Explaining a few things to friends
Good afternoon, Gang. This little post is more directed at my Guard friends. I want to explain something that I think will kind of make them understand me a little bit more.
When we joined the military, for whatever reason, it was explained to us that we would be giving up certain things we enjoyed as civilians. It's part of the deal. So is following orders you may not understand. A willingness to sacrifice your life if necessary in defense of the ideals our country stand for that are laid out in our Constitution is part of the deal.
Being a Christian is a lot like being in the military. You serve your commanders. I serve a different Master. I volunteered to serve Him, the ideals he represents, and follow His word as laid out in the Bible, just as you volunteered to serve your country. You follow regulations. I follow the Bible. Like you, when I became a Christian, I gave up certain things and quite frankly, I don't miss them. The words "service before self" have a new meaning in the concept"love thy neighbor". The two are very compatible, don't you think?
When you look at my faith in that context, it really isn't much different a concept than the ones you follow as members of the military. We took an oath to "support and defend the Constitution"; I made a choice to accept God's free gift of salvation by accepting Christ as my Savior. I've been forgiven of my many, many, many sins. In return, I was asked to do a few basic things: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, your mind, and your soul, and to love your neighbor as yourself; to take on the Great Commission to share the Good News with others (Hi, Others!); and to live a godly life according to His word. Doing this involves following some of the same rules you'd find in the Uniform Code of Military Justice (coincidence?).
We can't understand why God allows things to happen, like the disasters in Japan, or elsewhere around the world. Nor do I pretend to have a crystal ball, but I'm going to expound on a question my pastor asked the other day. He wondered something like why people wait until things are bad to turn to the Lord? Being guilty of this myself, I've asked myself this little question a hundred times. Why did I wait so long to read the Bible? So much of what I've brought upon myself could have easily been avoided if I'd done this one simple thing so many years ago. I have a feeling though that we're headed for our own tougher times in our country and as such, I think more and more are going to be led back to God. I'm hoping you find something in today's post that makes you ask yourself about your faith, about what you believe in, and what you're doing today to serve your Lord.
Without comment, I'd like to share this Scripture verse from Matthew 10:32-33 (NIV) 32 “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.
I hope you all are having a blessed day. I know I am. Why? I heard something inspiring at church today and had the opportunity to put it into practice. Today I'm filled with joy not only for that but for being able to share this little story with you.
When we joined the military, for whatever reason, it was explained to us that we would be giving up certain things we enjoyed as civilians. It's part of the deal. So is following orders you may not understand. A willingness to sacrifice your life if necessary in defense of the ideals our country stand for that are laid out in our Constitution is part of the deal.
Being a Christian is a lot like being in the military. You serve your commanders. I serve a different Master. I volunteered to serve Him, the ideals he represents, and follow His word as laid out in the Bible, just as you volunteered to serve your country. You follow regulations. I follow the Bible. Like you, when I became a Christian, I gave up certain things and quite frankly, I don't miss them. The words "service before self" have a new meaning in the concept"love thy neighbor". The two are very compatible, don't you think?
When you look at my faith in that context, it really isn't much different a concept than the ones you follow as members of the military. We took an oath to "support and defend the Constitution"; I made a choice to accept God's free gift of salvation by accepting Christ as my Savior. I've been forgiven of my many, many, many sins. In return, I was asked to do a few basic things: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, your mind, and your soul, and to love your neighbor as yourself; to take on the Great Commission to share the Good News with others (Hi, Others!); and to live a godly life according to His word. Doing this involves following some of the same rules you'd find in the Uniform Code of Military Justice (coincidence?).
We can't understand why God allows things to happen, like the disasters in Japan, or elsewhere around the world. Nor do I pretend to have a crystal ball, but I'm going to expound on a question my pastor asked the other day. He wondered something like why people wait until things are bad to turn to the Lord? Being guilty of this myself, I've asked myself this little question a hundred times. Why did I wait so long to read the Bible? So much of what I've brought upon myself could have easily been avoided if I'd done this one simple thing so many years ago. I have a feeling though that we're headed for our own tougher times in our country and as such, I think more and more are going to be led back to God. I'm hoping you find something in today's post that makes you ask yourself about your faith, about what you believe in, and what you're doing today to serve your Lord.
Without comment, I'd like to share this Scripture verse from Matthew 10:32-33 (NIV) 32 “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.
I hope you all are having a blessed day. I know I am. Why? I heard something inspiring at church today and had the opportunity to put it into practice. Today I'm filled with joy not only for that but for being able to share this little story with you.
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