Reflecting on the past year of writing the Strong Man Of God Blog, I am thankful to God to have served you in serving His purpose to stir up willing Christians to His cause to restore men and more accurately discern where we are at prophetically. The six blog July 30-September 3 series, “Restoring Men In The Two Minute Drill” capped off the focused effort that began with my first post of 2017. Out of His persistent love, grace and mercy, of course, God is not done speaking through me on these matters since my calling in major part as a watchman/prophet, the cause and work of the Ministry I lead are inextricably bound up together by Him (2 Chronicles 36:15-16; Luke 1:17; Acts 11:27-30).
I greatly rejoice that men wiser than I have been used of God in these latter days to also stir up the Body of His Son. One such man was Chuck Colson who was not as biblically audacious as me to consider his contribution to be from a calling to the prophetic office--though, certainly besides being an excellent evangelist, apologist for and teacher of the faith, he spoke to my heart as one; burdened as he was for us to understand the times. This edited 2012 blog repost is my tribute to Chuck Colson in gratitude for how his writings such as the book I name in it impacted me and follows appropriately after my November 12 post under the category, Bible Prophecy, “God’s Throwaways?”
Originally Posted October 21, 2012
With all due honor to the memory of Chuck Colson who with Nancy Pearcey wrote the 1999 Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. book, How Now Shall We Live?, this blog is similarly titled. I was gifted a copy of and read the nearly five hundred page work I believe contains one of the stellar, biblically solid evangelical voices of our time that will echo in the ears of the saints as darkening days continue to press in upon us. Brother Colson departed home to the Lord back in April of this year and left us many great incisive and urgent works of exhortation and instruction on living out the Christian faith with a biblical worldview in an increasingly overtly hostile world and American society.
I reference Colson and Pearcey’s, How Now Shall We Live? in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics in discussing how fathers as teachers must be intentional to demonstrate what they teach in a post-modern culture where absolute truth is no longer accepted. Colson was right in this work and so many others to warn us about the dangers of navigating this world in rebellion without a biblical worldview. He was also right to appeal for us to get our act together. Instead of hunkering down in fear waiting for "the rapture" or to suffer as the end approaches, engage our families, friends, co-workers, and neighbors that are still a mission field as the culture.
Truly, we are commissioned by our Lord to preach the Gospel and be faithful to Him to the end (Matthew 28:19-20). The Lord had to know and did; warning His apostles and us that times such as we now live in and worse would come (Mark 13:9-13; Luke 23:26-31; John 15:18-16:4). How then should we live? God is calling for Christian men and women to become strong men and great women of God in the image of Jesus Christ not because it sounds cute, but because this is the only kind of Christian the Bible has only ever presented to begin with and that will accomplish His purposes; standing by faith and faithful to the end (Matthew 16:24-27; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 3:7-16; Hebrews 11-12:2; Revelation 12:7-11)!
This call from God is obviously being made because just as the many churches have watered down the Gospel and salvation, so they have also invented their own kind of Christian foreign to the Bible. I am deeply humbled as I understand the true weightiness of the strong man of God message and cause in terms of potential impact on Christians in distilling into action the Word of God along with the work of Chuck Colson and others of our time. For the moment has come to move beyond the philosophical and analytical into the battlefield of day to day experience. Aspiring strong men and great women of God are persons completely sold out with godly hearts aflame to please Him in all obedience to His whole will, way and Word!
Only they are equipped to engage first the churches in confronting the sin and worldly compromises among those professing to be Christians--plucking some from Hell’s fire (James 5:19-20; Jude 20-23). Second, only they will care enough to engage the hostile culture bearing the cost, yet winning many souls to Christ and leaving an enduring witness to the glory of God in these latter days. A major part of their engagement in both camps is the restoration of men, families and communities to the extent our gracious God permits. Get my book inspired of the Holy Spirit, drawn from the Bible and built on the foundational work of Christians such as Chuck Colson and Nancy Pearcey to learn more about what is involved in becoming a strong man or great woman of God in the image of Jesus Christ.1
1 The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics is available at all major internet booksellers and in the Strong Man Store.
In between the frantic activities of the week, reflect on this edited 2011 repost.
Originally Posted November 18, 2011
Thanksgiving has almost been lost as “Black Friday” and the “Holiday Shopping Season” looms large. Besides the commercialism and greed for which Thanksgiving has become only a launch pad, the holiday has lost some of its luster spiritually as our secular society requires only a passing attitude of gratitude to satisfactorily celebrate the day. Thinking of the blessings of God are no longer required as the warm and fuzzy feelings of gathering with family and friends takes the top spot as the reason for having had a really great holiday.
Echoing the declaration of that ancient aspiring strong man of God, Joshua: “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord,” (Joshua 24:15, NKJV). In an extra special way from our routine on Thanksgiving, we will reflect on the goodness of our God who has saved and blessed us abundantly in so many ways over the past year. I can lead my family to do this thankfully to God, because I have a wife who lets me serve in my role and place as the head of our family. I challenge every man reading this to prayerfully seek the Lord for the courage to lead your family to at least have a special prayer time giving thanks to God if in fact, this practice has been lost in your Christian house.
Have a blessed Thanksgiving!
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