Life is no bed of roses...it's a war zone. We live in a world full of wicked people who will do anything to bring others down with them. We live in a world where debt is "OK" to have and children are seen as a burden. We live in a world where unborn children are slaughtered by the thousands but you get torn to shreds because you kicked your dog. We live in a world where "sexy" is queen and industry is driven by the physical pleasure of all five senses. We live in a world where people are keeping up with the Kardashians rather then their current president and the decisions he makes that spiral our country deeper and deeper into debt. We live in a world where marriage is a joke and you can marry whomever you darn well please, man or woman, and how dare anyone deny them their basic, human rights.
'That's okay,' you might think, sitting back in your chair and sipping your coffee, the beans of which were probably harvested in Brazil by five year old boys who were kidnapped from their homes, 'I'll just move to England.'
Bad news, bud. It 'ain't just America. Trouble is everywhere. It's like that song, "Trouble", by Lenka,
"He's (trouble) there in the dark, he's there in my heart
He waits in the wings, he's gotta play a part
Trouble is a friend, yeah trouble is a friend of mine, oh oh."
No matter where you go, trouble will follow. Evil is always there, lurking behind every corner, every alley, glaring at you with sinister eyes, waiting for his chance to strike. He wants to pull in into the muck with him, promising physical pleasures and a care free life. He pretends he's something he's not. He is kind, sometimes, but he only does so to get what he wants. He is a wolf in sheep's clothing, sugar coating his wrong-doings and dipping them in chocolate.
"It tastes good," he whispers, smiling, pushing the candy toward us, "Why shouldn't you trust me. I can get you what you want."
He lies to you, to everyone and he won't rest until he has our souls in his hand and he sees our broken bodies in the streets. Our enemy is back and he will run us down until our feet bleed and our knees break. Then our enemy, Satan, will stand above us in his true form, laughing at us as we stare at him incredulously.
"But," we stutter, tears streaming down our face, "I'm not a bad person. I didn't know it was you. I wouldn't have done all those things if I had known it was you."
"Yes you would," he smiles, reaching for us with clawed hands, "You just didn't care."
I am afraid. I am afraid that it might be too late for us to do something. I am afraid that Satan will take my friends and family, that they will fall for his lies. I am afraid for the people I meet everyday, at work, in the library, on the street, at Walmart...some are falling for his lies...some already did. They dress it up and make it sound and look ALOT better than it really is.
"But what can I do? I'm only one person."
Unfortunately, not much, but if you can do something, why are you still sitting here? Get up! In Christ's war, everyone is fighting, not just the missionary's and the pastors and the Pope...this is a war where no one is left alone. Everyone is affected because we are all in the middle. There is no "no-man's land" because no place is safe or free of Satan's chains.
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
Edmund Burke
"He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad" (Matt. 12:30)
You either fight for Christ or Satan, good or evil. There is no gray zone where you can hide and scream 'I'm not playing anymore!' By doing that, your are allowing evil to win and therefore on the side of evil.
I choose to fight. I refuse to stand on the sidelines and allow this evil to go untamed. This is an all out war and I will stand at the forefront of His ranks. Blood will be spilt, fire with rage in the earth, friends and foe shall fall and hell will be raised. The atrocities of war are already upon us, and you can either choose to turn a blind eye or rush into the heat of battle.
Ephesians 6:2 "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."
I tell you now, the straight and narrow path is fraught with peril, danger lurking on the curb, ready to grab and pull you away from the light, away from the Truth. We are the bearers of Truth; Truth-Bearers, spreading Christ's light to the four corners of the earth.
Obliviousness is not something lauded in the bible. You are either for Christ or against him.
"So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth." Revelations 3:16
However, we were not created to be stone-cold "killers" for Christ. Our passion for Truth should not hinder us from continuing to show grace to others. Christ was a friend of sinners and had no issues spending time with those people.
"The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners..." Matthew 11:19
"In all this talk about being like Jesus, why don’t we ever talk about being a friend to sinners? Why do we think it's okay to only hang out with Christians and never hang out with anybody who doesn't believe what we do? Aren’t we supposed to follow in Jesus' footsteps? I’ve heard many Christians say, “Oh, we're trying to remain holy.” Jesus was holy. His holiness caused him to reach out to people whom the culture deemed sinners, criminals, adulterers, fornicators, offenders, outlaws, and materialistic. The religious crowd hated him; he didn’t keep their rules. One of their greatest complaints was that Jesus didn’t focus his attention on them (the Pharisees and Sadducees). He hung out with those who were sick and blind (the people who the religious folks thought were being punished by God)." (http://theresurgence.com/2011/09/21/are-you-a-friend-of-sinners) Harvey Turner, "Are you a friend of sinners?"
He got to know these people and was not afraid to tell them about their sins and the consequences of them. His biggest testimony was the love he showed to these men and women. How can we preach about the everlasting love of our savior while avoiding the very people he died to save? How is that preaching His gospel effectively? How is that a symbol of Christ?
I read a quote a couple of years ago that really changed the way I treated and responded to non-believers.
"I love your Christ, but I don't like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ." Ghandi.
It's heart rending. How many people have we turned aside because our "undying devotion to Christ" keeps us from "fraternizing" with the enemy? That is not of Christ. His gospel is a gospel of love and compassion. Remember how everyone thought that Jesus would come with armies and soldiers to deliver his people? But, guess what? He was born in a manger, of all places to a two "nobody's" in a barn...no armies or horses or swords. Jesus did not come to kill in the name of God. Rather, he came to show us True Love. His gospel was for everyone, Jews and Gentiles, Romans and Hebrews, Americans and Chinese, whites and blacks, young and old...sinners everywhere. Why is that so hard for some people to understand? I rejoice at that fact, that he loves us all the same, he treats us all equally. He doesn't love me more than the murderer, or the murderer more than the homosexual. We are all the same in God's eyes.
Romans 3:23
"For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."
We all have sinned. We were all doomed for Hell. But God loved us ALL and sent his only son to set us free...because he LOVED US. He loved us ALL.
We cannot be silent any longer. We cannot stay idle any longer. I am fighting and I refuse to back down. There is so much that I can do, I don't care if everyone else laughs at me or tells me that I am foolish. People are dying, living in sin and filth...and I can help change that. I will run into the battle, fighting evil and helping pull survivors out of the rubble. I bear the truth, the Gospel of love and I will share it with every man I meet. I refuse to let evil triumph. I will fight until I have no breath left in my blood.
I refuse to do nothing. I am a soldier of Christ and I will fight. Satan, bring it on. I dare you.
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