Marine Corps Engineer Association

Marine Corps Engineer Association http://marcorengasn.org Engineers Up Marine Corps Engineer Association Marine Corps Engineer Association Evo RSS Parser 60 Marine Corps Engineer Association http://marcorengasn.org/images/evo/minilogo.gif http://marcorengasn.org 94 15 Nuke-Evolution 2.0.7 Powered - Xtreme 2.0 Edition en-us webmaster@marcorengasn.org 2012-05-17T19:49:30-04:00 hourly 1 2012-05-17T19:49:30-04:00 Where I am Going you cannot come http://marcorengasn.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=492#776 21. Then He (Jesus) said again to them, “I am going back and you will seek Me, and you will be dead, lost, in your sin: you are not able to come where I am going.”

22. Therefore the Jewish people were saying, “Will He kill Himself because He says ‘Where I am going you are not able to come?’”

23. And He was saying to them, “You are from below, I AM from above: you are from this world, I AM not from this world.

24. Therefore I said to you that you will be dead in your sins: for if you would not believe that I AM,1 you will be dead in your sins.”

25. Therefore they were saying to Him, “Who are You?” Y’shua (Jesus) said to them, “And what have I said to you from the beginning?

26. I have much to say and to judge concerning you, but the One Who sent Me is Genuine, and I did hear from Him these things that I am saying to the world.”

27. He was saying to them that they did not know the Father.

28. Then Y’shua said to them, “When you would exalt/lift up2 the Son of Man, then you will know that I AM, and I do nothing by Myself, but I say these things just as the Father taught Me.

29. And the One Who sent Me is with Me: He has not left Me alone, because I always do things pleasing to Him.”

30. After He said these things many believed in Him.
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NOTES:
1 (v.24) I AM is a name of God, so Y’shua is declaring that He is God Incarnate.

2 (v.28 This refers both to His being exalted and His being crucified.

Morford, William (2010-08-05). One New Man Bible (Kindle Locations 46052-46053). Shalom Ministries, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

Doug Kirk
Chaplain]]> 776@http://marcorengasn.org Where I am Going you cannot come 2012-05-06T14:23:41-04:00 What's Your Capacity? http://marcorengasn.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=491#775
I think that Christians get confused sometimes. We look for things to be easy. But God never said things would be easy; He just said all things are possible.

See, the way you’re living life right now has capped your ability to expand and move on. You’re living, right now, at your level of capacity, and for that to change, you must change.

Change isn’t pleasant. Change deals with weakness. We have to deal with ourselves. We have to deal with our weaknesses, the circumstances, and other people, and, quite frankly, it’s not necessarily easy. A lot of people don’t have the courage for change, or the fortitude for it, simply because they don’t understand the reward of it. Change is going to be uncomfortable. There’s going to be some chaos involved.

You’re going to have to get unsettled with yourself, and you’re going to have to be unsettled with your circumstances. You’ve got to begin to say, “Well, you know, why do I live with that? Why do I put up with this?” So, change will be unsettling. Because success is a series of uncomfortable decisions.

Uncomfortable, tough decisions are required for success. It WILL get worse before it gets better. Look at the Israelites. God had a specific destiny for them. He sent them out of the land of slavery into a land flowing with milk and honey, a place that He created for them live in, dwell in, occupy.

They had an assignment and a purpose. So do you. You have a place that God is leading you to. All the events of your life, the way you have been created, your thinking, your creativity, your personality—all of it was designed by God for your destiny. You’re on the road to that place. You have to recognize the place, but most Christians miss their destiny because they stay at the Red Sea experience.

The Red Sea experience is when you’re born again and you celebrate, but then you stop. You stop and say, “Hey, praise God, brother. How are you doing? I’m doing great! It’s awesome we’re saved.”

But WHY are you saved? And why are you still here? If being saved was just about going to heaven, then why are you still here? There must be a reason. There must be a place God has destined you to dwell, a place of occupation that He wants His government represented in.

After the Red Sea came the Jordan River. The same Spirit of God that blasted apart the Red Sea blasted the Jordan River apart. Why? It wasn’t for deliverance this time. It was for conquest, territory, and occupation!

So, for the believers that think that everything is supposed to be easy, you better blow that theology out of the water! God is trying to push you into the land of giants and walled cities! He’s saying, “Here you go! Bam!”

The water parts and there you are, by faith, taking it on. You long for your own land. You long for your destiny. That’s the promise, but it comes by faith.

So, where are you called to be? Where are you created to dwell? What needs to change for you to get there?

