God's Promises for American Heroes

[Soldier4Christ]

Safety First?

Ephesians 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. [11] Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. [12] 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.


We were rushing down the runway at Ft. Benning in a C-141 and settling in for the long flight to Ft. Bliss, Texas. We had grown so comfortable with our frequent trips to the desert that we ignored some of the basic safety precautions. Then suddenly there was deafening explosion. I jumped as though a bolt of lightning had struck me. A portion of the engine housing had ripped off. Now things like putting on a helmet and rolling down sleeves didn't seem so trivial. Both were done in seconds, but precious seconds that were only given by the grace of God. We made a safe emergency landing at a nearby airport. Seconds. That's all it takes. In the spiritual realm the unprepared trooper can have his or her life suddenly and irrevocably changed by a bad decision that the tempter has initiated. Be prepared. Put on the full armor of God.

[Soldier4Christ]

Truth Based Faith

Ephesians 6:14a Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist.


I was confronted with this question, ‘If I could prove to you beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus never existed, would you believe it?’ Without a second's hesitation I responded, ‘Yes.’ My challenger was dumbfounded and stood there with his mouth open. When he regained his wits he replied, ‘You are the first Christian I've met who has ever responded that way.’ Obviously, he'd been setting up trip wires for Christians for some time. I then explained that my faith was based on evidence gathered from the scripture, history, science, and my experiences in life. I told him I was pursuing the truth, not a fairy tale. Both he and I knew he could not disprove the existence of Christ. He was testing my foundation for faith. We seek the truth. Jesus said, ‘I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father but through Me.’ (John 14:6)

[Soldier4Christ]

Put On Your Flack Vest

Ephesians 6:13 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. [14] Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place...


Sometimes during PT we run in our flack vest to add weight and make running a little more challenging. Once PT is done, we can drop that heavy armor in the closet. When we are deployed, however, we wear it 24/7 because if lead starts flying we want to have it on. For the believer, our flack vest is RIGHTEOUSNESS. Not our own righteousness, but the righteousness of Christ. It's issued to us at spiritual birth. This spiritual flack vest is put on by acknowledging the fact that our good deeds don't cut it. If we begin to think that somehow our good works make us more acceptable to God, the spiritual shrapnel of Satan's accusations begin to wound us. We need Christ to protect us with His holiness. Nothing can penetrate the Righteousness of Christ. Keep your flack vest on.

[Soldier4Christ]

LPCs

Ephesians 6:15 ...and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.


As a young infantryman in training the Drill Sergeant kept saying to us, ‘We'll be traveling by LPCs today.’ We always expected some vehicle to pick us up and take us to our destination. Invariably, we would end up walking everywhere we went. Then we figured it out. LPC stood for Leather Personnel Carrier, boots! The soldier’s feet are one of his greatest assets and must be protected with properly fitted boots. They protect the feet of those on the go. Jesus commanded to us to ‘Go.’ In Matthew 28:19, He says, ‘Go, therefore, and make disciples...’ We are called to a mission. And, as we are going, part of our protection is the Gospel. Think about that for a few minutes. There's protection in sharing Christ and bringing peace into other's lives. Lace up those boots!

[Soldier4Christ]

Bullet Stopper

Ephesians 6:16 in addition to all, take up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one.


As I read Blackhawk Down, I was struck by the incredible punishment the Ranger convoy endured as it roamed the streets of Mogadishu. The lost string of vehicles became great sport for their enemy as both men and machine were riddled with bullets. One of the Rangers noted that it looked as though the sun was poking holes in the Humvee door. What a terrifying experience!  In the same way, our everyday lives are just as penetrable as our spiritual enemy tries to take us out. Without protection, we can be riddled with unholy holes.  We try to duck behind our own strength or wisdom for protection, but the flaming missiles of the evil one streak through it all. God is our only shield and our trust in Him deflects the enemy’s projectiles. By faith, we hunker down behind His love and promises and we are protected.  Take Cover!

[Soldier4Christ]

Put on your K-pot


Ephesians 6:17 Take the helmet of salvation...


In 4-64 Armor at Fort Stewart, we had a display case in the battalion headquarters. There were many artifacts from Desert Storm and one of the most interesting was a Kevlar helmet. It had been worn by a young Private First Class who is certainly counting his blessings everyday. The Kevlar bears the scars of a 7.62, AK-47 bullet. The helmet saved his life. That's a great description of the ‘helmet of Salvation.’  It's an eternal lifesaver and the scars it bears are those inflicted on the Lord Jesus at the cross.

[Soldier4Christ]

Weapon Proficiency

Ephesians 6:11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes...[17b] and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

The Word of God is compared to the weapon of the day, the sword. Today it can be compared to the rifle of the modern soldier. It takes familiarization, training and practice to become proficient with an individual weapon. I remember doing blindfolded assembly and disassembly, shooting in bad weather and at night.  We as Christians need to be just as serious in being proficient with our weapon, the Scriptures. We should read, study, memorize, and meditate on the Word of God.  Let me take this opportunity to encourage you to read your Bible daily.

[Soldier4Christ]

INCOMING!

Ephesians 6:18 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 saints.


