This Blog -
Moved To:
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Cigarettes,
Candy,
C-Rations,
and Freedom

Throughout history, the sight of armed soldiers has
always terrified civilians. Soldiers almost always
meant an orgy of looting, pillaging, rape, and even
murder.

That was certainly the case at the end of World War
II. Historian Stephen Ambrose, writing in the WALL
STREET JOURNAL, notes that, at war's end, "The most
terrifying sight to most civilians was a squad of
armed teenage boys in uniform." Whether it was the
Red Army in Warsaw, the Japanese in Manila, or the
Germans in Holland, this sight meant trouble.

There was one exception to this tragic rule.
"Everywhere in the world," Ambrose writes, "whether
in France, Belgium, the Philippines, Germany, or
Japan, the sight of a twelve-man squad of GIs brought
joy to peoples' hearts." Why? "Because the sight of
those American kids meant cigarettes, candy, c-
rations, and freedom. They had come not to conquer or
terrorize but to liberate."

What made those American soldiers so different, even
from their European counterparts who shared a common
western and Christian heritage?

What made them different was a commitment to and a
love for a set of ideals. These were the classic
ideas of the American founders.

Unlike other nations, American identity is not based
on ethnicity or geography. It's based on a moral
proposition. This proposition comes straight from the
faded and yellowed document: The DECLARATION OF
INDEPENDENCE.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all
men are created equal and are endowed by their
Creator with certain unalienable rights, among them
the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

When I went into the Marine Corps, this is what I was
willing to die for, and this is what being an
American has meant to GIs through the years. This
belief, in turn, has shaped the way GIs treated
civilians -- even in enemy countries. After all, how
can you terrorize men and women when you are fighting
to protect the life and liberty of every human being?

Sadly, in the past twenty years, Americans have
weakened in their commitment to principles contained
in our founding documents. Our nation has begun to
systematically exclude entire classes of people from
its guarantees.

We've excluded those waiting to be born. We've
excluded people with handicaps like Downs syndrome.
Through physician-assisted suicide, we've begun to
exclude the elderly and the infirmed. Today, many are
proposing that we add to this tragic list: Through
cloning, they want to create human life only to
destroy it.

If we continue down this road, I have to ask myself:
Will American GIs in some future conflict be as
welcome as those who liberated Europe after World War
II, or those who more recently unshackled
Afghanistan? And will those troops have the same
respect and compassion for the innocent?

It's something to ponder with thoughts of Memorial
Day still fresh in our minds. This week BreakPoint
will continue to focus on the theme of Memorial Day,
remembering those who have gone before us and served.
So why not take a moment with your family to discuss
the moral truths that lie behind the holiday, that
have motivated our GIs over the years -- truths that
have guarded the innocent in ages past and, God
willing, will guard them in the future?

Chuck Colson
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Christian Web Info: http://www.gospelcom.net
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The Berean Call Monthly Newsletter -
http://www.thebereancall.org
==================
Don't be left behind: http://www.leftbehind.com
==================
"A Plan for Your Family: God's vs. the World's"
==================
Family WWW Protection: http://www.We-Blocker.com
==================
On December 24, 1968 the world watched as Commander Frank Borman
and his crew made history during the first manned flight to orbit the moon.
The members of the Apollo 8 mission had an important message for the world
that Christmas Eve -- they read from the biblical Book of Genesis. Here is
their message, in part, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the
earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon
the face of the deep. And the Sprit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
And God said, 'Let there be light;' and there was light…And God saw that it was good."
==================

Who is Jesus? (http://www.ccci.org/whoisjesus/interactive-journey/)

{Double click on the web addresses above for additional information:}

===============

*My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick
to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. --James 1
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Dear God,

This prayer Lord, that I say tonight
Is for our troops who all must fight .
These are the troops that we all love
And so I pray dear Lord above
Please keep them safe while they’re away
And bring them home to us someday.

This prayer is not for ours alone
But for all military far from home.
I ask You to keep them safe and sound
On their way to where they're bound.
We love them all that are asked to fight
So keep them safe for us tonight.


Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands.
Protect them as they protect us.
Bless them and their families for the selfless acts
they perform for us in our time of need. Amen!

Remember Them...







Soldiers

In Arlington and Flanders Field,

They rest in row by row.

They fought and died for liberty

to preserve the peace we know.

