"Not called?"

'Not called!' did you say? 

'Not heard the call,' I think you should say.

- Put your ear down to the Bible, and hear him bid you go and pull sinners out of the fire of sin. 

- Put your ear down to the burdened, agonized heart of humanity, and listen to its pitiful wail for help. 

- Go stand by the gates of hell, and hear the damned entreat you to go to their father's house and bid their brothers and sisters, and servants and masters not to come there. 

- And then look Christ in the face, whose mercy you have professed to obey, and tell him whether you will join heart and soul and body and circumstances in the march to publish his mercy to the world.

William Booth

The Pilgrim's Progress rossway books

The Pilgrim's Progress

From This World To That Which Is To Come

By John Bunyan

“One of the most powerful dramas of Christian faith ever written, this captivating allegory of man’s_ religious journey in search of salvation follows the pilgrim as he travels an obstacle filled road to the Celestial City. An enormously influential 17th-century classic, universally known for its simplicity, vigor, and beauty of language.”

I remember as a child having a pictorial edition of Bunyan's Pilgrim’s Progress and it would seem that much of what I read was somehow retained in various parts of my memory. From time to time references to the work have conjured up impressions from my childhood memories and my interest in Bunyan’s allegory was once again kindled by a fairly recent sermon series by Pastor Alistair Begg* who referenced the book on numerous occasions during his Truth for Life radio broadcast. Begg was offering as his book of the month, a copy of The Pilgrim’s Progress transcribed into a modern-day working of the original text. I decided to order the book.

I had attempted to read a copy of the book which was written in the original language and which I found in my mother’s possessions following her death (PTG). I was further compelled to do so by the fact that during my genealogy research, I had found a most probable family link with my mother’s family and the Bunyans. My Great-great-great Grandmother was a Louisa Bunyan, born in the County of Bedfordshire as was John Bunyan, where during his incarceration in Bedford Jail, he penned his classic.

BEDFORDSHIRE 17TH CENTURY

The edition I would recommend, especially if you are shying away from the original 17th Century prose, is published by Crossway Books, edited by C.J.Lovik and beautifully illustrated by Mike Wimmer. Whilst much of the text is now delivered more comprehensively, editor’s notes help to clarify the ideas in the allegory and footnotes provide the biblical references used by Bunyan in his narrative.

Charles Spurgeon said that next to the Bible, this was the book he valued the most. Personally I believe it to be an incredibly powerful book and would recommend it as a tool for personal reflection.

And, incidentally, the link between my family and Bunyan’s remains unsubstantiated but I like to think that maybe the pastoral bloodline passed up through the centuries to my mother who retired as a Salvation Army Officer in 1999.

BOOK RECOMMENDATION - By Sharon McKenzie OK UKT

Sharon Kent McKenzie

Administrative Assistant

KY & LA Division
DHQ

IT IS NO SECRET


Back in the 50's there was a well known radio 
Host/comedian/song writer in Hollywood named 
Carl Stuart Hamblen who was noted for his drinking, 
womanizing, partying, etc. 

One of his bigger hits at the time was 
"I won't go hunting with you Jake, 
But I'll go chasing women." 



One day, along came a young preacher holding 
A tent revival. Hamblen had him on his radio show 
presumably to poke fun at him. 
In order to gather more material for his show, 
Hamblen showed up at one of the revival meetings. 

Early in the service the preacher announced, "There is one man
In this audience who is a big fake." There were probably others
 who thought the same thing, but Hamblen was convinced that he
 was the one the preacher was talking about (some would call that 
conviction) but he was having none of that. 

Still the words continued to haunt him until a couple of nights
 later he showed up drunk at the preacher's hotel door around
 2AM demanding that the preacher pray for him! But the 
Preacher refused, saying, "This is between you and God and
And I'm not going to get in the middle of it." But he did invite
Stuart in and they talked until about 5 AM at which point
Stuart dropped to his knees and with tears, cried out to God. 



But that is not the end of the story. Stuart quit drinking,
 quit chasing women, quit everything that was 'fun.'
  Soon he began to lose favour with the Hollywood crowd. 
He was ultimately fired by the radio station when 
he refused to accept a beer company as a sponsor. 
Hard times were upon him. 

