THE REVELATION OF STATUES - Word for the Month January

Monday, January 1, 2018

The phenomenon goes back thousands of years. In the days of ancient Egypt, it was not unheard of for a pharaoh to deface or behead the statue of one of his predecessors and place his own likeness in its place. The practice was repeated in many of the world empires. There were other kinds of regime changes marked by the destruction or removal of statues. When Christianity prevailed in the Roman Empire, the statues of pagan gods were often removed from their platforms, defaced, or destroyed. In the twentieth century, we witnessed the same phenomenon replaying in new lands as statues of Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, and other communist leaders were pulled down from their pedestals. The removal, defacing, or destruction of statues represents something very profound - the changing of the guard, the changing of regimes, kings and leaders, faith, religion, values, ideologies, and world views.What does what took place in Egypt thousands of years ago have to do with us? Everything. This autumn, the U.S. Court of Appeals of the Fourth Circuit ordered the removal of a World War I memorial in Bladensburg, Maryland, because the monument included a cross. It was called the "Peace Cross." It had stood in its place since soon after World War I. It was erected by the American Legion in 1925 to honor 49 men from Prince George's County who had been killed in the First World War. The U.S. Court of Appeals judged the 90 year old cross a violation of the Constitution. The judgment against the cross was not an isolated incident. It has taken place again and again throughout America and it continues to take place. Those monuments, commemorative stones, statues, and memorials that have contained any Christian symbolism have been made into objects of controversy and have come increasingly under attack and been removed. It is an ancient phenomenon. It represents the changing of regimes, morality, values, faith, and worldviews. It is a profound sign of a metamorphosis taking place in America and transforming it - a rejection of the nation's Judeo-Christian foundation, and the increasing acceptance of an anti-Christian, even pagan, morality in its place. It is a sign for us as believers as to what we are now dealing with. There is a concerted effort to remove every marker and vestige of God and His ways. Therefore, it is all the more important that we stand even more strongly, more resolved, and resolute for the ways of God. God promised that in the New Covenant, He would write His law not on tablets of stone, monuments, but on our hearts. In days when monuments are removed, we must all the more engrave God's word and ways on our hearts, and all the more live them in purity, holiness, and righteousness boldly, without compromise, and without apology. Be strong. Be stronger. Let your life become the indestructible monument of God's word. And may God bless you this month... as you do.Your brother and co-laborer in His love and service, Jonathan

See Message: War Of The Gods