Spiritual Veterans

      Every time my husband sees someone in a military uniform, he thanks them for their service.  

     Our country has done a good job of acknowledging our veterans.  These men and women who have served our nation are honored with holidays such as Veterans Day, and somewhat Memorial Day (though Memorial Day is largely for those who didn't make it back).  We often like to hear stories from our Veterans--first-hand stories that didn't make it into the history books, but are just as real.  Sometimes, though, in light of all the honor and glory, these men and women suffer from unspeakable trauma witnessed in the most ugly of human circumstances.  Sometimes, they are haunted for the rest of their lives by the memories of things such as exploding shells, killing or disfiguring their friends.  

     In what I'm about to say, I do not in any way make light of the real heroism of men and women in our armed forces.  What I am going to do, though, is make a comparison, because the Bible draws this same parallel.  

     As Christians serving God, we are in a war.  This war has been going on since Genesis 3, when Adam and Eve sinned against God.  It's a war between good and evil...between God and Satan.  We know from reading Revelation how that war will end.  Revelation 20:10 says: And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.  In verse 15, we are told that everyone who has followed Satan and not embraced Christ will also be thrown into the lake of fire.  The last two chapters of Revelation are about our eternity with God, when there is no more sin, and no more war.  But until that time, we are part of the ages-old war.  We fight the battles of the time in which we live.   A hundred years ago, believers fought their distinct battles, and a hundred years from now (should the Lord tarry), the Christians will be fighting their battles as well.  We fight ours today.  But we're all part of the same war.   

     Who are we at war against?  Sometimes it seems like other people are the enemy, but Ephesians 6:12 assures us this is not the case:  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.  Our battle is against Satan and his followers.  We who are believers are on God's side.  Sometimes it's easy to forget who we're really fighting, because we can't see Satan, but we can see the problems he creates.  

     What do those battles look like?  They can look many different ways.  We are told in Ephesians 6:11 that Satan has schemes that we are to stand against.  Second Corinthians 10:3-5 remind us: For though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage battle according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.  We are destroying arguments and all arrogance raised against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.  Pretty aggressive words, aren't they?  We are in favor of the word of God, and against everything that goes against what God has said.  It might sound harsh in our overly "tolerant" society, but it is exactly what God said.  

     As Christians, our goal is to bring glory to God, and bring people to Christ.  That can look differently in different people's circumstances, but in one way or another, we as Christians are all part of that battle--those war efforts.  

In times of war, all good citizens participate in war efforts.  The same is true in our spiritual battles.  Think of some ways that these battles are served on the "front lines" and the "home front".  Both are equally important.  

     The Bible gives more info about battle, but let's think about this a minute.  If we are truly fighting a war, that would make us veterans.  We might not feel like we deserve to use that title.  As I said earlier, I mean no disrespect by comparing spiritual warfare to the physical battlefront our soldiers face.  But since the Bible draws the parallel, I feel safe to proceed.  As spiritual veterans, have you ever felt drained, in need of rest?  Have you ever gone through something hard or painful in God's service, and no one noticed?  Have you felt isolated and alone in your battles?  Have you ever not known how to interpret something you went through?  Have you ever just felt broken and lost after an act of service for the kingdom?  Have you ever felt wounded by a fellow soldier?  

     Hurt and trauma can happen to believers in the service of our King.  Acknowledge that.  Ask God for opportunities to share your stories with those who might be helped by them.  Here are some other things to keep in mind.  

The Battle is the Lord's

     Second Chronicles 20:15 says, For the battle is not yours, but God's.  Likewise, Exodus 14:14 says, The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.  We are soldiers in God's army, but He is the one who is really doing the fighting.  We follow Him onward to victory.  The all-powerful God has a greater vested interest in the outcome than you ever could, and He has already promised that He will win in the end.   Proverbs 21:31 says it well: The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the Lord.