They fought upon the beaches

of many foreign lands.

They fought for right and glory

for which our country stands.

They marched to war with courage.

They fought the battles thru.

They only thought of victory,

our peace they would renew.

On distant shores and jungle wars,

they would for peace persist.

They gave their lives for freedom,

no greater cause exist.

For honor, truth, and glory,

they fought and died together,

side by side in trenches deep.

They're remembered now and ever.

In Flanders Field and Arlington,

and in jungles and oceans deep,

our boys will rest forever.

We pray they rest in peace.

Jack E. Barnett



"Who more than self their Country loved...
...And Freedom more than life..."
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"The Proof You Are Loved"
John 3:16

Listen to the audio broadcast!
http://www.gospelcom.net/cgi-bin/ramhurl?p=pnm&f=/rhm/sounds/awwy/awwy5056.rm

The Valentine our four-year-old grandson got from his grandparents must have meant a lot to him. He doesn't get to see these grandparents real often, so it's nice to get their love in the mail. When his Valentine arrived, his mom read it to him. Several times that day, he asked her to read it to him again. Later, as they were driving around town, he actually began repeating verbatim the love words from that Valentine! They meant so much to him that he had memorized them, and he just kept going over them!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Proof You Are Loved."

A little boy heard words that described how much somebody loves him, and he moved those words from the card they came in to his heart. In a world where real love is so hard to come by and so easy to lose, we could use some words of love to hang onto.

And the person who loves you most has given you words like that. They may be words you've heard a thousand times before; they may be words you've never heard. But they are the proof of how very much you are loved by the God of the universe. They are, in fact, our word for today from the Word of God in John 3:16. Listen to these twenty-six words of love as if your life depends on them. It does.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." Those are words worth having in your heart. They are a reason to make sure today that the Christ they talk about is in your heart.

However others may have treated you, however you may think God feels about you, God loves you. So much that He sent His one and only Son all the way from heaven to die an awful death for you on a rugged cross. It was the only way you could have every wrong thing you've ever done forgiven by God. Sin has to be paid for with a death penalty. God's love for you is so great that He sacrificed the only One who could die in your place - His sinless Son, Jesus. So when you open your heart to Jesus, you are opening your heart to the greatest love in the universe. When your heart remains closed to Him, you are turning your back on the greatest love in the universe.

Some years ago a noted photographer decided to make a photo journal of people he had photographed visiting the Vietnam Wall in Washington, D.C. One morning he got there very early and he noticed this little memorial that hadn't been there the day before. It displayed a picture of a soldier, a picture of Jesus, a service medal, and a simple, three-word inscription. As he knelt to snap a picture of it, he felt a hand on his shoulder and he heard an elderly man asking, "Do you like it?" He explained that's why he was photographing it. The old man said, "I'm glad. I put it there." Suddenly, that three-word inscription took on deep meaning for that photographer. It simply said "Only one Son."

On the cross, God sacrificed His "only one Son" for you. Now He's asking, "What do you think of what He did for you?" Your eternity hinges on your answer. John 3:16 says that if you "believe in Him," you will not die for your sin but instead you'll live with Him in heaven forever. When you think "believe" in the Bible sense, think a drowning person hanging onto a lifeguard with everything he's got. When you do that with Jesus - trusting completely in His death for you - you are saved; you are rescued by Him.

There could be no greater tragedy, no greater mistake for you to make, than for you to miss what Jesus gave His life for you to have - for you to end up paying the eternal price that Jesus already paid for you. How does that happen? If you don't reach out and take by faith what He died to give you. If you want to do that, you can talk to Him about it in word something like this: "Lord, thank You for your love for me, for the sacrifice You made to pay for my sin on the cross. I realize that's my only hope of having my sins forgiven or going to heaven. So, right now, 'I'm Yours.'"

We've actually set up our website to help you make that kind of beginning with Jesus Christ. Would you visit us there? It's yoursforlife.net. Or if you'd like to receive Yours For Life in a printed form, just call us at 877-741-1200.

See, this is the love you were made for; the love you've been looking for. That love has a name. His name is Jesus, and you're one prayer away from belonging to Him.

