Dear Salvationist, Does Freewill Conflict with God’s Foreknowledge?

We sing songs in our Army that speak of God’s plan for us.
We recognize that there is a plan in place…we just don’t always understand it.
A part of the question came becomes specific and personal – Is God’s plan specific, is that they way He works in every individual on the planet? Or is it more of a general plan that God has for every person – that all of them might choose Him and live according to His will?

There are some phrases that might suggest that God’s plan is specific. For instance, in the song “I’m in His hands”, the writes states: “The days I cannot see, have all been planned for me...” (Stanley Ditmer)

Does this suggest that God already knows the outcome of our lives? Is everything then, predestined to occur? Is every step that we take, every decision made, has it already been decided for us? Is free-will a farce? Or is this out of context? Is it specific to believers who have chosen to follow Christ? Is it more to do with Holiness than it is to do with the choice of man?

More to Ponder….

How do we understand passages like:
^“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” Romans 8:29

and;

“Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,…” Ephesians 1:4-5 ESV

Does this cancel out our supposed freewill?
Do we really have a choice in this world?
How do we reconcile our Free Will and God’s Foreknowledge?

Undoubtedly someone will take me to task (again) for using a beloved song from The Salvation Army to ponder this question. Some might read only the first few sentences and assume I just thrown down some sort of gauntlet in the face of what is “Army”.

My Take:
Does it limit God when we consider that we have freewill?
Does this then mean that God is not all powerful and all knowing?
Can we really put limits on God like that? -Absolutely not, that sounds ridiculous doesn’t it?

Does Freewill conflict then, with God’s foreknowledge?
I do not believe this to be the case.
Can we have both a God who is omniscient and His creation who, through His amazing love, is given the freedom to choose? I believe so.
God can know us completely, even the decisions we might make in the future.
But, He doesn’t force us to make the decisions that He desires for us, and knows will bless and benefit us. This is truly the defining love of a wondrous God!

A Parent’s Perspective:
Your child is about to make a crucial decision in life.
You, being older and, perhaps wiser, can see the variables in each decision. You can see the outcomes that will transpire in each. Do you help them make the decision? Do you force them to make the right one and then they resent you for it? Or, out of love do you direct them, but ultimately leave the choice in their hands, which allows them to learn in the process?

Now we can begin to scratch the surface of this God – Creation/Human existence. We can begin to see how hard it must be for God to watch us make our choices sometimes.
He hopes that we choose Him. He hopes that He will be included in our life choices.
How it must break His heart for Him to see His children to go astray, knowing the choices that got them there could have been altered.

Ponder This:
Does Freewill and God’s Foreknowledge conflict with one another?
Are there really an Elected few? Those He specifically chooses?
Do we limit God when we perceive Him to not be omniscient?
And what of His involvement in our lives – does He have a specific plan for you and me, or is it more generalized? What do you think?

Please leave your feedback, ponderings and thoughts below or on this social media thread.
I look forward to hearing your take on this topic.

Something more for the Army world to Ponder today !

September 1, 2016 2

Imprisoned By Fear?

There is all sorts of types of fear.
Fear that propels you into action.
Fear that keeps those you love safe.
Fear that weighs the outcomes of decisions yet to be made.
Irrational Fear
Phobias…

When we say the word “fear” sometimes it evokes different interpretations and understandings of this little four letter word. Some see it as a challenge, while others dread.

Fear, when used right can be helpful, but when it is not it can imprison, immobilize and prevent all forms of progress in life.

Our Faith Walk:
The Apostle Paul, after taking those first step in following Christ, post his roadside theophany, could have fear what others thought of him. He could have been held captive by fear following the first time he was thrown in prison or flogged for his outspoken faith…but he didn’t. He rejoiced while in prison. He and Silas sang songs well into the night. Although Paul was imprisoned, he certainly wasn’t imprisoned by fear.

