Recently the words of Coach Bill McCartney at the first Promise Keepers conference that I attended in Boulder Colorado in 1993 have been ringing in my ears. Coach McCartney said that, ?We have been in a war but we have not been at war.?

Recently the words of Coach Bill McCartney at the first Promise Keepers conference that I attended in Boulder Colorado in 1993 have been ringing in my ears. Coach McCartney said that, ?We have been in a war but we have not been at war.? For many people, the attacks of September 11, 2001 brought a sharp reality that there are people in this world who wish us harm. Although many times it seems more subtle, we have a spiritual enemy who wishes to do us harm and it is a big mistake to be unaware of or unprepared for this war. In many places, the Bible speaks of the Christian life in terms consistent with warfare. In II Corinthians 10:3-4, Paul writes, ?For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.? Spiritual battle requires weapons and preparedness. I read recently of a navy seaman?s story. His name is Roy Robertson and he recalls a very significant moment in his life and the life of our country. ?My ship, the West Virginia, was docked at Pearl Harbor on the evening of December 6, 1941. A couple of the fellows and I left the ship that night and attended a Bible study. About fifteen sailors sat in a circle on the floor. The leader asked us to each recite our favorite Scripture verse. In turn each sailor shared a verse. I grew up in a Christian home, went to church three times a week, but I sat terrified. I couldn?t recall a single verse. Finally, I remembered one verse?John 3:16. I silently rehearsed it in my mind. The spotlight of attention grew closer as each sailor took his turn. It was up to the one next to me. He recited John 3:16. He took my verse, as he commented on it I sat there in stunned humiliation. In a few moments everyone would know that I could not recall a single verse from memory. I went to bed thinking, ?Robertson, you?re a fake.?
?At 7:55 the next morning, I was awakened by the ship alarm ordering us to battle stations. Three hundred and sixty planes of the Japanese Imperial Fleet were attacking our ship and the other military installations. My crew and I raced to our machine gun emplacement, but all we had was practice ammunition. So, for the first fifteen minutes of the two-hour battle, we only fired blanks hoping to scare the Japanese airplanes. As I stood there firing fake ammunition I thought, ?Robertson, this has been how your whole life has been?firing blanks for Christ.? I made up my mind as Japanese bullets slammed into our ship. If I escape with my life, I will get more serious about following Jesus.? Robertson later went on to help Dawson Trotman found the Navigators, a group that has a fruitful ministry with college age men and women. The attack on Pearl Harbor caught our nation by surprise. We should never be surprised when spiritual battle invades our life. We have an enemy who wants to destroy us. It is key that we learn his tactics and prepare for his attacks. There is a question for all of us that is brought out by Roy Robertson?s story - ?Am I really in the fight or am I just firing blanks?? Four years after September 11, 2001 and almost 64 years after Pearl Harbor, we are still haunted by the question, ?How could we have been more prepared?? I thank the Lord that we have His promise of ultimate victory - that everything will be put under His feet. At the same time I know that I will face spiritual battles in my life and when I thrust into the action, I don?t want to be firing blanks.

God Bless
Pastor Frank

Copyright © by Access Christian All Right Reserved.

Published on: 2005-10-02 (1858 reads)