Welcome back to Pastorsponderings.org, please check out our latest Ponder Cast #6 “Judgement Call”. To listen, please click on the link here:
“Judgement Call” Podcast Link
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Salvation of the sinner is only the first blessing.
It is a vital ingredient, but it should not be considered the end product.
Let me illustrate this for you with a story:
I once baked a chocolate cake for my family.
I followed the recipe very carefully, and soon the aroma of that perfect cake baking in the oven began wafting throughout our home. We were all salivating at the wonderful smells coming for the oven. Soon, the chocolate cake was ready, and so I took it out of the oven to cool. When it had cooled sufficiently, I cut the first piece and tasted it only to discover, with great disappointment, that I had forgotten a crucial ingredient – sugar. It was sour to the taste and because of that one missing ingredient, the whole cake was ruined.
Salvation is a vital ingredient to the Christian life, but the second blessing, His indwelling is equally important. Without the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we are incomplete and we will never be whole. Holiness does not mean human perfection, but it does mean that we intentionally long to reflect Christ in all that we do and say. In other words, the very fiber of our being longs to become like Christ in every way, shape and form.
Without the desire to grow and mature in our faith we will be missing a crucial ingredient in this Christian faith. “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation…” 1 Peter 2:2 Once we are saved and have accepted Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for our sins, we are then urged by the Holy Spirit to develop and grow into this new life. We cannot simply remain at the altar of Salvation feasting upon spiritual milk; we must grow up and mature! Unfortunately, many Christians live without experiencing this missing ingredient of holiness. Many believers simply stop growing in the faith, they stop learning about Christ and the application that it has on their lives. Holiness is about taking that next step of faith. It is a vital ingredient in our pursuit of Christ-likeness, our personal holiness journey. Without feet to our faith, we are stunting that potential reflection of Christ in our lives.
There seems to be a missing ingredient in modern Christianity today – Holiness.
No, not all Churches struggle with the ingredient of holiness, some, perhaps just do not emphasize it enough.
We, as The Salvation Army, must never forget its importance in the recipe of personal and corporate faith! We, as an organization and mission, were born into the holiness movement of the Church! May we never lose our way! May we never forget its vital importance! May we never stop preaching about holiness in our corps. Sometimes it is easy to forget how vital Holiness is to our everyday lives. Perhaps there have been days that we have all stumbled along the pathway of duty. Perhaps we have not preached it from the pulpits enough. Perhaps we have forgotten to include this crucial ingredient in our corps and in our other ministries…in our own lives. May we never lose this important message of holiness in our Army! We are called to more than just salvation! We must grow up in our faith and get off of the infant formula and start feeding upon deeper, more substantive things! We are called to live and reflect Christ to the world…may we as soldiers of salvation do just that today…not because we belong to The Salvation Army, but because we first belong to Christ himself.
Something more for our Army world to ponder today.
To God be the glory!
A new “ponder cast” is up, click on this link to listen, download, subscribe and share:
Ponder Cast #5 “Moving Into The Unknown”
Today we ponder The Salvation Army’s quote of “Saved to Save” and why I don’t necessarily agree with it.
Clarification: I am not discounting the fact that God can save us, in fact that is the crux of this statement in my opinion.
Dear Salvation Army, I don’t believe we are saved to save.
There I’ve said it.
I believe the Holy Spirit has saved us, I am not disagreeing with that by any means.
I know what it means to kneel at the altar of repentance and receive forgiveness and salvation.
I also believe in the second blessing – the Holy Spirit’s indwelling in our lives.
When He takes up residence in our lives we begin, with His direction and prodding, the intentional shift of reflecting more and more of Christ and less and less of our old lives (Holiness).
Thus when we are saved we do not go out and save others.
I believe that the saving is NOT the work that we have been called to do.
Instead, we are called to be holy.
In this response we begin to see others the way Christ sees them.
We begin to love the way Christ loves.
It isn’t perfect…and perhaps it may never be, but the initial transformation must begin internally before it can be transformative in the lives of others.
What I’m not saying
I am not saying we aren’t called to lead others to Christ.
I am also not saying that we don’t show care for others.
