Dear Salvation Army, 3 Things About The High Council…

Greetings fellow Salvationists and friends!
I wanted to delve into the topic of the High Council in this post, and perhaps share in your thoughts, opinions and hopes for what is to come. It has been announced that in May of this year (2018), the High Council will convene to prayerfully elect new General of The Salvation Army. I have seen some interesting polls being passed around on social media as to who the new General might be, and perhaps who some hope it will be. What we know is that Territorial leaders from around the world have been summoned and will travel to London, they will meet at the Renaissance Hotel near Heathrow Airport. This is the second time that this location has been used for the convening of the High Council.
3 Observations About The Salvation Army High Council & Election of our new General…

1. Fastest Growing Regions…
It would be quite remarkable if the new General were to come from a place in the world where the Army is growing in leaps and bounds. Countries in Africa and South America, and Asia spring to mind. Isn’t it interesting that the Army is growing remarkably well in many places where financial resources are thin or nonexistent? There is something to be learned in this, and perhaps we shall explore that topic another day. But, the High Council were to elect our new General from one of these regions, it would certainly be remarkable and offer a true representation of a growing army.

2. The Majority – A Safe Election…
A vast majority of our Generals have been Westerners. I am not saying this as an incendiary comment, it is simply fact. The top percentage of our international leaders are those who hale from the Americas, Australia and the United Kingdom, save for a few. This is not to say that there are not leaders who come from other regions in the world, but by and large most are Westerners. This is where a majority of the Army’s funds come from, where world services support is raised. I do not presume to know much of the politics in our army, but I do know that prosperous territories generally have a larger, albeit unspoken, sway to how the army operates. The power of the resource can often dictate the direction in which those resources are utilized in the world for the purpose of the army. Thus, if this was to be a “safe” election at High Council, the election choice could follow suit of so many other past Generals in terms of nationality and region of origin.

3. The Holy Spirit…
I have been told by multiple sources that these places of election have also been very holy places of worship first and foremost. It is not that these spaces were already sacred, but rather the leaders who come to High Council do so in prayerful reverence and at the moving of the Holy Spirit. If we are truly a holiness movement, then it would make sense that our seats of highest authority be seats of holiness and humility. Is it always so? Of course not, but may we as an army place this event into our prayers and ask the Holy Spirit to lead those who will come to High Council. Secondly, may we fervently pray for our next General! When we allow the Holy Spirit to move within our army, all other agendas and ambitions will fade and His direction will provide us the appropriate leader for such a time as this.

It’s Your Turn…
What are your thoughts on High Council?
What do you expect to see coming from the election of our new General?
Does this have any impact on your life, or the life of your home corps?
Is there a need for a more aggressive mission and vision in our army today? If so, what should this more aggressive mission and vision be? Tell us what YOU think in your comments below either via this blog page or on this social media thread.

Additional News Links on this topic:
IHQ Announcement

https://www.salvationarmy.org/ihq/highcouncil

Wikipedia on High Council
https://salvationist.ca/articles/plans-under-way-for-2018-high-council/

Something more for our Army to ponder today.
-God Bless you!

February 9, 2018 3

Ponderings on Je Suis Charlie Masacre…

Words that come into my mind amidst this recent tragedy –
Sad.
Freedom.
Terrorism.
Murder.
Criminal.

I keep thinking of Charlie Hebdo’s final words: “I would rather die on my feet than live on my knees!”
Talk about bold.
Talk about defiance in the face of certain death.
Talk about bravery in the midst of a cowardly attack on unarmed innocent people.

Much discussion has taken place this week as to who is to blame.
Was it the artist’s works of satire?
Was it the media’s fault?
Was it extremists?

Much like the US, there is the freedom of the press in France.
The United States is even partially modeled after the French model of government.
Some have asked if there are consequences to be paid for freedom of expression?
Should there be consequences?
While others have said, that the works of extremists and terrorists will not repress such expressions and the liberty to do so freely.

I keep coming back to Charlie Hebdo’s final words;
“I would rather die on my feet than live on my knees!”

My point:
I abhor violence of any kind.
Violence upon unarmed innocent people equally abhorrent.
Violence for the sake of any religion – intolerable and wrong.
Repression of anyone’s freedom of expression – wrong as well.

