Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Thank you to all the veterans that laid down their lives through service for me and my family. We are a 26+ year military family. It was a choice to serve and at times was bittersweet because of missing family. Someone must serve so others can be free, right?

This past Sunday we acknowledged our veterans and took time to praise God, thanking him for our freedoms. We could live anywhere on the planet, but God chose us to be right here in the good USA. And for now, we have choices. One choice that we have is to serve.

A veteran is one who endures much, puts themselves on the line, not knowing if they will return from war and if they do, will they be ok or will they be wounded? Even despite not knowing, they still serve. A Veteran is one who has served in such a capacity.

Looking at Paul and Barnabas in Acts 14, we can see how they served.

“But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having won over the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. But while the disciples stood around him, he got up and entered the city. The next day he went away with Barnabas to Derbe. After they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.”

The Word goes on to explain that they sailed to Antioch, and reported, “all things that God had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.”

Many times, as Christians you find people who are comfortable to just get into heaven without any thought of how others might be set free from a life of certain destruction. But God has called each of us to serve – to be diligent – to do what is necessary so that others may know Jesus. He has called us to be a Christian Veteran. Seeing the Scripture above – Paul was stoned and dragged out of the city. Yet he rejoiced that the lost Gentiles would now have the choice to know Jesus and live freely.

This week may we make the choice to serve Jesus!

Yvette Perrin can be reached at theword2yvette@gmail.com.