I sure do!
Lately I’ve been watching again (for I have watched this show over and over) Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
My Aunt Lulu was in the Navy when I was a little girl. She died too young; the Navy gave us a flag which I would have loved my mom to have given me. This was the start of my admiration for our American military. Try living without them! Freedom isn’t free without an allegiance to godly principles and godly people fighting for freedom! Even most of the heroic disciples gave their lives for me, for you: even if you never believe them.
Selah.
We’re not in Heaven yet and: there will be no peace on Earth until the Prince of Peace is loved and worshipped by all in His sight and those who reject Him are cast out of His presence.
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. was a program worth watching. I’ve heard our United States military really did increase because of this program. I believe it!
Gomer, himself, was fun to listen to with his beautiful Southern accent and his magnificent singing ability. He was fun to watch in so many ways. His dancing was great! Best of all: he would lovingly and truly rebuke his buddies when they were just being plain mean. Duke comes to mind. And yet Gomer always extended genuine friendship; not the people pleasing phony (I want something from you) kind.
Selah.
Now Gunnery Sergeant Vincent Carter was another case. Quite the opposite in some instances. He was so famous for his Marine discipline and commanding voice, very loud indeed: “Move it! Move it! Move it!” always makes me smile. And the constant demand from him to have the fullest and most complete submission in duty and action was demanded by him from his men. “I can’t hear you!” was one of his continual demands.
As real military leader knows, someone has to be in full charge, demanding (never requesting) complete respect and surrender to his orders, and his orders alone. His orders must be constantly remembered and adhered to by each and every man. Lives are on the line. War is absolutely the answer in many cases. Read the Bible.
Revelation 19:11
I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war.
Who is this? Jesus!
As a unique human being, Frank Sutton has always been a man I’ve found easy to love. In the past, I’ve wondered if he was anything like Sergeant Carter. Turns out he was. This beautiful man was a hero; but not in the Marines: in the Army. He was color blind, making him unacceptable for the Marines. What a huge loss for them! But Frank didn’t give up. He went to the Army and was accepted, enlisted, and served so tremendously that he took part in fourteen assault landings! He was awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart!
Sometimes actors only act a little bit, because like Sergeant Frank Sutton, his role emulated his life quite a bit!
I loved Sergeant Carter; but I love the real hero, Sergeant Frank Sutton more! This man truly cared about fighting the good fight! Of course, I want everyone to join me (or they are already waiting for me in Heaven) so I am quite joyfully hoping to meet yet another one of my heroes in eternity…
Getting back to Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. I watched as a child: it is so fun to watch it all over again and feel the same way! Two different characters with beautiful character. I’ve introduced this program to my first three granddaughters.
I love to tell my family about the morning I was home alone doing my makeup while my two dogs and one kitty where nearby me. They were comfortably resting during my morning routine. And I got to wondering…
Could I do a Marine call very loudly? Could I sound like a female Marine sergeant? I had thought briefly about enlisting in the Navy like my Aunt Lulu. I do regret I didn’t…
So I decided to try it. I took a deep breath and as loud as I could I bellered out: “Move it! Move it! Move it!”
Guess what?
I did such a good job my dogs and cat fled from the room! All at one time! I laughed and laughed and still to this day think about how loud I can be! Of course, I told them I wasn’t mad and they were not in trouble! Boy was I impressed about what I can do!
There is a very good lesson in this story: the Bible tells us to resist the devil and he will flee!
James 4:7
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
God gave me a great comparison to Gunnery Sergeant Vince Carter’s “Move it! Move it! Move it!” and my resisting Satan… Every day I sit down symbolically on my Father’s right hand and read Scriptures regarding my authority over the enemy of my soul and now I always tell him: “Move it! Move it! Move it!” He’s out of my life; he has no authority over me and I refuse to fear him!
And another thing I love to do is not say, “I can’t hear you!” No: I choose what I believe and receive so I tell the dominion of darkness, that would be Satan and his kingdom: “I don’t hear you!”
Amen and amen!
Here are some of the Scriptures I bind Satan and his dominion with every morning:
Ephesians 2:6
And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,
Colossians 1:13-14
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Galatians 2:20-21
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
Revelation 12:11
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
SCRIPTURAL TRUTHS FOR THIS JOY STORY:
Job 1:8-12
Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”
Genesis 3:15
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
1 Peter 2:24
“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”
Acts 17:24-26
“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.
Matthew 18:15-17
“If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
Growing up in a home without the love for God, an invalid father, heavy financial hardships, and tremendous (sometimes dangerous) discord is always difficult. Add on to that extreme shyness, a feeling of inferiority, and some may think this girl was rejected. But God’s hand was on her and His heart was for her. Today, Ann Marie Turner has performed many great services in Jesus’ name for the love of God and man; and for herself! She has ministered in the male correctional for over ten years. Along with this website, Ann is the author of Joy Stories, Volume One and The Free Incarcerated Man. Writing about the joy of the Lord and the victory that is available for a willing soul is one of Ann’s now greatest joys! Ann’s prayer for you is to overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of your testimony. Celebrate the God of the Bible and your personal victories in Christ unceasingly! Revelation 12:11 They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.