Revival has come to Dartford!!!

Last Sunday Revival came to Dartford! However, this wasn't Revival in the Pentecostal sense. On this occasion Revival was the name of a Christian from Zimbabwe who had come to the meeting to be the witness at the dedication of a little baby girl - Vanessa (also from Zimbabwe).

In fact we had over 50 visitors all of whom heralded from that troubled country. It was a fantastic meeting and our African visitors certainly added to the occasion in a memorable and stirring way.

It was grteat to have Revival with us but not as great as it would have been if this blog entry had been about the arrival of that more familiar form of revival.

I've been thinking a lot about revival and it seems to me that there are three common denominators within the church which can be identified during times of revival.

The first is the fact that Christians during times of revival believed that salvation was important - they believed that the converts they made were actually being saved from a fate worse than death. They believed in heaven and hell and therefore as a consequence there was a compassion and urgency about their evangelism.

Secondly, believers during times of revival are obsessed with saving the lost! They didn't have any other interests apart from soul saving. They didn't go to the theatre or watch football or spend time at parties - all their time was given to the task of getting people saved. This obsession of course was directly linked to the first point above - if people died without knowing Christ then there was the possibility they had gone to hell. Believers in times of revival work with the same committment and sense of urgency that people would work to rescue someone from a burning building - the consequences (both for themselves and the lost) of apathy and laziness were unthinkable.

Finally, revivals seem to happen when the church appears to be on the brink of collapse. Healthy churches don't appear to be visited by revival (if you follow my drift). Because of this widespread apostasy revivals seem to start with just a few people for whom points 1 and 2 above are true.

Well the good news is that the third criteria we (in the West at least) seem to possess in abundance. I guess revival (not the one from Zimbabwe) will come to Dartford when a few of us have discovered the first two.

Plenty to think about....

Love and prayers

A

Cycle lanes, fading paint and self righteousness

On Thursday I was standing outside Macdonald’s selling The War Cry (as I do every week) and it crossed my mind that the white lines that marked out the cycle lane needed repainting.

The other week a cyclist nearly ran over a policeman who reprimanded him for cycling without care – the cyclist pointed out that the policeman was actually walking in a cycle lane. The policeman – a little embarrassed – apologised and waved the cyclist on his way.

As all of this was wandering through my mind (it took about a second) two workmen turned up and started repainting the lines!

It made me think how in contemporary society the moral markers which are supposed to be put down by the church have become faint and hard to distinguish. This has led to confusion within the church and encouraged some Christians to arbitrarily judge those in society they consider to be sinful. However, without clear markings how will sinners know that they are in the wrong?

Far too many times I have watched Christians acting in an unchristian way towards the lost – especially homosexuals, prostituted women, those with addictions, the performers (and recipients) of abortions etc. How can we be so quick to blame the world for wandering off the straight and narrow without clear markings?

As things stand we run the risk of looking as daft as the policeman wandering in the middle of the cycle lane – however, for us the potential consequence is much worse than public embarrassment.

Our self righteousness and apathy, all too often leads us to see the world as bad and ourselves as good. Yet the great commission has placed upon us the responsibility to preach the gospel in a way people can comprehend. In other words it is our job to make sure the white lines are visible.

The whole thing called to mind the following verses from Jeremiah 2:34-35

“On your clothes men find the lifeblood of the innocent poor, though you did not catch them breaking in. Yet in spite of all this you say, 'I am innocent; he is not angry with me.' But I will pass judgment on you because you say, 'I have not sinned.'
I think we need to go and look for our paint!

The Salvation Soldier's Guide

The Salvation Soldier's Guide was a pocket sized collection of bible readings for the morning and evening of every day in the year.

Issued by William Booth the book was intended to ensure that Salvationists read from the whole bible and not just the New Testament. It was also meant to be small enough for a workman to take with him on his shift and read to his colleagues.

The Salvation Soldier's Guide was eventually replaced by the Soldier's Armoury and more recently by Words of life. However, the original Guide was probably the best of the lot. The readings that were chosen were particularly relevant to the Salvationist's lot.

