The greatest challenge of our time?

The Salvation Army’s international mission statement declares that our mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and ‘to meet human needs in his name without discrimination’ (1). In the general's ‘Call to Inclusion’, we are again reminded of this important part of our mission statement (2). Inclusion was definitely central to Jesus' understanding of his own mission:

All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.
John 6:37

Jesus states that he will never drive away anyone who comes to him. Still, some will go away from him saddened. That happened to the rich man who came to Jesus and asked what he needed to do to have eternal life. He confirmed that he had kept the commandments, but something was missing. Jesus then confronted him with this challenge: “If you want to be complete, go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor. Then you will have treasure in heaven. And come follow me.” (3). Because the man had many possessions, this challenge became too much for him, and he left.

Jesus welcomes everyone. It was not Jesus who drove the rich man away. It made his own choice. Some would probably say that the man was a victim of discrimination because he was rich, and therefore could not follow Jesus in the same way as his disciples did. However, I am convinced that he knew he was loved and accepted. The challenge for him was that to make a choice also involved opting out of something else.

That hasn't changed over the past 2000 years. When I make a choice, it is likely to influence the possibility of making other choices. When everyone desires everything, and want to keep the freedom of choice under all circumstances, it becomes very hard. May be this is the greatest challenge of our time?

‘Manna’ for today:

Jesus will never drive anyone away

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(1) The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. Our message is based on the Bible. Our ministry is motivated by the love of God. Our mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in his name without discrimination.
(2) General Peddle’s call: A Call to Inclusion: We must be beyond reproach in treating all people with respect and compassion, remembering our mission to meet human needs in Christ’s name without any discrimination
(3) Matthew 19:21

Is ‘the name of Jesus’ a kind of mantra?

"Mantra" is a sound associated with Hinduism and Buddhism. The sound is used to realize a thought or purpose. The word has several meanings, like e.g. a prayer, hymn or spell. It is the repetition of the sound or word that is supposed to trigger the effect. 

Interestingly, Jesus repeatedly spoke about prayer in his name. 

Here is one example:

You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
John 14:14

It is very clear that the first Christians had accepted this teaching and practiced it. They believed that Jesus was among them when they gathered in His name (1). They proclaimed that miracles happened through faith in the name of Jesus (2). They baptized in the name of Jesus (3), and they proclaimed that there is salvation in no other name (4).

Nevertheless, there is nothing to suggest that they used the name as a form of mantra. The name had power only when it was used through faith in Jesus Christ.  If used outside of such a context, the name may function against its purpose. An example of this can be found in the story about the seven sons of Sceva who tried to exorsize evil spirits in the name of Jesus without knowing him as Jesus Christ (5).

I often exclaim ‘Jesus’, but not as a sacred sound or a magic formula that will get me in contact with a deity that is outside of me or in me. I use the name because I believe it symbolizes everything that God is able to do for and through me. It is by that name, the Father is glorified, for it confirms that I believe in Him and all that he has done for me. Further it confirms that faith is linked to His name and not to mine.

So, when General Peddle reminds us that “our mission is to meet human needs in Christ’s name” (6) – it is more than a ‘sacred sound’ – it places our ministry right at the heart of God’s mission. For the purpose of this mission, nothing should be done, or can be done, outside of his name.

‘Manna’ for today:

In the name of Jesus Christ only!

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(1) Matthew 18:20
(2) Acts 3:16
(3) Acts 2:38
(4) Acts 4:12
(5) Acts 19:13-16
(6) General Peddle’s call: A Call to Inclusion: We must be beyond reproach in treating all people with respect and compassion, remembering our mission to meet human needs in Christ’s name without any discrimination

I am included

At the end of June, I will go to Norway and be part of the congress. This will be a ‘different’ congress, and I look forward to it. In particular, I look forward to the 'long table' that will be placed in the main street. Places as the table are open to everyone. Whosoever will may sit down, share the food and the fellowship. There is something divine about the sharing around the table. The Norwegian poet, Trygve Skaug, has captured this in a beautiful way in his short reflection which was posted on Maundy Thursday (1):

