MILITARY LIFE

Military Life

By: Maggie A. Escoto

It’s amazing when one becomes part of a military family, directly or indirectly, the perspective of holidays such as Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Veterans Day change.  The view is no longer how most people view these holidays: as a long weekend to just unwind, go on vacation, shopping for sales, etc. etc.  Yesterday I asked someone what their family was doing for the holiday and I was at least expecting to hear, “family coming over for bbq” but instead I got, “Nothing, we don’t know any fallen military.” Hmmmmmm…I found that to be interesting.

Not surprising as I used to think along the same lines...didn’t really give much thought about the men and women who have sacrificed not only their lives but also the sacrifice that the soldiers’ families also make that we would take for granted the freedoms that we have been given because of them. By the way, if you compare their sacrifice of EVERYTHING to their pay is nothing to write home about (but that is another story and pet peeve for another day).

In life, people make sacrifices for the well-being of themselves and others. The call of a sacrifice should be a personal decision or life practices for a better coexistence. However, this is not true for American soldiers, their duties call for sacrifices. 

The soldiers sacrifice their lives for the nation and pledge allegiance to the constitution that they will serve with devotion. This makes them U.S. property; they do not have control of their lives like other citizens because the call requires them to be alert at all times. Their social, political, economical, and other aspects of life are controlled and monitored by the government. They go to war and defend the nation at the expense of their lives. Like men and women of the forces who have served the country against attacks in the past wars, the current soldiers still lay their lives for the sake of the nation. American soldiers constantly fight oppression and tyranny, which faces the nation and other nations. Unrestrained, terrorism and the danger of terrorism, whether done abroad or on American soil, threaten our prosperity, our culture, and our means of life. The responsibility for combating and overcoming these evil acts lies with our military services and our alliance allies.

And these are just the basics.

Culture Sacrifices

The soldiers' sacrifices are rarely noticed or given deserving attention.  Did you know that the soldier who goes to fight in other regions sacrifices the culture practices of United State? These soldiers suffer harsh cultural and religious practices, which are practiced in these foreign nations. Some of the soldiers have been executed due to these cultural differences. Women in the American armed forces, who are stationed in Afghanistan and other Arab nations, are sacrificing the protection their Kevlar helmet gives to comply with Islamic ethnicity. These practices are said to protect their existence and save their lives during their duties. This change of identity in order to serve or perform your duty is a call for sacrifice for many. They have been demanded to cover their heads with a scarf known as hijab, so as to be accepted to stay in these nations. This is political correctness, which is creating havoc on the American military. These are sacrifices that affect the individuals so much since they involve changing lifestyle. These soldiers have to forfeit their cultural activities they use to enjoy before joining the forces. They have to form new culture, which take times to incorporate into life style.

Living Standards

The luxurious life, which people tend to enjoy and properly plan for is a thing the military dreams of. The job jurisdictions make them to be alert at all. They sacrifice the living standard because their jobs dictate where they can stay and what particular activities they are allowed to be involved in. The soldiers sacrifice every bit of their living because they have to live in accordance to the code of conduct given to them.  The life style is checked in that everything is timetabled and must be adhered to, from the sleeping hours, eating habit, exercise practices, and social activities. Having the uniform for identification are segregation factors and defining tactics of their existence.  Their social, political, economical as well as other aspects of life is control and monitored by the government. The social life style of an officer is always restricted and checked so as not to interfere with duty.  The U.S soldier is politically restricted from engaging in politics of the nations, and only allowed to protect the constitution of the nation.

And these are to name just a few.

UNFAIR IMBALANCE:

Let’s talk a little bit about the families left behind in the face of deployment.

Many politicians, including the President, over the years proclaim, “I understand what the families of our service members go through,” but with all due respect, they have absolutely no clue, especially if they have never served their country thru the military.

Until you live in their shoes every day for the duration of a combat deployment, none of us can truly understand the full measure of what they suffer. At least those in the military get the pat on the back. But what notoriety do their family members receive for the silent sacrifice they make? There is virtually no recognition.

