Year of Salvation

I was talking to my good mate, James (see link to Wholly Holy) a couple of weeks ago and together with our spiritual discernment we felt there was possibly some type of 'curse' over the Salvation Army that was stopping us 'saving souls' in the proportion that we should be. Many of us are responding to God's call upon our lives and we should be seeing the flood gates opening in a 'biblical' size but we're not!!

I spent last weekend up in the Snowy Mountains in NSW with my family and I got to spend some quiet time with God and He told me its not a curse on the Army but He did push the thought - how can we give out when we're empty!?

God showed me a picture of the Salvation Army that appeared to me as large circle. It was a huge circle with a very thin outside layer. This thin outside layer was the Salvationists that were Spirit filled and the rest were not, a huge ridiculous amount of 'soldiers' were not filled with the Spirit of our God!! How can we give out if we are empty??

That night I prayed for a while with my brother Sean and God Gave me the title for 2007 - 'Year of Salvation' along with a Bible verse "Yet, O Lord, You are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand." Isaiah 64:8 which told me He wants to be remolding us this year so He can fling open the flood gates and make this the year of Salvation, but we must allow ourselves to be fully devoted to His work and be filled with His Spirit - we as the Salvation Army must focus this year on allowing the Spirit of God be filling all who are under the banner of His Army! Without the Spirit of God we are doing everything in our own strength and our own authority - no wonder we're not doing any good in the world any more - we're doing what we want and therefore God isn't getting any glory, therefore not blessing us!!!

Lets be filled with the Holy Spirit this year, everyone who claims to be a disciple of Jesus must be filled and therefore developing Spiritual gifts which will build up His church, change the world through His strength and authority and give Him the Glory He rightfully deserves!

If you've never been filled before with the Spirit of God, start praying for it, search for it and move past the baptism of John, the baptism of repentance - let's get past living in our sinful lives and now move to the baptism of Jesus - the baptism of the Holy Spirit!! This is going to be the Year of Salvation - let's rise up and bring the world back to God in Jesus Name and authority.

As I was writing this I happened to pick up a book in a pile and it had a note written in about the baptism of the Holy Spirit which I'll share with you. It's from a book titled "Helps to Holiness" by Samuel Logan Brengle and on page x of the introduction it says;

"Do you want to know what the baptism of the Holy Ghost is? It is not a mere sentiment. It is not a happy sensation that passes away in the night. It is a baptism of love that brings every thought into captivity to the Lord Jesus; that casts out all fear that burns up doubt and unbelief as fire burns tow; that makes one 'meak and lowly in heart'; that makes one hate uncleanness, lying and deceit, a flattering tongue and every evil way with a perfect hatred; that makes heaven and hell eternal realities; that makes one patient and gentle with the forward and sinful; that makes one 'pure,...peacable,...easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hippocracy ';that brings one into perfect and unbroken sympathy with the Lord Jesus Christ in His toil and travail to bring a lost and rebel world back to God"

"Paul said, 'John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him that is, in Jesus.' On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied."
Acts 19:4-5

Out with 2006!!

Well, it's a good thing that 2006 is over in a way since there was quite a few deaths of good friends and family which occurred during the year and hopefully the last one occuring on the last day of the year.

My Mum's youngest sister lost her battle to a brain tumor at midnight as the last day of the year arrived. In recent days she had been searching for answers about what was going to happen to her immortal soul as she was becomming very confused and worried at the same time about what was going to become of her soul. She was once a Senior Soldier in the Salvation Army when she was younger, but I feel that doesn't mean she really knew that Jesus was the Son of God - too many people talk the talk in the Army, even back then.

Assuming my Aunty was truly saved at that time - and backslidden in more recent days, is it true to say that 'once saved - always saved'?? Someone said this to me on Sunday - but can it be true? I've got a lot of things going on im my head at the moment, and one of them is - all the demons know that Jesus is the Son of God, but are they saved? You can know that Jesus is Lord, but turn away from Him, can't you? Many of her sibblings are in the same boat, and it's sinking!

How many more people in the world also know that the end of their life is comming and are fearful of what is going to happen to their souls, either not knowing what the full truth that Jesus has to offer to them, or not even knowing of Him at all??

In my Aunty's last morning, she was getting upset saying that God wasn't listening and that she just wanted her head to finally explode and it just to end - that night she died and it looks as though her head may have just done what she wanted - God WAS listening! Only if she knew. It makes me sad to think that she was lost, not just in the spiritual sense, but mentally having no hope or sense of security. I didn't even know the words to say to her to help - she continually thanked me for my prayers, but did she really mean it? I think it did give her some sort of comfort.

Just to fill you in, October/November of 2005 she was originally diagnosed with only 1-2 months to live - God told me she would be healed and she went into remission a few months later, but then halfway through last year secondary cancer hit. Mum was devistated and blamed me, saying that I told her that God had given her a miracle, but now she found it wasn't true. God healed her, but I feel a lack of faith of God in other family members wasn't helping. Was this supposed to be a wake up call to a family being lost - was the miracle a gift to them that went unappreciated, so God took it back??

Anyway, I suppose I better go out and make sure the rest of the world doesn't end up in her position not knowing the hope of eternal life paid through Jesus' blood. I want everyone to have the peace that I do - it is offered to all. If you know this peace too, don't keep it to yourself - sometimes it's hardest to talk to your family about these things, but if you tell others, you could have saved my Aunty for me, but you didn't! I just hope I can save someone elses Aunty!

Enough of my depressive thoughts - go out and tell the world about Jesus, for everyones sake, especially God's, He wants them to know.
If anyone has a word of encouragement, please share it with me, I could use some lightening up (obviously!! lol)

Well, until next time - God bless.
Simon.