3:16 JOHN

16: For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son , that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life

17: For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him.

18: He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Well, it’s time for the old Gun’s to get on his soap box, so if it’s not what you want to read, retreat back to the safety of the previous pages. :-))

Remember those times in the bunkers, shivering in the stifling heat, while the mortars and rockets landed all around us? How about out in the rice paddies, where you laid with your face buried in the mud, trying to escape the small arms fire all around you? Or even the times in an aircraft, during a medevac or emergency extraction, going into a hot zone with those 50 cal.rounds, that looked like big orange footballs, or the 7.62mm rounds,that looked like little red angry hornets trying to find us! The empty casings piling up at your feet as you return fire. There were common denominators at those times. One was the vocal or silent invocations to the Lord to save our tails. Yeah, it even came from self-professed atheists. Do you remember the promises we made to the Lord? Did you ever think it might be time to pay the Lord his due? Oh, I don’t think the Lord is going to hold us to promises made during extreme emotional, and sometimes physical, duress. Just do yourself a favor. Get up Sunday morning, get dressed , get your family ready and take them to a Christian church. I’m not advocating a denomination, nor am I putting down other churches, synagogues, temples, etc. I’m just stating MY beliefs. When you arrive, sit yourself down amid the other sinners that are present. Some individuals may give off a pious air, but we are ALL sinners in the eyes of the Lord.... non-believers AND BELIEVERS. The only difference is that the believers are forgiven. Don’t worry about your clothes...would the church deny access to Jesus, if He appeared at the door with long hair, beard, robe and sandals? I think not, and if they did, I wouldn’t want to attend that church, anyhow! Giving...don’t let that put you off, just pray to the Lord and ask how much you should give...IF ANYTHING! Whatever He lays on your heart, that’s what you give. Others may look at the nickel, dime or whatever you give disapprovingly, but they are the ones who need to get right with the Lord. You will know that you’ve given what the Lord asked of you, and NO ONE can put you down for that. Am I shooting holes in your reasons for not attending church? I sure hope so, ‘cause that was my intention.

Do you remember pre-Nam, when we had those high ideals? Where did we get them from? A lot of them were passed down from our heroes of WWI, WWII and Korea. Our grandparents, parents, uncles, aunts, schoolteachers, etc. And where did they get them from? Well, you can have your belief, but mine is it came from the religious background of our families, schools and government. Yupper, back then they went hand-in-hand. There was NO political correctness, no N.O.W., no cowardly politicians who turned their backs on their country when called to serve, etc., etc. No, we just lived like the Good Book advised, or tried to......Do onto others, as you would have them do unto you.

I’m sorry if this seems to be a haranguing message to you, but it’s just something I feel very strongly about. I would like for you to have that warm feeling that you get from your family sitting along side of you in church. And the look of respect and admiration you get from your kids as they grow in the church. Hey, I am NOT a do-gooder. I only wish I could live up to all that I’ve said. But, I have experienced a lot of it, and seen ALL of it. Remember, I’m a sinner too, but.....FORGIVEN!!! God bless each and every one of you. See....I knew a Marine wouldn’t retreat! :-)) SEMPER FI, MARINES!!!

-GunnyG-