By Glen Doss, Major

I hit rock bottom when three dope dealers beat me at gunpoint,” recalls Dy-Ann. “Stability in my life began the day I found Christ.”

“Drugs stole my life from me, leading to 10 rehabs, state hospitals, and jail,” says David. “After I accepted Christ as my Savior, worries and burdens lifted, and I found inner peace….Today I am a responsible, productive member of society.”

David’s and Dy-Ann’s stories—and others like them—make up the little volume Every Sober Day is a Miracle, an inspiring book. Within it, editor John Cheydleur (with Ed Forster) gives voice to some of the thousands who pass through The Salvation Army’s 125 Adult Rehabilitation Centers (ARCs), the nation’s largest residential rehabilitation program. Men and women enter broken, but exit exalting Christ as their Lord and Savior.

The volume, published by Crest Books and available on Amazon, can serve as a powerful aid to recovery for anyone seeking freedom from enslavement to drugs and alcohol. It will give others a chilling, yet encouraging, glimpse into the minds of those who check into the various ARC programs.

Following lonely souls along “the low road of addiction,” whether “beginning at the bottom” or “starting at the top,” Cheydleur and Forster show us what their victorious journeys are like.

Ronald spent most of his childhood in a reformatory, then as an adult served 15 years behind bars for armed robbery. However, after checking into the ARC, he says, “My life began when I submitted my will and began to live by his will.”

The authors designed the book as a devotional tool. Each of the 99 segments contains a brief, true account of one person’s journey. Every story is followed by a powerful, biblically-based meditation and prayer. Cheydleur and Forster recommend the following approach: Each day read one story, then the meditation and prayer that follow. On the 100th day, write down your own personal story; review your favorite Bible verses; then write out a prayer to go along with your story. When you have completed the book, you will have completed 100 days of sobriety, one story at a time, one day at a time. Praise God!

~INVITATION~
Saturday, September 10, 4:30 p.m. (PST)
The Initial “Beginning” Launch of SAVN.tv

Soldiers and Friends of the Western Territory:

Not only are the above Internet TV call letters an acronym for Salvation Army Vision Network; they are also a contraction of the word, “SALVATION.” SAVN.TV is a Salvation Army Internet Mission Station where salvation can be proclaimed and found.

Jesus first cast the vision for this Mission Station in his proclamation of the Great Commission: Go into all the world and preach the good news (of salvation) to all creation (Mark 16:15). William Booth, co-founder of The Salvation Army, carried this vision into the 20th Century with his proclamation: “We are a salvation people. This is our specialty – getting saved, keeping saved, and getting other people saved.” A century later General John Gowans (Ret.) framed the vision this way: Saving Souls, Growing Saints, and Serving Suffering Humanity.

My vision for the 21st Century forward is this: The Internet and Cyberspace is our contemporary, virtual street corner “into all the world” and “getting people saved” – Cyberspace for Christ!

Orders & Regulations for Salvation Army Officers captures the Founder’s vision this way: “…he will not only make use of the Army’s time-honored methods of evangelism, adapting them in the most effective way possible to the needs of the hour, but he will courageously experiment with new ways of making Jesus known as Savior of men. In other words, he will be willing to be dedicated to failure. In the divine economy this could be the way to God-glorifying success.”

So ordered, we will be launching the first experimental phase of savn.tv during the Welcome of Cadets Weekend, Sept. 10-11, 2011. It is the “beginning phase,” and will expand as “the spirit quickeneth – gives (it) life” (John 6:63).

Please accept this as a personal invitation to attend this first phase launch on www.savn.tv beginning with a Red, Yellow, Blue Carpet Event, live-streamed from the Pasadena Ambassador Auditorium at 4:30 p.m. (PST), featuring cadets from the Proclaimers of the Resurrection Session. And I will be there to greet you personally. The Welcome of Cadets Meeting will also to be live-streamed following at 6 p.m. (PST).

There you will also find a beginning menu of “On Demand” programs to be viewed, along with a list of “Coming Attractions,” including a live-streamed 9/11 Service of Remembrance at the Long Beach Temple Corps on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2 p.m. (PST), featuring Salvation Army leaders who led the army’s work at ground zero. Please feel free to include the above in your Sunday announcements.

Again, we will launch with a small offering of programs and grow as “the spirit quickeneth – gives (it) life.” Come grow (the Kingdom) with us!

See you on the web

Sincerely,
Jim
James M. Knaggs, Commissioner
TERRITORIAL COMMANDER

Ralph Story’s Los Angeles

Ralph Story was a television broadcaster for the local CBS affiliate in Los Angeles. His local series, “Ralph Story’s Los Angeles” is a well-remembered in television history. In this 15-minute episode, Story discusses the history and relevance of Salvation Army bands in the LA area. In the footage, do you recognize any of the classic LA locations where the bands are playing.

See more Salvation Army multimedia, including ideas and resources, at sadropbox.com.