Dear Salvation Soldier…shhhhhhh

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Ephesians 4:29

This is a call to deeper holiness, not a chastisement.
This is both personal and corporate.

How many times have I struggled with this problem?…I’m not telling…How about you?

In the Corps:
There is nothing that hinders corps growth more than loose lips and mindless gossip. Often it is also the hardest to remove as well. Why is gossip, slander and unkind talk such a difficulty? Why can we not control our tongues?

A number of years ago, we had a salty individual who came to our corps. This person would constantly say unkind things to us as well as behind our backs…and it got worse. New people began to come to our corps. Fresh faces, eager to learn more about Christ…then it happened. This individual looked back at the new couple and said, “who the hell is that“? Let me just tell you that there are no words that one can find to describe our shock and horror. We confronted this person. Asked them to apologize. This person refused and they couldn’t believe we had come to them asking for something that seemed outrageous in their opinion. Finally I called that person, they answered, I talked and told them it had to stop (there had been many more incidents), I was told in no uncertain terms where I could take my words and where to put them. This person has since left the corps altogether but not before driving away new members and potential members.

Brothers and sisters in Christ,
fellow Soldiers of our Army, the tongue is a mighty and dangerous weapon! We MUST be careful and aware of how sharply words can cut. Gossip, slander and biting attitudes can dissolve a corps fellowship faster than nearly anything else!

Remedies:
1) Don’t ignore it in your corps.
If we ignore this virus of words, it will not go away.
It will still remain and it will only increase because ignoring it actually gives it more power. Address it appropriately. Privately, if possible. Do so with other Local Officers and elders who are trustworthy and upright. (This is scriptural!)

2) Stinkin’ Thinkin’ or Edifying Thoughts?
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.” Philippians 4:8

Do not even entertain stinkin’ thinkin’! Don’t allow it to be consumed into your life! Cut off the mindless gossip of others, or just walk away. Don’t let it gain even a small foothold in your thoughts and lifestyle. Whatever you consume in your thoughts becomes who you are!

If we are a body of Christ then we have to put to death these thoughts along with all of the other idolatrous, sinful things. (Colossians 3:5)

3) Accountability!
If you struggle with negative, unhealthy thoughts and speech, then talk to a trusted brother and sister in Christ! Talk to someone who will hold you to your promises and convictions, not someone who will placate you. Seek out someone who you can be challenged by and who will commit to holding you to your word.

4) Baby Steps…but don’t quit!
Sorry, Bill Murry’s performance in ‘What About Bob‘ just came to mind. “Baby steps, baby steps” We will not conquer this blight of negativity from our thoughts and tongues immediately. Certainly the Holy Spirit can alleviate this immediately, but more than likely we will have to work very hard at conquering this issue. We will have to take baby steps or small victories one at a time. Don’t get frustrated if you stumble now and then, but don’t use that as an excuse either! Remember we are called to this higher calling and if we are to be truly set apart then we have to submit everything to the will of Christ including our thought process and our tongues.

Dear Salvation Soldier,
Can we submit this sword (our tongues) completely for the cause of Christ?
We will face resistance.
We will face trials.
It will NOT be easy.
We will be tempted to share juicy gossip or respond with biting words.
But seriously, we need to just stop and SHHHHHHHHHH, when all we can think about saying will injure, cause harm and damage this vital fellowship of Christ.

Don’t overlook this dangerous foe!
Don’t underestimate it’s power on your corps either!
Something more for our Army to ponder today!
To God Be The Glory!

November 14, 2014 5

Dear Salvation Army, When Orders And Regulations Get In The Way…

Acts 151,2,7-11 “Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers:“Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” ²This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question…⁷After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. ⁸God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. ⁹He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. ¹⁰Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? ¹¹No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”

I am not sure who these “certain people” were…but today I wonder if our “certain people” wear uniforms and act the part of the pharisee from time to time. I don’t wish to sound judgmental…truth be told, we have all played this role a time or two…and we’re not proud of it (I hope).