Submitted by Chaplain Doug]]> 775@http://marcorengasn.org What's Your Capacity? 2012-04-29T09:45:50-04:00 Bridge Company, 9th Engineers http://marcorengasn.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=490#774
2/14/2012  By Cpl. Bryan Nygaard  , II MEF (FWD)

GARMSIR, Afghanistan  — During the last week of January, fifty-five Marines of Bridge Platoon, Alpha Company, 9th Engineer Support Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward) traveled nearly 80 miles through the central portion of Helmand province in order to reach Combat Outpost Rankel, a small base located in the district of Garmsir, Helmand province. Their mission consisted of removing a medium girder bridge and replacing it with a more permanent and cost-efficient structure that would increase the mobility of the Marines and Afghans in the area.

However, getting to the bridge site was half of the battle. The Marines convoyed from Leatherneck to Rankel in armored vehicles carrying more than 100,000 pounds of construction equipment and building materials, on roads that were often unpaved. The convoy was held up several times by stuck vehicles and threats from possible IEDs (improvised explosive devices). As a result, the convoy took nearly 5 days to reach a destination that would normally take 30 minutes by helicopter.

The Marines, many of whom were packed tightly together while wearing their body armor, slept sitting up inside of the armored vehicles, while others stood watch in the gun turret.

“It sucks, but after a while you kind of get used to it,” said Lance Cpl. Rodolfo Lopezsosa, a combat engineer in Bridge Platoon and a native of Edinburgh, Texas. “You go to sleep for a few hours, you wake up, you get all the energy drinks you can and you’re good to go. You’ll be good for the day.”

After finally arriving at Rankel, the Marines bedded down for the night and headed out to the bridge site early next morning.

The site was only a few minutes’ drive from Rankel and is near an observation post occupied by Afghan National Police. The bridge was built over a large creek, enhancing the mobility of the Marines of India Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, who operate out of Rankel.

Before breaking ground on the site, the Marines used minesweepers to clear the area of any possible IED’s in order to make it safe to work and maneuver heavy equipment. Once the area had been deemed safe, the Marines unloaded their tools and began working.

First, sections of earth were removed on both sides of the ditch with an excavator. Marines followed up by using shovels and pickaxes to break up some of the harder ground and then used a tractor to finish it off. Using a dirt tamper, they leveled off the ground in order to begin laying the concrete footers that served as the bridge’s foundation. Once that was finished, the Marines hooked cables up to the footers, which weighed several hundred pounds, and used an excavator to pick them up and set them in place.

While the majority of Bridge Platoon was working, several of the Marines provided security. They provided overwatch while standing in the gun turrets of the armored vehicles that were surrounding the bridge site. Their day was spent waving off farmers who were herding their sheep and camels through the area.

Lance Cpl. Jesus Penagraves had spent the entire ride down to Rankel in the turret of an armored vehicle. Whenever he felt tired or sleepy, Penagraves would look toward the bridge site, where his fellows Marines were working non-stop.

“One of the things that went through my mind was, ‘Man, it must suck working out there,’” said Penagraves, a native of Houston. “I’m just standing up in the turret and I’m tired. Imagine how they’re doing while they’re working. They got it rough. They’re doing all the manual labor.”

Stiff winds cooled the Marines off as they worked through the night. Utilizing the headlights on the heavy equipment, the Marines were able to move the rest of the bridge into place. By dawn the next morning, the bridge was almost complete.

Even though the Marines were rotated on and off of the bridge site, no one got more than 5 hours of sleep. Sgt. Joseph Redman, a squad leader in Bridge Platoon, put in 29 straight hours of work that had him directing heavy equipment, guiding the Marines and doing quality control until 1st Lieutenant Matt Paluta, the commander of Bridge Platoon, told him to get some sleep in one of the vehicles.

Once the Marines were finished constructing the bridge, they quickly went to work disassembling the medium girder bridge that was already in place. The parts of the MGB will be sent back to Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, Ga., where they will be sent out to different engineering units to be used for training purposes.

“You’re looking at a major difference,” said Paluta, a native of Cincinnati. “We put in a permanent structure for $60,000 and took out a temporary bridge that costs a couple million dollars. To pull that off with the quality of workmanship that we did … our attention to detail was never lacking. We made it a quality product for both the Marines of (3rd Bn., 3rd Marines) and for the Afghan people.”

Many Afghans from surrounding villages had expressed to the Marines that they did not like the old bridge because its high pitch in the middle prevented them from seeing the ground on the other side. One Afghan, an elder from one of the villages, expressed his gratitude for the new bridge.

“He said he really appreciates the bridge,” said Paluta. “He said they need a really good quality bridge. He was grateful for the Marines’ hard work.”

Staff Sgt. Brian Glory, the platoon sergeant for Bridge Platoon, has deployed to Iraq twice and remembers how much easier it was to move from place to place to complete a mission.

