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4. Why Should I Read the Bible? 5. Why do I turn to substances for help? 6. Nipawin Explosion: Miracles in the Midst of Tragedy. 7. Spring = New Life. How can I experience new life? 8. What is My Responsibility to the Environment? 9. As Christians Do We Have a Responsibility to Take Care of the Poor? 10. Review of 2007 Remembrance Day Ceremony |
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By Captain Michael Ramsay Nipawin Journal, May 28 2008. Is Jesus God? Yes. Like every Christian, I affirm that Jesus is God. This is a non-negotiable in Christianity and it is an important question. If you go to a church or have someone show up at your door talking about religion, I encourage you to ask her this very question: Is Jesus God? Simply put, if the person cannot answer with an unequivocal yes, then she is not a Christian. Jesus Christ is ‘truly and properly God’ (TSA Doctrine 4). ‘He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made . . .’ (John 1:2-3). The character and being of God were fully present in the life of the man Jesus, for ‘He who has seen me has seen the Father’ (John 14: 9). In the Gospel of John we read that ‘the Word became flesh and lived for a while among us’ (John 1:14). In Philippians, Paul expresses this truth when he describes Christ as ‘being in very nature God’, and yet ‘taking the very nature of a servant’ (Philippians 2: 6-7). In Hebrews, Jesus Christ is referred to as ‘the radiance of God’s glory and exact representation of his being’ (Hebrews 1:3). A number of names and titles taken from the language of the Old Testament and from the first-century world are brought to the aid of those seeking to express in relevant language the inexpressible mystery of the fullness of God present in Jesus Christ. … At the Council of Chalcedon in 451, a statement was formulated which embraced the twin truths that Jesus Christ is one integrated person, with a divine and a human nature, ‘without confusion, without change, without division, without separation . . . at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and truly man’ (from the Chalcedonian Definition). In the person of Jesus we see humanity fully open to divine grace and we see God revealed to us. (‘Salvation Story: Salvationists Handbook of Doctrine’, pp 37-38). Jesus is God and as Jesus died and returned to life, he is the Lord of both the living and the dead and sooner or later actually every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Romans 14:9-11, cf. Isaiah 45:23) for 'Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved' (Acts 4:12). Click to read The Salvation Army Doctrines. Click to read Salvation Story (elaboration upon the doctrines of The Salvation Army)
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Miracles in the Midst of Tragedy Reflections
on the Explosion that Rocked Nipawin, Saskatchewan NE Army 15 April 2008 The Salvation Army volunteers worked with and
continue to pray for the town of Nipawin in its time of need. On the
morning of Friday, April 18th, a terrible explosion
rocked Nipawin. As we continue in prayer for the town in mourning
the loss of two of its citizens, we also praise the Lord for the
many miracles He performed that day and the ability of the town to
rally together. The Salvation Army was among the first
responders to the incident; offering prayer, support and the love of
Christ to a town in shock. The firefighters, police, EMS, and
SaskPower were on site very quickly as well and were used by God to
miraculously secure the area and stop the fire from spreading to an
adjacent hardware store where ammunition was kept. Twenty-five
volunteers from The Salvation Army in Nipawin came together quickly
and, with the help us the Nipawin Oasis, the King Fisher Inn, the
Royal Canadian Legion, and the Soup Town Café, provided food,
coffee and juice for the on-site Emergency personnel. It was a great
blessing to see the Lord work through all of the volunteers. It is, of course, a trying time for any
community when two of its members are suddenly and tragically taken
from them and we continue to pray for the friends and family of
those affected but we should not forget the many blessings and
miracles that occurred in the midst of this tragedy as well. I spoke
with one lady who was on the street outside the building that
exploded. Glass and debris shot out towards her. She was unscathed.
