Fixed point of Reference

  It's amazing to me that, as Christians, we serve a current God. One who is present in our lives day to day. 

  As this blog has shown, God speaks to me in the everyday things, highlighting truth through my activities and through my past-times. There have been movies, nature, things my wife has said to me, sermons that have struck me and books. All have contributed to the privilege that I have experience in learning who god is and what He is about. It;s called relationship and I highly recommend it.

  So, we have had a slight departure from what God has been showing me though Chuck Holton's book, but I hope that I have been able to communicate something of how the still small voice is something we need to sit up and pay attention to in our lives.
Like the story in the Old testament when Elijah looks for God in all the wrong places, a story you can find in 1 Kings 19:11-13 

This is the same story that influenced the Third Day song 'Still Listening' 

' I looked for you in, The fire and the wind, But you weren't there as far as I could see, I thought I'd hear you shout
But then I figured it out ,That all along you're whispering to me
And I'm still listening'

  OK so I'd like to take you back to the lessons I have been learning in my reading - Remembering as we do

This is your Army, This is your Unit, Christ is your Cause

I have been reading through 'A More Elite Soldier' by Chuck Holton, seeking God for what He wants me to understand next and something once again jumped off the page at me.

  Chuck Holton, in Chapter 7 of the book, tells a story of a training mission, in which He talks long and in depth about the patrols, that his unit had to undertake and how a simple piece of kit is of the utmost importance to a infantry soldier. 

That piece of Kit???

  His M4 rifle? The million dollar Black Hawk helicopter that Rangers rely on for transportation???
No actually - though these things and many others that I have not named here are vital in the lives of soldiers, the piece of kit I am talking about here is a compass.

   A compass, for those of you that are not aware, is an instrument that measures direction in a frame of reference that is stationary, a magnetic devise used for navigation. For an infantry soldier, it is a vital aid when moving from place to place, when on patrol '...you couldn't win an argument with a compass' Chuck Holton says. its something for soldiers to rely on.

  However, it is not just the infantry soldier that relies on this fixed point of reference.

  'Just recently I had leaned that the need for a fixed point of reference wasn't exclusive to infantrymen. About a week earlier, we'd undertaken a mission at Fort Benning's Urban Training Site...we rode MH-6 "Little Bord" helicopters, flown by highly trained Night Stalker Pilots...when it came time for the mission, the opposing forces set burning tyres at various points around the building...The helicopters were stirring up large amounts thick of black smoke as we stepped off the Little Bird, and I was confused to see one of the Black Hawks break procedure by turning suddenly and flying away...seconds later, my confusion tuned to horror as I noticed one of our guys still hanging from the rope!' A More Elite Soldier page 101
 
  This is a scary scenario for the Ranger involved, but the background that brought this circumstance is far more serious

'it was during the debrief that I also found out why the pilot had left prematurely. The billowing smoke had obscured his vision momentarily, and without a point of reference by which to gauge his position relative to the nearby buildings, he had no choice but to pull out. Attempting to maintain a hover, without a fixed point of reference was a quick way to lose a helicopter and its crew' A More Elite Soldier page 102

  How dangerous is it to continue onwards when you have no clue as to where you are? Pushing blindly on regardless???

   Yet sadly, this is what most of us are doing day to day. And although this is true of people who do not know Christ as their Lord and Saviour, it's predominantly Christians I am talking about here. And then we are surprised when the lives of Christians fall by the wayside!!!


  What is our fixed point of reference?


  It should be, without hesitation for us, the Bible. It our compass, our fixed point of reference.


  Ask yourself, honestly - when was the last time you opened your bible? Sunday in church right? During the sermon, when the preacher said something along the lines of - 'turn with me in your bibles to (insert scripture reference here)'. Yep me too, I had my bible on Sunday, both services.
  But lets get a little more specific here shall we - When did you past open your bible outside of a church service to read it? Be honest now!

  I'm not pointing any fingers of condemnation here, I have been personally convicted of this very thing just recently, we had a men's breakfast with a guest speaker, whose very first words were that he was concerned for us Christians that had not read their bibles yet that very morning, and that was at 8:30am. I had barely gotten out of bed. And if I am honest, though I was convicted at the time, my response has been an overwhelming fail.I've not been very good at opening my bible for personal reading, so please do not think I am throwing condemnation out at anyone.
  However, the combination of that men's breakfast and Chuck Holton's book, I am understanding that God is clearly speaking and we need to get listening.


  Over the years I have heard the bible referred to as our instruction manual, our how to guide,as the acronym Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. Its all true. It is what it is. And as soldiers in the Army of the Lord, it must be our field manual, our compass and our fixed point of reference.


  Between the covers of the bible there are 66 books containing the message that God wants us to know.Yes it is full of rules and regulations, commandments and Law, though out Deuteronomy and Leviticus - is that a bad thing? Not when their is purpose to those rules. Its shows us our need for a Saviour. our inability to reach God in our own strength. its designed to be a humbling experience for each of us. So we can accept that its something we can not do for ourselves.
  An the Old Testament is followed by the Good News. There is another way to live. The example of Jesus as the way to live, His instructions and teachings our guide (and the promise of the Holy Spirit who continues that instruction today)


  Paul says in Philippians 3:4-10 - 'Not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ - the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith'


  Faith is the basis for righteousness - the bible needs to be our point of reference.


  Like the helicopter, you are unable to maintain a life fulfilled in Christ alone, without a fixed point of reference.
Like a soldier walking a patrol follows a compass azimuth, and relies on the compass to ensure he keeps to the correct direction. We too need to have something to refer back to in order to ensure our path.


  Whats the danger of not checking back???

 A plane leaving Toronto, Canada on its way to London England, misjudges its course by just 15 degrees, instead of reaching London, will find itself on the coast of Spain, some 600 plus miles off course.

   'An intentioned person will check in with their trajectory along the way to ensure they are on the right path' unknown author

  The way forward for us has got to be an everyday check in with our fixed point of reference, checking our trajectory to ensure our path is in line with the teachings of Jesus, and the will of God as laid out in the Bible, our field manual.


   It means we need to open it, well first get it off the bookshelf, dust it off, and then open it. Read it, and not just on a Sunday. Read it regularly - I am not saying get religious about it, see how that worked out for Saul of Tarsus in Acts.


The bible says in Ephesians 6:17 that the Bible is the sword of the spirit - I once heard it asked: - 

'What kind of warrior can you be without your sword?'

This is your Army, This is your unit, Christ is your Cause.