Dec-30-Bomb Da House!

Key Word:- CLEAN

Luke 11:24-26
“When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.”

A common site in South Florida is to see whole houses encased in tarpaulin and wrapped up like some gigantic Christmas present without the ribbon on top! The purpose of this is 'pest control' or more particular, 'termite termination.' The whole house is about to be 'bombed' with a highly toxic 'fogger' which will penetrate all cracks and spaces and do its deadly work. Subterranean termites are highly concentrated in this part of the United States and it is estimated that across the whole of America these most destructive of insect pests, cost people up to $2 billion per year in total wood damage.

It is thought that termites can chemically sense the presence of wood. The worker termites are always searching for new places of feeding. When they find it, they return to the colony to get more workers to help feed in the new location.

Essentially secretive in their feeding and design, termite infestation is usually only noticed when thorough tunneling and eating, leads to structural weakening and collapse. It is said in the pest control trade that there are only two types of houses: Those under attack by termites and those that will be under attack by termites!

May I say there are only two types of Christian: Those under attack by demonic evil spirits and those that will be! Imagine if you will that your whole being is a spiritual house. It provides food, sustenance, and shelter even, for those spirits that are wandering, dry and thirsty. If we have failed in erecting barriers of protection in the form of confession, forgiveness, avoidance and warfare, then it is likely that at some point we have allowed 'access' into our spiritual house and are now secretly troubled by unwanted intrusions. Where we thought all was well, an eating has taken place below our surface. A quick temper, an annoying attitude, an unpleasant thought life, an inability to believe God, weakness in faith, the rise of old habitual sins, heaviness, depression, and the list goes on; all of these things could be indicative of secret eating, malevolent invasion, open windows, open doors and unwanted guests if you will. I am talking about oppression here rather than possession.

At the end of the year, it's probably a good time to do some spiritual fumigation, de-festation and barrier erection. Oh come on friend, get real. Wouldn't you like to be rid of that problem? Wouldn't you like to be rid of those most intrusive thoughts, those devilish doubts and those fiendish feelings? Where do you think they are coming from? You just may have a bad infestation! Demonization does not mean that you sit there with your head spinning around puking green vomit all over the place. It usually means your ‘bothered’’ and feeling dirty and in need of a good old clean. We’ve left some doors or windows open and in they’ve come, these dirty squatters, making a right old mess! We all need a good and regular clean out friends and this time of year is a good time to begin this process.

The Christian bait, the barrier and the bomb for dealing with such spiritual infestation is all one and the same. It is truth. Truth in context and truth applied. It is the truth of God’s word. It is God’s word, correctly applied. Though applied truth is not toxic, even so, truth when placed in contact with lies and deception can make life a bit messy, a bit smelly, and a little unpleasant and unhealthy for those around us. So here is my advice for safe and productive, protective cleaning:
Get with a good friend, preferably someone who knows a little about pest control. Encase your spiritual house in the tarpaulin of prayerful solitude. This is not a public thing remember; the public don't need to see. Now, remove all living things from your area, and oh yes, remove all ignition points. Turn off pilot lights. In other words if you know a thing will 'set you off,' acknowledge that before you begin, make peace with it. Now are you ready? Good. Set the bomb off!

Invite God the Holy Spirit to walk you through your spiritual house, exposing the lies and deathly destructive ways that the enemy has catacombed your foundations with. Confess your sins. Repent of believing this deathly 'stuff,' and declare that you now choose life and truth. Invite the light of His truth to explode through your whole house, exposing the enemy and exposing his lies and death. Give possession of yourself totally and completely over to God. Begin now to thoroughly reclaim your spiritual house. Onc you have done this, remove the tarpaulin, and clean up any mess. Simple eh? No! For this is just the beginning.

You must understand that thorough cleansing takes time. This takes effort on your part. Often it is a continual process over many years. Sometimes the infestation is so widespread, so endemic, that you will need to bomb and clean up one room at a time. God must help you with this. The important thing is that you acknowledge the infestation and start to do something about it. Begin! Begin to hear the Word of God and keep it, begin to hear the Word of God and apply it. This coming year, begin!

Listen: - And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!” But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” Luke 11:27-28

Pray: - Oh, send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me; Let them bring me to Your holy hill and to Your tabernacle. Then I will go to the altar of God, To God my exceeding joy; and on the harp I will praise You, O God, my God. Psalm 43:3-4

Dec-29-Believing, Way Beyond Any Reasonable Doubt

Key Word:- BELIEVE

Title: Believing, Way Beyond Any Reasonable Doubt

Luke 1:20
“But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.”

Dear Archangel Gabriel,

I do hope this little letter finds you well and happy. Standing always in the presence of God must be an unbelievable experience! Sorry shouldn’t have used that word, you know, “unbelievable,” as I know how much it seems to annoy you. However, it’s a good introduction Gabriel because that is what I want to really speak to you about, you know, belief!
You see, it seems to me that you angels and dare I say, you in particular Gabriel, are pretty unbending when is comes to believing words from God. Now don’t get me wrong here, I know that’s the right, thing to do, however Gabriel, you’re a bit brash with us humans aren’t you, a bit unmerciful, a bit robot like, a bit inhuman really in applying that principal of total belief and consequent judgment for any hint of unbelief! That’s [pretty frightening for us sir, ‘cause I am assuming that you are indeed a person of great authority and power, with the ability to smite at will. (Poor Will, he’s always getting in the neck! Just a little joke there Gabriel : -))

Look, Zacharias is my case in point. As a young and righteous newly wed, he was exceptionally disappointed (cultural understatement!) when his wife Elisabeth could not and would not fall pregnant. How many long years followed then Gabriel, when their daily prayers for an opening up of her womb came up to the throne of God? How many Gabriel? Come on, you know, you stand in the presence of God after all. It was a lot wasn’t it? No doubt you are also aware that as the flower of Elizabeth’s womanhood shrivelled and fell to the ground and old age, crept upon them like a mangy dog with flees, their prayers, virtually whimpered out as they resigned themselves, with lots of regret, to the good will of their good God. You know all this? Then as Zacharias gets the job of burning incense in the temple of the Lord, you turn up in all your magnificence and scare the poor old guy almost out of his holy little socks. Man! You put him on the spot didn’t you? An old geezer like that, he could have had a heart attack! Then out of nowhere when his little heart is still all a racing you smilingly announce (I am assuming you were happy for him) that he is going to have a child, a son, already named John who is going to be magnificent in the Kingdom. Marvellous news I agree, but a little overwhelming don’t you think?! All those years of praying with no answer and then when it’s way, I mean way past midnight, you turn up in all your glory, scare him almost to death and then answer all his deepest desires. Seems like Christmas already eh! Especially for old Zachy baby.

Now then honoured Gabriel, listen in, for here is where I take umbrage with you. I do not and say again, I do not think it unreasonable for an old man, well frightened and well advanced in years, to have just a little bit of doubt slip out of his mouth. Saying “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years,” is not unreasonable is it Gabriel? Of course not! However, I beg to suggest, that your response of striking him dumb just because he didn’t believe your words was not only unreasonable but down right insensitive, embarrassing and frankly, on your part, very, very rude. Hence the reason for my letter. Mr Gabriel, it’s just not on.

The problem with you angels, if I might say so without being disrespectful, is your so inhuman and that being the case so, well so, non-linear. Time has passed you know? Duh. Didn’t you see that Zacharias and Elizabeth were both passed it? He knows it, she knows it, but it seems you don’t care about it. Oh no! Time in your gross non-linear thinking is completely irrelevant to you. What does it matter to you if all your equipment is shrivelled up, unattractive and not in best working order, so what! “God’s said it, you’d better believe it!” That’s your vry inuman approach isn’t it? I mean, what does it matter if the answer to their prayers t thei age is now so very inappropriate? Old people with rheumatism, smelling of “Ben Gay” and “Vicks Vapo-rub” taking care of a small child, come on! Social services would never allow a kid to be adopted by people this old. Zachy knew this. Completely inappropriate timing Gabriel, completely inappropriate!
Didn’t you see that? Oh no, obviously not, it was wham bam thank you maam, smack him in the gob and so, “because you didn’t believe,” nine months of being dumb and stupid looking! Ha! What an unmerciful, unthinking, and completely inappropriate response on your part mate. Completely inappropriate. I’m sorry, but I’m annoyed and these things just had to be said.
Well Gabriel, I shall close now, hoping that when we meet you will have learnt to be a little bit more linear in your understanding and a bit more merciful when it comes to just a little reasonable doubt. More human maybe. Please don’t get annoyed when we simpletons don’t believe beyond this reasonable doubt. I think it is because unlike you, we live such linear lives.

It’s hard for us to believe beyond reasonable doubt, even though you Gabriel seem to find it oh so very easy. I suppose standing in the presence of God so often and for so long seems to help you with this? We know all things are possible with God. We know that, honest we do. It’s just that unlike you, we don’t really know that it means that ‘He will take care of every little speck of a thing related to and regarding His spoken word that requires us to believe beyond any reasonable doubt.’ Do you see what I mean? I think maybe you do. Anyway, I hope this clears matters up a little and assists you in your future dealings with the elderly. Don’t bother replying, I know you are busy, but remember when you are dealing with us, “think linear!”

My kind regards, yours disappointed of Tunbridge Wells, etc… etc…

Listen: “Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.” Luke 1:36

Pray: My Lord Jesus, thank you for your servants, all the angels of the Most High God. In the coming year please make us as unswerving in believing as those angels of Your light, in Jesus name we ask it, amen.

Dec-28-Sanity! The Advantage of Listening to Vintage Verbosity

Key Word:- LISTEN

Title:- Sanity! The Advantage of Listening to Vintage Verbosity

Isaiah 28:23
Give ear and hear my voice, Listen and hear my speech.

“Oh what I would do to have the kind of faith it takes to climb out of this boat I’m in, onto the crashing waves. To step out of my comfort zone into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is…” So goes the opening lines of Casting Crowns choicest song on choosing truth. Got it? Choosing truth!

I will act on what I truly believe. Action is based on what we truly believe, on what drives us deep down inside. This internal engine of basic belief and pushing progression is in turn fuelled by high-octane words, or voices, if you will. It is frightening to hear the voice in your heart echo in your head. Friend, you do not have to be insane to hear voices. Believe me, we all do.

Bosses, spouses, children, relatives, friends, dogs, cats, radio, email, fax, pop ups, instant messengers, texting, talking pages, cell phones, landlines, iPods, DVDs CDs, internet broadband, web casting, podcasting, television, video, news, PDAs, magazines, soaps, movies, newspapers, advertising, billboards, are all voices, all selling, buying, dying to be vying for just a little piece of your already overwhelmed attention. Voices are heard all over the place and are all-intruding. These demanding sales voices, for that is mostly what they are, are most disconcerting but it is the other voices that are the most damaging and hurting.

The internal voice of conscience for example, if it still hasn’t had it’s beak fully seared in the hot houses of our silly little hearts, every day begins its squawking, constantly repeating the truth to us of His broken laws. Yes, that often and mostly all bombastic bird of condemnation, often squawks it’s insane accusation, chattering away like “Polly the Parakeet” high on speed, until for the Christian, that great bird, bigger than our hearts, bigger than our conscience, that larger dove, that blessed ‘Paraclete,’ swoops upon the scene and drowns out the squawk of conscience, by singing His even louder song of loving forgiveness. Even so, conscience can still be that all too prevalent and troubling voice.

As well as the squawking, the internal voice from the place of unhealed pain can still cry out from the wet chasm of open wounds, whilst the untrusting, self-protecting voice cries, “Watch it! Careful now, not too much information. Don’t trust, back off, hide, don’t reveal don’t let them see!” These deep wounds and their bodyguard are debilitating and minimising voices from a place of pain that needs the quieting and healing oil of the great Samaritan poured into it beyond measure and then lovingly massaged into silence. The voices of deep wounds and self-policing, self-protection, speak very loudly don’t they friends?

In addition, the voices of internal declarations and self-curses which we have installed in our own self-protected lunacy, can appear like armed security officers, rude and not listening, commanding us to “cease and desist” from freedom and any attempt at bounded perimeter crossing, openness, and reaching out again. These security voices will not listen; they only speak loudly, protectivly and proudly.

Lastly and most disconcertingly to our inner ears, are the demonic voices which we have allowed to laugh and lie through our open windows and cracked doors. They squeeze themselves in on our weakness and stand on lost ground preaching lies, telling disconcerting tales and interrupting every holy thought.

Now, because belief still needs the fuel of high-octane words, voices to kick it into action if you will, these other loud and speaking voices will never let faith flourish. So yes, out of all we listen to today, we need to actively take the advice of Casting Crowns and “choose to listen and believe the voice of truth”. You see there is an advantage to listening to vintage verbosity and that advantage is a rich red clarity, yes, it is nothing short of sober sanity. So, be sure to get into to the Word of God this coming year, and get the Word into you. Do have your reading plan ready to begin on January 1st? Then get to it guy; get to it!

Listen: “Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word.” John 8:43-44

Pray: Lord the devil has within his dominion the capacity to make ears deaf to Your word. Lord, now, and in this coming year, plant a seed of desire that will grow into a tree of satisfaction planted by the waters which are ever budding with ten thousand open ear, all attentive to Your voice of truth. In Jesus name I ask it, amen.

