"All Good Things"
October 29, 2000
Praise the Lord...
"...who satisfies your desires
with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's."
- Psalms 103:5 (NIV)
We have all heard the saying "all good things must come to an end." Well, folks, I am here to tell you that our REAL CHIEF says they are just starting!
The phrase "good things" appears in the Bible 44 separate times. It generally refers to the good things that our REAL CHIEF has given us, is giving us and is planning on giving us!
This week's verse, to me, is the ultimate stress-reliever. Why? Because it tells us that because of the good things HE gives us, our youth is restored "like the eagle." Very cool.
Now, just what good things has HE given? I believe it is different for all and the same for all. HUH? Yep. It is the "same" good thing that he gave each of us willing to believe: HIS Son. AND, I believe, it is different for each believer as God gives each what they "ask and ye shall receive."
Let me give you a great example. About three weeks ago, a young firefighter came to me and said that he was having a problem with alcohol... he wanted to party all the time. He also told me that he eventually wanted to get into paramedic school and that he wanted to get hired by an ambulance service. He was also wanting to quit smoking. That very night, the young man asked our REAL CHIEF to take control of his life (he asked Christ for forgiveness).
Now, here we are, three weeks later. Guess what happened to our new believer? He has quit drinking, is quitting smoking, he got hired by an EMS provider AND they have offered to pay for his paramedic school!!! God has poured out all good things on him!
Wouldn't you like to be able to soar like an eagle? Wouldn't you like to be able to drift on the wind and get the "eagle's eye" view of God's beauty? What a picture of youth! What a stress-free picture!
Ask our REAL CHIEF into your life and just watch and see... all good things do NOT come to end... they come to those who seek HIM.
On HIS Shift,
"Knowledge to Encourage"
October 22, 2000
"...learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed."
- Isaiah 1:17 (NIV)
This past week was one of the most awesome experiences in my life. I had the privilege of attending my first Fire Chaplain's Conference that was put on by the Federation of Fire Chaplains. There were about 120 Chaplains from all over the United States and Canada in attendance.
I attended classes (with 18 of my colleagues) to receive my "Basic" level of instruction in Fire Chaplaincy for two complete days. We learned about such things as;
Working within the Incident Command structure
CISM
Funeral Protocol
Death Notifications
Then, all of the Chaplains in attendance had lessons in;
Being culturally and ethically wise
Discovering Diversity
Multi-Agency Collaborative Spiritual Efforts
Different Spiritual Needs for Funerals
Chaplaincy for the New Millennium
We heard from some of the Fire Chaplains who were on the scene of the Alaska Airlines Flight261 crash site and from Worcester, Mass. and about the lessons learned from those two tragic events.
We also were quite spoiled by the host Chaplain, Gordon Kouwenberg, and the departments that he serves: West Vancouver, North Vancouver District and the city of North Vancouver. Each department fed us on a different night. We had the opportunity to go out in the bay on a Fireboat and observe a high-angle technical rescue team at work. We also had an awesome Memorial Service honoring all of the Canadian and American firefighters who died in the line of duty in 1999.
Why, you ask, am I relating all of this to you? In our verse this week, the prophet Isaiah writes to tell us to LEARN in order to help others. This past week I LEARNED how to be more effective in serving YOU.
When I returned, one of our County Commissioners, Mr. Ed Rinehart (along with all the folks at Wells Fargo Bank), was throwing a "fish fry" as his way to say "thank you" for all the departments in Montgomery County that had helped saved life and property during our wildland fires of about 6 weeks ago. I learned something there, too - there are still politicians out there who care and show it.
My prayer is that you, too, will seek out opportunities to LEARN and that you use your education to likewise encourage others.
Show the love of our REAL CHIEF by grasping what I will call the "3 Nevers" -
NEVER stop learning!
NEVER stop encouraging others!
NEVER stop sharing what our REAL CHIEF has done in your life!
On HIS Shift,
No Article this week-
as I was in beautiful, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada for the Fire Chaplain's Conference!
October 15, 2000
"Plead, Receive and Follow"
October 9, 2000
"As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!" The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!" Jesus stopped and called them. "What do you want me to do for you?" he asked. "Lord," they answered, "we want our sight." Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him."
- Matthew 20:29 - 34 (NIV)
The subjects in our verse this week were in a very stressful situation, don't you think? I mean, they were both blind, both sitting beside a busy, dirty roadside and both were pleading for help from Jesus - only to be yelled at by the crowds.
