Shoulder To Shoulder #1292 -- 5/23/22 ---- "Knowing What You're Fighting For"
Posted by: lifeunlimited <lifeunlimited@...>
SHOULDER TO SHOULDER is a weekly letter of encouragement Bob has written since 1997, covering many topics selected to
motivate people to be strong students of the Word and courageous witnesses of Jesus Christ. It is a personal letter of
encouragement to you, written solely to help "lift up hands that hang down".
"The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything." -- Albert Einstein
“There is a common, worldly kind of Christianity in this day, which many have, and think they have -- a cheap Christianity which offends nobody,
and requires no sacrifice, which costs nothing, -- and is worth nothing.” – J. C. Ryle
Shoulder To Shoulder #1292 -- 5/23/22
Title:
"Knowing What You're Fighting For"My Dear Friend and Fellow Kingdom Builder:
Greeting again from the Sonoran Desert of southwestern Arizona. Things are indeed heating up out here, and almost all of the snowbirds are long gone. In Yuma no more than 100 people remain in the Fortuna de Oro RV resort, and perhaps fewer than that here at Rancho Rialto where our permanent home is located. We should be leaving this week, but some last minute appointments are delaying us several days so it looks like we won't get to Greer until soon after Memorial Day -- hopefully by Wednesday of that week. Our Summer ministry begins there on June 5th. So, there will probably be one more "Shoulders" letter from here.
Three things weigh heavy on our hearts these days -- Putin's war in Ukraine, primary elections, and the tragic shooting in Uvalde, TX. Frankly, it's hard to sort everything out these days. It seems like our three primary enemies of the soul -- the world, the flesh, and the devil -- are assaulting you and me from every side. If your attitudes seem to border on evil, your emotions act like a gyrating yo yo, and your understanding gets cloudy, . . .
Join the club!
More times than not, our days seem to be either assaulted or enticed by one or more of these areas -- and others. Most days I feel like I'm a juggler trying to keep twelve objects of varying sizes, shapes, and weights in the air with only one hand. It's enough to make you want to go away and hide somewhere. We are truly at war on many fronts, both here and in other parts of the world.
As Christians, you and I are certainly not surprised by what is happening. After all, it was all predicted in the Bible. But, sometimes we forget that Jesus Himself told us it would happen -- and that we should be neither surprised nor discouraged. He said it was going to happen in this world system, stating , . . .
"For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will." (Mt 24:21).
He also went on to indicate that it would happen to us, saying, . . .
"These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." (Jn 16:33).
Without going into a long and drawn-out discourse on Bible prophecy -- all of which points toward increased unrest, conflict, and chaos -- I'd like to share some thoughts about how we need to live in a culture turned rotten, an agenda turned destructive, and a system in varying stages of collapse. So, let's do that, right after you take a look at . . . .
THIS 'N' THAT:
+ Ukrainian National Anthem: -- It seems that just about everyone is singing the Ukrainian National Anthem in light of Putin's invasion of the country. I have listened to many of them on YouTube. You might want to do a YouTube search to find your favorite. I have about six favorites, and this is one of them sung by thousands of Estonians and Estonian Ukrainians. Watch it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWSMdxAxW3c
+ Broken Hearts and Feigned Outrage: With the tragic events in Uvalde, Texas, we are again deeply grieved over the horrible deaths of nineteen precious children and two courageous teachers -- and one troubled young man. I don't know about you, but I am incensed that once gain someone uses such a tragedy to try to score political points. Will such things ever end? Pray with me that both will end. Both are totally senseless.
