‘WHAT A SHOCK’

Luke 1:

‘… Mary was thoroughly shaken … But the angel assured her, ‘Mary, you have nothing to fear’

There are times in most of our lives when we find ourselves in shock over some experience or other. Maybe we or a loved one has been diagnosed with a terminal illness. Or, with the recession have been made redundant from work and as a result have no idea how we are going to make ends meet financially, how we are going to continue to pay the mortgage. Shock can be such a debilitating experience and when we are in that place God speaks into our hearts as He did Mary’s and says: ‘Fear not’.

Mary would have been very familiar with the teaching of the Old Testament and in the light of this I wonder if the words of Isaiah 43 came to her mind:
‘When you are in over your head, I’ll be there with you.
When you are in rough waters, you will not go down.
When you are between a rock and a hard place, it wont be a dead end –
Because I am God, your personal God,
The Holy of Israel, your Saviour.
(v. 2-3 Msg. Para)
…
‘So don’t be afraid: I’m with you.’ (v.5)

The interesting thing to me here is not that Scripture says: ‘If you go through … If you are in a tough place …’ but … ‘WHEN’ … ‘WHEN you go through …’
The truth is bad things happen … difficulties do come … we do experience hard times. It is all part and parcel of the reality of life. BUT, when they do come God says: ‘Fear not’ Why? Because ‘He is with us’ in it.

Isaiah 43: 5 ‘Fear not, for I am with you’ NIV
Isaiah 43: 5 ‘So don’t be afraid: I’m with you.’ Msg Para

Major Glad Ljungholm
Divisional Candidates Officer
Liverpool

GABRIEL GREETS MARY

Luke 1: ‘Upon entering Gabriel greeted her:
(Mary) ‘Good morning! You are beautiful with God’s beauty, Beautiful inside and out!
God be with you.’

She was thoroughly shaken, wondering what was behind a greeting like that.’

‘You are beautiful with God’s beauty, Beautiful inside and out’!

What a greeting! What a compliment, and the fact it came from the angel Gabriel suggests to me that the comment was real, genuine, not one of those sugary sweet, full of flannel comments that some people are inclined to give us when perhaps they are trying to get us on side, get something from us they want. Yes Gabriel wanted a positive response from Mary – but his greeting was sincere.

We live in an age where appearance seems to be everything. We are weight conscious, figure conscious, beauty conscious. People are judged by what they look like and at times we are guilty of jumping to conclusions of what people are like simply because of their appearance. We are encouraged to buy this product to make us look younger … this hair colour to hide the grey … this pill to help us loose weight quickly and so it goes on. But surely all of this is so shallow. My Nan would say: ‘Beauty is only skin deep, it is what is on the inside that really counts’.

Gabriel said to Mary: ‘You are beautiful with God’s beauty … Beautiful inside and out’.

Oh that such a thing could genuinely be said of you and me. Isn’t this what holiness is all about?

‘Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me
All His wonderful passion and purity
O Thou spirit divine
All my nature refine
‘Till the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.’
SASB chorus section no. 77

Major Glad Ljungholm
Divisional Candidates Officer
Liverpool

God sent the angel Gabriel

‘A VISIT FROM THE ANGEL’

Luke 1:

‘God sent the angel Gabriel to the Galilean village of Nazareth to a virgin engaged to be married to a man descended from David – His name was Joseph, and the virgin’s name, Mary.

‘…She was thoroughly shaken …’

Being visited by an angel is certainly anything but the norm. Although in Mary’s day it was not as uncommon as today, but nevertheless: ‘She was thoroughly shaken’ as most if not all of us would be. An angel, an angel sent from God with a most important message.

God still comes to us today in many different shapes and forms. He still aches to communicate His message to us and He still longs to speak to your heart and mine. I wonder though are we too busy wrapped up in the ordinary to see and sense the mystic? Are we too weighed down in the everyday and possibly insignificant activities of life? Are we so used to routine, structure, the commonplace that we have stopped looking beyond, stopped looking out of the box, stopped searching for the extra ordinary, stopped looking for and expecting to meet with God?

We may never be greeted by an angel this side of Heaven … but we might. In whatever way God chooses to reveal His continued plan and purpose for your life and mine, may we be open, receptive, expectant and ready to respond to our loving God. Not so blinkered that we miss out, but expectant for God to speak.

‘O let me feel Thee near me
The world is ever near
I see the sights that dazzle
The tempting sounds I hear.
O speak to reassure me,
To chasten or control.
O speak and make me listen
Thou guardian of my soul.’

