In verse five the word days is used twice. The Hebrew word used for day "yowm" is the same in both cases; Yowm is a 24 hour period. A lot of questions are raised just on this one word alone. Does this mean a literal 24 hours? Some people look at 2 Peter 3:8,
"But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day."
This doesn't mean God created the earth in 7,000 years. This means that God is not limited by time, He is not on our timetable. Look at John 2:19,
“All right,” Jesus replied. “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
Jesus was referring to himself on the cross. The Greek word for day "hemera" is also a 24 hour period. Jesus rose in three 24 hour days, not 3,000 years.
Everytime the word day is used (14 times) in Genesis 1-2:3, it is the same word, a 24 hour period. So in six days God created alot.
Day One: Light and darkness
Day Two: The Sky
Day Three: Land,Sea, seed-bearing plants and trees with seed-bearing fruit
Day Four: Sun, Moon and stars
Day Five: Fish and everything that scurries and swarms in the water and every sort of bird
Day Six: Animals, man and woman
Day Seven: God rested
God you are amazing.
He created everything so He could have a relationship with me. Its crazy to think that God wanted me so much that He would create me. But He gave me the choice to love Him. He could have created me to love Him, but He created me with the choice to love Him.
Thank you Lord for all you have done and will continue to do. Thank you for being completely faithful to me when I am faithless.
Monday, March 10, 2014
Friday, April 19, 2013
Confession
Lord hear me as I pray this confession from my heart...
I lie,
I steal
and cheat,
Yet you love me.
I'm dirty,
I'm ugly,
I'm a sinner,
Yet you cleanse me.
I look at thing I shouldn't,
My mouth that is meant to praise you,
It uses bad langauge and talks bad about others,
Yet you forgive me.
You died for me,
Yet I constantly spit in your face as you pass by carrying my sins on the cross.
I beg you to forgive me,
And I know you will,
I take advantage of it,
I don't mean to,
Please forgive me.
Lord I love you with everything I have,
Please help me beat this,
Brothers and sisters in Christ. I don't like coming in front of you and bearing my heart and my sins. But I know if I keep them in a tight knit group that I will not progress. I need my faults in the light in order for me to remember that others know. It keeps me accountable. Please forgive me, please pray for me.
Because music is such a big part of my life and shows what I'm going through I post these following two songs to show you.
Building 429: Where I Belong
Needtobreathe: Able
I lie,
I steal
and cheat,
Yet you love me.
I'm dirty,
I'm ugly,
I'm a sinner,
Yet you cleanse me.
I look at thing I shouldn't,
My mouth that is meant to praise you,
It uses bad langauge and talks bad about others,
Yet you forgive me.
You died for me,
Yet I constantly spit in your face as you pass by carrying my sins on the cross.
I beg you to forgive me,
And I know you will,
I take advantage of it,
I don't mean to,
Please forgive me.
Lord I love you with everything I have,
Please help me beat this,
Brothers and sisters in Christ. I don't like coming in front of you and bearing my heart and my sins. But I know if I keep them in a tight knit group that I will not progress. I need my faults in the light in order for me to remember that others know. It keeps me accountable. Please forgive me, please pray for me.
Because music is such a big part of my life and shows what I'm going through I post these following two songs to show you.
Building 429: Where I Belong
Needtobreathe: Able
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Easter Weekend
Easter this year was different but good. I'm here in Afghanistan instead of back home with my beautiful wife and daughter. But God, as always was here and made this weekend good.
Friday started out poorly, where I was up since Thursday morning at 0700. I was supposed to go back on guard later Friday night keeping me up for nearly 48 hours. But my platoon sergeant told me that I needed rest. So he took me off guard and told me to go to bed. I decided before going to bed I'd head over to the chapel and play some music and read. Well, to my surprise I was twenty minutes early for a Good Friday service I didn't know about. After all, I had forgotten that it was Good Friday. Needless to say, the service blessed me. Immediately following service they were playing Passion of the Christ. When I say they, I mean the MWR, not the chapel. To top it off, the MWR was playing outside on a projector. If you happened to live fifty feet from the outdoor theater or walk by you would see or hear the movie. Well, we thought things were going to go south as soon as the movie started playing. If you've ever seen Passion of the Christ, it's not in English and normally has captions. This copy did not have captions, no big deal if you actually know the story behind the movie. Well, we were concerned that the non-believers would get up and leave. NO ONE LEFT!!! Everyone stayed, and more people even came throughout the movie.
