Prophetic movement

I was at at conference on the weekend called 'Dwelling in The Spirit' in Melbourne. The conference was amazingly powerful and there was no doubting that God was present. I felt on the first night that God had even sent four angels specifically for our time there, but not sure of their specific role or purpose but God surely had His way.

As we went along, one of our main speakers, Corey went into a ministry time at the end of his sessions and many many people recieved words from God and were encouraged as it usually is when you hear from God.

One of the things I took away from the weekend is that I heard God saying to us, and when I say us I'm speaking to The Salvation Army who it was run by and attended by, we NEED to be a prophetic movement!

It's easy enough to respond to situations but to be one step ahead, or to take leadership over situations it to have a hand up; in terms of the 'evils' of this world, we NEED to be one step ahead to be relevant, or else we will loose influence and be irrelivant. One saying I love is 'prevention is better than a cure'; it pays to be prophetic, and the world we live in needs us to be.

God, His Word and His Salvation is going to be always relevant, more than relevant, a necessity for the world, so how do we bring that necessity to the world around us - by being prophetic - being relevant, two steps ahead of the enemy in whatever form he is counteracting God's work.

What does this look like and how will this happen? How it will look, I'm not completely sure, maybe a bit like the book of Acts but in modern settings, but how, just by listening to the voice of God, loving Him with all of our hearts and minds and acting on His Word when He speaks.

What is the Spirit saying to The Salvation Army today? How are we being that prophetic movement that the world so desparetly needs? Love God and love your neighbour - pray night and day for justice (Luke 18:7-8 http://www.saglobal247.org/)

I just want to leave you with a passage of scripture;

We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

2 Peter 1:19

Be relevant (prophetic) to the world that is needing the relevance of God and His salvation.

God

There is a living God; He has spoken in the Bible. He means what He says and will do all He has promised.

- Hudson Taylor

Short message for today

"What is impossible with man, is possible with God"

Luke. 18:27

General Linda Bond's first pastoral letter

June 2011

Pastoral Letter Dear Salvationists: As this is my first pastoral letter since I took office as General in April, I want to share a personal word with you and also emphasise what we hold in common. My upbringing in the New Aberdeen Corps in Nova Scotia, Canada provided me with a clear understanding of the gospel of Jesus. As a child, I was not only aware that I could accept him as my Saviour but was trained to serve him. That service ultimately led me to say yes to the Lord's clear call to be an officer. A variety of appointments over these past 42 years have proven that the Lord opens doors of opportunity and gives great fulfilment and blessing. As Lord and Saviour, he never disappoints. Obeying him, trusting him and living for him are my greatest joys. No doubt you also have had a personal encounter with the Lord that has changed the course of your life. Every experience is different but what we share in common is that we serve him together in The Salvation Army. We are blessed with a wonderful heritage and the future is as bright as the promises of God. Yet the present connects both, does it not? We build on the past and chart a course for the future by our faithfulness to his mission in the present. Surely we all desire to be part of a Spirit-filled Army of the 21st century! Much depends on our own response to the Spirit but we can never imagine what God has in store for the Army he raised up. We need to seek him, keep in step with his Spirit and make his mission our priority. Very soon you will be hearing from your territorial/command leaders about a way in which we can meet together in prayer. Commencing 1 September, we will begin to hold a weekly 30-minute international prayer meeting on Thursdays. Territories and commands have been asked to choose a half hour between 5 and 8 o'clock in the morning and will be urging Salvationists to pray for the Army and our mission priorities. Because we serve in so many different time zones, there is the possibility that for all or most of every Thursday, the Army will be at prayer. I hope you too will be joining us, in groups or individually. There will be information coming soon on the General's website. I will be joining with staff at International Headquarters at 7.30am, London time. I close this letter with one of my favourite verses of Scripture; Psalm 143:8: 'Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you'. The psalmist whispered this prayer in the midst of adverse circumstances. However, it can be prayed every day, in the best of times and the worst of times. And it will be a prayer that God will always answer. May you delight in his love, be secure in it and share it. God bless you richly, Linda Bond General

Prayer

Some people pray just to pray and some people pray to know God. -Andrew Murray

Which one are you?

Prayer works!

