Training For The Mission
(aka Equipping the Saints)
(Photo: Headstone from the American Cemetery in Normandy)
One of the highlights of my recent vacation with Karen was touring the D-Day landing sites of the allied forces along the Normandy coast of France where over 100,000 men made the largest amphibious assault in history on June 6, 1944, and liberated occupied France from Hitler’s fascist stranglehold. While walking through the American Cemetery at Colleville sur Mer in the Normandy area, you can look out over Omaha Beach (one of five designated allied amphibious landing sites), with its 200+ yards of beachhead where tens of thousands of American G.I.’s were off loaded on D-Day.
(Photo: Headstone from the American Cemetery in Normandy) One of the highlights of my recent vacation with Karen was touring the D-Day landing sites of the allied forces along the Normandy coast of France where over 100,000 men made the largest amphibious assault in history on June 6, 1944, and liberated occupied France from Hitler’s fascist stranglehold. While walking through the American Cemetery at Colleville sur Mer in the Normandy area, you can look out over Omaha Beach (one of five designated allied amphibious landing sites), with its 200+ yards of beachhead where tens of thousands of American G.I.’s were off loaded on D-Day.
Though their long-term objective was to liberate France, the young
American soldiers’ immediate goal was also critical. They had to
overcome Hitler’s “Atlantic Wall:” a series of concrete bunkers,
big-gun emplacements, and water obstacles blanketing the Normandy coast
and, in particular, Omaha Beach. Steven Spielberg’s movie, Saving
Private Ryan, gives us a glimpse of the obstacles these young guys
faced while offloading and traversing the open Omaha Beach.
I have the utmost respect for our soldiers who fought valiantly on these beaches. They overcame insurmountable odds. Within three months of D-Day, the allied forces liberated France and, within 11 months, Berlin fell and World War II ended.
As I looked out over the more than 9,000 whitewashed crosses in the American Cemetery, I kept asking myself, “What made our soldiers believe they could take this beach?” To me, it looked impossible. They had to cover 200 yards of open beachhead while under hostile fire. But they did it. Somehow, they did it!
While walking about the beautiful grounds of the cemetery, I started thinking about the Christian martyrs of the early church, and especially those mentioned in our study/sermon series on the book of Revelation. Martyrs are mentioned in Revelation 6: men and women who had died for their faith, who had paid a price. There are the myriad of believers mentioned in Revelation 7: men and women who are sealed with the sign of God and encouraged to stand fast amidst the impending judgments of God against an unbelieving world, divine judgments to bring others to repentance and faith. They, too, faced, and we still today face, enemy-occupied territory.
Often times, we go through our day unaware of the battle that is being waged for our souls. The forces of evil oppose God’s great plans and purposes. If you think these are only figures of speech, just read the newspapers. Evil is on the loose. More Christians have been martyred in the 20th century than in all the preceding centuries! We are in no less a firefight than the young lads who were engaged at Omaha Beach; yet, we’re more vulnerable because we’re often oblivious to this fact. It has been impressed upon us in a hyper-secular society to believe that by virtue of our citizenship we’re “Christians.” Not so.
If we’re engaged in spiritual warfare as committed disciples of Jesus Christ, what can we do to guard against the attacks of the enemy? Paul warned the early church to “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power.” How? He counsels them, “put on the whole armor of God.” Know the truth; grow your faith; read and know and meditate on scripture to build a new mindset; be mindful of your salvation; and pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. (Ephesians 6:10-16) And do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together, and encourage one another. (Hebrews 10:24).
What Paul suggests makes sense. It’s good training. These things equip us for the daily physical and spiritual battles. The young men that fought so valiantly at Utah, Point de Hoc, and Omaha Beaches wouldn’t have dared venture out without basic training and having a clear picture of their objective. And surely, no soldier would have ventured out alone to accomplish the subject target: nor should we as Christians.
