Love Is ... Transforming

Journalist Frank Morison once set out to write a book disproving the resurrection of Jesus Christ. However, as he studied the Bible accounts and other historical religious writings, he became more and more convinced of its truth.

In his book 'Who Moved the Stone?', he concludes that there is no evidence or explanation for the disappearance of Jesus from the tomb other than that he had been raised from death, as the Bible says. God’s love, expressed in the death of his Son on the cross, had completely changed Frank’s beliefs.

This week we’re taking a look at another sceptic, a fanatical opponent of Christianity who became one of its most influential leaders, writers and missionaries: the apostle Paul.

We first read about Paul, or Saul as he was also known, as a bystander during the stoning of Stephen, the first Christian martyr (see Acts 7:58). This event sparked an horrific persecution of Christian believers in Jerusalem, causing many to flee. Paul was one of the ringleaders. Armed with arrest warrants, Paul set off for Damascus to hunt out more Christians in hiding. But something happened during that journey: he had a life-transforming encounter with Jesus. The phrase ‘a Damascus road experience’ comes from this Bible story (see Acts 9:1-9).

How did Paul explain this sudden change of heart? He later wrote: ‘Christ’s love has moved me to such extremes’ (2 Corinthians 5:14 The Message).

‘Love changes everything,’ says the song from the musical 'Aspects of Love'. ‘Love will turn your world around … Nothing in the world will ever be the same.’ That was true for Frank Morison, for Paul and for countless people down the ages who have allowed God to change their lives for the better. Many who were regarded by society as no-hopers are now living transformed and fulfilled lives because they know their past sins are forgiven.

No wonder Paul wrote in his First Letter to the Corinthians that love ‘hopes all things’ (13:7 New Revised Standard Version). It brings hope. It was God’s love that turned Paul’s world around - from a life of hate and destruction to one of spreading the gospel of Jesus and establishing communities of Christians wherever he went.

Whoever we are, God’s love can make a world of difference.

UK & Ireland War Cry February 2013
Photo credit: War Cry pictures

Junior Soldier Award Feb 2013

Click here for more photos

Prayer Request

1. Please intercede for Colonel Gillian Downer.

2. Please intercede for Lt. Colonel Lyndon & Bronwyn Buckingham

3. Please intercede for Hock Sun, Phee Keat, Tuan Ewe, Tuan Eng

4. Please intercede for Seow Hwee, Loo Thoe & Khye Lin Tan

5. Please intercede for 75th Anniversary working committee

Annoucements

1. Youth Fellowship
Date: 24/02/13 (Sun); Time: 7:30pm; Venue: Community Hall
All youth please take note.

2. World Day of Prayer
Date: 01/03/13 (Fri); Time: 8:00pm; Venue: St. George's Church
All are welcome to join and pray for our nation and worldwide.

3.Senior Citizen Breakfast Fellowship
Date: 02/03/13 (Sat); Time: 8:00am; Venue: Paya Terubong
All seniors are welcome to join us.

4. Prayer Meeting
Date: 08/03/13 (Fri); Time: 8:00pm; Venue: Penang Corps
Please send us your prayer request.

5. Flag Day Street Collection
Date: 09 & 23/03/13 (Sat); Time: 7:00am; Venue: Meet at PCH
Volunteers needed for the Flag Day street collection.

6. Cell Group Ministry
Date: 15/03/13 (Fri); Time: 8:00pm; Venue: To be announce
Please see your cell group leader for more information.

7. 75th Anniversary Charity Dinner Ticket
Please contact Captain Brenda for charity dinner tickets. our target is to raise RM75,000 for Penang Charity works.

Corps CNY Reunion Dinner Feb 2013

Click here for more photos

Taking Flight

 Renée Davis has been checking out a new movie, and says it’s time to ditch the baggage

Fasten your seatbelts! Denzel’s latest vehicle - 'Flight' - is landing in cinemas across the UK. In the thriller, Denzel Washington stars as the skilled yet somewhat troubled airline pilot Captain Whip Whitaker.

It should be an ordinary day for the crew of SouthJet Airlines. But after a particularly heavy night drinking, Captain Whitaker boldly shows up to fly a planeload of passengers. It’s a routine journey, but things don’t run smoothly. There is severe turbulence and the plane ends up in the middle of a storm. There are also mechanical problems, causing the plane to spiral out of control.

Whip has to act fast. He has to try to land the plane safely. Desperately, he crash-lands in a field. Although the impact is shattering, he manages to save all but six of the 102 people on board. Whip wakes up in hospital to find he has been hailed a hero for the miracle landing.

The media go crazy, wondering how he managed to land the plane. The National Transportation Safety Board have their suspicions. They ask what actually happened to the plane. What, or who, was responsible for the plane’s problems? An investigation follows. Whip is in the hot seat. He is convinced that all the passengers on the plane would have died if he hadn’t been in the cockpit. He is convinced that his addictive lifestyle played no part in the crash. Old friend and union representative Charlie Anderson (John Goodman) and lawyer Hugh Lang (Don Cheadle) fight to clear Whip’s name.

