Kingdom Kernels

For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit (1 Peter 3:18)

American Veterans are passionate about POW/MIAs. You see the black and white flag flying all over our nation. Even over some State capitals. We want to bring our own home and we won’t give up. Some are still wearing red bracelets for the missing from the Vietnam War some thirty years later. This is so important to us, that we are willing to spend millions to recover the remains of our fallen comrades. God feels even stronger about His own. We are POW/MIAs in this world. He has gone to great efforts through the sacrifice of His Son to find us and bring us home.

Application: Do you know a spiritual POW/MIA? Why not send them SWORDPOINT or some other devotional. Invite them to your church or Bible study. You’d be amazed how Jesus can use these simple acts of kindness.

Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment (Hebrews 9:27)

At the National Training Center, the training is as real as it gets. The exercises even include the evacuation of the wounded and dead. Once the simulated dead and dying reached a certain destination in the rear, they stayed out of the fight for a number of hours and then were Reincarnated as a replacement to be sent back to the units. There’s much talk in the spiritual world of reincarnation. Even Patton thought he was a reincarnated soldier. But the Bible teaches there is no second life here on earth. You get one shot at this life and then the big After Action Review in the sky. One chance to live a life of Faith in Christ. Use it wisely.

My brother Mike and I, building the Prayer Cabin on our 6 acres of retreat for soldiers at Fort Benning.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)

The radio transmissions I’ve found the hardest to take to the TOC were, ‘We have lost a Ranger Student.’ Ranger students were so tired and in such a state of delirium they sometimes would walk away from the patrol. Or if the patrol stopped for even a second, you ran the risk of one of the students falling asleep on the spot and the patrol would move on without them. When this happened, everything else stopped and we went looking for the lost Ranger. Sheep do the same thing in the flock and so do we with God. Have you drifted from the fold? He’s looking for you. Come on home.

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:24,25)

Frequently, while running in formation, there are those who fall out. You can hear the NCOs in the rear calling, ‘Come on, don’t give up, get your carcass up here…’ And if you are in a tight unit you can even hear their peers calling, ‘Hang in there man, don’t give up, keep going…’ Everyone is trying to hang together and finish as a team, as a unit. So, why are we so offended when someone comes along side and tries to ‘spur us on’ in the faith? The next time someone challenges you in your faith, listen-up and get back in formation. Hope I’m spurring you on!

Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. (Joshua 1:8)

As Ranger students we were told we could open the Ranger Handbook in any situation to get the answer. It’s amazing how much information is in that little handbook. But what’s even more amazing is how many Ranger students would completely ignore the book and wing it. You know God has given us a book with 99% of the answers. You aren’t cheating if you open it up and look for guidance in the Bible. Life is an Open Book Test!

Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.’ (John 14:21)

LTC K was our Battalion Commander in the 2-503rd. He was a great commander. Everyone respected him and we called him Coach. He was just like a football coach. It was like being on the field and he would call in the plays, give instructions and encourage us to do better. He was tough but fair. I always wanted to do what he commanded. Not out of fear but out of love. We loved him so it made it easier to do what we were told to do. Think of all the things God has done for you. Count your blessings. That should make it easier to do what He commands us to do.

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

Mortality is a reality in the military. Even in simple training exercises soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines lose their lives. We knew when we signed up we would put our lives on the line. And for what? For our country, that’s what! We give our lives in exchange for others that they may have freedom and liberty. But Christ gave His life in exchange for our eternal freedom. He gave His life that we might have liberty over death. Now I cast my allegiance to Christ and reciprocate life for life. I have given my life for Christ’s sake.

Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air perched in its branches.” (Luke 13:18-19)

As an AIT Chaplain, I didn’t see a lot of the fruit of my labor. The soldiers are only in the unit for 5 to 10 weeks and then they are dispersed into different units all over the world. So I have to trust what the Word of God says, we plant the seed and it will grow. Often times you and I will not see the impact we’ve made with a few words or a kind deed and most importantly telling someone about Jesus. We only have the assurance that God will tend the Church as only a Master Gardener can. Keep sowing the seed.

Jesus told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. (Luke 10:2)

Our static probe man decided to leave on the previous helicopter. This left only two of us on the PZ to slingload the last humvee. One to guide the helicopter and the other to hook-up the vehicle to the aircraft. As the giant CH-47 flew in to pick up the humvee, I slammed the clevis onto the cargo hook unassisted. I got the shock of my life! The jolt threw me off the vehicle. You see, the static probe man’s job was to discharge all the static electricity from the aircraft. Though we were short a key man, we drove on with the mission. We are doing this in the Church today. We are missing key men and women to help build the Kingdom of God. Two things; 1. Prepare yourself to be shocked by those who simply ‘Stand-by.’ 2. Pray that others will roll up their sleeves and join us in the effort.

He replied, “You give them something to eat.” They answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish–unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.” About five thousand men were there… (Luke 9:13-14)

In the military, we know what it means to run low. The logistics tail gets a long and skinny and we start feeling the squeeze. We can remember the times when we were running out of chow, water, ammo, fuel, batteries, daylight, socks, etc… In this life, we can start being drained physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Isn’t nice to know that we have a God who owns the universe? He can supply our needs even when it looks like our personal supply lines are running low.