VOL. 7, NO. 14 JANUARY 2, 2017

Resolutions Are Not Enough by David Mathis, desiringGod.org (Dec 30, 2016) New Year ’s resolutions can be an

important first step, but they are a far cry from real, lasting change.The ringing in of a new year brings with it

the possibility of a fresh start, or at least a fresh reminder to turn the page on some (or many) ways we’d like to grow and mature in the next season of life. But haven’t we all tried this enough times by now to know how futile mere resolves are if not accompanied by more?Whether it’s eating and exercise, or Bible-

reading and prayer, the God-created mechanism we call “habit” is vital for seeing our earnest resolut ions through to enjoyable realities. If we really are resolved

to see our hopes for 2017 become life-enriching habits, we will do well to keep several basic truths in mind at the outset of a new year.1. FOCUS ON A FEW, NOT MANY.Better than big emotional, private resolves

about the many things you want to “fix” about your life is dialing in just one or two realistic, and really important, resolves with a concrete plan and specific accountability. The excitement of a new year, and ease with which we can desire change, often leads us to bite off way more than we can chew for a new year.It’s much better to focus on just a couple

new habits — even better, just one. And if you’re going to narrow it to just one (or maybe a couple or three), you might as well make it count. Identify something important that will give your new-habit-forming particular focus, even while this one resolve will reap benefits in other areas of your life. Soul-strengthening “habits of grace” are precisely this. Going deeper in God’s word, prayer, or your local church will produce an invaluable harvest.Consider a specific focus for the new year,

or just the first three months of 2017, or even just January. A year is a long period of time in terms of habit-forming; typically we would do much better to just make one resolve at a time, and do so every few months, than to attempt many things and for so long a period as twelve months.2. MAKE IT SPECIFIC.Bible intake, prayer, and Christian

community likely are too broad in and of themselves. Give it more specific focus like reading the whole Bible this year, or not just reading but daily meditating on a short passage or verse, or even just a word or phrase (in context). Don’t keep it general at “prayer,” but make it more particular: private prayer each morning, or bedtime prayer with your spouse or family, or punctuating your day with “constant prayer,” or some new prayer initiative as a community group or church.Perhaps as the old year is coming to a

close, you’re realizing how spotty your church commitment has been, and how thin your relationships are as a result. You might resolve to deepen your commitment to not neglect your meeting together “as is the habit of some” (Hebrews 10:25), whether that’s making Sunday mornings more nonnegotiable or prioritizing your midweek investment in life together in community group. Resolve in 2017 not to let silly last-minute excuses keep you from faithfully gathering with the body of Christ, which will be a priceless, long-term means of God’s grace both to you and through you, to others.  3. CRAFT A REALISTIC PLAN.However earnest your resolution, you

need a corresponding amount of realistic planning. Let’s be honest, you don’t really want to enrich your prayer life if you’re not willing to give it even just a few minutes of creative thought about where, when, and how you will pray in 2017. Map out clearly

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Weekly Scriptures Genesis 1-2; Psalm 19; Mark 1 Gen 3-5; Mark 2Gen 6-8; Psalm 104; Mark 3Gen 9-11; Mark 4 Gen 12-15; Psalm 148; Mark 5

Transformative Articles ~ Resolutions Are Not Enough~ Sing for Your Life~ Title of Article

Spiritual Forge Pg 4~ Scripture, Prayer and Discipleship

Training Pg 5~ Family Resiliency Through Martial Arts

Things of Interest ~ Today In Church History Pg 2 ~ Surviving the Elements Pg 3 ~ Bible Trivia Quiz Pg 5

