The enemy opened fire upon our troops and the photographer who was imbedded with the Marines was taking pictures of the action as fast as he could. A bomb exploded close to the squad of Marines. Click, click, click. Pictures are taken as the dust settles. One of the images that were produced was so compelling. A young Marine in the face of an enemy bomb threw his body on top of an Afghan father and his young son. The Marine literally used his own body to shield the father and son from the crippling effects of the bomb.

The Marine gave no thought to his actions. He merely reacted as he was trained to do. That is just the kind of man he is and that describes the young people we have in our Armed Forces who are serving around the world. Find a way today to thank a military member for their sacrifice for our country and for the way of life that we often take for granted.

The Apostle Paul spoke of the unsearchable wisdom and knowledge of God and how He governs the entire universe. With that understanding, Paul then states in Romans 12:1:

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.”

For this Marine to willingly lay down his life for another is certainly considered heroic. An even greater sacrifice takes place when we freely give up our agendas, our time, our money and our relationships in exchange for God’s plans and purposes for our lives. Considering the tremendous sacrifice Christ made for us on the cross, it should be rather easy for us to offer our lives as living sacrifices unto our Lord.

I recently spent some time with a group of over 300 men and women who graduated from the DUI (Driving Under the Influence) court program in north Georgia. These folks have seen it all and have done it all. They just completed an 18-month program designed to change the way participants think about life and the way they live.

The great thing about this state-run program is that it includes the presence of the Lord. You cannot ask for anything better than that. These graduates were given a chance to start their lives all over again. Do you know someone in your life who could use a second chance? Don’t judge them or condemn them. Remember the second chance that Christ gave you and extend the same mercy to that person.

If you are in need of a second chance, be encouraged by reading Colossians 1:13-14 (Amplified):

“[The Father] has delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the control and the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, In Whom we have our redemption through His blood, [which means] the forgiveness of our sins.”

If you have never experienced the forgiveness of Christ or if you have simply lost your way and have drifted away from Him, don’t waste any more time beating yourself up for your mistakes. Come to the Father, confess your sins, repent and accept His redemption of your life.

By golly, Nick Beazley did just that! Second Lieutenant Beazley is serving as the platoon leader of 4th Platoon, Company C, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment in Iraq. He has participated in night patrols with the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team. I am so very proud of that young man. Many of you may remember Nick because he worked for Rivers of the World (ROW). He was one of the guys who rode a bike across Belize in 2007.

Nick is now on the front lines serving our great nation. To show my support for him, I plan on traveling to Iraq in April and being imbedded with his platoon. Stay tuned for the stories and pictures that come from this meeting.

You might have figured out by now that I am extremely patriotic and dearly love our country. That is why I am very proud when any of our young people decide to enlist in the military and serve our country. As you come before the Lord each day, please take time to remember our service members who are in harms way in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The writer of Hebrews bluntly told the Jewish Christians that it was time for them to grow up. Read Hebrews 5:12-14:

“In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”

These Christians had received enough instruction into living a righteous life that they should have been in a position to teach others. Instead, they did nothing with the Word of God except feast upon it. If we desire to have an intimate relationship with Christ then we must do more than read and hear the Word of God. It is imperative to put into practice His teachings and to help others to transition from being infants to mature adults in Christ.

Recently, I attended a church planting conference in Georgia called, “Velocity.” I love names like that! There were over 400 pastors with a vision of starting new churches just in central Georgia! Four hundred! That indicates to me that our job as Christians is not finished and that the church is indeed alive and well. You must know that if these pastors are setting out to plant churches in one section of Georgia than surely there are pastors throughout the United States who are also catching the vision of spreading the Gospel.

It is encouraging and exciting to realize that there are still many opportunities for the Lord to use even me. If you feel like your church is stagnant and without much life than may I suggest that you be the first one to change that situation.

Solomon tells us in Proverbs 29:18 (KJV):

“Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.”

Why do you think the nightly news is saturated with stories of shootings, robberies and terrorist attacks? It is because we live in a world that chooses to serve everything but God. Those who are without Christ are perishing because they have yet to realize that God loves them and wants to have fellowship with them. They will never discover this truth unless the Church ignites a vision amongst its people to have a burden for the lost.

My father is 85 years old and he decided recently that he was going to climb a ladder and spray paint a spot in the ceiling inside his garage. My mother arrived home, clicked the garage door opener and you can imagine the rest of the story! PaPa went flying through the air. Although quite sore, he survived to tell the story to others!

Maybe it is just me but I would think that at age 85 you would slow down a bit! If you’re over 80, do your family, your friends and me a favor and be careful. I’m not suggesting you sit back in a rocking chair but if you’re going to climb a ladder, hike a mountain, run a marathon or participate in any other strenuous activity, then please realize that you are not a teenager any longer and your body may suffer a few aches and pains afterwards.

Unfortunately, too many older Christian adults mistakenly think that they no longer have anything to contribute in serving the Lord. Scripture tells us otherwise in Psalm 92:14-15:

“They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, ‘The LORD is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.’”

The writer is referring to the righteous in these verses. We may have to adjust a few things that we do as we age but we can be certain that there will be many opportunities to serve the Lord up until the time we see Him face to face.