How about us?
How is our faith walk?
Do we find ourselves shouting “Amen” during Sunday church service, meanwhile on Monday at work we whisper to a quivering fearful heart? Does fear hold us back? Are we afraid of how others might perceive us if we professed our faith out loud? What about our attitudes and intentions toward others? Isn’t it harder to remove self from situations than it is to be selfish? So it is with overcoming fear and replacing it with faith. It is not that the fear is removed completely, no, instead we learn to use that fear to our advantage. We recognize when that fear is rising in us and we must consciously decide to step out in faith…or leap. Harnessing fear places us “out on that limb”. We say, yes, I am afraid, but I will trust in God to lead me and direct me. I do not know where this path will lead me, but I will follow the Lord…I will put my trust in Him.

…“I will proclaim Your name to My brothers; I will sing Your praises in the congregation.”13And again: “I will put My trust in Him.” Hebrews 2:12-13

Make this your prayer today:
Lord, where you lead me I will follow.
I am afraid, I admit that…but I will not run from
your calling on my life.
I want to live for you in every moment of today.
Lord, take this fear of mine and use it
motivate me into action.
Let me love those around me.
I will become less and you, dear Lord become more.
I struggle with trusting you with all there is of me,
but I acknowledge this and I ask you to remind me of your presence with me
today.
Grant me your boldness, your courage, and your love
as I walk this path that I cannot see.
Lead me Lord.
-Amen.

No Longer Slaves

August 11, 2016 0

To Love Lost…

There is this deep, inky black-hole within all of us.
We can pretend,
we can play the charade..
we can place masks upon our faces…
and ignore that it is there…
That everything is “okay”, and yet, when it is late at night
and the sun has set on our false pretenses…
when the T.V. has been switched off and the vacuum of sound descends…
when electronic devices and cellular phones, with their glowing ambient light reflected in our zombified eyes have all been powered down…
it is then that we truly feel its ache within us.
the missing piece.
the black-hole within all of us.

We know that something is innately missing –
that our hearts are not as full as they should be.
That, despite our comforts and daily groanings –
we. are. still. empty. inside.
so we hide it.
we play hide and seek with it.
we bury it deep,
we attempt to just “live with it”…only to dig it back up when the silence is near
and care for it once more.

Could it be that we were meant for more than this?
Could it be that this black-hole is all that we were ever intended to be
and yet we ran from it?
that underneath it all – our prime directive was to fellowship
to walk with
to lean on
to spill our guts to
to share our secrets and dreams and hopes and yearnings with
to confide and love and cherish and soak up the divine in His eyes?
Could it be that this black-hole, this missing piece
IS all the difference
in the world?
Hate into Love
War into Peace
Night into Day
Sin into Holiness

My God,
my God,
why did I
forsake you?
This –
is to love lost…
and found again.

June 10, 2016 0

Pondering – “Does God Need Us?”

I recently read a blog article from one of my friends that was entitled “Does God Need Us?” Timothy McPherson’s blog site is – http://latitudinarismus.blogspot.com/

Does God Need Us?
That question reverberated in my heart.
It sent me wandering down unknown corridors of my life…places I’ve been afraid to go, or afraid to ask such questions. It caught me off guard, and yet it has been a question that has been rolling around in my head for sometime now.

A follow-up question that I’ve wondered too is “Have I inflated my opinion of myself?”
I often ponder this.
I am curious if you’re at all like me…if this comes to the surface of your life as well.
I wonder if we see the ourselves in a much different light than God sees us?
Do we think too highly of ourselves?
How big are our egos? – an honest/gut-checking question that seems to knock the wind out of us every time.

Micah 6:8 sets us straight – “…and to walk humbly with Thy God…”

Ego Kicked To The Curb…
I am not a biblical scholar by any means, but I know that within my heart God certainly doesn’t need us. My control over circumstances and situations give ME power. My job, my ministry, the words I am writing right now…in the grand scheme of things, carries very little weight in comparison to a mighty Creator who SPOKE the Universe into being.

So…Does God need me (You)?
Did He need me (You) when he loosed a flood upon the wicked and saved a small family in an ark with a whole lot of livestock? -No.
Did He need me (You) when He guided a ruddy youth to slay a giant Philistine? -No.
Did He need me (You) when He sent His only Son into the world? -No.
Did He need me (You) when the day of Pentecost came? -No.
Does He need us now? No.
If that doesn’t deflate our egos, I don’t know what will.

