PLUS

Matthew 7:24-25 “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.”

Luke 6:47-48 “Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which build an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.”

The most dangerous part of moving the hangars at Edwards Air Force Base in 1955 (see the previous post) was when they were between foundations. Being between foundations meant that those buildings were without a foundation for a period of time.  In this case, the process took five long weeks.  In order to provide extra stability during this painstaking move, the hangars were thoroughly braced with added wooden supports to keep them in the original structurally-sound shape.  In this condition, they were carefully jacked up to rest upon 54 heavy-duty dollies.

A building without a foundation, or without the right foundation, is in a seriously precarious position.  So are people.  So is a nation.  The best foundation is dug deep and built upon the stability of a rock.  Not just any rock, but the Rock.  PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICANS WOULD ONCE AGAIN RECOGNIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF BUILDING OUR FOUNDATION UPON CHRIST.

I Corinthians 3:11 “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

In 1943, the US Army constructed two massive hangars at Muroc Army Air Field, the field that eventually became known as Edwards Air Force Base.  These hangars weighed over 1,400 tons, each measuring 250 feet by 283 feet.  By 1955, the base had greatly expanded to the north and the hangars were no longer useful where they were.  Yet, the base needed similar hangars two miles to the north.  After considering the options, the base decided that they would be able to save $2.5 million by moving the current hangars instead of building new ones.  The trick was to move these behemoths from one foundation to the next.  Over a period of five weeks they did so with great care and these hangars are still in use today.

While this project was successful, it was fraught with peril.  In fact, the contractor eventually went bankrupt.  It was a massive undertaking, which ended once the hangars were on their new firm foundations.

While these structures were equally stable on the new foundations as on the old ones because the foundations were equivalent, the potential foundations in our lives and in our nation are not equivalent.  Indeed, there is no foundation like Jesus Christ.  PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICA WOULD RETURN TO ITS ORIGINAL CHRISTIAN FOUNDATION.  Our lives and our nation would be in a far better condition if we did so.  The alternatives are hardly equivalent.

Mark 12:30-31 “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all they mind, and with all they strength: this is the first commandment.  And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.  There is none other commandment greater than these.”

I have witnessed two types of leaders, those who focus upward to impress their boss and those who focus downward to serve their organization.  The former tend to be self-serving careerists and the later tend to be humble servant leaders.

In fact, the true focus of a humble servant leader should indeed be upward.  This upward focus should not be directed towards a boss, but to the Lord.  Only then can leaders keep their priorities in order and their perspectives in check.  Only then can leaders be reminded that leadership is a responsibility not a right.  Only then can leaders see their position as one of selfless service instead of self-promotion.  Only then can they truly love God and love others.  Indeed, our nation needs leaders that follow God’s priorities as listed in Mark 12.  We need them in our homes; we need them in our churches; we need them in our communities; we need them in our schools; we need them in our workplaces; we need them in our government.  Only with such leaders can America return to its Christian roots.  PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD DEMAND LEADERS IN ALL ASPECTS OF OUR SOCIETY WHO FOLLOW GOD’S PRIORITIES.

Matthew 25:40 “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

I had the recent opportunity to participate in a retirement ceremony of an Air Force Lieutenant Colonel who had a spectacular 20-year career, and who spent the final two years as my Deputy Commander.  I spent my time at his retirement luncheon speaking about the many ways that his service to our nation had impressed me.  Upon further reflection, however, impressing one’s boss is far from the true measure of Christian servant leadership.  Therefore, the message I shared at his retirement ceremony went far beyond how he impressed me and focused on how he was truly impressive.

People who are truly impressive do not just impress the people above them in the chain of command.  People who are genuinely impressive don’t live life trying to impress anyone.  As a result of a mindset that selflessly serves others, impressive people impress their peers and their subordinates as much as they impress their leaders.  Maybe most tellingly, they impress those who can do nothing for them – the least of these my brethren.  They also don’t just impress people at work, but people in all aspects of their balanced life.

Over the weeks leading up to his retirement, I had been bombarded with stories from people from all walks of life about how impressed they had been with this retiree.  Indeed, he was truly impressive.  He was impressive in his character; he was impressive in his work ethic; he was impressive in his empathy; he was impressive in his compassion; he was impressive in his perspective; he was impressive in his creativity; he was impressive in his faith; he was impressive with his family.  He was far more than a man ending an impressive career; instead, he was an impressive man with an impressive life.  He was all of these things because he didn’t strive to impress anyone

Our nation needs leaders like this retiree.  PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICA WOULD EMBRACE LEADERS WHO ARE TRULY IMPRESSIVE.  Such leaders live their lives focused on serving others instead of impressing them.

I deeply appreciate the opportunity to share the PLUS ministry at Lancaster Baptist Church last Sunday evening.  I also appreciate the support regarding PLUS that I have received from Pastor Chappell during the past year.  Please see the following link for some more thoughts on the importance of daily, fervent prayer for our nation:

http://www.paulchappell.com/2014/05/01/how-christians-can-pray-for-national-revival/