Obviously the original readings were taken from the King James Version and very few copies of the original 'guide' are still around.

I have an original copy and it is my intention to post the selected readings on a newly created blog each day with the passages updated from the New International Version.

If you have no bible reading plan I would heartily recommend the The Salvation Soldier's Guide - if you already have a reading plan then the 'guide' is an excellent supplementary source of inspiration.

The Salvation Soldier's Guide can be found by following this link.

Happy reading, may God bless The Salvation Army - Hallelujah

Love and prayers A

A call to arms

Yesterday was St George’s day and the birthday of Shakespeare, so with apologies to the Bard I post my own (somewhat altered) speech from Henry V – may it stir your blood, bones and spirit!

“To the front, Comrades, once more; or bridge the gap twixt here and heaven with dead Salvationists. In God’s kingdom there's nothing so becomes a man as modest stillness and humility:But when the blast of war blows in our ears, then imitate the action of the tiger; stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood, dress gentle Jesus in righteous anger… Grit your teeth and stretch the nostril wide, hold hard the breath and bend up every spirit to his full height. On, on, Salvation Soldiers whose heritage is those who once were ‘more than conquerors.

Salvation soldiers that, like so many Booths and Railtons, have in these parts from morn till even fought and sheathed their swords for lack of argument: Dishonour not these pioneers; now attest that those whom you called primitives have led the way.

Be like them now to men of grosser blood, and teach them how to war. And you, good soldier, whose limbs were forged in ‘Blood and fire’, show us here the mettle of your pasture; let us swear that you are worth your breeding; which I doubt not; For there is none of you though once so mean and base, that hath not washed in Jesus’ blood.I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips, straining upon the start. The game's afoot: Follow the spirit, and upon this chargeCry 'God for the General, the lost, and Saint George!"

St George of course being Railton!

Love and prayers

A

Careful it's catching!

So the ‘Bales’ are all in isolation…

Two weeks ago at the Divisional Children’s Camp one of the staff had to be sent home after he showed the symptoms of impetigo.

As far as I’m aware at least three other children within the Division have since contracted the condition including my daughter Charlotte who has subsequently infected our whole family. (By the way that's not her above - that's a stock photo!)

Impetigo is highly contagious (but fortunately is easily and quickly treated with antibiotics!).

As I sit here with my bell by my side, a red cross painted on the door, I can’t help thinking of all the people I’ve hugged and kissed in the last two weeks, not to mention the babies I’ve held and cuddled. Then there’s all the equipment and furniture I’ve touched. Collection boxes, computers, door handles, bundles of War Crys, cups etc.

I wonder if the disease will stop with us or make its way around the Corps - maybe even the whole of Dartford?

Imagine what it would be like if Christianity was as infectious as impetigo – we’d have the whole world saved in a matter of months!

Love and prayers (from a safe distance)

A

“Further up, and further in!”

I once went for a job interview where I was asked to list all my weaknesses and all my strengths. I filled up a whole page with weaknesses and my list of strengths contained just one – “ability to identify weaknesses”!

On reflection I was a bit hard on myself yesterday – completely honest – but probably not totally fair. My CSM said to me last night (he had read my blog) “Andrew if the Mercy Seat was lined every week with new converts you’d still not be satisfied” and he’s probably right :-)

What I was trying to say yesterday is that spiritual achievement is directly proportional to spiritual commitment and subsequent obedience and as Finney reminds us if we surrender 99.9% to God but knowingly hold back .9% that act of deliberate disobedience is sin.

It’s a good job we can bring grace into the equation or none of us would get to heaven!

I feel that something good and exciting is in the air, I feel that we as a movement (and Dartford as a Corps) are ready to enter the promised land, but our victory depends on surrendering to God ‘the devoted things’ and moving further along the path of holiness.

I recently re-read ‘The last battle’ (final book in the Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis). As the characters make their way to heaven they are constantly urged to go “further up, and further in!” one of them encourages the others with the observation that “the further up and the further in you go, the bigger everything gets. The inside is larger than the outside.”

