MILITARY RESPECT

                                                             MILITARY RESPECT

    The names and dates of holidays may change, but the singular meaning of the original holiday lives on in the lives of people who  experienced the reasons behind the original event. Religious holidays remain constant, but other human milestones frequently are moved, and sometimes forgotten. We observe Veterans Day (in Canada it's Remembrance Day), and may forget the day was set aside to celebrate peace. It marked the end of a conflict that was the forerunner to global conflict. As we observe the holiday we should consider not only the fallen soldiers, but also the current servicemen and women and their families. Our military people must pledge their life, if necessary, to serve all citizens. This message is to correct some Christian's thinking about military service, and to point out not uncommon mistakes in understanding scripture.

    Some years ago, a couple of strangers appeared at my door and wanted to tell me about Christianity. They didn't know I was a minister, and since they didn't ask, I didn't tell. I invited them in, and we began a discussion of Christianity and scripture. We covered several of the
more common subjects, and then came to military service. Here there was a definite and strong difference in our belief. I stress difference rather than opinion. It has always been my desire to base messages on scripture, and that includes both the Old and New Testaments.

    I'm a veteran, so I feel very strongly about the subject, and base my beliefs strictly on the Word of God. I don't accept any changes in the bible, or any additions or subtractions. When we began our  discussion on military service, my guests told me they didn't believe in military service. I was taken aback by their declaration, and when I recovered, I asked them why they opposed military service.

    Their answer was simply that, as Christians, they didn't believe in shooting or killing brothers. They were assuming all people, Christians or of other beliefs, were brothers. Now, if we go way, way back to the Old Testament, we can read that killing some people has always been necessary. In fact, God directed sometimes that His people must kill certain other people who were not brothers. My guests could point to the Ten Commandments and say God directed us not to kill. My rebuttal began with understanding that Commandment. Since God Himself on occasion directed His people to kill, it requires you to consider the difference between kill and murder. Do you think He is telling you not to murder rather than not to kill? God is specific. The word kill is being mistaken for murder.

    Thinking military members who kill enemies makes them disobedient to the Ten Commandments is ridiculous. Killing someone in self defense then would also be considered murder. God never said we should simply  die if we are attacked. Thus, military killing would make us out to be  bloodthirsty sinners, guilty of breaking one of the Commandments. I am  
attempting to reason with my guests.

    We next turned to the New Testament, and my guests said we are taught to turn the other cheek rather than respond in kind. That is true, but we need to realize that directive concerns brothers and sisters in Christ. God did not instruct Israel to kill or murder among themselves. We should recognize He gave us an explanation of the difference between killing and murder. In Joshua 20:2-3, the Lord  spoke to Joshua, "Speak to the children of Israel, saying 'Appoint
for yourselves cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you through Moses, that the slayer who kills a person accidentally or unintentionally may flee there, and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood."' This makes it clear that a soldier in action to defend his country is not committing murder and separates murder from killing. In military action, a soldier is defending his country, not committing murder. There is no violation of the Commandment.

    My guests didn't want to accept any of this explanation, so I took the discussion a step further. Go to Joshua 5:13-14. "And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with his sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, 'Are You for us or for our adversaries ?'" So He said, "No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come." The Commander gave Joshua the strategy to defeat Jericho.

    Now, we go a step farther. The Israelites were told to destroy all people in that city--man, woman and child--except Rahab and her family. This harlot and her family then dwelled in Israel all their days. This is another lesson for us. All kinds of people can serve God, and their service is counted by our Father. The Israelites killed a large number of ungodly people, leaving not one remnant except a sinner who obviously was forgiven her sin. We have all the explanations I covered up to the last scripture quote. There can be no doubt that God does, indeed, have an army. Of course you have to believe the Word of God. All the Word, not just the parts you want to use to promote your agenda.

    Either you believe the entire bible, or you are not qualified to call yourself a Christian. There are many pretenders out there who use their interpretation to serve a personal agenda. This partial and improper use of scripture turns some people off to Christianity. The same is true when professing Christians repeat rumors and outright lies. Worse yet is that many professing Christian leaders make no attempt to correct these statements and claims.

    Most Americans say they support our troops, but many have an usual way of demonstrating this support. Some of our banks took advantage of deployed soldiers and foreclosed their homes. I know cases personally, and what these soldiers lost is gone. They have families and children. Many veterans have a difficult time trying to get benefits they are entitled to by law. I know of one case where the veteran had to wait over a year. The benefit was too late to help
him recover financially. I hear both Congress and the Pentagon talk about saving money by cutting military expenses. There is always money for the military-industrial complex--in other words, the big corporations that build war machines and equipment.

