Author: John Page 73 of 163

Joshua 1:9-11 “Have not I commanded thee?  Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed:  for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.  Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the LORD your God giveth you to possess it.”

Psalm 23:4 “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”

As described throughout the series on Valley Forge, the conditions for the American Continental Army were brutal during the winter of 1777-78.  That military force was under-equipped, under-fed, and under-clothed. Of the 12,000 soldiers that entered camp in December of 1777, over 2,000 died before they left in the spring of 1778.

Yet, the American Continental Army recognized the importance of these cold, harsh, long months. Through their patience and fortitude, they saw an opportunity to ready themselves for the battles to come.

Up to that point, the Americans had yet to see success against the British in force-on-force conflict.  Yes, the revolutionaries had seen some victories during small scale skirmishes during the war that had already lasted over 2 ½ years.  They had been successful at places like Concord, Dorchester Heights, Brooklyn, Trenton, and Princeton; however, they had not seen any signs of success that would indicate that they were headed for true victory.

Thus, during that long winter they trained.  They exercised.  They drilled. They were determined to create a disciplined, professional force that would be ready for whatever they would see in the battles to come.  They readied themselves for all contingencies instead of spending the time sulking about their miserable conditions.

Shortly after they left Valley Forge in 1778, they faced their first test in a force-on-force engagement called the Battle of Monmouth.  Their readiness was put to the test, and for the first time, it was the British who retreated from the battle.  The newly-ready American Continental Army prevailed, proving that they could face down a trained and professional British force.  It wasn’t a huge victory on its own, but it signaled hope for the entire revolutionary cause.

Two hundred and forty years later, American Christians must similarly see the value of using our time today to fully prepare for the battles to come.  We need to ready ourselves for all contingencies instead of spending time sulking about our miserable conditions.  We don’t know when and we don’t know where we will be employed, but our Lord needs us to be ready for all contingencies.  Though we may face hardships in our preparation, let us learn from the patience and fortitude of our forefathers to ready ourselves today.

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE PATIENCE AND FORTITUDE TO PREPARE TODAY FOR THE BATTLES TO COME.

Isaiah 40:30-31 “Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

John Gillespie Magie Jr. was the son of a missionary and a fighter pilot for the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II.  He spent his last few months flying escort missions for bombers from the United Kingdom to continental Europe, and passed away on such a mission on December 11^th, 1941.  Before this 19-year-old hero lost his life, he penned a touching poem entitled “High Flight” that impacts many still today:

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air….

Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace.
Where never lark, or even eagle flew —
And, while with silent, lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
– Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

Portions of this poem adorn many headstones of fliers laid to rest at sacred locations as Arlington National Cemetery and was used as a part of President Reagan’s official statement as he responded to the loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger.  As a tribute written to those who literally soar, Gillespie also reminds us that God wants us to figuratively soar as well.

We can touch the face of God when we allow Him to renew our strength and overcome our weariness.  We can touch the face of God when we reach out for His hand to lift us whenever we fall.  We can touch the face of God when we stumble and ask for His help to walk again. We can touch the face of God when we faint and rely upon Him to help us regain our strength.  We can touch the face of God when we trust in his eternal vitality instead of our fleeting youthful vigor.

PLEASE PRAY FOR GOD’S HELP TO SOAR AS AMERICAN CHRISTIANS IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY.  May we put out our hands and touch the face of God.

John 15:13 “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

Fifteen years ago today, Lieutenant Colonel Salty Watkins and Captain Boot Das lost their lives defending our country in the skies of Iraq.  On that dark night, and in the midst of heavy Iraqi fire, these two heroes and personal friends passed on into eternity.  In doing so, they left behind two widows, two kids, and a vast community of mourning colleagues.

This past week, we lost Major Cajun Del Bagno during a USAF Thunderbird training flight, and we lost Captain Samuel Schultz, First Lieutenant Samuel Phillips, Gunnery Sergeant Derik Holley, and Lance Corporal Taylor Conrad during a 3^rd Marine Aircraft Wing training sortie in southern California.

These tragedies provide us stark reminders of the bravery of our men and women in uniform.  While our Sailors, Soldiers, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen often make the defense of our nation look easy because of their skill and courage, what they do is inherently dangerous.  Whether it is in combat in an F-15E Strike Eagle over Iraq; in training in a CH-53 Super Stallion or an F-16 Fighting Falcon in the southwest deserts of the United States; or on land, air, or sea around the planet, these men and women are willing to lay down their lives for their friends.

PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR MEN AND WOMEN IN UNIFORM.  As they faithfully do their sacred duty for their country, it is our sacred duty to faithfully pray for them and the country they so bravely serve.

Hebrews 9:12 “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.”

Isaiah 53:5 “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities:  the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”

In his biography on George Washington, Benson Lossing wrote the following:

“For in all the world’s history, we have no record of purer devotion, holier sincerity, or more pious self-sacrifice, than was there exhibited in the camp of Washington.  The courage of the battlefield dwindles almost into insignificance when compared with that sublime heroism displayed by the American soldiery at Valley Forge, in the midst of frost and snow, disease and destitution.”

For these past several months, I have written posts on the amazing faith and sacrifice of General George Washington and the American Continental Army at Valley Forge during that cold, long, harsh winter.  Our forefathers sacrificed greatly and prayed fervently.  They undoubtedly and undeniably deserve our awe, our appreciation, and our approbation.  Yet, make no mistake, Lossing’s quote above is dead wrong.

There is One in the world’s history who demonstrated purer devotion, holier sincerity, and more pious self-sacrifice than those at the camp of Washington.  Christ’s sublime heroism was vividly demonstrated in the midst of the brutal conditions of the barbaric cross.  The Creator died at the hands of His creation.  The One who should be exalted above all was abased beneath all.  God Himself perished physically because of the murderous clamoring of those He came to save.

PLEASE PRAY FOR A PASSION TO FULLY SERVE THE CHRIST WHO SACRIFICED FOR US BEYOND COMPREHENSION.  Make no mistake, it is Jesus Christ alone who is the undisputed model of sublime heroism.

I Corinthians 10:1 “Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea”

Hebrews 11:39-40 “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:  God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.”

The National Memorial Arch at Valley Forge contains the following thought from Henry Armitt Brown that he delivered during a speech at the 100-year anniversary of the long winter of 1777-78:

And here in this place of sacrifice
in this vale of humiliation
in this valley
of the shadow of that death
out of which
the life of America rose
regenerate and free
let us believe
with an abiding faith
that to them
union will seem as dear
and liberty as sweet
and progress as glorious
as they were to our fathers
and are to you and me
and that the institutions
which have made us happy
preserved by the
virtue of our children
shall bless
the remotest generation
to the time to come.

A century after the great sacrifice at Valley Forge, Brown described the importance of that sacrifice with great passion.  He did so in order that we would never forget them, and that we would always remember our responsibility to live up to their sacrifice.

They endured a vale of humiliation and their own valley of the shadow of death.  Out of it arose America!  May we and our successors consider liberty as sweet and progress as glorious as did they.  May we preserve the institutions which have made us happy and can continue to allow this nation to bless the remotest generation in times to come.

PLEASE PRAY FOR US TO EMBRACE THE FAITH OF OUR AMERICAN FOREFATHERS.  Based on their faith and their sacrifice, they passed through the sea.  Out of it arose America!