Metro Youth Network

Growing up in the Catholic Church during Lent meant that I gave up eating meat on Fridays and had to give something up that really meant a lot to me. For as long as I can remember up until I was about 20 years old, I did this but I honestly had no idea why. I did it because it was tradition, and that was what my parents told me to do.

What does the season of Lent mean to you? This past “Ash Wednesday,” I attended a service at Vineyard Church in Evanston, IL. During the pastor’s devotional thought, he said something that really stuck with me. He said, “During Lent, maybe we’re not supposed to mourn the fact that Jesus died. Maybe instead we’re supposed to mourn over why He had to die.” John 10:10 says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they might have life, and have it to the full.” The rest of the service gave the congregation an opportunity to begin to examine how fear, control, isolation, conflict, disappointment, and guilt are preventing us from living life to the full. How are these strongholds in your own life preventing you from living a life of freedom?

During the prayer and reflection time, God spoke to me very clearly and said, “Live simply,” so this Lent, that is what I have been doing. During these past couple weeks God has been showing me that He is ALL that I need! He is showing me the areas in my life where my sin has been keeping me from experiencing that “life to the full” that He has for us.

Even though Lent has begun, it is not too late to sit down and examine your own life. Ask God: “What areas of my life are preventing me from having a deeper relationship with you?” As He reveals these things to you, ask for His help in letting go of these things in your life. Let this Lent be a time for you to finally say “no” to Satan’s lies and temptations. Let this be a time where you allow God to bring you out of that guilt you’ve been living in for so long. Let this be a time where you accept the fact that God loved YOU so much that He sent His one and only Son to die for YOUR sins.

Here are some verses through which God has been speaking to me. Take an opportunity to click on them and listen to what God is telling you:

Psalm 51
Joel 2:12-13
John 10: 1-18
Deuteronomy 30: 15-20

I am told that my great grandfather was an orphan. He lived at an orphanage in Canada, and in those days the orphanage would organize what’s called an Orphanage Train. The orphanage would put kids in box cars, and take them to cities where they would offer them up for adoption.

It’s hard for me to imagine having my life being given up to so much chance and risk.  It’s hard for me to think about children being shipped from city to city like food or farm animals, and being handed out here and there.  But, apparently that’s what happened.

So, my great grandfather arrived at a city called Winnipeg. He got adopted on the spot by my great-great grandfather, who happened to be the town drunk.

Remember my great-great grandfather?  Well one night, my he stumbled out of a bar and onto the street where the Salvation Army was holding an open air (an outdoor church service). The preacher gave a call for anyone who would to confess their sin and receive forgiveness through Jesus. Right there, my great-great grandfather knelt, prayed and was instantly healed of alcoholism.

Because of that my great-great grandfather and his newly adopted son got connected to the Salvation Army. Then my grandfather became an officer (pastor) in the Army, and my Dad did too, and here I am working for the Army.

I tell that story because healing is what God does.  He wants to take our mess and turn it around.  If we let him.

Mark 5:1-15

1 So they arrived at the other side of the lake, in the region of the Gerasenes. 2 When Jesus climbed out of the boat, a man possessed by an evil spirit came out from a cemetery to meet him. 3 This man lived among the burial caves and could no longer be restrained, even with a chain. 4 Whenever he was put into chains and shackles—as he often was—he snapped the chains from his wrists and smashed the shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Day and night he wandered among the burial caves and in the hills, howling and cutting himself with sharp stones.

6 When Jesus was still some distance away, the man saw him, ran to meet him, and bowed low before him. 7 With a shriek, he screamed, “Why are you interfering with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In the name of God, I beg you, don’t torture me!” 8 For Jesus had already said to the spirit, “Come out of the man, you evil spirit.”

9 Then Jesus demanded, “What is your name?”

And he replied, “My name is Legion, because there are many of us inside this man.” 10 Then the evil spirits begged him again and again not to send them to some distant place.

11 There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding on the hillside nearby. 12 “Send us into those pigs,” the spirits begged. “Let us enter them.”