QUOTES FOR THE WEEK:
> "If you don't risk anything you risk everything" -- Mark Zuckerberg
> "The ultimate secret to growth is finding something worth fighting for -- Brendon Burchard (author, motivational coach)
> "You cannot love a thing without wanting to fight for it." -- Gilbert K. Chesterton
> "When you know what you are fighting for, you can go through anything." -- Unknown Ukrainian soldier (under fire in Donbas)
> "If you want to know just how much you love something, ask whether or not you will fight for it. If you won't fight for it, it's because you don't really love it." -- T. Allen Robburts
> "A cause worth fighting for is worth fighting for to the end." -- Grover Cleveland
> "If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing well. If it is worth having, it is worth waiting for. If it is worth attaining, it is worth fighting for. If it is worth experiencing, it is worth putting aside time for." -- Oscar Wilde
> "Warriors don't negotiate; they take authority." -- Sarah Shipley (Christian author)
> "Standing firm in the Armor of God doesn't stop the spiritual warfare from raging; it stops it from defeating you." -- Unknown
> "Spiritual warfare is not waged on physical battlefields with bodies, dirt, broken bones, and carnage. Victory in spiritual warfare is won as we learn truth, understand it, and live wisely in the fear of the Lord." -- A. M. Brewster
> "Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's." -- Chron 20:15
> "God never promised us lives of ease when we commit our lives to Him. He promised that He'd never forsake us or leave us to face the adversities and fight the battles without His presence -- and without His power. So, buckle up, suck it in, and join the charge, for the enemy is on the run." -- T. Allen Robburts
HOW TO YOU RESPOND TO THAT!!!
"When you know what you are fighting for, you can go through anything." -- Ukrainian soldier (under fire hiding in a ditch in Donbas)
When I heard this young, handsome Ukrainian say this in a TikTok video he posted, I was taken aback. He was lying in a ditch behind a row of trees, flat on his stomach listening with head ducked as Russian mortars and rockets sailed overhead and exploded, bombarding the general location of his unit not far away. He explained that he and his partner didn't dare trying to return to the protection of where his unit was located for fear of revealing exactly where his fellow warriors were positioned. So, they stuck it out until it was safe to return to cover.
I wish I could find the link so you could watch it for yourself. I keep going back to watch it again. If you can find my Facebook page and scroll down through numerous entries, you might be able to find it and watch it. My Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/bob.tolliver.52 . I do hope you can watch it -- and watch it all. The English subtitles are quite good, so you will easily understand his whispered commentary.
The more I have thought about this young man and what he said, I am confronted with two applications -- my fight for the soul of my country, and my fight for the kingdom of God. My mind switched back and forth between the two, for the first is in grave danger, and the second is being expanded. The "Wow!" of his statement kept haunting me, and still does two days later. Troubling questions also keep coming to mind. I don't particularly like them. In fact, I don't like them at all: --
1. Do I know What I am fighting for?
2. Am I prepared to go through anything?
The Apostle Paul often referred to the life of the Christian as being that of a soldier. Out of the nine times the word "soldier" appears in the New Testament, Paul uses it six times in writing to four groups of Christians -- those in Corinth, those in Philippi, those in Philemon's household, and to young pastor Timothy. He wrote, . . .
"You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier." (II Tim 2:1-4)
There is so much in this passage to dissect and try to understand, but we'll have to leave that to another time, lest this letter again becomes unbearably long. Rather, let's look more closely at those two questions I just posed to you:
WHAT AM I FIGHTING FOR?
What are you fighting for? Do you know? The men and women of Ukraine know: -- they are fighting for the soul of their country; they are fighting for freedom; they are fighting for the survival of their country. They didn't start the war; they didn't even ask for it. Now in its 8th year, it brought the nation to a full awareness last February when bombs, missiles, and rockets began to rain down throughout the entire country. Until then it had been relegated to a small sliver of land along the eastern border with Russia.
The war was started by Russia. If all reports are accurate, many of Russia's military, economic, and political advisors didn't want the war either. Nonetheless, it is here. Throughout the war in Ukraine, Putin's forces have made four major efforts to encircle Ukraine. The first attempt was to come in from three sides (Crimea to the south, Russian territory to the east, and Belarus to the north. They wanted to take the entire country. They failed.
