An Invitation To Our Military Veterans

     Although Veteran's Day is still more than a week away, it is never too early to be focusing on honoring our nation's Military veterans.  Also, I have a very unique opportunity this coming weekend to serve as Assistant Spiritual Director for a Christian retreat for retired female military veterans.  I will be serving as a part of a team under the auspices of an organization called Christian Warriors Retreat. And I want to call attention to the need for our military to accept an invitation from Jesus to lay their burdens down.
     CWR is the brainchild of Nick "Doc" Lowry, the son of a career Navy man and a Vietnam era Marine grandfather. Not surprisingly, Doc grew up with a passion for the military and became a Marine corpsman. He was deployed to Iraq in 2003, and to Fallujah in 2004 during Operation Phantom Fury.  Like many military veterans, Doc came home with a lack of trust and the inability to relate to civilian life, which resulted in bouts of alcoholism.  It cost him two marriages; he couldn't keep a job, and his diagnosis of PTSD and TBI (Traumatic Brain Disorder) left him feeling he had no hope.
     Long story short, Doc reunited with his best friend in high school, Nikki, who introduced him to Jesus, they married, and in 2008, he gave his life to Christ.  He has rededicated his life to helping other vets heal through a personal relationship with Jesus. That's where the Christian Warriors Retreat comes in.
     Through the 4-day retreat experience and discipleship, CWR initiates and sustains three levels of success for veterans:  They will understand their value in Christ; they will heal and improve vital relationships; and most importantly, they will find God's mission for which they were created.
     What an important mission for our veterans!  As the proud daughter of a WWII Navy veteran, my dad never discussed his experiences as a tailgunner over the Pacific.  But after having the honor of being on the Board of Directors of the Chris Kyle Memorial Foundation, and serving wounded warriors and their families at the Fisher Houses at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, I have seen the devastation to the flesh and spirits of our military veterans.

Doc Lowry

     Doc Lowry also knows firsthand the sacrifice made by his Veteran community.  And he is doing something about starting the healing process by working with Jesus.  But, the average civilian is unaware of some of the startling statistics that surround the veterans.  Let me share just a few of them with you:  Every 65 minutes, a military veteran commits suicide; 22 military veterans commit suicide every day; 31 of these suicides were veterans aged 49 and younger; Every month nearly 1,000 veterans attempt to take their own lives; That's more than one attempt every half hour; About 7-8% of the population will have PTSD at some point in their lives; The unemployment rate for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans is 10% -- this is higher than the national rate of 7.3%; More than 2 million American children have coped with a parent going to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; As many as one half million of those children may have become clinically depressed; The National Institute of Drug Abuse reports that 25% of returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans showed signs of substance abuse disorder; The divorce rate among military couples has increased 42 percent throughout the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

      Heard enough facts? Can you see the devil's tactics of "steal, kill, and destroy"? War should not be the natural state of man, if we are made in God's image.  So you can see where all this damage to our veterans is coming from, right?  They may have come home from some battlefield on earth, but there is a spiritual battle going on for their souls.  (I have written several articles on the spiritual war our veterans face, but this one seems particularly fitting considering my subject today).
     With Veteran's Day in another week and a half, I just wanted to put a spotlight on this organization who is trying to help our veterans by focusing on the healing powers of Jesus in their lives.  What a breath of fresh air from government-sponsored programs that do nothing about healing the inner wounds of our servicemen and women.  Only Jesus can do that! And I am anxious to see the new movie, Thank You For Your Service, in which the director, Jason Hall, likens it to a "spiritual sequel to American Sniper", saying, "[It's about] the return home of the warrior -- it's about home coming. It's about the return to self. And the warriors blessed with all the masculine gifts of heroism. And then the warrior has to turn inside. It's finding a way back into the light and that's what this movie is about".  Of course, we and Doc Lowry know how imperative it is that our warriors find their way into the Light of Jesus.  Through His Light they will be restored to a new life in Him. 
     And I am excited about being a part of the very first Female Veterans Retreat.  I think that oftentimes they are overlooked and no one is seeing to their healing.  But I am blessed to be a part of an amazing group of women leaders who will be ministering to these female veterans as they are restored and renewed through our support, and the unconditional love of Jesus.  So, I ask for your prayers beginning tomorrow and through Sunday, when we will see the results of this retreat.  Our goal is to let them meet Jesus and receive His forgiveness, His love, and the cleansing power of His Blood.  They may be arriving as spiritually wounded female veterans, but they will be leaving as healed and renewed Daughters of the King! 
     Give me a couple of days after returning home on Sunday to process all that Jesus will have done in the lives of these remarkable women, and then I will write about the experience. Also, if you make any comments, I won't be responding to them until Sunday night, but I will post them and give you my follow-up comments. I just want to leave you with this ... The very thought of how Jesus will revive the spirits of these women, heal their broken hearts, and redeem their souls fills me with such joy and anticipation!  Praise Him, all who love Him!