To escape the media frenzy, Whip takes refuge at his late father’s farm. He invites recovering drug addict Nicole - a woman he met in the hospital - to come and stay with him. Their friendship blossoms into romance, which could be exactly what Whip needs to straighten out his life. But he refuses to accept help or change. As crash investigators dig deeper, Whip takes a good look at himself. He questions the life he seemed to have got away with living. Will he allow his lies to get him off the hook this time?

No matter the scale, many of us have personal issues that we’d rather not deal with. We hide them by spending money, working extra hard at our jobs or simply putting a smile on our faces. Sometimes we may even cheat and lie. But using cover-ups isn’t the way out.  People try to deceive others, themselves and even God. They tell themselves that they are OK when they are not. But there is only one way out of such deception - the truth.

‘The truth,’ says Jesus, ‘will set you free’ (John 8:32 New International Version).

We don’t have to be bogged down by our lies. We can accept Jesus’ forgiveness for our wrongdoing. We can be healed by his love and set free by the truth of his teachings. He is always willing to accept us exactly as we are. When we welcome Jesus aboard our lives, we can rest assured that he will pilot us safely through whatever we have to face.

UK & Ireland - Feb 2013 War Cry

Photo credit: Paramount Pictures

Baby Declan Dedication Feb 2013

Click here for more photos

Prayer Request

1. Please intercede for Penang Flag Day on March 2013

2. Please intercede for coming Malaysia General Election

3. Please intercede forChris, Sheila and Declan Lee.

4. Please intercede for Blessy John who will return back to India

5. Please intercede for Youth & Candidates Secretary, Capt Zane.

Announcements

1. Corps Reunion Dinner (Pot Bless Steamboat)
Date: 23/02/13 (Sat); Time: 7:00pm; Venue: Community Hall
All are welcome and share and bring friends to attend.

2. World Day of Prayer
Date: 01/03/13 (Fri); Time: 8:00pm; Venue: St. George's Church
All are welcome to join and pray for our nation and worldwide.

3.Senior Citizen Breakfast Fellowship
Date: 02/03/13 (Sat); Time: 8:00am; Venue: Paya Terubong
All seniors are welcome to join us.

4. Flag Day Street Collection
Date: 09 & 23/03/13 (Sat); Time: 7:00am; Venue: Meet at PCH
Volunteers needed for the Flag Day street collection.

5. 75th Anniversary Charity Dinner Ticket
Please contact Captain Brenda for charity dinner tickets. our target is to raise RM75,000 for Penang Charity works.

SHARING THE VISION - Feb 2013

Dear Friends,


In explaining the International Vision, I have often alluded to the fact that this vision did not come to me in a dream, or in a supernatural visitation. It came as a result of an officer asking what I saw if mission priorities were actioned. I answered that I saw what I have always seen, an army on the move. Capturing that imagery is of course not rocket science. Not one of us thinks of any army as fulfilling its mission by staying in the barracks or marching in precision on the parade square. Whether it is a peacekeeping assignment or fighting force or emergency deployment, strategy and action are identifiable marks.

Since writing to you last December, I have seen our Army on the move in the territories of India Western, India Central, Japan and Sri Lanka as well as our new work in Nepal. In the farewell of Commissioners Barry and Sue Swanson (Chief of the Staff and World President of Women’s Ministries) and the welcoming of their successors, Commissioners André and Silvia Cox, along with the moves of so many leaders around the world, the Army was literally also on the move. Hopefully you have caught up with all of these visits and special occasions through our International News Releases (www.salvationarmy.org/ihq/news).

Do you ever wonder what the Lord sees when he watches us? He surely has his eyes wide open to the great things that are happening through the dedicated, compassionate action of Salvationists. He sees the crowds of people in India as they meet together for worship, and their spontaneous and reverent kneeling at the mercy seat. He sees the faithful Salvationists in Japan, who meet the needs of suffering humanity in their numerous social centres. I even think he smiles when he sees three elephants in an Army march in Sri Lanka, bearing on their foreheads the One Army, One Mission, One Message logo. But even more significantly, he smiles when he sees this vision actioned in Salvationist’s wonderful work among orphaned children and youth. He was watching the officer couple and their two daughters on the streets of Kathmandu, Nepal, as they courageously carried the Army flag and their tambourines to celebrate an Easter sunrise service. And when we meet to honour leaders who are prepared to move around the world and take on challenging assignments for his sake, he is there, watching, listening.

The Lord not only sees what is happening but he also sees the path ahead, the way we should take as his Army. A very special Scripture verse for many of us is ‘I will instruct you. I will teach you the way that you should go. I will advise you as my eyes watch over you’ (Psalm 32:8 GOD’S WORD ® Translation). Yes, we can strategise, envision and even move forward, but in truth, not one of us knows the future, knows what lies ahead. All the imagining in the world cannot guarantee effectiveness in mission or fruitfulness in service. But the One who sees, knows. It may sound like a slick slogan or even a paradox, but an Army on the march must be an Army on its knees. The vision can only be actualised as we have his guidance and commit to it.

