Disasters and What We Learn

Three Lessons from Disasters  (Haiti)                       Kelly Durant 1-25-10

How many of you have ever heard the joke about the man that died and went to heaven and he was complaining to God, why did you, God, not save me? I trusted in You!

He was in a flood and a truck came by with the water 1’ deep and they asked him if he wanted to leave his house and he said, “No, I am fine, I trust in God”, Then when the waters were up to the first floor a boat came by and asked him if he would like to go since the water was rising and he said, “No, I am fine, I trust in God.” Then a helicopter came by when he was on his roof and they shouted do you want to come and be rescued he said, “No, I am fine, I trust in God.”  Well, then he drown and he complained to God in heaven, why didn’t you save me! But do you know God’s answer, He said, I tried to save you 3 times but you were the one that didn’t trust I was sending you somebody!

    2 Cor 1:3-4

3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;

4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

The first concept we will look at today compassion: and human suffering, in particular in a crisis, should provoke a response of compassion from us as Christians to help!

In the joke, it was the compassion of others that were out there in the dangerous situation in the boat and helicopter trying to save a life.

Open to … 1 John 3:17-18

17 But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?

18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

Matt 25:34-40

34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Why do you think that we, the Salvation Army has such as massive capacity to provide aid in disasters? It is because of our doctrine of holiness that is one of Christlikeness, we take action when there are people suffering!

In a crisis, usually all our church programs stop and all our priority shifts to help those in need. You can be proud you belong to a church that has made world fame for 150 years of serving others a priority because that is not just Christianity in words, that is true proof we love others.

The Salvation Army attained nationwide fame in 1906 for disaster work because they helped in the earthquake of San Francisco of 1906. All of the Bay City was flattened with 3,000 deaths and 225,000 injured.

Do all of you know that Regina and I came into The Salvation Army from disaster relief? Regina and I went to volunteer and to serve people who had been affected by a flood in Albany, GA in 1994.  We knew in our hearts we needed to do something to help those in need and we went with our four kids and we worked a week in a large warehouse packing up boxes for the people.

It was there Capt. Michael Chang told us all about the Salvation Army. He was serving food from the canteen truck and told us all about how we could serve the Lord.  And we were amazed there was a church that did everything how we felt it should be done. And we are here today!

During these times when people donate their time opportunities open to win souls to Christ and we get a chance to get others on board who want to serve the Lord full time! This is a time when people want to hear about the goodness of the Lord and the goodness of people serving God reflecting His love which gives help and hope. Tell them of His good!

The second concept that we will see today is that when God works in the nations he warns his servants, his Christian people, before He acts and then it is our responsibility to react.

Prov 22:3

3 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.  All disasters, even with the worldwide flood when Noah & his family were saved, came with a warning and a time for repentance.      

Amos 3:7

7 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.    Since the beginning, God through his servants, and even God through science warns us of impending danger.

Ezek 3:18-19

18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

19 Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

Many times God allows centuries to pass before he brings destruction.

Have you read testimonies of many people who heeded warnings the day of the 911 event? The NY towers had an earlier attack from a bomb in the basement parking lot, do you remember that in 1992? One janitor kept warning another attack would come after that.  How many of you read articles about people that felt a strong need to get away that day of 911? Or to not even go to work? Or even had a flat tire that day? Instead of there being 30,000 dead there were only 3,000! When you feel God speaking, listen! Many people listened that day!

Don’t get mad at God when you have breakdowns, a flat, or lose a job. Maybe God is preventing you from a personal disaster!  There are many cases where God’s servants got warning ahead of time. Katrina also taught us that if you listen to God’s spirit, He will warn you to leave or stay somewhere safe. We need to pray all the time to act on where God is leading and do it fast!

Thousands of Hondurans died in Katrina because they stayed in the city thinking they would get their weekend paycheck (and the news media never told you that! (The Consul of Guatemala, our friend in Atlanta knew) If God pulls on your heart, like a bad feeling, in a similar situation in the future of a disaster threat, then just obey get out or do what He tells you! God always supply! Money comes and goes but family and lives come first!

    

Ps 7:11 God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.

