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2 Timothy 2
1 Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

Luke 9
62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

Interesting facts about the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Sentinels of the Third United States Infantry Regiment "Old Guard"

1. How many steps does the guard take during his walk across the tomb of the Unknowns and why?

21 steps. It alludes to the twenty-one gun salute, which is the highest honor given any military or foreign dignitary.

2. How long does he hesitate after his about face to begin his return walk and why?

21 seconds, for the same reason as answer number 1.

3. Why are his gloves wet?

His gloves are moistened to prevent his losing his grip on the rifle.

4. Does he carry his rifle on the same shoulder all the time, and if not, why not?

No, he carries the rifle on the shoulder away from the tomb. After his march across the path, he executes an about face and moves the rifle to the outside shoulder.

5. How often are the guards changed?

Guards are changed every thirty minutes, twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year.

6. What are the physical traits of the guard limited to?

For a person to apply for guard duty at the tomb, he must be between 5' 10" and 6' 2" tall and his waist size cannot exceed 30".

Other requirements of the Guard:
	•	They must commit 2 years of life to guard the tomb
	•	Live in a barracks under the tomb, and
	•	Cannot drink any alcohol on or off duty FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES.
	•	They cannot swear in public FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES and cannot disgrace the uniform {fighting} or the tomb in any way.

After TWO YEARS, the guard is given a wreath pin that is worn on their lapel signifying they served as guard of the tomb. There are only 400 presently worn.

The guard must obey these rules for the rest of their lives or give up the wreath pin.

The shoes are specially made with very thick soles to keep the heat and cold from their feet. There are metal heel plates that extend to the top of the shoe in order to make the loud click as they come to a halt. There are no wrinkles, folds or lint on the uniform. Guards dress for duty in front of a full-length mirror.

•	The first SIX MONTHS of duty a guard cannot talk to anyone, nor watch TV.
•	All off duty time is spent studying the 175 notable people laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery.
•	A guard must memorize who they are and where they are interred. Among the notables are: President Taft, Joe E. Lewis {the boxer} and Medal of Honor winner Audie Murphy, {the most decorated soldier of W.W.II} of Hollywood fame.
•	Every guard spends FIVE HOURS A DAY getting his uniforms ready for guard duty.

The Sentinels Creed:

My dedication to this sacred duty is total and wholehearted. In the responsibility bestowed on me never will I falter. And with dignity and perseverance my standard will remain perfection. Through the years of diligence and praise and the discomfort of the elements, I will walk my tour in humble reverence to the best of my ability. It is he who commands the respect I protect. His bravery that made us so proud. Surrounded by well meaning crowds by day alone in the thoughtful peace of night, this soldier will in honored glory rest under my eternal vigilance.

More Interesting facts about the Tomb of the Unknowns itself:

The marble for the Tomb of the Unknowns was furnished by the Vermont Marble Company of Danby, Vt. The marble is the finest and whitest of American marble, quarried from the Yule Marble Quarry located near Marble, Colorado and is called Yule Marble. The Marble for the Lincoln memorial and other famous buildings was also quarried there.

The Tomb consists of seven pieces of rectangular marble:
	•	Four pieces in sub base; weight Â- 15 tons;
	•	One piece in base or plinth; weight Â- 16 tons;
	•	One piece in die; weight Â- 36 tons;
	•	One piece in cap; weight Â- 12 tons;

Carved on the East side (the front of the Tomb, which faces Washington, DC) is a composite of three figures, commemorative of the spirit of the Allies of World War I.

In the center of the panel stands Victory (female).

On the right side, a male figure symbolizes Valor.

On the left side stands Peace, with her palm branch to reward the devotion and sacrifice that went with courage to make the cause of righteousness triumphant.

The north and south sides are divided into three panels by Doric pilasters. In each panel is an inverted wreath.