Our human perspective often leads us to be deceived! We act as if this is the real world, as if everything is down to us and our limited ability and resources when in fact reality is where God dwells and this is the ‘truth that sets us free’. On our own we can do nothing but with God we can do everything! Too often all we can see is the narrow doorway through which we are commanded to pass into greater achievement and effectiveness (and it is narrow), but we can’t see beyond to the wonderful possibilities opening up just beyond. What we need isn’t more discipline or greater self denial we just need more ‘faith’.

“Lord I believe help thou my unbelief!”

Love and prayers

A

Could do better!

Three quarters of a year at Dartford and things have gone well. However, there is a deep and disturbing dissatisfaction in my heart.

If I’d been appointed here in 1887 instead of 2007 then my nine months here would have been considered a failure – Railton would have sacked me for sure! Where are the new converts, recruits and soldiers? Whe re is the revival?

People have been saved, the Corps has grown, finances have been stabilised, property has been improved, the programme tweaked and good relationships with the lost established – But is my commitment and passion really worthy of Christ’s suffering and death?

It is too easy to judge our achievements by those around us, to measure our performance against the achievements of the contemporary church, but when we set the benchmark as Acts 2 or Whitechapel 1880 our efforts receive their proper score!

I’m quite sure that Dartford has not been disappointed with their new Officers and I’m also confident that the other church leaders in the town are pleased with the new Army incumbents, maybe even those on the edge of society might be prepared (in an odd sober moment) to express gratitude for our arrival. But beyond the expectations of others how do I personally assess my performance since last July?

I’d probably give myself 2 out of 10. Why such a miserly score? The reason is that God looks on the heart and not on the outer man. I’ve certainly worked hard and put in some long hours but my heart still backs away from the ultimate location that God is trying to take it.

Last week at our Divisional Children’s camp the kids were asked to put the following things in order of importance: TV, family, God, Church, bible, prayer, football, leisure time, friends and money. Now if I was going to look at the last nine months and do that exercise honestly then the outcome is shown below. I’ve worked this out on the basis of the time committed to them and the passion that they generate within me (I’m discounting the time I spend working as an Officer because that’s my job):

Football, Family, TV, Prayer, Bible, Friends, Leisure Time, Money, God.

Now some might say that I’m being a bit harsh on myself, but how can I really put God anywhere other than last if I consistently disobey him? God is leading me (or trying to lead me) further along the path of holiness but I am struggling to follow him. If I were happy with a compromised contemporary understanding of holiness and if I were happy to compare my achievements with those around me then perhaps I’d be comfortable putting God first.

I read the following this morning in my personal devotions:

“The LORD your God commands you this day to follow these decrees and laws; carefully observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. You have declared this day that the LORD is your God and that you will walk in his ways, that you will keep his decrees, commands and laws, and that you will obey him. And the LORD has declared this day that you are his people, his treasured possession as he promised, and that you are to keep all his commands. He has declared that he will set you in praise, fame and honour high above all the nations he has made and that you will be a people holy to the LORD your God, as he promised.” (Deuteronomy 26:16-19)

It’s all about covenant – if I keep my part of my covenant then God can do “abundantly more than all I could ever ask for or even imagine” if I don’t then things stay as they are.

I wish I’d been born 150 years ago because then I’d be getting this kind of message three times a week and my spiritual ambitions would be considered normal.

Is this not the personal holiness we need to reclaim if we are to be truly effective again?

Love and prayers

A

One of the blessings of blogging is that it provides us with an opportunity to make ourselves accountable. We say things in our blogs and our words go around the world! People create an impression of the writer based upon what they read and expect them to behave in a certain way.

In June 2006 I published what I called a ‘holiness manifesto’ – a series of resolutions concerning how I would live my life. The manifesto was a genuine response to spiritual conviction.

Sadly, I have fallen well short of my self imposed standards, however, as recently stated here, the conviction that created those resolutions has not gone away but intensified.

