Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to
resist the enemy in the time of evil. Ephesians
6:13 (NLT)
When a soldier has been
properly outfitted, trained and pointed in the right direction, there is only one
sensible thing left to do – Join the fight I don’t know what that means for you
tomorrow, or even this afternoon; God is the one who defines and directs the
strategy. I suggest you keep an attitude
of prayer, and an open heart. He will
bring you into the battle where you’re needed, and at the right time. Good commanders know their troops.
In the days of the Roman
Emperor Nero, there lived and served him a band of soldiers known as the
"Emperor's Wrestlers." Fine,
stalwart men they were, picked from the best and the bravest of the land,
recruited from the great athletes of the Roman amphitheater.
In the great amphitheater
they upheld the arms of the emperor against all challengers. Before each contest they stood before the
emperor's throne. Then through the
courts of Rome rang the cry: We,
the wrestlers, wrestling for thee, O Emperor, to win for thee the victory and
from thee, the victor's crown.
When the great Roman army
was sent to fight in Gaul, no soldiers were braver or more loyal than this band
of wrestlers led by their centurion Vespasian.
But news reached Nero that many Roman soldiers had accepted the
Christian faith. Therefore, this decree
was dispatched to the centurion Vespasian; If there be any among your soldiers who
cling to the faith of the Christian, they must die!
The decree was received in
the dead of winter. The soldiers were
camped on the shore of a frozen inland lake.
It was with sinking heart that Vespasian, the centurion, read the emperor's
message. Vespasian called the soldiers
together and asked: Are there any among you who cling
to the faith of the Christian? If so,
let him step forward! Forty wrestlers instantly stepped forward
two paces, respectfully saluted, and stood at attention. Vespasian paused. He had not expected so many, nor such select
ones. Until sundown I shall await your
answer, said Vespasian. Sundown
came. Again the question was asked. Again the forty wrestlers stepped forward.
Vespasian pleaded with them
long and earnestly without prevailing upon a single man to deny his Lord. Finally he said, The decree of the emperor must be
obeyed, but I am not willing that your comrades should shed your blood. I order you to march out upon the lake of
ice, and I shall leave you there to the mercy of the elements.
The forty wrestlers were
stripped and then, falling into columns of four, marched toward the center of
the lake of ice. As they marched they
broke into the chant of the arena: Forty
wrestlers, wrestling for Thee, O Christ, to win for Thee the victory and from
Thee, the victor's crown!
Through the night Vespasian
stood by his campfire and watched. As he
waited through the long night, there came to him fainter and fainter the
wrestlers' song. As morning drew near
one figure, overcome by exposure, crept quietly toward the fire; in the
extremity of his suffering he had renounced his Lord. Faintly but clearly from the darkness came
the song: Thirty-nine wrestlers, wrestling
for Thee, O Christ, to win for Thee the victory and from Thee, the victor's
crown!
Vespasian looked at the
figure drawing close to the fire.
Perhaps he saw eternal light shining there toward the center of the
lake. Who can say? But off came his helmet and clothing, and he
sprang upon the ice, crying, Forty wrestlers, wrestling for Thee, O
Christ, to win for Thee the victory and from Thee, the victor's crown!
For You Today
My friend, it makes little
difference where you live, or what epoch in history; the battle is the
Lord’s. Someday the battle will be in
front of you. The question to settle
right now, right here – so that you will be ready on that day – is:
Will there be 39 or 40 when Christ calls?
That is the decision Christ
invites you to make for Him. And so the
invitation is what it has always been: Christ bids us: come and die, Christian – Come and die!
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