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The War Cry | NOVEMBER, 2012
The War Cry (ISSN 1550�5286) is published 14 times a year at
615 Slaters Lane, P.O. Box 269, Alexandria, VA 22313.
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�The Salvation Army 2012.
Member � Evangelical Press Association
132ND YEAR
WITH ISSUE AVERAGE OVER 288,000 COPIES.
www.thewarcry.com
William Booth
FOUNDER
Linda Bond
GENERAL
William Roberts
NATIONAL COMMANDER
Paul R. Seiler
Central Territory Commander
Israel L. Gaither
Eastern Territory Commander
David Jeffrey
Southern Territory Commander
James M. Knaggs
Western Territory Commander
Allen Satterlee
Editor�In�Chief
Amy Reard
on
Assistant Editor-in-Chief
Jeffrey S. McDonald
Managing Editor
Henry Cao
Graphics Designer
Cynthia A. Edelen
Production Supervisor
Gloria A. Hull
Production Co ordinator
Judith L. Brown
Editorial Assistant
Esther M. Satterlee
Circulation Man ager
Sandy Dossey
Publications Officer
Rob Reardon
Publications Officer
National Publication of
T H E S A L V A T I O N A R M Y
NOVEMBER, 2012
Volume 132 | Number 21
Contact the Salvation Army National
Publications Department by email at:
O U R M I S S I O N
The Salvation Army, an international move-
ment, is an evangelical part of the universal
Christian church. Its message is based on the
Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of
God. Its mission is to preach the gospel of
Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His
name without discrimination.
A good text for Thanksgiving is found in Isaiah
51:1: "Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness
and who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from
which you were cut and to the quarry from which
you were hewn."
And a good thought for Thanksgiving is to
consider not only from where we have come, but what life would be
like without the presence and help of the Lord.
The essence of Thanksgiving is to recognize that who we are,
what we have, what we have become, are not so much on account of
our own devices and efforts, our own plans and merit, but because of
who God is and what He has done. Our lives are wonderful
expressions and demonstrations of His grace.
George Herbert, the 17th century English mystic, prayed this way:
Thou that has given so much to me
Give one thing more--a grateful heart
Not thankful when it pleases me,
As if Thy blessings had spare days,
But such a heart whose pulse may be Thy praise
During this season of Thanksgiving, we give thanks to God for
the rock from which we have come; even more we give thanks to
God for what He is making us to become, and what we will one day
be, through Christ Jesus. And so we pray, "Thanks be to God for His
indescribable gift!" (2 Cor 9:15)
A NOTE FROM COMMISSIONER WILLIAM ROBERTS
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Printed on recycled paper produced by
industry leader that has achieved carbon
neutral status. www.futuremarkpaper.com
The bright, happy picture of the first Thanksgiving
stands in sharp contrast to the dark shadows of
starvation and destitution only a few months
earlier. Motivated to breathe the invigorating air of
freedom, the Pilgrims left England with the highest
hopes and the sincerest motives. In purity and
righteousness a new settlement was to be raised without fear of
religious persecution or loss of identity. But the settlers were ill prepared
for the cruel, unforgiving winter that proved that high ideals are not
enough. Failure to fully count the cost led to starvation, disease and
death. The survivors were spectral images of those who had stepped
out triumphantly from the Mayflower to the Massachusetts shore.
Though the Pilgrims considered them savages, it was the Native
American Wampanoag tribe that showed compassion which led to
action, resulting in an abundant harvest. It was this harvest celebration
that the Puritans used to not only enjoy the bounty from the forest
and fields but to thank God for delivering them. Another winter like
the previous one would have left Plymouth a ghost town. Instead, it
prospered.
After they were first humbled by the cruel winter season and
further humbled by accepting help from a people that they previously
thought were their inferiors, they paused to thank God. Such humility
is the proper prerequisite to thanksgiving. No one owes us anything.
God's grace is a gift, not a right.
As you celebrate Thanksgiving, recall that you do not sit at your
table without a thousand hands preparing the way. Thank God for the
seen and the unseen, the mercies known dwarfed by the many others
hidden from sight.
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