On the subject of faith:
My mind is drawn to many places in the world where Christians are executed based solely upon their freedom (or lack there of) to express their faith.
Places where public murder is allowed.
Places where any expression besides the prescribed expressions by the majority are forbidden and punishable by death.
If religion = violence.
If religion = repression.
If religion = death
If religion = the strong prevailing over the weak…
then I don’t want anything to do with religion.
I don’t want to live in a world like that.
I don’t want others to die in a world like that.

I would rather die standing, than live on my knees.
And yet, I hear the words of Jesus in the back of my mind –
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”(Luke 9:23)
In other words – in my defiance to these things, I will live on my knees in utter humility.
I will pray for both victim and foe.
I will long for the day when violence ceases in all corners of the world.
I will kneel in this life and not attempt to become greater than others by stepping on them and silencing them.
How far will this take me?
To the foot of the cross.

January 9, 2015 0

Dear Salvation Army: “Politics, Placation and the Papacy…”

…First the Papacy:
Pope Francis has done it again.
One could categorize him as a pope who is polarizing.
Still others might categorize him as a pope who has made difficult choices but also the right choices.
However you view this leader of the Catholic church, he is certainly NOT your average run of the mill Pope.
His latest leadership decision has been to appoint Cardinals and out of the 15 nominees, 9 hail from emerging countries of the developing world. News link: Pope Francis Names New Cardinals
I find it interesting that this leader has appointed new Cardinals from emerging countries. Think of it?! These countries do not have as much political or financial power as places like Italy, France, the United States and the United Kingdom but Pope Francis has appointed a majority of the new Cardinals from these places anyway?
Why?
This comes after his strong chastisement of current leadership and even stated they had “spiritual Alzheimer’s”.
Perhaps this leader has made these difficult decisions because they were the right decisions to make.
Perhaps, instead of placating incumbent, staunch “comfy” leaders, it was time to appoint new ones.
Perhaps, this leader (Pope Francis) recognizes where a majority of his church’s growth is taking place.

Is There a TSA Translation?
I’d like to say that we have it made in our Army.
That everything is hunky dory and peachy…but we have growth issues too!
When an organization stops growing and/or plateaus it can be a warning sign.

Questions:
Are we recognizing the fastest growing armies (Salvation Army corps, divisions, territories that is) in the developing world?
Do we, at times, play the political game because of where a majority of our World Services funds come from?
Do we, at times, placate and position ourselves in order to appoint leaders?
Some of these questions are well beyond me.
What do I know?
I am a lowly Captain.
But I am a soldier of this army.
I believe our voices are important…don’t you?
But it seems to me that there is something for us here.
Please don’t misunderstand my point.
I do not wish to emulate any other denomination other than our own.
We were created for a purpose, a holy purpose I believe.
We are not the Catholic church…nor should we ever strive to be.
We DO have much to learn though.
In retrospect we are this very, very, young Mission/Army of the Universal Christian Church (big ‘C’).
We have some growing to do.
God is not finished with us yet.
Perhaps, within this “growing”, there will be pains, groans, the occasional adjustment.

Are we all that we can be as an Army? (Sorry if I stole a line there from an old United States Army slogan)
Are we wise enough yet in our 150 year existence to recognize the need to shuck off politics, placating practices and to see the bigger Army – world wide?

I believe politics and policies at times ties our hands.
It hog ties us.
It holds us captive.
Dare I say, it places limits on the moving of the Holy Spirit in our Army…especially when there are far too many “hoops” to jump through these days to get anything done. Could it be that we have become like pharisees in rule keeping that we have far too many laws and rules to abide by that we truly cannot keep them all?

I’m certainly not advocating anarchy by any means, but I am wondering where this Army is going if we are too bogged down with maintaining instead of expanding this mission of the Lord?

Who knows, perhaps there IS something that we can learn from this rebel-rouser Pope…perhaps the days of Joe the Turk aren’t dead after all in this army…here’s to hoping anyway!
Something more for our Army to ponder today.
To God be the Glory.

January 5, 2015 1

Devotional Pondering: Death, Lions, Stinky Dark Pits & Prayer.