All scores will be settled

     Isaiah 5:20 says, Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!  That sounds a lot like today, doesn't it?  It is viewed as "evil" to stand on the absolutes of the Bible, but it is "good" to accept anything and everything, with no moral code or scriptural basis.  Galatians 6:7-9 is such an encouragement to me: Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a person sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit.  Let's not become discouraged in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not become weary.  God will allow the wicked to reap the consequences for their wickedness, while the godly will reap rewards.  God will repay.  Romans 12:19 reminds us, Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.  Believers will all stand before the Lord at the Judgment Seat of Christ (Second Corinthians 5:10) to give an account of the lives we lived.  We are saved no matter what, but the quality of our Christian lives affect the rewards we receive.  As for the unbelievers, they will pay for their sins for all eternity in the lake of fire. 

God has given you His armor

     God has given us armor to withstand the attacks of battle.  Ephesians 6:13-18 tells us how this works.  That armor helps us stand firm, after all else.  The pieces of armor are the Belt of Truth, Breastplate of Righteousness, Shoes of the Gospel of Peace, Shield of Faith, Helmet of Salvation, and the Sword of the Spirit.  Verse 18 concludes that we need to continually be in prayer.  Second Corinthians 6:7 also talks about spiritual armor, with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left.  What do these pieces of armor represent?   I believe they are the aligning ourselves with God, and that each of these pieces represents a different aspect of His character.  The belt of truth is God's truth, and that belt holds the breastplate of righteousness firmly in place--and the breastplate is the fact that we are in Christ's righteousness.  The shoes of the gospel of peace means we are ready to share the gospel, which brings us peace with God.  The shield of faith is our faith in the Lord, which is the means by which we grab hold of the salvation Christ offers.  The helmet of salvation protects you from Satan's lies.  He likes to make you question your salvation, or your victory in Christ.  The Sword of the Spirit is the Bible itself.  That is the only defensive weapon, and that should show us that in order to fight these battles, we need God's word.  Additionally, God protects us.  Psalm 91:11 tells us that He gives His angels charge over us, to keep us in all our ways.  

You are not alone in the battle

     One of the biggest tactics of the enemy is to isolate believers.  Ecclesiastes 4:12 gives some basic common sense truth: And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.  A song our pastor's wife in California used to sing a lot contained the line, "There's no foe that can defeat us, when we're walking side by side."  We need each other, but we often feel alone in our battles.  A passage that has encouraged me is First Kings 19.  Elijah had just won a spiritual battle, but he was scared and discouraged.  He needed renewal and assurance.  Twice (in verses 10 and 14) Elijah tells the Lord that he is the only faithful one left.  God replies in verse 18 that there are seven-thousand faithful believers in Israel.  Elijah wasn't as alone as he thought.  At the end of this chapter, God gives Elijah a helper and friend, Elisha.  Part of fighting the battle is to have relationships with fellow believers.  Go to church, join Bible studies, have a Christian friend or family over for dinner.  Develop an accountability partnership with someone you gel well with.  Pray with other Christians.  One of the best ministries I am currently part of is a 24-hour prayer line, where Christians from all over the earth call in and pray.  If you ever want to know you're not alone, join something like that.  Other Christians are facing similar struggles to yours.  There are many irritating issues with social media nowadays, but there are positives.  It helps us connect.  It has normalized people sharing their struggles with areas such as depression, anxiety, insecurities, etc.  When I was a teenager, I struggled with these things, but no one ever talked about it, so I pretended I felt better than I did.  I think pretending has thankfully started to go out of style.  Surround yourself with believers who encourage you in the Lord.  Just like veterans of physical wars share their common struggles and stories with each other, so should spiritual veterans.  

     Another way we are not alone is that believers throughout history--almost all of whom we won't meet until Heaven--have faced exactly what we have.  The Apostle Paul wrote candidly in Second Corinthians 1:8, that we were pressed beyond measure, beyond strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life.  Have you ever felt that way from the battle?  I have.  I met a gentleman in my Bible college years ago who said, "I can't imagine anyone wanting to die.  I love life.  God wants us to love life."  He didn't mean anything bad by that at all, and I'm happy he hasn't had that struggle, but it also made me question if I was abnormal for struggling at times.  If you are struggling, you're not alone.  Christians all over, and throughout history, have gone through it.  We are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1).  These biblical believers had victory, and we live in the light of their witness.  

