The Warrior God 11/18/2009
"The Lord is a warrior, the Lord is His name." Exodus 15:3 Leroy "Tubby" Poulson is a true American Hero. He was attached to Marine Observation Squadron Six near Quang Ngai, in the Republic of Vietnam. I am sure August 19, 1967 started out as any other ordinary day, but it would certainly not end as an ordinary day. He was assigned as a door gunner on a UH-1 Helicopter flight crew to do a routine medivac escort mission. While on their routine mission they received an urgent call about four U.S. Army soldiers which were overrun by Vietcong forces and being taken captive as prisoners. They decided to abort their mission and divert to the area to see if they could give aid to the downed soldiers. Other Helicopter flights were also sent to the scene but were circling over the water out of the line of enemy fire determining that it was too dangerous, "too hot", as Tubby would say to us, to go in and attempt a rescue operation. Upon arriving on the scene they saw one of the American soldiers raise his hand to signal them. He received a rifle butt smashed into his head by one of his captors for doing so. The heroism and courage this flight crew would then take is absolutely incredible. Capt. Stephen Pless, the helicopter pilot turned to his crew and asked if they wanted to go in and attempt a rescue. Capt. Pless received three thumbs up in reply from his crew. He then turned and went right into the face of heavy enemy fire and under incredible odds were able to rescue the three wounded and get them on their aircraft. One of the soldiers had been killed by his captors on the beach and had to be left there. Tubby had to choke back tears when telling us men at our monthly breakfast at Christ Covenant Church about the difficult decision to leave the dead soldier behind. They wanted to get him out also. For their actions on this day this Marine Helicopter flight crew would become the most decorated flight crew in the Vietnam war. The pilot recieving the Medal of Honor, and the other three crew members, including Tubby, receiving the Navy Cross for heroism above and beyond the call of duty. Their heroism and courage is inspiring. Tubby, a devout Christian, has been asked many times over the years to tell this story heroism but will only do so if he can tell how it was only by the hand of God that guided them through this rescue mission and got them out. He has no doubts about this at all. It is a question that resides in the heart of every man and boy, do I have what it takes, do I have courage? It is as natural to us as anything we do. Growing up we would play with our cardboard shields and wooden swords, or toy guns, always being the hero, always showing incredible courage right in the line of fire as we take on the forces of evil and triumphantly defeat them. God tells us that we were created in His image and we need to understand that when God created man He did so right in the midst of war. The war between good and evil was already underway. Lucifer and a third of the angels in Heaven had already declared war on God. The fight was on and is still going on today. God is furious, incensed, at what happened to man in the Garden. The man and woman He created had fallen into enemy hands. He knew it would happen but it still does not change His heart. It still does not change how angry He is about what happened. He had created us in His image and now would put into action a rescue mission that would call for the greatest act of heroism and courage the world would ever know or be a witness too. He would commission His own Son to become a flesh and blood man. And in our name and on our behalf He would render unto God an obedience equal to the broadest claims of God's holy law. He would do it to save us, to redeem us back to what He had always intended man to be. But by doing so He had to put it all on the line! He would hold nothing back! He risked it all, even His own existence to save us! It would take all the ocean's of God's grace and all the courage God could muster to rescue us before Him. In John 18, Jesus shows us His courage when cowardly men come to arrest Him. He had been teaching in the Temple courts all day and they could have arrested Him during the day but were afraid to do so because of the crowds. So they came in the middle of the night with torches and lanterns like the cowards they were. See the courage of Jesus here! John 18-4-8 Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, "Who is it you want?" "Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "I am he," Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, "I am he," they drew back and fell to the ground. Again he asked them, "Who is it you want?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth." "I told you that I am he," Jesus answered. "If you are looking for me, then let these men go." Jesus, knowing all what was going to happen to Him went right into the teeth of the lion, right up to the men that were after Him and said "I am He". Wow! What courage! Knowing torture, a Cross, and humiliated death awaited Him! He knew that in a few hours His life would be placed before the Judgment bar of God and only a perfect life would save Him and us from eternal damnation. What courage! Often times I believe many of us have the wrong impression of God. Many see Him as sitting on His throne looking down at us and only seeing the sin in our lives. Many men I talk to about God tells me that they are just too sinful for God. Nothing could be farther from the truth from those who would place their faith in Him. As the Psalmist would say in Psalm 103 that He has removed our sins as far is the east is from the west. (Psalm 