“Bunker Up”

“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
- Ephesians 6:13-17 (NIV)

One of the most favorite studies I have done is on the “full armor of God.” A little over six weeks ago, I wrote an eight-week series on these verses from Ephesians.

I wanted to re-work them a little and represent them in our now-monthly format. So, rather than taking eight months, we will look at these verse over a four month period.

So, this month, we will look at two things: “Bunkering Up” and “Taking a Stand.”

Every shift we work, every call we make - we put on protective gear. You know the term ‘bunker up.’ In other words, “put your gear on… we’re goin’ in.”

Well, did you know that our REAL CHIEF issues PPE, also? That’s right - GOD’s personal protective gear. The SOG for Life (The Bible) calls this PPE ‘the whole armor of GOD.’ Let’s talk about this Holy gear. This article, let’s talk about putting on the “whole armor.”

We wear helmets, which have cushioned inserts, chinstraps, neck protectors and face shields. We wear a turnout coat that has a liner. We wear turnout pants that have a liner. Even suspenders have a purpose… the alternative is that we would be tripping over our bunker pants. We wear rubber or leather boots. The boots, themselves, have protective properties… they keep our feet dry, they are tall to keep embers and water out, and they have steel toe and shank protectors. We wear fire gloves to protect our hands and fingers. We wear nomex hoods and “Reed” hoods. We wear air packs. At EMS scenes, we wear rubber gloves and sometimes goggles and masks. On Hazmat incidents, crews wear specialized suits.

The point is this; we are in a business where all of it must be worn all of the time. By that, I mean, you wouldn’t go into a working fire wearing everything except your boots, would you? Or everything except your gloves? Or your helmet? You get my point.

And, so it is with our GOD-given PPE. We must learn to use each and every piece every time we go out to serve.

‘Taking a stand,’ I believe, is something that comes from training, from knowledge and from our REAL CHIEF. By that, I mean that I believe that having the courage to take a stand comes from HIM. I’ll give you an example. Think back to when you first started. You went to your very first working fire. You were scared to death. But, you didn’t back down. You ‘stood your ground,’ just as you were trained to do in the academy… you faced the enemy. And, by putting on all of your PPE and your using your nozzle, you defeated the enemy - fire. The more times you have repeated that scenario, the more courage you have developed… the more confident in GOD you become to attack the situation.

Thus it is with our verses this week. GOD teaches us to put on all of our armor and then to take our stand. Then, HE says, to “stand firm.” This applies if we are fighting a structure or we are doing battle with the flames of Satan. We are to take a stand with courage. With conviction. With HIM.

Matthew 14:27 - But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

1 Corinthians 16:13 - Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.

That courage that comes from GOD is recognizable by others. Acts 4:13 says - When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

And, finally, where does that strength, that ability to take a stand, come from? From CHRIST, of course. Perhaps this is best summed up in Psalm 23:4 - Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Take a stand, fellow warriors, as we serve together…

…On HIS Shift,
Chaplain Skip

Copyright © 2012 Chaplain Skip Straus and Emergency Ministries.

Don’t forget to send your prayer request, praise reports, etc. -  http://www.emergencychaplain.org/forum

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Some needs that you could help provide;
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PO Box 9121 * Spring TX 77387-9121
713.510.4911

“New CPR?”

“…snatch others from the fire and save them.”
- Jude 23(a) (NIV)

Who do you “snatch others from the fire and save them?” Why with CPR, of course!

How would you like to learn a form of CPR that works every time? This “new” CPR stands for: Christ Provides Resuscitation!!! That’s right. GOD wants to be your REAL CHIEF. Moreover, when you accept HIM as such, you will have been “revived.” You are “resuscitated” into an eternal life.

When you look at the SOG for life, there are a few times where this special CPR was performed: In 1Kings -“…some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing.” “Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed.” Then he leans over the boy 3 times and cried to the LORD, “O LORD my God, let this boy’s life return to him! The LORD heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived.”

In Acts, Chapter 20, we read about a “trauma code” from a fall… “Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “He’s alive!” After talking until daylight, he left. The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.”

