The End

Sad but true.

I'm gonna delete my blog soon. Keeping up blogging is currently more stressful than enjoyable to me. There is a time for everything. I believe my time in Canada was my time to blog for now.

Thanks to all faithful readers, especially in Germany.

May God let you experience countless blogable adventures with him!

Awaken the giant

Christmas time is kettle season in the Salvation Army. This year I have the pleasure to contribute to this extraordinary event for the first time of my life myself.

Altogether I'm fine with the idea of presenting ourselves to the public to encourage people to donate for our ministry which also gives us opportunity to witness as well. Compared to what the Army's Pub Mission developed into I can agree with the idea of doing kettles, especially since the original purpose IS the money and didn't cover up the purpose of evangelism like it is with the Pub Mission.

But one thing which made me incredibly sad was ending up helping out our singers with singing worldly Christmas songs which don't even mention the name of Jesus, in the public, behind our kettle under the name of the Salvation Army, who is called by God to be light and salt in our society.

Honestly, everyone else can do that.
Preaching the gospel, changing peoples' lives by bringing them to God's throne, making God known to them and praying for them - that's what not everyone else can do.

This is just another call to test our activities in relation to our calling and for their effectivity to win the world for Jesus.

Essentials for the new General

Every time I think of the incredible calling God has placed over theSalvation Army I'm overcome with fear of God, what a great honor andwhat responsibility he has entrusted us with! The only way I can seethis calling fulfilled is by the work of the Spirit of trueSalvationism, the Spirit of God himself. In the Army I see God'sSpirit manifesting himself as the Spirit of whole-hearted andself-sacrificing devotion and the Spirit of power who is showinghimself in great signs and wonders.

The one thing I can see the Army in need of is Openess to the Spiritof the Lord. In Matthew 22:29 Jesus states an important truth in frontof the Pharisees: "Your problem is that you don't know the Scriptures,and you don't know the power of God." This very problem causedspiritual leadership in the days of Jesus and in our days to turntheir back to Jesus and with him to God's plans of hope and future fortheir generation. Being close to God in order to hear his heart beat,being one with his Spirit is key to knowing and being able tocontribute to God's dreams.

"Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORDAlmighty." (Zechariah 4:6). God's Spirit is the one power in which theSalvation Army differs from any worldly army. He is the force thatgives the direction and keeps us on the run. The is the One who grantsus victory. Since there is no victory without a strategy of warfare,our strategy is to follow the leading of the Lord Almighty in battle.

The call is to re-dig the wells of red-hot Salvationism, of aSpirit-filled ministry and of powerful preaching which is changinglives. In order to do this we need to repent of our sin against theSpirit as a movement, for not giving room to the Spirit and notfollowing all his ways, for compromising with worldly securities andlosing focus of our calling. This will enable us once again to activlylisten to and expect the power of the Spirit at work in us at firstand as a result of this through us and among us through sound biblicalteaching and our examples of purity.

God wants to ignite the fire and breath his Spirit into our dry bones.But our part us to propheticly call forth the Spirit, which needs tobe done also from the position of God-given authority over theinternational Army - the Spirit of the One who promises "How much morewill your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?"