Thanks BEP! Still in the military. Now a Staff Sergeant...God help my troops... How all of ya'll are doing well!

[by men; a man of sorrows,[c] and acquainted with[d] grief;[e]and as one from whom men hide their faces[f] he was despised, and we esteemed him not.4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows;yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities;upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way;and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth;like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who consideredthat he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death,although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief;[g]when his soul makes[h] an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,[j] and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,[k]because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors;yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.That's my Christ. The one who bore my Sins, so that I would have the chance of salvation. He IS Risen!]

Who has believed what he has heard from us?[a]
    And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
     and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
    and no beauty that we should desire him.
3  He was despised and rejected by men;
    a man of sorrows,[c] and acquainted with[d] grief;[e]
and as one from whom men hide their faces[f]
    he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4  Surely he has borne our griefs
    and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
     smitten by God, and afflicted.
5  But he was pierced for our transgressions;
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
     and with his wounds we are healed.
6  All we like sheep have gone astray;
    we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
     yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
    and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
    so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
    and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
    stricken for the transgression of my people?
9 And they made his grave with the wicked
     and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
    and there was no deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
    he has put him to grief;[g]
when his soul makes[h] an offering for guilt,
    he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
     make many to be accounted righteous,
     and he shall bear their iniquities.
12  Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,[j]
     and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,[k]
because he poured out his soul to death
    and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
    and makes intercession for the transgressors.

That's my Christ. The one who bore my Sins, so that I would have the chance of salvation. He IS Risen!

Hi there,

I know you used to be BEP. Haha. I was looking through my e-mails the other day and saw the folder with your name on it. It has been a very long time...I've been...away for a bit. Travelling will do that to you and life has a habit of carrying one around and about. We're doing well, just doing the military thing, by the end of it, i'll have been in Europe for 6 years. Great culture and great opportunities around here. There's a quote from a Josh Thompson song that I think fits here:

Our houses are protected
By the good Lord and a gun
And you might meet 'em both
If you show up here not welcome, son


We got a fightin' side a mile wide
But we pray for peace
'Cause it's mostly us
That end up servin' overseas



Just my thoughts.
Joshua

Welcome to the forum. Hope you find everything you're looking for and even a little something you don't

I serve in the millitary. As the head of my family, it is my job to ensure that they are safe from intruders or those that would seek to harm them...by any means necessary. I have no problem shooting someone who has committed themselves to disobeying the law by breaking and entering as a last resort if they cannot be subdued. On the seperate subject, there is great discipline in one that uses minimal force instead of just shooting the intruder. Just my two cents.

Josh

I am in the Air Force. I have been in for a year now. I am stationed in Germany and I do stuff that I can't really talk about. I don't know when I will be deployed, but the AF is fun. I'm proud of my service, and glad that i've been given a chance to come overseas. Yes we're not with family during the Holiday season, but I got my wife with me so that's really all that matters right now. So You can count me as one of those who are currently in. Laterz

Joshua

Meh. That sums it up for me. Here's something the military has taught me. It has ingrained into me the fundamental belief that no matter how we theologically and apologetically discuss the differing schools of thought, it all comes full circle to one crucial question: Did Christ exist in the capacity as Servant, King, Lion,Lamb,God and Son of God? Yes. Following this thought, we are faced with the question next: Did this "King of the Jews" die and was buried? Yes. Then the fundamental link that holds all of christianity together is the fundamental understanding that there is some measure of faith that is placed (to the Christian, Undeniably) in the fact that Christ died ONCE, was buried ONCE, remained in the Tomb, to be Raised by the Power of the Holy Spirit, to be seated at the right hand of the Father. It is by this knowledge of the sacrifice that was made (given by the Holy Spirit because this wisdom is of God) and the blood that was shed that covers all of our sins. All that being said: each person will have their own systematic theology that forms the basis of their belief system. Should we let that come between us? No. I have learned that there is a diverse nature in the matters of Theology, but the one common factor is a belief in a higher power (God) and His Son (Jesus) who came and took the form of man, but was God, and He lived among us without blemish, only to be put to death as a sacrifice, so that such perfect blood could cleanse us from sins. Romans says this: Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide(Q) never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.

It reminds me of the song "In Christ Alone." When I go into battle I think of that song.

n Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all—
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save.
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied;
For ev'ry sin on Him was laid—
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine—
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow'r of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.

So there you have it. In the end, those who experience the Power of Christ. We will be greeted in heaven "Well done my faithful servant."

My God is Sovereign, I am nothing without my God
My will is bound by His will as I seek to fulfill His will as He is my King.

Just my thoughts.

Joshua

Danke,

Well it's almost Christmas time. Got alot going on around here. I have to work the week of New Years, but my unit's been gracious to us and will give us some unscheduled time off and to come home early. Yea it's hard to believe that it's been that long. Yea i remember when I was 16 years old. Crazy to think that it's been 5 years ago. I tell ya what though. The Europeans know how to have a good time haha. We've met some great people in our stairwell. I'm about to have a cat for sale in a few minutes. My cat has decided to get on the kitchen table and eat the pine leaves off of my christmas tree. Gotta go chase him around.

Joshua

Well it's almost thanksgiving here and we have alot to be thankful for. I'm especially thankful that I can spend the holidays with my wife. Last christmas I didn't have a chance to because I was in basic. But i'll be here this year for her birthday and stuff.

Yea things are sure a mess. I get to be in the middle of it all being in the military. :-) I always said I wanted a front row seat when things started heating up. Little did I know i'd be sitting in Germany in the Air Force haha. HOpe all ya'll are peachy keen. We're snowed in over here in Deutschland. The wife is all well and i'm still healthy. Laterz

Luckily right now i'm on a 7-4 or 5 shift until I either go to panamas or night shift. So i have time on the internet... We love it over here. Luckily Labor day is a federal holida so we got it off. The wifey's making lasagna so i'm going to run and help her!

Well i've been on here 5 years, and i've grown up. I'm no longer that meager little 15-16 year old southern boy from the carolinas. I'm now married and in the US Air Force. I serve my country with honor and dignity. I"m proud to be an Airmen in the world's greatest Air Force. I have my lovely wife of two years here with me and we have a blast. I love her with all my heart and I love God. We learn through life's trials just how much we hold those things close to us that mean the most to us. I hope this finds everyone in high spirits and great health. Just thought i'd drop a line and let everyone know that Europe is great, and I'm out doing what i'm trained to do! Adios!

Coram Deo,

Joshua

Heh, my TI was a little californian who looked like a chiwawa (sp) He was llike 5'5 and had to look up to see us.  He was our chow runner the last night of basic because we got 0 demerits on parade. So we had a good time after that. We had about 10 people got recycled...we started with 42 and closed out with 32. It was nuts. But our TI was nuts, but we respected him and he was cool. I'm in Miss. now, and will be headed to Germany when i finish up here. Things are alot more relaxed here, and i'm half way through with stuff here. Yay. Anyways, got laundry and other stuff to do, seeing as tomorrow is back to the work week. Laterz.

Joshua

Yes, I loved basic lol...not really.  I survived basic and am now at technical training at Keesler AFB in MS. The weather sucks, but it's ok, i'm bored on the weekends, but that's because i cannot go off base, and it's the whole meeting new people and all that. But it's fun and interesting.Oh well, off to chow...laterz

Well, the day has come. I ship out Tuesday November 27th for Basic Military Training at Lackland AFB in San Antonio Texas. It's been a long time coming, but it's finally here. I wish you and yours a happy holiday season and many blessings. See ya in 8 weeks.

Joshua