Healing Service

This evening we had our first healing service of the year. Previously we had been led to hold a healing service once a month for a few months in a row. We had reports of healings and one "major" healing that was incredible! Since our results were so successful in the past, I was disappointed we had so few actually come to pray or be prayed for. It almost makes me want to "shut people down" in the future if they come to me complaining of some health issue, if they can't come when we plan a special time for healing. What do people want- an special personal invitation? You can bet they will request the officer to come visit when they end up in the hospital! {Okay Doug, relax. Breathe.}

We haven't had a healing service for some time. Not sure why- I guess we end up doing so many things, and finding new things to focus on, we forget the last thing God has led us to focus on. Kinda like working on a golf swing- as you learn another aspect to pay attention to, the old one fades and you need to be reminded of it again. There's just so many things to keep track of in Christianity!

But I have recently heard of some physical issues from our people that needed healing and God nudged me toward scheduling another healing service. I complied and well, we had our first healing service of the year! {I really did expect more than 7 people would come.}

As a student of "people watching," I find it interesting to see the uncomfortable looks and body language as we gathered. We're never quite sure what's going to happen in such a setting, so we kind of stand back to watch from a safe distance. That passed after a few minutes in prayer and we had a very powerful time of prayer. Here's my take on the event:

I decided we would ask those who wanted prayer to sit in the middle of the room. The rest would gather around them and pray as they felt led- for all or individually. Then we would spend a focused time on each person in the middle. The intent was to prayer-soak the people requesting healing. Once we "got going," we would put our attention toward each issue individually.

Three ended up seated in the middle, the other four surrounded them and moved freely throughout the room, praying, kneeling or reading scripture.

Prayer started out slowly, but quickly gathered momentum. When Gene prayed, he really got us moving and I didn't want to lose the "charge in our spirits." At one point it seemed Gene got a rhema word on the healing of one person (meaning God confirms the word in our spirit at that moment and it is easy to believe). His prayer was so powerful and his confidence so strong about the person's healing, I was very excited! I'm looking forward to a report of no more cancer!

Once we had prayed generally, we turned to each person, anointed them with oil and spent time gathered around them and their issue. I was one person requesting healing for a pain in my hip/leg (as of the next day, it is still hurting, but I'm not finished praying yet!). We'd appreciate your prayers with us against cancer, diabetes and that pain in my leg.

I believe much power was released in our prayer time and we will see exciting results soon. I'll keep you posted.

The Modern Crusades

Someone sent me the following article by Major JoAnn Shade. It is powerful and asks Christians a tough question. As you know, I've written on the subject before. I believe Christians have "no choice" in the matter. I'm going to a local day conference in a month or so on the subject.

Let me know what you think about this article.

- - - - -

The headline in the local newspaper was powerful: Convicted, then evicted: Canton crusades to keep out communes of sexual predators. Canton is a Midwest Ohio city of about 70,000, but its concern over what to do with sexual predators is not unique to its location. As states enact legislation that labels and attempts to control the behaviors of those who have committed crimes of a sexual nature, these men and women are quickly becoming the lepers of the twenty-first century.

Take Neil for example. After twenty-three years in state prison, with three squares and a bed guaranteed, Neil was released into a system that has no place for him or others like him. Employers are unwilling to hire him, sympathetic landlords rent to him but are then pressured to revoke the agreement, and parole officers are most concerned with threatening a return to prison if the individual is non-compliant, homeless, or without a job. The mayor is sympathetic, but “cannot tolerate this type of activity in a neighborhood because these people made a bad choice” (Canton Repository, August 15, 2004).

Was Neil’s attack on a five-year-old girl heinous? Absolutely. Would I ask him to babysit in the church nursery? Absolutely not. (Nor would he be willing to). But as a Salvation Army officer, I must ask myself, what is my role in promoting healing and recovery? What do I truly believe about grace and forgiveness? How does William Booth’s great charge, “while men go to prison, in and out, in and out, I’ll fight,” impact how we, as The Salvation Army, address this festering problem in communities across the country. Dare we ignore it, hoping it will go away?

In my wrestling with this, I turned to the scriptures for guidance. My first thought is that Jesus clearly addressed this, but when I turn to the parallel passages in Matthew 18, Mark 9 and Luke 17, I find that Jesus put a different spin on his words than I initially thought. “If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea” (Mt. 18:6). I had thought that the verse had described Jesus’ reaction to anyone who hurt or injured a child, but that’s not exactly what the text says. Is it a stretch to put child sexual abusers in the stumbling block category?

For the sake of argument, let me do just that, but then follow Jesus’ words to their logical end. “It would be better for you,” says Jesus, “that you be drowned in the depth of the sea.” Although I haven’t asked him specifically, I would guess that there are days in which Neil agrees. He will forever carry the guilt, shame and sorrow of what he did to that little girl. His picture will remain on the Internet until the day he dies, and he will always wear the scarlet letters, PREDATOR, on his forehead. As William Barclay suggests, “there’s nothing in this world more terrible than to destroy someone’s innocence . . . there is nothing which will haunt (a man) more.” Was Jesus prescribing what should happen, or describing the consequences?

