I am a soldier

  "Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and spoke saying:
    I will sing to the LORD, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea! The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; He's my God, and I will praise Him' My father's God, and I will exalt Him. The LORD is a man of war; The LORD is His name. " (Exodus 15:1-3)

  In these verses we see the people of Israel rejoicing in the victory over the Egyptian army that was drowned in the Red Sea after they had crossed over on dry land successfully. The imagery of God being the military leader of the people is throughout the Old Testament during the conquest of the promised land and then defending it for many years after. We are not soldiers anymore fighting for the promised land but we are still serving our Commander in His army today! The following is something I received at a men's conference many years ago that I hope anyone who calls themselves a disciple of Christ can relate with today:

   "I am a soldier in the army of my God. The Lord Jesus Christ is my commanding officer. The Holy Bible is my Code of Conduct. Faith, prayer, and the Word are my weapons of warfare. I have been taught by the Holy Spirit, trained by experience, tried by adversity and tested by fire.

    I am a volunteer in this army andI am enlisted for eternity. I will either retire in this army at the rapture or die in this army; but I will not get out, sell out, be talked out, or pushed out. I am faithful, reliable, capable, and dependable. If my God needs me, I am there. If He needs me in Sunday school, to teach the children, work with the youth, help adults, or just sit and learn, He can use me because I am there!

   I am a soldier. I am not a baby. I do not need to be pampered, petted, primed up, pumped up, picked up, or pepped up. I am a soldier. No one has to call me, remind me, write me, visit me, entice me, or lure me. I am a soldier. I am not a wimp. I am in place, saluting my King, obeying His orders, praising His name, and building His kingdom! No one has to send me flowers, gifts, food, cards, candy, or give me handouts. I do not need to be cuddled, cradled, cared for, or catered to. I am committed. I cannot have my feelings hurt bad enough to turn me around. I cannot be discouraged enough to turn me aside. I cannot lose enough to cause me to quit.

   When Jesus called me into this army,  I had nothing. If I end up with nothing I will still come out ahead. I will win. My God has and will continue to supply all my needs. I am more than a conqueror. I will always triumph. I can do all things through Christ. The devil cannot defeat me. People cannot disillusion me. Weather cannot weary me. Sickness cannot stop me. Battle cannot beat me. Money cannot buy me. Governments cannot silence me and hell cannot handle me! I am a soldier. Even death cannot destroy me. For when my commander calls me from the battlefield, He will promote me to Captain and then allow me to rule with Him! I am a soldier in the army, and I am marching claiming victory. I will not give up. I will not turn around. I am a soldier, marching heaven bound.

Here I stand! Will you stand with me? Guess what? If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, you're already enlisted! Question is, which part of the service are you in?

1. Active Duty: Serving the Lord faithfully, daily, and on duty 24/7!
2. Reserve Duty: Serving only when called upon once or twice a year; Christmas and Easter?
3. Guard status: Backing up the Active Duty group or
4. AWOL: Absent without the Lord"

Unknown author


PRAY

1. Lord thank you for allowing me to be a soldier in Your Army! Thank you for saving me and giving me the privilege to serve You where ever You need me to serve in Your church and in my family and community.
2. Help me Lord to be obedient to all your commands that I read in Your Word, the Bible, and help me to have a song in my heart when I do what You would have me to do.
3. Protect me from the "evil one" today and help me to put on the "Whole armor of God" everyday so that I can serve you and tell others about You and be protected from Satan and his demons.

You can trust Him!

  Our pastor shared this monologue with our church by S. M. Lockridge many years ago. Today I am happy to share it with you!

   “You can trust Him. He’s the One who made us. It is He who made us and not we ourselves. The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament His handiwork. No means of measure can define His limitless love, and no farseeing telescope can bring into visibility the coastline of His shoreless supply. I’m telling you today you can trust Him.

    No barrier can hinder Him from pouring out His blessing. He’s enduringly strong, and He’s entirely sincere. He’s eternally steadfast, and He’s immortally graceful. He’s impartially merciful. He’s the greatest phenomenon that has ever crossed the horizon of this world. He’s God’s Son. He’s the sinner’s Savior. He’s the centerpiece of civilization. I’m trying to tell you, Church, you can trust Him.

  He does not have to call for help, and you can’t confuse Him. He doesn’t need you, and He doesn’t need me. He stands alone in the solitude of Himself. He’s august and He’s unique. He’s unparalleled. He’s unprecedented. He’s supreme. He’s preeminent. He’s the loftiest idea in literature. He’s the highest personality in philosophy. He’s the supreme problem of higher criticism. He’s the fundamental doctrine of ‘truthology’. He’s the cardinal necessity of the spiritual religion. He’s the miracle of the age. He’s the superlative of everything good that you can call Him. I’m trying to tell you, you can trust Him.