I heard of another person who had just paid for their haircut and
walked away from the hairdresser’s plate glass window a moment
before it shattered in the explosion. Many other people, myself
included, earlier in the week were standing right on the corner
where the explosion took place to watch this same demolition crew at
work. It was a blessing that this accident did not occur then. It
was also a blessing that the windstorm that did hit Nipawin after
the explosion, did not hit until after the fire was out. Each day,
as our town here recovers, I hear of more and more of the blessings
and miracles that the Lord performed that day in the midst of this
tragedy. Personally, as I was walking from the site to
the Salvation Army Corps where volunteers were quickly assembling in
order to provide food and prepare the reception centre for possible
evacuees, I poked my head in the Oasis Centre. That day they were
planning on a large luncheon for the RBC staff in town. The Lord,
through the Oasis, provided that lunch for the firefighters and
police officers instead. Many of the Oasis volunteers eagerly joined
us at the corps and on-site to help prepare and deliver food and
coffee. We experienced a similar miracle in discovering that a lunch
at the legion would not be needed either. Another testimony to the Lord and the people of
Nipawin occurred around the evacuation centre itself. The Salvation
Army Hall was designated as the reception centre. Green Groves Motel
offered us bedding; we had provisions there for anyone who needed to
spend the night. In the end, however, of all the people we
registered, no one was without a place to stay for the night. Green
Groves Motel offered their empty rooms as well but no one from the
evacuation centre needed them either. Friends, family, and others in
the community called us offering to billet anyone who was in need. I
stayed the night at the evacuation centre to man the phones and,
praise the Lord, I was alone; everyone else had gone to a home. Now, understandably, there were also upsetting
times. As well as the fatalities, there were injuries, lost
businesses, and a lost home. There was a couple whose home was lost;
they were able to escape but their home, their belongings and their
dog was not. The building came crashing down on their dog and the
fires raged for as long as they did over the site. That night in his
distress I understand his owner prayed, “God, please let me see my
dog one last time – if only just in Heaven.” The next morning at just before 7AM when I was
delivering coffee to the people on site, I heard it: barking. The
SaskEnergy employees had heard it first. They told the firefighters.
The firefighters rescued him; he was more or less unscathed. He was
saved. The dog was saved! Praise the Lord it was a miracle; it
really was! Thank
the Lord as well for all the volunteers who helped The Salvation
Army in our efforts here:
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Spring = New Life. How can I experience a new life? By Captain Michael Ramsay Nipawin Journal, March 26 2008. We are told
in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that if anyone is ‘in Christ’ he is a new
creation; so then the answer is, if I become ‘in Christ’ I will then
have a new life – great. Let’s do that –um-but what is ‘in
Christ’? Well, when we
are ‘in-Christ’ we no longer act the same way as most others; we are
changed through changing our minds so that we can see and do the good
things God wants for us and others (Romans 12:2). Being ‘in-Christ’ is
no longer thinking about ourselves. Just the
other night I received an e-mail from an old friend of mine who works in a
BC prison; I myself spent (voluntary) time in Stony Mountain Penn. We
agreed that many of the fellows there who are stuck, unable to change,
unable to be happy, the ones who are threatening and litigious are the
people who act upon ‘a perverse
sense of entitlement.’ It
is this sense of entitlement, among other things, that embodies the old
life for each of us. It is
this way of thinking that traps us. The new life is experienced only as we
change our minds to put God, rather than ourselves, first. This is what it
means to be ‘in-Christ.’ It is simple but what can we do to get this
new life? Well, nothing. Jesus
has already provided the new life for us. It is very much like Spring.
When Spring has come, the temperature rises, the snow melts, the trees
bud, the flowers bloom and there is nothing any of us can do about that.
Spring has sprung. However,
we do have the choice to experience Spring or not. If we stay inside our house with the heat cranked up full
blast; head outside wearing a parka, gloves and a toque; it doesn’t
change the fact that Spring has come; it just means we are very
uncomfortable and we don’t reap its benefits. The pre-Spring life is not
worth living after Spring has come; likewise, the pre-Christian life is
not worth living now that Christ has come. So
to this end I encourage us all through praying, meeting together, and
reading our Bibles to take off our toques and mittens head out to church
and let the Lord transform us into a new creation now that Spring has
indeed sprung. Captain Michael Ramsay |
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By Captain Michael Ramsay Nipawin Journal, February 2008.
