soldier

Posted on September 10, 2015 by Dana

“You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others. Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs – he wants to please his commanding officer. Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules. The hard-working farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.” II Timothy 2:1-7

When a person enters the army, he separates from civilian affairs. Allegiance is pledged and total obedience to authority is required. Beginning in basic training, a soldier understands that hardship is part of the package, but suffering is embraced for a greater good.

My good friend Tim did a tour in Afghanistan and continues to serve our country as a member of the Army Reserve. We were talking recently and he shared the importance of the concept of Esprit de Corps. This is a French term that translates to Spirit of the Body.

Tim told me, “Our hope for success does not rely on the strength of the individual soldier but rather in the ability of the group to work together in pursuit of a common mission – even in the face of fierce opposition. We not only have to be dedicated to a goal, we must be committed to one another. Total commitment is essential.”

Paul used the military as one of three comparisons to help Timothy grasp what it takes to be a fruitful disciple. We are saved by grace, but God’s grace is not cheap. Paul urged a younger man to “be strong in the grace that is Christ Jesus.”

“Be like a good soldier; be like a world-class athlete; be like a hard-working farmer.” All three of these challenges point to dedication, effort, and sacrifice. We cannot be successful out of our own strength, but it might take every ounce of effort and energy to accomplish what Jesus asks us to do.

In captivity in Jerusalem, the Lord said to Paul: “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify about me in Rome.” The next day, over forty men pledged to kill Paul. Then Paul was escorted by Roman soldiers to Caesarea where he stayed in prison over two years. Falsely accused by the Jews, Paul appealed to Caesar and eventually was placed on a ship headed to Rome. The ship wrecked in a furious storm, but all survived and found refuge on the island of Malta. On his first day on the island, Paul was bitten by a deadly viper, but God did not let the venom harm him. Eventually Paul made it to Rome, where under house arrest for at least two years, he shared Christ with all who would listen. Tradition says Paul was beheaded in the year 68 AD while Nero ruled as Emperor of Rome.

“Don’t worry about hardship – embrace it as a good soldier. We are in this world, but we are not of it. Remember, we are living for God’s kingdom! The One we serve is no ordinary ruler… He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! All we endure on this earth will be worth it when we finally see His face and live with Him forever. Run the good race; fight the good fight; don’t get distracted; be strong in God’s grace.”

“People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time – God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in inapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.” I Timothy 6:9-16

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encouragement

Posted on September 3, 2015 by Dana

II Timothy 1:5-18:

I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life – not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.

What you have heard from me, keep as a pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you – guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygeius and Homogenes.

May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me. May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus.

Though his grandmother and mother had faith, Timothy still had to choose for himself to trust and obey. Like us, Timothy was saved by grace through Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. Now the apostle Paul, his mentor, encouraged a young man to let the fire of God burn strongly.

“God has given you gifts, Timothy; use them! He wants us to live bold lives marked by God’s power, love, and holiness. Jesus warned in a parable of the servant who buried his talent because he was afraid. Do not be afraid, Timothy, and do not be ashamed of the Lord… or of me, though you know many have criticized and left me.

“I have taught you that it is all about Jesus… his life, death, burial, and resurrection. The Gospel is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes… share the Good News! Rely on the Holy Spirit who lives in you. He produces the fruit of Jesus in our lives… and we know that love is the greatest fruit!

“Jesus has destroyed death! We need not fear anything! God is with us and gives everything we need. I love you. —Paul.”

Mustn’t it make God smile when older men and older women encourage the younger in the faith? And doesn’t it bring God joy when the younger look for ways to help the older? May God’s family live in a manner that brings him glory!

“Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.” I Timothy 5:1-2

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first

Posted on August 27, 2015 by Dana

My grandmother on my father’s side lived until she was 103 years old. She was born in 1900 and lived until 2003. Her sister, Gracie, lived to the age of 106. She was born in 1894 and died in 2000, putting her in the rare club of those who lived in three different centuries.

More important than longevity, my Dad would say ‘faith’ is the most important aspect of heritage. He recently told me that if he could recommend any message to believers today, it would be Paul’s second letter to Timothy. Written in prison, II Timothy contains the last recorded words of Paul before he was executed in Rome.

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.” (II Timothy 1:1-5)

What type of faith do we want to pass down to our children and to our children’s children? Lauren Daigle sings a passionate prayer:
“I want to seek You first.
I want to keep You first.
More than anything I want, I want You first.
You are my Treasure and my Reward;
Let nothing ever come before I seek You first.”

Children who witness authentic faith in their home have the advantage of seeing that God is real. May Jesus truly be our Treasure and may all around us “taste and see that the Lord is good.”

