A Man's First Christmas Gift

 

In the picture is my friend Alli and we just presented him with a new pair of Addidas tennis shoes. This was the first Christmas gift Alli has ever received, he didn't even know how to unwrap the wrapping paper. We had to show him. We have adopted him and will be providing for his needs while we are in Egypt. He is our mission project! Alli is a Muslim and he have been praying that God can reveal to Him in a supernatural way that Jesus is the Messiah and the only way to the Father.

This is a Christmas neither, Alli or myself will ever forget.

 

Alli works for the MFO and cleans our Chapel daily. He is 37 years od, is married to one wife, and has one son who likes to watch John Cena wrestle.

 

 

 

Warnings that Lead to Death

This picture was taken at a small shop in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. As you can read smoking kills and causes serious harm to yourself and to others. While many people read this, it doesn't stop them from smoking or heeding this warning.
The Bible is the same way. Those who have read the Bible have undoubtedly come across Romans 6:23 which says "for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." If we continue in our sin, we will travel down a path which leads to death. But coming to Christ in repentance and faith, grants us the free gift of eternal life. Or how about Galatians 5:19-21, where Pauls lists several nasty sins which are so prevelant in the lives of people today, such as sexual immorality, outburts of anger, and selfish ambitions to name a few and Paul concludes by saying that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. God has provided us a warning of mankind's sinful nature, which continues even after a person becomes a Christian if they feed the sinful nature of themselves. These sins can never be tolerated in our lives.
Paul is saying that this type of behavior as a pattern of life proves a person has no relationship with Christ and will cause a person to not inherit the kingdom of God.

Smoking might kill your body.....but sin will kill your soul for eternity!

It pays to heed and obey warnings.

God Bless my friends

Worshiping in Egypt

Hey Everyone,

Our Worship services have been going well and the Lord has blessed us with an average of 11 people per service. While this doesn't sound like a lot, in this environment and the in the military this is considered above average attendance. Especially when you consider that half of our unit is deployed to Observation Posts. I have also just found a man of faith and a very talented musician and singer to become my Chapel Music Director. So this should increase our attendance and take a load off of me trying to prepare music and videos for worship.

I have preached four sermons so far, these are the scriptures and titles:

John 6:60-71 - Fan or Follower?
Luke 14:26-36 - How Much to Love Jesus?
Luke 1:26-38 - His Will, His Way, and His Timing
Galatians 4:4-7 - Why Did Jesus Come When He Did?

This Sunday I will be preaching the following sermons:

Luke 2:1-7 - The Birth of a King
Matthew 1: 21-23 - God Invaded

I usually preach twice each Sunday. We have a morning service at 10:00 and then an evening service at 7:00. I usually try to integrate the morning and evening messages.

Sorry no Podcasts.

Continue to pray for our unsaved troops, our Egyptians friends, and my ministry.

How to Pray for Sandy Hook Elementary

From an article by Drew Thorwall at Reasons for Hope:

In response to the Newtown School Shootings, Drew Thorwall wrote this:

It is a time when we cling to Romans 8:26 and know that our prayers are lifted to God by the Holy Spirit Himself on behalf of the lives that are destroyed.

“We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.” (Romans 8:26)

We experience an intense mix of emotions from grief to anger. Righteous anger towards sinfulness in our world reflects the character of God, yet we remember that vengeance is the Lord’s (Romans 12:9), and our primary efforts are to love those who suffer with the love of Jesus Christ. That same verse says, “leave room for God’s wrath,” a startling reminder that while God is merciful, He is also just. He deals with sin in His infinite wisdom and righteousness. We know that He is still sovereign, and we know that He is love.
We find powerful guidance in how to pray in times like this in the Word of God.

