2 Timothy 4:2 “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage – with great patience and careful instruction.”
Today’s choice comes from A.W.Tozer’s quote: “We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum.” Really? It doesn’t sound much fun! However, if we see prophecy as simply faithfully relaying God’s Word into any given situation, then I agree with him. Prophets begin in judgment, in social critique of the status quo, but end in hope – that those realities can be changed. G.K.Chesterton wrote of our need nowadays for a new kind of prophet, not like the prophets of old who reminded people that they were going to die, but more positively someone who would remind them they are not dead yet.
Here’s a challenging question: If we were arrested today for being followers of Christ, would there be enough evidence to convict us?
American apologist Francis Schaeffer was a modern-day prophet in many ways. He founded a community called ‘L’Abri’ and wrote: “In about the first three years of L’Abri all our wedding presents were wiped out. Our sheets were torn. Holes were burned in our rugs… Drugs came into our place. People vomited on our rugs… How many times have you had a drug-taker come into your home? Sure it is a danger to your family, and you must be careful. But have you ever risked it? … If you have never done any of these things or things of this nature, if you have been married for years and years and had a home (or even a room) and none of this has ever occurred, if you have been quiet especially as our culture is crumbling about us, if this is true – do you really believe that people are going to hell?”
Lord, I choose today to speak up uncompromisingly, in love, and also not just with words but by getting my hands dirty. Amen!
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