Let's move on to Sunday morning, Easter Sunday or Resurrection Sunday. This morning was good, about 80 degrees outside clear sky. Music this morning was good and so was the sermon. They even had one guy get baptized this morning. I didn't get a chance to go to the sunrise service but I was told about 22 people went to that. We had about 76 people at the 1100 service this morning. A lieutenant I've been talking about God and creation came this morning. I know a seed was planted; he has been talking about being on the fence and wanting to come to church. He said he will be coming more often.
Closing this out I ask you to pray for the salvation of the lost soldiers over here. These men and women sacrifice their lives, but the majority of them don't have hope for an afterlife. I've been talking to another lieutenant about creation vs. evolution. He does not and refuses to believe. Please pray for him as well. I hope you all have a great Easter weekend.
Friday started out poorly, where I was up since Thursday morning at 0700. I was supposed to go back on guard later Friday night keeping me up for nearly 48 hours. But my platoon sergeant told me that I needed rest. So he took me off guard and told me to go to bed. I decided before going to bed I'd head over to the chapel and play some music and read. Well, to my surprise I was twenty minutes early for a Good Friday service I didn't know about. After all, I had forgotten that it was Good Friday. Needless to say, the service blessed me. Immediately following service they were playing Passion of the Christ. When I say they, I mean the MWR, not the chapel. To top it off, the MWR was playing outside on a projector. If you happened to live fifty feet from the outdoor theater or walk by you would see or hear the movie. Well, we thought things were going to go south as soon as the movie started playing. If you've ever seen Passion of the Christ, it's not in English and normally has captions. This copy did not have captions, no big deal if you actually know the story behind the movie. Well, we were concerned that the non-believers would get up and leave. NO ONE LEFT!!! Everyone stayed, and more people even came throughout the movie.
Let's move on to Sunday morning, Easter Sunday or Resurrection Sunday. This morning was good, about 80 degrees outside clear sky. Music this morning was good and so was the sermon. They even had one guy get baptized this morning. I didn't get a chance to go to the sunrise service but I was told about 22 people went to that. We had about 76 people at the 1100 service this morning. A lieutenant I've been talking about God and creation came this morning. I know a seed was planted; he has been talking about being on the fence and wanting to come to church. He said he will be coming more often.
Closing this out I ask you to pray for the salvation of the lost soldiers over here. These men and women sacrifice their lives, but the majority of them don't have hope for an afterlife. I've been talking to another lieutenant about creation vs. evolution. He does not and refuses to believe. Please pray for him as well. I hope you all have a great Easter weekend.
Friday, December 21, 2012
Sexual Purity
Back in high school I attended a “True Love Waits” conference. It was fun, Iota and Kingpin Wrecking Crew (two local Maine bands) were there and a few known leaders from the community. I remember how on fire I was for God back then. When I was under persecution, when it wasn't okay to be different. On my sixteenth birthday my parents got me a “True Love Waits” ring, it was my promise ring. To save sex for marriage, not that popular these days. I'm proud that my wife and I waited for marriage. On several occasions I've been in a conversation where people are talking about when they lost their virginity. Most people I've talked to lost it when they were between the ages of twelve to fifteen. When it comes to my turn, I have no shame in saying that I gave it away to my wife after we got married. There was a point in time, where I would be having these same conversations and my response would be, “I'm still a virgin.” Yes, I would get made fun of, but I wasn't having the same issues others were. Becoming a parent when I wasn't ready and getting nasty diseases. And some would look at me with amazement, and say they were proud of me, these people were non-believers.
Again, I'm proud of my wife and I, but the reason I am writing this isn't to talk about saving sex for marriage. This is actually talked about throughout the church and even outside the church. Instead, I'm here to talk about a bigger problem for staying sexually pure. A topic that most avoid because it is uncomfortable to talk about. This topic is pornography.
