American hero Charles Lindberg was prohibited from joining the Army Air Forces by President Franklin Roosevelt because his loss in combat would be unacceptable to America. Charles did not give up easily so in 1942 he stowed away in a cargo ship headed for the South Pacific. He then hitches a ride on a small boat to a remote Pacific island where a squadron of P-38 fighters were stationed. He watches a mechanic work on a P-38 fighter along the beach of the island. The mechanic asked Charles what his name was and how did he get on this island? He replied my name is Charles and I arrived on a small boat. The mechanic got nervous and went to his Commanding Officer. The mechanic reported this guy showing up behind his back like a bat out of hell while he was repairing his P-38! The Commanding Officer checked out Charles and determined he was not a spy but Charles Lindberg. They gave Charles a private tent with Kerosene lanterns so he could study his P-38 design documents at night. Charles studied every aspect of the P-38 aircraft during the daylight. Then Charles asked the CO if he could take the P-38 on a test flight? The CO was nervous because if Charles were killed in a flight accident his head would roll! Charles got permission and away he went on P-38 test flights. To make a long story short Charles figured out how to double the effective combat range of the P-38 fighter from 900 miles to 1800 miles. This caught the Japanese by surprise as American pilots could now reach deep behind Japanese forward bases and destroy much of their war materials. These changes in flight procedures on the P-38 were applied to all squadrons in the South Pacific and to the European theater. Charles flew one combat mission in a P-38 and shot down a Japanese Zero fighter. So Charles not only saved a lot of fuel but many lives as the war concluded sooner. Comment; America was and is made great by her people! If you are new to America or an immigrant you need to study American history and follow the lead of great Americans! There are millions like Charles! The mechanic was also important to victory in World War II. Do not depend on the government for welfare but apply your mind God has given you to invent things that make other people’s lives better! I will never forget a wall plaque in a rest stop along the I-95 Northeast corridor. This plaque contained a quote by Thomas Edison. He said,”Lord let me not have one invention unless it helps someone else.” I like the definition of work given by a Jewish Rabbi. He said,”Work is making someone’s life better!” Welfare is destructive while work brings out God’s creativity in each of us! God will save America if we will follow His ways! Thankyou. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Tag: life
Church In The City
How would the city of Corinth compare today with a modern city? Corinth was the first frontier outpost. It was a prosperous city. Caesar’s Roman army retirement community live there. It was located on a key east-west trade route. The poor got rich in Corinth! You might say all the lotto winners lived there. The displaced Jews lived there because Caesar kicked them out of Rome. Sexual perversion was rampant in Corinth. Somehow money and sex are always linked together? The Temple of Aprodita had 1000 temple prostitutes as part of their worship. The Temple of Apollos had nude statues of male prostitutes. Corinth was much like American culture today with sexual brokenness. When Paul walked into Corinth people were celebrating the Isthmian games which was the ancient Olympics. Corinth had athletic training centers much like Colorado Springs does today. The people of Corinth celebrated strength, independence, intellectualism, materialism and public debate. The Greek orator’s debated constantly. They all figured it out they did not need God! 1 Corinthians 2:3-5. Paul says I was not with you with enticing words of man’s wisdom but in demonstration of the spirit and of power. That our Faith should not stand in the wisdom of men but in the power of God! Can God raise up people in a corrupt culture? America is becoming more secular. Heathenistic cultures trump pleasure over purpose. The message of the Crucified Christ is not popular in America just as it was not in Corinth 2000 years ago! But it is still really good news! Polite people did not talk about the Cross in the 1st. century. The worst criminals were crucified. How do you message people about the Cross? The cross was cruel and ugly punishment. Jesus was tortured, beaten, bloodied and murdered! He died the lowest kind of death. It goes to say the Cross is foolishness to the perishing. Why did God choose death to redeem? The wages of sin is death! To the saved the Cross is the power of God! Are you grateful for the Cross? The Cross is central to belief. The Cross is entry to everything. The Cross destroys the wisdom of the wise! Intelligent people say that if God cannot answer all my questions then I will not follow him! My adopted son Abram is a very intelligent little boy. His grandfather was a nuclear physics engineer! Sometimes Abram will ask me questions that are deep and thoughtful. Sometimes I do not know the answer to his question. God came to save us and not answer all our questions. Corinth had some of the best minds of that era. They were intellectuals, philosophers, Romans, Greeks and Jews. Preaching Christ was foolish to the gentiles. The Jews expected a military Messiah. What do you want to hear? I want to be skinny and rich! American and Corinth cultures say “Blessed are the smart and the strong, Blessed are the ambitious, God helps those who help themselves!” Superman has arrived! It is me! Jesus said,”Blessed are the poor in spirit,meek,merciful and kind.” The Roman government of Corinth ruled by fear and intimidation like many governments do today. Why did Jesus submit to the tyranny of the Roman government and the Jews and go to the Cross? To show the world a new way to use power! The world uses power to rule over people. Watch an NFL game. Hundreds of millions of dollars spent to try to dominate one another! Competition is to fight for power! Dominate others! Get power to defend yourself! Buy armies and men and women to rule over others. When Pilate had Jesus on trial he told Jesus he had power to condemn Him to death or release Him. Jesus told Pilate I lay my life down and unless my Father gives you power you cannot touch me. Christ goes to the Cross to use power in a new way. Christ gave His life for people and not to rule over people! God has given us power for people in service to people and care for them. Jesus became a nobody to save everybody. Jesus is calling the marginalized and the down and out. Not to manipulate them but release them from the bondages of sin. The nobodies are being invited in. Discover a new way of being powerful. Everyone can belong! No disenfranchised! The Cross is where you start and finish. No substitute for the Cross! All must come to the Cross and believe! Source; Sermon notes taken from message given by Pastor Brady Boyd at New Life Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Message given on Sunday January 5, 2014.
