Leader Battalion Religious Support Team Battlefield Circulation

Build Well-INTRODUCTION

One ruck march--that's all it took for my brand new RFI mountain boots to start coming apart at the seams. They appeared to be great boots. Appearances can be deceiving. It turns out they weren't built very well.  Recently I was writing the message for a wedding ceremony I performed.  As I was encouraging the bride and groom to remember that marriage is made of daily choices, born out of a commitment to put the other person first, I was reminded of how utterly difficult that is. I reflected on my own first year of marriage and some of the fights I had with my own wife. Honestly, marriage is difficult!  So is much of life.  That's why it's so important to build our lives on a sure foundation--one that will not fail us when the storms batter against the walls of our lives.  We need to build in such a way so that when things get tough, we won't start coming apart at the seams like those boots did after only five miles.   Jesus said, Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash (Matthew 7:24-27).  The torn seam in those boots is a reminder to me of how desperately I need to be soaking my mind in the truth of God's Word every day through preaching, reading, prayer, and fellowship with other Christ-followers.  Otherwise, I will surely begin building on a faulty foundation. Let's encourage each other toward a sure foundation. What are some steps we can begin taking to ensure we are doing that? Let's take those steps.  Let's build well together.

Climb! PART 1

Training to Win

800 repetitions of 18" step ups while wearing 40 lbs.   That's the equivalent of taking one 18" step up with 16 tons on your back. This is just one of the 30 workouts the Leader Rakkasans used to prepare for the mountains of Eastern Afghanistan.  It's designed for the legs and the lungs, so that our Warriors can climb and patrol in high altitude while still being physically capable of dominant combat.  Can you imagine our Soldiers being told, "Those mountains will be tough, but you don't need to prepare.  Just sleep in during P.T.  We'll see you at work at 0930"? That would not only be foolish, but that would be criminally negligent leadership. 

Failing to Train

Nevertheless, this lazy, unprepared mentality is often what we are lulled into when it comes to being prepared for our personal life.  Life is hard! It throws all kinds of unexpected trials our way.  Every day we are met with challenges in every aspect of our life--work, finances, health, marriage and family.    How can we expect to withstand the rigors of life and still have the energy left over to actually enjoy it, if we’re not being trained to do so?  How can we confront disappointments and setbacks and still live with joy if we haven't been preparing our mind and our heart in such a way that empowers us to live life victoriously? 

The answer is simply that we can't.  If we fail to train ourselves spiritually, preparing our souls for the hardship of life, we will buckle under the pressure.  We will break somewhere, at some time, in some way.  We might lose our integrity at work; or lose our credibility with co-workers.  We might lose our temper with our kids or go deeper into debt.  Perhaps we will develop dependence on food or drink.  For many of us, it will destroy our marriages.  Even if we are fortunate enough to make it through the climb of a particular challenge, we will not have the strength left to actually enjoy the view.  Life will become bitter to us and we will begin to search frantically for something--anything--to fill the void and give our lives meaning. Simply put, we will lose the fight.

Learning to Train

That's why Paul exhorted his young friend, Timothy, with the following words:

… train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. (1 Timothy 4:7-8)

We need to train our minds and prepare our hearts. How do we do that?  Just like our Warriors prepare each morning for mountain combat with physical training, we need to subject our minds to the transformative power of the truths of the Bible.  We must open our lives to communion with God through the mystery of prayer.  We must share our lives with each other, learning from each other's successes and failures, and encouraging each other in the journey.  We need to hear what God's Word has to say and then learn to submit to the authority of that Word in our lives. 

Climb!

If we truly want to climb to new heights in our lives, we must conduct the spiritual training necessary to reach those places.  Training isn't easy.  But as we do it we will begin accomplishing growth and achieving new heights in our lives like we had only dreamed of before.  Take that first step.  Pick up a Bible today. 