Leon said, “Tell me where you are and we will come and get you.” Would you believe that Jackie would not let her own husband come and rescue her! Shocked, Leon then said, “What do you mean you won’t let me!” Jackie replied, “Not yet, not yet. I’ll call you later.” She hung up the phone and waited a couple of days before she contacted Leon again. Once again, he asked if he could come get her and she said it wasn’t time just yet.

The next time Jackie called her husband she told him to come and get her. When Leon and those with him arrived at the destination where Jackie was being held by her kidnappers, they were stunned by what they saw. Jackie had all three of her captors on their knees asking for forgiveness and giving their lives to Christ. I just love it!

The power of the Lord is amazing. That power is available to all who know the Lord. He encourages us to be clothed in His power because that is the only way that we will be able to combat the evil forces of this world. Read Ephesians 6:10-13:

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”

We may think that the only battles we will fight in this life are against other people. However, these verses tell us that there are real forces that we cannot see that strive to do everything in their power to turn us away from the Lord. We can be certain that evil will come our way in this life but we can be equally certain that with the power of the Lord we can be more than conquerors.

Jack The Baptist stopped by my office recently to pick up a satellite phone prior to departing for the Dominican Republic to work with our partner, Pastor Pedro Kery Johnson in Barahona. ROW has a medical clinic, church and fresh water system in Barahona. We are being inundated by the poor folks from Haiti who need medical care, shelter and food.

At the end of January, Jack The Baptist traveled to the Dominican Republic where he spent nine days capturing images and stories of the Haitian people in need. Even though it has been almost six weeks since an earthquake struck Haiti, the needs of the people are still tremendous, and will be for years to come. Would you consider adding the people and country of Haiti to your daily times of prayer? Pray that through all the donations of food, water and supplies, along with the generosity of the volunteers on the ground in Haiti, that the people are given a hope that sustains them in their darkest hours.

May the people of Haiti discover that there is no need too great that is beyond the reach of God. I pray that they realize too that those who put their trust in the Lord will be blessed, as stated in Psalm 146:5-6:

“Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—the LORD, who remains faithful forever.”

Whenever you have a problem that seems too great for you to handle, pause for a moment to reflect on the fact that the same God who created the universe and all that is within is the same God who cares for you.

As we were standing there talking with David and Simon, David remarked to me, “You know, I know your voice.” I said, “Oh, no, what have I done now!” David said, “No, no. You are one of my favorite people that I thought I would never meet.” That is an interesting thought. We all began to have a wonderful time of Christian fellowship and were able to celebrate the great work being accomplished by Christian radio stations all over America.

The next time you are listening to the radio, take a moment to listen to the voices of the DJs, the news anchors and other folks associated with that station. Pray that the Lord would continue to bless that ministry so that God’s words and the encouraging Christian music would continue to be broadcast. There is simply no way for us to know the impact that Christian radio stations have upon the lives of people throughout the world.

As Christians, we are bombarded by numerous voices each day, from family, friends, the media and from our jobs. We may gain wisdom, knowledge and understanding at times from these voices, but, ultimately, the only voice we must always listen to is the voice of God.

Throughout Scripture, Jesus is symbolized as a Shepherd and His people as sheep. A well known characteristic of sheep is they know the shepherd’s voice. Jesus used this concept when He addressed the religious leaders, who questioned whether He was the Christ or not. In John 10:27, we read:

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

If we proclaim to be a Christian, we will be obedient to our Father’s voice. The beautiful part of this verse is realizing that Jesus said He knows His sheep. Think about that. The Son of God who died on the cross for your sins knows you intimately. He knows all your past mistakes, your thoughts, your cares, your hurts, everything there is to know about you and yet, He still loves you. Today, listen to the Shepherd’s voice.

The word that has stuck with me lately came about after I was stuck hunting in a swamp in the middle of Georgia. I was wearing these great big high boots, perfect for wading in the muck and mud. Every time I put my foot forward I wondered if that would be the time that I was going to sink in the mud up over my head and I would never be found again!

Once I finally dragged my feet out of that swamp for the last time and was safely on solid ground, one word went through my head. That word, redemption, has stayed on my heart. I wonder, how do you define redemption? Was there a pivotal point in your life that the word redemption came to life for you? No matter what you go through, never forget that you have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.

If anyone had a reason to question whether God was a redeemer or not, it was Job. He lost his children, his livestock and suffered painful sores on his body. To make matters worse, his friends accused him of having sin in his life and his wife told him to curse God and die. How did Job respond? Read Job 19:25:

“I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.”

Incredible! Whether Job lived or died, he was able to proclaim, “I know my Redeemer lives!”

It is all about the arena in which you perform, and in my case, it is more important that I be up to speed on the conditions in Vietnam, the Dominican Republic, Belize and other countries that Rivers of the World (ROW) serves.

Let me remind you of what Knute Rockne, famous Notre Dame football coach, once said, “I’ve found that prayers work best when you have big players.” I could not agree more. I have found that my prayers usually work best when I am able to remember that I serve a mighty God who loves me, supports me and encourages me. He holds us up during the difficult times so that we may have the ability to love and serve others.

When you bow your head to pray, remember that the Holy Spirit is right there with you, guiding you, protecting you, providing wisdom and imparting peace and joy. I realize that there are many times during our journey with the Lord that our circumstances appear impossible. We simply cannot see a way out of the situation. If you feel that way today, be encouraged and strengthened by reading Luke 1:37 (Amplified):

“For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment.”

The question is simply, do you believe this or not?