Monday, October 16, 2017

Living In a War Zone

Monday, October 16, 2017
But you, my dear friends, must remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ predicted.  They told you that in the last times there would be scoffers whose purpose in life is to satisfy their ungodly desires.  These people are the ones who are creating divisions among you.  They follow their natural instincts because they do not have God’s Spirit in them.  But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life.  In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love.  And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering.  Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment.  Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives.  Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault.  All glory to him who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord.  All glory, majesty, power, and authority are his before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time!  Amen.  Jude 17-25(NLT)
Living in a war zone is not the happiest place on planet earth.  Most of us do not want to be in a place of combat.  Yet, there are enough of those places in our journey through life to validate the old phrase out of the frying pan, into the fire!
The effects of living too long under the stress of actual combat circumstances can leave one empty and debilitated.  There are a lot of names for it:  battle fatigue, combat neurosis, combat fatigue, shell shock, anxiety disorder, survivor guilt, posttraumatic stress disorder.

Posttraumatic stress disorder is an anxiety disorder associated with serious traumatic events and characterized by such symptoms as survivor guilt, reliving the trauma in dreams, numbness and lack of involvement with reality, or recurrent thoughts and images[2].  Medical studies show PTSD occurs in as much as 35% of Vietnam Veterans, 50% of survivors of natural disasters, and as high as 80% of survivors of manmade disasters, such as the chemical disaster in Bhopal, India in 1984[3].
It is a reality that the human mind was not meant to live in horror!  I have dear friends, family, and have personally experienced the PTSD effects of living in a war zone.  I am thankful for the unselfish dedication and skill of those who help victims of all kinds get through the dark periods of remembering the hell that never should have been!
Jude warns that divisions in the church would be a constant threat to the spiritual health of Christians, because war-like conditions are brought about when selfish ambition takes over.  If you have followed Christ, and been part of the church, you understand; despite the smiles on Sunday, there are spiritually shell-shocked believers in every pew.
Jude also offers the Rx for spiritual PTSD – mercy, plenty of mercy!  Those of us in the church who have tried to follow Christ faithfully, and been helped along the way with our own wavering faith, are to be there for others.  We are to be an example of what genuine faith looks like; we are to be hands-on, standing committed to shore-up the faith of those who stumble.
Contrary to the cynical remark about the church of Jesus Christ being the only army that shoots its own wounded…the genuine Church is the one that follows the example of her Master, willing to bear one another’s burdens, and even die for each other.

For You Today

There are many today who are walking around hollow-eyed, emptied of hope, and ready to give up.  Some are “former” believers, blown-apart by the struggles of the war zones of our culture.  They need someone to come alongside and be their hope while Christ becomes their salvation.
You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!


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