People are weary. Distracted. Over-exposed, overwhelmed, and over football.
Let me go ahead and get my snark out of the way. Here are some "Margafesto" definitions you may find useful for this post:
Tool: to͞ol
noun: a person, especially one used by the enemy, blindly carrying out the carefully laid
plans of the evil one.
Toolery: to͞olərē
noun: the behavior of a tool.
Tooligan: to͞oləɡən
noun: the more obnoxious tool.
Funny thing happened on the way to a football game…all of America got distracted!
Good grief.
How much attention can we give tools in uniforms?
Tooligans who are so dissatisfied with America that they allow themselves to be used as tools of divisiveness should take a mission trip to Haiti, Equatorial Guinea, or Zimbabwe. Or simply do some in depth research on how people are treated in North Korea, Saudi Arabia, or Sudan. Knowing what goes on in oppressed countries will make the hardest heart realize that America, even with her problems, is a great place to live.
Freedom of speech, though. I get it, and I get tired...I get tired of the one-sidedness of it. My first inclination is to respond to supporters of knee-takers with pointed comments and a bit of sarcasm. I refrained from tossing too many comments into the vast abyss we call the internet, but I did give in and slap out a few rebuttals on Facebook.
The thing is, adding my two cents worth doesn’t do any good…in fact, it only adds to the fray. Just like they won’t convince me that they are doing a good thing somehow making a positive statement, I will not convince them that they are being disrespectful, divisive, and…well, a tool.
The reminder here is that we aren’t fighting flesh and blood. (Ephesians 6:12)
While we are focused on the NFL, the enemy is blatantly walking in, gearing up, and taking their places for battle. But we are ungirded.
We. Are. Not. Ready. For. Battle
We are sidetracked by the actions of others.
We know who God is, but we are ignoring Him and giving our attention to carefully laid distractions. God aches to bless us because He loves us…but when we remain focused on devil's deeds and his tools, getting involved with the bickering, we miss out on the great plans our Father has for us.
Here’s how we gird ourselves: PRAYER...God’s children praying, all of us, together, and each of us individually...without ceasing. There's a lot of disagreement between brothers and sisters in Christ, and we are often known for that more than we are known for our love for one another. Let's stop worrying about who is wearing what, who is playing or not playing music, who is too loud, who prays too softly, or :::gasp::: who is speaking in tongues. Christians must unite and learn to love one another despite our differences, and maybe even because of them. Jesus tells us that people will know we are His disciples by our love for one another. (John 13:34-35) Outside of our own church, are we there yet? A house (country) divided can't stand. (Matthew 12:25)
Christians in heavily persecuted countries aren't debating theology. They are praying! We cannot afford to remain separated by walls of denominations. It’s time to come together corporately and pay the sacrifice of prayer to the ONLY ONE who can turn this country around!
Stop worrying about that the NFL is doing. Look up! Seek His face! He can handle a few over-pampered, over-paid, over-bearing, spoiled football players. Pay attention to the real issue: satan is moving in and setting up house in our own front yard.
We have the authority to stop him…in the name that is above all other names, the name to which every knee will bow and every tongue will confess, in the name of the One who saves, who delivers, who heals, and He who is coming back again, in the name of Jesus Christ…that’s how we do battle.
Are you ready to take our country back?
Let’s do some kneeling of our own!
Pray that eyes will be opened...
so they see,
(and that we see).
That ears will be opened...
so they hear,
(and that we hear).
That hearts will be opened...
so they understand
(and that we understand).
PS: It's not just the NFL. There are many well-placed, divisive stumbling blocks being rolled into our paths every day. Be ever mindful of the hour in which we live...watch carefully so that you don't trip.
Once again, I completely forgot to come back and leave a comment after I read your post. God's kingdom is advancing; thing is do we want to be involved helping it advance or do we want to be sucked up by the pettiness of the world? If people took the time to pray instead of spending time on social media or other sites reading about the events of the past weekend and NFL games, it would have made more of a difference than getting all worked up for something that will have 15 minutes of fame until the next "crisis" thing that comes up to distract us from doing our Father's work.
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