Eternal Vigilance
On Memorial Day we honor many who died in service to our country . . . and thank the guards charged with keeping watch over the unknowns who represent the utmost bravery of our military service members.
“Praying Scripture for Your Marriage”
Combining two lives, histories, households and expectations into a marriage is tough! Nothing will make you more Christ-like than marriage—if you let it.We unfortunately see the world’s way for marriage every day as we watch friends and family seek selfishness instead of consulting the Creator of marriage. That selfishness can end in separation and divorce—instead of seeking our Creator who is the only One who can heal broken hearts and relationships.Let’s pray life into our marriages! Especially during deployment, when you are geographically separated, praying for each other and for your marriage can bring you close together across the miles. Speaking His Word out loud over your marriage changes everything—sometimes from the death of isolation to life of oneness.
Follow-Up to “Identity Crisis”
“Identity Crisis” is a long devotion—one of the longest we have posted. Knowing your ops tempo we are surprised when the numbers come in as to its popularity. That speaks to us of the need for spiritual material dealing with growth during deployment, and we are grateful to God.We were already planning on a follow-up piece using JJ Heller’s “What Love Really Means.” So we post it tonight with joy and anticipation for how God is going to use it to affirm you in your spiritual walk with Him during this time of war:
Identity Crisis
Because of the rigors of deployment and the struggles of life, have you started asking yourself, “Who am I anymore?” Perhaps you can call that an “identity crisis”—when you begin to question or contemplate or doubt what makes you important or what makes you worthwhile. Many people tie their importance or identity to a number of different things: career progression, relationships, checkbook & savings balance, housing, car, what parents or spouse or sibling or supervisor or physical appearance or even the past says about them. What is the major problem with this list? It leaves out God and what He has to say about who you are.
“It’s Friday . . . but Sunday’s Comin’!”
My Christmas celebration includes listening to the delivered words of Dr. S. M. Lockridge in his sermon, “That’s My King!" And a similar joy comes at Easter when I listen to his preaching “It’s Friday. . . but Sunday’s Comin'!”
7 Steps in the Walk of Faith
The family was hit with tragic news—so unbelievable and unexpected, and particularly difficult for his wife. As the spiritual leader, this husband knew there were steps he must take in order to get his family through the crisis. He cried, "Lord, help!"Those steps would have to be steps of faith—because there was no seeing the “whys”, “hows”, and “what ifs.” All of that was beyond understanding . . . with no idea what God was doing. But his Christian faith was strong . . . so he was willing to take the first and certain steps of faith in order to lead his family with gentleness and power, a remarkable combination.
Pray for Your Family During Deployment
It is no secret that my favorite book about military life as a Christian is Footsteps of the Faithful by Denise McColl. In it there is a chapter by Denise’s husband, Angus, in which he shares his heart about the demands of parenting while living the calling of military duty: At times I have really become frustrated in my role as a military man and Christian husband and father.
Conquering Resentment
Several military wives, myself included, had crammed into an apartment living room for a book club meeting. As we chatted between bites of crackers and cheese, our conversation veered away from the book of the month when the hostess unleashed a bitter monologue concerning her husband’s frequent absences at sea and punctuated it with a booming, “I did not sign up to be a single parent!” With one toddler and another baby due soon, this woman was clearly frazzled. Unfortunately, her resentment over having to be solo spilled out of her like a toxin and threatened to poison the evening.
What Would It Look Like . . . ?
So here’s the question: What would it look like if a Christian couple chose to face military life as an opportunity to exhibit and demonstrate Christ-likeness under all circumstances. . . even deployment? What would it look like if they faced the challenges of “constant schedule changes, the times of transition, the long periods of waiting, (for orders, housing, homecomings, etc.) the many uncertainties concerning deployments, the long periods of single-parenting, the long ‘silent’ periods during separations, the months spent ‘camping out’ at each new location, the adjustments of each family member at new homes, schools, and working environments” (Footsteps of the Faithful, p. 11) totally relying on God to meet their needs, strengthen and comfort them, in order to be able to finish strong? It would look like the McColl family, as shared in the book Footsteps of the Faithful, subtitled “Victorious Living and The Military Life.”
“Location . . . Location . . . Location”
Have you ever PCSed and had the realtor tell you that the most important thing to consider in choosing a house is “location . . . location . . . location”? In his book, Dangerous Calling, Paul David Tripp says that phrase also refers to life. When I read that statement I was intrigued.