Great Video on a loving Community

There is a bond created when we serve together that goes deep. This is a great video that represents the depths of bonding and the impact it can have.

Creating Conditions for Success

Military success has a lot to do with creating the conditions for success. Conditions like larger force, better weapons, better trained people, terrain advantages. Jesus talks about setting conditions for success in discipleship. Jesus talks about setting the conditions of the heart that will result in success in discipleship. He compares it to a king who is analyzing the conditions for success in battle.

“Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand?” Luke 14:31

He then states the discipleship condition that must be set in the heart of a person if he or she is to be a disciple of Jesus.

“So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.” Luke 14:33

How someone views their possessions is critical to setting the conditions for success in discipleship. If you think that your possessions belong to you and you live to accumulate and protect those possessions for  your own interests, then you cannot be a disciple of Jesus. A military person knows what this looks like. Everyday they have resources at their fingertips that do not belong to them. Their weapons, equipment, people under them, and even their own lives belong to the military. They are stewards of it all. So to, we are all stewards of what rightly belongs to God. We are to give up ownership of our stuff and realize that God is the true owner of all our possessions. When this condition is set, then God can use our stuff for His glory, our benefit, and in service to others.

Would  you limit the impact of your possessions to what you can do with them, or would you give them to Christ and allow Him to use them for His impact? Will you use your stuff for your own temporal glory, or His eternal glory?

Father in heaven, I recognize that you own everything that I have and all that I am.

Road to Unafraid

I am reading The Road to Unafraid, by Jeff Struecker. Jeff was one of the Rangers portrayed in the movie, Black Hawk Down. He writes about dealing with his fears from childhood through his military career.  In one story, he writes about coming out of a terrible firefight in the streets of Mogadishu, losing one man and another seriously wounded.  When he arrives back at base, he vented to God saying, “God, like, so what’s the deal here? How come this all fell apart on me? What am I suppose to do next?”

If you are in the military, it is just a matter of time before you question God about what just happened. All of us have those moments in life. I believe it is a question that God wants us to answer. Do we really believe that He cares about us, that He knows what is going on, and that He has the power to do anything about it? If we ask the questions, and get answers, then we can act on these beliefs in future situations. God wants us to know that He does care, that He know us, and that He has the power to act.

In Mark 4, Jesus takes his small group of disciples across the sea at night in a terrible storm. He is sleeping while the disciples are frantically trying to keep the boat afloat. They wake Jesus and ask Him, ““Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” Jesus answers this question, and the issue of His knowledge and power in His response and actions.

Does Jesus Care? – Where were they going on the boat? They were going to the other side to have an encounter with one man. He was a man who lived in a graveyard, possessed by 1000 demons. Jesus traveled at night in a storm to rescue one man, because He cares. He cares enough for one outcast to risk it all. He cares for you too. He not only wanted His disciples to know that He did care, but to ask them if they were willing to care enough for others to allow God to take them through storms to reach them. Jesus does care for you enough to die on a cross. Military men and women care enough for us to put their lives at risk to protect us. Will you allow Jesus to lead you through storms so that you may care for others?

Does Jesus Know? – Have you ever felt like you were going through a storm and Jesus was sleeping? Does He not realize the severity of the situation? Jesus knew about the demon-possessed man on the other side of the sea. Jesus knew what His disciples needed to learn about Himself. Jesus knows the storm you are in too. He also knows how He can use your storm to rescue others around you. If you knew about the pain of those around you, would you be willing to take some pain to heal their pain? Jesus knows, will you allow Him to use your life as healing ointment for others?

Does Jesus have Power? – Does Jesus have the power to do something about the situation? Well, He stood up and with just His words, He calmed the storm. He then went across the sea and cast 1000 demons out of the man and into pigs. He has the power to save our souls! God has the power to use your life to exercise His power. Will you trust Him to use His power in His wisdom?

The military takes care of people, gathers more intelligence, and has more power than any other earthly institution. Military men and women experience the responsibility that brings. The people of the nation come to trust the military will act on their behalf for the benefit of the world. Will you trust Jesus, who cares deeply, knows all, and is all-powerful, to act on your behalf for the benefit of the world?

Father, I trust you.

Where Faith and Love Collide, Part 1

Recently, I thought about a statement in Galatians that said that maturity does not come through the law, but faith working through love. So I thought about the definitions of faith and love and was surprised by how simple and connected the Christian life is. It just makes sense. With the complexities of life, I seek simplicity so I can make sense of it all and focus my heart and mind. So, here are my thoughts that are in process, I hope they help you.

The bookends of the 7 Character Qualities are “Love God” and “Love others”, the Greatest Commandment. They go together. You cannot have one without the other. “And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also” (1 John 4:21).

The reason we are able to love others is because God first loved us. And we are able to love others because we have received God’s love, we understand it and experience it, and therefore we can share it with others. How do we receive God’s love? Through faith.

Paul says in Galatians that the law does not lead to spiritual maturity, but only faith working through love. Well, if that is the key, then it seems like we should know what faith and love are and how they work together. Here is a simple definition of each…

Faith – Believing someone has your best interest in mind.
Love – Having someone else’s best interest in mind.

