Are you a Christian Pirate or a Christian Marine?

Anyone that has ever gone on a mission trip with me realizes that I operate the trip with the understanding that everyone is either a pirate or marine.  If you are a pirate I treat you like one and you live by the code of the pirates: "he who falls behind gets left behind".  (I learned that from Captain Jack Sparrow.)  Then there are Marines.  People who have shown they are valuable to the team and have proven themselves to be servants of the team and therefore have earned the right to be treated like a marine.  The marine code is: "leave no man behind".  (I learned that from Blackhawk Down – a great movie, btw).  The code of the pirates and code of the marines have brought about a lot of fun on our missions trips.  Trying to earn the Marine distinction has compelled people to do a lot of hard work as well.  And yes, there has even been a little controversy when people feel their efforts were not recognized enough to promote them in comparison to other people.  But, it is what it is... 

At any rate, all of this has led me to ask the question: Are you a Pirate or Marine?

Many Christians think they are marines but in fact they act like pirates.  They have been freed from the bondage of sin and that's all that matters.  They have the attitude that, "I'm free, so other people can take care of their own self".  We have to understand that our freedom from sin is not a result of something we did to attain it but something Christ did for us.  Don't disregard the grace of God and the kindness that He showed to lead to your freedom.  Don't go about celebrating in such a way that you forsake your responsibility to the others still in bondage.  Once you are free, remember you have a mission, the Great Commission.     

When Christ sets us free we should make it our lives goal to see as many other people as we can – as a matter of fact, everyone we know – attain the same freedom!

What if you were out hiking with a few friends and you all fell into a hole in the ground.  You are all screaming and calling out for help, then along comes a stranger and pulls you out of the hole.  Once you were freed from the hole and back on the path, would you run off celebrating, leaving your friends trapped back in the hole?  Of course not!  You would be happy that you were freed, but you would stick around and help your friends out, not resting until each of them were back on the path, free from the pit of despair. 

The same is true with God.  You have to understand that God wants you involved with His bidness of reconciling others to Him!

            So we are Christ's ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We

speak for Christ when we plead, "Come back to God!" - 2 Corinthians 5:20

All followers of Christ who have been set free are called to represent Him.  We are free to act like Him and carry His message of reconciliation to Him.  Christ is making His appeal to others through us.  His mandate is to leave no man behind! 

Are you living by that standard?  Or are you too preoccupied with enjoying your freedom – living it up and enjoying the party of life?  Are you a Christian Pirate who realizes that others are still in bondage but are too busy with your own life and living by the decree; "he who falls behind gets left behind"? 

God help us!

Word…

P. Alex

Have you ever heard this statement?  "God is in the details".  While in college, I heard this statement often and when I started my foray into the business world it was drilled in my head.  Simply put, it means that details are important.  Whatever you do should be done thoroughly.  I have learned the truth of this statement in my life. 

I was reading in the 1^st chapter of 2 Samuel and came upon a sad story.  It's the story of the death of King Saul, the first king of Israel.  The last chapter of 1 Samuel ends with what would be a modern day season ending cliff hanger.  Saul and his sons, including Jonathan, were killed during a battle with the Philistines.  A young man is now in the presence of King David and he is recounting the story of how Saul died.  The young man, of Amalekite origin, tells the story of how he personally ended up finishing Saul off after The King had been wounded in battle.  He is now bringing the crown to King David and hoping for some sort of reward.  When you go on to read the story, you see that not only does David NOT give him a reward, but he ends up killing the Amalekite, punishing him because he was not afraid to kill the Lord's appointed king.  Woah!

That's a good point and definitely worth writing about – we should not be quick to raise our hands against leadership that the Lord has appointed, even if that leadership is corrupt.  But that's not the main point of this devotion. 

What I find interesting about this story is a smaller little detail.  The young man who brought the news to King David was an Amalekite.  He was of the origin of the people that God originally told Saul to completely destroy when he first anointed him as King.  You have to go back to 1 Samuel 15:3 to see what God originally commanded Saul to do:

"Now go, attack the Amalekites and destroy everything they own as an offering to the Lord. Don't let anything live. Put to death men and women, children and small babies, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys."

Woah!  Kill everything?!  I can understand killing the fighting men, that's just a part of war.  But come on God - the woman, children and small babies?!  That's a little too cruel!  And furthermore, why do they need to kill the animals?  These animals could be used as food.  C'mon God, I just don't know about that!

Many of us would do what Saul did and partially obey.  We would take it upon ourselves to show mercy and leave some things alive – women, children, cattle, and certainly babies.  We would be confident that we know best and that our actions would be justified.  Right?  That's what Saul thought too.  And it turns out that years down the road, one of the children, perhaps one of the babies that he thought it was too cruel to kill; grew up.  As fate would have it, when Saul disobeyed God and let some of the Amalekites live, one of those young men ended up taking a sword in his hand and killing Saul.  The very same people he was supposed to destroy destroyed him.  On the day of reckoning with God, I wonder how Saul tried to explain his disobedience then.

And so it is with us…  In your life, what has God told you to completely destroy?  Do you need to get rid of a pornography addiction, your partying lifestyle, or your tendency to be dishonest and cheat?  We know these things are blatantly wrong.  So, we may try to slow down a little or not do them as much, but these old habits are hard to get rid of.  So we have a tendency to allow them to stick around.  Then there are the seemingly harmless things that we know we need to get rid of.  Likened to the children and little babies that God told King Saul to destroy?  Are there things in your life that you don't see as being bad, but with a little examination you could see why God is telling you to rid your life of them?  Things like that time consuming television habit, a distracting relationship, the job that takes up way too much of your time – so much so that you don't spend time with God or faithfully attend church?

 I mean, there is a reason that God doesn't want these things in your life.  He doesn't want anything taking your attention away from Him and the plan He has for your life!  He's not trying to be harsh and stop you from having fun, it's just that He has specific plans for you and He doesn't want anything to come back later and hinder you.  God is in the details!   You just have to trust this and fully obey Him.

Word…

P. Alex