Then he took my heart
just after the supper
gave thanks
blessed the heart and said
this is my heart
that will beat and burn
for all those who did not believe
that there’s space for them
here at the table
come for everything is finished
come it's here you belong

This simple verse illustrates the content of General Peddle’s “Call to Inclusion” (2) in a great way. To include people is a heart matter. We can write it in our mission-statements, we can preach it from our pulpits, we can set a table in the main street, but people who feel that they are on the ‘outside’, will know if it comes from the heart. Like compassion, inclusion comes with a price – Jesus defined the price in his ‘new’ commandment:

As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
John 13:34b

‘Manna’ for today

As Jesus has included me, I should include others

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(1) Luke 22:7-20
(2) A Call to Inclusion: We must be beyond reproach in treating all people with respect and compassion, remembering our mission to meet human needs in Christ’s name without any discrimination.

* Illustration - 'Place at the table' in the street 

What is relevant worship?

If we look at churches that are experiencing growth – one of the qualities is that people attend because they find the worship relevant (2). If I made an open survey and asked people what relevant worship is, I am sure that I would get a wide range of answers. I suppose that age, cultural background, expectations, relationships, balance between being a receiver and a contributor will be some of the factors that would influence the response.

I believe it is important to plan worship with all these factors in mind. However, we should never forget the words of Jesus:

“God is spirit, and the people who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
John 4:24

I live in a culture that is different from where I grew up. In many ways I am not culturally relevant at all. I cannot pretend to be Moldovan, Georgian or from any other culture that differs from my own. But I can be authentic and true in my worship. I can make efforts to build relationship with people I meet and I can pray that the love of Jesus will flow through me. What I can do, is to encourage people of other cultures to be authentic and true in their worship and find expressions that relates to people of their own age-group and culture.

Some years ago I had contact with people from a church with mainly young people clothed in black leather, multiple piercings and chains. I couldn’t relate to their style, but I was at home in their passion.

For several years I was involved in a huge Christian Sport Network in Norway. What they had in common was that they were young, active in sports and had a Christian faith. For more than a decade they called the same retired ‘old’ pastor (1) as one of the main speakers to a summer-camp that gather many hundred young people. The reason: The pastor was authentic, true and full of passion in his communication. He was a bringer of life.

‘Manna’ for today:

Authenticity, love and life are relevant in all cultures.

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(1) Edin Løvås (1920-2014) always relevant because of authenticity, love and life!

(2) General Brian Peddle's 'Call to Mission' NOW includes: 

A CALL TO WORSHIP: We should celebrate God’s redeeming love through our worship, seeking culturally-relevant ways to join together in praise and thanks, as we reach out to and welcome people.

Did care influence God’s ‘Now’?

When I was a cadet in the “Overcomers Session” 1974-76 in London, the campaign “For God’s sake CARE” had still a strong focus in the profiling of The Salvation Army. 

In 2019, almost 45 years later The Salvation Army in Romania is celebrating 20 years of ministry. They have chosen “Love and Care” to describe what our mission is all about.

I believe love and care will influence God’s ‘Now’, and again I turn to the gospel of John for Biblical support.

Five people who loved Jesus dearly did not abandon him in his darkest hour. Among the five were Mary and John. The little group cared all the way to the foot of the cross. When Jesus saw them standing there, I am sure he cared for all five of them as he cares for all mankind. However, in the last struggle of his life he exemplified what care is all about when he turned to his mother and to John and asked them to care for one another as mother and son.

I am convinced that receiving care and giving care influenced God’s most important ‘Now’ in all eternity = Jesus’ exclamation:

“It is finished.”
John 19:30

In Norwegian we have one word for ‘finished’ that translates “it is brought to full completion” or “it is fulfilled”. Mutual love and care brought the mission to its fulfilment. Life cannot exist without love and care. I can’t care if I am not able to accept care, and I can’t love if I am not able to accept love. When love and care is released, we see God’s ‘Now’ come true and make the fulfilment of the total mission come closer.

‘Manna’ for today:

For God’s Sake, CARE!

Did some Greeks influence God’s ‘NOW’?

