Hi this is Pastor Jim Driskell of Christ Lutheran Church with the NCTV 45 thought for the Day.
In a culture that asserts how non-conformist and individualistic it is, it is becoming more inauthentic and disingenuous. The people of this culture don’t even try to make any genuine intellectual argument for their intellectually vacuous claims. Why? It doesn’t really matter that’s what I believe because that’s what someone I know is telling me and after all they would know, because, well it really doesn’t matter that is what I like and it makes me feel smart except there is nothing intellectual or of any substance to anything I believe. I’m reading Dr Harold Koenig’s book (one of my favorite Lutheran authors, he has done a great deal of study and research into the areas of trauma and spirituality in the areas of law enforcement personnel and military personnel. In his book Spiritual Readiness Dr Koenig takes up the issue of “spiritual readiness” mostly in relation to the military, United States, more particularly. He asserts that in order to perform in such an intense, trauma filled, emotional environment, one’s spiritual readiness also needs to be prepared. He delves into the issue of the “spiritual, spirituality”. The culture takes those words and spins them completely out of context and makes it into some form of “whatever I want to believe no matter how vacuous and baseless”. Well frankly that’s my perspective. But Koenig based on his research and that of many associates sees “spiritual” as much more of the psychological and not much in terms of the transcendant or supernatural. That’s important because there is a greater power. We don’t control him, he is the lord of our life, we are not the lord of our life. But hey, we have so many in today’s world that are convinced it’s about them and they will find a way to make it that way until they die and find out differently and then it will be too late.
Tuesday Feb 4, 2025
Hi this is Pastor Jim Driskell of Christ Lutheran Church with the NCTV 45 thought for the Day.
Talking about Dr Harold Koenig’s book relating to the “Spiritual Readiness” primarily of United States military and also about United States law enforcement. Shouldn’t there be some level of understanding and appreciation that man’s spirit is profoundly affected when he has to make life and death decisions. This is really God’s call, but we certainly are instruments of God’s will. When are we being led by the Holy Spirit versus being led by some blood lust in our own psyche? Since we do not create life and never really will, shouldn’t we be better prepared in the event that we might have to take life? It’s certainly nothing to take lightly and most civilized nations have been protected by men and women of the highest values and very much trusting in God to perform their enormously difficult duties. Less and less that is the case today and in a culture that is so sure we can prepare people for any eventuality and yet we become poorer in preparing. The more we think we know, the less we are able to put into practice to prepare our military and law enforcement. All through the history of the United States we knew who we were serving. In the Revolutionary War one of the most popular rallying calls was “No king but Jesus”. Of course that got buried beneath the disingenuousness of our secular culture. In the Civil Way the Battle Hymn of the Republic was very clear that we were going to war to free people from slavery and were on God’s side doing it. Now it is much less defined. We only have to look back to the Vietnam War to realize that there was little in terms of a higher purpose and never in American history was more American military disillusioned with what they were called to do and did for their fellow Americans. We need to be better prepared in why we put our military into hostile environments and helping those men and women know a much more transcendent reason, that is what they are doing in service of their fellow man in terms of our God.
Wednesday February 5, 2025
Hi this is Pastor Jim Driskell of Christ Lutheran Church with the NCTV 45 thought for the Day.
From “Faith Alone” edited by James Galvin: “Good works have always been valued more highly than faith. Of course, it’s true that we should do good works and respect the importance of them. But we should be careful that we don’t elevate good works to such an extent that faith and Christ becomes secondary. If we esteem them too highly, good works can become the greatest idolatry. This has occurred both inside and outside of Christianity. Some people value good works so much that they overlook faith in Christ. They preach about and praise their own works instead of God’s works.” For me my good works are always in Jesus. Seems I get moved along on a regular basis to do some sort of good works where I have no idea really what is needed, but realise that this is what has to happen. We are called to serve anyone with good works on a regular basis. People we don’t know, of any other different human groups, someone we may not like or even have good reason not to like. It is always in faith in Jesus and we know when the Holy Spirit is moving along to do a good work for someone. It may be the least likely person or the oddest situation. But we trust His leading and afterwards realize it was all about Him and as Jesus told us to recognize we are an unworthy servant.
