Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of wickedness..." Ephesians 6:12 The struggle is real, and those held captive are not the enemy, but the ones holding them captive are. May we all be given the wisdom and the courage to reach our neighbors.
Your direction back to what is most important is refreshing! Thank you for this. Ephesians 6 was an absolutely perfect application. We are now in a period of history where, spiritually, fight or die will be reality. But as you have said, it's how we fight and what we believe that will make a difference.
Amen Erick! My priest talked about this last Sunday. He said the world has always been in chaos but to put our trust in Jesus and walk in His steps loving those around us and standing strong by Him no matter what! If the early Christians, especially martyrs, stood by Christ, surly we can stand by Him too!
To love our neighbor is to tell them the Gospel Truth, the truth needs to be proclaimed from the pulpit. Pastors need to remind their congregants that homosexuality is a sin and an abomination in Gods eyes. That’s just one example. Many pastors are timid and afraid to preach the word, instead they avoid topics that cause outcry from their congregants. Pastors are more concerned about job-security. I have been to many churches that never preach about anything the left will complain about.
In addition, quit complying with "word switch/redefinition" tactics employed by liberals. Between desensitization and redefinition. wrong becomes normalized and right becomes unacceptable
A few example of the war on morality employing word-swap to hide sin:
"gay" means happy-go-lucky, now "sanitizes" homosexuality
"affair" refers to a high-tone party, now "sanitizes" adultery
"phobia" is unreasoning fear, now applied as a suffix to vilify any opposing view
"science" is objective process-based observation, now applied to anything needing credibility (while lacking any)
"Drag" was what you had to do to get your kids to church, now it is the fashion term for men that dress as/want to be women
"hook-up" used to be what you did to TV's and DVD players, now it means fornication
"right / wrong" became acceptable descriptors
"rainbow" was once a promise of God's covenant, now used as a unifying symbol for all manner of sexual sin
"pro-choice" used to mean good choice making, now it means abortion support
The list (and the battle) goes on. Satan is relentless, we must remain ever-vigilant.
A number of years ago our own PCA denomination had a massive battle at General Assembly that divided forces on each side. Was it on homosexuality, ordaining women, or maybe it was on racial issues? Nope, it was on intinction. For those that don't know the word it the process used during communion of dipping the bread into the juice/wine and then consuming both together. For some, this was heresy!! They must be separate elements. I had the picture in my mind of the anti-intinction side wearing Tshirts that proclaimed "Think before you intinct!!!" So, in midst of so many issues within and outside the church, this is what they wasted time on. The church has lost its focus.
Yesterday I learned that if you consider yourself an Evangelical Christian, you know must put yourself into one of the four subsets defined in many ways by your politics. The central idea of Salvation through Jesus Christ is no longer a joining principle, you have to find your place in the new hierarchy. The church has allowed the leaven of this world to become mingled throughout and it has corrupted us.
Erick nails it and honestly, it is due to our taking our eyes off the fundamentals. Good coaches know at all levels when you get away from solid fundamentals, you suffer. It's time for churches to get back to preaching the central message of the cross that grafts all believers into one family. As depression and anxiety explode from the constant barrage of doom and gloom, what better time to put our feet to our faith to care for our neighbors and community with the love of Christ.
Thanks for sharing this. I'm in PCA, didn't know about that one. I guess our pastor and elders spared us the drama of "senseless controversy" exemplified by that august body :-P
As believers, we obviously have too much time on our hands (or just use that time poorly). Thinking back on the Creeds and how serious those battles were to carefully encapsulate a summary of belief. Battles over "intinction" and other minor issues indicate we're contemplating our navels far too much, evangelizing and serving too little.
When I was a child sixty years ago, a Catholic priest would place the wafer in your mouth. That was the procedure for many years. I read that the custom was designed to keep people from palming the wafer and later using it for a satanic ritual.
I like to sip wine from the chalice but I can live with dipping the wafer in wine or juice.
My favorite change would to have the ushers bring the collection AND the communion elements as both are a gift of the people.
For sure. We all have our preferences but I am always mindful though that we will never have the perfect church according to my personal desires. The story goes a sailor was shipwrecked and ended up on a deserted island for ten years. A passing ship happened upon him and the captain came ashore and the sailor took him for a tour. He had a garden, a nicely equipped house, plenty of food and just about anything you would want. The Captain asked "this is all wonderful but what's small building behind the house for?" The sailor responded "oh, that's where I go to church". The Captain noticed another small building directly behind the first . "So what would that be?" The Sailor whispered "oh, that's where I used to go to church." All it seems to take is one to be discontent in church!
"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of wickedness..." Ephesians 6:12 The struggle is real, and those held captive are not the enemy, but the ones holding them captive are. May we all be given the wisdom and the courage to reach our neighbors.