    Veterans and their families pay the price of service in many ways, including death and disablement. Military medical care, financial assistance and other support is woefully short of compassion and understanding. Congress places budget and money far above veteran support. Why not? Most of them were never "grunts", foot soldiers in battle, and neither most of their families. When America discontinued the draft (universal service), the general population lost touch with the rigors of a soldier. Being apart from your family for months at a time in far away places, income short of meeting family expenses, absence of children's parent and other hardships are part of the price a soldier pays. 

    They may be here today and gone tomorrow. Some people tell me they just aren't interested in military service. Others are too busy proceeding with career or other interests. All Americans are free to pursue life's interests, but most don't include military service as a duty. In fact, there is a growing number of people who have become very financially successful who are renouncing citizenship to evade paying taxes. Add to this list corporate leaders who not only outsource jobs, but move headquarters to a foreign country to evade taxes. These are citizens who are enjoying the good life, but refuse to provide decent support to the military personnel who protect everyone.

    It's quite the patriotic thing to wave a flag and say you support our troops. These words may be as insignificant as the words a Christian speaks in accepting Christ as Savior. If your heart is really behind your words, the words are valid. You will demonstrate validity by your actions and REAL support. You will tell your congressman to take care of soldiers and veterans. Who else pledges their life and future for YOU? There are three other people who you should know
and hold accountable for fulfilling this same pledge. If you are one of the flag wavers, I pray it is the Star Spangled Banner that stands for the declared meaning of the United States. 

     Armistice Day may now be called Veterans Day, but the original title and reason for the day was peace brought about by our soldiers. Christ stands for peace and how we should treat our fellow citizens. As God has shown, there is a time for everything, and that includes peace and war. There is also a time of accounting, and Christ tells us that men and nations will be judged. The Old Testament books prophesy judgment of peoples and nations. Revelation gives us an
idea of how Christians and nations will be judged. James in 2:17 tells us "Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead."

    Many people, especially politicians and church leaders, proclaim they have faith. Their lives and actions should support this claim, and the evidence should be readily available. Our soldiers and veterans proclaim their faith in America when they take the oath of allegiance. They back it up with their life. They stand for the real meaning of Veterans Day--PEACE.

Rev. Walbear

AMERICAN APOCALYPSE, PART 4

                                       AMERICAN APOCALYPSE, PART 4      

                                                                      Prologue

    We have covered the first three good horsemen of scripture, and now conclude with Charity. The first three--Salvation, Faith and  Hope--are clear. Charity, however, is mostly misunderstood, both by pastors and church members. The misunderstanding comes about because of the choice of the word charity by early translators. The word charity has many similar meanings, and translators didn't realize scripture readers might choose the wrong meaning.  Although this horseman is the fourth, it is assuredly the one who is directly connected with the first, Salvation. This is explained in Part Four.

                                                                        Part 4

    Following World War II, the popular expression was "love makes the world go round." Winning the war and the peace that followed was cherished through warm feelings described as "love." As one who was there, I can assure you the feeling of gladness and  friendship was widespread. It was a warm, fuzzy feeling. Everyone was overjoyed to be free and at peace. Early translators certainly knew the many meanings of charity, and apparently associated that feeling with warmth with charity. All men are subject to failings, and the translators made a poor choice. The original Greek word was  "agape." Many Christians are probably familiar with the use of agape associated with charities established to help people, including non Christians. The primary meaning of the Greek word was "love". When translated in the Latin Vulgate and later in the Wycliffe English translation, charity was used instead of love. People were expected to contribute out of love rather than any preconceived responsibility of assistance. 

    This difference in meaning is so important that scripture tells us it is primary to faith and hope. Ist Corinthians 13:13, the Apostle Paul declares, "And now abideth  faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." There are more than 150 references to love in scripture, and we are repeatedly told to love our spouses, our children, our neighbors, and even those who are our enemies. Of course, loving an enemy is tempered by our right to defend ourselves with necessary measures such as war. We must hate the sin of the enemy, but love the sinner. This is not an easy task. 2nd Corinthians outlines our attitude towards giving. We think of charity and giving as ALMS. Charity is not alms as we know it in Christianity. Alms is defined in Webster's Dictionary as a "work of mercy or anything given gratuitously to relieve the poor; a charitable gift." You see how these two words--charity and alms--can be combined in confusion. Charity must be given in love. 2nd Corinthians states, "As it is written: He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor, His righteousness endures forever."

