The second of Jesus’ “I am” statement, is “I am the Light of the world!” (1). Even though there is no problem associating the other attributes of Jesus with his followers, the attribute of being “Light of the world” Jesus explicitly also assign to his followers. In his sermon on the mount, he said: “You are the light of…Continue reading The light of life
I remember the Biafra crisis (1). Researchers consider this hunger-catastrophe to be the first humanitarian crisis that through media really managed to create engagement all over the world. My family had shortly before the crisis inherited a TV-set, and the pictures of the hungry and skinny kids made a huge impact on an 11-year-old boy. For…Continue reading The world needs bread!
If my mission is to bring Christ’s life to people, it is important that I know the attributes of his life. If I know what these are, this should also be the attributes of my life. Because, as he is, we are in this world (1). Last week I focused on some of these attributes in…Continue reading The attributes of life
I am back with my weekly reflections and the last greeting was “Live the mission”. Our mission is to bring the life of Christ to people – linked to my focus for the year. Many books have been written about the theme: ‘putting first things first’. Whether the context is leadership, time-management, values or any other…Continue reading What comes before life?
The answer will depend on how much the person answering knows about the organization. One would say: “It is my favourite store!” – with reference to our thrift stores. Another would say “They help the poor!”. A third may say “They have good brass-bands!” whilst a fourth states “It’s my church!”. Nothing of this is wrong, however they are just fragments of…Continue reading What is The Salvation Army about?
The Salvation Army’s international mission statement declares that our mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and‘to meet human needs in his name without discrimination’ (1). In the general’s ‘Call to Inclusion’, we are again reminded of this important part of our mission statement (2). Inclusion was definitely central to Jesus’ understanding of his own mission: …Continue reading The greatest challenge of our time?
“Mantra” is a sound associated with Hinduism and Buddhism. The sound is used to realize a thought or purpose. The word has several meanings, like e.g. a prayer, hymn or spell. It is the repetition of the sound or word that is supposed to trigger the effect. Interestingly, Jesus repeatedly spoke about prayer in his name. Here…Continue reading Is ‘the name of Jesus’ a kind of mantra?
AHEAD of 25th anniversary celebrations for The Salvation Army in the Republic of Georgia (Eastern Europe Territory), the International Headquarters Communications team has produced the first of a series of films documenting the diverse ministries being carried out in the country. Temo’s Story is an insight into the life of Lieutenant Temo Galustian, a Salvation Army officer…Continue reading Temo’s Story – from prisoner to probationer in Tbilisi, Georgia
THE first overseas visit of The Salvation Army’s new Chief of the Staff, Commissioner Lyndon Buckingham and Commissioner Bronwyn Buckingham (World Secretary for Women’s Ministries) was to the beautiful Republic of Georgia, to celebrate 25 years of Salvation Army ministry. Celebrations commenced with an exciting Family Fun Day in Tbilisi’s Peace Park on Friday, where…Continue reading Weekend of ‘firsts’ marks 25 years of The Salvation Army in Republic of Georgia
If you have read my blogs over the past weeks, you know that I believe the answer is ‘YES’. Before I explain why, I believe that everything John chose to include in his gospel, is there for a purpose: Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this…Continue reading Did some Greeks influence God’s ‘NOW’?
