Post 3 Chaplain's Monthly Moments

You just bought a brand-new car! Your Teen-ager with a learner permit wants to drive it. What are you going to do? We all want to have experience in certain jobs or how to operate special machinery. Some may very well be required for that job promotion you are looking for. You start to get that needed experience, to study all the information on the job you want, like to drive a car you study the rules of the road and the car manual. 

Christians are not automatically filled with the knowledge of the Bible.   We read in Timothy “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15). This is where Sunday School comes into play. This place helps direct you in the study of the Bible. You may have your own study plan going, great; no reason not to have one from the church, camaraderie. Jesus studied the Torah as he grew up. He even used the verses against the devil right after his 40 days fast in Luke 4. 

I wonder if you can stand up against the temptation of the devil. You could with the proper studying of the Word of God! Sunday School is a great way to begin.

February has a special day, Valentine’s Day, where we celebrate our love for our certain someone.  We go out of our way to get a card, flowers and maybe candy to show our love!  Do we really know what love is?

​Love.  We can define the word.  As a noun it means an intense feeling of deep affection or a great interest and pleasure in something.  As a verb it means to feel deep affection for someone or like or enjoy very much.  It seems you could love someone like a person or an object.  Is there a way to truly learn how to love one another? Yes!

​The Word of God tells us how to truly love one another.  It’s not the things you see on TV and movies.  Paul tells us in 1 Cor 13:4-5 “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs”.  So how can we say the Bible is the best source of love information?  We can say this because of 1John 4:8 “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love”.  We read in John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”.  

​Give your life to the Lord today by believing in Him and have eternal life.  You will start to love the way God wants you to.

It’s January 2026, time for new beginnings.  We try to look for a better year, at least in some ways.  Some of us even try to make promises to do or don’t do something that only lasts maybe a couple of months. 

This month is the time for great football playoffs!  

People will sit in freezing stadiums to watch a game that costs a huge amount of money.  Many will be congregating around the TV to watch their favorite playoff games, yelling at players or referees.  I always wondered about how people would be able to get all those face paints off after the games.  One of the biggest things I noticed was how people would yell “WE ARE NUMBER ONE” and would have the big foam hand with the number one finger on it.

Just who really is number one in this world?  The Old Testament tells us that God is Number One and the Israelites memorized this verse, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4).  It states in Deuteronomy 4:35 “You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord is God; besides him there is no other.”  We see in 1Cor 8: 6 that for us there is but one God, the Father…  So, who is number one in your life?  I would like to put my wife there sometimes, but I know that spot belongs completely to God! 

Have you ever tried to make reservations for anything like vacation rooms, sports or music, etc. and found there was “no room”!  We did!  Cindie and I were on a vacation to Yellowstone.  We drove all the way there and in the middle of the night found that the company we registered for our room in the Yellowstone Hotel went bankrupt.  They didn’t tell anyone and kept our money.  Yellowstone hotel had “NO ROOM”.  This is not what we wanted to hear, especially late at night.  God did take care of us!

​Jesus faced the “NO ROOM” trouble from the start of His life.  He was born into “NO ROOM”.  Joseph and Mary couldn’t find a guest room in Bethlehem with all their relatives there, sothey had to stay in the front living room with all the animals going in and out.  There was a manger to feed the animals and that was where Mary placed Jesus.

​The Pharisees, Sadducees and Teachers of the Law had “NO ROOM” for him throughout the Bible.  The people who Jesus taught and healed seemed to show room tor him.  There were even some non-Jewish or Gentile people that showed room for him. The Jews suddenly changed their mind just before Jesus was crucified.  He cleansed the temple of the buying and selling of animals and money changers.  No one could easily get their sacrifice now!  The Pharisees now could easily get the people to have “NO ROOM” for Jesus in their hearts.  

​I wonder in busy holiday season have we forgotten to make room for Jesus in our hearts.  We all say he is the “reason for the season”, but do we really take this to heart. Search your heart and open it to the Lord who makes everything possible!  Give Him your heart today!