You are victorious

     As a soldier in God's army, you have a guaranteed victory.  It might not look like it from our human vantage point.  Think about Joseph in the book of Genesis.  Things kept getting worse and worse for him.  He went from a favorite teenage son, to a slave, to a prisoner, until he was finally made second-in-command of the nation.  If he evaluated his life while he was on his way to Egypt as a slave, or while he was sitting in prison, he might have thought he lost the battle, but the story wasn't over yet.  The same is true for us.  But we have the promise of victory in Christ.  First John 5:4 says, For whoever has been born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith.  Remember what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians: Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. (First Corinthians 15:58).

     In that, spiritual veteran, rejoice.  And in case no one's ever said it, thank you for your service.  

Divine Providence

      "You'd better get out to the parking lot.  Your family just left," the store manager told me as I came out of the restroom.  My family was running an errand, and nature had called.  I had told my parents I was going to use the restroom.  As I walked out, I wasn't too concerned by the store manager's words.  Surely my parents and siblings had just gone to the car to wait for me. 

     "Hey, wait!"  I shouted in real alarm as I saw our station wagon pull out of its parking space.  I ran frantically over to them.  Seeing me in the rearview mirror, my dad slammed on the brakes.  I climbed in.

     "I thought you were in the 'way back,'" My dad said, referring to the furthest back portion of our station wagon.  "I had forgotten you went to the bathroom."

     "We're so sorry, honey," my mom apologized.  

     As I fastened my seatbelt, my nine-year-old mind raced to the possibilities of what would have happened if I hadn't run out right when I did.  Would they have gotten all the way home before realizing I was missing?  Would I have had to walk home (it was several miles)?  This was many years before cell phones made instant communication easier.  I was just happy I had left the store when I did.  

My siblings and me, about the time of this story (I'm the oldest).

     I went on with my day, but the reality of what had happened never left my mind.  That night, as I was laying in bed, I thought about it.  I realized it wasn't just lucky that I walked out when I did.  It was God.  God worked it out so that I was done in the bathroom and left the store exactly when I did so that I wouldn't get left behind.  Looking upward toward the ceiling in the darkness, I whispered a prayer of thanks to God.  This was a turning point in my relationship with Him.  Though I wouldn't know the terminology just yet, I became acquainted with the idea of Divine Providence.  

     Realistically, the worst that could have happened was that I would have had to wait at the store until my parents missed me and came back.  They surely would have.  It wasn't a matter of life and death, but it was somewhat a matter of safety, and definitely a matter of convenience.  God had seen to it that everything was all right.  Could He have prevented my parents from mistakenly almost leaving without me?  Certainly, but He revealed Himself to me through their human error.  

     Isaiah 55:8-9 are some of my favorite verses about God's sovereignty:  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord, For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.  These verses have often encouraged me in life.  When things don't go the way I expect, I think, "Well, God has another plan.  His ways are hither than mine."  This is absolutely true, and very encouraging.  However, to get the full impact of this truth about God's Divine Providence, let's go back a few verses:

     Isaiah 55:6-7 says, Seek the Lord while He may be found;  Call upon Him while He is near.  Let the wicked abandon his way, and the unrighteous person his thoughts; And let him return to the Lord, and He will have compassion on him, and to our God; For He will abundantly pardon.  

     Here, we read about a God who longs for the people He created to turn to Him.  He wants to show compassion and love.  He is ready to forgive!  This the the picture God gives us of Himself in this passage.  After reading this and focusing on His abundant love, we can go on to read  verses, 8-9, telling us how His ways are higher than ours.  His plans sometimes don't line up with what we want and hope for.  Not only can we comfort ourselves with Him having higher plans in store, but, in light of the earlier verse about His love for us, we can know His plans are the very best.  He is always acting in love toward us, even if it doesn't feel like it in the moment.

     Another verse I love (actually my life verse) is Romans 8:28, And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.  We are called to be His.  He is working all things for our good.  In light of this, we can look at everything that happens to us in light of God's love for us.  

