TC Today

New Every Morning

Raymond Finger — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 19:00:42 +0000

For many living in Australia and other similar countries, ours is an expedient world. We are always looking for the latest, newest, most impressive thing. Many will buy clothing for example, wear it just a few times and never put it on again, or simply get rid of it. It is not uncommon for people to buy things and never use them at all.

We have grown up in a world that demands a quick response and we get it,or if we do not, then we become impatient or even angry. Our expectations of life around us are enormous and often unrealistic.

This kind of mentality translates into our spiritual expectations as well. We struggle to sit content with the “still small voice of God” in favour of an expectation that God should constantly be pumping out messages like neon signs.

We flick through the Bible without regard for the familiar, in the hope of finding new, earth shattering and exciting inspiration as though the familiar has nothing to say to us today. How wrong we are, and what an injustice we do to the Word of God and ourselves.

From time to time when reading a familiar passage of Scripture, it occurs to us, “I’ve never noticed that before,” as a word, statement or a thought leaps from the page. God’s word is “new every morning.

Let the Word of God speak. Be willing to read again ever so gently the familiar, and welcome it like an old friend. If you will do that, then I am confident that the newness of inspiration will be yours.

Foundations of the Wesleyan Holiness Tradition

Raymond Finger — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 07:00:04 +0000

This afternoon I announced at the Cadets Welcome Meeting that, Aylene and I are committed to seeing this Territory understanding the basics of Salvation, Holiness and Discipleship. Getting people saved, keeping people saved, teaching them what it means to be holy and helping them know how to get others saved, is the chief business of The Salvation Army. We are bringing salvation, holiness and discipleship back onto the agenda.
With this in mind, we want to invite 20 Salvationists to participate in some deep-level study of the ”Foundations of the Wesleyan Holiness Tradition” during the first part of this year at Booth College in Parkville Melbourne Victoria.
If you are a Corps Officer, you might like to think of one of the soldiers in your corps that you might like to encourage to attend. If you are a soldier, you might let your corps officer know that you are interested.
Only the first 20 applicants will be able to participate this year, so you would need to act quickly to register with Booth College. You would not have any fees to pay – that will all be sponsored by Territorial Headquarters and Booth College. You would not have to write any assignments, and neither would you be involved in any ongoing study. You would undertake the course as an audit student.
All we would ask is that you register, attend the classes on Tuesday evenings commencing at the end of February, and be prepared to share back in your corps something of the insights and impact that the course had on you.
Further information can be obtained by contacting the Registrar at the Training College here in Melbourne.
We are bringing salvation, holiness and discipleship back onto the agenda, and we invite you to participate.

Live In The Moment

Raymond Finger — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 23:25:17 +0000

During this past week I have endevoured to discipline myself to focus on God alone, and have left aside my devotional books and others that I might be inclined to read. I have wanted to hear from God and to practice the discipline of dependance upon God only.

What He brought to my mind and I have not been able to escape its constant playing over and over like a tape recording, is the verse of a song by Albert Orsborn.

“Wash from my hands the dust of early striving;
Take from my mind the stress of secret fear;
Cleanse thou the wounds from all but thee far hidden,
And when the waters flow let my healing appear.”

These words have been my meditation these past seven days and have brought extraordinary blessing as I have come to God like a child before his Father. It has been so uncomplicated, so freeing to know that in the moment, I have seen myself as God sees me.

To live in the moment with God is all He asks. We cannot change the past, only seek forgiveness for what might have been. We cannot manipulate the future, because that is beyond us to do. But to live in the moment and to know it, is a gift that gives life to our living.

Raymond Finger — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:23:05 +0000

Every now and then for whatever reason I have the bizarre thought, what if I lived on a deserted island, or lived where there was no-one and nothing, what would my experience of God be like?

Can any of us conceive of a world where there were no churches, Christian music, CD’s or DVD’s, iPod uploads, podcast downloads, printed Bibles, audio Bibles, Christian books, resources, Christian television, radio or anything else that informs our experience of God?

So, what if it were all gone, no preachers or teachers to help us along the journey, what would shape our spiritual life? I wonder if we have become so dependant upon others and ‘things’ that there is a danger of spiritual shallowness. In other words, we depend upon external ‘inflow’ rather than a deep engagement of the Spirit. Take away all the props and what’s left.

While attending the International College for Officers some years ago, I sat on the edge of a discussion where one of our colleagues was boasting that he had a personal library of more than 3000 books. In turning to an African Officer he said, “Edith, how many books you got?” Her reply ended the conversation. “I have three books, my Bible, songbook and doctrine book, what more do I need!”

I want to suggest we think about abandoning many of the props for a time and live totally dependant upon the Spirit of God within us. Just for a time, stop reading the thoughts of others, and read only the word of God. Become totally immersed in the presence of God to the exclusion of those things upon which we become dependant. For example, take a verse of Scripture and think it through, pray it through and live it out.

How on earth did the Apostles ever manage to take the gospel to all the world without the Christian scaffolding available to us today?

“He has shown you, O man what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8

Saved to Save & Saved to Serve

Raymond Finger — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:00:41 +0000

Getting people saved, keeping people saved, teaching them what it means to be holy and helping them know how to get others saved, is back on the agenda. This is the chief business of The Salvation Army.

Whilst some would take offense at my comment and say that these have never been off the agenda, our statistical data would tell us otherwise. I absolutely applaud those who make the salvation of others their hearts concern, and what I am saying is that I long to see this replicated more widely.

There has never been a time in our history when we have invested more money into mission. Today, we have digital technology that is the envy of other churches and this includes a sophisticated data collection system that can provide every piece of conceivable information needed for tracking attendance trends.

We have more money than we had in the past. We invest in the development of our people like never before, facilitate conferences and dialogues, all of which are intended to make mission happen. Our facilities, generally speaking are of an excellent standard, so why are we not seeing an increase in the number of people coming to faith throughout the territory?

Aylene and I have been to the Congo in Africa and worshipped in places that would be shut down and condemned by Australian standards. People there have no money, have no songbooks or “pew” Bibles, but in their poverty, Salvationists live the joy of life and the life of Christ. More growth takes place in the Army in Africa than any other part of the world.

So it’s not about money, buildings, technology, conferences education or development. It’s about people who have a faith that is alive in Christ and who want to share its value and meaning with others.

We need only be God-loving, Bible believing people who share our lives with ours naturally and genuinely and this includes the life of God in us.

That is what I mean when I speak about bringing salvation, holiness and discipleship back onto the agenda. Others might simply call it revival.