Christianity that is offensive....

Today at City of Refuge church, we had Craig Whitlock, Executive Director, The Forge for Families which is located in Houston's 3rd ward., preach from Heb 5:11 - 6:10. Prince Couisnard, Program Director for The Forge for Families was also in attendance and briefly gave his testimony to how the transforming power of God has changed his life. If you have ever visited, lived in, drove through, or heard reports about Houstons 3rd ward, you will know that it is like most inner cities today. Tough neighborhood to say the least. It can be a war zone with all the darkness and despair, sin and depravity. The Forge for Families is a beacon of light and hope in the midst of that darkness and despair. These 2 men, are committed to advancing the kingdom of God in practical ways to families who are in the midst of a battle zone. I thank God for their work. http://www.forgeforfamilies.org/

Craig has a military background, having enlisted 6 years and 7 years as a US Army officer before resigning his commission as a Captain in the Ranger Training Brigade. It shows in his preaching of Gods word. The part of his sermon that gripped me was his explanation of how Christianity is not meant to be passive. As Christians, we are not suppose to be on the defensive, but on the offensive. Jesus said:
Mat 11:12From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.

I read that 78% of Americans in 2009 claim to be Christians, according to a Gallup poll.  By that survey, we should see a whole lotta folks on the offensive for the glory of God, advancing His kingdom. But there is a problem with these numbers. It seems there are only a "few good men" in the battlefield and on the front lines advancing the good to the glory of God. Why do we still see all the injustices and moral degradation, crime and corruption, destruction of families and eroding of values in America more and more if 78% claim to be soldiers or servants or at least followers of the Most High God? Where are all the rest of the Christian soldiers pressing forward advancing the light and repelling the darkness?

Jesus told Peter:

Mat 16:18And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Notice, he didnt tell Peter that the gates of heaven would keep heaven from being stormed by the enemy. He told him the opposite. That His church, would break down the strongholds of hell! That hell wont be able to stop the mission, purpose, and power that God would give those who would enlist on His side. That just as the troops in the 2nd Gulf war broke down the walls of Sadam Hussiens kingdom, so to will Christians perform raids on Satans kingdom and set captives free!

It is the mission of Gadara to be on the OFFENSIVE! My brother and friend, Founder Nicholas Thornton, did not sit back and wait for all the stars to align, the wind to blow just right, the capital to be raised, all the programs to be in place, and buildings built to begin fighting to take ground. He began working on the vision God gave him to make disciples, to effect the lives of the formerly incarcerated by doing just that, ministering to the needs of the formerly incarcerated right where he was. He also recruited me to join with him in the fight, one that we are both intimately familiar with. I thank God for Nicholas who is both an inspiration and a freind, one I can count on to be with me in the battle as he can I. So, we are looking to take ground for Jesus sake. Our call is to the frontlines, to those who the enemy has wounded but not defeated. To come alongside them to "fight the good fight of faith" 1Tim 6:12.

You may not be called to the same "battlefield", but one thing is for sure, we all are called to the same fight.  The enemy is real.

The Apostle Peter said:
1Pe 5:8Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.


So, my question is, are we all engaging the enemy in battle? Is your Christianity offensive? Or do you think that there is no war to fight?

Let us not be found MIA or AWOL when our Commander in Chief appears.....

Jesus ministers on the other side.....

Mar 5:1 They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes.
Mar 5:2 And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit.
Mar 5:3 He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain,
Mar 5:4 for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him.
Mar 5:5 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones.
Mar 5:6 And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him.
Mar 5:7 And crying out with a loud voice, he said, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me."
Mar 5:8 For he was saying to him, "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!"
Mar 5:9 And Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" He replied, "My name is Legion, for we are many."
Mar 5:10 And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country.
Mar 5:11 Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside,
Mar 5:12 and they begged him, saying, "Send us to the pigs; let us enter them."
Mar 5:13 So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out, and entered the pigs, and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and were drowned in the sea.
Mar 5:14 The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened.
Mar 5:15 And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.
Mar 5:16 And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs.
Mar 5:17 And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region.
Mar 5:18 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him.
Mar 5:19 And he did not permit him but said to him, "Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you."
Mar 5:20 And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.
This passage of scripture was the inspiration for the name Gadara, which was a gentile region that most of the religious folk of the day, would not dare to venture into. Yet Jesus Christ would make a deliberate visit to encounter someone that no one else would. He delivered this man and his life was forever changed. The compassion of Christ is so profound, reaching out to those who were outcasts, regenerating the spiritually dead, healing the sick, restoring sight to the blind, and delivering captives from bondage.

According to a study by OJP's Bureau of Justice Statistics, almost 7.3 million men and women were under correctional supervision in the nation's prisons or jails or on probation or parole at yearend 2009. About 70 percent (5 .0 million) of the adults under correctional supervision at yearend 2009 were supervised in the community (either probation or parole) while 30 percent (2.3 million) were incarcerated in the nation's prisons or jails. At yearend 2009, approximately one in every 31 U.S. residents was under community supervision or incarcerated. An estimated 756 inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents were incarcerated in state or federal prison or in local jails at yearend 2009. The majority will be released back into the population with strained family relationships, employment challenges, lack of education, and uncertain futures.

The mission of Gadara Ministries is to provide the formerly incarcerated with the training and tools necessary to break the cycle of prison recidivism, and become productive citizens by the power of the Holy Spirit of God. Gadara Ministries is a Christ centered organization that provides for their physical, emotional, mental, and deepest spiritual needs of the formerly incarcerated. Utilizing biblical principals we will transform character and change conduct to mold productive citizens.

To the point of no return......