Feeling Better

For those of you who might be worried about me, let me assure you I didn't stay "bummed" very long. I just needed to vent and Debbie (who I usually vent to) was away at school. I'm back in good spirits again. {whew!}

I will be heading off to "the procedure" in a couple of hours. I'm really NOT looking forward to it or the recovery period, as you can imagine. I AM looking forward to God's presence throughout and his promise that everything will come out fine "in the end." Get it? Sorry, that was for Howie.

Thanks for all the emails, notes and prayer support I've been getting. It makes a HUGE difference! Last night in our small group, before we left they asked to pray for me. I wasn't going to ask them to do so, but must admit I was quite happy they DID it. I was also very proud to see them taking the lead in such matters and DOING what I have been teaching them for the last 7 years! They even got out the anointing oil! Seriously nice!

My brother Howie prayed for me on the phone yesterday and while he was praying, I found myself sagging in my chair and almost fell asleep! Not that he was boring or anything(lol!), but I believe God was relaxing me and doing "something" I was unaware of. Suffice it to say, I liked it and have been looking up about the whole situation ever since.

God is good.

All the time!

AAUUGGHH!!

Yesterday was a bad day for me. As many of you know, I'm preparing for a prostate procedure this Saturday. There's been some confusion regarding the insurance coverage and suffice it to say after a few long conversations (one tough one in person at the doctor's office), we'll hit our stop/loss, meaning we're going to have to put out a LOT of money (The Burr family has only done this once- many years ago and it was a much lower limit back then).

This whole realization was coming to a head about the time I sat at another doctor's office. I was being walked through my preparation for the procedure three days away. I don't believe the volume of medicines I have to take over the next 3 months! Top that off with the follow up I have to go through . . . well you get the picture.

Like I said- yesterday was a bad day for me. It's now morning and I don't feel a whole lot better. I'm not sure the outlook is any better for the next few days.

I'm not looking for pity. What I am looking for is prayer support. I'm "bummed" right now about the cost and a lot concerned about the procedure. There are possible complications and all else that goes with such medical work.

Pray for great success, quick healing and recovery, my spirit and my attitude. Thanx.

Embrace the Physical or the Spiritual?

Charisma Magazine printed an excellent article by Patricia King in the February 07 issue (p 57). I would love to write about what she said, but I find it hard to get anywhere CLOSE to saying it any better than she already did! Why not read it before you go any further? Here it is:

Living in the Throne Room

I have discovered that there are 2 types of Christian. One embraces the Physical and the other embraces the Spiritual.

The Physical Christian, for whatever reason, has difficulties in dealing with/believing in spiritual matters. They are trapped in the world's view of things, which only includes things they can relate to physically (see, taste, touch, etc).

They tend to put biblical miracles into the box of "those happened back then, but not now" (basically Cessationism). They pray for miracles today, and even say they've seen them, but seem confined to "I prayed to be healed of my cold and look- God healed me after a week!" (my examples are simplistic, but you get the picture).

They only believe in spiritual gifts such as Administration, Helps, Preaching, Teaching, Pastor, Evangelist, Missionary, etc, but completely relegate to biblical days the gifts of Healing, Deliverance, Prophecy, Tongues, Discernment, Miracles, Apostle . . . in other words, all the gifts that show God's immediate power.

They tend to believe in "the" Holy Spirit, but see him more as a force than a person. They are afraid of what he might do if they actually let him be in control of anything (their lives, a meeting, decisions, etc). In fact, many speak of him as an "it."

The Spiritual Christian is much more open to the Spiritual realm we live in. They tend to see the connection we have with the spiritual realm because God made us that way (Physical, Emotional AND Spiritual- God's image). They are often more inclined to believe something that is spiritual in nature as opposed to things that are physical in nature.

They believe in God's power and miraculous interaction with humankind as a daily occurrence to be savored. They pray for amazing miracles such as replacement of deteriorated cartilage and casting out of demons and actually SEE these things happen on a fairly regular basis.

They believe in the "power" gifts of the Spirit (note: ALL gifts show God's power in our lives, but I mean the obvious miraculous power we don't usually see around us) and USE them as God has given them. These are the Prophets who hear God's voice- today; the Apostles who lead in new creative ways; those with gifts of Deliverance who cast out real, live demons; the Worship Warriors who bring people into God's manifest presence, those who speak in Tongues, etc.

