A Good Soldier

Last night I listened to a brief story told by a 90 plus year old veteran of World War 2. It was his personal story of his experiences on the battle field. The story, which captured my attention immediately, includes accounts of being wounded three different times in three different battles in three different countries. It also included an incident where they should have killed him but God heard his prayer for mercy. The veteran spoke of being a good soldier, which caused me to realize that not everyone is a good soldier. More is required, to be a good soldier, than completing basic training. A uniform, although it identifies the soldier and makes him look handsome, doesn't make him a good soldier. A rifle on his shoulder and a helmet in his head are equipment every soldier needs, but they won't make him a soldier. Even being on the battlefield in the heat of battle isn't enough to make a person a good soldier. Listening to this veteran paratrooper I came to realize the characteristics of a good soldier were internal rather than external. They were ingredients of the inward man rather than the external characteristics that might attract our attention to the soldier. I had to think of King Saul from the book of First Samuel. He was attractive to the people of Israel as they looked for a king. He stood head and shoulders above every man in Israel. He seemed to have a humble demeanor when he is first introduced. Yet we quickly find that he is not a good soldier nor a good leader. His poor judgment and rash decisions lead Israel into situations that are very detrimental to them. In fact, when God is choosing a leader to replace Saul, he tells Samuel, "Men look at the outward appearance, I however, look at the heart." The Apostle Paul, in Second Timothy 2:3, encourages Timothy to "endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." Endurance must be a quality of a good soldier. As a good soldier you will have patience, and the stamina, to carry out the task before you. Being a soldier requires more than marching on the parade ground. A soldier is going to be in some difficult situations. He is going to have sometime of pain, fear, discomfort and stress. However, a good soldier is going to endure them. Suffering will be part of his life as a soldier. Several years ago, I listened to the story of a recipient of a "Purple Heart" as he told of the battle in which the Japanese wounded him. It was during World War Two and he was going in front of Marines that were landing on a South Pacific Island, with a mine sweeper. A sniper shot him, leaving him wounded on the beach. His fellow Marines were unable to reach him and he was unable to move because the sniper's fire had him pinned down. For two days he laid in the sand enduring or suffering the hardship of battle until they drove the enemy back and they rescued him. A soldier of the cross realizes that there will be sometimes when he must endure or suffer for the "cause" of Christ. Jesus said we would need to take up our cross and follow him. We would need to forsake things that are dear to us and put him first in our lives. A good soldier obeys orders. They might not always agree with what they have ordered them to do, but they carry out the command, nevertheless. The soldier realizes that he is only seeing and considering the immediate situation while the commander is looking at the whole battle. The commander understands what is required too win the battle. The good soldier trusts himself to the commander and follows his orders. We often look at our immediate situation and wonder if our "commander" is right in what he is telling us. Does he really understand what we are facing and where we are going, are questions that run through our mind? However, we must trust in the Lord! In fact the writer of the Proverbs says, "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding," (Proverbs 3:5). Another trait of a good soldier is hatred. I am sure this catches you by surprise, as it did me. However, a good soldier MUST hate the enemy. From listening to these veterans I learned that somewhere along the line, the war becomes personal. Up to that time you are just doing your job and trying to survive. Nevertheless, when they have wounded and killed friends and comrades and they have wounded you, the war becomes personal to you. A hatred is born for the enemy! A good soldier of the cross must hate sin! Sin is destructive! Jesus spoke of the thief coming to kill, steal and destroy. I have seen the destructive power of sin. I have seen lives broken and destroyed by sin. Marriages destroyed and ministries lost as the result of sin. Love is stolen, families crushed, careers sabotaged and lives ravished all because of sin. I hate sin! Sin has caused many broken hearts! I hate sin! One last trait of a good soldier is that he refuses to become involved with the enemy or anything that might distract him from his task. He is on a mission and nothing will stop him from accomplishing what he has set out to do. Paul told the young man Timothy that a man who is at war refuses to entangle himself with the affairs of this life. He wants to please the one who has chosen him to be a soldier. He remains focused on his task. The good soldier is not tangled up with civilian life. He is a soldier! An old song, which we sometimes sang when I was growing up, called "Onward Christian Soldiers." We are soldiers of Christ. He is our "captain" and is leading us into battle for our souls. The results are eternal so we must be diligent and watchful. Determine in your heart to be a good soldier. Purpose in your heart to be a good soldier. Make a commitment to endure the hardship that comes your way. Hate sin! Don't become entangled with this world. Trust your commander. Be a good soldier! Remember! It is just a thought!

