"Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved - and that by God." Philippians 1:27-28 (NIV)
Philippians is one of my favorite books in the Bible. Paul wrote this encouraging us to be joyful in suffering, serving, believing and giving! Chapter one is all about the joy of suffering. I pray that Christians, including myself, be humble to accept the fact that opposition will always come to the door of your heart.
As I read the Scripture above, I led myself on a journey back into the Old Testament to the time of Gideon in the book of Judges (Judges 6-7). If you don't know the story about Gideon, I recommend that you read this section of the book as well as the rest of the judges during the times of Israel. We understand that Israel was oppressed by the Midianites because Israel sinned against God. God handed Israel over to the Midianites in hope that Israel will repent. Eventually, they cried to God asking for His help. God sent Gideon as a judge to defeat the Midianites and freed Israel from bondage. Read this small part of this chapter where the Midianites turned against one another in Judges 7:22, "..the Lord caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords." Man! They were asleep as Gideon and God's army encircled them creating an ambush. When Gideon and God's armies blew a war-cry, the soldiers woke up, dazed and didn't know what was happening and turned on each other because it was dark outside. They killed their own! And God handed the victory to Israel because of their repentance.
Let's turn this the other way around. Let's picture Satan in the body of Gideon. Satan uses his armies to encircle the camp of God's church. Their eyes are on us. Many churches fall because they aren't unified! Many churches split over a mere issue. But Paul encourages the believers to be unified, as they "stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith." How sad that much time and effort is lost in some churches by fighting against one another instead of uniting against the real opposition! It takes a courageous and conquering church to resist in-fighting and maintain the common purpose of serving Christ.
Lord Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your great love that You have lavished on us through Your Son, Jesus Christ. I pray that Your church continues to grow in the faith. Please lead Your church in the right direction according to Your Word. Indeed, Satan has been working extremely hard to cause trouble among the church and I pray that we will keep alert and together stand firm as conquerors of the faith. Let us do a "war-cry", as a church together, against Satan's counter-attack. Lord, if there's anyone in Your church that's self-seeking with a desire to cause more harm than good in Your church, I pray that such person will repent and take his/her stand with us. Otherwise, we know You will judge such person because you gave us a sign that such person will be destroyed. Lastly, I pray that every Christian will be a "NIKE MAN"! Let's SWOOSH Satan! Lord, we embrace You and Your Son forever. In Jesus' Name, Amen!
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