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Vol. 11 No. 3 March 2009 |
Page 13 |
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Vol. 11 No. 3 March 2009 |
Page 13 |
Dean Kelly
A commercial for a type of garbage bag caught my attention the other day. On one side of the screen is a muscular young man, and on the other side is a little old man. They are stuffing garbage bags. The muscular young man’s bag busts and everything falls out, but the little old man’s stays strong. They put up a screen that says, “Wimpy, Wimpy, Wimpy” about the young man’s bag. It is cute, but it makes a point that they may not even mean to make. True strength is found in those who make use of the correct tools, who have the inner strength, courage and wisdom to go to the right source for true power.
In Ezekiel 22, God laments through the prophet that He cannot find any man to stand in the gap and stop the onslaught of evil in the country of Israel. I truly believe that we need men (and women) today who will stand in the gap for God.
We need those who will stand in the gap for our country. No matter what is being said in all the world, the fact is that “righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” It breaks my heart to hear, even some members of the Lord’s body, spouting the politically correct the nonsense that religion should not be considered when we think about our government. If Christians forget the faith, and stop standing for God, then our nation will be destroyed just as surely as ancient Israel and Judah were destroyed. We must stand in the gap, for there is no other hope for this country.
We need those who will stand in the gap for the family. In a couple of weeks, a faithful gospel preacher in our area will celebrate with his wife their 50th wedding anniversary. We need couples who love each other and love God so much that they never consider anything but being together for life. We need those who will live and teach our children that marriage is sacred and the marriage contract is not to be broken. We need examples of love between mates, and in families that will help stand in the gap at a time when the family is being destroyed by couples living together unmarried, by rampant divorce for every reason and by the emphasis on homosexuality in our society. We must stand up and be counted for God.
We need those who will stand in the gap for the church. We need those who are unafraid to lovingly, but firmly, proclaim the truth of God concerning the church. We need those who are going to stand in the gap and battle the tide of false doctrine, false living, and false philosophies that would overwhelm the church like a great tidal wave. We must stand in the gap for God by proclaiming His way without compromise, and without malice.
We must realize that we are the ones who must stand in the gap. We may not be well known. We may not be powerful in the eyes of the world. However, we, like the little old man in the ad, have the right tools to be those who stand in the gap: The Word of God, the power of Prayer, and the fellowship of other faithful men and women. We have the “faith that overcomes the world.” May we all use it and be those who stand in the gap on God’s behalf.