They believe Holy Spirit is a name, not just a title; he is a person not a force; he walks with us and directs our moment-by-moment steps AS we listen to him. They listen and let him have his way all the time, including in Army meetings when he shows up BEFORE the altar call and completely trashes the meticulously planned meeting we spent so much time setting up.

Jesus came to reconcile us to God; to show us the way back to the Father. Humankind had forgotten the spiritual aspect of our nature and Jesus showed us what it should be like living constantly in that realm. What he brought was NOT just for the people of that time. It IS for ALL who believe in him and know that there is MUCH MORE to life than the physical.

I am saddened by all the Physical-embracing Christians I see in our Army and the Body of Christ today (I pray for their liberation). If more Christians embraced the truth of the Spiritual realm, the Church would be so much stronger and much more of a serious force to reckon with in this world today. We could accomplish our mission if we used the tools God has built into us.

You, like all Christians, have a choice. You can embrace the Physical and live in that man-made box until Jesus comes back again. OR you can embrace the Spiritual which we were created to live in before we let the Physical take over.

Wesley's Quadrilateral and You

Here is a diagram of Wesley's Quadrilateral. For those of you who don't know it, we Salvationists are Wesleyan Arminianists, which means we follow the teachings of John Wesley and Jacobus Arminius. To make a long story short (and obviously very simplified), Arminius taught what we Salvos have termed "Whosoever Will." This is the other end of the spectrum that believes "Once Saved, Always Saved." But Arminius' thoughts are not the subject of my ramblings today. Wesley's are.

John Wesley did not ever use the word "Quadrilateral," but in reading his many writings, it is obvious that he believed in a four-fold method of knowing God. Followers have coined the term since. Basically, we believe there are four facets that must be used together to help us know God (and spiritual matters). While each facet in and of itself is good, none should be used without the others if we expect to get a complete and balanced picture of who God is and how he chooses to make himself know to his creation. Understandably, Scripture is the foundation of all the others, but even as important as it is, we still need the other three to keep from developing a one-dimensional or lopsided picture of God.

Scripture: "We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God and that they only constitute the divine rule of Christian faith and practice" (TSA doctrine #1). God inspired the Scriptures. That in itself is reason enough for The Bible to hold the weight it does. Within its pages can be found all true doctrine of the Church, the true image of God, the way to salvation and how to live as a Christian. Everything we believe and experience should have its foundation in God's Word to humankind.

Reason: God's ways are certainly FAR above our ways, but once Holy Spirit is in your life (once you are saved), it is possible, through Spirit-inspired reason, to make sense of those ways. I don't recommend non-Christians trying to understand God's ways, because The Enemy is more in control of their understanding than they think! But with a redeemed mind, we can see truth more clearly and spiritual matters begin to make sense!

Tradition: Here, we are not referring to the traditions of any particular denomination (such as brass bands, penitent forms, "the way we have come to do things," et al), rather the tradition of the early Church; things that were established as foundational from the beginning. For example- when people begin talking about hell not existing (which in some circles is rearing it's ugly head again in TSA), we need only look to what the tradition of the Church is on the subject. From the beginning of the Christian Church the doctrine of hell has been foundational. Tradition keeps us from going astray on the path of Christian faith and practice.

Experience: I find this facet one of the most interesting- certainly the most controversial with those who are afraid of the Charismatic. It is true that some branches of the Pentecostal church put way too much emphasis on this one. But again, we must not throw the baby out with the bath water because there are those who over emphasize any particular facet of our quadrilateral. In fact, I believe our doctrine flows out of our experience (not the other way around as is often taught). For instance: If one does not believe in the gift of speaking in tongues, an experience of speaking in tongues will certainly make one at least re-evaluate their beliefs! God has allowed me to have a wide variety of experiences. I started out in one place, but with each new experience with God I have grown tremendously! As one with a gift of teaching, I have found that actually going through an experience helps me teach it more clearly to others.

I have quite a few thoughts on how Wesley's quadrilateral shows up in our TSA practices- and how many people ignore it as well. Based on response, perhaps I'll eventually write more on the topic.

Urgent Prayer Request!

I just got an email from Captain Sherry Pelletier in Kenya, Africa. Her husband Paul has had a heart attack. Read her note below and please- pray with us for a complete healing.

