December 16, 2013

From Ben Fronczek... Veterans Day




Veterans Day  
How many of you ever felt unappreciated?   Silly question. We’ve all felt unappreciated at one time or another. Moms sometimes feel unappreciated for all that they do around the home, all the cooking, all the cleanings, washing all the clothes and so much more. Sometimes men feel unappreciated for all that they do at home, or at work. Many times kids even feel unappreciated for what contributions they make. But when I think about a Veteran and what many of them had to do, and what many of them had to sacrifice; and then not be remembered, it’s sad.  Veteran’s Day, is also known as Armistice Day, or Remembrance Day in other countries is celebrated on Nov.11th , the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I.  President Dwight Eisenhower made it a holiday and signed it into law In 1954, saying “on this day let us solemnly remember the sacrifices of all those who fought on the seas, in the air, on the foreign shores, and let us re-consecrate ourselves to the task of promoting an enduring peace so that their efforts shall not have been in vain.”
 I believe Veteran’s Day is all about showing our appreciation, and giving honor to those men and women who gave so much for us and the causes our great nation.  We feel bad and don’t feel appreciated, maybe because no one thanked us for washing the floor or doing the dirty dishes.  But what did those Vet’s do? Some made great sacrifices, not only giving their time and effort, many were put in harm’s way where they trembled with fear on a day to day basis. Some were forced to fight and kill other human beings. Some were injured, shot, crippled and even lost body parts. Some became prisoners of war and were tortured. And for some it cost them their mental health because of what they saw. And others made the ultimate sacrifice by giving their life.  And how do some honor and remember their sacrifice?  By holding a Veteran’s Day Sale event to get people out to go shopping!          I’m sorry but I think that is pathetic! At least Hoffman’s car wash is offering our vets and active soldiers a free car wash for the day to honor them.
 So what does it mean to honor?  Honor is an ancient word which can have numerous meanings depending on how it is used.  
For today’s purpose I want to use it as it is used in Exodus 20.  
“Honor, thy father and thy mother” 
 This is a commandment from God to do something.  Yes, honor involves doing something.  So how should we honor our veterans?  First I think that we need to look at what honor is.  Webster’s dictionary summarizes it to mean “the showing of merited respect”.
 In his video series Hidden Keys to Loving Relationships, at one point Gary Smalley took a Stradivarius violin worth $500,000 and passed around his audience. As it moved from one person to another it was handled with the greatest care and gasps of awe could be heard. He later explained that his audience was demonstrating honor as they beheld that violin. Because of what it was they were showing ‘merited respect’.
Observing Veteran’s Day should be about showing honor, respect, and pride for those who served in our place. It is something we should do.  It’s not just about taking advantage of a 30 or 40% off sale at Sears, or about watching old war movies on TV. But rather it’s good to take a few moments to remember their sacrifice and say thank you shows some respect, appreciation and recognition to those men and women for they have done.
Today all the churches in the our area have decided to ring their church bells at 11:00 AM for two minutes to honor our Veterans. And as we do this I ask you think about these men and women with honor and respect. I also ask you to pray for those who are alive and who may still be in the military. Pray for those who are injured or permanently handicapped.  And I also ask you to pray for those who have lost their loved ones. Pray for the survivors left behind. And pray that this nations will always be a nation that chooses it’s battles wisely and seeks the road of peace first.
Ring Bell.     Then Sing Soldiers of Christ Arise.
Wars and conflicts have been a tragic part of our human experience ever since our banishment from the Garden of Eden.
• The attempt at resolving our differences through the point of the spear, the edge of the sword, the barrel of the gun, or targeted missile, has sadly not brought us any closer to an end of hostilities.
• The Great War, World War I, was regarded as “the war to end all wars” – the horrors and enormous cost in lives lost and resources spent, was hoped and believed to be sufficient to make the very thought of another war “unthinkable”.
• But just 21 years later we were again embroiled in another bitter World War in Europe, the Pacific, and North Africa that resulted in a total of 62 million deaths from 27 countries.
