Preface: The following post is about a week old. I just checked the Sunday bulletin of John MacArthur's church.....and tomorrow will be the twelfth week that he will not be in his pulpit due to health issues. As much as we need him....and others on a national scale....I am almost relieved that he will not be in the pulpit tomorrow....for while checking on this I found out that a friend of his....also a minister on a national scale.....a man I have posted about a number of times....has been relieved of his duties as pastor in Texas....and will most likely never preach again....or speak at conferences....because of an....'inappropriate relationship'....supposedly not physical....with a woman. I would not look forward to hearing John MacArthur's sadness on this. So I want to bring this recent post to the top. To use metaphors here....Satan might use a poison dart.....or a net....or a covered pit....or any one of a number of other weapons. He might very well use depression....or prosperity....or even an honor....or any area of our lives that we might leave unguarded. May this sad news work in our hearts....and sober us....not only to the increasing dangers in the world....but the dangers to our very souls.
Holy Spirit......Blow Into These Sails
My cousin texted me earlier in the day about a family tree she is putting together. The last text read...."Our family is impotent! ❤" She caught her own typo later.....I didn't see it. Merriam-Webster's primary definition for the word is...."lacking in power, strength or vigor." Every day in the Christian's life is a fight. That clock alarm might as well be a bell for round one.
I have proclaimed myself to be a Christian now for roughly fifteen thousand days....(forty years plus)....and I imagine that I have been knocked out or at least TKO'd in ten thousand of those days....and the worst bouts are on the beautiful days....perfect weather....with not a lot on my schedule.
Take today for instance....mid-70s....gentle breeze....a Lord's Day nonetheless....with five hours from the end of our wonderful worship service to getting in the car to go and be with an elderly relative. I had to fight the temptation to let the world take over my thoughts. Everything within me seemed to be saying....do nothing....just wait until it's time to go. This feeling sneaks up on you if you are not vigilant. I had to go to my corner....so to speak....and plead with my handler....the Holy Spirit....break this bondage....blow this fog away!
Try this on for size. We head out on vacation....a well-deserved vacation....the first day is all driving. Usually it's a Saturday. We check in late at the hotel....and after lugging all the bags up and unpacking....it is straight to bed. We wake up Sunday morning and the vacation begins. Five days follow of either laying on a beach or shopping or hitting all the local attractions....or gazing at a mountain range....thinking that giving glory to God for it covers our vacation from the Word. The next Saturday comes quickly and it is all the reverse. We arrive home late at night beat....and we are not getting up for Church. God surely understands....if we even think about it.
In this scenario we have just traveled eight days in the short pilgrimage of this life....in Vanity Fair no less.....with no spiritual sustenance....our discernment ice-cold....and our spiritual muscles atrophied from lack of use.
How many vacations do we get to take in this....'one glorious nation under God'...two or three or four? Add to that the wasted month of December preparing for Christmas....and the family holiday of Thanksgiving....and all the gardening in the Spring....along with about a dozen birthday celebrations or anniversaries or weddings or graduations....and I submit to you that the average person was knocked out or TKO'd in this fight for the better part of the year.
If you let this go on for a decade or so....then you are no longer a soldier....but a weekend warrior....an average evangelical today in America more concerned about defending the constitution than the Word of God.
I haven't even touched on the glorious part of being a soldier for Christ....the formations as our King passes by in a sermon....or the proclamations of....Holy Holy Holy....that only comes from those who fought through the lazy...hazy....crazy days of summer....and limited the celebrations and even the family times so as not to lag behind the march.
Am I being melodramatic? No....and I have the scars to prove it. I have the demerits and a court martial or two. This is legitimate folks. There is no easy way....and it is going to get a lot harder....and a lot more dangerous! David suffered a great wound for his lack of vigilance....as did Solomon....but here is the kicker....our King is so wonderful....so powerful....and so merciful....that His glory burns off the haze! The joy of being in this army is so exhilarating....that when the doldrums do come....we need only to call out....Holy Spirit....blow into these sails....do this for the glory of Christ's name alone.....and He will!
