I don't think that I need to brief anyone that reads this on the recent happenings regarding HB2, celebrity boycotts, and Target's bathroom policy. I've personally taken a step back over the past few weeks for the sake of observation and mature thinking. There are several things that have to be established before I write any further:
*Our enemy is not humanity, our enemy is Satan (and all of his forces). See Ephesians 6:12.
*Because our enemy is spiritual, our primary defense should also be spiritual (prayer). See 2 Corinthians 10:3-6.
*A wise man always counts the cost before he goes to war. See Luke 14:31.
*If we're Christ's disciples, we have nothing to lose because we've renounced all that we have; we should have counted the cost when we decided to follow Jesus. See John 15:20.
*Jesus never loses- he's the embodiment of victory.
*There's a time to speak and a time to be silent; a time for peace and a time for war. See Ecclesiastes 3.
Keeping all of that in mind, I'll cut right to the chase: We're guilty of contemplating a matter under the guise of “wisdom” when we're actually spineless cowards that are unwilling to stand. In the American church we coward underneath the statement “choose your battles wisely” when we're actually just too scared to fight and too worried about our own reputation. It seems to me that those who say things like, “now is not the time or the place,” or, “social media is not the proper platform,” are the same folks that want to have a conversation and then never do anything about it.
My question is, If now is not the time or the place to stand then when and where is? It's so easy to stand behind a wooden stand, or sit on a wooden stool, addressing the same, dead and dry congregants, raving about the immorality of our country. We tell it like it is as long as the audience is absent of raging liberals that are going to try to bite our heads off and spit on us (I'm guilty too). We have a backbone that holds up against the brethren that are in agreement yet folds when faced with the possibility of persecution. Keeping our mouths shut when we should be shouting from the rooftops is just another form of political correctness with Christianity attached to it.
It's funny how we'll come out of the wood works to discuss (publicly) how terribly immoral it is for Tom Brady to deflate footballs and then treat severe attacks against morality and Christianity as non-issues. And then there's the group saying, “I'm pretty sure that God has bigger things to worry about rather than what bathroom people use.” If that pathetically ambiguous attitude is not reflective of lukewarm then I don't know what is. Just stand in the middle and don't make anybody mad- give me a break- that's cowardice, not wisdom. We need to quit being the “rational” guy and become the “radical” guy- it's pathetic nowadays that it's unsafe to assume anything about the professing Christians convictions and morals.
Now that all of that's been said, there's one more (most important) issue. In 1 Kings 17 and 18 God commanded the prophet Elijah to do two things in regards to his (God's) message to King Ahab: Go hide yourself, and go show yourself.
Part of the problem is that we're showing ourselves (standing) when we should be hiding ourselves (praying/communing with God), or we're hiding ourselves when we should be showing ourselves- there's a place for both. Our power comes from communing with God in private, solitary places- not rallies, petitions, or protests (though those are all good and effective when executed in proper order). What I'm trying to say is that we cannot expect to accomplish anything if we're not praying against the demonic forces that are running rampant in our country right now. We cannot expect to have any power in our witness, or our standing for what is truth, if we've not sought God (faithfully) in the secret place of prayer.
The core problem is that society has shifted to the place where evil is called good and good is called evil. I would go as far as to say that recent happenings are instruments of God's judgment upon America. God is giving America exactly what America wants: a Godless country (see Romans 1:18-32).
The church has grown cold because our motivation for serving is no longer the anguish of our Lord's heart; but rather, the hurt of humanity- that's humanism. Our priority is not Christ, it's people. Our motivation has become broken people rather than a broken savior. There was never room in the world for Christ and there is never room for the world in Christ.
Lets show the world a different form of Christianity- one that stands for and ministers the truth in love, refusing to back down, not because of principles, but because of passion; the same passion that led Christ to the cross. The passion that has led many martyrs to their death joyously as they died for a reason worth standing for- Jesus Christ.
*Our enemy is not humanity, our enemy is Satan (and all of his forces). See Ephesians 6:12.
*Because our enemy is spiritual, our primary defense should also be spiritual (prayer). See 2 Corinthians 10:3-6.
*A wise man always counts the cost before he goes to war. See Luke 14:31.
*If we're Christ's disciples, we have nothing to lose because we've renounced all that we have; we should have counted the cost when we decided to follow Jesus. See John 15:20.
*Jesus never loses- he's the embodiment of victory.
*There's a time to speak and a time to be silent; a time for peace and a time for war. See Ecclesiastes 3.
Keeping all of that in mind, I'll cut right to the chase: We're guilty of contemplating a matter under the guise of “wisdom” when we're actually spineless cowards that are unwilling to stand. In the American church we coward underneath the statement “choose your battles wisely” when we're actually just too scared to fight and too worried about our own reputation. It seems to me that those who say things like, “now is not the time or the place,” or, “social media is not the proper platform,” are the same folks that want to have a conversation and then never do anything about it.
My question is, If now is not the time or the place to stand then when and where is? It's so easy to stand behind a wooden stand, or sit on a wooden stool, addressing the same, dead and dry congregants, raving about the immorality of our country. We tell it like it is as long as the audience is absent of raging liberals that are going to try to bite our heads off and spit on us (I'm guilty too). We have a backbone that holds up against the brethren that are in agreement yet folds when faced with the possibility of persecution. Keeping our mouths shut when we should be shouting from the rooftops is just another form of political correctness with Christianity attached to it.
It's funny how we'll come out of the wood works to discuss (publicly) how terribly immoral it is for Tom Brady to deflate footballs and then treat severe attacks against morality and Christianity as non-issues. And then there's the group saying, “I'm pretty sure that God has bigger things to worry about rather than what bathroom people use.” If that pathetically ambiguous attitude is not reflective of lukewarm then I don't know what is. Just stand in the middle and don't make anybody mad- give me a break- that's cowardice, not wisdom. We need to quit being the “rational” guy and become the “radical” guy- it's pathetic nowadays that it's unsafe to assume anything about the professing Christians convictions and morals.
Now that all of that's been said, there's one more (most important) issue. In 1 Kings 17 and 18 God commanded the prophet Elijah to do two things in regards to his (God's) message to King Ahab: Go hide yourself, and go show yourself.
Part of the problem is that we're showing ourselves (standing) when we should be hiding ourselves (praying/communing with God), or we're hiding ourselves when we should be showing ourselves- there's a place for both. Our power comes from communing with God in private, solitary places- not rallies, petitions, or protests (though those are all good and effective when executed in proper order). What I'm trying to say is that we cannot expect to accomplish anything if we're not praying against the demonic forces that are running rampant in our country right now. We cannot expect to have any power in our witness, or our standing for what is truth, if we've not sought God (faithfully) in the secret place of prayer.
The core problem is that society has shifted to the place where evil is called good and good is called evil. I would go as far as to say that recent happenings are instruments of God's judgment upon America. God is giving America exactly what America wants: a Godless country (see Romans 1:18-32).
The church has grown cold because our motivation for serving is no longer the anguish of our Lord's heart; but rather, the hurt of humanity- that's humanism. Our priority is not Christ, it's people. Our motivation has become broken people rather than a broken savior. There was never room in the world for Christ and there is never room for the world in Christ.
Lets show the world a different form of Christianity- one that stands for and ministers the truth in love, refusing to back down, not because of principles, but because of passion; the same passion that led Christ to the cross. The passion that has led many martyrs to their death joyously as they died for a reason worth standing for- Jesus Christ.
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