 As God’s people we know the whole world is wicked and corrupt, and God’s wrath could fall on just about any city or nation in today’s world, But never be ignorant, never just look at corruption and think it is normal, that was Lot’s wife mistake! We can often forget that God is angry with the wicked, the perverse and oppressors, the Satan worshippers, the human traffickers and the sin of corruption and depravity.  

It is our part as good Christian Soldiers to make war on sin and decry and denounce injustices, exploitations, abuses, and spiritual dark forces! There will be a final judgment in the end for all of man’s evil deeds. What some people think are judgments now, is nothing compared to an eternal punishment in the end! Even in man’s laws natural disasters are classified as “acts of God”.

As Christians we speak against prostitution, gambling, drugs, black magic, and crime. The dilemma is always as to why it seems that sometimes a few innocent ones die in the mix. But if God chose to take them home with Him, we are not the ones to judge. God is always just! God has a prevailing plan of love and justice that is beyond our comprehension. One day with Him he will answer all our questions about the “whys”!

The third concept that these moments of disaster and crisis should provoke  in us is that we must learn to be closer to God, to honor (fear) Him and get our comfort from Him. He is the one who does all things and He is the one who provides and protects during fearful times. The Lord is our source for comfort and we must comfort ourselves and others with His Word during a time of crisis or fear! 

Ps 25:14

14 The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him,

And He will show them His covenant.

Ps 33:18-19

18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him,

On those who hope in His mercy,

19 To deliver their soul from death,

And to keep them alive in famine. 

Ps 34:7

7 The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him,

And delivers them.

Ps 34:9-10

9 Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints!

There is no want to those who fear Him.

10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger;

But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing. 

Read all of Psalm 91 when you need comfort to know God is with you through all the hellish suffering of the world!

I have felt sad these past days and think all true compassionate Christians have too. As a Christian it is hard to go on business as usual when you know of these horrible conditions are happening and you are powerless to help.

We are not n control! When natural powers destroy, we are intimated to remember we are just powerless, frail humans, and we are not God! His power to allow harm or protect from it should provoke our fear! He deserves our lives and worship!

Three things we have learned from disasters:

God expects us to have compassion and serve the suffering

God warns us of destruction beforehand

God wants us to get close to Him

If you want to be close to God, start today! If you want to help to serve the suffering, start today!

Never Be a Christian Who Compromises!

Never Compromise!        Your Bad Example Will Bring You Shame!                Kelly Durant 8-19-12

2 Kings 5:1-18 1 Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper.2 And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's wife.3 And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.4 And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel.5 And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment.6 And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy.7 And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.8 And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.9 So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.10 And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.11 But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.13 And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.15 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant.16 But he said, As the Lord liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he refused.17 And Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules' burden of earth? for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the Lord.18 In this thing the Lord pardon thy servant, that when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon: when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon thy servant in this thing.

2. Mark Twain, the famous American author was told a story about a man that had 2 wives, and since in the Bible there were men with more than one wife before, they wanted to know where it proved it was wrong. It answered, “That is easy, Jesus said that no man can serve two masters!” Ha! Well, we all know Jesus meant in Matt 6:24 that you cannot serve God and mammon at the same time. Mammon was the pagan god for riches at that time, but to apply it to be subservient to more than one woman can also apply! You will either hate the one or love the other; people either love God, or they love the sin of the world! Which one will it be?

What if I were to say I am pro-Israel and pro-Iranian? Or that I am pro-life and pro-abortion?  Absurd, right? To make a conflicting statement doesn’t make any sense does it? it just makes me a fool! But believe it or not, there are people who live their lives within illogical and crazy damaging contradictions in their actions and they don’t even notice! Quite often others see them clearly while the people living out these hypocrisies do not! We have a duty to point out hypocrisy, Jesus did!

3. Today we read a story about a Naaman, the second in command to the King of Syria. Imagine what it must be like to live with leprosy? I cannot imagine the suffering of slow dying process in this manner; and the worst part was in ancient times you were usually banned from the city since it was such a visibly ugly disease. Naaman was the Minister of Defense of Syria, the top general that was suffering. He got word that a prophet in the land nearby in Israel, Elisha, could miraculously heal him and he decided to call on him since the Syrian gods were not healing him and never can any other so-called god do anything for anyone. He got word to travel to the Jordan River and he got ready with his men.