If you have read my blogs over the past weeks, you know that I believe the answer is ‘YES’. Before I explain why, I believe that everything John chose to include in his gospel, is there for a purpose:

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
John 20:30-31

Nothing is included by chance. Even something that may seem like insignificant information, can in the stringent edited narrative of John be of vital importance for the understanding of who Jesus is and what his salvation means.

For John it was important to include that Philip and Andrew told Jesus that some Greeks had said: “We would like to see Jesus.” It seems as this was the clue Jesus was waiting for. His reply was:

“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified!”
John 12:23

The story does not tell anything about a personal meeting between Jesus and the Greeks, however, I assume that they were in the crowd of witnesses to Jesus’ exclamation and the events that followed.

So why did the statement “We would like to see Jesus” influence God’s ‘Now’? 

John’s purpose was to communicate that the gospel is for the ‘whosoever’, not limited to God’s chosen people. Greeks were synonymous with Gentiles (1). 

When representatives from these folk-groups expressed a longing to see ‘Jesus’ – I believe Jesus received the clue “mission accomplished” = “God’s NOW” has come. This was confirmed by two Jews (= Philip and Andrew) telling Jesus about the desire of some Greeks. 

There is nothing that is a stronger hindrance to experiencing God’s ‘Now’ than racism. Today this ‘plague’ is influencing even communities carrying the name ‘Christians’. The combination Christian and racism is impossible, because ‘in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek’ (2) – we are all human beings.

‘Manna’ for today:

Unity in Christ influences God’s ‘NOW’!

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(1) Paul shared this belief: “the gospel of Christ … is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” Romans 1:16
(2) Galatians 3:28a
NB - this reflection is linked to General Brian Peddle's "Call to Mission - NOW"

Did curiosity influence God’s ‘NOW’?

In the series of reflections on God’s ‘NOW’, I have come to the second time Jesus said: “my time has not yet come”. It was said in response to his brothers who had urged him to go to Judea for the Festival of Tabernacles (1). Jesus also told his brothers that they could go. They left for the festival whilst Jesus remained in Galilee, and the story continues:

“However, after his brothers had left for the festival, he went also, not publicly, but in secret.”
John 7:10

What on earth made Jesus change his mind? What influenced God’s ‘NOW’ this time?

I think the answer is found in the next verse:
Now at the festival the Jewish leaders were watching for Jesus and asking,

“Where is he?”

It is likely that the Jewish leaders were looking for him with wrong motives, but other people at the festival were ‘seeking’ him because “He is a good man” (v 12).

When Jeremiah shared God’s word to the people in captivity about future and hope, he also included this promise:

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you”
Jeremiah 29:13-14a

When people are whole-hearted and sincere in their search for God, I believe that they influence God’s NOW. I believe that He is there already, ‘but in secret’!

‘Manna’ for today

God is already where you are – but in secret

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(1) John 7:1-13
NB - this reflection is linked to General Brian Peddle's "Call to Mission - NOW"

Did the Samaritan woman influence God’s ‘NOW’?

Last week(1) I asked the same question related to Mary, the mother of Jesus. Today I visit Jacob’s well near Sychar in Samaria and follow the conversation between Jesus and a Samaritan woman. For Bible-readers, this story from John 4 is well known, and like the rest of John’s gospel, there are so many layers of truths, both obvious and hidden, that it deserves to be re-visited again and again.

In one moment, it seems as though John is ridiculing the woman’s ignorance with regard to what Jesus was trying to tell her. In the next moment, John is suggesting that the woman actually grasped spiritual truths which for scholars, like Nicodemus, seemed inaccessible mysteries. This is why I love his gospel and regard it as a master-piece.

When Jesus speaks about the water he can give, the woman replied: “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” For many years I thought and taught that she didn't understand what Jesus spoke about. But what if she actually did understand?

It is clear the Jacob’s well had a religious significance. May be it was part of her religious thirst that made her come all the way to this special well? In the context of the whole conversation, I believe that was what she meant.