“Don’t mess with nature.” This phrase is so true. Many people have gone out into nature, whether on the plains of the Serengeti or in the vast expanse of the ocean or else where, without respect for the elements and the wildness of nature and have paid for it. Nature is wild. Nature is fierce. Nature is hungry.

…so are lions.

We all know the story of “Daniel and the Lion’s den’. We’ve heard it in Sunday School or at a Vacation Bible School some where (maybe long ago) in our childhood. I want to re-examine that story today. I’ve been pondering something in my heart, and I feel the Lord has led me to this passage once more.

The narrative is found in Daniel chapter 6. Perhaps you would like to take some time and read it again for yourself.

Here’s the context: Daniel (a prophet and servant of God) is an official in the Persian empire under King Darius. In those days Kings of Persia were considered gods. No one would dare defy an edict of the king, for to do so would mean that they defied the very gods the Persians worshiped.

But…Daniel served God, the only God, the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth. Despite the tricks of others who had been appointed to serve under the king to trap Daniel, Daniel never wavered or faltered. Daniel chapter six describes what kind of man Daniel was –

“¹⁰Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. ¹¹Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. ¹²So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: “Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human being except to you, Your Majesty, would be thrown into the lions’ den?”

Did you catch that?
Despite outward pressure to conform, Daniel did what he always did – He prayed. He went upstairs, faced Jerusalem and prayed to God.

How Serious Is Prayer to Us?

Daniel, despite a death sentence, continued to talk to his heavenly Father. Our conversations with God ought to be like breathing to us. It is vital. It is imperative. It connects us to the only certain, consistent, true power in the universe. God loves it when we talk to Him. In fact in the very beginning of time scripture records that He would physically come down and walk with Adam and Eve in the evenings…He wants to fellowship with us. Prayer connects us to His fellowship and His love. Prayer is serious business. It ought not be taken lightly. God doesn’t need a lot of “religious jargon” or flowery words to accompany our prayers. They can be simple. They should be honest. They should be sincere. Our prayers to Him are not prayers to a Genie in a bottle, or a litany of wish lists that we want from God. He wants us to share with Him our lives, our concerns – both the large and small concerns…even the lions prowling around us ready to consume us.

What are your Lions?

Daniel was thrown into a dark, smelly pit that contained wild, blood thirsty lions. He was all alone in that frightening situation. All around him, in the inky darkness, prowled a fierce predator of nature. Scripture doesn’t record Daniel screaming for his life. The bible doesn’t record Daniel confessing his regret for defying King Darius’ edict – no! Daniel was thrown into a pit of lions (a death sentence) and despite all odds, he continued to pray to God.

What kind of lions are you facing today in your life? What kind of pressures are you under? Many within our world want Christians to buckle under these pressures, the father of lies Satan himself would love nothing more than for people of God to disobey and turn away from God. The easy path in the midst of our lions is to conform to the world around us. The easy path is to look, dress and act like everyone else around us…to fit in, to party it up, to do whatever pleases us. But if we do, we will be consumed by the lions and we will be lost.

That night, in the blood thirsty lion pit, a miracle happened. God closed the mouths of the lions because a faithful servant of His needed saving.

“My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.” The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.” -Daniel 6:22-23

Whatever lions you may be facing right now in your life, God says to us – “have faith in Me and have no fear!”
1 Corinthians 16:13 says, “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.”
Are you facing wild, fierce pressures around you today? Be bold, be strong and stand firm! God will always be with you!

Prayer: Dear Lord, help me today to face my lions. Forgive me when I have wavered and have given into the pressures of the world. Strength and equip me for today and help me to be Your faithful servant despite the prowling lions and looming pressures. I long to be Yours and Yours alone! -Amen.

Something else to ponder today!

June 17, 2014 0

“Dear Abby-Normal”

Many of you will recognize the reference from Young Frankenstein and if you have never seen this quote here’s the humorous interaction from the movie – “Whose brain did you put in?”

In the clip Igor mistakenly puts an abnormal brain into the body that doctor Frankenstein is trying to reanimate. As soon as the “monster” is alive the doctor quickly realizes something is definitely wrong. Igor thought the label read “Abby-normal”.

Are you Abby-normal?