Did you notice how in the story, he was proud and did not want to submit and commit to what Elisha asked? He even got ragingly mad but in the end he did submit. At first he complained that he had to travel far over to the Jordan River, after all, the other rivers closer to him were clearer and less muddy.

He was proud, he got angry, and his life was steeped in a pagan belief system but he did respect the words of God’s anointed, Elisha. Many people today have serious problems but still they will not submit to any of God’s commands because it implies that they are required to sacrifice their comfortable life. So many people today, contrary to Naaman, never obtain blessings and rewards from God. Their faith and submission never gets honored by God because they don’t do anything to prove they practice it!

4. He then complained that Elisha was not there at the river to meet him personally. He almost went back, after all he was an important dignitary and not accustomed to being unattended to. But if he would have gone back he would have remained a leper and we would not be discussing this story today!

And Elisha told him to bathe in the river not just one time, but seven times! It seemed like a crazy thing to ask, but in the end Naaman decided he would try it. He had some wise friends by his side that said what have you got to lose, we are already here?  He bathed seven times and then what happened? A miracle! God restored his skin new as a baby’s skin and blessed him for obeying! How illogical at the time it seemed to obey these strange commands! 

5. Naaman was very happy and met up with Elisha and wanted to give him a reward of some kind but Elisha said no thank you. Naaman wanted to honor the god of Elisha. It seems crazy that Naaman then got 2 mules to carry some dirt of Israel, dirt which he considered as holy, back home. He wanted it to build an altar for God, to worship God with a burnt offering as Elisha did. Naaman wanted to recognize and give homage that there was no other God in existence except the God of Israel!

Imagine if that were you! If you saw your own skin made new? Many of us have seen miracles, but one like this would really make you praise God! He was converted!

6. Naaman offered Elisha money. Take note also that Elisha did not take advantage of the situation to get any material riches for himself for this miraculous healing. Later in the story, however, Gehazi, Elisha’s servant followed Naaman and caught up with him to accept money from him for the healing, and this displeased God so much, Gehazi himself was struck instantly with leprosy!

God expects our obedience and our submission, but God, and no man of God, wants to be paid off for God’s works. What God really wants back is our love, faithful honor of Him, and obedience.

This is contrary to a certain televangelist (I will not mention his name) who after a sister I knew in Atlanta wrote him and wanted to thank him because in his service she was healed from cancer and wanted to know how to thank him. She wrote “I was healed, how do I thank you”?

What she got back was a terrible reply.  Do you know what request she got back in return? The letter said, well since you were healed and this saved you $40,000 or $50,000 in medical bills, you should now send this money to me and my ministry! I personally fear for those who abuse in the name of God! And you?

7. The story seems good so far, Naaman is healed, Naaman is proclaiming to his servants that the God of Israel healed him, and he is on his way praising the true God back home, then what? He realizes that to enter back into Syria he will need to go into the temple of Rimmon with his King. Rimmon was the Syrian God of the storms, comparable to Baal, who was the evil pagan god at that time. And he asks to be forgiven of Elisha that he will go into that temple?! It was that or loose his position of power!

Why wasn’t he capable of just recognizing the god of Israel only, after such a miracle? The problem is he was remaining compromised with his system, the one pagan one that was of his people’s culture.

The god Rimmon never did any miracles for him or anyone! Naaman knows Rimmon is false. The problem is he allowed himself to stay enslaved by the influence of those around him. He was a dignitary, and obviously he could not be seen rejecting what his culture worshipped and accepted! He was afraid of being himself rejected and made fun of for sticking to just the god of Israel as the only god.

8. What a poor testimony he turns out to be, right? He wanted to be seen worshipping both gods! The people must have been very confused and thought, well was it Elisha’s god, Jehovah, who healed him, or was it Rimmon?

Today many Christians walk in the same shoes as Naaman did! They are in the world, participating in the sins of the world, and yet also claiming to be Christian! Doesn’t it make you mad? It makes God mad!

