The Night It All Changed For You!

Imagine the scene: It takes place moments after you were saved. After you were conciliated with God. (2 Cor 5:18-21)The CEO and chief strategist of the Devil are in emergency session. It all concerns you:

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"When did this awful tragedy occur?"

"I just got word from the Dept. of Darkness (Eph 6:12) that light had exploded in him and he was instantly whisked away ..."

But can we still grasp him, drag him back down here?"

"Not a ghost of a chance! You see when that light makes contact the damage is already done: He literally left our area of jurisdiction at 4:18 pm. The only way to retrieve him now is to declare war on heaven and remember how that turned out last time. No way!"

"So he is now in a totally new kingdom and under brand new jurisdiction? How could he have escaped us? I understood you had him under special surveillance: You assured me he was safe""

"Yes CEO!: Ever since we detected that he may be one of those chosen for this period we kept a keen eye on him. In the last few months however the calling on his life became more and more intense: Like a pregnancy that had to come to the birth"

"Yes, yes .. but a heralder had to make contact some way with him for that seed birth to happen: You know as well as I do how the Father has ordained it to rub our noses in it" (Romans 10:17)

Look! there are at least 127 heralders in this area alone. Hard to keep all under surveillance day and night. Full of rivers of life and bursting with living Rhema words we need special armour to even come near them! They don't rely on  any of our systems like TV or Radio. As far as we can gather it was a thin sliver of a young girl: She met him: Spoke for about 20 minutes about how God would leave the 99 and go in search of the last lost one! Told him of God's love for him etc.. ... and then she was gone: Simple as that"

"O.K, O.K. I get the message: No need for the sordid details. But what can we do now? Surely there's some retaliation plan"

"We figure he will probably be here on earth for 28 more years:During that time he is under two headships: Headship of Adam lacking glory and prone to sin and the headship of Christ bursting with life and light and victory:We are going to work on feeding the Adam nature so the other is diminished"

"And what good will that do to get him back?"

"You still don't get the picture: You will never get him back: All we can do now is limit or neutralise his effectivenes as a heralder:

"So we make him ineffective: But how?"

"It is imperative first of all, I repeat imperative, he never comes to the full realisation of who he really is now: If he grasps his new identity in Christ then I fear for the whole area and generations of darkness could be destroyed. This one is dangerous: Full of life!"

"What are you implying? We have had total control here for over 5700 years. Look around you: Fear and superstition and idolatry"

"Listen to me and listen well: There is an intensity of light shining out from this one I have never seen before. If he comes to know ..that he no longer lives but Christ lives in him ..and yields to Gods instructions then we are finished"

"So what! We have met his type before and neutralised them totally. remember Samson and how we destroyed him. You are my strategy officer: What steps do you propose to destroy this one?

Of prime importance is to contact our F.O.G Dept"

"F.O.G? What is that?"

"International Groups using the name of Christ, having a Form Of Godliness ... but without any real power: In other words .."A fake form of Christianity"

"Are there branches of this F.O.G institution locally?"

"You are joking I presume. We have over 1470 in this country and several in this locality. I have already identified the one I will use"

"What's it called?"

"Oh God something over the door: Christ posters on the walls! Steeples and crosses and ceremonies but none of this living flow of the spirit ..and of course death on the menu in the pulpit"

"Wonderful work! But I hear from my sources that huge rivers of living waters are already gushing out from this one! These rivers must be closed off immediately do you hear. Immediately"

"We are at work but my agents have no protection against that Name He is using and the power of the blood and that armour of God he is wearing: (We are being destroyed) Three of my best agents blinded and already and one actually asking questions about Calvary and why his powers are greater than theirs"

"Don't even mention that Calvary Fiasco in my presence: Biggest mistake we ever made. We were humiliated and lost everything except the ability to deceive! "

"Understood master but rest assured, once he becomes settled in one of our F.O.G institutions all that nonsense about pulling down strongholds will fade away and he will become like all the rest.

"Fine! Shall we say 6 weeks to stop this rot or lasting damage can be done. You were going to say ...?"

"We also of course will be boosting his old Adamic Ego and self image: As the father moves in to crucify the flesh this should be easy pickings for us:You know "God is so unfair" type of thing

"Next 6 months is critical: Can you rob him of all power in that time. Can I rely on you"

"We have a long history of major successes but some notable fails too. Remember that guy Stephen who was facing a mob ready to lynch him: Then suddenly he seemed to step aside and saw a new reality and died almost destroying us with joy on his face and praying and forgiving his tormentors: Did untold damage to us"

"Yes I remember: We had it all set up so he would die angry and cursing all around but it backfired on us. He was the spark that brought thousands away from us, including that turn-coat Paul "

"Also Elisha's servant comes to mind"

"Little we could do there as God just opened his eyes when Elisha prayed for him and the game was lost"

"Hope you have learned from these disasters: This must not happen here: Keep him focussed on how unfair and awful his life now is: How hard it is to be alone and all friends and colleagues gone:

"Swamp him in meetings and verses and good works for fear he would ever learn that "it no longer is himself but Christ who is doing the living" If that realisation breaks thro' we coiuld be seeing the great work of generations undone.

"Put a stop to this 1-2-1 WIFI or whatever he has with heaven. Replace it with F.O.G bible studies and discussions and parties"

"Good idea! That 1-2-1 is the powerhouse so we will shut it tight"

"That  KIC programme is excellent: (i.e. keep it complicated.) Our trained men will soon have him discussing -isms and dates and philosophy so he forgets where his power source really is"

O.K All sounds good: Any final words"

Blind him! Blind him! Never let him see who he really is in Christ. Keep him trying to perfect the old man: And stop any Elisha type praying for him or his eyes could be opened in spite of us.