Most servicemen and women would unequivocally agree that without the heroic sacrifice a spouse makes at home while away in the war zone, they wouldn’t be as effective on the front lines. Military spouses keep the homefront going. We admire your dedication and commitment to your families, your spouses who fight for our freedom, and our country. Not just anyone can do the job that is required of a military spouse. The military spouses are a people that are strong, dedicated, loving, and supportive under the most extreme and stressful situations. They fill the role of both mother and father to their children while their loved ones are deployed. They put their careers on hold due to constant relocation. They have to keep it together all while knowing their loved ones are in a war zone. Under the worse of circumstances, their loved ones come back wounded or pay the ultimate sacrifice. In those situations, the military spouses are thrown into the role of a caregivers to their Wounded Warrior or they become military widows/widowers.

These men and women offer up their goals and dreams, their livelihoods, and their futures on the altar of this Nation. They are every bit as much our Nation’s heroes as those who wear the uniform and their sacrifices must not be swept under the rug when the stories of these wars are told. Nor should we allow Congress or the American people to argue that these men and women who give up their lives to become full-time caregivers to wounded warriors should go unpaid and unrecognized for their efforts on the Nation’s behalf.

Military spouses are our Unsung Heroes!

What can we do for our military families?

There are so many things we can do for them and they are as simple as:

1. Thank them and tell how much you appreciate their service

2. Pay for a soldier’s meal or the families’ meal if resources allow

3. Give the couple a date night and offer to babysit their children

4. Pray for the military families

5.  Give them gift certificates for massages and spa treatments.

There is so much that one can do if we choose to be creative.

Soldiers Payer

Psalm 91 (NIV)

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
² I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”

³ Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
⁴ He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
⁵ You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
⁶ nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
⁸ You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.

⁹ If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
¹⁰ no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
¹² they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
¹³ You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

¹⁴ “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
¹⁵ He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation. ”

Military Spouse’s Prayer

Dear Lord, give me the greatness of heart to see the difference between duty and his/her love for me.  Give me understanding that I may know, when duty calls him/her, he/she must go.  Give me a task to do each day, to fill the time when he/she is away. Lord when he/she is in a foreign land, keep him/her safe in your loving hand, when duty is in field, please protect him/her and be his/her shield.  And Lord, when deployment is so long, please stay with me and keep me strong. Amen.

Prayer for Military Families

Father, may the families of our military personnel – their spouses, children, and parents – cast all their cares and burdens upon You.  Instead of being worried or filled with anxiety, may they pray about everything that concerns them and everything that concerns their soldier’s life and deployment.  As You promised, then cause Your peace, which surpasses all understanding, to guard their hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  Grant all our military troops this same peace, and let them feel the love we have for them even though we are far apart.

1Peter 5:7, Amplified; Philippians 4:6-7

A SEAON FOR 'NEW' PROPHETIC DECLARATION

By: Ching Co

These past weeks, I felt the Lord leading me to do certain things like sorting through my old records, files and to do housecleaning (throwing out things that are no longer useful to me). This gave me time to work and talk with the Lord. In the process, I found myself sharing my struggles with Him.

I felt that I have not done enough for Him. As I go over the years past, I noticed that many times I felt the Lord leading me to do something which I obeyed wholeheartedly, then along the way events overtook me and I had to let go of those projects and let go of the vision.

These experiences make me feel like I have been a failure. The enemy of our soul has been quick to pick up the momentum to continually use these memories to torment us about our shortcomings. Many times I felt that I have missed my calling, failed the Lord and am a total failure. I was in this state of mind when the Lord interrupted me with that “small still voice” to give me His message. Furthermore, it was impressed to me that this message is not for me alone. Many of God’s warriors are standing in the same place where I am now. So my prayer is that as I share this message with the body of Christ, that you please allow the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart as well.

