U.S. soldier suicides continue to rise

Colonel Eddie Stephens, deputy director of human resources policy for the U.S. Army, recently stated that soldier suicides for 2008 will probably surpass last year’s 115 suicides.  In a story reported by Catherine Elsworth of the London Telegraph, 93 soldiers have taken their lives so far this year and by the end of this year it is believed that the rate of suicide among our soldiers will surpass the suicide rate of the general population for the first time since the Vietnam War era.

The Army has the highest rate of suicide since they bear the largest burden of combat at 18.1 suicides per 100,000 soldiers.  They are followed by the Marines with a rate of 16.5 suicides per 100,000 soldiers.  Although the number of mental healthcare professionals and chaplains has been increased by the armed forces, hardly a dent has been made in affecting the suicide rate, so there are plans by the Army for a more agressive approach to reach as many soldiers as possible.  Most of the suicides have been among the younger soldiers.

The soldiers have been facing all types of problems–from financial stresses, to conflicts with their significant others, to burdens from repeated deployments.  All of these taken together have piled on problems that are more than many soldiers can bear.

I can’t imagine all of the things these soldiers have been going through.  I pray that God will intervene supernaturally and through godly people to reverse this trend because I don’t believe our government is truly willing or able to bring about changes necessary to reach them.  I am disgusted at how the Iraq war has been carried out with all the lies and cover-ups that have gone on and the unjustified reasons for starting the war. 

The U.S. government has shown just how hypocritical they can be throughout this whole process.  All the American public seems to get is a bunch of doublespeak.  On the one hand, we’re told how important and promising the Al-Maliki leadership is in Iraq, while on the other hand the CIA has been spying on their every move at President Bush’s request–if Bob Woodward’s information is accurate in his book “The War Within.”  I am starting to believe that our government leaders are callous towards people’s lives, being only concerned about how much power they can wield.  It seems to me that they see the American population, whether military or civilian, as tools to be used to strengthen their own goals while brainwashing us into believing that we are honorable patriots (or good “Christians”) if we bow down to their wishes, no matter how evil or misguided their ideas are. 

Our soldiers are killing themselves because they must be feeling hopeless and helpless and see suicide as the way of escaping their problems.  The best remedy to counteract this mentality and to make them truly free is to reach them with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, which teaches such things as the importance of preserving life, or that when we have burdens that are too heavy for us, Jesus Christ can help us carry our burdens and give us rest, or that when we face overwhelming problems, we can make it through them so we can reach out and be of comfort to someone else we meet that goes through something similar.

…I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:  Deuteronomy 30:19

–posted by Harry A. Gaylord–

A Biblical view on self-mutilation, or “cutting”

Although the act of people cutting themselves has been discussed over the last few years as if it were a recent fad, self-mutilation has been around for centuries.  The Bible mentions it as being a ritual in pagan societies.  It is first mentioned in Leviticus.  Throughout this book, God through Moses gives a whole list of practices that he commands the Israelites not to do because he wanted them to be a holy nation.  In the midst of the commands, God would sometimes pause to tell them why he gave them these commandments:

“And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them.” Leviticus 20:23

Among the things God abhorred was the practice of cutting–

“They shall not … make any cuttings in their flesh.” Leviticus 21:5

“Ye are the children of the LORD your God: ye shall not cut yourselves.” Deuteronomy 14:1

There were a few reasons given in the Bible why heathens cut themselves, such as to memorialize a dead loved one or friend (Leviticus 19:28).  But there were two more sinister reasons also mentioned.  One of them has to do with the worship of Baal as displayed when Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to a contest–

“And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made. …And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them.” 1 Kings 18:26, 28

It was the common practice to self-mutilate when worshipping the false god Baal.  This scripture also reminds me of the self-flagellation that some Catholics and Muslims do to appease their false gods.  The other instance of self-mutilation is mentioned in the New Testament–

“And when he [Jesus] was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, …And always, night and day, he [Legion] was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.” Mark 5:2, 5

In this case, cutting was a ritual of a man possessed by devils.  Taking into account what Legion did and that “the things which the Gentiles [pagans] sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils,” as it says in 1 Corinthians 10:20, we can conclude that the act of cutting is a ritual of those who are being influenced (willingly or unwillingly) by evil spirits.  In pointing out the problem of cutting, the Bible also points out the solution to be delivered from cutting.  That solution is to call on the name of the Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ, to be saved from Satan’s influence.  It’s only the anointing of the true and living God that can break this spiritual yoke over an individual’s life.

“…if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Romans 10:9-10

–posted by Harry A. Gaylord–

Isaiah’s vision of resurrection and rapture

Centuries before Jesus Christ gave us an idea of things that would occur in the last days, or the apostle Paul gave us a glimpse of the Lord’s return in the letters to the Thessalonians, or John gave us his Revelation of the end of days, Isaiah had a vision from the Lord that outlines what would happen in the last of the last days before the new heavens and new earth–

Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise.   Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.  Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.  For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.  Isaiah 26:19-21

The whole chapter of Isaiah 26 is a psalm to the Lord that was to be sung when Judah would be delivered from her enemies.  In the first phrase of verse 19, Isaiah is addressing Judah directly when he proclaims that the dead will be raised.  He specifically uses the possessive word “thy” to express that it is those who have died in the Lord that are the ones to be raised in the resurrection he is talking about here.  Isaiah also acknowledges he will also be raised in the resurrection of God’s saints.