In the past eight days (since the last article), I have been bombarded with life's ups and downs. I won't bore you with the details (please, hold your applause - hehehehe). But, I will touch on some of the highlights (and the low-lights, as well!).
I had a young firefighter approach me and ask for help dealing with some problems in his life. What I heard and saw sitting before me was this: a young ME! We talked for over an hour and a half. Towards the end of our discussion, I prayed with the young man as he asked Jesus to become the REAL CHIEF of his life! What an honor... to be in the presence of a new birth!
This little story was a LOT like our study verse this week. The young firefighter (the two blind men) called out for Jesus (searched for answers), but the crowd (the non-believers) told him to shut up... everything he was doing was accepted in the crowd (sins). But the young firefighter KEPT calling out. Jesus (our REAL CHIEF) heard his cries and healed him and the young firefighter got up and followed HIM.
Later in the week, my father-in-law passed away. You remember that I have been telling you about him. He, too, just about a month ago, asked our REAL CHIEF to be the center of his life. As a result of my father-in-law's cries to Jesus, the family was comforted knowing that Richard is in Heaven right now. You see, he immediately got up and Jesus.
Tomorrow is tough day. I am going to Texas Children's Hospital to be with a young firefighter and his wife who have a three year-old little boy named Brandon who is to undergo open heart surgery for multiple problems. They have been told that the surgery could last 12 to 16 hours!
I am asking for your help right now. Will you stop and pray for little Brandon ? - he is too young to call out for Jesus on his own. It is time for all of us to ask our REAL CHIEF to step in and take HIS role as THE GREAT PHYSICIAN and help Brandon, as well as his parents, through tomorrow's ordeal.
Are you blind and sitting on the side of your road in life? Take some great advice... do THREE things:
PLEAD with Jesus to forgive you and heal you
RECEIVE the free gift of sight (salvation, belief)
FOLLOW our REAL CHIEF
On HIS Shift,
"Moving Forward"
October 1, 2000
"You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."
- Ephesians 4:22 - 23 (NIV)
Last weekend was pretty neat.
As some of you may know, I am on the greater Houston area "Bluebonnet" CISM team. For those of you who aren't familiar with the term, CISM is the acronym for "critical incident stress management." (For more information on critical incident stress, please check out http://www.bluebonnetcism.org) Anyway, the CISM team sent me up to Austin to go through the advanced CISM training that was being taught by the Ph.D. who wrote the CISM "model" for emergency responders.
All-in-all it was a great class. But, something happened that made the weekend all the more special.
I was standing in line to pay for my lunch on the final day and the guy behind me said, "Excuse me, but what's your name?" I turned and there stood my old partner from twenty-sumthin' years ago! Mark and I had seen so much together and then had lost track of each other around 1982 or so. When he asked what I was doing now-a-days and I told him that I was a Chaplain, he laughed!!! That didn't hurt my feelings at all. You see, I wasn't a Christian back in those days, let alone a Chaplain. I think I would have laughed, too. Mark and I fought fires and saved lives together over 20 years ago. Back then, there wasn't anything like the Critical Incident debriefings we now teach. Mark and I used parties and action to mask the death and often inhumane things we saw every shift as paramedics in a big city.
Now, here we are, 23 years later. Mark and I both have been working in the safety field. We both are married to wonderful women named Cindy. We are both on CISM teams helping others in emergency services, we believe, stay away from some the "stress relievers" we employed. And, most importantly, Mark and I are both serving our REAL CHIEF- me as a Fire/EMS Chaplain and Mark is a deacon in his church!
Coincidence? Nope. It's a God thing.
You see, in our verse this week, our REAL CHIEF instructs each of us as believers to "put off" our old self and to "put on" the new: in other words, to stop our pre-Christian behavior and to live as an example to others... to be Christ in their life... to show them that a Christian life is the right way to live.
This past week I accomplished three really good things:
I got my advanced CISM certificate.
I renewed an old friendship
I met a fellow brother in Christ
If you are a believer, strive to "put off your old self." To you that may mean making a resolution to quit the partying, quit smoking, quit cursing or whatever. Instead of a "New Year's resolution", call it a "New Life" resolution! Then watch - as you put aside the habits of "the old you", you will begin developing new, CHIEF-serving habits: prayer, service and studying the Bible.
Have a great week!
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.
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