On the west, or rear, panel (facing the Amphitheater) is inscribed:

HERE RESTS IN HONORED GLORY AN AMERICAN SOLDIER KNOWN BUT TO GOD

The first Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was a sub base and a base or plinth. It was slightly smaller than the present base. This was torn away when the present Tomb was started Aug. 27, 1931. The Tomb was completed and the area opened to the public 9:15 a.m. April 9, 1932, without any ceremony.

Cost of the Tomb: $48,000
Sculptor: Thomas Hudson Jones
Architect: Lorimer Rich
Contractors: Hagerman & Harris, New York City
Inscription: Author Unknown

(Interesting Commentary)

The Third Infantry Regiment at Fort Myer has the responsibility for providing ceremonial units and honor guards for state occasions, White House social functions, public celebrations and interments at Arlington National Cemetery and standing a very formal sentry watch at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

The public is familiar with the precision of what is called "walking post" at the Tomb. There are roped off galleries where visitors can form to observe the troopers and their measured step and almost mechanically, silent rifle shoulder changes. They are relieved every hour in a very formal drill that has to be seen to be believed.

Some people think that when the Cemetery is closed to the public in the evening that this show stops. First, to the men who are dedicated to this work, it is no show.

It is a "charge of honor." The formality and precision continues uninterrupted all night. During the nighttime, the drill of relief and the measured step of the on-duty sentry remain unchanged from the daylight hours. To these men, these special men, the continuity of this post is the key to the honor and respect shown to these honored dead, symbolic of all unaccounted for American combat dead. The steady rhythmic step in rain, sleet, snow, hail, heat and cold must be uninterrupted.

Uninterrupted is the important part of the honor shown.

Recently, while you were sleeping, the teeth of hurricane Isabel came through this area and tore hell out of everything. We had thousands of trees down, power outages, traffic signals out, roads filled with downed limbs and "gear adrift" debris. We had flooding and the place looked like it had been the impact area of an offshore bombardment.

The Regimental Commander of the US Third Infantry sent word to the nighttime Sentry Detail to secure the post and seek shelter from the high winds, to ensure their personal safety.

THEY DISOBEYED THE ORDER!

During winds that turned over vehicles and turned debris into projectiles, the measured step continued. One fellow said "I've got buddies getting shot at in Iraq who would kick my butt if word got to them that we let them down. I sure as have no intention of spending my Army career being known as the damned idiot who couldn't stand a little light breeze and shirked his duty." Then he said something in response to a female reporters question regarding silly purposeless personal risk... "I wouldn't expect you to understand. It's an enlisted man's thing." God bless the rascal...

In a time in our nation's history when spin and polit correc. seem to have become the accepted coin-of-the-realm, there beat hearts -- the enlisted hearts we all knew and were so proud to be a part of -- that fully understand that devotion to duty is not a part-time occupation. While we slept, we were represented by some damn fine men who fully understood their post orders and proudly went about their assigned responsibilities unseen, unrecognized and in the finest tradition of the American Enlisted Man. Folks, there's hope. The spirit that George S. Patton, Arliegh Burke and Jimmy Doolittle left us ... survives.

On the ABC evening news, it was reported recently that, because of the dangers from Hurricane Isabel approaching Washington, DC, the military members assigned the duty of guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier were given permission to suspend the assignment. They refused. "No way, Sir!"

Soaked to the skin, marching in the pelting rain of a tropical storm, they said that guarding the Tomb was not just an assignment; it was the highest honor that can be afforded to a service person. The tomb has been patrolled continuously, 24/7, since 1930.

Very, very proud of our soldiers in uniform!
* * * * * *

Why Do We Need to Be Disciplined?

As Max Anders has said, "Only the disciplined ever get really good at anything."

Everything in life requires some sort of discipline. Whether it's hitting a baseball, climbing a mountain, playing a musical instrument, or making good grades, it all comes down to a matter of discipline.

Many people have ambitions that will never be realized, goals that will never be reached, visions that will never materialize simply because they have no discipline.

A young person wants to become a doctor or an important scientist, but he doesn't want to buckle down to years of hard study. Many young people would like to achieve greatness in music but never will because of the long hours of practice required year after year. They may have the natural talent to play an instrument.

