"Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong."
1 Corinthians 16:13
One of the duties I hated being assigned was Guard Duty. It came in many configurations such as "Fire Watch", or "Perimeter Watch" but it always meant the same thing, having to be on the alert while everyone else got to relax. It that I would be awakened during the night to get dressed (full gear) and report to the Sergeant of the Watch and then came the tedium of watching for a threat we just knew would never come. Until it did!
I remember one night, we were on a training mission, had dug tandem foxholes and were settling in when our First Sergeant made his rounds to check on us. He reminded us that to "while your buddy sleeps stay on guard, in two hours wake your buddy up and you get two hours of sleep." We just knew this was an exercise and nothing was going to happen so we didn't take our First Sergeant's warning seriously. Next morning, our Captain called us to formation. There, neatly laid out beside him, were several weapons that had been taken from sleeping sentries during the night. He told us, "when I call your weapon number, you will step forward and receive punishment!"
The attacks in France and those in Kenya were devastating! They were demoralizing! They have revealed that we face a very real and dangerous threat! We cannot become complacent if we want to remain safe. We cannot fall into the sense of "This will NEVER happen to us" because it will come like a thief in the night.
Paul tells us to BE ON GUARD!
He reminds us to STAND FIRM IN YOUR FAITH!
He calls us to BE COURAGEOUS!
And we are called to BE STRONG!
These are our Marching Orders! Take them seriously!
I remember one night, we were on a training mission, had dug tandem foxholes and were settling in when our First Sergeant made his rounds to check on us. He reminded us that to "while your buddy sleeps stay on guard, in two hours wake your buddy up and you get two hours of sleep." We just knew this was an exercise and nothing was going to happen so we didn't take our First Sergeant's warning seriously. Next morning, our Captain called us to formation. There, neatly laid out beside him, were several weapons that had been taken from sleeping sentries during the night. He told us, "when I call your weapon number, you will step forward and receive punishment!"
The attacks in France and those in Kenya were devastating! They were demoralizing! They have revealed that we face a very real and dangerous threat! We cannot become complacent if we want to remain safe. We cannot fall into the sense of "This will NEVER happen to us" because it will come like a thief in the night.
Paul tells us to BE ON GUARD!
He reminds us to STAND FIRM IN YOUR FAITH!
He calls us to BE COURAGEOUS!
And we are called to BE STRONG!
These are our Marching Orders! Take them seriously!
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