REMEMBER

SOUTH PUGET SOUND CHAPTER WOV DEVOTIONAL 11/10/09

WV Vision Statement
Our vision for every child, life in all its fullness. . .our prayer, for every heart, the will to make it so.
Statement of Faith
• We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God.
• We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.
• We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory.
• We believe that for the salvation of lost and sinful man, regeneration of the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential.
• We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.
• We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; they that are saved unto the resurrection of life and they that are lost unto the resurrection of damnation.
• We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Remember
In Observance of Veteran’s Day
See this URL for the video that was shown to begin the devotional (ignore misspellings): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbRGksthTHQ&feature=player_embedded

In honor of Veteran's Day, let us remember the men and women who are sacrificing so much for our freedom. The you tube video, shows footage from current American wars with the background song,“Praise You in This Storm” by Casting Crowns:
I was sure by now, God, that You would have reached down
and wiped our tears away, stepped in and saved the day.
But once again, I say amen and it's still raining as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain,” I’m with you” and as
Your mercy falls I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
and takes away.
Chorus:
And I'll praise you in this storm and I will lift my hands
for You are who You are no matter where I am and every tear
I've cried You hold in your hand; You never left my side
and though my heart is torn I will praise You in this storm.

I remember when I stumbled in the wind You heard my cry
to You and raised me up again; my strength is almost gone
how can I carry on if I can't find You and as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain "I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls I raise my hands and praise the
God who gives and takes away
Chorus

I lift my eyes onto the hills where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth
I lift my eyes onto the hills where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth
Chorus

Every American soldier has a story. This week sharing in a high school classroom, Robert, a Korean War hero clad in a medal covered navy suit jacket, shared his story of unquestioned obedience, sacrifice and integrity in the line of duty. At his superior officer’s command, Robert remembered picking up a machine gun and charging blindly; or climbing a muddy mountain, slipping and falling continually; or instantly crawling under fire delivering a message to the front. The high school students were captivated by the testimony of this older gentleman. The world map was unrolled and Robert pointed to Korea half way around the world and declared that he was honored and proud to leave his home and serve his country in war. Ironically after Robert left the classroom, amongst the next group of soldiers slated that morning was a young woman, currently active in the Air Force. She shared her story about recently returning from her tour of duty in Korea, having no idea that Robert had told the class about his experience there. She reported that continual fighting for freedom was still happening in Korea. All listening were stunned that 52 years later soldiers were following the example of Robert’s generation of soldiers by leaving their home and serving their country “in war”.

As Christians, we too are soldiers. We are in a war against darkness. We need to remember Jesus who paid the price for our freedom. We need to follow His example and His Word with unquestioned obedience, sacrifice and integrity as we minister in our generation.
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the
rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world
and against the spritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
(Ephesians 6:12)
“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world
does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.
On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”
(2 Corinthians 10:4)

The darker the darkness the fiercer the fight. As Women of Vision we are not just a group of women raising funds for charity; we are mighty warriors against darkness and we can count on fierce opposition from the darkness. As we begin to mobolize for this year of outreach locally, nationally and globally may we remember these verses in Ephesians and 2 Cornithians and the promises from Psalm 121, the first lines of which were the last lines in the lyrics of Casting Crowns’ song “Praise you in the Storm”.
“I lift my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will
not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither
slumber nor sleep.
The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your
right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon
by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm—he will watch over
your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going
Both now and forevermore.” Psaml 121

May we remember not only the brave men and women in harm’s way who serve in our Armed Forces, but the One who died so that all might be free. May we be inspired by the faithful men and women in the Armed Forces past, present and future to serve Him as they serve with integrity, sacrifice and obedience as we stand against the darkness on behalf of marginalized women and children around us through Women of Vision.