Friends

This is to share with you a prayer request..

On Sunday evening Paul suffered a mild heart attack. After he was seen at the emergency room in Nairobi, it was determined that Paul needed to continue his care in South Africa. Paul and .I were flown there on Monday evening. Paul will undergo a procedure tomorrow (Thursday morning) to determine what has been the cause of this, and what further treatment may be needed.

Please keep Paul in your prayers. We know the Lord has been and is healing him - we are looking forward to seeing the evidence of that tomorrow! Thank you for believing with us for complete healing!

I will get another email out tomorrow afternoon after the procedure.

WE have been so thankful that we both have felt an amazing amount of peace throughout this whole experience. Today Paul is feeling well and is very confident that the healing has already begun!

Thank you
sh

Think YOU'RE Having a Bad Day?

Feel better now?

Misery loves company.

Word AND Spirit

For what seems like forever, I've been wrestling with what it is that causes such division in the church today- especially my Army. I have felt like I was just on the verge of understanding it, but like deja vu- it seemed momentarily familiar, but quickly faded. So I continued to wrestle and pray that God would bring the insight I needed to make sense of it all. I believe I have been praying with only similar results for years.

Recently, in search of specific unrelated information for a future blog, I came across this article. After all this time, I think I may finally have my answer. Please click the link to read this short article before you read on.

Word and Spirit: Two Camps in Need of Each Other

As you can see to the right, I have borrowed another A. W. Tozer quote from this article to add to my "about me" block. I include it here as well:

"But I would bring everything to the test of the Word and the Spirit. Not the Word only, but the Word and the Spirit. 'God is spirit,' said our Lord, 'and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth.' While it is never possible to have the Spirit without at least some measure of truth, it is, unfortunately, possible to have a shell of truth without the Spirit. Our hope is that we may have both the Spirit and the truth in fuller measure." - A. W. Tozer

Here's the problem as I see it- there are too many of our people who unfortunately fall into the latter grouping. Have no doubt about it- they are saved, yet they still lack an understanding of who Holy Spirit is, what He does and how He does it. They are therefore afraid of what may happen if Holy Spirit is allowed to actually do what He wants. This, as opposed to what they are comfortable with Holy Spirit doing. Please understand, there is a vast difference!

Here's the truth: I am not always comfortable with what Holy Spirit wants to do in and/or around me. But because in my spirit I know I can trust Him, I can let go of my own desires to control my situation (and therefore God) and my own fears of what I will "have to go through." I can actually let God, via His own Spirit, do what He knows to be the best in any given situation.

Yes, I may have to sit with a terribly painful burden in my heart for a particular person, but I know my pain, poured out on their behalf, will bring about God's desired plan for them.

Yes, I may have to humbly repent of some specific junk in my life that God wants to clear away, but I know the humility it takes to do that will bring about God's desired plan for me.

Yes, I may have to go apologize to someone for something I said, but I know what it takes to do that will bring about God's desired plan for me AND for that other person.

You see, when all we know is The Word, we do not have a complete picture of God. Don't take me wrong here- The Word is very important; it is one the four sides to that quadrilateral we Wesleyans hold so closely to. In fact it is the most important and foundation of them all. However, there ARE other sides we ignore at our spiritual peril.

It is also important for some to understand that The Spirit cannot stand alone without The Word either. Come to think of it, there are plenty of facets to our spiritual lives that are good in and of themselves, but fall woefully short of the complete picture if we allow them to take the first and ONLY place in our spiritual walk. Even God has three facets to himself and does not stand alone.

My brain is exploding with tangents and possibilities here which could make this entry huge! Perhaps that's one reason I haven't been blogging a lot lately- I've got SO much to say, I don't know where to start without writing voluminous material.

Suffice it to say for now, the Word and Spirit factions within our church body cannot continue to operate unto themselves without the other. We really do need each other.

"Can't we all just get along?"

No Cancer!

I just got back from my doctor's report on my biopsy and it was NEGATIVE! Meaning I have NO cancer. Whew. I do have to have a procedure to take care of an enlarged prostate, but it's a relatively simple office appointment (and a few weeks recovery) that is obviously a whole lot easier to deal with than cancer.

I really wasn't a bit nervous or concerned at all right up until we headed to the doctor's office for the report today. But the closer we got, the more "concerned" I got! I should have had a lunch that was a bit easier on my stomach! I was very pleased when Debbie said she was going with me and even offered to drive (now THAT truly means she loves me)!

