Daniel 4: Tree Four (not 6,7); Whatever it Takes.

Presented to TSA Alberni Valley Ministries by Major Michael Ramsay, 01 February 2026

 

Chapters 1-4 of Daniel are primarily about the salvation of Nebuchadnezzar, who was the brutal leader of a Superpower and as Susan said last week, maybe a megalomanic like maybe another world leader today that we all know. Daniel Chapter 4 is the final chapter in the Nebuchadnezzar story. Chapter 4 comes in 3 distinct parts:

1.               God gives King Nebuchadnezzar another dream to inform him of the future

2.               Nebuchadnezzar seeks Daniel to reveal God’s message 

3.               God’s message comes to fruition

 

Part 1: God Gives Nebuchadnezzar a Dream (Daniel 4:1-18)

4 King Nebuchadnezzar sent this message to the people of every race and nation and language throughout the world:

 

“Peace and prosperity to you!

2 “I want you all to know about the miraculous signs and wonders the Most High God has performed for me.

3 How great are his signs,

how powerful his wonders!

His kingdom will last forever,

his rule through all generations.

 

4 “I, Nebuchadnezzar, was living in my palace comfort and prosperity. 5 But one night I had a dream that frightened me; I saw visions that terrified me as I lay in my bed. 6 So I issued an order calling in all the wise men of Babylon, so they could tell me what my dream meant. 7 When all the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and fortune-tellers came in, I told them the dream, but they could not tell me what it meant. 8 At last Daniel came in before me, and I told him the dream. (He was named Belteshazzar after my god, and the spirit of the holy gods is in him.)

 

9 “I said to him, ‘Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no mystery is too great for you to solve. Now tell me what my dream means.

 

10 “‘While I was lying in my bed, this is what I dreamed. I saw a large tree in the middle of the earth. 11 The tree grew very tall and strong, reaching high into the heavens for all the world to see. 12 It had fresh green leaves, and it was loaded with fruit for all to eat. Wild animals lived in its shade, and birds nested in its branches. All the world was fed from this tree.

 

13 “‘Then as I lay there dreaming, I saw a messenger, a holy one, coming down from heaven. 14 The messenger shouted,

“Cut down the tree and lop off its branches!

Shake off its leaves and scatter its fruit!

Chase the wild animals from its shade

and the birds from its branches.

15 But leave the stump and the roots in the ground,

bound with a band of iron and bronze

and surrounded by tender grass.

Now let him be drenched with the dew of heaven,

and let him live with the wild animals among the plants of the field.

16 For seven periods of time,

let him have the mind of a wild animal

instead of the mind of a human.

17 For this has been decreed by the messengers;

it is commanded by the holy ones,

so that everyone may know

that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world.

He gives them to anyone he chooses—

even to the lowliest of people.”

 

18 “‘Belteshazzar, that was the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had. Now tell me what it means, for none of the wise men of my kingdom can do so. But you can tell me because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.’

 

Does this passage sound familiar to you? This is very similar to chapter 2 that we looked at two weeks ago with the dream. One difference we should notice though is that this chapter is read in the voice of the king himself – this is important. He is telling the story. He is sharing his testimony to the whole world; the king personally here is telling the ‘miraculous signs and wonders’ the Lord has done for him. Chapter 4 is Nebuchadnezzar’s testimony Sunday.

 

King Nebuchadnezzar has this dream and -again like chapter 2- the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and fortune-tellers were unable to interpret it. This time though, unlike chapter 2, the king from experience has faith that God will use Daniel to interpret the dream that God gave the king to tell him about what God is going to see done in Nebuchadnezzar’s life. 

 

Part 2: Daniel Relays God’s Message (Daniel 4:19-27)

19 Then Daniel (also called Belteshazzar) was greatly perplexed for a time, and his thoughts terrified him. So the king said, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its meaning alarm you.”

 

Belteshazzar answered, “My lord, if only the dream applied to your enemies and its meaning to your adversaries! 20 The tree you saw, which grew large and strong, with its top touching the sky, visible to the whole earth, 21 with beautiful leaves and abundant fruit, providing food for all, giving shelter to the wild animals, and having nesting places in its branches for the birds— 22 Your Majesty, you are that tree! You have become great and strong; your greatness has grown until it reaches the sky, and your dominion extends to distant parts of the earth.

