January 24, 2020 – Click here to listen
I was talking with a friend, Bryan Hickox, yesterday and he told me he’d blown out his knee. He had just endured a knee replacement and it was very disheartening when he was coming down some stairs and that same knee went out. Bryan is a true warrior for Christ and one of the leaders in the Jesus Alliance and will be attending the National Religious Broadcasting convention coming up. Earlier I’d spoken with another friend Ross Mason founder of the tremendous organization HINRI who was going to the event to meet Bryan and also our new CEO Michael Phillips in order to plan a large Christian event in Atlanta as well as work towards helping the persecuted church. All of these gentlemen have actively fought for Christ for many years on many fronts and we all have suffered extreme satanic attack.
Ross is in a wheelchair due to a spinal injury which paralyzed him from the collarbone down and is in a specialized wheelchair. Bryan told me since he’d blown out his knee, he’d ordered a scooter to use at the convention and he wanted to get a photo of the two of them going through the convention on their carts. I told him I might join them, and I could wear sunglasses and use a cane to tap my way through the halls due to the macular degeneration in my eyes. Then I thought about Michael who lost his home in the flood in Louisiana and had to muck the mud out of it before he could rebuild. I suggested that maybe he could wear his mucking boots and the photo could be taken showing him leading us through the exhibition halls. It would be reminiscent of a photo of wounded soldiers marching along.
We had a good laugh about it, but in reality, we are soldiers marching as to war as the old song proclaims. We get beat up discouraged, and sometimes suffer, but the years tick away, and we continue the fight. I know there are those of you who read this column who have endured satanic attack in large part because of your service to Christ, but you should know you are not alone. The very first year I launched the Jesus Alliance I had five ruptured and bulging vertebrae fused in my neck and secured with metal plates. I was bedridden for approximately 3 months and while I was in the hospital my wife was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. She underwent chemo for the next three months and developed a blood clot behind her knee which led to pulmonary embolisms in all 4 quadrants of her lungs. She barely survived that ordeal and then started six weeks of radiation. The very day she began radiation I was diagnosed with stage 4 Hepatitis C and began chemo treatment myself for three months. We both survived and today she is cancer free and there is no sign of hepatitis C in my system. It took an entire year of misery to fight through all of that.
I assume that Satan did not want the Jesus Alliance to be born, but that’s just too bad. Today it is growing like crazy, but Satan hasn’t thrown in the towel and we are still in the fight of a lifetime – tooth and nail. Bryan, Ross, Michael and others have similar stories and it just goes to show that just because one becomes a leader in a ministry, or a believer and follower of Christ does not ensure a problem free existence. In fact, I believe it all but ensures that Satan will attack your health, wealth, and character every way he can, and it is often painful. Satan does not fight fair and he will lie, cheat, and cause grievous injury, disease, and death, but though we may suffer for a while we are the ultimate winners and we will live in wonderful peace, love, and untold joy forever! That outcome has already been decided and he and all of his horde of fallen angels are no match for Jesus Christ. We put our faith in Jesus and though afflicted we continue the fight. Join us!
Deuteronomy 31:6
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Have a great weekend and go to church this Sunday!