War....what is it good for?

I have to admit that, today, I'm a little down.  I didn't start the day that way, but my mood is definitely a little "grayer" now than at the beginning.  You see, just a little while ago I found out that a friend whom I had lost contact with recently committed suicide.  There were some issues this friend struggled with which resulted in their being convinced to believe that life was unlivable.  Over the course of my life, I've known 3 people who committed suicide and all three were convinced of that same thing.

When I was in 10th grade, one of my best friends had an argument with his mom and decided that the fallout of that argument made life worthless so he stuck a shotgun in his mouth and pulled the trigger.  There wasn't much closure to that for anyone...not even an open casket at the funeral...just a picture on top of a closed box.  I remember his mom being so overcome with grief that she, literally, couldn't stand up.  It was the worst funeral I've ever been to.

A couple of years ago one of my friends who happened to be a partner in ministry committed suicide.  This was a man, whom I know from experience, loved Jesus.  I worked alongside him for years and we had some fun times together.  I got to see this man lead people to faith in Christ and was actually mentored by him in some ways.  The traps he fell into in his moral life, however, destroyed his marriage and disqualified him from ministry.  With these two things gone, he felt life was unlivable as well.

As I sit here thinking about these three, I'm reminded how much sin wrecks everything.  I understand why God hates sin so much...it literally destroys the things He loves!  

This week, I start a new series with our students on the persecution that exists in the Christian world. Did you know that 80% of the Christians in the world live in persecution because of their faith?  Did you know that 100,000 Christians are killed each year because of their faith?  In fact, it's quite probable that many have died in Iraq, alone, since IS came into the country!

Our brothers and sisters in persecution understand something that we "abnormal Christians" who don't experience ongoing physical & political persecution sometimes forget...we are at war!  No, it's not a war against flesh and blood...it's a war against powers, principalities, rulers of the air...it's spiritual!  And, leading the charge is our enemy, the devil. 

You see, Christians may die at the hands of IS in Iraq, but they aren't the real source of persecution...the enemy is!  Christians in China may suffer torture, imprisonment, threats, seizures and death at the hands of the communist government, but that government isn't the source of persecution...the enemy is!  In North Africa and the Middle East, Christians may live in constant fear and be ostracized, at best, or murdered, at worst, by militant Islamists, but muslims aren't the source of that persecution...the enemy is!

And...let's be clear.  Christians in the US may struggle with fear, doubt, emotional turmoil, failure, lack of self-worth, broken homes, broken relationships, broken dreams, broken faith and addictions and struggles with every possible kind of sin...and, these things may destroy our faith, rob us of our joy, silence our witness and make us spiritually impotent...but these tools aren't the source of our downfall...the enemy is!

I know that 2 of the friends I mentioned were men of God...I'm pretty sure my young friend wasn't because God had laid it on my heart to witness to him and I never did.  For the ones who were, I knew their testimony and their witness.  These men fell victim to the enemy's lies.  In a way, they experienced a kind of persecution.  One of the definitions of persecution that we'll be using in our study says that persecution is any act performed against Christians in an attempt to silence their witness concerning Jesus Christ.  So...persecution has, at its root, the sole purpose of keeping people from sharing Jesus.  

I've come to realize that persecution can be physical, mental, emotional...and spiritual.  And, our enemy is adept at using all of the above.  In areas where physical and mental abuse is possible...he'll use it.  In areas where emotional abuse is possible...he'll use it.  And in areas, like the US, where there's freedom to live and act how we choose without much chance of discrimination (for the time being that is)...he'll use the spiritual stuff to keep us bound, afraid, defeated and silent.

At is center...persecution is really all about WAR?  And that leads to a logical question...what is that war good for?  Well, I would be tempted to say "absolutely nothing", however, I already know how the war is going to end.  I know Who is going to be victorious.  So, I can say...even in the midst of persecution...with Paul, "We are pressured in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed.  We always carry the death of Jesus in our body, so that he life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body."  (2 Cor. 4:8-10)

When I'm tempted, because of my failures, to remain silent...when I'm tired and giving in to fleshly desire seems like the logical way to go...when the enemy tries to convince me that Jesus hasn't done much in my life to talk about...when he whispers that the war isn't worth fighting...I'm reminding that Jesus and His message is so much bigger than me AND HE IS WORTH IT!  The enemy may bring his worst...he may attack us and make martyrs out of us, but Christ's elect will stand!  His bride will not perish!  His saints will persevere!  He will bring about our victory because He, Himself, is our victory!  Yes, this war is good because victory is assured and each battle is worth the fight!!!!