Seeking... You Will Find Him

While officiating the Celebration Service of a 100 year old Salvationist lady today, we spontaneously sang accapella words which, unfortunately, have been removed from the chorus section of our songbook.

"Standing somewhere in life's shadows, you'll find Jesus.

He's the One who always cares and understands.

Standing somewhere in the shadows, you will find Him

And you'll know Him by the nail-prints in His hands."

These words speak of the confident assurance we believers have, that when we consciously seek (in faith) the presence of Jesus to empower us by His Spirit, we will find Him to be more than sufficient ~ more than able!

You will never know anything about the Lord Jesus until you come to the shadows and find Him there. Whether it be in the shadow of disappointment; in the shadow of despair; in the shadow of sickness; in the shadow of depression; in the shadow of bitterness; in the shadow of bereavement ~ trust God, you will find Jesus.

In sharing with a close relative following the service, he remarked, "Thanks for the lovely service. You certainly made me think. But I'm sorry to say that I'm an atheist. I don't believe anymore..." To this I responded, "I'm sorry to hear that. Remember, faith requires stepping out and seeking. And if you've done it before, know that God longs for you to trust Him again. After all, He gave us a second chance. Don't you deserve to do the same?"

I pray that seeking, he will again find Jesus to be sufficient and able.

Philippians 3:10 (NIV) ~ "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection..."

Saints In The Making

I was interested to learn today that St Richard of Chichester, who served as Bishop of Chichester for 8 years in the mid-13th century and was later canonized in 1262 by Pope Urban IV, wrote a prayer that ended up being adapted for use in the musical Godspell.

Thanks be to Thee, my Lord Jesus Christ
For all the benefits Thou hast given me,
For all the pains and insults Thou hast borne for me.
O most merciful Redeemer, friend and brother,
May I know Thee more clearly,
Love Thee more dearly,
Follow Thee more nearly,
Day by day.

The bishop's life and ministry was characterized by hard work and suffering, including a two-year period living as an outcast of his own diocese following his election as bishop until King Henry III accepted his appointment by the Pope. Likewise, his 'down to earth' prayer reflects the daily commitment and 'stickability' required by all who seek to be true followers of Jesus.

The prayer acknowledges too, that Christians don't become saints overnight! Christlikeness is a gradual process of re-orientating our lives into God's will and way by ...knowing more clearly... loving more dearly ... and following more nearly... day by day.

So be encouraged, for through Christ, we are all saints in the making!

OWSOMS Self Denial Launch

Having previously served overseas in Singapore and Malaysia, and having a passion for cross-cultural ministry, we are thrilled to promote to our congregation this year's OWSOMS Self Denial focus with the theme Follow Me.
What a challenge this appeal presents us each as we journey overseas with three Salvationist representatives from the Australia Eastern, Southern and New Zealand territories to three developing countries (India, Bali and The Philippines) where The Salvation Army have influential, inclusive and intimate programmes in place that are continuning to transform lives to the glory of God.
How we need to open our eyes of compassion and display love in action!
How The Salvation Army needs people of compassion to display love in action!
How people worldwide need compassionate holistic care through our love in action!

Ministry Non-negotiables

Our territory has identified four mission imperatives that are vital as a measuring-stick for assessing ministry effectiveness. Here is the statement ~

The Salvation Army ~ a growing, loving community of people dynamically living God's mission in a broken world ~ is raised up by God for the work of

• Transforming Lives
• Caring For People
• Making Disciples
• Reforming Society

Surely these are non-negotiables as far as our Christian ministry is concerned, in order that the living out of our faith in the everyday might be influential, inclusive and intimate.

Our prayer is that these, too, may be evident in our current chaplaincy ministry as we seek to fulfil our mission statement.

God Is Not Remote Control

Retired General John Gowans has a wonderfully inspired gift for expressing human thoughts relative to Divine matters. I love the imagery he uses in verse 2 of Song 238 "Someone cares".

Ours is not a distant God, remote, unfeeling,

Who is careless of our loneliness and pain,

Through the ministry of men he gives his healing,

In their dedicated hands brings hope again.

Recently I have spent time meditating on Zephaniah 3:17 and been constantly encouraged that God is intentionally personal in His relationship and actions toward us, His people. He is not distant, remote or unfeeling, but rather One who comes alongside us with great delight. Now that's something to rejoice in with singing!

Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV) ~ "The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."

Luther On Prayer

In 1535, Martin Luther wrote and published A Simple Way To Pray dedicated to his barber, Peter Beskendorf, who had asked him for some guidelines on how he might improve his prayer life. The German Reformer taught that prayer should be living, powerful, strong, mighty, earnest, serious, troubled, passionate, vehement, fervent and ardent.

Consider Luther's confident Evening Prayer.

I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have graciously kept me this day;

And I pray that You would forgive me all my sins where I have done wrong, and graciously keep me this night. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things.

Let Your holy angel be with me, that the wicked one may have no power over me.

Amen.

Noteworthy, too, is Luther's comment: “As a shoe maker makes a shoe, or a tailor makes a coat, so ought a Christian to pray. Prayer is the daily business of a Christian.”
Kind of fits in well with verse 5 of Song 625 written by James Montgomery in 1818 ~ "Prayer is the Christians' vital breath, the Christians' native air..."

Yes, Lord, make us a passionately prayerful people!

Year Of The Pig

Happy New Year! Yesterday marked day one of the Chinese New Year with its colourful festivities, delicious food and bountiful blessings. While serving in corps appointments in Singapore and Malaysia, we came to really respect these annual celebrations that are so important within the Chinese culture.
For those who are born in 1911, 1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971 (yes!), 1983, 1995 or 2007, this is our year ~ the Year of the Pig.

According to customary beliefs, here are some facts about those born in the year of the pig.

• honest, straightforward and patient.
• modest and shy characters who prefers to work quietly behind the scenes
• always on hand to offer support.
• reserved with those they do not know too well, but as time passes and they gain confidence, those around them may discover a lively and warm-hearted person behind that mask of aloofness.
• wide circle of friends and acquaintances, but few close friends who understand them and share their inner thoughts and feelings.
• not vengeful creatures.
• if someone tries to take advantage of them, they tend to withdraw to reflect on the problem and protect themselves.
• conservative creatures of habit who love nature.
• tolerant and peaceful side to their character; never afraid to allow others their freedom of expression;
• do not want to cause arguments
• not weak, however, if the situation forces them to fight these people will rise to the occasion, whether it is to defend themselves or those close to them.
• People born in the year of the pig are the most admired by others.

Simply summarized, those born in this Year of the Pig are friendly, loyal and worthy.
A Friend of God, Loyal to the cause of Christ and Worthy of my eternal reward ~ that's what I long to be!

Isaiah 61:1 (MSG) ~ "The Spirit of God, the Master, is on me because God anointed me. He sent me to preach good news to the poor, heal the heartbroken, announce freedom to all captives, pardon all prisoners. God sent me to announce the year of his grace..."