    Too many people, including some Christians do not give with the feeling of love. They consider it a duty, or a hand-out. For many people, you can insert the word HATE instead of love. We have become a very hateful society. Christians do support charities through alms or by freely giving. Some, however, resent giving their "hard-earned" cash to people, especially if these receivers appear lazy. There is a lesson I learned years ago. I was talking with a man who spent much of his time at a nearby cabin in the woods. He was late middle age, but had no job. Yet, he appeared to be enjoying a carefree life from outward appearance. He offered to help me on the farm if I had a problem, and I thanked him for the offer. I did not give the offer much 
credibility because I prejudged him (I'm still learning). A few months later I was told he had died. He had a serious heart ailment that didn't show up in his appearance, and that was why he seemed to be living a care free life. Needless to say, I had a serious need to repent. That experience taught me something--appearances can be deceiving. The man had worked all his life until his physical body placed him
in need of necessities. I'm certain he would gladly rather have his health than the money he was receiving for sustenance.

    We are quick to judge, and my wife and I personally suffered vilification at the hands of jealous and envious people when we went to a store to get supplies for an elderly housebound member of our congregation. She was retired without a pension and received food stamps. We took her stamps and selected the items on her list. When we took out the food stamps in the checkout line, some of the people became very nasty. We were dressed well, and didn't look poor. Some of these people followed us to our vehicle, and their language was nothing you'd want to hear. Again, appearances were deceiving. We didn't try to explain, because we had long since discovered that these kinds of people don't change their minds. Facts are irrelevant, they only see with their eyes. Spiritual truths escape them.

    I talked with an elderly lady in a social services office, noting the dejected and ashamed appearance she presented. She was applying for welfare--that hated word used by hateful people. There is some welfare fraud, but individual cases are small in amount. Compare this with big business and corporate welfare fraud. This lady had
recently become a widow. She and her husband had raised grapes on their farm. She suffered a double blow. Her husband had died unexpectedly, and their grape contract was canceled. She had no income and couldn't get a job, so she was reduced to what she called "begging." Death benefits were used up in expenses for the funeral and costs associated with her property. She was hoping to find a way to earn some money, but couldn't wait any longer. She needed help now. Notice the word "hope"in her story? She hadn't given up; she still had hope. Most people who need welfare don't like to be among the group labeled lazy and on the take from working people
and tax payers. Many of these welfare recipients were tax payers at one time, and the above woman was still a tax payer. A property owner pays taxes, you know.

    Misunderstanding, envy and greed has seeped into America's culture, and Christian leaders are doing virtually nothing to correct the situation. A pastor of a well-heeled church told me the fable about teaching a welfare person to fish for food instead of expecting a handout. He never considered the possibility the man might be
physically or mentally handicapped, unable to go to a site to fish, or any other possibility. This was a main line church, but I have found this attitude across the entire realm of churchdom. For the general public, it is even worse. At least the language by the church people was civilized. The overly loud comments by others included many, many words not proper in civil conversations.

    Americans have, in many cases, transformed loving assistance into grudging assistance. Many have followed a popular and growing trend to include the
 freebie handouts to  social security, medicare and unemployment insurance. Let's look at unemployment insurance first. Don't people know that you can't receive this money unless you have a recent work record? Are they so mentally challenged they don't understand the word employed or the prefix "un"? No work record, no compensation. If you work, taxes for social security, medicare and unemployment are taken out of your paycheck before you get what's left. Social security is a poor retirement fund collected by the federal government and invested, the same as other
retirement money. The deducted amount plus interest belongs totally to the retired person. Yet some congressmen want to cut back these payments and use some of the money for other purposes. This is not charity or alms. This money belongs to the people who paid the premium. In effect, these congressmen are literally stealing the money from citizens. People with medicare pay premiums, too. Medicare support is also not "free" money. Most people who receive this money really need it to live. The claims by the greedy and envious people have virtually no basis. The claims are the badges of ignorance. 

    Love is also caring. If you are ever put in to the position of having the need of a care giver, you will quickly learn that if care and love don't go together, you won't like the result. I speak from extended experience. I have given, and I have received; not for a few days, but for months. A loving care giver is priceless. I have been fortunate to have mostly wonderful care givers. They always walked the extra mile and never complained. I am thankful beyond words for the care I have received. This care results in faster healing and recovery. I have also been a care giver. When you have other work and scheduled responsibilities, it is quite harrowing. If you have compassion and love, the task will usually be appreciated and the person will really
make a strong effort to cooperate and/or recover. Your obvious caring and hopeful attitude will "pick up" the person. This will lift the spirit of the patient, and if you're working in love, it'll lift yours, too. Oh, yes. Did you notice that word "hope" a couple of sentences ago?

