Steve Sikes Blog  

I received my order to report for my armed forces physical examination in January of 1973.  I was a junior in college at Harding University.  Several of my college peers had already been drafted and since my draft number was “81” out of 366—I suspected I would be following them soon.
. My letter stated that I needed to report at the Searcy, Arkansas bus station at 6:00 am on Friday morning, January 26, 1973.  I remember getting up early that Friday and going down to the bus station and reporting.  I showed them my letter expecting them to hand me my bus ticket and send me on my way to Little Rock.  However, after several minutes they came back to me and said, “Mr. Sikes, for some reason we cannot locate your information and ticket.  Go on back to school today and we will get in touch with you some time next week.  I breathed a sigh of relief, said “Thank You, God” and returned to campus.
. For those of you knowledgeable about the Vietnam draft – it was suspended the next day on Saturday, January 27, 1973, the day the Vietnam peace pacts were signed!  I never heard from anyone again about going to Little Rock and taking my physical or about being drafted into the military for the Vietnam War.
. Why was I spared from going to Vietnam when others better than me, godlier than me, not only were drafted but were maimed or killed?  I have no idea.  But ever since 1973 I have felt a great indebtedness to all those who have served in the military, during times of war and times of peace.
I didn’t deserve to be spared from war.  I know that.  I didn’t deserve NOT to be drafted, when so many homes were torn apart by the draft.  I know that.  I still don’t understand all that happened and didn’t happen to me in 1973, but the above events have fostered, along with the Bible, my theology of GRACE.
. Have you read Deuteronomy, chapters 7-9 lately?  Why did the Lord God choose the Jews to be the people that would bring forth His Son?
. 1. Because they were the strongest nation?  No!  There were 7 nations stronger than them!  (Deut 7:1)
2. Because they were more numerous than other peoples?  No!  They were the fewest!  (Deut 7:7)
3. Because they were the most righteous?  No!  They were a stiff-necked people surrounded by wicked nations!  (Deut 9:4-6)
. “Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.” (6)
. The Jewish nation was chosen by God by GRACE!  There was nothing they did to deserve God’s blessing!  God called them to be faithful, to follow and obey Him, and if they did, they would be blessed!
. You and I have been chosen by God by GRACE!  “For by GRACE you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast.”  (Eph 2:8)  We have all been given much GRACE!  How then should we live? 
. GIGATTAATTGIG!
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When I was in grades one, two and three – he was one of my best friends.  We sat in the classroom, played baseball and swam in the pond together.  I moved at the beginning of my fourth grade year and didn’t see Ricky until college, nine years later.  Being reunited was such a blessing!
. During the end of our first semester as college freshmen, Ricky talked to me about his leaving school and joining the armed forces.  He did and was killed in action the next year.
. Vietnam was an ugly war, but then again, all wars are ugly.  Wars maim, kill, destroy people’s lives, take loved ones away, and leave devastating memories that for many survivors result in PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).  I miss Ricky; I’ve gone to the Viet Nam Memorial Wall twice to find his name.  There’s always been a crowd of people around –  rubbing a loved one’s name on a piece of paper, leaving flowers, taking pictures, crying…
. Our congregation has more than a few who have defended our country and the freedoms of other nations.  I have utmost respect for our servicemen and women.  Whatever one thinks about war, one thing I do know – freedom is expensive. Ask Jesus. God is good.

If you haven’t heard yet, our youngest daughter, Crystal, will be interning with the Pitman teens this summer!  Her first day “on the job” is May 18. 
Crystal is 22 and a student at Rochester College.  She has also worked two years as a Para-professional in an elementary school.
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Crystal has a heart for children and a heart for God.  Plus, she has a sense of humor!  Crystal’s always used words that “sound” close but don’t quite fit the situation. 
. My favorite humorous story along this line is the time Crystal was in the 3rd grade.  On this particular day, I drove to pick her up after school had been dismissed.  Crystal hopped in our GEO and without missing a beat said, “Dad, a terrible thing happened at school today!” 
. What thing? 
. “One of the boys in my classroom got sick and the teacher had to call his parents and they took him to the doctor!” 
. That is pretty bad, Crystal. 
. “But that’s not all, Dad.  Tomorrow they’re going to take him to the hospital and take out his INDEPENDENCE!” 
. I laughed till I cried, but my prayer this summer for Crystal, the teens and all of us, is – “God, take out our ‘INDEPENDENCE’ (Luke 9:23).” 
. GIGATT! 