My five year-old asks us every night if we can read
the Bible to her since at Sunday school, not too long ago, the teacher
sang with the children, “read your Bible, pray everyday and you’ll
grow, grow, grow …” Sarah-Grace took this truth to heart and has been
faithful in reminding us to read her Bible. Reading the Bible has also been very important to me
since I was in elementary school. I personally have tried to read my Bible
everyday since I was ten or nine. I can’t imagine not reading my Bible
regularly. It is exciting. It is transformative. The very first doctrine of The Salvation Army, of
which I am an Officer, states that, “the Scriptures of the Old and New
Testaments were given by inspiration of God, and that they only constitute
the Divine rule of Christian faith and practice.” In Romans 1:16-17, Paul writes, “I am not ashamed
of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of
everyone who believes... For
in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that
is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous
will live by faith.’” The gospel is contained in the Bible. The word
‘gospel’ (Gk: euangelion) itself means ‘good news’ or
‘good message’ (cf. Isa 40:9, 52:7). It is the whole Christian
message. It is the information, from none other than God, that Jesus,
God’s unique Son has become the spearhead of God’s ‘kingdom to
come’ and the news that, in this new kingdom all that is bad, even sin
and death themselves, have already been defeated. The Bible is exciting. It is given by the inspiration
of God himself and gives us examples and encouragements on how to live a
life where we are truly free to serve God. It contains the good news that
Jesus died, rose from the dead, and is coming back for us. The power of
the gospel contained within can transform our lives completely as we
accept the truth of Jesus’ gift of eternal life. Why should we read our Bible? Well, we should read our Bible because as we do we will indeed “grow, grow, grow...” Click to read The Salvation Army Doctrines. Click to read Salvation Story (elaboration upon the doctrines of The Salvation Army) Click to read Comment on Romans 1:16-17
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Why do I turn to substances for help? By Captain Michael Ramsay Letter published in the Nipawin Journal, December 2007. Why do I turn to substances for help? This is a question that I have actually heard quite a bit in my life. I was privileged to be invited to a birthday party at AA recently and at these celebrations one hears, among other things, the remarkable stories of success as the Lord delivers people from our addictions. Prior to coming here we served in Winnipeg’s North End, Stony Mountain Penitentiary, and Vancouver’s downtown eastside with The Salvation Army. There are many stories. Some are of wonderful successes as the Lord transforms lives and some are of daily struggles that continue for a lifetime. I think of friends from our time on Vancouver Island. The day she and her husband accepted the Lord she stood up sober and never turned back. He has fought almost everyday to defend his sobriety: It is a struggle. To some of us, substances possess a Siren-like song: this song has such a powerful draw. In Greek mythology, the Sirens are creatures with the head of a woman and the body of a bird. They live on islands and with their irresistible song lure mariners to their destruction as they crash on the rocks near their island. We have seen people as young as elementary school age who have been tempted by this Siren song to a slow (or quick) slide into ‘skid row’ and many of my friends from prison wound up there, in part, because they succumbed to substance’s Siren song; for them the Siren’s song ended in the song of sirens coming to take them away. Myself even, I confess, there are days when a part of me would really like the temporary release that substances seem to offer but, with the Lord’s help, I will continue to persevere and I will finish the race – clean. I have a friend who continuously asks me if it ever gets easy; I have another friend who reminds me that it is just one day at a time. One thing that I have noticed about substances and other struggles in our lives is that the more we turn to the Lord, the easier it becomes to resist temptation and on the days when we lose the battle with temptation, it is very important that we don’t surrender the war. With the Lord, our walk truly is one day at a time. Captain Michael Ramsay |
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As Christians do we have a responsibility to take care of the poor?By Captain Michael Ramsay Nipawin Journal, January 2008. Little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on
them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought
them. Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not
hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."
