Tuesday, March 13, 2007
A Soldier Of Christ
II Timothy 2:3-4 "Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier."
I was reading an article on the Atlanta newspaper website one morning of how several members of the 48th Brigade Combat Team came home to their families after being gone to Iraq for a year. In seeing the article and the pictures of their homecoming I got to thinking about this thing of being a soldier of Christ. When we got saved we were drafted into the army of God. And as a soldier of Christ we immediately entered the spiritual battle against sin and the enemy. Of course we cannot fight this battle on our own or with our own weapons. We are to fight with spiritual warfare and armour.
Ephesians 6:11-18 (11) "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." (12) "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." (13) "Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." (14) "Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;" (15) "And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;" (16) "Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked." (17) "And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:" (18) "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;"
There are many out there that have seen the battle get intense and the fiery darts come at them in fierceness and they have retreated and ran the other way going back to their old ways and giving up the fight against sin and the enemy. Those people do not have the joy of the Lord in their life any longer. They have lost sight of God and what all He did for them on Calvary. I was talking to someone very close to me one night and they were telling me of someone that is very near and dear to my heart who had retreated and ran the other way and now that person is out committing sin and no longer living the abundant life that Christ died for them to have.
People like this are casualties in the battle. They are wounded by the darts of the enemy and we as fellow soldiers need to go to the aid of those soldiers that have fallen and are wounded. So many times fellow soldiers will go by and wound them even more than they already are by kicking them when they are down by being critical or judgemental toward them. We should pray for those who have fallen. That is the best thing we can do to assist or aid them. We need to remember that we could be right where they are at any moment. The darts come at us each and every day and it is only by God's grace and His mercy that we aren't laying in the field somewhere wounded and down in need of aid.
Pray for your fellow soldiers and be sure to render aid when you see a fellow soldier down and wounded. One day you may be down and wounded and in need of aid and I'm sure you wouldn't want someone to just pass by, give you a swift kick and let you die!!
Galatians 6:1 "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted."
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10 comments:
Sis. Julie, I think we should encourage anyone who has fallen because except for the Grace of God, there go I. We should all notice that in all our armor God gives us,there is No pertection for our back side. So we are just open to satan and his darts, if we turn, we are made to go forward following Christ as our example. Thanks for the good post and a reminder of what we are suppose to be and to be doing. connie from Texas
I have heard my husband say that we, Christians, are the only ones to shoot our own wounded.
The Psalmist said it was not his known enemies from outside, but his companion that walked w/him to the temple, that hurt him so deeply.
Truly it is time for the body of Christ to take care of one another, just a person cares for his own fingers or toes. Time for true Christians everywhere to set the example. Paul was speaking to the church in Galatians.
I have studied that particular passage and it means so much more than dusting off the fallen soldier and putting them back on their horse. Restoration takes time. I believe that is the reason the church is failing so miserably w/restoring the fallen. Time is a commodity to most folks, and one that is selfishly guarded. God help the church to realize the price He paid to redeem us.
I could go on, but there is no need, you have written an excellent post on the subject. Keep up the good work.
I enjoyed this! I remember one of my pastor's saying "Christian's are the worst to beat up their own soldiers while he's already down."
I see it as a problem in our churches today. So many separated Christians can be down right snobs!I've also encountered many "Christin women" who think they have to preach or get a point across in every conversation when they are around someone with a particular fault, rather than praying and loving that person to win their confidence, where they may then be able to offer godly counsel.
great post sister Julie!
I enjoyed reading it keep up the good work.
This is such a great post! We all to often forget about those Soldier of Christ who have fallen and need us to help them. So many Christians are too quick to pass judgment on others as well. This is just another area where we need to stive to be more Christ like.
I love the Galatians passage you posted at the end. Paul was SO wise. I still have a longggg wayyyy to gooo. Hugs!
Great Post,
May we all help our fallen Brothers And Sisters in Christ and not be to quick to Judge.
Lord Bless.
I have also heard a saying that we Christians are our own worst enemies. Let us all remember that we are in a battle and we should pick up are fallen brethren and help them back spiritually.
It's easy for us to sit back and watch as someone retreats. We shake our hands and ask, "What's the pastor going to do about them?" or "SOMEONE needs to talk to them!" But it's not up to just the pastor to do something. It's like that verse you quoted at the end says...BRETHREN...that's us!!! AND, if YOU won't be the someone to talk to them...who will be? When someone is retreating is when they need the most encouragement to stay in the battle.
~Kristi
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