    I pray my separation of the meaning from charity to love through this message will help you understand the difference between alms and charity. Alms is giving with love, while charity is giving of love. Love is a powerful character. Think about John 3:16. "For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." Christ cared so much for each and every person, no matter the color or nationality, He freely gave His life. As a committed Christian, you have eternal life.

    Christ summarized the seven churches in Revelation, and America is undergoing similar scrutiny. Neither I nor any other man or woman knows what our report card looks like. While our nation has done some wonderful things, we have some serious negative marks. Our Constitution is a great document, but our leaders dragged their feet before fulfilling promises such as slavery and women's vote. We placed love of money above gospel principles in business and the workplace. This satanic love of material things is now dominating our governmental leaders and many church leaders. It appears both major political parties are trying to buy office. We are judging (that is not a Christian's right) all people by skin color, we are no checking 
statements in the news for accuracy, we are accepting unbelievable comments from intellectually challenged candidates, we are excusing law violations by "important" individuals while prosecuting poor people for minor or non existent charges. We are killing innocent people because the law is not the same for everyone. We are so
possessed with real and imagined fear, we accept controls that violate our freedom.

    I was taught in elementary school that it was a citizen's duty to vote. Regulations such as the Texas poll tax were dropped to enable Texas to return to the Union. Now, other restrictive measures are being put in place to hinder certain blocks of citizens. When I hear the racist rants, I wonder what these people think about the body bags of minority soldiers that were shipped home from Iraq and  Afghanistan. I wonder about the lack of respect for a gay soldier serving in the wars and the women who have been killed or injured for this nation. Do you think God isn't watching? We turned away a shipload of Jews just before World War II. Then, we had to fight Germany anyway, and lost so many servicemen and women. That gave us the opportunity to repent. But, we started false wars we can't seem to win, tortured prisoners, and seem embroiled in a domestic battle once believed settled in the 1860s. If we can't
seem to learn from Old Testament history, World history and our Domestic history, what conclusion is likely? How long will He hold His patience? We haven't turned away the children who traveled across two or more countries to get to America, but acceptance has not been universal. 

    Scripture tells us about the four evil horsemen and the terrible promise in store for the world. I've just told you about the four good horsemen Christ brought us to fight the evil four. We accept (mount) through salvation, learn to ride through faith, become good horsemen through hope, and can overcome through love. Without these four horsemen, I believe we are on borrowed time. Christians need to recognize and realize the church and its members are falling short on passing the test of the gospels as Christ outlined them. It seems that faith is suspect, hope is frequently for evil purposes and charity (love) is being replaced by hate. Take the blinders off these horses, and let them free to lead you to complete the mission Christ gave us. 

Rev. Walbear

AMERICAN APOCALYPSE PART 3

                                            AMERICAN APOCALYPSE PART 3

                                                                            Prologue

    We are talking about the four heavenly horsemen in this series, and have covered the first two--Salvation and Faith. If you have studied the Book of Revelation, you know about the four evil horsemen. They are described in Rev. 6:1-8. We are examining the four good horsemen,

Salvation, Faith, Hope and Charity. We can liken this simile to our Christian attempt to mount, ride and complete our journey. Mounting is accepting Christ and Faith is learning to ride properly. This third horse, Hope, is where we can get in trouble. You might fall off while  learning to ride, but in this advanced stage, you have to be careful or you might be bucked off.

                                                           Part 3

     Hope is described as things desired or your wishes for things that may be obtainable. Like the other horses, Hope is spiritual and thus cannot be seen. Everyone has hopes, and some of them may cause a Christian grief. For example, have you ever had a serious episode or disagreement with someone? If they were extremely obnoxious, you may have some black cloud thoughts about them and their future. Thoughts such as I "hope" they break a leg, or I "hope" they fail miserably, or damnation, I "hope" they die. It is difficult to control the carnal mind when we are in a state of distress. Following in the footsteps of Christ is challenging at times. This situation offers you an opportunity to grow in the Word. You may not be able to stop the

wicked thoughts, but you can realize your problem and pray for forgiveness and repent. You need to get a handle on the carnal temper.

    We usually equate hopes with desires for good things we want to happen. God can do anything, so nothing is off the board. However, we should be realistic to understand that certain hope fulfillment depends on reason and God's plan and will. A short boy with average

skills would be a long shot to become a player in the National Basketball Association. God could use such a boy to demonstrate His power and guide the boy to something spectacular with the ball, which would exalt God and lift up others as well as the boy. This actually happened a couple of times last year when a challenged high school boy with the team as a helper rather than a player got to play a couple of minutes at the end of a game. He was on fire, and canned every shot he took from all over the court. This was a one time occurrence, but illustrates how easy it is for God to fulfill a hope. The boy didn't expect to play in the NBA, and what he was able to do in that brief exhibition served to inspire those who watched. It also strengthened the boy to BELIEVE (have Faith) in being able to accomplish other things in life.