Their dreams don't lie beyond their abilities, but beyond their discipline.

The Christian life is no different. The church is filled with people who would love to be mature Christians with a tremendous knowledge of God's Word. But they're not willing to pay the price to achieve it. I think it was the late Gus Nichols that a Christian spoke with and said, "I'd give my life to know the Bible like you do." To which Gus Nichols replied, "That's what it took." A lifetime of study and dedication. The world is full of naturally brilliant people who will never be anything more than ordinary because they aren't willing to make the sacrifice necessary to become great. And the church is full of people like that, too.

John Wesley traveled an average of 20 miles a day for 40 years. He got up every morning at 4:00. He preached 40,000 sermons. He produced 400 books and knew 10 languages. At the age of 83, he was annoyed because he couldn't write more than 15 hours a day without hurting his eyes, and at the age of 86, he was ashamed that he couldn't preach more than twice a day. He complained in his diary that there was an increasing tendency to lie in bed until 5:30 in the morning.

What Aspects of Our Lives Do We Need to Discipline?

1. We need to discipline our minds, to train ourselves to think.

You say, "Well, I already think." But, in religion today, people don't think. They don't raise questions. They don't search for answers. They simply listen to what the preacher has to say and accept that as truth. And that's not just true of folks "out there", it's sometimes true of all of us. Paul wrote to Timothy, "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (II Timothy 2:15).

The KJV says, "study". That word "study" literally means to "work hard at it".

We need to discipline our minds in the church.

2. We also need to discipline our bodies.

Paul says that "bodily exercise profits a little" (I Timothy 4:8). Our bodies are all we have to serve God with, and certainly it makes sense that the better we care for these bodies, the better we can serve God.

3. We need a disciplined moral character.

"For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable in all things." (I Timothy 4:8).

A disciplined body is of some value, but a disciplined character is of greater value.

For instance, suppose a man determines to become a doctor. It takes years of dedicated study, involving many long hours. He becomes a doctor and sets up a practice. But he indulges in drink and immorality. They cost him his reputation, his practice, maybe even his life and his soul. The discipline represented by years of study in medical school couldn't replace the much-needed discipline of character.

4. We need to discipline our appetite.

We need to learn to make our body do the things we tell it to. We don't hear a lot of preaching about gluttony; maybe it's because it hits too close to home for us preachers.

5. We also need to discipline our speech.

No matter how self-controlled you are, if you haven't bridled your tongue, you've still got a way to go. James said, "If anyone among you thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this one's religion is useless." (James 1:26). You may have a disciplined mind, a disciplined body, a disciplined will, even disciplined appetites, but a loose tongue will get you in a lot of trouble.

James also said, "For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body." (James 3:2).

Whether the problem is swearing, using God's name in vain, lying or gossip, the solution is self-discipline.

Some people pride themselves on their frankness. "I just say what I think." But, according to the Bible, that's what a fool does. "A fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man holds them back." (Proverbs 29:11). Frankness is a virtue when it is coupled with discipline. It often requires a great deal more discipline to refrain from speaking at all.

6. We need discipline in arranging our priorities.

The problem here is not understanding what is most important. I think all of us as Christians recognize that God and his church should hold first place in our lives.

We all know the words of Jesus: "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." (Matthew 6:33).

Without hesitation, we would all agree that heaven is infinitely more important than earth, that people are more important than things, that developing our mind and character is more important than entertainment, that being busy for the Lord is better than doing nothing, that soul-winning is the greatest task we can work at, that righteousness is more important than popularity. When confronted with those simple alternatives, we know which one to approve. We would say, "Yes, these are the values that are important to me." The problem isn't knowledge. The problem is actually giving first place to these values in practical daily living -- and that is a matter of self-discipline.

Our maturity as Christians will be determined exactly and entirely by our skill in selecting. If we're determined to "major in minors", if we show a "first-rate dedication to second-rate causes", then we're never going to mature as a child of God.

We need to discipline then our minds, our bodies, our moral character, our appetites, our speech and our priorities.