The knight was weary and longed for rest.  It had been an arduous journey, filled with battles.  To the credit of his excellent armor and quick, powerful, two-edged sword entrusted to him by his King, he had made it through the trials along his journey.  Could he rest now?  He cautiously approached the small pool of water.  This place was all too familiar, for it had been the site of many battles.  He was home – it was almost time for rest, but he knew one trial remained.  He detected a stench wafting through the air…  Was it…?  Yes, he had smelled this evil, smoky, sulphury, breath many times before.  It was unmistakable – and close.  Suddenly, as if he knew he was detected, the dragon sprang to flight from the darkness and spewed down a flurry of fiery darts at the tired warrior. 

Oh, hey, hello!  Welcome!  I don’t know if this is a bad time, but I want to interrupt this story to let you know I just had the privilege of attending a conference with my son and I was anxious to share with you a little bit about it.  The conference was hosted by Stronger Man Nation, and was held at Grace City Church in Wenatchee, WA.  The theme was “Kill Dragons”.  It was such a blessing, and such a special time for my son and I that I wanted to share and encourage you to look these guys up.  I learned of this church when a friend sent me a link to a podcast where Glenn Beck interviewed the Pastor, Josh McPherson.  I highly recommend this interview to you! You will find that Pastor McPherson points people to the Lord Jesus Christ and says things that our nation desperately needs to hear.  His approach goes right along with the elements of the RECIPE for Saving America we have shared here at Patriot’s Hope.

Stronger Man Nation

If you go to a conference put on by an organization called, “Stronger Man Nation”, I suppose you should expect it to include lots of manly, physical outdoor activities, and this one did not disappoint!  The first day of the conference was filled with all sorts of these events, everything from basketball and volleyball tournaments, throwing baseballs and footballs, archery, marksmanship, and even throwing axes, or using one to split logs.  There were races, feats of strength with weights, pull ups, pushups, jumping, arm wrestling, etc.  I am probably forgetting dozens of events, but suffice it to say there were many different ways to jump in and do physical activities that (if you’re like me anyway), you may not have done for years.  It was wonderful to get to spend time with my son, and to get to know some of the staff members there, as well as the other men and their sons.   

Dragon?

The best part, however, was the conference sessions.  The speakers encouraged us to identify the dragons that want to destroy us and want to take us out of the fight and destroy our work for the Lord Jesus. 

The definition of a dragon was clear:  “Any thought, word, action, attitude, idea, ideology, or spirit that sets itself against King Jesus.” 

The goal is to remove anything in our lives that is keeping us from Jesus.  Accounts of how the Lord had worked, or was still working, in the lives of the men at the conference, and their families, and even how He is blessing the work of the church there, were woven throughout the sessions.  There were remarkable stories of God’s faithfulness and it was beautiful to see the results of His work.  I thought the most powerful session was one where Pastor McPherson identified dragons that commonly attack men at certain age groups and he had men within those age brackets to stand so we could all pray for them as they fight these dragons and become more of what God would have us to be.  Stubbornness, Self-Indulgence, Slothfulness, Selfishness, Success, and Shame.  These are dragons that all men will need to fight.  Thank you, Pastor McPherson and Stronger Man Nation, for this opportunity to be among this Godly group of men and the chance to see what the Lord is doing. 

get in the fight

If you want to be better prepared for the fights raging in our land that are facing the church…  If you want to be part of an organization pointing people to Jesus and seeing His powerful hand work in their lives and families…  If you want to be able to better identify and wage war against the dragons that the enemy is hoping will destroy you or take you out of the fight…  I recommend getting involved with Stronger Man Nation and Grace City Church.  I am planning for ways to get my family to more of their events so we can learn, and grow stronger in all these areas.  Jesus is the King of Kings.  Let’s not stop at wimpy Christianity.  Let’s fight these dragons and take this world for Jesus!

What’s Your dragon?

Oh, so how does the knight’s story end?  Well, that is for each man to decide.  To come up with the answer, you will need to fill in some details about the battle.  For me, the site of the battle – the small pool of water – was the kitchen sink.  It was the end of the day and I was tired.  The kitchen was a mess from the day’s activity, and I was trying to do the dishes right before bed – the hardest time of the day for me.  The dragon was selfishness.  The fiery darts he was sending at me were wicked thoughts like, “Why is nobody coming in here to help…?”, or maybe, “I did this same job last night”, or perhaps, (just keeping it real here…) “Why can’t we clean the mac and cheese leftovers out of the saucepan BEFORE it becomes petrified??”  I know it is less exciting than the dragon story, but this is often what a real battle looks like between me and a dragon like selfishness.  I don’t mean to oversimplify, but this is a very real example for me.  Maybe you have similar battles.  May we have our faith in God, May we apply the Word of God to our battles like this one – or even other battles that may be far bigger. 

win that battle

I hope the end of the story would go something like this…  although the knight’s armor bore the mire of the day’s battles, and the marks of blood of other dragons already slain, it was no less effective in protecting him this time.  Once again, he took cover behind the shield of faith, as the fiery darts bounced harmlessly around.  Pulling the Sword of the Spirit from its sheath, his mind was focused on the powerful Word of God.  He thrusted the weapon into the heart of the dragon and it fell to the ground as the haze of his foul, smoky breath began to fade.  As the dragon’s blood oozed from his mortal wound, the knight once again read the passage inscribed on the blade… 

“For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” 

Mark 10:45

Now, Jason, quit whining, get up, follow the example of your King and be a servant… May you all have successful battles against the dragons that oppose you today.  Go check out Stronger Man Nation!

don’t miss the 2025 stronger man nation conference