I have carefully and prayerfully reviewed my manifesto and publish the revised version here. I ask those who know me to make me accountable by challenging me if I appear to live outside of these parameters.

I believe that contemporary western Salvationists are generally guilty of Achan’s sin (Joshua 7) in that we have “taken some of the devoted things; we have stolen, we have lied, we have put them with our own possessions.” As a consequence of this we “cannot stand against our enemies; we turn our backs and run because we have been made liable to destruction.” As we seek and pray for revival I believe that God’s response is very clear to those who are willing to hear – “I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.”

Historically, holiness was the source of our phenomenal success and in the future it will be so.

Thanks to those challenges and words of encouragement that followed my last posting - thank you for your prayers and your love. Let us constantly pray for each other that God might give us the ability to see and hear him, the discernment and knowledge to decipher what he is saying and the courage to obey – Amen!

My Personal Holiness Manifesto

• Starting each day with God, I will confess my sins, thank him, intercede for others, seek his will and absorb his grace.
• I will adopt a simple diet and drink only water.
• I will not waste my words or abuse my freedom in Christ.
• I will not neglect my family.
• I will remember that rest is a command and obey it.
• I will use the minimum of natural resources.
• I will fight for social justice.
• I will shop ethically.
• I will hate sin but adamantly refuse to hate the sinner.
• I will review each day in prayer and record my thoughts in a journal.

These resolutions are not a legalistic attempt to win God’s favour or earn salvation but reflect a heartfelt compulsion to ensure that my lifestyle reflects my faith.

Love and prayers

A

Seriously under conviction!

I feel under conviction – I don’t think I can remember feeling under as much conviction since my conversion. I feel compelled to repeatedly turn to those parts of the bible that seem to have become unfashionable (or perhaps unpalatable). I mean the sections that deal with things like worldliness, judgement, hell, lifestyle, social justice, true fasting, hypocrisy, practical compassion and self sacrifice. At the same time I am becoming more and more familiar with the lifestyles and practical self sacrifice of the Army’s founders (those who joined the battle prior to 1880)

A copy of O&R’s for Field Officers (1908) recently came into my possession and I was wondering if it would be possible to live my life as I would have done if I had been an Officer serving then. I also recently read the life story of Captain Ted Irons (converted at the age of 20 in 1876 and died in a drowning accident in 1878) it is almost impossible to comprehend just how much God did in this man’s life in just two years! I’m also re-reading Watson’s ‘Soldier Saint’ which (after the bible) is the most challenging read that I can find.

There is an irresistible pull towards actually trying to make the sacrifice that the early SA Pioneers made and an irrepressible conviction that their absolute single vision and un-distracted passion was the primary reason for their miraculous success.

All of this, repeatedly, leads me to the inescapable conclusion that these old and almost forgotten ways (I’m talking about spirit not necessarily methodology) are the conditions we must meet if we are to experience revival.

I remain under conviction, back firmly against the wall and in a corner that seems to become tighter by the day – God is pushing for an answer and as yet I am still slightly confused. I have prayed and prayed and asked for someone that I could talk to but the answer I get is “all you need is your knowledge of the past, the evidence of your conversion, scriptural truth and one wild and totally ludicrous leap of faith!’

I think I’m close to capitulation if for no other reason than I can’t see any other way out of this dilemma.

Love and prayers

A

Climbing up the golden stair to glory in a uniform!

So uniforms and old style SA worship pose a serious barrier to making friends and winning the lost – at least that seems to be what everyone is telling me at the moment.

This morning I had a half an hour conversation with Neil the station supervisor (I sell the War Cry every Tuesday at the station between 6 and 9). Later in the same day I had an in depth conversation with Tony who owns the sandwich bar at the end of our road and last week I chatted for an hour with Jim who runs a clothes stall opposite my War Cry pitch at the market. I wouldn’t have had any of these conversations without the introduction provided by my uniform. All three of these working class men wanted to know about the Army, what we do and why we do it. They asked about Christ and our motivation.

