Council Grove Christian Church

7/8/26
Servants of God,
“For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.”
-2 Corinthians 10:3,4
 
The fourth of July brings up lots of sentiments and memories. It was a brave and audacious group of colonials who published the Declaration of Independence. That generation of leaders knew that it was one thing to publish a document; it was another to fight to make it stand. They knew the costs and they fought. Two hundred and fifty years later, we still reap the benefits of previous generations’ courage and wisdom. We dare not presume that our blessings are entitlements. Each generation must fight to keep our liberty. We must live responsibly and not as spoiled children who think we are so special we can have freedom without obligations and duties.
It is always a good thing to understand the current times and the situation you are in. I fear that  American Christians may not realize the magnitude of our times. We are in a war—a great spiritual battle. All wars must be fought with strategy, tactics and weapons. The Viet Nam War was the war of my youth. I did not serve in that war, but it was part of what shaped me. Later, as a Soldier on active duty, I was a part of a war. That shaped my life too.
The American Army in Viet Nam was vastly superior to its enemy in almost every way except one. American forces, controlled and limited by experts far from the battlefield, were not free to fight the way they knew would yield success. The enemy had no such limitations. The Vietnamese (NVA and Viet Cong) quickly came to realize that the way to fight the Americans was to use a tactic they called “Grab them by the belt buckle.”
They rightfully feared the tremendous firepower of American artillery and aviation assets. They came to realize their best chance to inflict damage on the American forces was a more or less “hand to hand” approach—or at least close enough that the Americans could not use heavy bombardments without the danger of killing their own troops.
When they realized that American politics often prevented our troops from pursuing them successfully, they perfected close quarter attacks and then escaped to safety. They took tremendous losses. They were willing to take thousands of casualties—far more than the Americans, but the North Vietnamese did not have to defeat the Americans militarily; they did not. They just had to outlast them. And they did. Politicians and experts far from the battle lost the war—not the Americans in uniform who fought bravely and sacrificially.
Using the wrong tactics and the wrong weapons can be disastrous in battle whether it is physical or spiritual. American culture is falling apart because it is disintegrating spiritually. Millions of Americans do not believe human life is a sacred gift from God. Many Americans value their pets higher than the children next door. Human sexuality has become a game of free for all. Marriage and family now mean whatever you want it to mean. Church life has become an ala carte adventure where you take whatever you like and reject anything transcendent or the least bit demanding. A nation without a firm moral foundation cannot long endure as a free people. Truth exists. God reigns. Decisions have consequences.
If Christians want to impact the culture for the glory of Christ we must fight our spiritual battle with spiritual weapons and time-tested spiritual tactics. The spread of the gospel and the change that genuine conversion to Christ brings is a close-quarters fight. We must get up close and personal with human beings. We must invest in them by teaching and encouraging and praying with and for them. We must engage in the everyday encounters that often seem mundane and lacking in the spectacular. The ordinary love for neighbor and the consistent proclamation of biblical truth yields results. It always demands time, talent and treasure but it never goes unrewarded. Even a cup of cold water offered in Jesus’ name has an impact.
We must engage in spiritual warfare and pursue relentlessly. We must stick to what works—the Word of God proclaimed; Baptism and the Lord’s Supper practiced and teaching all things that Jesus commanded must never be neglected. We must grab the demonic enemy by the belt buckle—a tactic Satan hates.
Teaching a child that he or she is a precious creation of a loving God must occur. Demanding that our church communities be both gatherings to learn biblical truth and launching pads for gospel advance is essential. We must gather to worship and fellowship and scatter to disciple the nations and to serve the least, the last and the lost.
This coming Lord’s Day we will have an opportunity to fight the good fight via our “Christmas in July” event. We will eat a fellowship meal and we will prepare supplies for Operation Christmas Child boxes and pray for the eternal success of our small efforts. I hope as many of you as possible will come laden with materials for the boxes and eager to share fellowship and prayer for this important outreach. You and I can be part of the good fight through our humble efforts. It is a spiritual war we are in. Come, and be part of the battle!
Blessings,
Pastor John
Coram Deo