Dec-27- Talkin Tsunami's

Key Word:-TRUST

Title:- Talking Tsunami’s

Matthew 24:7,8
For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.

Now dear friends, stick close to my words this morning, right to the end and you shall be rightly encouraged. However, before we get there today, we must traverse some terrible terrain. So stick with me right to the end.

As we move towards the end of the year, it has been my observation that in my whole life, whenever I arrive at this point of observing my planet and its peoples, I am amazed at the advances in technology and medical care, in fashion and in fun. Yet when I examine the human condition expressed in community, both local and global, I despairingly come to the same conclusion: nothing changes; nothing gets better. Indeed, things are getting worse. (Stick with me now, stick with me.)

Our text today is part of an answer given by Jesus to a particular question posed by the disciples sat with Him on the Mount of Olives. He has just wept in anger and despair over the coming desolation and destruction of Jerusalem when they ask, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3) We have no time today to proceed to cover His reply with an eschatalogically fine toothcomb. Let’s just be a little shaken today when Jesus says in effect, “It’s gonna be bad and it’s gonna get worse!” (Stick with me now, stick with me.)

Tsunamis are viewed by the scientific community as natural disasters. Tsunamis are still currently viewed by the financial community as “acts of God,” that is, actions that are both terrible and out of their control. Tsunamis are viewed by the victims as inexplicable. I met an old lady, a Christian, who after many years was still suffering the after effects of holidaying with her husband on a secluded beach, where a freak wave reached onto the shore and before her face, snatched her loved one away to a watery grave. The sea reluctantly but eventually gave up its dead and she spent the next few weeks battling to get the corpse of her beloved, back to the dry ground of her homeland to be buried. As she recounted her story to me, her face and especially her eyes, were a constant witness to the fact that she had never really recovered from this. There are some things we must never recover from. (Stick with me now, stick with me.)
There are some things we must never recover from and despite government control of battlefield information, there are horrors that must not be hidden from us. Despite the glib mental sickness smiles of made up news presenters, that can through shiny teeth and loud lip gloss, tell of both death and destruction and the drop of a few degrees in temperature in the same smiling sentence, there are things we must be sad and very sorrowful about. Remember, no anaesthetic last’s forever. Jesus replies sadly and honestly about the signs prefixing His return. It would appear that the enemy will try to apply a scorched earth policy to His impending arrival, as well as Jesus Himself “eating up the ground” before Him in righteous indignation. Look. It’s not lovely! Look. It is not lovely!

At the end of this year let us talk tsunamis. Let us look at the devastation around us. Let us lay aside our numbing novocain and see that all these things are indeed but the “beginning of sorrows”. Prophecy shall be fulfilled and friends, before we get to a better chapter, we must read ourselves through this next horrific one.

So how can we possible be encouraged by what we see around us? Well in truth we cannot. Except that Jesus foretold that this is how it should be. His word is true, and if His word regarding these things is true then so are His other words. All His words are true. He shall make all things well. Yes, in the end, He shall make all things good.

Listen: “Let your character or moral disposition be free from love of money (including greed, avarice, lust, and craving for earthly possessions) and be satisfied with your present (circumstances and with what you have); for He (God) Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. (I will) not,(I will) not, (I will) not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor (let you) down (relax My hold on you)! (Assuredly not!) So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say, The Lord is my Helper; I will not be seized with alarm (I will not fear or dread or be terrified). What can man do to me?” Hebrews 13:5-6 AMP

Pray: My Lord, I will not fear, even though the earth be removed and the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; even though its waters roar and be troubled, even though the mountains shake with its swelling. For I know that there is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God. Amen and amen.

Dec-26-Bloody Mary

Key Word:- OBEY


Title:- Bloody Mary


Luke 11:27
In addition, it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts which nursed you!”

So what do you do with the Christ Child the day after He is born? Ask any mother and she shall tell you. You take care of Him.

The hungry little Jesus has no doubt now been fed several times by his mother; washed, cuddled and caringly cosseted She has counted each finger and each tender toe, shook her little head, stared into His seeking eyes, speaking several sweet hellos. Kissed his cheeks, held His dangly little head in the palm of her hand and kept Him warm in the darkness of the tomb like manger. Mary, just recently delivered her child, will indeed now daily hold in her loving hands, her own deliverer, her own salvation and even the salvation of the world. Imagine how special a person you would have to be to have been chosen to be the caring intimate of God, the gentle mentor of Jesus, the cleaner upper after, the teacher, the trainer, the nurse, the advisor, the counsellor. Mary was indeed among all women, most blessed! Imagine that.

Soon Simeon, over a pair of white and bloodied, dead turtle doves, shall speak of this child’s destiny and of God’s Salvation, of Israel’s Glory, of the light of the gentiles, of the revealing of hearts and the rising and falling of many over this little, oh so little baby. And with ghastly words shall begin to prepare even Mary’s own dear soul for the hurt that only a mother can experience, “Yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also,” Luke 2:35. Ignorance is better me thinks, than for years to come, to carry this shadow of hurt alongside the joy of raising up Jesus. Though God knows best and maybe she needed to know this now, even from this great distance, so to be prepared for the horror she would witness on Calvary’s tree. Imagine Mary’s bloody heart. Just imagine that.

Now look at God’s grace, for together with Mary’s swallowing of this bitter medicine from the mouth of old Simeon, comes heaven’s honey from the lips of old Anna. For at the instant the message of the inevitable and coming piercing was given to Mary, Anna arrives on the scene performing two most important things. First, she gave thanks and second, she proclaimed with joy! She gave thanks to the Father for the gift of His Son and she then spoke of Him, with utter and fervent, expectant excitement, to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
In this coming year friend, so soon now to be upon us, when the Father gives you some bitter medicine, look for the accompanying honey. God will always make the bitter, sweet. Always! Imagine that.

In this coming year friend, so soon to be upon us, may you find your self in the temple of the Lord. Find yourself under the red dove of peace. Find yourself under the sacrifice. Find yourself humble before your God. Imagine that.

In this coming year friend, so soon to be upon us, may you seek out the Simeon’s of Zion. Seek out those who walk close with the Father. Seek out those who have the ear of Jesus; seek out listening and proclaiming saints. This year, may you walk with the old giants. Imagine that.
Finally, in this coming year friend, so soon to be upon us, I ask you to seek out Jesus. Walk so close to Him, that you too, like awesome Anna, will be able to speak of Him to all those who look for salvation in Jerusalem. Many do dear friend; many still do. Imagine that.

Listen: And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!” But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it!”

Pray: Father, may the reality of your presence be manifest in me and amongst us in this coming year of our Lord. Amen.

Dec-25-True Wisdom Out of a Christmas Gone Crackers!

Key Word: WISDOM


Title:- True Wisdom out of a Christmas Gone Crackers!

1 Kings 4:33,34
Also he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree of Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish. And men of all nations, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to hear the wisdom of Solomon.

Tom Smith invented the cracker in 1848. Now for my American friends let me tell you that a cracker has nothing to do with cornmeal, grits or liquor! No sir, at this time of year, a Christmas cracker is an integral part of every British celebration.

Around the meal table at Christmas, at every place today there will be silver cutlery and a shining cracker. Upon being seated, the first thing that will be done before eating will be to, pull the crackers! A small cardboard tube covered with brightly coloured and twisted paper at the ends, the Christmas cracker will be pulled apart by two people. A small strip of chemically impregnated paper is eventually popped apart producing a small bang, and out of the fun packed centre of the cracker will fall the contents of the cardboard holder. Usually a paper hat, an unnecessary plastic object that will never be seen or used again, maybe a balloon and most definitely a small piece of paper containing the lamest joke you have ever heard or a daft piece of Christmas wisdom. Ah, I remember and always look forward to the Christmas wisdom of crackers!

Political correctness is rampant at the moment. Today, even 'Google the Good,' will have some completely Christmas disconnected imagery on its main search page and the sound of “happy holidays” from every politically correct goods outlet, is still ringing in my ears. I was out shopping just yesterday (I’m mad I know!) and saw not one ounce of happiness in tons and tons of overweight and over spent, sick, sad and surly shoppers. I am no grinch at Chrsitmas time but I tell you friends, Christmas is being so successfully redefined and its partakers so alarmingly reconditioned, that there is no Holy day and there is no happiness. Let’s face it shall we, take Christ out of Christmas and all you are left with is a mess. It’s all a bit mad, it’s all a bit bonkers and it’s all a bit crackers really!

The only way we can redeem the situation is to instil some Christian wisdom back into the leaders and the landowners, the moneymen and shareholders, the decision makers and agenda shakers. But it must be the sweet smelling, stargazing, treasure carrying, come to worship, camel riding, desperate “We Three Kings of Orient Are” kind of wisdom which we see in the Bible. A wisdom which seeks and speaks of Jesus.

The world shall speak of everything except Jesus this Christmas, and seek happiness and joy at the bottom of empty glasses, empty flashing lights and red ripped up paper. Let us make sure that we, His purchased people, seek and speak of Jesus, the Lord of the Universe and Saviour of the world, at this wondrous time of year.

Happy Christmas!

A poem: - Still Looking - Still speaking

Wise men speak of trees
From the Cedar to the Hyssop
Springing from the wall
From the Aspen to the Alder
Beside the water fall

Wise men speak of animals of creeping things and fish
Of birds and bees and smooth black cats
That lap the dainty dish

Wise men sing of love and capture moments in a jar
Wise men suck the juice of days
Wise men shop at Spar

Wise men count the fallen ticks
Of old clocks running down
Wise men number muscles
That help create the frown

Wise men follow after
Wise men follow far
Wise men seek the Saviour
Beneath the wandering star

Listen: Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” Matt 2:1-2

Pray: King of all days, oh so highly exalted, glorious in heaven above. Humbly You came to the earth you created, all for love’s sake became poor. So here I am to worship, here I am to bow down, here I am to say that You’re my God. You’re altogether lovely, altogether worthy, altogether wonderful to me. Thank You my Lord, thank You.

Dec-24-The Baby Jesus. A Lovely Little Body but a Horribly Big Skull!

Key Word:- DESTINY


Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

The Baby Jesus. A Lovely Little Body but a Horribly Big Skull

It is a well-known fact that childlessness is hereditary; if your parents don’t have children, then in all probability, neither will you! Unless of course, you are a miracle baby. Enter Jesus, stage right.

Well on the eve of God’s official birthday let’s celebrate what actually happened and take in the wonder of it all, for Joseph having wandered from Inn to Inn trying to find a place in Bethlehem, (they couldn't get a room because they were Jewish), has to have his wife Mary, about to give birth in a stable. Out in the cold fields under an open and starry sky, stinky footed, sin defeated shepherds, quietly wash their socks by night, only to be very soon surprised by a multitude of celebrating and proclamating heavenly hosts, all singing and dancing in the dark dank fields of Bethlehem of a Saviour born in a manger. Yes, it’s Christmas time in Bethlehem and Mary shall give birth to the Messiah the promised Saviour of old. However, it’s not His miracle birth the angels are celebrating, no, on this most wonderful night of nights, the heavens are rejoicing in totality over the cord separating arrival of the Saviour. For you see, what is going to happen physically is in fact the most beautiful but the most natural thing in the world: Childbirth! No, despite the rejoicing of the angels, this is not the miracle of Christmas. So where is it?

The Scriptures are clear that life begins at the point of conception. So the real miracle actually took place nine months previous at the home of Mary in Galilee at that very point of conception. You see at Christmas we must remember that the Christ, already given the name Jesus by His Father, had been with us for the full term of this pregnancy, a whole nine months; and hidden away in Galilean embarrassment and obscurity! Yes embarrassment! For a virgin conceived! “Oh really,” said the neighbours. “Yes really!” was God’s happy reply.

A virgin conceived a child from the Almighty. A virgin conceived and carried within her the Holy thing! God clothed Himself with flesh and quietly grew from molecular proportions within the warm womb of this frightened yet faithful young virgin, to be the baby of nine months popping His head out into the world in a stable on Christmas morning, to the young boy poising eternal questions in the temple, to the young prophet terrifying all the religious hypocrites around the roads to Jerusalem, touching the lost and the leprous, dining with the downcast and outcast, loving the lame to leaping joy, the unseeing to sight sublime and raising the dead to live again. Aged thirty three, He will lovingly release the whole world of the weight of it’s amassed and terrible sin, place them all upon his magnificent and manly shoulders and take them to Calvary’s cross where with shredded flesh and pierced head, with holy hands and love set, love sick heart, He shall pay in full the penalty we all so deeply deserve and buy us back from the devil.

The purpose of the conception was always Calvary and Mary knew it. She shall watch Him there and Scripture shall again be fulfilled when a sword, more terrible and sharp than the sword of the wraith witch king, hot from the burning coals of hell, shall pierce her pitiful little mummy’s heart, when they take down her lovely and beloved son’s broken and bloodied body from the terrifying cross. But today it is Christmas Eve. All is bright and all is white. Tomorrow the promise, indeed all the promises from Adam onwards, all the deliberations and plans between the persons of the Holy Trinity, all that is yet to come in the eternal ages now bound up and encased in the organic safe of Mary’s marvellous little womb; shall be born! Even Mary's personal Saviour.

