[Once again, having major troubles with pre-planned posts. This post was supposed to be Tuesday's . . . somehow Wednesday's posted first. Perhaps I'll get it all figured out soon!! One can always hope . . .]
"I have to write insisting—begging!—that you fight with everything you have in you for this faith entrusted to us as a gift to guard and cherish." Jude, verse 3, The Message
Today, we move from talking about mercy, peace and love - to fighting! How is it that Jude can slip so easily and quickly between this spectrum of emotion? Jude realized that while God offers us the good stuff (mercy, peace, love, etc.) the enemy is fighting hard! And we have a responsibility - a call, if you will - to fight back!
One of my former pastors, Ron Gilbert, preached a sermon calling Christians to stop being on the defensive, and start working on the offensive. I distinctly remember him saying that we need to be "storming the gates of hell" instead of waiting for the enemy's next attack.
How do we fight for the faith entrusted us? God clearly gives us direction on this. We are to have spiritual weapons of warfare, as Paul tells us in Ephesians: "Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."
Think of these weapons. Truth. Righteousness. Readiness. Faith. Salvation. The Spirit. Prayer. Paul so expertly equates these spiritual weapons with offensive and defensive weapons that soldiers would have been seen wearing at that time. Yet, the concept is timeless. Let's quickly look at these weapons, one by one.
The devil is a liar. So we fight with truth. He is the master of sin. So we fight with righteousness. Satan breeds rebellion. So we fight with readiness. He is the author of disbelief. So we fight with faith. Satan endangers eternity. So we fight with salvation. He uses destruction to create chaos. So we fight with the peace of the Holy Spirit. Satan denies relationships. So we fight with prayer.
Folks, it's really that simple. Are you tired of being under attack? Do you feel like you are constantly besieged by problems? Is spiritual exhaustion your constant companion? Then get on your feet!! Get up! Fight! Stop being a lazy Christian, and recognize that our faith is a gift, and a gift worth fighting for. And let's call it what it is - if you are not using the weapons listed above, of course you will be under attack!! The forces of evil attack where there is weakness, just like any other army would.
The book of Jude always has me singing the Beatles song, "Hey Jude." I was looking at the lyrics today and was amazed at how easily some of the words transfer to our topic. So I have substituted the word "it" - as in, faith - for the word "her:"
Hey jude, don't make it bad
Take a sad song and make it better.
Remember to let <it> into your heart
Then you can start to make it better.
Hey jude, don't be afraid
You were made to go out and get <it>
The minute you let <it> under your skin
Then you begin to make it better.
You got problems? So does everyone else in life. Stop lying down and letting your faith be attacked. Stand up! Make it better! Use the weapons God gave you to defend your faith!
And remember . . . keep blazing!
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