We follow Jesus into a spiritual war.
June 6, 2007 (Wednesday) – Vacation Bible School continues to break records and, more importantly, to touch lives for Christ. Let us continue to pray for the children and the workers. Attendance Tuesday was 269.
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Today is a special day of remembrance. In 1944 this was the day that had been anticipated by friend and foe alike, the day the Allied Forces invaded France. D Day, June 6, 1944, will always be a pivotal date in world history.
A terrible price was paid that day, as boys made it to the beach and beyond, in the face of an awesome defense. Many died. Many were wounded.
Thirteen years afterwards, on the anniversary of D Day, I mentioned it to a WWII veteran with whom I worked. He replied, “Those guys were late. The army I was in, landed at Salerno in Italy a long time before then.” That answer typified the American spirit: competition in all things, even in life and death matters. We’ve all heard the stories of rivalry between generals, and between national armies, but that spirit existed right down to the men in the trenches and foxholes. Each man knew his was the best squad from the best platoon in the army.
I suppose that’s just part of our human makeup. We root for our team, we tout the advantages of our town over others, we know our state is the best in the nation, etc. We’re loyal to a team of some kind, even if we’re homebound and disabled. I still remember the invocation at a Baylor Bears football game, when the preacher, instead of saying, “Amen,” yelled, “Sic ’em Bears!”
Well, Jesus wants us on His team. “Follow me!” he calls.
He wants us to remember who our opponent is. The enemy is not another human being; the enemy is Satan himself, and the forces of evil. Ephesians 2:12 informs us, “..our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
Every human person not on our team is a potential team member, not an enemy.