My wife recently began her Sunday Message with the following quote from William Bradford, Governor of Plymouth Colony:
"Inasmuch as the great father has given us this year an abundant harvest of Indian corn, wheat, peas, squashes and garden vegetables, and has made the forests to abound with game and the sea with fish and clams, and inasmuch as has protected us from the raids of the savages, has spared us from pestilence and disease, has granted us freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience; now I your magistrate, do proclaim that all ye Pilgrims, with your wives and ye little ones, do gather at ye meeting house, on ye hill, between the hours of 9 and 12 in the day time on Thursday November ye 29th of the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and twenty three, and the third year since ye Pilgrims landed on ye Plymouth rock, there to listen to ye pastor and render thanksgiving to ye Almighty God for all his blessings."
As a native of the heart of New England – Old Orchard Beach, Maine is my Salvation Army home – Bradford's words resonate with me. The landscape of my personal past includes memories of hard-working truck vegetable farmers, clam diggers and fishermen. The summer people were my savages both wreaking havoc and providing sustenance for us local Mainers! I was always glad to see them go back to New York and New Jersey so life could return to normal.
The Maine I grew up in also could be a harsh and isolated place at certain times. Winters and slow springs hearkened back to Pilgrim times, though not nearly so difficult even during old fashioned nor’eastah storms. I remember bleak times like November of 1963. JFK's assassination felt like the beginning of the end as I knew. And, there have been times of great ecstasy like Ted Williams 521st home run and when the Sox finally won the World Series.
Bradford's call to worship on that Thanksgiving calls up in me something more foundational than any other memory. My grampa's simple prayer before the 40 or so of us became the stuffed turkeys was perhaps the most poignant preachment I've ever heard. What he said escapes me after all these years. But, his face chiseled by the great depression, loss of his first wife, and so much more that I never knew about shaped him into one of the greatest men I ever knew. Grampa lived by two life principles that he pounded in to me: "God is my boss!" and "When you quit, you’re done."
These are two pretty good principles to consider this Thanksgiving as we live in a world full of turmoil and trouble. King David was in a life-long life and death struggle when he wrote Psalm 24 which begins: "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein."
We'll ponder our lives, our situation, our world at some point during this feast time. Whilst making the decision whether or not to put a second dollop of whipped cream on the pumpkin pie, it might do to consider Bradford's call to worship Him who is Creator, Preserver, and Governor. And, David's call to be a holy people with holy hands in his great paean of praise to the Lord of Hosts in Psalm 24 may well be our best ensign as we enter the holiday season.
Written by Major Carl E. Carvill, D.Min.
Asbury Park Corps
The door opened ajar, and in came my daughter, sounding vulnerable, seeking protection, complaining of a bad dream. My natural response was to have her join me in bed, until the reality that she is no longer a tot set in. Dark still, I suggested we move to the living room couch, where we could lounge out in more comfort. As we made our way through the darkness, I asked her to quietly share her bad dream with me. It had been a long while since she last had one.
Though I am not a decipherer of dreams, I can sometimes guess certain meanings or figure out what the overall meaning may be. At the very least, it certainly must be therapeutic to discuss the bad and shed some light on it. She proceeded to share vividly, using lots of detail and color, and I discovered she was right to be scared. Her dream took place at school, after a school trip. You know, school, that institution that is supposed to feel safe. With all of the current and not so current events, it does not surprise me. I still dream about school myself, but the worse occurrence is missing a deadline or realizing I had been gone for some time and returning to a quiz (seems laughable even as I type it). That is as bad as my dreams about school get.
As she carried on with the details that seemed like a plot of a thriller, she finally came to the culminating point where she woke up frightened, confused and seeking refuge where she feels comfort and protection: by my side. Since I figured we still could get some sleep until sunrise, I gave my "review" of her dream with a "thumbs down" and proceeded to do what I know to work best: PRAY.
Certainly, our children must be feeling afraid with all the uncertainty in the news. I did mention she is no longer a toddler; otherwise I would not even expose her to the news. However, she is a teenager as of earlier this year, so current events are discussed in the classroom, without the added benefit of assurance that all will turn out right. Even as parents, we cannot give our children that guarantee; after all, we do not even have the answers in times of tragedy, political unrest, natural disasters, etc. But as Christians, we do have to guide them to prayer and to connect with Christ.