Just before Christmas a family of asylum seekers from Sri Lanka were referred to us by a local charity – we did the Army thing and gave them a food parcel and toys for the children. They started to come to the meetings. We haven’t seen them for a couple of weeks because they’ve moved house – some distance from the hall. On Sunday they turned up at 10:30 for the holiness meeting – they’d left home at 8:45 and walked with a baby and a toddler for an hour and forty five minutes just to get to the meeting! We sang ‘I’m climbing up the golden stair to glory’ and I preached on ‘living in the light’ – I’m certain they understood very little (if anything) but when we all marched around the hall behind the flag to the strains of ‘We are living in the light of God’ they joined in, smiled and clapped along with everyone else! Next week we’ve arranged to pick them up :-)

What attracts people to the Army is the love that God the Holy Spirit sheds abroad in our hearts. Our problems aren’t external (structure / administration / methodology / tradition) they’re internal. Inconsistencies in doctrine, moral compromise, laziness, apathy, self reliance (or worse still reliance on the latest money spinning church growth model to seep out of Wesley Owen) it is this that makes us ineffective. God’s love transcends tradition and methodology and continues (where we allow it) to make the incomprehensible comprehensible just as it did at Pentecost.

Mad Kev went to heaven before me?

'Mad Kev' was part and parcel of Dartford, to the casual onlooker he appeared homeless but he actually had his own flat. His bearded demeanour and matted hair gave the impression that he had no family but he actually has a couple of nieces. To say he liked a drink was an understatement, he lived his life in a constant state of inebriation. You could have a conversation with Kev but no a very coherent one. The last time I saw him was Thursday last week, I was selling The War Cry outside McDonalds and he donated 11p. He told me (as he had done before) that when he was in prison he 'got religion' and that the 'blood of Jesus flowed through his body' . He took a paper and said 'Maybe if I read this it'll spark something off in my mind'. On Saturday morning Kev died in the back of a police car on his way to hospital, apparently he'd been beaten up - by whom and why is a mystery - he had nothing and offended no one.

Where is 'Mad Kev' now - has Jesus judged him to be a victim of the evil one and welcomed him into heaven, was the 'religion' Kev got in prison sufficient to carry him through to the kingdom. Perhaps his faith, though not strong enough to free him from drink, was enough to save him.

As I prayed for Kev and others like him (we have a few in Dartford) I remembered the words of Jesus "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did." I hope that in spite of his bondage to drink that Kev believed and consequently is now enjoying a sober and blessed eternity.

Of pigeons and people...

Yesterday morning, as I left the hall, I noticed a rather ragged looking pigeon who had obviously (either temporarily or permanently) lost the ability to fly. It was nervously trotting around the edges of the road with an almost resigned look on its face. Two passing women showed a momentary interest in the bird, mumbled some sympathetic comments and walked on.

An hour later upon my return sure enough the pigeon had become (like the parrot in the famous Monty Python sketch) an ex-pigeon. All that was left was a scarlet feathery patch deeply impregnated into the tarmac.

I immediately though of the following scripture verse:

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.” (Matthew 10:29)

If God winces when a vermin ridden pigeon bites the dust how does he feel about the many residents of Dartford who live in darkness and misery day by day, how does he feel about the elderly, homeless and lonely who struggle on isolation from the rest of society?

Finally, I thought, how does he feel about me and my efforts to win such people? Sure I help those who come to the hall but the sad fact is that most of those who need God’s help don’t come to the hall – but like the pigeon they wander around, helpless and resigned to their fate.

I’m at Officer’s retreat – I don’t do retreat very well but I am finding the time extremely valuable – lots of quality time alone with God. My prayer is that when I return to Dartford tomorrow God will lead me to the ‘flightless pigeons’ of this world, the marginalised and alone and that he will give me the words, the compassion and the skill to bring them into his kingdom. For his name’s sake – Amen!