When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there. |
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By Captain Michael Ramsay Letter published in the Tisdale Recorder, November 2007. Re: Not Attending Ceremonies Dear Editor,
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The Nipawin Journal. Thursday, November 15 2007
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What is My Responsibility to the Environment? By Captain Michael Ramsay The Nipawin Journal, September 2008. "As people are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), we have been entrusted with the care of the earth's resources (Genesis 2:15). Stewardship requires that we use these resources in a manner which ensures the well-being of present and future generations. God's instruction to 'subdue' the earth and 'rule' over every living thing (Genesis 1:28) cannot be interpreted to justify abuse or disregard for any life, not only human life. The privileges granted require our accountability to Him and one another" (TSA Canada Position Statement). God cares about the environment, the land itself. He lays out some important commands concerning it (specifically relating to Palestine; Lev. 25, 26) in a part of Scripture that is – interestingly enough - known as the 'Holiness Code'. We are directed that the land itself shall enjoy its Sabbath rest (Lev. 25:2, 26:34,35) just as man is commanded to (Exod. 20: 8-11, Deut 5:15), and as God did (Exod. 20:11, Gen. 2:3). If we, as 'tenants' of His land (Lev. 25:23), fail in our responsibility to carry out this duty to take care of the land, then the owner of the land -who cares about His land- may remove us from it. He did remove Israel from the land as it neglected its environmental responsibilities: "He carried into exile to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power. The land enjoyed its Sabbath rests; all the time of its desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfilment of the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah" (2 Chronicles 36:20-21). When Israel neglected the land, the LORD held them responsible. The land is the LORD's. He cares about His land and therefore so should we. Given that God cares about His land and given the finite resources of our world, its expanding population, and the impact of industrialization, we each need to accept responsibility for the environment by taking practical steps to regenerate and conserve God's creation. Captain Michael Ramsay The Salvation Army Click to read a commentary on Leviticus 25:1-23: the Land Shall Observe a Sabbath Click to read The Salvation Army Doctrines. Click to read Salvation Story (elaboration upon the doctrines of The Salvation Army) |
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A Theology of Food BankBy Captain Michael Ramsay Open letter,
August - September 2008. Recently I have heard a number of questions asked
about The Salvation Army food bank. People have been wondering why we
offer the service and whether it is a good thing or whether it is a bad
thing. People have raised legitimate questions to which this letter is
reply. 1) Why do we offer the service? 2) Does it do any good? 3) Can’t food banks just trap people in poverty, enabling them to be lazy or take advantage others? 4) How do we help people who have a real need? 5)
What about Christianity? 1) Why do
we offer the service? The Salvation Army is a Christian organisation. We acknowledge that Jesus is Lord. There is a parable in the Bible (Matthew 25:31-46) about sheep and goats. This parable is addressed to all the nations of the world. You will notice in this parable there are two groups: those that spend eternity with Him and those that do not (Heaven and Hell). Both groups call Jesus ‘Lord’; the difference between the two groups is quite simple. The group that spends eternity with the Lord takes care of the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the one needing clothes, the one in hospital, the one in prison.... The other group doesn’t. This is a good motivation for helping people as a society and The Salvation Army food bank is one of the tools we in this nation have available for helping in this way but… 2) Does
it do any good? Does it help really people? Can’t food banks and
other social assistance programmes hurt people and hurt society? Can’t
they force people to become dependant upon others? Can’t they help
perpetuate generations of economic enslavement by removing people’s
abilities and motivation for employment? Yes. A food bank (and other
well-intentioned ministries) can contribute to all of these things. In Nipawin and Tisdale we are blessed in that there
is only one food bank in each of theses centres. In some centres there are
many food banks run by more than one organisation and if there is not
fluid communication between these centres then those who are trying to
help may actually be tempting those in need to ‘take advantage of the
system’ and inadvertently hurt themselves and others. In some larger
urban centres a person can unaccountably eat seven or more square meals a
day free of charge. Friends of mine struggling with addiction in some of
these centres have lamented the fact that the only thing that they
actually need to buy with the money they receive is their drugs. This is a
problem in some – particularly large, urban places. In the Salvation Army we have a large centralized
database with the information from all of our food banks across the
country stored on it. As a client hands us her identification we can see
where and when in the country she last required the assistance of The
Salvation Army. It means that we can better help the person because one
cannot simply circumnavigate the procedures by visiting multiple food
banks or moving to a new location. It means that if a client was being
helped out in a specific town, when they move here we are able to continue
