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From the archive 14 and
Wednesday, how would you feel about that?” And I found a ministry that’s been going for at least eight years.
‘As I have my prayers, as I meditate on the Scripture and get out of it what I think I’m supposed to get, I’m able to write the Facebook poems. That’s why I can always put a scriptural reference to them.’
The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with people saying how much they have been helped and encouraged. Such was the interest that the Australia Southern Territory published many of the Facebook posts in 2013, along with some of his other poems, in Heart Talk: The Give and Take of Communion with God.
Harry has always regarded prayer as essential and values the time he is now able to spend with God. ‘I treat prayer as the dominant feature of my life,’ he says. ‘It almost sounds sanctimonious, but as soon as I wake up I am making a prayer. When I go to bed I am making a prayer, winding up the day. I have my set times for prayer and my prayer lists are very lengthy.
‘I usually have a poem that I’ve been sorting out for Facebook, and I say, “Can I rest in you, Lord, in the light of what this poem is saying?” And that’s where I start. But I don’t hurry on from there. He knows my weaknesses, he knows my desires, and I want to be able to rest in him.
‘Then I have to say to myself, “Harry, when you pray you are linking yourself with the active work of the Holy Spirit, who also is at work in that person’s heart.” I try to bear that in mind all the time. It is the two of us together.’
POWER TO BE
‘Ask and you will receive, and your joy
will be complete’ (John 16:24) My heart, dear Lord, will not be satisfied With less than you have planned to give to me, My deepest longings will not be denied, I need from natural frailties to be free. I need to feel upon my chosen way That I have power to be – and power to act More like a Jesus-person day by day, Not just within my mind but, as a fact. But more, O Father God, I want so much That Christlikeness be planted in my soul, I want him to abide in me, and touch My mind and will, then take complete control. I come, Lord, to my heart’s own mercy seat And kneel – and yield myself – before your feet.
In July 2019 Commissioner Read was admitted to the Order of the Founder by General Brian Peddle ‘in recognition of a life of outstanding Christian witness in word, verse and deed’
Picture: PAUL HARMER
The greatest commandment
Lieut-Colonel Dean Pallant reminds us that loving God and others is the driving force of The Salvation Army
MATTHEW 22:34–40
WHAT are the four most important words? I typed that question into an internet search engine. One answer suggested: ‘What do you think?’ A leadership guru recommended: ‘I messed that up’. A marriage adviser said: ‘I’ll do the dishes!’
Jesus said none of these things when he was asked what the greatest commandment was. What he said can be summarised in four words: love God, love others.
Both Matthew (22:34–40) and Mark (12:28–34) place this exchange just after Palm Sunday, days before Jesus’ death. The Pharisees were testing Jesus with a legal question. Jesus’ answer was brilliant. He connected two separate commandments that the Pharisees knew well: ‘Love the Lord your God’ (Deuteronomy 6:5) and ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’ (Leviticus 19:18).
Jesus said: ‘“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind”. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments’ (Matthew 22:37–40).
It is not clear whether Jesus was the first teacher to connect these two commandments, but no one could fault him for doing so. Jesus ripped into the heart of the Pharisees’ problem – they were experts in the law but did not understand that relationships and love are priorities for God. In Matthew’s account, Jesus said that all the Law and the Prophets hung on these two commandments. By bringing them together, Jesus revealed the purpose of the Law: to help build healthy, loving relationships.
QUESTION
Have we made following The Salvation Army’s Orders and Regulations more important than loving our neighbours as ourselves?
Love has always been the energising passion for Salvationists. Commissioner Samuel Brengle wrote this about the importance of Salvationists loving one another: ‘We must still prove our discipleship by our love one for the other. It is not enough to wear the uniform, to profess loyalty to Army leaders and principles… We must love one another. We must make this the badge of our discipleship. We must wrestle and pray and hold fast that we do not lose this… Love is the life of the
Through the week with Salvationist
– a devotional thought for each day
by Major Howard Webber
SUNDAY
MONDAY
Lord, how I love you,/ You have done so much for me./ Lord, how I love you,/ You have done so much,/ So very, very much,/ So very, very much for me.
(SASB 377)
Prayer
Deepen my love for you, Lord, and make my love for others a reflection of that incomparable, undeserved love you have for me. TUESDAY
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us. (Ephesians 4:32 to 5:2)