Yes, Mary, though a most magnificent woman, from her own lips rightly testifies that she was a sinner, in need of a Saviour. The miracle is that God took residence in her womb, took DNA and sustenance from her body and became fully human, in need of her tender care and loving direction. This virgin conception of the Christ child is no invention, no trap nor trick nor contrivance. This virgin conception is necessary, unsullied, pure, holy, and immaculate. There was no sexual intercourse with God the Father as some have taught over the centuries, else she would not have remained a virgin. No, from the text and the tenor of the Scriptures we can make a reasonable assumption that within the home, the room and the womb of Mary, nine months ago, there was an “enveloping in a haze of brilliancy”. Possibly Mary was surrounded by a shining cloud of brightness which infused her whole being and touched her with preternatural influence as God clothed Himself with flesh and to the astonishment of gaping mouthed angels, stepped through the shining protected portal of eternal proportions and contracted Himself to embryonic dependence.

The real miracle of Christmas friends, took place nine months ago! Tomorrow the safe and natural arrival of the Christ child will be celebrated when Jesus pops out his gentle head and begins His own independent journey towards His prepared destiny outside the city walls of Jerusalem, all the way to that grotesque Golgotha, that hard and horrid, place of the skull. That is what Christmas is all about dear friends. Amidst the snowy white, is the flowing red of blood that will be shed for us and the living verdant green of life, that shall be given to us.

Listen: “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.” And Joseph and His mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of Him. Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” Luke 2:29-35

Pray: O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray. Cast out our sin and enter in, be born in us today.

Dec-23-Warped Factor 7 Scotty, Warp factor 7!

Key Word:- FOCUS

Title:- Warped Factor 7 Scotty, Warp factor 7!

Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

The context of our verse today lies in the strengthening of the Christian by Christ our Master to provide us with the ability to be abased and to be abounding in every place and in every circumstance and situation. “It's no problem” says Paul in our text for today, “I have learned how to do this.” Now I do believe the reception of this truth must first be advanced by clearly seeing three important points.

First that it is not a sign of Christ's desertion or judgement, indifference or aggression, when Paul is hungry abased and abandoned.

Secondly, and subsequently then, it was also not necesserily a sign of Christ's faithfulness and pleasure, attentiveness and gentle care, when Paul had more than enough for himself and others.

Now these first two points are fascinating for they produce imprints onto the spirit of a person like convex and concave mirrors imprint images of the self onto the mind. In other words, that which we judge when we see, may give a very false representation of what is in fact true. In other wordsthen, don’t believe everything you see! Indeed, Paul appears to be saying here that the presence or absence of either ‘much or need’ may have direct effect on his bodily and social condition but actually, has no affect whatsoever on his position in or relationship with Christ and when we believe they do, then we are in fact staring into warped mirrors. So never judge your true stature in Jesus by your present circumstance alone! Doesn't Paul says in another place, “Mostly the Holy Spirit has bad news for me anyway so I expect it. It is my calling. None of these things move me.” Tell me, do your circumstances move you?

Thirdly now friend, think on this. Would you consider someone struggling to keep a roof over his head, on the Dole, Medicaid, Social security; someone derided by his neighbours and near kin and scourged with various illness and misfortune as someone blessed by God? Of course you wouldn't! However, we may well be wrong! Maybe our judgement according to Paul is not so much like seeing through a glass darkly but more like looking into a mirror warpedly! (I may have just invented a new word there!). Bottom line is this: we might apear to see right but we rarely judge right and if we don’t judge right then maybe we don’t see right after all?

The challenge may lay in our understanding of blessing. For example, if we want to bless someone, then usually we want to see them prosper, and that prosperity we wish upon them is for us inevitably within a material context. We at the very least want to bring them up to our level in material benefits. After all these material things are evident signs to us of God's favor. Aren't they? Well of course they are! Every tele-evangelist tells us so in glorious Technicolor, so it's got to be true. I mean look at the social fabric of our post Christian society! It may be collapsing in on itself and all around us whilst the chasm of secular humanism is opening it's jaws so wide that like some great snake it is about to swallow up the people of God whole and alive down into it's torturous and confined politically correct little belly, yet we still cry out for all the world to hear, that we are truly blessed by God and I mean, just look at all the 'stuff'' we have to prove it! Yes, the slithering is getting louder and the dead scales of the great serpent, cover our feet but we are truly blessed indeed, honest we are! Hmmm?

Evidently, we are using the wrong measuring stick. How can we be blessed, possessing so much stuff as evidence of those blessings, whilst Zion like Atlantis seems to be slipping below the waves of the secular world, forever?

How can we be blessed, sitting rich and happy at the Gates of Sodom and Gomorrah whilst the smell of unleashed sulphur lingers in the late morning air?

How can we be blessed, when we are cocooned and cosseted into spiritual immaturity, immobility and inactivity by petty little messages from post modern pulpits?

How can we be blessed, when our eyes are on bulls and bears and stocks and shares, instead of firmly fixed upon the coming King?

It makes you think doesn't it? Let me ask you this, if, and God forbid this happens dear friend but if you were to find yourself destitute, would your heavenly focus and your eternal investment be of such strength and consequence to you that you too could say with Paul, “none of these hardships move me.” Would you shout to your aghast and on-looking family friends and peers, “Hey listen, I said none of these hardships move me!”

It makes you think dear friends, it makes you think. Tell me today, what kind of glass are you looking into? To what factor is your vision warped dear Scotty?

Listen:- “You know, from the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I always lived among you, serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews; how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. Acts 20:18-24.

Pray: - Two things I request of You (Deprive me not before I die): Remove falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches — Feed me with the food allotted to me; Lest I be full and deny You, And say, “Who is the LORD?” Or lest I be poor and steal, And profane the name of my God. Proverbs 30:7-9

Dec-22-How To Eat Your Enemies

Key Word:- TREMBLE

Title:- How To Eat Your Enemies

2 Kings 6:28,29
Then the king said to her, “What is troubling you?” And she answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’ So we boiled my son, and ate him. And I said to her on the next day, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him’; but she has hidden her son.”

Guidance is such a confusing issue for the Christian. The old search committee interview joke goes like this- the committee ask the prospective Pastor, “Do you like children?” to which he replies, “I love them, but I can never eat more than one!” Now before you slam today's little devotional shut with a loud offended bang! Look at our text again and tell me just how such a horror, can be dutifully dealt with? For that is what it is, it is sheer horror!

Robert Benigni's intriguing film, 'La Vita è bella': 'Life is Beautiful', 1997, is about an Italian Jew's use of humor to help his small child survive the Nazi death camps. This kind of use of humor in the context of overt horror is the nearest thing I have found to so terrifyingly display the grotesqueness of such a horror! Look at today's verses again. Just look at the cocktail of terror, the despicable and devilish desperation which must have been shaken together so consistently and violently, that the bubbles of personal survival took two mothers way over the brink of outrage! Lest we judge this to be simply ancient horror, or deep jungled tribal eating habits, let's remember that it was today in 1972, that 14 'civilised' survivors of a plane crash in the Argentine Andes owned up the to the fact that they had eaten human flesh to survive. The Bible is outrageously blunt. God then, is outrageously blunt. Let me then be, outrageously blunt!

Ben Hadad king of Samaria was employing a well used and effective method of war against the people of God called 'siege'. The results of such siege warfare are seen in our verse today and that is the resultant destruction of the very thin cords of civilisation that stop each of us, from devouring one another. We must therefore be very careful and also be very aware of all the manifold consequences of war before we so called civilised nations take ourselves to arms. Winston Churchill was correct when he said, to “Jaw, jaw, is always better than to war, war!” This terrible verse can be applied to us in three ways today:

First, let us be aware of the righteousness of our cause before removing our sword from its sheath in either retribution or protection. This applies to us individually and nationally. There is a time for war friends but let us approach it gingerly and fearfully, for its consequences are manifestly terrible. Be careful today, before you start that argument, bring up that issue and grab that particular dog by its insolent little ears. Be careful and be prepared for the consequences.

Secondly, let us be aware of the terrible propensity that still lies within the heart of the old man, the flesh, the sinful nature. It is still in darkness and it is still a monster which the removal of laws through desperate war will assuredly unleash. Let us be aware with what devilish fires we are playing with here, when so called 'civilisation' is removed from any single one of us.

Thirdly, let us labour to do good. Let us follow the example of Elisha earlier in this passage and of Christ in the gospels, when He tells us to feed, clothe and bless our enemies.

“Love our enemies!?” These are hard words in the best of circumstances and virtually impossible in the worst. Let us never the less pursue such commands to love, knowing that when such love does not propitiate the aggressor, that it is then the responsibility of right government to unsheathe its sword and go about its terrible and righteous killing work. May we always tremble at all the horrific consequences that come with such unsheathing of the sword of war.

Listen:- So when the Syrians came down to him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, and said, “Strike this people, I pray, with blindness.” And He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. Now Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, nor is this the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” But he led them to Samaria. So it was, when they had come to Samaria, that Elisha said, “LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” And the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw; and there they were, inside Samaria! Now when the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?” But he answered, “You shall not kill them. Would you kill those whom you have taken captive with your sword and your bow? Set food and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.” Then he prepared a great feast for them; and after they ate and drank, he sent them away and they went to their master. So the bands of Syrian raiders came no more into the land of Israel. 2 Kings 6:17-23

Pray: - Lord, teach me how to build the city of God in the middle of my enemies, with food in my pocket, good will on my lips, a trowel in my left hand and my sword in my right. O Lord for grace, truth, wisdom and strength I truly pray to You today, in Jesus name, amen.

Dec-21-Rhythmic Fluidity

Key Word:- PEACE

Title:- Rhythmic Fluidity

Psalm 55:12
Cast your burden on the LORD, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.

Chopin’s, “Funeral March” in B flat minor, is embedded in our psyche as a sombre plodding tone that clothes our very inner self with grey and dreariness as we trudge towards the open grave. It's not the nicest piece of music to greet the day with. Thank God it wasn't the only piece of music he wrote!

Some days are like a death march though. No matter how hard you rebuke and bind the mail box in the name of Jesus, the bills keep coming in. Even if you're getting sick from eating too much humble pie, your spouse is still angry with you. You don't want to go to school, because none of the kids like you, and neither do the teachers but you're the Principal, so you've to get up and go anyway! Life and certain days seem to posses within them the B flat trudging rhythm of the death march, don’t they? And so with deep sighs and head's down, we eventually cave in to the inevitable, depressive death of ourselves! “Da Dt….D Da.. Da Da Dah D Dt… Da Dah…”

However friends, it doesn't have to be that way. Even in the most difficult of circumstances instead of marching to the rhythm of death, we can march to the sound of the rhythm of life. It can be as simple as making sure we gaze outwards to Jesus and then handle all things we are involved in with the lightest of touches. This too shall pass you see? Let the Lord take care of a few issues eh? Shall we give them over to Him?

‘Chopin, Polish composer and pianist, made his debut at the age of eight. As a performer, Chopin revolutionized the technique of pianoforte-playing, turning the hands outward and favoring a light, responsive touch. His compositions for piano, which include two concertos and other works with orchestra, are characterized by great volatility of mood, and rhythmic fluidity.’ Yes indeed, Chopin favored a Light responsive touch! Do you get it?

Today, hand some stuff over to Jesus, say to him “here you are Lord, this is killing me! Please take care of it for me.” Don’t get too serous about things even the most important of things! Have a light responsive touch. Look to Jesus, and then let go of a few things, listen to the Holy Spirit, let Him tell you when to pick it up, make that phone call, nudge that person, address that issue. Let God's rhythm of life flow through you today, adopt the lightest of touches, breathe deeply, relax and live! When we do thisdear friends, when we have the lightest of touches, both today's destinations and tomorrow's departures, , will be life itself to us!

Listen:- Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left. Isaiah 30:21

Pray:- Lord God , let me have a lightest of touch on the silliest and most serious of things that present themselves in my life today. In Jesus name, amen.

Dec-20-The Greater Guidance Systems of God

Key Word:- OBEY

Title:- The Greater Guidance Systems of God

2 Kings 8:1,2
Then Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, “Arise and go, you and your household, and stay wherever you can; for the LORD has called for a famine, and furthermore, it will come upon the land for seven years.” So the woman arose and did according to the saying of the man of God, and she went with her household and dwelt in the land of the Philistines seven years.

Guidance is such a confusing issue for the Christian. One of the main reasons why this is so, comes from our perception of the exactness of God’s goodness in relation to His total control. Our thought process might go like this: “God is in control. He knows how many hairs are on my head, He knows where the sparrow falls. God is in control. He knows the thoughts in my heart the words in my head before they slip from my stammering lips. God knows everything, controls everything. He is my Dad and he will do good to me. He will never let anything bad happen to me and will always give me clear direction” Oh and by the way, this isn't just a good internal monologue, this is also great and correct Biblical thinking! So far so good then...

So, having come to grips with and believed God’s gracious Sovereignty toward us, why then do we oftentimes then find ourselves in ungracious, difficult and even terrifying situations?! The former reasoning on God’s loving and gracious sovereignty does not go with the latter situations I have described us often finding oursleves in and so we whenw e do, we become both perplexed and worried. After all, you hadn’t been sinning; you had been seeking God and His glory and yet look at this mess. What’s happening here? Is there something more we should have known about His good will toward us?