 

23 “Your Majesty saw a holy one, a messenger, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump, bound with iron and bronze, in the grass of the field, while its roots remain in the ground. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven; let him live with the wild animals, until seven times pass by for him.’

 

24 “This is the interpretation, Your Majesty, and this is the decree the Most High has issued against my lord the king: 25 You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes. 26 The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge that Heaven rules. 27 Therefore, Your Majesty, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue.”

 

This dream is very similar to Nebuchadnezzar’s earlier dream, (as well as the ways that we have already mentioned) in that the King is this wonderful tree in the dream like he is the head of gold in the earlier dream. And then like the statue falls so the tree is cut down – but this new dream’s message, instead of relating to those who will inherit his kingdom, this new message is a very personal message to Nebuchadnezzar. It is giving Nebuchadnezzar a heads up about what is going to happen in his own life personally – and why, and what to do about it.

 

I find it interesting as well that Verse 19 says Daniel was ‘perplexed’ and ‘terrified’. God is reaching out to Nebuchadnezzar with a very scary warning – so much so that when Nebuchadnezzar finally convinces Daniel to tell him what the dream means, Daniel replies, “My lord, if only the dream applied to your enemies and its meaning to your adversaries!” Daniel then tells the king what will happen to him. The king “will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals... eat grass like the ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven”. 

 

This reminds me of some of the folks we live and work with at TSA shelter and soup kitchen at the Bread of Life Centre. Think of folks who are homeless, addicted, and suffering from mental health issues. Nebuchadnezzar becomes like some of our friends that we walk with every day (for literally for 7 ‘seasons’... maybe years, weeks, months). Many of our friends led “normal” or “successful” lives until addiction, mental health or something else got a hold of them. God says that Nebuchadnezzar will suffer all of that and then Nebuchadnezzar will “acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes” and he will be returned to sanity and to his position safe in the knowledge and comfort that “Heaven rules”. Daniel then offers Nebuchadnezzar this advice before any of this happens, Verse 27, he says, “Your Majesty... Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue.” God has patience for an entire year, allowing the king every opportunity It seems, but Nebuchadnezzar still does not do this, thus...

 

The Dream Is Fulfilled (Daniel 4:28-37)

28 All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30 he said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?”

 

31 Even as the words were on his lips, a voice came from heaven, “This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you. 32 You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes.”

 

33 Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like the ox. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.

 

34 At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honoured and glorified Him who lives forever.

 

His dominion is an eternal dominion;

His kingdom endures from generation to generation.

35 All the peoples of the earth

are regarded as nothing.

He does as He pleases

with the powers of heaven

and the peoples of the earth.

No one can hold back His hand

or say to Him: “What have you done?”

 

36 At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honour and splendour were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of Heaven, because everything He does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride He is able to humble.

 

This is Nebuchadnezzar’s testimony, his salvation story.

To recap: We remember the first 3 chapters of this book; what is happening. Chapter 1, God brings His servants Daniel, Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego into the service of King Nebuchadnezzar.

 

Chapter 2, God reaches out to King Nebuchadnezzar via a dream that he can’t interpret and possibly can’t even remember. The king asks his advisors, wise men, to tell him his dream and what it means; they can’t. God then tells Daniel the dream and Daniel tells the dream and its meaning to the king. God reveals Himself to Daniel, his friends and the king. The King then realizes that God is the God Most High and orders people to serve Daniel’s God. 

 

In that first dream, as we’ve already said, Nebuchadnezzar is represented as a head of gold on a giant statue, and that is good; it represents a powerful leader and nation. In the very next chapter, chapter 3, Nebuchadnezzar sets up a giant nine story / 90 ft / 30 m tall and wide statue. It is almost like he took the gold head from his dream in Chapter 2 and made it into a whole gold statue in Chapter 3, one without the flaws of the dream. (trying to rectify the problems of the dream himself – at least symbolically)

 

He then asked all the officials to bow down to it. This would be like if the statue was this building here (and maybe had a mural of the PM on it) and the Prime Minister came to town and ordered all the government officials and all the government employees from all the branches of government to come out for the dedication of the building and then asked everyone to pay respect to the building, the statue. It would be like... If anyone here goes to sporting events... you know how before the game, we are all supposed to stand up and take our hats off and sing a song praising our country (and a foreign country if we are playing an American team). 

