The Lost – The Arrow Preacher

Memorial Day 2019

I fought the fight, I ran the race, but today is not my day to die. I saw the wave and felt the heat. I’ve felt the blast, explosions to my core. I survived by many did not. Today, this day I take a moment to remember the fallen. Men and women who’ve given their lives for the protection of freedoms we share and love with one another. 1 Corinthians 15:22“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.” The ones who’ve fallen and given the all, it is in our Christ who gave all so a sacrifice would not be in vein. It is in Christ that we truly have hope. Death is not the end, no, it’s just the change of venue. In Christ we have a choice to give up this worldly self, and being blessed by the Holy Spirit, that we shall not die, but our chains are broken and life is ours for the taking.

Do we honor the sacrifice of our veterans? Do we honor our saviors sacrifice for our sins? Freedom is not and always has been pain in blood. Do we die in this life alone, or do we live to die for Jesus? Today is the day of the year we set aside to honor those who’ve given the sacrifice during the course of their duties to bring us protection and freedoms. While over the last 10 plus years I have looked at memorial day for the loss of life protecting this countries freedoms and protecting others in need of protection, I look at memorial day through a different set of eyes today. I consider the wounds of war, and those who never manage to heal from them. I consider the 22 veterans a day that commit suicide around this country and the true meaning of sacrifice. Jesus Christ is the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, and it is in him we are redeemed, renewed, and have hope. But for those veterans who didn’t die in the war, those who saw war, and experienced traumas, that’s when a part of them died. For those who experienced such horrors and never regained their life, that fall victim to PTSD, PTSD in itself is sometimes death. We must remember to honor those who’ve not only given their lives, but those who’ve taken their lives.

The fallen shall be honored for their sacrifice. A country built on the belief of scripture, and the Holy Word of God, soldiers sacrifice for this country, their friends, their families, in love, as Christ sacrificed for all of us.

We should take a moment to remember the fallen, remember the lives lost, but also the families, friends, and loved ones affected by that loss. Today is a day to honor those losses, to honor Christ and his sacrifice and trust that loss will never be in vein. Look to the flag and remember that Red is the color of the blood that’s been shed. Blue the color to show we are true of vigilance. White the color of virtue to show that we are right. While the USA is not a perfect place, we fight for truth, and justice. We are able to make a difference and we should. We stand above and when we stand on scripture we hopefully stand as a light to the world.

Fallen Brothers

Recently I was watching on of my favorite shows Seal Team and when I saw a particular episode where a seal was killed. It got me thinking about the fallen brothers and sisters in Christ. My time in Iraq I lost friends and even after I left my brothers were still being killed. As I have watched the news from time to time and I’ve seen terrorist organizations murder innocent Christians. The persecuted church worldwide is an ever growing death toll passing genocidal proportions. Knowing what was coming doesn’t make the reality any easier. We watch from the TV and the newspapers, and as we understand the world is a dangerous place we must remain faithful in Christ and understand our hope is above not here in this life, but an eternal life with our creator.

Romans 13:4 (NKJV)4 “For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to executewrath on him who practices evil.”

The Lord watches over and will repay with swift justice when the time comes. The sword of righteousness will fall on the enemies and vengeance will be the Lords.

We cannot allow the losses we see to stop us from continuing the mission. We have to take our brothers and sisters sacrifice and never allow that be in vein. In Revelation you see the martyrs who’ve died proclaiming the word of God. You see their sacrifice was not in vein, and we must continue to fight the fight and never grow weary. Rev 9“When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained;” Rev 20“Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.”

Faith isn’t easy when the world around you crumbles to ruin. As it says in 1 Corinthians 12:26 (NASB)26 “And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.” In some circles it is believed that 255 Christians are killed every month, and more are raped, abducted, or detailed without a trial. Just recently we saw a Pastor released after a long imprisonment. As terrible as it is to watch from afar, it’s worse when you have to see it in person. Loosing fellow soldiers in the line of duty was heartbreaking. The world it seemed was unfair as the lives of good men were extinguished far, far too early. The brothers and sisters that have died in the name of Christ have gone onto a better life. Those who die are far better off as they go to a far better place. 2 Timothy 2:3 (NASB)3 “Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” The hardships we face are in this life. “Living is not for the weak.”(Arrow) and those of us still living will be the ones to continue facing the fight. We should not pity the dead, but pity the living.