BUT, perhaps an appropriate follow-up question is –
Does God long to commune and fellowship with His Creation?
And the answer is ABSOLUTELY! -YES!!!

God doesn’t need us –
To advertise His goodness.
To convince sinners of their sinfulness and of God’s grace.
To do “Church” work for Him.
To win souls…
To play the best music we can possibly play…
To write the best prose we can about Him…

God doesn’t need us to do all of these things.
He doesn’t have to use our pitiful offerings or our “best foot forward”..(sorry)
All of these things can become arbitrary, routine, and pointless if we forget why we are “doing” these things in the first place.

God’s first request is for us is to “Be Holy as He is holy” (Lev 11:44)
Perhaps it’s not so much about God needing us as it is about us BEING like Him.
He could do without us…

God longs for our fellowship.
God wants our hearts, our lives, our moment by moment experiences, our joys AND our deepest darkest cliff-hanger moments…He wants to journey along with us. After all “Emmanuel” means “God with us”. Proverbs 18:24 says, “…but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”

Does God need us? No.
But does God long for our fellowship and our constant connection with Him? -Yes.
This is where grace starts.
This is where God comes to OUR pitiful level…all because of love.
Were it not for His grace – none of this would matter.
None of our flowery speeches, or our eloquent rituals…nothing places us in His presence…nothing we can do is ever good enough. Thus grace entered. Thus Christ took our shame. Thus life instead of death. Thus hope instead of utter despair.

No God doesn’t need us…but we need Him.
O how we need Him!

Thank you for the reminder!
Something more to ponder today!

February 25, 2016 0

A Kingdom Priority

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33

I wonder sometimes how often we make seeking God’s kingdom a priority in life. Do we make it a priority some of the time but not all of the time? Or, do we simply wait until it comes to us like on Sundays?

How important is God’s Kingdom to us after all?
I don’t mean “Heaven” in the clouds, I mean here on earth.
Jesus even said, in reference to Himself as well as God’s presence, “…the kingdom of God is in your midst.” (Luke 17:21) This means that God’s kingdom isn’t so much about a place far, far away, but rather a presence within and near us every moment of every day.

There’s a very interesting portion in the New Testament when Jesus does something rather peculiar. This is after His death and resurrection. He appears again before His disciples and breathes on them. Now, picture this for a moment with me. God’s Son who was present at the beginning of creation. Who was there when human life first began. Who may have been the very one to breathe life into creation, now does it again. It’s recorded in this sort of obscure verse we sometimes neglect – John 20:22 “And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

Think about that for a second. A former dead guy, now gloriously resurrected (but not fully in human form anymore) breathes onto His disciples. The One who was there at the very beginning giving and breathing life into Creation is now breathing new life into His disciples…and then He says “Receive the Holy Spirit“.

It seems to me that the Kingdom of Heaven isn’t some far off place, but a place that has been closer than we could ever imagine. If we are to actively seek God’s kingdom here on earth and bring His Kingdom to others still lost in the world, then we have to make His Kingdom a priority in our lives EVERYDAY!

Seek first His Kingdom – and all these things will be added to our lives.
Jesus is still breathing life into His Church.
He wants us to be His and His alone.
We are called to bring His Kingdom to those without hope.
We are called to be His very hands and feet, His ambassadors into foreign sometimes hostile places.

Is His Kingdom a priority in your life today?
What can we do to make it a #1 priority in all that we do?

Build Your Kingdom Here

Prayer:
Dear Lord, breathe new life into these lungs today.
Help us when we have neglected Your kingdom.
Guide us when we have lost our way. Restore us today, O Lord.
Fill us with Your Holy Spirit again. May we be Your people, Holy and true.
Remind us of what is most important in our busy lives. May we earnestly seek you in all seasons of life. -Amen.

Something more to ponder today – To God be the glory!

November 18, 2015 0

“Let Go and Let God”

What it means:
We have concerns and worries in life – this is a constant.
Perhaps there are days when we have trouble sleeping at night because our minds are racing with all of the things that still need to be done at work. We can often face anxiety attacks and troubles with our health if we allow these stresses and worries to consume us.

