This coming weekend is Commissioning weekend here in Latvia. Our 6 cadets, of the Heralds of the Good News session, will be commissioned and ordained as officers in The Salvation Army. I’ve spent the last couple of weeks designing and making the layout of the Commissioning programme, Silver Star certificates and of course the Covenant Form. This last will be signed by each cadet this coming Friday as they seal their covenant with God as officers.
It has been a real honour, although somewhat frustrating at times, creating the various printed things that are needed for the commissioning, but this has been a real honour to produce the Covenant Form. The LORD willing I will be able to sign my own covenant in a few years time, and I pray that I will be able to uphold it in the same way as I’m sure these 6 cadets will in their future ministry.
Please pray for Artūrs, Ilona, Andrejs & Irina, Sergejs and Velta as they take this incredible step into their future ministry!
I’m still musing on the thoughts that have been stirred up by my Pentecost sermon, about us getting outside the Church. At the same time I am currently reading, very slowly, Chick Yuill’s new book Others. This particular quote leapt off the page at me as I was reading:
Perhaps we are a little too slow to recognise the willingness of God to act outside the structures and concerns of the church when men and women genuinely seek him.”
I’m desperately trying to get out of the mindset that says that we know how God will do things. We seem to expect Him to act in the ways we want Him to, whether that be in a staid traditional way that smacks of formality, or whether it be in an ultra-charismatic, knock-you-off-your-feet type way. We talk about seeing God through the beauty of creation yet can fail to see Him in the lives of those who He created. All too often we seem to want to confine Him and put Him boxes of our own making.
So I am determined to strive to see God outside of the boxes I’ve put Him into, which hopefully means that I will constantly be surprised by the way He works!
By the way, I forgot to mention in the welcome post that my sincerest thanks go to Peter Lublink for all his work on the design. He’s a talented guy and a SA Cadet too!
Thanks Peter!
So today sees the launch of my new blog.
The old blog name, A UK Salvationist in Latvia, was apt for me when I started out blogging but now as I stand on the threshold of a new period of my life, back in the UK, it seems less significant. So as I look at myself as a disciple of Jesus I understand that my life with Him is one of pilgrimage, and that I am called to walk the pilgrim path as a soldier in The Salvation Army, the new name seems more fitting.
It will be a constant reminder to me of the first calling on my life, that of discipleship. Whatever else I go on to do in my life, everything must come out of that first calling.
So welcome to pilgrimsoldier.net and I pray that something I write to describe my own journey of faith will touch your life and lead you to a deepening of your own faith.
Today sees a significant day in my writing life as I have had an article published over at theRubicon. This is the first time I’ve had an article published since the late 1980’s when I had a couple of short pieces in a Salvation Army youth magazine in the UK called SparkPlugs.
Anyway if you want to have a read then head off over to the actual article by clicking here.
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