In John 11, we read the story of Lazarus -who was sick. “Lord, the one you love is sick.”  Later, we read…”On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” Then we read the shortest verse in the Bible: “Jesus wept.” You see, our REAL CHIEF teaches us another important lesson here… its okay to cry when a loved one, a friend dies and you also see others around you hurting. SO, our REAL CHIEF approaches the tomb… “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”  After our REAL CHIEF said that, he called out, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out…”

Notice that in all three cases it was “spiritual CPR” that restored life to the widow’s son, to Eutychus and to Lazarus. Our REAL CHIEF said that HE wanted his disciples to see that HE could restore life…. That HE performs CPR that is guaranteed to work.

Now, how can YOU perform spiritual CPR? Remember, it’s “CHRIST PROVIDES RESUSCITATION”. It is our REAL CHIEF who actually performs the CPR. So, what is your part in it? Your part is to tell others about how accepting GOD as your REAL CHIEF has resuscitated your dead heart into a heart that beats for others as you serve…

…On HIS Shift,
Chaplain Skip

Copyright © 2012 Chaplain Skip Straus and Emergency Ministries.

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Interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bF-ohFSQF0

March 30, 2012
“Rescue Squad”
”’…for I am with you to rescue and save you.’ declares the LORD.”

- Jeremiah 15:20(b) (NIV)

I believe that only two groups of people can really understand what a Rescue Squad does - those who serve on a squad and those they save.

Sure, others, especially fire/EMS folks, understand what rescue teams do - in a generalized sense. But, unless you have been there, done that, you don’t understand the amount of training, expertise and courage it takes to perform specialized rescue… such as; high-angle, low-angle, trench and structural collapse.

I believe a victim might understand, because they knew where they were and the life-or-death circumstance they were involved in. After all, they were the ones who saw the light on the helmet of a rescuer coming towards them in their darkest hour and heard a calming voice say to them, “I am with the rescue team. We are going to get you out of here.”

In our deepest, darkest hour… when we are in the midst of; a divorce, a death in the family, a financial crisis, a child has turned to drugs - when we need to be pulled from despair, all we have to do is send out a call to THE Rescue Squad. That call is prayer. That call is petition to the RESCUE CHIEF of all creation - to GOD. “Please, help me through this, LORD!” is the cry.

The answer? Well, the answer is the verse for this month - GOD says, “I am here.” THE RESCUE CHIEF says to you, “…I am with you to rescue and save you!” What a relief.

Are you buried in the darkness and feel as though everything is collapsing around you? Are you so full of despair because of something tragic in life? RESCUE ONE is standing by and waiting for your call. And when you do make that call, can’t you imagine seeing the “Light of the world” (see John 9:5) coming towards you in your dark tunnel of desperation? What a relief.

My prayer is that each one of you realize the power to save that our REAL CHIEF has in store for you. And, all you have to do is ask! Ask HIM to become the REAL CHIEF in your life. Ask HIM to teach you how to “snatch others from the fire and save them.” (Jude, verse 23(a)NIV)  HE will teach you. HE loves that you are serving…

…On HIS Shift,
Chaplain Skip

Copyright © 2012 Chaplain Skip Straus and Emergency Ministries.

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February 26, 2012
“Going In”

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” - Joshua 1:9 (NIV)

FDNY firefighter Mike Kehoe was interviewed by a British newspaper (The Mirror) shortly after 9-11.01. He said to the reporter, “Our job was to get up to the floor where the plane had actually hit to reach people there and that’s what we were determined to do.” He says: “As we were going up, people were saying, ‘Good luck’, ‘lots of luck’ and things like that. Sure I was frightened – but I was just doing my job and wish we could have done more.”

In our verse this month, we look at the courage that our REAL CHIEF gave Joshua. Joshua was Moses’ aide… his deputy Chief, if you will. You might remember that when Moses’ died, our REAL CHIEF spoke to Joshua and put him in command of taking the Israelites into the Promised Land.

Joshua was selected from his own tribe (Ephraim) when the 12 spies were sent into Canaan to look over the land. Only Joshua and Caleb (who represented the tribe of Judah) were ready to follow God’s will and take immediate possession of the land (see Numbers 14:26-34), though all the others said things like, “Oh, no, our enemy is too big… or too many.” Joshua was ready to “get after it.” Why? In the face of overwhelming odds, why attack?

