Beginning the 3rd day of my trip from Fort Leonard Wood, MO to Fort Wainwright, AK. Here’s the video to begin the day:
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Old Town Laramie, Wyoming
The 2nd night of my trip to Alaska I stayed at an Airbnb apartment in Laramie, Wyoming. I went into the old part of town for dinner at Born in a Barn and took a few pictures of the old town while I was there…
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Photo-video of Nebraska
On day 2 of my trip to Alaska, I drove through Nebraska with a couple of great attractions. Here’s a video of the photos of that day’s drive and stops.
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Move to Alaska-Day 2
With one day complete, here is the video beginning the 2nd day of my journey to Fort Wainwright, Alaska.
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Move to Alaska-Day 1
I’ve started my “adventure” to Alaska. Here is the video beginning my first day of travel, as I PCS (Permanent Change of Station) to Fort Wainwright.
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Eat or Die
Elijah was one of those Old Testament prophets who was bigger than life. He boldly confronted the political and religious leaders of Israel and successfully challenged their false Gods. On one occasion, he actually put to death Israel’s false prophets after defeating them in a challenge between their gods and Elijah’s God. However, Elijah learned that doing the right thing does not always bring popularity and good will. After the slaughter of the false prophets, the Queen of Israel committed to kill Elijah, so Elijah fled into the wilderness. We read in 1 Kings 19:4 that he became so distraught over Jezebel’s threat that he prayed to die.
It seems that Elijah had forgotten how God miraculously consumed not just the sacrifice but also the wood, stones and soil around the altar during his competition with the prophets of Baal just a few day before (1 Kings 18). He also seems to have forgotten how God had birds miraculously bring him bread and meat to eat and the miracle with the never-ending flour and oil in Zarephath (both in 1 Kings 17). Elijah lost sight of God’s power and provision and was willing to just lay down and die.
Fortunately for Elijah, God had not forgotten him. When Elijah was ready to give up, God was there to take care of him. In this instance, He sent an angel to give Elijah bread and water to eat to regain his strength for the journey ahead. So good was the bread God provided that Elijah was able to go on the strength gained from it for forty days!
How often do we allow our circumstances to get us down? Like Elijah, it is easy for us to forget all the good that God has done for us when we are in the midst of trouble. Like Elijah, we may sometimes feel like just laying down to die.
But just as God did not forgot Elijah, He does not forget us. When we face the troubles of life, God has a way for us to get through them. When we feel like there is no way out or that death may be better than living through our circumstances, God is ready to help. But like Elijah, we have to accept God’s help. God may not send birds or an angel to show us He is there, but our simple prayer, “God help me!” will open the door to his aid.
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Originally published at http://www.myguidon.com/chaplains-corner-eat-or-die/
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Why You’re Being Deleted
I remember being shocked when Barrack Obama won his first term as president, fully believing that the Republican nominee would win (just as I was shocked when the Republican won in our most recent Presidential election). My pastor at the time suggested my surprise was a result of having only friends, and reading/listening only to commentators, whose views aligned only with my own political perspective. In the months following that epiphany I began to expand the friends I followed on social media and joined more discussion groups outside of what had previously been comfortable for me. This new endeavor was not just in the area of politics but also theology and social justice. The result was my gaining a better understanding of the “other side” while being able to enter into conversations which sometimes caused me to adjust my view of things and other times helped me to sharpen my existing view.
While much of what I have experienced in this widening exposure has been positive, along with the good has come a realization of the nasty. While I have tried to remain respectful when discussing hot issues with others, I’ve seen many who just discount the person along with their opinion. Replies are often rude and demeaning while many are so dogmatic about their opinions that anyone who holds a different view is branded a heretic or just stupid. The possibility that perhaps there could be differing views on issues, while holding to a Christian ethic, seems to be a foreign thought to many. Sadly, some of the worst offenders are those who on another thread will sound compassionate and loving. I’m baffled by how a so-called Christian can be so holy in one post and so nasty in another, as though it is as simple as flipping a switch.
In recent weeks, it seems like the nasty has been overwhelming the good, not to mention some of the frightening views held by some people, to the point that whenever I spend much time on social media, I walk away discouraged or stressed, often fearful for the future of my denomination and country as I see the disrespect (not difference of opinion) exhibited by Christians and ministers toward the POTUS, the United States, my denomination and just about anybody with a differing view from theirs. From memes to posts to comments, I often don’t see Christ in them. This is sad.
Serving in the military in a secular world, alongside soldiers and chaplains of all stripes, I’m sufficiently exposed to differing views in the areas of politics, theology and social justice, so I am realizing that I don’t need as much input from virtual friends and online communities who on one hand tout living a Christ-like life while on the other act more like the Devil. My real life is stressful enough, I don’t need to be bombarded on the web with what has become a daily -sometimes hourly- attack on my values, religion and politics, all of which are just as sincerely held and biblically based as those launching the attacks. Don’t get me wrong, I can take it and I can engage with the best of them, but why should I?
With this in mind, I have decided to unplug a bit. I am going to leave groups whose posts are more critical than helpful; unfriend FB friends who are consistently disrespectful rather than uplifting; unfollow organizations that have values that are in conflict with mine; and spend less time online reading and listening to people, groups and organizations that I have little in common with. In doing this I think I’ll not only be fine, but will have a less stressful life and may even thrive in more of a face-to-face environment rather than one existing only online.
Let me finish by saying that I share this not to make a big deal about a personal decision or to get in a last “jab” on those who I disagree with, but rather that my reasoning for becoming more distant from social media may help others who may also be feeling the pain of an anti-[everything] Internet to make some helpful and wholesome changes.