 

Some people then notice Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego in the crowd – that they did not do their culture’s equivalent to removing their hats and standing up; they did not bow down, and they tell the king. The king is upset at this defiance – their words seem rather defiant too! It would be even worse than if we refused to stand and take our hats off for the national anthem and then when we were asked why, answered “we only stand and take off our hats for God, not for the national anthem, not for this country, and not for you” to the PM.

 

Nebuchadnezzar was mad! ...and threw them into a fire. God –right in front of Nebuchadnezzar - miraculously saves their lives and then it seems that Nebuchadnezzar begins again to understand what God is telling him. God can save anyone AND God decides who lives and dies, not Nebuchadnezzar or anyone else.

 

Susan compared Nebuchadnezzar to Trump in that he seems to be a megalomaniac and showed us pictures of ICE and ICE protests last week. God loves Nebuchadnezzar, even though he was the President of their era, leading the USA of their era. 

 

Even more, these first four chapters remind me of the Exodus story. Do we remember why God said that he sent the plagues to Egypt? He could have just freed the Hebrews but He did it this way so that Pharoah – who did all the bad stuff that Pharoah did – and all the Egyptians might know God. In Daniel 1-4, God makes Nebuchadnezzar – who threatened to kill all his advisors and all the wise men, who threw 3 leaders into the fire, who did so much more  –  God gives him dreams that God interprets and God sends an angel to protect Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego from the flames and then God, fulfills a personal dream to the king by making Nebuchadnezzar live like an animal. God does all this so that Nebuchadnezzar may know the Lord, humble himself before Him, repent, and experience salvation.

 

So if God loves Nebuchadnezzar this much and God loves Pharoah this much and as God probably loves world leaders today this much, then how much does God love every one of us – the parables of Luke 15: the 99 sheep who did not go astray, God loves them too; the coins still in the wallet, God loves them too; and all the non-prodigal children, God loves them too. I do think of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. Maybe leaders of superpowers then, now, and always are those lost ones... Maybe we are. 

 

My encouragement to us from the message today is twofold: 1) Let us not let hate for world, our, or other leaders overtake us. God loved Pharoah and Nebuchadnezzar. God loves the world leaders today (pick your favourite villain, if not Trump then maybe Carney, Putin, Zelinsky, Netanyahu, whomever) and 2) God loves us. Just like God went out of his way to show Nebuchadnezzar the way to salvation, so too He does not wish that a single one of us – or any of our loved ones or anyone else  - will be lost; so I encourage us to keep praying for the salvation of our loved ones, our leaders, and our adversaries; and I encourage each of us to live a life worthy of repentance because God loves you just like he loves everyone – even you know who, whomever ‘you know who’ is to you  – John 3:16-18:  "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."

 

I believe this. And I believe that as chapters 1-4 of Daniel show the great extent to which God goes to secure the repentance and salvation of Nebuchadnezzar; so too God will do whatever it takes; giving each of us, and all our family members, and all our friends, and all our enemies, everything that we need so that we all, like Nebuchadnezzar, can humble ourselves, repent, and experience God’s Salvation both for now and forever.

Genesis 37:14-36; 39:1-21: Joseph's Hope Beyond the Dark.

Presented to The Salvation Army Alberni Valley Ministries, on the International Day of Prayer against Human Trafficking, 25 September 2022, by Major Michael Ramsay

 

Joseph in our text today was trafficked. His family – his brothers, ten of them, ganged up on him and through him into a pit and sold him to people passing by. The people who bought Joseph took him to a foreign country and sold him as a household servant. His family did not know what had happened to him; his dad never knew what happened to Joseph, his favourite son. Joseph was all alone.

 

Joseph was a domestic servant with no rights. When his employers was done with him he was sent off to jail.

 

Trafficking like this isn’t just a thing of the past. We have worked to try and help many different people who have been trafficked in a number of the places we have lived and worked with The Salvation Army.

 

Here in town there are a couple of businesses that are rumoured to be involved in trafficking people, domestic help, like Joseph – one is a hotel. This hotel apparently has a number of new ‘staff’ come regularly from India, stay and while and then be moved along.

 

I have just heard – not verified – as well that another business in town has a family from Vietnam living in their lunchroom. Of course, from this there are all kinds of stories of international human trafficking and hopefully when an investigation is complete that we be all they are just stories.