Is the Son of God praying in me, or am I dictating to Him?....Prayer is not simply getting things from God, that is a most initial form of prayer; prayer is getting into perfect communion with God. If the Son of God is formed in us by regeneration, He will press forward in front of our common sense and change our attitude to the things about which we pray. --Oswald Chambers

Discipleship

"Discipleship is anything that causes what is believed in the heart to have demonstrable consequences in our daily life"

Eugene Peterson

New Pledge of Allegiance

Since the Pledge of Allegiance and The Lord's Prayer are not allowed in most public schools anymore because the word 'God' is mentioned..... a kid in Arizona wrote this NEW School prayer:

"New Pledge of Allegiance"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now I sit me down in school

Where praying is against the rule

For this great nation under God

Finds mention of Him very odd.

If scripture now the class recites,

It violates the Bill of Rights.

And anytime my head I bow

Becomes a Federal matter now..

Our hair can be purple, orange or green,

That's no offense; it's a freedom scene..

The law is specific, the law is precise.

Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.

For praying in a public hall

Might offend someone with no faith at all..

In silence alone we must meditate,

God's name is prohibited by the state.

We're allowed to cuss and dress like freaks,

And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks...

They've outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible.

To quote the Good Book makes me liable.

We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,

And the 'unwed daddy,' our Senior King.

It's 'inappropriate' to teach right from wrong,

We're taught that such 'judgments' do not belong..

We can get our condoms and birth controls, Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles...

But the Ten Commandments are not allowed, No word of God must reach this crowd.

It's scary here I must confess,

When chaos reigns the school's a mess.

So, Lord, this silent plea I make:

Should I be shot; My soul please take!

Amen

End times?

There is so much going on in the world at the moment, it's almost like the world is ready to end and many people are actually worried it almost is!

In the gospel of Mark, Jesus tells us;

".. you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don't panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won't follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in many parts of the world, as well as famines. But this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come."

Yes, as many are currently saying, the signs are pointing to it being the end, but as Jesus said, it's only the start and I believe it has been starting for a long time.

We have hope in Jesus, He has given us eternal life which takes away any fear of the end in my heart.

No one knows the date or time the world will end, not even Jesus, so when people tell you the world will end in 2012 or any other time, I wonder how they know, unless they are God.

Find hope in Jesus as I have, I can sleep well knowing that I'm saved here and now thanks to the sacrifice Jesus gave for me. Whether the world ends tonight or in 1,000 years, I'm going to Heaven where there is no fear or pain.

This is only the start, if it truly is the birth pains of 'the end'. Live life everyday like it's your last. Choose to love and live a good life. Life's too short to live in fear or to leave anything till tomorrow (unless you're trying to balance the budget..)

Spread the news of God's love rather than spreading fear of 'end times'.

Be blessed, and live under the wing of God's salvation through the Blood of Jesus!

Patience?

If God told you on the front end how long you would wait... you'd lose heart... But He doesn't. He just says, "Wait. I keep My word.... In the process of time I'm developing you to be ready."

- F.B.Meyer

Which star are you following?

I've noticed how often people love to read their stars - are you one of those people?

Have you noticed how much of a pull that they can have on you - when you're turning through the newspaper and find the page with the star signs on it, you can't help but be pulled into it - why is that!?

One thing that annoys me a bit is when Christians have to read them to enjoy the day... well that is if it is a good reading for the day! Why do we as Christians look for positive words and find hope in something someone reads from an interpretation of what they think the positions of the stars in the sky are saying to them?

Why do we listen to the creation rather than going straight to the Creator?

I might tell you a secret - the creation can't tell you anything as accurate as their Creator - God is all knowing and placed the stars in their place, find hope in Him rather than in someones interpretation of God's art. The stars are there for our awe of their Creator - it points us to God and how amazing He is!

I've been led to think that around 2,000 years ago there was a few wise men who also were led by the stars - one in particular actually.

These wise men followed this star and were actually led to a Saviour.

In saying this, I pray that you are also a wise man/woman and follow the correct star and also find your Saviour instead of fuzzy, generalised predicitons that cover everyone who was born during that month that you have been born and find a special, personalised word of hope for you; specifically from God the Father of all creation.

Which are you going to follow today, the stars or singular - a star that leads to your salvation through Jesus.

Hope all is well in your part of the world, and remember to pray for the families affected by the Christchurch earthquakes and current upsets in the Middle East.

Blessings