So what are we to do? We have a plan and a venue. First, Paul’s prescription for equipping “Christian soldiers” is as good for us now as it was for the Christians of his time. He wrote for a universal audience. And second, we have the venue. There’s no better place to encourage one another and grow spiritually than in small, Christ-centered home fellowships. So, we’re personally inviting everyone to join a Life Group.
The Life Group mission statement is straightforward: “Life Groups are Christ-centered communities, meeting in homes, grounded in the study of scripture, where it is safe to be authentic, ask hard questions, and seek a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ that expresses itself outwardly in service to others.” The door is open. You’re invited.
Farhad Fozounmayeh and Tim Tally have graciously volunteered their time to come alongside me and help oversee the administration of Life Groups. If you have any questions or would like to learn more about how you can get involved in a Life Group, click here.
May we all continue to grow strong in the faith together for the glory of God.
Blessings to you and yours,
Michael
I have the utmost respect for our soldiers who fought valiantly on these beaches. They overcame insurmountable odds. Within three months of D-Day, the allied forces liberated France and, within 11 months, Berlin fell and World War II ended.
As I looked out over the more than 9,000 whitewashed crosses in the American Cemetery, I kept asking myself, “What made our soldiers believe they could take this beach?” To me, it looked impossible. They had to cover 200 yards of open beachhead while under hostile fire. But they did it. Somehow, they did it!
While walking about the beautiful grounds of the cemetery, I started thinking about the Christian martyrs of the early church, and especially those mentioned in our study/sermon series on the book of Revelation. Martyrs are mentioned in Revelation 6: men and women who had died for their faith, who had paid a price. There are the myriad of believers mentioned in Revelation 7: men and women who are sealed with the sign of God and encouraged to stand fast amidst the impending judgments of God against an unbelieving world, divine judgments to bring others to repentance and faith. They, too, faced, and we still today face, enemy-occupied territory.
Often times, we go through our day unaware of the battle that is being waged for our souls. The forces of evil oppose God’s great plans and purposes. If you think these are only figures of speech, just read the newspapers. Evil is on the loose. More Christians have been martyred in the 20th century than in all the preceding centuries! We are in no less a firefight than the young lads who were engaged at Omaha Beach; yet, we’re more vulnerable because we’re often oblivious to this fact. It has been impressed upon us in a hyper-secular society to believe that by virtue of our citizenship we’re “Christians.” Not so.
If we’re engaged in spiritual warfare as committed disciples of Jesus Christ, what can we do to guard against the attacks of the enemy? Paul warned the early church to “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power.” How? He counsels them, “put on the whole armor of God.” Know the truth; grow your faith; read and know and meditate on scripture to build a new mindset; be mindful of your salvation; and pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. (Ephesians 6:10-16) And do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together, and encourage one another. (Hebrews 10:24).
What Paul suggests makes sense. It’s good training. These things equip us for the daily physical and spiritual battles. The young men that fought so valiantly at Utah, Point de Hoc, and Omaha Beaches wouldn’t have dared venture out without basic training and having a clear picture of their objective. And surely, no soldier would have ventured out alone to accomplish the subject target: nor should we as Christians.
So what are we to do? We have a plan and a venue. First, Paul’s prescription for equipping “Christian soldiers” is as good for us now as it was for the Christians of his time. He wrote for a universal audience. And second, we have the venue. There’s no better place to encourage one another and grow spiritually than in small, Christ-centered home fellowships. So, we’re personally inviting everyone to join a Life Group.
The Life Group mission statement is straightforward: “Life Groups are Christ-centered communities, meeting in homes, grounded in the study of scripture, where it is safe to be authentic, ask hard questions, and seek a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ that expresses itself outwardly in service to others.” The door is open. You’re invited.
Farhad Fozounmayeh and Tim Tally have graciously volunteered their time to come alongside me and help oversee the administration of Life Groups. If you have any questions or would like to learn more about how you can get involved in a Life Group, click here.
May we all continue to grow strong in the faith together for the glory of God.
Blessings to you and yours,
Michael
For more information about Adult Ministries at MPC, please email us at:
info@malibupres.org
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