I don’t wish to make light of an advice column but since we’re on the topic of advice, let me offer some advice to my fellow Christ-followers out there. I don’t claim to have all of the answers, nor would I ever make such a claim. I do know the One who does have the answers and without Him we are surely lost! Since we are no longer slaves to sin and Christ has redeemed us we are now different aren’t we? Essentially we have been transformed or changed and we no longer bear the image of the world.

How to be Abby-Normal:

I don’t wish to imply to anyone that we are to be strange or weird, or that we have to be completely divorced from the world around us. What I am implying though is that the world does become different to us when we peer through the lens of Christ, who has set us free and saved us from or sins. Thus, to the outside world, we are now considered strangers of “abby-normal”. We aren’t the same anymore in essence – “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

But how do we remain “abby-normal” and still maintain relevance and witness in a world that needs the hope of Christ?

Here are a couple thoughts on remaining “abby-normal“:

1. Pray continually & Feast on the word of God!

1 Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to “pray continually“. These words were written to the early believers who, though new in their faith, were facing persecution and pressure. Prayer is more than just kneeling beside your bed at night or as you wake up in the morning. Prayer can be a support system, a communication with God on a moment by moment basis. We don’t need a special place to pray, we can pray in our cars on our way to work. We can also pray in silence as we walk or in between meetings…or whatever else fills our day. We do not have to say specific words to make prayer more powerful, God desires our hearts and sincerity. Prayer is our connection to a limitless God and personal Savior.

Along side our prayers is the need for us “abby-normals” to feast of God’s Word! “Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” (2Tim 3:16,17) The Word of God has a way of correcting us and providing to us direction in this life. Though it is true that not everything we face in this life is written about in the days of Jesus…They never had to deal with rush hour traffic or some of our social issues today, but God can speak to us through His Word. His Word is vital to our growth and will equip us to challenge the world around us. We are strangers in this world because of our love of this unseen God, but faith has a way of providing for us perseverance especially in times of pressure and trouble.

2) The Gift of the Holy Spirit

We are not alone in this world. We have One who goes before us and walks beside us! At the moment of our salvation the Holy Spirit takes up residence within us. He can guide us and provide us strength for the journeys we all face. Romans 8:26 says, “…the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” Paul wrote these words in the midst of his own struggles and that of the recipient of this letter, but these words should bring comfort to all of us today as well! We are recipients of the Holy Spirit too and with His help we are never alone in our witness of the resurrected Christ!

To Whom do you belong?

“If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” John 15:19

We are no longer citizens of the world…”But our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20). As citizens of Christ we are His, and though the world see us as “abby-normal” we know that truth of this life and how we ought to live it. But secondly we also know where hope for the world comes from – Christ Jesus. Therefore as “Abby-normals” we ought to be sharing and declaring this hope with love and joy to those around us. How we do this begins with how we live and conduct our lives. Because the world doesn’t want Christians to preach at them…they long for genuineness and authenticity. If we are walking with God and His Holy Spirit is truly guiding us (which He promises to do) then we have to put feet with our faith and our words. Living the resurrected life out-loud is so much more effective than mere words or sermons…our lives should be living sermons which will bring others to Christ!

“Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” 1 Peter 2:11,12

Don’t be ashamed to live an “Abby-normal” kind of life! Remember your identity as a child of the Most High! You have been bought with a great price and our mission is to shine and love even if it means we aren’t always accepted. Shine anyway and live this “Abby-normal” life out-loud!

-Just a thought!

April 8, 2014 0

Finding Hope

Sometimes it’s a hopeless world around us and all anyone can seem to do is just survive.

I don’t want to merely survive,

I want to bloom and grow and thrive in the place(s) that God has placed me.

Sometimes though I think that we all can just sort of settle for the “just good enoughs”.

I’m not talking about materialism or stuff but about our life circumstances and our hopes and dreams….

you see

when we were just kids

We dreamed. We welcomed imagination. We hoped to become, and in that becoming the sky was the limit.

We weren’t weighed down by endless doubts, or the “not good enoughs” or the “I can’ts”…

we just imagined and dreamed big dreams…

but…

over time…

we started to believe what others thought about us.

over time…

we bought into the lies that this world told us.

over time…

we accepting the truths of the fallen, instead of the truths of the risen.

So, for just a second, will you accepted this breath?

Will you accept this gift of hope again?

Will you take these written words to heart…

and believe again?

