Ammunition or Biscuits

In 1824 Britain was at war with the Ashanti(part of the present day Ghana). Charles Brandon would be remembered for his service in this war – or maybe I should say “in-service”. Charles Brandon served as the ‘Stores Manager’ in charge of what the army needed to survive and move forward.

Surrounded by 10,000 warriors and running low on ammunition, the British redcoats ordered Brandon to break open the reserve ammunition he had brought from the coast. As the Ashanti forces closed in, Brandon unscrewed the ammunition boxes, only to find that they were full of biscuits instead. He had brought the wrong supplies.

The account that I read did not give the final outcome of the battle that was fought – but imagination tells me that it was likely not very good.

This account is recorded in a book that I bought at Chapters the other day. The book’s title says it all, “Dumbology”. In the book the author gives the definition of Dumbology as, “The science of stupidity and of stupid people, including their function, origin, evolution and distribution, including gaffology and bloopology – and all their subdivisions.”

Account after account is given in the book of people, like Charles Brandon, that were not ready or had made some very poor choices resulting in disaster for themselves and those around them.

If we are honest with ourselves (and maybe others) we can all tell a funny story about something we did that we are not proud of (or wish/hope that our spouse won’t tell on us at the next social function). We all have skeletons in our closets. Some are funny Skeletons and others are tragic. Each skeleton potentially has a deep affect on our lives.

There are times that each of us had biscuits rather than ammunition – because of really dumb decisions.

How is your bone collection today? How are you dealing with it? Has God shown you how it can happen under his guidance?

The remarkable thing is ‘God doesn’t care. He accepts us the way that are.’ God finds us in the middle of muddles and cares so much that he will not leave us there. It doesn’t matter to God how the muddle has messed us up – He opens wide his love and draws us in. Transformation is his key to success.

Paul describes best this process that God works with. Here are three different translations to savior. All are available on www.biblegateway.com

2 Corinthians 3:17-18 (New International Version)
17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:17-18 (Amplified Bible)
17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (emancipation from bondage, freedom).
18And all of us, as with unveiled face, [because we] continued to behold [in the Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another; [for this comes] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:17-18 (The Message)
16-18Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are—face-to-face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We're free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.

~ Pastor Murray Lincoln ~