• Since then, and among the wars and conflicts of other nations, we have endured the Korean War, the Cold War, Vietnam, Boznia, Somalia, Desert Storm, Afghanistan, Iraq and the bitter ongoing War on Terror.
I recognize and acknowledge that there are passages like Isaiah 2:4 that talks  of a day coming when people will  
“beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”
But there is still a battles to be fought on a spiritual level. While the outcome has already been determined by Christ’s victory over sin and death (See 1 Cor. 15:56-57), daily battles rages on. The enemy, the Devil, seeks to rob God of glory by leading men and women on a pathway of rebellion (See Eph. 2:1-2).
So it becomes important for Christians to take time every now and then to review our understanding of this ongoing spiritual war lest we become casualties in this great battle. Simply put, Satan wants to destroy you.
Listen to what Paul says in our text about the nature this spiritual warfare.
• Ephesians 6:10-13 says Our adversary in this warfare is the Devil. He is         constantly scheming to ruin mankind.
•. Here are some of Satan’s schemes for unbelievers.
-  2 Corinthians 4:4 says he blinds the minds of unbelievers.
-  Matthew 13:19 says he snatches away the Word of God.
-  2 Timothy 2:24-26 says he sets traps for the unwary so that they oppose the Lord servants (See).
-  2 Corinthians 11:13-14 says that he masquerades as an angel of light   to deceive men and women.
-  In Acts 5:1-6 we see that he fills hearts so that some lie.
-  In 1 Thess. 2:18 we see that he can hinder a servant of God from doing His work
-  In Eph. 4:26-27 it says that he can destroy the unity of a church by creating discord.
-  And Rev 2:10 reminds us that he can lead those in the world to persecute the church.
1 Peter 5:8 reminds us that the Devil is on the prowl like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. A battle for your soul goes on every day.
So what do we do? Paul tells us to put on armor in (See Ephesians 6:14-17).
For this great spiritual conflict, God loans us His armor (See Isaiah 59:17).
A. Paul tells us to put on belt of truth and buckled it around your waist. “Truth” here may refer to the Gospel of Truth, but more likely, it is speaking of the quality of truthfulness in how we relate to each other as those who have new life . Start lying and you get in trouble and you get caught in his trap.
B. Then he says put on the breastplate of righteousness. By putting on God’s righteousness, believers are committed to being imitators of our Lord and so doing the right thing in all our dealings (See Ephesians 4:24).
C. Then fit your feet with the readiness that comes from the Gospel of peace. With this equipment the believer is ready to share the good news of the Gospel. It is only through the death of Christ that anyone can be have peace with God (See Ephesians 2:17-18).
D. Then we are to take up the shield of faith. Faith is the impregnable shield that extinguishes all of the flaming arrows of the Evil One. Lose faith and you are in trouble.
E. Take the helmet (which is) salvation. Turn your back on the salvation that Christ wrought for you and you are definitely in trouble and you have fallen into Satan’s hands.
F. Then he says to take up the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. This is an important offensive weapon meant to be used in close combat with the enemy (See Matthew 4:1-10). Jesus used it when tempted.
The Bible instructs every Christian to put on the full armor of God. Simple qualities like righteousness and faith can deflect what the enemy may fire at us. In Ephesians 6:18-20 Paul also tells us  to pray in the Spirit.  (at all times). Even though we may be aware of our adversary and put on the armor of God, in order for the Christian to stand firm we need that connection to God which only comes by praying in the spirit. It’s our line of communication with our commander and chief.
Conclusion:
Do not become complacent and  unaware of the Devil’s schemes; Put on the armor of God so that we can stand firm; and be bold enough to witness to others. Even the apostle Paul wrote that he was concerned that after preaching to so many that he himself would lose his salvation and be disqualified from receiving his heavenly reward. In I Cor. 9:27 he said he does what he has to do to make sure he doesn’t lose out.  Likewise we need to do the same. We need to stay connected to God through prayer and draw strength from Him by gathering together regularly with his fellow soldiers in Christ for support.

For more lessons click on the following link: http://granvillenychurchofchrist.org/?page_id=566

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