• Psalm 77:1-20 — Asking God difficult questions when we pray in distress
• Psalm 5:1-12 — Prayer for God’s help and mercy
• Psalm 69:16-18 — Pray for mercy, and deliverance from enemies
• Psalm 46:1-11 — God is our refuge and strength
• I Peter 5:7 — Casting our burdens on the Lord who cares for us
• 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 — Praying to the God of all comfort

Pray for:

• Comfort for those who grieve over the loss of a precious little one. Parents, siblings, grandparents, families and friends.
• The teachers and other students in their emotional and physical recovery.
• The First Responders: police officers, fire fighters, and paramedics at the scene.
• The churches and counselors in the area who will respond to the spiritual needs.
• Wisdom of those in authority at the local, state, and national levels.
• That the God of all comfort will turn hearts to Himself.
• Pray for hope through Jesus Christ.

“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’” (Revelation 21:2-4)

Why Christians Should Go To Church

I often come across people who call themselves Christians, but tell me they don't need to attend church.

Feel free to challenge those people with these three statements:

1) The church is a building and Christ is the foundation, who could say yes to the foundation and no to the building that rests upon it?

2) The church is His bride, who could say yes to the groom and no to the Bride?

3) The church is His body, who could stay yes to Christ, the head, and then no to the body?

New Photos

I have uploaded all of my Egypt photos into the album section of my blog. To access them, simply go to my profile and click on photos.

Playing with Patches

Here is another dog named Patches. Patches likes to chase cars, people, and people riding camels.
He ran out of the fence and watched this Egyptian man from about 20 feet riding a camel from until he was out of sight, then he came back.
Patches just wants to be loved and fed....I split my ham sandwich with him and Chicas.

He is a great dog.

Man's Best Friend

I love animals. At every Observation Post there are two dogs. The dogs are essentially there for force protection. Whenever any stranger gets too close to the fence around the OP, the dogs bark and alert the troops. They are well trained and provide a lot of comfort to the troops. Dogs always treat people the way we should treat people. They truly love unconditionally.

I would bring them all back to North Carolina if I could.

This is Chicas I am petting here.

Worshiping in Egypt

One of the privledges I have is to travel to the remote Observation Posts and lead worship services in the field for the troops. This occurred on 12/11/12 at our northern most OP. From the shores of this OP the coastlines of Jordan, Israel, and Saudia Arabia are clearly visible. At this particualar service I spoke from Matthew 20 and taught the parable of the Vineyard Workers. It essential says that in the Kingdom of Heaven the first will be last, and the last will be first. I was challenging them to think more eternally and less worldly, to keep their eyes and hearts focused on things from above and not on the things of this world.
I will continue to post pictures from my traveling ministry througout the Sinai of Egypt.
This area is should be listed on the unreached people groups list.

Working for Christ!

Arrival in Egypt

We arrived in Egypt on November 29 and it took about three or four days to get my sleeping adjusted. In the above picture my chaplain assistant and I are standing in front of the Chapel. There really is a natural beauty to this place. The Red Sea is beautiful and my back door overlooks the shoreline. It's perfectly clear and blue.
My first impression was how easy it's going to be for many of our soldiers to worship the creation, instead of the Creator. Just outside the gates there is scuba diving, golf, alcohol, bars, casinos, luxury hotels, snorkeling, etc... However, none of this will be accessible until after Christmas and as Force Protection measures dictate. While not all of these things are bad in God's eyes, some are, and they can certainly cause a person to drift away from God and neglect their relationship with Jesus Christ.

The food is great, the Egyptians are friendly and accomdations are sufficient.

My goal is to simply let every minute of every day be lived in the character of Christ and "to hold on the pattern of sound teaching..." 2 Timothy 1:13

Please pray for our unsaved troops....there are so many!

POW Chapel and K DUB

 

My good friend CH Kevin Winemiller was at Camp Atterbury today to visit and during our time together we traveled down the road to this POW Chapel. It was built by Italian POWs in 1943. I enjoy historical sites like this. I greatly appreciate Kevin's friendship and prayers. I started calling Kevin "K Dub"  while we were serving together at the Durham VA Hospital. The "Dub" was for Winemiller.