“Ah well of course,” says the theological acrobat, “you have probably stepped into God’s permissive will, rather than His perfect will for your life, and that’s always problematic. You’ve missed your way, you’ve not been listening as acutely as you should have been somewhere along your journey, no sir, so then, right now, you had better start asking for God’s perfect will to be done in your life, mate!” My stomach get's tied in knots just thinking about such a ‘helpful’ theological conversation. What to do then, what to do?

Well, look at God’s will here in our verse today. “I am sending a famine. Get out and go ANYWHERE but here.” In light of God’s Sovereignty this seems pretty poor direction doesn’t it? If God told me something like this I would say, “Lord, thanks, but shall I go to the South where the sun is shining bright and my rheumatism may find some relief? Should I go to the North where the cost of housing is cheaper? Should I go to East and have a greater witness amongst people that do not know the Lord. Should I go to the dangerous badlands of the West, where amongst the raucous mountains, sinners abound? Lord, where should I go?” Well, the answer of God towards us right here would be: “GO ANYWHERE but here!”

Now don’t get me wrong, I do believe that God is into specific direction giving. Not all the time though and not here in our verse for today. He is certainly not saying to the Shunamite, “you are so insignificant in the big play, it does not matter where you are on the field girl, just go. ANYWHERE!” Nope, He warns only her to leave the land, and in so doing, she is exceptionally blessed and supremely loved. She matters to Him. “Get up, get out and go ANYWHERE but here.” says God. I'm gonna leave the 'where' to you and our wisdom, you and your desire, you and your own possibilities. Can you see that?

Let us relax a little more in the three greater truths of direction finding:

Greater truth No1: It doesn’t matter where you live but it matters HOW you live, where you live.
Greater truth No2: You can only serve God, where you are right now.
Greater truth No3: Your influence is greater when you live abundantly in your time frame. Don’t wait for your space frame to be more pleasing to you. How we live in time is of more eternal consequence than where we live in space. 'Now,' is much more important than 'where.'

Friend, if you are fretting today about the coming New year and about your geographical locale within it, then maybe some prayerful consideration of this trinity of truth will help focus you a little more. Of course like all great trinities, they are in fact, all one and the same truth. Here it is:-How and now, is always greater than where and when. This should be our priceless and well practiced phonetic.

Listen:- We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. 2 Corinthians 6:1-2

Pray: - Lord, don’t let me grow old waiting to be in the right place to serve You, to be Your salt and to be Your light. Rather, help me today to live in the now and in the how, trusting You, O wise and loving Father to take care of all my where’s and of all my when’s. Amen.

Dec-19-Of Dogma and Dynamite

Key Word:- SANCTIFY

Title:- Of Dogma and Dynamite

Jeremiah 8:22
Is there no balm in Gilead, Is there no physician there?

It has been my observation that with the fall of the established churches, ‘spirituality’ has increased and with the fall of the Curate, has come the rise of the metaphysician. When I talk of ‘spirituality’ I am not assigning good or bad to the definition but simply recognizing that people at the beginning of the 21st century are very aware of both the spiritual side of their nature and the spiritual world and are comfortable to explore both of these arenas. In addition to this, when I talk of the ‘Curate’ I am of course referring to a very old but wonderful name for any Pastor or Clergyman. It now seems too long ago that Pastors were known as ‘curers of souls’. Their work then was essentially metaphysical, dealing with the unseen spirit of a man as it inhabited the unseen spiritual world. Pastors today, especially in our larger churches are more likely to be corporate managers, business executives, purveyors of purposes, principles, and mission statements, being more au fait with bank statements and collection campaigns than the Word of God and the blessed Holy Spirit. So the ancient curate of old, the metaphysician of times past in the Christian church and the true Pastors of ages gone by are all in this respect, mostly extinct. So as spirituality rises, a vacuum has been left by the church and it is being filled!

Most general car mechanics are ‘pan manufacturer.’ In other words they recognise a combustion engine, whether it sits in a Ford or a Chevy, a Honda or a Toyota, it doesn’t matter, it’s a combustion engine! In the same way, most meta-physicians today are ‘pan spiritual.’ Spirituality is spirituality; truth is truth, whether it resides with Buddhism or Baptists. However 'spirituality' is deemed by today’s metaphysicians to be mostly likely found in Buddhism! These metaphysicians have vast followings. The reason is simple, and let’s not use 'the blindness of demonization' card just yet. The reason they are on the rise is because they have such a good measure of success! They are able to come up with the goods they have promised. Their methods seemingly work, for to some extent they can cure souls and relieve spirits of many hindrances, which in turn has led to peace, sometimes physical healing and definitely a greater awareness of self, personal gifting and the divine. These are the facts presented to us by multitudes of personal testimony. They are not all lying and they are not all deceived. So, just what is happening here? Why such success?

Three things and I believe three answers:

First there has been a misuse and subsequent loss of linguistics. Theological terms have been replaced with more acceptable ones. To the ‘Panwhateverists’ it doesn’t matter what we call 'it' after all? So
‘sin’ has become, ‘baggage’ or ‘hindrance’;
it’s ‘deathly killing power’ has been called ‘toxicity’;
‘repentance’ is simply ‘letting go’;
‘walking in the Spirit’ is called ‘positive living;’
‘peace’ is just ‘being centered’; ‘
God’ is ‘the greater good’ the ‘ultimate intention,’ the source of all ‘positive power’.

Language then has become pan dimensional, pan denominational, pan theistic. This is much more acceptable to pan spiritual post modern man for the edges of the absolutes have been truly blurred indeed. The waping and blurring of Christian theological terms has made Hollyood Buddhism very attractive.

Secondly, ‘self realization’ has become the forefront of metaphysical endeavor. “For”, as they will tell you, “how can we know God if we do not know ourselves?” After all, the divine will only speak to our true selves. So it is imperative to walk in the newness and trueness of who we really are. We need to focus on our selves for people are lost not only in theological terms but also lost in cyberspace, lost in an overwhelming technological tsunami, flostinancial slavery, lost in family fragmentation. In many, many ways, people have lost themselves! The quest to reclaim who they are and the dignity that goes with that, is in and of itself, very attractive. Who wouldn’t want to truly find themselves? The searching for and the embacing of one's true self, is seen is a gret jouney which is most worthy of pursuance.

Thirdly, true wholeness, that is, the defragmentation of the individual, can only be achieved by going on this journey of self realization. It is only then that we can know the divine, that is when we are authentic, that is when we are whole! After all, people still have eternity in their hearts, still have a God shaped hole within them that needs filling. This journey then of a self realization that in the end may find God, is also remarkably attractive. However, the message that we will find Christ when we find our true selves is one that needs much further examination, the derfragmentation of the personal self which pushes us towards personal wholeness is an attractive prosepct for many.

What should the response of the church be to these three reasons for the 'success' of post modern pan-spirituality? What should your response dear friend?

Well first of all, we need to corporately repent. We have failed to come up with ‘the goods’ for both ourselves and other people. We have failed in our pastoral training by churning out politicians, managers and corporate executives from our seminaries rather than Doctors of the spirit! There has been for many years, no balm in Gilead. The church has shamed itself and failed humanity in not coming up with good doctors.

Second, we need to reclaim our linguistic ability, for when we find our voice, our words will have power. Remember, truth is only truth, when it is found in context. That context is the meta-narrative of the revelation of God’s Holy Word, the Bible. We must know and use The Word, like we have never known it or used it before. Dogma alone though will not do, no, our doctrine must be linked again to the dynamite of the Holy Spirit.

Lastly and individually, we need to repent of our own lack of power; our own petty walk of religion that is often times seen in our seemingly magnificent outwardness but most truly manifest in our secret our most pathetic inwardness.

Today then, let us coveant to begin our real journey, our deep sanctification with Jesus. Let such repentance and heavenly resolve, so renew our inheritance and so reclaim our power, that our position, presence and prominence in the spiritual world, would be as it should be! May God so help us in this. Amen.

Listen:- ….if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14-15

Pray: - Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; Save me, and I shall be saved, For You are my praise. Jeremiah 17:14

Dec-18-Staying out of the Currents of The Ship Swallower

Key Word:- FIND

Title:- Staying out of the Currents of The Ship Swallower

1 Timothy 1:18,19
This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck…

In 11th Century England, the Earl of Godwin was the most powerful Anglo-Saxon then around. A large landowner in the South East of the country, he also was responsible for a strip of land, a small low lying island called Lomea, just a few miles off the coastal town of Deal. It is reported that either his mismanagement of funds designated for the upkeep of the sea wall on Lomea, or direct judgment from God against his disloyal and deceitful actions regarding the king, led to the disappearance of Lomea in such a fantastic storm, that like Atlantis, it sunk below the waves.

The name ‘Godwin’ may be mean ‘God’s friend’ but history paints this infamous Englishman in a very different light. Like most of his contemporaries at the time, his life and legacy was full of intrigue and deadly political maneuvering. However, the sinking of his island of Lomea into the English Channel has left an even more deadly mark for mariners over the centuries, in the form of the infamous ‘Goodwin Sands’.

Having lived for some months in the coastal towns of Deal and Walmer I remember walking along the coastline of the English Channel and gazing out onto the distant breakers running up and into these same sands at low tide. In the summer, it is possible to land your boat there and walk across the hardened, rippled surface and play cricket and even soccer on what must be the most unique playground in the middle of the English Channel!

Twelve miles long and five miles across at their widest point, the shape of The Goodwin Sands changes so constantly, that charting them with accuracy is impossible. A combination of bad weather and the pull of strong currents in the area, turn these quiet and quaint sandy playing fields into moving and monstrous magnets and so to thousands of ships and some estimated 50,000 dead over the years, the sands are anything but playful! Yes, I said 50,000! These sands are dreadful and deceitful; a sucking graveyard of an open mouthed and ever hungry, accursed ship swallowing monster!

Now friends let’s learn some lessons from the Goodwin Sands. Goodwin may be Anglo-Saxon for God’s friend, but today you must:

First know that not everyone who claims to be a friend of God, is a friend of God. Not everyone who claims to be a Christian is a Christian. Satan has planted tares amongst the wheat; has sent wolves amongst the sheep. Be careful now and watch for fruit. Especially if these ‘nice’ Christians are more concerned with dollars for Jesus than dying for Jesus! You know what I mean, don’t follow them, don’t be so gullible for in the end, their heritage to others will be nothing but cursing, death and destruction. Watch them now. Watch them.

Secondly, know that our enemy, though sometimes so clearly seen, can shift his shape and disappear below the waves. He is movable, monstrous and magnetic. The strong tides of this world will always lead you upon his gaping and growling mouth. Keep clear then, of this world's currents, for no matter how tall the guarding buoy of faith, or how loud the ringing bell of a good conscience, when a storm comes down, he shall shift his shape and the currents he has instigated, shall pull you onto himself. Note the markers of faith, and the sounds of good conscience, but most of all, most of all, keep out of the currents if you can. Keep out of this worlds currents. Keep out of his currents!

Thirdly, and most importantly, the best form of defense for the Christian is attack. There is something positive we can do. Paul, says “WAGE A GOOD WARFARE.” To Timothy he instructs him to make use of the ‘prophetic words’ granted to him regarding his calling, his purpose, his destiny and his person. Paul seems to be saying here, “Remember who you are; who you have been proclaimed to be in Jesus! Remember who you are in Jesus and what He has commissioned you to do! Remember who you are, what you are to do and the promises and power He has equipped you with to fulfil His will! Believe it and like that Popeye, that strong sailor of old, so when the enemy comes in like a flood, you might reach into your heart and pull out a large can of 'whoopass' spinach and pour it down your pipe of power. Get bulked up, pumped up and then by the words from Him who is both faithful and true, from the eternal Amen, FIGHT REAL GOOD IN THE LORD’S BATTLES.

Friend, who are you? What are you? What has He commanded you to do? Where are you in the line? What have you been given? What do you still need to be able to wage a good warfare? Do you know? For Gods sake, for the sake of His Kingdom, isn’t it about time these questions were answered in your own heart? Get on your knees and ask for revelation. Find people who have power with the Father and who can speak to you concerning His destiny, commission and calling for your life; get them to speak these things into and over your life, for you shall not wage a good warfare without these heaven sent revelations. You shall not!

So find out today what they are, for the swirling sands of the enemies of God, the ship swollower’s of old, are waiting open mouthed, for his deadly currents to drag such passive Christians as yourself, upon his sinking and shape shifting sands.

Listen:- Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 1 Timothy 6:12

Pray: - Lord. What do You have to say to me concerning these things? “Speak, LORD, for now Your servant is listening.” In Jesus name I pray, amen

Dec-17-Ghastly Ghosts & Great Ideas

Key Word:- REDEEM

Title:- Ghastly Ghosts & Great Ideas

Luke 7:22-23
“Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”

“I have endeavored in this Ghostly little book, to raise the Ghost of an Idea, which shall not put my readers out of humor with themselves, with each other, with the season, or with me. May it haunt their houses pleasantly, and no one wish to lay it. Their faithful Friend and Servant, C.D.” So goes the preface of ‘A Christmas Carol’ written by Charles Dickens and first published today in 1843.