"You, This is Me" PART 1

    "You ready to call in some close air support, Chappy?"
The NCO's question took me by surprise. I had been observing the training exercise, but wasn't quite expecting to get to take part in it myself.
    "Sure I'm ready!" I wasn't ready. "What do I do?"
    "Write down these lines, and repeat them to the pilot." The NCO proceeded to list the lines, beginning with the first: "LINE 1: You, this is me."
    This was the line where I was supposed to address the pilot by his call sign and indicate who was asking for support.  I wasn't literally supposed to say, 'You, this is me.' The idea of a Soldier on the ground actually addressing a pilot in this manner is ludicrous. I was supposed to replace the "YOU" with the pilot's call sign, and the "ME" with my call sign. But I was nervous, and I choked. All the high-speed Soldiers around me were trying not to snicker too loudly when I addressed the pilot, saying, "You, this is me." The pilot responded, "Uhm, excuse me?"
   "Wait, erase that!" I looked at the NCO who was trying not to laugh, "Can I have said 'erase that'?" The NCO took the mic from me with a smile and told the pilot what was going on. The OH-58 helicopter passed over and turned around for another run.  This time I did a little better. I think the pilot probably had a good time later that night over some beers with his friends. I cringe just thinking about what he must have said: "So, no joke, there I was supporting a training exercise when a chaplain comes online. Guess what he said?" I'm sure I was the brunt of many jokes I would never hear.
    You know, prayer can seem to a lot of people like calling in close air support felt to me. It's one of those things we all know we should do; but the thought of actually doing it intimidates many of us. It's easy to think that it's something better left to "experts."
    It's really not that difficult, though. It's simply a matter of talking to God according to the particular circumstance you're in. In my observation of Scripture, I see five basic kinds of prayer that can be categorized this way: 
1) Adoration
2) Confession
3) Thanksgiving
4) Supplication
5) Fellowship
   These categories spell the acronym "ACTS-F." I will explain these simple types of prayer, and demonstrate how easy it is to practice them. 

Promises for Tomorrow; Strength for Today Part 2

When I think about my wife and the joy of seeing her again in nine months, a surge of emotion shoots into my stomach, like a jolt of electricity.

My joy in anticipating the reunion that will happen is based on the reality of what I know to be true about her love for me. It’s not something I’m unsure of. I know she will be waiting for me with her loving embrace because of my history with her and her demonstration of that love in the past.

The same is true with heaven.

This is my point: the hope of heaven is very real, not because some tradition says it’s real, or because some sage wrote about it on a piece of paper thousands of years ago, or because a lot of people believe it’s true. The hope of heaven is real because it’s grounded in the truth of what happened on the cross and in the resurrection of Jesus. The truth of what Jesus did validates the Scriptures that speak of Heaven, and thus gives me something real to look forward to and savor with anticipation in my present moment. It gives me an anchor to hold on to when the storm is raging.

What Jesus did 2,000 years ago establishes a precedent from which I can expect Heaven to be a reality I can hope in. This precedent gives me confidence in the future which, in turn, gives me peace for today and sustains me. It’s not a whim. It’s a reality. The past and the future are beautiful for me! Not because I envision it through positive thinking, but because God made it so for me through his action. That leaves me in the present with nothing to do but live joyfully, knowing full well that I am secure. And not only am I secure, but who I am and what I do has significance in light of eternity. It’s like an Oreo of hope! I am securely sandwiched in the middle of the goodness of what happened in the past, and the glory of what will happen in the future.

A friend I was worrying to once said, “Pete, when you have one foot in yesterday, lamenting what once was, and one foot in tomorrow, worrying about what will be, you are in perfect position to pee on today.”

Well, that’s not exactly elegant, but it’s absolutely true. As a son of God, I should never be in that position! Jesus has deleted my guilty history, replacing it with his righteousness. And God has deposited in my future the glorious hope of the New Heaven and the New Earth. Because I’m sealed in those promises, today looks better than ever!

Let’s remove our feet from the sorrows of yesterday and the worries of tomorrow and stand firmly planted in the joy-giving promises of today. (And the next time you eat an Oreo, remember that the creamy middle is the joyful hope we have today sandwiched between the reality of the cross and the reality of the New Heaven and the New Earth!)