Daily Archive for September 30th, 2006

Human Trafficking II

Published
by
Graeme
on September 30, 2006
in old uksalvationist posts
. 0 Comments

It’s not long since I got home from our training centre where we were having a prayer and training day today. Along with one of our officers, I was giving a seminar on Human Traffiking and then we prayed about the issue. The seminar happened twice and a total of 23 people sat through it and then prayed afterwards. It doesn’t sound a lot by I’m pleased as its 23 more people who understand a little more about this evil practice.

Personally, I found talking about Human Traffiking and the sex trade incredibly difficult and at the end of the second seminar felt almost dirty at having had to talk about the things that this world allows to happen.

I’m so grateful that we have someone who we can turn to, who understands far better the pain and grief that this trade forces upon people. I’m so grateful that our God is about freedom and that He sent His son so that we can offer true freedom to everyone we come into contact with.

Comfort Zones

Published
by
Graeme
on September 30, 2006
in old uksalvationist posts
. 0 Comments

Nothing I did over the first 32 years of my life really prepared me for the challenges that Jesus has sent our way in the 5 years since we came to Latvia. Other than the year I spent on Frontline (a year out programme of the Oasis Trust and The Salvation Army) I had been sat behind a desk virtually my whole working life. My experience with children was limited to a small amount of Sunday School teaching in my teens and some work with youth for a few months in my mid-twenties.

For the first 19 years of my life I managed to live in a sort of Christian comfort zone. It was almost like a tacit agreement between me and the Army! I would stick as much as possible to the things I signed up to when I became a soldier and the Army would provide me with a nice safe environment in which to express my faith. If I’m totally honest I wasn’t really satisfied but at least no-one was going to get their proverbial knickers in a twist if I didn’t do things right.

Then things changed! The fact that I was unsatisfied with things slowly became more and more obvious to me. I started to challenge things and started to pray for a different sort of experience. On the whole I was still firmly ensconced in a comfortable lifestyle but was starting to find it a little claustrophobic.

Only as I got older though did I really realise the real problem was that the tacit message I had received about Church was wrong. Jesus never promised that following Him would lead us to have a comfortable lifestyle. On the contrary He make it very clear in Luke 9:57-62Open Link in New Window that following Him is costly and would challenge us to the very core of our being.

All growth comes from stretching oneself past the comfort zone that limits us. Risk is a necessary part of the reward. You cannot have one without the other.

I don’t do it often enough, but whenever I step outside my comfort zone - I grow.

I’m not sure where I got the above quotes and, as far as I know, they are not from Christians, but they reflect a truth that is essential for us to understand. Stepping out of the comfort zone maybe one of the most important things that a Christian can do in their walk with Christ.