Camp Atterbury Chapel - Indiana

Here is the Post Chapel at Camp Atterbury, Indiana. It was built in 1942 and has been well maintained inside and out. I was blessed to have preached a couple of sermons from this old chapel. But perhaps most importantly, I've spent a lot of time on my knees at the altar of this old chapel praying for the troops I shepherd. Sometimes this is all I can do for some troops. Simply praying for God's intercession to protect them from the darkness they are walking in.
What a privledge it is to be approved by God and entrusted with the gospel (1 Thessalonians 2:3)

My Address in Egypt

This will be my address in Egypt

CH (CPT) Lance Dixon
HHB, 5-113th FA
Unit # 31530
APO, AE 09833

I've been told it will take anywhere from two weeks to 1 month for mail to arrive.

Please continue to pray for my faithfullness to God's Word and for the salvation of the troops under my care.

Camp Atterbury, Indiana

Hello my friends,

Today is day 18 of mobilization here at Camp Atterbury. The troops have done a variety of training and spirits have remained high. Even though my happiness has left me from time to time, my joy never has. The Holy Spirit has continuely lifted me up and filled me with joy. My deepest concerns are for the unsaved troops and there are many. To be honest, its discouraging. The environment is hostile towards the gospel and the Devil has a firm grip on the majority of the troops under my care. Being a light in this darkness is a great challenge, but I will perservere. I have experienced minor persecution and rumors have spread about me sharing the gospel and speaking truth from the Word of God. Even when truth is shared with compassion and respect, it's still like a "double-edged sword" penetrating a person's heart. The Devil is attacking me from the inside out. I can almost sense him coming. His mission is to simply discourage me from sharing the truth and water down the Word of God.
As I was reading 2 Peter and verse 2:19 pulled at my heart string. Peter said that "...people are enslaved to whatever defeats them." The danger is that they don't realize they have been defeated!

Please pray I will have the ability to love the unloveable and have the love in my heart to pray for those who persucute me.

Lance

Hanging out with Daddy

My beautiful daughter Taylor wearing my hat and enjoying some lunch. Garrett was playing in the trees and Ashley was supervising.

This was our last day together until Thanksgiving

Praying in Louisburg

Praying with 2LT Machulat and her family in front of the Lousiburg Armory

The apostle Paul told the Colossian church to devote themselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. (Colossians 4:2)
May we all do the same

Mobilization Ceremony News Article and Video

Ceremonial send-off for N.C. troops headed to Egypt

Check this out - http://www2.nbc17.com/vi/52857/ 

NBC 17 out of Raleigh covered our ceremony this morning at Louisburg College. They interviewed me and have video of my family.

Military Duty Update #1

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

As most everyone already knows, since September 18th I have been on orders preparing for my upcoming deployment to Egypt. There hasn't been anything to exciting to write about, but let me provide everyone a quick summary. Our time began with the entire unit going through what the Army calls SRP, which includes standing in lines all day to verifying paperwork, draw new gear and equipment, medical, dental, and hearing screenings, and some other verifications needed to deploy. The next two weeks we trained at Camp Butner, NC, as the soldiers qualified with thier assigned weapons, most qualified with M4s, but other soldiers qualified with M249s, M240s, and M9s. I stood by and watched and encouraged in my non-combatant role.

But most importantly souls have been saved. My military ministry has produced some precious fruit in that three men have received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Two of these men were performing comunity service in the Armory as part of their punishment for the laws they broke. Both were young and extremely recpetive to the Gospel. Both men made genuine and sincere professions of faith with their mouths and hearts.

Next up is my APFT (physical fitness test) this Friday, but I injured my knee this Monday excercising at the Aquatics Center. I strained something in my knee as I was using the rowing machine. But I will shake it off by this Friday.

Continue to pray that I would remain faithful and obedient to the Lord and that the hearts and souls of these spiritually lost soldiers would be softened and prepared to receive the seed of the Gospel.