This Veteran's Day, let us renew our commitment to our veterans and pledge our efforts to begin a spiritual revival within their ranks.  Please check out www.christianwarriorsretreat and support this important effort to bring spiritual healing to the veterans of our nation. Consider sponsoring a veteran to attend the next retreat. Thank you!  
    
John 8:12    Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”       

A Testimony That Will Make You Think

     The other day I was having a conversation with a good friend whose growth and maturity in her faith has been quite dramatic.  Mark and I began ministering to her regarding deliverance, and her journey has been both inspiring and genuine.  She has not been without her struggles and moments of doubt, but she always returns to seeking Jesus and the Father, and in the process, has come to know Them and trust Them in ways that "established Christians" often don't experience.
    Our conversation centered around why it is so difficult for Christians to do Kingdom work.  We discussed how familiarity with the traditions inside the Church building provide a sense of security that few Christians are willing to risk or sacrifice.  Add to that a fear that if you don't walk in lock-step with man-made doctrine, then you are in danger of being deceived.  These two conditions are enough to keep the majority of the Body of Christ from ever seeking more knowledge of God or attempting a Kingdom approach to living. She expressed both her confusion [and her frustration] over why other Christians were unwilling to take a chance, as she had.  So I asked her to write her testimony... that readers are probably tired of hearing it from me, and perhaps a fresh voice would speak to their hearts.  I have agreed to call her "Mary" to protect her privacy, and I hope you will give her testimony serious consideration and feel free to make comments on what she has to say....

     I was raised in the  ____ church. (Fill in the blank, because I don't think the denomination matters). I spent 18 years attending every Sunday, yet I now realize that I never knew God. I had memorized a bunch of scriptures and songs, but I had no idea what they meant. In my experience “the church” doesn’t do a good job of teaching the significance of Scripture in the Christian life. It was more of a song and dance. To this day I could probably go to that church and recite the entire service from memory. I thought that was all there was to church, so eventually I felt like I was wasting my time. My childhood and early adult life were not good. I did bad things, and bad things were done to me. I had no real understanding of Grace or God’s love, so I never turned to God. I didn’t think He could, or would, help me.
     At the point that I met Mark and Pam I was at my absolute bottom. I was suicidal and I was very resentful towards God for all that had happened to me. They talked to me and tried to help me get through some of it, and after a lot of time and work I was finally free of it all. I think of that time in my life as a starting point. I closed the door on so much bad stuff and would no longer be the victim. I would turn it into good, I just didn’t know what that would look like. I believed that we were all called to do Kingdom work, but I couldn’t see many people actually doing it. Mark and Pam were, and that is probably what saved my life, but I couldn’t imagine myself doing what they were doing. I got involved with another church, but it never felt right. They didn’t talk about Kingdom work and that is what my primary focus had become, so eventually I realized that a modern “church” model probably wouldn’t be a place for me. I was more interested in following scripture than memorizing liturgy.
     I prayed about it, and prayed about it.  I got a new job at a jail. The job by definition was easy enough. I had to ensure inmates were physically healthy enough to be in jail. I passed out Tylenol most days; some days I assisted the doctor with clinic visits. I soon learned that the Kingdom work would happen around my actual job duties.