The Early Church
There were certain fundamentalists within the early church; rule abiders, standard bearers, orders and regulation holders. When new comers (Gentiles) came to the faith proclaiming to be Christ-followers, these traditionalists demanded they be made practicing Jews in every way including circumcisions (yowza!). You see, in order for these new comers to be accepted as members of the faith in the eyes of these traditionalists, they had to change everything about themselves. The law had to be upheld, and these stiff regulations followed to the letter. It was practically impossible for these Gentile followers to obey the law completely. In essence these “certain people” were setting them up for failure.

Grace & Law
^{8 “}God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. ⁹He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.” (Acts 15:8-9)

Peter tells it like it is to those gathered in Jerusalem.
We are given the Holy Spirit…He purifies our hearts. We do not need additional ritualistic practices or outward performances to meet regulations of salvation. We have been saved through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. We have been purified through and through.

Do Orders And Regulations Get In The Way?
Yes. At times.
Sometimes, even in The Salvation Army, we can get so caught up in the law and the ritualistic practice of the law that we can lose sight of a grace that purifies and transcends common practice. Are new comers joining our Army? Do they understand this Army? Are we helping them to understand our forms of worship? Do we lose them because of lack of grace, compassion, judgement, appropriateness?

I am not advocating anarchy, in fact just the opposite.
Could it be that the grace of the Holy Spirit is all the law we need? I am not saying that we throw out our orders and regulations…but do we hold far too tightly to these? Have they become our “Jewish law”? In order for visitors to truly believe and worship as Salvationists, do they have to meet our requirements of dress and practice?

Sound Doctrine?…yes…Rigid Rules?…no.
Again we should be mindful, as Peter, Paul, Barnabas and James were in Acts 15 of the trappings of ridged Law abiding practices that strangles growth. The Apostles didn’t say that they were throwing out sound doctrines, but they did loosen the stiff regulations for Gentiles coming to the faith.

Questions:
Can new people & visitors truly come to your corps “as they are”?
Do we judge new comers based on their appearance and practice?
Have we lost potential soldiers and even officers because we rigidly follow our orders and regulations and “accepted” practices in worship (excluding foundational doctrinal beliefs)?
Do we really mean for new Christians or would be Christians to “come as they are” into our Holiness meetings and Salvation Meetings?
Are we exhibiting grace, love and compassion to the “whosoever”?
Have we ever discriminated (consciously or subconsciously) people because they didn’t fit OUR Salvationist mold?

Warning: Don’t Get In The Way!
Don’t be the “certain people” found in Acts 15.
Our world already contains enough judgement, condemnation and discrimination. If ~~the Church~~ The Salvation Army cannot be a beacon of hope, grace and holiness, then a I fear we will have lost our way and God help us if we turn away individuals because they aren’t “our kind of people“.

The Remedy:
If you have been a part of the “certain people“…I pray you can reconcile yourself once more to His grace and love. Ask Him once again to soften your heart. Ask the Lord to make you holy. True growth of our Army begins upon our knees in penitence as we seek to be inclusive of the whosoever regardless if they wear a uniform or look just like you and me.

Prayer: Lord make us holy. Set us apart for your missions here on earth. May we seek to love and to serve everyone regardless of their differences. Give us your eyes so that we may see others the way you see them. May we exude your grace, peace, love and acceptance of those who are so desperately in need of these qualities here on earth. May we be your people who will help usher in your kingdom here on earth today through our faith in action. In your name we pray. Amen.

-Something more for our Army world to ponder today.

Additional reading on this topic for your consideration:
Cookie Cutter Christians
Christians and Racism?
When Christians Get It Wrong

November 13, 2014 0

Life…emptying the ocean into a thimble…

I have this visual in my head.
It’s the image of me and the image of God…and they are so vastly different.
In this image, I am so very, very small.
I am barely a speck within this massive cosmic universe.

I am a thimble.

I cannot hold much.
What I can hold is quite limited.
What I can’t hold is very, very expansive.

It reminds me of a time when I stood on top of a large building in the city and looked down. Everyone was going about their day, unknowingly being watched from above. They looked so small from my vantage point. The cars and vehicles we plodding along and they almost looked like ants in a line. It never seemed to stop or slow down…it just…kept moving. The distant sounds of horns blaring and tires screeching could be heard, and it seemed suddenly quite silly.