  He can satisfy all your needs, and He can do it simultaneously. He supplies strength for the weak, and He’s available for the tempted and the tried. He sympathizes and He sees, He guards and He guides. He heals the sick. He cleansed the leper. He forgives sinners. He discharges debtors. He delivers the captives. He defends the people. He blesses the meek. I’m trying to tell you, Church, you can trust Him. He’s the key to knowledge. He’s the wellspring of wisdom. He’s the doorway of deliverance. He’s the path of peace. He’s the roadway of righteousness. He’s the highway of holiness. He’s the gateway to glory. You can trust Him.

  He’s the master of the mighty. He’s the capturer of conquerors. He’s the head of heroes. He’s the Leader of legislators. He’s the overseer of the over comers. He’s the Governor of the governors. He’s the Prince of princes. He’s the King of kings. He’s the Lord of lords. You can trust Him.

   His office is manifold. His promise is sure. His life is matchless. His goodness is limitless. His mercy is everlasting. His love never changes. His word is enough. His grace is sufficient. His reign is righteous. His yoke is easy. His burden is light. I wish I could describe Him to you. He’s indescribable because He is incomprehensible. He’s irresistible because He’s invincible. You can’t get Him off your hands. You can’t get Him off your mind. You can’t outlive Him, and you can’t live without Him. Pilate couldn’t stand it when he found out that he could not stop Him. Pilate couldn’t find any fault in Him, and the witnesses couldn’t get their testimonies to agree, and Herod couldn’t kill Him. And death couldn’t handle Him, and thank God, the grave couldn’t hold Him. There was nobody before Him. There’ll be nobody after Him. He has no predecessor. You can’ impeach Him, and He’s not going to resign. You can trust Him.

    He’s the Alpha and the Omega. The beginning and the end. The first and the last. He’s all things. He’s the giver of life. He’s the joy out of every sorrow. He’s the light of every darkness. He’s the peace that passes all understanding. He’s the giver of every good and perfect gift. You can trust Him. There’s no God before Him. There’ll be none after Him. He is the first. He is the last. He is preeminent. There is no other God.”

By S. M. Lockridge

    

PRAY:

1.     Thank you Lord that you are the Alpha and Omega. Thank you for being our light in a dark and evil world.

2.     Help me today to spend time reading You word and praying for you will to be done in the lives of the many people I know who are going through trials and heartache today.

3.     Lord help me to be salt and light to the people  you put me in contact with every day that I might reflect Your love to them and help them to know what a Awesome God you are.

Who is your compass?

   “The Lord will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.”  (Isaiah 58:11)

   Do you ever feel like you are wandering in the dark and are not sure in which direction you should go? You have no flashlight to see ahead and there is no GPS to tell you where to turn.  I was hiking in the woods a few weeks ago on a cold winter day and enjoying being out in the forest alone. As I walked, I suddenly had a flashback to December 1971, when I was as young soldier in the U.S. Army attending Ranger School.

   

    I remembered a night recon patrol my platoon conducted on a cold, moonless night in the forests of Fort Benning, Georgia. Our training mission required us to travel through a friendly unit in a defensive posture and be guided through their forftified position to include minefields and barbed wire obstacles. It meant we had to travel from that exit point and to move 3000 meters, conduct a recon of an enemy position without being detected, and then to return by a different route and reenter the friendly lines.

   I had been selected to be the compass man and another person would be the pace man to ensure that we could travel the distance there and back with some degree of accuracy. I had to plot the route to and from the objective, convert the map azimuth to a compass azimuth and then set the compass to traverse the route correctly. This meant that the point man would be the first man in the patrol and I would be second in line to direct him in the correct azimuth that had been set on the compass and the remainder of the men followed behind us.

    We took off and were able to travel the distance to the objective rally point near the enemy location, conduct the recon, and then start back on a different route without any problems. As I mentioned earlier, it was a moonless night and you could not see your hand in front of your face. All I could see in front of me was the florescent tape on the back of the point man’s patrol cap. If we hit a thicket of briars or an obstacle of any kind we always went through it. We could not see to go around anything and were relying on the compass to get us to where we needed to go.

