November 11th is Veteran’s Day. This is a day that is set aside to honor those who have served in the United States Armed Forces. I am counted among those who are considered veterans, having served in Kuwait and Iraq, and in a few short months will deploy to Kosovo. I am proud to have served my country. I did my job and will gladly do it again.

I do not consider myself a “hero” for serving, even though some have tried to call me one. I consider it a duty to my country, a simple act of loyalty to the nation I call home.

I feel the real heroes are those that remain home while the Service Member deploys overseas. Those left at home must pick up the additional responsibilities and perform “double duty” for many months while their spouse is away. The real heroes are the kids that suffer through the sudden loss of a parent and must continue with their lives without any assurance that their daddy or mommy will come home. The real heroes are those that continuously pray for the Service Members doing the job in a foreign land. Nearly everyone is effected by warfare and the real heroes are those that support the warriors through prayer and deed.

The power of prayer is enormous and many people do not recognize it. While stationed in Iraq I felt no fear while God’s strength was passed on to me by the many prayer warriors in my life.

I ask you to support the Service Member who is deployed. Pray that Soldier, Sailor, Airman, or Marine may have strength and “dwell in the shelter of the Most High [and] will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” (Psalm 91:1) Additionally, I ask you to support the family members with whatever needs to be done to fill the vacant shoes. Simple acts of support can remove a huge burden for the family member and benefit the Service Member overseas.

In doing so, you too, can be a real American Hero.

God bless you and thanks for visiting.

After studying the ants and reflecting on their hard work, my family continued on their hike at Ha Ha Tonka State Park. They soon came to a portion of the trail with large stones jutting up from the surface of the worn path, which sloped gradually downhill. To the right of the path is a much steeper slope that drops nearly two hundred feet to the spring-filled valley below. Many of the rocks that must be walked upon are moss covered and treacherous, particularly after a rainfall or during the morning dew. In other words, it’s dangerous here.

As my family carefully traversed this hazardous section, they maintained constant focus on the path in front of them, carefully placing their feet to avoid the stumbling blocks in their way. These slippery stones reminded them of sin and the temptation to sin.

Temptation is truly a stumbling block on our journey of faith. One wrong step can quickly send us to our knees in repentance, or tumbling down the slippery slope of destruction. 

We are commanded by God to turn away from our sins in repentance, “so that iniquity may not become a stumbling block to you.” (Ezekiel 18:30) Just as my family carefully avoided the slippery, jagged rocks on the trail, so must we avoid placing our faith in anything that is worldly, and therefore sinful. We must instead place our faith in the solid rock that is Jesus Christ. He promises to lead us and guide us along our journey. ^“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.” (John 16:13) He will help us to avoid the inevitable stumbling blocks, (Luke 17:1) and through Him we will not cause another to stumble. Through Jesus and faith in Him we can walk confidently along the path He has set for us.

Eventually, my family made it to the bottom of the valley without stumbling. The path there was smooth and level. The Good News is that Jesus is coming again! When He returns, the stumbling blocks will all be removed forever and He will make our paths straight, just as He smoothed the path for my family at the bottom of the valley.

(40)“So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age.  (41)The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness,  (42) and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 13:40-42) 

God bless you and thanks for visiting.

As my wife and children continued their hike at Ha Ha Tonka State Park, they left the natural bridge and soon found a small group of ants. The tiny red ants were busy gathering food for the rest of the colony.

One group in particular caught their attention. Several ants had gathered together to carry a large beetle back to the anthill. The ants looked like a small group of men trying to move the Astrodome on their backs, using nothing more than sheer determination and brute strength to get the job done.

What can we learn from the ants?

First, we must work together to accomplish the mission God has set before us. Just as the ants worked together to move the beetle, so must we work together to spread the Good News. Even though we are different parts, we are still part of the same body, the body of Christ. “⁴Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, ⁵so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” (Romans 12:4-5) We must not allow adversity to set us back. We must work together, united, to further the work of the body of Christ, encouraging and strengthening one another as we move forward.

Second, everyone must participate. God has provided each of us special talents we are to use to glorify Him. “Each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.” (1 Corinthians 7:7) God gave each ant a job to do and each one helped to carry the burden. They did not bicker or gripe about how they were feeling at the moment, nor did they complain about being forced to do something that they didn’t want to do. They simply saw a need and did what was required to fulfill the need. If one ant had rebelled and refused to help, the entire colony could suffer and the evening meal might not make it to the table.

