2010 – August 21 – Mark This Day

Blogger's Note: This entry is dated 8/22; but was actually generated for 8/21, ... not being entered on the correct date because of lack of access to Wifi while I was on an Elder's retreat. Hence it's being posted on this date (8/22). For any readers who follow daily, please forgive my tardiness. ;>)
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Study from God’s Word… 2nd Kings 24: 20 [2Chron 36: 1; Jer. 52: 3]; 2Kgs 25: 1 [Jer. 39: 1 and 52: 4]; Ezekiel, Chapter 24 … Passage for Reflection: Ezekiel 24: 1 – 2 … NIV 1 In the ninth year, in the tenth month on the tenth day, the word of the LORD came to me: 2 "Son of man, record this date, this very date, because the king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day.

My Journal for Today: As Dr. Smith points to days which will live, as FDR said, “… in infamy.” There was that day to which FDR was referring, Dec. 7, 1941, … the day Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. And there was certainly the more modern cataclysmic date of Sept. 11, 2001, which we now just refer to as “9/11.” They will never be forgotten because they were days when the world was alerted of the warlike intent of an enemy, causing our nation to go to war. And in today’s highlight passage we read of a date which was marked in the history of God’s chosen people, a day when Nebuchanezzar laid siege to Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple, a day which a number of God’s Prophets had predicted would happen.

And I’m drawn to the question which LaGard Smith uses as a wake-up call at the end of his Aug. 21st devotional entry with Ezek. 24: 1-2 in mind. He writes, ”Could this seemingly ordinary day actually be a day on which, behind the scenes, God is doing something extraordinary in my life?” We could reframe the question saying, “Is this a 9/11 date, where we should recognize the damage that the siege of sin has done in our lives, and where we should declare commitment to God that we’re going to surrender our allegiance to Him but take up warfare against our spiritual enemies?”

May 20th, 2000 was such a day for me. It’s the day that Central Church in Collierville, TN, … my local church, declared war against Satan and the world, who had established a stronghold of hypersexual sin in our culture. It was on 5/20/2000 that Central Church declared, “Enough is enough;” and we launched Battle Plan Ministry [BPM] in our church to do battle for God and against Satan for as long as it takes in this life to stand against our spiritual enemies who use sexual sin to separate the men of God from their Good Shepherd. The launching of BPM was our church’s declaration of war to honor God and do battle against enemies who would pervert and use sexual temptation to tear down God’s army of men. BPM has now been doing battle for 10 years as a warfare discipleship ministry in God’s arsenal; and though the battle still rages, many victories have been won; and for that we can only stop to declare, ”Praise the LORD!!!”

My Prayer for Today: We fight on, Lord, for Your glory! Amen