Yesterday morning my coffee pot did not work.  I went out to a local gas station to get a cup of coffee and put gas in the truck.  As I was fueling the truck a man approached me.  “Hey brother,” he smiled, “how is it going?  What brings you to Duncan?”  At first I was confused, until I saw part of a pair of dolphins tattooed on this man’s chest.  Then,  I knew.  He was a brother submariner.

 

We talked for awhile and as we parted he said, “I work down the road.  If you need anything while you are here, just go down there and ask for me.  Anything you need, I will get.  We have to stick together because there is no one else.”

 

As I reflect upon that encounter with a fellow vet, I realize the depth of his words and his commitment to his fellow submariners.  A depth that lacks within the church today.  It is a depth of trust, that overlooks mistakes and failures.  A depth of commitment that will sacrifice all if needed.  A depth of love that will die for another. 

 

Why?  Because we have been through life and death together.  We had to stand beside each other, even if we could not get along, or we would die.  We wanted to go home.  To go home, we had to do it together.

 

What is lacking in the church is found in the veterans who served.   Sad, but true. One day, it will change for the church, but it will be painful.  When it does change, it will be a deep relationship like none other.

In my travels, I have discovered that Airbnb is cheaper than a motel.  What you do is rent a person’s house for a period of time.  In my present case it is a three bedroom, two bath house.  Rustic, yet clean.  Good place.

 

Yet, it is someone else’s house that I am borrowing. 

 

In one sense, we are borrowing the items of this earth.  They are not ours like we think they are.  When we die, the items stay.  The items can be destroyed by fire, flood, or even age (termites).  Just borrowed items.

 

There is one item that is permanent, your soul.  The only permanent item in the whole universe that is personally ours, it our soul.  It is not borrowed, it is yours and mine.  Take care of your soul.  It is not borrowed, it is eternal.

There was a red light in the distance.  It was there for 15 minutes.  Finally after driving 68 miles an hour, the red light was in front of me.  That is just Oklahoma.  Flat.

 

At times, the solution for our problems seems so far away.   We work at the solution,  Plan for the solution.  Sacrifice for the solution.  Yet, at times it seems so far away. 

 

God uses our problems not for the solution, but for the journey to the solution.  It is the learning process that is often needed.  For in the learning process, we see more about ourselves, friends, and family.  We see how we think and how we need to change our thinking.

 

When going through a problem, ask God to show you how the journey should go.  He will take care of the solution.

Yes, I know that I am a minister, but like everyone else I have those Sundays where I wish I could just stay in bed.   The week was bad, work was bad, relationships were terrible, and there are more reasons we all have.   For most, Sunday is the only day off or it is their day of work. 

 

Yet, what does one do, right?  It is the same ole at church and if you skip a Sunday no one will call.  So skipping this one Sunday to relax is ok, right?

 

It is at this time, one is reminded that it is not about me, it is about Jesus.  It is about spending time with Him with His people.  It is about letting Him heal, mend, and restore your soul. 

 

Yes, people may not talk to you.  You may think at that time it is a waste of time.  But, sometime this morning, this day or this week, those few minutes you spend with Him and His people, will help you.  It will bring peace or healing.  It will be just what you need to go on. 

 

So, get ready.  God’s people are getting ready to meet.  You don’t want to miss it.

Today was my 40th class reunion.   To quote a granddaughter, “you’re old.”  Some days I feel that way.  Not today.. 

 

The past two days were spent reuniting with classmates, re-establishing old relationships, and establishing new ones.  It has been a time of remembering, laughter, and learning for me.  Everyone in my class has had life altering experiences, both good and bad. These experiences helped us reconnect in various ways.

 

Did I remember all of them?  No.  We all had some memory issues, but it was a good time.

 

It makes me wonder about heaven.  Will we remember our loved ones and be reunited, or will we be so humbled with standing in front of Jesus and hearing, “well done.?”  Makes one wonder.  I guess the greatest reunion will be standing with Christ. 