When the woman later asked where the right place of worship is, I believe that Jesus knew that she was about to grasp what worship was all about, and he answered:

“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks”
John 4:23

So, yes, I believe that the woman influenced God’s NOW. Jesus said “Yet a time is coming” – which points to the future; however, because it was revealed for the woman and she had believed it as true, Jesus continued: “and has now come!”.

‘Manna’ for today:

Faith in what God has revealed to me, influences His ‘NOW’!

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(1) This reflction is part of a series on the "Call to Mission - NOW!'

Did Mary influence God’s ‘NOW’?

I ask this question in the context of the call to be ‘battle-ready’ NOW (1). There is no doubt that Mary played an important role as the one who gave birth to the Son of God. Her readiness to do so, made her a vital participant in God’s NOW. However, today I will focus on her role in the first miracle of Jesus.

This took place at the wedding in Cana. When Mary heard the embarrassing news that the host was running out of wine before the wedding-reception was over, she brought the matter to her son. And in a somewhat abrupt way Jesus dismissed her by saying:

“Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”
John 2:4

When Jesus said: “My hour has not yet come” – it tells me that he was still waiting for his Father’s ‘NOW’. So what made Jesus change his mind?

I believe it was Mary – not by addressing the issue once again to Jesus, but by saying to the servants: “Do whatever he tells you.”

Mary had not seen Jesus do any miracles, but she had kept many words she had heard about him in her heart. She believed in him, and she showed it in action and in words. Such a faith touches a son's heart. As Mary in faith, gave physical birth to Jesus, in the same way her faith and love gave birth to the mission he had come to fulfil.

I believe that faith and love still touches the Son’s heart.

‘Manna’ for today:

Faith and love can turn ‘NOW’ into God’s right moment.

I will follow up with more thoughts on how we can influence God’s ‘NOW’ in the next blogs. (2)
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(1) See: 'Do you know what prayer is?'

(2) See: “Now is the time”
NB - this reflection is linked to General Brian Peddle's "Call to Mission - NOW"

Now is the time

We are already a few days into 2019. A new year always makes me think about time. One of the Bible-passages I love to read again and again, is Jesus’ personal mission-statement, simply because His mission is my mission (1). In the statement, Jesus said:

In short, the Spirit is upon Me to proclaim that now is the time;
this is the jubilee season of the Eternal One’s grace.
Luke 4:19 (The Voice version)

Many translations say that Jesus came to proclaim ‘a year of God’s favour’ – a year of grace. However, time is neither past nor future; time is always ‘now’!

God is the great “I am” = God is the “Eternal Now”. 

Paul had discovered this, and wrote:

Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
2 Corinthians 6:2b

For this reason, I can pray: “I am here, God, and I know that you are here too, and I know that 'now' is the accepted time of grace!”

‘Manna’ for today:

Grace is that ‘now’ is always the right moment!

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(1) It is the mission of all disciples, because as God sent Jesus into the world, Jesus is sending us into the world – See John 20:21.
* Source
NB - this reflection links in with General Brian Peddle's "Call to Mission - NOW"

Advent – on earth and in heaven

Over the last three weeks I have focused on the process waiting and longing to see Our Father’s kingdom come and his will be done. This is a prayer that ties heaven and earth together:

Your Kingdom come
Your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Matt 6:10

In a few days’ time we will celebrate that heaven and earth met in a manger in Bethlehem more than 2000 year ago. God’s kingdom came, his will was made clear on earth as it was in heaven.

The incarnation – the fact that the ‘word became flesh’ – ‘God became man’ (1), was the first real meeting-point between heaven and earth. So when the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, why did he include a prayer that had already been fulfilled the day he himself was born?

Because the fulfilment of that prayer needs to be repeated again and again until Christ returns at the end of time. The only way it can happen is through heaven meeting earth in the incarnation of the Word becoming flesh, however with a ‘face’ of our present day.

This miracle of incarnation happens every time I, like any born again believer, see that I live in Christ and He lives in me. Then God’s kingdom comes, salvation for all men in Jesus is proclaimed so that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Every time I study the Lord’s prayer, I am reminded of its perfection. It is saturated with matters of importance. The part ‘Let your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven!’ is even a ful surrender to his will and salvation. When we pray in this way, there is Advent on earth and in heaven because more of God’s Kingdom will come.