Here is the hope that I have for ~~you~~ for me, for us

today…

This is what I know HOPE to be:

H.elping us

O.pen our eyes to the

P.ower of

E.ternity

This isn’t something readily accepted. This isn’t something generally practiced…even though flowery speeches and whole sections of bookstores are devoted to “self-help”…they can fall short.

Hope lifts our eyes.

Helps us see beyond what this earth

has taught us to know.

When we can begin to look up, accept divine help…

our eyes can become truly open to the possibilities again.

The ~~power~~

God’s power, brings us closer,

so much closer

to the way things were created to be

in the first place.

Don’t be limited by your hopes and dreams…find hope…

and….

let it….

set…

you…

January 20, 2014 0

The World A Flame (Poem)

I watched the world die today

from my three seasons porch

my comfortable perch, a safe haven

of hope drawn in by

its soft, inviting light of the day.

It spilled onto my lap, warming my feet

as I sat cross legged on the couch.

The earth was in flames today

and I watched it all burn and smolder

and finally it came crashing

down

to the ground.

I watched with horrified

interest

on the edge of my seat

fascinated and transifixed

as hatred ruled the heart

I drank another

cup of steaming coffee

rich and black

smooth as silk

down to the last bitter

earthen drop.

Bitterness tainted

more than this empty cup

as I watched

it ignited the hapless soul

as it careened out of control

diving headfirst into the souls

of others who were also hell bent

on the pathways of selfishness.

As eyes took in the flames

the heat, the spite, the maliced tongue

I wept…for this was

a vision of me

hell bent on my own

accomplishments…

hell bent on my own agendas

on my own devices and self-ladden heart

the man aflame was me…and I could do nothing

but watch it all go crumbling down

how powerless these hands and feet.

How empty all these yearnings and strivings.

How bitter the self-indulgent worries

and the blankets of careless apathy.

I saw the world burn today

as I sat and watched it all crumble to the ground.

September 23, 2013 0

Salt: Flavor & Preserver

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.” Matthew 5:13

Did you know that salt is not only a flavoring element within food, but is also a preserver of food? Salt has been one of those ancient ways in which people have used to prevent food from rotting. So when Jesus told those gathered there that they were salt of the earth, he chose a topic with which the people would understand. Still today food is of epic importance to our survival as people. We can last for a long time without it, but food nourishes us, sustains us and provides us with the appropriate vitamins and nutrients. Without those vital components in life, we will eventually perish.

Jesus brought his message home to those who would listen that this world is perishing. All things have an expiration date…yet what will preserve us? What will make us last a little longer? What will inject much needed flavor into our world? The answer is simply those who will follow after God’s own heart!

This world will eventually pass away, and sometimes we may think it may be in our life time when we see unspeakable horrors and violence, humans turning on other humans, death and destruction…our world is a violent place. Yet, the preserving element of life is God who is the author and sustainer of all things. When we align our hearts, body and soul to Him, we find that the outpouring of this faith is love, peace, hope and joy…something this world desperately needs more of!

When we display love without strings attached, a joy without ulterior motives other than for others to find this same joy as well, we will inject our worlds with just a little bit of God’s epic flavor.

So how about it? Are you prepared to be God’s preservationist? Are you prepared to offer a dying world hope in the eternal one? Being salt to a flavorless and empty world is what we ought to strive for!

Another interesting notion in this passage of scripture for us to grasp is that typically all of the salt that was utilized in Israel at the time of Jesus was brought up from the Dead sea, which as you may know is extremely salty. But there is also something else about the salt content of the Dead sea that you may not know. The salt deposits within this body of water is full of impurities and often, after time, will lose its flavor.

Jesus instructed, perhaps even pleaded with this audience that we should never lose our flavor. If we are to provide a flavorless world with the undaunted grace and richness of God then we must be mindful to always draw from His source of power and might. Because if we stop drawing from Him and instead begin to rely on our own merits and flavor, we will lose the very essence of His character and love to a world so desperate to find hope.

Be flavor and a preserver to this world through the power of the One who sent us out into it! Never let this hope diminish or lose its flavor!