Jesus talked about worry –
“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6:25)

This is how we are to let go and let God – We have to be able to release the stress, the strain, the fear and worry. It is one thing to say “I’m going to give it to God” and a completely different thing to ACTUALLY give it to Him. We clutch these fears and worry ever so tightly and we rarely relinquish it because we are afraid to admit we don’t have the strength and we need help.

When we finally admit to ourselves that we have been holding back on giving God all of our cares and burdens (1 Peter 5:7) we can then allow His Holy Presence into these deep recesses of our pride and heart. It will hurt. It will pain us to do so, but within this deep communion with Him we will begin to alleviate our worry and fear. He is more than willing to take from us these burdens and fears.

What It Doesn’t Mean
Do not use this phrase as a crutch.
One could say “well, I’ve given it over to God so I do not have any more responsibilities to take care of” – Nothing could be further from the truth. We have this wonderful thing called “free will” which allows us to take control of our lives and make decisions. We have a responsibility within our faith walk. We either make good decisions or poor decisions. Saying “Let Go and Let God” shouldn’t be a catch-all phrase for slacking in our relationship to Him.

It also doesn’t mean that life will suddenly become easier and these worries and problems will disappear. We can relinquished our stranglehold on burdens, but they will still occur. It seems like a contradiction but in truth we face them with a Higher perspective and within the lenses of His Kingdom. “And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace”

Let Go And Let God?
In the right context – Yes.
But remember He longs to journey beside us. He longs for our fellowship each day. Allow Him access to your heart, to your life and His presence will provide the salve that you need in the midst of the storms you are facing right now.

Something more to ponder today!

To God be the glory!

November 16, 2015 2

Dear Salvation Army, 3 Healthy Habits For Soldiers

“To equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…” Ephesians 4:12-13

We as an Army are in the Kingdom building business.
~~Our employer~~…no, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has given us this great commission.
We are more than a church…
we are a movement.
We are more than just another social services agency…
we are a part of the body of Christ committed to reflect His image in the corners of the world that we are called to.

This is a tall order.
We are to be like Christ
…and yet in our own strength we cannot accomplish this calling in our lives.

In our own strength we will fail.
(Trust me, I’ve fallen flat on my face far too many times to count.)
In our own strength we will fall horribly short.
So, with that being said, what sort of attributes do we need in order to make this “reflection of Christ” visible?
What do we need to do in order to be the best soldiers for God?

Today I would like to offer just three healthy habits for Soldiers.
This is not an exhaustive list, nor are these the only healthy habits to commit to, but these will perhaps get us all on the right track if we aren’t already there.

3 Healthy Habits For Soldiers:

1) Prayer Never Ends!
Make prayer more than a scheduled time in your day.
I’m not saying don’t have scheduled time, but don’t put prayer in some sort of manageable box that you keep those conversations with the Most High in. Don’t leave the conversation. Yes, begin it in the morning, but don’t ever end it. Take the conversations with God with you into every moment of your day. Obviously to be seen talking out loud to yourself might be frowned upon by some who might think you might be losing it…but instead, in your thought patterns, keep your conversations with God going. There shouldn’t be an “on/off” switch with heart talks with God. He has promised to never leave us or forsake us and He is always there, so why not begin to include Him in your every day routines both big and small! Eventually, the inclusion of God in your thoughts and conversations will change the way that you see the world and others around you.

2) Feast Only On That Which Edifies!
You have most likely heard the term “garbage in, garbage out”. This term implies that if you put garbage (rubbish/trash) into your life, gargage (rubbish, trash) will be what you produce in the world as well. If you wish to become healthier in life, you wouldn’t feast on high fatty foods from fast food chains every day now would you? No, instead you would begin a rigorous attempt to eat right and to exercise. The same can be said of the heart and soul. These attributes of the body requires maintenance and they require the right kind of nourishment. If we claim to be a disciple of Christ but we constantly binge on garbage with only a sprinkling of His Word, then we are seriously starving our spiritual life! It should be no surprise when we find ourselves spiritually dry and lacking fortitude, we haven’t been working out and staying in shape by feasting on the right kinds of things!