So, they tried the second time to encircle the eastern portion of the country generally along the east bank of the Dnipro (Dniper) River, but including major cities (Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolayiv, Dnipro, etc.) They failed again. They even lost all territory to the north including Chernobyl, the strategic airfield at Hostomel, and the city of Chernihiv.
Their third attempt was to encircle the whole of the Donbas region, but while fighting is continuing, they have again failed to conquer it. In fact, they not only lost control of Kharkiv (the second largest city in the country), but Ukrainian forces pushed the Russians back almost to the Ukrainian border with Russia, causing Putin to move his troops farther south to the Donetsk area.
Their fourth and current attempt is now to encircle the Sievierodonetsk metropolitan area currently under Ukrainian control. If they can close that small gap remaining open, the Russian forces will try to do there what they successfully did in Mariupol on the shores of the Sea of Azov. Ukraine's President Zelensky is again pleading for specific weaponry that could prohibit that encirclement from being accomplished, and that would be another humiliating defeat for Russian forces.
As strange as it may sound and as irrational and desperate as Putin seems to be, the Russian forces want to get out of this war with at least a secure land bridge to the Azov and to Crimea. This would give them control of all but a small access to the Black Sea by Ukraine, running essentially from Mikolayiv to the historical region of Bessarabia, most of which lies in Moldova. If Russia were to gain control of that region, Ukraine would be completely cut off from all oceanic access, Moldova could easily fall into Russia's hands because of its "I'm in it for myself" president, and that leads directly to Romania.
In a way, you may be involved in attack that is similar. While Satan may want to seduce and capture you entirely, he is prone to take what he can. Russia could not take all of Ukraine because Ukraine fought back hard enough to repel them, and Russia didn't have the resources to actually do what it wanted to do. The same is true with Satan. If he cannot have all of you, he will take what part of you that he can.
He will peck away at things that seem to be minor or irrelevant, all the while setting up a strategy to capture that part of you that is strategic and critical. There is an odd connection sometimes between affection and affliction -- that which you love most will be that which Satan will try to imprison first. If he can encircle the strategic, he will get the rest -- eventually.
In the video clip, while rockets and missiles fly overhead and explode not far from him, he described how remembering why he was there gave him courage to fight, even under the most dangerous places and conditions -- to stop evil, to protect family, land, nation. He said that remembering that made what he was doing and where he was located to be easy. He said, "In these moments everything becomes easy. When you know what you are fighting for, you can go through anything."
Having a real reason -- a purpose -- makes all the difference in the world to how we behave, what we possess, and what we accomplish. So, perhaps it would be a good idea for you and me to get really honest and decide what it is we're fighting for. Three things are precious to me -- and are worth fighting for. They are my nation, my family, and the message and mission of the Kingdom.
Because my nation has been the bastion of truth and the Gospel and the launching pad for the Great Commission, I fight for its survival. But, its days will someday come to an end. Because my family is God's gift to me, I fight for its prosperity -- not financial, but moral and spiritual -- to be salt and light in a tasteless and dark world. Because the Kingdom of God is the lone thing that has eternal value, I fight for the proclamation of its message and the expansion of its scope.
Nothing else matters very much.
HOW AM I FIGHTING?
Well, I guess that question involves several others. For example, . . .
1. With what weapons am I fighting? We've dealt extensively in past letters about the weapons Paul described in Ephesians 6. Paul prefaced that list by saying, . . .
"Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm." (Eph 6:11-13).
Today Ukrainian warriors are fighting a tyrant who has seemingly lost his reason and logic -- just as certainly as he has apparently lost his health. His Karate' demonstrations, horseback riding, and hockey games failed to halt its invasion. Ukrainians are now holding their own against such a madman and his hordes, and one day they will win. They have a reason that Putin does not have -- nor does he want it. They fight for freedom achieved but not yet secured. In the long run, freedom always wins out over tyranny -- because the enslaved can endure slavery only so long before there is a revolt. You would think Putin would know that. But, apparently he learned nothing from the history of which he boasts.