Momma's on a Mission!

Unspeakable fear and uncontrolled thoughts race through her mind as she travels at a speed much faster than she is accustomed to. She doesn’t take the time to look behind her to see if anyone is following her. Nor does she really look ahead to see where she is going. Her eyes take in the objects, along the road, that she must miss, yet she isn’t aware of them. Momma was on an urgent mission! She had to reach the prophet! As she hurried along her mind went over the events of the past several years that had led up to today. She remembered, so well, the day she and her husband had first met the prophet. He had visited their little town and they had invited him to their home to eat. This was the first of many meals shared in their home with the prophet. She also remembered, with almost a smile, the day they had led him to the door of they had built the little room which was especially for him to use. Oh the look of surprise and gratitude that was on his face that day. Then, of course, she remembered the day that he told them they would have a son in nine months. That feelings of being afraid to dare hope it would be true that they would have a son after all these years. In fact, she had been so afraid, to accept the promise of a miracle child, she had told the prophet not to tease her with such a promise. Yet, despite her apprehensions, the son had been born. He was such a fine young man! He was sweet and loved his Momma. Also, he was energetic and wanted to be like his Daddy. In fact, just that very morning he had arose early and insisted that he accompany his Daddy to the field to work. “Momma,” he said, “I want to be a farmer just like my Daddy.” With great sorrow she recalled the events of that morning, including the servant rushing the boy to the house. He had developed a headache while in the fields with his father. While she held him in her arms, he had died! Now she is on the way to find the prophet! He had given her a promise and promised a miracle! The miracle and promise had come true. They had happened. Was she allowed to hold her miracle only to see it fade away so soon? Did she receive her promise for it to die in her arms? NO! She refused to accept that to be true! So, Momma was on a mission! When she had left the house, she had told her husband, who wondered where she was going, “It shall be well.” As she approached the home of the prophet, he spotted her coming down the road and sent his servant to greet her. She told the servant that all was well. Then she came to the prophet, the man of God, who had given her a promise that became a miracle and she pours out her heart. Momma is on a mission! The determination of this mother amazes me. We do not hear her say woe is me. Nor do we hear her say that life is not fair. What she does say, to the prophet, “You made me a promise and I told you not to make it if it wasn’t going to be true. Now I want my promise!” The prophet sends his servant ahead of them to the body of the boy. However, the Bible tells us, in Second Kings 4:30, this mother refused to leave the prophet. She was clinging to her miracle. There was “no give up” in her make up. Yes, her promise laid dead on a bed. I know, her miracle had died in her arms. However, no matter what the facts said, she wasn’t giving up on her promised miracle. Momma was on a mission. I remember the joy of holding my babies in my arms when they were born. The feeling that I felt, as I looked into their faces, is one that I will never forget. So, I can imagine how that mother felt, a few hours later, when her son sat on her lap again. No, I don’t know how she felt since. I have never experienced what she did that day. Yet I can just imagine the joy and thankfulness she felt as again she held her miracle. In fact, she was holding a “two time miracle!” How often do we give up on our promise? We dare to hope for it! We stretch to believe it will happen. Then when there is a problem, when some type of obstacle comes up, we give up and walk away. Yet, in spite of all of the evidence that shouted at this Mother to give up, she held on. Despite the fact it did not make sense to believe otherwise. This Mother held to the fact that the prophet had made her a promise and had received a miracle. She had said she didn’t want it if it wasn’t going to happen and it happened. So, she was going to cling to her promise and would again hold her miracle. Momma was on a mission. Hold on! No matter what the evidence screams at you! Cling to your promise. Keep holding on to your miracle. Know that it might not happen the way you planned it. Understand that God might want it to happen in a different way than you thought or planned for it to happen. This is the time to put your trust and confidence in God and allow God to be God! Oh the GLORY and HONOR that come to those who trust God to do his will in his own way. We have the promise! The miracle happens! It seems the miracle will pass from you. This is when faith has to happen and trust has to kick in. This is when we have to refuse to leave the source of our miracle! Make that your mission! I will have my miracle! I will hold on to my promise! Remember! It is just a thought! God bless.