Third, we must each do what God has called us to do. The Queen Ant remains busy laying her eggs, the worker ants are busy gathering and storing food, the warriors are busy protecting the colony. Each ant has its own place in the colony and does its job faithfully. We, like the ants, must learn what our jobs are and perform those duties faithfully. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” (Colossians 3:23)

And finally, we must not give up. The ants persevered through difficulty after difficulty until the beetle was at the anthill. They crossed large hills, deep valleys, and were interrupted by my wife and kids. But they kept their eyes focused on the goal and kept marching until they reached it. We, too, must remain focused on Jesus and remain focused on the job He has laid out for us. “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1-2)

Friend, we can learn much from the ant. If we work in unity using the gifts God has given us for the work we are assigned, persevering through the challenges we face, we will accomplish great things in the body of Christ. Through faith in Christ, a small group of men CAN move the Astrodome on their backs! Jesus said,”I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20)

       Go to the ant, you sluggard;
       consider its ways and be wise! (Proverbs 6:6)

God bless you and thanks for visiting.

The other day my wife and children went to Ha Ha Tonka State Park to hike the trails. While there God provided several life lessons through His natural wonders and beauty. The next several blogs will reflect some of those lessons.

They left the parking lot and immediately walked under a natural bridge. The layers of different types of rock were readily visible at this formation. God teaches us through His natural wonders. This rock bridge may be compared to our hearts. The many layers of rock represent the layers of sin that work to harden our hearts. Over time, our hearts become calloused and we are unable to show the love that comes from knowing God.

Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” This means we must be careful what goes into our hearts because our actions, and our very lives, depend on what is stored there. If goodness is in our hearts, then the things we say and do will likewise be good.

Of course, the opposite is true as well. If we continuously fill our hearts with evil, then we form rock bridges, caves, and hardened hearts that can only be busted by the Holy Spirit. Our Lord Jesus said, “You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matthew 12:34)

Natural rock bridges are beautiful formations created by the finger of God, but they are dangerous when formed around a human heart. I pray that you will fill your hearts with the Holy Spirit to keep that muscle soft and continuously pumping life-giving blood to the rest of your bodies.

“As water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man.” (Proverbs 27:19)

 God bless you and thanks for visiting.

I used to be a “pack rat.” I liked to hold on to things well beyond their useful lifespan. My house was full of things that had outlived their usefulness simply because I felt that “I might need that someday.” My wife, however, threw stuff away as soon as she was done using it. Out of my own selfishness, I often found ways to maintain usefulness for “junk.” In the end, we have managed to maintain a fairly good system of checks and balances. Only on very rare occasions have we thrown something out that we should have kept.

The Geresenes (across the Lake from Galilee) had such an experience when Jesus came to them. Luke 8:26-38 tells us that when Jesus stepped ashore he was met by a demon-possessed man named “Legion,” for there were many demons within him. Jesus then expelled those demons from the man and cast them into a herd of nearby pigs. The pigs then ran into the lake and drowned.

The local residents were afraid of Jesus and were more concerned about the loss of their livestock than for the gift that Jesus was offering them. Jesus came with the gift of eternal salvation and even performed a miracle among them. However, the people could not see past the short-term loss of a bunch of pigs and threw the Savior out like a bag of trash.

How often does our short-sightedness still lead us to throw away the gift of eternal life? The “need” for that next drink, just one more “hit” on the glass pipe, or a few more bucks to spend on ourselves have kept many from realizing the freedom that can be received through Jesus Christ. Our earthly desires and “wants” have kept us eternally separate from our Savior, casting Him aside like some unused piece of furniture.

What is more important, junk or Jesus? We must learn how to “unclutter our lives” while maintaining focus on that which is most important. Let’s get rid of our junk. The clutter (spiritual and physical) acts like static on the radio, interfering with our communication with God. Ultimately, we must make a choice between our junk and Jesus. I pray that we will make the right choice, choosing to eliminate those things that seperate us from our Savior.

As Paul told the Philippians, “What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ…” (Philippians 3:8 )

If the Geresenes had made the right choice, how blessed could they have been that day? How blessed could you be if you tossed out the garbage?

God bless you and thanks for visiting.

Over the next couple of weeks thousands of partiers and revelers will descend on Lake of the Ozarks as another holiday rolls around. The entire region needs your prayers for safety and wisdom for those who are on the lake. We have had a rough start to the 2007 boating season with the number of drownings and fatalities double what they were this time last year. Unfortunately, nearly all of these were preventable.

The single common factor in each of the drownings that have occurred this year is also the most preventable – alcohol. A drunken swimmer often gets disoriented and overestimates his ability. He may even swim down, rather than up, seeking air. Shortly afterward, the Water Patrol is looking looking for him with drag bars or divers because he took a big gulp of water instead of air.

