How do we teach our boys about spiritual warfare?

Boy Moms, we are at war.

There’s a battle raging in our world for the hearts and minds of our boys. The enemy is working harder than ever to deceive our sons and distract them from the truth of the Gospel.

As moms, we need to equip our boys for battle. We don’t fight against flesh and blood, but against the rulers and authorities of this dark world.

I have written a devotional Bible story book for your boys that will help them learn about spiritual warfare. It’s called Rise of the Enemy, Book One in the Dragon Slayer Bible Series.

Every boy wants to know if he’s got what it takes to be a man. He longs to be part of something bigger, something worth fighting for. He wants to prove he is a courageous warrior.

Rise of the Enemy, a Dragon Slayer Bible Story, will inspire your boys to join the armies of the Dragon Slayer in the epic battle against the evil dragon. Through stories, scripture, and devotional readings, your boys will learn to fight against our invisible enemy, and to use weapons of spiritual warfare to defeat him. They will be challenged to stand firm and deflect the lies of the evil dragon. 

And ultimately, they will learn to trust in THE DRAGON SLAYER.

Listen to an audio sample of Rise of the Enemy:

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Rise of the Enemy

In Rise of the Enemy, Michael never expected his comrade, Lucifer, to rebel against the King of Heaven, let alone turn into a dragon. But Lucifer will stop at nothing in an attempt to overpower the throne.

Can Michael and his army of angels defeat the enemy or will Lucifer’s evil plan succeed?

Rise of the Enemy, a Dragon Slayer Bible Story, will inspire boys to join the armies of the Dragon Slayer in the epic battle of good vs evil.

Through action-packed stories, inspiring scripture, and challenging devotional readings, boys will be trained to stand firm against the invisible enemy, and to use weapons of spiritual warfare to deflect the lies of the Evil One.

Why this book? 

People say that boys don’t like to read and they don’t have attention spans for anything longer than a two minute devotional. I don’t know about you, but my boys will sit and listen to me read Harry Potter to them for hours. So, if they can sit and listen to Harry Potter, why not the Bible? Think about it… the Bible is full of adventure, battles, good versus evil, ultimate powers, shipwrecks, floods, kingdoms, beasts, and miracles. All the things that boys love.

My goal in writing this book (and others in the series) is to make the Bible come alive in the minds of our boys. 

What would the main character have thought or felt in that situation? What was it like living at that point in history and experiencing that particular culture?

Bible stories are not fairy tales. I want your boys to understand that the events of the Bible did not happen in a galaxy far, far away. They took place right here on planet earth, where real people experienced real emotions and where characters had real-life conversations. It is my prayer that your boys will come to understand the Bible in a more authentic, relevant way, and that ultimately, they would see through the eyes of the characters to the God they worshiped.

Courageous Boys Needed

Courageous warriors, will you join the armies of the Dragon Slayer? Grab your sword and fight the evil dragon. Your life depends on it. Your quest, should you choose to accept it, will be long and difficult. You will face dangers and enemies along the way. But don’t lose heart. The Dragon Slayer will equip you with the weapons you need and the strength to keep going. He will fight alongside you! And in the end, you will hear Him declare – “Well done, courageous warrior.”

How to Use this Devotional Book About Spiritual Warfare

Rise of the Enemy, A Dragon Slayer Bible Story, can be read individually or as a family.

There are three parts of the main story, found under “The Message.” Next, there are three messages from Michael, the archangel, found under “The Mission”. Lastly, there are five daily devotional readings with accompanying scripture passages, found under “The Marching Orders.”

You’ll also find The Dragon’s Lie and God’s Truth, challenging boys to identify the lies of the evil dragon and replace them with God’s truth.

Look Inside: A Devotional Book About Spiritual Warfare

Below is a description of each section:

THE MESSAGE

This part contains a narrative retelling of a Bible story. Read one chapter a day, or all three chapters in one sitting. My desire is for you to experience the thoughts and emotions of the main biblical characters in the story, while you gain a clearer picture of the God they served.

THE MISSION

This part is a call to action that reads like a devotional. The archangel Michael, captain of the Angel Armies, invites boys to join the armies of the Dragon Slayer. He explains the The Message part of the book, and he encourages boys to fight courageously and use weapons of spiritual warfare in the battle against the evil dragon.

THE MARCHING ORDERS

This section contains five daily devotional readings for you to complete one day at a time.

Basic Training provides Bible passages for you to read.

Directives dives into the Scripture passages and challenges you to understand and live out the Word of God.

Critical Communications is a prayer to the God of Angel Armies.

Battle Plan provides you with space to think and reflect on the challenge for the day.

But Satan isn’t really a dragon…

I just want to explain a little bit of the methodology and theology behind this book. In this book, Jesus is referred to as the Dragon Slayer, and Satan is depicted as an actual, physical dragon.

I know this isn’t entirely accurate. Satan is a spirit being and he does not have scales, nor breathe fire. However, the Bible uses a lot of “dragon” imagery when talking about Satan. (Revelation 12).

The Bible never actually comes out and says, “Oh, but we all know that Satan’s not really a dragon.” Or, “we all know that he’s not really a roaring lion.”

Or, “we all know that Jesus isn’t actually a fluffy lamb, sitting on the throne.”

You get the point. The Bible uses metaphors and imagery to help our finite minds understand biblical truth. I have used some of the same imagery in my stories to help our boys connect with the truth of the Bible.

Another note. The Bible stories in this book read more like fiction, than a typical retelling of a Bible story. I have used elements of narrative and storytelling to convey biblical truth. I have added some thoughts and dialogue in places where the Bible is silent.