Sometimes I wonder if this is how we look to God.
I wonder if He peers down at us…then again, where did we ever get this notion that He is looking down from somewhere? Could it be that He is right next to us…could it be that he is holding our thimbles in his hands? …(okay, now I’m silently humming “he’s got my thimble in his hands…”)

But in reality I wonder sometimes if we are so consumed in our lives with trying to cram every single thing into our tiny vessels.

We try to cram in success.
We try to cram in popularity.
We try to cram in things and money and cars and homes and happiness and love and acceptance and families and jobs and contentment and places and desires and dreams and politics and rights and wrongs and judgement and….you get it don’t you? That’s one long run-on sentence and yet, in a way, that’s what we’re doing to our lives.

Sometimes we do too much.
We pile our “stuff” too high.
We demand far more of ourselves than God does of us…

We think that doing “things” in some sort of right order is what honors God, and then pretty soon those things sometimes replace or unknowingly take the place of God because it all has to be in the right order and done in the right way and polished to a tee…and so we work really, really hard at something that should be about God but it becomes all about us…

And so….

I keep coming back to this image.

How many times am I attempting to pour the whole ocean into my thimble?

How many times am I attempting to do this insane, impossible thing?

How many times do I come away from this “work” feeling defeated and, in no way have I gone even a few inches from where I started?

News flash…
maybe we weren’t created to carry the entire ocean around in our thimbles.
Maybe that’s not how this whole thing works.

It’s like going to the beach.

My family and I went this past summer.
We live in the cold north and so going to the beach means traveling a long distance.
So we drove, and drove and drove…finally we got there only to have like three days to enjoy the beach…and so we soaked up the sun and the sounds and the sand for as much time as we could. We did all of the dumb touristy things. We collected shells and bought overpriced souvenirs and we attempted to take the beach back home with us by the bucket full and because it was also caked in the carpets of our van.

Question:
Do we attempt to fill our thimbles with the entire ocean because we feel it will suddenly disappear? Is this how we think about God?
I mean, if we don’t make this mad dash to overflow our thimbles with His infinite ocean do we fail at this holy life? Is that what being a Christian is all…about?

Are we like ants in a line as we go to church and carry our bibles and dress the part and look good “dressing the part”….

In a very real way have we lost the true meaning of what a “Christ-follower” is all about in this insane rat race of rituals and practices?

Are we attempting to empty the entire ocean into our thimbles when God doesn’t work that way? …and as we do these things are we becoming more and more frustrated, disillusioned and lost?

Matthew 10:10 says…
Can we just simply come to Him and experience life without trying to swallow it whole while pouring the entire ocean into these thimbles? Can we experience this abundant living by being content with what and who we are and what He is giving to us?

Jesus said that he had living water and if we drank from that water we would never be thirsty again…is that enough for us? Can we just sit by that well and realize that the ocean isn’t going anywhere?
Perhaps it’s time to stop the rat race.
Perhaps it’s time to stop attempting to fill our thimbles with the entirety of the ocean as we are never satisfied.

How’s your thimble?

Something more to ponder today.

November 12, 2014 0

Dear Salvation Army, A Salute To Veterans Of The Spiritual War…

In Flanders Fields
by John McCrae
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place, and in the sky,
The larks, still bravely singing, fly,
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead; short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe!
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high!
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Today many salute veterans who did not come back and those who simply endured the horrors of war. I do not wish to cheapen these remembrances today. It is not my intent either to draw any parallels…but there is a spiritual battle in this world still today that is ongoing. There are many who have fought the good fight and have been “Promoted To Glory”. I honor these dear soldiers today as well.

Some Salvation Soldiers have been sent to some very difficult places in our world to help share the love of Christ. Some of these salvation soldiers have given their lives for the cause of Christ. We honor you as well, you have fought this good fight.

We do not honor death.
We know that death holds no power over Christ and His followers.
We know that death has been defeated.
We know that true victory lies in Christ Jesus, the conqueror of sin and death.
We know that the dead in Christ shall arise…we are confident that no matter what evils that we may face, we know in whom we have believed and we can overcome through His name!