Listen, if we wish to walk in faith with Christ BUT we haven’t surrendered our old ways of life, then something is terribly wrong. The old must pass away in order for this rich, new life to thrive and grow! We just cannot hold onto both.

From the Word:
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
(2 Corinthians 5:17)

“from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. 11Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water?” (James 3:11)

Make sure that you are feeding your souls with the right kinds of things! Don’t starve your spirit with junk food and things that will only stunt the potential growth that God has in store for you!

3) Step Up And Out!
When we take prayer seriously and we include God in our daily routines things will change.
When we begin to feast on the edifying fruit of God, things will change…
Stepping up and out will not always be the most comfortable thing you ever do, but it does become a true test of who God has called you to be! It not only benefits other people, but it also improves our skills and abilities in sharing our faith!

The real the tipping point in it all is this:
Do. Not. Keep. It. To. Yourself!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Step up.
Lead.
Share.
Proclaim.
Help others along!
In the words of General William Booth – “Do something!“

It is like that old Sunday School song “This Little Light of mine”:
One of the verses goes – “Hide it under a bushel, NO I’m gonna let it shine!!”
When we include God in our daily conversations and we are feasting on the things that edify this new creation within us, we can’t help but proclaim His goodness and love!

Will there be discouraging days? Of course.
Will we ALWAYS feel like proclaiming, and ALWAYS be in the mood to share? No, not always.
Will we be happy all the time? No way!

BUT…
When we invite God’s presence to travel along with us both with the important and the less important things in our lives, we begin to see how much He loves other people around us. This love will propel us forward into service.
We are saved to save!
We are saved to serve!

This is NOT an army of mediocre washouts and wishy-washy salvationists!
NO! We are here to be Christ’s hands and feet!
We are here to proclaim His name in both the good days and the bad days!
We are here to serve the lost, the poor, the widow, the orphan.

If you are reading this today, chances are you long to improve your soldiership as well!
If you are reading this today, you, like me, believe God is calling us to a deeper service and a deeper understanding of the sin-sick world we serve.
We all have room for improvement. We all have room to grow. We can all reflect more of Christ and less of ourselves…but only through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit!

Question:
Do you long to be a healthier Solider for Christ?

Perhaps these three healthy habits can help you on your way to becoming the Soldier Christ has called you to be!

-Something more for this Army to ponder today!
To God be the glory!

April 13, 2015 2

We’re all looking for a minute of God’s time.

We all want that face to face meeting.
We all want to spend just a few moments with Him…to ask Him things.
Perhaps we want to ask Him “why”…
or perhaps we wish for some sort of encouragement and reassurance.
Some people have giant decisions that they have been battling with, decisions far too big to make alone, and they are crying out to God for just a minute of His time.

Don’t you just wish that you could pull up a chair at a coffee shop,
or sit on your back porch and talk to God about things?
Don’t we all wish we could have THAT face to face?
To have that heart to heart conversation.

I think when we look at the bible and we see disciples and other characters who physically talked with Jesus, we are secretly jealous. We wish we could have that. We wish we could experience that.
We long to have that one on one moment, that eye contact thing that happens between friends.
We all want that theophany when creation meets creator, not just in a deep moment of prayer and meditation, but a real life encounter with God.

In the beginning, when God created Adam and Eve, He would visit them every evening in person. He would fellowship with them. He would talk with them. Obviously that relationship was horribly, irrevocably disrupted by a choice. That relationship was tarnished by a decision to disobey. But despite that rift in relationship, despite that sin, God has made a way for us to repair the damage done. God actually met us more than half way. The Creator could’ve just started over with His creation…but He didn’t. THAT IS HOW MUCH WE MEAN TO HIM!

This whole salvation story.
Jesus.
The Cross.
His Death.
His Resurrection.
His Ascension.
It is all preparation.
It is all about preparing us.
It is all for us.
It is…
building up…
until we finally can see Him face to face.

