A VETERAN’S DAY THOUGHT

Over the course of history men and women of various backgrounds have stood up and answered the call to don the uniform of military service and place themselves in harms way for the protection and promotion of the causes of liberty and freedom.  Most have completed their courses unscathed, but many have left the service with life-long injuries, physical and emotional wounds they will carry the rest of their lives.  Others have not returned, paying the ultimate price for the country and citizens they serve.  Thank you Veterans, for being willing to serve, to go, and to pay the price. 

Now, I challenge the rest of you, myself included, to live a life and be the type of person that strives to be worthy of such devotion and sacrifice.  Do not let their sacrifice be in vain.  Honor them by living honorably.

Today is the first Sunday in November, which means that it is HOMECOMING Sunday for Smyrna Baptist Church in Dothan, Alabama. As I look back over the almost 20 years I’ve been a pastor this little church, where I served for just over two years, was one of the best experiences of my ministry and my life. I remember every detail about the building, the parsonage, the grounds. I spent many moments walking with God around the property and the cemetery across the street. God did amazing things in my life and in the life of the church during that time. I have often regretted the decision to leave that place of ministry.

As they celebrate Homecoming today I offer my thanks to God for their faithfulness and ministry and for the privilege of being one of their pastors through the years. Lord willing, one day I will have opportunity to visit with them and join in the sweet fellowship they share one again.

God bless you Smyrna Baptist Family!  You are still the Sunday place to be!

A thought from my quiet time this morning:

Deuteronomy 10.12-13
And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?

Don’t parents intend for our rules to be for the good of our children.  In love parents set boundaries and establish expectations for their sons and daughters.  The same is true of The Heavenly Parent, God.  In His love for us He has determined, from ancient times, to establish rules, boundaries, codes of conduct if you will, for the benefit and blessing of His children.  We often look at rules as constrictive, but God intends them to be constructive.

Have a Blessed Friday!