We honor life.
We honor the fallen who have gone on before us and have set an example for us to follow.
We honor the faithful who have exemplified holy living as their legacy and we have witnessed Christ through them.
We honor the martyrs who stood upon this faith despite the certainty of death.
We honor the lives of countless soldiers and friends who would stand in the gap for the poor, the hungry and the hurting.
We honor the doctors and nurses who have gone into villages and townships wrought with the AIDS epidemic and have cared for the sick and the orphaned.

Dear Soldier,
though today commemorates fallen soldiers and veterans of war, we too honor the soldiers of this army of salvation and that of the Christian world who have walked the path of selflessness and given up everything for the cause of Christ.

We do not celebrate death. We celebrate life, new life given to all of us through Christ. We celebrate the path blazed by the saints who have gone on before us. We celebrate as kingdom people declaring that kingdom to be here and now. We celebrate that we do not have to look forward to heaven “someday” but can help bring heaven to our world here and now.

I will fight on, dear soldier…will you?
I will fight to keep the banner of Christ held high through acts of love, grace, peace, hope, compassion, charity and reconciliation. I will fight to bring these qualities to those who have not heard or are unable to through their hardships of life. I long to fight along side you…if you will remain at my left and right. We cannot move forward into the fray without unity of this body. We cannot proceed onward without soldiers willingly equipped for the battles ahead.

Will you fight on?
Will you stay strong?
Will you stand firm?

Today we do not just remember…but we fight on!
Something more for our Army world to ponder today.
To God be the glory!

November 11, 2014 0

Dear Salvation Army, Rituals And Sacramental Living

Our founders, William and Catherine Booth got away from the observances of Communion and Baptism…did they go too far?

I know that this blog has covered the sacraments in the past…I’m will not shy away from such conversations.

The question still remains, did our founders go too far in regards to the sacraments? I am not disagreeing with our doctrinal stances, I wish to ask the question. I also understand that they weren’t condemning anyone who participates in communion or baptism, but has it become something of an elephant in the room?

RITUALS
One could argue that anything could become ritualistic and routine within worship practice. Thus, if our only argument against communion or baptism to be “ritualistic” in practice then perhaps we could look at certain practices we in the Army already participate in.

Can sacred moments in worship become routine and ritualistic? Yes. Have they become so in our services? Yes, at times.

A SEARCH FOR SIGNIFICANCE
If anything that we do within the practice of worship becomes something that it was never intended to be, should we cast it out? Or, should we bring it back into alignment? Whatever “it” may be?

When we have our altar calls and the Mercy Seat is open, do we make it less significant if it is over emphasized…every.single.Sunday? I do not wish to diminish its importance in worship, but has it, at times, become our surrogate “go to” for the sacramental life? Is the Mercy Seat and the “sacramental life” one in the same, or mutually exclusive? Are there other representations or manifestations of the sacred that we over look and/or ignore in the process?

Please do not misunderstand me, I do not wish to downgrade the importance of the Mercy Seat, but is there a danger of IT becoming ritualistic and thereby causing its loss of significance? Isn’t that partially why our founders moved away from the Sacraments in the first place?

“Outward Expressions of the Inward Change”
I believe that all of the external representations of holy or sacramental living are NOT as important as the inward relationship. This should not, however, eliminate the outward practices. It’s like a love relationship with a would be spouse or soul mate. You want the world to know that you are in love with that person and you want that person to know it too. So we express our love in many ways. We put our love on display for all the world to see. This is what the sacred should look like! It isn’t about appearances, or a statistic for Holiness meeting. It isn’t about anyone else but our relationship with the Lord in a corporate setting.

How are our outward expressions today, dear Soldier? Are they bound up in appearances and/or ritual practice? Have they lost some of its true meaning? Are we running the risk of having these become more about practice than about significance within our hearts?

Anything can become rituals devoid of meaning and significance if we allow them to develop as such. What kind of fruit are we producing from our spiritual walk with God? Can we be honest with ourselves as we reevaluate our priorities, our practices, the outward expressions of our inward change?