‘Manna’ for today:

Let every heart prepare Him room! (2)

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(1) John 1:14

(2) Line from “Joy to the world!"

Advent – more to wait for!

When I last week asked the question “What am I waiting for?” – I answered “Your kingdom come!”.
Of course this links very well with the forthcoming celebration of the coming of the King of kings.

However, it must not stop with the celebration of the coming of Christ more than 2000 years ago; or with the coming of Christ in and through his body of believers today. Until Christ returns at the end of time, what I will be waiting and longing for is covered in the prayer:

“Your will be done!”
Matthew 6:10

The good news about what the will of God is, was made known by the angel at the birth of Jesus:

“a Saviour has been born to you!”
Luke 2:11

The whole purpose with “Christmas” was to give the world a Saviour so that “whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”(1). When the first Christians prayed the Lord’s prayer, they knew that the greatest desire of God is that: “God our Saviour, … wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth”(2).

When I am waiting for God’s will to be done, it is a challenge when I already know what his will is. It would be simpler if I didn’t know and could ask him what it was. I cannot ask him to save the world, because he has already done it. The challenge is that so many people in the world do not know this truth. When I know the will of God and that he has already done his part, I am the closest one to do something with what I know. When I in advent-expectations pray: “Your will be done!” it is very likely that solution is found in the

‘Manna’ for today:

Sometimes I have the key to the answer to a prayer in my own heart.

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(1) John 3:16b
(2) 1 Timothy 2:4

What am I waiting for?

The question is relevant at all times, and for my part, it always gets a special focus in the Advent-season. The word Advent is borrowed from Latin (1) and describes a time when something first comes or appears. It is a time when Christians focus on the coming of Christ. Traditionally, this will be linked to the celebration of his first coming in combination with the expectation of his second coming.

Of course this also my focus; however, I will in this blog and the following reflections in Advent share what I am waiting for and longing to see. The longing is expressed in the Lord’s prayer:

“Your kingdom come!”
Matthew 6:10

In a time when the ‘kingdoms’ of this earth again are experiencing the rise of nationalism resulting in enmity, martial laws, breeches of agreements and treaties; in a time when human rights are heavily under attack and the sanctity of life seems to be a forgotten concept; in a time when wars and embargos are causing small children starving to death; in such a time I am not only praying but also crying out: “Our Father, let your kingdom come!”

When the King of kings stood in front of Pilate, he came with this statement:

“My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” John 18:36

You and I represent this kingdom. Our mission has all to do with this kingdom. And in reality it is already here:

“The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
Luke 17:20-21

So when I pray “Your kingdom come”, I also realize that the

‘manna’ for today is:

The kingdom of God is in our midst.

I am waiting and longing to see more of its effect.
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(1) Latin = Adventus

I am my Father’s favourite!

How can that be when he has so many children?

Actually my Father is the ‘Father of all’. That is how Paul concludes his list of aspects that unites us in one Spirit (1). When Paul comes with this statement, I am convinced that he is not limiting ‘all’ to ‘all believers’, I believe he includes every individual human being on this earth. In the same letter he writes about the unity of the Spirit, he has already stated that the Father of our Lord Jesus is also:

“the perfect Father of every father and child in heaven and on the earth.”
Epf 3:15

I have met many people, also believers, who struggle with the image of God as the ‘perfect Father’. Very often this discomfort derives from bad experience caused by a distant or abusive earthly father who was far from perfect. God the Father sets the standard for what a good father is – and even a good earthly father would never be able to give more than a brief glimpse of what the ‘perfect Father’ is like. Because the ‘perfect Father’ has the capacity to embrace all children. Further:

“…to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”
John 1:12

So when a person has received Jesus Christ into his life, he has become a child of God, and as such he is also God’s favourite. It will never happen that the ‘Perfect Father’ will favour one child over another, because he knows that to favour one would disturb the unity of the Spirit, and that is exactly what God wants to see in his children. He wants us to sing with David:

How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!
Psalm 133:1

…and move forward as One Army, with One Message and One Mission.