“The movement piece was a lot easier in Iraq,” said Glory, a native of Tulsa, Okla. “It was a lot simpler to me. It was a simpler way of life. There was an infrastructure. There were roads. Here there is nothing. There’s absolutely nothing. We saw that on the way here. We moved through open desert with 100,000 pounds plus of equipment. It’s just ridiculous.

“In my eyes, this is an engineer’s war,” said Glory. “The mobility issues in this country are horrible. Combat Engineers are a force multiplier. We enhance the mobility for these units to be able to go in and establish a foothold [in] whatever area they are trying to go to. That’s really Bridge Platoon’s mission at this point: enhancing the mobility of whatever unit we need to.”]]> 774@http://marcorengasn.org Bridge Company, 9th Engineers 2012-04-26T18:17:52-04:00 Help! It's dark outside. http://marcorengasn.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=489#773
When I got married, I was broke. God brought me my beautiful wife and I drug her through hell for the first few years of our marriage. I was supposed to be the head of my house, but we had no money. Everything we had was used and broken and dysfunctional. We owed a lot of people a lot of money. Everything that happened set off emotional fires. I made money. I just didn’t make enough.
We loved God. We really truly loved God. I had an Old Testament degree. We led praise and worship at our church. But fear was my middle name. I was having panic attacks. I couldn’t sleep at night. No one could figure out what was wrong with me. I had no peace. There’s no peace when fear speaks.
Then, I got a tooth infection and it hurt. I had taken two Tylenol every four hours for several days in a row. But the problem was that I hadn’t been sleeping, so I had taken at least an extra dose each of those days, if not two extra doses. On the third day, I was reading the Bible and fear started screaming, “OH MY GOSH GARY! You’ve taken too many!”
Now, fear will also offer you a solution. That time, fear said, “Call poison control and find out.” So, I called Poison Control and told them what I had been doing and the first thing out of the girl’s mouth was, “We have never had someone live that took that dosage.” The first sentence! I said, “WHAT?”
Then she said, “Either you drive yourself to the hospital, or I’m sending an ambulance after you right now.”
So I drove myself to the emergency room and two guys were there pacing back and forth out front waiting for me! I walked in and my name was already on the dry erase board. It said, “Keesee – overdose.” That’s what it said.
Then, they ran a bunch of tests and the doctor walked in and said, “Why are you here? You don’t have enough Tylenol in your system to cure a headache.”
See, fear can warp your mind. And fear will make you pay. You think a hangnail could cause blood poisoning. That bump could be cancer. One credit mishap and you’re going to go bankrupt. One rumor at work and you’re going to lose your job.
Shortly after that, I got a call from an attorney and I hit my breaking point. I gave up. I threw myself across my bed and I cried out to God. I had tried to do things myself. I had worked hard all day every day, but my life was chaos. My family was suffering. I couldn’t do the things for them that I should have been able to do for them. My life felt like hell on earth.
So, I cried out to God and He said, Philippians 4:19: But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Now, I knew that scripture, but I didn’t KNOW that scripture. I didn’t understand the Kingdom. God told me I had never learned how His Kingdom operates.
I told Drenda and we agreed to find out how the Kingdom operates. When I began to apply these laws, my life changed drastically. I got out of debt in two years!
I was a believer, but no one had taught me about the Kingdom of God or it’s laws—about living the Kingdom while you’re here on the earth instead of waiting until you get to heaven. I had grown up in church. I was a Christian. But my life looked like everyone else’s, except I had fire insurance—I was going to heaven. I was a good guy with a good heart, but I was clueless about life.
I knew all of the rules. I learned all of that stuff. And they didn’t help me. No one had explained the Kingdom to me.
Living like that is like living in a dark room with no light.
Isaiah 60:2 tells us that a thick darkness is over the people of the earth, but the LORD rises upon us and his glory appears over us. Matthew 4:16 tells us that the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.
The light is Jesus, and the good news of the gospel. Notice I didn’t say the good news of attending church or the good news of doing good deeds, or the good news of wearing proper clothing. For years the church has tried to get religion to sound like good news, but religious do’s and don’ts aren’t good news.
The good news is that people who were enslaved in sickness and poverty, death, and disease are no longer enslaved. The good news is that you don’t have to put up with fear. The good news is that you don’t have to be enslaved by the rat race.
The good news of the Kingdom is the evidence and the freedom.

