“London’s Burning” Age? Audio Sampling as a Missionary Kid
Seeing the Miracles (Poem)
Perhaps it is in the simple things…
the catch in the throat,
the sliver of light cresting the horizon,
in the fresh morning dew lending itself
to the growing blooms.
Perhaps the eye catches but a glimpse
of God’s amazing miracle
appearing and disappearing all around
touching our souls,
igniting and renewing our faith…
perhaps that is what He meant
when He said, it is the blind leading the blind
for we donned on our pharisee clothings
we play our parts and move along
but the it is all brain work
closing off the heart valves
staving all emotion
as we simply go through the motions…
Yet perhaps we’ve miss the mark.
Perhaps we lost sight of His miracles,
closed our eyes and failed to truly see.
Oh that we may open them once again…
to catch miracles on our fingers
touching the blood coursing through
our veins
and then again ignite our souls…
perhaps this happens in an instant…
or in eighty years…
but dear Lord let these scales fall from
these blinded eyes again.
The Blood of Christ (Poem)
Gentle, like silk between the fingers
fragile like egg shells underfoot
broken and splayed out before us
this is the blood of Christ.
Crimson, the deep reds of fabric
clothing our nakedness,
warming us beneath a violent flood
this is the blood of Christ.
Flowing freely from His side
His hands and feet as well
beneath a cross of wicked death
the source of life for all.
This is the blood of Christ.
Get Ready!
“Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them–to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.” (Joshua 1:2-3)
Moses is dead. For a short moment the people of Israel are unsure of their new leader Joshua. He is to fill the sandals of Moses…a tall order. After all Moses gave them the words of God. Moses lifted his arms up as God dealt with the Amalekites. Moses was the conduit in which God set his people free. Now Joshua is to step into this role.
You can almost see the uncertainty in the people’s faces. If Joshua had not been a seasoned warrior and general already, mass mutiny and hysteria would have most certainly broken out. Yet Joshua was the right leader for the job! His resume was full, and he trusted God.
Looking out onto the mass of people that he now commands, for a mere moment Joshua is nervous. People are depending on him. So many lives depend upon him to make the right decisions as their leader. As the momentary panic escapes his chest with a quick exhale, he pushes all doubt aside. ‘I have full confidence in the Almighty to provide us the way’; he thinks to himself.
Though they have yet to cross into the Promised Land, Joshua is just as certain as he was 40 years ago when Moses had initially sent in the spies. Thinking back to that moment when He and Caleb were the only spies to give a positive report while the other ten spread doubt and dissension among the people. ‘Had they only listened then’; he utters to himself, ‘things would be so different now.’ Again Joshua sighs, this time in sadness and regret. ‘Perhaps if we had been more persuasive, they would have listened’, He wonders aloud. He grits his teeth in renewed frustration as he dwells for just another moment on the memory. Then, with rebirth of confidence and stubborn conviction he thinks to himself; ‘I won’t let that happen again!’
Then it happens, all at once. God speaks to Joshua. He had witnessed the glow emanating from Moses as he came down from an encounter with God, tablets in hand. But now as the voice of God speaks to him, he can’t help but quiver in fear. Joshua, the mighty warrior is in the presence of Almighty God. In his quaking and quivering, Joshua hears God say, “Be strong and courageous!” The words of God give him encouragement and instant strength! The One who spoke life into everything promises to be present and available. Joshua has the ultimate adviser known in the entire universe!
God tells Joshua to get the people ready and cross over the river Jordan into the Promised Land. This is the moment that he’s been waiting for! The wilderness has been inhospitable to God’s people. The hot sun scorches the barren rocky earth and destroys any attempt of planting crops or grazing cattle. Crossing the Jordan will provide them new life! A New hope! It is a chance at finally sampling the promises of God in a land that He has granted them.
Many have died before witnessing this day. Those who had not listened to God were all gone. Now redemption, a second chance…Joshua was not about to blow it! He would ensure that the people were ready this time! God again said to Joshua; “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)
Joshua led with conviction and faith. He prepared God’s people for the crossing and the conquering of the land. He did not want to see the failure of an entire generation again! Later in his epic journey Joshua tells the people; “But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15 (NIV)
What faith Joshua possessed! When God told him to get ready and cross the Jordan, he got ready and crossed. When God instructed him to conquer Jericho through a daily march around its walls, he and his people marched! These new territories were foreign to him, and yet he trusted God to lead and to provide!
