The Blood, the Sweat and the Tears of Victory

We’re looking for a few good men…

The U.S. Marines Corp has always prided itself on being the most elite military group of the country also on being the smallest. Their motto is “The few, the proud, the Marines”. They believe that a few well trained men can make a huge difference in the course of a war. This however is not a concept original to the Marines, actually God had taught Gideon this lesson over 3000 years ago (Judges 7:2-8). The military depend on their training to save their lives and the lives of others in a war time situation. In the same way that the Marines are the pride of the U.S. Armed Forces you are the few the chosen, the pride of the church. You are the men of God who have been called to lead His people. I am convinced that if we commit to being trained in righteousness we can save our souls and the souls of many who today are entrenched in the front lines of a war much more tenacious than the world can imagine the war to determine the final destiny of our souls.

Revelation 12:7-12

And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.  But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven.  The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.  Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.  They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.  Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.”

We’re at war…

Many people deny that we are at war… they reduce it to something of little importance or mask it with kinder gentler labels, but the effects go much deeper than the facade that we try to protect with such vigor. Changing the name of war does not change the reality of war. In 1965 the U.S. government tried to lessen their level of participation in the successes between North Korea, South Korea and Cambodia, tagging the situation as a “conflict”. After ten years of combat and more than 58,000 U.S. casualties it was obvious that this was no simple conflict, but rather a war, a war that was being lost miserably. A glance at the statistics is more than enough to realize that we too are at war today in America: 1) One of every two marriages ends in divorce. 2) In 1960 1 of every 10 homes was maintained by a woman. In 1986 the stat had rose to 1 in 6. 3) We could fill several sports stadiums with the children who will prostitute themselves tonight to finance their drug addiction. 4) This year a million unwed teenagers will result pregnant, half of them will abort their babies. 5) Of all the 14 year old girls that exist today 40% will become pregnant before they reach 19. 6) 60% of children have tried drugs before graduating from High School. 7) Every 78 seconds a teenager tries to commit suicide in the U.S. Yes, the war is real… the casualties are real… and today more than ever before me need MEN who are willing to dress the full armor of God and fight alongside God’s people until we all celebrate the victory of the Lamb before the throne of our God. If we are to see this victory it will cost no less than our Blood, Sweat and Tears.

The Need for Dynamic Discipleship Training: We’re Looking for a Few Good Men

In the age of social media the concept of relationships is being radically changed. Dinner and a talk with a friend has now become a status update to your hundreds or thousands of BFF’s. What was once a phone call is now an IM or a 140 character TXT. Face Time has been degraded to “Facebook”. When Jesus looked for followers, I don’t think he was contemplating twitter. Now don’t get me wrong, as a communicator I definitely can appreciate the opportunities that social media affords to outreach and instruction. The apostle Paul himself relied heavily on the different forms of communication and distribution that were available to him to get his message out; but when it comes to training there really isn’t any replacement for one on one or small group instruction. Is it really a surprise that we are going though a world-wide leadership crisis? We have stopped teaching the basics and expect the next generation to inherently know what they are doing. I recently read an article by Jodi Glickman entitled “Nobody Has Time For Interns” although I can agree with the article’s preface that an incoming intern needs to bring his or her best to the table, I can’t agree with a model that excuses our current leadership from investing in our future leadership.

In the church we need to ask ourselves if our attitude is any better? The constant rush as we multitask ourselves to death has deafened us to the real need of raising up the next generation of men and women who will stand powerfully to advance the Lord’s church. If the church is to advance we need to break out of our comfort zones and dynamically train disciples…

The Mission is For Misfits…

mis•fit noun

Definition: 1. somebody who does not belong: somebody who does not fit comfortably into a situation or environment.

“My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world…”  John 17:15-18

Jesus’ prayer to God in Gethsemane’s garden rings hauntingly true today as we have witnessed how the lines between the church and the world have become ever increasingly fuzzy. These days it is common to see true Christians mask their faith in order to “fit in” under the false precept of “becoming all things to all men”. Many evangelical preachers have traded the consuming fire of God’s word for a message that rings closer a children’s song by a purple dinosaur (not that I have anything against purple dinosaurs – especially if you’re in preschool), while others have gone to the other extreme, completely cutting themselves off from all things secular, thus rendering God’s message powerless to change others.