The second offensive weapon in the full armor of God is prayer. Prayer can be compared to modern day artillery. It's called for over the radio from afar and able to rain fire on the enemy. In spiritual warfare, prayer is our preparatory and sustained attack on the plans of the enemy and allows us to participate in the work of God. I wonder how much has been accomplished in these last days by a nation united in prayer. Much more than we'll ever know.

[Soldier4Christ]

A BIBLICAL RESPONSE TO SEPTEMBER 11th

Nehemiah 1:1 The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah: In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, [2] Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem. [3] They said to me, ‘Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.’ [4] When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.


As Americans we have been rocked to the core with the horrific acts against our Nation this past week. As Christians, how do we respond? I'd like to take a break from our previous study and focus our attention on the events at hand. Hang with me for the next few days, even when it gets tough to read on.

[Soldier4Christ]

A BIBLICAL RESPONSE TO SEPTEMBER 11th (Part 2)

Nehemiah 1:5 Then I said: ‘O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands, [6] let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father's house, have committed against you. [7] We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.


We have wept and we have prayed, but have we prayed the prayer of Nehemiah? He remembers the power and the love of God. But he also acknowledges his weakness and sin. He confesses not only the sins of the past but he includes himself, numbers himself among the people. He takes personal responsibility for the sins of a nation. It may be a very unpopular thing to ask your brothers and sisters to come before God in these modern circumstances and ask them to reflect on and own the sins of a nation. We need to acknowledge our own personal sins. It's almost like throwing salt in the wound. Ah, salt. Perhaps the very healing property we need in this time of weakness. Let us humbly come before God and confess our sins.

[Soldier4Christ]

A BIBLICAL RESPONSE TO SEPTEMBER 11th (Part 3)


Nehemiah 1:8 ‘Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, `If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, [9] but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.' [10] ‘They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand.


Nehemiah prays and confesses the sins of the nation. He declares with accuracy the source of the devastation experienced by the Children of Israel. But then he makes a very important statement in his prayer. He reviews the promises of God found in Deuteronomy 28. God offered the children of Israel a very simple formula for blessing and curse. It can be summed up with the popular bumper sticker; ‘No God, No Peace; Know God, Know Peace.’ Nehemiah, as an individual, makes the first move of repentance by remembering God's promises and turning back to Him. A nation is the sum of its individuals. As we turn to God, will you commit yourself to helping just one more turn as well? It's the difference between blessing and curse.

[Soldier4Christ]

A BIBLICAL RESPONSE TO SEPTEMBER 11th (Part 4)

Nehemiah 1: 8 ‘Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, `If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, [9] but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.' [10] ‘They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. [11] O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.’ I was cupbearer to the king.



Nehemiah, in all his distress, prays to the Creator and asks for forgiveness. But he doesn't simply wallow in self-pity. He looks at the task at hand, rebuilds the walls and regenerates the people of God. He prays for success. As we look at our circumstances we are suddenly aware that our walls are down. Our security has failed. Our Nation is open to terrorist attack from shore to shore. Of course I speak metaphorically and we certainly cannot depend on a literal wall. Our ‘wall’ has been built on military strength, wealth, and technology. But when I suggest we pray for success, I think we ought to rebuild the spiritual walls of our Nation. I think we ought to invoke the protection of God by turning to Him. Lord, give our Country a spirit of repentance and revival.

[Soldier4Christ]

THE GOD WHO SEES ALL

PS 51:9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. [10] Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.


Have you ever been so relaxed around your supervisor that you said or did something you later regretted? Once I was talking to the Battalion XO and complaining about an issue. As I left the room I thought about how immature and petty I had sounded and wished I had never said anything at all. I made myself look bad in my supervisor’s eyes. But, those were my real thoughts and attitudes about the issues and as immature as they were, it was the real me. We try to hide our weaknesses from others in order to appear more mature or noble then we really are. We can't do this with God. He sees and hears everything, even the things hidden deep in our hearts. I'm glad we don't have to fake it with God. He knows us to the bone and when we confess our shortcomings He's ready and willing to forgive.

[Soldier4Christ]

When We Go Off

Proverbs 29:11 A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.

I was standing on the hood of a M-151 exploding on my warriors who stood there looking sheepish. A section of my reconnaissance platoon had just crossed a wide-open danger area with no security measures. I was spitting flames when it dawned on me, ‘These guys know I'm a Christian and here I am cussing and swearing and peeling the paint off my jeep.’ Some may be quick to let me off the hook with, ‘You were a Platoon Sergeant, that's the way you're supposed to act’ or ‘That's the only language troops understand.’ But the scriptures say that a man who can’t control his anger is a fool. Control is demonstrated when we consciously choose our words and how they are delivered. So now, when I feel like blowing up, I don’t act like a dud. C4 - Check Fire, Calm Down, Control Words, Communicate Effectively.

[Soldier4Christ]

Pay Back is a Medevac

Romans 12:19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.

We used to have a saying, ‘Pay Back is a Medevac.’ We would jokingly (and sometimes seriously) use this comeback when we had been slighted in some way or someone hurt one of our own. But, individual revenge is strictly off limits for Christians. We are commanded not to act as though we are judge, jury and executioner. We should leave the business of vengeance to God. There is no room for individual revenge in our Christian lives. However, before anyone relates this to Afghanistan and the war on terrorism read Romans Chapter 13. Individual revenge? No. Governmental justice? Yes.