How to build Spiritual muscle... the old fashioned way

Today's post is about strength, courage, determination and above all hard work...all things that are a bit out of favour with today's 'quick fix' fascination. But all of which are vital if you want to build strong spiritual muscles that will help you navigate and thrive and keep you moving forward through the hostile and often difficult journey of faith and life.

This is a personal message to myself... I hope others find encouragement and inspiration through it...but really this is me telling myself off and giving myself a kick up the backside, not letting myself give up and ordering myself to put in the hard work and effort it will take for me to be the very best version of myself I can be. Not because of my own ambition but because I believe that God has given all of us the skills and talents to fulfill our potential and occasionally I need to be reminded of this...and inspired to put these skills to work.

Why we need to build spiritual muscle
The Spiritual life is an amazing and truly worthwhile journey...but it was never meant to be easy...it means being vulnerable, exposed, opening ourselves to ridicule and sometimes worse...it takes a strong foundation in Christ, resilience, hope and bucket loads of determination and focus.

If you want to see a great example of physical strength...I would really recommend watching the 'Worlds strongest man' competition. If you've never seen it then basically it's a competition in which contestants have to compete in some ridiculously difficult events lifting cars, huge boulders, pulling trucks...you get the idea...

These are some big guys and I don't think I've ever watched it and thought..."I could do that"
Those athletes have not become that strong overnight...it has taken each of them hard work, patience, pain, determination, struggle, injuries and pain to get where they wanted to be...

Now of course it's important to note that we are not talking about physical strength...but the principle is the same... the Spiritual life of a Christian can be difficult, lonely and can grind you down if you let it... people won't always understand, you'll probably be ridiculed and dismissed...of course we serve a God who is much bigger and greater than all of that...but we have to learn to tap into His strength, listen to His voice and find comfort in His heart...

This isn't a natural response... we're human and fallible and desperate to do everything by ourselves and in our own strength.... building Spiritual muscle is training yourself to respond differently...to face everything with God...to instinctively turn to Him not just when things are tough but all the time...to walk in harmony with Him through your whole life... like a tree planted by a river (Psalm 1:1-3) constantly fed and empowered...

How we build Spiritual muscle
When I think of training or growing as a Christian I always think of Psalm 144:

"Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle. He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me." (Psalm 144:1,2)

This always helps me to remember that our God TRAINS us for war... he isn't a magician who snaps His fingers and does everything for us... He's the God who wants us to grow and develop into the best versions of ourselves that we can be...of course God can instantly give us what we need and strengthen us and empower us in the moment...but most of the time it takes patience and hard work to develop ourselves... it's not a destination but an ongoing process of learning and growth that lasts our entire lives and beyond.

Most of my heroes are people that have spent time in the wilderness, that are human and imperfect but determined to be better and then they are or were... it's this determination, the never giving up, whatever they've faced that makes me admire them so much... sometimes life sucks... sometimes we want to run away and give up... this is where our spiritual muscles (or lack of) will show...

Like a bodybuilder or athlete.... building our Spiritual muscles is going to take time, and hard work... it's going to take us getting knocked down and hurt, bruised and battered...but you become stronger when you keep getting up...you become stronger when you become closer to God...you become stronger when you learn to instinctively trust in the God who is greater than anything and everything you're going to face...

It's important not to get impatient or frustrated...of course ambition in itself is not a dirty word...when it's focused on God's heart and God's will it gives us the drive to keep getting better... that being said, don't force it, build the foundation on Christ, on the word of God, the Spirit of God and the heart of God, work with those who inspire you, be willing to take a hit, to fall and to fail and above all to keep getting up...but it will take time and effort...but if you're feeling discouraged don't forget that well known wise man you learnt about in Sunday school all those years ago who built his house upon the rock...and what happened to the other guy...






I would love to hear your feedback and comments on this blog, and of course feel free to sign up with your email address to avoid missing new posts (if viewing on a mobile device you may need to click on 'view web version')


Please like and share the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Inspired-by-Faith-640803452678981/

Take a look at Inspired by Faith on Twitter: (@InspiredFaith88): https://twitter.com/InspiredFaith88?s=09


Disclaimer: the opinions and comments expressed in this blog are personal and do not necessarily represent the views and policies of the Salvation Army

Press X To Respawn

We all know the feeling; you've been beat down, burnt out, lost your drive, ambition and heart....any casual gamers out there know what to do when this happens to video game characters in the virtual world...'Press X to respawn'...the characters get back up, start again and keep moving forward!

So when we feel like this in the real world, and in our spiritual lives why not use the same principle?

