Tag: Salvation Army

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The World Needs You

[As a Salvation Army in Central Ohio board member, I once again have had the honor of writing a letter to be distributed at this year’s Christmas Cheer program. Through this annual event, over 6,000 Central Ohio families will receive groceries and toys to celebrate the Season. Merry Christmas! ]

What a year this has been! For many of us, 2022 has marked at least the beginning of a return to normal from a global pandemic. We are socializing more and distancing less, commuting more and telecommuting less, and smiles radiate again, reemerging from behind the confines of our masks. Freedom feels good together, for among the many things we will ultimately learn from the recent worldwide health crisis, one in particular stands out: people need people—we are made to engage with each other in meaningful and supportive ways.

For well over 100 years, the mission of The Salvation Army (TSA) has been “to preach the gospel [good news] of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.” Under TSA’s banner, people serve people every day through food pantries, housing assistance, learning centers, anti-human-trafficking measures, Bible studies and church services. God cares about every facet of our being—body, mind, and spirit—and He ministers through His people to others every day.

Yet The Salvation Army is just one organizational means through which God blesses His people whom He loves. The fact of the matter is, no one person or organization can even come close to meeting every human need in the world. Then again, no single individual or group has to, for that is not how God works. Rather, God works through His people everywhere, for each of us has our own relationships and our own gifts, and we are uniquely suited to serve God by blessing others wherever and however He calls us to serve them. Every believer can thrive in the knowledge that God “created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”1

Sometimes we receive, and sometimes we give. Sometimes we are served, and sometimes we serve. So, be the gift you are designed to be. The world needs you.

Merry Christmas, everyone! Rejoice! Christ has come.

Written by Paul Nordman
Advisory board member of The Salvation Army, Columbus Area Services and author of two books—Christ in Me and Working in Us What Is Pleasing to Him

1 Ephesians 2:10 NLT

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Christmas Still Shines

[As a Salvation Army advisory board member, I was asked to write the message to be included with the food and toys distributed to central Ohio families through this year’s Christmas Cheer program. I post it here for you. Merry Christmas, everyone!]

Do you remember those “2020 glasses” people wore as we rang in the new year almost twelve months ago? They were great party props, of course, but even if they had come with lenses, we still could not have envisioned the year that awaited us. A global pandemic with its spreading emotions, appalling injustices and a united outcry against them, and partisan politics to disturbing extremes even as our hearts yearn for goodness and peace—we have never experienced anything quite like 2020, have we? The year is mostly in hindsight now, and it will linger long in our memories. Yet it is not over—Christmas has come.

Christmas is certainty in uncertain times. At Christmas we remember God’s faithfulness: in sending Jesus, His Son, God kept His promise to be with us for a time and for a purpose. At Christmas we consider God’s compassion: in Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice for our sins, He became hope for a hurting humanity who had no hope. At Christmas we rejoice in God’s love: all of us who place our faith and hope in Christ Jesus are welcomed as children of God. At Christmas we celebrate new life—the Spirit of God is born in us as we believe in the Son of God born to us so many Christmases ago. Christmas has come, and Christmas still shines.

Then let us welcome Christmas into our hearts, and let it be for us what Christmas can be for us. Let this be a time to pause and reflect on our promise-keeping God and His life-giving Son. May this be a time of drawing near to God through our honest prayers and His powerful Word, that we would find deep, refreshing rest for our soul. Let this Christmas be a time of forgiving others with the same restoring forgiveness we have received from God. May this be a time of teaching our children about the grace, truth and eternal life we find in Jesus. And may we set our sights not so much on what the world brings to us along the way, but on bringing to a longing world the hope that is found in Christ—certainty in uncertain times. For Christmas has come. Christmas still shines. Christmas always will.

Merry Christmas to you today and every day of the year.

Written by Paul Nordman
Advisory board member of The Salvation Army Columbus Area Services and author of two books—Christ in Me and Working in Us What Is Pleasing to Him

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Freely Giving What We Cannot Buy

The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring good news that will cause great joy for all people. Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” Luke 2:10, 11 (NIV)

What was it again that the angels brought to the shepherds that first Christmas Eve? New sandals? New staffs? New robes? No, they brought none of these, not even a t-shirt to commemorate the occasion. To the shepherds, the angels unveiled something of far greater value than anything money could buy—the Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord, the One promised through the ages and now with us for eternity.

Two thousand years later, we still celebrate Christmas by giving and receiving gifts. It can be a season of surprise and joy, and it can just as easily be a time of disappointment, such as when we can’t afford to buy what we want to give or when our gift goes unappreciated. But have you ever noticed that the best gifts we ever receive are the intangible ones that touch us inside? They show up as acts of kindness and expressions of goodness, and they often come when we most need them and least expect them. It’s the genuine smile igniting in our heart the warm glow that spreads, in turn, across our own face. It’s the beautiful tone of the encouraging word that sets our soul to song. It may be the unexpected deed of a stranger or the dependable help of a neighbor that restores our depleted supply of hope. Like the announcement of the angels, these acts of love cannot be bought, but only given; they are free, yet also priceless.

There is something curious, yet consistent, about these intangible gifts of the soul: we cannot contain them; they overflow from the inside out, and we eagerly give them away almost as quickly as we receive them. Isn’t it true, for instance, that we love others most freely when someone has done something loving for us? Don’t we give most generously after someone else has first selflessly given to us? Aren’t we most inclined to offer encouragement when we’ve been uplifted by the affirming words of another? And when are we ever more forgiving than when someone has forgiven us for our own mistakes?

This is the gift of Christmas. Jesus, the Son of God, came to take upon Himself the punishment for all our sins; He loves us that much. God calls us to draw near to Him and to live life in His presence with confidence and joy; He forgives us that much. When we trust in His forgiveness of us—and in His love for us—we are free to flourish in life, free of guilt, free of shame, free of fear; we are encouraged. And as we experience in ourselves the love, forgiveness, and confidence we receive from God, it is then that we freely give these same priceless gifts to others who journey this life with us and all around us. There is nothing people need more than these, and it costs us nothing to give them.

This Christmas, enjoy the meal, and enjoy the gifts, including the most valuable ones—the ones we cannot see, yet treasure the most.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Christ in me is freedom.