 

But human trafficking happens. Like I said, we have been involved in trying to help people out of this circumstance in various places we have lived across this country, and it can and may be happening right here, right now in our community.

 

It is our responsibility to be aware and if you know of anything that needs looking into let the police and/or let me know and lets follow up. That is my call to action for today.

 

Beyond my call to action, I would like to offer the hope that God offers us through the Joseph experience. Joseph was trafficked but -even in his darkest hours and days and years serving as a domestic save and as a prisoner in a foreign jail he had hope and God delivered him. I can’t imagine the horrors of what he – and many others have experienced – but God gave him hope and delivered him in and eventually from his circumstance.

 

Let us pray.

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Psalm 3: A Psalm of David

Presented to The Salvation Army Alberni Valley Ministries by Major Michael Ramsay, 14 August 2022

  

Psalm 3 is the first psalm ascribed to King David in the book of Psalms.[1] This psalm is a poem, a song which David wrote when he was in great distress. It may even have been sung to a tune at the time.[2]

David had some serious problems and they were exasperated by his relationships with his own family. At this point in his life, when this psalm was written, David has already lost some of his children. Some of their deaths and other tragedies are at least partially his fault. David owes a lot to his family – both good and bad, like all of us. God used his nephews to help put him in power and certainly to keep him there. More than one of David’s sons rebelled against him – not only as dad – but also as King.

David wrote this poem, this song, this psalm, as he was fleeing his son who desires to replace his dad as king (cf. 2 Samuel 16-19). Absalom probably feels quite justified attacking his father given their family dynamics and the way that his dad has dealt with him and his brothers and sister.[3] Absalom in his rebellion has just slept with his father’s concubines, turned some of David’s supporters and extended family against him and Absalom is in full rebellion – Absalom is his son.

David’s nephew Joab, who has had a lot of conflict with David and has done probably more than many others to protect David’s life and his throne, is leading David’s army. David is so distraught that he seems to care more about his son who is rebelling against him and his family than about the rest of his family, his loyal servants, soldiers, concubines, and others who love and serve him - or even himself. His supporters notice this and feel this pain and some act on their feelings as the king is not leading here.

It is in this context when David, some of his family, and his supporters are fleeing for their lives and he sees that many in his own family and close circle of friends and advisors are rising up against him that he writes this poem, this song, this psalm. He writes, verses 1 and 2:

 

1 Lord, how many are my foes!

How many rise up against me!

2 Many are saying of me,

“God will not deliver him.”

 

David is a leader. How many times do we read of yet another scandal in the news affecting our Prime Ministers and think, surely, this is it! Surely, he won’t be re-elected again! In Britain, the Conservatives have just risen up against their PM and he is a Conservative, a member of their own party and they are replacing him. Foes arose from within his own political family as well as from without.

David’s political foes are not just members of his own party; they are also members of his own family, and they are not looking to only replace him. They are probably looking to kill him.

None of us in this room lead any countries or political parties (as far as I know). But some of us have certainly led within the church and some of us have led other organizations. I know, as well as being one Officer in charge here and previously elsewhere, I am currently on a number of boards and committees, trying to give leadership. I know that at times in the past it has sometimes felt like everyone was against me. I know I have had times when I thought many were hoping for my downfall and I can’t imagine what it would feel like if those people were my own children. David is downcast but he does have some solace. He writes, verses 3 and 4:

 

3 But You, Lord, are a shield around me,

my glory, the One who lifts my head high.

4 I call out to the Lord,

and He answers me from His holy mountain.

 

The Lord is a shield; the word is even more than a shield in Hebrew; it is something akin to a protective forcefield. The Lord is our protection.[4] This is a key comfort. I have just written a book about Salvation.[5] I just spoke at the Summer Rain Evangelism Festival/Crusade this past weekend (though it seems like a millions years ago now). This stanza is a key element of salvation. Salvation is for the future. Salvation is for eternity but Salvation isn’t only for the future; Salvation isn’t only for eternity; Salvation is also for now. We need and can have Salvation now!

We will all go through terrible times; we will all go through hard times; we will all go through sad times; we may go through times of unimaginable peril or terror but we can always call on the Name of the Lord; we can always call out to the Lord. He will answer us. God will be with us. He will keep us. He will sustain us. Verses 5 and 6:

 

5 I lie down and sleep;

I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.

6 I will not fear though tens of thousands

assail me on every side.