13 So Jesus gave them permission. The evil spirits came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the entire herd of 2,000 pigs plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned in the water.

14 The herdsmen fled to the nearby town and the surrounding countryside, spreading the news as they ran. People rushed out to see what had happened. 15 A crowd soon gathered around Jesus, and they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons. He was sitting there fully clothed and perfectly sane, and they were all afraid.

So Jesus and his disciples are traveling across the lake and come to a region called the Gerasenes. As soon as they get out of the boat they were traveling in, a man, who is described as “a man with an evil spirit”, came out to meet Jesus.

I we can identify with this man more than we let on.

-He lived in the tombs alone (loneliness and isolation).
-He was often chained up, hand and foot, presumably by others, but was too strong, breaking even the irons on his feet (addictions, bad habits).
-He howled at the moon and yelled out loud, for no apparent reason (we freak out for no reason).
-He cuts himself with stones.  He’s a cutter.

He’s got issues. He’s got baggage. Can you relate to that? He’s someone who obviously has his fair share of problems and pain.

Jesus just happens to run into this crazy mess in human form.  And he gets out of the boat, and meets this guy. And we’re told that the first thing that Jesus says to the man is: “Come out of this man, you evil spirit!”

I think sometimes we are afraid to come to God, to bring our mess to him, because we are afraid that he’ll reject us. We see in this story that Jesus meets this man and goes directly for what’s wrong with him. It’s important to Jesus! He wants to deal with our sin! He loves us too much to leave us the way we are.

Now, interestingly enough, we find out in verse 9 that Jesus is dealing with not just one demon, but multiple demons that had taken up residence inside this man. We know this because the evil spirit tells Jesus that his name is Legion. A legion was the largest division of troops in the Roman army, numbering anywhere from 3,000-6,000 men. In the very least, this guy had a lot of demons inside him. He was really messed up.

The demons actually seem to be afraid of Jesus and they actually beg him to send them in to a herd of pigs so that they can jump off a cliff and die. And it actually says that Jesus gave them permission to do that!

If Jesus has authority over a legion of demons, he has the authority to deal with whatever sin we have.

I think we all come to certain point in life at times when ask ourselves if we’re too far gone, if we’ve maybe done too much wrong and that there’s no recovery, no way to make things better again. But that’s not true. It’s happened in my family, and it can happen to you.  Like a man in a cemetery, or a kneeling drunk.  It’s all possible.

“But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.” Rev. 9:20-21 (NKJV)

Beloved, please do not be turned off immediately because I am writing on a passage out of Revelation. This is something that changed my life, and hopefully will help shape yours. I pray you read this with an open mind and heart and listen to what the Word has to speak to you.

I could talk for days of what has gone on in the book of Revelation in the 9 chapters previous to the passage we are looking at. There are letters written 7 churches around the world teaching us valuable lessons on how to conduct ourselves even now. There are descriptions of the judgments that will happen in the end of the age. There is description of God’s desire for the salvation of the world. But these are not what I want to point out. I want to talk about what we will call the Babylon System.

Babylon is the name given to the kingdom of the Anti-Christ in Revelation and other apocalyptic books throughout Scripture. The Babylon System is the system of government- the laws- that the Anti-Christ will impose in the last days. Today, as Christians, we struggle against the “spirit of this age.” Our struggle, as Paul said in Eph. 6, “is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” It is not yet physically something we have to fight against.

In the Revelation passage we read that mankind is given to worshiping demons and idols, because they let the “Four Pillars of the Babylon System” into their lives:

1: Demon/idol worship
2: Murder
3: Sorcery
4: Theft

Each of those “pillars” (excepting idol worship) stem from something much simpler. Look at it this way:

1: Idol worship
2: Hate
3: False religion
4: Greed

Let us, now, turn this around on ourselves. How are we struggling against those spirits today? If you take a hard look at the Church in the West, or, more specifically, the Army, what do you see? The sad news, Beloved, is that I believe these Pillars of the Babylon System have already crept into our lives! The Enemy has his foot in the door of our lives, and in the door of our church. Beloved, when I was lead to these verses and took an honest look at my life, I knew exactly where I have been failing; exactly where I have been flirting with the “line” that exists between the world and the Kingdom.

