“Aim towards the Enemy.”    –Instructions printed on U.S. Rocket Launcher

“We have met the enemy and they are ours.”         –Oliver Hazard Perry

One of the problems since the Vietnam War has been trying to identify the enemy.  Is it the person in black pajamas wearing a pair of Uncle Ho’s sandals?  Perhaps it is a boy strapped with grenades.  Who is the suicide bomber?  That was an issue with the kamikaze pilots of World War II.  There would be flight of planes coming at the ship, which one was the kamikaze?  Until recent times it was not hard to detect the enemy.  Now he is more subtle and often pretends to be your friend until too late.
That is one of the cultural issues we are facing as well.  Who are the belligerents?  A few years ago a missionary who served in the Middle East was talking to me.  His family had a servant, a Muslim boy.  They became very fond of the boy and he became almost as part of the family.  One day there came a warning that there was going to be an attack against Americans, especially Christians.  It came to naught, but at the time there was fear.  The missionary went to their “adopted” boy and asked.  “Would you have killed us?”  His reply.  “Oh no, I was going to kill the neighbors and their servant would kill you.”
I see a very severe problem in the church.  We should be fighting the enemy, yet it seems that we are becoming more and more like the enemy.  There was slight change made to Perry’s quotation of victory in the old comic strip “Pogo Pog.”  He made the statement, “We have met the enemy and we are the enemy.”  At the time it was a spoof, but full of truth.  We become our worst enemy when we become cohorts with the ones we are to be fighting.  Look at some of the words from the Apostle John.
“Stop loving this evil world and all that it offers you, for when you love the world, you show that you do not have the love of the Father in you.  For the world offers only the lust for physical pleasure, the lust for everything we see, and pride in our possessions.  These are not from the Father.  They are from this evil world.”
–1 John 2:15-16 (NLT)
Yet we sit at the world’s table.  Drink, sup, eat, dance and cavort with the world all the time.  I guarantee if you stand up against the things of the world, they will bristle and snarl, baring their teeth ready to devour you.  Thing is that many in the church will do the same.  How can we become so compromising and so complacent in the face of the enemy?  John further writes, and get this for it is the key verse of 1 John.
“We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the power and control of the evil one.”  (5:19, NLT)
Cavort with the world and you are actually dancing in the arms of the devil.  We are to shun him and the evil world.

“Our forefathers left us a free government which is a miracle of faith–strong, durable, marvelously workable. Yet it can remain so only as long as we understand it, believe in it, devote ourselves to it, and when necessary, fight for it.”      –J. Edgar Hoover

“No free government or blessing of liberty can be preserved to any people but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue, and by frequent reference to fundamental principles.”      –Patrick Henry

I read a person remark that we deserve to be born with complete freedom. Several little questions came to my mind. First, says whom? Second, why should all people be born in freedom? Third, did someone have to pay the cost? I get tired of people making almost mundane statements without considering what they are saying.
Take this idea of entitlement. What in the world does that really mean? Entitled to what? Education, jobs, a free lunch? Those who make such statements have not figured out that nothing is ever free. I had a student several years back from Helsinki. He said we have clean streets, we have medical, we have free college–then he added, but it is not really free. We also have some of the highest taxes in the world. I wonder what will happen if today’s college students get free education and then go to work. What will they be paying in taxes twenty years after graduation?
Another thing not remembered is the price that has been paid for freedom. Sacrifice in blood, sweat, and tears. Years given by men and women to serve this country to give us what we have. Maybe we should say there is an entitlement for them to sacrifice before they can enjoy the benefits.
There is a cost–look at the words of Henry. There are requirements if freedom is to be maintained. Where does this country now stand in regard to the character he mentioned? And the Christian; the only reason he has an entitlement to eternal salvation is because of the supreme sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Freedom, spiritual and physical depends upon sacrifice.

