God’s Word – Weapon Or Tool?

A great friend of mine posed the following question:

Our country, the greatest, free-est, most generally affluent, and most powerful country on the planet was born out of Christian values and principles  Today we are a land questionable values [abortion rights, gay marriage, tortured prisoners, etc.].  How do you think we, as Christians, should line up on these issues and the like?

1. Should we do as we are told?
2. Should we stand up for what God has told us and let the chips fall where they may?  And, how far is too far?

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Ephesians 6

5Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. 6Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. 7Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, 8because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.

9And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
19Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
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I think that the line that we don’t cross is Gods word – we don’t do anything contrary to it.  God’s Word is our greatest tool as well as weapon.  I say that because it helps us defend against evil and helps us to show Gods love to others both at the same time – beautiful!

I also think about what Christ did when he was faced with injustice against his Father – he loved, he forgave and he healed – even on the cross.  We are called to do the same.

1. We should always pray for, serve and show the love of Christ to everyone who is either engaging in behavior that is against God’s word or people that support that behavior (politicians included).  We should also actively support groups/organizations that show the love of God to these people.  I am not talking about Planned Parenthood or the Rainbow Coalition – I am talking about groups that minister to those we are not following the word of God.  For example – there is a group called XXX Church that ministers to people in the pornography industry.  Many people scoff at groups like this – but this is exactly what Christ did.

2. We should vote for candidates that support our Christian values.  That requires some work and prayer on our part.  Unfortunately most people don’t even try to see what the candidates stand for.

3. We should always speak the truth in love.  Remember I said that Gods word was a weapon and a tool at the same time – most people confuse the two and use his word as a weapon instead of a tool.

Love of God to everyone

mgh

Hello world!

Hi.  It’s me.  I know you’re out there.
I know you’re working as fast as you can to catch me.
I thought I should call and let you know how things stand.
I know you’re real proud of this world you’ve built, the way it works, all the nice little rules and such, but I’ve got some bad news.
I’ve decided to make a few changes.