If we are called to be set apart and to live out holiness in our lives, how can we avoid the ritual, the mundane, the loss of spiritual emphasis?

These questions are worth pondering today in our Army world.
More to come…
To God Be The Glory!

November 10, 2014 9

Dear Salvation Army, Healing A Broken Mercy Seat…

IF…
If your Mercy Seat is broken, how can it be fixed?
If your the spirit of your corps is tattered and wounded, how can it be healed?

Eyes wander and rove the Mercy Seat.
A weary soul is kneeling down before that altar of submission and some within the chapel are wondering what they are kneeling for? What sins could they be confessing? What will happen next? Who will go up and pray with them? Someone might be smiling to themselves and thinking “it’s about time they confess their sins!”

Do you see what is broken with this Mercy Seat?
I don’t wish to imply this is happening everywhere, but sometimes I don’t think I’m too far off the mark.

To the wandering eyes and the gossip laden hearts, here’s a hint – it’s none of your business.
Shame on anyone who questions the motives of another’s heart in a pure attempt of seeking Christ at these sacred spaces. I fear that the cause of these broken Mercy Seats is the hardened hearts and calloused souls of those gathered in other seats around the chapel. This isn’t an indictment, this is just a cautious observation.

Hope & Sensitive Spirits:
I had numerous people write me yesterday describing how beautiful these places of consecration were in their home corps. How marvelous to hear of lives being transformed as we maintain this element of holiness in our services. This gives us all hope to hear. This provides an insight into repairing that which is broken in other places – sensitive spirits and hearts open to the wondrous workings of the Holy Spirit.

Healing The Mercy Seat Means Softening Our Hearts:
“I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.“—Ezekiel 36:26

Frequently, we can become desensitized to the workings of the Holy Spirit. We can also become desensitized to the formats of our Holiness meetings and/or the use of the Mercy Seat. Perhaps we have grown up in the corps we attend. Perhaps there are times where we are simply just going through the motions. Perhaps there are times when we have grown tired with our meetings and hearing the same people uttering the same prayers and the same testimonies. Perhaps we even wonder sometimes if we are just practicing worship but we are never really engaged in worship.

Is there a hardness in your heart today dear Soldier?
Is there a place within you that frightens you because you feel numb to it all?
Are you harboring a grudge or bitterness for someone else in your corps?

If our hearts are hardened our Mercy Seats could become broken.
If our hearts are not sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading anymore, then the Mercy Seat will simply gather dust and become an idle piece of furniture.

Oh, dear Soldier may our hearts be softened by the Divine!
May our spirits ever thirst for His fellowship!
May we stop looking at others as we used to when we belonged to our old patterns of living; but may we, instead, look upon others with softened hearts through the living, thriving love of Christ.

The Mercy Seat:
Is not just furniture.
Is not just a ritual or a surrogate for sacramental practice.
Is not just frequented by sinner, but also by saints.
Is not a place of weakness, but a place of great strength.

The Mercy Seat is the practice of softened hearts.
The Mercy Seat is consecration, reconciliation, salvation and holiness.
The Mercy Seat is about living holiness as a corporate body of Christ.
The Mercy Seat, dear Soldier is more than furniture, it is a matter of our hearts.

May we ever be sensitive to His holy moving.
May our hearts ever be softened first to the Lord and then towards others regardless of friend or foe.
Thus begins the healing of our Mercy Seats.

Something more for our Army world to ponder today.
To God Be the Glory!

(Cover Image: Felix UK, New Mercy Seat circa 1923)

November 7, 2014 3

Dear Salvation Army, Is Your Mercy Seat Broken?

Recently in our corps something happened.
No, it wasn’t another rousing chorus of “O Boundless Salvation”. It wasn’t another meal around the table, although those are rather nice.
Instead, there in the sanctuary of our corps, in the place where lives are changed and hearts transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit, in that very room…something was damaged – The Mercy Seat.