So what should we as disciples of Christ think of Jesus’ prayer for his disciples the night before his crucifixion? Jesus prayed that his disciples be Sanctified (set apart) to him yet did not take them out of the world, but in fact sent them into the world set apart by the truth of the word to save the world!

“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.” 1 Peter 1:1-2

Strangers In The World

Peter addresses his readers as strangers in the world.  As a missionary I can definitely relate to being a stranger in a strange place.  It is not comfortable, The food is different, you get lost easily, people think and do things differently than you do and you feel out of place.  Although the recipients of this letter had been dispersed throughout Asia Minor by persecution Peter’s implications were much deeper addressing them as strangers in the world.

The First Word of the Gospel

“From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”” (Matthew 4:17, NIV)

Repent
It is interesting that the first word that Jesus chose to pronounce in his public ministry was “repent”.  I would have thought that he would have started off with “love” or “peace” or “grace” but he chose “repent” (μετανοέω greek) which literally means “to perceive afterwards or to reconsider.”  In other words Jesus began his ministry preaching that people should reconsider their way of life  and begin to think differently because the Kingdom of God is near.

“Don’t be like the people of this world, but let God change the way you think. Then you will know how to do everything that is good and pleasing to him.” (Romans 12:2, CEV)

When we change the way we think about our lives we will also change the way we live our lives.   This is true in almost any aspect of our lives.  On Dec 30th I weighed 235 lbs and my doctor and I had a conversation about blood pressure, cholesterol and heart disease.  That conversation made me reconsider my attitude toward food and exercise.  Once the way I saw these things changed my way of life also changed.  I now exercise most days, look at the fat content of foods and chose vegetables over candies.

Produce fruit of repentance

 “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.” (Luke 3:8, NIV)

True repentance produces change.  My main motivation for making lifestyle changes was love for my family.  I want to be around to be with them as long as I can and to do that I need to have a healthy heart.  It has now 40 days since I began my new way of life and I have already seen progress.  As I am writing this I just came back from the YMCA where I weighed in at 213.5 lbs, not where I want to be but some real progress.   Those secondary effects of my decisions although not as important they are nearly as encouraging as the primary ones.  I now feel better and have more energy and in turn enjoy the time I have with my family more.  In the same way deciding to change our lives and live in such a way that pleases God produces primarily a relationship with Him, but also produces secondary effects like better marriages and personal relationships, better stewardship and finances and an improved outlook on life.

Keep with repentance

Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday… a day of service.

Teaching fire prevention on Chicago's West Side

Volunteers for Hope worldwide Illinois and the American Red Cross in Chicago partnered to spread the word on fire prevention to some of the highest risk communities in the Chicago land area.  Hundreds of volunteers spent this year’s National Service Day canvassing Chicago neighborhoods to promote fire safety.  As the winter temperatures drop many people resort to space heaters or even stoves and ovens to heat there homes presenting grave danger to families.  Already this winter the Red Cross has responded to nearly 250 home fires assisting 1400 displaced residents, with the coldest days still to come it is important that people check their fire alarms, use special care when using space heaters and have AND PRACTICE an escape plan with each member of your household.  As Christians it is a great honor to be called to serve others, as we see the circumstances that others live in we are grateful for our blessings.

In a very similar way God has called us to be spiritual fire stoppers as  well.  As we see the spiritual plight of our community we should get the WORD out on fire prevention.  As devastating as a home fire is, nothing can compare with the eternal flames of the lake of sulfur.  As Christians we have been equipped with the necessary tools to save our fellow man, but we must canvas our communities for the sake of Christ and teach God’s plan of escape from the most devastating fire there is… Hell.

Thanks to all of you who gave up your day off in order to do something to serve others.  It is in these random selfless acts where we see Jesus our Lord… God bless!  -Bill