I heard a friend of mine explain love as having someone else’s best interest in mind. He said he read it from Dallas Willard. I think this sums it up. If I love you, then I will think and act on your behalf, wanting the best for you. I love my wife and kids, so I live for their behalf. God loves me. He has my best interest at heart. Not “best interest” as I define it. You know how we define interests… money, success, and nice stuff. He has our best interested as he defines it. That we may know him and experience that relationship and grow into godly maturity.

Faith, by itself, is a pretty neutral word. To have faith in something. I can have faith that a chair will hold me when I sit in it. I act on it, but it is not really life changing. But when we apply faith to something significant, it changes our lives. What does it mean to have faith in God in its simplest form? It means to believe that God has our best interest at heart. There is a lot packed into that. First of all, it is God. He is all-knowing and all-powerful. So He not only has our best interest at heart, but he can do anything about it. Therefore, we know that all things happen for good, because he has our best interest at heart and He is controlling all things as He acts on that attitude toward us. The most powerful sentence in the human language is… God Loves Me.

In order to live a life loving others at every moment, we have to have faith. The biggest thing that keeps me from loving others is that I am trying to take care of myself. There is part of me that is not satisfied with who I am or what I have, so I am seeking my interest, not others. There is a disconnect between my faith in God and my loving others. If I truly live in the reality that God loves me, that He has my interest at His heart and He is acting on it, then I am free to love others. Nothing left for me to worry about for me, because God is acting on my behalf. Now I am free to act on other’s behalf.

Now, imagine a community of people who live in this reality. In this community, not only do I experience the fact that God has my best interest at heart, but others do also. I now experience the biggie, having faith in God, but I also experience having faith in people. I believe that people have my best interest at their hearts. And as I act on behalf of others, putting their best interest at my heart, how do you think they will feel?

Lord, help me live in the reality that You have my best interest at Your heart (FAITH) and help me have others best’s interests at my heart (LOVE).

What is the opposite of Fear?

When you are getting ready to enter the battle, when you are entering a situation where you do not know if you will return alive again, what thoughts crowd your mind? How do you overcome fear so that you can do the right thing? Fear has caused many to turn from battle, from their comrades, from their country. Fear also keeps us from living. It causes us to protect ourselves at all costs.

So, what it the opposite of fear? What will help us overcome fear so that we remain strong in the battle, so that we do the right thing?

What are the thoughts of one going into battle? They think of their loved ones. They often write last messages of love to their spouses, kids, or parents. When they are done thinking of loved ones, they turn their thoughts to the men and women they fight with. How they will stand firm to protect and fight shoulder to shoulder with their comrades.

To overcome fear, one must put aside his/her own life and serve another. The opposite of fear is love. 1 John 4:18 states, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear.” To cast out fear, one must put aside his/her own life and focus on their actions benefiting others. This is what Jesus did for us. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). 

Jesus tells the crowd following Him, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me” (Mark 8:34). He also says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (John 13:34). So, to follow in the way of Jesus, we must deny ourselves, putting ourselves to death, and follow Jesus by loving others just as He loved us.

Overcoming fear comes through the same process as following Jesus on a daily basis. We must:

1. Put aside our own lives, because Christ loves us and purchased us with His death. 

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.  Galatians 2:20

2. Through love, serve one another. 

For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” Galatians 5:13-14

What does the Bible have to say about the Military? Part 2

The Military Person is Called by God.

If the Military is a God-Ordained Institution (see Part 1), then the Military Person is called by God to serve Him. Rom 13:1-4 says,

“Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.  Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.  For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same;  for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.”

The soldier is to be a minister of God who administers God’s justice. Therefore it is very important for our military men and women to walk with God. God established the government to provide us with good things and to protect us from evil people. The Government (including military) can be a tremendous blessing to a nation or the greatest curse.

One of the greatest things you can do for our military an d country is to encourage military men and women to walk with God. Pray for them. 

What does the Bible have to say about the Military?

The Military is a God-Ordained Institution.

God established the government as a provision and protection for the earth.

Until the time of Noah, God had been the One who issued judgement against evil on the earth. When Cain killed Abel, God judged Cain and would not allow man to harm him. In Genesis 4:15, it says, “Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him.”  

When Noah stepped off the ark, God ordained a new method of administering justice… the government. In Genesis 9:6, God says, “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man.”  

The military is a government designed institution that protects us from evil from outside our boarders. The police protect us from evil from within our boarders.

Romans 13:1-4 states, 

“Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.  For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. “

God designed the military to administer His justice.

If God has entrusted to man the right to bring evil to justice, how important is it for those who have that authority to walk with God? 

…to be continued

Commissioned to Serve

Christians who enter the military are under two commissions. You are commissioned by our Lord to fulfill the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20) and you are commissioned by the military to serve our country. The pupose of this blog is to provide a dialogue about how to fulfill both commissions.

Please provide input by making comments to this blog, answering the basic question:
What issues would you like to see addressed about being a Christian in the Military?