I will leave you with the questions I have had to ask myself, and I pray that you will be able to look into your own life and, with the help of Him who makes us more than conquerors, go to war with these 4 pillars, from which the Anti-Christ builds his kingdom. Because, Beloved, Christ called us to perfection His perfection. If we are moving toward anything but that, we are moving in the wrong direction.

Questions:

1. Am I worried about what people think of me for the choices I make, or am I worried about how God thinks of me for the choices I make?
2. Is every choice I make glorifying to Him?
3. What is something in my life that is taking away from Christ?
4. What is something I can give up to make room for Christ in my life?
5. What is something I can put into my life that is glorifying to Christ alone?

Some ideas:

1. Give up listening to secular music for a month and, instead, fill the time you would be listening to that music with Christian music, Bible study, and/or prayer.
2. Give up going to the cinema for 3 months and, instead, spend the time you would be at the movies praying, reading the Bible, volunteering at your local Corps, etc. and give the money you would use for your tickets as an offering!
3. Start fasting food one meal a week. Fill the time you would spend eating with prayer, Bible study, worship, etc.

Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an overflowing stream.  Amos 5:24

Justice is loud.  It is not meant to be silent or hidden.  I don’t mean that you have to scream out loud about injustice. I’m not speaking in literal terms, although sometimes it is literal.  What I mean is that when we act out against injustice or speak up for someone else who is being oppressed then we are acting or speaking in a loud manner.

I want you to picture a waterfall.  A huge, raging waterfall.  Maybe 300 feet tall, waters pouring relentlessly into a pool of water which stirs it up like an endless storm.  Does it pause?  Does it ever slow down?  When I read that verse from Amos I can’t help but think of this exact waterfall.  He is saying we should let justice be like a waterfall that will eventually lead into an overflowing stream.  Justice or truth when spoken out causes a ripple in the waves… sometimes it’s a little ripple, other times it looks more like a storm.

And when I picture this type of justice I cannot help but think of Martin Luther King, Jr. and his fight for equality.  In 1963-64 from Birmingham, Alabama a shot was fired that was heard around the world and this was the turning point for the civil rights movement.

Unfortunately, an advocate of nonviolence, Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches often turned into violent riots. But his relentless fight for what he stood for, equality, made quite the wave in America’s social status quo and changed our country forever.  The first couple years of this movement were tumultuous, violent and hard.  Two forces coming up against each other and causing one of the greatest storms in American history.  As time went on and the fight persisted something had to give.  Laws changed and people in the south began to merge as their hearts slowly began to change and they no longer saw African Americans as black but as another human being.  50 years later we are still living out that storm and our waterfall is turning into an overflowing stream.

Can you imagine what this country would look like if Martin Luther King Jr. or any other civil rights activist did not fight?  If they just gave up after the first sign of trouble?  These people saw an injustice, lived in injustice and decided to speak out against it knowing it was going to be a long, hard ride.  They fought to bring the Kingdom here on earth.

Our struggle in this world is not “against flesh and blood but it is against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers in this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the spiritual realms.” (Ephesians 6:12)

I believe that each time we speak out against an injustice whether it is a spoken lie, someone being bullied, abortion, oppression, human trafficking, poverty, etc, something powerful happens in the spiritual realms.  When we stand up for our God and His Kingdom we are making a statement even louder than a waterfall.  It may cause some strife, but keep standing up for what you believe in out of love.  If we want to speak out against big injustices we need to start first with the little one.  If we all did, I think things in this country, in this world, would start to look different.