Almost everyone complains, “Oh, Christians are hypocrites!” In part they are right, sadly many Christians are hypocrites! The idea repeated over and over in the O.T. and the N.T. is that God Jehovah is the only true God, and Him only shall you serve! The idea is to not be a hypocrite but pure and holy as God will not permit our selves by our own absurd choices to be lukewarm, neither of god, nor of the devil.  Revelation 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

In the culture here people worship the flesh, covet the lifestyle of beautiful actors & actresses, and lust for their riches while worshipping in church. In Miami, people in adultery, drugs, the vanities of plastic surgeries, and Santeria abound and they still go to church.  Personally, I would rather spare myself the public embarrassment and the anger of God for being a hypocrite, and you?  

9. This lesson of today is that you are either 100% totally for God in total obedience, or against Him! It is either black or white, you are either darkened and crimsoned stained with sin, or you are pure white, and you decide moment by moment what state you are in by what words and actions you are mixing into your soul, either the things of God, or the sinful things of the world that invite God’s wrath.

Consider these verses as they expose how God despises compromisers:

Joshua 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

Matthew 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

I John 3:9-10 9  Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. 10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

In the end, no Christian can ever think it is okay to hold onto some sin they may like, a sin which contradicts God’s commands, one that feeds pride and the flesh. Never can anyone be allowed to believe that there is no problem for God to accept some unclean area in our lives. People always justify their words and actions in their own minds. They may say, well, my parents did it, my culture accepts it, I have to do it because it is what the people around me expect.

Leviticus 19:2  Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.   We don’t have our identity from Cuba, The U.S.A., or from any other place because we as Christians belong to the nation of the holy celestial new-Jerusalem. Jesus confirms we should be holy as in Matthew 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. Are you and I trying as hard as we can even though we know we still have faults?

10. There is a heavy war between the flesh and the spirit in each of us and you have to fight hard, pray hard and choose God’s way moment by moment day by day, because if not then by default you and I will be falling into our own rebellious way, allowing your own sin to kill us! We must never compromise and mix God with our own ways of things or their will be hell to pay!

How many of you have seen people die from a sin they could not let go of? How many of you have known people who have died from using alcohol or too many drugs? I have! Or known some shunned wife that kills her husband for cheating, or heard of someone who was theif and he was killed while in the process of robbing? In my life I have witnessed dozens of these cases!

All around the world, all day long, people are dying before their time caught in their sins because… Romans 6:23 is true, For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

11. Jesus made it clear in Luke 11:23 He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. It is a pity many people accept and live with the irrational contradiction that they can have both worlds, the one of the flesh, and the one of the spirit, and believe everything is fine.

In the entrance gates at the bottom of the silver and mineral mines in South America the native Indians have a shrine of saints where all who enter are expected to render homage. Usually on them you see the Virgin Mary or Jesus for protection, but also you see a statue of the devil for protection (since the underworld supposedly belongs to the devil) and you are supposed to ask protection from them both?! It does not work that way! God is forcing us this day to choose!

I recall that when I would go to the homes and pick up some of the so called Christian Koreans for the Christmas work that they would still have Buddha statues in the corners of their apartments. How confusing is that? Their love was for the things of this world and of their own culture more than that of Christ. They only wanted to use god and the Salvation Army as a lover, while remaining married to their old idols! How will God react then? Please note, the majority of them are not hypocrites, but the few who are shock you! It is the same in any culture!

12. Is it clear now? God will not have anything to do with compromisers! God’s wrath is against those who claim Him, yet nothing of what they live glorify Him! What do you still accept from your culture? How sad it is for God and for the true Christians that the world always seems to have a large population of compromised, undedicated, comfortable, disloyal, sinful so called Christians that provoke others to stumble in the faith! They create conflict in the churches, they embarrass real Christians by their actions.

Don’t be one of them! Ask God to reveal to you this day your dark corners! What sins, what secrets are burning fuses in your spiritual life? You will have no eternal life without renouncing your sins.  Flesh and blood will not inherent eternal life and sinners will not stand in the congregation of the righteous. Let the fire (the Holy Spirit!) pass into your heart. You decide to allow God to burn away all worthlessness and stuffing and straw in your life, so that all which remains will be purified gold!  

Battles, Where they come from; How to Win!

What A Soldier Battles                                  by Capt. Kelly Durant    8-12-12

2 Tim 2:3-4

3 Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs-he wants to please his commanding officer.