I visited Broadstairs, the summer home of Dickens, a few years ago now, with a view to pastoring a church in the area. Broadstairs was still resplendent with Dickens memorabilia and the evidence of overcoming poverty via legal and illegal methods, I am talking about smuggling of course, still hung in the damp seaside, seagull filled air.

Dicken’s childhood experience of living in a debtor’s prison had made him into a champion against child poverty and illiteracy; indeed he was an avid supporter of the ‘Ragged School’ movement. I remember that some time around Christmas in 1981, I had preached at a small gathering of Christians who met in an old ‘Ragged School’ building in a place called Chesterfield. The building was a left over of the benevolent side of Victorian’s society’s attempt to educate poor children. You must remember, that at the time of the writing of ‘A Christmas Carol,’ it is estimated that half of all funerals held in the city of London were of children under the age of 10. Imagine that. Fortunately for us now at Christmas time, with Ghosts and a good idea, Dickens has brought poverty, greed, and the need for redemption to the forefront of generation after generation.

Wrangling with his publishers over pricing, Dickens eventually published the book himself. The binding was expensive and the profit margin was to him, negligible; however, the profit this ‘Ghostly idea’ brought to society is beyond reckoning. Contemporary author William Makepeace Thackery comments “Was there ever a better charity sermon preached in the world than Dickens’s Christmas Carol? I believe it occasioned immense hospitality throughout England; was the means of lighting up hundreds of kind fires at Christmas time; caused a wonderful outpouring of Christmas good feeling, of Christmas punch-brewing; an awful slaughter of Christmas turkeys, and roasting and basting of Christmas beef.”

Tell me today friend, who hasn’t heard of poor Tiny Tim or Bob Cratchet and the despicable Ebenezer Scrooge? Dickens did a great job in turning the misery of Christmas time into joy and today, as we are surrounded by glitzy lights, whilst running headlong into increasing debt and being constantly chased by hounding consumerism, all day and all night, let us ask ourselves what we need to do to redeem Christmas once more, this time not from poverty, but this time from gross consumerism? For surely Christmas needs redeeming once more?

I think that holidays, holy days, are never happy without Christ. They never can be. So may I say to you dear friend as we approach the festivities of this joyous season and the glorious remembrance of the arrival of the Christ child, “Merry Christmas to you and may God bless us, everyone!” Remember, Jesus is the reason for the season and so it must mean more to us than a plastic singing Billy Bass fish from Wal Mart!

Listen:- (from the mouth of the redeemed, Ebenezer Scrooge of ‘A Christmas Carol’) “It is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child himself.” “He (Tiny Tim) told me, coming home, that he hoped the people saw him in the church, because he was a cripple, and it might be pleasant for them to remember, upon Christmas Day, who made lame beggars walk and blind men see.” .

Pray: - Lord, let generosity of spirit and the freedom of being Your child, be gifts to myself, my family, my friends, and all people that I touch this coming and most glorious Christmas time. Amen.

Dec-16-Diems, Deums & Dumb De Dumbs!

Key Word:- REAL

Title:- Diems, Deums & Dumb De Dumbs!

Genesis 32:24-26
Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob's hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.” But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!”.

I wonder if there are three types of people in the world today. Dumb de Dumbs, Diems and Deums.

A Dumb De Dumb could be a passive perambulator along the bright boulevard of life. Masses of money or lazy indifference or even mental illness (for believe me, each of these three types, position or condition can manifest the same symptoms of madness!) has led these ‘dumb de dumb’ people to simply disconnect from their eternal purpose and in-depth relationship with God and move to some kind of isolated observation platform, from which they simply lift their chin into the air and glance nonchalantly around, being so satisfied with their lot that they softly sing to themselves, “dumb de dumb de dumb, dumb de dumb de dumb.” Life holds little fear for these futile folk, because they are already the quasi dead, refusing long ago to grapple with the yawing eternity that lies within them and the mess, heaped up like old garbage, that lies outside of them. With money, indifference or mental illness, life may not be satisfying, but it is somehow, bearable an d has become even acceptable. “dumb de dumb de dumb, dumb de dumb de dumb.”

The Diems of life are far, far different. They are the mover and shakers, the artist and decision makers. They are, at the very least, making the most of whatever their hands find to do, they are going for it! At least the ‘it’ they think they should be going for. They are sucking on the dappled green rind of the red and rich dripping water melon of life baby! They are great to be with, they are on a journey, they are connecting with life, they are engaging with purpose, far ranging in relationship, they are seizing the day for all it’s worth, they are the ‘Carpe Diems: Seizing The Day!’ Yet at the end of the each long day, even with all this passion, they remain, uncomfortably restless. The doubting Diems always wonder if it’s all really worth it?

I woke up today with a vague remembrance of during the night, dreaming or thinking on that rascal called Jacob. He would no doubt have gotten his ‘Jewish Sandwich Soul Food’ from Wolfie Cohen’s Rascal House in Miami Beach, after a long night tending sheep along the broad beach up past the little city of Aventura. At an early age he moved from ‘dumb de dumb’ status to being a ‘carpe diem’ and for many, many years, lived on the exciting roller coaster that such a lifestyle brought. He seized anything, he seized anyone and seized everything. Especially if it wasn’t his! However, this often repugnant, passionate and pugnacious individual was also in the end, still ravenously restless.

In all Jacob’s long life there is but one incident that makes him frighteningly special to me. Frightening in that he fought with God and nearly won! Special in that God, with the softest touch, graciously disabled him so that all he could do was hang on to his aggressor for dear life. You see, the thing that makes Jacob so different and so blessed, is not that after this epic title fight with God, all his skies were clear, no, ‘au contraire’ dear friend ‘au contraire!’ Nope, the so amazingly special thing is that Jacob the rascal seized God and would not let Him go until he received a blessedness that he would be satisfied with! O for the fellowship of such desperate men.

I say to you today dear friend, the only way we Christians should live out our lives is to seize God, capture Him in our arms and demand a blessing! Those of you who are offended by this; those of you who think this kind of impolite and disrespectful talking, to a great and Sovereign Creator even, have a God, I imagine, who is to you, a God who is ‘afar off’. I would venture to say that all you might have is an idea of God, a beloved one maybe, yet never the less just an idea of who God is. Maybe God would grant you at some point the growing gift of desperation, together with, on some dark night of your blessed and desperate soul, the opportunity to be let loose to fight with the Lion Himself. I hope so, because until then, we all are a mocking caricature of what we should be and not even a pale shadow of what we might be. It’s only a little change of a letter to go from a Carpe Diem to a Carpe DEUM but I tell you, your life will never be the same again should you change that very little letter! Call Him out! Call Him in! Go on! Get to grips with God, go fight with Him. Go on friend, CARPE DEUM. SEIZE GOD AND LIVE!

Listen:- .. But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in distress, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, when you turn to the LORD your God and obey His voice (for the LORD your God is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor destroy you, Deuteronomy 4:28-31

Pray: - Lord, I don’t want to arrive in heaven without any scars; I don’t want to have never been in a fight with You and lost. So Lord I call You out today and challenge You to fight with me that You would beat me into blessedness. I dare you God! Do you dare too? Amen.

Dec-15-Exploding Toes & Dancing Expletives

Key Word:- LISTEN

Title:- Exploding Toes & Dancing Expletives

Psalm 91:10-12
No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.

An enduring image from my childhood is that of my dancing and cursing father. The most dangerous place in our house was the hearth; a raised bricked enamel tiled area, surrounding the ever roaring fire. Its oblong shape always presented toe sharp corners to any traveler making their way across the carpet. Often wearing only his old socks after a long days work, my father would rise from his chair and step towards the door leading to the kitchen. That angular precipice would often then embed itself into his tired little toes. Then the wild dancing fun would begin with accompanying fireworks of many exploding expletives that I had not heard before! For the onlooker there is something hilarious about seeing a person stub his toe but for the practitioner there is both pain and embarrassment.

I don’t know but there is something interesting about toe stubbing isn’t there? It speaks somewhat of a lack of spatial awareness: “why didn’t they see that coming?”: It speaks of some stupidity: “why weren’t they wearing shoes?!” And lastly and most intriguingly, it shows us what fireworks are piled up like dry tinder on the inside of a seemingly settled person. The stubbing of the toe seems to release a lot of pent up fury that can be stored up within an individual, that’s right, watch it, it’s not just the pain and the accompanying embarrassment that bursts out of impacted little piggies, but residual anger, even pent up fury, that hitches a ride upon the exploding toes and the dancing expletives.

I suppose it’s true that any disproportionate response to stimuli of any kind needs investigating, needs examining, needs contemplating, for friend, how many times have you sat down after a surprise storm caused eruptions in your heart and venting through your vocal chords and you shook your head and said, “my goodness where on earth did that come from?”

Our text today is concerned with the practices and protections of ‘He that dwells in the shadow of the Almighty.’ The tempting of Jesus by the devil in the New Testament (see Matt 4:6, Luke 4:10) is clearly indicative that this particular passage has direct application to Jesus Himself. However, we followers of Jesus are those who also seek to dwell in the shadow of the Almighty, making Him our refuge and ever present abiding place. In this respect then, the whole of Psalm 91, especially the toe stubbing part, can also be taken to ourselves. So much so that we can say that those magnificent creatures, those morning stars of God are also concerned about the protection of our feet! This is not a joke; this is not a little thing. Gross embarrassments, the dropping of those precious things we carry, injury to the rest of the body, danger and deadly disease, can all result from a good stub of our toe and so, the very angels of God Almighty are there to assist us in this not happening! Think about that, and do you know that this pedialogical duty is not a punishment for angels either but it is for them the highest of callings, for it seems that Jesus Himself is very concerned about our feet and our toes.

Let me ask you just two questions today then.

First, have you ‘stubbed your toe’ recently? Why? Have you removed yourself from abiding in Jesus, have you removed yourself from the shadow of the Almighty? Have you maybe even exasperated a few angels with your wayward walking? Why have you stubbed your toe dear friend?

Second, when you did this, what came out of your heart when the pain came into your being? What leapt on the rising expletives from your heart through your mouth and exposed themselves to the light?

If you’ve stubbed your toe today, then the brokenness on the outside and then the revealed brokenness on the inside both need taking to Jesus, in whose tender hands your feet shall be lovingly washed and cared for and your heart expertly dealt with and massaged into strength and wholeness once more. Todey them be sure to take your stubbed little toes and your broken feet to the hands of Jesus where your way will be restored in Him.

Listen:- “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honour him. With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.” Psalm 91:14-16

Pray: - Jesus, from the extremities of my being to the centre of my soul, heal me Lord O heal me, heal me and make me whole, in Your great name I ask it. Amen.

Dec-14-Meowing Over the Message in Mr Potter’s Mad House

Key Word:- LOOK

Title:- Meowing Over the Message in Mr Potter’s Mad House

Job 41:12
“I will not fail to speak of his limbs, his strength and his graceful form.”

I remember visiting one happily delirious man in our local hospital, who was overcome with what psychiatrists refer to as ‘religious mania.’ Though very ill, he was ecstatic, seeing God in and through everything, imaging himself being able to be bodily connected to the internet and to God. British poet, Christopher Smart was afflicted with the same illness and confined for many years during the 1750’s in various institutions, ending up finally in 1763, in “Mr. Potters Mad House” in Bethnal Green London. Yes it was really called that!

Smart is a sad poetic character, eventually dying in debt in 1771; yet in his mania he saw himself as “the Lord's News-Writer or the scribe-evangelist” faithfully spreading the Word. One work he is particularly known for is his distinctive poem seemingly paying homage to his cat, Jeffrey. Taken from surviving fragments of his poem Jubilate Agno, (behold the lamb) which was written during his confinement, his cat Jeffrey does in fact say more about God in ways that many preachers could never even dream of. Here’s a wee portion

“For the English Cats are the best in Europe.
For he is the cleanest in the use of his forepaws of any quadruped.
For the dexterity of his defence is an instance of the love of God to him exceedingly.
For he is the quickest to his mark of any creature.
For he is tenacious of his point.
For he is a mixture of gravity and waggery.
For he knows that God is his Saviour.
For there is nothing sweeter than his peace when at rest.
For there is nothing brisker than his life when in motion.”

I wonder if sometimes it takes a bout of madness for us to achieve a degree of seeing sanity and so perfectly visualize what is often the visibly unseen, which before the onset of the malady, we neither truly knew nor really contemplated? ‘Smart’s’ continuing mad message to us today is maybe prophetic in it’s forceful repeat of the considerations of the Trinity, for the Father Himself in the book of Job says, “look at Leviathan consider his frame, know and learn;” and the Son in the New Testament calls us to “consider the lilies of the field and all the little sparrows; know and learn;” and the blessed Paraclete, God the Holy Spirit throughout the scriptures and even today says “Look! What do you see? Listen what do you hear, smell, learn, know.”

May I make a suggestion today and ask you to indulge in a little religious mania with me and consider that portion of the Kingdom of God we refer to as the animal kingdom and in so doing, humbly receive the witness of God’s Word still clothed for us today in both skin and scales.

If you then find that God speaks to you more through your cat than He does your preacher, then maybe it’s time for you to either get on your knees to pray more for your word deliverer, or get on a bus and go listen elsewhere!

