{"id":286,"date":"2008-04-25T01:42:04","date_gmt":"2008-04-25T08:42:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/?p=286"},"modified":"2013-05-31T18:38:46","modified_gmt":"2013-06-01T02:38:46","slug":"forward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/forward\/","title":{"rendered":"Forward!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yesterday<\/a>\u00a0I mentioned that for the final round of the blogging tournament at PlantingSpace.com<\/a>, I wrote two articles and then submitted the one that I thought was best. That’s not actually true.<\/p>\n

I only wrote one, which is the one you find below. I showed it to my wife for her input. She liked it, made some suggestions, and then said that it didn’t sound quite right. It seemed too…aggressive. Too bloody. So she and I talked about a few other ideas. She came up with an idea\u00a0I thought was so good, I invited her to write it. So she did. That is the post I submitted yesterday. So, if I “win,” it is actually my wife, Wendy, who wrote the “winning” post. But hey, since we’re married, the two have become one, right?<\/p>\n

Anyway, here is what I was going to submit until she came up with something better. If you still want to go vote for me (Wendy, actually), you can do so here.<\/p>\n

When Jesus says He will build His church (Matt 16:18), He also implies where He will build it. He says that as He builds His church, the \u201cgates of Hell will not overcome it.\u201d Since gates are defensive, apparently Jesus and His church are camped right outside.<\/p>\n

Jesus has Hell under siege!<\/p>\n

And church planters are the ones who are advancing the kingdom. They look around their communities, find the most hellish places, and armed with weapons of grace, kindness, compassion, mercy, faith, hope, and love, hurl themselves headlong at the gates. With full abandon, in blinding bloodlust and with cries of holy rage, they swing fiercely with their swords, cry out desperately for aid, risking all, \u2026just so that one more might be saved. And one more. And one more.<\/p>\n

Now is not the time for fatigue. Now is not the time for rest. Now is not the time to pursue happiness. We must swing, and swing again, until our biceps burn and our breath comes in ragged gasps. And if our sword breaks and we are left with nothing but our bloody fists, we must continue swinging.<\/p>\n

Those gates must come down. Those people must be freed.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s the trumpet call! \u201cForward! Forward!\u201d is the cry.<\/p>\n

And when the battle is done, and the gates of Hell have fallen, Jesus, the Victorious King, will rise above the cheering throng, and with tears in His eyes, raise His sword in salute, and shout for all to hear, \u201cWell done, My Mighty Men of Valor! Together, we have built My church.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yesterday\u00a0I mentioned that for the final round of the blogging tournament at PlantingSpace.com, I wrote two articles and then submitted the one that I thought was best. That’s not actually true. I only wrote one, which is the one you find below. I showed it to my wife for her input. She liked it, made […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[19],"yoast_head":"\nForward!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/forward\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Forward!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Yesterday\u00a0I mentioned that for the final round of the blogging tournament at PlantingSpace.com, I wrote two articles and then submitted the one that I thought was best. 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