assisting them in the same manner as before. In North East Saskatchewan, the food banks are meant to help out in emergencies. They are not meant to supply a family with groceries for a whole month. We make a point of trying to give people what they need to help them through a short-term crisis. We are not meaning to supply all of their groceries for them. We also have policies as to how often a person can receive assistance at the food bank. 3) The food banks are meant to
help people out of poverty rather than trap them in it. In North East Saskatchewan here we have a policy that a person is only eligible to come to the food bank once every three months. This is intended to break the dependency cycle. We have noticed that some people can certainly be trapped by poverty. If this happens, when they are eligible to come to the food bank every month, they can plan that into their monthly budgets. This only keeps them trapped. We do not want the food bank to be a tool to keep anyone enslaved by poverty. By only allowing one visit every three months, we remove ‘free food’ from monthly planning and really aim to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. 4) How does this work: what about
people who are in legitimate need? What if a family sincerely needs an emergency food
hamper after only two months? It is, after all, very hard to break the
dependency cycle. Will we turn away starving children? No. What we will do
is attempt to address the problem. If a person comes to the food bank
frequently there is a reason. That reason may be addiction. That reason
may be budgeting. That reason may be personal. There can be any number of
factors that drive a person to require assistance. When a person shows up at the food bank we attempt to
find out why she is here. If she returns after only a month and a half and
she admits that she has an alcohol or a substance abuse problem, we will
refer her to Alcoholics (Narcotics) Anonymous. If she has a problem with
budgeting, we will direct her to a programme in town that can help her
with that. If she has problems that require counselling we will facilitate
her receiving help in that area as well. If she then shows that she is
willing to get help, we will most certainly not deny her a small,
emergency supply of food. Many of us have gone through difficult times in our
lives. Many of us have required help from our friends, family, churches,
government, and The Salvation Army. It is very important to have the
mechanisms in place to help and it is very important that the mechanisms
are actually used to help people out of poverty rather than trap them in
it. There is an old adage by Lau Tzu that applies well to our theology of food bank: “give a person a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” This is most certainly a part of our theology of food bank. 5) What
about Christianity? There is one more question that needs to be addressed
and that is, ‘What about Christianity’? If we are a Christian
organisation are we always proselytizing? No, but everyone must admit that
there is no person or organisation that can distance oneself from one’s
values be those values atheist, Hindu, Christian, or whatever. To suggest
otherwise is not true. We acknowledge this reality. As such in the food
hampers, we provide every client with the latest copy of our magazine,
‘Faith and Friends’. In that magazine you will find a bookmark that
lists the times and dates of our Bible Studies, Sunday School,
children’s programmes, etc. Whenever someone new chooses to join us at
one of these, we are excited to see them. Also should you want it, there
are New Testament Bibles available free of charge in our ministry centre
and we are never adverse to praying for people – all you need to do is
ask. God Bless, Captain Michael Ramsay The Salvation Army CFS Director, NE Saskatchewan: Nipawin, Tisdale, and Melfort |
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By Captain Michael Ramsay The Nipawin Journal, September 2008. There was a fellow who decided to go parachuting with his friend. As neither of them had ever been parachuting before they needed to be trained. They spent the day at the airport studying wind trajectories, physics, the speed of acceleration of a free falling object, as well as what to do if your parachute fails to open. The one friend did not understand it at all and even when they practiced with a mock parachute, he didn’t get it. They went to the plane. Flipping a coin to see who would go first, the friend lost and was supposed to jump first. Discovering, however, at about 850 ft in the air that he was afraid of heights, he convinced his companion to jump first. They were jumping from 3000 ft. As this was their first jump, cords were tied to their parachutes so that they would open automatically upon exiting the plane. The companion climbed out on the wing (as he was supposed to) jumped, counted to five (as they practiced), looked up saw that the parachute had opened beautifully and enjoyed one of the most peaceful experiences of his life noticing the miracles of God’s creation while drifting to the ground on this perfectly windless day. The friend, emboldened, does the same: climbs onto the wing, jumps, counts and looks to see the parachute; he reaches to grab the steering toggles on his parachute…they aren’t there. His parachute isn’t there (most of it anyway). It isn’t working. He has to take it off his back and pull the emergency chute all the while following faster and faster towards the ground. As he pulls the cord, he prays: “Lord, please save me.” He pulls the cord, looks, and the emergency chute didn’t open properly either. It isn’t catching any wind. It isn’t slowing him down. He falls beneath the trees towards the power lines and highway below. It is at this time that the Lord’s hand reaches out and actually lifts the parachutist up in the air, opens his parachute and gently sets him on the ground without a scratch. This is a true story; I am that parachutist. Miracles do happen. In another sense, we are each that parachutist, our lives are that journey from the plane and, as we call on the name of the Lord, we can all be saved. This too is a miracle. Captain Michael Ramsay The Salvation Army |