I'm a relatively casual gamer, and if I'm honest, I usually cheat...like the great Captain Kirk once said "I don't believe in a no win scenario" I like to avoid the hard stuff, change the rules when I can and generally never get stuck in to the nitty gritty...but that's no way to live... it's a half life, a wasted life, a life lived too cautiously to really shine...

you've got to get stuck in, give it your all, make no excuses and hold nothing back...and you'll always succeed...wait a minute...scratch that last bit...you won't always succeed...in fact often you'll fail, and be left battered and bruised, unsure of yourself or where you went wrong...that no win scenario, your own personal Kobayashi Maru (if you don't understand that reference congratulations, you're not as big a geek as me) that Captain Kirk didn't believe in, is alive and kicking...but somehow you've got to learn how to kick back!

So how do we kick back?
Well we learn that defeats and disappointments will come, we acknowledge the pain that often comes with them...and we embrace surrender...not surrender to the pain or to our situation but surrender to the one who holds everything in his hands...we accept that we have taken a hit, we even accept that we can't keep going the way we are...we put all our cards on the table, open ourselves to God (however impossibly hard that feels) and we put our trust in the God of restoration, and of second chances. We allow ourselves space to grieve and to feel...but ultimately we get back up again in the strength of God himself.

God is no stranger to respawning and restoration both physically and spiritually...let's take a head count:

The dry bones (Ezekiel 37)
Jonah (book of Jonah)
Lazarus (John 11)
Zacchaeus (Luke 19)
St Peter (John 21)
The nation of Israel (Nehemiah 7)
Add to that many, many others including, of course Christ himself (Luke 24)

Our God has an extensive background in raising people up, people who are down, and feeling useless and just about spent in every way; emotionally, physically and spiritually...but it isn't the end, it is an opportunity to become stronger, to grow and become closer to God by allowing Him to take control and rebuild, refocus, rengerise and of course respawn us...and unlike that great scene in the movie 'ready player one' (if you haven't seen it, it's really worth a watch) you won't lose your experience or skills, you will only become a better and stronger version of yourself...there is always an extra life when you trust in God...

Through setbacks and defeats you will become a better person and a better disciple if you do the hardest thing...get back up and keep moving, keep growing and keep trusting... essentially you're going to level up maybe even evolve to the next level, where the stakes are higher, the rewards are greater, the fall is further...and where you need God more than ever...

And sometimes there is no point to suffering and defeat other than the lessons we choose to take from it and the responses we make...it's easy to stay down, to take the hits and curl up in a ball and never come out... it's takes so much more to get back up and keep going and trusting... all of us who play video games even occasionally will become stuck at a certain point...you need multiple save points, multiple lives, and multiple respawns (I'm looking at you Sonic the hedgehog 2!).... sometimes we give up, sometimes we don't and we eventually succeed... sometimes we get angry and frustrated and use  some unfavorable words (I'm looking at you again Sonic 2!) but until we give up, there is always hope, always a chance to respawn and succeed...if we give up; well, then obviously we are never going to succeed, we will fail and what's worse we will hold onto that failure and defeat, probably for the rest of our lives.

William Booth the founder of the Salvation Army, a man renowned for fire, and vision and passion went through a stage of feeling useless, worthless and defeated before he respawned and found his purpose and mission...he even mentioned it in the now legendary founder's song 'O boundless Salvation'

"Now tossed with temptation, then haunted with fears,
My life has been joyless and useless for years;
I feel something better most surely would be
If once thy pure waters would roll over me."

He went on to recount his respawning:

"The tide is now flowing, I'm touching the wave,
I hear the loud call of the mighty to save;
My faith's growing bolder, delivered I'll be;
I plunge 'neath the waters, they roll over me."

If you've ever felt like all this you're obviously in good company...saints, prophets and leaders...you are not alone...

So look, here's the truth... failing sucks, defeat sucks, it can be heart wrenching, painful and embarrassing, it can feel like your whole world is falling apart... believe me, I've been there...but it isn't the end...it is an opportunity either to wither away or to rise up to your greatest height...the difference between the two? Whether you will put your trust in God and allow him to take control, to stand up when you want to sink down... ultimately whether or not you choose to quit in frustration or...to press X and respawn.