And what about the millstone? Might this speak to the community’s pain? This millstone was not the small one that each woman kept in her kitchen. No, this particular word describes the town’s millstone, one that required a donkey to move it. If a community’s millstone were to be thrown into the depths of the sea, there would be implications to the health of that town as far as its food supply was concerned. It would impact everyone living there. No one would be untouched.

Jesus goes on to talk about the lost sheep, and then about forgiveness, and this is where this gets messy. For isn’t Neil just as much of a lost sheep as I am – or more so, because I number myself among the ninety-nine? (18:10-14) Is he not my brother whom I am to forgive? (18:21-22) Isn’t he a person created in the image of God? As a human being, doesn’t he deserve to have a place to sleep and food to eat? And what about the log in my own eye? Surely, I too have caused a little one to stumble, if not in the same behavior, still in the same spirit.

So what do we do, Church? Crusade to keep out the communes, or work in community to find safe housing, effective treatment, appropriate accountability, and a spirit of costly grace toward those who have fallen, while still providing protection to the children of our neighborhoods? Crusades or compassion? What would Jesus do?

Mouse Found on Mars!

Happy Easter Michael!

This is our sixth Resurrection SonDay in Bangor. One of our corp's traditions, is taking family pictures on Easter- everyone's "all spiffed up." Even those of us in our uniforms look somehow "spiffier" on Easter!

We've tried a couple of different backgrounds, but we've finally settled in our office, in front of the Japanese Garden wallpaper. It's bright and gives us a colorful backdrop for documenting the annual changes in our families.

The Burr family is short a member now with Jenn in Canada- well, it has been short Jenn for the last 2 years as well! And you wouldn't believe the hassle it is to get Chris to let us take a picture of him!

One of the fun things about family pictures is that you get to watch the kids grow up. Michael Dow is one of our favorite kids in Bangor! He's always smiling, ready with a big hug and willing to help. His only "problem" is that he's a Yankees fan! {heh, heh}

Here's the huge Easter change in Michael since we came to Bangor. Unfortunately, I can't seem to retrieve my old Easter pictures from an archive disk, so those of us who know Mike, will just have to imagine how much he's grown from this year's picture and our memories (like his cool Windsor tie knot that his corps officer taught him how to tie?).

The best part, though, is that I've seen an even bigger growth in Michael spiritually. The potential I see in this young guy is awesome! Some day we'll see Michael doing great things for God.

Count on in!

Desperately Seeking Truth

As an apostle, I am concerned with truth. I am all about uncovering old truth lost, teaching truth and finding truth wherever it may be hiding. Truth is truth and it doesn't matter where it's found, as long as you sift out anything in it that is false. Just because some thought "hangs out with" truth, doesn't make it true (truth by association!).

You can find truth in some of the strangest places. Fiction books, "old wives tales" and mythology are sometimes based on truth. But where truth is found doesn't dilute or negate it. Truth is often found mixed up with lies, but we must always be careful not to "throw out the baby with the bath water."

The problem with finding truth is that we humans have an innate ability to turn away truth that makes us feel uncomfortable. Or just plain inconvenience us. We dislike it even more when truth uncovered means what we have previously believed is wrong. Ooo we really don't like to be wrong!

I just read a quote from Chuck Missler: "The only sure barrier to truth is to assume you already have it."

In the Church we often take what we have been taught all our lives as truth. Sometimes we do this without even researching for ourselves. We believe because we were told (Why? Because). And we really get into trouble when we start teaching those things as if they are facts, but we don't know them to be true- we just believe the people who taught us. Sometimes those "people" aren't even specific persons, just ambiguous "blobs of humankind" that we vaguely remember hearing things from (I heard that in sixth grade . . . I think)!

You know the old game where one person whispers something in the next person's ear. Then they pass it down the line until the last person tells what was said. Isn't it often funny how badly the message gets twisted?!

This is not funny when it comes to truth. If we don't know it for ourselves, teaching it as fact only gets the message twisted (especially if it's not truth). When this happens over and over again, the end message is nothing like it should be. Truth is long gone and we are passing on nothing less than half-truths, which are lies. {Yeowch!}

I don't want to assume I already have all the truth. I want to be open to new things even if they don't necessarily jibe with what I think is true. Maybe I'll discover those new things are wrong. Good- then I know for myself. But maybe I'll discover an old truth long lost.

Even better!

23 Minutes in Hell

I'm reading the book pictured here; I can hardly put it down (read till almost midnight last night)! This guy is a Christian who God chose to "drop in on" hell one night for 23 minutes. His experience is incredible and it will give you new insight on the truth of the existence of hell, what it's like and what it means to be "consigned" there for eternity.

It seems we've forgotten to talk much about hell. I guess because we're trying to focus on the positive. But I do believe in my own life, the thought of hell kept me on the straight and narrow until I learned the truth about God's love for me and his desire that I NOT go there. Now my focus is not so much on this place I don't want to go to, rather on Jesus who has lifted me up from the pit. I serve God not out of a fear of hell, but because I love Jesus!

