"Do You Have Permission To Give Up?"

So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while.

1 Peter 1:6

It was the middle fire watch in our Basic Training Barracks, when my Squad mate began to cry quietly.  I asked him what was wrong.  I guess every platoon has a guy like this, who managed to drop his rifle during the Colonel's Inspection, put Future Floor Wax on the toes of his boots because it was easier than polishing them which had cracked by the time the Colonel made it around to him.  He was that guy who actually tried harder than almost everyone else in the platoon to do a good job, but always managed to miss the mark.

As we sat in the reception area between rounds, I did my best to bring him some comfort but had know idea what to say.  He finally got angry with my efforts and said, "Look, I'm a lost cause!  I have had enough! I can't go ANY further!"  It was at this moment that I noticed our Senior Drill Instructor walking up to check to make sure we weren't sleeping.  He had overheard our discussion, which we did not know until now, and came to share "a few words" with my buddy.

His name was Sergeant First Class Oliver Wendell Taylor.  He stood 6'8" and was built like a tank. He locked Brian in his glare, pulled up a chair (without looking), sat down nose to nose with Brian and just stared into his soul.

SFC Taylor: "Did I just hear you say 'I can't go ANY further'?"

PV1 Birnabei: (shaking so much that his flashlight beam looked more like a strobe light) "Y-y-y-yes Drill Sergeant."

SFC Taylor: (Poked Brian in the chest with the tree branch that was his finger) "Tell me, is your heart still pumping?"

PV1 Birnabei: (sweating profusely) "Y-y-y-y-yes Drill Sergeant."

SFC Taylor: "Iz you dayad?" (he hissed).

PV1 Birnabei: "No Drill Sergeant."

SFC Taylor: "Iz your heart still pumpin'?"

PV1 Birnabei: "Y-y-y-y-yes Drill Sergeant."

SFC Taylor:  "What's the worst day you have had in Basic so far?"

PV1 Birnabei: "Colonel's Inspection."

SFC Taylor: "Go to your bunk and bring back that Bible I've seen you reading."

Brian literally ran to his bunk grabbed his Bible and ran back in less than 15 seconds.

SFC Taylor: "You believe what this book says?"

PV1 Birnabei: "Yes Drill Sergeant."

SFC Taylor: "Open that Bible to 1 Peter 1:6 and read it to me."

PV1 Birnabei: "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials."

SFC Taylor: "And YOU believe what this book says?"

PV1 Birnabei: "Yes Drill Sergeant!"

SFC Taylor: "Hear me and hear me well Soldier...You WILL go through a lot of things you won't like.  You WILL endure things you have never had to deal with before. I have been a Drill Sergeant for 4 years now. This is my last tour.  God has put you in my care just like He did with all my other recruits.  God has not let any of them leave, instead He has pushed them even harder.  God did not give YOU permission to give up!  God did NOT give ME permission to give up on you!  YOU are GOING to make it through this and I am going to do whatever I gots ta do to make that happen!  Now, your Fire Watch is over, go to bed, and it might behoove you to talk to God before you shut yo eyez."

Brian and I walked back to our area, crawled into our bunks, and I heard Brian praying from the top bunk.  I prayed for Brian and told God how He had surprised us both with SFC Taylor.  For the next 3 weeks, Brian had become a different kind of soldier.  This "washout" that so many were willing to give up on, had turned around and outdone all of us.  God doesn't give us permission to give up, wandering through life miserable, angry, or begrudging others.  He has given us permission to lean on Him, come to Him in bold faith, and remember that He will be with us ALWAYS!!

Just For YOU!

"This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it." ~Psalm 118:24

Did you get it? TODAY....This VERY day...was made BY GOD just for YOU, and you get to enjoy it!!!

Was yesterday a rough day? Mine was.  It was one of those "Murphy's Law" kind of days.  I left for work at way-too-dark-thirty, got half way to work and realized I had left my wallet, lunch, and phone at home.  Had to turn around go all the way back home, then back to work. That was just the beginning.....it did not get much better.  

But that was yesterday! God made THIS day and I get to live in it! Things may happen today that I don't like. Things may not go my way today. I will make mistakes today. But GOD didn't! God still made today to remind me that HE is the one in control! Today is HIS gift to me! TODAY is God's gift to YOU!

  Think about this, God made this day for me, but not ABOUT me! In fact, everything about today direct me to Him! He has everything (and I mean EVERY SINGLE THING) under control, whether I like it or not. God never promised we would like everything, but He did promise that He loves us, cares for us, and nothing happens to us that surprises Him.

Rejoice that you get to spend this very day in God's gift! Bask in the fact that YOU are HIS child. Remember that HE loves YOU so much that He has even numbered your hairs!

God's pretty amazing when you think about it. What's stopping you from thinking about it?

Pete's VERY Bad Day!

So they arrested Jesus and led him to the high priest’s home. And Peter followed at a distance. The guards lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat around it, and Peter joined them there. A servant girl noticed him in the firelight and began staring at him. Finally she said, “This man was one of Jesus’ followers!”

Luke 22:54-56

Pete was not having a good day.  His best friend had just been arrested and hauled off to bond court, and the rest of his friends had disappeared like a burp in a tornado.  Pete followed the guards to the bond court building but waited outside.  Some of the guards decided to warm themselves with a little fire and Pete joined them.  Then some girl started yapping about how Pete was one of the Accused's buddies!  

Pete had a choice to make and neither option was going to go well for him.  He could admit to being part of the Accused's gang and face the same consequences or he could deny everything and lose all face with those he counted on so closely.  What would you have done? 

Pete was NOT having a good day.  The choice he made was the choice he had been told he would make (and the choice he adamantly declared he would NEVER make).  And because of Pete's decision, his best friend was killed and his other friends went back to their lives.  But Pete knew.

But here's the part we tend to forget. Pete had gone back to his fishing career with his partners and while they were pulling up empty nets for the umpteenth time Jesus called out to them and told them to try the other side.  When they did, they had so many fish that Pete's boat started to sink and they had to call another boat to come help.  Eventually, Pete figured out that the man giving them advice was his best friend, Jesus, so Pete jumped out of the boat and swam back to shore where he found Jesus cooking fish for breakfast.

Jesus also had a choice at this point.  He could tell Peter to what a freaking idiot he was for denying Him and tell Pete EXACTLY what he should do to himself (and the boat he rowed in on), or Jesus could tell Peter what Peter needed at that point....another chance.  Jesus reminded Peter that he was still loved by Jesus and that he was forgiven.  Because of Jesus' decision to give Peter a second chance, Peter was instrumental in building the ministry that became the church.

Let me ask you something...ever made a decision your regretted?  Me too.  LOTS of them.  Ever been given a second chance?  Yes.  Now for the hard questions: Have you even had someone make a bad decision that hurt you deeply?  I have.  Have you ever offered them a second chance?