Remembering the sacrifices made for us!

It was September 2006. The rooftop was sweltering. Three US Navy SEALs were in an "overwatch" position on a Ramadi home with two Iraqi soldiers. It had been an eventful morning, but it was quiet at the moment. From below, without warning, someone lobbed a grenade. It bounced off Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor's chest, then without warning , then clattered on the deck. Penned together, all five were easy prey for the grenade's deadly spray of shrapnel. At point-blank range, it couldn't miss.

Monsoor yelled, "Grenade!" and made a snap decision that would mark him for all time. He flung himself onto the device, smothering it with his torso, just in time to absorb the blast. The result was predictable; he lived only 25 minutes before dying of his injuries. His companions escaped with only scratches and minor wounds. Breathe, just breathe is what I imagine they were thinking and needed.

Because of the configuration of the rooftop, only one of the five men had a pathway of escape, had he chosen to use it; Yes, Michael Monsoor. For his stunningly self-sacrificial action, he received the Medal of Honor, our nation's highest military honor, posthumously. As is written in his official Navy Summary of Action, "Monsoor's actions that day could not have been more selfless or clearly intentional."  It is inconceivable that those who survived the rooftop blast would forget Monsoor's sacrifice. Their very lives are a testament to what he did to save them.

So now I ask you who, further back in history, perfectly embodied a sacrifice that "could not have been more selfless or clearly intentional"'. The answer is Jesus Christ. What our Lord did to save us could not have been more selfless or clearly intentional! The freedom and salvation we know as Christians are clearly traceable to a specific choice made by a man sacrificing himself just as the SEALs who escaped the otherwise-deadly blast that day on the rooftop are alive today because of a specific choice of a man to sacrifice himself .

Memorial Day is an opportunity, as a nation, to remember and appreciate those who have died so that we might live freely. The civil blessings of stability, prosperity and freedom we enjoy are a testament to the price they paid. A Christians we remember those who have gone before us, sacrificed their lives for us and we pray for them in thanksgiving for their service to this great nation. And right alongside that prayer we should honor the Father who gave his life for us, whose sacrifice gives us eternal life and thank him also for the blessing given to us. This day, Memorial Day, can help inspire us to the greatest thing of which we are capable, by God's grace; sacrificial love. Love that sacrifices for the beloved is divine and the only true love.

In remembering what our Lord did, and what others such as Michael Monsoor have done, we are reoriented to what life is really all about. We are more likely, in our turn, to love someone at our expense. At its best, Memorial Day is a civil and military echo of a profound theological truth: that God, "who is love" (1 John 4:8) sacrificed Himself so that we might live {1 pt. 2:24}! So today Breathe, breathe deep and sit for a few minutes in the arms of our fallen hero, our God, our Jesus, our Father who made the ultimate sacrifice for us!

FYI...Our Memorial Day was originally known as "Decoration Day," an opportunity to decorate many graves of the over 600,000 men who died in the Civil War. It was, by far, our nation's costliest was in terms of human life, about 2 percent of the entire population. Today, that would translate into 6.5 million people. Memorial Day honors all who have died in military service to our country since its inception.

This beautiful story and analogy was printed in my church's bullentin today. I took the liberty of changing it just a bit. I hope you touches you as much as it touched me. 

God bless all those fallen for us and thank you Father again and again for your sacrifice! May each and everyone one of you, my friends have a blessed and safe Memorial Day!

One little humming bird

I would like to tell you a little story. And so goes my tale...

One bright day in the forest all the woodland creatures were happy. They were doing what all woodland creatures do. They were frolicking in the green soft grass, eating berries and leaves off the lush bushes, drinking water from the cool clear brook and flying through the bright blue sky. But later in the day the sky turned dark and the wind started to blow through the tall majestic trees. Then as the rain began to fall the thunder clapped and a bolt of lightning crossed the darkened sky. And not only did the bolt of lightning pierce the sky it also set the ground ablaze. The truth of the forest was that this had happened many times before but the steady rains as they fell usually put out the fires. This time though it was different. The rains STOPPED and the fire grew!

