight as a foundation to each principle, in keeping with the understanding that Scripture inherently supports the right of self-defense as presented in the booklet, The Case for Biblical Self-Defense.

1. ALERTNESS — “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8 (NLT)

2. DECISIVENESS — “An indecisive man is unstable in all his ways.” James 1:8 (HCSB)

3. AGGRESSIVENESS — “Be angry and sin not.” Ephesians 4:26 (KJV)

4. SPEED — “With blinding speed and power he destroys the strong.” Amos 5:9 (NLT)

5. COOLNESS — “God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” 2 Timothy 1:7 (ESV)

6. RUTHLESSNESS — “Hate what is evil.” Romans 12:9 (NIV)

7. SURPRISE — “Be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” Matthew 10:16 (NIV)

Read in full the booklet, Principles of Personal Defense.

Invite SemperVerus® to present its 5 life-changing success-generating components—prepare, aware, be, know, do—to your organization to inspire and motivate your members.

Join the SemperVerus Brotherhood™!

Spiritual Fitness in the USA Military

The US Air Force defines spiritual fitness as “the ability to adhere to beliefs, principles, or values needed to persevere and prevail in accomplishing missions,” according to Air Force Instruction (AFI) 90-5001.

Spiritual fitness is one of the four pillars of Comprehensive Airman Fitness, which focuses on building a thriving US Air Force comprised of comprehensively balanced individuals who strive to be mentally, physically, socially and spiritually fit.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Concealed Carry Daily Prayer ]

According to a 2013 RAND Corporation study commissioned by the Air Force, spiritual fitness “can affect an individual’s resilience and readiness to perform military duties” and “influence resilience and well-being by buffering stress.”

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