It happened because some corps kids were playing through out the building…scratch that. It happened because not “some” kids, but MY kids happened to be playing in the corps building (Why is it always the Officer’s Kids? Really??). They ended up in the sanctuary. Perhaps the lure of the microphones and musical instruments were too much. Regardless of how they ended up there, they were there. In the process of scaling the mercy seat, my eldest’s foot got caught on the lip of the seat and tripped. As he tripped, the mercy seat came with him. He tipped it over completely, and with it the top was pried off.

Upon inspection of the mercy seat, I quickly realized that it was not going to go back together without a little help from a hammer and some new nails. Currently, repairs are underway.

It’s a Metaphor…
It dawned on me last night while laying in bed, and it all began with a broken mercy seat. Perhaps in our corps we have lost what the mercy seat used to represent. Perhaps, it is broken today and in need of repairs.

Question: Is your mercy seat broken?
I don’t mean physically, but emotionally, tangibly, spiritually, is it still intact?
Does your corps still call people to penitence, repentance and reconciliation?
Or have we gotten away from holding each other accountable for fear of offending others? I don’t mean “accountability” in the sense of judgmental attitudes and condescending “I’m better than you” behavior, I mean is that standard and call to the mercy seat still available to all who would seek it? Is there an invitation to it?

My Fear:
I fear that we as an Army have gotten away from it in some places. If your corps still introduces people to Christ through the mercy seat, I applaud you. The mercy seat in and of itself isn’t magical. It isn’t really even about how nice it looks or how old it might be in your building. What matters is the emphasis of repentance, reconciliation, and holiness. The mercy seat could represent more than just that piece of furniture in our chapels…but do we emphasize it anymore? There are times when I wonder if, in the next ten years, will it still be a part of our Army’s identity? Will we have discarded it as some ancient Army relic of times gone by?

Is your Mercy Seat Broken?
Perhaps it has gathered dust from lack of use.
Perhaps it needs some revitalization and fixing today.
Perhaps, in order to revive this Army, we ought to seek it out…but more importantly we ought to seek out the power behind our faith.

I believe the Holy Spirit isn’t finished with us yet.
I believe that He longs for us to linger upon that mercy seat as we reconcile ourselves to Him once more.
I believe that in order for us to possibly regain our passion and fire for the world, we have to go back to it and start once more upon our knees.

I fear that if we do not repair these broken mercy seats, our Army will soon follow that same fate as well.

-Something more for our Army world to ponder today.
To God be The Glory!

(Cover image: Mercy Seat at Exeter Temple, UK)

November 6, 2014 32

2nd Annual “Impressions of Thanksgiving”

This is a competition for all you wonderful readers and subscribers. If you are creative here’s an opportunity to expressed yourself.

Photography:
You can provide impressions of thanksgiving this way (original photos only)

Poetry:
Again, provided it is your poetry you can express thanksgiving through lines of poetry.

Art:
Draw, paint, mixed media…for the artists out there.

If you would like to participate there will be a reward! The top three will receive, in the mail, a package of Starbucks coffee (offer only applies to the continental USA, sorry to my foreign friends and readers…but if you’re chosen I will still proudly display your work on this website).

Due date: Wednesday November 26th

To submit your work, please send it to my email address: scottstrissel@yahoo.com
For photography if you could please include a watermark in your work so that it won’t be copied via the Internet that would be great!

I look forward to your submissions and impressions of Thanksgiving and what thanksgiving means to you!

Ponder on!

November 6, 2014 0

Dear Salvation Army – The Internal Battle & 3 Prescriptions!

This past August when Robin Williams died, the world was shocked. How could someone so funny come to such a sad and horrible ending? We really do not understand the depths of such internal battles unless we ourselves have been there.

Truths:
Just because we put on uniforms it doesn’t mean that we stop experiencing difficulties.

Just because we become a Christ-follower doesn’t mean that we stop struggling with internal battles.

Some people even genetically struggle with things like depression and I would like to talk about this today. Before you stop reading and think to yourself “this doesn’t relate to me“, perhaps you’ll reconsider because we are all in this together and you just might be able to help someone else who DOES relate to this.

A Story About Depression:
One of my Uncles, who is an Officer in the Southern Territory USA, shared with me a story about a local Presbyterian minister in his town. It is a sad story. The kind of story that causes shell shocked locals to question life and death and to reconsider their preconceived notions of depression.