    About halfway back to the friendly unit position the patrol leader stopped the patrol and came up to me. He said that the Ranger Instructor had told him that we were drifting to the right and that if I didn’t make a correction we might hit the friendly unit at the wrong place and hit one of their minefields. I told him that I had been following the compass azimuth as accurately as I could and it had guided us faithfully to the objective and I believed it would guide us to the right spot again. We continued on and when the pace man told me were within 100 meters of the unit entry point we stopped the patrol and the patrol leader and I went forward to make sure we were at the right place. We were dead on! We then linked up with the friendly unit guide to take us through his minefield and wire obstacles and finished the mission successfully.

     That night I learned that I could trust my compass to take me anywhere I needed to go on a dark night devoid of any other landmarks or other aides. It was trustworthy. It was accurate. It could be depended upon.

  In life we need something to depend upon also to get us to where we are going. The only faithful guide is Jesus! And the only guidebook we have to know Him better is His Word, the Bible. He wants to be our guide. He wants to be our master and friend. He wants us to have a relationship with Him everyday so that He can direct our feet on the path that is best for us. But He never forces Himself on us. He allows us to decide when and where we will meet and whether or not we will obey what He tells us to do or not to do.

    Is Jesus you Master? Are you spending time in His Word everyday so that you can know Him better and know how to please Him? Start today if you do not! You will never regret it.

“Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” (Psalms 119:105)

PRAY:

1.     Dear Jesus, You are my guide, and my commander. I look to You to lead me everyday and to be faithful even when I am not so faithful.

2.     Help me Lord today to spend time with You in prayer and in the reading of Your word. Show me what I need to know to be a better steward of this life You have given to me.

Thank you, Jesus for dying on that cross and taking the penalty for my sins so that You could adopt me as Your son or daughter, and to live eternally with You when You return to set up Your everlasting kingdom.

God's Book--God's Voice, The Bible (part 2)

A.     ITS INERRANCY

1.     Three important doctrinal terms:

a.     Revelation—when God gave His truth.

b.     Inspiration—when writers of the scriptures received and recorded His truth.

c.      Illumination—when we understand and apply His truth.

2. Revelation has ceased. Inspiration has ceased. But illumination is going on right up to this moment! Right now as you hold His book, The Holy Spirit is incessantly at work instructing you and giving you New Hope and clear direction.

2.     How can we be sure that God’s word is free from error and deserving of our trust?

a.     “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction, if righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

b.     All scripture inspired. Not inspired like a painting by Picasso, a sculpture by Michelangelo, or a play by Shakespeare, but inspired as in “God breathed.”

3.     How did God do it?  “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:20-21)

a.     Men moved by the Holy Spirit.

b.     Moved is a nautical term describing a ship without a rudder or sail at the mercy of the wind and the currents.

c.      Moved without its own power and energy.

4.     Writers, who without losing their own style and personality, wrote His truth under divine control.

5.     “Inerrancy means that when the facts are known, the scriptures in their original autographs and properly interpreted will be shown to be wholly true in everything that has to do with doctrine or morality or with social, physical, or life science.”

                                                                                     Paul Feinberg

B.     BENEFITS OF RELYING ON THE BIBLE

1.     STABILITY IN THE MIDST OF A STORM “You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies: For they are ever with me.”(Psalm 119:98) It gives you a deep sense of purpose and meaning. “I have more understanding than all my teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation.” (Psalm 119:99)

a.     People who really know their Bible are not intimidated.

b.     You can be outnumbered, but not intimidated, because you have the truth, which gives you insight.

2.     WE GAIN MATURITY. “ I understand more than the ancients, Because I keep Your precepts.” (Psalm 119:100) You will have more understanding than the aged as you rely on this book.

DO YOU WANT STABILTY? WOULD YOU LIKE INSIGHT? IS IT YOUR DESIRE TO HAVE MORE MATURITY? OF COURSE! ABSOLUTELY! ALL THAT – AND MUCH MORE CAN BE FOUND IN GOD’S RELIABLE WORD. RETURN TO THE ROOT OF TRUTH. LEAN ON IT. START TODAY. IT WILL HOLD YOU UP AND KEEP YOU STRONG. WHEN IT COMES TO THE FINAL AUTHORITY IN LIFE THE BIBLE MEASURES UP.

(Condensed from chapter 3 of Growing Deep In The Christian Life by Charles R. Swindoll, 1986, Multnomah Press, Portland, Oregon.)

PRAY:

1. Lord You are my "shelter from the storm" and "strong tower." I will spend time with you in the coming year so that You will be my Teacher and my Guide.

2. Help me to grow in wisdom and maturity as a "saint" that is not afraid to talk to others about You and the magnificence which is Your Bible.

