Repentance is the start of our spiritual journey with Jesus. Sin breaks our relationship with God, but our repentance along with God’s forgiveness restores it.  “If we confess our sins, he (Jesus) is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

However repentance is not something we can do all on our own, a proper repentance requires God’s grace. So let us pray that Jesus gives us the grace to be aware of our sins, to be truly sorry for them and to amend our lives and provide proof of our repentance with new attitudes and new choices. St. John the Baptist urged the people to repent and “produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” Matthew 3:8

Jesus warns us “Unless you repent, you too will all perish.” Luke 13:3

The atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross redeems all souls who will confess their sins and repent, but what do we do to help souls who are not repenting?

My answer is we pray for them without ceasing! We repent and we make our lives right with God. We worship Jesus as He requested by receiving the Sacraments of Eucharist and Confession and we learn His commandments and precepts by studying His Word and we work every day to honour Jesus and do His will. We must offer our lives and our suffering up to God in atonement for the many sins in the world and pray that God gives souls that are not repenting the grace to do so.

I have gone from being an unformed, unevangelized Christian to being an informed, evangelized Christian. As an uninformed Christian it is easy forget that we have a responsibility and an accountability to help souls that are greatly defiled (i.e., in a state of mortal sin) but as informed Christians we must commit not only to repenting but to enlisting in God’s army as Soldiers of Christ as proof of our repentance.

Soldiers of Christ are fighting a spiritual war every day against the forces of evil that are preying on souls all over the world. The forces of evil are responsible for moral impurity, greed, violence, war, hatred, anger and injustice of all forms. Consider for example the horror committed against children in Africa being forced to wage wars. These children are commonly called “Child Soldiers”. These poor children are forced to become assassins by demons using various forms of psychological and physical coercion. Can you imagine God’s wrath! “It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble.” Luke 17:2

So what can Christians do to fight all forms of violence and injustice in the world? We must be ready to fight and conquer the Satanic forces by putting on the armor of God and becoming Soldiers of Christ!

The Armor of God

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” Ephesians 6:10-18

Soldiers are commonly involved in covert, secret operations and Soldiers of Christ are often working in this way, in secret. If you are a Christian, don’t be an uninformed one. Repent, be forgiven, and enlist in God’s army and fight the good fight by helping Jesus to save souls. Remain close to Jesus, trust in HIm and believe in His mighty power to teach you His truth, to enable you to live a righteous and holy life and do not be careless about prayer.

No good soldier is untrained. They know their orders and they follow them. Failure to obey instructions, often gets soldiers killed.

I had the privilege once of meeting with professional soldiers and their commanding officers. They told me that when they were not fighting, they were training. As committed Soldiers of Christ we must keep learning from Our Lord and take up the “sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” Ephesians 6:17

Remember Our Saviour every day as you stand at the foot of the Cross at the time Jesus died for us 3pm and pray for the sake of Your sorrowful Passion Lord have mercy on us and on the whole world! Save all souls Lord! For You are Our Saviour, Our Lord, Our God! We trust in You! Lead us and teach us to be instruments of Your peace!