Yes I saved sex for marriage, but my eyes were not pure. My eyes were first exposed to pornography in third grade. From there it was planted in my mind. And I would end up being addicted to pornography down the road. It hurt my marriage, it hurt my friends and family. It hurt God.
I want to let the world know that pornography is not okay. It's not okay to look at another woman with lust, it's not okay to look at another man with lust. Yet, it can be found anywhere. It can be found online, it can be found at your local corner store. It can be found at grocery stores and gas stations. It is everywhere! I'm tired of it, I'm trying to be faithful to my wife and God. But everywhere I go it's there! I know I'm not the only man trying to flee temptation. And in the past I have not been successful in fleeing. Which means I'm not the only man not successful.
Currently I'm deployed. Pornography although illegal is like kids trading baseball cards. I won't mention people on here, because I'm not for getting people in trouble. But know, that in our first general order for being deployed it is illegal to posses pornography, but it's everywhere.
I'm so thankful for forgiveness, for God's forgiveness and especially my wife's forgiveness. I'm thankful for the prayers of my brothers at church and all my other brothers praying for me. I'm thankful for my wife's prayers. I'm thankful for your prayers.
Now to wrap this up. I've talked to my wife about this before but don't know how to go about it. I want to fight back against the pornography industry. I want to get it off the shelves of our stores, I want to get it offline. But living in this world, this world of sin. I know this will be hard, nearly impossible. I don't know where to start, and this is where you come in. I want to know how to stop this. Starting at the small level, starting on our store shelves. If you now how to start this process, please let me know. Or just go ahead and start it.
One last thing, if you are struggling with sexual purity. Talk to a friend, talk to a brother or sister. But there is also a group from one of my old churches in Colorado Springs called, “Pure Rebellion.” Check out there site.
Again, thanks to all for the prayers. God bless, and continue strong in the faith.
Again, I'm proud of my wife and I, but the reason I am writing this isn't to talk about saving sex for marriage. This is actually talked about throughout the church and even outside the church. Instead, I'm here to talk about a bigger problem for staying sexually pure. A topic that most avoid because it is uncomfortable to talk about. This topic is pornography.
Yes I saved sex for marriage, but my eyes were not pure. My eyes were first exposed to pornography in third grade. From there it was planted in my mind. And I would end up being addicted to pornography down the road. It hurt my marriage, it hurt my friends and family. It hurt God.
I want to let the world know that pornography is not okay. It's not okay to look at another woman with lust, it's not okay to look at another man with lust. Yet, it can be found anywhere. It can be found online, it can be found at your local corner store. It can be found at grocery stores and gas stations. It is everywhere! I'm tired of it, I'm trying to be faithful to my wife and God. But everywhere I go it's there! I know I'm not the only man trying to flee temptation. And in the past I have not been successful in fleeing. Which means I'm not the only man not successful.
Currently I'm deployed. Pornography although illegal is like kids trading baseball cards. I won't mention people on here, because I'm not for getting people in trouble. But know, that in our first general order for being deployed it is illegal to posses pornography, but it's everywhere.
I'm so thankful for forgiveness, for God's forgiveness and especially my wife's forgiveness. I'm thankful for the prayers of my brothers at church and all my other brothers praying for me. I'm thankful for my wife's prayers. I'm thankful for your prayers.
Now to wrap this up. I've talked to my wife about this before but don't know how to go about it. I want to fight back against the pornography industry. I want to get it off the shelves of our stores, I want to get it offline. But living in this world, this world of sin. I know this will be hard, nearly impossible. I don't know where to start, and this is where you come in. I want to know how to stop this. Starting at the small level, starting on our store shelves. If you now how to start this process, please let me know. Or just go ahead and start it.
One last thing, if you are struggling with sexual purity. Talk to a friend, talk to a brother or sister. But there is also a group from one of my old churches in Colorado Springs called, “Pure Rebellion.” Check out there site.
