Soldiers of Christ, Arise!
Help! somebody make it stop! Is it just me or is the whole world going crazy? I mean really, just think about some of the things that have happened in our society over the last ten to fifteen years. I'm not really talking about small, insignificant things either. I'm talking about major shifts in beliefs and life philosophies. I don't know if you've noticed, but I see good, solid moral folks who are turning their belief system around to embrace all sorts of behaviors that just a half century ago would have been unthinkable to accept, much less embrace. In the early days of our country many of the things society now accepts as normal behavior would land those people committing such acts in stocks out on the town square! Today, they're getting congratulation tweets from the President and First Lady. It seems that the proverbial 'frog in the pot' is up to his big, bulging froggie eyes in boiling water by now. What's that? You don't know the story about how our desensitization to sin and the cultural immorality that surrounds us has been likened to a frog placed into a pot of room temperature water?
Picture this: There's a frog. He's a nice, hard working frog. He pays his taxes and is an excellent citizen. He believes in God, attends "The Church on the Pond" on Sunday mornings, Sunday nights and sometimes even mid-week Bible study. One day he climbs into a pot of room temperature water he finds sitting on the stovetop. While he's having a good time splashing around, someone comes by and turns the stove on low heat. At first, it feels really good to Mr. Frog, almost like a nice, warm bath. It starts to get a little warmer, but Mr. Frog isn't concerned. After all, it's not that hot and he can jump out before it gets too hot to be able to stand it. As the water temperature continues to rise, our resident amphibian, having been lulled into a state of complacency finds himself all of a sudden unable to breathe. His legs are like limp noodles and try as he may, he cannot get up the strength to jump out of the water. It begins to boil. After some struggle and before very long, all is lost. Alas, the heat has overtaken him and we have ourselves a big pot of Frog soup. Mmmmm....and me with no crackers!
Friends, I have a question for you to ponder. When are we going to feel the heat and jump out of the pot? If you're honest with yourself, you must admit that it's already past the point of a nice warm bath for most God fearing Christians. So what are we waiting for? Are we waiting until our children are lost to a world of ungodliness because we as parents neglected to teach them the full, undiluted truth of the Gospels? Are we waiting until our marriages fail due to neglect and selfishness by both parties before we stop, take a good look at our situation and make changes to correct it? Are we letting social pride and political correctness get in the way of our standing up for what is right according to God's law? Excuse me, but this water is ready to boil! It's time to jump out of the pot people!
I believe there is one thing that stops us from speaking out against sin, even though deep down we know that we should. It's that little four letter word spelled F-E-A-R. That's it, we're afraid. We're afraid of being different. We're afraid of losing friends. We're afraid of being accused of bigotry or hatred. Perhaps we're afraid of losing our job or our social standing. "The risk is just too great", we rationalize. "I can't change the whole world. I'm just one woman (or man)." Really? Tell that to the great Bible heroes in the Old Testament or the apostles and followers of Christ in the New Testament. Many of them did single handedly change their world, earned their place in history and more importantly, in heaven. I feel certain they must have had some fear about what might happen to them and in many instances, it did cost them their very lives. As of this writing, at least here in America, I'm not aware of Christians being killed for standing up for their beliefs. Notice I said, "As of this writing." If you don't hear that train whistle blowing, you simply aren't listening. There are other countries in our world where this is happening right now. Are we really so foolish as to believe it couldn't happen here? I hope not. Already in America, churches, religious based businesses and organizations are being harassed and fined by the same government that just ten years ago, carefully protected them through our constitutional rights. Today, even law abiding citizens are being targeted and persecuted for speaking out on things like homosexuality, same sex marriage and abortion.
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There is another sound I am hearing. Shhhh.... Listen. Do you hear it too? It's loud enough that I believe you can. Right now here is a loud call going out from the portals of Heaven to all believing men and women. God Himself is calling us to Stand Up, to Speak Up, and to be a witness for Him. It's an urgent call, we must not delay. To those who heed the call, please know that this stand will not be easy. You will lose friends. You will be hated by some, mistreated by many and possibly even lose monetarily. It's much easier just to sit on the sidelines and watch while other brave Christians fight on the battlefield. Oh, you'll cheer them on alright, "Go Team!" But, fighting the fight is much too hard. We may get dirty, or even hurt in the battle. It's much easier to just turn a blind eye to all the immorality and wickedness all around us. We tell ourselves, "It's not me doing it. I'm not part of the sin problem." But the truth is, if that is our position on the matter, we ARE a part of the problem, a huge part! Our lackadaisical, wishy-washy, lukewarm Christianity is a huge part of the overall sin problem in our world today.
Ladies and gentlemen, it's time we strap on our armor and join our brothers and sisters in the army on the front lines. I am writing this book hoping to get some new recruits. How about you? Remember how Uncle Sam said, "I Want You"? Well, I'm here to tell you that "Jesus Wants You!" Are we willing to serve in the army of Christ? One of my favorite hymns is "Soldiers of Christ Arise!" I believe it is fitting for our time, don't you?
"Soldiers of Christ, Arise!
And put your armor on.
Strong in the strength which God supplies.
Strong in the strength which God supplies,
Through his beloved son."
