Hello, American Patriots and fellow Christians! This Sunday is not only Flag Day, but also the Army’s 251st birthday. Let’s take a look at some facts about the American flag and the Army.

Flag Day, celebrated annually on June 14, is not an official federal holiday, but the president of the United States traditionally proclaims its observance each year.

* Many towns and cities hold parades and events to celebrate the flag on June 14, and the colors are to be flown at all government buildings.

* The original 1777 flag was designed to represent the 13 original colonies. It had 13 white stars on a blue field and 13 alternating red and white stripes.

* One of the first flag designs had the stars arranged in a circle, based on the idea that all colonies were equal.

* In 1818, after a few design changes, the United States Congress decided to retain the flag’s original 13 stripes and add new stars to reflect each new state that entered the union.

* Each time a state was added to the union, a star was added. Today, there are 50 stars, one for each state in the union, but the 13 stripes remain.

The Army Warrior Ethos

is to always place the mission first, never accept defeat, never quit, never leave a fallen comrade. Similarly,

* Jesus placed the mission first by coming to seek and save the lost.

(Luke 19:10) *

Jesus never accepted defeat; in fact, He defeated death itself.

(Rev. 1:18) *

Jesus never quit — He won the victory!

(1Cor. 15:54-55) * Jesus will never leave us nor forsake us.

(Hebrews 13:5)

The 7 Core Army Values are: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage. Soldiers learn these values in detail during Basic Combat Training, and are encouraged to live them every day in everything they do — on the job or off.

These same values are Christian values — and are to be lived every day, in all ways.

LOYAL – faithful to God our Lord and Saviour (Matthew 24:45-47) DUTY – to witness the Gospel message (Matthew 28:19) RESPECT – fear God and hate evil (Proverbs 8:13) SELFLESS SERVICE – be a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1) HONOUR – honour all men, love the brotherhood (1Peter 2:17) INTEGRITY – be stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the Lord’s work (1Cor. 15:58) PERSONAL COURAGE – Be courageous, not afraid or dismayed

(Joshua 1:9) The Solider’s Creed

I am an American Soldier.

I am a warrior and a member of a team.

I serve the people of the United States, and live the Army Values.

I will always place the mission first. I will never accept defeat.

I will never quit.

I will never leave a fallen comrade. I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills. I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.

I am an expert and I am a professional.

I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy, the enemies of the United States of America in close combat.

I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.

I am an American Soldier.

The Christian’s Creed

I am a spiritually born Christian (John 3:7)

I am a member of God’s army; Christ strengthens me (Phil. 4:13) I serve God (Matthew 6:24) and others (Luke 6:35) I will place God’s will and mission first (Romans 12:2) I will put on the whole Armour of God to withstand evil (Eph. 6:13) I will not grow weary (Gal. 6:9)

I will keep praying for the lost ( 1Tim. 2:1) I will remain wholly dedicated to the Lord (Col. 3:23) I will be kind and love others (Eph. 4:32)

I will be diligent in the Lord’s business (Prov. 22:29) I will be ready to fight against the enemy (Eph. 6:14) I will stand fast in the liberty and freedom of Christ (Gal. 5:1) I am a spiritually born Christian Soldier. (2Tim. 2:3-4) Understand that God has given many commands for Christian behaviour, therefore many ‘I am/I will’ statements appear in the above Creed. However, the Christian life is not about ‘I’ or ‘me,’ it is all about our LORD and Saviour Jesus Christ. True Christians are a purchased possession, bought with a price (His own blood) … we are not our own.

(1Cor. 6:20, Eph. 1:14, Acts 20:28) Thank you to all American and Christian soldiers! Grow closer to God and His Word by visiting VBS4ever.com.