A Modern-Day Joseph: How the Holy Spirit is Touching Our Troops on the Front Lines

Jared Laskey-Opinion : Apr 25, 2016
Charisma News

Though we were surrounded by darkness and hatred in a combat environment, God's Spirit was moving on people, bringing His light.

I was with my family, whom I hadn't seen in 13 weeks, and was soon to graduate from the Marine Corps boot camp in San Diego, California, when a man walked up and thanked me for helping his son return to the Lord. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons/via Gospel Herald)

While in the service, I found myself witnessing in many non-traditional forms. I led a prayer group at boot camp and marched recruits to chapel services, all as a previously burned-out youth pastor with plans to become a chaplain.
 
Later, while I was training for deployment to Iraq as a field radio operator, a close friend of mine gave me the call sign "Preach," which stuck. The call sign was a term of endearment as well as a fresh reminder of God's call on my life. I was amazed to experience firsthand the fulfillment of the prophecies in Joel 2:28-29 and Acts 2:17-19.
 
Wherever I went, I witnessed God speaking to men and women in uniform. He even spoke in dreams to fellow infantrymen while they were on training operations in the field leading up to deployment.
 
During my 2007-2008 deployment to Iraq, word spread that I interpreted dreams, so Marines would come to me and tell me their dreams. Like Joseph and Daniel in the Bible, I told them that it is God who interprets dreams and mysteries, wanting to give credit to whom credit is due (Genesis 40:8; Daniel 2:27-30). I offered Scripture to support the interpretation I sensed from the Holy Spirit, encouraged them to spend time with Jesus, and gave them reading material.
 
I was humbled as I saw God communicate with those literally on the front lines for our nation. During one conversation with a spiritually hungry Marine, I shared personal experiences of things I had seen God accomplish and then asked him if he wanted more of God. He said yes, so we prayed together and he was marvelously baptized with the Holy Spirit. I cried because I felt that in my spiritually dry state I was unworthy to be part of such an experience.
 
In 2009, I had the privilege of watching...
 
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