A charge to keep I have! So many of us have said it more than once with hand raised in solemn worship, and so we should. It is what makes us Salvationists. We believe that our great unfathomable creator God stoops to engage his creation in a covenant relationship.

Could it be that many cannot get the inspiration they want out of their religion because they will not deal with God in a serious covenant relationship? Charles Wesley wrote that great song—A Charge I Have to Keep—as a result of reading Matthew Henry's commentary on Leviticus 8:35. The Hebrew priests were commanded to be faithful in their tabernacle duties." Keep the charge of the Lord so you will not die,” said Moses. And our own great Commissioner Ed Read used to say that revival often tarries because of our broken covenants.

The danger in any ritual is that it might become just that, a ritual. Our God is loving, but just. He will only deal with us in a context of truth and only asks from us what we can deliver. God in Christ has done his part. He waits for our response.

Major Bill Kean is the corps officer in beautiful Triton, NL. His weekly coffee doodles complement his passion for preaching and teaching.