Application:
How about you? Is God calling you to get ready? Is He asking you to make a faith journey across unknown territories? We can’t sit on the sidelines and do nothing when God calls us. We must act! God tells us to gear up and get ready. Our response depends upon how much we trust Him. Will we go? Will we do what the Lord has for us to do? Joshua was a fearless leader who relied upon God to direct His path. May we do likewise in our lives today! We may not have to face huge armies and fortified cities like Joshua did, but may we but faithful to God! May we be prepared to cross our river Jordans when they come…whatever they may be.
-Just a thought.
On A Gravel Road
I was walking the gravel dirt road
night had long since fallen
the coolness of the evening
rushed to embrace me as
its body, a wisp of fog descended.
Each step seemed so loud to me
in the still silence of the cooling night
as the mule in the pasture next to me
grazing still moving onto another green blade
he must be a night owl in the mammalia world
ushering his fellow creatures off to beds of straw
laying down upon the damp earth…
as I walked loudly by,
rocks and gravel crunching underfoot,
I, for a moment in my existential longings
considered who I was…a mere man,
nothing special…blessed, of course
by a God of amazing grace…all an epiphany
on a walk on a gravel road at night.
At night. (Poem)
When the evening closes its eyes
thrusting wearied souls into slumbering beds
blankets heaped and folded
mending the creases of the day…
once again.
Then as the symphonic crickets begin
and the bull frogs belching out another croak
take silence by the horns
and speak deep into the night…
there is where we find this peace,
when our efforts and our workings cease
we find this quiet solemn release.
In the night, blanketed in black
these stars, the lonely sojourners
appear once again to welcome us back.
And we find our rest…but sometimes
true rest is in our finding…
Peace.
Attributes: AN ARMY VISION
In just under a month the High Council will meet, pray, deliberate and finally elect a new General of This Salvation Army. Its message and mission is still relevant. This movement that started with William and Catherine Booth must and will carry on. There is still a war waging in our world. Not a war of flesh and blood, though it is most certainly involved, but a spiritual battle for the very souls of men and women. That is why, we as soldiers of this army, must continue to fight and be proactive in this campaign.
In recent conversations that I’ve had with fellow officers and soldiers of The Salvation Army these thoughts percolated in my mind. We may be modeled after military in form, but we all have an Army voice to one extent or another. So with that being said, I would like to outline what I would desire our next General’s vision and attributes for the global Salvation Army to be. It sounds presumptuous I know…but as soldiers, we all have parts to play and a stake we claim within these army realms. Indulge me if you will:
VISION:
1. Continuity:
ONE ARMY, ONE MISSION, ONE MESSAGE: It still applies! It is still active, and I feel as if this message, this vision ought to continue and to be built upon! Far too often, I fear that when new leaders take on their new responsibilities so too they cast new visions far too quickly! Sometimes this type of leadership change model can disillusion constituents, making them frustrated and wandering in every which way directionally speaking. This “take control leadership” approach, which produces a new vision while forgetting the old vision, can lead to a polarizing and dysfunctional army. I don’t presume to have any power or say in this at all by any means but I do hope our next General would be sensitive to the path that has already been paved and to walk on its already laid foundation.
2. Relevancy:
Understandably there are many political sociological ‘hot-button’ topics throughout our global army. The continued need of our army leadership to pursue mission and purpose that is consistently relevant to the world in which we serve is of the utmost importance. This should include our perspectives and application of worship, service and all aspects of our holistic ministry.
3. Transparency:
I’ve heard this many times in previous conversations and I believe this is most definitely pertinent to the position of General of The Salvation Army as well as our immediate leaders. If our local officers and soldiery are provided transparency at the local level with message, ministry and finance; ought our territorial, national and international leadership also follow suit as well? Absolutely! Be genuine and transparent to those you lead! We continue to need leadership who will rise up and lead not because they are fearful of repercussions of others but to lead out of conviction and biblical authority.
4. Holiness
I have served under leaders who have been holy leaders. These types of leaders are respected and loved. When you have a leader who leads through holiness you will find a stronger army at the core. Holiness in leadership is crucial, without it they’re just another business administrator/CEO. True leaders are willing to lead with the promptings of the Holy Spirit and who are unafraid to risk and to adapt and change in an ever changing world.
