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SPECIAL EVANGELISM

Special tracts for those specialized witnessing opportunities!

Thank You For Your Service
Please email a friend about this tract!

Add a natural spiritual application to those heartfelt words we've all said to active and retired veterans. This tract written by a veteran is a "natural" to share with anyone in the military you know or just pass by in daily life.

SOLD IN PACKS OF 25 TRACTS FOR $4 PER PACK

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"THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE"

On behalf of your fellow Americans, I want to express sincere appreciation for your willingness to serve as a member of the US military. Your sacrificial service has not gone unnoticed.

Recently I came across the following poem entitled "The Quiet Welcome Home" by Kelly Roper. "Some soldiers return home to the music of marching bands, folks excitedly waving flags, and extremely heartfelt hugs. Other soldiers return home in a solemn, flag-draped box, met by proud-yet-quiet loved ones, bravely holding back tears. For those who receive the quiet welcome, let's offer up our gratitude and prayers, and never forget the cost of lives lost, and lives forever changed."

As a fellow veteran, I salute you for your patriotism and your response to the call to serve our country. Some of us enlisted and some of us were drafted, but we all agreed to do our part as American citizens. Some of us even made the ultimate sacrifice by laying down our lives for our country. When I recently visited the Vietnam War Memorial Wall in Washington, DC I saw the name of one of my friends who made that ultimate sacrifice while serving as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army during that war. He was only in his early 20s.

The Ultimate Sacrifice

Two thousand years ago, a young man in his early 30s, named Jesus Christ, also gave his life for the sake of others. In fact, God's book to us, the Bible, tells us God's one and only Son came to earth on a one-of-a-kind mission that only he could doChrist died for usB>" (Romans 5:8)! When he died on that Roman cross, the sinless God-Man was actually substituting himself for you and me, taking the punishment we deserve as sinners! As the Bible says, "God made him [Jesus] who had no sin, to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21). When Jesus walked out of a tomb three days later, He proved he had successfully paid the full punishment for our sins and "the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:2).

In military terms, all of us have gone "AWOL" from God. The Bible makes this very clear when it says "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). As you know, when a soldier goes "AWOL" he or she eventually gets caught and suffers the consequences. In a similar way, because we have all gone "AWOL" from God we have "earned" a penalty. The Bible says "the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord" (Romans 6:23).

As veterans, we were willing to give our lives to defend the freedom of others. In a similar way, Jesus willingly gave his sinless life so we can be saved forever from the consequences of our sinfulness. Jesus said "I came that they may have life and have it abundantly," (John 10:10) a life full of meaning and fulfillment in knowing God.

The Ultimate Promotion

While we were serving in the military, we all looked forward to receiving a promotion to a higher rank. We knew that getting a promotion depended on our performance and hard work. So, it seems logical that for us to get to heaven we have to do good works to earn our way there. However, the Bible tells us that "it is by grace [God's undeserved favor] you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). Eternal life from God isn't a reward to be earned, it's a gift to be received. Our promotion to heaven is not about us and what we can do, it's all about Jesus and what he has already done! He "suffered once for sins--the righteous for the unrighteous--to bring you to God" (1 Peter 3:18).

When called upon to serve our country, you chose to do it. Now you have the opportunity to make another choice that is even more important. That decision is whether you will continue to try in vain to earn your way to heaven through good works, or will you turn to Jesus and by faith accept His gift of eternal life.

I urge you to make the decision to put your full trust in Jesus Christ for the gift of eternal life. Simply admit that you're a sinner in need of the Savior, thank Him for dying for your sins, and put your faith completely in him as your substitute. Becoming a child of God is the highest promotion any of us could ever hope to receive! The Bible tells us "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17).

The Ultimate Choice

If you make that choice, you will begin an entirely new chapter in your life! God has already arranged a handbook--the Bible--to guide you. You will be following the orders of your new Commanding Officer who will lead you on a path that will be challenging but very rewarding. It won't always be easy, but it will always be fulfilling.

Choosing to put your faith in Jesus and receiving the gift of eternal life is by far the most important decision you'll ever make! It will determine how you live the rest of your life and where you will spend eternity--in heaven or hell. The Bible clearly says, "God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son" (John 3:17-18).

The choice is yours. I urge you, as one veteran to another, to choose now while you still have the opportunity.

Mark Olander
US Army Veteran