Tribute To Captain David Lyons USAF 1985-2013
One of our very own Captain David Lyons was celebrated at the memorial service today in Colorado Springs at New Life Church. The military protocol was moving as hundreds of Air Force Academy Cadets and other military members attended the services along with New Life church members. Captain David Lyons was killed in action last month in Afghanistan by a suicide bomber. Other military members were killed and injured in the attack along with some NATO troops. David was a star athlete at the Air Force Academy and still holds the Idaho High School State record for the shot put throw. He was adopted and took on his adopted parents name. His wife Dana is also an Air Force Academy graduate and serves in the Air Force. It is so encouraging to see military members and church members support their fallen hero’s and their families. I want to give you a famous quote by Charles Province which was given at the memorial service. It reads as follows;” It is the Soldier, not the minister who gives us freedom of religion. It is the Soldier, not the reporter who gives us freedom of the press. It is the Soldier, not the poet who gives us freedom of speech. It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer who gives us freedom to protest. it is the Soldier, not the lawyer who gives us the right to a fair trial. It is the Soldier, not the politician who has given us the right to vote. It is the soldier who salutes the flag, Who serves beneath the flag, and Who’s coffin is draped by the flag!” Jesus said in John 15:13, “Greater love hath no man than this, That a man lay down his life for his friends!” The word friends translates from the Greek as neighbor. Remember in Mark Chapter 12 the scribes asked Jesus which is the greatest Commandment? Jesus answered, “”Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind and strength. Then the second is to love thy neighbor as thyself. There is no greater Commandment than these!” David did lay down his life for his neighbor’s which represents millions of American’s and millions of people in Afghanistan! We must also recognize a distinction here. David laid down his life to save others! The suicide bomber laid down his life to destroy others! There are two separate eternities for each. There are two sides of the fence here. In one eternity David is joined with Christ the one he lived and died for! The suicide bomber who died to bring death to others is separated from God forever in the fires of hell! Two different outcomes created by two different choices! Choose this day who you will serve! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Tribute To Vietnam War Veterans ! John 15:13
I graduated from high school in the summer of 1967. About 250 young men were being killed every week in Vietnam. I was ordered to report to my draft board in the summer of 1967. They asked me if I intended to go to college? They told me if I went to college 4 years and kept up my grades they would defer military service until after college. I thought this was strange? Should not everyone have to go as in previous wars? If you exempt some this will cause divisions in our culture! There is an old saying among my generation during the Vietnam war. It says the chickens went to college and the Eagles went to war! I decided to join the chickens. It was a big flock and plenty of bird brains in college during the war! Hundreds of new colleges sprung up all over America overnight with majors in basket weaving! To give exemptions to hundreds of thousands of college students was a big mistake! Any culture will be united if they are all making equal sacrifices in the war effort. I never demonstrated one day against the Vietnam war. If you play chicken the least you could do is support the Eagles! Things got worse! Martin Luther King assassinated in 1968 and then Bobby Kennedy! Race riots in every major city across America! The Tet offensive in Vietnam escalated the war. Our veterans returning from Vietnam were disrespected? At the end of the war with over 50000 killed and tens of thousands wounded what good can come out of this? Do not forget over 100000 Vietnam veterans commited suicide after coming home! In World war II everyone participated in the war effort! Vietnam veterans were just as courageous and exceptional in their service to our nation! History will show it was not the wrong war but the wrong approach to the war by our leaders. The same problem exists in our voluntary military today! Today only a small percentage of our population is involved in the war effort so most of the culture is disengaged from the war! Over the years I was always looking for something good out of the Vietnam war? Some think that the Berlin Wall coming down some 20 years later was due to financial expenditures the Soviets made fighting through proxy against us in Vietnam? As I watched several hours of combat film of the Vietnam war I began to see a pattern! As hundreds of helicopters picked up the dead and wounded American’s from the battle field I noticed the wounded who were still conscious were not concerned about their own wounds but concerned about their fellow comrades! They would say things like,”Who will protect my buddies if I am not there to defend them?” Who will help my brothers? Who will help them if I am not able? The Vietnam American veterans were not dying for a political philosophy or for the democratic or republican party! They were dying for each other! Jesus put it best in John 15:13 when he said,”Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” That was what Jesus did for you and all humanity! When you pass by a Vietnam veteran tell him, “Thankyou.” James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Surprised By Joy!