It is true for The Salvation Army but it is also true for you, for me. Personal plans or dreams or the best of intentions still belong to an uncertain future. Though it is uncertain to us, it is not to him. The One who sees your life, my life, today is the One who delights to give us a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11).

Moving forward, therefore, need not be a matter of thoughtless action or hesitancy. Let’s claim his promise: ‘I will advise you as my eyes watch over you.’

Sincerely,

Linda Bond
General

Bible Works

War Cry’ Comment on a Bible Society initiative in Malawi
 

For those wanting to broaden their horizons, February’s 'Geographical' offers considerable insight. The magazine of the prestigious Royal Geographical Society tells how biblical principles are helping to reduce prevalence rates of HIV/Aids among rural communities in Malawi.

According to 2011 UNAIDS estimates, 44,000 people - the population of Yeovil - die in Malawi each year from Aids-related illnesses. In the 15 to 49-year-old age group, some 10 per cent of the population is living with HIV. There are about 610,000 Aids orphans.

As tragic as these figures are, they represent an improvement, thanks - in part - to the Good Samaritan project run by Bible Society. In her article, Hazel Southam explains: ‘Using the biblical story of the good Samaritan as its base, the programme teaches compassion for those who are suffering. It explains what HIV is, how it’s transmitted and why it’s important to get tested.

‘It also encourages sexual gratification within marriage as a means of increasing faithfulness and thus a reduction in the number of sexual partners, and the use of condoms.’

The approach is making a difference. Ms Southam reports that in one village 25 per cent of inhabitants were HIV-positive. After responding to the biblical teaching, the figure is now 15 per cent. Since the scheme started in 2010, the national prevalence rate has dropped from 12 to 10.6 per cent.

The change in behaviour started with a change of attitude. People in Malawi used to believe that Aids was a divine curse. It is exposure to the notions of grace and compassion found in Jesus’ parable of the good Samaritan that is changing their hearts, their minds and their lifestyles.

That, in itself, is a biblical principle. As we open ourselves to the teachings and principles of Jesus, our beliefs and behaviour change. As we practise what he preached, we become more complete - healthier - people.

UK & Ireland ~ Feb 2013 War Cry

Love Is ... Caring

Rosemary Dawson looks at aspects of love found in the Bible book 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

If it is true that money makes the world go round, so does love. What would songwriters and film-makers do without it?

Throughout the centuries, countless men and women have attempted and accomplished many things in the name of love for God and humankind. Some have even made the ultimate sacrifice. For instance, five teachers and two health workers were recently shot in North West Pakistan simply for trying to improve the lives of their community by administering the polio vaccine.

The many forms of social work carried out by The Salvation Army came into being in the 1880s through its own members’ motivation to express their love for God in practical care for their neighbours.

Jesus put forward the question: ‘If all you do is love the loveable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that’ (Matthew 5:46 The Message).

For more than 45 years, Mother Teresa of Calcutta sacrificially ministered to poor, sick, orphaned and dying people in India.

There are many unsung ‘Mother Teresas’ around the world. There’s even one in Bournemouth. She’s a Salvation Army member known to homeless people there as ‘the sock lady’. Mary goes on a weekly soup-run and has made it her practical ministry to wash the people’s feet, make them more comfortable and give them clean socks to wear. Like many other followers of Jesus, she is putting into practice the Bible’s teaching: ‘Love cares more for others than for self’ (1 Corinthians 13:4).

Mary is also following the example of Jesus, who washed his disciples’ feet (see John 13:6-8), and the woman who performed the same task for Jesus in gratitude for his changing her outlook (see Luke 7:36-48).

In Bible days, this custom of hospitality towards guests was a necessity after walking the dusty roads.

The song by Burt Bacharach is more relevant than ever: 

‘What the world needs now is love, sweet love/ It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of.’

What can we do to rectify that?

UK & Ireland ~ Feb 2013 War Cry

Prayer Request

1. Please intercede for Penang Flag Day on March 2013

2. Please intercede for Commissioners and Mrs Lim Ah Ang

3. Please intercede for John, Shirley, Cheryl, Robin, Michelle Lee

4. Please intercede for Blessy John who will return back to India soon

Announcements

1. Youth Fellowship
 Date: 03/02/13 (Sun); Time: 7:30pm; Venue: Corps Worship Hall

2. Ang Bao Sunday
Date: 17/02/13 (Sun); Venue: Corps Worship Hall
A collection for the candidate fund for officership will be taken.

3. Banana Leaf Sunday
Date: 16/02/13 (Sat) Time: 11:00am Venue: Community Hall
This is an outreach programme for the needy group. Volunteers and prayer support needed.

4. Corps Reunion Dinner (Pot Bless Steamboat)
Date: 23/02/13 (Sat); Time: 7:00pm; Venue: Community Hall
All are welcome and share and bring friends to attend.