What difference will my work make?

God’s answer: “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin” (Zechariah 4:10, NLT)

Begin. Just Begin! What seems small to you might be huge to someone else. Just ask Bohn Fawkes. During World War II, he piloted a B-17. On one mission he sustained flak from Nazi antiaircraft guns. Even though his gas tanks were hit, the plane did not explode, and Fawkes was able to land the plane.

On the morning following the raid, Fawkes asked his crew chief for the German shell. He wanted to keep a souvenir of his incredible good fortune. The crew chief explained that not just one but eleven shells had been found in the gas tanks, none of which exploded.

Technicians opened the missiles and found them void of explosive charge. They were clean and harmless and with one exception, empty. The exception contained a carefully rolled piece of paper. On it a message had been scrawled in the Czech language. Translated, the note read: “This is all we can do for you now.”

A courageous assembly-line worker was disarming bombs and scribbled the note. He couldn’t end the war, but he could save one plane. He couldn’t do everything, but he could do something. So he did it.

God does big things with small deeds.

From Cure for the Common Life
Copyright 2005, Max Lucado
Used by permission

Question: What small deeds can you do today in praise of the gracious God who saved you?

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.

The In Flanders Fields poem was written by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae on May 3 1915. He wrote it after witnessing the death of his friend on the battlefield the day before. It is a solemn reminder of the atrocities of war and an admonishment to steadfastly remain vigilant even when faced with terrifying adversity.

On this day we honor those who bravely fought for freedom and justice, and many of whom bravely gave their lives for the noble cause. It goes by different names in different places, including Remembrance Day, Veteran’s Day, Poppy Day, and Armistice Day, but the sentiment is the same: Not to glorify the tragedy of war, but to commemorate the valor of those who fought to defend their country.

Brigadier General (ret.) Robinson Risner, a veteran pilot who fought in World War 2, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, is one of those brave military soldiers who we should remember today. Despite being shot down twice over enemy territory, and being captured and tortured, each time it happened he wasted no time taking to the skies again, ready to serve his country. Read his story: Enduring Torture in a POW Camp

Please feel free to share your own stories of remembrance or commemoration in the comments below. If you feel the need to speak with someone in private, our online mentors are always available to listen.

“Imagine all the people, living life in peace”  With everything that is going on in the world today it’s pretty hard to imagine peace like that.  The Bible also speaks of a time of world peace in Isaiah 2:4

”[God] will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. ?They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. ?Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.”

However, we are not there yet. The world is not one as the song “Imagine” wishes for. So what now?

Peace on a personal level

For now, the answer is found in this, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” (Romans 12:18)

And in this, “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14)

Unfortunately, in our current era while individuals and nations are left to govern themselves, peace is not always up to us. When an aggressor is determined to threaten the peace of our citizens, we can either let them do harm, or we can intervene to defend those who do not deserve to be subjected to violence.

When you stop to consider the nature of God, who is Holy, and therefore perfect, and then consider his nature and his actions, a clearer picture becomes possible. God is both a God of love and mercy on the one hand, and a God of justice on the other hand.

His justice holds people and nations accountable. He has defended his people by doing violence on those who would harm them. He has done it before, and he guarantees that he will do it again.

Peace needs both justice and mercy

A nation that would choose to honour God and emulate his teaching must be prepared to seek peace and demonstrate love and mercy on the one hand (peacekeeping, disaster relief, international aid, etc) and justice on the other hand (taking up arms against an unjust and violent enemy as necessary).

On the personal level, don’t you and I do the same thing?  We demonstrate kindness towards others on the one hand, but if someone was threatening you or me with violence, we would call the police to apply the necessary means of force to subdue the aggressor.

Until God chooses to demonstrate to mankind how to live in peace, we must contend with the fact that some people in this world would choose to do us harm. Nations have raised up military forces to meet that challenge. This band of volunteers have signed up to offer their lives in your defense: to go anywhere, anytime, to do anything, at any cost, up to and including their very lives if necessary.

Although we cannot yet live in a world completely at peace, we can enjoy peace in our personal corner of the world. True peace within us can only begin by establishing peace with God. If you would like to begin that “faith adventure” of peace with God, this page will show you how you can discover peace with God.

