Posts Tagged ‘war’

Pastor’s Ponderings, Wonderings, Wanderings

May 28, 2012

This is Memorial Day and it is a day of remembering and honoring those who have given so much for their country. While this can be a time of sorrow as we remember those who have sacrificed everything up to and including their lives, we must also remember why so many have sacrificed so much. Our freedom and our way of life depends on their sacrifice. So lets also remember those who are currently serving our country in all of the military armed services. Let’s remember them in our prayers. Pray for their safety, for peace and for sanity in this crazy world we live in.

As we are praying let’s remember that there is nothing in the teachings of Jesus Christ that supports war. His way is a way of peace that reaches out in love to all. Let’s remember that as believers in God and Jesus as the Christ we should be praying for our country to find peaceful solutions to all disagreements in this world. Too many times throughout history men have taken destructive paths in the name of Jesus and we must always remember that it is not a teaching of Jesus to cause harm to anyone.

So we must pray for our country and it’s leadership. Pray that they will seek peaceful solutions to every crisis we are facing as a country.  When our leadership chooses or is forced into military action, then we must pray the action we take will be quick and decisive with little or no loss of life on either side.  We must pray that all who are involved will come home safely and if they make the ultimate sacrifice then we must pray for their families to be filled with the grace of God and be able to reach out to the world with the love of Jesus Christ.  Pray for all of those who serve in times of war because so many suffer from the stress of war and all of its horrors.  Pray that they may be able to return home and live a life of peace with pride in their service to their country.

Well I guess the question is “Are you praying for those in the military, past and present, for your country, for those who have suffered loss of any kind?”  I believe that our prayers for those who are or have been in service to our country and their families are the best way for us to remember and honor them.

Have a blessed Memorial Day by spending at least a part of it in prayer,  Randy

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Pastor’s Ponderings, Wonderings, Wanderings

November 12, 2011

 Iwo Jima Memorial

I wrote this post yesterday and did not post it, so it is a day late for Veteran’s Day.

Lets all remember to give thanks to our Veterans and thanks to our God for their sacrifice. While we all know that war is a terrible thing and something that none of us want, we all know that it is a part of life. As long as we as human beings put self before others we will always have disagreements that lead to seperation and yes even war. While many factors come into play to get nations to the point of war, each one of us as Christ’s children are responsible for resisting the need for war. When a nation feels justified in the need for war then it’s population is responsible for supporting that nation in its efforts. Our Veterans answer that call to protect our freedom and our way of life. They deserve more than they get. The least we can do is thank them for the sacrifice they have made.

In our Matthew 25:14-30 Lectionary Scripture for this coming Sunday we hear Jesus tell us the parable of the talents. Money entrusted to three men. Two of those men take the money/talent and grow it into more. The third man hordes the talent he was given, afraid to take a risk. All three were rewarded for their efforts. Two were given more and one had everything taken from him. As Christians we are called to be a people who are willing to sacrifice some of our time, some of our money, some of the abilities that God has given us. When we ignore God’s call to take a risk, you know like step out on faith, we are denying that He is our God or at least denying Him in a part of our lives. While love is the driving force behind the ministry Jesus Christ has given us we also must remember the warning about being cast out into the darkness.

Soldiers in the armed services are asked to make sacrifices of time, money and abilities. Sometimes even their lives. If we believe in our God and His Son we too should be willingly to give of our selves even more.

Randy

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