Lesson One: Spiritual Self Defense

1. Courage

What Kim and I have experienced with Spiritual Self Defense has been nothing short of miraculous. We’ve seen long standing issues in our marriage evaporate, anxiety subside, anger dissipate, temptations go away. It’s like a huge weight has been lifted off our lives. We’ve seen similar results with other people as well. That’s why we’re so eager to share what we’ve learned with you.

I wish everything here could be reduced to a simple formula that I could teach you in a few minutes. But it can’t. There’s a reason why it takes 25 lessons to fully understand this. There’s a huge shift in thinking here that takes time to make. For most people, what we’re going to share won’t be fully understood until it’s experienced. And I hope to guide you into experiencing Jesus in a powerful way that most people read about, dream about, but never experience for themselves.

Everything that we share in this course is deeply grounded in the Bible, it comes from a love relationship with Jesus, and it’s also based on a solid understanding of human behavior and experience. If you fully take in what we have to share, I believe you will grow in some in profoundly important ways. And let’s be real. Growth can be exciting, but it can also be a little scary.

With that said, let’s take a few minutes and look at our first video.

If the above video doesn’t show up on your screen, here’s a link to its YouTube location.

So… I want to begin by congratulating you on your courage. You’ve taken an important step just diving into this course, and I this can take you to a new a better place.

In this first lesson, we have a lot of material to cover. This lesson will be longer than most others; I felt it was important to cover all of this material before we move on to Lesson Two.

2. Relationship

Years ago I read a statement by a Chicago police officer who said it was almost impossible to drive more than a block or two without breaking some kind of traffic law. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but for a long time that’s how I felt about my Christian life. There were so many ways to sin; no doubt I was sinning without even realizing it. Even if my actions were right (they probably weren’t), my motives were flawed, so I was a failure any way you slice it. God put up with me because He had to. He “loved” me because that was part of His job description. But He certainly didn’t like me.

Wow! Was I in for an awakening! When I discovered that God liked me, that He actually liked hanging out with me—that was a game changer for me. It took me nearly two years just to take that in.

And He likes you too. God is not fundamentally a supreme accountant who is keeping a ledger of every misstep we ever take. Rather, He is fundamentally a father, who loves and cares for His children. Yes, He wants to teach us right from wrong, but there is much, much more on His mind than just getting us to behave.

God is not just interested in our behavior, but also in how we experience life. He intends for His children to experience life from a position of peace and strength. In fact, as we experience the peace and strength that He offers His children, our behavior has a way of improving all on its own. (Much more on that as we go forward with the course.)

With that in mind, let’s jump into the reading.

Throughout the course, I’ll be making the Spiritual Self Defense textbook available to you in digital form in Google Drive. Feel free to read it online, download it on your device, print a copy for yourself if you want. It’s yours to study and enjoy.

Let’s start here: Read the key ideas and objectives on page 14, then Section 1.1 from page 14 to the beginning of page 16.

Link to reading

When you finish the reading, let’s dive into a few of the questions from “Check your understanding.”

Work your way through questions 1, 2 & 3 on page 29, and question 5 at the top of page 30.

Link to questions

You can check your answers on page 278 here.

Link to answers

How did you do?

If anything isn’t making sense, or you just want to talk through any of the material in any of the lessons, connect here in our private Facebook group.

3. Purpose

Let’s take a few minutes and focus on the purpose and benefits of Spiritual Self Defense. We’ll start with this video:

If the above video doesn’t show up on your screen, here’s a link to its YouTube location.

Let’s continue our reading with Section 1.2, pages 16 through 19.

Link to reading

When you finish the reading, check out question 4 on page 29 from “Check your understanding.”

Link to questions

You can check your answer on page 278 here.

Link to answers

How did you do? If anything isn’t making sense, or you just want to talk through any of the material in any of the lessons, connect here in our private Facebook group.

4. Defense

The name of the course prompted a question. Here it is.

If the above video doesn’t show up on your screen, here’s a link to its YouTube location.

Let’s pick up with the reading in Section 1.3 pages 19 through 21.

Link to reading

When you finish the reading, check out question 6 at the top of page 30 from “Check your understanding.”

Link to questions

You can check your answer on page 278 here.

Link to answers

How did you do? If anything isn’t making sense, or you just want to talk through any of the material in any of the lessons, connect here in our private Facebook group.

5. Getting the most from this course

Let’s check out these two videos:

If the above video doesn’t show up on your screen, here’s a link to its YouTube location.

My comments on Chapter 4 of the textbook prompted a great question:

If the above video doesn’t show up on your screen, here’s a link to its YouTube location.

6. Freedom vs. performance

Let’s finish up our reading starting with Section 1.4 page 22 and going all the way to the chapter summary on page 29.

Link to reading

When you finish the reading, check out question 7 at the top of page 30 from “Check your understanding.”

Link to questions

You can check your answer on page 278 here.

Link to answers

How did you do? If anything isn’t making sense, or you just want to talk through any of the material in any of the lessons, connect here in our private Facebook group.

This topic prompted a great discussion in our group:

If the above video doesn’t show up on your screen, here’s a link to its YouTube location.

Optional engagement

Please feel free to choose one or more (or all) of the Group Discussion questions on page 30, add your thoughts or questions, and join or start a thread at our private Facebook group.

Link to questions

Link to Facebook group

In addition, there are journal questions, prayer prompts, and more on pages 31 and 32 (see questions link above). Let me recommend the book, The Gift of Transformation to you if you’re interested in reading an inspiring account of how Spiritual Self Defense type principles transformed our life and our marriage.

You made it! Lesson One complete!
In Lesson Two, we’ll discuss one of the most important—yet misunderstood—concepts in all of spiritual growth and Christian transformation: the wall in your mind. Understanding this is key to everything.
Look forward to seeing you next time!
Dwight