In Memory

CPL Jaron Duvall Holliday, 21,

killed in Iraq August 4, 2007

FROM GOD'S WORD

1 Samuel 7:12, Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far the Lord has helped us."


FROM MY HEART

I woke up this morning and thought of Kelly Holliday. I thought of her son Jaron. I thought of the reason my own children were home from school today. Memorial Day. I had already seen several posts on Facebook saying Happy Memorial Day. And that struck me as a paradox.

Memorial Day isn't supposed to be like the Fourth of July or Thanksgiving. It is a day set aside for us to remember the people who died while serving in America's armed forces. When I was teaching in children's ministry, we once did an activity on building an Ebenezer (I Samuel 7:12-14). We had stones that we wrote on ways God had helped us. We made a monument that when we passed that table we would remember. And when others passed that table, we could tell them how God helped us.

Today seemed like a perfect day to draw on that passage in 1 Samuel 7:12, Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far the Lord has helped us." According to Dr. Gregory Neal, "Literally speaking, an Ebenezer is a "stone of help," or a reminder of God’s real, holy presence and divine aid. Spiritually and theologically speaking, an Ebenezer can be nearly anything that reminds us of God’s presence and help."

As I hopped on Facebook today I saw many images of American flags: some draped on coffins, others folded in a triangle for a grieving family, others waving solitary by a gravesite. It is our Ebenezer. When soldiers have paid the ultimate sacrifice, and left behind sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, wives and husbands, may we never forget their service or their families.

The words of President Lincoln seemed as fitting today as they were so many years ago when he delivered his Gettysburg Address. “It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

I am eternally grateful that I am an American. This is my country, my home. I am grateful for the ideals that we hold dear and pray that we continue to strive to see them lived out at home and abroad that these dead shall not have died in vain. Jaron and his friends fought for these ideals…and some gave all. May we never reduce their service or their sacrifice to a bumper sticker slogan. Let us never forget who they were, how they lived their lives, their families, their hopes, their dreams. Let us honor them and help their legacies to live on. We are in their debt. Support the Jaron D. Holliday Music Scholarship Fund. Read more at:  http://www.gofundme.com/t3qc7k.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Please take time to share a story about someone you wish to honor who have served our country in the armed forces. Let it be our Ebenezer, that we never forget. Share your story by posting a comment below.

  

 

Give Yourself Away

I get the privilege each week to serve at the Lexington Rescue Mission. Nothing major...but helping in a small way for just an hour each week. And I wonder, what kind of impact we, as followers of Christ, could have on the world, if we each gave a little bit of our time each week to a cause we believe in.

Sometimes God calls us to do something really big, but I believe most of the time, He just wants to use us right where we are in every day, ordinary ways to say, "Hey...God loves you!"

Isn't that in part what we take away from 2 Corinthians 5:20? It says, "We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God." WOW! You wouldn't believe what a WOW moment that was just now for me. Just reading that Scripture brought tears to my eyes.

Can you really grasp that today? We are HIS AMBASSADORS!! Not doing what we want to do, but doing what HE has sent us here to do. The part of the Scripture that stabs me in the heart is "as though GOD were making His appeal through us." Stop right there and really let that sink in. Do you live your life every day as if God Himself were making an appeal through you?

God WANTS YOU! He's interested in people. Each one of us have been gifted and called for a purpose and put here on this earth, at this time, in this place, to make a difference for the kingdom...to represent Him...and that means caring about the things He cares about. He cares about people! How are you going to live that this week?

When I'm at the Rescue Mission, sometimes I help fix trays, sometimes I pass out trays in the dining area, and even sometimes I end up at the sink washing dishes. I cannot tell you the joy I feel by helping someone in need. You know that saying, "it's better to give than to receive," it's not just talking about money. If you've never done it, I think you will be amazed at how blessed you feel when you take the time to give a little of yourself.

I love music so I'll end with lyrics from a song by NewSong, "Give yourself away, Be the hands and feet of Jesus. Give yourself away, Go out and make a world of difference. Let this be the day you see how far His love reaches. The greatest sacrifice of all is to give yourself away."

If you want to join me some time, stop by the Lexington Rescue Mission, 444 Glen Arvin Ave. They serve lunch every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday from noon to 1 p.m. Just one hour of your time. So how about it? I challenge you this week to give yourself away.

For more information on how to help the Lexington Rescue Mission, visit http://lexingtonrescue.org/index.html