Devotions
This afternoon I will be heading out to the field for our final training before we deploy. The conditions will be rustic as 50 of us will sleep in one tent which is 1/3 the size of the tent we are currently in. I will be back here at Camp Buehring Saturday and plan to head north on Sunday. I really appreciate the prayers from home. It is easy to get discouraged here...One of the things that continues to amaze me is how adaptive the human body and the human mind can be. I find myself adapting to the ferocious heat and living with 49 other people 24/7. It amazing how relationships form in this context. I am also able to adapt to the military context which includes living with uncertainity as to what the next day will bring. I think my attitude coming in was helpful, to not get ahead of myself and to adjust to whatever unfolds. This will especially be true as I head to my base in Iraq. Now I would like to share my first installment of devotions in the desert. I intend this to be a resource for those whom I serve here and for those who are interested in knowing how to pray for their neighbors who are in the desert on behalf of freedom.
Devotions in the Desert
The desert in biblical lore is a place of purity. It is away from the city and sinful humanity, it is apart and devoid of distractions. The children of Israel went into the desert for 40 years to become formed into a community in covenant with GOD. As they entered the promised land they entered as a people who had encountered GOD. Jesus also spent time inthe desert, 40 days and 40 nights where he was tempted by the devil and where he came to clarity as to his mission.
I am deployed to the desert. It is truly a wonder. The heat is ferocious, the sand blows and the sun rises with an astonishing beauty. The desert is a place apart for myself and for those whom I serve. We are apart from our families and from the communities that sustain us. The pain of seperation is a key to understanding the desert. As I feel the seperation I am drawn to GOD, actually, drawn to ABBA, the name Jesus uses for GOD. ABBA, the one Jesus connects us with and invites us into communion with when we pray, Our ABBA in heaven, hallowed be your Name. AS you pray our LORD's prayer you are one with me in ABBA.
The desert is a call to prayer. It is true that folk can feel the pain of separation in the city as well as here in the desert. The pain of seperation is an invitation to prayer. I am moved by the military members who are deployed with me who are their third rotation in Iraq. One member shared with me that he missed his daughter's birth and now he will miss her high school graduation. Many of the members here have experienced the pain of divorce, the strain on families is staggering. I find myself called to prayer for those whom I serve here, I feel called to prayer for all who suffer the pain of seperation in the city. I pray for the purity of the desert, where one meets ABBA, to source of life, and peace and connection. Will you join me in prayer?
ABBA, through your son Jesus you inite us to join you. Your love for us expressed in Jesus is astonishing. Help us to experience the full depth of connection that is possible through the power of your SPIRIT. Bring healing to the lives who live in speration, that all might know the peace that passes all understanding. I pray for the deployed military I serve in this desert, bless their souls, bless their families and bless the cause of peace that is our mission here. Jesus, in the power of your SPIRIT we pray..............amen
Devotions in the Desert
The desert in biblical lore is a place of purity. It is away from the city and sinful humanity, it is apart and devoid of distractions. The children of Israel went into the desert for 40 years to become formed into a community in covenant with GOD. As they entered the promised land they entered as a people who had encountered GOD. Jesus also spent time inthe desert, 40 days and 40 nights where he was tempted by the devil and where he came to clarity as to his mission.
I am deployed to the desert. It is truly a wonder. The heat is ferocious, the sand blows and the sun rises with an astonishing beauty. The desert is a place apart for myself and for those whom I serve. We are apart from our families and from the communities that sustain us. The pain of seperation is a key to understanding the desert. As I feel the seperation I am drawn to GOD, actually, drawn to ABBA, the name Jesus uses for GOD. ABBA, the one Jesus connects us with and invites us into communion with when we pray, Our ABBA in heaven, hallowed be your Name. AS you pray our LORD's prayer you are one with me in ABBA.
The desert is a call to prayer. It is true that folk can feel the pain of separation in the city as well as here in the desert. The pain of seperation is an invitation to prayer. I am moved by the military members who are deployed with me who are their third rotation in Iraq. One member shared with me that he missed his daughter's birth and now he will miss her high school graduation. Many of the members here have experienced the pain of divorce, the strain on families is staggering. I find myself called to prayer for those whom I serve here, I feel called to prayer for all who suffer the pain of seperation in the city. I pray for the purity of the desert, where one meets ABBA, to source of life, and peace and connection. Will you join me in prayer?
ABBA, through your son Jesus you inite us to join you. Your love for us expressed in Jesus is astonishing. Help us to experience the full depth of connection that is possible through the power of your SPIRIT. Bring healing to the lives who live in speration, that all might know the peace that passes all understanding. I pray for the deployed military I serve in this desert, bless their souls, bless their families and bless the cause of peace that is our mission here. Jesus, in the power of your SPIRIT we pray..............amen
posted by David Fulton at 7:27 AM
2 Comments:
Thank you, thank you for sharing the way you do, Dave. I doubt you'll ever know how many prayers are being sent forth as incense from this whole area. For you and for all the troops you continue to bring blessings to. Thank you. Thank you.
God bless you as you move into an incredible mission for God. He is needed there badly and I know that your faith will be a blessing to many of the people serving their country. My prayers are with you always.
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