Armybarmy Blog

September 29, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

My friend and I had a discussion this weekend about God’s will. We thought that something was God’s will a year ago. I think he still had some lingering suspicions about it. But we heard the convincing testimony of someone who ended up stepping into the gap left by my friend.

What did we conclude from this revelation? That circumstance isn’t necessarily providence.
Posted by Stephen Court

September 29th, 2003
Hi.
My friend Rob was out on the front lines of a pro-life demonstration and got into a conversation with a woman who was pro-abortion. They discovered in the conversation that they had a mutual friend. Lynn is a drug-addict who is mentally ill and one of our ‘neighbours’ in the downtown eastside of Vancouver (note: Lynn is not her real name). Lynn is in bondage and at the same time completely amazing. Her personality, even under the layers of pain and slavery, is funny, cute, witty and wild. You can’t help but like Lynn – if you know her at all. She’s a great singer.

Well, the pro-abortion lady was a worker in a housing complex for women (it just so happens it’s the same one that our friend Lynn lives in). Rob had a moment here – a quick window of divine opportunity to shed light on a subtle dark lie that isn’t spoken but lurks around in mindsets and policies. ‘You see’, said Rob, ‘people are advocating for abortion in order to stop people, like our friend Lynn, from being born!’

BANG! (that’s the sound of truth hitting hard heads, and plastic hearts). You see, mentally ill people have names. So do drug addicts and prostitutes and mentally challenged kids and the whole wide world. Black kids, white men, yellow people, crooked eye people, and even kids who are going to have a hard time controlling their muscles - they have names too. Even if WE don’t name them or even call them human – God has already named them because they are people He loves. They are people that if you could only know – you couldn’t help but like them… and let them live.
God, give us eyes to see. Thanks Rob – for speaking up for the unborn Lynn’s, I hope to meet many more!
Danielle Strickland

September 28, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

Here are a few things I've considered over the last few days with some comrades with hom I have influence:

a.Zeal is good, but zeal isn't enough. We're keen and that is good. But passion itself won't last. Character plus competence are key. Look at Psalm 78:72: "He cared for them with a true heart. He led them with skillful hands." So, integrity and ability must be wed with passion, or even etymological enthusiasm, to completely obey God.

So, some of us are here to add character and competencies to passion. Some are looking for passion as well. Here's a hint for you: if you lack passion, press in for revelation. Revelation is the key to almost everything: passion, zeal, vision/call, faith, intimacy, confidence, obedience... Carry your Bible with you, and break its spine. Pray hard, pray long, pray often.

b. Covenant is key. God honours covenant. He's a covenant-keeping God. Honour your covenants with Him. Read yesterday’s blog. There is blessing through covenant.

3. Preach twice a year- in season and out of season: be bold, compelling, and faithful.

One of my friends asked asked how evangelism is prophetic (in the Growth Chart). Good question. Not only is evangelism, following John the Baptist, prophetic, preparing the way of the Lord, but the most effective evangelism is prophetic. Jesus could only do what He saw the Father doing. That's prophetic. We're gifted with a spirit of wisdom and revelation. That's prophetic. We're gifted with words of knowledge and discernment. That's prophetic. When we're doing street combat, we need to be prophetic. We need to ask God to speak to us about the people with whom we're looking to converse. And the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19:10). That's prophetic. And Jesus loves the poor. He cries over them. He loves to hang out with them. Mother Teresa noted that Jesus has found a distressing disguise in the poor. All of this is prophetic.

4. Holiness is to be our foundation. That starts with repentance, continues with faith, and doesn't end. We're to be transformed from glory to glory into the likeliness of our Lord (2 Corinthians 3:18). And we're not talking about pathetic, apologetic, squirmy versions of holiness. We're talking about the holiness of Enoch and Daniel and Josiah and Paul and John and Wesley and Railton and Brengle and Roberts and Read. Get it and live it.

5. Warfare worship: not only should you feel 'a little vertigo', but you recognize the warfare that is going on when we worship. When we sing 'storm the forts of darkness', we actually contribute towards, 'bring(ing) them down'. It is not about performance (although Nehemiah 12:45 (NASB) does go for performance of worship- to God- so I'm not suggesting there is nothing to that. It's just that you're not performing for that cute guy or girl); it is a combination of adoration and warfare. For more on this see ALITTLE VERTIGO in JAC last year.

Everything is based on love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love.

That's enough for now. Keep asking God to help you optimize the hours and minutes that we here on this battlefield.
Posted by Stephen Court

September 27, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

Covenantal Soldiership

Enough of this pew-sitting, casual, comfortable, commitment-lite, bald-spot
Christianity. You can't stare at the lack of hair on the person in front
of you for an hour on a Sunday and figure you're living the abundant life.

God has big dreams for The Salvation Army. In fact, General Catherine
Booth prophesied, "We shall win. It is only a matter of time. I believe
that this Movement will inaugurate the great final conquest of our Lord
Jesus Christ." It sounds whacked today because it seems like such a
longshot.

Until we re-dig the wells of her salvationism, primitive salvationism, we
will miss the boat in terms of fulfilling end-time prophecy.

Primitive Salvationism is chari-flavoured, mission-focused heroism.

What does that involve?

Everything.

It takes everything you have for every day that you have on this earth.

We're recruiting martyrs. We want people who've died to self. That sounds
kind of trendy these days, but the reality is gory. It is an ugly sight to
see God refine. It is unpleasant to experience the shaving and
circumcising of habits, emotions, and heart.

And then covenant with God to serve Him as a soldier in The Salvation Army
until you die. Yes, I am talking about whole-hog warfare here. Nothing
held back. So, uniforms, cartridges (tithing plus gifts plus offerings
plus OWSOMS plus bonuses plus...), obedience, submission, Orders and
Regulations, Handbook of Doctrine, the whole shooting match.

Otherwise you're like a kite without a string and someone on the end of
that string. You'll crash. The best you can hope for is moderate,
marginal, incremental, modest influence on individuals in the Kingdom of God. However,
under covenant, God can unleash through you all of His authority and power.

Covenant Always Involves Death.

You can't cut a covenant without bloodshed. In fact, that is what the
cutting is all about. Whether it is Abraham and God, with God traveling
through chopped up animals, a Junior Soldier enrolment on a Sunday morning,
or Jesus on the Cross, covenant always involves death.

Maybe that is why it is not a popular thing. Who wants to die? Who wants
to die to self, to comfort, to habits, to ease? Who wants to suffer?