Finally though, maybe you should ask for the gift of prophecy and to become what the ancients used to call a seer. Maybe Smart in all his madness saw more than many of saner folk will ever do?

Listen:- Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, "Jeremiah, what do you see?" And I said, "I see a branch of an almond tree." Then the LORD said to me, "You have seen well, for I am ready to perform My word." Jeremiah 1:11-12

Pray: - Put your Spirit on me
And commune with me in dreams of night.
Put your Spirit on me
And speak with me in visions of the day, so bright.

Put your Spirit on me
That I might complete and win this race
O speak clearly, not in riddles
O LORD, let me see your face.

Put your Spirit on me
That I would foresee the flight of Quail
And live in peaceful surety
That your good Word and works won’t fail.

Oh! Put your Spirit on me
That I might expect a sea of fish!
That all your people would be prophets
And so fulfil your servant's wish.

Rise up O LORD!
O LORD our GOD,
May your enemies all be scattered.
May all who stand before your move
Be well and truly battered.

Rise up O LORD!
O LORD our God,
May your foes all flee before you,
O king of old
Be our king still
For this LORD
We implore you.

Dec-13-Silent & Salient Speaking

Key Word:- SPEAK

Title:- Silent & Salient Speaking

Mark 4:34
But without a parable He did not speak to them. And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples.

In 1938, with the help of Tolkien, C.S. Lewes had secured ‘Bodley Head’ to publish and release his book ‘Out of the silent Planet.’ An ‘outer space’ adventure story, like new cut stone it was mostly marbled with metaphysics rather than the then more familiar, Newtonian one! Despite it’s obvious metaphysical overtones with the Christian metanarrative, Lewes was aghast that only two out of the sixty reviewers spotted that his character, ‘The Bent One,’ was in fact a representation of the devil. Addressing this conundrum, he remarked that “It’s quite obvious any amount of theology can be smuggled into people’s minds under the cover of an adventure story without them knowing it.” Have you got that?!

Currently, it is the general consensus of opinion that post-modern man rejects the Christian meta-narrative. In other words, post modern man hates the bigger picture of Christianities ‘real absolutes.’ In other words, post moderns cannot abide a story, a framework, an absolute reference point, a certain guide, a definite and divine mandate, the ‘real thing’, that challenges their experience and stands in direct opposition to the life style they have chosen to live. Well there’s nothing new there then for sinful man has always kicked against the pricks!

In light of such a post modern ardent dismissive of the Christian message, Christian apologetics should unsheathe its shiny and sharp guilt edged sword and the clang of wielded metal and the clash of arms should be heard around the land, more louder than ever before in history. But it isn’t is it? Why is that?

Well, I believe it is because most post moderns won’t even fight! For relativism and pan spirituality simply leads post modern man to look at the apologetic sword and say “so what! As long as by law and legislation,” have you got that? “So what! As long as by law and legislation, you don’t affect me, then you can live in your own limited law infested fearful little ghetto and I shall live in the vast expanse of mine.” Ah, there we have it law and legislation. Christianity and its intrusion into politics.

Make no mistake about it, politics is going to be the hot place in the present battle. So I have two calls today and this is the first one .

Christians must get involved in politics! In grace and in love, in truth and in the real absolute of the Christian world view, the story of God must be shared with a forgetting and rejecting nation. We need to send more people into politics as a legitimate field of mission, where the prophetic projecting of the notable mandates of God are clearly, lovingly and powerfully set forth for all to see. This is salient speaking. This is needed today!

My second cry is to artists. All purveyors of communication in its many forms. Here is where the real absolute, the meta narrative of God Almighty, can be spoken with great legitimacy and at all times. Post moderns, pan spiritualists, relativists, are on the whole, currently, for now that is, accepting of art. Art is a level playing field where words are received and examined. It is an open forum for flashing fragments of the Divine story. Lewes was right when he said, “It’s quite obvious any amount of theology can be smuggled into people’s minds under the cover of an adventure story without them knowing it.” This is silent speaking and this is needed today.

Maybe friends, in the coming hot political climate, these silent words of the artist will remain inextinguishable messages to a mad and miserable ‘post modern man?’

Listen:- Give ear, O my people, to my law; Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, Telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done. Psalm 78:1-4

Pray: - O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth Your praise. (Psalm 51:15 )

Dec-12-Blue Collar Glory

Key Word:- STRENGTH

Title:- Blue Collar Glory

Isaiah 40:3
“Prepare the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth;”

The smiling face of the Christian Orthodontist beamed out of the advertisement he had placed in the local press. All of his ‘family friendly’ services were neatly placed under a section of our verse for today: “…the crooked places shall be made straight.” Very droll.

Seinfeld has already pointed out the dangers of being ‘anti-dentite’ and certainly that is not what I want to appear but maybe, that was an advert too far. “Maybe,” I say, smiling , remembering the grinding drill on my collapsing molars, the heavy low frequency throb from torturous cold and burning bit that still haunts me in my dental nightmares. Imagine all that work without anaesthetic. No friends, I am certainly not anti-dentite and I am so thankful that they make the crooked places straight. In this way in particular, dentists are GOD LIKE!

Jacob the man, is firmly rooted in the meaning of this Hebrew word that we have here translated in out text today as 'crooked.' The crooked Jacob of the Bible is in his pre-wrestling life, presented to us as a deceitful, sly and very slippery customer. Jacob was so crooked to the core that if had swallowed a nail he would have spit out a screw! Yet he wasn’t abandoned, no sir, rather he was chosen and it was God Himself who orchestrated Jacob’s graduation ceremony from Straight School at the Jabbok crossing and then sent him away with a limping leg as an eternal reminder, that it was only when Jacob was without the power of his crookedness that he could hang on for dear life and simply ask to be blessed by his dark night conqueror, the Eternal Wrestling Federation champion Himself, Jesus Christ the Lord! It could be said that after this hand to hand encounter with God Almighty, Jacob the twister, limped a little straighter on his way. (Genesis 32:22-32)

Nowadays, we have so sanitized Christianity that the thought of Jesus getting up off His throne and grappling with a few hairy sinners is most distasteful. Yes indeed, we can handle the clothing of God appearing as a cute and cooing little brown baby, but imaging Him as a sweaty old wrestler, well that’s a picture too far! Yet thank God, Jesus is a sweaty old wrester. God has not changed and in making crooked places straight, Jesus is still in the business of crippling the central core of our personal power base, you know, that ‘old man’ driving force that powers us and sends us on our winding and slithering way. Yes indeed, it's quite a battle when God truly gets to grips with us. He knows it and so He always comes to His sanctifying work in us with his sleeves rolled up and His mighty arms ready for action. Yes He does! For, if you think that most of us will allow that breaking of our old man power base to happen without a fight, then may I suggest that you need to become an even greater student of the workings of God in men. Jesus is in the construction business you see.

The workings of God in men and families are very similar to the major road constructions we see around our lands. It’s mostly done at night, by ‘secret’ workers, lighting up the darkness with noisy machines, ripping up our settled way with jumping jack hammers which will inevitably cause gross inconvenience, traffic jams, and fill our nostrils with the pungent smells of hot tar and diesel fumes, which then aggravates even further the drumming fingers of our gross impatience that sits below the large red and white signs in our spirit proclaiming: GOD AT WORK…BE PATIENT!

As we think about the baby Jesus this Christmas time, think on a little farther, think on a little deeper, for our Jesus is a wrestler and a road construction worker, a ripper up of crooked concrete, a re-setter of winding ways and broken thighs, a smoother if you will of rough and ragged roads.

Jesus you see, is very blue collar and in the un-sanitized non-religious world, the real world that is, Jesus wears a construction helmet and wanders around picking fights with rascals, poking them in their ears and spitting in their eyes, touching hearts and shrinking their thighs. So this Christmas time dear friend, if everything is a mess on your road at the moment and you feel weak at the knees, take great heart and simply hang on to Jesus and ask for His blessing for I tell you friend, Glory is a coming this Christmas time and it’s blue collar Glory prepared in heaven for you!

Listen:- The glory of the LORD shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” Isaiah 40:5

Pray: - Lord, help me to take a new grip with my tired hands and stand firm on my shaky legs and mark out a straight smooth path for my feet so that those who follow me, though weak and lame, will not fall and hurt themselves but become strong in You! In Jesus name I pray. (from Hebrews 12:12-13 TLB)

Dec-11-The Reluctant Dragon

Key Word:- TURN

Title:- The Reluctant Dragon

Isaiah 30:7
For the Egyptians shall help in vain and to no purpose.
Therefore I have called her Rahab-Hem-Shebeth. …...

Certainly in England, my country of origin, we have some most unusual names. I lived down the road for example from 'Pease Pottage', which literally means 'Pea Soup or Broth.' A number of local tales explain why it might be called this, but no one really knows. Most of the other unusual English names are rooted in Anglo Saxon usage and so just might sound a little silly today. America however, is unsurpassable for amusing nomenclature. How about these for a few: The Proctologist called ‘Dr Butt’, the Dentist Called ‘Dr Payne’, the town in Florida called, ‘Two Egg!’ Or how about these names: ‘Dudley Boobus,’ ‘Bertha Clapsaddle’ and of course ‘Shanda Lear!’ Yes indeed, these are funny but I want you to know that names in the Scriptures as well as encapsulating promises are also prophetic and instructive. Yes, names encapsulating promises like: “No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.” (Genesis 17:5-6) Names encapsulating the prophetic like: “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14) Both these names are instructive like today's verse. Here's the scene: Israel is in a mess and again, like a silly dove, is flitting to and fro to her human allies for solace and support and today, it is Egypt that appears to be Israel’s source of protection. Egypt the strong, Egypt the mighty, Egypt the powerful!

God comes to that same flitting dove of Israel and says, “you lot are rebellious kids, just heaping up sin after sin. Yes, you're taking counsel alright but not from Me! You've not asked my advice, Oh no! You're happier sitting in the seemingly strong shadow of Egypt, strengthening yourself in that over confident, pompous prig of a Pharaoh; the same type of nation and geezer that tried to annihilate you! Have you forgotten that I delivered you from such people? It's just not on,” says the Lord, “I'm gonna see to it that they let you down, so listen up. I am now calling Egypt, 'Rahab-Hem-Shebeth'. There, stick that in yer pipe and smoke it. Write it down and DON'T forget it 'Rahab-Hem-Shebeth!!”

The actual meaning of this name is 'Rahab who sits still', or 'the strong one who sits still,' or as the Living Bible so wonderfully translates it, 'THE RELUCTANT DRAGON.'

Now listen friends and listen closely. For we redeemed people are strange birds, whose natural homing device will always take us back to those crowds, peeps, lights, actions, habits, devices and ways, which though they were part of the whole package of our former enslavement, never the less, gave us some kind of belonging, some kind of familiarity and some kind of comfort. Yes, sometimes the chains of Egypt stretch a long way through space and time don't they friends?

God says NO! Don't go back, don't rely on past experiences, and don't think your continued redemption, protection and provision lies in some proud peacock. I tell you, God may be angry at us for this regression but it is because He is jealous. He is a jealous God! He has loved us with an everlasting love and shall not share us with another. “Want to try it?” says the Lord. “Want to trust in deceiving dragons and proud peacocks? They shall fail you. I shall see to it that they do!”

Today dear fleeing friend, maybe on your way back to Egypt, let me ask you, “Why are you going back to vain and purposeless lifestyles? Why are you going back to bondage and death?” Maybe, if I were to give you just 1000 lines of instructive discipline for you to write down, it just might open your eyes and turn you back to the land of promise. Are you ready?”

“Rahab-Hem-Shebeth. I am trusting in reluctant dragons!”
“Rahab-Hem-Shebeth. I am trusting in reluctant dragons!”
“Rahab-Hem-Shebeth. I am trusting in reluctant dragons!”

Listen:- “Now, therefore,” says the LORD, “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm. Joel 2:12-13

Pray: - Jesus! Help me please. I am sorry for being like a dog going back to its vomit, a pig going back to its pen. I am so sorry. Now Father, let Your homing beacon come alive in me and turn my heart, my mind and my steps back home, home to Thee, in Jesus name I pray, amen.

Dec-10-Leading Hands

Key Word:- CLEAN

Title:- Leading Hands

Psalm 24:3,4a
Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands…...

A clean handed person according to our text, may begin to ascend the hill of the Lord; that is, may approach the precious and powerful presence of the living and loving, gloriously effulgent Almighty God! Ah, clean hands. Have you got them today?

When examine my hands I see evidence of previous involvements, articles of participation if you will, writings of recent history. The calloused palms of hard labor, the nibbled nails of present anxiety, and the deformed finger protruding from the damaged knuckle, all say something. Hands tell stories you know? Take just a few minutes of quiet to examine your hands. What stories do they tell? Ah, clean hands. Have you got them today?


Hands spread disease, germs cling to them, especially in the cracks and creases of the bending joints and the tips of touching fingers, that have been in our ears, or up our nose, or on our clothes, taps and toilets, terriers and toys, you know what I mean, after all, the tips of our little feeling fingers have touched and awful lot of stuff, haven’t they! Hands communicate with the world and all things in it. Hands spread disease. Place your hands under the ultra violet light of your careful conscience. What dis-ease have you spread with your hands? Ah, clean hands. Have you got them today?