103:12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.) East and West have no ends, it is infinite. Notice He did not say as far as the north is from the south. North and south have defined points. If you travel North eventually you will cross the North Pole and then will be headed south. It is the same with traveling south eventually you will be traveling north again, should you decide to continue on. However, if you travel east, you can keep going east forever. There is no end to it. Or if you travel west, you can keep traveling west forever. There is no end to it. He has took care of our sin in a mighty way. He has removed it as far from us as it can be removed. When He looks at us He does not see our sin but His first born. He has His blood all over us. 1 John 2:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. He does not view us as sinners, but as His sons, wholly and completely acceptable unto Him by the courageous acts of Jesus. So let us, as men of God, courageously live our lives to glorify Him who has rescued us from the depths of hell. You can read the complete story of Tubby Poulson's heroic actions from the links page at our website at ironmenforchrist.com. And you can also read about the heroic actions of Jesus in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. I urge you to read them both and be the courageous men that you have always dreamed of being, and that God has created you to be. He knows your name. He knows who you are! bill black www.ironmenforchrist.com Standing Tall and Straight 11/15/2009
1 Corinthians 16:13 Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. What great words of encouragement directed to men from Paul, it makes one wonder why Christian churches across the spectrum are experiencing such a shortage of men? Why will only 2 of 6 men, who proclaim to be Christian, will attend services this week? How is it that Jesus’ church, which was started by His actions, and 12 men of faith, (disciples), has become an anathema for the modern man today? Why is it that most Christian men seem to be timid about their faith, while men of other religions are willing to die for theirs? Why are we, at Christ Covenant Church, just like the majority of Christian churches experiencing a 60/40 gender gap with women being the more active and frequent participants in church activities? Well if we look at how the modern church is set up the answers become obvious. Sadly the modern church has become exclusively an educational and academic pursuit consisting mostly of bible studies and worship services that center around 30 minute lectures from preachers. The majority of extra church activities are run by women such as vacation bible school, potluck dinners, rummage sales, desert auctions, etc. Modern day pastors build their ministry around the women of the church simply because they are the ones whom are more involved in church activities. It is very unfortunate but you would have to admit that the modern day church has become a failure to most men. Do not get me wrong. All these things the church is currently doing are great and should be done, however they fail to galvanize, strengthen, and embolden men. We need to also be seeking ways to attract men and strengthen them in their faith. Most men whom attend church regularly do so because they grew up in the church and feel obligated to do so. Our first depictions of Jesus as young boys sitting in Sunday school classes were of a meek, mild, gentle, often frail man in a white dress. What a contrast from the action hero’s we saw on TV and at the Movies. Heroes like the Lone Ranger, Roy Rogers, Sky King, John Wayne, battling evil forces and always being victorious. These heroes of yesterday have been replaced today by Power Rangers, Transformers, sports figures, etc. It is easy to see why young boys would gravitate to the action heroes they see on TV or in the comic books as their roll models, rather than to Jesus. Yet Jesus is, and remains, the ultimate action hero! There are no greater acts of any man than the ones Jesus engaged in. He is the toughest most courageous man that ever walked the face of this earth. He turned over the tables of the religious; He hung out with sinners and tax collectors encouraging them by His actions and words to seek greater things for their lives. He walked were no man dared walk, He faced head-on satan, death, and hell, and He won! It is the greatest victory over evil the world has ever known and we have access to this victory by faith. When Jesus picked His 12 apostles He did not go to the universities or the synagogues seeking the most educated and religious people to be His disciples and closest friends. He went down to the docks. He picked the roughest, toughest, most uneducated and unlikely bunch you could ever imagine. They would put it all on the line for their faith and most were killed because of it. They were all, except for Judas Iscariot, men of courage, vision, honor, and faith. Here at Christ Covenant Church the Spirit is leading us to change these trends in modern Christianity. On October 18, 2009 18 men came together and launched our men’s ministry! A ministry that will work to embolden, strengthen, and galvanize men in our Christian faith. Proverbs 27:17 says “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” So it is as we come together as men and seek greater ways that God be glorified in all we do. We came away from our October 18 launching with four action items to work on.
We will build a ministry based on discipleship which calls men into action! bill black | AuthorI am bill black, men's ministry leader At Christ Covenant Church in Beaumont Texas ArchivesJanuary 2010 Categories |
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