May 28, 2013 2

Evolutionary Environmentalist…

(Art Created by Vik Muniz…he created these photos and art at the land fill outside Rio)

I saw a convicting documentary last night it was called “Waste Land” and it was about the world’s largest landfill located just outside of Rio De Janeiro Brazil. Two things occurred when I saw this film, humanity and the slum conditions of this lower class people in Brazil struck me as horrific and surreal…it was a visceral experience.

The second thing that struck me was the global waste problem we are causing. From these waste mountains, for that is what they truly are, toxic gases occur, toxic run off takes place, health of both man and beast takes place and we are continually polluting our world through these unsafe practices.

The amazing journey of world renown Brazilian artist and photographer Vik Muniz inspired me in my attempts to leave a cleaner world than I found it. I’m not by any means a ‘tree-hugger’ type of environmentalist but God did place man in charge of this world to take care of it…and we are not doing a very good job.

Unfortunately corporate greed and cutting costs world-wide is an epidemic that lines the pockets of the very rich and creates continued poor health conditions for not only for those working in land fills such as that in Brazil but for factory workers like those who lost their lives in Bangladesh recently because labor laws are virtually non-existent in most third world countries.

Here are three things we all can do to support a cleaner world for all of us:

1) Purchase items sold via fair-trade and the fair-trade labels:

http://www.fairtradeusa.org/?gclid=CP6rr5vBpbcCFc9FMgodbgQAnQ

https://www.salvationist.org/poverty.nsf/vw_features/43BA11AAAE7E76CE80256B04004FA663

This gives local farmers and regional workers who get undercut by large companies and corporate markets a fair shot at selling their good products…thereby being able to feed their families and support their local areas of commerce.

2) Spend a little more on ‘clean’ earth friendly products. You might spend a few cents more, but in the long run generations will thank you and you will contribute less waste and/or toxic chemicals in our global environment. Most of these products are also safer for kids and are also less harmful in the long term in regards to all of our health.

Read though, study what is actually earth/environmentally friendly…some companies are producing ‘like’ products to entice consumers to purchase their goods when in fact they are still harmful and/or toxic, they just dressed it up to look the part. Study and buy correctly!

3) Recycle! Reuse and reduce…it may be a pain in the butt…it may take you a little longer to dispose of your waste…but consider the long term effects. Consider how much of a difference you are making on the world around you! If you recycle and you are conscience of things that you use every day you can contribute and help fulfill our roles as good stewards of this world that God has entrusted us with.

-Just a thought…From a non-green tree-hugger, but one who is quite conscious of how beautiful our world is and how God intended it to be. I guess that’s the evolutionary process of this compassionate conservative environmentalist…btw…thanks go out to my loving wife who has continually reminded me of this important role that we ought to play here on earth.

May 20, 2013 0

Good News, Bad News…

Good news is sometimes hard to find. We turn on the news and discover more violence, more issues, more bad news. In journalism there’s a saying, “bad news sells”…are we that consumed by bad news? Do we thrive on bad news like the Romans and their Colosseum games of torture and violence? Has society become blood thirsty voyeurs? It is certainly a perception of our society that isn’t too far from the truth.

In a song by mainstream Christian band “Switchfoot” called “Blinding Light” they explore the lies in our culture today, and one of the lines says, “We are culture that eats our youth”. When you consider the ramifications and consequences of our media saturated world there is a dark side to our thirst for news stories and drama.

Do we neglect the Good News? Does our world need this good news? The answer to both of these questions is a resounding ‘Yes’! Acts 8:34-35 tells us of a moment in the ministry of Philip who encountered a person who needed to hear about this good news: “The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.”

This good news needs to be heard in our world! There will be many who will ignore it, many who will dismiss it, but our call by Christ in the great commission to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19)

So go and tell this awesome good news to those you meet today! The world doesn’t need more bad news, they need good news…they need The Good News!

-Just a thought for your day!

April 11, 2013 0

Tag: World

Dear Salvation Army, 3 Things About The High Council…

Ponderings on Je Suis Charlie Masacre…

Dear Salvation Army: “Politics, Placation and the Papacy…”

Devotional Pondering: Death, Lions, Stinky Dark Pits & Prayer.

“Dear Abby-Normal”

Finding Hope

The World A Flame (Poem)

Salt: Flavor & Preserver

Evolutionary Environmentalist…

Good News, Bad News…

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