The Present Future!

I feel led to comment on the events of yesterday, July 17, 2011, my 74^th birthday. In Hawaii, up at 6:00 a.m., devotions on our lanai (my view pictured on your left).

Watched first half of the World Soccer Match, U.S.A and Japan. Left for the Kauluwela Corps, score tied 1-1.

After church, lunch at Ward Center with Doris, Denise and five grandchildren, McKenna, Riley, Shea, Parker and Hayden: Orange chicken, noodles and sticky rice. Yum! Rob out at Waianae conducting beach service and not able to join us.

Back to the condo for a swim in those exact waters pictured above, followed by a rerun of the last half of that game, only to watch U.S.A lose on penalty shots, an exciting game, though.

Ran over my notes for the evening preach – theme “Aggressive Forgiveness.” Left at 5:30 p.m. for The Upper Room, service commencing at 6:00 p.m. to discover that two of us were celebrating our birthdays, mine and an Upper Room convert who lives under a bridge adjacent to Chinatown.

Preach over, we head downstairs for Birthday Blast and food preparation for the homeless in Chinatown. My homeless birthday mate makes a wish and blows out the candles on the cake – pizza and cake, doesn’t get any better than that.

8:00 p.m. Upper Room Team heads out to Chinatown where they minister to a burgeoning homeless population: Food, first-aid, foot washing, counseling or whatever the need, no task too menial. There have been miraculous outcomes: families reunited, spiritual healings and “Getting other people saved,” including my homeless, under the bridge dwelling birthday mate who has been attending Upper Room for over a year now.

On a typical Sunday, Rob leaves at 8:00 a.m. in the morning and returns home sometimes at midnight, most of the ministry conducted outside institutional walls. Catherine Booth would be proud because it’s called “Going to where the people are to be got at!” And this isn’t part of his job description; it’s his calling and passion.

Reggie McNeil nails it perfectly in his book The Present Future: “This is what it’s going to take to get a hearing for the gospel in the 21^st Century—the smell of cleaning solution, dirty faces, obvious acts of servanthood…” Sound familiar? The past translated into the present future.

On the way home, I stopped at Zippys and bought an apple pie sweetened with Equal. It wasn’t fresh peach pie, but oh did it taste good, warmed with a glob of vanilla ice cream melting down the side, trade wind breezes blowing with now a nighttime view of that scene above.

Before going to bed, checked the Braves box score and found that Freddie Freeman had driven in the winning run with a walk off hit, first of his career.

Yes, it was a very good day, can’t wait for the next one, #75! That’ll come soon enough. For now we’ll be content to focus on the present future.

.

JN

Today I Will Make A Difference!

On the Anvil is a dog-eared, well read book that graces my library. Many years ago I copied the following chapter and framed it on my office wall. And every morning I read it to open my devotional time. Somewhere along the way that practice was discontinued, I don’t know why. A Facebook friend today, reminded me of it. Not only do I share it with you, but also it will once again begin to preface my devotional time every morning.

"Today I will make a difference. I will begin by controlling my thoughts. A person is the product of his thoughts. I want to be happy and hopeful. Therefore, I will have thoughts that are happy and hopeful. I refuse to be victimized by my circumstances. I will not let petty inconveniences such as stoplights, long lines, and traffic jams be my masters. I will avoid negativism and gossip. Optimism will be my companion, and victory will be my hallmark. Today I will make a difference."

"I will be grateful for the twenty-four hours that are before me. Time is a precious commodity. I refuse to allow what little time I have to be contaminated by self-pity, anxiety, or boredom. I will face this day with the joy of a child and the courage of a giant. I will drink each minute as though it is my last. When tomorrow comes, today will be gone forever. While it is here, I will use it for loving and giving. Today I will make a difference."

"I will not let past failures haunt me. Even though my life is scarred with mistakes, I refuse to rummage through my trash heap of failures. I will admit them. I will correct them. I will press on. Victoriously. No failure is fatal. It’s OK to stumble… . I will get up. It’s OK to fail… . I will rise again. Today I will make a difference."

