Time To Soldier On

The verse above is from II Timothy 2:3.
Some don't like the military references used in this portion of scripture. We are to be an army of love....I guess they see flowers and hippies dancing in the sunshine. Truth is, we have an enemy who is at work 24/7 to do his best to stop what God is working to complete in this world. Oh, our enemy knows (at least I think he does) that he is defeated foe. He knows that he cannot defeat God. But being the stinker that he is, the devil seeks to keep as many as he can from entering into relationship with Christ. 

With that thought, he is motivated to increase societal influences that draw millions into the web of deception. "God is dead!"...."Live for today!".....and on and on the mantra of darkness goes. Coupled with this is his work to water down the church. In fact, it is my opinion (Get it? opinion..not theological fact) that the devil doesn't mind us being religious. He isn't offended at all when we go to church....sing in the choir...put $5.00 in the offering plate. Those things don't offend him at all. What offends him is when we begin to take God at His word and allow the Holy Spirit entrance into our lives to train and guide us. That not only offends him, it scares him to death.

II Timothy 2:4 reads: No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please Him who enlisted him as a soldier.
I wrote in yesterday's posting that if we truly are part of a movement in God's Kingdom.....
And if the analogy of our place in that movement is symbolically seen as being a part of an army....
Then would it not make sense to be trained?
The church has thrown that part away many years ago.
The church seems to be focused on making life easier and better.
Now I'm not going to lump every church in that basket of shirking their duty to teach the world.
But we need to take this thing one step farther.
We need to not only teach, but model how to apply the word to daily life.

I am very fortunate to have had people pass through my life who trained me and my wife in how to follow God.
George Creel opened the Scripture for us. We spent fourteen years under his teaching, and every meeting was eye opening as he unfolded the word to our hearts. George Creel laid a solid foundation of the word of God in our heart on which a Matthew 7:24 house was built.

Brook and Jennifer Finlayson laid the next part in our lives. 
They provided us with a set of teaching tapes (remember those? Tapes?) on how to hear God.
They also gave us a set on the real meaning of grace.
These two teaching literally turned our world upside down as we saw the Kingdom of God in new light.

Debbie Handy taught us the importance of worship. How to worship. How to respond to the Holy Spirit when He comes to us. She gave us the insight to see that all life with God begins with worship. That worship was more than music, it is a lifestyle unto God. Our very lives are a worship testimony to His greatness, His faithfulness and His love.

Last, and certainly not least, Jim Bentley and the Vineyard showed us that we could "Do the Stuff". We could do the works of Christ. We could pray for people and see them healed. We could cast off demonic spirits from those who had been oppressed by them. We could receive information from God when praying for someone that would help guide us in what to pray. 

These five people gave of themselves to see that Vicki and I could grow in Christ.
That should be the heart of the church today. To make sure that each person who comes into community is taught how to move under the influence of God's Holy Spirit. 
We may not like the comparison...
We may not want to think in these terms...
But we are all called to be a part of God's army here on planet earth.
We each have a duty and a call to fulfill as part of that army.
I think maybe it was time we were trained so we can soldier on.
I think it is time for us to live dangerously in the hands of God.
To be abandoned to His faith, yet anchored in His love.
As the Moravian motto states: To win for the Lamb the rewards of His suffering. 
What do you think?

God on you...
mb