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 5:33

“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man that takes refuge in Him.” Psalm 34:8

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friend

Posted on August 20, 2015 by Dana

Digging around in my closet recently, I found a writing dated July 27, 1997. This story took place a year or two after Taylor and Kinsey got trapped in the box, which goes to prove that we all need Jesus… and one another.

I fell in a pit today. I’m sure the scene was comic, but it was not funny when it happened. I had lost a paper that contained an important phone number and after searching my office high and low, I concluded it must have been in a box of trash I had thrown in the dumpster earlier. So off to the dumpster I went. Thankfully this large dumpster is in an isolated place on campus and since the campers were away on a field trip, I did not hesitate to climb up and crawl in. It would take a video to show exactly what happened, but basically, I lost my balance and fell head first into this large metal garbage container and hit my nose on the frame as I descended. At first I sat amongst the bags and boxes of garbage not knowing where I was. After I stood up and realized I was in a dumpster, I felt a drip and noticed blood coloring the trash below my feet. As I squeezed my nose, I searched in vain for my missing piece of paper.

Hurt, frustrated, and bleeding, the worst was yet to come; I heard a car approach. “Oh no,” I thought. As I peered out the hole in the side of the dumpster, I saw one of my good coaching friends grab a bag of garbage from his pickup truck and walk toward me. I had no place to hide. “Dana? Is that you?” “Yes,” I replied with not a little embarrassment. “I had a little accident.” “You’re bleeding,” my friend said. “Here, put your foot on this spot and I’ll help you.” I made it out, tried to explain what had happened, then walked back to my office.

It is not fun being in a pit. Some might tell me how to better enter a dumpster, but that would not change the fact that I fell. In the pit, I was disoriented, confused, and wounded. I am thankful for the way my friend handled the situation. The last thing he expected to find in the dumpster was me, but instead of laughing and making fun, he was genuinely concerned for my well being. Instead of going to tell others about my plight, he asked if I was OK. Instead of lecturing me on the hazards of dumpster diving, he helped me out. I’m glad he didn’t crawl down in the pit with me; I don’t think that would have been good for either of us.

How do we react to those that have fallen? Do we sit back and judge or do we have compassion? Do we discuss the poor decisions that led to a person’s fall or do we lend a helping hand? Do we spread the word of the situation or do we go to our prayer closet? I’m thankful for my friend.

“But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear – hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy – to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages now and forevermore! Amen.” Jude 20-25

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Savior

Posted on August 13, 2015 by Dana

Its hard to believe that school has started once again. It is even harder for Susan and me to believe that our oldest child Taylor turned twenty-nine years old last week.

Around twenty years ago I was cleaning up after a summer of camp, preparing for school to begin. Taylor and Kinsey were with me and I told them to play in the gym while I moved things from one location to another. I also told them to ‘get along’ as they were at the age where brothers and sisters argue a lot.

They went into the equipment room and decided to build a little fort inside a box that held basketballs. The sturdy wooden box was about five feet long, two feet wide, and three feet tall. After removing all the balls, Taylor and Kinsey found some gymnastic mats to put in the box to make it more comfortable. As I walked by the closed door on the way to another building, I heard the pleasant sound of children playing happily together. “That’s the way it should be,” I thought. “I wonder how long it will last?”

As I returned for another load, Taylor and Kinsey had crawled into the box and were getting comfortable. At some point, they wondered what it would be like to close the lid. Carefully, they lowered the heavy wooden top and when it settled, the latch fell and hooked perfectly on the little part that holds the lock. When they tried to push open the lid, they could not; brother and sister were trapped.

Shortly after the ‘imprisonment’, I walked again past the closed door of the equipment room eager to complete my work. This time I heard young voices yelling. “I knew it,” I thought. “My kids can’t be together five minutes without arguing. They will just have to work it out themselves.”

A few minutes later I returned and heard even louder voices. “They are still yelling at each other,” I said to myself. “I just don’t have time to deal with it,” so I kept walking with my mind on my mission. A few minutes later, I returned with another load and this time I heard blood-curdling screams. “What is going on?” I dropped everything and opened the door. I’ll never forget the picture of a small hand reaching through a tiny crack between the lid and the box. I rushed over, unlatched the hook and my sweat-drenched kids burst out.

“Thank you, Lord!” Taylor cried. Kinsey fell into my arms sobbing. Later, they told me they really thought they had limited oxygen and were going to die. They said they prayed together and were kind to one another. The screams, of course, were cries for help. When I unlatched the box, they experienced salvation.

I’ve told this story many times over the years as an example of our need for Jesus. “The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the Lord: “O Lord, save me!” (Psalm 116:3-4) What a Savior we have! He is strong and loving and more than able to rescue us from any trap. Let us tell His story and proclaim His good news: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:13)

“The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The Lord protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, He saved me…
How can I repay the Lord for all His goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.” (Psalm 116:6, 12, 13)

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