Alcohol affects vision, judgment, and coordination. It also causes the drinker to lose inhibitions, which in turn, leads to doing things which are otherwise unacceptable. Ephesians 5:8 says, “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” Paul is not referring to the spirits found in a bottle of liquor. He is speaking of the Holy Spirit.

If one is filled with the Holy Spirit, rather than the spirits in a bottle, then he will behave much more prudently, even safely. This will greatly reduce the chances of an unwanted encounter with police, fire, or EMS personnel. “Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” (Romans 13:13-14)

The parties will happen. The alcohol will flow. Accidents will happen, and many will be arrested or rescued over the next couple of weeks. But I pray earnestly that the revelers will think about the possible consequences of their next drink before they get behind the wheel of a boat or car.

I ask you to pray with me as it could mean the difference between life and death for someone you know.

God bless you and thanks for visiting

What is the shortest distance between two points? Any grade-school student will tell you that it is a straight line. How amazing that our lives can be like the two points.

The first point is our birthday. This is the point at which we begin our journey through life. The second point is the pre-determined purpose God has for each one of us. The line is the path we have chosen to follow to get from the first point to the next. If we follow the “straight and narrow path” we are following God’s will for our lives and using Him as our guide.

“I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths.

When you walk, your steps will not be hampered;

when you run, you will not stumble.” (Proverbs 4:11-12)

Unfortunately for most people, the straight and narrow path becomes a long and curvy road. As we are learning to walk, our first steps forward will land off the straight path. At first we use “baby steps” to see how far God will allow us to stray. We find out that He gives us free will and allows us to make our own decisions. But like any good parent He will continuously and gently guide us toward the path He has determined for us. He offers a nudge time and again to keep us generally aimed in the right direction.

As we grow older, we become more self-confident in our ability to walk on our own. We stop listening to God’s guidance and become rebellious. We stray from our set path and find paths that others have followed before us. These other paths are wider and well worn, much easier to follow than God’s path. At times our rebellious walk bursts into an all-out sprint in exactly the wrong direction.  “They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam.” (2 peter 2:15)

The further we stray from our set path and purpose, the easier it becomes to to continue in the wrong direction. We may lose sight of our own path. If we go too far, we may become completely lost in the jungle of life, never to return to God. We will be wandering aimlessly on a wide path to destruction. We have then closed our ears and no longer hear God’s voice offering guidance.

But God loves each one of His children. He continues to offer guidance on whatever path we are currently on. Above all else, God wants to lead us back to the straight path that He laid out for our lives before we were born. After all, we were placed on it for His purpose.

Sometimes discipline is the only corrective action we understand and He must send a lightning bolt to get our attention. Hebrews 12:10-11 tells us that, “…God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” The Lord’s lightning bolts can affect our lives so dramatically that we are immediately drawn back to our personal path, now overgrown with weeds, but visible.

The key to understanding the above verse is that we must be trained by the discipline. That means we must learn from our mistakes, refuse to step off the path again, and fully rely on God to lead us and guide us along our own path. That path is the one that God has determined as the shortest distance between two points. Praise God that He sometimes sends lightning bolts our way and disciplines those He loves.

“My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline and do not resent His rebuke,

Because the Lord disciplines those He loves, as a father the son he delights in.” (Proverbs 3:11-12)

 God bless and thanks for visiting

The dominating news story in recent days is the horrific murder of 32 students and faculty at Virginia Tech. This event is billed as the deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history. The shooter, Cho Seung-Hui, apparently produced a twisted video that blamed the entire country for his hatred and acts of violence.

As we mourn the deaths of these innocent victims, we must understand what is at the heart of this tragedy – unforgiveness. Cho Seung-Hui’s rambling discourse was filled with seething hatred, claiming that his blood was on my hands as an American citizen. His hatred apparently stemmed from getting picked on, put down, bullied, and laughed at by those that knew him. He even compared himself to Jesus Christ, claiming to be a martyr for the underpriveleged.

This young man allowed unforgiveness to build within his heart and refused to let it go. He refused to forgive those who sinned against him. Our Lord Jesus Christ tells us that, “if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” (Matthew 6:14)

We can all learn a lesson from this tragedy. This fallen world has bullies. This will not change. If we refuse to truly forgive those bullies, we are allowing Satan and his demons to gain a foothold in our lives. That unforgiveness will stew and fester over time, often with dramatic and tragic results. The events at Virginia Tech are an example.

