ChaplainChas

BAAM.

How do you like THAT grammar?

A movie with a married couple and an unmarried couple in a four-way-ish adulterous relationship complete w/homosexuality, crude language and mild sex scenes reminded me last night why I don't have a television.

It was so 1980's in my mind and I am saddened that others found it so enjoyable.

I just needed to run into the arms of Jesus and worship as I processed on the hour drive home.  I am so glad that He forgives foolish mistakes, and cleanses me with His blood, and loves me.

Sigh.

I have, frankly, still been reeling a bit in the immaturity of it all.

Lord Jesus, I desperately need You!  I want You.  I need relationship with You to be fuller and fuller and more complete!  I want to see the world through Your eyes, and offer Your love and grace and mercy and anger and...  Would You please teach me?  I ask for You to fill me with your Spirit.  I ask You to conform/ transform/ renew/ revive and awake Your Truth and Your Spirit within me.

Help me to love like You love and WITH Your love.

Thanks, and Amen.

Blessings!

ChaplainChas.

ORIGINAL POST:

David was anointed by God, through the Prophet Samuel, to be king.  The Spirit Of God came upon him (granted he was not filled with the Spirit, never to be abandoned...).

First Chronicles 21:1 reads:  "Then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to...".

:::healthy pause:::

If this Man of God, David, author of Scripture (jointly w/Jesus) could be incited by Satan to do anything, how much more should we be on our guard (it feels better to say 'we' than 'I' and 'my')?

David sinned and ONE MILLION FIVE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY THOUSAND men died in a three day period because of it!  Granted I'm not a King, but it kinda sheds a little light on the whole 'my sin affects you' theory!

It only takes 12 verses for David to come to his senses...

First Chronicles 21:13 reads:  "Then David said to Gad, 'I am in great distress.  Let me fall into the hand of the LORD, for his mercy is very great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man."

And there it is.  The man after God's own heart knows God is a merciful God.  Even for decisions about punishment David runs into the hands of God, and not away from Him.

Oh that we would do the same.

Blessings!

ChaplainChas.

This turned out to be a great move, as I got great latte and a fruit salad.  I also got to sit and not have everyone who walked into the place chat w/me since everybody seems to know my name at SRC (which is usually great).  Today, I needed to know God knew my name.

Here are some notes from the apostle Paul.  I won't try to list all the verses, but know they come from ROMANS 5, 6, 7 or 8, from the English Standard Version of the Bible.

Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ...  We have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand...  At the right time Christ died for the ungodly... while we were still sinners...

We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over Him.  For the... life He lives He lives to God...  Consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus...  Present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness...  Present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification...  Now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.  For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Nothing good dwells... in my flesh.  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! ...I myself serve the law of God with my mind...

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not according to the flesh (but according to the Spirit)...  He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk... according to the Spirit...  Those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.  ...to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.  You... are... in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you...  If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He... will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

So... Thank You.  I got to read this and be blessed.  I then got to read this again as I typed it out for you!  I got blessed again!

And now, methinks I'll move on to the Old Testament, for my trek through the entire Bible, as my spirit has been lifted.

Blessings!

ChaplainChas.

Every six months or less, I get reminders in the mail from NYC of the best worst year of my life.  They update us on health for the registry, of all those who served or lived on or near GROUND ZERO, or the MORGUE, or the DUMP... I forget the name of the island... fish something.

In early November of 2001 I spent a week on Manhattan Island with my church.  It was my first official soiree as a Chaplain.  I wore my dress blues to Memorial Services/ Funerals of Fire Fighters and Police Officers.  Over the year I would attend more of these than the rest of my life, combined.

We took day trips and took over night trips.  Our teams fed food to the workers at Ground Zero, walked the perimeter giving coffee or hot chocolate and snacks to the PD guarding the site, ministered to families and workers at the Morgue...

I remember a business man in a suit sitting on a statue's base, telling his story of the day Hell came to Manhattan.  We cried together and I prayed for him.  I spent some time with a particular police man, making sure to visit from time to time, and getting Bibles to him ('God's Word for Peace Officers').

A restaurant nearby was closed to the public, and opened for the workers at Ground Zero, as well as firemen and police.  It was a safe haven where we served by cutting up vegetables, lugging boxes, serving the men and women, and praying with them as needed.

Mission NYC, Harvest Christian Fellowship, Calvary Chapel, Samaritan's Purse, Billy Graham Prayer Center, American Red Cross, American Heart Association, Salvation Army, Southern Baptist's... We worked alongside them all.

Some days or nights we'd just walk around as tourists.  We'd approach the sad and share hope.  I have no idea how many we prayed with.  Most, for sure.

There's more, but I'm distracted.  There's more, but there's life.  There's more, but Jesus will need to bring it out.  There's more, but not now.

Because of Who HE is,

Blessings!

ChaplainChas.

So, why then is the Chief authorizing extra crews and 'Severe Weather Strike Teams?'

Media hype.

Hard to be biased in the media, I know, but perhaps there's not much else to report.  If they're not able to be double-tongued on the issue of teen pregnancy or gay republicans or even that Shamu died (well, the first few), than how can we expect fair and accurate reporting on hurricane Hannah?

Such is life.  Habits are habits, but facts are facts.

Blessings!

ChaplainChas.