Veterans

It’s November 12, 2018.

Veterans Day.

Monday.

We start the week with AM prayer on Facebook Live in our MUI Prayer Room.  I woke up so tired.  I thought, “Hmm, should I just put a post up to cancel since it is a holiday! There ain’t going to be a lot of people on! We can resume Tuesday!”

It’s 5:50 am, as I am looking at the screen of my apple watch.  I continue thinking, “I could snooze. I could ask someone else perhaps. I could just skip the day. I wish my husband was here. LOL Gosh –He is so committed!”

I realize how much my husband is so committed at each passing day.  If he were here and had the opportunity, he would do it regardless if it is a holiday or not.  He is finishing up his missions trip in Chile, so he can’t do the hour remotely as easily as he can in the states.

The thing is, I do have to work.  I am not off for the holiday “Veteran’s Day!” So why should I be off for prayer! I can’t keep searching for excuses, even when my body doesn’t find the strength. I have to do it. I have to raise the standards myself and condition my body for the consistency of an ardent prayer life.

Imagine me going to work without having done prayer.  I would have made it to work but not made it to spend time with God first.  I would have spoke to everyone at the office and not have found the time to even talk with God.  I would have been eight hours at work and would not find one hour to give to God. Wow! How selfish and lazy of me. No! No! No! This is a job that we commit ourselves in the same way that those that have committed themselves for the cause of the entire country.

For Veteran’s day, we celebrate the men and women that made a decision to stand for our country.  We salute those that signed up to labor and serve for our protection.  There is a cause here.  They signed willingly for a contract that would be unwavering, uncompromising.  They sacrificed and surrendered all.

Why can’t we do this daily in our walk with God. This is what we do when we sign up for the kingdom. There is purpose, service, commitment and sacrifice…. all of this not to have religion but to have an intimate and powerful relationship with God. When we sow those acts into any relationship they become richer. Like friendships, sisterhood, brotherhood, marriages, etc., this is the same concept that we should follow to our God before the rest.

When we are not there–it matters! He is waiting to spend time with us. We have to commit. Just as I ministered in a sermon yesterday.  We have to give our all.  When the church doesn’t realize the impact of our absence, the world never will. It is time for us to go beyond the extra mile and give our very best in all that we do.

My husband is a prime example to me of that… I can tell him today–HAPPY VETERANS DAY! Because you are always serving for the life of others and that is worthy of honor.  I love you.

May God continue to raise up a generation (including me) that will be consistent, conditioned, and committed to climb higher as we set the bar for what it is to really be a veteran for the Kingdom.

Scripture Reference:
When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions. This is what he said:
“You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
“You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.
“You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.
“You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.
“You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.
“You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.
“You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.
“You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.
Matthew 5:1-10 [The Message]