"The LORD will keep you from all harm-- he will watch over your life." (Psalm 121, NIV) I told her that the word “peace” will have even more meaning this Christmas, since it is something we collectively need to ask for in prayer. I pray that the Prince of Peace become known to all, that His message of light and love will prevail. That true good will triumph over evil and that humanity will seek to be humane. I pray that the innocent will not continue to pay with their lives; that our leaders will be enlightened and choose their actions wisely; and that those seeking to do harm, will stop in their tracks and discover God in all His glory. Join me in prayer.
Written by Jesabel Cruz
Office Manager and Case Worker, Red Bank Corps
Genesis 32:31 (NIV) - The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip.
One of the most epic battles in the Bible I believe happened between Jacob and God. You can read the full story in Chapter 32 in Genesis.
During this confrontation, Jacob was struck by a "man" in the hip, and from there on, Jacob could not walk normally; his ability to run was compromised. Jacob, a man that had been running from trouble all his life, was no longer capable of moving with freedom because of the pain caused by this injury. I laughed while I read this story, because it has so many similarities to what happens to so many of us. Just as Jacob, we become very skillful at avoiding trouble; we have learned to run our way out of pain and discomfort. We are always looking for a shortcut to reach our goals faster, even if that means not being fully honest.
Jacob's life however, changed because of pain. Jacob told the "man" that he was not going to let him go unless he blessed him. During this encounter with this "man" Jacob was afraid of what was going to happen to him. He was afraid for his life and afraid for his family and his future. Jacob's desperation for answers placed him in a position where he was willing to risk even his own life in exchange for a blessing from God. Jacob had come to realize that running was not longer an option. He needed not a change in circumstances but a change in his heart; he needed to be transformed. And it took pain to do it.
Our bodies have been wonderfully made to sense when we're at risk of danger and to avoid pain. And the messages our body uses to let us know to avoid these dangers is pain. When something hurts, we make everything possible to keep safe that injured toe or whatever it is. We learn to hide feelings and emotions that cause us pain. If we feel insecure, we pretend we are brave. If we think we are weak, we become abusive. We learn to hide and to protect our weak areas by putting thick bandages on anything that hurts.
When something hurts, that pain pushes us to make adjustments to our daily routines. Likewise, the internal pain we suffer when others despise us, when people we love hurts us, when we are insulted, and even when we are suffering the consequences of our rebelliousness makes us want to change.
Pain is a messenger of God. It tells us when change is a must. Pain tells us when certain activities or behaviors will hurt us before our condition worsens. To not obey what our body or our heart is telling amounts to self-destruction.
Leprosy and some other diseases that may affect the ability of the body to feel pain are terrible because when pain disappears, with it disappears the concern for healing. These diseases that affects the nervous system make people slowly lose the ability to feel pain until they reach a point that they do not feel pain anymore. Because they no longer feel pain, they become neglectful of their infection.
When you break a leg or an arm and you don’t feel pain, those limbs will fuse again in a deformed way, becoming almost unrecognizable from what they looked before. Can you see the great importance of pain?
The pain that we despise is a messenger of God; it helps us to preserve our lives.
Let us not try to avoid pain, but rather than focusing on the pain, let us focus on the Healer. There will always be people who we will not be able to please under any circumstances. There will often be those who always have something negative to say about us. But when we are suffering pain for not following God's direction, it is time not for Band-Aids but for change and a decision to obey.
What hurts you? Have you been putting Band-Aids over deep wounds? Have you lost sensitivity to the voice of God? Have you have stopped listening to that loud voice of your spirit that longs for a deeper relationship with God?
If you feel a general sense of pain but can't identify the root of it, you need to present this pain to God and pray for healing. Many who have suffered through life have lost the ability to identify where it hurts, and they often feel like the living dead without purpose or desires. God can restore that ability to love again, to feel, to mourn. Do not despise the messenger (pain) - listen to what it wants to say.
Written by Lt. Giovanni E. Romero
Union City Corps