 

Yes, standing in front of Jesus and touching him will be the greatest of all reunions.

During the past few days, I have taken roads I have never been on.  While I grew up in Missouri, there are roads that I have never seen, until now.  The scenery was fantastic.  View breathtaking.  Places  of rest and peace that I never knew existed. 

 

Peter stated that we are travelers in this land, in this time.  Our home is not this earth, but in what is to come.  Yet, we walk this land as our Lord walked this land.  We give comfort to the hurting, food to the hungry, healing to the sick, and a new path to those who are lost. 

 

It is a path that few travel.  It is a path of wonder, beauty, and at times amazement.  It is the road for those who are traveling to their eternal home.  It is a road for travelers.

Sometimes one has to get away from everyone and everything just to clear the head.  It works.  We all know that, but we rarely do it.  First it is hard to let go.   Also in our day and age of information at the fingertips, it is difficult to go without that information for a period of time.  

 

I am on vacation.  A time to get away and just spend time with God, friends, and family.  Most of this time is with God.   One needs time with God to focus or refocus on what is really important.   Jesus would often go off someplace quiet and spend time with His Father.  He set an example that we need to follow.

 

This day, take 15 minutes and get alone with God.  See what happens.

Arlington National Cemetery was the home of the famous General Robert E. Lee.  There are several facts that have been overlooked about General Lee in recent times.  First, he did not fight the war because he was against freeing the slaves.  General Lee and his wife had freed their slaves years before the war.  They were paid, received an education, and taught a trade at the Lee’s expense.  General Lee fought because he believed that the state’s rights superseded the federal government.  Before the war, Abraham Lincoln and General Lee discussed this at great lengths.  Both wished the outcome of their time would have been different.

 

Arlington became the resting place for those soldiers who died in the Civil War to present day.  Over 28 burials are performed daily.  It is a solemn place, yet beautiful. It began as a home.

 

There are no formal cemeteries for those who died for Christ.  Their bodies are scattered throughout the dust of the earth.  But the difference between those veterans of the faith and Arlington:  the lives of the faithful live on in the church and its faithful followers of Jesus.

 

 

It was a early spring day when the Ulysses S. Grant, SSBN 631, left Portsmouth, NH after 5 years in refurbishment.  Senior Chief Thompson and LT. Jimenez were topside finishing the rigging submergence.  Despite being tethered to the deck, the rough 12 foot waves swept both men off their feet.  They dangled along the superstructure of the submarine.  LT Jimenez’s line was cut and he was quickly rescued by a rescue boat, while Senior Chief Thompson was cut free and went into the water.  His body was never recovered.

 

These men were my friends.  Senior Chief was everyone’s father.  He encouraged everyone.  His personality and work ethic helped everyone to do better.  LT Jimenez knew no enemy.  He was proud of his family and shipmates.

 

This weekend I will stop and give the Good Lord thanks for their influence on my life.  The laughter, fun times, and bad times, I will give thanks.  I will never forget them.  Everyone who knew them will never forget them.

 

Stop this weekend, in the midst of the BBQ, games, boating and camping and give God thanks for those men and women who sacrificed there lives for your ability to have freedom.

 

 

The early founding fathers of this nation had to make some life altering decisions.  First, did they want to live under tyranny?  Second, did they wanted to be taxed?  Third, were they willing to pay the cost if they answered no to the first two questions?

 

History shows that they wanted to live free from tyranny and taxation.  They fought.  They sacrificed their business, estates, and for some their lives.  They won.  We won.

 

Because of their sacrifices, we live in a land that had provided freedom for all.   There was a chance to grow into anything or anyone you dreamed of being.  This land at one time offered unlimited possibilities

 

Why are we in the circumstances we are in now?  We have forgotten how we started and why.   Would it be nice not to pay taxes?  Would it be nice again to start a business without government interference?  Oh course it would.

 

What will it take to return to the way it was in the beginning?  Standing up for what is right no matter what anyone says.