I Know It Smells on the Ark...

I know it smells, but the Ark is the only thing floating! ~ Noah on day 299. Do you ever wonder about the conversations that took place on the Ark? It would seem that Noah and Mrs. Noah were on the Ark with their three sons and three daughters in law for about a year. Combine the close quarters of eight people with all of the animals and even a vessel as large as the Ark was will become very small. You have to wonder what took place and what was said. I wonder if they reacted like I sometimes tend to do? I find that sometimes when I am in the midst of being “saved” from adversity I complain about the method of that “salvation.” Rather than being thankful all I can see is the “stink” that is around me. Now you know the boat had to stink! Have you ever been to a zoo? Have you ever driven by a dairy? How about pulling up to a signal light and finding yourself setting next to a livestock truck? Anytime you get several animals together the natural result is going to be a smell. In fact it is going to be a really big, bad smell! A smell that would get more intense and eventually drive a person to a distraction! What do you do? The Ark is the only thing floating. There is no where else to go. Actually the Ark is your salvation. If you hadn’t gotten on board the Ark you would have drowned with everyone else. But now, the Ark is stinking and you are wishing you were anywhere but on the Ark. Been there and done that! I have often prayed prayers that go like this: “God I have got to make heaven no matter the cost and I need your help.” So God looks at me and sees some things in my life that will keep me from heaven and goes to work. Then in the midst of God’s mercy and grace I begin to complain that what God is doing in my life is too painful, it stinks! Another prayer that I have prayed is, “God I want to know you and to be like you. Show me what I need to do.” Again, God takes me at my word and begins to show me what I must do to know him and be like him. However, the cross is heavy, the road is lonely and, well, it just stinks! Yet when I look around me. When I look at all that is happening and going on in my world. I see a lot of destruction! There is so much that is failing! So many are drowning in the cares of life. They have put their hopes and trust in the things of life and all of its assurances only to have it wiped out. I know, the Ark is the only thing floating! So, despite the smell. Irregardless of how uncomfortable it might become I am going to stay in the Ark. I have found safety from the storms of life, in the Ark. I have truly found that I can rise above all adversity in life by remaining in the Ark. I will admit it isn’t always as pleasant as I would like it to be. However, it sure beats trying to tread water. Remember, it is just a thought!

You Might Lose Your Head But Don't Lose Your Heart

“You might lose your head, but don’t lose your heart” ~ Peter. Ok, I just made that up. Peter didn’t really say those words, that we know of. However, Peter did live a life that spoke those words. He dealt with persecution, imprisonment and eventually death. Yet through it all, he never lost his heart. It is so easy, when things are going good, to make statements and promises that are hard to keep during adverse times. Just as Peter did to Jesus. His promise was that even if everyone else left Jesus, he would stay and fight to his death. His intentions were good, he even drew his sword and took a swing at the enemy. However, when the adrenaline stopped flowing and things quieted down, Peter had second thoughts and lost his heart. The wise man tells us in Proverbs to guard our heart because the issues of life come from it. (Pro 4:23) Of course he isn’t speaking of our blood pumper, but the seat of our emotions and thoughts. This is the place many of our decisions are made. The influences of our lives come from our heart. It is from our heart that the voice whispers to us telling us to do something or not to do it. We would do well to be careful what we allow to come into our heart. There is an urgent need to protect our hearts. Not too many years after the night in the garden and the tragic mistake in the courtyard, Peter’s heart is once again put to the test. He is lead before a court and found guilty of preaching about Jesus Christ. The judge condemns him to death and he is led away to his execution. Of course we have no way of knowing but my imagination tells me that Peter’s heart was reminding him of the night so long ago when it had failed him. Oh the shame and frustration that had resulted from the wrong decision. No! It won’t fail him now. He might die for what he believed but he would die willingly. And he did! Yes, we might lose our head. Things might not go the way we planned or hoped that they would. However, we must protect our hearts at all costs. Our heart affects everything I do so I must keep it safe. Remember, it’s just a thought!