1 Corinthians 16:13-14. Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. Let all your things be done with charity.
Most excellent advice for all believers! With a best by eternity date to boot! It’s the only way to keep anything alive and growing. You’ve first got to use supreme caution and guard whatever it is you value, so that it’s not stolen or destroyed by your enemies. Then you’ve got to have the utmost belief that what you’re doing is right, because without that sense of ‘rightness’ you’ll give up as soon as the first hurdles appear. It’s that ‘Sense of Purpose’ (Third World Song) that gives you the guts and belly, the fortitude to be brave and strong and keep on keeping on. And people, we need that sense of ‘rightness’ and fortitude more than ever right now, because the infidel is no longer just knocking at the gate, we’ve opened the door wide and let him in. For example, this past week, in this country that was founded on Christian values, a United Church Minister was denied the right to renew her vanity licence plate that read ‘REV JO’ because it might stir up road rage. Guess they figured that our youngsters are so stupid, they’d interpret the rev as gunning their car engines. However, as a good Christian, following the laws of Caesar, she tried changing it to ‘REVR’ND JO’. But that was even worse. It could be misinterpreted to mean that the govt. favoured one faith over the other. So what! This is supposed to be an (expletive deleted) Christian country, isn’t it! Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, in the Sudan, which makes no bones about being a Muslim country, a middle aged teacher, who left her comfortable life back in England, to go to Africa, with good, Christian intent, to teach their underprivileged children, is almost drawn and quartered because she allowed a group of seven year olds to name a teddy bear Mohammad, although millions of Muslims have that name. They found her guilty of intentionally insulting the name of their prophet. What nonsense! She was quickly sentenced to fifteen days in jail and deportation. Originally they wanted more time, plus forty lashes and a fine. Thousands also called for her to be executed. What balderdash! And the British Govt. allowed that farce to go on. But that was partially a smoke screen thrown up by the Sudanese govt. to direct attention away from the real ugly dilemma that’s taking place in the Darfur region of their country, where millions of people are being killed and forced out of their homeland under a thin veil of ethnic cleansing. But Friends, there was one ray of light, of hope though: A small outcry took place here about the licence plate and the Minister of Transportation eventually whitewashed the nonsense and sent it back to the committee that decides those things, and ‘REV JO’ decided to keep her rusty old plates. Praise the Lord! One person even asked if the Minister and the Ministry weren’t afraid of displeasing other faiths by using those terms. I guess not. Ah Friends, being a Christian is not easy. You’re a virtual soldier in a reality army. And believe you me, the battle has already been joined. But then, to a certain extent, our hands are tied, because, as Paul says, we’ve got do everything with charity, with LOVE! That certainly puts us at a disadvantage, since the enemy does not recognize that word, LOVE. But fear not people. If the Most High says to fight them with LOVE, then that’s what we’ll do, and if we guard our hearts and stand strong in our faith, He guarantees victory! Much Much LOVE! ….. remember though…the battle is the Lord’s.
Most excellent advice for all believers! With a best by eternity date to boot! It’s the only way to keep anything alive and growing. You’ve first got to use supreme caution and guard whatever it is you value, so that it’s not stolen or destroyed by your enemies. Then you’ve got to have the utmost belief that what you’re doing is right, because without that sense of ‘rightness’ you’ll give up as soon as the first hurdles appear. It’s that ‘Sense of Purpose’ (Third World Song) that gives you the guts and belly, the fortitude to be brave and strong and keep on keeping on. And people, we need that sense of ‘rightness’ and fortitude more than ever right now, because the infidel is no longer just knocking at the gate, we’ve opened the door wide and let him in. For example, this past week, in this country that was founded on Christian values, a United Church Minister was denied the right to renew her vanity licence plate that read ‘REV JO’ because it might stir up road rage. Guess they figured that our youngsters are so stupid, they’d interpret the rev as gunning their car engines. However, as a good Christian, following the laws of Caesar, she tried changing it to ‘REVR’ND JO’. But that was even worse. It could be misinterpreted to mean that the govt. favoured one faith over the other. So what! This is supposed to be an (expletive deleted) Christian country, isn’t it! Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, in the Sudan, which makes no bones about being a Muslim country, a middle aged teacher, who left her comfortable life back in England, to go to Africa, with good, Christian intent, to teach their underprivileged children, is almost drawn and quartered because she allowed a group of seven year olds to name a teddy bear Mohammad, although millions of Muslims have that name. They found her guilty of intentionally insulting the name of their prophet. What nonsense! She was quickly sentenced to fifteen days in jail and deportation. Originally they wanted more time, plus forty lashes and a fine. Thousands also called for her to be executed. What balderdash! And the British Govt. allowed that farce to go on. But that was partially a smoke screen thrown up by the Sudanese govt. to direct attention away from the real ugly dilemma that’s taking place in the Darfur region of their country, where millions of people are being killed and forced out of their homeland under a thin veil of ethnic cleansing. But Friends, there was one ray of light, of hope though: A small outcry took place here about the licence plate and the Minister of Transportation eventually whitewashed the nonsense and sent it back to the committee that decides those things, and ‘REV JO’ decided to keep her rusty old plates. Praise the Lord! One person even asked if the Minister and the Ministry weren’t afraid of displeasing other faiths by using those terms. I guess not. Ah Friends, being a Christian is not easy. You’re a virtual soldier in a reality army. And believe you me, the battle has already been joined. But then, to a certain extent, our hands are tied, because, as Paul says, we’ve got do everything with charity, with LOVE! That certainly puts us at a disadvantage, since the enemy does not recognize that word, LOVE. But fear not people. If the Most High says to fight them with LOVE, then that’s what we’ll do, and if we guard our hearts and stand strong in our faith, He guarantees victory! Much Much LOVE! ….. remember though…the battle is the Lord’s.
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