Wounds of War 

     Vietnam. The war's unpopularity and messy ending (50 years ago) compounded the struggle many soldiers had (and still do) when they returned home. 

     They never trained for the aftermath of war. Glen Martin told WORLD magazine "In Vietnam we never had an exit. We didn't accomplish what we wanted to accomplish. All these 55,000 kids got killed, whatever, and for no reason." 

     Martin has battled guilt, shame, disgust, even anger, a response to what doctors diagnose as moral injury. Symptoms occur when people feel they did something or failed to do something that violates their deeply held moral or religious beliefs. 

     The authors of this article say combat veterans from every war experience moral injury, but Vietnam vets were especially susceptible. Five million Americans who served in the conflict are still alive. Thanks to awareness of moral injury and the benefits of faith-based therapy, vets from Vietnam and more recent conflicts are healing for their deepest wounds. 

Next: Moral injury is not new.

             Jimmy   ...PS. I'm certain many of the soldiers in basic training with me went to Vietnam. Back then, many of us were drafted, not volunteers.

Earth Calling God... 

     Very early in history, Adam and Eve had another son, naming him Seth. He grew up and fathered Enosh. At that time, men began to call on the name of the Lord. - Genesis 4:26. 

     No interpreter. No teacher. No pope. No mind reader. Get it? 

     Pastor Jim Cymbala says the Hebrew word for calling on God means to cry out, to implore. In Jeremiah (chapter 33:3) God says, Call on me and I will answer you... God spoke to prophets over centuries, telling us, through them, what He wants us to know. At times He foretold what was yet - or still is - to come. 

     Moses wrote, What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? - Deuteronomy 4:7. There was no promise from God if Israel ceased calling out to him. The same applies to Christians. 

     David knew it. Know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself; the Lord will hear when I call to him. - Psalm 4:3. 

     For Jew and Gentile: Acts 2:21; Romans 10:12-13.

     Pastors and rabbis can help, and teachers, counselors, books...maybe family or friends. Know any missionaries? But nothing ...nobody... substitutes for the mercy and grace of God. We are directed to call upon the Lord, daily, in trouble or otherwise. He made us. He knows us!  

             Jimmy

      

Ancient Roots 

     This is as close to heaven as I will ever get in this life. If I were invited to the White House, it would never bring the kind of peace and deep joy I sense here in the presence of people calling on the Lord. 

     The words of Jim Cymbala, long time pastor of The Brooklyn Tabernacle, in one of New York's nastiest communities. 

     In his book, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, he writes about Tuesday night prayer meetings, which he considers essential to Sunday worship. "It is there that people express their hearts, needs, desires and praises." Prayer, he says, has ancient roots. 

     "The first mention of prayer occurs in Genesis 4:26, before Christ, before David, even before Moses (and Abraham). 'At that time, men began to call on the name of the Lord.'" 

     "A godly strain of men and women distinguished themselves from their ungodly neighbors by calling on the Lord. They affirmed their dependence on God. Their original name was 'those who call on the name of the Lord.'"

     "On some unmarked day...a God-placed instinct in human hearts came alive. People sensed that if you are in trouble, you can call out to God, he will answer you! He doesn't turn a deaf ear."

We may continue this coming week.

Jimmy

Less is More 

     "Are we too buttoned-down? As Christians, are we blindly loyal? I sometimes worry that we put too much stock in the opinions of what I'll call 'public Christians.'

Lynn Vincent, WORLD magazine

     "Those with big platforms, plenty of followers, and lots of guest appearances on TV. I'm not saying a big audience is a bad thing. But pride goes before a fall (Proverbs 16:18), and some public Christians begin to believe their own press. 

     "Heaven's Hall of Fame is not associated with climbing to significance, but with obscurity, sacrifice (Stephen) and servanthood (Ruth). The principle that those who are first in the world shall be last in the kingdom is central to Jesus' teaching on humility and the worldly trappings of success.

     "He must increase," John the Baptist said of Jesus, "and I must decrease." 

     "We public Christians should spend more time figuring out how to be less."

 

What Do We Value Most?

Excerpts by Andrew Brunson, pastor

Two years in a Turkey prison

     "People are driven by what they hunger after. Once they have it, they are driven by fear of losing it. Individuals compromise and conform. 

     "What do you 'covet'? What are you afraid to lose? The answer reveals something about how vulnerable we may be to pressures that followers of Jesus are going to face in the near future. 

     "I think social and financial persecution is coming to our country, and it will be enough to cause an exodus from the church in this generation. This may seem alarmist, especially when many evangelicals are euphoric about the political change in the last election.

     "But I think this is a temporary delay. Most of the institutions in our country are led by progressives who are increasingly anti-Christian. The rise of the political right...is not leading to an increase in church attendance or conversions. Significant numbers on the right mirror the progressive left in having no Judeo-Christian moral foundation...driven by the raw will to power. 

     "Faithful followers of Jesus are in the minority - an increasingly despised minority. 

     "How to change what drives me? I need to retrain my heart to most value what most matters - loving God - so that I do not covet what they covet. I do not love what they love. I do not fear what they fear." 

Who Wants Marriage? 

     Okay. Raise your hands, all you who want to marry ..... Now, all you who don't want to marry .....

     Well. More than half of you (in the UK) don't value marriage. 

     We're a long way from the Garden of Eden, when everybody in the world, both of them, were married. If this trend keeps up, marriage may come to an end, and children will have more freedom to find their own way...such as join a gang etc. A brave new world.

     Civilization...man and woman, promising to love and stay together for the rest of their lives. Yes, some stay single. 

Marriage brings stability to society. New marriages provide stable, loving homes established on commitment. Mother holds the baby, while friends sing and rejoice. Families befriend other families. 

     Our granddaughter is expecting in September. Her parents committed to each other 35 years ago, and their daughter and husband are on the same path...people of faith and commitment. This baby will be loved. 

     My wife and I were rejected by our first spouses. It's not like a ball game. Lose today; win tomorrow. There is hurt. Children left to make poor decisions. 

     America's "greatest generation" married and stayed married, despite the depression and two world wars. Our United States is looking up, but if we're not more united in our families, this won't be another "great" generation.

             Jimmy

  

     

What a Crowd! 

     A football rally? A concert? May Day celebration in South America?

     None of the above. It was the Roman Catholic introduction of Pope Leo XIV, originally known as Robert Provost, of Chicago. Yes, the first American to be voted Pope. 

     Catholics from up to 70 nations gathered in Rome to listen to his speech, in Italian. They cheered. Some waved their nation's flag. There were two marching bands. And bells. Such a roar. Oh, maybe a Beatles concert.

     We heard the name Mother Mary. We even heard the name Jesus. 

     Catholics have cardinals, priests, bishops, archbishops and deacons. They were dressed in colorful robes. The church is somewhat polarized, but all honor the Pope. 

     About 600 years ago, Roman Catholics were so far removed from biblical truth Martin Luther asked the leaders to tell him where he was wrong...quoting the Bible. They couldn't answer. They wanted him to come to Rome, where they planned to silence him. 

     Luther was taken to a safe location, and people - Lutherans - began to "protest." There was a 30-year war that nobody won. Then came the Episcopalians, Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians and more. 

     Honor Catholics. But when Jesus returns to rule our/His world, will there be a big celebration and speech? See Revelations chapter 19. 

           Jimmy - a Protestant