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Copyright © 1999-2001 Emergency Ministries. All Rights Reserved. |
May 2001 The "instruction book" for life is the Bible.
"Dying For Freedom" May 27, 2001 "So Joshua and the whole army moved out to attack Ai. He chose thirty thousand of his best fighting men and sent them out at night..." - Joshua 8:3 (NIV) This week's verse is an excerpt describing just one of the battles that Joshua fought. If you like reading about battles, about wars, about soldiers... read your Bible. I found over three hundred mentions of armies and soldiers! Even great military tactics are revealed. This is the weekend that we stop, usually w-a-y too briefly, to pay tribute to those who have paid the ultimate price for our freedom: the men and women who died defending this great country of ours. I know that, in just Vietnam alone, over 50,000 of our troops didn't come home. And, that was one of how many wars we have been involved in? Yes, American soldiers have given all for over 200 years. Just last night, we were watching (for the fifth or sixth time) the Mel Gibson movie "Patriot." It is an excellent portrayal of what life must have been like as a civilian soldier during the American Revolution. Gibson plays a man who goes to war not only to defend his country's freedom, but to protect his own family, as well. In a sense, that is exactly what each and every soldier does, protects a nation as they protect each individual in that nation. And what has the death of each soldier brought us? Freedom. With that, of course, comes the freedom to worship openly... well, except in schools (and I am NOT going to go there...). As we, as a nation, pause and memorialize our fallen soldiers, please, stop also and thank our REAL CHIEF who also gave HIS all. Because, you see, when our soldiers went to their grave, we gained freedom as a nation. But, when Christ died, we gained freedom from the grave. On HIS Shift,
"Bittersweet" May 20, 2001 "Bitter" - "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, `Sir, open the door for us.' But he will answer, `I don't know you or where you come from.'" - Luke 13:24-25 (NIV) "Sweet" - "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened" - Luke 11:9-10 (NIV) I have just gone through another one of "those" weeks. I have been to three working fires. I was called to a local emergency room to minister to a firefighter's family after the sudden full-arrest of a family member who didn't survive. I have been through two more nights of first responder school (including our first exam on one of the nights). I also performed a graveside service for another firefighter's grandfather. Then, Friday, I preached a fire-service funeral. The fire service funeral was for a man who was a believer ... a man who knew Christ. That is what we are going to talk about this week. When someone who follows our REAL CHIEF dies, it is a "bittersweet" day. It is 'bitter' because we all grieve for the person who died. But, at the same time, it is 'sweet' because we know that the person has started a new, joyous, painfree life in Heaven with Christ! So, you get a "bonus" this week - TWO verses. The first verse is the "bitter" - what this verse says is simple; ask HIM into your life NOW. Because once you die, you see, you won't be able to ask HIM for forgiveness. That is why our REAL CHIEF tells us that 'many' will try to enter, but the door is already closed. The 'sweet' is that when you do ask HIM to become the REAL CHIEF of your life (when you knock), HE opens the door to you! How many times have we, as firefighters, seen trauma victims who never had a chance to cry out to our God for forgiveness? Then, why are you putting off asking Him to become the manager of your life? We have a loving God who gives us the freedom to choose - while we are alive. Choose wisely. Don't procrastinate - don't wait until the (unknown) time when you "go off shift" (die). Knock on the door of the CHIEF's office right now, while you are "on shift." HE promises that HE will answer the door and let you in! On HIS Shift,
"The Pain of Being a Mother" May 13, 2001 "To the woman he
said, - Genesis 3:16(a) (NIV) Ewwww! Makes me shudder. Our verse this week isn't much Stress Relief is it? And on Mother's Day, no less?! The verse you just read is God speaking to Eve. You see, HE was meting out discipline for committing the original sin. So, for Eve's role in that sin, all women have been promised PAIN. That makes me think that our REAL CHIEF intended for childbirth to be pain-free!!! Ah, the wages of sin... Anyway, I thought it would be fitting, on Mother's Day, to give you something to think about so you can appreciate your mom even more. Your mom carried you in her womb for n-i-n-e l-o-n-g months! Even that wasn't easy, what with the swollen ankles, the weird food cravings, the weight gain and the oh-so-pleasing morning sickness. And get this; my poor mom carried me for TEN months. (In fact, it is allegedly how I got my nickname. You see, my dad was in the Navy. When he walked in my mom's room after I was born, she said, "Well, it looks like we finally piped the 'Skipper' aboard!") Anyway, your mom carried you to the appointed time of delivery... Ahhh... that's it... over with.... kiddo just popped right out, right? NOT! She probably went through about 8- 10 hours of labor... not rest, labor! Excruciating pain. I have heard it described like someone is grabbing your legs and pulling them apart to make a wish. Eight to ten HOURS of that! Last Tuesday, I was in a helicopter sea-crash egress training course. We were strapped in a seat, in a cage, upside down in the water for 8 seconds.... thought I would die! EIGHT SECONDS! Now, picture your mom, laying on that table in the delivery room, in pain, FOR YOU, for EIGHT HOURS. She did all of this before she even met you. Why? Because she already loved you. Our REAL CHIEF sent HIS Son to die for you long before you were born. Why? Because HE loves you. THANK YOU, MOM for putting up with the pain. On HIS Shift,
"C.P.R." May 6, 2001 "...pray continually;" - 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NIV) I received a "Thank You" card this week. As you might expect, I don't get many cards from people we have met along the way. Anyway, it was from the young mother of a child who drowned last October. On the inside of the card, she had taken the time to write down her expressions of thanks to me. As I was reading the card, I kept thinking to myself, "What did I do?" to warrant a thank you from this young lady. Then, she reminded me; I had performed "CPR." Though, not the traditional CPR. You see, I had gone to the emergency room to make sure the firefighters and paramedics were okay after working on the child. I became the liaison between the ER staff and the family as the staff worked on the child with CPR and eventually got a rhythm back. The staff prepared and then flew the revived baby to the pediatric intensive care unit at Texas Children's Hospital. The poor thing went to be with Jesus four days later, having never regained consciousness. During those four days, I kept the child and the family in prayers. I put them on every prayer chain I could think of. I called the family in the PICU waiting room several times a day. You see, that was my "CPR" - "continual prayer requests." And that, you see, is what the young mother remembered and thanked me for; my prayers to our REAL CHIEF for her and her family. If you have been "in the business" of fire/EMS as long as I have, you know that CPR doesn't always work - for whatever reason(s). Sometimes, spiritual CPR (continual prayer requests) doesn't seem to "work." But, it does! You see, in our verse this week, our REAL CHIEF instructs us to "pray continually." We may not understand why physical CPR fails and our spiritual CPR seems to go unanswered. But, HE understands and has a reason. I trust HIS reason. You know the rules for performing physical CPR - don't stop (unless relieved by another trained rescuer OR you cannot continue due to exhaustion). Now, you also know the rule for SPIRITUAL CPR - don't stop! On HIS Shift,
It is my prayer that the verses we discuss help each of you as it has helped me deal with the amount of stress we are all faced to deal with. If you are not yet saved, I have Good News for you. Jesus loves you very much and His Holy Spirit is drawing you to Him. To learn more, click here.
© 1999 - 2001 Emergency Ministries. All Rights Reserved. STRESS RELIEF is written every week, usually on Sunday afternoons. |
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