I know many of you were praying for me and I appreciate that very much. I believe prayer changes things and based on some things that happened prior to today (there was plenty of spiritual warfare going on over this one), I believe your prayers changed my outcome. Some may believe it a coincidence, but I believe God just chose to remain anonymous (eg: a God-incidence)! Please continue praying for the next few weeks that everything continues to go well with no complications, et al.

The Foundry

April 1st, 2007 at 7:00 PM was the beginning of The Foundry in Bangor, Maine. Tonight was the continuation of that blessing.

What, you might ask, is "The Foundry?" It's a NEW contemporary worship service envisioned, organized, put together and run completely by the Young Adults of our corps.

For this first month (April), the decision was made to start meeting with those who worked on it's "founding" (heh, heh) and anyone who heard about it by word of mouth. The intention is to bathe the process in prayer and found a core of those committed to it's success.

We have not been disappointed! God has shown up, people have been touched and the core is being melted and formed (I'm thinking of the chorus 'Break me, Melt me, Mold me, Fill me').

Tonight was my first time (we were on vacation last week) and I was amazed at the spiritual openness and immediate presence of Holy Spirit. Things will be accomplished in this setting (in our Corps and Bangor) that cannot be done in our regular AM worship services (for a variety of reasons we won't go into here).

Suffice it to say we are excited! And anxious to see what God has planned.

We need to get the word out- May 6 is the public "opening." Pray with us that God will be honored and His Kingdom will be advanced through this new endeavor.

BTW, the picture above was a God-incidence (as opposed to a coincidence, which I don't believe in). The Foundry's Title slide was being projected on the screen at the end of the service, when someone retracted the screen before shutting down the projector. The image melted onto the back wall of our chapel to reveal an inkling of God's hand on things.

Isn't God awesome?!

BTW, check out Denise's blog for her thoughts (it's her picture) and The Foundry Blog (both linked on the lower right) for more info and future blessings.

Your True Self Revealed

I'm big on personality/gifting tests (inventories) and the like. Over the years I've collected and taken dozens. I usually encourage others to do the same, because knowing who you are and how you operate is helpful in a variety of ways.

I just found another interesting personality test called Personal DNA. Click to go to their homepage and take the test yourself.

My Personal DNA Report I am a Considerate Inventor.

If you know me, check it out and let me know what you think of the results. Are they accurate? Have they captured me well or not? Maybe I'll let you know what I think about it later.

It is Finished

While it may be an appropriate quote this time of year, it's not what you might think. Actually, our Corps new Prayer Room is finally finished! And it's already being used to good advantage.

Pictured from Left to Right you can see what it looked like just before we added books to the bookshelf, CDs to the music rack and started posting things on the bulletin board.

In this small room are 4 doors, so it was a bit difficult to arrange the space effectively (one door is a closet and another will be locked- so don't worry about the gold cloth hanging over it).

Highlights are as follows: The room is painted Royal Blue with Gold cloth accents depicting the royal atmosphere of where we will meet with our King.

Out theme is on the banner maroon banner- we'll never give up!

We have a serious current map of the world which will help us focus on specific areas at different times.

The picture depicting 2 Chronicles 7:14 will always keep our attention on humbling ourselves to seek God's face.

We have a wall calendar from The Salvation Army in Japan to remind us of the international mission of our Army.

The bulletin board will help us keep everyone on the same page with new items for prayer and things to meditate on.

On the desk is a notebook to keep track of what we are hearing from God and keep continuity from person to person spending time in the room.

Our goal is to eventually get to 24/7 prayer, but for now we start where we are with our intercessors practically DYING to get in there and spend some quality time with God!

This is an exciting venture for our corps. Please pray with us that we step up to the plate (as it were), take full advantage of this opportunity and pray the fire down from heaven to bring revival and change the world around us.

Here's to getting the whole world saved starting in Bangor, Maine!

We're Baaack!

Okay, we're back from a very restful and fun cruise where the temperature was wonderfully warm and the sun shone brightly every day. So will someone please tell me where the justice is in having to come back to THIS?!

Welcome to MY world. We live in Maine. The cruise was just a momentary dream.

{sigh}

Yeah, yeah- it's pretty, but so is a palm tree.