This month starts the season for one of my favorite pies, pumpkin pie! We will in a few weeks sit down to a traditional dinner called Thanksgiving. This is where we all come together to celebrate and give thanks for the blessings the Lord has given us this year. We usually say grace before eating dinner. The idea of grace might really mean something to some, but just be routine to other people.

Just what is the meaning of grace? The word has different meanings depending on its use. Grace can refer to elegance and beauty of movement or form, kindness, and goodwill toward others or to refer to a title for a high-ranking person. You use grace as a mealtime prayer or asking for grace for a person. God’s grace is His free and unmerited favor, divine assistance, and kindness to humanity.

We get in a hurry sometimes and do not see that the speedometer is reading 45mph and the road is 35mph. There is now a red blinking light behind us, and we pull over to the side of the road. The police ask us why we are going so fast and next time slow down, without giving us a ticket. This is one example of grace! God’s grace is your salvation. Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:8 “'For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— '.”He said in Romans 10:09 'If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved”   'There isn’t any formal prayer you must say to God to be saved.  Just ask Jesus to be with you and believe He is the Son of God and that He is alive.

There was an old TV game show called TO TELL THE TRUTH.  A panel of four celebrity guests would listen to a story, then ask questions of three contestants trying to decide which one was telling the truth, which one was the one in the story.

​Just what is truth?  Truth broadly understood is the quality or state of being in accord with fact or reality, or a true statement or belief.  Nowadays people like to make their own truth, if something doesn’t seem right for them; they make it right.  Some in charge like to falsify data to look good and the boss just sends it up so they look good, all along knowing it can’t be right.Everyone then smiles at how good things are going even though everyone knows it is a blatant lie!  

What is the right standard for truth?  The best standard for truth that I know is Truth Himself.  The Word of God states “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” John 14:6).  Jesus is the “Truth”.  You can base all your life after his life.  John said another thing about the truth of Jesus.  John said in John 8: 31-32 “To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  Free from what?  Free from Hell and the lake of fire.  Please give your life to Jesus today and be free.

 I was thinking just what paradise was going to be with Jesus.  I read in the Bible, but to really understand no more pain and a perfect body, “wow”.  

Some people think paradise on earth is sitting with a cold drink and watching a game on tv.  Some think sitting by a swimming pool with a lady or guy and drinking is paradise.  How about the one living on atropical island without “a single care” being paradise.  I ask you if this is really paradise.  God told Abram in Genesis 13:14 He would give him all the land he sees around him.  The land was not paradise.  God told Moses in Leviticus 20:24 He was going to give him a land flowing with milk and honey.  That still wasn’t paradise. 

So where is paradise.  We found that the Lord kept trying to tell us the Word, but we weren’t listening toJesus. The Lord told them He would be with them many times and they just didn’t listen.  Statements like “who goes with you”, “I will never leave you nor forsake you”, “for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”  Jesus said it best to the thief on the cross in Luke 23:43 “”Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”” The three words is all in all “ be with me”.  Paradise is being with Jesus.  I have seen friends who were ill and still not miserable.  They said it was being with Jesus!!!  

​Where is your Paradise?  What do you want it to be?  I know where mine is.  It is with Jesus!

There have been times in my life that I wondered if anyone was really listening to me.  I was saying things but was not getting any answers that really helped with the problems I was having.  It seemed like people, or even God, didn’t care what happened to me.  The truth is, this is a lie that Satan would love you to believe.  You will start to hear a small voice that sounds like you saying, they don’t care; not listening; including God!  

​I am here to tell you people do care about and love us. God unconditionally loves us.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).  God listens to you when you talk to Him (pray).  Yes, praying is just talking to God.  You don’t have to talk to God in any formal set up style prayer.  Just talk.  The Bible recommends going to a prayer closet, “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matt 6:6).  

​This doesn’t mean that you will get everything that your heart desires when you ask God for it.  God may say yes, then celebrate.  He just as well may say no, accept his just wisdom.  In Matthew 6:8b “for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”  We need to be reasonable, asking the Father for things that we truly need, a car, a wife, health, money we need.  My wife and I were traveling late one Sunday night,with our 2 small girls, from Toledo Ohio to Pease, AFB NH.  We usually got gasoline at the last Turnpike Service Plaza to get home, and I missed it. We prayed and drove for 1 hour with the fuel needle on E. The Lord told me to get off and I found a police car behind a closed donut shop next to 2 closed gasoline stations. I asked if they could take me to a gasoline station. Westill started our car and drove it to a gasoline station and filled it completely!