Commitment 2008

Yesterday was 'Committment Sunday' in the UK Territory and at Dartford we had an excellent meeting with a wonderful and comprehensive response. Numbers were low due to a few people being away and the imminent arrival of a baby!

Used the rich young ruler as a model of failed commitment. Here was a man who 'only lacked one thing'. Pointed out that when we think about commitment we tend to ask the question "what must I do" whereas God wants to talk about ownership - "who owns you?" It's not about 'doing' it's about being' (nothing original here). As my CSM mentioned later 'we're human beings not human doings'

We used the following songs:

• 'Come now is the time to worship',
• 'Oh thou God of every nation',
• 'There is a message',
• 'I surrender all'
• 'Lord I make a full surrender'.

Also played Keith Green's 'You love the world and you're avoiding me' half way through the sermon.

During the appeal, pointed out that anything less than 100% leaves us 'going away sad' (even when we've managed to keep all the commandments from our youth up!) Kept in with the theme of 'Hope 08' by pointing out that 100% commitment (i.e. holiness) is our only 'hope' and the only 'hope' for Dartford - 'if we want to see revival in Dartford it will cost us everything!'

Meeting over ran by half an hour but out of a congregation of 36 including (ten under the age of 15) 34 came and knelt at the Mercy Seat in an act of rededication. That's 94.4% - the two that didn't come forward were my 11 year old daughter who was manning the 'toddlers corner' at the back of the hall and a 93 year old soldier who didn't kneel at the Mercy Seat but did take a pack of 'Hope 08' commitment cards with her.

A great encouragement and bodes well for the future!

Love and prayers

A

Al change... again

We had a Corps Council meeting last night, mainly to discuss dates for this years Corps calendar. At first the meeting was a bit fragmented as everyone competed with diaries waved like scimitars! However, eventually we settle down and moved on to discuss other topics such as prayer and outreach.

Then the strangest thing happened….

It quickly became apparent that if we were to become an evangelical Corps there was no way one meeting on a Sunday morning was going to provide sufficient capacity for everything we wanted to do!

What we needed was street outreach (open-airs) and then we needed dedicated meetings (gatherings) to bring people back to. In short we were probably going to have to consider the reintroduction of a Sunday night (or maybe a Saturday night) salvation meeting, a mid-week holiness meeting, a custom designed ‘Alpha’ type initiative (one dedicated to discipling within an SA concept with the aim of making ‘Soldiers’)

I couldn’t help thinking about meetings taking place in the same hall, years earlier where (with the best will in the world) SA infrastructure (Corps Cadets, Open Airs, Directory, Praise Meetings etc) was carefully dismantled brick by brick and here we were in the same hall contemplating putting the whole thing back together again.

Why did we change? Was it to accommodate the needs of the world? Was it to become more family orientated? Was it to become more seeker friendly? Or was it simply because we lost our heart for mission, became lazy and apathetic and to quote Keith Green ‘loved the light of our TV’ more than we loved God?

I don’t blame soldiery, I hold Officers accountable, at the end of the day the CO is the manager and the motivator and the buck must stop there.

Love and prayers

A

Getting old...

I went to bed early last night as I was tired. However, tiredness isn’t always enough to send me to sleep! So I decided to watch a documentary on TV (always has a soporific effect on me!).

The programme was about the history of ‘light entertainment’ and covered the period from ‘Billy Cotton’s Bandstand’ right through to the current day. As I watched the section that dealt with the 1970’s I suddenly realised how old I was! This year I shall be 47 and if I retire at 65 (which I won’t!) then I only have 18 years working life left.

Where has the time gone? We have been at Dartford now nearly 6 months and it seems to have gone by in a flash. This year my son Ben gets married (I can remember the day he was born as if it was yesterday!)

I struggle with growing old – not from a vanity point of view – I’ve no desire to hang on to my fading youth! I struggle because of the time I have wasted. I sometimes think that is why I am such a driven man – I have so much lost time to make up for.

As I enter my 47th Year the promise below is the one that I am going to cling to, it comes from Joel Chapter 2 and is just prior to the promise of Pentecost.