In fact we, through this internal transformation, begin to see the necessity to usher others to Christ.
We begin to understand how vital the new life is for others.
BUT…
Here is where I draw the line.
Here is where I wage and struggle with the Salvation Army’s understanding of this quote.
Whose work is it to save?
Who does the prodding of the heart and the pleading of the soul?
Who takes aim at the conviction of sin and implores the search of forgiveness?
For me the answer has always been the Holy Spirit.
What is our responsibility then?
What are we as Soldiers of the cross to do? 
We sing songs like “The world for God” and “Marching on“, and I wonder if we sometimes turn the warfare of sin and the spiritual realms into something narcissistic, and it then becomes all about us? It then becomes all about what WE can do instead of what the Holy Spirit IS doing.
There is always the temptation to say look how wonderful The Salvation Army is, look at the amazing things that we have done and the amazing things that we are doing. Slowly, the focus is taken off of the Holy Spirit and more on our shiny uniforms, our programs and our feats and accomplishments. I am not saying that we always do this, but I am saying that it does become a temptation, that it does enter into our thoughts and motivations.
Our responsibility was never to “saved to save”.
Our responsibility was never to be the salvation of man.
We are merely the conduit of this amazing grace.
We are merely called to be faithful.
Our responsibility is first a call to faithfulness to The Holy Spirit.
We can do nothing without this first response.
We are powerless to save anyone let alone ourselves.
How can we then say that we are saved to save?
I am more inclined to say we are saved to serve.
We are saved first, and then most importantly, we serve and respond to the Holy Spirit.
Then, and only then, we are saved to serve suffering humanity.
This response can be simultaneous and should compel us to respond as Christ would to the suffering of others. We must respond to His call on our lives to serve Him as HE saves!
Without Him we cannot save.
Without Him we can only do good works and be another social service agency.
That isn’t all bad, good things are done here…BUT we are called to be more.
We are called to BE holy…and from this calling, we serve Him and in turn we serve others.
You may differ from my opinion…that’s fine.
We are called, and from this calling we go.
Regardless of if we are “Saved to Serve” or “Saved to Save”, may our immediate response to the Holy Spirit be one of obedience.
Something more for This Army of Salvation to ponder today.
To God be the glory!
Today, I was informed that Pastorsponderings.org has won an award from Canadian Church Press awards in the category of “Best Blogs”!! I am extremely honored to have even been considered for this prestigious award. What a privilege to be able to write about life, our spiritual journeys and Christian living and to be recognized for it.
Here’s the news site about the award:
http://salvationist.ca/2015/05/army-magazines-and-website-win-15-awards/
http://canadianchurchpress.com/awards/
Here’s to another great year of blogging and journalism!
Thank you for tuning in, reading, subscribing and sharing this Pastorsponderings.org!
What an awesome honor it is to be recognized for doing what I love.
-Blessings on you today!
-Scott.
Here is “Ponder Cast #4”, click on the link below to listen, subscribe, download and share!
Blessings on you today!
Click Here: http://scottstrissel.podomatic.com/entry/2015-05-04T09_51_33-07_00
Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. 16 Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.” (1 Timothy 4:15,16)
Please click on the link below to listen and download our latest “Ponder Cast” – #3 “Diligence and Perseverance”.
Also please share, and subscribe! Thanks!
Podcast Link:
http://scottstrissel.podomatic.com/entry/2015-04-30T10_51_44-07_00
Today I write with encouragement.
Today I take off my critical lenses on this army that I love and I wish to encourage you.
Every one of these entries on pastorsponderings known as “Dear Salvation Army” has a purpose. All of these postings and articles are intentional and purposeful. All of them are constructive in nature, geared for the purposes of improving our Army, not tearing it down. I want us to work together in this. I want us to march onward (so to speak) and continue to win souls for Christ. If we lose this momentum we will fail at our mission. If we lose this momentum we will never achieve our vision.
Today: (News From IHQ)
http://www.salvationarmy.org/ihq/news/inr290415
Nepal.
The Salvation Army is in Nepal.
We are providing aid and much needed funds and supplies.
I know that we care.
I know that lives matter.
I know that it’s not just about winning souls, but taking care of men, women and children.