     One of the first times I knew God worked through me [in a significant way] was when an inmate began having seizures. This inmate had long seizures that came one right after the other. Initially I just wanted to restrain the inmate enough to protect her from injury against the metal beds, posts, and floor. During that episode, when I realized the seizures weren’t stopping and we were waiting for EMS, I prayed in Jesus's Name, that the Holy Spirit would heal her (through my touch). I didn’t speak loud enough for the other inmates or jailers to hear me. The inmate stopped seizing, and EMS arrived and took the patient to the hospital. Later when the inmate came back to the jail, medically cleared, the person thanked me. During my prayer, with my hands on her, the inmate saw Jesus and knew that it was He who did the healing. That inmate never had another seizure in jail, and was on a new personal journey for a relationship with God.
     The jail would give out Bibles to anyone that asked, and when I started working there it seemed like everyone asked me for a Bible. (I was later told that I had given out more Bibles than anyone else ever had). I would often hand them out, and that would trigger a conversation about beliefs with inmates. Some struggled with overcoming whatever crimes they committed; some struggled with being away from family. One inmate in particular asked me one day if I thought she could be saved. I told her OF COURSE. We discussed Grace, and after a pretty lengthy conversation she got on her knees in that jail and accepted Jesus into her heart. We both sat with tears streaming down our faces.
     One instance a man was beating a wall, and in about two seconds time the sheet rock of the wall was completely gone. I was alone with him and he was drunk, and much bigger and stronger than I. In that short time frame God told me to get between his arm and the wall. I thought, are you kidding? This man is going to kill me if I do that! God told me in a much louder and urgent manner to step between the man and the wall. Somewhat reluctantly I obeyed. That man stopped mid-swing and grabbed me to hug me. He instantly was in tears. He had a lot happen to him that day and lost all hope in people, but he saw me stepping between him and the wall and couldn’t believe I would try to protect him from hurting himself. That gesture that God told me to do helped this man in a huge way. He knew that he was capable of being loved, and after that he felt like his life was worth living. The only thing I did was follow what God told me, and trust that whatever the outcome, God would take care of me, and He did.
     During this time period in my life the Enemy was working overtime to shut me down. Early on in my job, I had to take sensitivity training because I was told, "You can’t go around talking about God". After that I was a little more careful about who could hear me ... but I just kept going. The Enemy worked harder and harder to shut me down. Eventually I had another job offer, and I was hesitant to take it, but I felt that God had given it to me, so I decided to make the most of it. After accepting it I overheard a conversation about how the administration had already been looking to replace me. God put me into that jail, and then when the time was right, He took me out.
     My next job seems like there will be even more opportunity for Kingdom work, but I needed to learn all those things I did while working at the jail to be more effective in my new job. I am stepping out on a limb because the job is something that, while I am qualified for it, I know pretty much nothing about it. I trust that God will help me figure it out as long as I am doing His work along the way.

      Those are just a few examples of what He can do when you let Him work through you! You don’t need to be under a “church” umbrella to be effective. In fact, in most of those inmate’s minds I would have been less effective if I had been under a church. You don’t necessarily have to look for how to do Kingdom work, and you don’t need any special qualifications; if you open your heart to Him and let Him know you are ready to work for Him, He will give you the opportunities. You just have to be willing when they come. Your journey with Kingdom work is as unique as your fingerprint, so don’t try to compare yourself to people who appear super successful. Everyone had to start somewhere.
     If you have further questions as to how to get started, or don’t believe you are capable, please talk to someone about it. It is such a wonderful feeling to serve God, I want to share it with as many people as possible. I am a completely different person than the person I was when I met Mark and Pam. If He can transform me into something He can use, He can change you too!

     I want to make a comment on one aspect of Mary's story.  She says she couldn't imagine doing what Mark and I were doing ... in our conversation, I reminded her that there is one Body, but it has many parts. No one should compare themselves to another, thinking they are less.  Where God is taking Mark and I, will probably not be where He wants to take you. And what we are doing for the Kingdom is no greater in the Body than what He will assign you. After all, the hand is just as important to the body as the foot; they have different functions, but both are important.  How effective would a body be if it had all feet and no hands, or vice versa?  So I assured Mary, that her journey is just as important to Jesus and the Father, as mine and Mark's. He certainly led her to do spectacular deeds for the Kingdom that He has not instructed us to do!
     And I know many of you may be asking, "How did Mary get the courage to follow Jesus's lead?"  Or you may think that there is no way you could ever discern His will [like she did], or even hear His voice.  But the answers to those queries are in Mary's words ... if you open your heart to Him and let Him know you are ready to work for Him, He will give you the opportunities. You just have to be willing when they come.  And I think that is probably the biggest stumbling block for most Christians.  They don't really want to upset their comfortable life -- What if they fail? What if it's too hard? What if it costs them more than they are willing to sacrifice?  If those are your questions.... as I'm sure they were Mary's, too ... then ask her [in the comments section] how she overcame these stumbling blocks.  As she says, she wants to share how wonderful it is to serve with Jesus.  And we both want you to join us as willing servants of the Living God!

Matthew 5:14-16      "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven".