     A woman I met many years ago once told me, "Sometimes our disappointments are God's appointments."  Can you look back on any of your own disappointments in life and see God's hand in it?  I don't ask that question to be trite.  Sometimes, devastating things happen.  Not in any way do I intend to make light of anyone's  hurt or disappointment.  A verse that was brought up this past week in our Sunday School class was Hebrews 11:13, which says, All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen and welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.  It was pointed out that, again, at the end of this chapter, it is reiterated: And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect. (Hebrews 11:39-40).  These verses are about the Old Testament saints.  They were trusting in the Lord, as He had revealed Himself to them.  We, living after Christ's coming, have much more revelation and knowledge than they did, but, like them, we are called to live by faith, and together with them, we make up the complete story of God's redemptive work through history.  We will see some results of our faith in our lifetime, but there is much we won't see of what God was really doing until we are in Heaven.  Some things that seem pointless now might be reaping an eternal weight of glory for us.  Second Corinthians 4:17 gives this idea when it says, For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  That is something to hang onto during our difficult times.  

     I have shared some of this before, so I won't go into a lot of detail, but one of the most disappointing seasons in my life occurred when I was a college student.  I struggled so much with the way things happened, and I tried to carry on in service in the wake of these disappointments and hurts.  My greatest comfort was God's Sovereignty, knowing that, somehow, I was in His divine plan, that it was bigger than when I could see right then.  I constantly looked up verses that reminded me of this truth, and listened to Christian songs that reinforced it.  Now, all these years later, I look back on that trying time as one of the most fruitful periods of life and ministry.  Even though I felt I failed in so many ways at the time, and I barely made it through a day without breaking down, a girl I was mentoring back then came to faith in Christ and is now a fulltime missionary.  I'm sure there was even more that God did then that I won't see until I'm with Him.  That time of living by faith when it hurt was so precious.  Those times really can be.  

     On the other hand, it doesn't only take hurt and disappointment to reap eternal rewards.  God is always at work, and He is always using our lives.  As I said above, He can work through these hard times, but He can also reap eternal rewards in our lives through just faithfully going through life each day, whether it's fun, boring, tiring, monotonous.  He can use you to impact people you'll never meet.  Your life can have so many ripple effects.  Last year, I was blessed to meet a young woman who had been discipled by the girl I mentioned above (the one I mentored during that dark time in my life).  Laughing, she told me, "You're my spiritual grandma!"  What a thought.  I had never met this young woman, nor had I personally impacted her life, but God had used my struggling efforts years before to impact someone who, in turn, impacted her.  Wow.  He is doing that with YOUR efforts too!  

Ripple effects

     God is in control.  He loves you.  He will not forsake you.  He is working out His purposes, in, though and around you.  He has invited You to be part of his redemptive plan for history!  

     That nine-year-old girl running out of that store in time to catch my parents before they left had no idea all that God was doing, but I now see a little bit more (a very little bit!).  One day, our faith will be sight, but for today, rest in His Divine Providence.  

What is truth?

     There is so much unsubstantiated information out there today.  That alone is cause for concern, but what is even more disconcerting is that people believe it like true gospel, without questioning it.  I believe God wants His people to be thinking people, weighing what we are told, comparing it to the teaching of the word of God.  

     Recently, I saw this meme online: 

  There were literally thousands of comments, mostly very negative against Christians.  Things like, "This is so true.  We're all terrible.  We need to start walking the walk!"  And stuff like that.  Some went further and said things like "We shouldn't preach.  We should just be living it," which is a total lie of Satan.  Only a few people seemed to have thought it through and seen through this bilge.  I have to ask: 

    

     1) Who conducted this alleged study that reached the statistic that only 20% of people think Christians are caring?  Did they ask everyone in the world?  Obviously not.  It is unlikely that any such study was even conducted.  It is much more probable is that some people who wanted to bash Christians put it out as a guilt trip.  

     2) In the unlikely event that this is actually the case and only 20% of the world's unbelieving population considers Christians to be caring, how is that our responsibility to fix it?  It's their perception, and therefore their problem. 