First, God brought to my mind the prophet Jeremiah, and how in the midst of the calamity that was about to befall Jerusalem, God asked the prophet to buy a field which, if taken on face value, was a very foolish act. These were Jeremiah’s words to Baruch and the other witnesses:

“In their presence, I gave Baruch these instructions: ... ‘Take these documents, both the sealed and unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in a clay jar so they will last a long time. For this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land’” (Jer. 32:13-15, NIV).

“Once more fields will be bought in this land which you say, ‘It is a desolate waste, without men or animals, for it has been handed over to the Babylonians.’ Fields will be bought for silver, and deeds will be signed, sealed and witnessed ... because I will restore their fortunes, declares the Lord” (Jer. 32:43-44).

Then, the Lord reminded me of the story of Hosea who married an adulterous wife and took her back, even when she left Hosea for another man (Hosea 1, 3). As I was pondering what these stories have to do with my own situation, I felt the Holy Spirit speaking the words below to me. As always, please test them and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart.

“When you obey Me, great things are taking place in the heavenlies. My beloved, you know that I do not see as a man does, nor do I act as a human does. Even the smallest thing that you do for Me has great significance in the kingdom of God. Therefore, listen and I will explain to you the spiritual significance of your life. You, beloved, are called ‘children and saints of the Most High God.’ Your very life is an intercession for God’s kingdom to be established on earth. Every word that you speak, every action that you take, must not be judged nor measured by their outward appearance because all these have greater spiritual value.

“Look at Jeremiah and Hosea; when they followed My command, their actions were prophetic declarations of what is in My heart. They were symbolic of things that are happening and of things to come. The same is true with you today. Many times I will call you to do things which appear foolish, unreasonable and insignificant in the eyes of men. But when you obey Me, great things are taking place in the heavenlies.

“Nations are being marked, families are being saved, spiritual barriers are being broken and My kingdom is being push forward. Every action that you make has meaning. When I asked you to do physical housecleaning, and as you began to throw away things that are not needed, so I am also doing housecleaning in the hearts and minds of men and even in the midst of nations. Begin to listen intently and you will hear and see the Holy Spirit showing you people, nations and visions of the significance of these actions.

“At times, scenes from war movies will be brought to your mind. You will see soldiers marking boundaries, breaking enemy barriers and claiming lands for their leader. As you have seen them in your spirit, and as you act them out and declare them, so the same is already happening in the heavenlies. These pictures represent angels carrying out your orders as you declare them prophetically. As you do your regular exercise and walk around, you will hear the Holy Spirit guiding you of how to claim nations for Me.

“Every step that you take represents something spiritual. As you do any acts led by the Holy Spirit, listen to Him and ask Him for the spiritual meaning and significance for these, and as you do speak them forth. Just know My precious ones that nothing you do is insignificant. Do not worry about the end result of what you are lead to do. Just do what I told you to do. And one day, when we are together, you will understand the importance of your obedience to Me.

“This day, I pour down a new anointing upon you all. Go, declare, and take My kingdom back for Me from the clutches of the enemy. Remember: I am God. I am in control. I love you dearly.”

This is the message of the Lord for His children this season. Amen and amen, Lord.

SHHHHH!

By: Maggie A. Escoto

"If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame." (Proverbs 18:13)

Have you ever been in a conversation with a person who will not keep quiet long enough to listen in order to obtain at least a little bit of knowledge about a particular subject whether it be a definition, about culture, or even just about as to why a particular thought process brings one to a particular decision?

We often tend to interrupt someone’s thoughts not allowing them to finish their rationalizations before we feel the need to put in our two cents.  We make conjectures (assumptions or speculations) in advance and we presume.  To presume means to suppose that something is probably the case without facts. If we have no understanding of a culture, or another’s reasoning or motives, why or how would we even think that we should be giving our opinions? Unfortunately, we do it any way….we just assume. This usually makes us look like fools. And if we look like fools, for certain no one will want or ask to listen to our opinions.

Assumptions and presumptions create difficulties and challenges in our interaction with others and in our relationships. In “Madea” language, we just need to learn to put the SHUT to the UP!

