Are We Combat Ineffective?

There was a brief silence on the battlefield as the firing ceased. The smoke of battle slowly cleared, exposing numerous casualties strewn across the field. You begin to hear the ragged sound of men screaming in pain as they lay on the ruined field. Two teams of medics crawl out of their holes and move toward the shattered bodies of soldiers; one moving slowly towards the fallen enemy, while the other slowly approaches their own wounded.

You stand and watch as the medics slowly work their way through the enemy wounded, applying medical care almost lovingly; pressure dressing to stop the bleeding, morphine for the pain... Slowly, the comforted enemies screams decline in severity and volume. 

That's when you notice the other team of medics. Like the first, they are moving from soldier to soldier taking care of your compatriots. Pausing briefly between each casualty, they end their screams of pain with a quick slash of a knife across the throat.

Wait, what?

This disturbing scene is horrible to consider, yet is played out in Churches across the United States on a weekly basis. Christians who will lovingly approach the lost with a gentle hand will not have a second thought about spiritually destroying a fallen Christian. They will rip a fallen Christian to shreds and walk away believing they have done the Lord’s work. The reason for this is simple; we have lost the love of the brethren. We see the Great Commission as the end all of Christianity, and have a desire to fulfill it, but have crippled ourselves to the point of ineffectuality with our Pharisaical attitudes.

When I was in the Army we learned a very scary term: Combat Ineffective… it reflected that a unit is at 50 to 69 percent troop strength. When a unit loses strength to that level, they cannot carry out the mission that they were tasked with. That is the Church in today’s society. We have lost significant troop strength, and as a result, cannot carry out our mission.

And the blame rests solely at our own feet.

The Bible tells us clearly, “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.” (Galatians 6:1) Unfortunately, that is not our response. Instead, we are destroying those who have been overtaken and worse yet it is often in an attempt to raise ourselves in the eyes of others.

Think of how Jesus dealt with the woman caught in adultery (John 8:3-11) We read that story and only focus on how Jesus ‘Put those Pharisees in their place,’ but miss the greater lesson on how to respond to someone who has fallen into sin. I think it was really a warning to us of how He views our spiritually arrogant attitudes, because the fact is that the Pharisees are not the only ones who are judgmental about other people’s failures to the point of destruction.

• We have too many walking wounded that we have spiritually killed instead of offering life sustaining aid to keep them in the fight.
• We do not have the troop strength to carry out the Great Commission to reach enough to replace the ones we have lost.
• As a result, we are not replacing soldiers at the rate that we are losing them.

As soldiers in the Army of the Lord, we are Combat Ineffective. The question we must ask ourselves is this: What are we going to do about it?

Scorpion and the Frog

There is a story that begins with a scorpion meeting a frog on the bank of a rushing stream. The scorpion wishes to cross, but knows that he cannot do so without drowning. He looks over and notices a frog sitting on the bank.

“Excuse me, kind sir. Would you be willing to give me a ride across the stream? I will help you find some food if you do so.”

“Give you a ride?” The frog asks, "How do I know you won't sting me?"

The scorpion held out his claws in a pose of innocence, "If I do that, I will die too."

“Oh,” The frog nodded, “That makes sense.” Satisfied, he allowed the scorpion to crawl onto his back, and they set out to cross the stream.

About halfway across the rushing stream, the frog feels a sharp sting on his back. The paralysis almost immediately sets in. The frog, startled, looks back at the scorpion and asks, “Why?” Because he knows that they both will drown.

The scorpion shrugged as his head started to go under, “Because it’s my nature...”

As we look at sin, we often get fooled by the promises that it gives us. “I won’t hurt you... I’ll help you achieve things you cannot do on your own...”

What we must remember is that it is the nature of sin to destroy. Sin will play innocent, but it will always sting you in the end.

“Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?” (Proverbs 6:27)

The unWise Wise Men

FOREIGN DIGNITARIES INCITE INFANTICIDE

Iyar 16— 4 BC

The Magi Journeying by James Tissot

There is outrage across Judea as a group of foreign dignitaries supposedly incited the murder of numerous young children across the Judean countryside.

'They rode into town late in the day...' One witness reported, '...they rode straight up to Herod at the palace. They left a few hours later—but the very next morning Herod ordered all the children under two in Judea killed.'

I'm not sure if that's what the headlines really read... or if they had newspapers—but the fact is that the disobedience of these men had grave repercussions.

Disobedience? Some may ask? And to that I say yes.

