THE ABCs of
Visit us online at www.thewarcry.com. Visit www.salvationarmyusa.org or call 1�800�SAL�ARMY
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Admit Your Need
"For all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God"
(Romans 3:23)
Believe in Christ
"Believe in the Lord Jesus,
and you will be saved"
(Acts 16:31)
Commit Yourself to Christ
"Yet to all who received Him ... He gave
the right to become children of God"
(John 1:12)
Being truly sorry for your sins, and through the
power of Christ forsaking them, go for ward to live
for Christ. He will give forgiveness, power, victory,
purpose, the Holy Spirit and life eternal.
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To: EDITOR IN CHIEF
SALVATION ARMY NATIONAL PUBLICATIONS
615 Slaters Lane, Alexandria, VA 22314
As a reader of The War Cry, I am interested in the following:
Your prayers
Follow�up counseling by a Salvationist
Bible study suggestions
Receiving The War Cry regularly
Information on how to become a Salvationist
Address of the nearest Salvation Army corps
Information on how to receive Christ as my Savior
I received Christ as Savior by reading the War Cry
Please Print:
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MARCH 2015
In Focus
...... ......
W
ith a sinking heart and tears in her eyes,
a woman descended to the morgue on the
bottom floor of the hospital to identify her
deceased mother. Just two hours before, her mother had
been very much alive. The news story on the subject
describes how the woman and morgue attendant opened
the cooler vault and were astonished to find that the
body was moving. Panicked, the attendant ran for help.
Apparently, the doctor had mistakenly declared the
woman dead, as her vital signs were undetected by the
equipment that measures such indicators as heartbeat
and brain activity.
How frightening it must have been for this woman to
wake up "dead!"
I asked myself hard questions as I read this news story.
How often do I walk around without even a glimmer of
life, without a spark of God's Spirit in me? How are my
spiritual vital signs? Are they always detectible? When
I'm having a bad day, do I resemble Christ in my living
and in my attitude to others, or do I become spiritually
dead as a consequence of my own choices and actions?
The band Switchfoot puts it like this: "No I'm not al-
right / I know that I'm not right / A steering wheel don't
mean you can drive, / A warm body don't mean I'm alive /
I want to thrive not just survive."
There are days when I know that I'm not alright, days
when I'm like that woman who was declared dead but
still had a very dim pulse. Ephesians 5:14 commands,
"Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will
give you light." When we face times when we're barely
alive spiritually, we have to recognize what Christ has
done for us and, whatever the situation, be truly alive
and kicking! Colossians 2:13 says, "You were dead be-
cause of your sins and because your sinful nature was
not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ,
for He forgave all our sins."
God has made us alive and kicking by breathing into
us new life through Jesus Christ our Lord. We should
live our lives out loud and thrive while doing so.
Are you alive and kicking today?
Captain Scott Strissel is corps officer for The Salvation
Army in Brainerd, Minnesota.
ALIVE AND KICKING?
by
CAPTAIN SCOTT STRISSEL