For that reason, the binding agreement of covenant, used spiritually,
socially, and commercially, has been a heavily under-rated aspect of
Christianity throughout the centuries.

It has an even tougher time in millennium three, during which apologetic,
soldiers, burdened by spiritual inferior complex, figure that we cannot
challenge anyone to sign her life away in covenant with God through the
Army. This attitude completely misses the mystery and power of covenant.

If we were living it, we wouldn't even have to ask the question.

Unapologetic, romantic, heroic warfare remains as attractive and
captivating today as it was 130 years ago with the primitive salvos or
2,000 years ago with the 33 AD salvos. The crazy thing is, when we're
living it, it is not a garment that we put on; it is rather a passion that
oozes out of us.

But that sounds like drivel to the uninformed and uninitiated.

Where is that romantic heroic warfare? Where are the signs and wonders
that Railton celebrated ("What is to be won for God must be captured from
the devil. Not indeed, by human might or power, but the use of all men's
powers under the mighty influence of the Holy Spirit are signs and wonders
continually possible." George Scott Railton. COLONEL JUNKER. p107)? Where
are the supernatural gifts that Booth cherished? Where is God's delight?


God's Delight

What we have lost, we have lost through the loss of covenant.

You see, our Father 'delights' to give us the Kingdom (Luke 12:32). As
well as peace, righteousness, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17
NBV), the Kingdom involves all sort of supernatural interventions. Our
Father would love to delight in us by releasing the fullness of His
Kingdom, if He could trust us with it. "We cannot earn God's love, but we
can earn His trust" (Robert Dolby). Like Elisha, after picking up the
mantle, our covenant provides a holy trustworthiness that allows God to
release Kingdom fullness and, in so doing, take delight in us.

Do we want the wonder-working, world-winning power of the Kingdom that God
delights to give us? One of the keys is the trust generated only by
covenant holiness.

When God needs to count on an individual, he looks for a covenanted person.
Whether it is Samuel the Nazirite, who dragged twelve rag-tag tribes into
nationhood and introduced the golden age of Israel, or the
religious-offending Samson, who led his oppressed people against the
Philistines, or John the Baptist, who prepared the way for the Lord, or
Johonadab the Rechabite, who lent credibility to the purging of evil from
the divided kingdoms, God can count on covenanted people. Did you see the
characteristics of those warriors? Samuel's words never fell to the
ground. Samson exercised supernatural strength. John started a
revolution. Johonadab helped to bring righteous punishment on the wicked
and establish a righteous rule in its place.

God is a covenant-keeping God. He is all about covenant. If we don't
understand covenant, we don't understand God. Throughout history God has
used covenant to 'bind' Himself to us in solemn agreement. Here are a few
keys examples:

∑ Genesis 9:9-17 with Noah and a rainbow;

∑ Genesis 15:18 with Abraham and descendents;

∑ Exodus 19:5;24:7-8;34:10,27-28 with Israel at Sinai;

∑ 2 Samuel 7;1 Chronicles 17;Psalms 89:3,28,34,39;129:12 with David for an everlasting kingdom;

Covenant is part of what characterizes God. The Salvation Army has heaps
in common with the Rechabites and the Nazirites of Scripture, people God could
trust because of their covenant relationship with Him.

We're not looking for favours or help. You cannot help the Army of God.
The Army of God can help you. If you're up for it, submit, get trained up,
and then sign your life away serve God as a Salvation Soldier until you
die. And may God delight to pour out wonder-working, world-winning power
of the Kingdom through us all.
Posted by Stephen Court

September 28, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

Here are a few things I've considered over the last few days with some comrades with hom I have influence:

a.Zeal is good, but zeal isn't enough. We're keen and that is good. But passion itself won't last. Character plus competence are key. Look at Psalm 78:72: "He cared for them with a true heart. He led them with skillful hands." So, integrity and ability must be wed with passion, or even etymological enthusiasm, to completely obey God.

So, some of us are here to add character and competencies to passion. Some are looking for passion as well. Here's a hint for you: if you lack passion, press in for revelation. Revelation is the key to almost everything: passion, zeal, vision/call, faith, intimacy, confidence, obedience... Carry your Bible with you, and break its spine. Pray hard, pray long, pray often.

b. Covenant is key. God honours covenant. He's a covenant-keeping God. Honour your covenants with Him. Read yesterday’s blog. There is blessing through covenant.

3. Preach twice a year- in season and out of season: be bold, compelling, and faithful.

One of my friends asked asked how evangelism is prophetic (in the Growth Chart). Good question. Not only is evangelism, following John the Baptist, prophetic, preparing the way of the Lord, but the most effective evangelism is prophetic. Jesus could only do what He saw the Father doing. That's prophetic. We're gifted with a spirit of wisdom and revelation. That's prophetic. We're gifted with words of knowledge and discernment. That's prophetic. When we're doing street combat, we need to be prophetic. We need to ask God to speak to us about the people with whom we're looking to converse. And the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19:10). That's prophetic. And Jesus loves the poor. He cries over them. He loves to hang out with them. Mother Teresa noted that Jesus has found a distressing disguise in the poor. All of this is prophetic.

4. Holiness is to be our foundation. That starts with repentance, continues with faith, and doesn't end. We're to be transformed from glory to glory into the likeliness of our Lord (2 Corinthians 3:18). And we're not talking about pathetic, apologetic, squirmy versions of holiness. We're talking about the holiness of Enoch and Daniel and Josiah and Paul and John and Wesley and Railton and Brengle and Roberts and Read. Get it and live it.

5. Warfare worship: not only should you feel 'a little vertigo', but you recognize the warfare that is going on when we worship. When we sing 'storm the forts of darkness', we actually contribute towards, 'bring(ing) them down'. It is not about performance (although Nehemiah 12:45 (NASB) does go for performance of worship- to God- so I'm not suggesting there is nothing to that. It's just that you're not performing for that cute guy or girl); it is a combination of adoration and warfare. For more on this see ALITTLE VERTIGO in JAC last year.

Everything is based on love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love.

That's enough for now. Keep asking God to help you optimize the hours and minutes that we here on this battlefield.
Posted by Stephen Court

September 28, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

Here are a few things I've considered over the last few days with some comrades with hom I have influence:

a.Zeal is good, but zeal isn't enough. We're keen and that is good. But passion itself won't last. Character plus competence are key. Look at Psalm 78:72: "He cared for them with a true heart. He led them with skillful hands." So, integrity and ability must be wed with passion, or even etymological enthusiasm, to completely obey God.

