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The War Cry | JANUARY 2016
I
t was not the best of times for Israel. King Uzziah had died.
At the same time, the nation's eyes were focused on the
Assyrian king advancing quickly southward, gobbling up one
city after another. Jerusalem was panicking before the
bloodthirsty Assyrians. Who would protect them?
But instead of having His people be fearful, God called
Israel to instead be holy (Isaiah 6). They were not to live in a
state of perpetual sin but one of holiness.
God's call was not just for that specifi c time, or nation, or people, but for all
time, all nations, and all people. It applies to all of us today.
There is a tendency for us to be overfamiliar and patronizing toward God.
God is our friend. We sing hymns extolling that friendship. However, we come to
God in worship and in awe of who He is. If we have been with God, we will bear
His holy mark and people will observe His mark upon our lives. They will see His
purity, compassion, joy, reverence, justice and love stamped on us.
Too often we think holiness is dressed in long, fl owing robes and left to the
pious saints of the past. Sometimes we think of powerful communicating
preachers, gray-haired grandmas or dedicated missionaries. The truth is that
God has called all of us into a lifestyle of holiness.
MESSAGE FROM THE NATIONAL COMMANDER
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
W
ILLIAM
B
OOTH
FOUNDER
A
NDR�
C
OX
GENERAL
D
AVID
J
EFFREY
NATIONAL COMMANDER
The Salvation Army Territorial Commanders
P
AUL
R. S
EILER
Central Territorial Commander
B
ARRY
S
WANSON
Eastern Territorial Commander
D
ONALD
B
ELL
Southern Territorial Commander
J
AMES
M. K
NAGGS
Western Territorial Commander
The Salvation Army National Publications Department
Allen Satterlee
Editor�in�Chief
Frank Duracher
Assistant Editor-in-Chief
Jeffrey McDonald
Editorial Director
Roger O. Selvage Jr. Art Director
Gloria A. Hull
Design & Production Editor
Ashley C. Schena
Graphic Designer
Andrea K. Ricker
Graphic Designer
Cynthia A. Edelen
Publications Marketing Manager
Charles Piercey
Electronic Communications Co ordinator
Erin Thibeau
Editorial Assistant
Esther M. Satterlee Circulation Man ager
Elizabeth Duracher Publications Outreach Officer
Melissa Hollinger
Administrative Specialist
Member of the Evangelical Press Association.
Now in its 135th year, the
"War Cry" prints
on average 180,000 copies monthly, 1,700,000
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O U R M I S S I O N
The Salvation Army, an international
movement, 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.
National Publication of
T H E S A L V A T I O N A R M Y
JANUARY 2O16
Volume 136 | Number 1
The War Cry (ISSN 1550�5286) is published 12 times a year
at 615 Slaters Lane, P.O. Box 269, Alexandria, VA 22313.
Single copies $1.50. Subscriptions $12 a year USA, $12.50
Canada, $13.50 overseas (U.S. currency). Periodical postage
paid at Alexandria, VA 22314 and additional mailing offices.
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�2016 The Salvation Army
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken
from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright �1996,
2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by
permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream,
Illinois 60188, USA. All rights reserved.
I
f I went to a restaurant and found a speck of food on my
spoon, I would take little consolation in knowing that 98
percent of the cutlery was clean. It's hard to ignore that dirty
spot. And if I looked in my water glass and noticed a piece of
something fl oating, I doubt I would want to drink it, in spite of
assurances that almost all the water was pure. If I would refuse
to eat off a dirty spoon or drink tainted water, why would I
think that God would be less demanding of purity in me?
The prevailing view in our culture is that purity, especially sexual purity, is
laughable, and that holiness is not only impossible but undesirable. Meanwhile,
there is a scramble for organic fruits and vegetables to screen out chemicals that
might be harmful to the body. Why not the same diligence to have a pure heart?
Part of the problem is that in thinking of holiness we confuse being blameless
with being faultless. If someone claims to have been sanctifi ed, made holy in
Christ, we expect that their every action, every emotion, every thought be so
sanitized as to make that person into some boring, bland nebbish someone,
faultless but hardly attractive. Because we are human we are never faultless.
Holy people are not prettier or smarter, but they are blameless; that is to say,
because they love the Lord with all their hearts, souls and strength their full
intention is to glorify God in all that they are and do. Contrary to the notion they
are weak and boring, they are bold in their witness, standing fi rmly against what
is wrong and moving swiftly to protect the weak. In the present culture, to live a
holy life is to live a life that many fi nd offensive. But we answer to God. Let the
chips fall where they will.
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