I’m Jim Driskell the pastor of Christ Lutheran Church 1302 E Washington St, New Castle, Pa check us on the web Christlutheran-new castle.org questions comments contact me on the website. For a transcript of today’s Thought go to: wordpress.com/view/revjamesdriskellmdiv.com Sunday worship is at 10:30am, with the NCTV 45 thought for the day, God bless your day
Thursday February 6, 2025
Hi this is Pastor Jim Driskell of Christ Lutheran Church with the NCTV 45 thought for the Day.
We continue to discuss Dr Harold Koenig’s book on the “Spiritual Readiness” of our United States military personnel and law enforcement personnel. D Koenig discusses this in terms of the general attitude of the culture. It is oh so haute couture to describe oneself as “spiritual” not religious. Jesus didn’t make any provision for customized “spiritual” perspectives. He gave us the basis for our faith in the Christian religion. There are many iterations of that, which certainly shows that there are many ways to be in relationship with Jesus, but off on your own, where you live an do whatever you want in terms of God and He is just supposed to meet your every need because you were such a good little girl performing for “god” and entitled to all your treats. That’s just not serious and there is nothing to abet such a vacuous idea. God has put us on the earth first to glorify Him. He made us, He gave us everything we have, yes we should glorify Him. The Westminister catechism says: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” We were created for God and we should certainly glorify Him for our creation and sustaining. Koening writes: “… the term spiritual many be used to describe a completely secular of humanistic individual, where the definition is primarily in positive psychological terms. For example, the term spiritual may be defined as having meaning and purpose, feeling a profounc connection with others, or experiencing a deep inner peace. These psychological states are often the consequences of having a devout religious faith, not a separate non-religious spiritual state.” It has to be in relation to God, it’s meaningless unless it is for a transcendent being who gives us meaning in our life and what it means for our eternal life. We need to be frank and open with those who serve in ways that put their lives at risk and could have the trauma of ending another life. How does one reconcile that in terms of our very finite “psychological” make up?
I’m Jim Driskell the pastor of Christ Lutheran Church 1302 E Washington St, New Castle, Pa check us on the web Christlutheran-new castle.org questions comments contact me on the website. For a transcript of today’s Thought go to: wordpress.com/view/revjamesdriskellmdiv.com Sunday worship is at 10:30am, with the NCTV 45 thought for the day, God bless your day
Friday February 7, 2025
Hi this is Pastor Jim Driskell of Christ Lutheran Church with the NCTV 45 thought for the Day.
Subject of a book I’ve been reading discussing “Spiritual Readiness” by Dr Harold Koenig. It is very in-depth studies of how people in the military handle high stress, life or death situations. No one handles dealing with death well. In a military environment it does come with the territory. One thing that was always repeated in the military that military work is inherently dangerous work. No question about it. That includes being aware of your environment for enemy or terrorist attacks, or in the elements such as dangerous seas, weather, extreme cold or heat. All types of possibilities how do you handle it in a manner that allows you to be functional, to trust that what you are doing has a higher good?
Koenig writes: “spirituality is a broad term that technically refers to any aspect of life
But then the issue is whether what you believe has “divine or metaphysical quality” if it really doesn’t and it’s some humanistic construct that’s only about trying to be some way to simply distract people, even counting on some “placebo” effect? I am a Christian pastor. I know that what I teach from the Bible is genuine. I know that I can teach this to a member of the military, public safety, people who have mediate contact with mortality, know the realities and give them something that is genuine, that they can hang on to in times of stress, perhaps their own mortality. I’m not going to do that with some humanistic or fabricated story there is no basis to trust in it’s reality. There is no doubt who Jesus is and that is who and how we are going to have to deal with our eternal life. That is who I will be presenting in any aspect of what I am working within. Know Christ for your eternal life.
I’m Jim Driskell the pastor of Christ Lutheran Church 1302 E Washington St, New Castle, Pa check us on the web Christlutheran-new castle.org questions comments contact me on the website. For a transcript of today’s Thought go to: wordpress.com/view/revjamesdriskellmdiv.com Sunday worship is at 10:30am, with the NCTV 45 thought for the day, God bless your day
Pastor Jim Driskell 