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Devotional Thoughts

 Devotional Thoughts
 The Spiritual Side of Our Website

This part of the site features monthly devotional thoughts by the Association's Chaplain, with the goal of encouraging Signal Corps OCS Graduates to be exceptional in their lives and to live life at a higher level. Our current Chaplain is of the Christian faith, so naturally his devotionals are fashioned around his Christian beliefs. Your comments and suggestions are welcome and can be offered directly to the Chaplain by eMail at: MaxHolt@ArmySignalOCS.com


by LTC (R) Max Holt, Class 02-67

November - December 2016

A Really Dumb Question

LTC (R) Max Holt - TodayLTC (R) Max Holt

I’ve heard a lot of really dumb questions during my lifetime. Of course, I have been guilty of asking some of them. Being a Vietnam veteran I’ve been asked the typical dumb questions, like: “Have you ever killed anyone?” “What do you do with all that retirement money?” “Did you protest against the war?” And the dumbest question, ever; “Did you ever meet Forest Gump?”

The religious leaders of Jesus’ day accused him of saying dumb things (against them) and even some observers to his ministry would have put many of his questions into the dumb category. Here’s a small example from Matthew 6:27: “Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your lifespan?” The obvious answer is…NO. Jesus was trying to get them to see the obvious.  

The best example of what one might consider to be a dumb question is recorded in John 5, where sick or handicapped people would sit or lie by the Pool of Bethesda and wait for the angel to stir the water so they could get into the water and be healed. The Bible says, in verses 5 and 6: “Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well? On the surface, that sounds like a really dumb question. If I had been that man I could see myself saying, ”DUH!”…is grass green?! You would think that anyone in such condition would want to be whole again. So, why would Jesus ask such a question?  

After some contemplation, I can venture a guess as to why he would ask. For 38 years the man had depended on someone else to do pretty much everything for him…his food, transport, medical care (as rudimentary as it may have been), etc. He had grown accustomed to being cared for. Certainly, he needed that help but it could have deprived him of an understanding of what it was like to have to be responsible for himself. Possibly, hidden in a metaphorical parentheses following the words…“Do you want to be made well”…are some additional questions; such as…”Are you ready to get up every morning and go out to earn a living like everyone else?”...”Are you ready for the responsibilities of raising and caring for a family?” … “Are you ready to pay taxes and help your neighbors and do the challenging work of building relationships and learn how to survive during drought and storms and hard times?”…”Are you prepared to carry someone else who is lame, just as they have carried you?”  

After the man was healed, he then had all of those daily responsibilities, just as his extended family and friends did. The responsibilities of life can be daunting for one who has never had to shoulder such responsibilities. So, the question…”Do you want to be made well?”…wasn’t such a dumb question after all. Maybe…although the man was lame, Jesus knew that he had begun to feel “entitled” to some degree. Maybe Jesus wanted to know if the man was serious about facing the incredible life-change that was about to happen.  

If I asked people, at random, “Would you like to win the mega-lottery?”…most would consider that to be a dumb question. Yet, multiple surveys of lotto-winners show that about 90% wish they had never won; they couldn’t handle the drastic change to their life required to manage the chaos that followed.  

Here we are, entering the holiday season, from mid-November through the New Year. There will be tons of food and fellowship and celebrating and presents and some overt partying. In the middle of all that I recommend you stop and maybe look in the mirror and ask yourself some SMART questions…like;            

“What is the most important thing to me at this point in my life?”            

“What do I want to accomplish with the rest of my life?”            

“What am I willing to DO or STOP DOING to help me accomplish it?”            

“What legacy do I want to leave that will inspire my family to be successful?”            

“What part will GOD have in my life…what is HIS Will for me and how can I express it?”  

Add some other questions that more closely express who you are. Just be sure to make them SMART questions.  

I pray you will find answers to your questions and experience many blessings in your life!

Max Holt, Class 02-67
Association Chaplain

 



Prior Month Devotionals
May '11 Jun '11 Jul '11 Aug '11 Sep '11 Oct '11 Nov '11 Dec '11 Jan '12 Feb '12 Mar '12 Apr '12
May '12 Jun '12 Jul '12 Aug '12 Sep '12 Oct '12 Nov '12 Dec '12 Jan '13 Feb '13 Mar '13 Apr '13
May '13 Jun '13 Jul '13 Aug '13 Sep '13 Oct '13 Nov '13 Dec '13 Jan '14 Feb '14 Mar '14 Apr '14
May '14 Jun '14 Jul '14 Aug '14 Sep '14 Oct '14 Nov '14 Dec '14 Jan '15 Feb '15 Mar '15 Apr '15
May '15 Jun '15 Jul '15 Aug '15 Sep '15 Oct '15 Nov '15 Dec '15 Jan '16 Feb '16 Mar '16 Apr '16
May '16 Jun '16 Jul '16 Aug '16 Sep '16 Oct '16 Nov 16 Dec 16 Jan 17 Feb 17 May 17 Apr 17

Click the picture below to listen to The Lord's Jukebox... a compilation of all of the devotional music posted since May 2011.

The Lord's Jukebox


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