     I find when people start saying things like this, it's to turn attention away from their own sin.  Their own need of the very Savior that they are unwilling to embrace.  I remember once witnessing to some classmates in college, and whenever I brought up sin, salvation, or Christ, they would say, "Yeah, but what about the hypocrites?"  Well, what about them?  They have nothing to do with Jesus.  The real question is, what are you going to do with Jesus Christ?

     Before I go further, I will hasten to say this: You and I are are not responsible for how the world perceives Christians.  You are responsible for yourself.  You can't control anyone but yourself.  You can't control the witness and example of other believers, nor can you control the outlook of non-Christians.  This being the case, none of us should be subjected to that kind of guilt-trip.  Besides that...

     It should be noted that Jesus warned us that the world wouldn't sing our praises.  John 15:18-21 tells us:  If the world hates you, know that it hated me before it hated you.  If you were of the world, the world would love its own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.  Remember, the word that I said unto you. The servant is not greater than his master.  If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you: if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.  But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me.

     Jesus is saying here that the world rejected Him, so it stands to reason it will reject His followers.  In Matthew 5:10-12, He said,  Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.   Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all  manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.  Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophet which were before you.  We shouldn't expect accolades from the world.  We don't meet them on their terms, so it's little wonder they won't like us.  This shouldn't surprise us. In fact, Jesus even said in Luke 6:26, Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets. If a believer is getting a lot of praise from the world, it should be a warning, according to Jesus.  First Peter 4:12-14 gives a similar admonishment:  Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though something strange were happening to you: but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that at the revelation of His glory you may also rejoice and be overjoyed.  If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory, and of God, rests upon you.  This passage reiterates what Jesus warned, and also gives an encouragement of future glory, when you are going through trials for Christ's sake.  In light of these passages, the meme I shared is completely obsolete to a Christian worldview, and should never have been shared.  

     Having said all of this, should we try to annoy or offend?  Should we intentionally shock propriety and then get a persecution complex when people don't like it?  No!  An extreme version of this is Westboro Baptist Church, which is famous for making hateful demonstrations against others, and then getting a superior attitude when they face opposition.  Others do this in less extreme ways as well, but it isn't how we are called to be.  Jesus said in Matthew 5:13 (right after He warned about persecution), Ye are the salt of the earth... and then in verse 14, Ye are the light of the world... In verse 16, we are urged by the Lord to let our lights shine, letting people see our good deeds and giving glory to God.  We should be doing right.  And many Christians do!  Christians are behind organizations such as the Goodwill, the Salvation Army, World Vision, Habitat for Humanity, Compassion International, and countless other groups that help others throughout the world.  People who gripe on Christians not being caring enough are ignoring the efforts of these and other Christians efforts.  

     Ultimately, though, it isn't about being kind.  It is about sharing the gospel.  Every poor person who is fed and clothed has an eternal soul that will spend eternity somewhere.  Feeding and clothing the poor, or doing other humanitarian acts, without sharing the life-giving message of salvation, is incomplete.  We absolutely should be doing good works, but the gospel message should always accompany them.  Walter and I give to different ministries, some monthly, some here and there as we are able, but one stipulation is that the people being served must be given the gospel and/or a Bible.  We have chosen to support a child through Compassion, because they guarantee that every child receives a Bible and Christian teaching, whereas several other similar ministries we looked into cannot make that claim, but only focus on physical needs.  

Our Compassion child, Kimberly, in El Salvador.  She is receiving physical care, as well as spiritual.  We regularly pray for her salvation.

     I have heard people say, "Worry about your own soul and your neighbor's stomach."  My response to this is: Why not both?  If you are sharing Christ with someone who is starving, the Christian thing to do is feed them.  If you are not equipped to help them long-term, you can and should become aware of resources in your community that can help, such as food pantries and other programs that assist.  But as believers, we are to preach the gospel.  That is our foremost calling.  Jesus' last command wasn't to "be nice."  His last command wasn't to "live out our beliefs."  It was to preach the gospel (Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:15, Acts 1:8).  Throughout the book of Acts, the apostles never failed to mention Jesus' sacrifice and offer of salvation, even as they helped in physical ways.  In Acts 6, the apostles realized that there were some physical needs that the Christians should be meeting, but they knew that for them to stop preaching and focus on that wouldn't be right for them, so they organized other believers who were called to make that their focus.  Physical needs were then met, but not at the expense of spiritual needs.  

