Word-Filled Wednesday ~#108~ On Defense

"Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled at Socoh in Judah . . . A champion name Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. He war over 9 feet tall . . . For 40 days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand. Now Jesse said to his son David, 'Take this ephah of roasted grain and these 10 loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp . . . They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines' . . . As [David] was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heart it . . . 'Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?' . . . David said to Saul, 'Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him' . . . The he took his staff in his hand, chose 5 smooth stones from the stream . . . and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine . . . 'I come against you in the Name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whome you have defied' . . . and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's . . . David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him . . . So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone . . . " ~Selected verses from 1 Sam. 17 [all emphasis, mine]

I had an interesting conversation with a gentleman I was checking out at work, the other day . . . 

This gentleman was wearing a Duck Dynasty hoodie with a photo of Phil Robertson, his sons Willie and Jase and, of course, Uncle Si. I smiled at him and said, "That is a GREAT hoodie!" And from there, the conversation went like this ~ 

Man: Why? My mother gave me this shirt for Christmas, I've never seen it.

Me: Because that's one of my favorite shows and just love that family.

Man: Why?

Me: Because it's good, clean, family fun and a great show.

Man: So, that guy's "homophobic" remarks didn't bother you?

Me: Phil didn't say anything "homophobic," at all.

Man: [stepping back, a little astonished] Really?

Me: Absolutely not. First of all, he's not afraid of anyone, and that's what "phobic" means, "afraid." Secondly, he was answering a question asked of him and he answered it according to the Word of God. 

Man: Really?

Me: Yes. Did you read the interview or are you only going on what a biased press reported? 

Man: No, I haven't read the interview.

Me: I have, and personally, I think he was set-up ~ there's no way the interviewer didn't know how he was going to answer that question. And if you're going to ask someone a question, don't act surprised when they answer you.

Man: [nodding] Hmm. OK.

And off he went with his purchase. Now, let me also say that this man has been back a few times since this conversation and I have waited on him nearly every time and his was in no way offended. 

All that to say that I feel that not only did I successfully defend a brother in the Lord and the Word of God with truth, but I did it without raising my voice, without violence ~ just by stating the facts. "Just the facts, Ma'am. Just the facts."

"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander." ~1 Peter 3:15-16

God has commanded us to always be able to defend our faith. Yes, there may very well be times that it may come to ardently defending our faith with raised voices or even going to jail for our faith ~ but whether we are being calmly persuasive or defending the TRUTH of the gospel with our very lives, we ARE commanded to do it. And how can we defend the gospel unless we KNOW it? 

Please stay in the Word of God. Know how to defend your faith. So many in our culture are used to others giving-in to false "politically correct" arguments ~ they're not used to someone standing up for God's TRUTH. The Lord will honor your love of Himself and His Word with victory.

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><