"Hope it works

"You hope? It has to or this one will destroy us"

                          In Christ Alone

The Old Policeman

It was a  bad night: Rain sleeting in from Erris and drenching Deel country  outside Crossmolina. We turned the car towards Nephin:  October '69 and I was proud as  punch showing of my "new" 10 year old Vauxhall Victor:

My father and mother in the back seat, warm in the after glow of an evening spent with friends in Farragh, Nicotine like  chimneys from Sweet Aftons and Bendigo pipes! Thuribles of benediction free for the whole congregation to enjoy! Those were the days before gay marriage and autism and all was well with the world!

My brother Anthony, a nervy navigator, as we coaxed the Victor towards the hills and home: Even tho' a few years younger than me Anthony knew every inch of this road: He knew it like the back of his hand.That's why he was our chosen navigator!

"Castlehill on the left here" I heard him say and soon "Ballyduffy coming up now on the right! Sure we'll soon be home!. I felt like the uncrowned king of Mayo.

Exhausted the old car struggled up McAndrews long hill, past the |Fairgreen  and Lahardane village was spread out before us: "Thank God!" I whispered " Home and free!" All a little previous as it turned out.

For Lo and Behold! Just at the '98 statue, and from the dark of the barracks,  a furtive figure clad in Garda uniform, peaked, cap and baton at the ready materialised before us: "Sábhála Dia muid!" (Lord save us)   I heard someone cry:

"The Law"

Indeed it was the law and I had one bald tyre and a windscreen starved of any evidence of road tax : My whole world began to cave in and  vivid visions of a centre page Western People article the following Wednesday ran thro' my mind:

"Lahardane man thought he was above the Law: Fined and put off the road for 5 years.  A disgrace to his family and to his village"

"Drive on: Drive on I tell you" My fathers voice rang out from the back seat?

 "What?"

But parents must be obeyed at  times so,  foot to the floor we sparked past Devanneys' pub and home to our Drynaun hideout: I was trembling! I was shamed : I was beaten.We had just defied the authority of a whole nation and surely there would be hell to pay when the car was traced to us: How could an evening that started so well and promised so much end in such disaster?

 But dad was by now chuckling merrily to himself, at some private joke of his as his custom was. We asked how anything could be funny at a time like this: We asked if he would please share what he found so funny: He did just that:

" Twas only old John Walsh, a guard who was here 15 years ago: Too fond of the bottle: He lost the job in '61 but held onto the uniform: Sometimes after a few pints he forgets the glory days are gone and dresses up to frighten the daylights out of those who don't know the story"

Later we laughed ourselves silly, drinking mugs of tea around the open fire:

"Should have seen your face" my mother chided me: "End of the world!

Anthony, full of my mothers mischief and drama repeated:

"He lost the job but wait, wait, he kept the suit"  as we giggled ourselves to sleep:

What a day!  What an evening: I'll never forget it:

But the thing is I almost did forget all about it:: Let me fill you in:

About 10 years later the strangest thing happened to me and others in the family.

Jesus popped out from the dingy pages of an old black bible and within days became  a living, loving, vibrant and wonderful  friend. But actually more than a friend .. a lover. It was so new and so exciting and so life giving and such a revolution: Life and freedom on a large scale.

A relationship developed: We talked incessantly. We chatted: (We still do on every occasion for the romance never dies) I kept no secrets from Him even tho it was hard at first: You see  I met Love in Jesus .. not morality: I felt He would die for me if I was in trouble: (He did it before).

So I became cleaner and freer and more honest and upright (moral you might say)

He held nothing back of all I meant to Him and seemed intent on making me excited about our fiuture in the ages to come: He said it was all arranged even before time began or before sin existed. He compared it to a court case where the final verdict ever was issued by God that I was now as righteous as Jesus. I didn't feel it but I listened and took it in:

The Jesus I met and The Jesus I know today  knows nothing

of stale religion, darkness, gossip,  failure and law. He was a breath of fresh air!

However now and again the "old policeman" without an ounce of authority stepped out and tried to block my progress. The "Old Policeman" of morality, religion. works or

Early on the "Old Policeman" called "The Adversary" or Satan would make made an occasional appearance: He would stand in my road at critical times and fill me with shame and guilt and morality. I felt dirty and unloveable and a failure.

"Stop in the name of the religion" he would bellow.

"Stop in the name of Sunday worship you heathen!" he dared to say once:

"Stop and repent of your lack of works you imposter" I often heard.

"Stop in the tradition of the Saturday Sabbath! The feasts! The Tithes!"  

"Stop in the name of drink or adultery  or pornography etc. {to the power of 1000}

But now, just like back in 1968,  I hear the voice of my Father God in heaven from the back of my mind saying "Drive on! Drive on! Come up here into spirit world: It's only that liar called  the adversary: He lost the job back at Calvary but has kept the suit" and listening to my ABBA Father I flee into the safety of the Spirit and the warmth of His embrace.

And in an instant Satan's seductions melt before the fire of Gods presence and Spirit.

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                                          J

The Pure Word

The pure Stuff

Reformation was a time

when men discovered,

in the dusty basement

of late medievalism,

a whole cellar full

of fifteen-hundred-year-old,

two-hundred proof

Grace –

bottle after bottle

of pure distillate

of Scripture,

one sip of which

would convince anyone

that God saves us

single-handedly …

Grace has to be drunk

straight:

no water,

no ice,

and certainly no ginger ale;

neither goodness,

nor badness,

not the flowers

that bloom in the spring

of super spirituality

could be allowed to enter into the case.