 

David sounds like he has been may have even been tempted to be justifiably afraid here – certainly overwhelmed and sad. He is at the end of his own emotional resources. The security he thought he was surrounded by through family, friends, work, leadership, kingship and kinship has crumbled. He reaches out to the Lord and he realizes that he need not be afraid. He is not afraid. God is in charge. God is in charge through everything. God is even in charge of whether or not David will even wake up from one morning to the next. The Lord loves him; the Lord sustains him.

The Lord loves us; the Lord sustains us. It is the Lord who allows us to open our eyes every morning; it is the Lord who gives us the strength to carry on. It is the Lord who – no matter what else happens, no matter what goes sideways in life, no matter what collapses, no matter who may betray us, no matter what we mess up, no matter what may collapse beneath us, it is the Lord who will never leave us or forsake us.[6] And so we can pray in confidence, like Dave, Verses 7 and 8:

 

7 Arise, Lord! Deliver me, my God!

Strike all my enemies on the jaw;

break the teeth of the wicked.[7]

8 From the Lord comes deliverance.

May your blessing be on your people.

 

The Lord did deliver David. It was not, however, all roses and happy songs. He did lose his son; he seem to have finally broken with his nephew; he almost lost his crown; he was completely humbled. It was a sad, sad time. Even his coming through it does not turn it into a personal celebration; it was sad. But he did come through it. The Lord delivered him. The Lord continued to bless him in the midst of his distress.

This is the reality of our lives: sometimes we have tough times; sometimes we have times so tough that it does not seem that we can even get through them. Sometimes life is unbearably sad, sometimes life is hard, sometimes life is… life.

But this is Salvation. God will be with us in the midst of our darkest hour. God will be with us in our saddest time. God will be with us when we feel most alone. He can and He will deliver us both for today and for forever.

If anyone here does not know God, if anyone here would like to turn to Him so He can help with whatever and everything that is going on in your life, just let me or Susan or any soldier here know and we will be happy to introduce you to God and He will help you; He will never leave you nor forsake you for even and especially when we are most humbled, His blessings will be poured out upon us, His people.

 

Let us pray.

 

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[1] Willem A. VanGemeren, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Psalms/Exposition of Psalms/BOOK I: Psalms 1-41/Psalm 3: Quietness Amid Troubles, Book Version: 4.0.2

[2] Peter C. Craigie, 'Psalms 1-50', 2nd ed. (WBC 19: Word Books: Dallas, Texas, 2004), 72.

[3] Cf. Captain Michael Ramsay, 2 Samuel 13-18: Taking Matters in His Own Hands: the Story of Prince Absalom. Presented to Nipawin and Tisdale Corps November 18, 2007 and 614 Warehouse Toronto 230 pm service, Aug 20, 2017. Available on-line: https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2007/11/2-samuel-13-18-taking-matters-in-his.html

[4] Cf. Charles H. Spurgeon, ‘The Treasury of David Vol. 1: Psalms 1-57’, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, pages 24.

[5] Michael Ramsay, Salvogesis Guidebook to Romans Road, Vancouver Island, BC: The Salvation Army, 2022.

[6] Cf. Charles H. Spurgeon, ‘The Treasury of David Vol. 1: Psalms 1-57’, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, page 29

[7] Peter C. Craigie, 'Psalms 1-50', 2nd ed. (WBC 19: Word Books: Dallas, Texas, 2004),75.: this may not be as violent a phrase as it sounds like, it may merely mean that the wicked words are silenced

Ecclesiastes 9:11, Matthew 5:45, Romans 8:28, John 10:10b, John 16:33: Reflections upon Driving to Camp

 Presented to The Salvation Army Alberni Valley Ministries by Major Michael Ramsay

 

The children went to and from camp this week. In the end I think we had 22 or 23, 7- to 12-year-old campers accompanied for their journey anyway by a number of chaperones. It was interesting. There were the usual challenges, of course, of some people not being able to make it at the last minute and people’s phones no longer being in service – but this time there was more, much more.

 

First, the bus caught fire. Truly. It was a real blessing that none of the kids were on it yet. We had to scramble to find enough cars and drivers to get the children to the ferry and we even had to press Remi (our Food Bank driver) into action, driving the cube van with everyone’s luggage in it. And remember that the camp is in Gibson’s so the children have to catch 2 ferries to get there; so we are under a bit of a time crunch. We race to Nanaimo (as fest as the speed limits will permit, of course). Almost everyone had made it to the ferry but one car was just not coming. We were waiting. We were wondering. We were waiting.