So, some of us are here to add character and competencies to passion. Some are looking for passion as well. Here's a hint for you: if you lack passion, press in for revelation. Revelation is the key to almost everything: passion, zeal, vision/call, faith, intimacy, confidence, obedience... Carry your Bible with you, and break its spine. Pray hard, pray long, pray often.

b. Covenant is key. God honours covenant. He's a covenant-keeping God. Honour your covenants with Him. Read yesterday’s blog. There is blessing through covenant.

3. Preach twice a year- in season and out of season: be bold, compelling, and faithful.

One of my friends asked asked how evangelism is prophetic (in the Growth Chart). Good question. Not only is evangelism, following John the Baptist, prophetic, preparing the way of the Lord, but the most effective evangelism is prophetic. Jesus could only do what He saw the Father doing. That's prophetic. We're gifted with a spirit of wisdom and revelation. That's prophetic. We're gifted with words of knowledge and discernment. That's prophetic. When we're doing street combat, we need to be prophetic. We need to ask God to speak to us about the people with whom we're looking to converse. And the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19:10). That's prophetic. And Jesus loves the poor. He cries over them. He loves to hang out with them. Mother Teresa noted that Jesus has found a distressing disguise in the poor. All of this is prophetic.

4. Holiness is to be our foundation. That starts with repentance, continues with faith, and doesn't end. We're to be transformed from glory to glory into the likeliness of our Lord (2 Corinthians 3:18). And we're not talking about pathetic, apologetic, squirmy versions of holiness. We're talking about the holiness of Enoch and Daniel and Josiah and Paul and John and Wesley and Railton and Brengle and Roberts and Read. Get it and live it.

5. Warfare worship: not only should you feel 'a little vertigo', but you recognize the warfare that is going on when we worship. When we sing 'storm the forts of darkness', we actually contribute towards, 'bring(ing) them down'. It is not about performance (although Nehemiah 12:45 (NASB) does go for performance of worship- to God- so I'm not suggesting there is nothing to that. It's just that you're not performing for that cute guy or girl); it is a combination of adoration and warfare. For more on this see ALITTLE VERTIGO in JAC last year.

Everything is based on love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love.

That's enough for now. Keep asking God to help you optimize the hours and minutes that we here on this battlefield.
Posted by Stephen Court


September 27, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

Covenantal Soldiership

Enough of this pew-sitting, casual, comfortable, commitment-lite, bald-spot
Christianity. You can't stare at the lack of hair on the person in front
of you for an hour on a Sunday and figure you're living the abundant life.

God has big dreams for The Salvation Army. In fact, General Catherine
Booth prophesied, "We shall win. It is only a matter of time. I believe
that this Movement will inaugurate the great final conquest of our Lord
Jesus Christ." It sounds whacked today because it seems like such a
longshot.

Until we re-dig the wells of her salvationism, primitive salvationism, we
will miss the boat in terms of fulfilling end-time prophecy.

Primitive Salvationism is chari-flavoured, mission-focused heroism.

What does that involve?

Everything.

It takes everything you have for every day that you have on this earth.

We're recruiting martyrs. We want people who've died to self. That sounds
kind of trendy these days, but the reality is gory. It is an ugly sight to
see God refine. It is unpleasant to experience the shaving and
circumcising of habits, emotions, and heart.

And then covenant with God to serve Him as a soldier in The Salvation Army
until you die. Yes, I am talking about whole-hog warfare here. Nothing
held back. So, uniforms, cartridges (tithing plus gifts plus offerings
plus OWSOMS plus bonuses plus...), obedience, submission, Orders and
Regulations, Handbook of Doctrine, the whole shooting match.

Otherwise you're like a kite without a string and someone on the end of
that string. You'll crash. The best you can hope for is moderate,
marginal, incremental, modest influence on individuals in the Kingdom of God. However,
under covenant, God can unleash through you all of His authority and power.

Covenant Always Involves Death.

You can't cut a covenant without bloodshed. In fact, that is what the
cutting is all about. Whether it is Abraham and God, with God traveling
through chopped up animals, a Junior Soldier enrolment on a Sunday morning,
or Jesus on the Cross, covenant always involves death.

Maybe that is why it is not a popular thing. Who wants to die? Who wants
to die to self, to comfort, to habits, to ease? Who wants to suffer?

For that reason, the binding agreement of covenant, used spiritually,
socially, and commercially, has been a heavily under-rated aspect of
Christianity throughout the centuries.

It has an even tougher time in millennium three, during which apologetic,
soldiers, burdened by spiritual inferior complex, figure that we cannot
challenge anyone to sign her life away in covenant with God through the
Army. This attitude completely misses the mystery and power of covenant.

If we were living it, we wouldn't even have to ask the question.

Unapologetic, romantic, heroic warfare remains as attractive and
captivating today as it was 130 years ago with the primitive salvos or
2,000 years ago with the 33 AD salvos. The crazy thing is, when we're
living it, it is not a garment that we put on; it is rather a passion that
oozes out of us.

But that sounds like drivel to the uninformed and uninitiated.

Where is that romantic heroic warfare? Where are the signs and wonders
that Railton celebrated ("What is to be won for God must be captured from
the devil. Not indeed, by human might or power, but the use of all men's
powers under the mighty influence of the Holy Spirit are signs and wonders
continually possible." George Scott Railton. COLONEL JUNKER. p107)? Where
are the supernatural gifts that Booth cherished? Where is God's delight?


God's Delight

What we have lost, we have lost through the loss of covenant.

You see, our Father 'delights' to give us the Kingdom (Luke 12:32). As
well as peace, righteousness, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17
NBV), the Kingdom involves all sort of supernatural interventions. Our
Father would love to delight in us by releasing the fullness of His
Kingdom, if He could trust us with it. "We cannot earn God's love, but we
can earn His trust" (Robert Dolby). Like Elisha, after picking up the
mantle, our covenant provides a holy trustworthiness that allows God to
release Kingdom fullness and, in so doing, take delight in us.

Do we want the wonder-working, world-winning power of the Kingdom that God
delights to give us? One of the keys is the trust generated only by
covenant holiness.

When God needs to count on an individual, he looks for a covenanted person.
Whether it is Samuel the Nazirite, who dragged twelve rag-tag tribes into
nationhood and introduced the golden age of Israel, or the
religious-offending Samson, who led his oppressed people against the
Philistines, or John the Baptist, who prepared the way for the Lord, or
Johonadab the Rechabite, who lent credibility to the purging of evil from
the divided kingdoms, God can count on covenanted people. Did you see the
characteristics of those warriors? Samuel's words never fell to the
ground. Samson exercised supernatural strength. John started a
revolution. Johonadab helped to bring righteous punishment on the wicked
and establish a righteous rule in its place.