Just a soldier of Christ...

Jesus Freaks

Every Christian needs to read the book Jesus Freaks. This book profiles the glorious last moments of Christians around the world who loved Christ more than their own lives.

This is what Christ expects of every disciple if His Will calls for it.

Inside this book you can read about the Martyrdom of Jesus' disciples and the amazing story of how the apostle John survived being submerged into a tub of boiling oil in front of the Roman Emporer!


Some Christians haven't even attempted to think about whether or not they would die for Jesus because they haven't really been living for Him

Who is Jesus? A Lesson from Hebrews

Outside of the four gospels, the book of Hebrews speaks more about who Jesus is than any other book in the Bible.

I recently studied through Hebrews and compiled this list of scriptures which describe Jesus:

Enjoy!

1. God has appointed Jesus heir of all things (Hebrews 1:2)

2. God has made the universe through Jesus (Hebrews 1:2)

3.  Jesus is the radiance of God's glory and the exact expression of God's nature (Hebrews 1:3)

4.  Jesus sat down at the right hand of the Father (Hebrews 1:3; 10:12; 12:2)

5.  Jesus is higher than all the angels (Hebrews 1:4)

6.  All of the angels must worship Jesus (Hebrews 1:6)

7.  Jesus destroyed the Devil by dying on the cross (Hebrews 2:14)

8.  Jesus made a propitiation for the sins of all people (Hebrews 2:17)

9.  Jesus was tested and suffered and is able to help those who are tested (Hebrews 2:18)

10.  Jesus is considered worthy of more glory than Moses (Hebrews 3:3)

11.  God's Son (Hebrews 5:8)

12.  He is the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him (Hebrews 5:9)

13.  Jesus was declared by God a high priest in the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 5:10)

14.  Jesus intercedes with the Father in Heaven for all believers (Hebrews 7:25)

15.  Jesus is a mediator of a better covenant (Hebrews 8:6; 9:15; 12:24)

16.  Jesus has obtained eternal redemption through His blood (Hebrews 9:12)

17.  Jesus offered Himself without blemish to God (Hebrews 9:14)

18.  Jesus appeared in the presence of God for us so we wouldn't have to suffer for our sins (Hebrews 9:24)

19.  Jesus removed our sins by sacrificing Himself (Hebrews 9:26)

20.  Jesus will appear a second time to bring salvation to those who are watching for Him (Hebrews 9:28)

21.  We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all (Hebrews 10:10)

22.  Jesus enemies will become His footstool (Hebrews 10:13)

23.  Jesus has perfected those who sanctified by His one offering (Hebrews 10:14)

24.  Jesus has made it possible to enter the sanctuary and presence of God through His blood (Hebrews 10:19-21)

25.  Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8)

26.  Jesus is the Great Shepherd of the sheep and offers the blood of the everlasting covenant (Hebrews 13:20)

Don't Conform, Transform

In Romans 12:2, the apostle Paul tells us to "not be conformed to this age, but to be transformed by the renewing of our mind, so that we may discern what is the good, pleasing and perfect will of God."

"Be conformed" is a Greek compound word which only appears twice in the New Testament, Romans 12:2 and 1 Peter 1:14 and it appears in the passive voice.

This means we do not "conform;" we are "conformed" by outside pressure.

My friends, Paul commands believers not to allow the world  to conform them to its agenda, values, culture, norms, priorities, or expectations.

The force pushing at us from the culture to "be conformed" is powerful and unrelenting.

On the other hand he tells us to "be transformed by the renewing of our mind."

This means no one transforms himself, but we are transformed by a process initiated by a power outside ourselves.

Don't conform, but allow the Word of God transform you!

Standing with Israel

Every wonder why America must stand with Israel and where this comes from:

America must stand with Israel because God has commmanded all nations who want to be blessed to embrace and support Israel.


