Saturday, February 24, 2007

Know your enemy (part 1)

I remember as an Air Force cadet, before the end of the cold war, our training classroom had a large poster titled "Know Your Enemy." And on that poster was the emblem of the Soviet Union. Knowing our nation’s enemies was simpler back then.

What was true for Cadet Bailey, also holds true for your life as an American Christian.

For hundreds of years after Christ, Satan brought to bear against the Church obvious enemies: Gladiators. Lions. Crucifixions. Burning stakes. But the blood of the martyrs was seed; seed for the spread of the gospel. And so Satan, like our nation’s enemies, changed his tactics. The enemies to the Christian life in our culture aren’t so plain anymore. They don’t come loudly or visibly; they’re almost undetectable as they marginalize God’s kingdom on earth by lulling us into being nominal Christians. Know your enemy. It’s against this backdrop that I want to speak to you about your zeal for discipleship in a few posts.

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