Let’s try to look at it this way. Let’s say you and your crew are first-in at a working structure fire. It is a one story frame building with heavy smoke and flames visible. As your crew begins stretching line, a lady runs up to you, “Hurry, my family is still inside!” You advise dispatch that there are confirmed reports of people trapped and you lead your team into a blazing inferno of a wooden home, knowing the danger… knowing the difficulties. And why did you enter that house? Because lives were at stake. It’s the old saying, “Risk little to save little, risk a lot to save a lot.” You entered that house because of your willingness to serve and because GOD has given you the desire and the training to “run in when the roaches are running out.”

GOD gives us the courage and strength to do what we do. And HE gives us a promise - that HE will be with us wherever we go! Knowing that helps promote that courage doesn’t it? I mean, don’t we find ourselves actually liking the adrenaline rush of facing danger?

Those of you who know me or read my articles know that my hobby is scuba diving. In particular, I love diving with sharks. When people learn this, I get asked all the time, “Why in the world do you like scuba diving with sharks? Aren’t you scared?” Well, duh! hehehe… that’s part of the reason that I love it… the adrenaline rush. I have also been rock climbing and skydiving.

But, at least for me, scuba diving has been excellent stress relief. Now, I won’t even pretend to tell you that shark diving is great stress relief and you should do it. It’s most definitely not for everyone. But, what I can tell you is that I thrive on the strength and fortitude that I believe GOD has given me to have gone into fires, into tenements, into “the hood” and into the ocean.

Breath this prayer with me - Thank You, LORD, for instilling in me a desire to serve… a desire to go into danger as others flee… a desire to serve others. Thank You for Your promise that You will be the Incident Commander on the firegrounds of my life.

I love watching our REAL CHIEF at work around us and I love serving alongside you…

…On HIS Shift,
Chaplain Skip

Copyright © 2012 Chaplain Skip Straus and Emergency Ministries.

Don’t forget to send your prayer request, praise reports, etc. - http://www.emergencychaplain.org/forum

Make a secure online donation with PayPal! http://www.emergencychaplain.org/donations.htm

Some needs that you could help provide;
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January 30, 2012

“Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory!” - 1 Chronicles 4:10(a) (NIV)

Cindy and I moved to the town where we live in back in 1995. The population was about 24,000. It was a quiet, “master-planned” community. There was hardly any traffic. Oh, and there were two volunteer fire stations.

Growth came quickly. Today, the population increases so often that they don’t even bother putting up the signs anymore and that master-planned community is now a “township” and we are at about 120,000. With that growth, we saw the volunteers eventually give way to a career staff. And, the department just built Station #8. It makes me wonder if someone in that department prayed the prayer that Jabez prayed to GOD, “enlarge my territory?”

But, what territory was Jabez asking of GOD? Was it more land to farm? Was it material possessions at all? I don’t believe so. Jabez asked GOD to, first of all, bless him. He knew that without GOD’s blessing, nothing would happen. And, I believe that the territory he was seeking was an area and/or sphere of influence that he could use that would bring glory to our REAL CHIEF.

Bruce Wilkinson, author of the book about Jabez’s prayer called, appropriately enough, “The Prayer of Jabez,” challenges us to “Attempt something large enough that failure is guaranteed…unless God steps in!”

Emergency Ministries, we believe, has done just that. We started a little over thirteen years ago seeking GOD’s blessing to allow us to serve some of the fire departments in our county. And, we began praying that prayer of Jabez… enlarge our territory!

Three years ago, our Board’s “Strategic Planning Committee” believed and prayed that we would be serving agencies in eight counties in Southeast Texas. As of last Saturday, we now serve agencies in twenty-five counties across the state of Texas. Then, yesterday at our Board Meeting, we announced that GOD really is enlarging our territory… we are launching Emergency Ministries in Minnesota, as well!

We could never have done this without GOD’s blessing. And, we were moved by the advice of two Christian authors… Bruce Wilkinson who challenged us to attempt something that would, in human terms, fail. And, Henry Blackaby, who relates this story in his book, “Experiencing God” - “I asked them to explain. They said, ‘Well, when we set the budget, we set the budget on the basis of what we believe we can do. It does not reflect that we expect God to do anything.’ ‘Hmmm,’ I said. ‘Then how do you feel we ought to set the budget?’ They said, ‘First, we ought to determine all that God wants to do through us. Second, we need to put down what that will cost. Then we need to divide the budget goal into three categories: (1) what we plan to do through our tithes; (2) what others have promised to do; (3) what we must depend on God to do.’ As a church we prayed and decided God wanted us to use this approach to budgeting. We did not try to dream our own dreams for God. We had to be absolutely sure God was leading us to do the things we put in the budget. Then we listed what that would cost. We listed what we thought our people would give and what others had said they would give. The difference between what we could reasonably expect to receive and the total was what we would ask God to provide. The big question was: What is our operating budget? By faith we adopted the grand total as our operating budget.” He continues writing, “The budget of our church normally would have been $74,000. The budget we set was $164,000. We pledged to pray daily that God would meet our needs. Any money that came in that we did not anticipate we credited to God. At the end of the year we had received $172,000. God taught our church a lesson in faith that radically changed us all.”

So, we set our operating budget based on a figure that only GOD could bring in… almost double of last year’s contributions. We are praying for this and ask that you join us on this adventure as we watch GOD enlarge our territory - our ability to influence and affect the lives of everyday heroes across this country and, with HIM, across the globe.

I love watching our REAL CHIEF at work around us and I love serving alongside you…

…On HIS Shift,
Chaplain Skip

Copyright © 2012 Chaplain Skip Straus and Emergency Ministries.

Don’t forget to send your prayer request, praise reports, etc. - http://www.emergencychaplain.org/forum

Make a secure online donation with PayPal! http://www.emergencychaplain.org/donations.htm

Some needs that you could help provide;
Prayer - pray for us and those we serve on a daily basis.
Contributions - we are specifically seeking monthly contributors to stand with us.

Emergency Ministries is a non-profit organization under IRS code 501.c.3 
PO Box 9121 * Spring TX 77387-9121 
713.510.4911

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” - Luke 2:8-12 (NIV)

    December 25th is the day that Christians around the world celebrate the birth of JESUS. Throughout the Old Testament, HIS existence is foretold…

…Since the beginning of time - Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

…As our protector - Daniel 3:24-27 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?” They replied, “Certainly, O king.” He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.

…As our salvation -  Isaiah 49:6(b) “I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”

…From HIS Birthplace - Micah 5:2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”

…And our peace Micah 5:4-5 “He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be their peace.”

Notice the humble way that GOD chose for HIS SON to appear to us… not as a prince. Not as a king. Not as an emperor. No, our REAL CHIEF came to us as a frail baby. Was HE born in the best hospital? No. HE was born in a stable and HIS first crib was a feeding trough. Did the birth announcement go to royalty and to the rich? No. The announcement went to shepherds. I love the words of the song by Chris Rice, called “Welcome to Our World.”-

Tears are falling, hearts are breaking, how we need to hear from God.
You’ve been promised, we’ve been waiting, welcome Holy Child, welcome Holy Child!

Hope that you don’t mind our manger, how I wish we would have known.
But long-awaited Holy Stranger, make Yourself at home, please make Yourself at home.

Bring Your peace into our violence, bid our hungry souls be filled.
Word now breaking Heaven’s silence, welcome to our world, welcome to our world.

Fragile finger sent to heal us, tender brow prepared for thorn.
Tiny heart whose blood will save us, unto us is born, unto us is born.

So wrap our injured flesh around You, breathe our air and walk our sod.
Rob our sin and make us holy, perfect Son of God, perfect Son of God. Welcome to our world.

I wish each of you a very Merry CHRISTmas. And, a blessed New Year. I look forward to working alongside you as we serve…

…On HIS Shift,
Chaplain Skip

Copyright © 2011 Chaplain Skip Straus and Emergency Ministries.

Don’t forget to send your prayer request, praise reports, etc. -  http://www.emergencychaplain.org/forum

Emergency Ministries is an IRS 501.c.3 organization and donations are tax-deductible and greatly appreciated.
PO Box 9121 * Spring, TX * 77387-9121

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“Thanksgiving for Christmas”

“Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.”
- Psalm 136:26 (NIV)

    “Thanksgiving for Christmas? Aren’t you a little confused?,” you ask. Well, yes I am confused, but that’s not what we’re talking about right now (ala “Airplane”).

     I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving celebration last week. We sure did around our place. Cindy was off for four days, yeah! Thank You, God! We had family over for Thanksgiving dinner. Thank You, God! My birthday was Friday and we had friends over for another dinner. Thank You, God! My bride got me a new grill for my birthday. Thank You, God! A friend came and treated me to a movie over the weekend as a belated birthday present. Thank You, God!

     Also over the weekend… a paramedic/firefighter was struck by an 18 wheeler last Thursday morning while on scene of another 18-wheeler crash. She lost part of an arm, but miraculously survived. Thank You, God! (to read how to help, click here). A good friend made it through her first Thanksgiving without her only son. Thank You, God! We actually had temperatures in thirties last night… after being in the upper seventies two days ago. Thank You, God!

     And, now, here we are only 27 days away from the day that we celebrate the birth of our REAL CHIEF…. CHRISTmas. Thank You, God!

     Our verse this month tells us to “give thanks” to God and “His love endures forever.” His enduring love for us is so intense that HE gave HIS SON as the greatest gift any human could receive. How do we Thank You, God, for such a Gift?

     I am humbled to be serving alongside you as we thank God for being able to serve…

…On HIS Shift,
Chaplain Skip

Copyright © 2011 Chaplain Skip Straus and Emergency Ministries.

Don’t forget to send your prayer request, praise reports, etc. -  http://www.emergencychaplain.org/forum 

Emergency Ministries is an IRS 501.c.3 organization and donations are tax-deductible and greatly appreciated.
PO Box 9121, Spring TX 77387
26602 Keith St, Suite B * Spring, TX * 77373

Make a secure online donation with PayPal!   https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=3GS65PWWMKQBN 

October 26, 2011 

“God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.”
- Hebrews 10:35-36 (NIV)

The tones never seemed to stop going off. Sure, we worked in one of the busiest parts of the city. But “that” shift never ended. You’ve had shifts like this, haven’t you? We ran twenty-three calls in a twenty-four hour shift. As I talk with our brothers and sisters who are still working in the field, more and more, it seems like a 17-call-per-day average is becoming the “norm.” When the calls are “real,” the flu and cold calls seem tolerable. But, when you run an entire shift of “you called 9-1-1 for that???”-type of calls, it drains you.

We get tired. We even sometimes get to the point of wanting to stop the insanity and walk away. But, we don’t. Do you know why? Because our REAL CHIEF has given us the gift to help others who are having the worse day of their life. Sure, ninety percent of the time the call is not life-threatening or not even serious enough to have warranted a call to 9-1-1. But, HE hasn’t put us there for the 10%, has HE? No! HE has put us where we are to serve people… all 100% of those calls for service.

It’s the same in any ministry… and, yes, you are in a ministry… there are days, admittedly, when I feel like “throwing in the towel.” And, it seems like when this happens, our REAL CHIEF causes something or someone to cross my path to give me a nudge, a reminder, that HE is there… that HE is still in control of things.

GOD will send an encourager to your side to say, “Don’t give up.” HE will show you a scripture during your study time that says, “Don’t give up.” HE will whisper to you, “Don’t give up.”

Better than that, though, HE shows us HIS love for us… Our REAL CHIEF tells us in Hebrews that HE will not forget the work we are doing. And, amazingly enough, HE tells us that our work is how we are showing our love for HIM as we help others.

Let us be encouraged by our REAL CHIEF and reach out and encourage one another as we serve…

…On HIS Shift,
Chaplain Skip

Copyright © 2011 Chaplain Skip Straus and Emergency Ministries.

Don’t forget to send your prayer request, praise reports, etc. - http://www.emergencychaplain.org/forum

Emergency Ministries is an IRS 501.c.3 organization and donations are tax-deductible and greatly appreciated.
PO Box 9121 * Spring, TX * 77387-9121
_________________
On HIS Shift,
Chaplain Skip, NREMT-P, BCCC, MPC
Board Certified Crisis Chaplain
American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress

Founder/Senior Chaplain of Emergency Ministries
www.emergencyministries.org

“Idle Minds - The Disease of Gossip”

“A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid a man who talks too much.”
- Proverbs 20:19 (NIV)

    The old saying goes, “Idle Minds are the devil’s workshops.” No one knows where the phrase originated, but several variations have been found, dating back to the 1700’s, such as; “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop” and “The devil finds work (or mischief) for idle hands to do” and “Idle hands are the devil’s tools.”
  
    I had the privilege last night to address the officers of one of the agencies we serve. The Chief had shared with me how gossip was becoming a ‘challenge’ within the department.

    A few years ago I wrote about this topic by comparing gossip to a fire triangle;
                
    Did you know that one of the first references to a fire triangle is in the Bible? “Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down.“ - Proverbs 26:20 (NIV). If you remove an element, the fire can not exist.

