June 2007
CHAPLAIN’S CORNER
Greetings from the Breece household to all of my Ranger brothers and families. Situation here is about as chaotic as usual. As I grow older, it seems as though my life is busier. I am not sure, but perhaps it is just that I am not capable of completing tasks as expediently as I once did. I appreciate all of the reunion pictures posted on line as I was not able to attend this year, but really looking forward to the next one in Colorado.
Dawn is progressing nicely from her double knee replacement surgery that she had in January. She still suffers from stiffness if she overdoes or if she sits too long, but great progress has been made.
Many of you may remember our youngest son, Caleb, from the reunion in Kalispell. He has finally completed all of his training with the Army. I was able to travel down to Goodfellow AFB in San Angelo, Texas for his graduation. I also was able to pin his military intelligence branch brass on his class A uniform during the ceremony. He then was on to Ft Huachuca to finish his training. He has been in the Army over two years now and just deployed to his unit at Ft Riley, Kansas. It is really neat having him this close as he was able to come home over Memorial weekend.
During our Sunday morning service before Memorial Day we had our traditional patriotic service. Our Pastor is very patriotic and uses this time of year to teach of the sacrifice that many of our brothers and sisters in arms have given through the ages. The auditorium is filled with many American flags. Pastor was out of town and our oldest son, Shane, preached the service. At the beginning of the service we traditionally present the colors. Caleb and I were able to do this together and it was a tremendous blessing to be able share this with my sons.
I mentioned in the previous paragraph that our Pastor uses this time of year for teaching the history of the sacrifice of the patriots of this nation. Our auditorium will stand decorated from the Sunday prior to Memorial Day to after July 4th. He has had posters professionally made that chronicle D Day and they are placed strategically around. The Declaration of Independence and Constitution will be place as well. We have a tremendous heritage in this great nation, but it is not being taught our young people. This nation was made great through it’s infancy because many honored God.
Today every vestige of our Christian heritage is being ripped from the fabric of our nation. Kids today cannot appreciate the sacrifice, because they don’t know from whence they came. It is a tragedy when more is taught of Marilyn Monroe than our forefathers. It has been said many times, those who don’t know history will be destined to repeat it”. Our once great nation has become a cesspool of iniquity because we don’t know the passion that caused it to be formed. Our forefathers, who came to start this nation, did so at great expense and peril. They would rather risk death than to remain under the state run religion of the Church of England.
Sadly today, very few understand what has been going on for many decades. In the book of Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
Today we stand at a great crossroads. It is a personal decision for everyone. One path will lead to eternal life while the other will lead to destruction. We will get one chance to make this decision and it will have to be made during our life here on earth. Make the wrong choice and you will spend eternity apart from God in hell. Hell is real folks and it is a place where you do not want to end up. The bible says that in that last day many will cry out Lord "Lord", and he will say to them, “depart from me thou worker of iniquity I never knew you”. These are the last words you will hear before you are smitten by God into hell.
One path you can take is the wide path. It is easy, fun, full of bright lights of the world. Money, fame and fortune waits to tempt you into this following down this path, but the bible says wide is the road to destruction. Choose this path and you will end up in hell.
The second fork in our road is a narrow way. It is a difficult road and one who you will have to depend on the Lord Jesus to remain on. It is a path that has many of the same pitfalls as the first, but one has to remain focused on the goal to finish. It is like a most difficult compass course, but rather than a compass, one must follow the bible to keep on course.
When you look around at the chaos that is our nation right now, if you are like me you are wondering what is going to happen next. We are experiencing such a leadership vacuum it boggles the mind. How can so many people make such stupid decisions? I believe that God has turned them over to a reprobate mind. We only have to look to our compass for the answer. In the Old Testament, when the children of Israel turned away from God and went back to the world, he disciplined them. When they would not turn away from their idols, he sent strangers into their land. I understand one must be careful because we are not Israel and this is the church age, but God is the same yesterday, today and forever. He changes not. Will we be so arrogant to believe that God will not bring judgment on our heathen ways? Could this be why we have so many strangers in our land? I believe the strangers are God’s judgment upon us. Repent for today is thy day of salvation. Unless we have an old time Holy Ghost revival in this nation, all is lost. Politics will not save this nation; if it is to be saved it will be because of a great spiritual awakening. Go ahead and mock, there is a day coming when the son of man will appear in the Eastern sky and call his church home. When this occurs the earth will be thrust into the tribulation. You do not want to be left behind. Time is very short. Judgment is at the door and your life will be gone before you know it.
In closing, remember this, just as your birth was a divine appointment, so is your death. It is appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgment. One more appointment! What path will you take? Call with any questions, I would love to share with you how to be saved.
FATHER
He is there from the start
As you are born into the world; with trembling hands
He lovingly and fearlessly protects you from any possible danger.
He has been appointed by God to protect and train his family
to serve God to the best of their abilities.
He is always there tightly clenching the umbrella
that God has strategically placed in his hands.
Sometimes the umbrella seems to tip, and you look
Up only to find him reaching down with a loving
Hand to help you get back up after you have fallen.
He always has the answer to every problem that
Rises up in our pathway, but in his wisdom he
Offers a word of encouragement and points us in
The right direction saying, “Whatever you do, you
Know I’ll always ‘be in your corner’.”
He is there to tenderly and lovingly discipline
When the need arises, but he is also there to shed a
Tear to comfort in our time of greatest tribulation.
I often ask myself, “How can all this be
Balanced so beautifully into one individual?”
If there ever was such a person what would
You call him:
Then I realized…….
I call him Father
By:
Shane M. Breece