Doug Kirk
MCEA Chaplain]]> 773@http://marcorengasn.org Help! It's dark outside. 2012-04-22T14:42:09-04:00 JOB ANNOUNCEMENTS 17 Apr, 2012 http://marcorengasn.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=488#772 JOBZONE‘S JOB FAIR - Patuxent River @ Naval Air Museum (Tuesday, 17 April 2012)
JOBZONE‘S JOB FAIR - Patuxent River @ Naval Air Museum (Tuesday, 17 April 2012)
JOBZONE‘S JOB FAIR - Andrews AFB Top 3 Job Fair at The Club (Wednesday, 18 April 2012)
MEA - Camp Pendleton Chapter Meetings (Wednesday, 18 April 2012)
RecruitMilitary Veteran Opportunity Expo -- Denver, CO (Thursday, 19 April 2012)
Corporate Gray Military Friendly Job Fair - Virginia Beach (Friday, 20 April 2012)
MEA 30th Anniversary Spring Socials & Networking Events ARLINGTON (Friday, 20 April 2012)
CivilianJobs.com Career Expo / Benning Club, Ft. Benning, GA (Thursday, 26 April 2012)
RecruitMilitary Veteran Opportunity Expo -- New York, NY (Thursday, 26 April 2012)
The Greater Richmond Career Fair (Thursday, 26 April 2012)
Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce’s Military Job Fair (Thursday, 26 April 2012)
CivilianJobs.com Career Expo / Elkhorn Catering & Conference Center, Ft. Carson, CO (Thursday, 3 May 2012)
RecruitMilitary Veteran Opportunity Expo -- Oakland, CA (Thursday, 3 May 2012)
RecruitMilitary Veteran Opportunity Expo -- Mobile, AL (Thursday, 10 May 2012)
Henderson Hall Networking Luncheon (Friday, 11 May 2012)
JOBZONE‘S JOB FAIR - Fort Belvoir-Springfield VA @ American Legion-Springfield (Friday, 11 May 2012)
Details and registration are available on http://www.MarineEA.org.]]> 772@http://marcorengasn.org JOB ANNOUNCEMENTS 17 Apr, 2012 2012-04-17T13:17:14-04:00 Faith of a mustard seed http://marcorengasn.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=487#771
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1 :17

God loves us and what loving father would wish tragedy and suffering on his children?
Far too often God is getting credit for our suffering. “ Well; God called him home”. Said the woman whose husband died in a traffic crash while texting.

Did God call him home or was he being reckless?

God didn’t create pain and suffering to somehow strengthen us! Believing that God created Cancer is like believing that God and the Devil want to destroy us.

Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. James 5:14 & 15

3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 2 Peter 1:3&4

Gods promises are Yea and Amen!

God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? Numbers 23:19

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, Ephesians 3:20

Does this sound like a God who wants us to suffer?
When we learn how to truly trust God we can ask anything and he will do it.

14This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. 1John 5:14-15

Why then do we fear? Why do we not receive that which we ask?

Fear is perverted faith, it is NOT of God. We cannot be in faith and fear at the same time.

So what then should we say?

Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Joshua 1:8

How can we stand on Gods promises for abundant life in Christ if we do not know what it says?

We can, and we must learn to walk by faith and not by sight. We cannot carry out the great things God has for us to accomplish here on earth without learning these Kingdom Principals.

Remember Brothers and Sisters that he told us that his Kingdom is to come and his will is to be done here on earth Just like it is in Heaven.
How will that take place? By his people who are called according to his name walking it out here on earth. Isn’t it time we get started.
Lord, Thank you for revelation and wisdom to walk out your plan for our lives. Amen!

Doug Kirk 4/15/2012
________________________________________]]> 771@http://marcorengasn.org Faith of a mustard seed 2012-04-15T09:18:25-04:00 Easter Message; Return to your first love by Pastor Ed Evans http://marcorengasn.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=486#770 20:1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb.
20:2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him."
20:3 Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb.
20:4 The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.
20:5 He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in.
20:6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there,
20:7 and the cloth that had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself.
20:8 Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed;
20:9 for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead.
20:10 Then the disciples returned to their homes.
20:11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb;
20:12 and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet.
20:13 They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him."
20:14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus.
20:15 Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away."
20:16 Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).
20:17 Jesus said to her, "Do not hold on to Me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to My brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.'"
20:18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"; and she told them that He had said these things to her.