2. In the trench warfare of WWI each side would make long trenches and no one could pass from one side to the other. How was the scenario? Every time someone put their head up to try and run to attack, they would get shot at! That is the way our enemy, Satan, operates. As long as you stay comfortable in your trench he doesn’t bother you, but when you come out and get some victories for Jesus, or when you expose sin, he attacks you. The attacks come in many different ways. We are all often in a spiritual and often physical battle!

We are God’s soldiers and the only way to fight this war is to be disciplined! What is our discipline? Prayer, the study of the Word of God, and the standing up for the right causes, proclaiming Jesus as the Savior and solution to all needs!

3. Soldiers, when you have a hard time standing for your Commanding Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, when you are weak and can’t stand, you can at least to kneel! Kneel and get strength from outside your self! Prayer is a weapon that works!

Remember also you are not in this war alone and there are more than 1 million Salvation Army Soldiers in the world! Statistics show there are more that one billion Christians too! In this Corps everyone does pray and most everyone cares and acts when called to battle!

I sincerely hope all of you are praying for each other. If you are a friend and a help to someone, then they, or someone else God will send, will be a friend to you in the time of need! We must be communicating during the week, supporting and loving each other, helping with each other’s needs in the same way the disciples did it!

4.  Eph 6:12-18

12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

6. These are the classic verses on being prepared for battle. We must pay attention to these verses and put on each item or we might take a hit in a weak spot and it will take months to heal if it doesn’t kill us! Eternal security requires eternal vigilance!

That is symbolic armor but the uniform helps you in battle, do you know how? We are not in an official killing army, we are a saving army. Be reminded you that are we at war with evil! Just as a firefighter in his uniform is prepared to fight fires, just as a policeman identifies himself as the keeper of the law, we as Christian Soldiers represent the fight for the salvation of souls, for their righteousness, purity, love and we identify ourselves that we render dedicated service to those suffering!

Each of us represent our Commander and Chief Jesus Christ! Everyday we fight for what is right! Even in heaven we will wear a uniform of pure white reflecting the light and purity of God! So a uniform on earth is a good practice for wearing one in heaven!

As you know we do not train to fight with a rifle or a gun, we train to fight the enemy with the sword of the word of God, quoting scripture to the enemy, and after being resisted, he will flee from us! James 4:7

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you

7. In the verses in Timothy we see that we are to endure hardships, as the soldiers of the world do, for our Lord Jesus Christ. And when you think about when Paul was writing, the Romans had a very strict code of conduct, and they would march on foot for months carrying heavy metal armor, and they suffered many more hardships back then than what a soldier suffers today!

There are three basic battle fronts; The one with Satan in your head in yourself; the one with those close, your family & friends; and the one with the evil people of the world.

8. One of the first ways our accuser and adversary attacks you is inside. He will either fill you with pride, or accuse you, and bring on discouragement! You and I may be doing great for a while and life was good, but then Satan the tempter appears in your mind he shorts out circuits with negative thoughts! He attacks you with lies about yourself and others and discourages you!  He says you, look you are a failure, no one loves you!

You and I are either tempted from Satan to be like him and to think we do not need God since we are so smart, or to believe the lie that there is no God when we feel abandoned due to illness, depression, or rejection from others!

Satan reminds us we are a sinners, but hating on yourself, or anyone, provokes destruction to yourself and to others! Satan always deceives you that you are sick in your mind, and sick in your spirit, and ultimately he wants to make you sick in your body as well! He wants the destruction of as much life as possible! So how will you ever get back to God then? How can you ever feel better? He wants you to think you never can! But this is a lie! Just claim the Word!

Say it, “Get behind me Satan!” I claim the blood of Jesus!(repeat)

1 John 1:7

7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

You will tell Satan, “I belong to Jesus, I am forgiven and God wants me and loves me and Jesus died for me to have eternal life!” Jesus has cleaned me and my past sins are forgotten!  Pray, “Jesus heal my mind, heal my heart and body in pain!”

So the first battle for most Christians usually begin with your own evil self and discouragement. Get encouragement from the Word, pray and get others to pray for you too, and you open the door for God to work in you because you are doing your part!

9. Battle two will be with those closest to you, with those people in your life, those in the church and those in your family.

Matt 10:34-36

34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

36 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.

