Warfare

Have you ever talked to someone who is go to war?  

This is my youngest son Joel.  Right now his twenty miles south of Baghdad.  Before he left I had the privilege to spend some time with him at, Ft. Stewart Ga. I learned a lot about him before he left.  He has become a man.

Of coarse this job required a lot of preparation. First boot-camp then months of training.  He’s holding what they call a S.A.W. (Squad Assault Weapon), it shuts 800 rounds of ammo a minute.  Before he left I got to see his personal body armor, (bulletproof vest to  you and me).  He was physically preparing his body to handle the heat, by adding body weight and fluids.  We went to the gym while I was there we lifted weights and spard on a speed bag.  Every morning he went to P.T.(physical training) and ran 5 miles. I think the hardest thing for him was leaveing a wife and two kids at home. Before he actually went to Iraq he staid in Kuwait, getting use to working the heat.  He went to further training on IED’s(improvised explosive devices) and more weapons training.  He told me one time they were on the firing range and had to stop because some camels had drifted on to the range.  Right now he works, 12hrs., on 12hrs. off. He said its a lot like ‘Groundhog Day’ the movie.  His camp is like a fortress,  high concrete walls and bunkers for mortar attacks.

He called me Christmas day, everything is fine.  They had given him half a day off, he was going to catchup on some rest.  It was good to here his voice.

Have you ever talked to someone going to war?  They get in this mind set, their here but their not, he was getting ready for what he had to do.  I asked him what he would do if he had to kill someone.  He said, they server a leader that does not recognizes Jesus, I figure they would kill me if given the chance, so I’m not going to give them the chance.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the war far I’m going through. Most I would not burden you with.  But some I can, an angry word spoken, only to hurt me.  Turmoil when there should be peace.  Thoughts coming into my mind that have to be prayed over.  Have you ever had those thoughts?  Some of them seem innocent some more sinister.  I think sometimes as men we just ignore them or just deal with them ourselves.

2Cor. 10: 3, 4, & 5 (NASB)  3) For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh  4)  for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.   5)We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing  raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

The U.S. Army has a new slogan; “You made them strong, we’ll make them Army strong”.  I don’t think anything I go through is by chance.  I am being formed in the likeness of Christ Jesus.  I know that there is not a thing I go though that He didn’t have to endure, Himself.  He has already won the battle, but I have to go through the training. posted Steve Waltrip

  

Christmas

What has become of Christmas?  It seems the true meaning has gone.  To me Christmas is about spending time with family. Growing up in my family was somewhat rough.  I can remember loving salad dressing sandwiches. Pancakes for supper was not a treat but a necessity.  When Christmas came we usually got things from Santa, he’s the only one that could have afforded those toys. I really didn’t recognize the poverty at the time because it was normal to do without.

The best time of all was going to my Grandmothers house after all the unwrapping had passed. She lived in Russellville and we were never more than an hours drive away. It was a family tradition for the first one though the door to holler Christmas Gift. Which meant someone had to forfeit a gift. At one time it may have worked but never for me. The whole family was there, we usually had to set up three tables to accommodate everyone. I don’t remember any gifts that were exchanged I just remember the time spent.

 One time when I was in high school my mom and dad worked together on a gift. I got a hand made chest board from dad and ceramic chest pieces from mom. I still have the three inch pieces and the board is temporarily misplaced.

While the family still got together, as a new father I was bound and determined to make sure my boys were going to have it better than I did, so at two yrs. old my first son got a big red fire engine. I look back at that and laugh, the truck was bigger that he was. I tried to carry on with some traditions, once we went out in the country and found a cedar tree along the road. It wasn’t very good but it was something the my family participated in together. Big socks for stockings and staying up til 2:00 a.m. to constructing tricycles and things.

I guess December 1979 was the most meaningful for me, 12/23/1979 was the day I gave my heart to the Lord. I was going through terminal at work and I called my dad to asked his advice. He said he didn’t have an answer but he said, Romans 8:28 always worked for him. At the time I thought it was the dumbest thing I had ever heard. I hung up the phone, went to a roof top and started dissecting Gods word. At the time I wasn’t living for God, so how could things work to my good. I asked Jesus to come into my heart. Now I do live according to His purpose. My whole life changed that Christmas, and I saw things new and fresh. The word love wasn’t just a word, but it took on a new meaning.

I found the true meaning of Christmas Dec. 23, 1979. Two thousand years ago God sent His Son, to earth in the form of a baby. He walked this earth a man, healing the sick, making the blind to see, and setting the captive free. Thirty three years later His Son died on a cross for me, Steve Waltrip. posted by Steve Waltrip

Have you ever wondered?

Joshua 1:8 says “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night….”

Meditation: describes a state of concentration, attention on some subject of thought or awareness. As defined by: Wikipedia.

The other day my wife asked me, ” what was Jesus called before, He was born in the manger?” The simplest answer I could give her was, the Trinity always was. He had names all through the Old Testament, called the crimson thread. For instance in Daniel He is identified as “The Son of Man,” and ” The Ancient of Days” I won’t go on because it is an answer that is best answered by a Bible scholar.

When I travel to and from work I consider questions like that. I don’t listen to music, I meditate, or I like to think about Heaven. Where is Heaven exactly?  Or, do you know what is in the Ark of the Covenant?  Arron’s rod, the Ten Commandments, and manna. In Samuel, it say that some of the items are not there any more. Did you know that the moment Jesus died the Vail in the Temple ripped from top to bottom. This told the world that the path to The Father is now through Jesus Christ.