‘Manna’ for today:

I love to share my Father with all!

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(1) ….keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, Ephesians 4:3-6

Knowing who I am

When we were installed as territorial leaders in Eastern Europe territory in January 2018, I said the following in my sermon: “If I do not know who I am and why I am here, I am a danger for the mission of The Salvation Army!”

You cannot go into a spiritual battle without knowing who you are and why you are in the battle. That is why the Bible contains so much teaching about the identity in Christ and the mission we are called to be a part of.

This matter is Paul’s main focus in the letter to the Ephesians. He starts with describing our identity in Christ and continues to teach about what this means in practice for the mission. Finally, he writes about how this equips us for being able to stand in the spiritual battle. Watchman Nee has taken the essence of Ephesians and presented it as three important step in spiritual development. His book is “Sit, Walk, Stand!” and ‘sitting’ has all to do with the identity = our status in Christ:

And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.
Eph 2:6 (1)

Some years ago, a man who was possessed with evil came so close to me that his nose touched my nose. There had been no conversation between us, yet he swore and cursed me and said I was a man of the devil. Because I know who I am in Christ, I could calmly speak to the evil spirit and said: “You know who I am. You know that I am in Christ and that there is nothing you can do to me!” 

The man screamed and waved his arms so that my glasses were thrown to the pavement, and then the man ran off. I was unhurt and even my glasses were OK. It was not a pleasant experience, however, it was good to see that even though the evil spirits are ‘liars’ like their ‘father’ (2), they know what is true when you confront them with truth. When we know who we are in Christ, we can do what James encourages us to do: 

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
James 4:7

‘Manna’ for today:

Jesus is the truth and he is stronger than the ‘father of lies’ (2)

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(1) If you read Eph 1:1-14, please notice how many times Paul writes “in Christ”, “in Him” ….
(2) When he (the devil) lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
John 8:44

The unpredictable move

Ten years ago, I was called to preach at the Youth Congress in Norway. The theme for the Congress was ‘Ground-breaking’ – and since I was preaching in three meetings, I decided to preach on ground-breaking faith, hope and love. Stine, who was in charge of decorations for the hall had asked me for ideas, and I suggested that she could use the three symbols: Cross, Anchor and Heart – however, I also said that she could feel free to do as the “Spirit leads”.

A couple days before the Congress, I felt a strong urge to use a game of chess as an illustration-base for my preaching without changing the content of the sermons. I wished that I had received this inspiration earlier so that I could have informed Stine about this option. Now it was too late.

When I entered the hall for the first meeting, I was struck with awe, because the scene was decorated with a big chess-board and elements related to the game. When I found Stine, I asked “How did you know?” – tears filled her eyes, and she said: “I felt led by the Spirit!”

If you want to win a game of chess against an experienced player, you need to make unpredictable moves. In spiritual warfare we have an experienced counterpart, and therefore the leading of the Spirit is indispensable. Jesus focused on this in his conversation with Nicodemus:

“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
John 3:8

When we let the Spirit lead us, the devil is scared because our moves become unpredictable. He knows that from his own experience. He thought it was a good move to kill the King. However, in doing so he sealed his own fate. Because the King conquered death and rose again to bring new life. By his Holy Spirit the King gives life to whosoever want to become his child. Now these children are flooding the world’s chess-board to overcome evil with good with unpredictable moves.

‘Manna’ for today:

As the Spirit leads! *

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* This blog is posted on the day The Salvation Army farewells the General and welcomes The High Council that next week will elect the next General to lead our mission. Please pray that it will be as the Spirit leads! The Welcome to the High Council and Farewell to the General and Commissioner Cox will be streamed live at sar.my/facebook or sar.my/highcouncil2018 at 3.30 BST (GMT+1)

‘…without us God will not’

The headline is the last part of St. Augustine’s famous saying:

‘Without God we cannot, but without us God will not!’

