Months ago, we were asked if we’d like to conduct some leadership training at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. We were honored at the request, but, to be honest, we wondered what ordinary civilians like us could offer the highly-trained military men and women on this 111-year-old naval base. Yet we knew this would be an amazing adventure full of wonderful experiences. What surprised us most, however, were the lessons about faith that awaited us there!

As soon as our feet hit the ground at GTMO, we were whisked into a world where duty, honor, and service seem second-nature to our soldiers. Their work ethic is outstanding, and, as we quickly discovered, it’s pretty much 24/7, 365. Polite, determined, courageous, humble, and loyal are a sampling of adjectives we’d use to describe the military personnel we met at every corner of the base.

Most of all, these soldiers adhere to a collective faith in something far greater than themselves: freedom. This foundation of faith drives their efforts, day in and day out.

What a picture of our spiritual faith, because God is the One who offers us the greatest freedom of all. The Lord wants every man, woman, and child to experience the amazing life He always hoped for them-and then life eternal in Heaven once our mission here on Earth is completed.

Perhaps this is why the Apostle Paul used the imagery of a soldier to encourage us in our walk of faith. Soldiering involves sacrifice, and that sometimes includes suffering. The men and women at GTMO could tell you stories about that; we heard many such tales during our visit. They could also share about how they strive each day to make certain their commanding officer is pleased with their service-a great goal for us to remember as followers of Christ.

By the way, the Apostle Paul penned these words in a Roman prison cell after his arrest for sharing about his faith. Yet look at how he felt about that situation:

Paul understood the core of faith, and he was willing to let go of his own liberty if it offered others enduring freedom- the chance to be saved and live forever with God one day in the future.

This is exactly what faith in something bigger than ourselves will do, as we witnessed during our week at Guantanamo Bay. Faithful soldiers give of themselves. Soldiers are willing to sacrifice and even suffer. But soldiers also firmly believe that freedom is worth sacrificing for-a tremendous lesson of faith for all of us to follow!

Thought of the Month

Do you want to have a doubt free wedding day? Gary Thomas & Dr. Steve Wilke kick-off their Sacred Search video series to share about why through issues needs to happen WAY before your wedding day.

My husband and I recently watched a documentary on the Hubble Space Telescope. Even though we’d seen this presentation before, the majesty of what we beheld kept us totally captivated. And as the narrator detailed the numbers that kept growing increasingly immense, the expanse of the heavens clearly pointed to a pretty amazing Creator.

You don’t have to look to the skies to catch a glimpse of God’s greatness. Years ago, Dr. Richard Swenson shared some spectacular facts at a Focus on the Family conference for physicians. For instance, did you know that your body is comprised of 10,000 trillion trillion atoms? This number represents more than the stars in the universe! Did you know the human body has anywhere between 10-100 trillion cells-and it can make up to one trillion new ones each day? Take a deep breath if that blows your mind; when you do so, you’ll have taken in 150 million molecules of air.

These are some big numbers for you and me, but they reveal an even bigger God!

This simple thought helps me when I get overwhelmed in my world. The debt may be climbing, but the Lord who made the stars and calls them by name has everything in control (Psalm 147:4). The rapid rate that information is being processed today astounds me, but it’s only a drop in the bucket to what God knows (Psalm 147:5).

In Psalm 19 we discover that long before telescopes were invented, glancing at the evening sky led David to exclaim “The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known” (verses 1-2, NLT). And later in Psalm 139 after he pondered the greatness of the One who had formed every intricate part of him, David reflected on more big numbers:

How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up, you are still with me!

(verses 17-18)

How awesome! The heavens are huge, and the human body intricately complex-yet the thoughts God has about you and me cannot even be numbered!

I don’t know about you, but that’s the best big number I can possibly imagine. God thinks about us-in countless ways throughout each and every day. With that in mind, step out into your world with a renewed confidence this month. While the math may not seem to add up, the numbers really are on your side!

Thought of the Month

He counts the stars
and calls them all by name.
How great is our Lord! His power is absolute!
His understanding is beyond comprehension!

Psalm 147:4-5

Thanks to the latest in Apple technology, life has gotten a little simpler. I used to carry around a bulky planner filled with my calendar and a lengthy “to-do” list, yet all that has become virtually obsolete with the iPhone apps available at my fingertips. In fact, just the other day I simply hit a button and asked Siri to leave me a reminder. I felt like a character from Star Trek-without the “beam me up” capability!

Despite how complicated some people feel Christianity may be, God is all about simplicity, too. Throughout Scripture He provides clear directions for successful living, often in a list-like fashion so we can’t miss the concepts He knows will be most helpful to us. A perfect example of this is found in Ephesians 4 where the Lord offers a few basic instructions for Christ-like living. Let’s look at His “to-do’s” for a few minutes:

²¹ Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, ²² throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.

²³ Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.

²⁴ Put on your new nature, created to be like God-truly righteous and holy.

²⁵ So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body.

²⁶ And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, ²⁷ for anger gives a foothold to the devil.

²⁸ If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need.

²⁹ Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

³⁰ And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.

³¹ Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.

³² Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

If you look over this list again, you’ll see these are fairly simple ideas to improve your life. Why not add one to your own “to do” list today-then a new one tomorrow, and another the day after that? While all of us will have many things to accomplish during the month of March, may we be inspired to try some of these ways to grow in our faith and please our Heavenly Father at the same time!

Thought of the Month

Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.

Ephesians 4:14-15

During the month of February, you simply can’t miss the message of love. Valentine’s Day paraphernalia has popped up from department store windows to drugstore displays. Television commercials have morphed from jolly holiday commercials to jewelry advertisements.

When the world starts talking about love, believers’ thoughts often shift toward a favorite passage tucked away in Corinthians. I read it again the other day, and I realized I had missed an important part of Paul’s message. Let me share this section of Scripture here before I explain:

Perhaps it was reading this contemporary language version of the Bible that highlighted the concept I hadn’t quite caught before: God’s love is all about accepting idiosyncrasies. In other words, just because you do something differently than me, I should still be able to care about you. When someone else’s ideas don’t mesh with mine, I ought to be okay with that. And when anyone challenges, opposes, or simply annoys, we’re told that true love “puts up with anything.”

Now, this doesn’t mean that when an individual is doing or thinking wrong that we must agree with him or her-rather we’re encouraged to live right yet still love. This means the Lord is asking us to love His way: loving the sinner, not the sin. This includes accepting the rude without being discourteous, and ignoring the cantankerous while not being cranky. Most of all, loves looks past what seems odd, idiosyncratic, perhaps even idiotic to discover what is best and good about that individual, no matter what.

As I mulled over these verses, I realized this is what I hope others would be willing to do for me. You see, despite my best attempts, I’m really just a floundering perfectionist-and I need others to forgive my flaws and foibles to feel truly loved. But God is asking me to love His way first and to care for all of the “others” in my life, not looking back-being faithful in His love until the end.

This is a different kind of love, dear friends, but it’s exactly the type of compassion those around us desperately need.

Thought of the Month