Perhaps you remember those tender moments of your first love, not really knowing what love was all about, but feeling filled with emotion and desire to be known to the object of your affection, to know them better, to be with them always. Then to lose that love, so hurtful. That was the injured feeling of the women who came to Jesus' tomb that morning. They had put all their hopes in Him as the One who would make all things right, Israel's promised Messiah. They had given Him all their love and devotion, and now He was dead. Where was the love?
The great love of God, so difficult for us to understand, and equally difficult for us to make a part of our own daily life with others, was made manifest in Jesus at the cross there on Golgotha. Oswald Chambers rightly says, "There is nothing in time or eternity more absolutely certain and irrefutable than what Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross -- He made it possible for the entire human race to be brought back into a right-standing relationship with God. He made redemption the foundation of human life; that is, He made a way for every person to have fellowship with God." Our God loved us, and loves us now, so very much.
Much of the world wants to ignore His crucifixion as a myth, a fairy tale to make people feel better. But John Piper in his "The Great Offense: Was Jesus Really Crucified?" describes how the Roman historian Tacitus wrote that Emperor Nero blamed Christians for the great fire of Rome in order to deflect rumors that it was he who started the blaze, alluding to a fact no one disputed, that Christ had been crucified under Pontius Pilate.
Piper added, "It was common and undisputed knowledge in the second half of the first century that Jesus Christ had been crucified. If there were any question that He had died in this way, it would have been eagerly disputed wherever Christians preached. But it wasn't. The fact of His death by crucifixion was not questioned."
Even the enemies of God, those who say Jesus was not the Christ, must admit to the testimony of history. And since they cannot refute His crucifixion, then men of power attempt to use it in their own behalf.
On April 4, 2012, Pres. Barack Hussein Obama spoke to a room full of pastors at the annual Easter Prayer Breakfast, quoting John 16:33 -- "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
Joe Kovacs, executive news editor for WND writes of that event, quoting the President: "So the struggle to fathom that unfathomable sacrifice makes Easter all the more meaningful to all of us. It helps us to provide an eternal perspective to whatever temporal challenges we face. It puts in perspective our small problems relative to the big problems He was dealing with. And it gives us courage and it gives us hope.
“We all have experiences that shake our faith. There are times where we have questions for God’s plan relative to us – (laughter) – but that’s precisely when we should remember Christ’s own doubts and eventually his own triumph. Jesus told us as much in the book of John, when He said, ‘In this world you will have trouble.’ I heard an amen. (Laughter.) Let me repeat. ‘In this world, you will have trouble.’”
“Amen!” the audience exclaimed.
“But take heart!”, Obama said to laughter. “I have overcome the world,” as he received applause."
Allow me to quote Pastor David Jeremiah about this very Biblical quote from his book "Until Christ Returns." Writes Jeremiah, "Throughout that chapter Jesus talks about the future and what is about to happen. He warns His disciples about His imminent death, about the persecution to come, about the sorrow and pain and hardship lying just ahead. But after predicting all these frightful events He says, in effect, 'Don't get caught up in that. Make sure that in the midst of these tumultuous times you place your trust wholly in Me.'"
Pastor Jeremiah goes on to say that we should spend more time getting to know Jesus better, and less time worrying about what others predict about the future. If anything, pay attention to what Jesus says about the future. The Pastor ends with, "Then when the future becomes the present, you will enjoy a wondrously close relationship with almighty God and you can be walking with the Lord Jesus Christ in strength. No matter what happens." That's what Pastor Jeremiah says about it.
Unfortunately, this is the President who when he was not talking up his Christianity, said, in fact, during a Chicago Sun Times interview that Jesus was just a teacher and prophet, and that there were many paths to Heaven.
This is the President who wrote in his book that in a crisis, he will stand with the Muslims.
This is the President who told foreign audiences that America is no longer a Christian nation, and that America is the largest Muslim nation in the world. Both of those assertions are factually incorrect.
Those who blame Pres. Obama for our current national troubles are legion. It's been revealed that even some in his own political party, who will undoubtedly vote for him in November, still blame him. But I want to assure everyone that Barack Hussein Obama is not the enemy, not the cause of America's fallen state, of its pending demise. He is part of it, but not the cause of it. And yes, if we continue on our current course, history indicates it will be the demise of this greatest experiment in the human experience.
We the People, as we are termed in our own Constitution, We the People are the cause. It is our turning from God, it is our arrogance in believing we can overcome of our own spirit and physical might, that we can conquer all on our own, that we are the captains of our fate, the masters of our own destiny.
Given the warnings we have experienced as God lifted His protection so there were breaches in our security and we were attacked as never before, instead of heeding His warnings, we vowed to do better, to do more, to take charge of the situation and change ourselves and the world. Instead of turning back to God -- Whom we have removed from our public gatherings, from our schools, from our buildings and literature and daily lives -- in our own self-absorption and self-confidence we build the wall between ourselves and God bigger, wider, stronger, and seal the fate of the nation.
Instead of returning to our first love we cut Him off vowing to do His job for and by ourselves. He Who was there when this nation was formed, upon Whom our forefathers called, Whom they worshipped and to Whom they gave thanks for our freedoms -- Who was called upon to consecrate the very ground in America's first capitol, New York City, the very ground we now call Ground Zero because of the almost unbelievable attack on this nation on Sept. 11, 2001 -- He, Almighty God, was pushed away, walked away from. He whom we loved, revered, depended upon has been systematically shut out of our lives until He must use terrible warnings to get our attention. But do we hear? Do we pay attention? Do we return to our first love?
Warnings ignored lead to consequences. It has all been set into motion. We have set it into motion by our selfishness, our greed, our demand for more; more for us, more without price, more excess. All over the world we are seeing the promised signs of the end times of which we read in the New Testament chapter of The Revelation of St. John the Divine. Just this past week the New York Times newspaper noted the drying up of the Euphrates River in Iraq, with photos of the cracked mud river bottom; something that has never happened before in the history of mankind. The reporters even went so far as to note that such is mentioned in the Holy Bible as a warning of the end times.
When do we return to our first love?
Such a question was asked before and we can read about it in the 24th Chapter of Joshua. Comfortable in the land God had given them, the people had begun to serve themselves and other gods, doing those things that were wrong before Almighty God. So He had Joshua gather all the tribes together, and Joshua reminded them of God's involvement in their history since the days of Abraham, how He has cared for them and loved them, and how they had betrayed God's love for them. In verse 15, Joshua, that great General of God's Armies, answered for himself, saying, "But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
Our own national history, so sketchily taught in our schools now, is a witness against us as the people of America. For our very freedoms are God-given, not coming from the power of men or the sword. Our forefathers, in forming this nation, understood His involvement, and paid careful homage to Him, acknowledging His protection, His faith in us, His love for us. But we have opted for foreign gods of sports, entertainment, pleasure, self, not only flaunting them before Him, but twisting His very inspired word to demand approval.
Now we find this nation under judgment, ignoring His warnings to us. To continue to ignore Him will lead to consequences we cannot, of our own might, turn around. After He has shown us all of His love and devotion, and now we act as if we are dead to Him. And so we come back to the question, do we return to our first love? Does the love of God, so manifested in the death, burial and resurrection of His own Son, celebrated this very Easter Day, have any meaning for us at all? Amen.