CHAPLAIN’S SITREP 18TH COMBAT SUSTAINMENT SUPPORT BATTALION

VOL. 7, NO. 14 JANUARY 2, 2017and concretely what it would take for a full month to cultivate the habit. Think long term and make sure it’s realistic.Part of being realistic is accepting a

measure of modesty to your goals. Don’t try going from no regular devotions to an hour every morning. Start with a focused fifteen minutes a day, perhaps even ten, but make it genuinely nonnegotiable, and see what God does. Grow your duration and depth as Scripture intake becomes a fixture in your schedule, and you learn to wake up each day even more hungry for the Bible than for breakfast.4. IDENTIFY THE REWARD.Runners will tell you that being heart-

healthy in their old age is not their driving

motivation. It’s a nice added benefit, of course, but a reward that is nondescript, and a long way off, won’t get you out of bed in the morning and into your running shoes on for long. Rather, what motivates most long-term runners is feeling great today, whether it’s the endorphins, or the sense of accomplishment or clear-headedness, or all the above.Trying to draw on the same long-range

motivation each morning to get out of bed and hear God’s voice in the Scriptures will soon run dry. And God doesn’t mean for us to be motivated merely by distant, future rewards, important as they are. God supplies bountiful motivations for today. His m e r c i e s a r e n e w e v e r y m o r n i n g (Lamentations 3:22–23). He means for us to taste and see his goodness right now (Psalm 34:8). He can meaningfully satisfy our restless souls in real, life-transforming measure right now.Over the years, I have found the most

transformative reward in cultivating habits of grace to be, not being stronger and holier as a Christian long-term, but knowing and enjoying Jesus today. Having my soul satisfied in him today. Making my heart merry in him this morning.The point of daily spiritual discipline isn’t

first and foremost being holy or obtaining growth, but knowing and enjoying Jesus and having our souls satisfied, imperfectly but powerfully, in him. The final joy in any truly Christian habit or practice or rhythm of life is, in the words of the apostle, “the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:8). “This is eternal life” — and this is the goal of the means of grace — “that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3).  Fly Hosea 6:3 as a banner over your 2017 spiritual resolutions: “Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord.” 5. ENLIST REGULAR ACCOUNTABILITY.One of the flaws in so many resolutions is

that they stay private. When we really mean i t , w e d r a w i n r e a l a n d r e g u l a r accountability. We are sinners. Our heads are not always screwed on straight. We need others to speak into our lives, and hold us accountable for who we’ve said we want to be, and what we’ve said we want to do.Perhaps talk through some of these

principles for forming good habits and consider a monthly calendar reminder to check in with each other. It is a great means of God’s grace that he has not left us alone in forming spiritual habits.6. COVER YOUR EFFORTS IN PRAYER.At the end of the day, and the end of

another, the Holy Spirit is decisive, not our

spiritual habits, for producing any lasting, spiritual fruit. Cultivating wise habits are not our attempt to work for God’s acceptance, but to work out our salvation (Philippians 2:12–13).In prayer, we re-consecrate ourselves

again and again to pursue our resolves “by the strength that God supplies — in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 4:11). We would be foolish to pour fresh, regular efforts into new spiritual habits without explicitly asking God to make it truly fruitful.And so we pray — not just act, but ask —

“that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power” (2 Thessalonians 1:11).Resolutions are not enough. But God has

not just left us to resolutions.

Sing for Your Life by Tony Reinke, desiringGod.org (Dec 25, 2016) The devil covers the hook of sin with

tempting bait coated in sugar. So how should we fight in the moment when our hearts are lunging toward sin? We grab for the spiritual weapons forged by God and strategies to meet temptation and make a way of escape.But for too many of us, we ignore one of

the single greatest weapons in the battle.THE ART OF WARWe often lose against sin because we

grow blind to the nature of the war. Holiness is not simply about minding the right prohibitions. The deeper reality is that sin is fought in the wrestling of our desires and wants. Our heart is a craving beast, clawing ceaselessly for something more, something new, to quench its voracious hunger pains.We will not stop hungering — because

God made us to pine for the infinite — so we must learn to find more solid joy as the object of our delights, turning away from the flimsy cheap-plastic delights offered to us by the world. All of this means that so much of the Christian life, then, boils down to the affections of our hearts.Thomas Manton (1620–1677) remains one

of the Puritan’s great preachers. His sermon legacy — about 10,000 published pages long — is clear, powerful, and deep.As Manton meticulously labored through

Ephesians from the pulpit, he noted that the charge for Christians not to get drunk is followed by the command to worship and to take up the power of song.

Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your

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Today In Church History Monday - January 2, 1542Calvin’s Ecclesiastical Ordinances are

ratified as church law in Geneva.Tuesday - January 3, 1521Pope Leo X excommunicates Martin

Luther in the bull Decet Romanum Pontificum for having challenged practices of the Roman Catholic Church and refusing to recant as required in Exsurge Domine, an earlier bull.Wednesday - January 4, 1965Death of T. S. Eliot, the most influential

English poet of the twentieth century, who had converted to Christianity and joined the Church of England.Thursday - January 5, 1743George Whitefield and Welsh Calvinists

Methodists form the first Methodist association at Wadford, Wales.Friday - January 6, 1992Naimat Ahmer, a Christian educator and

poet in Pakistan, is stabbed seventeen times in front of his students by a Muslim w h o c l a i m s A h m e r h a s i n s u l t e d Mohammad. Ahmer taught that Christ is the only way to salvation.Saturday - January 7, 1868Death of William B. Bradbury, composer

of the tunes to which we sing many well-loved hymns, including “Jesus Loves Me,” “Savior Like a Shepherd Lead Me,” “Take My Life and Let it Be,” “Sweet Hour of Prayer,” “Just as I Am,” and others. He had published fifty-nine collections of sacred and secular music.Sunday - January 8, 1956Missionaries Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Jim

El l io t , Peter Fleming, and Roger Youderian are massacred by Woadani Indians (Auca) in Ecuador.

VOL. 7, NO. 14 JANUARY 2, 2017

heart. (Ephesians 5:18–19)The apostle Paul intentionally counters

alcohol-filling with Spirit-filling. Manton labored to connect the passages in his sermon on Ephesians 5:19 (Works, 19:408–417).The battle between the Spirit and

drunkenness is a struggle of expelling the one by welcoming the other. In the war against sin, Manton discovered a mighty weapon called singing.EXPULSIVE POWER OF A NEW SONGA heart not lured to drunkenness is a heart

filled with the Spirit — and a heart filled with the Spirit is a heart that sings. But you can come at it from the other side, Manton shows. If you sing, you fill your soul with the Spirit, and by filling yourself with the presence of God, you push aside the alluring buzz of drunkenness.Thus, not only singing together in church,

but also personal singing “subdues the lusts and passions of the flesh by diversion, or directing us to a purer and safer delight. Much of the strength of the sin lies in the sensual inclination, or the inordinate love of pleasure. Now if we can find sublime and chaste delight elsewhere, it takes us off from the unlawful pleasures of the flesh.”That is the work of spiritual singing. Rather

than getting filled with liquor, God calls us to be filled with spiritual joy, and that joy is found in musical worship. When temptation catches our eye, we need a greater delight to capture our hearts. To reroute our heart’s attention requires a great power, and singing is powerfully up for the task.PRIVATE SINGING AND UNBELIEFNot only in the face of lust, singing also

works its power against unbelief, says Manton. Singing “inspires us with fortitude, courage, and constancy in wrestling for the truth; for singing of psalms is our exultation in God, or our making our boast of him in defiance of all worldly powers that can hurt us; as Paul and Silas when whipped and imprisoned, and many of the martyrs, raised their courage by singing of psalms” (see Acts 16:16–26).Singing “fixes the heart upon the sweet

and lively meditation of what we sing.” Singing can rivet our gaze on the preciousness of the truth we sing.Thus, “dead-hearted” singing and rote

motions are really a grave loss in the Christian life. “They that joy in the Lord delight most in singing, because everything that brings God to remembrance is sweet and acceptable to them.” Singing matches the delight we know we should have in God and awakens the desires within us. Done correctly, singing is how we “keep up a holy delight in God,” says Manton, “for singing is the vent of our joy.”

