March 19, 2003
Early Wednesday on the Godarchy Line: “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2:36-39)
President Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld are being urged NOT to restrict members of our military from open expressions of their faith in Christ reports a Focus On the Family article. In the Gulf War 12 years ago the US Military went out of its way to stop troops from wearing religious symbols or singing hymns so as “not to offend Muslims.”
John Whitehead, of the Rutherford Institute, said “We’ve got reports that this is happening again, and actually that the military has given so-called marching orders that Christians and Jews cannot display their religion in any way publicly.”
This is hypocrisy to the max again. Like his daddy, George W. Bush rightly encourages the nation to pray for our troops. But our troops need to be able to pray and express their faith, not hiding it under a basket. It’s a sad commentary on America when our government forces Christians to make a choice between denying bureaucratic orders from the Pentagon or denying Christ by remaining silent contrary to Scripture.
Of course the Lord Jesus can never be kept in a box. In the fall of 1991, we invited a young man waiting at the bus station to have dinner with us and sleep in a bed instead of sitting at the bus station till his bus left early the next morning. He was pleased when we told him we were having a Bible study afterwards with some praise & worship.
After the Bible study, this young man asked if he could share some things. He had just finished his tour of duty in the Marine Corp as was on his way home but he could not help but speak of what he saw the Lord do while he was in the gulf during the war. He told of hardened Marines weeping over their sins as they confessed Jesus as Lord and were baptized by the hundreds in plastic pools of water in the Saudi desert sand.
| When the Marines entered Kuwait and Iraq, they were met mostly by soldiers surrendering but what really surprised him was their asking the Americans about their God. Yes, the Iraqi troops were starving for food but also starving for the Lord Jesus Christ! Humanitarian groups brought in supplies for these Marines to hand out he said and among these supplies were 5 semi trucks full of Gospel tracts and New Testaments. |
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So many Iraqi citizens and surrendering troops wanted tracts that there was not enough. They were making agreements with each other to take a page to share and trade with each other. This young man was a Christian before being sent to the Gulf War but he had never witnessed such a hunger for Jesus as he saw first among his fellow Marines and then the Iraqis. Weapons and technology were not enough for Marines facing possible death and the false moon goddess of Allah had failed to deliver the Iraqis.
Instead of fulfilling the Pentagon’s fear of offending Muslims, our fighting men wound up as missionaries for Christ when the fighting stopped. The young marine in our Bible study that night then recounted his trip back to the States. “I was on a chartered passenger flight and the flight attendant told us (over 200 Marines) that the airline was providing free drinks. I was stunned as every Marine on my flight reflected on the commitment they had made to Christ in Saudi and turned the drinks down. It was an 11-hour flight”
He explained what a miracle this was to several at our study that were not personally familiar with your average Marine on leave let alone going home. At Twentynine Palms he testified that the Marines still at the base that he had served with were continuing in Bible studies. He closed his testimonies by thanking us for praying for all of our troops and we all sang some more praises to King Jesus for the great things He has done.
Today Americans are back outside Iraq with 235,000 troops just waiting for the go call from Bush before unleashing a war far more violent against Saddam Hussein’s regime. This regime in turn is threatening to use chemical and biological weapons it alleges it doesn’t have.
From Camp Inchon, Kuwait comes a news story about US Marines again seeking Jesus as Lord. The California North County Times reports, Promising to walk the “hard and narrow path to righteousness,” dozens of Marines were baptized Sunday in a sandbag-lined pool in this desert camp (Camp Coyote) not far from the Iraqi border. … Oblivious to diplomatic wrangling, on Sunday, they were concerned with more immediate matters: their redemption.
Like dozens of his comrades before and after him, Sgt. Scott Fleming, 24, of Texarkana, Texas, stripped down in front of about 100 Marines and dropped his clothes to the sand.
A bit embarrassed, but standing straight and confident, he stepped forward to the edge of the pool and gave his testimony before his fellow Marines.
“For me, it’s like taking the hard path in the Marine Corps,” he said. “I want to take the hard and narrow path to righteousness.”
After Fleming knelt in the pool and reaffirmed his faith, Navy Chaplain Tom Webber plunged his shaven head and bare shoulders into the water.
“I hereby baptize you in the name of Jesus Christ,” Webber said as Marines shouted “OOH-RAH!” and clapped. The scene was repeated dozens times as troops stepped forward professing their faith and confessing their waywardness.
“I’m a father now, I just want to make it back to them so I can watch them grow and pass on the word of Christ to them,” said one Marine.
“I sort of strayed when I got in the Marines, like a lotta guys do. I realized it was the wrong path,” said another, a non-commissioned officer from 3rd Battalion’s weapons platoon. “That’s why I’m here today: to promise my fellow Marines that I will walk the right path.”
“I figured there would be no better place to be baptized than before my fellow Marines,” said another. –
- This is just 1 story from 1 group of Marines that made the news. This same revival is occurring in other camps across our troop deployments in the region. In Kuwait, these services are different from 12 years ago only in that they can hold these services in the open since Kuwait allows all religions. In Saudi Arabia where Christianity is banned, the services were in secret.
The Fayetteville Online news reports that 63 members of the 3rd Battalion of the 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment were baptized Monday in the Persian Gulf. The old axiom that there ere are no atheists in foxholes is true.
This time mass surrender by a poorly equipped Iraqi army may dwarf anything seen in 1991. The hunger for the Lord Jesus Christ is likely to still be present in Iraq. After all, what has Islam done for them lately other than feed them lies? Our troops will have their hands full in a quick march to Bagdad with a noisy and deadly urban renewal project ahead of them before turning to meeting humanitarian needs of the people. This is when these Christian soldiers and Marines will shine brightly.
Some are tempted to be skeptical of sudden conversions in the face of possible death but as the young Marine we had as a guest 12 years ago testified, Jesus knows those who are His and these men remember their commitment when they live through it.
In the Marine Corp, you better walk the talk or you’re in for a hard road. A friend of mine was in the Army and said it was the same there. Marines and soldiers know that the proof is not in what you say but in what you do. You know that more than 1 Marine had to be tempted to accept a free drink on that long flight home but each knew they had made promises to God in front of witnesses. God kept His promise and together they kept theirs. The real key I believe was the fact that they had actively shared the Christ they knew with those Iraqis begging to hear the Gospel.
In biblical Christianity, one lives out what they truly believe. Either you’ve got the Lord Jesus or you don’t. The world can tell.
In some more good news, Tuesday morning a lady and her daughter came out of Tiller’s and went into Choices Inc. When she came out of Choices she was holding and showing her sonogram and it was not just 1 baby saved but twins! Praise you Jesus!!! The mother and daughter were both all smiles as they spoke with Christians living out their faith.
Stephen Masburn
Godarchy Productions