I would love to hear your feedback and comments on this blog, and of course feel free to sign up with your email address below to avoid missing new posts (if viewing on a mobile device you may need to click on 'view web version')


Please like and share the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Inspired-by-Faith-640803452678981/

Take a look at Inspired by Faith on Twitter: (@InspiredFaith88): https://twitter.com/InspiredFaith88?s=09

Disclaimer: the opinions expressed in this blog are personal and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of Salvation Army

Holy Communion & the Salvation Army

In been toying with the idea of this blog post for a while, and although I'm sure there are probably lots of different views on the issue of the Salvation Army and it's response to communion; I think it's worth exploring and discussing this issue, how it affects our Church, us as individuals; and how it has affected me personally in my walk and life as a Salvationist and the struggles and thought processes I have gone through to Justify the Army's position on this issue with my own faith and background.

An important disclaimer before we go any further: the views expressed in this blog post (and all others I write) are my own thoughts and reflections and do not necessarily represent the views of the Salvation Army.

- The Conflict

I don't come from a Salvation Army background, so Communion was always a natural part of Christianity, never any question in my mind that it was fundamental.

My Christian background was free Methodist... So not a million miles away from Salvation Army outlook and theology... Communion was there and received fairly regularly but not all the time and certainly not week in week out. So there wasn't a massive sudden shock when I began worshipping at the Army...just a developing realisation that it wasn't part of SA worship. If I'm honest this did make me a little uncomfortable and led me to spend quite a bit of time wrestling with this issue and soul searching to find justification and trying to decide whether this was an issue I could live with or whether it was a nonnegotiable issue for me. I'll admit to feeling quite uncomfortable whenever I heard or read the Gospel accounts of the Last Supper:

"And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” Luke - 22:19

When I first started attending the Army I felt that here was a clear instruction that we were not following. And yes, that made me uncomfortable.

- The Army's position

This is probably the right time for a bit of clarification...the Army does not, has not and I pray never will have an official complaint or take an official stance against Holy Communion in and of itself. I have heard rumours of Officers or Corps taking a stand against it...rumours which I truly hope are not true.

The official stand point is that there is no issue with members or Soldiers (or Officers for that matter) receiving communion, simply that the SA does not consider outward sacraments necessary for Salvation and so doesn't offer it as part of worship. I think traditionally this boils down to an over reliance from some churches in William Booth's day of outward signs and ceremonies rather than inward holiness and sanctification. (There is an argument perhaps that we have replaced the traditional outward signs and sacraments with our own traditions and become over reliant on them instead... But that's a discussion for another day and another blog post perhaps)

- The resolution

I hope that by sharing my thought processes and how I resolved this issue someone else might find their own clarification, justification and peace with issue.

Once again though, here's the disclaimer: these are my thought processes, my justification and does not necessarily represent the views, opinions and expressions of the Salvation Army (and certainly not the views and opinions of every Salvationist)

Really the key from the start of my questioning of the this, was the Army's acceptance of the principle of Holy Communion, this gave me the space to consider it and work through it in my own time and in my own way. Had the Army taken a stance against the teaching and principle of Communion and told me that no one should receive it I would have found it much harder to justify and resolve the conflict.

I spent a lot of time thinking about the nature of communion, what form should it take, and how we keep the spirit of communion alive. By all that I mean remembering Christ's sacrifice, and binding ourselves together through one love, one mission and one Lord. It's vital, if and when we do receive Communion that we do it in the right spirit and with the right heart, not because it's what's expected or what helps us fit in...but truly in rememberance of Christ and His sacrifice.

I came to the conclusion that Holy Communion is about more than bread and wine, more than tradition,  more than ceremony, it is bigger and greater than ourselves...too big to be contained by anything on earth...it is a state of mind and state of being, represented by an outward sacrament. We honour it by being and remaining in communion with each other, by loving each other and serving each other.

Please don't misunderstand... I certainly don't think that their are no benefits to Holy communion, I think it is a brilliant expression of Faith, commitment and remembrance. It can deepen faith, connect us to each other and to Christ and I firmly and passionately believe it has a place in modern Christianity and modern Salvationism...I'm not going to suggest in what form or how often at this stage.

I've written this blog post, I hope sensitively, because I think for Salvationists it's important to question the Salvation Army's response and position to Holy Communion and how that fits into a key part of scripture and our own faith and theology, not for arguments sake, or to rock the boat but to truly understand why we as Salvationists do what we do and believe what we believe...Salvationists are a strange bunch I think you'll agree...but a lack of certain traditions and sacraments doesn't make us any less called, devoted and committed to Christ and to the mission of the Church.







