By Mike Farmer,
Dir. of Missions, McMinn-Meigs Baptist Assoc., Athens
This year is not looking very different from the previous year, however, I think that will not hold true for the entire year. I have been thinking about the new year as I am sure many of you have. What lies ahead? When are things going to get back to “normal”? If you haven’t asked some of these kinds of questions then you probably just are not thinking at all.
I do not try to make many predictions. But I am going to do so this time My prediction for the year ahead is that the church will find itself in a spiritual battle. I pray the church wakes up and realizes that politics does not have all the answers. Vaccinations for COVID-19 will not solve all of our problems. Financial resources will not meet the immediate needs.
The biggest need in our nation at this time is spiritual. As a nation, we have turned our backs on God. Even within the “church” God is not the one some turn to for help and direction. How do I know? Because I repeatedly hear church members saying things like, “We can’t do … .” When we start out like that our eyes are not on God.
Mike Farmer
Ephesians 6:12 tells us that our battle is not against flesh and blood. Our battle is a spiritual battle. Are we ready to fight on that front? We are going up against world powers of darkness. That is a daunting challenge when I think about it. I am afraid today’s church as a whole is not prepared for battle. It is time to get prepared.
We need to be getting our armor together. No army should go into battle without a great deal of planning and preparation. I believe the time for preparation is short. The battle is closer than many of us think. If you feel like you are ready, then reach out and help someone else get ready. Paul lays out the armor we are going to need to be ready for battle and then he gives two more things to do: pray and stay alert.
Are we alert? Do we recognize the spiritual needs before us? We find it hard to believe that people in the world can actually believe that life has so little value, that marriage/family is not important, that truth is different for different people, or that gender is whatever you want it to be. Every problem we see in society has a spiritual root. Therefore, the church is going to have to go to battle at the root problem. Spiritual blindness is all around us.
As we live in a dark world we must be ready to stand up to evil and spiritual darkness. We must be ready for the battle. Our objective should be to try to introduce those we are around to Jesus. Let us go forth boldly, knowing that our God is greater than any power we will come up against!