Apparently, this local Presbyterian minister, who had been on sabbatical from his church, committed suicide. He ended his life. He allowed the darkness within him to quench the light of hope. Let that sink in for a moment. A minister, who was deeply depressed and struggling with this difficult internal battle, ended his life. It doesn’t matter how he did it, but that he did it. His church and surrounding community are currently and completely devastated. Questions have been swirling and the idea that not just any person committed suicide, but a Pastor and leader of a church committed suicide has sent his church and community whirling in disbelief.

There’s A Lesson Here:
-Everyone is susceptible to these internal battles.-
It doesn’t matter if you’re a Presbyterian minister, a Catholic Priest or even a Salvation Army Officer or Soldier. We still struggle in life sometimes. We can still face things like depression. Sometimes we’re very good at hiding it too. Sometimes we’re so good that we even convince ourselves that nothing is wrong when something is very wrong within us. We sometimes compartmentalize these struggles and convince ourselves that someone else is to blame or the situation at hand is to blame when the battle is truly internal. Instead of beating ourselves up over feeling this way, we need to reach out for help.

The Misnomers Of Depression:
We can often look at these internal battles as weaknesses and something to be embarrassed about. If you’re struggling right now or know someone who is, please don’t be embarrassed or make that person feel embarrassed. Don’t think for a minute that you are less valuable because of the internal struggles you are facing. Don’t think for a minute that no one will understand. Don’t think for a minute that you are all alone in these dark days. Don’t buy into the lie that you must be weaker than other because you are struggling.

Another misnomer with depression is the idea that if I deny it exists (that I’m depressed) I will be fine. Have you ever shaken up a carbonated soda and then opened up the top? What happens? The bottled up carbonated soda explodes from the container doesn’t it? In the same way that bottle can’t hold the shaken contents, so too our bodies and minds aren’t equipped to hold everything in either. We have to let these struggles and abscesses of the heart and soul out of us. We can’t avoid them…they won’t simply go away. We could do more harm to ourselves if we just let them fester within us without releasing them.

Prescriptions:
Here are three prescriptions, dear soldier, to help us conquer and win these internal battles –

1) Seek Professional Help!
It is a sign of strength, not weakness to receive help from a counselor, pastor, or professional psychologist. Get over the misconception that it is wrong to talk about your struggles. Seeking out help is the first step to having victory over that internal battle! Don’t be afraid to ask for help! When we have someone else on board with us helping us find hope and joy again we can also find healing.

2) Seek Accountability
This might go hand in hand with #1…but it goes further. Do you have a friend in whom you can confide? Are there trusted people in your life who can listen but also be honest with you? Don’t seek out just anyone or even someone who agree with everything you say. Find someone who will challenge you, be honest with you and will keep you accountable. Seek out a fellow brother or sister in Christ who can pray with you and help shoulder your heavy burdens. Accountability helps relieve some of these internal struggles. Depression is worse when dealt with alone…remember that!

3) Find Rest And Activities
We need our rest to replenish our physical and emotional reserves. Officers and soldiers are ever in the fray of this mission field, but even soldiers and officers need hobbies and rest! Make sure you find some “Me” time. This isn’t selfish this is self-preservation. What good will you be if you are spent and worn through and through? Make sure you find things to do outside your mission field sometimes. Get sufficient rest, take time to reconnect and rejuvenate.

These are just three crucial prescriptions. There are more, but doing these three things will help in your journey to victory over your internal battles. Don’t quit. Don’t think for a moment that you are alone. You are loved. You are needed. You are important!

If we are to be healthy Soldiers and Officers, we must first be honest with ourselves and be willing to do a little soul-care from time to time. These internal battles won’t just go away if we just ignore them, we must confront them and in that confronting we can find healing and recovery!

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” -Proverbs 4:23

Something more for our Army world to ponder today!
To God Be The Glory…and remember, You are NOT alone!!

November 5, 2014 0

3 Ways To Let Peace Boost Your Thanksgiving

Peace…

It’s more than some iconic symbol.
It’s more than words or a global award.
It’s more than a time of calm amidst the storms of conflict.

