The world is turning faster than we can keep up with it. At times, we aren’t even sure if we can keep our balance with all the turmoil that surrounds our lives. The world’s view of relationship, especially marriage, is becoming skewed at best. Divorce rates in the body of Christ are at an all-time high, and we as the church have no one to blame but ourselves. We are allowing the enemy of our souls, to rip the very fabric our vows of matrimony apart at the seams. Marriage is no longer viewed as something sacred, or something to be cherished. It’s a check list of possibilities to that no longer hold any value in the culture of today. We laugh away divorce as though it’s no more of value than a stick of gum, or a penny we find on the street. We aren’t concerned anymore about the likelihood that we will find a lifelong mate, in whom we can place our trust, our devotion, and more importantly, our heart. Why is this? Why aren’t we fighting for our marriages?

Putting things into perspective though, I can say that my wife and I have been close to being casualties of this war against marriages. This battle has been a long and sometimes very brutal conflict, which leads to the death of many marriages and relationships in Christ. The enemy is constantly trying to rip marriages apart, for one of the foundations of our faith is really based on marriage to Jesus, and an understanding of what it means to be a bride as it pertains to the body of Christ, awaiting her bridegroom, who is Jesus.  We watch with jaded eyes’ as our young people are being manipulated by the concepts and precepts of this world, who are embracing a Hellenistic society where everything is permissible, and the idea of “living for the day” is being recited in volume that can’t be hushed by standing by and doing nothing.  We are losing, plain and simple. We are losing a war, which has already been won. We are losing, because we want to lose. We don’t want to fight anymore. We have become so exhausted from the trials of our own lives, that we aren’t willing to fight for the next generation because the scars on our backs are too deep, and too painful.

There is hope though, there is always hope.  J.R.R. Tolkien wrote, “Even Darkness must pass. A new day will come, and when the sun shines, it will shine out the clearer.” Our light into the darkness is the fire of Christ that burns with in each one of us, the light of hope and the light of glory. We aren’t alone by any stretch of the imagination, unless we want to be. Why do we choose to be alone? Because we have allowed ourselves to fall sway under the influence of many possible reasons. Shame, guilt, condemnation, fear and the list are endless as to what may influence our choices to stand and fight as a congregational team, or stand and fall as an army of one. I in the past have often thought, “I don’t need anyone else; I can do this on my own.” That my friend is a lie, plain and simple, a lie we tell ourselves on a daily basis, either we are choosing to make wrong decisions, or we are being influenced by the power of the air, or really both.

We will struggle in this life time; we will struggle as a Christian. For you to believe anything different is to believe in a doctrine of demons. This new wave of prosperity Christianity is robbing God of His glory, and robbing the believer of the true power of Jesus. Why would James write the following scripture?

James 1:2-4 “2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”

Our faith must and will be tested. Our marriages will be tested, our relationships will be tested. Our belief system will be tested. Everything in our lives will be tested, so that through this testing our faith will be established in Jesus, and not in our own strength. We cannot and will not allow this world to catch us off balance! We will stand and fight the accuser of our soul and the enemy of our Lord. We must war for the salvation of our children and our grandchildren. This isn’t a choice; this is a mandate. Do not let the blood be on your hands because you sat and did nothing, when God in His word warns us. Stay with me folks, don’t let me lose you, for scripture will always speak in ways that man cannot.

Ezekiel 33:1-6

33 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman, 3 when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, 4 then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head. 5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life. 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.

Simply put; if we know the truth, and the truth is Jesus, and his scriptures are His words; if we sit and do nothing, then the blood of the lost and the broken will be on our hands. If we do not warn those who have fallen sway under the power of darkness, we will answer for not heeding the trumpet call of the Lord.

Is there someone that you know needs your prayers? Pray for them. Is there a co-worker who you know is distraught and struggling? Ask the Lord to give you the words of comfort to speak. Is there a marriage, or better yet, is your marriage breaking apart before your eyes? Stop fighting one another, swallow your hurt, your pride and your shame, and seek the Lord together. Has your life become cold, and lonely? Do not fret and do not fear, because my friend you are not alone in this fight. The body of Christ will stand will with you. The Lord of Host will stand with you. I will stand with you. Believe in prayer, believe in scripture, most of all, believe in Jesus, the lover of our soul and the Redeemer of our spirits.