You see, these men were recorded as being wise men from the east. They traveled hundreds, and possibly thousands of miles with the information from Scripture that they should go to Bethlehem. (Micah 5:2), they had the star to guide them... which pointed at the place where the child was. (Matthew 2:9)

But five miles away, they let their 'Wisdom' take over, and went to Jerusalem instead—and we see how that ended. (Matthew 2:16-18)

Why do I bring this up? Because, in the same way there are many who are setting themselves up for an eternity in Hell, simply because in the last few steps they let their worldly wisdom take over.

You see, most people will claim to believe in God—which is proven in nature. (Psalm 19:1)

Many more will claim to believe in Christ—that He was the son of God who died for their sins. (John 3:16)

But then, at the last, they turn aside. While Jesus Himself clearly stated; "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6) there are many who turn aside—they join Churches, give money, are baptized, light candles... they do all manner of things OTHER than go to Christ—and by that, reject the salvation that Christ offers.

Friend, as we consider this Christmas season, don't make the same mistake as the wise men and allow your worldly wisdom to cause you to miss Christ. Follow the Scripture, because it will lead you straight to Christ.

Cold (A Short Story)

COLD

My eyes scanned the field thoroughly, taking in every detail. I was searching for Harry. I registered the dark green of the cedar trees, and the occasional brown of a dead tree, pointing up from the snow towards the sky like a medieval gravestone, signifying the unfortunate demise of some poor traveler. My knuckles were white as I gripped the fence-post, my eyes searching.

I didn't like Harry. We had met on several occasions, (all of them bad, and on his terms.) Harry was Mr. Brown’s bull, and a rather large one at that. I felt a shudder run through me as our last meeting came to mind. He had chased me through the field, and in my terror I had leaped headfirst over a barbed wire fence, and landed square in a pile of fresh manure. My greatest desire in life was to reach the age where I could legally purchase a firearm ...or explosives. I felt a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth as I pictured Harry sailing through the air after stepping on a land-mine.

I was on my way to a patch of dense woods about a quarter of a mile from the main road that had a creek running through it. A person had to cross a field to get to it, the very same field in which Harry lived. This wouldn’t be my first time either, I had been fishing in the creek the summer beforehand, and there were plenty of fish there. Also, Harry could not move well in the woods, so he stayed away from them. I was going to go ice fishing, something I had read about, but had never done.

I crossed the fence, and started across the field at a slow jog. I came to the creek, and decided to follow it back to the patch of woods, since it would probably be safer that way.

The creek was frozen over, and as cold as it was, I figured it would be strong enough to hold me. It was not a very large creek, about fifteen feet across, and maybe four to five feet deep at its deepest points. I had decided to walk on the ice, just in case the bull was out. Hopefully he would think twice about chasing me down there.

I stepped down on the ice, half of my brain conscious of the sounds the ice was making, the other half keeping an eye out for Harry. The ice barely creaked as I put my full weight on it. Ready to spring to shore, I bounced on my toes, testing the ice. It seemed solid. I began to walk down the center of the ice, still watching out for Harry. I had pictures in my head of him seeing me, and coming down onto the creek to get me. I snickered, wondering how he would react as he plunged through the ice.

Then the ice snapped.

I tried to throw myself backwards, but it was too late. As my head slipped under the surface, the shock of cold water numbed my brain, and the thought passed through my head, 'Wait, isn't my life supposed to flash before my eyes?' Immediately afterward, a second thought passed through, 'No, it would be too boring.' I started myself, I had to get out. I thrashed around, trying to orient myself, and my feet found the bottom. I pushed hard with my legs, and came up against a hard barrier.

The ice was over my head.

I was scared now. I felt around with my hands on the ice, frantically searching for the hole, I couldn't be too far away from it. I couldn't see it because my eyes were closed, I was scared to open them, for fear they would freeze.

I began to run out of air. I could feel my chest heaving as the oxygen in my lungs began to run out. 'Where's the blasted hole?' my mind was screaming. I gave up looking for the hole, and braced my feet on the bottom, and began to ram my shoulder against the bottom of the ice. I figured that if I came through one hole, I could surely make another.

After three or four tries I felt something begin to give, so I hit the ice, and began to push as hard as I could, my muscles screaming for oxygen, fear pumping the adrenaline through my veins, giving me extra strength. My head began to feel fuzzy, as my air was almost gone, my chest heaving almost uncontrollably, the thought screaming through my brain, ' I need air!'