We want the calm.
We crave these times especially when the rush of life casts us about like rag dolls thrown into the midst of a blood thirsty pack of wolves.

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” Colossians 3:15

Sometimes we wonder how we could possibly be thankful when it seems our day or week has been wrought with problems. Sometimes life just sucks. Sometimes the joy seems to just get sucked right out of us by circumstances and even other people. In THOSE times it seems nearly impossible to find something to be thankful for.

Allow me but a few moments today to share with you 3 ways that you can boost your thanksgiving.

3 Ways To Let Peace Boost Your Thanksgiving:

1) Take Time For YOU!

This may sound like something out of a self-help book or something you might hear Dr. Phil say…but it’s true. We need time alone, and time for self-soulcare. We must find healthy ways to unwind and relax now and then. We cannot go 100 miles an hour at everything and expect to find peace when we haven’t slowed down enough to find ourselves again. We can sometimes get lost in the pile of stuff on our desks or amidst the bills piling up at home. If Jesus got away from His disciples in order to commune with The Father, we ought to consider doing this as well. How else can we recharge our spent souls? How else will we find peace again? When someone is thirsty they don’t go looking for more saltine crackers do they? No! They look for a nice cold glass of water to quench that thirst. We too are spiritually thirsty and in order to quench that thirst we have to go back to the Well of our Father again and again. As we take personal time we will once again gain perspective and find peace once more. It is often difficult to disconnect from a very connected world…but it is necessary for our own sanity and personal care!

2) A Personal Inventory Of Gratefulness
It’s seems a little silly, maybe a bit childish…but can we bring to mind all of our blessings? Can we do a personal inventory of our lives right now and evaluate the things that we can be grateful for? I think we might find that we have so much by way of blessings from God.

All too often we can dwell from a place of “have nots” that we run the risk of forgetting all that we “have” already. We live in a very materialistic world where products and stuff is valued above everything. There is this notion that if we do not possess the next big thing then we aren’t truly living a good life. What a lie that is. We buy this lie over and over again in our over-saturated marketed world. We spend countless dollars in order to recapture an element of happiness with that next “thing” only to find elements of discontentment and sadness once more.

When we dwell in the place of “have nots”, we will never truly be content. We will never truly be happy. If we live there we will not be able to properly conduct an authentic personal inventory of our gratefulness – because true gratefulness doesn’t come from stuff. We have been blessed by a Creator who so desperately wants to fellowship with us. When we can evaluate our lives by the blessings of Him, we can finally tap into that pure element of His peace; and in so doing, we will once again place Him in His rightful place above the “stuff” that we have accumulated and allowed to become our god.

3) Others.
It goes without saying but I’ll say it anyway.
When we can allow ourselves to become less and Christ to become more, we open ourselves up to finally see the needs of others around us. We live in a very self-indulged world. This isn’t news to you I am sure! Allowing the needs of others to replace our needs isn’t easy, nor is it natural in our present state. That shouldn’t be taken to mean that we don’t care for ourselves and disregard #1, we need those times as well to refresh and find our source of life again, but after those re-connections with the Father, if we can see the needs of others we can find peace and thanksgiving in our lives!

There are so many people in our communities that need a friend. There are so many people who need an ear to hear their sorrows and burdens. We shouldn’t go into those times of “listening” expecting we can fix all of life’s problems for them, but we can be a support to souls who have lost their way.

Can you be a friend?
Can you see the needs of others?
What kinds of selfishness (let’s call it for what it is) prevent us from seeing others?
Do we truly crave genuine peace and thanksgiving in our lives and long to share that with others?

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” Colossians 3:15

In order for the peace of Christ to rule in our hearts we have to take time to commune with Him, we have to see our joys and blessings that He has provided, and we have to share that joy and blessing with others.

Do you want to boost your thanksgiving this season?
I hope it lasts a little longer than just a season…but let’s start there.
If you long to boost your thanksgiving, give these three suggestions a try.
It’s not a “cure all”…but it’s sure a great first step!

Something more to ponder today.
To God Be The Glory!

November 4, 2014 0