God hears everything you say and answers with what you need!!!

The truth and nothing but the truth is a saying we all have heard at least once in a movie or TV show, I hope.  We are in a country where a person is considered innocent of crimes unto proven guilty.  People must take the stand in a trial and say the truth and nothing but the truth; at least they are supposed to do that.  

​Where do you think people learn to tell the truth in life.  Most people learn to tell the truth from their parents.  We grow up with our parents telling us not to lie about this or that when something happens.  Some of us even ended up getting our mouths washed out with soap for lying.

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Where is the ultimate source of truth?  The ultimate source is the Word of God, “Jesus”.   The Word tells us in John 14: 6 “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.”” John 8:44 tells us the father of lies is the devil; no truth is in him.  Lying is following what the devil wants you to do, sin.  

​Okay, this world is a hard place to live in.  It is difficult at best to believe what some tell you.  So, what are we going to do in a world like this?  We live like the Word of God shows us to live.  John: 31-32 states “To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  He is the Truth. We can live the Truth and be free from the lies.

As children we all heard the adage “Sticks and Stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me”!  I am here to tell you that words can definitely hurt you, maybe even for a very long time.  I was constantly subjected to hurtful words by students for years.  This left an invisible mark on me that I carried for years.  There are children and adults out there carrying similar marks due to the simple bullying of hurtful words.  

​Where do think children learn to use hurtful words?  They pick them up from their parents.  Yes, their parents.  They see and hear their parents talk about the stupid driver that just cut them off.  They hear about the fat person that needs help on the television show.  What about all the bad language and gossip during the elections?  If you think that gossip is just for the ladies, think again; men do it too.  

​We need to learn to speak to everyone in a decent language and tone.  My Christian parents told me if I could not say something nice to someone, don’t say anything at all! Paul said in Ephesians 4:9 “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”   Sometimes this can be difficult but look at what is happening in the world.  Paul also said in Philippians 4:13 “I can do all this through him who gives me strength”, referring to Jesus. If we don’t start now to put our best foot forward who will?

Did you ever play “Follow the Leader” as a youth?  It’s a favorite game that children play.  A leader walks around doing things and the others must copy their actions.  This game is so popular that a song was written about it and used in a famous movie.

We adults play follow the leader in our lives: in our jobs, religion, and relaxation times.  We need to be aware of who our leaders are.  History has shown what happens when people have chosen good or bad leaders.  Good leaders like General Washington, General Grant, General Patton, Franklin Delano Roosevelt among others led our county to greatness and saved countless lives.  Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Jim Jones, are examples of the worst leaders that lead to disaster and death.

We obviously need to follow the right leader.  When you look through history, many great leaders were believers in the Lord.  I wouldn’t hesitate to say that the ultimate leader is the LORD MY GOD!  The Bible tells us many things about leading people, and life itself.  If you haven’t read anything from the Word(Bible), I encourage you to pick it up and start to read it now.  

Give your life to the Lord today!

​Some think when they find a great business or money venture they have found the yellow brick road.  I am here to tell you there isn’t a yellow brick road.  Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz didn’t even find her way home following the yellow brick road of Oz.  The Lord tells us about how to follow unguided adventures like yellow brick roads in Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”  Jesus tells us to enter our adventure through the narrow door and walk the narrow road/path.  He is talking like the good shepherdJohn 10:11 watching over his flock; getting them through the narrow gate that protects them from predators.  

​I am not saying that there isn’t any great money-making adventure out there: just make sure you have prayed about it and let the Lord guide your decision for your protection. In the Old Testament Deuteronomy 29: 9 told them / us if they followed the covenant / Word they would prosper in everything they did. He said to ask in His name, with the right motives, and the Father will give it to you. The big thing is motive. Sometimes the Answer is no.  

​The main thing is having Jesus in your heart.  Let Him be your Good Shepherd to guide on your earthly journey today.