The dead saints are the ones who “dwell in the dust”, and they will awake from their sleep of death to sing mighty praises to the Lord.  Dew, as mentioned here and in other scriptures, is symbolic of God’s blessings that refresh us, renew us, and revive us.  The resurrection of believers in Christ will be our time of refreshing when the earth will release our bodies from the grave.

Isaiah provides us with a brief glimpse of what will happen after our resurrection in verse 20.   We are invited to enter into the chambers of our heavenly mansions which have been prepared for us by Christ.  God cares about us so much that he wants to shut us away to be hidden in heaven (our lives are hid with Christ in God) for our protection so our bodies, souls, and spirits will not have to suffer his indignation otherwise known as the great tribulation.  We will be hidden for a “little moment” while the brief period of the tribulation takes place on Earth.

Verse 21 tells us the purpose of the great tribulation.  It is the time when the Lord will rise up to punish sinful mankind for their evils.  The murderous deeds of evil people will be exposed.  The cries from the blood of those who have been murdered will finally be resolved with God’s judgment.  There will be no more murderous cover-ups and unsolved cases because God will reveal everything that has been kept secret by evil persons and his judgments will be executed swiftly, unlike it has been in the past where he has been longsuffering.

Praise be to God for the wonderful deliverance of his saints!

–posted by Harry A. Gaylord–

Rehab is ok, but Christ’s salvation is better

Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin? Proverbs 20:9

Entertainment news in the Western Hemisphere seems to be chock full of the latest information on what celebrity has checked into rehab, going through rehab, or coming out of rehab.  It seems that we love to hear stories about people who struggle, but are willing to change their bad habits in order to become positive contributors to our society.  I think it’s great when a person can reform to kick their alcohol, drug, or other addictive habits to better themselves.  However, there is also a negative side to all of the focus on checking into rehab.

When a person emerges from rehab successfully, there may be a tendency for that person to think that now that they’ve kicked their habit, everything is fine.  They are given the false impression that they are now ”clean” when the exact opposite may be true.  Most rehab programs, especially the ones that celebrities enter into, do not get to the real reason why a person gives in to their destructive behavior.  They are not told that they inherited a sinful nature that craves evil things.  Nor are they told about Jesus Christ, who is the only one that can truly deliver them and make their hearts (souls) truly clean.  Their bad behavior is a spiritual problem and unless it is confronted by the power of the Holy Spirit, there is always the danger that relapses will occur.

Then there are celebrities who emerge from rehab who are fine for a brief moment, but then quickly go back to their evil habits.  In public they have to put on an act for the cameras as if they have really been cured, but in reality they may have only learned how to hide their habits better.  Behind closed doors, they are the same.  They also are in need of the healing and cleansing touch of the Lord Jesus Christ.

No one on this planet has the power to cleanse their own sinful heart.  Without Jesus Christ, those who come out of rehab are like whitewashed tombs who look good on the outside, but inside are full of death.  There is nothing but spiritual emptiness inside of them.  From a Biblical perspective the successful graduate of a rehab program may be worse off spiritually than when they entered because they could easily deceive themselves into thinking they don’t need God since they are cured.  I think Jesus said it best with these words:

When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out.  And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished.  Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.  Luke 11:24-26

Asking for God’s deliverance while being stuck on stupid

Have you ever prayed to God to deliver you from a situation, but you were caught up in doing things that kept you stuck in the situation?  I know I have done it plenty of times.  Here’s the scripture that I’ve been reminded of when I’ve been stuck on stupid–

“Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.  And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison. 

And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.  And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me.  And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision.

When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him.  And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.” (Acts 12:5-11)

There are two things that I notice about deliverance from this passage.  First, God takes care of the stuff that is beyond our strength or control and second, we have to take care of the stuff that is within our capabilities.  After the saints prayed (prayer puts deliverance in motion), the angel was sent to loose Peter’s chains, wake him up, and lead him out by opening the locked gates.  But Peter was responsible for following the angel’s instructions, getting himself dressed, following the angel out of the prison, and finding his own way to a safe house.

Often we ask for deliverance from preventable sickness, but still want to overdo it when it comes to sweets and sodium and wonder why we’re not healed.  We ask for deliverance from sinful habits but still give ourselves too much idle time to feed those habits (like cruising the Internet without a positive purpose, stopping by happy hour after work, watching television shows and movies that encourage our bad ideas).  We ask to be debt-free and then apply for a new credit card or buy a luxury item without a second thought.  You know what I mean–we’re stuck on stupid.

When we seek deliverance, God gives us wisdom to take care of our part.  We are laborers together with God.  Too many times we expect God to carry us out (how lazy is that!) when he’s telling us “I gave you the ability to walk out of this, now let me show you the way.”  He holds up his end of the deal, but we have to hold up our end for there to be success.

–Harry A. Gaylord–