“Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life- in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing” (Philippians 2:14ff).
We are living in a critical space. Literally. It’s easy to stand by like a christian wallflower and watch as the world implodes. It’s easy to stand back and judge as though we are holier than all pagan practices. It’s easy to honker down in our tribes and homes until Jesus comes back, without proclaiming that the Day is drawing near. Culture is shifting, and the church at large is standing idly by, concerned only about their four and no more. Focused on their own family, and their own goals the majority of Christians have forsaken the Great Commission. We as the body of Christ to put first things first. Remember our first love.
It’s time to bring God back into the culture. Bringing God back into our daily living, first and foremost in our homes. Why? Because revival starts in our hearts and at the hearth of our homes. God gave the Israelites specific instructions in the Shema, (Deuteronomy 6:4ff) “Hear O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” The Israelites took these instructions literally (orthodox jews still practice today) created the mezuzah and the tefillin to adhere to the law of Moses. But we as disciples of Jesus today, should be conversing about God in our homes as if he is there- because He is. From sun-up to sundown, the conversations we have with our children should point to the existence of God, the wisdom that comes from daily reading of the bible, and applying the truths of the bible to everyday living. Children teach what they are taught. Children are the key to the future, and that’s why the attack on them is raging today.
The Critical Space of American Culture Today
To be honest, I’d never thought I’d see today in this nation as it is. And I’ll be the first to admit, by my acquiescence, I have personally contributed to where we are as a nation today. As an American Christian, I have been a weak and passive objector. While it does impact a bottom line, silently vowing to withhold money from retailers like Target isn’t the answer and isn’t going to turn the tide. It takes voices. It takes being brave in the face of aggressive opposition. It takes an uprising.
God’s word says in Isaiah 59:19, that when we as disciples fear God more than we fear men, “So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.”
Today I want to challenge you to into a new level of holy fear (reverence) for God, rather than fearing man.
I object to the moral debasement of society and life rooted in a satanic agenda for such a time as this. I object to the indoctrination of our children around transgender ideologies. I object to retailers selling satan as cool and inclusive, and spinning secular humanistic lies to our youth while adults practice the deceptive art of tolerance. I object to other American Christians who are either afraid to use their voice or have become diluted in their biblical worldview, clinging to love covers a multitude of sins. Love does cover a multitude of sins, but genuine love for a person indicates that we speak God’s truth to them out of love. Not in a way that is aggressive or right wing, but in a way that calls out the things that have bound by the enemy to prevent life on all fronts. To utterly destroy God’s creation.
Shining Like Stars
The verse at the beginning of this text iterates that we are to become blameless and pure so that we can shine like stars in the universe while we offer the world the word of life through Jesus Christ. To do this, we are to do EVERYTHING without complaining or arguing. We present the gospel through our speech and our actions. We stand as vessels, carrying the beacon of Hope through this dark world. We do not engage in vain imaginations and idols set up in high places by world systems that are meant to deceive many. We know the weapons of our warfare are mighty to the pulling down of strongholds. We use those weapons daily. We are not cowering christians, wringing our hands as we watch to see what will happen next. We do battle in the spirit and we eagerly wait for holy manifestation in the physical.
We show up. In our homes, our communities, our local governments. We pray. We say that we pray. We share our faith. It’s time to stop being timid for fear of offending someone.
When God created, the first thing He did was speak. He used his voice to call those things that were not into existence. He gave you a voice to create. He gave you a sword as your weapon. He gave you prayer to change atmospheres. Will you rise up? Will you refuse to be silent while the offensive tactics of the enemy are unleashed to mow down all of creation as we know it? Choose this day whom you will serve.
Stars are in the atmosphere above us at all times, but we only notice them when it’s night. When it’s dark. It’s time to rise and shine.
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