Doug Kirk
Chaplain]]> 770@http://marcorengasn.org Easter Message; Return to your first love by Pastor Ed Evans 2012-04-08T08:47:42-04:00 MEA listing, 3 April, 2012 http://marcorengasn.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=485#769 Marines in transition or who will be transitioning in the next 12 months are encouraged to attend and bring resumes. They should also RSVP and post their resume on the MEA website.
Employers who wish to support the MEA are encouraged to attend. They should also RSVP and post any employment opportunities on the MEA website.
The venues will allow on-the-spot interviews and other networking in a relaxed atmosphere.
For more details and to RSVP please visit http://www.MarineEA.org

We would like to invite you to the next MEA networking events:
Cleared Job Fair - Springfield, VA. (Thursday, 5 April 2012)
RecruitMilitary Veteran Opportunity Expo -- Chicago, IL (Thursday, 5 April 2012)
RecruitMilitary Veteran Opportunity Expo -- Houston, TX (Thursday, 5 April 2012)
CivilianJobs.com Career Expo / Aviator's Landing, Ft. Rucker, AL (Wednesday, 11 April 2012)
MEA 30th Anniversary Spring Socials & Networking Events QUANTICO (Wednesday, 11 April 2012)
JOBZONE‘S JOB FAIR - Pentagon (Thursday, 12 April 2012)
RecruitMilitary Veteran Opportunity Expo -- Boston, MA (Thursday, 12 April 2012)
The Greater Washington DC Career Fair (Thursday, 12 April 2012)
2012 "Race to Hire" Career Fair (Friday, 13 April 2012)
Marine Executive Association Networking Lunch (Friday, 13 April 2012)
Race to Hire - Charlotte (Friday, 13 April 2012)
Race to Hire - Charlotte (Saturday, 14 April 2012)
Hiring Heroes Career Fairs in 2012 - Fort Riley, Kansas April 17, 2012 (Tuesday, 17 April 2012)
JOBZONE‘S JOB FAIR - Patuxent River @ Naval Air Museum (Tuesday, 17 April 2012)
JOBZONE‘S JOB FAIR - Patuxent River @ Naval Air Museum (Tuesday, 17 April 2012)
JOBZONE‘S JOB FAIR - Andrews AFB Top 3 Job Fair at The Club (Wednesday, 18 April 2012)
MEA - Camp Pendleton Chapter Meetings (Wednesday, 18 April 2012)
RecruitMilitary Veteran Opportunity Expo -- Denver, CO (Thursday, 19 April 2012)
Details and registration are available on http://www.MarineEA.org.]]> 769@http://marcorengasn.org MEA listing, 3 April, 2012 2012-04-04T11:33:24-04:00 That Cross. Why That Cross? http://marcorengasn.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=484#768
That Cross. Why That Cross? by Pastor Ed Evans

