Boom!

This is a great article:

http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001726.cfm

Ever been thinking about something and couldn't quite put it all together until someone helped? Well, this piece by Alex & Brett Harris did that for me. It's entitled "Do Hard Things" and really brought together everything that's been floating around my head for the past little while.

There are a plethra of notable quotables but here are some of my favourites:

"We're not just saying that you have the ability to do hard things. We're telling you that you should do hard things because it's the best and only way to experience true growth in your life."

"We can't really avoid doing hard things. We can only decide when to do them and how prepared we will be to handle the hard things life brings our way."

"Theodore Roosevelt said it well when he said, "a mere life of ease is not in the end a satisfactory life, and, above all, it is a life which ultimately unfits those who follow it for serious work in the world." Such a life is a tragedy — a wasted life."

The best though is a quote from G.K. Chesterton who said "The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting, it has been found difficult and left untried."

Yes, the Christian life is hard. But that is exactly what people are searching for. Not a life of ease & comfort but a challenging life where you step out and confront the world head on.

I often wondered how the Apostle Paul could say that he has learned to be content in every situation and be filled with such joy & peace. It was because he was living the hard life and kept growing and growing spiritually until he was actually living the best life.

Things like playing the piano or learning new languages don't come about through slackness or indifference. They happen after much hard practice. By committing to a schedule and sticking with it. Likewise, you can only mature & grow as a Christian after lots of hard work and putting into practice what you've learned.
Paul said it best when he compared the Christian life to an athlete training:

"You've all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You're after one that's gold eternally.

I don't know about you, but I'm running hard for the finish line. I'm giving it everything I've got. No sloppy living for me! I'm staying alert and in top condition. I'm not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself." --1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (The Message)

Happy Birthday William Booth

Well, 179 years ago today, General William Booth was born. It has long been the popular discussion in Salvationist circles to ask "What would William Booth think about our Army today?" We have churches where the only way to know it's not 1865 is through the lack of bonnets and high-collar uniforms and churches where the uniform is shunned and coffee, jeans and a t-shirt are the order of the day. We have all sorts of books on how to be a "real" Salvationist. We have schools which will give you book smarts and schools which will give your street smarts.
I have attended and participated in forums, symposiums, discussion groups. Corps council meetings, you name it. And what I see is an Army divided. An Army that has lost its edge and will to fight. A quick browse through the annual Army yearbook confirms this. It is not in the old strongholds of the UK, Canada, USA, & Australia where the Army thrives but in places like India, Pakistan, Ghana, & South Africa. The Army in the former is characterized by staunch, rigid people who place so many restrictions and regulations on things that they remind me of the Pharisees. The Army in the so-called developed world with all of our prosperity and resources has nothing to show for it but declining numbers and closed buildings. The latter places though are booming as Salvationists get their hands dirty and confront the forces of evil head on. They do not spend their time forming committees to look after committees or debating whether or not women soldiers should be allowed to wear pants instead of skirts.

If you want to see General Booth's Army, simply look to our "less-fortunate" territories & commands.

God: 1 Devil: 0

As I prepare to preach my first message here in Germany, I am acutely aware of my own failings and shortcomings. It seems everytime I preach, I hear a voice that tells me that I am a fraud and that it is a sham to preach about that which I struggle with. Who am I to teach others when I really have so many questions & doubts myself? If I get up and speak of living holy lives and obeying the voice of God, I know that I do not always do that.

Fortunately, the Lord is constantly reminding me of the lies of the enemy and gave me these words of encouragement from an article on boundless recently:

"Detachment does not mean that we shouldn't care about what happens; it means that we are responsible for faithfulness, not for success. I teach as well as I can. Sometimes the teaching takes and sometimes it doesn't. Of course, I want it to take. But I am much more content when I concentrate on whether or not I have been faithful to the tasks I've been given, not on whether Joe Schmoe has actually learned."

I may not be the best speaker . I may not be the model Christian. But I am aware of my total dependency on Jesus Christ. And if He grants me the opportunity to preach of His saving grace, I want to be faithful. I will be faithful.

"When the time comes, say what's on your heart—the Holy Spirit will make his witness in and through you." --Mark 13:11 (The Message)

Home Sweet Home

Wilderness

More often than not, I am left with the distinct impression that this world is not my home. I am wandering in the wilderness until I am ready for Canaan. Donald Grey Barnhouse gives this definition of God's children:

"Saints are a group of displaced persons, uprooted from their natural home, and on their way to an extraterrestrial destination, not of this planet, neither in its roots or in its ideals."