I still remember my soldiership Sunday as if it were a few days ago; Sunday the 29^th of April 2007, new uniform from London, my first pair of black leather shoes, my only tie, in fact still my only suit. I ascended to the platform; flags draped, crowning this holy and solemn moment. I gave my testimony and then proceeded to the wooden mercy set to sign my ‘Articles of War’, as I scanned through them just to check someone hadn’t put any last minute changes in, my eyes fell upon the final promise:

I will… show the spirit of Salvationism whether in times of popularity or persecution

After the service was finished, the extra plastic chairs stacked, the partition put back in place and the tea cups washed I thought about this rather obscure and almost forgotten promise. In fact this ‘Army Spirit’ has an entire chapter dedicated to it in Chosen to be a Soldier. William Booth who originally prepared this collection of Orders and Regulations for soldiers of The Salvation Army developed this idea into seven characteristics:

A Significant Expression – the expression itself has powerful meaning as we see the work of The Salvation Army around us

Strong Faith – The Salvation Soldier shows trust, confidence, assurance in the trinity and believes strongly that sinners can be saved.

Infectious Joy – As we see God at work in our own lives and those of others, we cannot help but be happy. ‘The world has gloom and sadness of its own. The joy of the Lord is the strength of the Army spirit’ p. 88.

Burning Compassion – This drives our social relief work and concern for ‘the underdog’. ‘It belongs to the Army spirit to remember those whom others forgot’ p. 89.

Going for Souls and Going for the Worst – We should never place ourselves higher than those we serve, ‘Salvationists must not be snobs’ p.90.

The Army of the Helping Hand – This public relations phrase of the time combines actions on a grand scale (think Haiti) with those of the regular soldier (think corps van pick ups)

Soldiers Bound For Glory – Living with a kingdom perspective, when we do come to the end of our time here on earth ‘the faithful soldier does not die. He is promoted to Glory’.

This Salvation Spirit that drove our ‘founding fathers’, that compelled bonnet clad girls into the rough parts of London, that even twenty years ago forced Officers into pubs armed with War Cry’s – is dying a slow and well documented western death and I for one refuse to see it die on my watch. A spirit that is not of ourselves must possess us; the army spirit as General Booth calls it is undoubtedly an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which gives us strong faith, infectious joy and a burning compassion. It is the fuel that keeps The Salvation Army true to its mission; once it is gone we will begin to ride on fumes and then eventually cease moving forwards altogether. My prayer is that every Salvationist – soldier or not, searches their heart and pulls from the miry pit of apathy their Army spirit, that they may seek to live as boldly as the poster on the back of William Booth’s motorcar which read in clear and confident letters simply ‘GET SAVED’.

Quotations taken from Chosen to be a Soldier: Orders and Regulations for soldiers of The Salvation Army, 1999 Edition.

Adventure! Just savoring the word on the tip of my tongue is an experience – climb a mountain in the Himalayas, snow board down the Alps, hike through the rain forest. The list is endless. To take that first step towards a new adventure – wow!

Nevertheless – Nepal is unlikely to become a new stamp in my passport. These days I tend to stick to launching only small adventurous venues.

The other night, in the midst of winter’s worst snow storm, I went for a walk. Anything to avoid a continued stare at those proverbial four walls while bunkered down to avoid the elements. I chose a few unknown blocks in my neighborhood. Snow flurries were still whirling around in the darkness while ice crunched underneath my feet and frigid temperatures blustered around my person. It did not take long before I longed for the warmth of the inside of my home; while reconnoitering my steps, my eyes spied a small flame of a candle shining in someone’s window. As I paused to look, the flame flared in its candle holder. It drew me towards it with its promise of illuminating warmth.

I thought of the fire in God’s Word and its promise of God’s presence, holiness and glory. “Taste and see” the psalmist invites, and a brief visit to Bible fires becomes an invite to spiritual adventure. The list is extensive; some frequent innumerous sermons. One day fire burned in a bush in the desert by Horeb, God’s mountain, where Moses watched sheep. From that unexpected source came a calling to service; Moses’ obedience launched a lifetime of adventure. Childless Abraham experienced fire as an affirmation of the covenant he had already made with God. From then on Abraham saw a baby’s face in every star sparkling in velvet star-studded nights, someone has said. Elijah’s fire event is rather famous. Yet I Kings 19 tells how the fire opened the door for the still small voice of God whispering his name, exclaiming in a powerful way that Elijah’s last chapter would also be his very best.