Here is the complete promise made to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3:

The Lord had said to Abram:
"Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father's house,
To a land that I will show you.
I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

The entire population of the Planet Earth, every man, woman, and child was destined to be blessed through the nation of Israel!

America must STAND with Israel no matter what.

Feel free to email and write your congressman about this critical issue.

God Bless America and Israel!

The Reality of Spiritual Warfare

I truly feel convicted to share this. I read this in Dr. David Jeremiah's book titled "I Never Thought I'd See the Day."

I can't stress how deceptive the enemy (Satan) is. Spiritual Warfare is a battle you and I can't afford to loose.

B-U-S-Y really means Being Under Satan's Yoke!

Imagine Satan addressing a worldwide convention of demons and promising them a victory in believers' lives if they will faithfully do the following 12 things:

1) Keep them busy with nonessentials
2) Tempt them to overspend and go into debt
3) Make them work long hours to maintain empty lifestyles
4) Discourage them from spending family time, for when homes disentegrate there's no refuge from work
5) Overstimulate their minds with television and computers so that they can't hear God speaking to them
6) Fill their coffee tables and nightstands with newspapers and magazines so they've no time for reading the Bible
7) Flood their mailboxes with sweepstakes, promotions and get-rich schemes; keep them chasing material things
8) Put glamorous models on TV and on magazine covers to keep them focused on outward appearances; that way they'll be dissatisified with themselves and their mates
9) Make sure couples are too exhausted for physical intimacy; that way they'll be tempted to look elsewhere
10) Emphasize Santa and the Easter bunny; that way you'll divert them from the real meaning of the holidays
11) Involve them in "good" causes so they won't have time for "eternal" ones
12) Make them self-sufficient. Keep them so busy working in their own strength that they'll never know the joy of God's power working through them

Adopt a Solider

My wife, Ashley and a friend have created an Adopt a Soldier for my unit. Her goal is to provide every soldier (450) a toiletry bag filled with soaps, toothpaste, etc. See the information below if you would like to participate.

Adopt-A-Soldier

Ok… We need some "Americans" who would like to be a sponsor for our Adopt-A-Soldier program.  You will be sponsoring one of over 450 soldiers from Chaplain Lance Dixon’s 5-113th Field Artillery Unit from Louisburg, NC .  They are being deployed to Egypt.
The cost is $25.  The picture below is an example of what will be sent to your sponsored soldier.  If you would like to help out or if you think your company, church, or school would like to help please let us know ASAP so we can show our support to these brave men and women!!!  The program will last until September 25th or when all soldiers from the 5-113th Field Artillery have sponsors. Thank you so much for your support and the soldiers are so very thankful!!
You are welcome to contact either Debbie Royse or Lance & Ashley Dixon to order.  We are organizing this event for the soldiers.  For payment, you can send checks to either of our addresses listed below or pay via PayPal.  The link for PayPal is www.paypal.com .  You can then click on Buy and then Make a Payment.  Use the email address of wroyse@carolina.rr.com .  
Thank you so much for supporting Chaplain Lance Dixon’s 5-113th Field Artillery Unit.
Debbie Royse
Independent Director, Thirty-One Gifts
704-351-2545
Email me at:  droyse31@gmail.com
Address:  5700 Silver Creek Drive, Waxhaw, NC 28173

Lance & Ashley Dixon
936-672-3709
Email me at:  ashleydixon78@gmail.com
Address:  4000 Broome Acres Drive, Monroe, NC 28112

Chaplain Headquarters Egypt

                                 A photo of my soon to be chaplaincy headquarters in Egypt!

 

I pray many souls will recieve Christ as their Lord and Savior while I occupy this building.

New Blog

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

As my upcoming deployment to Egypt nears I have decided to create this blog to stay in communication and contact with those I serve as chaplain, as well as other family and friends. I simply want to share what the Holy Spirit has revealed to my heart. I pray this blog will be impactful to the lives of those who read it. Thanks to all who have prayed for me and will continue to pray for my mission fields and ministry.

With Love,

Lance