 

Mayor Sharie Minions was driving (she was one of the chaperones that came with us all the way on both Monday and Friday and we are so thankful for her and all our drivers). It appears that the adventures for the morning weren’t over for her yet. As she was driving over the hump, a car came towards her careening out of control. It spun right towards her, in her lane, at high speeds; she recalled that she has no idea how she missed it: self-aware car features, reflexes? The grace of God intervened for sure. The car just missed her and her carload of kids and crashed into a guardrail on the oncoming side of the road. She stopped, called 9-11 (which is always an adventure in and of itself; it really is not a useful feature being that it is never staffed by local people – but that is another story); she called the children’s parents to let them know that their kids were okay and make sure that people were still good to go to camp and then she did make it to the ferry just in time for us to buy our tickets.

 

There was one more breath-holding moment at the ticket booth because earlier in the week reservations weren’t working and we usually try to make reservations for groups this large and also earlier in the week my corporate visa wasn’t working so we had to get The Salvation Army to sort that out – I wouldn’t want to have to try and buy that many tickets any other way. It all worked out and we got our kids to camp. Now this isn’t the end of the story though – there was the ride back…

 

The day we went to get them was Friday. You remember what happened all across Canada on this past Friday? Rogers’ network was down so no interact and no visa in many places. As I was driving to the ferry, I was wondering indeed how and if we would be able to get all of these kids home again – it is a bit of money for all these folks on the ferry (especially since the 12-year-olds pay full fare!). We get there and none of our drivers/chaperones who are parking their cars to get on the ferry to meet the kids can get the parking permit machine to work. They tried Visa, Interact, even cash. At this point we are more than a little concerned. I go up to the counter to buy our ferry passes and… apparently Visa worked just fine with the ferries – just not interact, so that was a big relief!

 

But there was more – this time not our adventure but the Victoria group. We bought our tickets to come back to the Island as soon as we could. The moment the ticket sales opened for our sailing and we had all our kids present and accounted for, we lined up to purchase our tickets and then we took the kids down to the beach to wait (for I don’t know? ¾ hour or so?) with all of the other Salvation Army groups returning to the Island – Courtney-Comox, Parksville, Campbell River, Nanaimo, all the Victoria corps…

 

When the time came, we boarded the ferry and headed for home. When we were on the ferry I saw Pat Humble. He has been in charge of family services for all of the Victoria corps for years. I’ve known Pat pretty much since the day Susan and I first went to a Salvation Army many years ago. He told me his story of camp. He made it on the ferry back to the Island - but none of the kids from the Victoria corps did. The kids were still on the mainland – but he was on the ferry back to the Island. He is a very nice guy and not very easy to fluster at all! But he was less than impressed with the 5 chaperones who were with the children, who were supposed to get them on this ferry. You see Victoria brought a van on the ferry with all the children’s supplies: Pat was driving this which is why he was on the ferry. Not one of the chaperones apparently thought to buy the tickets for the kids until the ferry was just about to leave and by then it was too late so they remained stranded on the mainland for another hour or two and now Pat was desperately trying to get a hold of the bus line that they had hired to drive all the Victoria kids back home again, and their parents, and, and, and…

 

Camp can be fun – who knew getting there and back would be quite the adventure? (The kids did all seem to have a really good time though!) In the midst of all this I am sure there was no shortage of prayer. A couple of competing thought kept coming to my mind through this experience that I will sum up with these verses, though there are many similar verses from each perspective.

·       Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

·       John 10:10b: … I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

And

·       Matthew 5:45: He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous

·       Ecclesiastes 9:11: I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favour to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.