Scripture: Mark 15:8-25
15:8 So the crowd came and began to ask Pilate to do for them according to his custom.
15:9 Then he answered them, "Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?"
15:10 For he realized that it was out of jealousy that the chief priests had handed Him over.
15:11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas for them instead.
15:12 Pilate spoke to them again, "Then what do you wish me to do with the man you call the King of the Jews?"
15:13 They shouted back, "Crucify Him!"
15:14 Pilate asked them, "Why, what evil has He done?" But they shouted all the more, "Crucify Him!"
15:15 So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed Him over to be crucified.
15:16 Then the soldiers led Him into the courtyard of the palace (that is, the governor's headquarters); and they called together the whole cohort.
15:17 And they clothed Him in a purple cloak; and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on Him.
15:18 And they began saluting Him, "Hail, King of the Jews!"
15:19 They struck His head with a reed, spat upon Him, and knelt down in homage to Him.
15:20 After mocking Him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put His own clothes on Him. Then they led Him out to crucify him.
15:21 They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry His cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus.
15:22 Then they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull).
15:23 And they offered Him wine mixed with myrrh; but He did not take it.
15:24 And they crucified Him, and divided His clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take.
15:25 It was nine o'clock in the morning when they crucified Him.

George Beverly Shea once sang a song titled "I saw a Man" that spoke of Jesus Christ on the Cross. You don't hear that old song anymore, but the refrain stays with me ... "He said 'If I be lifted up I'll draw all men to me..." And so He did.
They nailed His arms and legs with great spikes to a rude cross, then lifted it up and dropped the foot of it into a hole so it would stand upright.
The pain, the shock of the pain as it was dropped into that hole, the humiliation, the helplessness of those who loved Him, what agony He must have endured, and yet, He went willingly. Not without concern, for He had checked with the Father one more time, as we see in Luke 22:42 and Matthew 26:42, saying, "Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done."
Why that terrible death on the cross? Why not merely a peaceful death in His sleep, giving up His spirit without all the beatings, the whippings, without the crown of thorns jammed down into the flesh of his head, without the humiliation of dragging that heavy cross, the instrument of His death, through the crowds in the streets. Why was this gentle man of peace treated in this way?
There were so many reasons, so many implications for the Jews, for the High Council, for the Pharisees, for His disciples, for the crowds in the street who only a short time before had shouted "Give us Barabbas!", and of Jesus, "Crucify Him!" Implications for His mother Mary, for others who knew and loved Him, and even implications for all those down through the centuries, down through the dusty ages who learned of Him and either loved Him or rejected Him, even implications for you and for me right at this moment.
Why that cross?
Our knowledge of the penalty of crucifixion goes back to ancient civilizations, thought to have begun with the Persians (today's Iran), along with the Assyrians, the Scythians, and other cruel regimes. Execution by the cross, usually reserved for traitors, captives, slaves and the worst of criminals, became common under Alexander the Great, and later under the Roman Empire. It was so cruel and ghastly as to send waves of fear, and compliance, through captive civilizations. Even the Jews were known to have used it once; Josephus reports the Jewish high priest Alexander Jannaeus, who lived during 103-76 B.C., ordered the crucifixion of 800 enemy Pharisees.
Yet for all the thousands crucified, the world has never been able to wipe away or wear away the memory of that man on the cross. But why that man? So many, by the hundreds, were crucified. At one point in history, the Roman Emperor Nero crucified hundreds of men along the road to Rome, had them covered with pitch and set on fire to light the road to Rome. But no one remembers any of their names. Still the world has never been able to forget the name of Jesus Christ, and the events leading to, and following, His death on that old, rugged cross.
Dr. James Allan Francis, in one of his sermons during the 1920's, said of Jesus, "Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another village. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty. Then for three years He was an itinerant preacher.
"He never owned a home. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family. He never went to college. He never put His foot inside a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place He was born. He never did one of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but Himself...
"While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against Him. His friends ran away. One of them denied Him. He was turned over to His enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed upon a cross between two thieves. While He was dying His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth – His coat. When He was dead, He was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.
"Nineteen long centuries have come and gone, and today He is a centerpiece of the human race and leader of the column of progress."
Jesus said in John 12:32, "If I be lifted up I'll draw all men to me," and so George Beverly Shea sang. One day that great baritone voice, so beloved and so well-known at Billy Graham Crusades for Christ, all around the world -- for which he received his second Grammy at age 102 just last year -- one day that voice will fall silent. But the name of Jesus Christ will continue on, and the image of His death on a wooden cross, for the salvation of the world, will continue.
That bloody, savage death, impaled on a cruel tree, the inhuman instrument of death plunged into the earth atop a hill named Golgotha -- "the place of the skulls" -- that death will live in the memories of mankind forever, even as Jesus' death, burial and resurrection looks forward to His return for His own in all His glory.
Why the cross?
Perhaps because an act so heinous was necessary that we would never forget the terrible price that was paid so we might be reunited with God the Father. Perhaps so we would never take lightly that Jesus became for us that bridge to the Father, across a chasm of sin we could never cross.
It's also worth noting that as terrible as it was, this is also a demonstration of God's unconditional love. Did the grievous suffering that Jesus endure on the cross mean the Father didn't love the Son? No. Instead, knowing that God is going to love us regardless, that we have His security and assurance of His unfailing love and care, empowers us to rely on His love, knowing He will never leave us, even when we think we have failed.
Thank You, Jesus, for what You have done for us, paying a price we could never have paid. Thank You, for Your sacrifice, an act out of God's unconditional love that has imbedded itself in the generational memory of all mankind.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Doug Kirk
Chaplain]]> 768@http://marcorengasn.org That Cross. Why That Cross? 2012-04-01T09:54:08-04:00 Fix your money thing! http://marcorengasn.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=483#767 SUBMITTED BY GARY KEESEE

