An Adventure in Ministry

This week I, along with many other ministers within The UK and Ireland territory of The Salvation Army met together for three days of worship and the word at our ‘Officer’s councils’. I have to admit that in the midst of an incredibly busy season, I was most looking forward to a couple of days away with my husband where I didn’t have to cook, clean or do the washing! However, as God often does, he completely surprised me and I had the most powerful time away.  The theme of the three days was ‘Lifting our eyes to the king’ and from the moment our time began I had a real sense that God was doing something. On the first afternoon, our Territorial Commander, shared with us about Peter walking on water and how we need to lift our eyes to the king, especially when we are in the waves and think we may be sinking. He shared with us some verses from Hebrews 12:1-3 and throughout the three days they kept playing through my mind. Five little words even kept me up in the middle of the night, a...

One of my absolute favourite verses of scripture is Jeremiah 29:11. It was the first verse spoken over me when I became a Christian and has been one I have clung to in many seasons of my life. In July this year. It started to crop up everywhere. Every book I read, every sermon I listened to and  every word spoken over me pointed at this verse. After a while I got the God-hint, started to study around the verse and God started to really speak to me. At the time Jeremiah wrote the famous verse, people had been exiled to Babylon. They had been deported against their will and were living in a foreign land amongst foreign Gods. In the letter her sent to the elders who were living in in Babylon, he instructs them to set up home where they were. He told them to marry, multiply and to pray for the well being of their captor. Jeremiah 29:7 says this: ‘Pursue the well being of the city I have deported you to. Pray to the Lord on its behalf; for  when i...