BE MANLY!

"Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.  Let all your things be done with charity." I Corinthians 16:13-14

"Don't back down!"  God has spoken these words to me throughout my life.  Sometimes it did not make sense.  Most people would turn and run for their lives, but not me.  While unarmed, I have looked into the eyes of serial killers, mass murderers, men pointing guns at me, a homicidal maniac stalking me night and day, child killers, child rapists, and many others who have wrought death and destruction upon many families.  It is intimidating, to say the least when someone has a clear advantage over you in a life or death struggle.  However, I have been called to be obedient to God.

I know what it is like to nearly choke to death on my blood after someone shredded the inside of my mouth.  On another occasion, my head was split open.  I have been stabbed to the bone.  I have stopped breathing on more than one occasion.  A couple of times, I was revived by medical personnel; the other time, God spoke to me and said, "Edward, you are not breathing.  You need to concentrate on breathing NOW."  I opened my eyes.  I was staring up and could not roll my eyes, let alone move anything else.  I felt my soul detach from my body and realized if I did not breathe soon, I would never breathe again.  There was no one else around.  It was God and me in a struggle for life over death.  Thankfully, I survived.

We are living in perilous times.  The spirit of antichrist has been unleashed upon humanity.  Why is information so essential, and why is so much information filled with lies?  Why are people so rabid in their emotional instabilities?  Why do people not want to hear opposing viewpoints and assume others with differing perspectives are "haters" and thereby evil?

We are witnessing the beginning of the end.  Yet, this moment is not for us to throw our eyes heavenward and surrender.  God's Word compels us to stand fast, be faithful, and be strong.  We are to act with God's love and respond with kindness.  However, these responses are opposed to our natural inclinations.

In these dark days, the role of a father is vital for survival.  As we celebrate Father's Day, it is time for us to restore fatherhood to its rightful place within society.  We need to recognize that millions of children and young adults have never experienced the love of a father.  If a father was inside the home, many of them were physically, sexually, or emotionally abusive.  Other children have never known their fathers.  We are witnessing the effects of generations of children growing up without a manly role model within the family structure.  As a result, families are lying in ruins, and lives are devastated. Mothers have forsaken motherhood or are too overworked trying to make ends meet. Boys and girls have no role models outside of music, sports, and entertainment — three of the worst places to find spiritually mature men and women.

Men need to be manly.  It is time for Godly men to arise and be heard.  The silent majority is never a majority.  Merely, it is a collection of cowards and useless potential.  This hour is a time to fight for souls to be saved.  If we neglect these souls, we have blood on our hands for eternity.

"Quit yourselves like men, and fight."  This phrase was the battle cry of the Philistines in First Samuel chapter 4.  They were preparing for battle against the Israelites, realizing they were God's people who had defeated the Egyptians.  Unfortunately, Israel had forsaken God and was led by the sinful sons of Eli, the priest.  Israel lost that battle.  Those evil sons were killed, and the ark of the covenant was lost for a generation.

If those words had been the battle cry of the Hebrews in Numbers 13, they would have conquered the land instead of wasting another forty years in the desert. Rather than being manly, ten of those spies viewed themselves as grasshoppers among giants.  That pathetic majority deprived their people the opportunity to witness God's power and might.  Those people never tasted victory again, only one defeat and disappointment after another.

I have a word of caution if you are inclined to stand up for God during these dark times.  We do not fight with flesh and blood.  The enemy is not other humans.  Christ commands us to love everyone, even those who are attempting to destroy us.  It is not easy to stare at someone full of hate, violence, and harmful intentions and not want to respond negatively.  It is only through the power of God that we can respond in love.

The verse tells us to be strong and do everything with Godly love.  Your response to sinners is the ultimate test of strength.  Our natural inclinations are to lash out at opposition. God commands us to respond with His love for others. Your mind and heart have to be in the right place.  And a word of warning, you might not get a do-over or an opportunity to apologize later.  There may be no tomorrow for the individual who is currently confronting you.

Being instant in season and out of season is more than just a sermon.  It is a lifestyle.  God has not called us to be an angel merely in the pulpit or church.  We are to emulate Christ everywhere we go.  We are His followers whose lives lead others back to Christ.  This generation will be lost forever if we fail at this hour.  The margin for error is slim.

If you still want to be a wimp, be my guest.  God gave all of us a free will to be cowards.  But please step aside.  On the other hand, if you are sickened by what you have witnessed within society, BE MANLY!