I am supposing that Jesus never bit His nails. I am supposing that He never got a splinter from working in His carpenters shop, never hit His thumb with a mallet, never shouted or uttered any expletive whilst sucking air through His gritted teeth and dancing around on one foot shaking the retreating blood back into the damaged ends of battered fingers. I am assuming that Jesus had no rope burns from fishing, no net gnarls, cuts, or scars; No grains of gravel still under the skin from falls as a rushing child pushed over in the Galilean dirt. I am assuming that no germ could survive a moment on those powerful little pinkies, those tender tendons. I am assuming that He never had to wax His ears or pick His nose, but then again dear friends, who knows, who knows? But we do like a disintected Jesus don't we? You know, all pristine and clean in the colouring books of all the little children. What do you think though? Yes, let me ask of you this question? Were the hands of Jesus always clean?

If we could take the hands of Jesus and just hold them, palms up you know, palms down, what testimonies would they give? I’d like to do that. I’d like to examine the hands of Jesus. Rub my thumbs around the whirlpool of flesh in the centre of his palms and let them rest on the nail holes, where once upon a time, there opened, right there, in the middle of his blood stained, split and tender tendons, two violent vortexes, two deeply devouring, all engulfing, sin sucking vengeance crushing black holes of all consuming judgment! Down which all the sins from my North and South, East and West poured themselves away. All that’s left now are healed scars, reminders to those who examine His hands, that though now healed and clean, they once carried in their hole pierced centre, all of our dirty and disgusting crimes. All of them. How lovely. How awesome.

It seems to me we all need Jesus to take our grubby little hands, hold them tight in His, as He leads us up the Hill of the Lord. There is no other way to ascend the Hill of the Lord unless our hands have been held and made clean in the tight and manly grip of the Saviours loving palms. Ah, His clean hands. Have you got them in yours today?

Listen:- For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. Hebrews 9:24-28 NIV

Pray:- Oh lead me, to the place where I can find you, Oh lead me to the place where You will be. Lead me to the cross, where we first met. Draw me to my knees so we can talk. Let me feel your breath. Let me know you're here with me. Amen.

Dec-09-Springs of Strawberry Jam

Key Word:- USE

Title:- Springs of Strawberry Jam

2 Kings 4:1
A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.”

So here was once a wonderful and honourable hard working prophet. However, you might want to cut this situation up to examine it a little more. Let’s look now shall we? This man was God’s servant, a prophet, Godly and yet, he was dirt poor. More than that, it would appear that he lived out his calling in struggling debt. Many British pastors and Evangelists especially, do exactly the same.

As someone who ‘fears the Lord’ we can assume that this prophet did not by any means lead a profligate lifestyle. Yet the Scriptures present us with an obedient man who never the less lived a life in financial lack and subsequently, died in debt, bequeathing to his wife nothing, except the forthcoming slavery of their two sons, which by the way, were her only source of income in her old age. What a mess!

King David may never have seen the righteous begging bread but here is a righteous family, fallen over the edge of disasters cliff, and plummeting to a most horrendous crash, begging bread! Good grief, they are selling themselves! Interestingly, the side margin notes in the Geneva Bible on this verse say that he “did not fall into debt by carelessness or excess but by the hand of the Lord.” Now there’s an interesting thought. Maybe what Jesus said about the man born blind, who was thus so ill equipped to see in this world, to function in this world, is also true of this man and his family in this world? “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.” John 9:3

At the beginning of the 21st Century, the British Governments national debt runs into the hundreds of billions! British personal debt has risen above the trillion barrier and rises ever still. Across the pond, the situation fairs little better for the national debt of the population of the USA rises in excess of nearly several billion dollars, per day! It’s obvious that the vast majority of people, are to some extent in financial crisis, even the whole global economy. It’s bust!

The answer to the problem of debt here in 2 Kings 4, was a miracle! As miraculous as: if you were to discover springs of strawberry jam in Devon and the open mining of clotted cream in Cornwall! It’s a miracle as awesome as that! For the prophets widow was told to take her only asset of a jar of oil, then collect every single one of her neighbors empty jars, go into her house, close the doors and begin pouring and so she did and she poured and she poured and she poured, until she could pour no more.

All Christians in want should pour! Yes, we too should we get on our knees and pray for a miracle, even go hunting for powerful Elisha’s carrying nothing with us but a big empty jar and some desperate hope? Shouldn’t we do that?

Well we should certainly hope and pray for a miracle. God is clearly showing us here, that it is not beyond Him to act in such a fashion. He’s done it before and He can do it again, and all God’s people said amen and amen! However, let’s be honest, it doesn’t happen like this often. In fact, I know of no instance of this particular kind of miracle occurring in my lifetime just yet, anywhere. Why Lord? I mean, good grief, there are hundreds of thousands of the righteous in need of such a miracle. Why can’t we have some costly and consumable, self-replenishing item that will fill up every empty jar that we can lay our hands on? Sure, it would wreck the economy, but Lord, it’s wrecked already! Indeed, many Christians are wrecked already as well, for despite any gobal crisis, debt is still a dirty word among us and still brings chaos and confusion into Christian lives, yes, it still breaks hearts and families. So, what can we do O Lord? What can we do?

Well like this widow woman, we can call the man. Only Jesus can help us out of our mess. Nations and individuals do need to get down on their knees and call on Jesus for help. This is the first step, it is the vital step; call the man. When you do this, with compassion and grace, yes that’s it GRACE! Jesus will look upon you and may I say, even if you have been like the prodigal son, profligate in all your financial dealings, then still, with compassion and grace He will look upon you and help you! Undoubtedly He will then speak to us about our assets. Be they ever so meager, ever so exhausted, He will speak to us about them for even the poorest among us have jars of clay, and in those jars are dreams, in those jars are desires, in those jars are talents, in those jars are gifts, abilities, propensities, yes, in those jars are possibilities. So, let me ask you today, in the name of Jesus, “what is in your Jar of clay dear friend?”

If you read the rest of the passage from 2 Kings 4, you will notice that once the jar of oil was utilized, it was then miraculously enabled to keep on coming up with the goods. Indeed the capacity for filling ended without the ability to pour ever diminishing in the slightest! The end product then was much more than ‘jam today’, it was a full clearing of the debt with provision of more than enough for the whole family to live on for the rest of their days! It was jam for today and jam for tomorrow!

Let’s ask Jesus, to fully utilize our assets within His fiscally secure and enormously enabled economy today.

Listen:- Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6

Pray: - Lord, bathe our steps with cream and pour out rivers of oil for us all, that all our debts would be stilled and all our families provided for, in Jesus name we pray, Amen. Job 29:6

Dec-08-Bursting Contentious Bubbles With Math

Key Word:- CONFLICT

Title:- Bursting Contentious Bubbles With Math

Acts 15:37-39
Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark. But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work. Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another.

We should of course contend earnestly for the faith. However, maybe not so earnestly for our own opinions and desires. Extrapolating from our text for today, some say that despite the contention, God was good in any event, as now two missionary teams were being sent out. One team to Cyprus and the other to Syria and then on to Silicia. On the other hand, some say that only Paul was in the right, after all it was he alone who was eventually commended by the brethren to the grace of God for Barnabus had already picked up his ball and sulked off home. Tell me, whom do you think was in the right here and does it matter anyway?

Well, of course it matters. The truth is that this fierce disputation led to many people being hurt and a useful and profitable team being split up and I tell you folks, everywhere Paul went, when his former team mate Barnabus was asked after, Paul would have to explain his absence and recount the unfortunate incident. How very embarrassing!

Ogden Nash the U.S. writer of humorous poetry concludes his poem entitled 'I never even suggested it' by saying “I recommend to you this morale: In real life it takes only one to make a quarrel.” Now that’s worth thinking about!

In any relationship, when your own thoughts and desires come before the other persons, remember this equation.

Pre-determination + insistence = contention and separation.

Listen:- A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city , And contentions are like the bars of a castle. Proverbs 18:19 NKJV

Pray:- Lord, keep me open to Your will. Keep me tuned to Your voice. Lord come blunt my prickly spirit, that I might maintain the unity of Your Holy Spirit in the bond of peace. In Your great name I pray, amen!

Dec-07-The Deeper Magic

Key Word:- HOPE

Title:- The Deeper Magic

Hebrews 12:22-24
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.

Walt Disney’s Magic Kingdom is a ‘Mecca’ for those people of longing hearts, both young and old, still seeking to get some of their wishes realized and get a big white gloved ‘high four,’ which says ‘well done and welcome,’ from the big eared little mouse-man and master of ceremonies himself, Mr. Mickey Mouse.
In Disney world, profits and good business have not yet thoroughly allowed political correctness to rob the children of what is innately theirs; that is, beauty and courage. For as you trudge the happy little streets where each hour of every single day, good is seen to triumph over evil, around your grown up feet will walk ten thousand little children, the boys wielding some kind of shining sword, slaying dragons, with all the girls dressed as Cinderella, Sleeping beauty, Ariel or some other stunnnig priness, each one waiting eagerly for their prince to come, each one naturally, innocently, unmanaged and unreservedly playing out that which has been laid up in their hearts!
Many adults wander Mickey’s Magic Kingdom without children in tow. The only child they have with them is the one that we all carry deep inside, the one that longs for the lost summers of long ago, the lost dreams, the lost hopes, lost ‘might have beens’, lost magic, if you will. If these grown ups had the chance, most of the men even now would carry a sword and all of the older women would be dressed in waiting white, decked in colour glorious, bejeweled in sparkling splendor. Maybe the Magic of Mickey’s Kingdom for both young and old is the dream of what might have been and the hope of what might yet be?

Now, away from the fantastic fireworks, the light displays and dancing lasers, the castles and the smiling faces, let me take you to another kingdom. It is a broken one and a city there is cloaked in black and a preacher long since passed yet speaking still; aptly paints its circumstance with the thickest of brushstrokes, that we who are most familiar with lost magic might at last have a little hope. Listen to an old prince of preachers from long ago now, listen:

“Walk the streets by moonlight, if you dare, and you will see sinners then. Watch when the night is dark, and the wind is howling, and the picklock is grating in the door, and you will see sinners then. Go to yon jail, and walk through the wards, and mark the men with heavy over-hanging brows, men whom you would not like to meet at night, and there are sinners there. Go to the Reformatories, and note those who have betrayed a rampant juvenile depravity, and you will see sinners there. Go across the seas to the place where a man will gnaw a bone upon which is reeking human flesh, and there is a sinner there. Go where you will, you need not ransack earth to find sinners, for they are common enough; you may find them in every lane and street of every city, and town, and village, and hamlet. It is for such that Jesus died.

The truth that Mickey’s Magic Kingdom encapsulates and sells so gloriously, is down to the desire and hope within us all, for better things, for renewal if you will, no more than that, for redemption! We the church, at the end of the age, need to learn from this and need to re-educate ourselves on what it means to be men and women, beautiful warrior princesses, chaste and charming princes belonging to eternal King, who has redeemed us from the Kingdom of bone gnawing darkness and despair into His glorious Kingdom of light and made us equipped, made us confident, made us surefooted, made us more than conquerors and unrelenting pursuers the fleeing serpent.

As we approach the end of all things, the howling wind may be wrapping itself about the dark night once more in it’s cold and ever tighter grip on humanity and yes indeed, self eating, self hating men and women, lost in slavery to sin, today may still sit abused in the dark corners of satanic dungeons, but look at the scathing scene and see! SEE in each ones hand, they hold in their cupped and shaking dirty little grip, something different, something lost and something yet still hoped and longed for! It is a knowledge of better things, that still carries with it a perfume of hope that even the excrement of sin cannot thoroughly overpower. Do you smell it? HOPE!

Hope may die last in Russia but when it is the last thing to die in a human being, that human being will die.

We who belong to Christ have this cup of hope and knowledge full to overflowing. Let’s today experientially sip from it in all its fullness and then, let’s SHOW THE DESPERATE HOW TO POSSES it for themselves.

May God help us in this Divine mission, this caring conquest of restoring the deeper magic to a lost and lonely stinking world.

Listen:- Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are confident of better things in your case-things that accompany salvation. God is not unjust; He will not forget your work and the love you have shown Him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. Hebrews 6:9-12 NIV

Pray:- Someday My Father, Jesus my prince, will come. Help me to be found abounding in redemptions fullness, fighting in this Your story glorious! In His wonderful name I pray. Amen.

Dec-06-Not Many Days from Now

Key Word:- EXPECTATION

Title:- Not Many Days from Now

Acts 1:5
for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.

Christopher Marlow, was born in Canterbury England, in 1564. A prolific writer, one of his best known poems is entitled, 'The Passionate Shepherd to his love'. Here, six stanzas of pure and pleasurable possibilities are capped with this final invitation, 'If these delights thy mind may move, Then live with me, and be my Love'.

Jesus had previously said to his disciples, 'It is to your advantage I go away, for then I shall send the Helper to you, who will guide you into all truth, speak to you what He hears from Me, and tell you of things to come. He will make sure you do not feel deserted, so that you do not live as orphans but as sons of the living God'. In other words dear friends Jesus is saying, 'If these delights thy mind may move, Then live with me, and be my Love'.