“Therefore, a curse consumes the earth. Its people must pay the price for their sin. They are destroyed by fire, and only a few are left alive.”      –Isaiah 24:6 (NLT)

“Casualties many; Percentage of dead not known; Combat efficiency: we are winning!”      –Col. David M. Shoup

“All right, they’re on our left, they’re on our right, they’re in front of us, they’re behind us…they can’t get away this time.”      –Gen Chesty Puller

There’s only so much a person can carry. This is true in any area of combat, but especially true in the jungle. The front lines can very easily become blurred, similar to urban fighting. The soldier wonders, “Where is the enemy?” He not only faces the real enemy, but also has the the addition burden of the jungle, the burden of carrying equipment.
Ask the veteran of Vietnam. Often soldiers would go out on an operation carrying four or five days’ worth of rations, plus six to eight canteens of water, plus ammunition and other equipment. Moving through the jungle there would be strict radio silence. There would be a predetermined location to wait. After five days in the jungle rations and water would be low, and if they had been in a firefight then ammunition would also be low. That predetermined location was vital to survival, for this is where the choppers would come to resupply. Soldiers really never doubted that the choppers would not come, but there was always relief when they heard the sound of the rotors.
Never doubt that we are in a real battle against the forces of evil in this world. If you do then you are a danger to yourself, your family, and those around you. In one way of speaking you are in a jungle of evil. The world has vines and vile water and there are the forces of the enemy lurking in the darkness and in the depth of the undergrowth. Yet, we are there in the midst of it. We have been called to be there.
Maybe we are low on rations–eat from the manna that Christ provides. Water is low–the presence of the Holy Spirit is that refreshing rain. Running low on ammunition? We are fully supplied with the armor of God. We don’t doubt that we will be resupplied or relieved, but when we hear that sound from above it gives us more hope to fight on.

“God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.”      –Psalm 46:5 (NKJV)

“School days, school days,
Good ol’ golden rule days,
Reading and writing and ‘rithmetic,
Taught to the tune of the hick’ry stick.”
–Old American ditty

Not quite true anymore. As things/the world gets more complex around us it seems that school needs to follow in its wake. Is it for the good? Only time will tell. I’m not sure where things are going however. I’ve talked to a few individuals this summer that had some interesting insight into the work force. One individual last week just told me that his wife is in charge of personnel of a large corporation. She said if it were in her power she would not hire anyone under the age of 35. However, with the laws she must, and that keeps her busy because 90% of the group under 35 do not stay on the job, or they abuse the job and then must be fired.
I’m not talking about the core subjects, but about the basics of life. Where has character gone? One of the purposes of the school teacher in years-gone-by was to be “in loco parentis”–in the place of the parent. Now that doesn’t mean “crazy parents.” But in the last several years the parent and the teacher are not the authority they once were.
There is a major move to remove the authority of the parents. That movement states that children belong to the state. What does that make the parents? Just the biological means to get a populace? The other problem is with the home and parents themselves. In how many homes are there both parents? If there are, how many homes operate according to Biblical principles? That rate is growing yearly of single parent homes, and now there is that new factor of gays and transgenders raising children. You tell me how a person can properly raise a child when they can’t figure out what gender they are.
Yet, the role of the Biblically-based teacher cannot change. It is vital to the very foundation and propagation of the gospel. Christianity depends on teaching. The Great Commission states to go out “teaching” them. On my podium I keep two Scriptures that I look at constantly.

“Pay close attention to your life and your teaching; persevere in these things, for by doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers.”      –1 Timothy 4:16 (HCSB)

“Not many should become teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive a stricter judgment.”      –James 3:1 (HCSB)

These are hard times. The world is severely attacking Christianity, and several are succumbing to it and joining its forces, while at the same time saying they are still Christian. It’s time to get off the fence.  One of the jobs of the teacher is to show that. Society seems to be falling apart and immoral standards are gaining. Perhaps the Scripture that states that we are to be teaching has a prophecy for those of today as well. When it seems like the gates of hell are raging look at the rest of that verse,

“And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”      –Matthew 28:20 (HCSB)