25 Mar 10
This has been a very long and hard week for me. It was probably the most painful and difficult week I have had in a long time. For personal reasons that I cannot go into here, I will just ask for your prayers. Not only was I overwhelmed with the work load and the catch-up, but I went through a difficult "trial" upon getting back. There are some painful issues going on in this battalion, including morale problems, and as the Chaplain I am caught up in the middle of it. Some people have told me they do not envy my job, and now I understand why. The Apostle Paul was right when he wrote about the need to put on the full Armor of God (Eph. 6:10-18) due to the spiritual battle we are in. Sometimes it can be very hard.
But enough about that. The weather here has been beautiful. Spring is in the air (see picture of local tree) and the temps are in the high 70s. Of course that means the summer will be much hotter, but for now I'm enjoying it. The guy across the hall from me in my B-hut likes the air conditioner way down in the night (to where you can almost see your breath in the night). I don't care for that, so he and I have been having little battles over controlling the temperature. He stepped out last night to use the bathroom, and I quickly got up and raised the temp a few degrees. No luck! He was on to me and lowered the temp when he finally turned off his light to go to sleep. Rats! Oh, did I mention that he's a Lieutenant Colonel? He outranks me by quite a bit, so I will lose this little fight. That's why I still have my electric blanket on the bed and cookin' all night.
Finallly, I will be preaching a Palm Sunday sermon this weekend entitled, "Why the Donkey?" (Matt. 21:1-11 on the Triumphant Entry). Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a colt (young donkey), and I wondered why. Turns out, I think there are two very good reasons. (1) The donkey was not only a symbol of peace and humility, but it had been the wheels of choice of royalty in the past, including King David's lineage. This was a perfect choice for Jesus who fit both those descriptions -- humble and royal -- which helps explain why the crowd recognized him on the donkey as the Messiah. (2) But the second reason is even better, I think. In my opinion, Jesus chose the donkey because it was not the warhorse of Roman leaders of his day, and it represented the ordinary, the humble, the insignificant, and the common-place. Like you and me. He did not choose the royal stallion of rich kings and the wealthy. He chose something I would associate with. For Jesus did not come to exclude the common folk, but to include them as well. So the donkey was a perfect choice to represent his Davidic kingship (a.k.a., the Messiah), as well as a way of including you and me in his ministry and Kingdom. I think that's cool. Thank you, Lord.
This has been a very long and hard week for me. It was probably the most painful and difficult week I have had in a long time. For personal reasons that I cannot go into here, I will just ask for your prayers. Not only was I overwhelmed with the work load and the catch-up, but I went through a difficult "trial" upon getting back. There are some painful issues going on in this battalion, including morale problems, and as the Chaplain I am caught up in the middle of it. Some people have told me they do not envy my job, and now I understand why. The Apostle Paul was right when he wrote about the need to put on the full Armor of God (Eph. 6:10-18) due to the spiritual battle we are in. Sometimes it can be very hard.
But enough about that. The weather here has been beautiful. Spring is in the air (see picture of local tree) and the temps are in the high 70s. Of course that means the summer will be much hotter, but for now I'm enjoying it. The guy across the hall from me in my B-hut likes the air conditioner way down in the night (to where you can almost see your breath in the night). I don't care for that, so he and I have been having little battles over controlling the temperature. He stepped out last night to use the bathroom, and I quickly got up and raised the temp a few degrees. No luck! He was on to me and lowered the temp when he finally turned off his light to go to sleep. Rats! Oh, did I mention that he's a Lieutenant Colonel? He outranks me by quite a bit, so I will lose this little fight. That's why I still have my electric blanket on the bed and cookin' all night.
Finallly, I will be preaching a Palm Sunday sermon this weekend entitled, "Why the Donkey?" (Matt. 21:1-11 on the Triumphant Entry). Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a colt (young donkey), and I wondered why. Turns out, I think there are two very good reasons. (1) The donkey was not only a symbol of peace and humility, but it had been the wheels of choice of royalty in the past, including King David's lineage. This was a perfect choice for Jesus who fit both those descriptions -- humble and royal -- which helps explain why the crowd recognized him on the donkey as the Messiah. (2) But the second reason is even better, I think. In my opinion, Jesus chose the donkey because it was not the warhorse of Roman leaders of his day, and it represented the ordinary, the humble, the insignificant, and the common-place. Like you and me. He did not choose the royal stallion of rich kings and the wealthy. He chose something I would associate with. For Jesus did not come to exclude the common folk, but to include them as well. So the donkey was a perfect choice to represent his Davidic kingship (a.k.a., the Messiah), as well as a way of including you and me in his ministry and Kingdom. I think that's cool. Thank you, Lord.
No comments:
Post a Comment