Remembering All That God Has Done

     Last post, I focused on that situation in Mark, Chapter 8, where the Disciples are concerned that they only have one loaf of bread between them for lunch -- this after witnessing the supernatural power from Heaven that multiplied five loaves to feed 5,000; and seven loaves to feed 4,000!  Jesus must have been frustrated with them!  He asks them,  “Why are you discussing [the fact] that you have no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Though you have eyes, do you not see? And though you have ears, do you not hear and listen [to what I have said]? And do you not remember, when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces you picked up?”  
     In other words, Jesus must have been thinking, Can't you see? Can't you hear? And, can't you remember all that God has done for you? Why are you worrying about what you will have for lunch when you've witnessed over 9,000 people fed with a few loaves of bread?  Actually, the message to focus on God's supernatural works has been a recurring theme in the Bible, beginning in Deuteronomy 6.  The Word says God instructed Moses to tell the Israelites to hear His commandments and to keep them; to keep His statutes (which are His values), and to teach them to their children so that [your generations] "do not forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery"... See, hear, and remember.

     And it is my opinion that our remembrances, which are kept alive in our testimonies, are the record/history of God's supernatural activities in our lives, and they are the lenses through which we should see everything else around us in this world. But, here's what often happens ... once we get some time and space between that moment when we receive God's invitation to let Jesus become the Lord and Savior of our life, we begin losing some of the awe of that momentous and supernatural occasion.  First, we quit talking about our transformation.  Then we quit expecting more supernatural experiences.  And then, pretty soon, if we're not careful, we are no longer seeing or hearing evidence of Him in our daily lives.  It's not too long before we are engaging with a religious form of God -- we still profess faith in Him; go to Church and go through the motions, but there is no power in our Christian walk, no life, no encounters, and no real relationship with our supernatural God. Our connection with God can become so sterile that we can begin to even question whether He is real.  And people will eventually abandon what they perceive to be fake or artificial.
     You see, Christianity has all the distinctive characteristics of a God who passionately and supernaturally walks with the children He loves: He provided manna from Heaven every day while they were in the wilderness; when they were desperate for water, He provided it out of a rock; He secured their passage through the Red Sea and the flooding waters of the River Jordan. And I do not doubt that God still desires to work supernaturally in each of our lives.  In fact, I'm sure many of us could share our own stories of the wondrous and miraculous things He has done for us.

     Now, you will recall that after the nation of Israel had passed over the Jordan, that the Lord instructed Joshua to have one man from each of the twelve tribes place a stone on the banks of the River as a sign and a call to remembrance for all generations for the people of Israel.  When future generations saw and looked upon this memorial, it would cause them to remember all that the Lord had done for them in bringing them into the Promised Land. And that is a lesson that we should sincerely take to heart, as well.
     For when we lose the memories of God's supernatural works in our lives, we can lose the courage to do the hard stuff, and the strength to get through the hard times.  When trials come our way, it is so important to have those memory touchstones to return to... to be able to recall how God supernaturally delivered us, or provided for us.  And when what seems like an impossible situation arises, and we are called to radical obedience, it is paramount that we rely on our memories of all God has done for us so that we do not become cowardly in the conflict.
     One thing we need to realize... by not remembering the displays of His power in our past, we limit Him and restrict what He wants to do.  Remember, He wants us to co-labor with Him to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to earth. But He needs our cooperation and our involvement. When we stop living our lives conscious of the God who invaded this realm, and accomplished the impossible -- healed the sick, cast out demons; freed the oppressed and tormented; and raised the dead -- we begin to reduce the ministry He wants us to do on behalf of the Kingdom.  When we forget what He has done, then it becomes all about our gifts and what we have done.
     I never want to reduce the possibilities of Him supernaturally conquering this world!  I want to live with an ever-present awareness that God can invade every situation in my life. And I want the history of my life to be a reflection of His Presence, and I want to remember every detail to share with whomever will listen.  It is vital for the Body of Christ to never lose their memories of God's supernatural activity in their lives.
     Like those stones on the banks of the River Jordan, we need to leave a lasting testimony that not only preserves the memories of God's Greatness and Provision, but prophecies of His future acts of Righteousness and Justice.  Nothing has changed since those long-ago days in the Bible. We are serving a God that deserves to be praised and lauded for all He has done.  It is important that both we and our future generations never forget. Joshua said it so well ... Testify to the [supernatural] works of the Lord, our God, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is Mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever.

Psalm 78:4     We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that He has done.