What happened to one of the poorest, most congested cities in the world is horrible…but I know that we, among others, are there!
When utter disaster faces occurs, people are desperate for help.
We can be that source.
We can be that life line.
We are that life line.
I am not painting a perfect picture of The Salvation Army.
I am not proclaiming us “the best organization” in the world.
I am not saying “look at us, look at us”…BUT I believe God has placed us here to be His hands and feet to the world. We have access to many places in the world where other organizations can’t go. Our soldiers are on the ground in some of the most remote places in the world. This is no accident. This is no coincidence. I firmly believe that God has placed us in those places. How we react and how we offer salve to those hurts matters!
Questions to Ponder:
Has God called you to serve in this Army?
Are you responding to His calling every day?
Will you go if He tells you to go?
What can you do for Him?
May it never be about how flashy or how good we look in a uniform, but may it always be about responding to God’s calling in faithfulness, humility and love. When everything is stripped away, may our Army of Salvation be genuine…may our Army be true…may our Army be forever compassionate to the hurting and the lost wheresoever they may live in our world.
Will you be there?
Will we provide aid, love, hope, compassion, joy, light?
Something more for our Army to ponder today!
Please keep Nepal in your prayers, and seek out ways that you can support these vital efforts!
To God be the glory!
For more links and ways to help please visit the sites below:
https://secure20.salvationarmy.org/donation.jsp
http://www.salvationarmy.org/ihq/nepalearthquake;jsessionid=BC2A283C79B7CC9AB73273B5C55AA3AD
https://secure20.salvationarmy.org/donation.jsp?projectId=IHQ-NepalEarthquake
Check out our new audio series “Ponder Cast”!
Today’s focus is on the word “Listen”.
Click on the pondercast link below to hear today’s edition.
http://scottstrissel.podomatic.com/entry/2015-04-28T09_49_40-07_00
Something more to ponder today!
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. “Selah” -Psalm 46:1-3
How are you today?
Do you feel beat up, crushed, broken and worn out?
How is your spirit?
Are you running on empty today?
There is much in the world that never seems to turn out right.
There is so much pain and suffering in our world!
Sometimes I feel as if this world is hopeless and that evil has won.
Sometimes I turn on the tv and hear news stories or genocides, terror, natural disasters, political tensions and it all just seems to inundate our lives. Is this all that we are? With all of our progressive science and medicines and technologies we still see death, famine, disease and death.
Some would say that this is just life, they way it has always been.
I’m not happy with that simplistic answer. It seems too apathetic to me, too jaded.
Innocent die every day in every corner of the world, and we could compartmentalize this and say, “well at least it’s OVER THERE, and not here…” Really? Are we not all human? Are we not all connected to the very fabric of what makes us live on this earth? I don’t presume to have the answers to the sickness of our world, but I do know that there is refuge. I do know that there is hope. I do know that we can must rise above this existence!
Finding the Strength to overcome?
It comes from God – “God is our refuge AND strength...” (Psalm 46:1)
Is God something evident in our lives today?
Are we relying on His strength?
Is He accessible to you?
Do you call out to Him in your desire to find refuge from your problems, sickness and fears?
He is our ever-present help in times of trouble! (Psalm 46:1)
When we recognize Him for who He is, we can find the strength and courage to overcome.
When we seek out His refuge in our lives, it makes all the difference in the world.
In fact the writer of this particular Psalm states that even if the earth gives way and everything crumbles before us we don’t have to fear. Why? Because God is near. God will be our strength. God will be our refuges. The creator of the very earth that is crumbling before our feet is there to offer His help to us.
I don’t know what is going on in your life today, but I do know that there is a mighty God who wants to be included in it! He wants to be your guide, your refuge, and your strength! If you’re seeking refuge the deluge of life today, look no further…because God is there!
Prayer:
Dear Lord, please help me in my day to day, moment by moment. Help me with the problems that I am facing today. You know my situations and I am seeking refuge in your loving arms! Grant me peace, allow me to feel your strength and guidance just now. In your Holy name I pray these things. -Amen.
Something more to ponder today, He can and will be your refuge in your times of trouble…do you trust Him?
God bless!
Pastor's Ponderings 