When you live as a Soldier for Jesus Christ, doing what is correct, pure, and Godly, you will make enemies without even trying! In both Regina and my families there are some people that have no desire whatsoever to see us because they know that we love God, and talk about the Bible, and since they love the things of the world more than the spiritual things, they do not want us around them making them feel uncomfortable. In this battle you will lose some friends and family, but you will gain others that will be more helpful and loving than the ones you had before!

This Corps church, being filled with sincere Christians, is like family to you and me! But sometimes there are brothers and sisters who say and do things in their automatic carnal nature, not praying over their words, stumbling others in the faith.  In life we will face many rough seas so place your anchor ion Jesus to prevent a total loss! Never let your focus be distracted on the complainy weak soldier full of confusing words, focus on Jesus, and hang out with those who are strong!

Remember, people will always fail you, but Jesus never! He is a friend forever! Be prepared to have some ugly bad experiences sometimes, it is a part of the battle. You may be justified to complain when you experience hypocrisy, but hypocrisy is everywhere in the world! Just look at the current politics going on! Focus of God answering prayers, and know that He does bless those who remain pure, loving, and patient! 

10. And finally battle number 3, you will have war with the evil people of the world!

When people who practice sin and do evil see peace and love in your face and eyes it makes them mad and they want to kill you! It was the same with the hypocrites that wanted to kill Jesus! They want to see everybody sour and bitter, and angry and going to hell just like they are! They want to destroy your clean appearance making it appear all dirty and stained like theirs is! But never go to their level! Live in peace, turn the other cheek, and don’t do something foolish and let them destroy you or your testimony! In your mind or when necessary, say out it loud, “I rebuke you Satan in Jesus name!”

Here are few contrasting mindsets exposing why we have a spiritual war. 2 Timothy 3:13

But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

The evil ones in the world love destruction death, and war, and abortion but…

  We as Christians love life, and peace, and children!

The evil ones in the world love exploitation, idolize material wealth and pride but…

We love righteousness and justice for the poor; we seek spiritual wealth, and desire to         be humble!

The evil ones in the world love to accuse, condemn, hate and create scandal but…

   We love forgiveness, like the prostitute forgiven by Jesus, we are the peacemakers who just want to love and heal!

11.The values of the world and its evil empires with its anti-Christian news media outlets daily promote anti-Biblical values. Bottom line, Satan hates Christians with a passion! There is a very active war of propaganda to destroy all values of purity and love by all means possible. It is by power abuse, by the promotion of the acceptance of perverse sexual behavior, by the stripping away of human rights, and by the destruction and ridiculization of the people of faith. There are continuous lying attacks on good people and it all comes from the powers that be on high just as it was in Paul’s time writing to the Ephesians in chapter 6. 

Satan exalts everything that is totally diametrically opposed to God’s values insulting Jesus and all Christians. Take notice, one does not win a defensive war! We all must speak out for God and His love, defending his basic principles that produce respect and dignity through high standards of values fighting for justice and the right causes!

12.I am going to tell you about a war story so you will see to what extreme people will serve man, and how much more we should serve God! This is in the time of Napoleon as related by George de Espartes. When Napoleon and his army were surrounded by the Cossacks, the only way out was across an icy river, but the bridge had been washed out. He ordered his men to put up a bridge. When they tried, many men were swept away by the currents, others, frozen and went under the water washed down never to reappear. Finally the bridge was set up and the army marched across to safety. As Napoleon looked back he saw many columns holding up the bridge. The columns were frozen men that had given their lives to hold the bridge up! It is reported that even Napoleon shed tears for them. Just think, if men in this world have given their lives for the empty cause of dictators and conquest, how much more should we give our lives as living sacrifices to God!

The Lord wants absolute love, dedication, and loyalty! And He is the only One who is worthy of fighting for! The very first commandment is to… Love God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind! But if you give your loyalty to men on this earth, they will always let you down!

13.But now we are all blessed to be soldiers with Jesus as our General! You have a Commander that is all loving, all forgiving, all-powerful, and he knows where you will best serve Him.  But you must first battle the enemy and obey His call! If we do not choose to be governed by God, then we will end up being governed by a tyrant!