If you're not sure you belong to Jesus, and you would like to make sure today, Ron would like to send to you a free copy of the booklet, "Yours for Life: How to Have Life's Most Important Relationship." To read it online, click here:
http://www.yoursforlife.net/

OR, to request your free copy of "Yours for Life," click here:
http://rhm.gospelcom.net/yours/yflorder.html

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To find out how you can begin a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, please visit YOURS FOR LIFE: HOW TO HAVE LIFE'S MOST IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIP at:
http://www.yoursforlife.net
Or, call 1-888-NEED HIM.

"A Word With You" by Ron Hutchcraft is a daily radio challenge, with slice-of-life illustrations and insights - providing practical help on the issues that matter most. If your local Christian radio station does not air "A Word With You," please let them know how much you value this program. Over six years of transcripts are available online, at http://rhm.gospelcom.net/awwy.php
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A Story is told about a soldier who was finally coming home after having fought in Vietnam. He called his parents from San Francisco.
"Mom and Dad, I'm coming home, but I've a favor to ask. I have a friend I'd like to bring home with me."

"Sure," they replied, "We'd love to meet him."







"There's something you should know the son continued, he was hurt pretty badly in the fighting. He stepped on a land mine and lost an arm and a leg. He has nowhere else to go, and I want him to come live with us."

"I'm sorry to hear that son. Maybe we can help find him somewhere to live."

"No, Mom and Dad, I want him to live with us."









"Son," said the father, "you don't know what you're asking. Someone with such a handicap would be a terrible burden on us. We have our own lives to live, and we can't let something like this interfere with our lives. I think you should come home and forget about this guy. He'll find a way to live on his own."







At this point, the son hung up the phone. The parents heard nothing more from him. A few days later, however, they received a call from the San Francisco police. Their son had died after falling from a building, they were told. The police believed it was suicide. The grief-stricken parents flew to San Francisco and were taken to the city morgue to identify the body of their son. They recognized him, but to their horror they also discovered something they didn't know, their son had only one arm and leg.









The parents in this story are like many of us. We find it easy to love those who are good-looking or fun to have around, but we don't like people who inconvenience us or make us feel uncomfortable, We would rather stay away from people who aren't as healthy, beautiful, or as smart as we are. Thankfully, there's someone who won't treat us that way. Someone who loves us with unconditional love that welcomes us into the forever family, regardless of how messed up we are.







Tonight, before you tuck yourself in for the night, say a little prayer that God will give you the strength you need to accept people as they are, and to help us all to be more understanding of those who are different from us!

~Author Unknown~
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Mainly Water

Green beans, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, cucumber,
lettuce, zucchini, onion, pumpkin, tomatoes are packed
with vitamins and minerals but contain more than 90% water!

***

Not Mold

Florida oranges may be greener than California oranges
because the night temperatures in Florida are warmer,
which causes more chlorophyll to migrate into the peel;
they are still ripe and sweet though.

***

Native to...

Black raspberries are indigenous to North America-the
cross between a blackberry and a raspberry dates back
to 1893 in Geneva, New York.

********

"I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down
on us. Pigs treat us as equals."

Winston Churchill
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OUTRAGEOUS! DATA ON 26.5 MILLION VETERANS STOLEN
This week, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced that a computer
containing personal information on more than 26 million veterans and
their spouses was stolen. The loss included Social Security numbers.
This is probably the biggest reported potential identity theft ever.

If you receive my News of the Day, you know that the computer was
stolen from the house of a data analyst who was not authorized to
remove data from his office. I guess that's not surprising; the VA is
reportedly among the lowest-ranked government agencies for computer
security. This is disgraceful!

The data includes information on service members back to 1975. I have
some advice on my Web site that will help you protect yourself from
identity theft. So, if you're affected, be sure to read it.
http://komando.com/tips_show.asp?showID=9727

You can also call the government at 800-333-4636 or visit its Web site:
http://www.firstgov.gov

And, you probably know someone who has served in the military. In that
case, pass this newsletter on to them.
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TIME TO THINK ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO DIED FOR US
Monday is Memorial Day. Most of us will take the day off. While we're
relaxing, we should think about the holiday's meaning.

Memorial Day originated as Decoration Day in 1868. It honored those
killed in the Civil War. In 1971, the name was changed to Memorial Day.
The honor was extended to all American war dead.

This holiday, we have many military people in harm's way. I'll say a
prayer for them on Monday. I hope you will, too.

There are lots of Memorial Day sites. Here's a link to a bunch:
http://komando.com/kool_show.asp?showID=5427248
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