Good morning,
Our Memorial Day
This week in America we are celebrating our Memorial Day. The idea behind this day is that we are remembering the people who have died in the wars that have been fought that now allow us to live in peace in our country today. Sadly, most of our people today see this time as a holiday to rest and play, who think that war is something far away. Of course, we who call ourselves Christians, have just finished our equivalent celebration that we know as Easter. There is no one greater than our Creator Jesus, who came to live with us, who willingly died in our place to pay the price for our sins, and is now alive and well and guiding us through life as our Savior and Good Shepherd. As God’s family we can look back over centuries of wars and suffering and death, and remember those faithful servants who have paid with their lives so that we can be a part of God’s family today. Alas, today those who call themselves Christians, have followed the same course as our culture and see our time of life as one of resting in Jesus, playing the religious games our way, and doing our best to stay far away from war and pain and death for God’s sake. The Apostle Paul laid out the truth for us when he wrote, For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him.(Phil.1:29) It is an honor to be involved in a war that is so important that others will find themselves spending eternity in Heaven or Hell because of the outcome of our service. Paul knew what was really involved. We are in this fight together. You have seen me suffer for him in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of this great struggle.(v.30)
Those of us who are genuine members of God’s family are fully involved in this spiritual war, and have the responsibility of following our Savior and Lord. Paul again tells us, So I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves.(Gal.5:16) Even genuine children of God still live in sinful bodies and, The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants.(v.17) Our sin nature makes it easy for us to live for ourselves and follow the rules made by Satan and our sinful cultures. With all that “fake news” surrounding us, we as God’s children face, And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. We are faced with a personal and painful choice. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict.(v.17) The choices we make will depend on who we trust. If we still trust our fears or our confidence on what others tell us or our unforgiving attitude that is still holding on to us, we will always come up with an answer that blames some one else or some other unfair solution that allows us to ignore God’s love based guideline. In fact, we will usually blame the God who loves us for getting us into this unfair and painful situation. We will not be aware of the need for us to repent for this sin and then let God guide us by his Holy Spirit to the right solution and have the strength to obey no matter what the outcome will be. As Paul said to the Ephesians, A final word: Be strong with the Lord's mighty power.(Eph.6:10) Lord willing, we will start next week with the wonderful joy and the worthwhile rewards that God has for us who fight with the Holy Spirit’s power and the wonderful peace that comes with fighting fair, God’s way.
Philippians 1:29 For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him.
Roy Wisner