I have done my best to remain true to the meaning of the biblical text. I take my job seriously to “properly handle the Word of Truth” (II Timothy 2:15). I have an equivalent degree in biblical studies and have spent hundreds of hours reading and studying the Bible for myself.

If the Bible doesn’t provide many details about a certain event in the story, I have done my best to create dialogue and actions that are fitting to the personality of the biblical characters, while staying true to culture of the time.

(I’m sure there are pieces of history or culture that I may get wrong from time to time. If you are a professional biblical historian, please forgive me. I have researched these stories to the best of my ability).

But I also think that God has given us incredibly creative minds and he wants us to use them. I have taken the liberty to imagine what it would have been like to be in the mind of the biblical characters. What would they have thought or felt in that situation? What was it like living at that point in history and experiencing that particular culture?

Bible stories are not fairy tales. I want your boys to understand that the events of the Bible did not happen in a galaxy far, far away. They took place right here on planet earth, where real people experienced real emotions and where characters had real-life conversations. It is my prayer that your boys will come to understand the Bible in a more authentic, relevant way, and that ultimately, they would see through the eyes of the characters to the God they worshipped.

“Rise of the Enemy, A Dragon Slayer Bible Story, has been checked for theological accuracy by Gordon Gregory, ThD. Dr. Gregory received his Master’s of Theology at Dallas Theological Seminary and his Doctorate of Theology from the University of South Africa. He currently serves as Professor of Bible & Theology at Lancaster Bible College and Capital Seminary & Graduate School.”

Excerpts from Rise of the Enemy

Listen to audio excerpts from Rise of the Enemy here:

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I need your help!

I considered pursuing traditional publishing for this book and others in the series, and I received positive feedback from several publishers and editors. But across the board, the message I received was: There’s a big need for this kind of book for middle grade boys… but Christian publishers won’t take on this type of project because they don’t know how to reach this audience.  

So, I decided to go ahead and pursue independent publishing. But I’m going to need your help!

How you can help…

FIRST

First of all, purchase a copy of Rise of the Enemy for all the boys in your life.

For The Message and The Mission sections, you are welcome to read them each in one sitting, or spread them out over three days a piece. In The Marching Orders section, you will complete one devotional each day for five days.

Suggestions for Family Time:

• Read The Message and The Mission together as a family, then complete The Marching Orders individually.

• Read and discuss all three sections together as a family.

• Work through all sections individually.

SECOND

Would you help me spread the word about my new book? 

• Tell someone face to face about the book.
• Email a link to this blog post with someone, or send them directly to www.DragonSlayerBible.com.
• Post a link and picture of the book on your social media pages.

THIRD

Pray!  The enemy does not want our boys to read this book. He doesn’t our boys to learn how to use the weapons of spiritual warfare to fight against the attacks of the devil. In fact, Satan would prefer we just forget about him altogether. He’d rather us get so caught up in our own lives that we don’t realize the danger surrounding us. 

Full disclosure… I’m not typically one to over-spiritualize situations. I don’t blame the devil for every mistake I’ve made or every problem I’ve encountered, or every bad thing that has happened to me. And I’m not saying we should. We live in a broken, fallen world where terrible things happen that may or may not be a direct result of someone’s individual sin or their individual temptation. 

But I will say, as I’ve been working on this book, I have experienced what I believe are spiritual attacks. When I first had the idea for this book, in early 2020, I specifically remember thinking… “The enemy would not want me to write this book. I wonder what sorts of challenges and spiritual warfare I may have to face because of this?”  And let me tell you, the past two years have been some of the most challenging years of my life. (And it had nothing to do with a global pandemic!) 

Just this past week, as I was getting ready to release the book into the public, there were a few days that I felt like I was slipping into a pit of lies that Satan was trying to throw at me. But you know what I did?  I went through the exercise laid out in this book. For one of the days of the Marching Orders, boys are taught about the armor of God and how to use it to defend themselves and fight against the enemy. At the end, we pray through each piece of armor and symbolically put it on. 

So on that day when I was feeling especially susceptible to Satan’s lies and fiery darts, I opened my Bible to Ephesians 6, and I wrote out a prayer to go along with each piece of spiritual warfare. “I put on the belt of truth, I put on the body armor of righteousness”, etc. 

Next, I made a list of each of the lies that I was being tempted to believe, and then I wrote out a truth statement for each of the lies. This is the exact same exercise that’s in one of the Marching Orders. And let me tell you, it’s quite effective at combating the lies of the devil! 

The enemy is out to destroy our families and our marriages. He wants us to remain isolated and discouraged and defeated. 

But thank God, we have victory through our Lord Jesus! 

I Corinthians 15 it says that God gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

“So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.”

What’s Next? 

I have plans to write a whole bunch more of these books! I actually have plans for about 52 more stories in the Dragon Slayer Bible series. And they will be available to purchase on Amazon as real live books that you can hold in your hand and give to your boys! Which is another reason I decided to go the independently published route… traditional publishers would take years just to publish one book. This way, I’ll be able to get these books out to you much more quickly!

I am passionate about helping kids understand that the Bible is not just a collection of random events, but that each story in the Bible joins together to create one magnificent story of God’s plan to restore the broken relationship between himself and humanity. And ultimately bring everlasting glory to his name.

So while each individual book will have its own plot and characters, there will always be reference to the overarching theme of God’s plan to send the Dragon Slayer to defeat the evil dragon.

I’m really excited to be able to finally share this project with you, and I hope that you and your boys will join the Dragon Slayer in the battle against the evil dragon.