Singing is the vent of our joy — I love that phrase. Singing gives vent to the affections of the heart, and like billows, the venting of affections leads to greater and greater affections, and stoking greater affections in the heart is our essential warfare against lust and unbelief.Of all people, Manton knew that feeding

oxygen to the fire of holy affections in the heart was the central struggle in the spiritual life against lust of the flesh and the unbelief that so quickly steals our joy.SPIRITUAL LIFE AT STAKESinging is a potent life skill. Even the world

knows that singing — true, heart-engaged singing — releases oxytocin into the body, a hormone that helps to alleviate anxiety and stress, while boosting your immune system, your mood, and serving as an ally in the fight against cancer. But even more importantly, singing is nutrition for the soul and a spiritual hormone that breaks apart the cancer of our most ingrained sinful habits.Singing is one of the most immediate

actions we can take to stoke our God-centered affections, and yet we grow careless of this neglected spiri tual discipline.“The song of our solitude should be full of

living joy,” Charles Spurgeon told his congregation. And yet, “I am afraid there is very little private singing nowadays. We often hear talk concerning private prayer, but very seldom of private praise — and yet ought there not to be as much private praise as private prayer? I take it, from how se ldom we t a l k abou t i t , p r i va te thanksgiving has grown to be a sleepy affair.”Is the same true of us? Has our drowsy

neglect of private worship rusted the blade of one of our greatest weapons against our most potent sin struggles?

BATTLE SONGSThe negligence is easily remedied. Get an

album of hymns and spiritual songs of robust truth, songs like those from Sovereign Grace Music, The Gettys, or Shane and Shane. Get to know the lyrics by heart. Weaponize your phone, make a playlist, name it “Battle Songs,” and load it with your favorite tracks.And when the siren sounds for warfare

against the sinful desires of your heart, when unbelief rears its ugliness, declare war and get in your car and drive. Or just get alone. Turn off all the other noise and talk radio and secular music and podcasts. Focus your mind on the truth of the lyrics. And sing! Fill your lungs with air and activate the billows of your affections in private worship as you fan the little spark of faith inside your heart into a great flame in the presence of the beauty and majesty of our Savior Jesus Christ.Faced with the delight of what is really

soul-deadening sinful pleasures, give your heart over to a greater delight and a sweeter affection.Sing for your life.

The Apostle’s CreedI believe in God, the Father Almighty, the

Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord: Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell. The third day He arose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from where he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.

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Rattan Palm The rattan palm is a climbing plant that has a creamy white flower as one of its identifiers. Both the stem tips and the palm heart can be eaten, either raw or after roasting.

McNab, Chris Special Forces Survival Guide; MJF Books, 2008.

Extreme Climates and Terrain

VOL. 7, NO. 14 JANUARY 2, 2017

Daily Devotional 2 JANUARY “Then after he [Judas] had taken the

morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, ‘What you are going to do, do quickly.’” (John 13:27, ESV)Where there is opportunity for love, there

is opportunity for hurt. When betrayal comes what do you do? Get out? Get angry? Get even? You have to deal with it some way. How? Begin by noticing how Jesus speaks to Judas. Jesus answered, “Friend, do what you came to do.” Every relationship comes with the risk of pain. Take the chance and show Christ's love. Prayer: Lord, may I have your courage.

3 JANUARY“And he said to all, ‘If anyone would come

after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.’” (Luke 9:23, ESV)Have you ever been called to go out on a

limb for God. You can bet it won't be easy. Ask Jesus. He knows better than anyone the cost of hanging on a tree. We get caught up in wearing crosses like some good luck charm. That is not what is meant to bear a cross. It is closer to accepting that we are already dead. Dead to our desires. Dead to following the ways of this world. It is the unconditional surrender of ourselves to Christ. Have you given it all? Prayer: Lord, you are my all, and all that I

am and have is yours. 4 JANUARY 13 Not many days later, the younger son

gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. 14 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 And he was longing to be fed with the pods that

the pigs ate, and no one gave h i m a n y t h i n g . ( L u k e

15:13-16, ESV)H i s f e w d a y s o f destitution were likely s t e a m y w i t h resentment. He was mad at everyone.