The fire of Acts 2 is well known. It was the launch of numerous adventures for disciples, then and now. The Keswick conferences use the metaphor of iron: the cold, black, hard metal without beauty or value. When you hold it in a smelting oven’s hot fire all these characteristics are altered; a transformation towards art or tool usefulness occurs.
Charles Swindoll, in “Fly Closer to the Flame,” focuses our attention to the moth that irresistibly is drawn to the living, burning light – closer and closer until the heat of the light beam consumes its entire existence.

In John 21, by the sea shore, Peter and John had an adventure. In the moment of recognition of the resurrected Jesus, they exclaimed “He has come and built a fire!” That fire set their hearts aflame. Others were lit. These “adventures of fire” can be yours. God is still in the business of spiritual fires. Go for the adventure!

Psalm 38:4 – “Taste and see that the Lord is good…”
Exodus 3 – Moses and a burning bush
Genesis 15 – The Lord’s promise to Abraham
1 Kings 19 – The Lord speaks to Elijah
Acts 2 – The Holy Spirit comes (by way of flames or tongues of fire…)
John 21 – Jesus cooks breakfast

Psalm 34:8

“O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusts in Him.”

One thing I considered when I read the above verse was how much my taste in food has changed as I’ve matured into an adult. When I was younger, I despised peppers, onions and tomatoes. I would only eat sandwiches on white bread. I thought yellow mustard was my kryptonite. I once punched our puppy, just so I would get sent to my room so I wouldn’t have to eat my vegetables! Okay, that’s a lie, but I hope you get my point. Today, I look at a corn dog without mustard and cry, “Injusticia!” If I’m making a PB&J, the heartier, grainier the wheat bread the better! I was even a vegetarian for two years and learned to love peppers, onions, and you guessed it, even tomatoes.

In order to know how good the LORD is, we must experience his goodness for ourselves. This can never be fully realized through the explanation of others. You wouldn’t expect a detailed description of a delicious meal to satisfy a hungry person right? It’s the same reason you can’t really trust movie reviews. You’ll never know how a film is going to affect you until you sit down in the theater and watch it. The truth is in the experience itself. I know so many believers who rob themselves of a deeper, truer experience of God’s love and presence because they rely on second hand contact with him. They listen to the sermon on Sunday. They watch others engage in worship or service. They bow their heads and listen to others’ prayers, and they wonder why they feel far from the LORD.

To know the LORD’s goodness, he has blessed us with his Word. Some parts of it can be easier to jump into and enjoy than others. For me, the tales of Israel’s Judges, or of David and his “Mighty Men” were exciting, slightly terrifying, and struck a chord in me. They were like the honey, immediately sweet and satisfying. However, there were other parts of the Word that were not as immediately appealing. But just as exposure, personal growth and maturity changed me to recognize and enjoy the savory and subtle, yet still very appealing flavors of the foods I hated as a child–God’s Holy Spirit grows us to see the value of Scripture. The Spirit opens our eyes and our hearts to understand. It pushes us, prods us, and convicts us as we open ourselves to God’s Word.

Hebrews 4:12 says that God’s Word is alive and active and imagines it to be like a sword, sharper than the sharpest one you could imagine. Sharp enough to pierce through our doubt or our lack of understanding. Sharp enough to divide the truth from the untruth. We can’t expect to experience Scripture correctly just once. We must return, again and again, to meditate on it, wrestle with it and allow God’s Spirit to mature us and change us through the process. Then we will taste and see the LORD’s goodness, and nothing can ever compare with that.

Go Further:

Find a time in your day that you can set aside for the LORD. Open your Bible and read it! Jesus said that his sheep recognize his voice. How about you? How can we know his voice if we don’t know his Word?

Reach out to someone in your family or church to help you establish good Bible study practices.

Try an online resource like Sacred Space to help you be more consistent in your devotional life.