#175

Behind Enemy Lines

A movie in 2001 portrayed a Navy navigator – Lt. Christ Burnett played by Owen Wilson - being shot down behind enemy lines. The movie is the story of him working his way back to the point of rescue without being killed by Bosnian soldiers. His commanding officer has to go against politics to launch a rescue mission. He is ultimately rescued and renews his desire to continue to be a Navy pilot.

I know the story of another one who went behind enemy lines – a couple of differences here. He did it voluntarily, and He did it universally.

In this plot the enemy territory was death,

I Corinthians 15:26

26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

                                 and the enemy commander was the devil himself.

Hebrews 2:14

14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil

One risks much going into enemy territory. Perhaps the greatest risk of all is that those you are trying to save have no appreciation for the hazardous nature of the mission. You are meeting the enemy face to face. Jesus met his enemy head-on, and came out on the other side victorious!

Jesus had more power than death could handle.

Acts 2:24

24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.

  

He considered you and me worth the risk. There was too much at stake to shrink back from this mission.

Romans 4:25

25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

II Timothy 1:10

10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus,  who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

And it was "mission accomplished." We can taunt the enemy with these questions and assurances  from Paul!

I Corinthians 15:55

55 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”

  

Romans 8:38-39

38 For I am convinced that neither death…, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Enemy lines have been breached!!!

#174

Walking in His Steps

I John 2:5-6

But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

Impossible! Doesn’t it sound that way to you? Walk as Jesus did. Go where he went. Do what he did. Say what he said. I’m not sure that we fully understand who Jesus was and is to the point that we could walk just like him. But that is probably not the issue.

We know enough about Jesus to see him as someone totally different… Revolutionary… Out-of-the-box. I think what we are dealing with within ourselves is not that we do not know enough about Jesus, but a reluctance to be like him.

To walk as Jesus did means to take steps toward the religious establishment and confront it with truth, truth that sometimes and perhaps many times is in direct conflict with established religious practice and teaching.

To walk as Jesus did means to step right up to the sick and hurting and bring them healing regardless of what the “Sabbath” practice demanded, or supposedly demanded.

To walk as Jesus did means to come face-to-face with some pretty ordinary people and encourage them to follow Him.

To walk as Jesus did means to have intentionality in our steps. Too many of us on too many days let the pressures and strategies of the world take us here and there without ever standing up to them and saying, “Jesus has other things in mind for me today.”

To walk as Jesus did means to have an open line of communication with the Father. And though that is a two-way path for communication with God, it is primarily for God speaking to us.

And of course, to walk as Jesus did means a complete sacrifice of self to the will of God, the salvation of man, and ministering to the hurting.

That may explain our reluctance, but it doesn’t excuse it. It would be unfair of God to put this expectation out there without a reasonable hope of fulfillment. And there is hope!

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.

Ephesians 1:3

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.