Major Glad Ljungholm
Divisional Candidates Officer
Liverpool

‘THE DEAREST AND BEST’

I wonder, what to Mary was the dearest and best? I guess like most young women she wanted to get married and raise a family, and what God required of her was just that. BUT, this certainly was not the way she expected things to be. For her there was no knight in shining armour … they didn’t ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after. For Mary, it was a road of struggle, hardship, experiencing her heart torn in two. When she gave God the immediate ‘Yes’ of her heart she knew the Scriptures well enough to know it wasn’t going to be an easy journey. She knew the Old Testament teaching, the writings of the Prophets.

She knew: ‘And you will name Him Jesus – God saves – because He will save His people from their sins.’ (Matt. 1: 21) She knew the consequences … she knew!

… She knew … ‘He was despised and rejected … a man of sorrows and aquainted with grief … He had no beauty that we should behold Him …’ (Is. 53: 3)

BUT, did she really understand? I don’t think so. When we sing and pray in all earnestness, ‘Jesus I’ll give Thee the dearest and best’ do we really understand? I don’t think so either. However, I thank God in our sometimes naivity and even ignorance He accepts our heartfelt prayers, blesses and uses them and in the process proves to us over and over and over again that we can learn to be content whatever our circumstances.

Paul wrote in Philippians 4: 11
‘I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.’

‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me for His power is made perfect in weakness.’ (Phil 4: 13)

Major Glad Ljungholm
Divisional Candidates Officer
Liverpool

‘LET IT BE TO ME ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD’

Why Mary’? - Day two:

Luke 1: 38

After the announcement of the angel to Mary of such news Mary responded:
‘Let it be to me just as you say’. Or, as the AV puts it:
‘Let it be to me according to Your word’

We will consider this important visit of the angel later, but I feel it is right and fitting to look at Mary’s response first. This response came from a servant heart that loved and served God supremely. This response came from a heart that trusted God ultimately. This response came from a heart that through the years had learned God’s Word and was constantly growing and developing in her relationship with God.

Here we have a very young teenager who automatically gave God the ‘Yes’ of her heart. Such a response must have come from a lifetime, a short lifetime, of deep, personal, intimate relationship with God.

I am now left with the challenge, when God asks something of me, when God asks something of you, how do we respond? How do I respond? How do you respond? ‘Let me go away and think about it, pray about it … Let me go and discuss it with my husband, wife, prayer partner, trusted friend’. Or, from the experience and intimate relationship with God down through the years. Do I respond: ‘Let it be to me according to Your Word’.

‘All in my heart, Lord Thou canst read,
Master Thou knowest I love Thee indeed.
Ask what Thou wilt my devotion to test,
I will surrender the dearest and best’.
Ruth Tracy (SASB 507 – chorus)

Major Glad Ljungholm
Divisional Candidates Officer
Liverpool

There's Something About Mary...

Why Mary?

For as long as I can remember there has been something about Mary that has intrigued, challenged and torn at my heart strings as a woman. Her total self giving to God at a very tender age. Her ability to enter the unknown in faith even though I imagine at times fear must have overwhelmed her, and the absolute ‘Yes’ of her heart even though a sword pierced it I guess from the very beginning.

Young, innocent, giving Mary. If she had known what she knows now, would she have still been as willing to say ‘Yes’ to God? I think so.

Maybe my fascination with Mary is because of catholic blood in my bones, having been christened catholic because of my Father’s influence. Maybe it’s because of affinity with my namesake, my Mum’s namesake and my Grandmother’s namesake. Maybe because as a young girl I too felt the call of God upon my life and I too with God’s grace was able to give the ‘Yes’ of my heart.

Mary, for me, there really is something about Mary. My plan is to write a thought for every other day throughout advent, the second day will give you time to contemplate and consider something of your story and where you are going and whether or not you are prepared to give God the ‘Yes’ of your heart. And so here you will find some of my musings on Mary … nothing profound … just simple heart felt thoughts that hopefully will reach your heart too.

Day One: ‘THE BIRTH OF JESUS’
Matthew 1: 21-23 The Message Paraphrase

‘She will bring a Son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name Him Jesus – ‘God saves’ – because He will save His people from their sins.’ This would bring the prophets embryonic sermon to full term: ‘Watch for this – a virgin will get pregnant and bear a Son; They will name Him Emmanuel’ (Hebrew for ‘God is with us’)

In my mind there is nothing special about Mary and yet at the very same time everything special. A young girl, in today’s terms we might even consider a child, thirteen or fourteen years old, from a peasant background in sleepy Nazareth which at the time had a population of about 400. It must have been like living in a goldfish bowl, village mentality, everyone knew everyone and everyone’s business.

