The Colonel's Motivational Quotes of the Day!

Great thoughts today on taking chances- only way to move ahead. Happy Saturday everyone

SGT Rick Colburn SGT (Join to see) CMSgt (Join to see) LTC (Join to see) SSG David Andrews SCPO Morris Ramsey Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. LTC Greg Henning PO2 Rick Fox Sgt Albert Castro CPT Scott Sharon MSgt Danny Hope LTC Stephan Porter TSgt David L. Cpl Craig Marton SMSgt Thor Merich SGT Gregory Lawritson MSgt David Hoffman SFC Craig Dalen CWO3 Dennis M.

Good morning COL Mikel J. Burroughs and I hope you have something fun planned with the family today. I definitely agree with your thoughts this morning; the best things in my life have come as a result of taking chances. If we never take a chance, nothing in us changes although all around us things do anyway. There are no guarantees so you might as well look around and see what it is that you would most like to do and go for it. We've all taken chances; many if not most of us, took a chance with that recruiter, put our hand up and went off to do what many of our peers did not. It totally changed my life and I don't regret it at all. Can you see one or two places where taking a chance changed your life in a positive way?
LTC Stephen F. SPC Douglas Bolton Sgt John H. TSgt Joe C. SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL Maj Marty Hogan MSgt David Hoffman SGT (Join to see) LTC David Brown CPL Dave Hoover CMSgt (Join to see) Maj Marty Hogan CPT Jack Durish CW5 Jack Cardwell SCPO Morris Ramsey SP5 Mark Kuzinski LTC (Join to see) SPC Mark HuddlestonLt Col John (Jack) Christensen

Good morning RP Family. It is a beautiful day here in Waco, TX with the temperature to be approximately 96 today. All week the weather is to be in the mid to upper 90’s. As glorious as this sounds to me, today’s motivational quotes took me to scripture that talks about going to be with God in Heaven at the end of our physical life, and it made me yearn all the more for the more glorious time we will experience for all eternity. That however means that we must take chances while we are here on earth. Are we prepared to take chances to ultimately experience the rewards of Heaven? I pray that I am able to do so. This takes me to one of my most cherished Bible verses in Philippians 1:21 King James Version (KJV) For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
May you all be blessed as we await our eternity.

Taken from desiringgod.org

A Call for Christian Risk
Article by John Piper
Founder & Teacher, desiringGod.org
By removing eternal risk, Christ calls his people to continual temporal risk.

For the followers of Jesus the final risk is gone. "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). "Neither death nor life . . . will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 3:38-39). "Some of you they will put to death. . . . But not a hair of your head will perish" (Luke 21:16, 18). "Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live" (John 11:25).

When the threat of death becomes a door to paradise the final barrier to temporal risk is broken. When a Christian says from the heart, "To live is Christ and to die is gain," he is free to love no matter what. Some forms of radical Islam may entice martyr-murderers with similar dreams, but Christian hope is the power to love, not kill. Christian hope produces life-givers, not life-takers. The crucified Christ calls his people to live and die for their enemies, as he did. The only risks permitted by Christ are the perils of love. "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you" (Luke 6:27-28).

With staggering promises of everlasting joy, Jesus unleashed a movement of radical, loving risk-takers. "You will be delivered up even by parents . . . and some of you they will put to death" (Luke 21:16). Only some. Which means it might be you and it might not. That's what risk means. It is not risky to shoot yourself in the head. The outcome is certain. It is risky to serve Christ in a war zone. You might get shot. You might not.

Christ calls us to take risks for kingdom purposes. Almost every message of American consumerism says the opposite: Maximize comfort and security - now, not in heaven. Christ does not join that chorus. To every timid saint, wavering on the edge of some dangerous gospel venture, he says, "Fear not, you can only be killed" (Luke 12:4). Yes, by all means maximize your joy! How? For the sake of love, risk being reviled and persecuted and lied about, "for your reward is great in heaven" (Matthew 5:11-12).

There is a great biblical legacy of loving risk-takers. Joab, facing the Syrians on one side and the Ammonites on the other, said to his brother Abishai, "Let us be courageous for our people . . . and may the LORD do what seems good to him" (2 Samuel 10:12). Esther broke the royal law to save her people and said, "If I perish, I perish" (Esther 4:16). Shadrach and his comrades refused to bow down to the king's idol and said, "Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us . . . But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods" (Daniel 3:16-18). And when the Holy Spirit told Paul that in every city imprisonment and afflictions await him, he said, "I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course" (Acts 20:24).

"Every Christian," said Stephen Neil about the early church, "knew that sooner or later he might have to testify to his faith at the cost of his life" (A History of Christian Missions, Penguin, 1964, p. 43). This was normal. To become a Christian was to risk your life. Tens of thousands did it. Why? Because to do it was to gain Christ, and not to was to lose your soul. "Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it" (Matthew 16:25).

In America and around the world the price of being a real Christian is rising. Things are getting back to normal in "this present evil age." Increasingly 2 Timothy 3:12 will make sense: "All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." Those who've made gospel-risk a voluntary life-style will be most ready when we have no choice. Therefore I urge you, in the words of the early church, "Let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come" (Hebrews 13:13-14).

When God removed all risk above
He loosed a thousand risks of love.

Pastor John

John Piper (@JohnPiper) is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. For 33 years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is author of more than 50 books, including Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist and most recently Why I Love the Apostle Paul: 30 Reasons.

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