Cpt. Bud's Devotionals, 7-26-15: "Earthquakes n' Lightnin'"

When it comes to "the end times," many in the Church fall into two unsettling camps: those who shy away from it, and those who have a fixation on it. There are those who focus on a future of hope, but pixelate any of the gut-wrenching sorrow of the Christian life, and those who, in their focus on "fire and brimstone," forget the chance to proclaim the love and invitation of Jesus before He returns.
As with many prophecies in the Bible, sometimes I let my comfort in the sureness of these things turn to apathy. For example, I know from Scripture that our efforts to bring peace to the Middle East, or to the entire world, will never work. So, I often forget my responsibility to pray for those in war-torn countries, I forget the need for humanitarian relief, and most of all, the need for people everywhere to know Jesus.
Also, I believe the environmental effects of global warming, climate change, and pollution to be part of the "beginning of sorrows" of which Jesus preached, as well as the first three "trumpets" described in Revelation (destruction and bitterness of vegetation and bodies of water). So, believing that it's an unstoppable part of prophecy, I often forget that I still have a responsibility to do what I can for my environment. Believing these troubles to be part of Jesus' prophecy doesn't relieve me of my personal responsibilities - Jesus also prophesied that "the love of many will grow cold," but that certainly doesn't give me license to abandon love.
As for the end times, I hope not to fall into the latter group who preach only "the end," and as a result,

scare many people away from the Gospel. But, I also don't want to let my belief in these prophecies, and the comfort of that faith, lead me away from reminding people that Christ is coming back soon.
We often say, "It's been two thousand years since He left - even if He came back today, it wouldn't be 'soon'" (2 Peter 3:3-4). But, the unsaved and unbelieving who see His return will feel that His coming indeed came much too soon, and bitter tears will be shed (Revelation 1:7). That breaks my heart. It should break every believer's heart - not to hopelessness, but to motivation, to the desire to see the unsaved know Him who formed them, who died for them, who loves them.
OHMS,
Cpt. Bud Sturguess
"Therefore I will wail and howl,
I will go stripped and naked;
I will make a wailing like the jackals
and a mourning like the ostriches"
-Micah 1:8

Cpt. Bud's Devotionals, 7-19-15: "High People in Low Places"

Courtesy National Geographic

During the turbulent period of the kings of Israel and Judah, there rose an idolatrous practice in which worshipers of false gods would perform their rituals almost exclusively on altars built on mountains and hills (often called "the high places" in the Bible). They did this in the belief that being at a higher place made one physically closer to their god.

In contrast to the true God, however, it is at our lowest that we can worship Him fully and embrace His promises with joy; when we are humbled, when we are defeated, when we are persecuted and downtrodden, when we cry out amidst the cries and screams of terror in this world that we need His strength to help us back to our feet, out of the deepest, darkest places of the human heart and imagination. We are grateful to have a Christ who is with us not just in any geographical height or depth, but who loves us and strengthens us in lows, valleys, ditches, and trenches that are physical, emotional, spiritual.

OHMS,

Cpt. Bud Sturguess

"Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." -Romans 8:37-39

Cpt. Bud's Devotionals, 7-12-15: "Zephyrinus Blues"

Though not Catholic, my parents considered naming me Zephyrinus, who was bishop of Rome from A.D. 199-217. My mother was moved by his suffering and persistence in battling many heresies that were growing within the Church, specifically the "adoptionism" heresy. But, my parents settled on Bud, as St. Bud of Macedonia was known for his hygiene.

This led me to read about Zephyrinus, and his devotion to keeping the Gospel from the mire and manipulation of men. His experience is a testament to the fact that anyone who proclaims the truth of Christ will not have an easy time of it. After all, if everyone likes what you're preaching, you're probably not preaching the truth. Jesus never promises us cushy lives as His disciples - He promises the opposite. I thank God that He does not shelter us from the hard facts of life.

The Bible tells us we are Christ's "ambassadors," quite an important office. Like Zephyrinus, who himself had a high office but didn't resign to complacency concerning the Gospel, so should we, in our undeserved but awesome job as heralds of Christ, always expect and embrace suffering, and trust God to mold it into a testament to the beautiful truth we proclaim.
OHMS,
Cpt. Bud Sturguess

PS Though he did not die a martyr's death, Zephyrinus was for a long time listed in the Catholic canon of martyrs (and is still acknowledged by some), for the spiritual and emotional anguish he endured in combating heresy. The word "martyr" means "witness." And though not all of us in Christ's flock will be literally put to death for our belief in Him, if we suffer with the same meekness and faith as Zephyrinus, we are witnesses indeed, and provide a stirring testimony for the God who gives us such strength.

"Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us." -Hebrews 11:36-40

"You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life." -Winston Churchill