Just think how many people are stuck on this earth all of their lives as slaves to men and not to God! Satan wants to enslave and condemn to hell anyone he can with distorted thinking, vices, crimes, temptations and sins, producing a sick body, mind, and spirit!

Today we all are given an opportunity to serve the true God like never before! We must fight with the truth to free the souls of men and or they will have hell to pay! First of all, you have to fight to keep your own soul and body remaining strong in the Lord!   Philippians 2:12

Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

You may lose some battles but in the end in the final battle of Armageddon we know who wins, it is Jesus! You are the chosen ones to represent your Lord in battle, so march forward to the prize of the high calling of God! Prayer…

Want Happiness? Learn how to be!

Got Happiness?  You Can Learn how!      Captain Kelly Durant   8-5-12         

Phil 4:11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

2. Weddings are happy occasions, right? At my daughter’s wedding the cake got too hot in the delivery car on the way over and it sort of tilted to the side. My daughter, who is for the most part a perfectionist, was upset that her once-for-a-lifetime cake was looking sad and leaning to the side. I laughed and said, “Look, it looks like the leaning tower of Pizza!” She laughed but just a little. We sort of shifted it back into place, and actually few people really even noticed!

Her happy and almost perfect wedding could have been ruined, right? Well, her happiness could have been if the focus would have stayed only on the negative! Everything else was perfect so why fret? Later we laugh about the awkwardness!

3. For happiness, you and I must add more laughter and fun creativity in our lives to save the day because critical disheartening situations will always happen!

You and I can find happiness when we accept the fact that it doesn’t really matter that everything in this life will never ever exactly be the way you or I want it to be! Just let yourself be amused by the imperfections, mistakes, and the humor that God is allowing! Perfection can take away from happiness since it allows no space for humor. Laughter is a form of happiness,  do you not agree?

In all life’s activities you and I will at times have a lot of good things going on and we are happy, yet at other times we may not have much good going on at all! In life there are exhilarating moments, yet many frustrating moments as well, not to mention a whole gamut of emotions. These multiple emotions confuse the psyche making us believe we are not really happy most of the time. But let’s see the big picture.

4. We can generally be happy because we have God’s love and we are enjoying Him forever, but those without God and his funny sense of humor can never ever be happy because He is the source of the energetic, life-giving spirit of happiness! Our Father God loves, saves, and provides for us and He is taking care of us for what? He does it for our happiness! God is empathetic, He enjoys our happiness!

Abraham Lincoln said that “People are just as happy as they make up their minds to be”. Freewill allows us to choose to be happy, believe in God or not, and people take the choice to be happy or not! Does this sound too simplistic to be true? Let’s take a look at the people of faith.

5. Paul the Apostle suffered a lot in his life but even in prison he wrote that, ‘in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content (happy).’ He was probably at that moment while writing, feeling cold, eating horrible food, and sleeping on a smelly prison floor! Roman prisons were a lot worse than ours today!

His contentment or happiness seems so contradictory yet Paul produced some of his greatest letters, the Epistles, while living in terrible conditions locked up in jail! And he was happy but how did he mange that? He says it very clear in verse 11; He says, “ for I have learned”...he learned contentment, or happiness!

Ask yourself, “How can I learn to be content and happy?” (repeat)

6. To be happy you and I must accept that happiness comes from God by our practice of the acceptance of it. But what is happiness anyway?  Happiness is so elusive because we know it is something different to each person.

Happiness for the people with the mindset of the world comes with more money, more fame, and the ability to indulge in all the pleasures one desires, right? The reality is most of them with these things live very depressed full of guilt for their abusiveness and they go down the road of consuming  a lot of drugs and alcohol to alleviate their pain because they are never reaching a satisfaction or happiness with what they have gotten already! It is like they are the donkey chasing the carrot on the stick the rider holds out in front of them!

Happiness, as defined by the dictionary, is a mental or emotional state of well-being characterized by positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy.

In Acts 13:52 It sates, “The disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Ghost.”  So, asking God for the Holy Ghost to be with you will make you happy!  But for fun let’s do the standardized self-test of happiness so you can rate yourself from 1-7.

1 = strongly disagree 2 = disagree 3 = slightly disagree 4 = neither agree nor disagree 5 = slightly agree 6 = agree 7 = strongly agree      7.

