"You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier."
No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier."
2 Timothy 2:3-4
As a Christian, you & I have been enlisted by the ultimate Commander & Chief, the fiercest of warriors (Revelation 19:11-21). Enlisted to be a soldier who 'fights the good fight of faith'. Living not for the car or the possessions, the job or the sport, not even the mission & certainly not for self glory. But to live, fight, go on mission, use your possessions, even use sport for His purposes, & to passionately pursue the pleasure, the fame & the renown of our LORD.
We are at war, yet we seem so blind to it.
Games, film, leisure, entertainment & much more have become that for which we live. Side-tracked by lust, greed, riches, fame, relaxation pleasure & safety we do not live lives of warfare & so we have become soft & negligent in our discipline (don't forget discipline is where our word disciple stems from) & we skip over our call of duty.
Paul writes to us in Ephesians 6:12-18
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places.
Wherefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having girded your loins about with truth, having on the breastplate of righteousness; And having your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Above all, taking the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;"
Does this fit upon your shoulders?
~Are we living as soldiers, aware that we are in a warfare, wrestling with evil?
~Are we living the disciplined life of a disciple of Jesus Christ?
~Are we equipped with truth & righteousness & have we made preparation with the Gospel of Peace?
~Do we know what it is to hold the shield of faith against the blows of flaming attacks?
~Does Salvation sit so prominent in our life that it not only protects our head & mind, but when people see us, they see saving grace before our face?
~Do we, can we or have we practiced wielding this two edged sword that is The Word of God?
~Do we know what it is to stand alongside fellow warriors against a fierce enemy and our only hope is to pray & cry unto God for help for both self & each other?
Does it?
Honestly I don't think so! Do we even want to be like this? And if so what do we do about it? I am pretty sure of one thing, that to continue playing with whatever it is that distracts us & cools our souls down is displeasing to our King & Saviour (Rev 3:15-16).
May our LORD bring discipline into us that we may be faithful disciples. May He open our eyes to understand the great war we are in, calling us to risk our lives in the battle for His glory & against sin.
May He teach us about the armour He has for each one of us, preparing us individually for the mission at hand. And may we each one be aware of the danger those around us face ~& may we be driven to pray for each other with a zealous longing that we may not have felt before.
May we be men of war, warriors who seek the pleasure of Him who enlisted us to the fight!
We are at war, yet we seem so blind to it.
Games, film, leisure, entertainment & much more have become that for which we live. Side-tracked by lust, greed, riches, fame, relaxation pleasure & safety we do not live lives of warfare & so we have become soft & negligent in our discipline (don't forget discipline is where our word disciple stems from) & we skip over our call of duty.
Paul writes to us in Ephesians 6:12-18
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places.
Wherefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having girded your loins about with truth, having on the breastplate of righteousness; And having your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Above all, taking the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;"
Does this fit upon your shoulders?
~Are we living as soldiers, aware that we are in a warfare, wrestling with evil?
~Are we living the disciplined life of a disciple of Jesus Christ?
~Are we equipped with truth & righteousness & have we made preparation with the Gospel of Peace?
~Do we know what it is to hold the shield of faith against the blows of flaming attacks?
~Does Salvation sit so prominent in our life that it not only protects our head & mind, but when people see us, they see saving grace before our face?
~Do we, can we or have we practiced wielding this two edged sword that is The Word of God?
~Do we know what it is to stand alongside fellow warriors against a fierce enemy and our only hope is to pray & cry unto God for help for both self & each other?
Does it?
Honestly I don't think so! Do we even want to be like this? And if so what do we do about it? I am pretty sure of one thing, that to continue playing with whatever it is that distracts us & cools our souls down is displeasing to our King & Saviour (Rev 3:15-16).
May our LORD bring discipline into us that we may be faithful disciples. May He open our eyes to understand the great war we are in, calling us to risk our lives in the battle for His glory & against sin.
May He teach us about the armour He has for each one of us, preparing us individually for the mission at hand. And may we each one be aware of the danger those around us face ~& may we be driven to pray for each other with a zealous longing that we may not have felt before.
May we be men of war, warriors who seek the pleasure of Him who enlisted us to the fight!
Amen