I remember as a teenager going out the back door of our farm house at 5:30 am to feed the hogs, milk the cow and walk my show-calf.  I had to pass through the dining room to go outside, and many times that’s where I would see Mom… sitting at the dining room table with a lamp shining over her head reading her Bible before the sun’s rising.  I didn’t think so much about it then – it wasn’t an uncommon sight for me to see.  But now that “Polaroid picture” of Mom reading her Bible early in the morning goes across my mind quite often.
. Mom’s days were always full with: helping Dad with the secretarial work at the children’s home; being the home’s chorus director; being the children’s home barber of the 65 boys, including our family; being the mom of 13 children; etc.  Jam-packed days!  Yet, Mom still found time to start her mornings with reading and prayer.
. I’ve never met a more positive person and servant than my mother.  Her infamous line, when asking someone to join us for a meal or a place to sleep, has always been (as long as I can remember), “There’s always room for one more.”
. When I was preaching in Texas and going to graduate school at Abilene Christian University, I took Patti to a good old fashioned beef & beans country cookout with guitar music.  The proprietor of the establishment came over to our table and we began talking.  I discovered that at one time he had been a preacher and he discovered that I had grown up on a farm on the Texas/Oklahoma border.  He then began to share a story about the time he was in preaching school and had gone with a group to a town not too far from our farm to knock on doors and share the gospel.  He said on the way back home their car broke down and they walked to the nearest farm house.  I’ll let him tell the rest of the story in his own words…
. “We walked up to this farm house around 8:00 pm and knocked on the door.  When the door opened there was a mother holding a newborn baby in her arms surrounded by a whole passel of children of all different ages.  When we told them our car had broken down, up the road a piece, she invited us all in.  She and her husband fed us, gave us a place to sleep and helped us get our car fixed the next day.  I’ll always remember what this mother told us that night before we accepted her invitation to come in and spend the night, “Please stay with us.  There’s always room for one more.”
. I looked at that proprietor and said, “You stayed at my farm house!  That was my mother and my family at the door that night!”  (Mom had just returned home from the hospital with a newborn baby!)
. The older I get and the more I read my Bible, the more I realize that the heart of God can be summarized by Mom’s same words of hospitality, “There’s always room for one more!”  Listen how the apostles, John and Peter, describe God’s heart of redeeming hospitality:
. John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.  For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”
. 2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”
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Happy Mother’s Day to all of you mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers of hospitality! God’s arms are wide, His table is spread, and truly “There’s always room for one more!” God is good!  Mr. Steve
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Let’s play the “Who Am I” game again.  Are you ready?
. • I love mustard!
• I work as a kindergarten assistant
• I am a volunteer “Room Mom” at school
• I love to do face book
• I’m graduating this year with a B.A. in Literature
• I’m applying for grad school
• I’m a single mom 3 weeks out of every month
• My husband and I minister to the younger children at church
• I spearhead the 5th Sunday fellowship with my husband
• I’m married to a tug boat/ship’s captain
• I’m the mother of four very active boys
• My boys are into scouts, traveling sports, music lessons, etc.
. Okay, by now most of you have correctly surmised I’m talking about Andrea Olley.  Finishing up a college degree while being a full-time Mom of four boys, working a part-time job, and doing ministry are nothing to sneeze about!  This congregation has some amazing Moms in the Lord – Andrea Olley is one of them!
. Andrea, we are proud of you and congratulate you on your accomplishments.  Thank you for putting God first!  It shows!  God is good all the time!  Mr. Steve

About twenty-nine years ago, Jeff Walling stayed in Patti’s and my apartment and did a youth rally over the phone.  The next day he spoke at our own youth/college seminar.  During one of his talks, he mentioned his “7P’s of Dating” – boundaries to help young people remain sexually pure.  Over the years I’ve added a few more to make the following 10 P’s of Dating: 
. • Plan – Plan your dates to lessen temptations
• Pure—Keep your dates pure in every way
• Parental Approval – Make sure the person you date would be approved by godly parents
• Periodic – don’t date someone again and again, night after night – too much familiarity leads to temptation
• Pray – pray with your date before you go out; if they don’t pray – you’ve probably selected the wrong date
• Proud – date in such a way that you can be proud of how you handled yourself
• Public – date in public places.  Highly consider double-dating and group dating over couple dating
• Punctual – pick up and return your date on time
• Polite – treat your date with politeness and common courtesies (i.e. opening the door; saying please; etc.)
• Prisoner – “DATE A PRISONER” of the Lord/a slave to Jesus Christ (Ephesians 4:1-3).
. God, You are good…lead us not into temptation. Mr. Steve