Growing up I quoted that motto for years. It is a very familiar saying for anyone who was involved in scouting. It meant to be ready for anything that happened or we needed to do. Scouting taught us to learn as many different things about life as we could. It was a wonderful experience for me. I wish that I could have taken advantage of it more than I did. As we prepared for death, we also prepared for life. School also was a place to prepare for our adulthood. My parents wanted to help us as much as they could. They purchased a set of World Book encyclopedias. I read the entire set of books. It really helped me in college. Then comes the time when you apply all the knowledge you have acquired. It isn’t as easy as it sounds. But applying knowledge to experience is what is called wisdom. And just because you know something, doesn’t mean that you can handle the situation. You won’t know until you are in the situation. Wisdom was what I first prayed for. I saw how much I didn’t understand about life.  You get to those places when you are thrusted into them, like the first time you hold your new baby. We are always learning about life. It never ends. Each day is different and the same. But with God’s help, we can live our lives to the fullest. And be prepared to face tomorrow with joy.

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Yesterday was Veteran’s Day. Today is the day after. When we send our love ones off to war, we must deal with the inevitable. There is a real possibility that our soldier will not return. Throughout the ages people have been sending their sons and daughters off to war. For each person, the reality of war which is death, comes home to roost the day after. Death is so foreign to us. It isn’t a part of our overall life, although it really is. If it was part of our lives, why do people mourn so much when a person dies? The pain and suffering that we experience tell us that we aren’t prepared for death. Yet death is the ultimate expression of our love and commitment. Military medals were invented to give to families of soldiers who gave their lives in battle. In the US Army during the Civil War, the medal was a red ribbon, the red badge of courage. Death seems to be one of our constant companions. So how do we deal with something as foreign as death? In 2004, our second son joined the US Army and went to war. The US was still in a shooting war. He was an infantryman. So, we knew that he was going to be in the middle of the fighting. The possibility of him dying in a foreign country shook both of us. We didn’t want to upset him, so we smiled until he left for war. My wife and I came to the understanding that our son could die walking across the street or in a foreign country. We knew that he was in the hands of God, no matter where he was. And we had to trust God for his life. We began to pray and God gave us peace about his situation. He now lives by us. He grew up over there as do all people who go to war. We are thankful to God for our son’s life. We are now prepared, somewhat, for death, on the day after.

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Yesterday was the U.S. Marine Corps’ birthday. They were founded in 1775. Today is Veteran’s Day. A day that we honor the men and women who served in our military. My family has a long history of military service to the United States of America. My family came to this country in 1637. They first served in the militia to protect the frontier in Massachusetts. During the American Revolution, my family from Maine to South Carolina served in the Continental Army. My family in Louisiana served in the Atakapa Militia to protect New Orleans in 1776. My 4^th great grandfather was one of the U.S. Naval Commissioners during the American Revolution. My 3^rd great grandfather served in the War of 1812. My family in Louisiana fought in the Battle of New Orleans in 1814. My 2^nd great grandfather was a colonel in 9^th Louisiana Confederate Army. My cousin was a general and governor of Louisiana during the Civil War. My great grandfather served in the 17^th Texas Confederate Army. My father and his brothers served in WWII. My cousin Felix died at Inchon, Korea with the 1^st Marines. My brother and I served during the Vietnam war. My cousin Charles, Air Force, died in Thailand during the Vietnam war. My sons and nephews served in Iraq and Afghanistan in the Army and Air Force. My family has always answered the call. We believe in the United States and will preserve and protect it. God gave my family the opportunity to be free and live godly lives. God, thank you for America and all our freedoms.