“23 Be glad, O people of Zion,

rejoice in the LORD your God,

for he has given you

the autumn rains in righteousness.

He sends you abundant showers,

both autumn and spring rains, as before.
24 The threshing floors will be filled with grain;

the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.
25 "I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—

the great locust and the young locust,

the other locusts and the locust swarm

my great army that I sent among you.
26 You will have plenty to eat, until you are full,

and you will praise the name of the LORD your God,

who has worked wonders for you;

never again will my people be shamed.
27 Then you will know that I am in Israel,

that I am the LORD your God,

and that there is no other;

never again will my people be shamed."

I have a feeling that the church is about to enter a time of reaping, I think today’s Christians are called to ‘bring in the sheaves!’ May God bless us and make us fruitful and may we see the ‘years the locusts have wasted’ restored.

Hallelujah!

Love and prayers

A

Brengle on men of fire!

I came across the following quote from Brengle's 'Ressurection, Life and Power' - I think that in 2008 I'd like to a 'man of fire'.

"Men of fire are men of faith. They believe God, and they burn because they believe. They believe God is, ‘and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him’ (Hebrews 11:6), therefore they seek him diligently day by day, and he rewards them by sweet assurances and intimations of his love and favour. They seek his face that they may behold his beauty and catch its reflection (Psalm 27: 4 & 90:17); they seek his will that they may do it (Matthew 7: 21); they listen for his voice that they may open the door of their hearts to him and entertain him as their guest (Revelation 3:20); and hearing, they follow where he leads (John 10: 3-5 & 16); and they seek his commandments, his promises and his precepts, that they may live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God (Matthew 4: 4).

Men of fire have seasons of solitude for secret prayer. They get alone with God as Jesus did in his all – nights of prayer, as John did in the wilderness, as Moses did on Sinai, as Elijah did on Horeb and there in deep meditation and fellowship with him they see how small and transient is the world with its prizes and its pomp. They count it but refuse for Christ, that they may know him. Men of fire are men of prayer. They pray in secret and they seek out kindred spirits to pray with them.

Men of fire love God. They love his people, his house, his service. They love righteousness and holiness, and they hate sin and every evil way. They turn away their ears from that which they should not hear. They stand on guard at the gateway of eye and ear and every sense, lest sin get into their hearts through unguarded ways.

Men of fire are self sacrificing and self denying. They do not entangle themselves with the affairs of this life anymore than does the good soldier who goes forth to war. They do not mix with the men of the world except to do them good and, if possible, win them to Christ. They guard the fire in their hearts as their soul protection upon earth and their passport to heaven.

Oh my comrades, let us be burning and shining lights, and then great shall be our reward, and great shall be our peace and joy, and good success shall surely accompany all our labours, and the Saviours words, ‘well done’ shall greet us as we are welcomed through the gates of pearl to heaven, our eternal home."

Hallelujah!

Love and prayers

A

So much for resolutions!

This year I made three resolutions.

To completely eradicate caffeine from my diet.

To try and approach life at a slightly more measured pace.

To blog every day!

Today's the 4th January and the first of these resolutions is the only one that is still intact. On reflection I suppose that the third one was never going to happen if I kept the second one and let's face it the second one was never going to happen!

So... my resolutions are down to one - no caffeine!

Now that's sorted I am free to dive into whatever wonderful and demanding adventures God has planned for 2008. Bring it on Lord - bring it on!

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." (Ephesians 3:20-21)

Dartford Dispatches

It’s a long time since I’ve had the time to blog.
If there is another vocation out there that crams as much into one month as Salvation Army Officership crams into December I’ll eat my cap!

Incredible things have been happening at Dartford – God has been picking off individuals like a sniper. We have seen no conversions to date but God is definitely preparing the ground. We have seen the power of holiness transform lives and it is indeed an amazing thing to behold.