Again, thanks to all for the prayers. God bless, and continue strong in the faith.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
The Little Things
As most of you already know I'm in Afghanistan. I've been away from my family for a month now and it hasn't been fun. I miss them so much and hate the fact that I can't come home kick my boots off hug and kiss my wife and daughter. I can't play with my dog or go to church with my family. Instead, I'm stuck out here wondering when they are going to authorize us to shoot the rabies infested dogs that chase us around. I get hugs from some of the crazy guys I came over here with. I'm not going to complain that I'm over here, because I expected it. After all, I joined in a time of war. I joined because of the war that was going to come after 9-11. But I am going to list a few things that I miss, that I took for granted back home.
My family, I miss them so much. Being able to come home and see your wife smile, unless your daughter was a demon then she is scolding and pointing at your daughter saying, "It’s yours." But I even miss that. I miss seeing a smile on my daughters face as she looks at me across the room then runs away because she is shy and gets embarrassed to show her love for me. I miss my dog that is usually first to the door and the last to get greeted by me. I miss being able to cuddle my wife watching anything from Glee to Battleship. I miss my daughter when she is upset and nothing but "nuggling" daddy will fix it.
I miss being able to go outside, wear my ipod and comfortable shorts and not having to tuck my shirt into those shorts and going for a run.
I miss my church. I have a church here, but its ran by the military. The chaplains try to do their best but are restricted by the federal government on what they can say and do. And I can't wait to come home and be a part of my church. Not just someone that attends it. I can't wait to give back, be a part of the youth group. Start a men’s group with Drew and a couple other guys.
I miss being able to play my Xbox. Not going to lie, I do miss it. It was something I was able to do to just unwind, whether it was watching something by myself or with my wife or playing a game.
I miss the luxury of time.
I miss my toilet.
I miss clean running water. Water that I can go into the bathroom and brush my teeth with and not a bottle of water.
I miss 20 minute showers.
I miss having shampoo and body wash all the time.
I miss the time I had away from the guys I work with.
I miss the fellowship I had.
I miss the Waymans, our extended family.
I miss my home group.
I miss hanging out with Chris and Claire and having all the holidays in one night.
These are just some of the things I miss. But, I will sacrifice them because I believe that God has called me to the army. So therefore God has called me to make these sacrifices and I am right where God wants me. I am in His will and doing His work for the kingdom.
Please pray for God to continually break and test me. I have not been broken in a long time. I feel I have hardened my heart because the army requires me to so I can turn on what my wife calls "Soldier Mode." I just need to be able to turn it off. I feel it’s been on for the last few years including my personal life. I want God to break me to the point where he can start molding me into the man I'm supposed to be. I'm tired of just living; I want to live for Him and Him alone. I want to be able to live and on a daily basis have people look at my life and have absolutely no doubt that I serve the Lord Jesus Christ. I want people to know that I love Him, and through His love I am saved and they can too.
Please keep my guys and I in your prayers. Thanks to all who support us. I love you Kate, stay safe and stay strong. Love you Aliyah.
My family, I miss them so much. Being able to come home and see your wife smile, unless your daughter was a demon then she is scolding and pointing at your daughter saying, "It’s yours." But I even miss that. I miss seeing a smile on my daughters face as she looks at me across the room then runs away because she is shy and gets embarrassed to show her love for me. I miss my dog that is usually first to the door and the last to get greeted by me. I miss being able to cuddle my wife watching anything from Glee to Battleship. I miss my daughter when she is upset and nothing but "nuggling" daddy will fix it.
I miss being able to go outside, wear my ipod and comfortable shorts and not having to tuck my shirt into those shorts and going for a run.
I miss my church. I have a church here, but its ran by the military. The chaplains try to do their best but are restricted by the federal government on what they can say and do. And I can't wait to come home and be a part of my church. Not just someone that attends it. I can't wait to give back, be a part of the youth group. Start a men’s group with Drew and a couple other guys.
I miss being able to play my Xbox. Not going to lie, I do miss it. It was something I was able to do to just unwind, whether it was watching something by myself or with my wife or playing a game.
I miss the luxury of time.
I miss my toilet.
I miss clean running water. Water that I can go into the bathroom and brush my teeth with and not a bottle of water.