Currently we Americans are fighting crime, economic chaos, political corruption, commercial shortages, moral collapse, riots, racial divisiveness, and more. Behind it all, though, is the same entity of which Paul wrote above. We are losing many of the battles in our greater war because we don't see who is really behind it all. He is the same one that caused Roman chaos in Paul's day -- the devil and all of his many schemes and tricks. As long as he can deceive us into fighting in the human realm, we'll never gain victory in the spirit world where it all rests.
While Ukrainian forces are really "taking it to them" against Russian forces superior in number, the war would much farther along in Ukrainian victory if they had the right weapons. The planes, Iron Dome missiles, and long-range artillery that they so desperately need -- and the West is slow to deliver -- are not available to them at the moment. If they had them, the war might actually be over by now. But, because of political cowardice, partisan genuflexing, spineless compromise, and economic protectionism, Ukraine is forced to fight the needed long-rage war with short-range weapons and hit-and-run tactics. Imagine what they could do if they had the right weapons.
The first step to assessing any struggle -- long before any battle engagement takes place -- is to know the facts. One must know the truth of the matter if he is to successfully strategize the battle plan and then initiate the plan and engage the enemy. Satan thrives when armies fight the right battle, but in the wrong place just as much as when they fight the wrong battle, but in the right place.
Every successful military campaign begins with and rests upon accurate facts -- truth. This is why Paul begins his inventory of armor with the belt of truth for the "loins". The pelvic area of the body is the fulcrum of the entire bodily action and mobility. Balance is there as with a gyroscope. Leverage originates there. Strength is centered there.
Everything in the battle centers in the loins -- everything in spiritual battles of any kind depend on truth. If you don't have truth -- no, if you don't have AND USE truth, the intimidation of the enemy will frighten you, the strategies of the enemy will confuse you, and the deception of the enemy will mislead you ---- and you will lose. Every time, you will lose. On the other hand, He also told us that when we will grasp, comprehend, and use the truth, we will be set free from whatever is doing battle with us. Truth will do the same for America in our battles during these days of gross deceit and devious lying.
The only offensive weapon Paul listed is the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. That's interesting, because Jesus told us that it was itself, Truth. He said, "Sanctify them in the truth. Your Word is truth." (Jn 17:17). The word, "Sanctify" means to "set apart from, set apart for, and set apart to". Truth is an imperative for all peaceful and productive life, but it is particularly true for the Christian's life. The Psalmist wrote it in blazing descriptive, exclaiming, "The sum of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting." (Ps 119:160).
There are other significant questions we could ask and try to answer -- such as, In what authority am I fighting? How well am I fighting? How long am I willing to fight? Will I ever consider compromise? What am I willing to give up in order to end the fighting? But, I don't want to complicate the real point of today's letter, so will consider one more question as to . . . .
2. What model of fighting am I using?
One of the major flaws in Russia's efforts to take Ukraine is that to a large extent they are still using the methods of conventional warfare from WW Wars I and II, while Ukrainian soldiers are using guerilla warfare tactics taught to them after 2014 by United States special forces. You would have thought that Russia's ten years of failure in Afghanistan using WW II methods would have taught them a lesson, but it apparently didn't.
The United States first ran into guerilla warfare style fighting carried on by small teams of Vietcong fighters moving in tunnels, hidden trails, and tree branches in their uniforms when they were trying to rid Vietnam of a Communist takeover. We never did fully understand the tactic and, along with no clear command or expectation to win the war, we left with our tails dragging in the bloody dirt.
The reason Ukraine is fighting today is because 1) they used the wrong fighting model, and 2) they didn't fight to win, but only to compromise.
