Fire in our hearts - The Jesus Army

FIRE IN OUR HEARTSAWAKE O ZION!unearthing precious truths and when we saw something inGod, we went for it.We saw simplicity, too, as one of the ‘treasures of the kingdom’.Jesus lived simply and possessed little. We wanted tofollow him along this path, and agreed to spend as little aspossible. We began to cut down on our wardrobes and eatmore simply. Fashions were passed by, and we made moreuse of our second-hand clothing store. We made our cars lastlonger and cut each other’s hair. We saw so much wastageand fussiness around — leaving food on the plate and so on.These were all areas for embracing discipleship.Chinese take-aways and fizzy apple drinks breathed theirlast. We cut out costly spreads like honey and peanut butter(for a while), stopped drinking coffee and gave up sugar indrinks (guests excepted). The chapel tuck shop substitutednuts and raisins for sticky chocolate bars, but soon disappearedaltogether!Expensive and gimmicky toys gave way to creative, constructionalthings. We realised the danger of being ‘lovers ofpleasure rather than lovers of God’ (2 Tim 3:4), and determinedthat the ego-boosting competition of sport, as well asthe indulgence of worldly entertainments, were not for us.The common purse had been a watershed and paved theway for deeper unity in the Spirit. Many found they could gothe whole week without money. It seemed strange at first,but was a blessed release. In little things we realised the gripof self and in little things we proved our love for Jesus.My parents often visited us at the Hall: ‘Well, you’re boundto love one another now, if you share everything,’ my dadremarked. He was right. We were dependent on one another.143