Christian Casualties
A disciple is a disciplined follower. Jesus said, “follow me.” The disciplined walk follows the master in order to master the fundamentals. When Jesus is Lord, he is the center, the hub that transfers the power of the Holy Spirit as we obey his will. Influence means that we must influence our own hearts and minds to follow him.
In order to allow His word to guide us, we must first humble our hearts in obeisance, bowing our hearts in respect, reverence and awe. Obedience starts with obeisance, deferring our will to his will. Life is a series of choices. As Joshua said, “choose ye this day whom ye shall serve. As for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord.” Jesus said, “I have come that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” He is the way, the truth and the life. Therefore, choose life.
Prayer aligns our heart with God’s heart. Prayer is the outpouring of praise and thankfulness from a heart filled with love and gratitude. Prayer is confession which means “same word.” When we pray, we make His word our word. What is it that we need? In prayer, we come to know him intimately that all I need is thee. I need thee every hour most gracious Lord… O bless me now my savior, I come to thee.
In church, casual Christians become casualties in the spiritual warfare. To approach the throne of God’s grace, we must forsake the man code of a world that preaches self sufficiency with the emphasis on self. However, they that approach the Lord must forsake their pride and enter his presence with a heart of meekness and humility.
Jesus the Saviour saves when men are desperate and sinking in the crises of this life. He is our lifeline because our life is hid with Christ in God. When he saves us from the darkness of this fallen world, we become eyewitness of his mercy, love and grace. With a heart of thanksgiving, our calling is to call others to the Lord who saves.
Jesus said, “Go ye therefore and teach (make disciples of) all nations…. teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always even unto the end of the age.”
James said, “Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving your own selves.” The promises of God are accepted by obedience according to his word. Following the Lord Jesus Christ is on God’s terms, not ours. His promises are unilateral. For nothing really matters in this world except believing faith in action that worketh in love.
Pete recalls that a man in his church came to Pete because his wife had written him a note, “If you want to save this marriage, then go see Pete.” He had the courage to follow his wife’s instruction. Pete said, “Are you willing to do whatever it takes to save this marriage?” In honesty, he answered, “Probebly not.” In order to come to the Lord, we must first confront our own hearts. The heart of man is “desperately wicked.” Repentance requires that we come to understand that we need to be delivered. When we realize that we cannot make it on our own, Then we will run to the saviour and not away from him.
The crises of life produce pain and suffering. When we understand that we cannot alleviate the pain on our own, then we can approach the great physician with an attitude of meekness. When we follow the doctor’s orders, we can appropriate the remedy… the joy of the. Lord. As Suzan said, joy is not the absence of pain, rather joy is the presence fo the Lord.
Jesus had prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, “if it be thy will, let this cup of wrath, pain, death, and the weight of the sin of the world pass from me.” Then he prayed, “Nevertheless, not my will but thine be done.” Prayer is not asking God to align his heart with my heart but rather aligning my heart with His heart and my will with his will. The answer to Jesus’ prayer is in Hebrews: Jesus Christ, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated on the right hand of the throne of God. The answer to Jesus’ prayer was his Father’s revelation of the joy of your redemption and mine.
When we pray, we come to realize Jesus’ words, “what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?” In prayer we realize that it’s not about the cost, the price we pay but instead it’s about the value of loving God above all. Esau sold his inheritance for a bowl of stew. However, those who hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled with the power of God’s Holy Spirit.
According to Micah, does the Lord require the blood of animals and even our own children? Micah 6:8 says, “He hath showed thee, O man what is good. And what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”
Confession that Jesus is Lord is to confess that God loves me. God is love and God is his word. When we come to know the love of God and the word of God we can run to the Lord and not away from him. Obedience is to walk circumspectly under the banner, the canopy of the protection of our loving Lord.
As Christian soldiers we are in the midst of the spiritual battle. Casual Christians are casualties of spiritual warfare. We wrestle not against flesh and blood but against the rulers of the darkness in high places. Therefore take the initiative to influence our own minds by putting on the whole armor of God. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but spiritual to the pulling down of (spiritual strongholds.) The battlefield is for hearts and minds. Therefore, casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.
In spiritual warfare we must share our mission with our Commander in Chief, the Lord Jesus Christ. The question is not whether God is on our side, but rather, whether we are on God’s side. Stand up, stand up for Jesus. Stand in his strength alone. The arm of flesh shall fail you, we dear not trust our own.
Beneath the standard, the banner, the shadow of the Almighty’s flag, He will fight our battles against the darkness of this fallen world. For who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us…
… That we may ever live to the praise of the glory of His grace!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael
