Life of Valor

The introduction to the entire Life of Valor resource by former Navy SEALs Clint Bruce and Jeff Bramsteadt, based on the film Act of Valor.

The Code shapes the life and values of each and every Navy SEAL. Without it, they would be lost. Our life in Christ is the same.

Matthew Zavala

John 14:1-6

The Way, the Truth, and the Life

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.”

Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

A New Year - A New Beginning

Ecclesiastes 3:1 "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.”

What a privilege we have as Christians. We don't have to trust in ourselves or our New Year Resolutions. There really is no such thing as luck. For God is a God of order and plan. He knows us better that we know ourselves. He even knew us before we were born. (Psalm 139). We can trust in the Lord.

Jeremiah 29:11-14 " For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

The words in the above verse are comforting. The Lord knows the plans He has for us. He is Omnipotent and Omnipresent.

When I look at the vastness of the universe that the Lord God created we should be overwhelmed with His love for us. This brings us comfort, peace and joy.

1 John 1:9 - Our New Year’s Resolution

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Isn't this the way to start your NEW YEAR?



Merry Christmas!

Isaiah 9:6 "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” 

we celebrate Jesus.

not because it’s a holiday.

we celebrate him because he is God.

and because his love for us is immeasurable

and unfathomable.

redemption is the ultimate picture of that love—

Jesus chose to die so that we might live with him forever.

and not in this forever.

but a forever in a world without pain, loneliness, hunger, death, and tears.

this Christmas, our hope and prayer is that we all might fall on our knees

and experience Jesus as our redeemer

as our Immanuel

and know his goodness

and perfect love.



Amidst the busyness surrounding the Christmas season may you find space to breathe and be still. The ultimate “present” is His presence, and our gift to you is this devotion “In the Grip of Silence” and simple reminder of what matters most.

Christmas Eve

What is the true spirit of Christmas? A young soldier once shared a very special gift with his fellow soldiers on Christmas Eve.

John 1:14  “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Love

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.”

God, my Father,
May I love You in all things and above all things.
May I reach the joy which You have prepared for me in
Heaven.
Nothing is good that is against Your Will,
and all that is good comes from Your Hand.
Place in my heart a desire to please You
and fill my mind with thoughts of Your Love,
so that I may grow in Your Wisdom and enjoy Your Peace.

Joy

Psalm 16:11“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

O God of marvel and mystery, make me joyous!
Bless me with the healing and forgiving power of laughter.
Help me to delight in life’s wonderment and surprises.
Preserve me from sanctimonious solemnity and morose morality,
and deliver me from the vanity of regrets.
Remove from me the perverse tendency
to make mountains out of molehills of my life.
Help me to regard the duck’s waddle,
the monkey’s antics
and my own foibles with the same sense of
humor.

Remind me that I am important,
not for what I do but for what I am –
your child, created in your image.
Help me to realize
that it is your love that gives meaning to my existence,

and that joy and laughter and singing
are echoes to that tremendous love.
Let me not forget to be joyful!
Let me not be too hurried to be cheerful.
Let me not be too busy to smile.
I ask these things, my Lord and my God, so that
someday I may join with all the mirthful saints
and singing angels
in praising you eternally.