Friday, December 16, 2022

"Making His-Story"

Revelation 12.10b-11 NASU

“…the accuser of our brethren… accuses them before our God day and night. And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.”
  


Faith may be hazardous to your health. Your decision to follow Christ could have serious consequences. Your might even die for your convictions. You have an enemy. He hates you. Unlike most church attendees, your enemy is totally committed to the success of his mission which may be summarized in three words: your eternal destruction! 

The devil’s strategy is to accuse you “before our God day and night.” You are without defense, of course. Every terrible thing Satan tells God about you is true and yet his words contain nothing of the truth. His strategy ignores the infinite gulf between what is true (you are sinful) and the truth (you are forgiven).
You are forgiven and covered by the blood of Jesus who paid the price for your sins making you fully acceptable to the heavenly Father in spite of the devil’s constant accusations against you.
That’s your testimony. That’s your story. It’s really His story in you. You are making His-story each time you utter this testimony. His-story makes you fearless in the face of your enemy’s ultimate weapon… death itself. Together with the Apostle Paul, you may laugh in the face of your final demise:

“Death is swallowed up in victory. O death,
where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
1st Corinthians 15.54c-55 NASU

Over one hundred and fifty years ago a fearless leader of the Oglala Sioux Nation earned tribal allegiance for his willingness to forsake all in a losing war with the Federal Government of the United States. Crazy Horse was fully committed to preserving the land and way of life of his people. He motivated young warriors with this famous charge...

“Today is a good day to die.”

Crazy Horse was right. Today is a good day to die. Our willingness to forsake all, even our own lives, when combined with “the blood of the Lamb,” renders “the accuser of the brethren” utterly impotent. Victory is absolutely guaranteed to Christians who do “not love their life even when faced with death.”

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The sketch at the top of this post is called "Accuser 2" from an Islamic clip art site at http://www.al-islam.org/gallery/kids/Clipart/drawings/drawings.html.

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