On the other hand, if we happen to be the bully, we may be contributing to these effects. Proverbs 15:1 says, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but harsh word stirs up anger.” We must learn to be kind to one another and learn to “love our neighbor as ourselves.” (Mark 12:31)

We are to follow the example set by Christ Jesus. He gave His life, not for vengeance against sinners, but to forgive our sins. We also are to die to ourselves and forgive those who wrong us. Jesus said to do this as often as necessary to prevent the wrath springing from unforgiveness, “not seven times, but seventy times seven.” (Matthew 18:22)  Therefore, we are to “forgive as the Lord forgave us.” (Colossians 3:13)

True forgiveness is never easy. We want to hold onto those feelings and seek revenge. But if we let go, the joy that we have in Christ Jesus will shine forward, lighting up those who have done wrong to us. Cho Seung-Hui chose vengeance, resulting in tragedy.

I pray that we, as a nation, can also forgive him.

God bless you and thanks for visiting.

I have never enjoyed working out (lifting weights, running, aerobics, etc.) I call it excessive physical exertion. I do it only because I must remain in decent physical condition to perform my duties as a law enforcement officer and to pass an annual physical fitness test in the military. I just cannot bring myself to “enjoy” exercise like some people do.

I understand the benefits of exercise, to gain strength and endurance while losing body fat, along with countless other physical and emotional advantages. I exercise my body so that, if I must make a particularly difficult arrest or get thrown into combat on another part of the globe, I can react quickly and have a greater chance of survival. The basic premise is “the stronger we get, the more adversity we can endure.”

Just as I am not in the habit of seeking physical pain through the self-torture of exercise, I also do not seek out spiritual adversity. Rather, I believe that adversity often finds us. The events of our lives can cause us to ask God, “Why?” In the military we have a term for these moments. They are called “significant emotional events” and most often describe a Drill Sergeant “instructing” a recruit. However, the term also applies to the loss of a job, an accident, the loss of a loved one, financial difficulty, and so on.

These situations show us where we are weak and teach us to place our faith in God to guide us through them. Ephesians 6:10 says, “Be strong in the Lord, and in His mighty power.” We must rely on God’s mighty power and strength during these periods of weakness.

In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, Paul tells us that he pleaded with the Lord repeatedly to take away his “thorn in the flesh.” But the Lord replied to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul goes on to tell us, “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, I am strong.“

Through our difficulties we become strengthened by God’s power. Often we ask to be liberated from our adversaries. But I say we should thank God for them. I pray that we would all be strengthened by our troubles, for if everything were  easy, we would quickly forget why we need Jesus and would cease to worship Him.

For, whatever our circumstances, “we can do all things through Him who gives us strength” (Philippians 4:13). Christ Jesus gives us our strength and increases our endurance through adversity. Let us continue to exercise both our bodies and our faith so we can be strengthened in all areas of our lives.

God bless you and thanks for visiting.

Today is Palm Sunday. Believe it or not, no one has ever told me directly what that means. I suppose it is so called because the followers of Jesus laid palm branches beneath the donkey colt’s feet while Jesus triumphantly entered Jerusalem on its back. The reason why we call this day “Palm Sunday” is secondary to what this day means to Christ’s followers.

 This is the day Jesus finally declared himself to be the Messiah that was prophesied centuries before to the Jewish people. For the previous three years, Jesus was teaching, preaching, and performing miracle after miracle. Through His authoritative actions and words, many came to understand who He was. Peter declared Jesus to be “the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” (Matthew 16:16). Jesus then told His disciples not to tell anyone that He was the Christ. Throughout His ministry, Jesus instructed the witnesses, participants, and recipients of His miracles and teachings NOT to speak of the things they had seen and heard.

Why would Jesus not want His followers to declare Him the Messiah? Because He was operating on the Father’s timetable.  He continued to gain followers and believers everywhere He went throughout His ministry on earth. All the while, His messiahship was slowly being revealed to His followers. But Jesus knew it was not His time to make the great declaration. His public declaration was yet to come.

Palm Sunday marks the day Jesus would finally make that declaration public. This time He would not stop His followers from crying out, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Luke 19:38 ) The pharisees even had the nerve to demand that Jesus silence His followers. To which, the Lord answered, “I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out!” (Luke 19:40)

His time had now come. The Lord knew that if His followers did not declare it, God the Father would, even if He had to use the rocks of the earth. Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem marked the beginning of His final week of earthly ministry.  

On Palm Sunday, Jesus announced His Deity. Only five days later, those who refused to believe crucified Him as a heretic, only to be resurrected on the third day, fulfilling prophecy and providing proof that He was who He claimed to be.

Praise Jesus that He is who He claimed to be. Praise Jesus you are here today celebrating His triumphant entry into Jerusalem some 2,000 years ago. Praise Jesus that He was resurrected on the third day and is alive today. Praise Jesus that He allowed His followers to declare His Deity on Palm Sunday.

God bless you and thanks for visiting