Militant Faith
by Ben Erbacher

Here are some recent statistics from “Battle Cry for a Generation” by Ron Luce, that have been gathered relating to the condition of North American Teens

500,000 teen abortions annually

1 in 4 use illegal drugs

1 in 10 has been raped

40% have inflicted self injury

1 in 3 teens have been drunk in the last month

8000 teens contract a STD everyday

There are 1 million pregnant teens right now

340 000 teens get abortions every year

The average teen will see 14000 sexual references on TV each year

9 out of 10 teens have seen porn online

½ of teens are no longer virgins

1 in 5 teens has contemplated suicide

Over 1500 teens kill themselves ever year

53% of teens believe Jesus sinned

83% of teens believe truth is relative and depend on circumstance.

65% of teens say there is no way to tell which religion is true

30% of teens believe all religions are praying to the same God

The teens are real, the crisis is real and the battle is real.

I think that if you know a teen or if you are a parent of a teen the battle that we are in has probably become apparent to you. There is an on slot of devilish assaults that are being directed at our youth and society today. In some senses our generation has become oppressed with a looming cloud of destructive lifestyles, habits and problems that have taken a massive toll. If we as God’s people don’t respond with the power that Christ is in us we may only be experiencing the tip of the ice berg in how destroyed this generation and the next could become.

If this is the Battle, we are called to be the soldiers for Christ’s cause in this generation. Are we ready to take this challenge on? One great way to discover is to look to God’s word for an example of someone who was soldier in God’s army and freed his people and generation from oppression in his day.

Take a look at the story of Ehud in Judges 3:12 -31. Here is a man who got feed up with being subject to his oppressors and rose to win a battle for an entire generation. It set God’s people free from years of horrible oppression to years of incredible victory and freedom. I believe we need to learn from these things as we deal with whatever might be oppressing us. There is a real cry for battle that is needed in the church, for our young people and society these days.