·       John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

 

In some denominations there are always those who believe that only pleasant, nice, prosperous events happen to those who love the Lord. The rest of us however grasp the fact that the race is not to the strong, time and circumstance happen to us all, and that life’s battles belong to the Lord. However, in the midst of trying times – even times much more trying than getting kids to and from camp – we can be tempted as was Job to complain and blame. There have certainly been stressful times in my life – again much more stressful than these stories – where I have looked in front of or above me and called out loudly to the Lord in anguish not knowing where or why or anything except frustration. That all being said the sometimes seemingly competing ideas of Romans 8 and Matthew 5 competed briefly in my mind this week

·       Matthew 5:45 He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous

And

·       Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

 

To what is Romans 8 referring? This could be a long conversation… Romans 8 really is bound to Romans 7. These two chapters have a lot to say about the Christian life and holiness and everything else. One of the things to which Romans 8:28 is referring is the idea that we have quoted many times from Major Ivany that in the end everything will be alright; so (take heart because) if it isn’t alright it isn’t the end. Romans 8 does spend a lot of time talking about the eternal spirit within us that is seemingly struggling with the mortal body around us and does offer up the hope that one day our perishable body will be (as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:53) clothed in immortality.

 

Some of the challenges with just putting this all in a future tense though could come from what we saw in the aftermath of the US civil war. A very strong racism, segregation, discrimination, oppression was forced upon a whole people, a whole culture. The struggle certainly hasn’t ended yet. In the midst of everything there were some great, solid people of faith who have led and continue to lead down there. I am really impressed with how God used MLK jr and others in their time and circumstance. Some other faithful folks from an even earlier time penned the many great ‘spirituals’ that have a solid Christian message that sometimes, however, may seem to put too much of our hope or even all our hope on the other side of the metaphorical River Jordan, in the future Heaven, not leaving room for hope in the present. This thought can be summed up in an expression that was common when I was quite a bit younger, “Life’s a b…, life’s hard and then you die”. I think life is much more than that. I believe that Christ called us to live life abundantly.

 

But what does it mean to live life abundantly? Does it mean that everything is always going to come up roses? Does it mean that everything is always going to be easy? What does it mean that all things work for good for those who love the Lord? Does it mean that there are no difficult times for those who love the Lord? The scriptures are quite clear that for those who love the Lord, in this life there will be struggles: many of Jesus’ early followers spent many years in prison followed by violent deaths. We have all seen in our lives that time and circumstance happen to all (as Proverbs and Ecclesiastes drive home). So what does it mean to live life abundantly?

 

My mind goes to John 16:33: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” And my mind goes to reconciliation. And my mind goes to forgiveness. I think that this is the means by which Christ’s freedom is lived out in our lives.

 

I have done a lot of work in the prisons and the courts in my life and ministry. One absolute travesty (of many) in our criminal justice system is the victim impact statement. There is not much more vicious a society could do to a victim than we do by compelling them to make a victim impact statement years after they have been victimized. The victim is told to hold onto and even grow (or conjure up) the hate they have for the person who committed the crime. They are told not to forgive. They are told to ask for the strong punishment for the person who wronged them. They are told to hold onto this hate and unforgiveness for years and then – no matter how harsh a sentence is meted out on the other person, they always feel that if they hated them a little more than they may have ‘gotten what they deserve’. This victim impact statement process re-victimizes the victim. They are compelled to hang onto hate and unforgiveness for years, when we know that the sooner we can get over a traumatic event, the better our success rate in doing so. It is vicious to the victims. In many cases our system forces the victims to be trapped in their trauma forever when healing could have been available right away. I have seen this play out time and time again.

 

The Christian response to evil is the opposite to this. God wants us to be free of hate – for hate destroys us. It is all-consuming. Unforgiveness can ruin our whole lives. It can make us unable to work, it can make us unable to have relationships, it can drive us to addiction. Sometime people even suffer physical symptoms to go along with the emotional and spiritual symptoms of unforgiveness. The devil can use unforgiveness to destroy our whole live.

 

I truly believe that contrary to this, the message of the Gospel, the Good News of Christ is that of reconciliation with one another and with God and I truly believe that the only way we can be reconciled with anyone is to forgive them. The only way we can have peace with others – or even ourselves – in when we are able to forgive (cf. Matthew 5:43-47).

 

When we forgive we can love and when we love we will indeed have life abundantly. I am sure we have all seen people who seem to have had every advantage in life but are absolutely miserable and I know that -especially in our Salvation Army context- we have seen many people who seem to have nothing at all and many people who seem to have had nothing go right for them at all but have been experiencing perfect freedom in Christ; I am convinced that this freedom in Christ comes from our reconciliation with God, our fellow person and that this all comes out of forgiveness which we can all dispense as God has already given it to us (to dispense); so that He can love even us, even me and we can love each other so we will love Him.

 

Jesus says, John 10: 10: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

John 16: 33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

 

Let us pray…

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