In my last blog, I quoted a couple of passages from the book "This Day We Fight - Breaking the Bondage of a Passive Spirit" written by pastor and author Francis Frangipane. I also encouraged readers of the blog to read the book for themselves, believing it is a vital message for our times, if we as individual Christians and the Church in general are going to see the kingdom of God advancing and taking ground from the enemy of our souls, Satan or the thief of whom Jesus speaks in John 10:10, who comes to steal, kill and destroy.
     By way of interest, the book is divided into four main sections as follows:
                 Part 1: Anointed For War
                 Part 2: Exposing the Enemy's Weapons
                 Part 3: Fighting For Our Loved Ones
                 Part 4: Fighting For The World Around Us.
On the back cover of the book, Francis Frangipane writes:
IN THIS DAY OF ADVANCING EVIL, WILL THE CHURCH WAKE UP AND FIGHT?
There is an enemy at our gates. Though you may be aware of Satan's assault,are you praying with authority against him? If not, it is probably because Satan's first line of attack is often a spirit of heaviness, which renders Christians passive, and thus defenseless, against the unfolding battle. Indeed, if you aren't praying against the enemy, he is probably stealing something precious from you - it may be the heart of a loved one, the future of your church or the destiny of our nation. The author goes on to say that the call of God is a call to war. As we stand at the cusp of a major spiritual awakening in our land, the Holy Spirit is ready to impart a fresh anointing to God's people - an anointing that will activate the "war mode"in your heart.
     Ours is not a time of peace or surrender. No, this day we fight!
The Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
I believe there is a call of God going out across this land for true followers of Jesus Christ, who acknowledge the Bible as the inspired written Word of God, to actively STAND for truth and righteousness, with boldness and courage. Bible believing Christians who stand for Biblical truth and values will increasingly need great courage as the days ahead unfold.
May we not shrink back in fear as we face increased persecution for daring to be Christians with a Biblical worldview, but let us march on with hearts courageous, and bring glory and honour to our King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom we are assured of victory over all the power of the enemy.

To be continued

THIS DAY WE FIGHT

In his book, "This Day We Fight" - Breaking The Bondage of a Passive Spirit, American pastor and author, Francis Frangipane recounts a scene from the third film in the Lord Of The Rings movies, The Return of the King. Quoting from page 32 of the book: In a scene from the third Lord of the Rings movie, The Return of the King, Aragorn seeks to inspire his hopelessly outnumbered men against what seems like sure defeat: Hell's swarming legions have amassed before them and the courage of Aragorn's fighters is weakening.
    
Riding along the front lines of his gathered, but rather lowly, army, he shouts:
I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship. But it is not this day.....This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good earth, I bid you stand, men of the West!

Francis Frangipane goes on to say: Let us also put aside our fears and the burdens of a passive spirit. Let us take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. And let us war on behalf of righteousness. A day may come when the world will succumb to the forces of evil. But it is not this day. This day we fight.

The day we committed our lives to Jesus Christ, and He became our Saviour and Lord, we were enlisted in an army, but unlike a soldier in a physical army who may after a time decide to leave the ranks of the military and return to civilian life, our commitment to fighting our enemy is a life long one, and we dare not remain passive in our stance toward our foe, Satan, for if we do not take up the offensive position against him, he will seek relentlessly to weaken us to the point of being ineffective in the Lord's army. After all, as Jesus said in John 10:10, the thief (Satan) has his unwavering aim to STEAL, KILL and DESTROY - Us.

As I was pondering the quote above from Francis Frangipane's book, "This Day We Fight", I thought about the passage in Ephesians 6 where Paul encourages the Christian to "Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."
Four times in the verses Eph.6:10-14, Paul admonishes his readers to STAND.
Verse 13 says: Therefore, take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to WITHSTAND in the evil day, and having done all, to STAND.

As I read and watched the impassioned cry of Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings, I was amazed at the last sentence: ..........................."I bid you stand, men of the West".

It seems that as each day passes, all that we hold dear in the West, as in Western nations and society is being attacked and eroded. For those who do not hold to a Biblical worldview, there are no longer any moral absolutes. What once was white is now black with all shades of grey being accepted in between.
Truly, the words of Isaiah the prophet spoken some seven hundred years before Christ are true of our times:
"Woe to those who call evil good
 and good evil,
 who put darkness for light
 and light for darkness,
 who put bitter for sweet
 and sweet for bitter. Isaiah 5:20 NIV
Whether it concerns issues such as Abortion, Same sex Marriage, Euthanasia, or all the implications of Political Correctness, the need has never been greater than today for Christians who are committed fully to the Lordship of Jesus, and who are committed to obeying the Word of God, the Bible - To STAND FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS, and TO KNOW WHAT we are standing FOR, and AGAINST according to the unchanging standards of Truth and Righteousness in the Word of God.
To Be Continued........................................

The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn,
shining ever brighter till the full light of day.
But the way of the wicked is is like deep darkness;
they do not know what makes them stumble. Proverbs 4:17,18 NIV
\The Bible tells us that when we become Christians, we are translated from the kingdom or the power or the dominion of darkness into the kingdom of the Son of His love (Colossians 1:13. In Verse 12 Paul says that we have been called to be "partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light".

Wow! Isn't that exciting! Once we stumbled in the dark of sin and rebellion doing our own thing, living to please ourselves, BUT now we have a new purpose in living. We are people who the light of the glorious gospel of salvation has shone upon, so that we may, in turn shine forth the light we now walk in, as we walk in obedience to the Word of God for our lives.
Once we were like those whom Isaiah describes in Is. 59:9,10 Therefore justice is far from us, 
Nor does righteousness overtake us;
We look for light, but there is darkness!
For brightness, but we walk in blackness!
We grope for the wall like the blind,
And we grope as if we had no eyes;
We stumble at noonday as at twilight;
We are as dead men in desolate places.

Thank God for the written Word of God, the Bible, which the psalmist says is a Lamp unto my feet and a Light unto my path. Ps 119:105 

 Each and every one of us who have put our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour and Lord have a wonderful destiny to fulfil as we seek to walk in the light as He is in the light. Eph 5:8

I personally am being challenged by the Lord to make sure there is no hidden darkness in my life. I do not want to live my life in compromise. As the Holy Spirit shines his searchlight over our hearts and lives, let us allow Him to expose anything not pleasing or honoring to Him, and let us cast off once and for all anything which will hinder our walk with Him. I want to be in that company of believers in the Church of Jesus Christ who responds to the prophetic plea from Isaiah the prophet to:
 Arise, shine;
For your light has come!
And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. (60:1)