And grew and grew and as it grew larger and more intense the animals started to take notice. Then they started escaping for their very lives. From the butterflies to the grasshoppers...from the bunnies to the woodchuck...from the deer to the bears...all were running to escape the all encompassing fire. The air was thick with smoke and the flames rose as if trying to lick the treetops. But then out of the thick grey smoke, like a dot on a page came a little humming bird. Where in the world is this tiny little fragile bird going? He was going toward the smoke and fire not away from it. What is this tiny bird doing?

And as the story was told this fragile little bird flew straight to the bubbling stream, dipped his long strong beak in the clear water and quickly flew to the fire and emptied his beak. Then he took off again, quickly into flight, and straight to that stream filling his beak again. Back and forth, back and forth was this tiny little creature dropping one beakfull of water at a time on those licking flames.

It was then that some of the other woodland creatures took notice. First, it was the bullfrogs along with their cousins the toads. Then it was the chipmunks and the bunnies. Also, the coyotes and the deer took notice. And as they took notice they started running to the stream following that tiny humming bird. They took water any way they could and followed that humming bird back to the fire to deposit their contribution of water. Back and forth, back and forth until the fire was completely out! And all because one little humming bird did his part...one little beakfull at a time!

I am telling you this story today because I want you to understand how very much God loves you. He loves you so much that he made you and prescribed, determined, ordained your purpose in life. He already has figured out for you where He, your maker and designer, wants you and what your purpose is going to be in this life! We are one piece in God's plan. An important piece and we have a plan and purpose on this earth to be used as part of a bigger plan. We don't have to do it all we just have to do the part God has designed for us. Whether it is a beakfull of water or a gallon of water God has already figured that out for us and will lead us and direct us if we allow him to. He loves us that much that he doesn't expect more out of us then he has planned for us. Each of us have been made special out of his love for us, to fit together, to "carry our beakfull of water" to the fire. Not to put the entire fire out but to do our part. The part ordained by God. What a deep, deep love must he have for us?

So, I pray that as you read my little story...confession time here...it was a story our priest told us in church and a great story it is! As you read this story you will thank God for his love and his plan and purpose for your life. You might also want to ask his forgiveness for not being satisfied with being made to "carry just a beakfull of water". Today thank him that he loves you enough that ALL doesn't rest on you...that if we, each and every one of us, just fill our beaks, do what God has ordained us to do, together we will do great and powerful things.  AMEN!

Psalm 139:16 "Your eyes have seen my unformed body; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there were none."

Super bowl Sunday

So last night was the big game to end another year of NFL football! and what a game it was. Most people don't know this about me but I actually like watching football. Who would have thought!!

And this super bowl was exciting and, as usual filled with statics, On the top are two of New England's treasures...Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. The love New England has not only for their team, the Patriots, but for their treasured quarterback is evident every season. And rightfully so. Back in 2002 Tom Brady made his first super bowl appearance playing against the RAMS who were favored by 14 points. But this football treasure led his team to a first time win and seventeen years later was matched up to play the RAMS again. This game was the 11th Patriots Super Bowl appearance overall, the most in NFL history and the 9th with Tom Brady and the 3rd in a row.  And with this win, the Patriots break a tie for the most wins in playoff history and tying the Steelers for the most Super Bowl wins which is 6. A New England treasure but also a NFL treasure!

After all that I need to take a breath...just breathe for a minute! Did any of you notice the frequent use of the word "treasure"? This month, being February, I want to have us think on words of love from our Father. Focus in on His great abiding love for us and who and what we are in His eyes. And the one I wanted to use today was "treasured".

God loves us in ways that we cannot even imagine and one of those ways is in how much he treasures us as his children...his people. Watch the news tomorrow when New England has their parade and see how much they "treasure" their team. God treasures us infinitely more than that if you can wrap your head around that. No matter who we are or what we come from God treasures us..."You shall be my treasured possession among all peoples" Exodus 19:5. And in Deuteronomy 7:6 God's word tells us that "you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession."

We don't have to play football, we don't have to win a super bowl, our name doesn't have to be Tom Brady! God sent his only son to die for us, to shed his blood for us so that we

could accept him and his gifts...to be blameless and holy, above reproach in His site. God declared by His sacrifice that we are God's priceless treasure...to be treasured each moment of each day.

Thank you Father for loving me and making me your priceless treasure!

Deuteronomy 14:2  "for you are a people holy to the Lord your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the Lord has chosen you to be his treasured possession."