I miss 20 minute showers.
I miss having shampoo and body wash all the time.
I miss the time I had away from the guys I work with.
I miss the fellowship I had.
I miss the Waymans, our extended family.
I miss my home group.
I miss hanging out with Chris and Claire and having all the holidays in one night.
These are just some of the things I miss. But, I will sacrifice them because I believe that God has called me to the army. So therefore God has called me to make these sacrifices and I am right where God wants me. I am in His will and doing His work for the kingdom.
Please pray for God to continually break and test me. I have not been broken in a long time. I feel I have hardened my heart because the army requires me to so I can turn on what my wife calls "Soldier Mode." I just need to be able to turn it off. I feel it’s been on for the last few years including my personal life. I want God to break me to the point where he can start molding me into the man I'm supposed to be. I'm tired of just living; I want to live for Him and Him alone. I want to be able to live and on a daily basis have people look at my life and have absolutely no doubt that I serve the Lord Jesus Christ. I want people to know that I love Him, and through His love I am saved and they can too.
Please keep my guys and I in your prayers. Thanks to all who support us. I love you Kate, stay safe and stay strong. Love you Aliyah.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Memories
This is going to be a short post. But because of what day it is I want to take a short moment to pause and remember some people.
SGT Michael K. Clark-KIA 7 OCT 2008. SGT Clark was in Mosul, Iraq with me and was KIA why entering a known enemy building. SGT Clark was 13F just like me, we weren't very close but he is still a brother to me.
SFC Donald Hitchcock "Hitch"- Although he didn't die in combat, he is a combat veteran and I served with him for a short time at Buckley AFB. SFC Hitch was a close friend and a hard loss. He would always bring a smile to your face no matter how bad your day was. Hitch, love you and miss you man.
Click here to see a video of five soldiers lost in one blast. They were also in my battalion in Mosul.
Grampy Earl Packard, I don't remember his rank but he served overseas in WW2. He didn't die in combat, he came back from the war and lived until he was 89. He died this past February, his loss is still felt today. Love you grampy.
Papa Donald Pomelow, served in the Army during the Korean war. Died in 2010, love you Papa.
I would also like to take a moment and recognize one of my brothers who is overseas right now. SGT Joshua Griffin. Please keep him in your prayers along with his wife Kalyn and their baby yet to be born.
There are plenty of others who need to be remembered. These are just a few that I knew. Remember those who served and are serving today.
SGT Michael K. Clark-KIA 7 OCT 2008. SGT Clark was in Mosul, Iraq with me and was KIA why entering a known enemy building. SGT Clark was 13F just like me, we weren't very close but he is still a brother to me.
SFC Donald Hitchcock "Hitch"- Although he didn't die in combat, he is a combat veteran and I served with him for a short time at Buckley AFB. SFC Hitch was a close friend and a hard loss. He would always bring a smile to your face no matter how bad your day was. Hitch, love you and miss you man.
Click here to see a video of five soldiers lost in one blast. They were also in my battalion in Mosul.
Grampy Earl Packard, I don't remember his rank but he served overseas in WW2. He didn't die in combat, he came back from the war and lived until he was 89. He died this past February, his loss is still felt today. Love you grampy.
Papa Donald Pomelow, served in the Army during the Korean war. Died in 2010, love you Papa.
I would also like to take a moment and recognize one of my brothers who is overseas right now. SGT Joshua Griffin. Please keep him in your prayers along with his wife Kalyn and their baby yet to be born.
There are plenty of others who need to be remembered. These are just a few that I knew. Remember those who served and are serving today.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Lokhay Warkawal
WARNING-I AM GIVING AWAY INFORMATION ON THE BOOK "LONE SURVIVOR"
I just got done reading the book "Lone Survivor" a while ago and wanted to post on a couple things I read in it. One the title of my post Lokhay Warkawal, the other is one of the situations the SEAL team was put in.