There is substantial Biblical support for the first part of the quote. In the parable of the vine Jesus focused on the importance of bearing fruit and stated:

apart from me you can do nothing.
John 15:5b

There is no doubt that God can without us. When the Pharisees asked Jesus to rebuke the disciples who praised him when he entered Jerusalem on Palm-Sunday, Jesus answered:

“Listen—if they were silent, the very rocks would start to shout!”
Luke 19:40

However, Augustine was right, God wants to work in us and through us (1). Many years back I listen to a devotion by Bill Himes on the proclamation “No rock is going to cry in my place!” – a man who has dedicated all his talents and all that he is to God, has credibility when he makes a statement like that (2). William Booth had the same conviction and dedication, that is why he could say: “I am a move of God!”.

When I think about “a move of God”, a chess-board is the first image that pops up in my mind. During my first year at the Training College in 1974, the second year Cadets of the Soldiers of the Cross session prepared a drama for their commissioning in Royal Albert Hall. The drama followed the music of the piece "The Holy War" (3) played by The International Staff Band, while the cadets acted a game of chess symbolising the fight between good and evil. 

The performance was powerful. However, the spiritual war is not a performance, it is real. Without God we cannot, without us God will not. We are a move of God in the world in our time, and that means war with the weapons of love. The terrible beauty of the cross, is its testimony about love conquering evil. That testimony is still the content of God's moving in and through his followers 2000 later.

‘Manna’ for today:

A move of God, will always be a move of love.

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(1) See: The revolutionary third move
(2) Bill Himes is a composer and song-writer. His song “All that I am” is sung all over the world.
(3) Brass-enthusiasts will know this beautiful and demanding piece of Ray Steadman Allen written for the Salvation Army’s Centenary Celebration in 1965.

Go for it!

NORSK
The charge ‘Go for it!’ can be heard in many contexts. You can hear it in a ‘timeout’ on a sports-arena when a couch is encouraging the team to do the little extra to win a match. It is used on boards when decisions are made, and a ‘Go!’ is always fitting for the body of Christ in general and for The Salvation Army in particular.

The Greek word Paul uses when he encourages us to ‘eagerly desire the gifts of the Spirit’ (1) is the same word that gave name to the ‘fourth’ of the Jewish religious parties – the Zealots. One of the disciples of Jesus, Simon (not Peter), is believed to have come from this group (2), and some scholars even believe that Paul was associated with them (3). The Zealots were very passionate in what they believed and fought for. Paul encourages us to have the same kind of passion.

Last week a friend of mine responded on this way to what I had written:

I wish that many more would burn in the Spirit and search the gifts of the Spirit. As I see it, to be on fire is a choice every individual must make, the fire starts when one chooses to be a disciple and spend time in prayer.

I very much agree and responded in this way:

This is very important. The disciples received The holy spirit and the gifts because they were desperate in their searching and longing for the Spirit. I have to take the initiative so that The holy spirit can use his initiative in me ... This is because The holy spirit is God, and the attribute of God is love. God does never force himself on any human being.

Therefore, to “Go for it!” is actually to “go for Him”. That means to give more and more of myself to him, because Jesus has already given his all to me – including the Spirit. John the Baptist had seen this even before Jesus had sacrificed all, and expressed it like this:

He must increase and I must decrease.
John 3:30

So simple, and yet many times so hard.

‘Manna’ for today:

To go for Him means losing myself to be found in Him.

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(1) 1 Cor 14:1 – see also: Which are the ‘greater gifts’?
(2) Matt 10:4, Acts 1:13
(3) Firstly - when Paul refers to the group in his writings, he does it respectfully.

Secondly – he was militant in his persecution of the first followers of Jesus.

Keep moving!

We have just moved again. Not very far this time. Our new apartment is approximately 3 km away from where we have lived for the past 2,5 years. In addition, I have moved office – I carried my stuff across to the other side of the corridor. 

I am moving because of moves in our movement. Christianity is not a religion; it is a motion, a movement. Therefore, The Salvation Army is first and foremost a movement that sets people in motion.

We know that there is motion in the world; whatever is in motion is moved by another thing; this other thing also must be moved by something. For Thomas Aquinas (1) this developed into one of his philosophical arguments for God’s existence. Because motion takes place there must have been a ‘first mover’ and for Aquinas this ‘first mover’ is God. Since God is infinite, Aquinas consider him as the ‘immovable mover’.