If that describes you. If you feel a little estranged sometimes, rejoice in that. When you pick up the newspaper and see all of the nonsense and evil in the world, you can take comfort that we are just passing through.

Have you ever held in doubt
What this life is all about
Have you questioned all these things that seem important to us
Do you really wanna know
Or are you a little scared
You’re afraid that God is not really exactly what you’d have Him be
What should I hold to and what should I do
How do I know if anything’s true
I’m somewhere in-between Canaan and Egypt
A place called the wilderness

"Wilderness" - The O.C. Supertones

MCL

Ever heard of MCS (Middle Child Syndrome) or how about the fatal MSS which my beloved Leafs have. The case being in both of them that being in the middle is the worst possible fate. Got me thinking about my own syndrome MCL (Middle Christian Living). Never quite reaching that sacrifice my own son (Genesis 22:2) or walking around in sackcloth eating wild locusts (Mark 1:6) status; while at the same time never hitting the sleep with another man's wife & kill him later (2 Samuel 12) or make money off the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:18) bottom of the barrel living.
A friend once told me that there's no "staying on the fence" because the devil owns the fence.
There is no crime in living the middle of the road Christian life. It's safe. It's nice. It's convenient. You keep your nose clean, stay out of trouble, do just enough to secure salvation. Never truly giving Christ Jesus 100% control of your life. Because if you did that, well who knows what would happen. You'd no longer be in the driver's seat and the Holy Spirit would be directing your life. As much as I try to convince myself that this is a scary concept, it is not. Thus I am not afraid of what living by the Holy Spirit would mean because I know that complete and full surrender to Christ will only give me a full and abundant life (John 10:10) and that I would be at peace & content regardless of my external circumstances (Philippians 4:11). Rather I am comfortable with maintaining the status-quo. It's familiar and I have found a nice little niche. Ahh, but deep down I know that if I would step out and become a man after God's own heart...well the sky would be the limit and who knows what blessings God has in store. He only desires good things for me. He has a wonderful will for my life all drawn up. It is His good & perfect will. I once read that we sometimes think of finding God's will for our lives as being like a multiple-choice exam. We can choose (A) God's good & perfect will; (B) God's pretty good will; or (C) God's OK will.
Unfortunately it doesn't work that way, if we are not living (A) than we are living our own way and missing out on so much more.
The cure for MCL is right there, we just have to be willing to take it. (John 4:14)

God's Grace

"But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more..." --Romans 5:20 (NKJV)

I've been studying these words as of late, they are perhaps the most beautiful words in all of scripture. So many times, I think I have screwed up beyond repair and that the grace of God cannot find me in the darkness that I find myself. But this verse encourages us and throws our senses for a loop. Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more! Where sin is a '1', grace is infinity + '1'
God's grace will always be sufficient to cover our transgressions. That got me thinking as to why we don't always believe it. I think it comes down to pride. Inside we think that our sins are too great and that we must fix them ourselves. We got ourselves into this mess, so we must "un-sin" and than we will be okay. God's free gift of grace & salvation just don't make human sense to us. "I've got to save myself! God's work on the cross might be okay for some people but He doesn't know what I'm like and all the stuff I do. No...I've got to try and fix myself. Start doing good things and be a good person..."
No matter how hard we try, we cannot help ourselves. No matter how independent and determined I am, it will not earn me grace and salvation. Only to realize that where I fail, God's grace succeeds. I come before my Saviour Jesus Christ and accept His grace.

Well I messed up, feel like I can't even lift my eyes up
Covering this stain that I'm ashamed of, the way I take advantage of your love
And I'm terrified, stand before your throne with blood on my hands
I realize it's only by your blood that I can

I knew that is where I'd find you
I don't have to remind you of all the times I've failed you
I knew that is where I'd find you
So this is where I've come to, there's nothing else I can do

I'm confessing I'm up to my ears in transgression
Is this the way I thank you for a blessing?
I know it's hard to tell but I am trying
So here I am with nothing to say for myself
Once again, to plead the blood and nothing else

So here I am with nothing to say for myself
Once again, to plead the blood and nothing else

I knew that is where I'd find you
I don't have to remind you of all the times I've failed you
I knew that is where I'd find you
So this is where I've come to, there's nothing else I can do

~Supertones "Where I Find You"