LOKHAY WARKAWAL: Lokhay Warkawal literally means `giving of a pot' but it implies the protection of an individual or a tribe. A weaker tribe to a stronger one with the object of ensuring its safety and security generally gives Lokhay. It is accepted in the form of a sacrificial animal such as a goat or a sheep. When a tribe accepts a Lokhay from another tribe, it undertakes the responsibility of safeguarding the latter's interests against its enemies and protects it at all costs.
AT ALL COSTS!!! I get protecting someone at all costs when I love them and know them. But someone I don't know, a complete stranger, that would never happen. Well thats exactly what happened in this book. Keep in mind this book is based on true events. Marcus Luttrell is the author and is the "Lone Survivor" of "Operation Red Wings" If you don't feel like follwing the link I'll give you a "quick" background. Keep in mind its been a while since I read the book, but I'll do my best.
Marcus Luttrell was part of a four man SEAL recon team trying to find one of Bin Ladens high ranking men. When needed they would call in reenforcements and take on the enemy with a bigger force. Luttrell and the team ran into a problem, the problem soon escalated to four men against 150 to 200 men. Outnumbered fifty to one the SEALs held them off for a while. But the odds were against them. Slowly the team dwindeled down to one, Marcus Luttrell. Luttrell severely wounded, eventually finding aid by the people he would least expect, Pashtun villagers. The village leader gave Lokahy Warkawal to Luttrell. Meaning they would protect him at all costs. And being full of pride and tradition these strangers protected him against the enemy. The enemy came in to the village a couple time looking for him, the villagers hid him on a few occassions, and one time the enemy found him and slapped him around. The village leader found out, came into the room and even the enemy feared/respected the elder. They stopped and listened to him.
I feel a little ashamed for not being so bold in my faith. Being a christian I'm supposed to love others even if they don't share the same beliefs. I'm even supposed to love those who blaspheme the one and true living God. I'm supposed to pray for my enemies. Instead what do I do? I sit here and talk about how much I hate them, and wish them dead. Granted I'm a soldier in the united states army, but I'm also a soldier in God's army. I should be praying for the people over there, realizing they aren't all bad. They are all people created by my father in heaven. I need to love them, pray for them, intercede on their behalf.
Now on to the second thing that stuck out to me. I found this excerpt here and it summarizes the situation the team was put in.
...The four Seals zigzagged all night and through the morning until they reached a wooded slope. An Afghan man wearing a turban suddenly appeared, then a farmer and a teenage boy. Luttrell gave a PowerBar to the boy while the Seals debated whether the Afghans would live or die.
If the Seals killed the unarmed civilians, they would violate military rules of engagement; if they let them go, they risked alerting the Taliban. According to Luttrell, one Seal voted to kill them, one voted to spare them and one abstained. It was up to Luttrell.
Part of his calculus was practical. "I didn't want to go to jail." Ultimately, the core of his decision was moral. "A frogman has two personalities. The military guy in me wanted to kill them," he recalled. And yet: "They just seemed like -- people. I'm not a murderer."
Luttrell, by his account, voted to let the Afghans go. "Not a day goes by that I don't think about that decision," he said. "Not a second goes by."
At 1:20 p.m., about an hour after the Seals released the Afghans, dozens of Taliban members overwhelmed them. The civilians he had spared, Luttrell believed, had betrayed them. At the end of a two-hour firefight, only he remained alive...
I first started writting this post a few months ago after finishing the book. Life has been crazy since then and now I can't remember why I started writting it in the first place. But after writting this I can tell you how I feel now. I feel torn between my duty as a soldier and my duty as a christian. If I was faced with the situation like they were on the mountain, what would I have done? As a soldier I would have the same thoughts as the team did. But as a christian man, am I supposed to just let them live knowing the real chance of them warning the enemy? I've never been in that situation, and never hope to be. But to assure my wife and my brothers in arms, if I or my brothers are face to face with a known enemy, I wouldn't hesitate. My brothers lives and mine come before the known enemy. I guess I just need prayer on how to deal with all of this. Pray for wisdom, strength and always, Gods will to be done.
I just got done reading the book "Lone Survivor" a while ago and wanted to post on a couple things I read in it. One the title of my post Lokhay Warkawal, the other is one of the situations the SEAL team was put in.