One thing this book brought out that I never thought about before, is that hell was created for Lucifer and his angels- NOT for humankind. God's intent was not to punish those people who turned against him. In fact, he sent Jesus to let us know how very much he wants us to be with him for eternity. It's only through our own dogged desire to get to hell that we actually end up there.

I once saw a quote that has stayed with me for years- "If you drive like hell, you'll get there." I guess it could be modified to: "If you live like hell, you'll get there." Not exactly God's intent for his creation, made in his own image, but it is certainly our own fault if we do get there. Especially when God has done so much to keep us from that fate.

If you'd like to read this book too, click the picture which will link you to a site where you can buy the book.

Wishing for a Better Track Record

Ministry (with people) is tough! You work hard with someone, pray for them, hope with them, do whatever you can for them and more often than not, they make the wrong choice again and it feels like all your effort was for naught.

I'm not thinking of anyone in particular, but today was just one of those days where lots of people came back to mind. And with those thoughts, lots of hopes dashed to the rocks. It's so sad. There are times when you just feel like trying to help others is not worth it.

Jesus not only has the answers to everyone's life, he IS the answer. Yes, things get tough. Sure we slip and slide backwards now and then, but we can always trust him to be there for us and help us through those rocky issues.

I get it. I've based my life on that fact. I just wish the track record of success stories for those people you pour yourself into could be higher.

Bangor's Loss is Charlotte's Gain

Travis Roberts left Bangor today. That's a real bummer. Other War College students have come and gone, and while I miss them to some degree, they weren't around long enough to get deeply tied in. Travis was our first such uprooting. I sit here realizing I feel this one. And it's not a good feeling.

Travis came to Bangor a little like Tigger- laughing and bouncing innocently through all kinds of things. He often seemed oblivious to the junk going on around him (he wasn't always). But all the while, making a difference in not only the people, but also the spiritual realm in and all around us. He did the spiritual realm stuff quite unsuspectingly and without even trying. That's because Travis' spirit of joy and his character is the exact opposite of what sits with a heavy stranglehold over Bangor and it's people. Travis cut through all that junk with ease; he made short work of it- and The Enemy wasn't too happy about it! We can only hope to pick up where he left off and keep the ball rolling.

We had some fun saying goodbye today, remembering all the wild and crazy things Travis did here (the tree, the sand, the van window, the cop, the cheezits, the TV shows he likes to say we hooked him on, his letting us win at Halo, etc)! We poked some fun with him, said some nice things, gave him all kinds of things to remember us with and prayed blessings over him as he takes his joy on the next leg of his life's adventure. Life in Bangor is sure going to be a lot less joyful for awhile!

We'll miss you lots, Travis. You snuck into our hearts before we knew it and made yourself a lifelong Bangorian. You're one of us and we love you. Hope you come back and visit. Soon. And often.

Tomorrow Travis flies to Charlotte, North Carolina to help with a USA plant of a 614 and War College. Our loss is their gain.

{Hey Travis! Stop collecting- you can't keep our keys!}

God's a Pretty Good Mechanic

My son, Chris, has had his own car for the last few months. It was a nice sedan, but it was expensive to repair. Unfortunately, it needed more repairs than we had hoped. It was "nickel and diming" his finances to death. Actually, much more than nickels and dimes!

So the search has been on for a new car. Once we seriously started looking, we found one he liked in a local used car lot, but it was being sold "as is," meaning it needed some work before it was street legal. There was a sheet taped to the window listing all that had to be fixed. We called our mechanic and he told us repairs would cost between $400 and $1,000. The dealer offered us a good trade-in, so we seriously considered the purchase.

But buying used cars is scary business! We debated for a couple of days, thinking of all the things that could go wrong and wishing we could somehow figure out a way to know this was a good deal . . . or not.

Then it came to me- ask God!

Duh.

So that morning as I showered, I asked God to give me some insight on the possible deal. I told him my concerns (which he already knew) and he quickly assured me we could go ahead and buy the car. It would be a good purchase for a long time with few repairs. Now because he answered me so quickly, I still hesitated, thinking maybe I was hearing wrong. But when I asked him about that, he said it was certainly him and I had nothing to worry about. It was all over in a few moments!

So we went ahead and bought the car. A green Jeep Grand Cherokee. As I sat in the dealer's office, a calm came over me like I would never expect in such a place! I KNEW this would be a safe purchase for us and we never looked back.

So the car was towed to the repair shop. They couldn't get to it for a few days, so we waited for the final "damage." Yesterday, they called and said they checked and checked again, but 2 of the items on the list just didn't need to be repaired. It passed inspection and would cost us less the $200!

At that moment, I felt God smile. I realized his hand was all over this! Now whether the mechanics at the dealer were wrong or somewhere between the dealer and the repair shop things just "mysteriously got better," I don't know. But I DO know who was responsible.

And we are grateful!

Something to Think About

On Wednesday of this week:

at two minutes and three seconds after 1:00 in the morning, the time and date will be 01:02:03 04/05/06.