Concord Chronicle

This has been a roller-coaster week of emotions. There were some wonderful moments of fellowship with various groups of people - Bible Study Fellowship, Women's Bible Study, CAMEO, friends in ministry, and more. And at the same time, there have been some challenging moments. (No need to mention those.)

In retrospect, I am still grateful for all of those moments. I thank God for the people in my life who fill my cup, who give me energy, and positive encouragement. And although there are situations that cause more stress, those interactions still help me grow as a person. I cannot let those difficult moments bring me down, but keep pressing into God, continue loving others, and consciously moving forward.

I choose to live my faith without compromise and with joy DAILY. One of the devotions I read this week gave an acronym that I'd like to share with you:

Decide to follow God daily. Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness (1 Timothy 4:7).

Adore and praise God daily. The Lord inhabits our praise (Psalm 22:3).

In the Word daily. The word is a lamp to your feet and a light for your path (Psalm 119:105).

Love other daily. You should love one another (1 John 3:11).

Yahweh reigns. The Lord reigns forever (Psalm 146:10).

AnnMarguerite Jones

I was recently asked to be the guest speaker on the subject of evangelism at a retreat.

As part of my presentation I used a video clip that I thought illustrated my point well. But to my surprise some of the women in the group were visibly upset because the pastor who appeared in the clip had recently been exposed as a hypocrite and abuser in his church and had resigned in disgrace. I was thankful that they responded frankly to my request for feedback on my presentation material since I always am looking for ways to be clear and on point. They felt that nothing he said could be trusted and in subsequent conversations were emotionally upset and more focussed on his sin than the point I was trying to get across. If I’m ever privileged to speak again on the subject I’ll avoid clouding the subject matter with material I now know gets that kind of emotional response.

However, I’m still troubled by the thought that the message can be perceived to be invalidated by flaws in the messenger. And yet if we look at God’s dealings with his creation through time in the scripture, He is repeatedly using flawed individuals to communicate eternal truths. Some of the characters God used would not pass scrutiny on social media today:

Paul was a murderer;

Peter was a traitor;

James and John were megalomaniacs;

Matthew was a thief;

Jonah was a coward;

David was a rapist;

Abraham was a sex trafficker;

…and that’s just the more egregious examples that spring to mind. Does that mean we have to throw out the letters of Paul and the Psalms of David? Hopefully you will agree with me that the message is so much more important than the messenger.

There is a fascinating story in the book of Numbers in the Old Testament when the children of Israel were wandering in the Sainai desert and had run out of water, prompting a rebellion against the leadership of Moses and Aaron.

Once before (in Numbers 17) they had been saved by a miracle where God had instructed Moses to whack a rock with his walking stick, resulting in a flood of water for people and cattle. But the people obviously must have thought that was an unrepeatable fluke because rather than asking Moses to trust in God’s grace again they decided to gripe and moan. So while they were camped at Meribah things came to a head. Here is the whole passage:

Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. They quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord! Why did you bring the Lord’s community into this wilderness, that we and our livestock should die here? Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!”

Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. The Lord said to Moses, “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”

So Moses took the staff from the Lord’s presence, just as he commanded him. He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them” (Numbers 20:2-12 NIV, emphasis mine).

I’ve heard and read lots of expositions on Moses’ disobedience and its consequences and you, like me, might have a lot of questions about what God was doing here. After all, the previous time God told Moses to strike the rock with his staff and that worked. This time God told Moses to take the staff, but speak to the rock. I think God didn’t want the people thinking that Moses had a magic wand! But I think the real problem was in what Moses said, “…must we bring you water out of this rock”. Erm, who’s this “we”, Moses? This was supposed to be a demonstration of God’s grace in action, not some magic trick from you and Aaron.

But to my point: the water still gushed out!

The disobedience, pride, and faithlessness of Moses and Aaron did not invalidate the grace God wished to bestow on his people! God still held them accountable, but he would not withhold his favor because of the imperfections of his agents.

Many commentators allude to the rock producing life-giving water as a foreshadowing of the unconditional love of Jesus. I think this may have been what the hymn writer Elizabeth McKenzie had in mind when she wrote:

Love divine, from Jesus flowing,

Living waters rich and free,

Wondrous love without a limit,

Flowing from eternity;

Boundless ocean,

I would cast myself on thee.

SASB #468

The older I get, the more aware I have become of the ocean of grace in which my life is

immersed.

Please do not let Satan steal your joy by having you focus on the sins and foibles and shortcomings of those God uses to communicate that grace. Rather let us be overwhelmed by the grace pouring out on us from a God who loves us so much! Let us be thankful that God chooses to use imperfect vessels such as we are to participate in his eternal plan of redemption!

This is valid grace indeed!