I would love to hear your feedback and comments on this blog, and of course feel free to sign up with your email address below to avoid missing new posts (if viewing on a mobile device you may need to click on 'view web version')


Please like and share the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Inspired-by-Faith-640803452678981/

Take a look at Inspired by Faith on Twitter: (@InspiredFaith88): https://twitter.com/InspiredFaith88?s=09

A Place to Call Home

There are some really special places in this world, places that mean a great deal for many different reasons... this post is about perhaps the most important of these places...my Spiritual home...my church...

A week or so ago I published a post entitled 'Where it all Began', talking a little about my first real Church, the encouragement and inspiration that helped sow the seeds of my spiritual growth and development; check it out by clicking here

Today's post is a bit of a sequel. Not where I started, but where I am now, the importance of finding a spiritual home, a place to belong, some of the problems that can happen, the fallouts the failures and why it's worth persevering with a faith community and fellowship...in the Salvation Army we call them 'Corps' but 'Church' is just as relevant & I think these issues are just as important regardless of which denomination you belong to and identify with.

My Church
Here's just a brief overview of myself, my church and where we are as a fellowship and family.

I started attending my home Corps (Coventry City, UK) about 13 years ago-ish. I've been a Senior Soldier for 12 years this July. (At the time of writing) I started attending during a strange time for the Corps. We were in between buildings, as we were waiting for the construction of a new building to replace the old one which had become unfit for purpose. So the whole Corps was in a bit of a limbo situation, sharing a building with another Church community.

Eventually our brand spanking new building opened in mid 2005, followed shortly by a change in Officers (ministers).

So a new home, new leaders. A new start and fresh beginning. Not just for the Corps but for me personally.

In this Corps I found welcome, love and a spiritual home. Of course I also found politics, fallouts and the occasional argument...because unfortunately for the Church, it's populated by us imperfect sometimes petty human beings, (and yes I am including myself at the forefront of that).

So what is a spiritual home?
A physical home should be a place of rest, a place where you feel comfortable where you can unwind from the pressures of the day. A spiritual home should have some of these qualities but it also needs to be a place of challenge and inspiration that will not always be comfortable but will bring you encouragement and fulfillment.

Dysfunctional family
Coventry City Corps is where I find these things but let me be clear, we are a long way off a perfect community. We can fall out, annoy each other, dismiss each other but I'd like to think when things are rough we would be there for each other. We are a family....but a dysfunctional family sometimes.

My Church has, over the last few years, become home to a different group of people... We have joined a group of other churches in the city to host a winter night shelter. We have become a temporary home on one night a week during the winter, providing warmth, comfort and food the very things a home should provide. On a personal note while I've been involved in the night shelter I have found time to sit in our main Worship hall devoid of light and people and I have found a real sense of peace and homeliness; reflecting on all the friendships and relationships that have been built in that room when it's full, relationships with God have been built and testified too, prayers have been said, commitments made (including my own wedding vows). It truly is the heart of our spiritual home, but I suppose when full this is hard to see.

Why you need your Church & why your Church needs you
Many people, perhaps someone reading this have, been hurt by the Church in some way or another. And I am truly sorry for that. But despite this I still feel that the Church is necessary, that belonging to a Church community is necessary, and not just because of the benefits we can receive, but also because of the journey we are on together; We can, even unknowingly support and encourage those around us in our faith communities just by being an example.

I know what a lot of people say "you don't need to go to Church to be a Christian..." And I understand this position and I can see the point, I would even agree, to a point. The old rebuttal to that position is of course "you don't need a parachute to jump out of a aeroplane...but it certainly helps." The point is, we need each other. We have to walk together to find encouragement and strength in each other, and we need to serve alongside each other... Think about a major incident like an earthquake or flood; yes, individuals can help and make a huge difference, but it takes an Army, committed, organised and mobilised to really turn the tide, with supply drops, airlifts etc, we can be that Army...but it means putting aside our squabbles and differences and work together.

So let's be a true family and community. But let's go into it with our eyes open; understanding that we will annoy each other, we will fall out and hurt each other but by the grace of God and mutual love and understanding we can get past all this and be a true family. Ultimately we are better and stronger together, even when we annoy each other and fallout over petty stuff.





I would love to hear your feedback and comments on this blog, and of course feel free to sign up with your email address to avoid missing new posts (if viewing on a mobile device you may need to click on 'view web version')


Please like and share the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Inspired-by-Faith-640803452678981/

Take a look at Inspired by Faith on Twitter: (@InspiredFaith88): https://twitter.com/InspiredFaith88?s=09


Disclaimer: the opinions and comments expressed in this blog are personal and do not necessarily represent the views and policies of the Salvation Army

Preparation and Distraction (Part 4 of 4: Follow your Star)

The star that led the wise men to the stable, leads us all to the cradle...and the Cross...