So for some of you this will be “goodbye!” for others, please be kind.
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The Devil Made Me Do It!
Readers over the age of fifty may remember the comedian Flip Wilson, whose television series in the early seventies was the second highest rated show on network television. One of the comedic characters Wilson played was Geraldine Jones who often justified her questionable actions by saying, “The Devil made me do it!”
While Flip Wilson is credited with making this phrase famous, his character Geraldine was not the first to use it. We find the first use of this phrase (in so many words) in Genesis 3:8-15, which is the account of God confronting Adam and Eve for their disobedience to Him. He first asked Adam what happened, who answered by blaming his sin on Eve. Then when God asked Eve for an explanation, she blamed her sin on the serpent, who represented the Devil. Blaming the Devil for our sin may have originated with Adam and Eve but from these first human beings until now, people have been “passing the buck” and blaming their sin –or disobedience- on the Devil or someone else.
This is an example of human nature, at least human nature since sin entered the world through Adam and Eve, but the Devil takes the rap for much more than he is guilty of. More often than not, it is not the Devil who made us do it, but our own poor choices. When confronted with temptation, we have a choice to say either “yes” or “no.” When we choose to say “yes” we can’t blame it on the Devil, we are to blame and are held accountable for our choices. Grant it, we are influenced by evil, by sin, by our human nature, but it still boils down to that moment when we decide what we are going to do.
The great news in all of this is that we are not left with only the influence of evil. God has provided for us the help that we need to make the right choice when confronted with doing right or wrong. He has given us his spirit, the Holy Spirit, to empower us to do what is right and to convict us when we do what is wrong. Greater news still is the grace that he gives us when we do make the wrong choice. Grace, unmerited favor, forgiveness for our sins, restoration to right relationship with God. These are God’s promises, and this is the good side of sin.
So, when confronted with a decision to do what is right or give in to what is wrong, call on God to help you do what is right. But if you fail and make one of those bad decisions, hope is not lost! Call on God for forgiveness and renewal and his grace will be poured out on you!
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This article first appeared (edited) in the print edition of the Guidon, 7 June 2018, and on the Guidon online, 7 June 2018.
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Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire
I was just 14 at the time, but remember there was more to the fire than the news was reporting. I could sense my mother was more troubled than news of a random fire just south of our home in Cincinnati would produce, but my questions didn’t get many immediate answers.
Shot of the Beverly Hills Supper Club in flames the night of May 28, 1977. David Kohl photo
Later, the news would report that the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire was the third deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. history, a title which it still holds today. 165 people died with over 200 non-fatal injuries incurred. One of the things I remember about that night, and the day after, was the seemingly endless list of names of the identified dead scrolling up the screen as my mother watched in dread, as though she was expecting to see a name while praying she wouldn’t.
As it turned out, there was someone at the Beverly Hills that night who my parents knew. My dad had been talking to him about spiritual things, trying to get him to return to God from his backslidden condition. The Christian-holiness sensibilities of the 1970’s led my parents to see this gentleman’s presence at a nightclub as confirmation of his refusal to return to his saving relationship with God.
The bar at the Beverly Hills Supper Club
I’m sure this man my parents were so concerned about didn’t even imagine that May 28, 1977 would be his last day on this earth. I’m sure as dad talked to him about his spiritual life and eternal destiny that he assumed he would have another day to consider his future. I’m sure it wasn’t even on his mind that his decisions that night would determine his ultimate -and eternal- destination.
We can’t fully know from day-to-day what our decisions will have on our future but we can live in such a way that we know whatever our future holds, we are in God’s hands. If we have given our hearts to God and are allowing Him to guide our lives and decisions, our choices -while they may be our last- won’t leave others grieving about our future.
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Photo credits:
The Beverly Hills on fire: By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34045531
The Beverly Hills bar: The Beverly Hills Supper Club bar. Photo courtesy of the Kenton County Public Library
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Pentecost Sunday Invites You to Love!
This coming Sunday many churches will be celebrating the Day of Pentecost as reported in the Christian New Testament in Acts 2:1-21. On this day, originally a Jewish holiday celebrating harvest time, the Holy Spirit whom Jesus promised, came to his disciples in the Upper Room as they were together waiting for that promise to be fulfilled.
1When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.
14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17 “‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21 And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.’(Acts 2:1-21, NIV)
A typical Western image of the Pentecost. Duccio di Buoninsegna (1308).
We read in the Acts passage about the sound like the rush of a violent wind, what appeared like tongues of fire resting on each of them, and their preaching being understood by people from all over the known world. Amazing! But even more miraculous was what is found in the simple words, “and they began to speak.”
The disciples had essentially been hiding out since Jesus’ crucifixion, afraid that they may be next. Even when Jesus was alive, their message often didn’t match their actions as they lived in fear, confusion and doubt. But now, after being filled with the Holy Spirit, they spoke with confidence and assurance that the crucified and risen Jesus was not just a good man or even a prophet, but was God became flesh to be the Savior of the World.
Throughout the remainder of the Christian Bible, the Holy Spirit’s acts through the apostles of Jesus and the Church as a whole form a major part of world history. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, Christians took the good news of Jesus Christ as far as the Roman roads would take them and the Church continued to grow. More than that, the Holy Spirit infused believers with a love greater than any other, which moved them to serve and give to others in need and to live in a way that encouraged peace and acceptance.
Today, more than ever, the world needs the love that the Holy Spirit provides. We need to better care for each other and be more accepting of those not like us. This Pentecost Sunday would be a great time to begin a life more full of love for God and others. The Holy Spirit will help you, just ask. Others will follow your example, just love. Recipients of your love will thank you, just care!
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Here I Sit 