We may never have that glimpse of God as we sit on a park bench.
We may never wrestle with an Angel.
We may never physically put our hands in His hands and side.
We may never watch Him bring Lazarus back from the dead…

But we do have a minute of God’s time.
He does hear us.
He does speak.
He is evident in those who love and serve Him.
He can be seen in the hearts of the penitent and the righteous…although sometimes they are few and far between.

Prayer:
God, I want to be counted in that number.
Lord, I want to be the very reflection of you.
Show me those things that still need working out in my life.
Forgive me when I have fallen and have not reflected You in anyway, shape, or form.
I don’t want a minute of your time…
I want and eternity of it…but it starts here, it starts now.

Will I listen for your still small voice?
Will I hear you as you speak?
Will I put feet to my faith and live for you?

We all want a minute of God’s time.

April 8, 2015 1

What Is Lent? Is It Emphasized Enough In The Salvation Army?

I am able to write today on pastorsponderings.org because here in Minnesota (where I live) it is a balmy -25 with a windchill of up to -45. Needless to say our worship services have been canceled today. That being said, I wanted to ruminate for a moment on the topic of Lent. Lent is a forty day period leading up to Good Friday and ultimately Easter Sunday. It is an important season within the universal Christian church – throughout all denominations. It is interesting to note that Lent is a forty day period which does not include the Sundays leading up to Easter. One might wonder why the Sundays are not included in the “40 days”. The easy answer is that each Sunday is traditionally its own mini Easter in and of itself. Talk about building to a glorious finale’ within something so profound and life changing!

“Lent is a time of repentance, fasting and preparation for the coming of Easter. It is a time of self-examination and reflection. In the early church, Lent was a time to prepare new converts for baptism. Today, Christians focus on their relationship with God, often choosing to give up something or to volunteer and give of themselves for others.” (source: http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/what-is-lent-and-why-does-it-last-forty-days)

Lent is so much more than giving something up for 40 days. I once tried giving up coffee for lent…THAT did not end well!

Lent is more than performing the Lord’s Supper in services.
It should be an act of self-denial as we contemplate what Salvation means to us and that of this most important relationship with Christ. His ultimate sacrifice and victory over sin and death leads us into this deeper contemplation and acts of self-denial. Can we afford to restrict ourselves? Can we afford to deny our bodies from something important to us? Some might contend that the extreme “self denial” act was demonstrated in the form of the old controversial act of self flagellation. I certainly do not recommend this method of “religious practice”. Christ suffered and died for our sins and though some used to contend that self flagellation was a means to become more “Christ-like” self torture is just too extreme and I believe not what Christ had in mind when He said “Do this in remembrance of me”.

Under-Emphasis
There is the danger of avoiding the Lenten season all together and I would not recommend this route.
Leading worshipers into these times of self-reflection and spiritual walks which leads to the cross and the tomb is vital. If we avoid such potential sacred moments with our flock, we could be depriving them of facing the cross all together. It is more than the cross. It is more than the empty tomb. It is about what Jesus has done for the very fabric of existence in the souls of men and women everywhere.

Secondly, Lent can be an intense refocusing of our great commission here on earth. Revisiting the Divine in this way can provide us better eyes to see our neighbors, our friends, families and especially enemies. Christ died for everyone. He came for the whosoever and He longs for right relations with ALL, not just a select few.

When we under-emphasize this potentially sacred time in the yearly calender, we run the risk of under-emphasizing Salvation as a whole. We remove some of the mystery of God himself. I believe we run the risk of stripping down Holiness and depriving those who need it most. We ought not shy away from Lent, we ought to embrace it in the hopes of drawing closer to Christ-likeness.

It’s Not About Rituals, It’s About Holy Relationship!
Some might suggest that the practice of Lent is a little too “High Church” for The Salvation Army. Some might ask, “well what do you consider the entire practice of “Lent” to be? I fear that The Army steers too clear of any formal High Church practice because of the notion that most constituents would not understand or because there is no spiritual value in its practice. I beg to differ. I am not saying that we ought to pick up some waffers and some grape juice, but I am saying that If we practice and preach Self-denial, then we ought to be preaching a lenten message as well. One of the big questions is – are we ONLY preaching self-denial in conjunction with World Services? Are we only preaching self-denial in conjunction with fundraising in our corps? I hope not! With the right direction, Corps Officers and Local Officers can lead all corps members into a vital and precious season of Lent.