So, when we chose the Latin word ‘Momentum’ as our motto, it is to remind us about the fact that Christians are supposed to be moving on the impulse from the first mover – every day! What this means in practical terms, I will elaborate on in my blog once a week.

So how did it start?

The Creation-story tells us that the earth was formless, empty and in darkness:

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
Gen 1:3

What a move! This was not the creation of the sun. This was God placing himself in the middle of his creation. The first mover had moved. The first motion had begun. John captured this in his writings: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all (2), and in prologue of the gospel where he described the coming of the Word, he wrote: In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind (3).

‘Manna’ for today

Let us live, move and have our being in the light and the life of the first mover. (4)

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(1) Tommaso d'Aquino was an Italian Dominican Friar who lived from 1225 to 1274.

(2) 1 John 1:5

(3) John 1:4

(4) Acts 17:28

Why did God choose The Salvation Army? #4

NORSK
When I grew up in The Salvation Army in Norway, I in some ways felt a bit inferior to other Christians. This was because both members of the Lutheran Church, which was the state-church in Norway until 2012, and members of other evangelical churches repeatedly accused me for not being biblical because TSA did not use the sacramental rituals. At the time I was born app 95% of the children were brought to church for the Christening (infant baptism). Most children of Salvationists went through the same ritual. It was considered important, and something all good citizens should do, so my Salvationist-parents followed the tradition 
– no harm done, I have a good relationship to the Norwegian Church!

The summer I turned 14, I also gave my life to Christ - a radical decision I had postponed for quite a few years. When school started after the summer-break, our head-teacher informed us that we had to start our confirmation-preparation classes the following week. All of us attended, and four months later we were ready to be confirmed. When we were kneeling at the altar and the vicar prayed for us, I tried to pray, but could not avoid to observe what was going on around me – only very few of my my kneeling schoolmates seemed to be engaged in the ‘solemn moment’ they were part of. It seemed to me that for them this was nothing but a ritual. 

I think this was the first time I got a glimpse of the rationale and theology behind the TSA’s position – it happened in a ritual in the state-church and it is not unlikely that this is why I, 47 years later, think that:

4) God chose TSA because we focus on the content of the baptism and the agape meal, not the ritual. (1)

TSA has never been against the sacraments. I know very well that they can help people to understand the miracle they symbolize. In a beautiful way baptism visualizes the believers death with Christ and the resurrection with and in Him. Likewise, the agape meal symbolizes the unity of all believers in Him. We are part of the same bread – the bread from heaven (2), saved by the blood he shed for us at the cross (3)!

However, no ritual can save, they can only remind us about the available salvation. Salvation is found in Jesus Christ alone:

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
Acts 4:12

The best way to show his salvation and love for the world, is to make our lives living sacraments in this world (4). I believe that was one of the reasons God chose to strengthen and bless those whose hearts were fully committed to him and his mission.

‘Manna’ for today:

Alive in Him and sharing his life in and with the world

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(1) The whole series:
# 1 God chose TSA because of people with a calling and a passion!
# 2 God chose TSA because we focus on the fact that everyone is called!
# 3 God chose TSA because everyone who receives the call has the same right to ministry
# 4 God chose TSA because we focus on the content of the baptism and the agape meal,

# 5 God chose TSA because we have a holistic view 

(2) John 6:35-40
(3) 1 John 1:7
(4) Albert Orsborn’s song describes this:

My life must be Christ's broken bread,
My love his outpoured wine,
A cup o'erfilled, a table spread
Beneath his name and sign.
That other souls, refreshed and fed,
May share his life through mine.

My all is in the Master's hands
For him to bless and break;
Beyond the brook his winepress stands
And thence my way I take,
Resolved the whole of love's demands
To give, for his dear sake.

Lord, let me share that grace of thine
Wherewith thou didst sustain
The burden of the fruitful vine,
The gift of buried grain.
Who dies with thee, O Word divine,
Shall rise and live again.

Listen to the song HERE