| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Steadfast and immovable” Our Bible verse for today: “One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid, keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you …” Acts 18:9-10 (NIV) Our thought for today: “No timid silence, please” If you’ve been following the events in eastern Europe then you may be aware that after decades of being officially “neutral”, both Finland and Sweden are on the verge of applying for membership in NATO. Russia has become so aggressive, and poses such a serious threat to her neighbors, that both countries have concluded they can no longer safely afford to remain neutral. They have to pick a side. The Holocaust survivor, author, and Nobel prize winner, Elie Wiesel once wrote, “I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” Wiesel was entirely correct. If a brutal aggressor like Russia cannot convince you to be their ally, they will settle for your neutrality. If they can get you to simply stand aside, inactive and silent, that will suffice for their purposes. Satan operates in exactly the same way. If he can’t get Christians to actively engage in his schemes with him, he will settle for our neutrality. If he can get us to stand aside, timidly silent and inactive, that will suffice. We cannot allow that to be the case. As we learned yesterday, we need to be people actively engaged in the arena of life. We need to be steadfast and immovable in our resolve to oppose evil. We must be people who will speak up and take action when and where it is needed. What was true for Paul in Acts 18:9-10 (above) is also true for us. The Lord urges us to put aside our fear and doubts, to speak up and to act as necessary. He is with us just as He was with Paul. In Proverbs 31:8-9 Solomon spoke to this as well: “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” As Christians we don’t have the luxury of remaining neutral in the face of sin and injustice. Our neutrality aides the enemy. We have to pick a side and take a stand. As we do so we must be cautious that our words and actions are in accordance with Biblical principles, and that we don’t allow uncontrolled anger to lead us to become sinful in our own words and actions, but we do need to pick a side and take a stand. No timid silence, please. God bless, Pastor Jim |
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