He tried writing a couple 
of  "Christian" songs but the only one that had 
much success was "This Old House", 
written for his friend Rosemary Clooney. 

As he continued to struggle, a long time friend named
 John took him aside and told him, "All your troubles
 started when you 'got religion,' was it worth it all?" 
Stuart answered simply, "Yes." 

Then his friend asked, "You liked your booze so much, 
Don't you ever miss it?" His answer was, "No."John
. Then he said, "I don't understand how you could give it
 up so easily..." 

And Stuart's response was, "It's no big secret. 
All things are possible with God." To this John said,
"That's a catchy phrase. You should write a song about it." 


And as they say, "The rest is history." 

The song Carl Stuart Hamblen wrote was;

"It Is No Secret." 



"It is no secret what God can do. 


What He's done for others, 

He'll do for you. 


With arms wide open, He'll welcome you.


It is no secret, what God can do...." 





By the way... The friend was John Wayne. 


And the young preacher who refused to pray for Stuart Hamblen? 
...That was Billy Graham. 

 

Share this with your friends ... I did

Today I see a gathering of people, not a church of Jesus Christ

For your corps/church newsletter or sermon…

Pastor Jeremiah Steepek transformed himself into a homeless person and went to the 10,000 member church that he was to be introduced as the head pastor at that morning. He walked around his soon to be church for 30 minutes while it was filling with people for service, only 3 people out of the 7-10,000 people said hello to him.

He asked people for change to buy food – no one in the church gave him change. He went into the sanctuary to sit down in the front of the church and was asked by the ushers if he would please sit in the back. He greeted people to be greeted back with stares and dirty looks, with people looking down on him and judging him.

As he sat in the back of the church, he listened to the church announcements and such. When all that was done, the elders went up and were excited to introduce the new pastor of the church to the congregation. They announced; “We would like to introduce to you Pastor Jeremiah Steepek.” The congregation looked around clapping with joy and anticipation. The homeless man sitting in the back stood up and started walking down the aisle. The clapping stopped with all eyes on him.

He walked up to the altar and took the microphone from the elders (who were in on this) and paused for a moment then he recited, - “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

‘The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

After he recited this, he looked towards the congregation and told them all what he had experienced that morning. Many began to cry and many heads were bowed in shame.

He then said, “Today I see a gathering of people, not a church of Jesus Christ. The world has enough people, but not enough disciples. When will YOU decide to become disciples?” He then dismissed service until next week.

Following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ should be more than just talk. It ought to be a lifestyle that others around you can love about you and share in.

So Send I You

Last night, Sunday there was a Celebration at the Salvation Army Temple in central Oslo, Norway. The SA hall was full as 14 new Cadets were welcomed to begin their two year education as Salvation Army officers (Pastors).

Commissioner Dick Krommenhoek spoke about the three men in Luke 9. All three men had excuses for why they could not follow Jesus. In the next chapter of Luke, the gentile physician's focus is on Jesus sending out the seventy-two disciples who had apparently said 'yes' to the invitation. Three had said no and 72 said yes.

Today, perhaps the scenario is reversed. Seventy-two says no to Jesus' call and 3 answer yes, 'we're willing - send us!'. The Commissioner highlighted that today half of Norway's SA corps are without officer leaders. He challenged the congregation to follow Jesus. 

The Salvation Army is in need of laborers: the harvest is ripe.

(translation from Rupeba: SE Ljungholm)

Lost?

Man rescued in Snowdonia, Wales  after only having map of Scotland

Man rescued in Snowdonia, Wales, after only having map of Scotland

He had been preparing for a challenge walk on the 3,262ft (994m) Glyder Fach when he tripped and fell, smashing the screen on his phone on which he was using a navigation map.

He had to call for help when he realised the only paper map he had with him was of Scotland. Members of the Ogwan Valley mountain rescue team helped him to safety. A spokesman for the group warned against relying on electronic applications in the mountains.

Chris Lloyd said; "Basically he was depending on an electronic tracking system which he then dropped and the screen broke. "People should have a paper map of the correct area, and by all means use the electronic equipment to check your co-ordinates, but don't depend on it."

He added: "He never had a paper map of Wales with him, only a map of Scotland, and he was totally dependent on using the electronic device to find his way, so when it broke he was stuck."

Where’s your map leading you?