This is much like the kind of fighting many Christian are doing today with the hopes of saving their children from being shot down by either bullets or critical race theories and wokism, of saving their nation from a complete Socialist takeover, or simply making it to heaven by the skin of their teeth. Most of us are more interested in getting out of here than we are doing battle for the preservation of our nation or the proclamation of the Gospel to all the peoples of the world.
So, we have a choice -- we can fight only to survive, or we can fight for victory. If we fight only to survive, we will go through only what is necessary, and avoid the rest. IF we fight for victory, then we will go through whatever it takes to gain the victory. Our battle has no place for Cowardly Christians; neither is there any place for Compromising Christians.
WILL I GO THROUGH ANYTHING?
When I think of what the families of Uvalde, TX are going through in their devastating grief, it gives me pause to wonder what I would be willing to endure. When I think of all the garbage filling the halls of Congress, I wonder how much more I can stand. When I think of my many friends in and from Ukraine, I wonder how they do it -- and if I could do it. When I think of that young soldier lying in the ditch behind that row of trees, I wonder where he gets his courage -- and his smile.
First, I think he has the courage because he has resigned himself to the inevitable -- there WILL be struggles. Jesus told us that about following Him. He told us it's part of this world's system and values -- "In this world you have tribulation" (Jn 16:33). He didn't say we "Will" as if it is something to anticipate. Rather, He said, you "DO" have tribulation. It's part of the package. It's part and parcel of man's fallen nature due to Eden's rebellion. Resign yourself to the fact.
But then, steel yourself. This is what I saw in that young Ukrainian soldier. He understood that because of the Inevitable, he had to rise to the Essential -- know why you're fighting. He knew. He knows. That means it's fighting time. That means to go through anything and everything -- in order to win.
There are hundreds of lessons to be learned from Ukraine. Millions of people around the world have a new respect and appreciation for Ukraine. Even though they are oblivious to the centuries of hardships, invasions, and tragedies Ukrainian people have endured, they still see in this current situation a people they didn't know had the will, the courage, and the strength to resist -- and even repel -- the massive Russian army built by the Soviet system of years past.
But, one of the greatest lessons to be learned is not found just in the determined face and clenched fist of Ukraine's newest hero, President Zelensky. It isn't found only in the stubborn anger seen on the faces of the refugees. It isn't seen only in the efforts of those making dangerous excursions into the heat of battle and the ruins of war to deliver aid and rescue those left behind. That lesson is found in the simple statement of that Ukrainian young man hunkered down in a ditch with a smirk and a smile on his face . . . .
"In these moments everything becomes easy. When you know what you are fighting for, you can go through anything."
There is so much more that could be said about this matter. But, it should be sufficient that we listen to what God is saying from His Word about it all -- to us all.
FINALLY:
There is an old Irish tale about the story of a man who arrived at the gates of heaven and asked to be let in. St. Peter happened to be manning the gate, and replied, “Of course, just show us your scars.” The man replied, “I have no scars”. St. Peter declared, “What a pity! Was there nothing worth fighting for”?
It makes me wonder: -- Do I have any scars? Do you have any scars? Not scars from suffering, but scars from fighting? To quote that young Ukrainian soldier risking his life for his country, "When you know what you're fighting for, you can go through anything."
I truly do hope you can watch the video. As we travel along this battle march, maybe we should remember what he said.
And what St. Peter reportedly said, . . . .
“What a pity! Was there nothing worth fighting for”?
In His Bond, By His Grace, and for His Kingdom,
Bob Tolliver -- Romans 1:11
"Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness,
examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so." -- Dr. Luke (Acts 17:11)
"A fire kept burning on the hearthstone of my heart, and I took up the burden of the day with fresh courage and hope." -- Charles F. McKoy
Life Unlimited Ministries
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lifeunlimited@pobox.com
Copyright May, 2022
"If Jesus had preached the same message that many ministers preach today, He would never have been crucified." -- Leonard Ravenhill
"The time will come when instead of shepherds feeding the sheep, the Church will have clowns entertaining the goats." -- Charles H. Spurgeon
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