Darkness seems to be closing in around us with all the craziness in the world today. Concrete proof has been given that the mainstream media can’t be trusted and manipulates the news.
Congressmen and women won’t compromise and won’t approve anything that our president proposes. New York lights the Trade Center up in pink and representatives celebrate the abortion bill. Hate speech everywhere, including from our elected representatives in Washington, DC.
We just went through a partial government shutdown and the news in Washington is frustrating. In fact, if you start dwelling on it too much, you too will become very frustrated. We are in a battle of good vs. evil and I’m sorry but many in Washington, have sold their souls to the devil. Their actions shout it loud and clear.
Christianity is being attacked and the vice president’s wife was attacked because she works in a Christian school. Christians aren’t allowed to have their beliefs and live in peace. We are being attacked. Yet, the opposite side injects their beliefs into our society without repercussions and won’t allow us to say anything. We just have to accept it, take it and smile. Ugh no!
Believe it or not, I’m not a confrontational person. I’d much rather have a debate and part as friends in a disagreement. I’d choose peace any day of the week over drama and arguments.
We need a revival in our land and Christians need to get on their knees and face seeking God. We need to pray for our country and our leaders, even those we do not like. We also need to start speaking out and taking our rights back. There is a time to be still and quiet and a time to stand up and speak. That time is now, unless you are prepared to lose our country and our voice. Christians have been silent way too long.
We seem to think we aren’t supposed to stand up and say anything. Jesus took a lot of things, but there were times when He spoke up and put people in their places. There were times His words stung those to whom he was replying. There were even times when His words seem harsh to us. As Ecclesiastes tells us, there is a time for everything and that means a time to raise our voice and speak out against those attacking us.
Life isn’t always sunshine and rainbows and whether we realize it or not, we are always in a fight. We have to fight for our marriages, our children, to eat right, to be heard by our doctor, sometimes to keep our jobs and pay our bills. A spiritual battle is going on around us daily. Life as a Christian is not easy and we shouldn’t just be sitting around passively waiting for Christ to return.
Just as we fight for all the other things, there comes a time when Christians need to fight for our faith; a time to stand up and join in the battle between good and evil, truth and lies, light and darkness.
In the book of Jude, he appeals to Christians to “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. (Jude 1:3). Contend means fight. That doesn’t mean we should go around looking for a fight. However, when godless ideas and agendas distort the truth of God and proclaim themselves “champions” for their cause, Christians should speak up and address the untruths.
Paul put is this way in 2 Corinthians 10:5: “We tear down arguments and every presumption set up against the knowledge of God.”
Just like any good fighter who steps into the boxing ring, we have to be prepared for such a battle. We have to know what we are talking about when confronting evil and lies. The way we do that is reading God’s word, praying and seeking his guidance. We need to be strong in our faith and our fighting spirit should come from the love of God and others. You see when love pushes us to fight we are fighting against those ideas, not the individuals. 1 Timothy 6:12 also tells us to fight the good fight of faith.
Yes, where possible we need to live in peace but as Paul says, we should put on the whole armor of God and fight those battles that we must concerning our faith. Prayer is a good first step in our fight. It’s something each of us can do. When called upon to speak up against evil, we should. As it has been said, evil happens when good people do nothing. Now is not the time to be lazy about our prayer life or our relationship with God.
Shortly before Jesus was arrested He instructed his disciples to defend themselves (Luke 22:36). He indicated to defend with swords if it came to that. For too long we have been held back because we are told to keep silent. When silence brings slaughtering the innocent, it’s time to end the silence. It is possible to be engaged in the fight without compromising our convictions. The Bible tells us to resist evil. That sometimes means taking a stand in order to preserve our freedoms, to defend innocent people and to keep evil from spreading. The day for taking a stand has come. ©2019

VICTORIA SIMMONS Is a columnist, author, motivational speaker, minister and publisher of The Georgia Post/Byron Buzz. Contact her at: vsimmons54@gmail.com