The Samurai of Truth

This is a guest post written by my friend Olatunde Howard, author of "The Mind of Christ." Olatunde and I became friends when I was in college and have been through some of the most amazing spiritual adventures I've ever had together.

The quotes are from the ancient Samurai classic Hagakure, the spiritual applications are Olatunde's. This is a perfect guest post for the Discipleship Dojo, from a master swordsman!

Enjoy:

The Way of the Samurai of Truth:
My Renewed Commitment for 2010

By Olatunde Howard

"The Way of the Samurai is found in death. Meditation on inevitable death should be performed daily. And every day, without fail, one should consider himself as dead. This is the substance of the Way of the Samurai."

1. I know that my old self, the deceived self, was crucified with Christ, and that my body of deception was rendered powerless, that I might no longer be a slave of Deception.
2. I consider myself dead to Deception and the law of truth that exposed it and aroused it, and alive to Truth in union with Christ Jesus.

"If one were to say in a word what the condition of being a samurai is, its basis lies first in seriously devoting one's body and soul to his master."

3. I present my self to the Spirit who is Truth as His slave to obey Him, as one brought from death to life, and I present my tongue to Him as an instrument and weapon of truth. In presenting my tongue, I present my body and heart, for my tongue is the rudder of my body, and from the overflow of the truth in my heart my mouth will speak truth alone.

"It is bad when one thing becomes two. One should not look for anything else in the Way of the Samurai. It is the same for anything that is called a Way. If one understands things in this manner, he should be able to hear about all ways and be more and more in accord with his own."

4. I live in union with the Spirit of Truth who is truth, who guides me into all truth (God’s word is truth), and I do not fulfill the deceptions of the flesh.

***

The Daily Prayer of the Samurai of Truth

My Father in heaven,

You who are Light and in You there is no darkness,

No.

No darkness.

At all.

In the name of Jesus, the way and the truth and the life,

And by the Spirit of truth who is truth,

According to your word which is truth,

And as a member of your household, the pillar and foundation of truth,

I approach you according to the gospel of truth,

Sanctified by the truth.

Having accepted Jesus as my Savior from deception, the essence of all sin,

I renounce all deception and every deception.

I make this confession before all men and women.

I totally surrender to your Spirit of Truth who is truth,

I have one desire,

One cause for which I was born again

And have come again into the world:

To bear witness to the truth,

Speaking what I know and testifying what I have seen and heard.

Therefore, my Father in heaven,

Please fill me with your Spirit of Truth

That I may be empowered to bear witness to the truth.

Thank you for hearing and granting my petition, which is in accordance with your will.

I submit to the Spirit of Truth, to God who is light,

And resist the father of lies, the prince of darkness.

The Daily Meditation of the Samurai of Truth

Whatever is true, whatever is honorable…meditate on these things.

In seeking truth one honors the Creator’s holiness; the Numinous; the Supreme Uniqueness. Truth by definition is exclusive. This is the Creator’s holiness. This is the creation's holiness. God is who He is, and He is no other, thus no other should receive His honor. This is truth. This is honor. This is holiness. This is Numinous.

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If you enjoyed this you HAVE to check out Olatunde's book "The Mind of Christ" (which happens to be sporting a sweet cover design by yours truly!). In it, he looks at various aspects of the Christian spiritual life and what it means to truly "walk in the Spirit." I was fortunate enough to be asked to look over the manuscript before it was published and I can honestly say that Olatunde is one of the most gifted people I've ever known when it comes to explaining and illustrating abstract spiritual concepts in fresh and profound ways.

Be sure to check out his blog, Honor Comes Again, for more of his work!

For more on Olatunde or to contact him, look him up on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/olatunde.howard