God is a covenant-keeping God. He is all about covenant. If we don't
understand covenant, we don't understand God. Throughout history God has
used covenant to 'bind' Himself to us in solemn agreement. Here are a few
keys examples:

Genesis 9:9-17 with Noah and a rainbow;

Genesis 15:18 with Abraham and descendents;

Exodus 19:5;24:7-8;34:10,27-28 with Israel at Sinai;

2 Samuel 7;1 Chronicles 17;Psalms 89:3,28,34,39;129:12 with David for an everlasting kingdom;

Covenant is part of what characterizes God. The Salvation Army has heaps
in common with the Rechabites and the Nazirites of Scripture, people God could
trust because of their covenant relationship with Him.

We're not looking for favours or help. You cannot help the Army of God.
The Army of God can help you. If you're up for it, submit, get trained up,
and then sign your life away serve God as a Salvation Soldier until you
die. And may God delight to pour out wonder-working, world-winning power
of the Kingdom through us all.
Posted by Stephen Court

Posted by: armybarmy / 1:53 PM

September 26, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

“For centuries, Muslims required a tattoo of a cross on the right wrist to mark all Christians in Egypt. Today, Coptic Christians continue to tattoo their right wrist as a way to show their loyalty to their faith- belieiving in Jesus’ Christ as the Saviour of the world” (LEADERS FOR TODAY, 2003, number 2).

Classic. I love it. And it is Biblical. Years ago I fired off a quick little article called TATTOO EVANGELISM that generated quite a stir. I still get requests for it from interested parties on both sides of the fence. But here is the Biblical basis for it:

First, we tattoo ourselves- “’I am the Lord’s’ they’ll say… and tattoo upon their hands the name of God” (Isaiah 44:5).

Second, God tattoos Himself- “See, I have tattooed your name upon My palm” (Isaiah 49:16).

So, feel free…

And, God bless the Coptic Christians.
Posted by Stephen Court

September 25, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

Ezekiel 36:23: When I reveal My holiness through you before their very eyes, says the Sovereign Lord, then the nations will know that I am the Lord.

There it is in a nutshell. Do we want to win the world? We only need to let the world see God’s holiness in and through our lives.

Easy.
Posted by Stephen Court

Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

Joel 3:9: Prepare for war. Rouse the heroes.

How about it? Get up heroes. Get your armour on. Throw off that remote that so easily hinders and the infatuations that entangle. Put on the full armour of God. Open your eyes. Recognise the fight of the enemy and the plight of the captives. Focus on the battle at hand. Fight in the strength of the King. When the humble heroes are mobilized, fighting shoulder to shoulder, the enemy is terrified. The war is fierce. “True soldiers live to fight, love the fight, love the thickest of the fight, and die in the midst of it” (General William Booth). Be a hero. Preach the Kingdom of God is at hand. Heal the sick. Cleanse lepers. Raise the dead. Expel demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

Prapare for war. Rouse the heroes.
Posted by Stephen Court

September 23, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

I just heard Ralph Bromley, the founder of HOPE FOR THE NATIONS, on about children at risk (one of his favourite subjects).

He dropped a powerful line on us this past week:

“Children are the most endangered species on the face of the earth.”

It’s time to pick up the pace- there are children dying as you read this. We’ve got to get the complete Gospel of the Kingdom to all of them and their parents (those that are still alive).
Posted by Stephen Court

September 22, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

Believe it or not…

I just read about a nice church in Cleveland. A pretty normal, well-dressed crowd in the local church was distinct from the vast majority of other congregations on this Sunday morning by the two individuals standing at the back of the hall in uniform.

These weren’t Salvation Army uniforms. These were police uniforms. These officers weren’t dispatched by HQ or 911. They were hired on their own time to protect this nice congregation.

From what? You ask.

“There are a lot of homeless people who were coming in and bothering the people” answered one of the police officers.

Were they violent? You ask.

“No, but they were distracting the people as they were trying to pray.”

Ouch on a couple of levels.

First, did you notice that the homeless poor are contrasted by ‘the people’? So, they aren’t people. But second, does it sound familiar? I mean, William Booth ran into the exact same problem (well, I don’t know if the British bobbies were posted at Church of England and local Methodist parishes in the 1860s).

When are we going to learn our lesson? When are we going to realize that Jesus likes the poor. He hangs out with them. Mother Teresa scares us by intoning that Jesus has found a distressing disguise in the poor.

How does that play out? Well, international aid goes to the United Nations. It works its way down through the system, the hierarchy, and gets to a recipient country. And from there it works through the system and down the hierarchy until there is little left for the poor. And, as I’ve heard the saying (and excuse the crudity), “The poor get pissed on.”

So, if Mother Teresa is accurate, and Jesus has found a distressing disguise in the poor, who is getting ‘pissed on’? Jesus.

We need to learn some lessons. Forget about just a little information here. Ask God for some illumination so that you catch revelation (which leads to transformation).
Posted by Stephen Court

September 21, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus' name, friends.

So we stuck a map of Vancouver in the briefs for all of our War College students. I thought it would help them find their way around.

It turns out that the government decided to stick the map legend right on top of our neighbourhood, the downtown eastside.

My buddy Jonathan discovered this amazing website that explains the problem:

There's and old saying that the best way to make people powerless is to make them invisible. Maps are a good way of doing this. When Europeans first came to North America, they made Indians invisible by leaving large blank spaces on maps. That way they were able to rationalize stealing other peoples land. The city insists that the downtown eastside must be gentrified. One way to do this is to eliminate the downtown from city maps. By leaving a community off the map, they erase the people who live there and make them invisible. That way they leave the neighborhood open for what ever changes they have in store.
       - From Carnegie Newsletter printed in Blomley 1997 (http://www.sfu.ca/geog452spring00/project3/m_cont.html)

How about that?

Ralph Neighbour talks about three kinds of people: people people- those for whom we care and who are a part of our lives and relationships; machine people- those who serve us and make our lives better (mailman and waiter and...); and landscape people- those we see but who matter not at all to us- the extras of the movie of our lives.

I think that we need to add a fourth group- invisible people- those who are out of sight and out of mind. Up until I saw this map legend and website, I figured that this group consisted only of the orphan, the widow, the alien, the poor- all in developing countries and suffering horrendously. But now I am willing to consider the possibility that my neighbours who have been made invisible by those who want to exploit and/or supplant them may well deserve a spot as well.