On a practical front we‘ve got building works starting on Friday – all funded from within the Corps. We also have a new sound system and AV rig going in before our carol service at the end of the month. We’ve also got a quote coming in for a new fitted kitchen. We haven’t applied for any external grants or funding - this is all being paid for out of existing funds and money generated by new fund-raising started up in the last 3 months.

Our sale of work this year raised £2481 (our Corps budget anticipated £400) this incredible total included one single cash donation of £1000 – this came not from a Salvationist but from a lady who simply ‘admires the work of the Army in Dartford’ (an admiration that began long before we arrived!)

Last week our band played in the High Street for the first time in 16 years! Later on the same day we carolled at Bluewater shopping centre – unable to get any help from surrounding Corps - we followed the lead of Gideon and went in the strength we had! Nobody at the Corps could believe that Dartford band had carolled – let alone at Bluewater!

We took our Corps flag to the High Street and also to Bluewater – I noticed it’s got a few moth holes in it – should we get another one or should we let the old one enjoy a new season of outreach and open-airs before we promote it to glory? Booth Tucker visited Dartford (where his daughter was the CO) back in 1920’s – it’s quite possible he marched behind the moth-eaten flag – I think we’ll give it another season of warfare first!

On Sunday a family of political asylum seekers from Sri Lanka who we had given a food parcel to earlier in the week came to the meetings. They didn’t understand a word that was said or sung but they understood (and responded to) the love that was shown to them.

God’s hand of blessing is quite clearly upon us and I am certain that 2008 will bring even greater blessings including the onset of revival!

Watch this space.

A brilliant soul-saving idea!

The contemporised words of GSR (see previous blogs) have set my mind racing.

The other day I was prayerfully considering the plight of the unsaved and their obvious discomfort (at least until they’ve been converted) in ordinary Corps meetings.

Then I had this brilliant idea!

Why not have a special meeting dedicated to the unsaved, somewhere they would feel comfortable, somewhere where they could hear the gospel in a way they understood, maybe free coffee and doughnuts – who knows? Whatever works best!

Then I thought but how would I get the unsaved to come in? I’d have to go outside and find them, I’d have to round them up, chase them down, invite them to come back to the hall!

Brilliant – I could see the whole thing taking shape in my imagination.

Then a little voice inside my head (or maybe my heart) said – “So you’re going to have a salvation meeting preceded by an open-air?”

There truly is nothing new under the sun!

Love and prayers

A

PS The picture is an early SA open air meeting in Dartford! (about 1908)

More modernised Railton...

More from 'Heathen England in modern English - remember this is a report from 130 years go yet it could be a contemporary report looking into the reason why evangelism fails!

"Imagine what would happen if Christians really did care enough to get those outside their churches inside (not just for a week or two once a year but all the time), what would their chances of success be?

Look at the average church, the building, the way the people dress, the way people behave, the way things happen (should I stand or sit?), the language used, the songs sung – one might think the whole thing had been deliberately designed to keep ordinary people out. Even if you could get them to come along once the likelihood of a return visit would be slim indeed.

And then think about the service itself, — to those who have attended all their lives it might be described as beautiful, carefully designed to teach, refresh and encourage those who have developed an appetite for the acquired taste of such heavenly food, yet this same service is probably completely indigestible to non church goers. Outsiders might enjoy the music yet not have the confidence to join in, they might listen to the prayers, but again not join in — maybe not even realise the prayers were being prayed on their behalf. As for the sermon (assuming they could understand it) — because it had been written with believers in mind it would probably fall on deaf ears. The whole experience, despite the kindness shown by the genuine warm welcome and many handshakes, would suggest to the newcomer that this kind of thing was probably for others but not for them.

Let me put a question to those who have organised special evangelical services and outreach programmes where they have invited preachers to come along who are killed in preaching salvation – even if you have succeeded in bringing people in – how many have come back?

The truth is that most ordinary people cannot be encouraged to attend ordinary church services and ordinary places of worship, no matter how sincerely they are invited to do so. This fact is proven by the constant stream of conferences and seminars held throughout the church to address this very situation."

Love and prayers

A