I was named after two of my uncles. Uncle Lesley signed up on December 8, 1941 and served 20 years as a B-22 pilot. Uncle Bob faked his age and raised his hand at age 17. My dad was drafted, my brother volunteered and I did too. Patriotism to Old Glory runs high in my family.

There is no way you can get around the fact that the purpose of our military is to fight. It is to either prevent an enemy from coming on our soil or to stop one that has. Every person who has ever raised their hand and sworn allegiance to uphold our Constitution and follow the leadership of our Commander in Chief knows that their primary purpose is to be willing at any time to engage in battle. We trained 24-7 to prepare us for something we hoped would never happen.

When an individual raises their hand and says “Yes” to Christ, they are immediately inducted into the Army of God. The Scripture refers to them as “soldiers of the cross.” We must realize that the Christian life is NOT a stroll down the Yellow Brick Road. It’s a constant battle between good and evil.

If we think that one hour a week on Sunday is all we need to do to win the battle, we are greatly mistaken. As a “soldier of the cross” we must become prepared. Some people spend more time practicing their golf swing; zeroing in their deer rifle or exercising at the gym rather than training for their spiritual life.

Remember, the enemy never sleeps and he is constantly on the prowl “seeking whom he may devour.”

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 13th, 2007 at 6:00 pm and is filed under From The Pulpit. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.