Take the next step:

Do you understand God’s justice? Take a lesson
You can’t be patriotic just one day a year.  True patriots look like this.

Related:
What Is Your Purpose In Life?

Do you have unrealistic expectations in life? We are here to listen.

Dream? Who has time for that? Max Lucado in his book, Fearless –Imagine Your Life Without Fear says to Dream Wildly.  Those two words reminded me to evaluate things again. How can I begin to dream when reality is so tough some days?   That is why I need to dream.  If we stop dreaming, we stop hoping.  We need hope in a world of war, earthquakes, disease and pain.

The Old Testament prophet, Isaiah said, “Forget what happened long ago! Don’t think about the past.  I am creating something new.  There it is! Do you see it?’(Isaiah 43:18) The pages of Scriptures describe the God of the Universe who wants us to hope and dream. So why not take steps to join with Him to create something new?

Start today to dream again and keep it simple by using the ABC’s. Make a list and date it.  Let’s start!

Amazing Dreams! Write out your most wild and bizarre things that you have ever thought to do.  Pretend that the sky is the limit. This list is yours and no one else’s.  It can be plain and simple – Amazingly CRAZY.  Smile, enjoy, and dream.  Alright, you have your first list.

Believable Dreams! This time make a list with reality flavored in the mix.  Keep dreaming though.  It may mean planning a trip even though your present budget says, “You have got to be kidding”.  Maybe it is signing up for your very first college course toward a degree (who cares if you will get your degree just as you are about to retire!) For some, it is learning a new instrument or purchasing a home.  Twelve years ago I prayed to travel more and this year I went to Mexico!

How is your list going? Lastly, but never in permanent ink……

Creditable Dreams! What are your dreams for the next 12 months? This is where you practice your ABC’s. What are the current steps you can take to make some of these dreams become a reality? Take some time to write the steps that you will need to take for it to happen. As you dream, write it in pencil so you can be flexible with your adventures.  As you dream, also remember contentment with life is ‘daily’. Months later you can enjoy this list with the fact that you did dream and hope. This is your dream list so have some fun

In Psalm 37:4 it says to “delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Let Him have your heart today as you dream the ABC’s. He is the creator of the alphabet!

Father God, thank you that You care for us individually and that You enjoy when we dream.  Help us in our next steps in this life. Thank you that You hold our heart and enjoy the adventures with us.  Thank you that You are our Hope and want to guide us in our personal ABC’s.  In the precious name of Jesus, Amen.

TAKE THE NEXT STEP: Realizing your dream

Questions: Do you have a dream? What are the current steps you can take to make your dream(s) become a reality?

About the Author Linda McCutcheon

Do you feel hopeless? Take this study.

“I get so depressed sometimes I wish I could die!” the sad woman exclaimed. “You don’t know what it’s like to live with a man like my husband!”

“I realize it may be bad, Maria,” her pastor consoled. “But while he’s at work, can’t you shake off this depression that gets you down? Have you tried reading the Bible or listening or viewing some good Christian programs on radio or TV?”

She shook her head. “Oh, life with my husband isn’t the only thing that gets me down. It’s life in general these days–so much trouble going on in the world–war, sickness, increase in crime and immorality. What if my children get involved with drugs or something like that?”

“Now, Maria, you’re looking for trouble,” answered her pastor. “Yes, I agree these are bad days in which we live. But we have the same Lord today that Christians down through the centuries have had. He makes all the difference in a Christian’s life.

If we set our affections on things above, we won’t be dragged down by things on this earth. God doesn’t want His children to live in the dumps. He can lift us up to the heavenlies with His joy and peace. But we have to take every problem to Him and trust Him to take care of it!”

Maria is like many Christians today. They spend too much time down in the dumps with the devil, when they could enjoy the princely privileges God gives His children even in this life.

Down in the dumps

The dumps isn’t a pretty place. All kinds of garbage lie around. Unpleasant smoke stings the nostrils with its acrid fumes. The company there isn’t pleasant either, for you can hardly stand yourself at times! Your mind whispers discouraging suggestions such as, “Why don’t you just give up” and “Why don’t you kill yourself? The garbage surrounding a person in the dumps is enough to depress anyone. There are those old regrets (but you can’t relive the past). There are present problems. (But does worrying ever solve them?)Sometimes the future seems hopeless.

