Battlefields

Life has many battlefields.

On this Memorial Day 2016, we remember those who have given their life in service to their country. Their sacrifice is incredible and will never be forgot. Nor should it ever be taken for granted.

That said, we all face battles. Of the physical nature. Of the emotional kind. Under financial pressure. On the home-front. With our kids; with our spouse. And on any other Monday, where we don't have the day off due to a national holiday, on the job site or in the office space.

Of course, the conflicts come in all sorts of sizes, over a huge range of topics. It may be against one party. It may involve many.  Some you see looming on the horizon. Others, seemingly out of nowhere. One minute, all is calm... the next, anything but. Voice raised, tensions mounting and forces are suiting up.

Yet for the believer, our battles are not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers of this dark age. The sooner we realize and remember this truth when the see the tables starting to turn, the sooner we can recognize the importance of self-control and give ourselves a moment to let cooler heads prevail. These brief moments allows us to resolve internally, our determination to work through the conflict not with destructive words and fierce attitudes, but to speak life and peace into the storms that seek to take us out.

Such are the battles that have taken pastors out of the ministry. Conflicts and harsh words; fierce attitudes and people who have left their pastors standing alone at the pulpit... perhaps not physically, but they've withdrawn emotionally and spiritually. Over time, situations and circumstance have diluted and dissolved their way into the church culture whereby laying waste to the structural fabric and foundation of the body of Christ.

And the rebuilding, for whoever takes it on, is greater than Nehemiah repairing the walls of Jerusalem.

Pray, this Memorial Day, aka #seniorPastorMonday, for pastors and the battles they are facing and currently engaged in. Pray, that cooler heads would prevail as they work through conflicts and conversations. Pray that fierce attitudes would cease and that tensions would calm. Pray for an increased ability to speak words of life that encourage and build rather than discourage and break-down. Whether from the pulpit or in the parsonage, pray that the battles they encounter would not take them out of service, but they would come out victorious, by the power of the Holy Spirit, for the glory of God. May such times and their ability to navigate through them, testify to the greatness and the grace of God and that positive impacts for eternity would make their mark along the way. May people ever be grateful and appreciative of their service in ministry for the kingdom of God as we express similar gratitude for those who have served militarily for this great nation.

God Bless His Church.
God Bless The United States of America.
For His Glory and Honor.

- PNC

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