E v e r y o n e w a s t o blame. His friends that

abandoned him; his older brother t h a t d i d n ' t c a r e

enough to bail him out; his boss that d i d n ' t p a y h i m enough; and his

father that let him go. Are you full of this kind of

resentment. Prayer: Lord, free me from my own

bitterness and inability to forgive.5 JANUARY17 “But when he came to himself, he said,

‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! 18  I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19  I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ 20  And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.” (Luke 15:17-20), ESVThe son comprehended his way of life,

and returned to his loved ones to seek forgiveness. Implied in Jesus' story is also how the son sought out forgiveness from the Heavenly Father. Do you need to do the same? The beauty of the Prodigal Son parable is that the son willfully chose to go his own way and to do stupid things. Yet, his Father willingly accepted him home, without condemnation, without lectures. Just the love only a (the) Father can express. Prayer: Lord, your mercy is overwhelming.

6 JANUARY“...But while he was still a long way off, his

father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.” (Luke 15:20b, ESV) God is the Father pacing the porch. His

eyes are wide with His quest. His heart is heavy. He seeks His prodigal. He searched the horizon, He examines the skyline; yearning for the familiar figure, the recognizable walk. His concern is not His business, His investments. His concern is the son who wears His name, the child who bears His image. You. He wants you home. If you've wandered away from God, now is the time to return to Christ. Prayer: Lord, better is one day in your

presence than thousands elsewhere. 7 JANUARY Therefore I will divide him a portion with

the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death  and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many,  and makes intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah, 53:12, ESV)Never did the obscene come so close to

the holy as it did on Calvary. Never did the good in the world so tightly intertwine with the bad as it did on the cross. Never did what is right involve itself so intimately with what is wrong, as it did when Jesus was suspended between heaven and earth. The world's sin was thrust upon Jesus' perfection. Prayer: Lord, who am I that you would love

me so much?8 JANUARY “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the

dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel,” (2 Timothy 2:8, ESV) When times get hard, remember Jesus.

When people don't listen, remember Jesus. When tears come, remember Jesus. When disappointment is your bed partner, remember Jesus. When fear pitches his tent in your front yard, when death looms, when anger burns hot, or when shame weighs heavily, remember Jesus. Having Christ in the foreground of your mind will be a comfort and a reminder to a righteous way of life. Prayer: Lord, fill my mind that I may

worship in all circumstances.

A Baptist Catechism Question 22: What is the sinfulness of that condition into which all mankind has fallen?Answer: The sinfulness of the condition into which all mankind fell is the guilt of Adam’s first sin, the lack of original righteousness, and the corruption of our whole nature (which is commonly called original sin), together with all actual transgressions which come from this nature.Scripture: Romans 5:19; 3:10; Ephesians 2:1; Isaiah 53:6; Psalm 51:5; Matthew 15:19.Comment: The Bible says that "in Adam all die" (1 Cor. 15:22) and that "one transgression yields condemnation for all men" (Rom. 5:18) and that "one man’s disobedience made many sinners" (Rom. 5:19). These statements lead us to conclude that God, in a way beyond our comprehension, established a unity between Adam and his posterity which makes it just for us to receive the imputation of his guilt and corruption. He was in some sense our representative head. We sinned in him and fell with him.

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Holy Spirit : His Work In the Church 55

1 Corinthians 12:11 (His Gifting)

All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually has he wills.

VOL. 7, NO. 14 JANUARY 2, 2017

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PRAY FOR THE

PERSECUTED

1. Paul (1 Cor 13:11)2. Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked (Ps 1:1)3. A fever (Matt 8:14)4. Herodias (Matt 14:8)5. Augustus Caesar (Luke 2:1)

Weekly Bible Quiz 1. Who said, “When I was a child, I

spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things”? 2. What is the first line of Psalm 1? 3. What was Peter’s mother-in-law sick

with? 4. Who instructed her daughter to ask

for the head of John the Baptist? 5. Who decreed that a census of the

entire Roman world should be taken at the time of Jesus birth?

Answers

Spiritual Fitness & Family Resiliency through Martial Arts Training

TUESDAY & THURSDAY18:30-20:00 at Tower

Barracks Physical Fitness Center in the Combatives

Room.Ages 10 to Adult. Parents must remain present with children 10-15 years old. For More

information see soartsd.com or contact CH Calvert.

“Against The World”

We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

~ 1 John 5:19 ~

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