Skip to main content

Another Letter from the Trenches

 

 

The fog of war makes things hard to see. Sometimes I find myself doubting what is really in front of me. Are my eyes playing tricks on me? At times I see the enemy when no one is there, and at other times I think I am alone and the enemy comes out of nowhere. 

 

That is one of the enemy’s tactics. He tries to mess with our minds, using propaganda to gaslight us. He wants us to doubt why we are actually in this war. He wants us to doubt our Commander. He is constantly asking, “Did your Commander really say…?” 

 

It sounds so stupid when I write it, but in those moments I almost feel like I am going to fall for it. I must admit there are times when I start to think that maybe my Commander is holding out on us. He promised to never leave us or forsake us on this battlefield, but sometimes when the bullets are flying, I’m not sure that I see him. 

 

No. I can’t think this way. I know that is what the enemy wants. I won’t fall into his trap. This is psychological warfare, and those tricks won’t work on me. I just need to tighten my belt and get back in formation. 

 

My Commander has demonstrated that he is faithful and good. He has always been there, and when I stop and think about it, all those times when the bullets were flying, he was there. He was out in front providing us cover. 

 

I resolve this day to keep fighting for what is right, to keep doing what is right. The cause is good. The Commander is good, so I will be true to the oath I swore when I enlisted. 

 

There are others in this camp that have grown weary in this war. I further resolve to help them by letting them see me conduct myself in a way becoming of a soldier worthy to serve in this army. 

 

 

“Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness”

Ephesians 6:14

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

To Save a Life

(Like my blog about the peace symbol, this blog was written as a default response to all the parents, students, and other people who are asking my opinion of To Save a Life.) By now you have probably heard of the movie To Save a Life, which opened nation-wide in theaters on January 22nd. The movie deals with so many issues that teens face today, like suicide, cutting, drinking, drugs, premarital sex, teen pregnancy, and abortion. At first glance this movie looks like an awesome resource that we should recommend for our teens, parents, youth pastors, and youth workers. But a closer look at the movie reveals a few disturbing things. For starters, according to pluggedin.com, there are 2 uses of the “A” word, 5 uses of hell (used as a curse word), and once the “D” word is used. There are other crude terms used to describe a girl, and crude terms for referring to sexual activity. There is also a bedroom scene that shows a girl removing a boy’s shirt, then afterwards the girl putting he...
38 comments
Read more

All Things To All Men

One of our favorite verses to use in our evangelism methods is where Paul said that he “becomes all things to all men” so that he might “by all means save some (I Corinthians 9:22).” This is certainly a good idea if we keep it in its proper context and application. For example, I remember a time in high school where I knew a kid that loved skateboarding. Being the chicken that I am, I was never a skateboarder. All he would talk about was skating, and I knew none of his lingo. But to help develop a relationship with him (he was new to our church and didn’t know many people), I brushed up on my skating lingo so I could ask if he had done any sick ollies lately (impressed?). This would be like Paul saying “to the skateboarder, I became a skateboarder.” This is effective and necessary. But then there are the people that use this verse to justify doing sinful things in the name of evangelism. The first one that comes to mind is about drinking. Some people will go into the bars to evan...
23 comments
Read more

Evangelism

“Preach the gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words.” St. Francis of Assisi is given credit for this famous quote (although that exact phrasing does not appear in any of his writings), and a lot of people would think that this is a great philosophy. His actual quote was that everyone should “preach by their deeds.” Preaching with our deeds is not just a strategy, it is a necessity. We are commanded all through the Scriptures to let our light shine and be a peculiar people. People should be able to look at our lives and see that we are Christians. They should see the love of Christ readily on display, and thus feel compelled to live their lives in the same way. The sermon that we should preach with our lives is a sermon of love, joy, peace, patience, self-control, forgiveness, conviction, etc. But this idea that has emerged that says we should ONLY preach with our deeds is a heresy straight from the devil himself. Think about it: who is the one that does not want you t...
18 comments
Read more