__ 1. In most ways my life is close to my ideal.

__ 2. The conditions of my life are excellent.

__ 3. I am satisfied with my life.

__ 4. So far I have gotten the important things I want in life.

__ 5. If I could live my life over, I would change almost nothing.

If you determine you are not so happy, don’t worry. God can use your dissatisfaction to make you want you to do a lot more for Him!

8. I do hope you will take a whole different attitude about your situation to just be resolved to be happy in life despite whatever conditions you are in! Each person must take the decision to stop the obsessive preoccupied-ness of selfish concerns. 

We live in a sad fallen world full of suffering and sin. I personally will never be never fully be happy, and I think no true altruistic Christian ever will be totally happy in this life either, as long as we observe all of creation living under oppressions caused by cruel people provoking exploitations, injustices, and abuse.

So, in my opinion, in order to be happy with ourselves, we will need to do something positive to alleviate this terrible situation for those in pain by actively sharing love, peace, and salvation! It sounds contradictory but many people have told me while doing disaster relief that those days had been some of the happiest days of their lives! And for me too! I am most happy when I am in the position of helping someone who needs happiness. It works, sewing good produces happiness!  

9. Do you consider yourself to be happy despite your situation as Paul? I am sure many of you would say yes because you think it is the Christian thing to say, but the reality is most people are actually not very happy in life most of the time! People are self-focused while 1/3 of the world did not eat today! Hundreds of millions lived depressed. With the people in the world so sad, how is it possible to improve in our attitude and positive outlook? We can do something and that is count on strength from Jesus Christ.

We must claim the promise verse of Phil. 4:13  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Did you ever notice that this verse is within the context of being able to do all things implying to remain happy despite all the bad conditions?

Let’s discover some more principles about what the Bible has to say about happiness.

10. Psalm 144:15 Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the LORD.         We are happy just because we have our God as our God! The closer we get to God, the more happier we are!

Psalm 146:5 Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God:                      We are happy because God helps us!

Proverbs 3:13 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.                We are happy because we gain wisdom in God.

Proverbs 14:21 He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he.           So we are happy if we serve the poor!

Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.               So to obey God’s commands make us happy!

11. And Jesus confirms the same thing about obeying His commands in John 13:17 If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

It has been said that one of the keys to happiness is a bad memory (and I know most of us really would like to forget a lot of bad things about some people) but I would like to add that we must keep a good memory as well of all the good that God has done for you and me in the past!

Prov. 13:13 A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken. 15 All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.

12. We can have a feast with God every day! We can feel good most of the time and have happiness despite the evil in the world but you and I must choose it! It will come as a consequence of you and me learning to apply the following from what we have studied in scripture:

By just being happy no matter what the conditions are!

By getting closer to God and getting more of the Holy Ghost!

By trusting in God to help you and me with all the things of life!

By gaining more wisdom and observing God’s humor!

By helping others with a need which is sewing good to reap it back!

By obeying God’s commands and those that Jesus taught!

13. Will you pray to change your attitude? So many times we compare ourselves with each other; who has life the best and we get mad about those who appear to be happier than us. What a mistake!

To live unhappy just do all the opposite of what the Bible teaches: be a person who is always discontent with everyone and everything, always jealous or critical of others, not trusting in God always worrying, never learning to be conformed and be thankful to God  for life’s lessons, and never helping anyone since you are so important and the universe revolves around you.

Unhappy people usually talk loud and show their selves aggressively on the outside but on the inside they are actually weak and stressed. Do you want strength?

Happiness is strength!  Nehemiah 8:10b  (a.Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our LORD: neither be ye sorry;) b. for the joy of the LORD is your strength.

Don’t envy anyone thinking they are happier that you because they have more than you. Get busy making your life closer to God taking the advice of the scriptures so you will reap happiness! Having God’s love is more than enough for each one of us to be happy!   But if you are not so happy, pray for the change you need!

You will feel better, and everyone else around you will to! They will see your serious face change into a happy one, and start hearing your questionable comments become praises to God! Don’t accept your self as you are!  Don’t be dry and serious be happy! And  you can become even happier than what you are right now! Ask God to be able “to do all things”, especially to be happy!