    Conflict occurs when you combine people, along with a type “A” personality, and throw in a little idleness. Think about that…. when is gossip at its’ worst? When it’s slow around the station! So, just like removing an element of the fire triangle will cause the fire to die out, if you remove gossip, a quarrel dies down!

So, what is gossip? I found this on the internet (author unknown):

“My name is Gossip…”
I have no respect for justice. I maim without killing. I break hearts and ruin lives.
I am cunning, malicious and gather strength with age. The more I am quoted, the more I am believed. I flourish at every level of society.

My victims are helpless. They cannot protect themselves against me because I have no name and no face. To track me down is impossible. The harder you try, the more elusive I become.

I am nobody’s friend. Once I tarnish a reputation, it is never the same. I topple governments and wreck marriages. I ruin careers and cause sleepless nights, heartaches and indigestion. I spawn suspicion and generate grief.
I make headlines and headaches.

So how can we stop gossip? Many places are actually implementing “Malicious Talk” policies and implementing “Gossip Free Zones” in the workplace. As individuals, we can help stop the conflict in its’ tracks by removing one or more of the “elements” that are at the root of the beast;

Remove “Idleness.” Keep busy. Keep your crew busy. If there is time to sit around and tell stories about someone, there is time that can be used to encourage someone. Eliminate idleness and you stop the process. Once again, when we are busy, gossip drops to nothing…

Remove “Gossip.” As Barney Fife always said, “Nip it, nip it in the bud!” The next time someone says to you, “Hey, dijahearabout?” - use these techniques:

Say something positive.

Walk away if you have to.

Don’t repeat it!

Avoid gossip as though it will destroy you, because it can. Instead… look for ways to encourage others as you serve…

…On HIS Shift,
Chaplain Skip

Copyright © 2011 Chaplain Skip Straus and Emergency Ministries.

Don’t forget to send your prayer request, praise reports, etc. -  http://www.emergencychaplain.org/forum

Emergency Ministries is an IRS 501.c.3 organization and donations are tax-deductible and greatly appreciated.
PO Box 9121 * Spring, TX * 77387-9121

“Record Heat”

“…but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”  - Isaiah 40:31 (NIV)

I don’t know what kind of summer you have had. But, here in Southeast Texas has been pretty hard to take. In the Houston area, we haven’t had a good, soaking rain since October of last year. Besides the drought situation, we are in the middle of one of the hottest summers in our history… our area has had almost 50 days over 100 degrees! As I pulled into the driveway an hour ago, it was still 103 degrees at 1800hrs! And, many areas have even been hotter than that. This is the first time in my life time that all fireworks shows were cancelled back during the Fourth of July celebration. A friend sent me an email the other day that said something to the effect of: “Satan called… he wants his weather back.” He can have it!

Most of us work outdoors. It’s the nature of our jobs (pun intended). If you are fighting a fire or working a MVI or “pumping a chest” in this weather, you become completely drained in no time at all. And guess what happens when it is dry and hot? Yep. Plenty of fires to go around. Also, tempers flare quicker, don’t they? Driving in Houston is a challenge any time. Just try it during rush hour in 107 degree heat!

The are also “extreme seasons” in our personal and work life, isn’t there? Call after call. All day and all night. It seems like it will never end. Then, one morning, you are sitting there studying GOD’s SOG for Life (the Bible) and HE begins to renew you with HIS Word… with HIS presence.

Our verse this month is one of my favorites. It is a promise from our REAL CHIEF. He says HE will renew you when you place your trust in HIM. Have you ever seen an eagle soar? It is one of the most majestic things I have ever witnessed… it seems that can go miles with only a small flutter of their wings. What a great metaphor!

Our pastor is a marathon runner. I can’t imagine running 26 miles. I certainly can’t imagine running and “not growing weary.” But, that is the picture our GOD paints for us in HIS Word.

Are you feeling a little “zapped” right now? Refresh yourself in HIM, as you serve…

…On HIS Shift,
Chaplain Skip

Copyright © 2011 Chaplain Skip Straus and Emergency Ministries.

Don’t forget to send your prayer request, praise reports, etc. - http://www.emergencychaplain.org/forum

Emergency Ministries is an IRS 501.c.3 organization and donations are tax-deductible and greatly appreciated.
PO Box 9121 * Spring, TX * 77387-9121