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Getting things to happen at the right time is almost impossible. We have our timetable. And believe that things should work when we want them to. But reality is that they hardly ever works like they are supposed to. So, developing timing is a skill that we all strive for. I have seen people with impeccable timing. Things just fall into place and work. Then there are those who couldn’t get it right if their live depended on it. I think I fall somewhere in the middle of all that. I wish I could say that everything works out just like I want it to. Like I said I wish I could. When I came to the Lord, I would pray and things would happen almost instantly. I think that God did that to encourage me in the faith. I love that way He did that for me. It was a blessing that my prayers were answered so quickly. The longest time for an answered prayer was 22 years. It was God’s timing. I don’t see further than my nose unless God shows me. I was at a drive-in to get something to drink. This was early in my walk with God. God wanted me to turn around and tell this man that He loved him. I was too embarrassed and afraid to say anything. After the man left, God spoke to me and said, It took Me all of his life to get to the place to hear that I loved him. It was God’s timing. And I missed it. I learned how to move in God’s timing. I didn’t want to miss out on anything anymore. Timing is everything. And learning how to move in God’s timing is a real blessing and a gift of God.

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Everybody wants to make the correct decision about anything. I am like everyone else and hate to have to redo anything in the correct way. Redo’s are a killer. Let us get it correct in the first place. For a carpenter, measure twice and cut once. But what fun is that. There are so many saying that come to mind, I could scream. Into your life a little rain must fall. Fall on your butt, you mean. This is a good one. Murphy’s law, I it can go wrong, it will go wrong. Or how about, an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Someone in a small room somewhere sat around making up these saying to drive people crazy. Wanting to do anything correctly isn’t the problem. Our lives are in a constant state of change. Our body changes on a daily basis. We have to adjust our thinking and our clothes all at the same time. Our children never stay the same size. The world is getting bigger and smaller at the same time. Our universe is expanding at a rate faster than we can calculate. Wouldn’t it be nice for something to stay the same? Something we could count on, on a regular basis. When we could make a  correct decision and it would stick. Now it seems I’m in fantasy land. With everything that is turned upside down every day, there has to be something that we can count on. You know there actually is. I found it some 35 years and have never let go since then. Actually, He found me. Or more to the point, He was always there. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. He is the Rock of Ages.

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I heard a man preach about pain. He said it was what caused most people to walk away from God. It was because the pain caused anger. When people get angry at God, it killed their faith. It is unfortunate that people look at God as Santa Claus. The truth is more basic than that. God isn’t here to make our wishes come true. He is here to deliver us from death and give us the chance to live again. Yes, there are many horrible things that happens to mankind. Death and disease are at the top of the list. What is funny is that man caused death and disease to be here in the first place. Adam and Eve had no problem with death in the garden of Eden. But once they were cast out because of sin, death and disease came into being. And they will be here until the end. God makes provisions for our health and wellbeing. But that doesn’t mean that we will be trouble free. What happens in the world often happens to the Christian? Case in point, my subdivision was flooded in August. My house along with everybody else’s house flooded. It doesn’t mean that God isn’t for me or isn’t providing for needs. Yes, I experienced great sorrow and pain. But I knew that God was there every step of the way. He made Himself real to me. If He hadn’t it would have been a different story. I had a choice to make. Whether or not, I was going to follow God in faith or leave in unbelief. Pain is like any other storm that comes our way. As the bible says in 2 Corinthians 7:10 “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”(KJV).

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People want to see that God is real before they believe. They want a body of evidence. I will try to explain as best I can what evidence there is. To start you have to have hope which turns into faith. That there is a possibility that God exist and sees you and your circumstance. Then this hope turns into faith. Which is what God responds to. The bible is filled with stories that these men and women believe God and God changed their circumstance. Abel offered a better sacrifice to God. And Cain killed him for it. But Abel still speaks all through history by faith. Abraham left his family and journeyed to a far country because he believed God. Sarah, 90 years old, conceived and had a son, Isaac. When Sarah first heard that she would have baby at her age, she laughed. Isaac’s name means laughter. Moses helped bring deliverance to his people because he believed God. David received a kingdom through faith. Let me tell you my story. My 3^rd son, when he was 6 months old, contracted spinal meningitis. When we took him to the doctor and he tested him. The doctor said he has spinal meningitis. The doctor said if he lives, he will be a vegetable the rest of his life. I had no money and no insurance when they put him into ICU. The next day the insurance showed up. On the 3^rd day, the doctor came into his room and said I don’t understand your son doesn’t have spinal meningitis any more. He had it 3 days ago and now he doesn’t. By faith, I received to myself the life of my son. These are but a few stories of faith which prove beyond a shadow of doubt. That there is a God in heaven who cares for us and is willing to be part of our lives. This is only part of the body of evidence for God.

