Call your bluff

There is a line in the song "Stay Strong" that goes; "Your in the moment now when all that you have been blessed with is not enough, here's where the ground gets loose, here's where the devils call your bluff. Stay strong You are not lost Come on and fix your eyes ahead There's a new dawn to light our day, our day You've gotta stay strong You and I run For the prize that lies ahead We've come too far to lose our way, our way."

When I was very young I grew up in a predominately Catholic neighborhood. All of my friends but one were practicing Catholics and I was the lone Baptist. (As a side note I thought we Protestants got a raw deal...when my Catholic friends had their First Communion they had a party and got gifts...we got bupkis) :-) Anyhow...I used to tell my buddies all the time that I was not afraid to die because I had accepted Jesus and I knew I would go to heaven when I died. I must have said it to them all too frequently and with an arrogant attitude because one day my bluff was called. I was crossing the street and not paying much attention and nearly go hit by a car. The shock and fear at my near death experience was written all over my face for all to see. My friend Peter piped up and said; Hey, Mitch I though you weren't scared to die?!?

While I am not advocating playing in traffic I think we as believers in the Gospel of Jesus Christ need to be cautious to not approach those who have not accepted Christ with a nonchalant or arrogant demeanor. The Devil and those who do not know Christ as their Savior are looking for kinks in our spiritual armor and they are watching us very closely to see how we will react to both the good and bad experiences of life. Is our faith established and firmly rooted or our our roots at surface level. Are we like the hardwood tree with our roots sunk deep into a deep relationship with God or are we like a pine tree with roots in the red clay? A big wind of tragedy, suffering or disappointment comes are way and we are blown over and our roots are exposed.

The Lord saw fit to call my bluff some years ago and the perfect storm hit me and I crumbled. My casual Christianity didn't help me stay strong and I knew there was no going back to the status quo.

I am so encouraged by my fellow believers who have gone through the trials of life and have testimonies that shine. I pray that when the devil calls my bluff that I will stay strong. Each and every one of us will eventually face that watershed moment in our faith. Will you and I be firmly rooted and able to withstand the storm?


Jeremiah 17:7-8
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”