Have you ever considered the forces it took to bring Lazarus back from the dead, or that Jesus defied the forces of gravity when He walked on the water. Did you know that when Jesus went to Heaven He took the Keys to Heaven and Hell?  Something I don’t have an answer for yet. It’s been said that I have two names. One earthly name and one Heavenly name. When I was born again I received another name.

My father and I had a conversation a few years ago about an event that was going on at the time. They were going to run tests on the Shroud of Turin. I asked my dad what he would think if they found it to be fake. His answer was,” I don’t care, all I have to remember is I have Jesus in my heart”.

In the “big picture” all that maters is that Jesus is in your heart. Knowing what is in the Ark doesn’t mount to a hill of beans. But for example, when I’m away from my wife I like to remember what she looks like, her red hair, what type of ear rings she wore yesterday. And her smile.  Also, when I think about the Bible I like to consider some of the questions I have presented earlier. I can see my wife, I have to except by faith that Jesus did all the things that were written about Him.

In closing, I must say I haven’t tried to cause controversy, but to encourage. What fills your idol mine? My wife listen to contemporary gospel on her way to work, it lifts her up to face the day. I like to thank about what Heaven looks like. Posted by Steve Waltrip

A Pilgrims Journey

I’m going to do something different on this page my wife said I should try to be a little more personal. I value her wisdom, so here goes.

I have a philosophy of Christian life I would like to share with you.  It is the way I live and the way I treat people.  I became a Christian Dec. 24, 1979. Ro. 8:28 was a verse that I dissected and came up short.. I determined I wasn’t living for God and asked Him to come into my life so all things would work to good.  There were several things that formed my early Christian life that stay with me today.  Keith Green, a young Christian singer/evangelist, caused me to seek God in a meaningful way, Petra (Christian rock band) a deeper understanding, the Maranatha singers helped me worship God in a deeper way.  Several TV evangelist formed my thinking about God. A Pentecostal church in Owensboro gave me the tools of the word.  I attended that church for about 15 years and it gave me the foundation I stand on for Gods word. I realize many don’t agree with some of their beliefs. I don’t agree with all of them either,  but there are many things I don’t agree on in every denomination. My mother ask me one time why I attend the church she introduced me to. I gave her this answer. In every service I can see Gods hand and in every service I can see people ‘in the flesh’. Every service I got exercised spiritually. I came away from that experience stronger.

Christian.2 Cor. 5:17 says we are new creatures. We are pilgrims in a strange land to quote ‘Petra’. Early in my Christian life I read a book by John Bunyan called ‘ Pilgrims Progress’ I see my life like young ‘Christian’, we travel down lifes path toward the Celestial City, influenced by outside forces. We have a choice (free will) to choose. Our choices (big or small) influence the our journey.  In my life I have encountered markers along the road. These road markers, if you will, have been events that for good or bad have caused a slight coarse changes. I would like to share these with you.

1) Romans 8:28                                               Salvation

2) Witnessing the birth of my second child         Gods love for me

3) Member in an Assembly of God Church         Testing/proving Gods word

4)Divorce after 30 yrs. of marriage                     Free will and how Gods hands are tide in some things

5)Remarriage                                                   Learning to adjust and trust God

6)Walk to Emmaus                                           My dying moment, Forgiveness

7)Joining a new church                                      Gods love from His people

8)Having an undesirable moment

with a man in Wal-Mart                                      Sharing my faith

9)My youngest son going to Iraq                          Trusting God

These are the things that have shaped the coarse of my life. I’m sure that before I lay my head down for the last time there will be more markers that will line my path on my pilgrimage.

In closing please remember we are all on our own path that God has laid before use, please do not judge others on their journey, they may be at a different point in their walk. Posted by Steve Waltrip

A Christmas Story in the Country

The Weber family was your typical farm family. It was a tradition on Christmas Eve for mom, dad, and the three boys to attend services at the local church. All were getting ready but dad. He had told mom that sense a winter storm was on the way he would need to stay home and finish a few chores. The church was so close she and the kids could go without him.

So mom and the boys bundled up and made their way to church.

It wasn’t long before the weather took a really bad turn for the worst. The temperature dropped and the light snow turned into a blizzard. Within an hour the pond that the live stock drank from had started to freeze. Dad threw a log on the fire and made his way to the window to check the weather. He looked toward the pond and saw that a flock of geese had landed near the pond. At first he didn’t think much about it and went back to what he was doing. After a while the wind started to howl and the snow got worse. He could just barely see that the geese had started to huddle together. He became concerned for them, all the other animals were in the barn, he would see if he could do something for the geese.He got all bundled up and went out in the snow. He opened the barn door thinking if the geese could see shelter they may go in. He went back in the house and watched from the living room window. They were not doing what he wanted them to. Silly geese, didn’t they know what was best, didn’t they see the shelter he had provided for them. He was aggravated but concerned at the same time, if he couldn’t provide a way to save them they may die. He put his coat back on and went outside. Maybe if he could herd them into the barn. He tried stretching out his arms and shooing them toward the barn. They just scattered, moving every way but to the barn. He tried several times more with the same results. He became worried that he was going to fail and the geese would stay in the cold and die. He tried one more time with no success. He fell to his knees and cried out allowed, Don’t they know I’m trying to save them. At that very moment the bell in the church steeple rang out, and a still small voice spoke to his heart. Don’t you know I’m just trying to save you. With that he put his head in his hands and wept. He had found the true meaning of Christmas.   posted by Steve Waltrip