These are just a few attributes I hope and pray our next General possess. We all can surround our High Council in prayer…and we should. And I also acknowledge that the Lord will provide and lead. By faith I believe that He will provide us the right General for just this moment in time. And I also believe that God will continue to rise up our future leaders who can carry on this great mission and propel His Great Commission into every territory in the world!
What would attributes would you like to see within our new General?
Authentic or Fake? (Igniting the Passion Again!)
“Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.”
–Genesis 5:24
“For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20)
Is there meaning behind what you do in your worship?
How is your heart? Is it still in it? Are you in love with God? These questions may get to the heart of the matter. We are called ‘Children of God’ (Gal 3:26) and yet at times we act like we are mere acquaintances of God. I will admit that there have been times when my heart just hasn’t been in the worship service that I am attending. Have you been to that point?
Setting the stage:
You get up and prepare for the Sunday Morning Service. You put on your ‘church clothes’, comb or brush your hair…and make sure everything is in place. On the way out the door you grab your Bible, which may have been resting in the same spot since last time you went to church. You get in your car or van and race to the church because you are nearly late…someone cuts you off on your way to the church building. Then you get to the church and find all the ‘good parking spots’ are already taken. So you finally reach the front doors of the church building in a huff, slightly irritated and just a little bit disheveled…but you still have your Bible in hand.
When you finally sit down in the pew as the service is about to start, you suddenly realize you didn’t eat breakfast…great one more thing to think about during church. You stand when they tell you to stand, you sit back down when they tell you to sit, and all the while you are staring at the clock thinking about what you will do with the rest of your day. You barely hear what the pastor preaches on…the first joke in the introduction was funny but after a while the sermon just becomes the mumblings of that teacher on the t.v. show ‘Peanuts’…”Whah, whah, whah, whah, whah.”
The Heart of the Matter:
Hopefully your worship doesn’t look like that! But if truth be told I would almost bet that you have had those Sundays. My question to you is “why even go to church then?” If we aren’t emotionally, physically and intellectually there in the first place, why even show up?
There are a lot of people out there who go to church but fail to actually show up. It’s unfortunate, I’ve been there, and it happens. It makes me wonder sometimes if we aren’t acting a little like the Pharisees of old. We’re all about the ritual of worship…we all know the right songs to sing and the right ‘Amen’s’ to proclaim at any given time in the service, but our hearts are just not in it.
Dare I prod us all for a moment: If we just show up for worship on Sunday mornings (or whatever day we attend church) but we aren’t really there…aren’t we a little like the Pharisees that Jesus talked about that were all about cleaning the outside of the cup but not too serious about cleaning the inside? (Luke 11:39) Now I’ve probably stepped on a few toes with that one…but I have to confess…I’ve done it too!
I’ve been just as guilty of showing up for Sunday service and said all the right things and gone through all the right motions and yet my heart has not been in it.
This isn’t some sort of guilt trip that I want to lay on you today. I don’t want us all to think that we’re awful people by any means. But what I do feel as if God wants from us all is not our ritualistic church attendance. Or our ritualistic methodology…or even our ritualistic uniform/church clothes that we wear so that we fit in. What God wants from us is our hearts. He wants our worship, our undivided attention. He wants from us authenticity in the songs we sing, the scriptures we read and in the sermons we hear or the sermons we preach. HE DOES NOT WANT OUR LIP SERVICE! He never did!!!
He wants to make us holy, set apart people for Him! We can’t just settle for cleaning the outside of the cup and keep up appearances of something that isn’t true on the inside! God wants us to be real, to be vulnerable people before Him. He calls us all to genuine fellowship with Him. The kingdom of God begins within our authentic worship of a God who has poured out His unmerited favor on us. How can our hearts NOT be in on that?
To the pretenders out there STOP PRETENDING! Either get on with real worship and adoration of God or just get out of the way! To the luke-warm believer: MAKE UP YOUR MIND! Don’t settle for a skim-milk type of passion. Don’t stop at just being a ‘ok’ in your faith…we all have to grow and mature! Get on with it! To those of you who are ON FIRE FOR GOD: Don’t let your flame go out! Keep burning for the rest of us so that we have something to aim for!
RECAP:
Don’t fake it. Don’t settle for mediocrity. Don’t suffocate your fire with distractions, worries and things that have no eternal worth!
REMEMBER: Have passion, clean the inside of the cup daily, and walk with God…He longs for you to do so!
Pastor's Ponderings 