God's big idea is that invisible people are people people too. He died for every one.
posted by Stephen Court

September 20, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

Some of you are old enough to remember Raiders of the Lost Ark.

It turns out that the story wasn’t completely true. You see, according to the 31 million Christians of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

No one was quite sure what happened to the Ark of the Covenant after the Temple was destroyed in 587 BC.

A solitary Orthodox priest in an Axum church, is taking care of the ark.

“According to legend, the ark was stolen by Menelik, the son of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, who brought it to Ethiopia. Ethiopia converted to Christianity around the year 330, but the legend of the ark does not arise until the twelfth century, in a forthright attempt by the ruling dynasty to proclaim itself heir to King Solomon (FIRST THINGS, June/July 2003).

It seems that the true story is even more interesting than the movie version. But before you all get excited and head to Africa, remember that the ark represented the presence of God… past tense. Now, God’s presence can be in each of us.
Posted by Stephen Court

September 19, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

David Suzuki, in a column titled “We’re All Animals Here” wrote:

"The sign in the shopping mall said, 'No animals allowed.' As I read it, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. It reflected a failure to admit or unwillingness to acknowledge our biological nature. We are animals and have a taxonomic classification: Kingdom -- Animalia, Phylum -- Chordata, Class -- Mammilia, Order -- Primates, Family -- Hominidae, Genus -- Homo, Species -- sapiens.

"Our reluctance to acknowledge our animal nature is indicated in our attitude to other animals. If we call someone a worm, snake, pig, chicken, mule or ape, it is an insult. Indeed, to accuse someone of being a "wild animal" at a party is a terrible insult."

Commentator Mark Steyn (steynonline.com) responds, “Suzuki may regret it, but the world we live in is defined not by what we have in common with the cats and dogs and Holsteins and black rhinos but by what separates us.

He goes on to quote Psalm 8:

"What is man that thou art mindful of him ... ? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea."

And some translations render ‘angels’, ‘God’. This misunderstanding of who we are leads to so many of the social problems with which we grapple in our day.
Posted by Stephen Court

September 18, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

Yesterday I lamented throwing out the meaning of a word and speculated as to the consequences. Today I demonstrate them.

However, before we do that, let me add something to yesterday’s blog. A few hundred people just shut down a 137 year-old legal understanding. And let’s not be naïve, the understanding of marriage is much older than that. And this is called democracy.

G.K. Chesterton called tradition the only true democracy, since only tradition gives a vote to the dead who have gone before.

Anyway, they say Canada is socially behind Europe by a decade or so. This decision is a step towards catching up. If you want to know the consequences for Canada, why not look to Europe?

Watch this (from FIRST THINGS, June/July 2003):

“According to Dutch and German newspapers, May 28 was a really big day for Jennifer Hoes of Haarlem in the Netherlands. She turned thirty and became a bride. She married herself. Wearing a gown studded with two hundred latex copies of her own nipples, she promised before Haarlem’s registrar to love, respect, honor, and obey herself. “We live in a Me society,” she explained to Der Spiegel, “hence it is logical that one promises to be faithful to oneself.” There is a certain logic to that. The stories say nothing about what happens in the event of divorce, or if she someday wants to marry someone else. I don’t think we’re going to see a rash of “self-marriages” anytime soon, although I have no doubt those who are taken with the idea will find clergy ready to accommodate with a blessing. Jennifer Hoes (or is it Jennifer Hoes-Hoes?) is a more bizarre instance of the orchestrated assault on marriage as a union of a man and a woman. As a supporter of the proposed federal marriage amendment, my position might be described as pro-choice. We know what marriage is. People are free to choose something else, but they are not free to require the rest of us to call that something else marriage.

Editor Richard John Neuhaus says it all so well, that I ran the whole quote. Classic. What’s next?
Posted by Stephen Court

September 17, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

The House of Commons in Canada narrowly defeated a motion yesterday asserting that marriage is the exclusive union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others.

The difference was five votes. Strangely, just four years ago the House overwhelmingly confirmed the same assertion, voting 216-55. Watch this: the Prime Minister and the next Prime Minister both flip-flopped on their 1999 vote in favour. And they bullied scores of Liberals to join them.

So the difference in the vote was two flip-flopping PMs and one (choose from many) coerced flip-flopper.

So, with one vote, they’ve overturned a 137 year-old legal understanding of the law (The traditional definition of marriage is based on an 1866 court ruling in England, in which Lord Penzance wrote: "I conceive that marriage, as understood in Christendom, may ... be defined as the voluntary union for life of one man and one woman, to the exclusion of all others."- from the National Post today).

Now, some people have wondered what we’ve opened ourselves up to, here, in Canada. I mean, if that assertion is not correct, then how do you say no to one senior, two minors and a puppy?
Posted by Stephen Court

September 16, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

Check this one. Dr. Nabil Hilmi, the Dean of the Law Faculty at al-Zaqaziq University, is preparing a law suit against ‘all the Jews’ for property taken from the Egyptians during the exodus from Egypt (that’s Moses’s day). The anticipated sought-after penalty will be about 1.125 trillion tones of gold (based, according to Nissan Ratzlav-Katz with Arutz Sheva, on 5% annual interest rate. Note that sharia law forbids charging interest).

This is all based on Exodus 12:33-36 (‘borrowing’ gold, silver, etc., and ‘emptying Egypt’) and far too much time on their hands. One of the difficulties is that Muslims apparently venerate Moses and Aaron.

These guys aren’t the first. The Talmud, in tractate Sanhedrin records: "The Egyptians once again came to debate with the Jews before Alexander the Great. They said to him, 'Behold! Their Torah says that G-d let the Jews find favor in the Egyptians' eyes and they lent them [gold and silver utensils]. Give us back the gold and silver which you took from us.'" (from Nissan Ratzlav-Katz with Arutz Sheva)

The Jews responded from the Torah: “"the Children of Israel dwelled in Egypt 430 years." Give us the wages owed the 600,000 men whom you enslaved in Egypt for 430 years.'"

I’m all for identificational repentance, but I think this takes it too far!
Posted by Stephen Court

September 15, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

Some may wonder I sometimes go on about the poor, gay ‘marriage’, abortion, and that sort of thing. Don’t worry. I recognize that it is about winning the world. I recognize the mission is to win the world for Jesus. I recognize that conversion, discipleship, deliverance, and sanctification are the keys to accomplishing mission.