3. Lord help me daily to look to You for my strength and for wisdom to live a life that is acceptable and worthy of the title You have given me as Your child.

God'd Book--God's Voice, The Bible (part 1)

   One of the finest chapters I have read over the years was written by Pastor Chuck Swindol, President of Dallas Seminary and Pastor of several churches during his life. This chapter from one of his myriad books, I have used to teach Sunday School classes, Men's Bible studies, and the teaching of young pastors in India. It meant a lot to me when I read it and when I had the opportunity to share it with others. I hope you find it uplifting and encouraging as we get ready to start a new year with all its promise and challenges. Because of its length it is summarized and provided in two parts:

A.     THE ABSOLUTELY TRUSTWORTHY CRUTCH

1.     The Bible is the authority, the final resting-place of our cares, our worries, our grief, our tragedies, our sorrow and our surprises.

2.     Psalm 119 speaks of a man who knows what it means to hurt.

a.     He is no stranger to suffering (“MY soul faints for Your salvation, But I hope in Your word. “ (Psalm 119: 81)

b.     He waits for God’s word, not human reasoning (“My eyes fail from searching Your word, Saying  ‘When will You comfort me?’ (Psalm 119: 82).

c.      God’s assistance is not always immediate (“The proud have dug pits for me, Which is not according to Your law. All Your commandments are faithful; the persecute me wrongfully; Help me! They almost made an end of me on earth, But I did not forsake Your precepts.” (Psalm 119: 85-87).

d.     His only hope is God’s Word  (Unless Your law had been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction,” (Psalm 119: 92).

“IF THY LAW HAD NOT BEEN MY DELIGHT THEN I WOULD HAVE PERISHED IN MY AFFLICTION.”

3.     In a world of relativism, the Bible talks in terms of right and wrong, good and bad, yes and no, true and false. It tells us straight. It provides the kind of solid foundation you and I need.

B.     WHY THE FOUNDATION IS SO DEPENDABLE

1.     In Luke24: 27 it is called  “The scriptures” (that which is written). In other words, the sacred writings.

2.     God did not simply think or speak His message. He insured that it was actually written down.

3.     In John 17:14-17 Jesus tells us that “thy word is truth”. This is not human counsel; it is truth—divine counsel. It is honest. It has integrity. It is as absolute as it is timeless.

4.     Truth, real truth, truth you can rely on, truth that will never turn sour, that never backfires, that is the truth of this book.

5.     As Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 2:13, “When I presented the truth of what Moses, Jeremiah, and Amos had said, you saw it for what it really was—the very word of God.”

6.     When you realize that the print on the page you are reading is, in fact, God’s message, God’s Word, it stands alone. Absolutely unique---in a class by itself.

     There are only two eternal things on earth today, only two: people and God’s Word. Everything else will ultimately be burned up—everything else! 

   “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because ‘All flesh is grass, And all the glory  of man as the flower of the grass,. The grass withers, And the flower falls away, But the word of the Lord endures forever.” (1 Peter 1: 22-25)


What is your plan for spending time in God's word for the coming year? Do you have a plan. I know you have heard the saying: "If you don't plan, then you plan to fail."

(Condensed from chapter 3 of Growing Deep In The Christian Life by Charles R. Swindoll, 1986, Multnomah Press, Portland


PRAY:

1. Dear Lord, help me to set up a plan and stick to it that has me read Your word every day. 
2. Help me to really read, looking for You to speak to my heart and for me to have a teachable heart that is quick to obey and to apply what You teach me to my everyday life.
3. Help me not to be afraid to share with others what You are teaching me and to encourage them to spend time with You also in Your precious Bible!

God came down!

  “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.” (Philippians 2:5-7)

    At this time of the year we celebrate the birth of Jesus and how God, in the form of His Son, Jesus Christ, left Heaven and was born of a virgin in stable in Bethlehem of Judea over 2000 years ago. Have you ever stopped to think of the magnitude of what God was willing to do for you and me? The prophet Isaiah prophesized 700 years before He was born that: “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14) Immanuel means “God with us”. That is what God did! He came down and lived among us for thirty-three years and then gave “His life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28b)

    Have you ever stopped to think about what it meant for Jesus to leave His place in heaven and to come down to earth to live as a human being in a poor and “foreign” land? My wife, Miriam, and I have spent some time in third world countries on various short term and one long term mission trip. One trip comes to mind immediately though, when I think of the shock one receives when going out of our native “industrialized” country to a completely different, more impoverished country.