When we are in the dumps we are not much use to anyone, and we certainly are no testimony for the Lord. We are miserable. We can’t sleep. We snap and bite. Our faith is at a low ebb. And we are vulnerable to Satan.

Up with the Lord

Jesus said to His followers, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27). When we turn to the Lord in faith away from our garbage dump of troubles, we find a wonderful peace steals into our hearts. We experience such grace that suddenly we want to sing as the angels in Heaven. “Praise the Lord!”

Jesus also said that where our treasure is, there also will be our heart. If we count our treasure as being in Heaven, then the temporary things that take place in this world will not matter half so much. For as our minds are set on things above, we will know in our hearts that God’s hand is on everything concerning you.

Dr. Charles Haddon Spurgeon said, “The Lord gets his best soldiers out of the highlands of affliction.”

TAKE THE NEXT STEP: Depression is NOT spiritual failure

About the Author Muriel Larson

        Every day over every city there is a war going on in the spirit realm. Darkness and light are battling it out for the souls of the city, and the results are evident in the natural as we see both godliness and evil manifested in the lives of the people. Mankind participates in that war by giving power to darkness through sin, or by giving power to the light through prayer, fasting, and righteous living.

           Even though Daniel’s prayer for his nation was heard the very first day, and his prayer was immediately responded to, It was three weeks before the angel was able to get through the spiritual battle with a message for Daniel. Daniels fasting and continued prayer contributed to victory for the angel and ultimately for his nation (Daniel 10:12-14).If we want to see change in the natural, we first have to have victory in the spiritual. Be confident that when you engage in prayer, fasting, and righteous living, you are using weapons that will impact the spirit realm and change the atmosphere in your city, preparing a way for a greater openness to the gospel among the people.

“Blessed be the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle.” Psalm 144:1 (NKJV)

 Prayer points:

• That the people of God would be united in prayer with an eye to impact their cities for Christ
• That we would understand the battle at hand and engage to empower victory in the spirit realm
• That we would grow in understanding our role as the church to impact our world

Today as we mark Memorial Day, the United States has lost its 1000^th GI to the combat in Afghanistan. Marine Corporal Jacob Leicht, a native of Kerrville Texas, had been in country just two weeks after spending the last two years in physical therapy for a serious injury sustained in combat in Iraq.  He would have turned 25 on the fourth of July.

In interview for CNN, Leicht’s brother Jesse spoke of the meaning of his brother’s sacrifice as a single tear ran silently down his face.  He told the interviewer:

“He did the ultimate thing. It’s people like him that makes so I that I can go out to eat with my friends, that I can live here on this piece of property with my family, that I can wake up in the morning and go to work.”

Marine Corporal Jacob Leicht is one face out of thousand, one family out of crowd of those who truly understand what today is all about.  As you gather your own family close to you this Memorial Day, remember him and the thousands of others like him.  Remember those who have been lost and all those who today, right now, are holding a weapon so that you and I don’t have to.

Military Lives Prayer Time
June 2, 2010 7:00 pm EDT Join us in chat to pray for military families and all those serving their country. (This is a recurring chat.)

I was on the verge of killing myself. But something brought me back from the edge of death. This is my story.

Although I grew up in a Christian family in the Middle East, Christianity meant very little to me. I was not satisfied with my life. Even though I went to Sunday School and learned about the Bible I only had knowledge about the Christian faith, I didn’t really know God.

As a young man I joined the army. I was actually forced into it. And I was treated almost like a slave because people knew that I was a Christian. We were in the middle of fighting a long war against another country and I wouldn’t be able to leave until the war was resolved. I probably would not be able to go back home for many years, and I felt that life was not worth living. I started contemplating suicide.

The thing that helped keep me sane was playing music. I would be paid to play music at special events and businesses. This way I could make a little extra money, since the army paid hardly anything at all. But then my only set of civilian (non-army) clothes was stolen, so I couldn’t even do that anymore, because I couldn’t wear my army clothes when I was out performing!