But some of the social justice stuff is important for a couple of reasons. One is that I want to be able to stand before God with some kind of a response if He asks me what I did about abortion or the poor or prostitution or… Two is explained by Martin Luther King, in a May 14, 1963 preach at St. Paul’s Church, Ohio:

“There are always those who say legislation can’t solve the problem. There is a half-truth involved here. It is true that legislation cannot solve the whole problem. It can solve some of the problem. It may be true that morality can’t be legislated, but behavior can be regulated. It may be true that legislation cannot change the heart, but it can restrain the heartless. It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can keep him from lynching me, and I think that’s pretty important.”

Worthy.
Posted by Stephen Court

Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

‘The Salvation Army shelter, where it is at least clean, is their last clutch at respectability.’

So says, George Orwell, who would be 100 years old this year, if he wasn’t dead.

I’ve read in the August 30 SALVATIONIST that Orwell leaned on the Army for NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR and other works.

Under cover, Orwell engaged in a participant observation study of the down and out in London. In on SA shelter, he reports:

“‘At 10 pm an officer marched round the hall blowing a whistle’, whereupon ‘immediately everyone stood up’ and ‘obediently as sheep’ the whole 200 men trooped off to bed, under the command of the officers!

“The dormitory is ‘a great attic like a barrack room, with 60 or 70 beds’, clean and comfortable but very narrow and close together, so that one breathed straight into one’s neighbour’s face. Then (wait for it!): ‘Two officers slept in the room, to see there was no smoking and no talking after lights out’!

So some things have changed. I don’t know too many officers who sleep on the clod/wet weather mats with scores of people in emergency shelters. For that matter, I can’t imagine 200 men trooping off as obediently as sheep to bed under the officer’s whistle! Orwell was wrong about the future in a lot of ways. He figured we’d be controlled by the infliction of pain. Aldous Huxley (BRAVE NEW WORLD) figured we’d be controlled by the infliction of pleasure. In Neil Postman’s terms, “Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we love will ruin us” (AMUSING OURSELVES TO DEATH).

Huxley was right.

Although, Orwell was right that for many, in my neighbourhood, The Salvation Army is ‘their last clutch at respectability’. May that clutch find a fist full of salvation to go along with the warm soup and clean bed.
Posted by Stephen Court

September 13, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

So, 80,000-100,000 people gathered in front of 220 or so constituency offices across the country last Sunday to pray that the government will uphold the sanctity of marriage.

I prayed that the Church will uphold the sanctity of marriage. I figure, when you can’t tell Church divorce statistics from non-Church divorce statistics, the Church doesn’t have a clue about sanctity of marriage.

The matter is all the rage this week in our country. I read this in National Review Online (almost for sure):

“At least one Anglican bishop is prepared to clamp down on dissidents. Bishop Michael Ingham of Vancouver, British Columbia, says, “I am trying to be very patient. I am trying to keep the door open as long as I can. I am trying to say to [the dissidents], ‘We do respect your conscience, we are not forcing you into anything.’” But he adds, “There is a limit to all human patience.” The dissident priests and parishes are opposed to the church’s blessing of same-sex unions. (Recall the maxim: “Where orthodoxy is optional it will, sooner rather than later, be proscribed.”).

We live how we’re taught. If we want orthopraxy, we must be taught orthodoxy.

In the meantime, my statement in a blog awhile ago that I was going to become a nun continues to bring outrage or fanciful laughter. How can I, a married, male, non-Roman Catholic, become a nun? We all know that a nun must be celibate, must be female, and must be Catholic. It is ridiculous that I would defy the definition of a word through the history of civilization and claim this title for myself, as I most obviously do not fit the meaning of the word.

The same goes for those who are twisting the word ‘marriage’.

Greetings in Jesus' name, friends.

Just to clarify about September 10's blog...

I'm in. I agree with each of the arguments I expressed. I think each successive one gets stronger.

You can visit str.org at str.org.
Grace.

Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

Two years and a day ago, about 3,000 innocent people were brutally killed in America.
Two years ago today about 3,000 innocent people were brutally killed in America.
Two years less a day ago, about 3,000 innocent people were brutally killed in America.
Two years less two days ago, about 3,000 innocent people were brutally killed in America.
Two years less three days ago, about 3,000 innocent people were brutally killed in America.
Two years less four days ago, about 3,000 innocent people were brutally killed in America.
And so on.
Do you get the point?
And that’s just America. Another 133,000 or so unborn babies were brutally killed outside of the United States on each of those days and every day since.
And Jesus died for every one of them.

Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

My friend introduced someone to Jesus today. Hallelujah!

Don’t get all wrapped up about her. As my buddy Jonathan says, ‘it wasn’t her blood or anything’.

Think about that for a moment. This guy was running headlong to hell. He had disobeyed God, ignored him for his whole life. He was dead in his transgressions and sins. He looked alive but he was dead.

Now he has been born again. Hallelujah. He has been forgiven. His sins have been removed. In fact, curses have been broken off of him. He’s renounced his sins and stronghold have been busted. Demons have fled. The Holy Spirit regenerated him. The Messiah propitiated for him. The Father justified him.

He’s a new man. The old has gone and the new has come. He was alone and now he has a family. He was lost and now he is found. He was blind but now he can see. He was aimless and now he has a purpose. He was hopeless and now he belongs to the Giver of Hope. He was desperate and now he is delivered.

He’s been pardoned. He’s been redeemed. He’s been freed. He’s been released. He’s found comfort. He’s found acceptance. He’s found life.

He’s been adopted. He’s been given an inheritance. He’s been gifted. He’s been called. He’s been welcomed. He’s the cause of a new building contract inside the pearly gates. He’s the cause of a late night soiree in a heavenly postal code. He’s the cause of much rejoicing and joy in heaven and much punishment and cursing in hell.

He’s got life. He’s got eternal life. And he’s got access to abundant life. His life has been fruitless. But now he’s got access to Holy Spirit crops that overflow in lusciousness. He’s been angry. But now he’s found peace. He’s hated. Now he’s felt love.

This man has really stumbled into an amazing, eternity-shaking discovery. He’s come home to a place he’s never ever been before. And the most exciting thing is- this is only day one!

Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

So I had the privilege of sitting in on a session with Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform president Stephanie Gray today. I was hoping for a clear answer to my lack of conviction or satisfaction regarding yesterday’s topic.

She was able to tell me that 40 babies were killed today in my province. 40 were snuffed the day before. And, according to the statistical average, 40 will be killed tomorrow.

I asked for the argument against violence to protect the unborn baby.