The well was the place of gossip. ‘Have you heard about Mary … have you seen the size of her stomach? And what about that Joseph, you would have thought at his age he would have known better …’

Here we find Mary, pregnant by God’s Holy Spirit – who on earth was going to believe her? ‘Pregnant by God’ … ‘oh yeah … I don’t think so’ and the penalty for this, pregnant outside of marriage was stoning, stoning to death. Mary knew this, Mary knew the penalty was death and yet … still … she said ‘Yes’ to God.

‘They will name Him Emmanuel, which means God is with us’.

As a very young woman Mary must have known ‘Emmanuel, God with her’ in order to give God the ‘Yes’ of her heart. This was just the beginning of her journey: ‘A virgin will get pregnant and bear a Son: They will name Him Emmanuel’.

Mary’s ‘Yes’ has made it possible for us to know ‘Emmanuel, God with us’ today.

Lord, as I commence this period of Advent help me to travel close to You. Help me to be very aware of Emmanuel, God with me. No matter what comes my way. May I know Your peace, joy and love deep in my heart. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen

Major Glad Ljungholm
Divisional Candidates Officer
Liverpool

WHO WILL SING MY SONG?

Subsequent to reading a book about The Salvation Army, years ago, I began attending Sunday Meetings at a local corps. However, the book’s inspiration was more than one of simply moving me to attend services, it spoke deeply to my heart and “called” me to become an officer even before knowing much about the army.

I wrote to IHQ, seeking information about becoming an officer and was answered by the PR Officer, who later was to be my Training Principal. As suggested by him, I spoke to the CO of the corps I was visiting regularly and began attending the recruit classes and subsequently became a Soldier. My “calling” became ever stronger and it was unique in that I sensed God leading me to the mission field; Russia to be specific. God’s call and claim on my life came to me from reading Russian and SA history. My interest was also piqued by reading about persecuted Christians in Russia and other communist countries. In preparation to follow His lead I began studying the Russian language. It’s noteworthy that The SA work had yet to be reestablished in Russia. Nonetheless, I was certain that I was called to serve there as a SA officer.

My husband and I met as Candidates bound for Denmark Hill. He shared early in our courtship, and often, that his calling was to social services, an area where he had already worked. Throughout our “training” days my call to Russia remained vibrant, however, any desire or willingness to follow God’s leading to serve in Russia was out of the question in the late 70’s; it would be another 15 years before the army’s return there. I not only put that notion out of my head, but also convinced myself that God had “told” me that we were meant to go into Training as “marrieds”, and that my calling to Field and mission work should give way to my husband’s for other areas of work. It seemed so right at the time, but only later have I come to realise that we each had our own individual callings, and we should have remained loyal to them; perhaps sought a possible solution through channels.

We served side by side for many years and left the work mainly because of health reasons; my husband’s health was the over-riding one. We worked in various “helping” jobs after leaving residential work until 1987, but still moved a few times! Subsequently, he became disabled.

I’d always felt that I wasn’t true to my calling and when the work recommenced in Russia in 1991 I understood the call to mission fully. I followed the re-opening of the army’s work in Russia keenly; it was “my” mission field, the place where God had wanted me to go. As I read about those SA pioneers working in Russia I envied them. For a while I felt that God was getting his own back, and I had to remind myself that God’s not like that. I now realise that the way my life unfolded is the consequence of my own decisions, and I can’t blame anyone but myself. When we hear from Session mates, even those having difficult times and/or from those working in third world countries, I know full well who are happier and fulfilled… those who remained true to their call.

So I still have my calling, but can no longer fulfill it. The moral is obviously that, by doing the right thing in a wrong way, I didn’t do the right thing at all,. And by deciding for myself what God wanted, instead of having faith to wait for Him to facilitate the outworking of the calling He gave me, I didn’t do His will. Having said that, I could live with it more easily if we were still Officers, given that as above, I know He called me to the Army to be an Officer, but it can’t be, even in these days of Single spouse Officership; I’m not in a position to go back. We certainly aren’t able to as a couple.

Often as songs are sung in our corps’ Meetings I come across a line in the verse or chorus and I don't feel I can sing them, those that speak about always doing whatever God asks me to do; making certain promises, etc., as it's those things I didn't/can't/won't be able to do - I'm sure you all know the ones I mean. They are the words in the songs that bring remorse and cause us to reflect anew on a “calling” we left, and through stifled tears our voices go silent… . Quite awkward when someone asks, “why I wasn't singing” - sometimes I have to mime, but I can't sing what's not true as I think it's dishonouring to God;to He who called me to serve…

No one can sing your song as sweetly as you. What is your answer this day?

God bless.
UKT