     I first faced this conflict when I was in junior high.  I now see this as a time of refining and consecration in my life.  I had a teacher who was supposedly a Christian, Mrs. Larson.  She ridiculed me for my Christian witness among my peers.  She constantly accused me of "shoving it down people's throats."  To this day,  I cannot stand that phrase, because I associate it with that humiliation of being misunderstood and misjudged.  Sharing Christ is not "shoving it down people's throats."  I have met very few people who "shove it down people's throats," in fact.  I think this phrase is an overreaction.  The bigger problem, I think, is that not enough people are witnessing.  Mrs. Larson said we should "live it," but was she "living it" as she made fun of me?  Was she such an exemplary person that everyone around her just said, ,"Oh my goodness.  That woman is so wonderful.  I knew it!  Jesus really did die on the cross!  I must receive Him now!"  Of course not!  No one's testimony is that good!  Doing good deeds doesn't transmit the Romans Road into someone else's brain!  Good deeds add power to our words, and sometimes open the door for an opportunity to share...but they aren't to take the place of our words.  The height of irony was that, the summer between eighth and ninth grade, I led Mrs. Larson's daughter to the Lord at Vacation Bible School.  

     A popular quote often misattributed to Francis of Assisi says, "Preach the gospel at all times.  Use words if necessary."  This is not a biblical idea.  Romans 10:17 says, So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.  Words matter.  Good deeds are like money.  They are backed up by something.  If we do good things but fail to preach Christ, we are telling people, "Look at what a good person I am!"  My dad always told a story about a man he knew who thought he was living a great testimony before his neighbor.  For years and years, he thought he was representing Christ, although he never said a word about Him.  He just thought his life was his witness.  One day, many years later, this neighbor got saved, and he came and tried to witness to this man who thought he was being the great testimony without words!  When he shared that he was a Christian, the neighbor was shocked and said, "You lived such a good life, and I thought, 'wow, if he can live a good life like that without God, I don't need Him either.'  That's why I didn't become a Christian years ago!"  Absolutely live your faith...but give words to it too!  

     The Apostle Paul said in Acts 20:24, However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me--the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace.  Paul's calling was to preach the gospel.  That is our calling too, even as we fulfill other callings as well.  Paul restates this in First Corinthians 9:16:  ...but woe to me if I do not preach the gospel.  At the end of Paul's earthly ministry, he urged his protégé Timothy to Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season... (Second Timothy 4:2).  I like how the Living Bible states this: to preach the Word of God urgently at all times, whenever you get the chance, in season and out, when it is convenient and when it is not.  Some of these shallow, pop-Christianity things we see online sometimes undermine this urgency to preach the gospel.  

     19th Century evangelist Charles Spurgeon said, "You have never truly found Jesus if you do not tell others about Him."  

     Of course we should have a testimony that matches our words.  We're not perfect, and we shouldn't beat ourselves up about that.  We do our best with God's help.  When we fail, we make it right.  Sometimes, that is more powerful than if we didn't mess up.  One time, I handled a situation at work badly.  I prayed about how to handle it, and I was able to apologize to everyone involved and make it right.  My doing that ended up being a testimony to my coworkers, some of whom were unsaved.  They didn't see me as this untouchable, perfect Christian.  They saw me as fallible but faithful, and that showed them what God could do in their lives as well.  My boss saw me as responsible, and it led to a promotion for me.  That's another story, but all that to say that we won't always have a perfect testimony.  If we're being faithful, that's all God asks of us.  Seize opportunities He gives, and let Him do the rest.  If someone had decided that Christians are mean, that isn't on you.  You just keep being all Jesus called you to be!