Here were a couple of points: 1. it doesn’t work since the baby can be taken to another doctor tomorrow. And you can’t follow 40 doctors around every day to see if they are going to take out a baby; 2. the scenario I gave doesn’t compare in that the baby cannot be rescued from the mother, as the class of children from my hypothetical situation could be; and 3. it wipes out any chance of saving the doctor.

(She also figured that if Christians actually stopped aborting and supporting- that is, killing babies and voting for the politicians who support killing babies, the problem would be terminated tomorrow.)

Gray referred me to an official statement on this issue:

“It's always wrong to take a human life without proper justification. Abortion is such a wrong because it takes the life of a valuable, innocent, human person without good reason. Therefore, it is morally obligatory for civilized people to campaign vigorously against such a wrong and use appropriate means to end it.

“In opposing this evil, one is justified in using only the degree of force necessary to stop any harm that it is within his power to prevent. Therefore, one is never justified in using lethal force when other measures are available.

“Since there are no imaginable circumstances in which lethal force is the only means available to end the harm of abortion, then lethal means are never justified.

“Killing abortionists is, therefore, also an example of taking human life without proper justification. To do so would be to violate, then, the basic principle of life that pro-lifers are committed to defending.

Ah, but she also hooked me up with str.org, and Greg Koukl has heard the same old story before. Watch his response:
“This question needs to be answered clearly and directly and here is the answer. It simply does not follow that if one believes that abortion is murder then he would advocate killing individual abortionists. What follows is this: He would work to end the wholesale killing as expediently as possible. It doesn't follow he would kill abortionists. It follows that he would do whatever he can to stop the killing as quickly as possible. Now, that may or may not entail the shooting of individual abortionists. The answer to that question would depend on other considerations.

“How can that be? Well, anyone familiar with military tactics knows how such a thing can be the case. Life is lost on its largest scale during warfare and the objective in war is to accomplish the goals of the war as expediently as possible to end the large scale loss of life, right? Now, if the military objective is to end the war by--watch this--taking out the machinery of destruction, as a saboteur would do, and killing any individual soldier would put the larger plan in jeopardy, then the individual killer is bypassed rather than run the risk of sabotaging the entire mission.

“Imagine for just a minute commandos in the Second World War impersonating Nazi officers, dropped behind Nazi lines to infiltrate concentration camps. Their mission? Destroy the gas chambers. Now mingling incognito with the rest of the camp cadre, they have many opportunities to kill other soldiers, even officers. Even the Commandant. But do you kill the individual executioner or do you go after the gas chamber? In this case, it seems that killing the individual would be wrong even though he was truly murderous, because it would keep the commandos from fulfilling their larger mission. And their failure would mean more lives lost in the long run. The short term gain would be no victory because the machinery of destruction would still be in place. Do you see that?

“What this illustration shows is that there is no necessary contradiction in the view that abortion is a holocaust, yet the killing of individual abortionists is properly condemned.

I could buy this. But Koukl takes it all one step farther:

“But you know that is not the real issue.

“In one sense, the question that is raised approaches the problem in reverse. The real issue is this: What is the ontological nature of the unborn child (forgive the fancy word)? This is the most important question in the entire debate and, until it's answered, no moral recommendation whatsoever can be made, either about the morality of abortion or the moral consequences of any protest against it. In other words, you must answer the question: What is the unborn child?

“Before you can answer any other questions you must deal with that one. You can't even answer the question, how should we treat the fetus? You can't answer the questions whether abortion is murder or what we ought to do to abortionists who murder other human beings if, in fact, that's what they're doing, unless you answer this first question. What is the unborn child?

“Now, listen, folks, if it is possible to determine that an unborn child is fully human and as fully a person in it essential nature as you and I, then it deserves the same legal protections and legal sanctions against its abuse as you and I do. Now that's logical. That is not a non sequitur . Human beings ought to be protected equally. In fact, it's in the Constitution; it's called the Fourteenth Amendment. So, our question is, is the essential nature of an unborn child the same as the essential nature that you and I both share? That's the question and the hard truth is, if it is then it ought to be treated equally with us. That's the hard truth and that's why the hard thinking ought to be addressed to this question. Unfortunately, it's almost never discussed.

“But not only is it the most important question, it's also the one most easily answered, and that is why it's never discussed. Every argument against the full humanity and the full personhood of the unborn child at any stage of its development has failed miserably and that's why it's never brought up.

“That most critical question is answerable and once it's answered, all these other questions answer themselves.

So, there.

Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

Globe and Mail Update
Starke, Fla. — "Paul Hill, a former minister who said he murdered an abortion doctor and his bodyguard to save the lives of unborn babies, was executed Wednesday by injection. He was the first person put to death in the United States for anti-abortion violence."

If a big mean man was attacking a room of pre-school children and their lives were in immediate danger, and you were the only one with a hope of stopping him from killing them, and, to do so, you’d have to exercise lethal force against him, would you?

That is how the argument goes. Of course you would.

And, in a similar way, so the argument goes, a pregnant woman attending an abortuary is putting the life of the person in her womb in immediate danger. The doctor killing the baby will not be stopped, in this immediate situation, by protests, by legislation, by calling 911, nor by pleading. The only way to save the baby is to intervene.

And so, as the argument goes, the person intervening in both situations is merely saving the life of a person whose life is in immediate danger.

Most of the arguments against include things like- life rings and pro-life counselors. But the scenario painted is beyond the help of such instruments. So you suggest that non-lethal force be used. But, as this is merely an illustration, it can be fixed such that the non-lethal force isn’t sufficient to save the lives and must be elevated from non-lethal to lethal force in the context of the action. And on and on.

I don’t completely buy the responses I’ve heard and thought. And yet, I daily refrain from saving those lives. Pretty pathetic, eh?

The upside is I’m getting some more training tomorrow. Maybe an answer is in store.

Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

I don’t subscribe to SALVATIONIST. But I subscribe to a lot I read in it! I recommend it. I read it online.

The editorial last week (August 30) is called NOTHING IS WRITTEN. The editor, Charles King describes a scene in LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (which I read, but which is a faster watch, barely, on two videos), ”where Lawrence leads his motley army of Arabs across the searingly hot stretch of the Nefud Desert known as the Sun’s Anvil. His plan is to take Aqaba from the rear.”

"After crossing what many regarded as an uncrossable desert, Lawrence realises he has lost his friend Gasim somewhere in the blistering, wind-ravaged sands. ‘We cannot go back,’ Lawrence’s Arab comrades tell him. ‘Gasim’s time is come, Lawrence, it is written.’

