War Of Change

I would like you to do something before you read my story today. Stare at the picture at the left for a few moments. Look at the eyes. This young soul is a casualty of war. Remember those eyes as we proceed.

The following link is from the movie U-571. The movie is about a submarine crew during World War II who is under attack by a German destroyer. I'd like you to notice how the explosions (depth charges, designed to blow up when they reach a certain depth) come slowly at first but then increase in frequency and severity. Remember the term increased frequency and severity as we continue on.

Depth Charges - U-571

Did you feel like you were under attack along with that submarine crew? I sure did. The German attack was pretty severe. Now, let's close our eyes for a moment and search our minds for images of war. Let your mind drift back to World War II, or The Korean War, Vietnam, Iraq, or Afghanistan. What are some of the images you see? Hitler? concentration camps? A nuclear explosion? Burning oil fields? Rice patties perhaps. It doesn't matter what war you remember. The images of the innocent victims are all pretty much the same. Solidify those pictures of war in your mind now as we begin to take a deeper look at another war. This one is actually going on right now. It has been going on for years. It is a battle that we are currently losing. It is a battle . . . for our souls.

The scary thing about this war is the enemy. We KNOW our enemy, and our enemy is . . . us.

Recently, al-Shabab, a terrorist organization affiliated with Al-Qaedda, murdered 148 Christians in Kenya. This is just the latest in an all-too-long series of attacks against innocents, mostly Christians. These attacks are only a visible part of a greater war that usually goes reported. Most of the attacks on Christianity come from within our own country. Often by professing Christians.

Political correctness they call it. That is one of the weapons the evil one uses against us. "We must be nice to one another. Embrace everyone's uniqueness," they say. Sounds good, right?

Removing God from our classrooms is another tactic. "If we can remove their God from the minds of their children and replace His thoughts with ours, the future will be ours!" It's working.

The gay agenda, the social justice movement, syncretism, universalism, emergent theology. All these and more are eating away at the church. We are under attack as surely as the crew of U-571.

Many Christians simply accept all these factions. "We should be loving. It's the "Christian" thing to do."

Wrong.

We SHOULD be loving, right up to the point where our willingness to love takes us away from our obedience to God. God is our king, not the world in which we live. We are to be pleasers of God, not of men.

Christians are taught to love their enemies (Matthew 5:44) but we are not to bow down to them. We WILL be persecuted and attacked. So was Jesus. So were the disciples. We should expect persecution. We should expect and be prepared for the enemy to creep into our camp while we are not watching. We need to be ready.

"12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted," - 2 Timothy 3:12 

We are at war my friends. We should start acting like it. Examine every "new thing" in church. Examine every "vision" your church leaders have. The Bible is our standard. It is both our measuring stick and our weapon of choice in our daily battle with the devil.

A few weeks ago I just happened to by a CD by a band named Thousand Foot Krutch. On that CD was a song, seemingly written especially for this story. Over 4 1/2 million people have viewed the music video. The lyrics are amazing. They speak of the war we are all involved in on a daily basis. Head the warnings my friends. They are everywhere.

It creeps in like a thief in the night,
Without a sign, without a warning,
But we are ready and prepared to fight,
Raise up your swords, don't be afraid,

A War of Change - Thousand Foot Krutch

Sorry this wasn't a very uplifting post today. It's more of a warning than anything else I guess. A warning of what is to come and a warning about what is happening right new. Read your Bibles. Continue to love others. Cling tight to your brothers and sisters in the faith. Trust in God. Listen only to Him. He will keep us safe, Our refuge is in him alone.

"27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand." - John 10: 27-28