One night I was on guard duty, and had already been up for 48 hours without sleep. I was so tired and depressed and frustrated. I decided that I’d had enough, and this would be the night I finally would commit suicide. I was given my gun and went to my guard post.

After about 15 minutes, I convinced myself to go through with it. I had my finger on the trigger, ready to end my life. If I pressed it, 36 bullets would instantly fire and surely kill me. But just then I heard a voice calling my name. My supervisor was approaching me, and asked me to give him the gun. I protested, asking why he wanted it, and asked how was I supposed to guard the troops without it? But he insisted, and took the gun, and walked away.

As he left, I wondered why he had come to take the gun away right at that moment. I was very sad. I couldn’t even die like I wanted to! I turned my head towards heaven and cried out to God: “Why am I still here? Why have you saved my life? I am a sinner! I don’t really even know you!”

But when my supervisor took the gun and went away I felt a question being asked inside of me asking: “How do you feel about the people around you?” (I realized it was the Lord asking me.)

I answered: “These people don’t love each other, they hate each other! They steal, and take advantage from each other.” Then another question immediately came to me: “Why don’t you try ME?”

It was then I realized, for the first time, that God really loves me. Many of the verses from the Bible, that I learned many years before but had forgotten about, came pouring back to me. I realized that, even though I was in many ways a “bad” person, that God loves everyone, even “bad” people. If only good people went to heaven, no one would be allowed in! But by trusting God, He would accept me. Jesus, on the cross, took the punishment for us that us “bad” people deserve. So by trusting in Him, God would accept me.

After that day my life began to change. Many people around me noticed the changes in me. I was no longer swearing and treating people unkindly. At first they were skeptical of the changes, but eventually they realized that something powerful had changed in my life.

I later found out that the supervisor who took my gun was not concerned about me, but was concerned about himself. You see, one of his other soldiers had recently killed himself because of the mistreatment he’d received, and my supervisor was worried that if it happened again he would be in trouble. I also learned at that time that this same supervisor was the one who took my civilian clothes!

But when I found out I was not angry, like I would have felt before. I told the supervisor the clothes were a gift to him. I realized God had given me so many free gifts (first life itself, and then eternal life with Him) that I wanted to respond to His love by sharing this love to others! What an amazing turn-around God had worked in my heart, from wanting to die to wanting to share life with other people!

Take a look at your life. How would you describe it? Contented? Rushed? Exciting? Stressful? Moving forward? Holding back? For many of us it’s all of the above at times.

There are things we dream of doing one day, there are things we wish we could forget. You are embarking on a whole new life, maybe this is the time to invite God to be a part of it. In the Bible, it says that Jesus came to make all things new. What would your life look like if you could start over with a clean slate?

Living with hope

If you are looking for peace, there is a way to balance your life. No one can be perfect, or have a perfect life. But every one of us has the opportunity to experience perfect grace through a personal relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ.

You can receive Christ right now by faith through prayer. Praying is simply talking to God. God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. Here’s a suggested prayer:

Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life to you and ask you to come in as my Savior and Lord. Take control of my life. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be.

Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? You can pray it right now, and Jesus Christ will come into your life, just as He promised.

Is this the life for you?

If you invited Christ into your life, thank God often that He is in your life, that He will never leave you and that you have eternal life. As you learn more about your relationship with God, and how much He loves you, you’ll experience life to the fullest.

Image credit: CharlesFred

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.

- Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, May 3 1915

November 11 is the day traditionally set aside to remember those who bravely sacrificed during wartimes, both military and civilian, in particular but not limited to World War I & II. It goes by different names in different places, including Remembrance Day, Veteran’s Day, Poppy Day, and Armistice Day, but the sentiment is the same: Not to glorify the tragedy of war, but to commemorate the valor of those who fought to defend their country. At the same time, we trust in God’s promise that someday such noble sacrifices will someday cease as they become unnecessary at Jesus’ return and the end of “death or mourning or crying or pain” (Revelation 21:4)

Please feel free to share your own stories of remembrance or commemoration in the comments below. If you feel the need to speak with someone in private, our online mentors are always available to listen.

Image credit: striatic, used with permission, Creative Commons 2.0 License.