Blessings on you and yours,

Jim Black

SUNDAY:

• 9:00 AM - Praise Team Practice - Chapel
• 10:00 AM - Youth Prepping for Friendship Luncheon
• 10:15 AM - Prayer Meeting - Prayer Room (in the Courtyard)
• 11:00 AM - In-Person Worship Service - Streaming on Concord Corps Family FB Page
• 1:00 PM - Friendship Luncheon

TUESDAY:

• 6:00 PM - Men's Bible Study - Fireside Room
• 6:00 PM - Women's Bible Study - Hybrid, Zoom & In-Person
• 7:00 PM - Songsters Practice - Chapel
• 8:00 PM - Senior Band Practice - Chapel

WEDNESDAY:

• 10:00 AM - CAMEO: Presidents' Day Program - Zoom

SATURDAY:

• 8:30 AM - Delegates leaving for Corps Cadet Rally

Lowe’s will encourage fans to vote for one of four national nonprofit partners in the hometown of the team that wins the Super Bowl. The four organizations they will highlight are the Boys and Girls Club, USO, Rebuilding Together, and The Salvation Army.

We are calling everyone—employees, officers, soldiers, volunteers, and other supporters—to use their Twitter accounts to engage with the poll and support The Salvation Army with votes, shares, and supportive comments in reply to the poll.

1. Vote for The Salvation Army!
2. Comment on the Twitter poll with positive stories about The Salvation Army!
3. Share through social media and word of mouth to encourage others to vote and support The Salvation Army!

The winning organization must use the grant in the city of the NFL team that wins the Super Bowl. The cities are Cincinnati and Los Angeles.

• If Cincinnati, The Salvation Army will use the funds for a renovation project at Camp SWONEKY.
• If Los Angeles, The Salvation Army will use the funds for a renovation project at the Siemon Youth & Community Center.

The winning project will receive a $100,000 donation, while others will receive *$5,600 each (homage to Super Bowl 56).

MOZAMBIQUE TERRITORY

Territorial leaders: Colonels Moses and Sarah Wandulu

Prayer requests:

• Thank God for his love, guidance, and protection during 2021.
• Pray for God's blessings upon His work in the new year 2022.
• Pray for preparations for the General's visit in March.
• Pray for youth to offer themselves for officership.
• Pray for continued peace and stability in the north of the Country.

Thank you for praying for the people and the work here in Mozambique, we highly appreciate it, and may God grant you strength and knowledge to continue with this good work.

Born on January 15. We will celebrate his arrival with his family via a virtual baby shower.

See included flyer for details.

Theme: Fashioned by Grace (Titus 2:11-12)

"For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say "no" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age." (Titus 2:11-12)

New Date: March 12, 2022

Time: 9:30 AM - 4:00 PM

Location: Concord Corps

Cost: $10 per person and includes lunch (craft workshops may require a fee)

We are hosting our very own women's day retreat! Please feel free to invite your friend, a neighbor, and family. They don't have to attend our church or any church for that matter. The program includes an Over the Top Hat Fashion Show and a homemade Hat Contest. Prizes awarded!

Our guests include Colonel Donna Igleheart, Major Pam Brackenbury, Major Candi Frizzell, and Major Dianne Madsen.

There will also be an accessory and clothing exchange. Bring gently used and in good-condition items to swap with someone else's items. You can get 1 item for every item you bring in. Maximum of 10 items. After that, you can purchase additional items for $1 each.

RSVP with Major AnnMarguerite Jones by March 7th:

mailto:annmarguerite.jones@usw.salvationarmy.org

Theme: Zest for Life

Dates: March 13-15, 2022

Location: William Jessup University

Cost: $75 which includes housing, food, materials, and a t-shirt

There will be workshops, fun activities, inspirational worship, and fellowship. They are even putting on a Prom! So start getting your outfit together!

Registration is due April 13th.

See Major AnnMarguerite Jones or Major Willdonna Rich if you would like to attend.

Dates: March 22-24, 2022

Location: Camp Del Oro, Nevada City

Current Emergency Disaster Service volunteers, new prospective volunteers, church members, and community members are welcome to attend. This training is intended to grow and advance Corps Disaster Deployment Teams and get them ready for the next activation for incidents both divisionally and locally. Training is being organized by the Divisional Disaster Services Team.

Conference lodging is first come first serve. Conference fees will be based on lodging preference per individual. Individuals may register on their own or Corps Group Reservations can be done. For Corps Group registration please use Discount Code VDAT2022 at check out and your Corps will be billed by DHQ. Individual attendee’s fees will need to be paid at check out.

We will be at max capacity for this event. All lodging will have roommates.

Conference fees are as followed:

$50.00 per person Single Lodges

$35.00 per person Double Lodges (Equals to $70 for married couples only)

$25.00 Cabins 7-8 persons per cabin (No upper bunks)

$20.00 Offsite Hotel Lodging: Paid for personally by the delegate

This event has been sponsored which has allowed us to tremendously discount conference fees. We ask that all group registration only sign-up individuals that are confirmed attendees. There are NO refunds and Corps will be charged for no-show attendees.

Email: annmarguerite.jones@usw.salvationarmy.org
Website: https://www.salvationarmyconcordca.org
Location: 3950 Clayton Road, Concord, CA, USA
Phone: (925) 676-6180
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tsaconcord