It was Christmas Eve, 1910. General William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army was bedridden and near the end of his life and it was impossible for him to attend the Army’s annual convention. It was suggested that the General send a telegram to be read at the opening of the convention to the many Salvation Army soldiers as an encouragement for their long hours of labour serving others.
Funds were limited, and telegrams were charged by the word. General Booth decided to send a one-word message. It had to be one word that would summarise his life, the mission of the army and encourage the soldiers to continue …
Category: Christian Living
WORDS THAT HAVE SHAPED MY LIFE (109) “PURPOSE, PRICE and PRIZE”
A good friend of mine recently asked me a thoughtful question as we were discussing life in our senior years. He asked me, “Would you live your life any differently now you are in your senior years?”
I didn’t take long to reply that I wouldn’t be living my life any differently than I am now.
As I reflected on our brief conversation, the following scriptures that have guided my life and my destiny came to me. I have a God given destiny from the day I was born:
- I was born with a God given PURPOSE
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,
LEADERS AND VISION
“Show me your vision and I will prophesy your future.” David Yonggi Cho
VISION IS COMPROMISED WHEN………..
- leadership positions are not given to people with vision
“In the absence of great dreams, pettiness prevails.” Robert Fritz - leaders are trained to be maintenance oriented rather than vision/mission oriented.
- the majority choose to stay with the status quo.
“We live in a world where the majority dictate the rules and the majority are usually wrong.” Arnold Toynbee
Leaders have a healthy dissatisfaction with the status quo.
PRINCIPLES OF VISION FROM THE LIFE OF A GIANT SLAYER 1Samuel 17
THE SETTING
“Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled at Socoh …
WORDS THAT HAVE SHAPED MY LIFE (108) “I’ll Never Let Go of Your Hand”
After driving all day, I arrived back in my hometown of Adelaide with my family to commence a holiday break. However, on arrival we were greeted with the news that Sue’s seriously ill 39-year-old brother, Wayne, was deteriorating in hospital and did not have long to live.
Instead of resting up, I felt a prompting that Sue and I should immediately go to the hospital to be with Wayne. When we arrived, we were told that Wayne was struggling to breathe and unable to speak. I went into his room and held his hand and spoke, “Wayne, it is Rod here, if you can hear my voice, could you please …