James writes in James 1:19, “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak…”  In other words, we need to learn how not to open mouth and insert foot before putting brain in motion.

"Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent." Proverbs 17:28

PASSOVER - A Revelation of a Messiah

The festival of the Passover has been celebrated by Jews for thousands of years. It is the retelling of the great story of how God redeemed the Jewish nation from enslavement in Egypt. The celebration itself was given to the Jews while they were still in Egypt. The original celebration centered around the Passover lamb, which was sacrificed and its blood put over the doorposts as a sign of faith, so that the Lord passed over the houses of the Jews during the last plague poured out on the Egyptians - the killing of every firstborn.

The New Testament says that Jesus is our sacrificial Lamb. The Passover lamb was to be a "male without defect," which is the same description given to Jesus. In addition, when the lamb was roasted and eaten, none of its bones were to be broken. This fact was also prophesized for the Messiah, whose bones were not to be broken. It was customary during crucifixion to break the leg bones of the person after a few hours in order to hasten their death. The only way a person could breathe when hanging on a cross was to push up with his legs, which was very exhausting. By breaking the legs, death followed soon by asphyxiation. However, in the case of Jesus, they broke the legs of the other two men, but did not break
His, since He was already dead.

Much of the symbolism of Jesus' last Passover week is lost to us because we are unaware of the customs of the time. For example, Jesus came into the city of Jerusalem five days before the lamb was killed in the temple as the Passover sacrifice for the sins of the people of Israel. Five days before the lamb was to be sacrificed, it was chosen. Therefore, Jesus entered Jerusalem on lamb selection day as the lamb of God. The people did not understand the significance of this, since they greeted Him with palm branches and hailed Him as King, shouting "Hosanna," which means "save us." However, they were not looking for a spiritual Savior, but a political savior. Palm branches were a symbol of freedom and defiance, since Simon Maccabeus had entered Jerusalem with that symbolism. Jesus' reaction was to weep, since
He realized that they did not understand the Messiah's purpose in coming.

The day Jesus was crucified was the day of the Passover celebration and the day that the Passover lamb was to be sacrificed. For the previous 1,200 years, the priest would blow the shophar (ram's horn) at 3:00 p.m. - the moment the lamb was sacrificed, and all the people would pause to contemplate the sacrifice for sins on behalf of the people of Israel. At 3:00, when Jesus was being crucified, He said, "It is finished" - at the moment that the Passover lamb was sacrificed and the shofar was blown from the Temple. The sacrifice of the lamb of God was fulfilled at the hour that the symbolic animal sacrifice usually took place. At the same time, the veil of the Temple (a three-inch thick, several story high cloth that demarked the Holy of Holies) tore from top to bottom - representing a removal of the separation between God and man. Fifty days later, on the anniversary of the giving of the law (Pentecost), God left the earthly temple to inhabit those who call on the name of Jesus through His Holy Spirit.

The festival of unleavened bread began Friday evening (at sunset). As part of the festival, the Jews would take some of the grain - the "first fruits" of their harvest - to the Temple to offer as a sacrifice. In so doing, they were offering God all they had and trusting Him to proved the rest of the harvest. It was at this point that Jesus was buried - planted in the ground - as He said right before His death. Paul refers to Jesus as the first fruits of those raised from the dead in 1 Corinthians. As such, Jesus represents the fulfillment of God's promise to provide the rest of the harvest - resurrection of those who follow the Messiah.

Christian symbolism in the Passover occurs early in the Seder (the Passover dinner). Three matzahs are put together (representing the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). The middle matzah is broken, wrapped in a white cloth, and hidden, representing the death and burial of Jesus. The matzah itself is designed to represent Jesus, since it is striped and pierced, which was prophesized by Isaiah, David, and Zechariah. Following the Seder meal, the "buried" matzah is "resurrected," which was foretold in the prophecies of David.

