Friday, May 28, 2010



The Chaplain's Corner




Guest blogger, Chaplain Paul, is one of the most effective chaplains in America today. He is an emergency responder to every situation.

Hey, this is the Chaplain again and I have a question; what happened to Memorial Day?

I was watching TV and the announcer said, “Monday is Memorial Day, remember to have a good time.” A little latter there was a commercial about the big ‘Memorial Day Sale at _____.’ What’s happened to Memorial Day?

It originated as Decoration Day in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. It was a day set aside to remember and be grateful for the sacrifices that paid for our freedom. To honor those American soldiers, over 654,000 according to the DoD, who have died in battle. In observance of the holiday, many people visited cemeteries and memorials, and volunteers often placed American flags on each grave site at national cemeteries.

In the past we observed a national moment of remembrance at 3:00 p.m. local time to pause and pray. I think we should still do that, pause to remember the 654,000 + men and women who have died in battle protecting this nation. They died so that we can live free in this great country.

Please remember it’s more than big sales and trips to the beach. Blood has been spilt. Great sacrifice has been made. It seems the least we could do is pause to remember, remember and be grateful.

There are at least two spiritual applications to this. First, the Church is built on the bloody bodies of the martyrs. As Christians living in America we have it made. Our faith cost us very little. But that is not always the case. In Rev. 6:9 we read,
“When the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of everyone who had been killed for speaking God's message and telling about their faith.”
This year, 2010, millions of Christians around the world will be persecuted, thousands will die simple because they claim the name of Christ.

The second spiritual application is; Jesus Christ gave up His life for us. So just as we put flags and flowers on the graves of our fallen war heroes – we should
“…offer our bodies as living sacrifices holy and pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service.” (Romans 12:1)
May I remind you on Memorial Day to pause and remember what your freedom cost – both on an earthly and eternal plane. To remember and be grateful!

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