niagara falls – The Arrow Preacher

Cha Cha Cha Changes

Well, now I have no idea what I’m going to do. The future looks like it’s going to be changing, and I see that it’s likely I’ll be kind of like that guy in a barrel about to go over the lip of the waterfall at Niagara Falls. Big changes come sometimes, and we aren’t always prepared for them. We don’t always know where the changes will take us, and we can’t always prepare for it. The changes that come raises the pressure, so our lives are someplace between Changes by David Bowie, and Pressure by Queen, “Turn to face the change” and “Pressure pushing down on me
Pressing down on you no man ask for, Under pressure that brings a building down, Splits a family in two, Puts people on streets” Life is full of change, and no matter how much we fight against it we just can’t seem to stop the raging river from doing what it wants. Time is that river of course and all way can do is lay back and enjoy the rapids.

While the future has been in a constant state of change with no set direction, nor has there been any resemblance that things are going to be calming down anytime soon, all I can do is sit back and pray. I am sitting around ready to go at a moments notice like the quick reaction force I used to be in Iraq. With major changes to the plan yet again, I haven’t the slightest clue where I’m going, or what I’m doing. With uncertainty the new catchphrase for my life, I’d say it’s back to the drawing board.

Proverbs 16:1-3 “The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit. Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.” We plan what we want, what we think is best, but as our field of view is limited so we will never see the big picture. We must have faith that just because we may not have the slightest clue what we’re doing, God knows. As long as we are living our life in a Godly way, we can have faith that although the future may not be what we have planned, God’s still with us, God’s still on the throne, and we need to remain faithful and patient.

I remember when I was in Iraq we would sit around the house, we’d be cleaning equipment, playing games, watching movies, or catching up on some sleep. We waited around, waiting for the call that there was a mission. When that mission came we were ready within minutes to go into the unknown. We had a direction, but no idea what we were going to face. We responded to anything and everything to include IED’s (improvised explosive devices), suicide bombers, attacks, escorts, incoming fire locations, or outgoing fire locations. We were always flexible to the point some days we’d have several back to back missions, and often skipped meals for them. I don’t know what changed but I feel as if complacency has attacked me in my sleep. As I think back to what I call my glory days, I find myself longing for a time when I felt like I was making a physical difference in others lives. My teammates, my brothers depended on me to do my job. Now no one depends on me for anything. Reeling from the loss my my wife last year I find myself hoping I once again find someone to fill that void left in my life. I feel like I’m ready and I feel as if I’m sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for the next mission. I may not know when it’s going to come, but I know I have to be ready at a moments notice. So, here I am, ready for the changes, hopeful for the future, and ready for my next adventure.

Quenching Your Thirst

As the weather gets warmer we will undoubtedly be working outside, playing outside, going out into the sun. The average person can go without any kind of liquid for 3 days, some have gone as much as 6 or 7 days but that’s rare. The ability to drink liquids is so important. We must stay hydrated or our vital organs will start to shut down. What does this have to do with Christ? As we know Christ said at the last supper “Take this cup, and drink, for this is the blood of my body, which will be given up for you.” When we drink from the blood of Christ we thirst no more. John 6:35 “Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.”

As Christians something we have a tendency to do is want and want. We rarely are satisfied with what we have. We are rarely satisfied with the newest and greatest for long before we envy what others have, we covet the things we don’t have or what we want. We can think about these things as Lust. “Philippians 4:11-13 Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” If you drink of an earthly cup you will never be fulfilled. If we are always thinking things could be better, the grass could be greener we will never respect what we have right in front of us. 2 Cor. 12:9-10 “And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness” …Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” These things can be said for money matters and how we spend what we don’t have, spend our hard earned money on shiny baubles, things that would make us happy. This can also be said for marriage and relationships.

Why do some people cheat? Why are some people unfaithful? Why do we look with lust towards others? The answer is simple we fall short on Romans 12:2 “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” If we cannot find joy in the gifts God has given to us we will always want more. We must learn to be grateful for what we have. Respect our gifts and pray for change according to Gods will. Luke 12:15 “And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.” The water we drink will always leave us to thirst, the ash in our mouths never to satisfy as the food we eat. Only the blood and bread of Christ will satisfy. We must learn to give thanks. Colossians 3:5 “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:” Satisfy your lust, to love Christ. Satisfy your thirst by the blood of Christ, and your hunger by the body of Christ. Love your wives, love your husbands, but never put one greater then that of God. God must be the number 1 in your life. Proverbs 3:6 “ In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success.”