I took the picture above last year, it's of the Christmas decorations from my home town of Coventry. For those unfamiliar with Coventry's history you may not have heard the tale of Lady Godiva, who is immortalised in the statue you can see in the picture; very briefly the; legend states that back in the 11th century in order to publicly oppose harsh taxation of the poor by her husband Lord Leofric; Godiva gave up her dignity while also shaming Leofric by riding naked on a horse through the city, covered only by her long hair; out of respect the citizens looked away; except for one man who became known as peeping Tom (which is where we get the expression from).

So what is the point of that for us today on this, the last Sunday in Advent?
Well as the 3 wise men or kings or magi (however you wish to name them) followed a star to their destinies, so Godiva followed her heart to her destiny, and as we listen to God and follow His direction through our hearts and the scriptures we too will be led to our destinies and to the place where God wants to use us. (I know the story of the wise men is technically Epiphany, but as we associate it with Christmas I hope you'll indulge me).

That all sounds very nice, but it can actually be rather scary and difficult, although the task of the wise men to worship Christ was actually relatively easy it did require a long difficult journey which would've put them in danger and of course finding themselves in the clutches of the tyrannical king Herod. But it led to them taking the news of Christ back east with them and gave the holy family time to escape the slaughter of the children of Bethlehem by fleeing to Egypt.

God often calls us to difficult challenges and situations; this isn't anything new though, Christ made this clear during His earthly ministry:

'Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.' - Matthew 16:24

'If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.' - John 15:19

The same God that called the wise men to the cradle, called Christ to the Cross. Our first call is to that cradle; to worship and adore Christ above all; to submit to His will and purpose, after that He sends us where He wants not where we want, sometimes that is a call to suffer and sacrifice. We must be prepared to do whatever it is we are called to do. This may not be easy but 'where God guides, He provides'.

So...as Christmas draws near I urge you to 'go, follow that star' in your lives, everyday and Keep your ears and hearts open for God's call and be ready to make that journey, no matter how far...be prepared and don't get distracted on the journey; or as Bilbo Baggins put it:

'It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.'

Of course, sometimes we have to be open to God stepping in and sweeping us of our feet...


I would love to hear from you; with your thoughts, opinions and comments.
You can do this on here or through:
Twitter: @InspiredFaith88

Pinterest: @Freelygiven88

And the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Inspired-by-Faith-640803452678981/

Preparation and Distraction (Part 3 of 4 - 'A Journey into Danger' Matthew 2:13)

Just Like a KFC chicken; not every journey has a happy end...

This the third and penultimate post in this Advent series of 'Preparation and Distraction' we're nearly there; the gates of Bethlehem are coming into view...

If anyone here is a fan of great fantasy literature by authors like Raymond E Feist, Michael Moorcock and of course Tolkien or, for that matter TV shows like Star Trek you will understand how thrilling, a story of an epic journey can be. 'A Journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step' or so the old saying goes. All these old stories have that in common...mostly ordinary men, women (and of course Hobbits) taking that first step of faith into adventure, danger and legend.

There was one such couple that I'm sure you've heard about, that went on a memorable journey, a long planned and prepared for journey, a journey that took place; oh, about 2000 years ago!

This ancient journey to Bethlehem is one that truly catches our imagination. as we prepare ourselves for the imminent arrival of Christmas, we remember this journey. It's almost strange that we don't hear more about the journey itself. Any avid readers would expect such an important journey to be filled with misadventure and action...but this comes later; a vengeful King Herod, the slaughter of innocents and ultimately an epic dash to freedom...the Holy, first family and their escape to Egypt.

When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him." - Matthew 2:13

So we have the makings of a great story; a journey, a villain, mortal danger. All we need is a mighty hero riding into battle to save the day...this hero does things differently; this hero will live His life in the shadow of service and sacrifice; His, is a journey to pain and suffering and to glory...This is Christmas, this isn't just some flowery story of shepherds and angelic choirs. This is a story of one greater than all of us, more wonderful, more worthy, better in every conceivable way; living to serve and to sacrifice for the least.

As we continue the relentless march towards Christmas, as our preparations and distractions reach fever pitch in this, the third week of Advent... Remember the journey that the Holy family took, a journey as we said, of service and sacrifice. I urge you to reflect on your own journeys and what God is asking of you and remember that God will be with you; or to put it another way:

'The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.' - Psalm 23:1-4


Follow on Twitter: @InspiredFaith88

And please check out the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Inspired-by-Faith-640803452678981/