It was during a Passover seder that Jesus proclaimed that the meal represented Himself and that He was instituting the New Covenant, which was foretold by Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Isaiah. The celebration of this covenant has become the ordinance of communion in the Christian Church. At the end of the meal, Jesus took the unleavened bread, broke it, and said that it represented His body. Then He took the cup of wine, which would have been the third cup of the Seder - the cup of redemption. He said that it was the new covenant in His blood "poured out for you." It is through the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that we are declared clean before God, allowing those of us who choose to accept the pardon, to commune with Him - both now and forevermore through the eternal life He offers.

If you are a Christian, I encourage you to celebrate the Passover with your friends and neighbors. Our family has been doing this for over 10 years.

JESUS TRUSTED THE BIBLE, YOU SHOULD TOO

By Rick Warren

“For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” (Matthew 5:18 NIV)

You may have heard someone say, “I trust Jesus, but not the other guys who wrote the Bible.” There’s a problem with that logic.
Jesus trusted the Bible — every word of it! He taught that the Bible was a unique book, above all the others. Jesus said in Matthew 5:18, “For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished” (NIV).

Jesus says the Bible will last until the end of time. It will accomplish what God wants to accomplish in this world. In John 10:35 Jesus said, “We know that Scripture is always true” (NIRV). Jesus proclaimed the truth of the Bible. And when Jesus talks about the truthfulness of the Bible, we need to listen.

When Jesus talked about the Bible with people, he would often base his argument about the truth of the Bible on a single sentence or even a single word from the Bible. He believed every single sentence, every single word of Scripture. So if I trust Jesus, why wouldn’t I trust the Bible?

When Jesus talks about the Bible, he doesn’t just talk about it as poetry and history, either. He saw the Bible as something that changes lives. In Luke 11:28 Jesus said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it” (NIV). Jesus didn’t just want us to read the Bible. That’s what you do with poetry and history. Jesus wanted us to obey the Bible. That’s what you do with anything the Creator of the universe writes.

When Jesus talked about the Bible, he talked about it as if the people and events in it were real. He talked about all the prophets being real. He talked about Daniel being real. Jesus believed in Noah and everything that happened with the flood. He believed in Adam and Eve. Jesus believed in the tragedy of Sodom and Gomorrah. He believed in Jonah and him being swallowed by a large fish.

Jesus believed in some of the most disputed stories in the Bible, particularly Noah, Adam and Eve, Sodom and Gomorrah, and Jonah. People who think that the Bible is mostly good stories that didn’t really happen always point to those four stories.

If Jesus really believed in Jonah, then I should, too. I don’t know how God created a fish who could swallow a guy, but he did.

I trust in the Bible because Jesus trusted in it.

THE DEPTH OF GOD'S LOVE

By Cindy Beall



Do you have any idea how much God loves you? I don’t think I do either. I’m trying to “grasp” this love as Paul exhorts us to do. But, it’s not an easy task, is it?

The other day I was at the Pharmacy picking up a prescription. My youngest son was with me and was actually just sitting on a bench waiting for me instead of rearranging all of the pain relievers and laxatives.

While I was waiting, I looked over at him. He wasn’t doing anything but just sitting and waiting while I waited. He was not quoting a scripture that he memorized. He was putting away the dishes without being asked. He was showing love and kindness toward his brother. He was just there. And the love I had for him welled up inside of me and I had to fight back the tears.

Because who wants to see a grown woman cry in the Wal-Mart Pharmacy?

That is how God loves us. Just for who we are. Yes, a life of obedience to Him and being in fellowship with Him throughout the day gives Him joy, but He loves us because that is just who He is. He is love and He loved us enough to sacrifice His only son for us.

If you are a parent, do you love anyone enough to sacrifice your child for? Yeah, me neither. When I think about the love I have for my own sons, I think I get a glimpse of just how much God loves me.

Friend, rest today in the fact that our God, the Great I Am, the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last…loves you completely and without reservation. And our only reasonable response to Him should be giving Him our complete lives.

In this bold act of faith, I believe true joy and contentment resides.

TURNING WHAT IS UPSIDE DOWN RIGHTSIDE UP

CHRISTMAS PARADOX - Potential Church, Cooper City, FL