LOKHAY WARKAWAL: Lokhay Warkawal literally means `giving of a pot' but it implies the protection of an individual or a tribe. A weaker tribe to a stronger one with the object of ensuring its safety and security generally gives Lokhay. It is accepted in the form of a sacrificial animal such as a goat or a sheep. When a tribe accepts a Lokhay from another tribe, it undertakes the responsibility of safeguarding the latter's interests against its enemies and protects it at all costs.
AT ALL COSTS!!! I get protecting someone at all costs when I love them and know them. But someone I don't know, a complete stranger, that would never happen. Well thats exactly what happened in this book. Keep in mind this book is based on true events. Marcus Luttrell is the author and is the "Lone Survivor" of "Operation Red Wings" If you don't feel like follwing the link I'll give you a "quick" background. Keep in mind its been a while since I read the book, but I'll do my best.
Marcus Luttrell was part of a four man SEAL recon team trying to find one of Bin Ladens high ranking men. When needed they would call in reenforcements and take on the enemy with a bigger force. Luttrell and the team ran into a problem, the problem soon escalated to four men against 150 to 200 men. Outnumbered fifty to one the SEALs held them off for a while. But the odds were against them. Slowly the team dwindeled down to one, Marcus Luttrell. Luttrell severely wounded, eventually finding aid by the people he would least expect, Pashtun villagers. The village leader gave Lokahy Warkawal to Luttrell. Meaning they would protect him at all costs. And being full of pride and tradition these strangers protected him against the enemy. The enemy came in to the village a couple time looking for him, the villagers hid him on a few occassions, and one time the enemy found him and slapped him around. The village leader found out, came into the room and even the enemy feared/respected the elder. They stopped and listened to him.
I feel a little ashamed for not being so bold in my faith. Being a christian I'm supposed to love others even if they don't share the same beliefs. I'm even supposed to love those who blaspheme the one and true living God. I'm supposed to pray for my enemies. Instead what do I do? I sit here and talk about how much I hate them, and wish them dead. Granted I'm a soldier in the united states army, but I'm also a soldier in God's army. I should be praying for the people over there, realizing they aren't all bad. They are all people created by my father in heaven. I need to love them, pray for them, intercede on their behalf.
Now on to the second thing that stuck out to me. I found this excerpt here and it summarizes the situation the team was put in.
...The four Seals zigzagged all night and through the morning until they reached a wooded slope. An Afghan man wearing a turban suddenly appeared, then a farmer and a teenage boy. Luttrell gave a PowerBar to the boy while the Seals debated whether the Afghans would live or die.
If the Seals killed the unarmed civilians, they would violate military rules of engagement; if they let them go, they risked alerting the Taliban. According to Luttrell, one Seal voted to kill them, one voted to spare them and one abstained. It was up to Luttrell.
Part of his calculus was practical. "I didn't want to go to jail." Ultimately, the core of his decision was moral. "A frogman has two personalities. The military guy in me wanted to kill them," he recalled. And yet: "They just seemed like -- people. I'm not a murderer."
Luttrell, by his account, voted to let the Afghans go. "Not a day goes by that I don't think about that decision," he said. "Not a second goes by."
At 1:20 p.m., about an hour after the Seals released the Afghans, dozens of Taliban members overwhelmed them. The civilians he had spared, Luttrell believed, had betrayed them. At the end of a two-hour firefight, only he remained alive...
I first started writting this post a few months ago after finishing the book. Life has been crazy since then and now I can't remember why I started writting it in the first place. But after writting this I can tell you how I feel now. I feel torn between my duty as a soldier and my duty as a christian. If I was faced with the situation like they were on the mountain, what would I have done? As a soldier I would have the same thoughts as the team did. But as a christian man, am I supposed to just let them live knowing the real chance of them warning the enemy? I've never been in that situation, and never hope to be. But to assure my wife and my brothers in arms, if I or my brothers are face to face with a known enemy, I wouldn't hesitate. My brothers lives and mine come before the known enemy. I guess I just need prayer on how to deal with all of this. Pray for wisdom, strength and always, Gods will to be done.
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