LETTERS TO THE ARMY
February 2009
PASTORAL LETTERS FROM THE OFFICE OF THE GENERAL TO SALVATIONISTS ACROSS THE WORLD
This is the twelfth in a series of Pastoral Letters from the General to every Salvationist across the world.
The
Pastoral Letters are intended to be distributed unchanged and entire to
all Salvationists and may be shared also with others interested in the
sacred purposes for which God raised up The Salvation Army.
INTRODUCTION
Greetings in the Name of Jesus Christ.
This
comes to all Salvationists with my strong, ongoing affection in Christ
for you, and with my prayers for your effectiveness in the sacred
calling that God, in his supreme wisdom, has placed upon the peoples
known as Salvationists.
It has been laid upon my heart that I am
to take a step of obedience under God by reaching out to you all
through Pastoral Letters written from time to time. I write therefore
in order to obey the One who has created us all, and with a longing
that what is written will affirm, encourage and inspire you.
The
themes for these occasional Pastoral Letters continue to be the themes
God reveals. His holy will is made known in many ways. I pledge myself
to be mindful that his will is often revealed through interaction with
members of the Body and not only or always in the seclusion of the
place of prayer.
It is my deep hope that each Pastoral Letter
will be read wherever Salvationists are to be found, whether in private
or in public settings. The chosen themes may prompt discussion, prayer
and - as appropriate - action.
All Scripture quotations are from the New International Version, unless otherwise stated.
Shaw Clifton
General
MIRACLES
Dear Fellow Salvationists,
Greetings in Christ from London!
As
this is the first Pastoral Letter of the New Year, Commissioner Helen
Clifton joins me in wishing you all a very happy and blessed 2009. May
it be a year when God draws very near to you, and you to him.
Do
you believe in miracles? I most definitely do. Miracles take place all
the time, but often we miss them or fail to recognise them. Recently I
held a new born child. His name was Oscar and he was perfectly formed.
He felt soft, tiny, and vulnerable. He was a miracle of new life.
Everyone around him grew softer in their spirits and even in their body
language - another everyday miracle.
At Christmas we met in
person our youngest grandchild, Lincoln, in New Zealand. He had never
met us during his 16 months of life. His first smile to us was a
miracle of beauty. It communicated things to us no words can convey. It
touched us deep within ourselves in ways that cannot be explained -
another miracle.
At the other end of life there are miracles
too. When my father was promoted to Glory in 2006 we witnessed the
miracle of 'dying grace' as the Lord ministered to him in his final
hours. Just a week ago a good family friend and fellow Salvationist
related to us the evidence of the same 'dying grace' that fell upon her
dear husband at the end. Miracles of grace!
We need never
wrestle with the accounts in Scripture of miracles. We need never doubt
the truth of what is recorded for us about the actions of Jesus. Once
we know who Jesus is, instead of doubting the miracles we ought to be
positively expecting them! It is just the same today. We know who he
is, and we ought to expect miracles as an everyday thing.
Every
coming to faith in Jesus Christ is a miracle of grace. Transforming a
rebel against God into a prayerful, loving child of God is a miracle
beyond compare. Then there are the continuous miracles of growing in
grace: letting go of anger and embracing peace; rejecting the
temptations of the world and preferring purity; dethroning self and
living for others; replacing old, worn out ambitions with the perfect
will of God for our lives.
Let me share with you what General Bramwell Booth once wrote about the miracle of a changed life:
The
change of nature or character, which we undoubtedly see in some of
God’s people, is a true miracle. Here is one of the permanent wonders
of God’s dealing with us. We are not only made correct in outward acts,
but changed in tastes, in desire, in preference - that is, in our very
nature. When we see those who have from their youth up been accustomed
to do and be evil, changed to do and love what is good, we are
compelled to exclaim: 'This is none other than the work of the Holy
Spirit! Behold, God is here!'
Exactly so - God is here - and therefore miracles are present too.
A prayer we can all use:
'Loving
Heavenly Father, you have come among us in the person of Jesus Christ,
your Son. Please stay with us. Do not abandon us to the world. Reveal
yourself in love among us. Graciously indwell us by your Holy Spirit.
Open our eyes to see you constantly at work. Help us to recognise the
miraculous amid the everyday. Father God, please go on working your
miracles of grace in me, using me more and more to your glory. Let me
be one of your miracles of grace, and please do not ever cease to work
in me to change me more and more into all you want me to be, so that
one day I will be made ready to live with you in Heaven and to hear you
say, "Well done!" Amen.'
I commend you all to the perfect love of Christ.
God bless and keep you.
Shaw Clifton
General
February 2009