This is the 3rd Sunday of Advent. The season of Advent helps us to shape and impact our culture. The Christmas story is ripe with revelation! Luke1:30 The angel appears to Mary! Of all the Prophets Isaiah had the most revelation about the coming Messiah! Isaiah Chapter 9. Isaiah focused on this Prophetic message. We have a gap of time between the old and new testament of 400 years. It is sometimes called the years of silence. About as much time as the Jews were in slavery in Egypt. No Prophets spoke and no further revelation was given during these silent years. The stage was set at the end of the old testament and the curtain was drawn. Is God silent in your life? Have you been listening for Him or just too busy? Then after 400 years of darkness the curtain is split in two! Light appears from darkness! At a time least expected! God will surprise you! Do you have an expectation from Him? God came into my life when I least expected it! Has He come for you? Advent is about Him coming to you! Do you need to welcome Him? When Jesus was born in Bethlehem wise men from the East following His star showed up in Jerusalem. King Herod heard about this and was very disturbed! He was rattled! Herod was jealous! King Jesus was a direct threat to him. Herod the Great was from Idumea and was a descendant of the Edomites who were the family of Esau. These descendants of Esau were always attacking Jacob’s family. Remember Jacob’s name was changed to Israel. After the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. the Edomites vanished from history. Herod ordered an abortion of all the children two years old and younger and knives thrust into the bellies women that were pregnant. Yes, the Devil believes in Christmas! The world worships power, position and influence. Not much room for a baby. It is interesting how God uses vulnerable people to accomplish His work! God uses two pregnant women to prepare the way for the Savior of the world! Do you qualify as vulnerable? Homeless, pregnant, broken, betrayed, on dope, rejected, divorced or disabled? Are you without hope? Then you qualify for God to use you in a big way! He is looking for people who will be testimonies for Him! Pass the test and trust God at His Word! The baby Elizabeth was carrying(John the Baptist), leaped for Joy in her womb when Elizabeth heard the news from Mary about her visitation and God’s plan for the King and Son of God to be born by her! Then Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit! Luke 1:39-41. Do not try to live without the Holy Spirit for He gives you the power to live a victorious life! Without the Holy Spirit you will be like the Pharisee’s who knew about God but did not know Him! Luke 2:25-26. Next an old vulnerable man named Simeon who was just and devout got surprised by the Holy Spirit with Joy and was told he would not die until he has seen the Christ. Luke 2: 36-38. Here we see Anna a Prophetess and widow most of her life who served in the Temple get surprised with Joy! Do you lack surprise? Is life dull and routine? Hopeless? Broken dreams? Remember Joy is a gift! God does not just give joy but He is Joy! In His presence is fullness of Joy! Joy is not happiness. Our Constitution says we have the right to pursue happiness! Happiness you have to pursue or try to chase down by your own efforts! It depends on the economy, politicians, health, ect. Joy is a gift and never earned! The price has been paid for you! Galatians 5:22. Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. What are the enemies of Joy? Pride, self, criticism, sarcasm, ect. Do you find fault with everything? Do you leave any room for beauty? No room for Jesus in your Inn? Have you been wounded or hurt by someone? See the beauty of God! No one on earth loves you like Him! He will never leave you or forsake you! He is different from us! I am not offering you a Christian but Christ Himself! Never lose your fascination, awe and wonder for Him! Go for beauty and be surprised by Joy! Joy is a person and not a benefit! The Holy Spirit is a person! The benefits come with the person and not apart from Him! Psalm 16:8-11. Do not get fixed on our cultural problems. Important but not your focus! Rather than be a student of culture be a Worshipper of God! Set the Lord before you. Have fullness of Joy and pleasures forevermore! You can hear bad news but still have Joy. Turn off the news networks this season and enter into His rest! Focus on Christ! Spend time with Him! The word time means, :”To Honor.” Psalm 16:9 Rest in Hope! My heart is glad and rejoices. Joy is an inside job! Your body rests secure. An external God who gives internal pleasure. From without to within! Joy comes at unusual times and unusual places through unusual persons! Is your heart prepared to be surprised by Joy? Source; Sermon notes taken from message given by Pastor Brady Boyd at New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Message given Sunday December 15, 2013.
ObamaCare Trick or Treat?
What does the word Halloween mean? The word means a Holy person or Saint. It started as a Christian celebration of the departed Saints. It is followed up the next day called, “All Saints Day.” The problem is over time the event has moved from celebrating life to celebrating death! As Christians we celebrate life and not death! Jesus conquered death, hell and the grave for us! So we celebrate Jesus and not Satan who is the author of death. You have to keep the main thing the main thing! Thankyou. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com