"‘Nothing is written,’ says our hero, heading back into the nightmare heat. Eventually he returns, bearing his rescued friend on his camel, to declare again to his amazed forces: ‘Nothing is written.’

Yah! Today we officially started The War College. We advertised that we’re recruiting martyrs. One of our leaders read Jeremiah 29:11 and got to the part about ‘not to harm you’. I interjected with, ‘yes, we’re trying to kill you’. My friend attended a discipleship school in which ‘death again’ was a daily slogan. So, we’re hard at it and in it for death and glory (to borrow Booth-Tucker’s phrase to describe his shock troops whose death-to-self reflected glory to our King).

God has blessed us with prophetic words concerning the school. We’re excited to being a part of their fulfillment.

We know that the downtown eastside of Vancouver has been ‘written off’. We know that many, including, probably, the enemy, have ‘written off’ The Salvation Army.

But we’re reminded that ‘nothing is written’. Just because it has never been done before does not mean God cannot do it today and tomorrow.

God instructed Habakkuk to “Write the vision” (2:2). Nothing is written yet. God will write it on our experiences. I may even blog some of it! And may it change the story of heaven.

September 7, 2003
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

So it looks like the North American arm of the Church of England (Episcopalians in the States and Anglican in Canada) are headed toward a split.

Apparently many of the Bible-believing Christians have left already (form what I’ve read- and yes, I know there are heaps left, including a rock-solid huge church in my town).

I’ve read that this is not about gay ‘marriage’ but inerrancy of Scripture. That is a great point, except for this exodus history. Many of those who have stayed have already compromised on the inerrancy of Scripture issue. So this split isn’t even over inerrancy of Scripture.

But how about a little integrity? They choose a bishop who up and left his wife and family a dozen years ago to hook up with a man.

One of the short-term winners is a liberal theologian who explains the majority position: Scripture is "the chief authority when imaginatively construed in a certain interpretive trajectory."

What is that? Well, when it agrees with us, the Bible is the rock on which we stand, but when it rubs against our passions, the Bible is the muck we cannot stand.

Here is the new bishop’s explanation of his heresy:

"I believe that God gave us the gift of sexuality so that we might express with our bodies the love that's in our hearts. I just need to tell you that I experience that with my partner. In the time that we have, I can't go into all the theology around it, but what I can tell you is that in my relationship with my partner, I am able to express the deep love that's in my heart, and in his unfailing and unquestioning love of me, I experience just a little bit of the kind of never-ending, never-failing love that God has for me. So it's sacramental for me."

So, let’s be clear about this. When this bishop sodomizes his adult partner, maybe in front of a photo of his abandoned wife and family- an activity that conforms more to the dictionary definition of bestiality than to anything close to affection- he experiences ‘just a little bit of the never-ending, never-failing love that God has’ for him.

‘It’s sacramental’.

I wanted to end there. But I can’t. Let the heretics leave. Or let the Christians join us. Either clears things up for the rest of the world, confused by terms like ‘church’ and ‘bishop’ and ‘sacrament’ being juxtaposed with sodomy, bestiality, and hypocrisy.

Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

Leadership should have a local base.

There are exceptions to this statement, but generally speaking, leadership should have a local base.

So, how does that look practically? The DS oversees a corps. The DC oversees a corps. The cabinet members all oversee corps. The TC and the General all oversee corps.

It gives credibility. It permits you to lead by example. It gives a dose of reality. It helps you to keep your finger on the pulse of the culture. It keeps you closer to people.

Now, I am not suggesting that the TC run the corps on her own. I am being realistic, too. Give her a couple of majors as associates or something, but leave her in charge.

Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

Carrying on with Clifton’s paper (from the COUTTS MEMORIAL LECTURE SERIES this year)…

He noted what a great tool the O+R contains- the Test For Self Examination. Do you use it? I do. It is a list of hardcore questions intended to help shed light on the devil’s attacks. After all, we are not unaware of his shady schemes.

I recommend it. It is in your Soldiers Orders and Regulations. Crack it open and blow away an evening.

Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

The Faith Temple Church of the Apostolic Faith is going through some tough times this month.

One of its pastors ended up killing a boy he was trying to deliver from demons. You may have read about it a few days ago (August 29, New York Times).

He was meant to start special ed classes today in grade three.

The medical examiner has ruled the death a homicide. The pastor has been charged with felony child abuse (up to five years).

The pastor, weighing in at 150 lbs, acknowledged lying on top of the boy, chest to chest. The medical examiner figures that the boy died of asphyxiation due to pressure on the chest.

Wow. How do you address this? There is the issue of the Court passing up the murder charge. There is the issue of deliverance killing a boy. There is the issue of spiritual abuse. There is the issue of no formal training for the pastor. There are some things we have to think through and pray through.
Posted by Stephen Court, September 3, 2003.

Yesterday I introduced Paul Marshall. I want to continue.

A couple of our War College students are from Nigeria. Three years ago Nigeria introduced Sharia law. Since then, 10,000 have died under that law.

How many potential War College students are in heaven already?
posted by Stephen Court, September 2, 2003.

Paul Marshall is a powerful writer who exposes social injustice around the world. His big hit is THEIR BLOOD CRIES OUT. A few days ago, he reported in NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE about developments in this terrible field.

On August 27, Amina Lawal, a 32-year-old Nigerian single mother, sat in an Islamic sharia court in Katsina state in northern Nigeria and nursed her two-year-old daughter, Wasila. Wasila had been born over nine months after Amina was divorced and, in Nigeria's Islamic courts, this is takento be prima facie evidence that Amina committed adultery.

If her appeal of this conviction is denied, she will be buried up to her chest, and the surrounding throng will throw stones at her until she is dead. The stones used must not be so small that they will inflict no damage, nor so large that they will kill her too quickly. She must die slowly and painfully in front of the crowd.

Of course, in any adultery case, there must also be a man involved, and Amina testified that she had not willingly committed adultery but had been raped. However, to convict a man of rape, Nigeria's sharia courts usually require that there be four male Muslim witnesses. Though the courts are not yet clear on this, it may be (following precedent in other Islamist jurisdictions such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Sudan, and Pakistan) that up to eight male non-Muslim witnesses, or 16 female non-Muslim witnesses, would also suffice for the conviction of a male Muslim. However, since Nigerian adulterers and rapists - like those in other parts of the world - do not usually perform in front of crowds, the man has been acquitted, and Amina and her daughter stand alone.

Let’s do something. We can pray, yes. We can feel (Ezekiel 9:4- more on this later, maybe). We can write. We can protest. What will you do?