Restoring the Image

Weapons training for Christ followers...

Chaplains are supposed to be non-combatants.  That means we are not allowed to carry a weapon of any kind because our focus is not on combat, it's on the spiritual care of our Soldiers, the care of the wounded, the honoring of the dead.  Our physical protection it up to those around us.

Truth is...we are combatants.  We're up to our necks in the fight of our lives and for the lives of those around us.

And so are you - weather you own an M-4 rifle, M-9 pistol, or not!

The Apostle Paul knew he was a combatant.  Here's how he puts it: "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."

When he says, 'every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God' one the the things he means are the lies of the enemy that we are tempted to believe.  The truth is that so many of us believe lies that limit us, that hold us back, that limit the freedom and life that Christ intended for us to have.

Lies like "You're not good enough to do anything for God."    "You'll never be free from that..."     "Everybody is afraid of things - living in fear is just part of being human." "You've missed God's purpose for your life." "You've done too much to be forgiven."

These are lies with the smell of hell all over them because they are NOT the truth of God.  The truth of God, the 'knowledge of God' as Paul puts it, is what we are to fill our minds with and believe.  The truth of God is a powerful weapon - powerful enough to demolish strongholds - to set people free - to vaporize the enemy.

The question is...how familiar are you with your weapon?  How familiar are you with the truth that God says about you? 

Maybe that's why it's so important for us to study God's truth...it's weapons training for Christ followers.

"We wil be having revivial one month from now..."

I recently heard this announcement at a meeting of a bunch of chaplains and pastors - "We will be having revival one month from now....  The person that made it meant that they were having special services, speakers, and a special spiritual emphasis.  I know what he meant, but the phrase just struck me. 

Do we realize what we're saying?

Do we think we can control when the Holy Spirit is going to speak strongly to our hearts and minds in a powerful way?  Do we really think that we can plan when God will work in our hearts and we will turn to having a renewed passion of serving and worshiping Him with our lives.

Yes, we do.

And, to a great extent, we're right.

The sense I get from reading the Scriptures is that God doesn't change, is constantly at work, and is simply waiting for us to turn our hearts fully toward Him and He will renew us.  2 Chronicles 16:9 says " For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him."  The Old Testament is full of examples...God pleading through His prophets for Israel to turn back to Him.

It seems to me that God is waiting on us - at least I've found that to be true in my own life.  I know that I'm the one that drifts away.  I know that I'm the one who chooses safety and comfort instead of faith and trust.  I also know that when I repent (turn from the wrong path of drifting and lack of faith) and turn back to God with passion and a renewed sense of purpose, power, and the presence of God, He never makes me wait because somehow he's not ready to renew me.  2 Timothy 2:13 says that 'If we are faithless, He will remain faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.' 

So, I understand the whole deal with having a corporate time of focused renewal (a word I find much more palatable than revival), but if renewal is really up to us, and comes down to our turning back to God with passion, choosing to live out His purpose, and living our lives by His power...

Why would we put it off for a month?

Why not do it today?

What do your buddies need?

Tuesday night I was called up again to assist in notifying a next of kin family of the loss of their loved one.  He was serving in Iraq (apparently no one's told the insurgents that combat operations are over in Iraq...).  I was amazed at how well the family was doing receiving the news until it became apparent that they were passionate Christ-followers.  They asked me to pray - we prayed together.

The Soldier's mother related this story to me.  The last time the mother talked with her 20-something son, she asked him if he needed anything - if she could send anything to him to try to make his deployment just a little bit easier.  He told her he didn't need anything.  Then she said, "What do your buddies need?"

He replied with one word.

"Jesus" he said.

I told his mother to tell that story wherever she goes. 

Of course when I heard that I was struck with this young Soldiers concern for his buddies.  Then the questions began to fly around in my head...why him?  Why now?  Why when he was so young and had such a great heart for Christ and those around him?

As a Chaplain I'm usually the one asked to answer those questions.  Maybe it was just the random result of the evil and sinful choices of other human beings.

Maybe it was because he was ready to stand before his Maker, and his buddies weren't.  We usually don't find satisfying answers to those kinds of questions, it simply takes us back to trust in our Creator for the unanswered questions. It is there that we find peace in the midst of tragedy and war.

The mother's question is a powerful one for all of us...What do your buddies need?