Which of the following are similar to the ways you've served Christ in your family? [check all that apply]
• Taught your kids to see God's glory in nature
• Washed the dishes without being asked
• Played a board game with your kids
• Encouraged your wife to finish her master's degree
• Attended a child's open house at school
• Worked fewer hours to be with your family
• Set an example of a godly prayer life for your children
• Held a crying child
• Swung on the tire swing with your daughter
• Told your wife why you're still in love with her
• Told your son he's got what it takes
• Coached soccer
• Let you child correct you now and then
• Fixed the vacuum cleaner
• Taught your sons to ride a bike
• Listened patiently to a complaint of your wife
• Taped your child's artwork to your office wall
• Admitted to your kids that you were wrong
• Told your children how Christ entered your life
• Cleaned up vomit
• Taught your children to love books
• Been romantic without expecting sex
• Told your daughter she's smart/beautiful
• Set standards for your kids and stuck to them
• Dealt graciously with a busybody neighbor
• Peeled carrots
• Watched movies together
Reluctant Hero Theme of the Week: Storm the Gates Monday, July 22, 2002
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July/August 200254Reluctant HeroTheme of the Week: Storm the Gates Reluctant Hero Theme of the Week: Storm the Gates Monday, July 22
Key Bible Verse: "Everyone will hate you because of your allegiance to me. But those who endure … will be saved' (Matthew 10:22). Bonus Reading:Psalm 18:4-15.
John F. Kennedy, the 35th U.S, president, was a commissioned naval officer during World War II. In August 1943, the patrol torpedo boat he commanded was rammed and sunk by an enemy destroyer near the Japanese-held Solo-mon Islands. Kennedy and a fellow officer swam from one enemy-occupied island to the next until they found some friendly islanders who helped them get a message to U.S. forces. Years later, Kennedy was regarded as a war hero. His response: "It was involuntary. They sank my boat."
So it is with us. We don't have to volunteer to find ourselves in the middle of a war. It's involuntary. The war is raging all around us. We can't escape from the arena of "the world." And we can't run away from "the flesh" within us.
You might be thinking, That doesn't seem right at all! I thought that when you became a Christian, Jesus would set you free from the kingdom of Satan so that he could no longer touch you! I thought conversion would take you out of the battle, not thrust you deeper into the conflict!
If that's your concept of the Christian life, you couldn't be more wrong! When you become a Christian, that's when the battle really begins!
—Ray Stedman in Spiritual Warfare
My Response: I know the Christian life is a battle when …
Thought to Apply: I feel like a hitchhiker on a Texas highway in the middle of a hailstorm; I can't run, I can't hide, and I can't make it go away. —Lyndon B. Johnson
I'm reporting for duty, my Commander in Chief. Grant me the required discipline, passion, vision, and willingness to risk to accomplish the mission You have for me.
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