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What is your life worth? Today’s society wants all the freedom they can get. But this all equates to lawlessness. Then after all the laws are broken down, what are you going to do? When there are no law to protect us, where do you go to feel safe? Why were laws invented in the first place? Laws came into being after the flood with Noah. Governments were established to keep the peace. The world had gone crazy because everyone could do what they wanted and no one was going to stop them. Well except all the people who do anything they wanted. Life became chaos. After you have thrown your life away on pleasure and nothing, what are you going to do? Having no laws isn’t freedom. Freedom is having the right to live peaceably. It is being able to have a family and work. It is having a home that is secure enough to live in. It is not being run out of your country because someone doesn’t agree with your politics. Freedom is having life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness that doesn’t take it away from your neighbor. Freedom is a nation living together in peace, pursuing a life they choose. We pay for our freedom over and over again. Sometimes the cost is very high, but we are willing to pay the price because it is worth the effort. So, what are you going to do? Will you pay the price? Is real freedom worth anything to you? Only time will tell.

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For the first 4 centuries of the 1^st Millennium, Christianity was practiced openly, for the most part. When the Goths, Visigoths and the Huns invaded the Roman Empire, Christianity went underground. Monasteries were established in very remote places to preserve Christianity. And they stayed there until the end of the dark ages and the beginning of the Reformation. The single act that started the Reformation was Johannes Gutenberg printing the bible. It wasn’t like todays portable bible. It was as big as a desk. But it was printed in the language of the people. So, everyone could read the bible. And when they heard it read, it changed the world. Just like it did in the 1^st century. The bible has become the bestselling book in history. Today in America, most every home has at least 1 bible. Most homes have 4 or 5 bibles. But just like in the 4^th century, there is a darkness coming upon the world. It is creeping in and is insidious. So, what is the Christian world going to do? Are they going to hide in monasteries? Christianity was not meant to be practiced inside a church building. Just like the church in the 1^st century, they took it to the world. And guess what? The world changed. And yes, the Christians were persecuted and killed. But what happened is that gospel was preached to the world. Remember, Jesus said that He was not returning until the gospel was preached to the whole world. So, are you going to hide your light until it goes out?

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My parents believed that telling the truth was always better than lying. When I was 7 or 8 years old, I went to local pharmacy with my mother. While she was busy with the pharmacist, I stole some candy. She discovered the candy at home. Mom took me back to the store. I handed the candy back and asked him to forgive me. My mom wanted me to understand that I was accountable for my actions. This moral code was drilled into me. I never wanted to be a liar or a cheat. As I grew up, morals turned into ethics, especially situational ethics. Where you aren’t to blame for lying, cheating or stealing. It was always someone else’s fault. They made me do it or because they were mean to me and I struck back. That is why the murder rate in this country is climbing. It is the highest rate it has ever been. And we are the civilized nation. Morals are what keep people safe and on the right road. When we believe and trust that doing the right thing isn’t because it is convenient. We do it because it is right. It’s funny that I thought that situational ethics was something developed in the last 40 years. But history is replete with stories of people doing what is right in their own eyes. What is really sad is that we are accountable for everything we have done on this earth. And we will stand before God and answer why. But you see it will be too late when you stand before God. It will be too late to repent of your sins. And hell is the only place you can live.

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