Amen and amen
Your direction back to what is most important is refreshing! Thank you for this. Ephesians 6 was an absolutely perfect application. We are now in a period of history where, spiritually, fight or die will be reality. But as you have said, it's how we fight and what we believe that will make a difference.
Amen Erick! My priest talked about this last Sunday. He said the world has always been in chaos but to put our trust in Jesus and walk in His steps loving those around us and standing strong by Him no matter what! If the early Christians, especially martyrs, stood by Christ, surly we can stand by Him too!
Thank you!
Wise and articulate insight on the current state of America’s church and political culture!
Great job, Erick! The challenging part for us readers is to apply it to our own lives on a daily basis!
Thank you young man - tell it, as they say, and keep tellin it
To love our neighbor is to tell them the Gospel Truth, the truth needs to be proclaimed from the pulpit. Pastors need to remind their congregants that homosexuality is a sin and an abomination in Gods eyes. That’s just one example. Many pastors are timid and afraid to preach the word, instead they avoid topics that cause outcry from their congregants. Pastors are more concerned about job-security. I have been to many churches that never preach about anything the left will complain about.
In addition, quit complying with "word switch/redefinition" tactics employed by liberals. Between desensitization and redefinition. wrong becomes normalized and right becomes unacceptable
A few example of the war on morality employing word-swap to hide sin:
"gay" means happy-go-lucky, now "sanitizes" homosexuality
"affair" refers to a high-tone party, now "sanitizes" adultery
"phobia" is unreasoning fear, now applied as a suffix to vilify any opposing view
"science" is objective process-based observation, now applied to anything needing credibility (while lacking any)
"Drag" was what you had to do to get your kids to church, now it is the fashion term for men that dress as/want to be women
"hook-up" used to be what you did to TV's and DVD players, now it means fornication
"right / wrong" became acceptable descriptors
"rainbow" was once a promise of God's covenant, now used as a unifying symbol for all manner of sexual sin
"pro-choice" used to mean good choice making, now it means abortion support
The list (and the battle) goes on. Satan is relentless, we must remain ever-vigilant.
Come quickly, Lord Jesus!
A number of years ago our own PCA denomination had a massive battle at General Assembly that divided forces on each side. Was it on homosexuality, ordaining women, or maybe it was on racial issues? Nope, it was on intinction. For those that don't know the word it the process used during communion of dipping the bread into the juice/wine and then consuming both together. For some, this was heresy!! They must be separate elements. I had the picture in my mind of the anti-intinction side wearing Tshirts that proclaimed "Think before you intinct!!!" So, in midst of so many issues within and outside the church, this is what they wasted time on. The church has lost its focus.
Yesterday I learned that if you consider yourself an Evangelical Christian, you know must put yourself into one of the four subsets defined in many ways by your politics. The central idea of Salvation through Jesus Christ is no longer a joining principle, you have to find your place in the new hierarchy. The church has allowed the leaven of this world to become mingled throughout and it has corrupted us.
Erick nails it and honestly, it is due to our taking our eyes off the fundamentals. Good coaches know at all levels when you get away from solid fundamentals, you suffer. It's time for churches to get back to preaching the central message of the cross that grafts all believers into one family. As depression and anxiety explode from the constant barrage of doom and gloom, what better time to put our feet to our faith to care for our neighbors and community with the love of Christ.
Thanks for sharing this. I'm in PCA, didn't know about that one. I guess our pastor and elders spared us the drama of "senseless controversy" exemplified by that august body :-P
As believers, we obviously have too much time on our hands (or just use that time poorly). Thinking back on the Creeds and how serious those battles were to carefully encapsulate a summary of belief. Battles over "intinction" and other minor issues indicate we're contemplating our navels far too much, evangelizing and serving too little.
When I was a child sixty years ago, a Catholic priest would place the wafer in your mouth. That was the procedure for many years. I read that the custom was designed to keep people from palming the wafer and later using it for a satanic ritual.
I like to sip wine from the chalice but I can live with dipping the wafer in wine or juice.
My favorite change would to have the ushers bring the collection AND the communion elements as both are a gift of the people.
Argue about the important stuff.
For sure. We all have our preferences but I am always mindful though that we will never have the perfect church according to my personal desires. The story goes a sailor was shipwrecked and ended up on a deserted island for ten years. A passing ship happened upon him and the captain came ashore and the sailor took him for a tour. He had a garden, a nicely equipped house, plenty of food and just about anything you would want. The Captain asked "this is all wonderful but what's small building behind the house for?" The sailor responded "oh, that's where I go to church". The Captain noticed another small building directly behind the first . "So what would that be?" The Sailor whispered "oh, that's where I used to go to church." All it seems to take is one to be discontent in church!
Terrific article, Erick. 'Gotta share this.
That'll preach. Amen.
Thank you Erick. Most of us, especially me, need to be reminded of this, often. Peace be with you.❤️🙏
Well said Erick.
Its not a political fight, its a fight for souls. Right on
Amen, Erick, Amen.
Amazing