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Prayerlink YOUR prayers are requested for Andrew, who is in prison and wants to find his calling in life. The War Cry invites readers to send in requests for prayer, including the first names of individuals and details of their circumstances. Send your Prayerlink requests to warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk or to War Cry, 101 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BN. Mark your correspondence ‘Confidential’.
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Becoming a Christian
There is no set formula to becoming a Christian, but many people have found saying this prayer to be a helpful first step to a relationship with God
Lord Jesus Christ, I am truly sorry for the things I have done wrong in my life. Please forgive me. I now turn from everything that I know is wrong. Thank you that you died on the cross for me so that I could be forgiven and set free.
Team talk Team talk
talk ‘ ’ Matters of the arts can help us through uncertain days Claire Brine gives her take on a story catching the attention of War Cry reporters
‘O MOST happy hour’, as Shakespeare would say. After months of lobbying from theatres, music venues, art galleries and other cultural institutions, the government has announced that it will provide a £1.57 billion support package for the arts industry to help it recover from the losses caused by coronavirus. Many of those working in the biz say that it’s just in time to save the industry from total collapse. Here’s hoping. In the weeks leading up to the government’s announcement, artists had been flooding social media sites with photos of them working creatively, alongside the hashtag #savethearts. Of course actors, musicians, artists, stage technicians, producers, directors, designers and so on want to save the arts – their livelihood depends on it. But as a consumer of all things artistic, this matters to me too. I want to jump on the #savethearts bandwagon because, whether we work in the culture industry or not, the arts matter. They reduce stress, heighten joy and bring fulfilment and purpose to life. The arts do much more than provide us with a job or leisure activity. A play has the power to challenge a person’s beliefs. A piece of music can evoke powerful emotions. A painting has the ability to inspire new ideas. Public consciousness evolves because people find meaning and a way to express it through art. After the difficult months we’ve had as a nation, I’m convinced that the arts are our lifeline – and a beautiful gift from God to help us navigate the uncertain days ahead. As the UK emerges tentatively from lockdown and finds its feet in a new way of life which seems strange and unfamiliar, the arts will help us make sense of it. The arts will connect us deeply to people when we can’t be close to them physically. The arts will help us to process where we have been and where we are going. So while I applaud the government’s decision to save the arts, my thanks will be going to God – for using the arts to save us in the first place.
The arts are a beautiful gift from God
Thank you that you offer me forgiveness and the gift of your Holy Spirit. Please come into my life by your Holy Spirit to be with me for ever. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Amen
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Contact details of a Salvation Army minister Name Address Extract from Why Jesus? by Nicky Gumbel published by Alpha International, 2011. Used by kind permission of Alpha International
Or email your details and request to warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk 12 • War Cry • 18 July 2020