I came through the ice into the open air, my breath coming in gasps, as my starved lungs gulped the air. I opened my eyes, and looked around. I was about twelve feet from where I first broke through. How I got this far, I don't know. I was only about eight feet from the side. I struggled to pull myself onto the edge of the ice, and only succeeded in breaking off the edge.

I paused, watching my breath frost as it left my mouth, and looked around. I spoke aloud to myself, my voice sounding strange in the clear air, “Steve, if you don't get out of here, you are going to die.”

'No thank you', my brain responded. I began to throw myself at the side of the hole. I figured if I couldn't climb on top of it, I was gonna break a hole to the side. I finally succeeded in pulling myself on top, and crawled to shore. I climbed up the embankment, and stood up on level ground, my body shivering almost uncontrollably.

Fixed one problem started another one. In studying outdoor skills, I had also studied first aid, and it was easy to recognize the early stages of hypothermia. I knew that I needed to get moving to keep my body heat up, so I struck out heading toward the road. I had about two miles to go to get home, and I knew that I needed to get there quick. I stumbled across the field, no longer caring about the stupid bull, stumbling through the snow, my sodden clothes beginning to harden as the water froze.

For the first time in my life I began to pray, 'Lord, if you are out there, please help me.' I began by simple pleadings, but ended up on my mental knees, groveling before him in my mind. 'Lord, I won't hit my sister anymore, even if she deserves it.' After a few minutes I graduated to…'I'll even give back the five dollars I stole from Dad this morning.' The money in my pocket almost gave off its own heat with shame. I made it to the barbed wire fence, and tried to climb, but could not lift my leg, my clothes were so stiff. After several unsuccessful attempts I gave up, and just leaned over the fence, and let myself fall over into the snow on the other side.

I floundered to get up, the ice in my clothes cracking as I struggled to pull myself up with the fence-post. I finally made it up, and stood there, looking at the snowdrift that I had crossed earlier. Wanting to curse, but knowing it wouldn't help any, (especially as I was looking for some benevolent favors right now,) I walked over, and waded through the drift, and crossed over the ditch to the road.

Finally, I was at the road. If things went well, I would meet somebody on the road, and catch a ride home before I turned into a kidcicle, but in this weather, I knew that I didn't have much of a chance at that. I staggered on, in a laughable excuse for a slow jog, knowing I had a good distance to travel, part of it uphill.

I kept this pace up for about ten minutes or so, but I finally had to slow down. The extra weight from the ice in my clothes, as well as the whole experience itself had sapped my energy down to nothing, and my breath was coming in great gasps, which wasn’t good for keeping my body warmth. As I slowed to a walk, I began to hear an engine. I looked around, and saw a truck coming towards me. I almost shouted, but I didn't have the energy. 'Saved', my mind shouted, 'I'm going home.' Things were looking up for me after all. I began to pray quickly, 'Lord, don't worry about what I said a minute ago. I'll be alright.'

As the truck came closer I recognized it. It was my neighbor Corbin. The truck was a 1984 Ford Ranger he had recently purchased. My heart began to beat faster with anticipation. I was going to be alright now.

He came to a stop next to me, and rolled down his window. “Hi there Stan,” (he never could get my name right.) “It's cold out here, isn't it?”

I murmured a positive response, and then asked him if I could get a ride.

“Well there Stan, I would, but you look kind of messy from playing in the snow.” He chuckled slightly “Besides, you don't have real far to go before you get home, so you'll be alright.” With that said he rolled his window up and drove off.

My heart dropped at least four inches as I watched him pull off. I quickly looked around for something to throw. Bummer, the snow had covered everything. Consigning his soul to Hades, I began to stumble on, my frozen clothes chafing at my numbed skin. Each step I took was a profound effort, as I concentrated on walking. I knew that I had to keep moving, or I would die.

I was miserable. After walking for at least another twenty minutes I made it home. It was great to finally be home.

It took me several days to fully recover from the mild case of hypothermia I ended up with, and on top of that, I ended up with the flu. (On the bright side, I got to stay in bed and read for a few days…) I eventually recovered, and went about life much like any other kid my age.  I played with friends, and read books. I bought some fireworks with the five dollars, and used them on Corbin's house in the middle of the night.

All in all, it was a real learning experience. After that I learned not to trust in people, because they were very unpredictable. I also learned that payback has little value, (but what value there is, is fun.) But most of all, the most important thing I learned was to stay off the ice.