  

    In 2000, Miriam and I and one other man went to support a pastor in Paramakudi, India. We were to preach at some outdoor gatherings (no longer legal in India), and teach some local pastors. We arrived in Mumbai (formerly Bombay) and had to stay overnight in a hotel before continuing our travel to Madurai by domestic airline and then by vehicle to Paramakudi. We landed at midnight in heat and the humidity and took a vehicle through the winding and dirty streets of Mumbai to get to the hotel. The multitude of people and traffic, even at that hour, was overwhelming. Homeless thousands slept on the sidewalks in makeshift shelters of cardboard and cloth and people were even cooking and sleeping next to night workers welding steel at a construction site. There were stray dogs, pigs, and cows roaming everywhere and there were open plots of land right next to houses with garbage piled high. (There is no garbage service.) There were open sewers that lent their smell the to the atmosphere and the incense being burned at Hindu shines that had the most demonic looking figures of gods that you can imagine.

     We arrived at the hotel, which was nice by Indian standards, but was a little different from the U.S. The shower was a bucket with a cup in it next to the facet. The water was cold. The toilet was a hole in the ground with two footprints marks where you would put your feet to squat over the hole and the room looked as though it had not been dusted, nor been cleaned well, in a while.

   As we lay in the bed I confess that I fell asleep fairly fast. Miriam could not. But it was not the lack of cleanliness, nor the poverty that she had witnessed that hit her hard. It was the spiritual darkness she could feel in that country that is shrouded in darkness and where the Hindu religion permeates every aspect of the country with its caste system and its stifling rules on what one can do or be in life.

    As she lay on the bed unable to sleep and feeling the oppression of her spirit she heard the Holy Spirit speak to her heart. He said: “You are feeling just a small part of what I felt when I left heaven to come down and live on the earth.” Miriam started to cry and she felt a heartfelt need to pray and to thank Jesus for all that He was willing to do for her in leaving His home in heaven and becoming a mere mortal so that He could die on a cross for our sins and be our High Priest!

   “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”(Hebrews 4:15)

  So how about you? Are you thankful for what God, though His Son, Jesus Christ, was willing to do for your sake? If you are, thank Him today! Oh yeah, don’t forget to tell someone else that doesn’t know Jesus about what He has done for you also!

PRAY

1.     Thank you Lord Jesus for coming down to live among us and live a sinless life so that You could be our Savior.

2.     Help me to remember Your compassion for Your lost sheep like me, and that You allowed Yourself to be born in a humble stable in Bethlehem so that You could be our sinless and compassionate High Priest.

3.     Lord help me to remember Your love for me throughout the coming year so that You will be lifted up and others will know You as their Savior as I do today.

     

    

Is your heart a Bethlehem?

    

   “And the angel answered and said to her. ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.’” (Luke 1:35-37)

     This time of year it is always exciting to read the story of Jesus and the ordeal of Joseph and Mary as they were obedient to God as the earthly parents of the Son of God. Oswald chambers does an excellent job, as usual, reminding us just what the advent of Jesus that blessed Christmas day really means for us:

      “Jesus Christ was born into this world, not from it. He came into history from the outside of history; He did not evolve from history.

       Our Lord’s birth was an advent; He did not come from the human race, He came into it from above. Jesus is not the best human being, He is a Being that cannot be accounted for by the human race at all. He is God Incarnate, not man becoming God, but God coming in human flesh, coming into it from the outside. His life is the Highest and the Holiest entering in at the lowest door. Our Lord entered history by the Virgin Mary.

      Just as our Lord came into human history from the outside, so must He come into us from the outside. Have we allowed our personal human lives to become a ‘Bethlehem’ for the Son of God?...The conception of new birth in the New Testament is of something that enters into us, not of something that sprang out of us.  (Oswald Chambers, The Psychology of Redemption)

    Have you allowed your heart to be a ‘Bethlehem’ for Jesus or have you put up a sign that says: ‘no room in the inn?’ If you have not let Him in, then what better time is there than now? “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2) Take the time now to open your heart to Him. You will never regret it!

PRAY:

1.     Oh Lord my God, how I long to know You better and to be Your faithful son or daughter.

2.     Help me today to totally surrender and abandon myself to You that You may guide my steps aright and keep me on the path that You have prepared lovingly for me.

3.     Keep me faithful to spend time with You everyday and especially this Christmas season as we remember Your willingness to leave heaven, to live with us, and to die on a cross for our sins that we who accept You as Lord and Savior might live for you here on earth and with you in heaven for eternity.