A Table in the Presence

So, I'm rereading this book, A Table in the Presence--The Dramatic Account of How a U.S. Marine Battalion Experienced GOD'S PRESENCE amidst the Chaos of THE WAR IN IRAQ by Lt. Carey H. Cash. I've read it before and loved it then, but recently was looking for a good read. Our pastor has been preaching on the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew for the last few months, and recently came to the passage on loving your enemies. Maybe that's what prompted me to pull this book out again. Or maybe it was the fact that my son's best friend's day is in Iraq on his 2nd tour, and I see on a weekly basis how his family is coping? Or maybe it was because several of our young teenage boys who have gone through the church youth group are now in Iraq serving our country? I could be the constant attention in the news and the high gas prices? Anyway... I wanted to highlight a few things that I found interesting.

This is a prayer taken from the official Marine Corps Field Devotional Book. "It is called 'My Morning Offering.'

O God, for another day, for another morning, for another minute, for another chance to live and serve You, I am truly grateful.

Do...this day free me:
from all fear of the future,
from all anxiety about tomorrow,
from all bitterness towards anyone,
from all cowardice in the face of danger,
from all laziness in the face of work,
from all failure before opportunity,
from all weakness when Your power is at hand.

But fill me
with Love that knows no barrier,
with Sympathy that reaches all,
with Courage that cannot be shaken,
with Faith strong enough for the darkness,
with Strength sufficient for my tasks,
with Loyalty to Your Kingdom's goal,
with Wisdom to meet life's complexities,
with Power to life me to You.
Be with me for another day, and use me as You will. Amen."

In a later section, he talks about the importance of communion on the battlefield. These are his words, "All around the naked reality of man's failure and evil intent is exposed. Every piece of rubble is a commentary, every stain of blood is an advertisement of the failed work of humanity. Communion is a bold contradiction, for within it lies a mystery suggesting that a different ending is possible for our world and for our lives. An ending that doesn't result in the death and destruction of the battlefield, but in the hope and the glory of the empty tomb."

Cash later goes on to contrast a difference between the Muslim religion and the Christian faith. To gain entrance into heaven as a Muslim you must continually adhere to a rigorous legal code of laws and rules and perform many good works. Some interpret martyring oneself the ultimate sacrifice and guarantee into heaven. Cash says this of Christianity, "it is not the grandeur of our sacrifice that earns us heaven. Jesus Christ has already accomplished the single greatest act of obedience and self-sacrifice that this world will ever know. He was the martyr. His death, nor our own, assures us of eternal life. His sacrifice, and no one else's, guarantees the promise of heaven."

To me, that just solidified what God had been teaching me through listening to Exodus and Leviticus. I am so thankful that are free, and do not have to earn our way to heaven by our good works or through adhering to a strict set of laws. Christ paid the way for each of us! Amen!