"I will spend time with those I love. My spouse, my children, my family. A man can own the world but be poor for the lack of love. A man can own nothing and yet be wealthy in relationships. Today I will spend at least five minutes with the significant people in my world. Five quality minutes of talking or hugging or thanking or listening. Five undiluted minutes with my mate, children, and friends."

"Today I will make a difference."

From Shaped by God (original title: On the Anvil)

Copyright (Tyndale House, 1985, 2002) Max Lucado

JN

ONE FOR ALL: The Perfect Hat Trick!

Visionaries are few and far between, a rarity within and without The Salvation Army. It’s one thing to be blessed with a vision, another to be able to articulate it clearly, and then quite another to pull it off victoriously. Commissioner Jim Knaggs and Major Stephen Court are two of these rarities, their coordinated vision combined eloquently and persuasively in a newly released 3-book volume titled, One For All. 

One Day, One Thing and One Army can be summed up as the “perfect hat trick,” its underlying premise being that we are competing in the game of life for the souls of mankind.

Hat Trick: “The achievement of a positive feat three times during competition.”

Perfect Hat Trick: “When a player scores one goal with their right foot, one with their left foot and one goal with a header.”

In the Foundational Book (Feat), One Day, the initial set of visionary goals is scored from the right, with the help of world-class teammates selected globally, the vision broken down into 35 parts from “Salvo Stores as Saving Stations” to “The Gospel for Everyone.”

In their Foreword, General Paul A. Rader (Ret.) and Commissioner Kay F. Rader write, “The ‘dream’ that gave birth to this stirring collection of essays was gifted to a battlefield commander, not an armchair strategist. Commissioner Jim Knaggs articulated a vision that first awakened the spiritual imagination of ‘salvos’ down under and now will be embraced by ‘sallies’ of the USA Western Territory and beyond. As this volume is shared we have no doubt that it will breathe fresh heart into Salvationists everywhere.”

Book (Feat) Two in this trilogy, One Thing, takes us to another level, combining those 35 interpreted visions into one universal goal. The authors express it this way: “We’re committed to fanning into flame these gifts of God. We want God to go deeper and wider on this and spin off regional visions and local visions, orchestrating a symphony of divine creativity in and through us… co-crafting with God to paint the colors of the dream on the canvas of the lives of billions of people. It all boils down to One Thing: ‘WW4J.’

General Eva Burrows (Rtd.) in her Foreword writes, “This books title alone—One Thing—suggests (indeed, not only suggests but proclaims in an emphatic manner) that there is a coherent, unassailable answer to todays pluralism. Instead of a personal legend, it represents a global mission, though universal in scope, is highly particular in its aim—One Thing: Win the World for Jesus – a score from the left.

Finally we come to the “header,” and who better to deliver it, introductorily for the perfect hat trick then the world leader of The Salvation Army, General Linda Bond. In the Foreword to Book (Feat) Three, One Army, she writes, “We are one; not separate entities or individual expressions, but one. And it is the whole mission that unites us… We are united by covenant, regardless of the specific front on which we fight.”

I was particularly drawn to Chapter 3, “Diverse unity,” its sections labeled as follows: “Unity in diversity; Different ways; Different tactics; Cultural windows; Cloistered or compromised; Tools, not rules; The new evangelism.” The Army’s strength is in its diversity, unified by a covenanted mission.

Disclaimer: The first edition, One Day, includes within its pages the following “Applause” penned by this author: “Brilliant! Encouraging you toward unique and creative thinking, so that ONE DAY… Bold! Challenging to break the boundaries so that ONE DAY… Blessed! The God-inspired vision of a leader whose ONE DAY has come. May it spread throughout the world.”

It also includes a chapter from this writer titled, “New Things – …that our systems would be less restrictive and more imaginative in order to accommodate the new things God wants to do among us.” The authors took a big risk in asking me to write this chapter.

Whilst these personal offerings might conceivably reflect a bias in this review, it is for the reader to decide after a careful reading of One for All in its entirety. Anyone witnessing the perfect hat trick, no matter what team they are rooting for, is thrilled to behold it because of its beauty and rarity. This inspired trilogy is no different. 


Available on Amazon, here:http://t.co/elwy531 via @amazon