To fix the money thing in your life, you need to understand how the laws of God’s Kingdom function and the progressive steps associated with those laws. Although I will lay out at least some basics that you can begin to apply in your finances, I encourage you to search the Bible yourself.

To understand these principles, we’ll begin by looking at the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000. But to begin, I want to take you forward in His life just a bit and pick up some insights in the story we find in Mark 8.

The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat.

“Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.” They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.”
Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” “Twelve,” they replied. “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” They answered, “Seven.” He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

Notice, Jesus was bringing their attention and remembrance a story of provision – abundant provision. He pointed them back to two instances of miraculous provision. Jesus was saying, “Don’t you remember?”

Now, let’s look back at what Jesus was telling them to remember. First, we need to realize that there were thousands of people in lack at that moment. If you were asked to feed 20,000 people and you had nothing, you’d have to agree that would be a sizable task. I doubt your financial situation is that intimidating at this moment. But even if it is, we have a clear illustration in the Bible that shows us that the Kingdom of God is able to meet the need.

Jesus said, “Remember,” so we’re going to have to dissect the incident of the feeding of that massive crowd. When faced with the need, what did Jesus do? Let’s carefully note each of these steps:

1. Find some of what you need.
This is the first step in operating by Kingdom laws. Jesus identified something that they currently had that could be put under the government of God. Once that asset was transferred to God’s domain, He would then have legal access to multiply of affect change with it.

Jesus took lunch that was barely enough for one person and blessed it. He consecrated it, separated it, and brought it under the domain of the Kingdom of God. Then, and only then, was the lunch able to multiply for the people.

When you have need in the area of provision, find something of what you have need of to sow into the Kingdom. Jesus taught continually about giving in this way. For example, Luke 6:38 says, “Give, and it shall be given unto you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over shall men give unto your bosom. And with the same measure that you give, it shall be given unto you.”

2. Release it into the Kingdom of God with your words.
The second principle we need to follow from the story is bringing what we have need of under the dominion of the Kingdom of God with our words, just like Jesus did.

To do this, you simply do what Jesus did. You lay your hands on your gift, and you speak over it. You pray, and release it into the Kingdom of God with your words. Remember, God created everything with words, and we have the power of God backing our words.

3. Pay attention to the plan of the Holy Spirit.
God can’t bring you any money. It isn’t in heaven. It’s in the marketplace. So the Holy Spirit has to show you where it is. By giving you an idea, a plan, a direction, or a concept, He can show you how to capture what you need. In the story, Jesus gave them a plan. “Have the people sit down in groups,” He said, “and begin to pass out the bread.”

4. Act quickly.
When you receive direction from the Holy Spirit, don’t just sit and think about it. Get up and do it. Don’t procrastinate. Because once the plan is revealed to you, the enemy can also see it. That’s why, many times, God doesn’t give you the entire picture of your answer until the very moment of harvest, because you may begin to say too much about it and the enemy can pick up on it and bring interference.

5. Gather the fragments.
God will point out the things that are typically overlooked. When the disciples fed all of the people on the hillside that day, the Bible says they were all satisfied. Then Jesus said, “Go pick up the fragments, less anything be wasted.” And they picked up 12 basketfuls of pieces.

Feeding the 20,000 was quite a feat, but that wasn’t all Jesus wanted to see happen. God doesn’t want us to just have our needs met. He also wants us to walk in overflow. We’re here to help others and demonstrate His Kingdom to those who are in need. This requires abundance, and abundance comes in the form of fragments.

Winning in life financially not only requires and understanding of spiritual laws and the Kingdom of God, but also an understanding the natural laws and obtaining wisdom in the affairs of life. My life was drastically changed when I began applying the principles of the Kingdom of God to my situation.

This blog contains excerpts from Gary’s book, Fixing the Money Thing.

Doug Kirk
Chaplain, MCEA]]> 767@http://marcorengasn.org Fix your money thing! 2012-03-25T11:40:31-04:00