There is a lot to discuss here.
I will not dive too deeply today.
I only want to start the conversation again.
This is a primer of sorts, as we wade into the kiddie section of the pool. 😉

Questions:
In being “non-sacramental” in practice, are we really emphasizing the transformed life in sacramental living (My life must be Christ’s Broken Bread)?
If not how can we improve this?
How is “Self-denial” emphasized in your corps?
Is Self-denial important to you?
Is the Lenten season important for The Salvation Army?
Can we emphasize the Lenten Season while refraining from what we perceive to be “unimportant rituals”?
Has your Corps ever conducted a traditional Sader Feast?
Is there/should there be a correlation between our spiritual act of self-denial and lent?
What does prayer and fasting mean to you?
Is the practice of Lent really THAT important?

Something more for our Army world to ponder today.
To God be the glory!

February 22, 2015 1

Breaking News…”Misremembering” And The Quest For Integrity

Brian Williams has been suspended from NBC this week.
Longtime NBC anchorman was challenged by others within the media world as to the substance of his “encounters” while reporting on the Iraq war in 2003. His “misremembering” of specific details has left some scratching their heads while others calling for his immediate termination. Whether intentional or not, the fallout of “misremembering” at the journalistic level will undoubtedly have consequences.

Similarly, within the Christian world “misremembering” and/or inconsistencies of witness will also undoubtedly have consequences! Like those who report the news nationally and internationally, Christians leaders are looked up to. They provide other Christians and would-be believers vital information, sources of hope, and godly direction. Integrity and honesty should be a given, although there have been some who have fallen from grace over the years.

The witness of Christians can become greatly devalued when inconsistencies and misremembering takes place. What good is it to speak of love and grace and even Jesus when suddenly we misremember how we are to treat other people? What good are these Christian qualities when our actions and attitudes do not resemble our words? Worse yet, what good is it to go to church and sing all the right songs and pray all the right prayers only to walk out of those doors and resemble anything but a Christ follower in our unhealthy habits, speech and actions?

Do we run the risk of running empty on integrity when we misremember how we are to be as Christians? You bet we do! The unfortunate consequences of lack of integrity as people of faith is that we will lead people away from God. Why would people want to seek out Christ when His very own followers do not practice what they preach?

Two things happen when we live within the “misremembered” and dishonest walk of “faith”

1. Our Christian witness is compromised, phony and detremental to others who are ACTUALLY living as God has called the faithful to live. We are not only ruining the chances of potential new believers coming to the faith, but we are making it even harder on other believers who are living lives of integrity. It only takes a few rotten apples to ruin the whole bunch. When others look at the church they will mostly likely first see the rotten ones. We must be aware of our witness to others…it matters THAT much!

2. Our personal faith and growth will be stunted.
“…from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh.” (James 3:10-12)
Living a dishonest life within the realms of faith will inevitably shortchange our potential maturity and growth. We cannot live this way. As James puts it “this ought not be this way“. We jeopardize not only the Christian witness to others, but we tarnish our own paths and limit what God can do through us by living this way. Living a “misremembered” life that lacks integrity is cheap and unfortunately more common than not. Dare I say that Christ has called us to live the uncommon life that is full of integrity, love and obedience!

Let’s face it, Brian Williams isn’t the only one who has “misremembered” things, he was just caught.
Many are just as guilty of this same character flaw. Brian Williams just happened to be in the public eye reporting the news. Will there be more who will fall from grace? Of course…but you and I do not have to be included in this statistic if we are mindful of this trap! Integrity is a valuable, often tarnished commodity that many lack today. As people of faith, we ought to make it our goal to strive to live integrity in all that we do and all that we are!

Let’s stop the “misremembering” madness in our own lives and start practicing honesty, sincerity and truth both in word and deed.

Something more to ponder today!

February 12, 2015 1

Category: God