    We are warned to be careful what we wish or hope for. There are sometimes consequences we don't foresee in the future because we don't have any experience in the subject. To be a success as a movie star or singer requires a rigid regimen and lots of time. Your work may actually control your life. It's rare that a star performer has a satisfying personal life. Money and fame are not in themselves satisfying. Personal relationships suffer. The hope to be rich is quite common. Having lots of material wealth is no guarantee you will have peace and satisfaction. If there is no specific purpose for fulfillment of your hope, God may not grant it.

    As a Christian, we usually forget that there are two players in the subject of Hope. Both are invisible, and both have "super"  powers. Do you remember the other player from Matt. 4:1-11? Satan can bless those who follow him, and he can give a person almost anything. If Satan tempted Jesus, don't you think he will go after everyone, especially a person who is willing to accept Christ? Satan can richly reward someone who agrees to worship him, including, money, power and fame. If Satan knows your specific hope, he can zero in on you. He will use you as long as you perform well for him, but you should know the end isn't eternal life, but endless hell.

    If your hope is something that will serve the Lord and place Him as the One who is exalted, you are on the correct track. If the hope gives you the opportunity that will exalt you, there is need for study of the four gospels. Christ gave all the credit for things He did to the Father. If we can't do that, we are not Christians. That's why it is wrong for a wealthy person to have his/her name on a building built with his/her money. That is exalting the person. After all, all things, including money, are God's. And, it's a good bet the wealthy person used the donation as a tax write off. It wasn't a sacrifice or a tithe. God knows the reasons and the intent. He warns us in the Ten Commandments that He is a jealous God. When we claim credit for something, we establish an "idol" situation. How many times have you heard "I idolize him/her?"

    Hope is important in a Christian's life. You see, however, there are pitfalls if you aren't careful to stick to Christ's teaching. Your first and most important goal should be to be Christlike. Most of us, including me, tend to move a few other things to the top and concentrate more on specific carnal things. This is especially true for younger people who are learning about the carnal world. There are certain attractions that move Christ and scripture to second

place upon occasion. I'm guilty of this, but I have discovered that most of these attractions become muted or lost with age. The older we get, the more likely we understand the fleeting "glory" of such things as a football game. There's nothing wrong with entertainment as long as the hope to watch a game or television program doesn't overshadow a Christian duty.

    Keeping in mind that becoming Christlike is the top priority for Hope, there is no limit on other possibilities. You should consider that God will not likely fulfill a particular hope unless you are properly prepared for any responsibilities that fulfillment will require. We all have at least one gift of the spirit, and development of a gift can fulfill a hope. Like anything else, a gift of the spirit should include preparation and continued effort to improve your ability to use the gift. If you hope to be a teacher, and you possess the gift of teaching, you need to study the material you will be teaching. There are more common hopes such as hoping to find a husband or wife, raising children to be positive citizens, having a comfortable home and good job. These do not usually require special training, but fulfillment may be enhanced by spending time

reading others' experiences or taking courses in subjects such as child rearing.

    This is not to say you shouldn't have what we shall call "exotic" hopes such as becoming a recording artist, actor or professional athlete. These may be gifts but, like others, probably will require extensive training. Common sense needs to be applied as well. For example, you should think twice before hoping to become the president of our country or a similar position. For some things like these, your hope must be matched with extremely hard work to prepare you for unknown rigors. This means you must keep in sight your primary responsibility of serving God before adding a further responsibility to fulfill a possible career hope. This is especially

important if you have hopes of becoming a leader in anything.

    A leader must follow Christ's teaching in the four gospels and control personal desires for leadership. The power of being a leader is similar to the power of money. It tends to corrupt. In both instances, a person must overcome the carnal satisfaction of having others agree to a strict position and attitude. This is a mistake, because Christ taught that religion and human rights are by choice, not by rules and laws. Some hopes, such as a specific career, can cancel out other hopes, including happiness, marriage and family. There is much truth in the adage "be careful what you wish (hope) for, because it may come true." All the conditions that accompany the fulfillment may not be pleasant. There is only one hope that will always be free of unwanted conditions, and that is Salvation and being Christ-like. If you follow Christ's footsteps, you will be led to eternal life. That is the Hope to hope for. Part four of this study will be on Charity, the most misunderstood of the four good horsemen.

Rev. Walbear