| | Tonight I watched Saving Private Ryan, probably for the hundredth time. Definitely in my top 5 movies of all time. Very emotional and stirring... and it did that tonight again. After Bible study tonight (we looked at prayer and the importance of listening when praying) I just felt that the past month have been a waste. I haven't really DONE anything and for what? Waiting for God to do what He does best and pull me out of another bind. But SPR (the movie) reminded me that I'm at War. Not just some battle for my soul or a war for the safety of Americans, but THE War. The War that's being waged here on Earth, physically and spiritually, for the eternal lives of humanity. This isn't some moral issue that we're dealing with... trying to help the poor, feed the hungry, and do things that make us appear "GOOD". I'm not saying that these are bad things, for Jesus Christ did them continuously. I pray that I would find the desire and drive to do such things for the sake of people's souls.
Back to what I was saying. We're at War, whether you know it/believe it or not. Let me show you what I'm thankful for. And I will set this up by saying this is from the Old Testament and Elisha, the prophet, was being chased so the king of Aram could kill him because Elisha was telling the king of Israel the position of the Aramean army by prophesy from God. We pick up the story where Elisha and his companion are trapped in a city, Dothan, surrounded by the army of the king of Aram:
Then he [the king of Aram] sent horses and chariots and a strong force there [Dothan]. They went by night and surrounded the city. When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next
morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. "Oh,
my lord [Elisha], what shall we do?" the servant asked. "Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them."
And Elisha prayed, "O LORD, open his [the servant's] eyes so he may see." Then the LORD
opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of
horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, "Strike
these people with blindness." So he struck them with blindness, as
Elisha had asked. Elisha
told them, "This is not the road and this is not the city. Follow me,
and I will lead you to the man you are looking for." And he led them to
Samaria [the capital of the king of Israel where the army of Israel was waiting]. - 2 Kings 6:14-19
This is the favorite story of my Youth Minister when I was growing up, and is one of mine now. We see that this War contains more than just you and I, or just the angels and demons. I can't wait to be blown away by the majesty of God in Heaven if it looks at mighty as "hills full of horses and chariots of fire". God is infinitely better than this. You and I are in this War, and you have a choice to be on the winning side with Christ, or the losing side with Satan and Sin. This is the time where we prepare and wage battle with sin and all kinds of greed and lust that takes us by the ear and leads us where we don't want to go. We must, MUST be prepared and follow in Christ's footsteps, taking His attitude and humbling ourselves to become servants (Phil 2:5,7).
How does one know if they are on the winning side? You must know Christ and accept Him as your savior. What does that mean? I means that you must realize that what you have been doing the last so many years of your life have not been enough, will never be enough. This word, SIN, originally meant to be "off the mark" or not perfect. So, we are not perfect? NO, we have been selfish, whether that was because we did what we wanted because it made us feel good or because it made us look good. It has been about us, when it's really about God and Jesus Christ. We have not been perfect, we have been "SINning". However, Jesus Christ never sinned/was perfect. And He took the punishment on the cross for us not being perfect. Accepting this as truth and confessing with our mouth what we believe in our heart, that Jesus Christ is God and He is the only way we can get to Heaven is the ONLY way we can be sure we're on the winning side. Please make this choice and let me or someone else know about it so that we can help equip you in this war we're apart of.
Jesus, thank You for safety and security, knowing that even if I'm killed, which is a horrible thing, I will only be going to a better place with You. To Your Name be all glory, honor, and praise because of who You Are (the verb 'to be' - ask me about it) and what You have done for me. Thank You! Hallelujah!
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| | Posted 6/22/2007 1:31 AM - 13 Views - 2 eProps - 1 Comment
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