The Sound of the Guns!

Today’s Scripture Readings:
OT: Isaiah 55-56
NT: Romans 8
W&W: Psalm 81

Today’s Reflection:

In the smoke and dense fog that would surround a Civil War battlefield, it was not always possible to see where you needed to go next. In days of Civil War battles, the good commanders would lead their units to “the sound of the guns.” They knew that this was where they were needed.

What about us in Christ’s army today? Do we go to the sound of the guns? Or, are we more concerned about our own safety and comfort? Isaiah 56 deals, in part, with making sure that the people of God are concerned about those who are strangers to mercy and forgiveness and life in Jesus. God says, “Let no foreigner…say, ‘The Lord will surely exclude me from his people.’ … These I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations” (Isaiah 56.3, 7).

God has a big mission! He has engaged the forces of evil to rescue people from sin and darkness. Christ has died on the cross, defeated the grave, and risen from the dead, and now he is working to bring his victory to all nations.

Can you hear the sound of the guns? Leave your comfort and go there. Put on the full armor of God and engage the battle! Christ is calling us to his battlefield of love and sacrifice. He is calling us to do nothing less than change the world!

This Week’s Scripture to Memorize:
Put 1 John 1.5-10 together: 5This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 8If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.