Marlow was the prodigal son who never returned. A faker and a fugitive, Marlow in his fleeing from God became a self made orphan who in the end, even denied God's existence. As an awful forger of gold coins he had been deported from the Netherlands and lastly as an angry fugitive, he was murdered in a bar brawl aged 33.

Aged 33 Christ our lover, our passionate shepherd was crucified for our sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day. Conquering death, He purchased our redemption, buying back all that had been lost. Everything! And to us, His beloved little lambs, He gives the Holy Spirit, the fulfillment of all the previous promises of pleasurable and pure possibilities. Dear friends, wait for what ever He has told you. For it shall surely come to pass, not many days from now.

'If these delights thy mind may move, Then live with me, and be my Love'.

Listen:-“Whatever He says to you, do it.” John 2:5

Pray:- Your delights have moved me O Lord, I want to live in You and I want to live with You and I want for You to be my love.' So I will wait on You O Lord and I will hope in You forever. Amen.

Dec-05-Dancing Days and Party Places!

Key Word:- REMEMBER

Title:- Dancing Days and Party Places!

Psalm 42:4 TLB
Take courage, my soul! Do you remember those times (but how could you ever forget them!) when you led a great procession to the Temple on festival days, singing with joy, praising the Lord? Why then be downcast? Why be discouraged and sad? Hope in God! I shall yet praise him again. Yes, I shall again praise him for his help.

Probably never before in history has leisure been termed an industry. That is, an industry that can be described as: ‘a composition of works and services that manufacture relaxation and diversions from the mundane and the ordinary for millions of people, which subsequently provides a vast profit margin to pay wages, satisfy stockholders and support further investment!’ From the point of view of the leisure industry, all the days that we the consumer spends imbibing on the aforesaid services during our vacations, are considered by them, as not just holidays but ‘holy’ days; for without our happy and full use of the leisure industry, it would collapse. And great would be the fall thereof! The 42 square miles (and growing) of Disney Land in South Florida is but a small example of how large this industry has become. Leisure, vacation time, holy days and holidays! What is that all about anyway?

The Holy days of feasting and celebration in the Old Testament might be summed up under three main titles.

1. Passover,
2. Pentecost and
3. Pilgrimage.

In many respects, these three celebrations are linked to an agrarian society and are therefore cyclical, expected and allowable in their context of the natural seasons of life, for there is in nature after all, a time to work and a time to rest. In specific respects, these three feasts are also commanded remembrances of God. Three times then, God in effect commands that the people of Israel, “Take time to remember and celebrate my redemption, my provision, and your journey. Oh and when you do, be happy, eat, drink and dance!”

An examination of these Holy days of God then show them to be focused on a linked remembrance to what He has done, what He is doing, and esoecially to where we are going with Him, for it is He who has redeemed us, has provided us with His presence and His power having placed our feet upon the King’s Highway setting our feet and our face towards the heavenly Jerusalem, Zion itself, the city of God, even our very own eternal home! We need to both remember and rejoice in this.

Now let’s be honest. Our journeying to heaven means so very little to many of us, for the sense of anticipation and celebration that we should have in the remembrance of these things is frankly just not there! Why is this? Can such apathy be remedied and if so, then how do we do that and what difference would it make to our leisure and life if it were remedied?

Well, the Holy days of God, are for our blessing. They are our festival days. They are for the comfort of our soul, the preservation of our sanity and the good of our bodies. In this, these days are there to serve us. Remember that that Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath! Unfortunately, we believe the leisure industry is there to serve us! If they can make a few bob, a few dollars out of doing it, then all the better for them we say but their real purpose is to provide us with comfort peace and the prosperity of body soul and spirit we so desperately long for. And if you believe that friends, then you’ll believe anything! No, regarding the leisure industry, it is just that, an industry. So, we the leisure consumer, are there to service that industry. Not the other way around. We are there for it! The leisure industry exists essentially to make the parting with our money and the escalation of their profits, as pleasant as possible for us. The Leisure industry is not about us it is about money. No wonder our holidays so rarely refresh us and prosper us on our spiritual journey.

The contrast is that God’s Bible Holydays are about Him and us but our industry driven holidays are about them and us, but mostly about them and even more about us and I don’t think this can be changed. Maybe it shouldn’t be? Maybe we should just accept it for what it is. Treat the animal for what it is. Enjoy the ride. Take that vacation. However, don’t expect to get closer to God on your holidays! Don’t expect to feel more attuned to His gifts, His power, or your journey. They’re not that kind of Holy days that the leisure industry is providing you with after all! God wants you to take your spent self and be renewed for the journey. The leisure industry, simply wants you to spend.

How can we remedy our own often exhausted situation, our own lack of true spiritual reflection, true rest and remembrance, with the true impartation of power which leads to the embracing of the next steps of our long journey onwards and upwards? Well, maybe we need to look at our places of party and yes, I am talking about the local church gathering.

You see, if the gatherings of the church on the Lord’s Day are rarely marked by remembrance, rejoicing, and rededication but mostly marked by stricture, unprepared for study and sullenness, then dear friend, you will die instead of dance. I truly believe that even the very thought of the gathering of the church of God should be marked by a dancing expectation among us. How about you and your church? I mean, what are you doing on the Lord’s Day? Dying or dancing? After all, how many of your neighbours are so amazed at what God has done for you on a Sunday, that when they see you on a Monday morning they think you have been on spectacular break? Ask yourself what thankfulness you might take to the party on Sunday? What prayerful preparation can you be making for the day? What offering are you bringing? What goodness shall you share? For maybe if in the local church, our true place of party, we started providing each other with days of dancing remembrance, making the Holy day of Sunday the greatest time of the week, then maybe, just maybe, both we and the world would never be the same again? Why not make each gathering on the Lord’s Day something to remember. Be sure to thoroughly prepare for each Sunday and make it a party to remember.

Listen:- And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them -walking, leaping, and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God. Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. Acts 3:7-10

Pray: - Lord, thank You for these Your holydays and by the power of Your Holy Spirit, please mark them in my weekly calendar, by signs of life and liberty and dancing community, in Jesus name I pray, amen.

Dec-04-Singing Soldiers

Key Word:- PREPARE

Title:- Soldiers Singing The Saviours Songs of Safety

Isaiah 26:1
In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:

Le Chambon-sur-Lignon is a town in France that became a haven for escaping Jews during WWII. They were hidden in homes, farms and public institutions. Whenever the Nazi patrols came searching for the Jews, the hiding hunted were taken to the countryside and let loose to lose themselves amongst the dense foliage of the surrounding woodland. As soon as the soldiers left, the French gentiles would go into the forest and sing a song. When the hidden and trembling Jews heard that tune, they knew it was safe to return. Today, this whole community of singing French folk are immortalized in ‘Yad Vashem,’ the Jewish memorial to the holocaust, as being ‘righteous amongst the nations’. Such a position entitles them and their offspring to honorary citizenship in the nation of Israel.

Though it is my opinion, that unnecessary war within the church may often be averted if we the members of the church, whilst thoroughly embracing the present in love would also set our sights on heaven’s gates, it is also my opinion, that when the gates of hell rise up and spew their mess over communities and continents, it is then when we, the truly heavenly minded, will be of most earthly use. In other words, when morality itself is being murdered, it is time for us soldiers of the cross to become singing combatants.

Our song says this: “We have a strong city! God Himself is the source of that strength. Christ in us, the hope of glory, has made us the righteous, strong walls and bulwarks within the city of His choosing. In God we are the strength of the city. We are the strength of the city and it’s gates are open wide to those who hold the truth in righteousness!”

Whilst not diminishing the land of nation of Israel, spiritually speaking, the church is the Israel of God. When we sing our song of salvation, through our prayers, our words and our deeds, it announces protection for those fleeing the great death. Let me ask you then Christian friend, what song, if any, is your spirit singing today to bring people from the wild, wild woods into the city of God?

Listen:- “We have a strong city; God will appoint salvation for walls and bulwarks. Open the gates, That the righteous nation which keeps the truth may enter in. You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, For in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength.” Isaiah 26:1-4

Pray: - Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! Sing to the Lord , all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord , bless His name; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.
3 Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples.
4 For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the Lord made the heavens.
6 Honor and majesty are before Him; Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.
7 Give to the Lord , O families of the peoples, Give to the Lord glory and strength.
8 Give to the Lord the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come into His courts.
9 Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, "The Lord reigns; The world also is firmly established, It shall not be moved; He shall judge the peoples righteously." Psalms 96:1-10 NKJV

Dec-03-Terminal Sickness

Key Word:- PREPARE

Title:- Terminal Sickness

Philippians 1:21-24 TEV
For what is life? To me, it is Christ. Death, then, will bring more. But if by continuing to live I can do more worthwhile work, then I am not sure which I should choose. I am pulled in two directions. I want very much to leave this life and be with Christ, which is a far better thing;

In 2004, Director Stephen Spielberg teamed up with American actor Tom Hanks for the third time, to produce a film called ‘The Terminal.’ The story revolves around a fictitious eastern European immigrant, one ‘Victor Nagorski,’ whose country is overcome by revolution whilst he is in transit. On arriving in New York Nagorsky is ‘country less’ and therefore has no legal way that he can enter America. So for 9 months, Victor takes up residence in ‘terminal 1’ of J.F. Kennedy airport!

You might think this is a little too far fetched to be believed, except that it is based on the true story of ‘Merhan Karimi Nasseri,’ an Iranian immigrant, who up to and even after the filming of The Terminal in 2004, had been living in Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris since August 26th 1988. Danielle Yzerman, spokeswoman for Charles de Gaulle, comments on Nasseri’s long and continued stay in saying that “An airport is kind of a place between heaven and earth and he has found a home here.” Found a home there? Yes indeed, for you see after living in that strange bubble for so many years, Nasseri, became very quietly, quite, quite bonkers. Sad but true.

I wonder if serious Christians living gloriously in this present world, yet doing so with unremitting attention and persistent application of all their very being to their true home of heaven, have had come upon them a similar kind of madness, a sickness if you will, for Heaven’s gates? Yes a sickness, because we are all in a terminal time line and our mental, physical, psychological and spiritual health, all depend so much in the embracing of where we are on that time line right now. We Christians live on earth but our eyes and hearts are in heaven. Yes, we Heaven gazers, we longing lookers, must never-the-less, be fully present in the present to live saneley! Well how can we do this? How can who are right now also seated with Christ in the heavenlies, also live well in this present spiritual dimension between heaven and earth? Well, allow me to try and explain how we might do this by contrasting both youth and maturity.

Christian youth should carry with it, an exciting sense of destiny. There is a race to be run, there is a course to be completed, and there is a fight to be victorious in. Heaven is our hope and our goal, and the destinies of this life and this age, have under the guidance of God the Holy Spirit, taken on a more solid form for us. We are young and we have something to accomplish, something to achieve with our life in this world. Heaven will be nice when we are dead but for now, we want to live! So goes the musings of youth and that kind of thinking, is in my mind, quite natural. Who wants heaven when there is so much to be done right here!

Christian maturity, on the other hand, should carry with it an exciting sense of completion. The race is drawing to a close, the battle has been fought and we have the scars to prove it and above all this, our reward awaits us and we know it. Under the guidance of God, the Holy Spirit our future life has taken upon itself an even more solid form, a kinder attraction, a buzzing expectation if you will. It is far better to be with Christ and we know it and now we begin to long and yearn for it all the more. Who wants this tireld old earth and this injured old body when all the happiness of our home in heaven calls us to a most glorious rest.

Too be young and long only for heaven’s gates, may be indicative of some spiritual disease, some terminal disease if you will. Consequently, to be mature and long to stay here in the terminal, may be a sign of spiritual deformity, of spiritual childishness of matronly mutton being dressed as little lambs. It’s just ridiculous!
So to the Young I say: “Get on your knees and ask God to reveal to you your glorious earthly destiny. The way He wishes for you to go, the battles you are to fight, the giants you are to slay, the kingdoms you are to posses. Get on your knees and ask Him to show you this. For if you have no sense of calling, purpose or destiny, you are diseased and in need of spiritual counsel, help, healing and releasing. Get on your knees!”

To the Mature I say: “If you have no eager anticipation of that which now speedily comes upon you, then you are disabled and deformed." Yes, if you are older, then you should be ready and your desire for heaven should have increased and not wained. Only the regret of the incompletion of your task can rob you of this happy expectation. If you have been robbed of this heavenly expectation then I wonder if the good God might say to you today: “Get up! Be healed! I am able to restore to you all the years the locusts have eaten! I am able to make your end better and more prosperous than your beginning. I want you to have success in this life and the life to come! I want you to expect a glorious and joyful ‘well done you good and faithful servant!’” I tell you friend, if breath is in your body; it is not too late to achieve great things for God right here, right now, whilst you also still long and look for heaven.

You know where you are on the timeline today friends, so let me ask you: “Are you diseased or deformed? Or are you at ease and informed?” To fully possess your present you must appreciate and experience just hwere you are on your time line. If you aren’t possessing your present, then I wonder just what kind of terminal sickness might be upon you today?

Listen:- For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself. Philippians 3:19-21

Pray: - Lord, help me to abide in You in such a way, that while sojourning between my new heavenly home and this old earth, I might live well here, and may have such confidence in pleasing You that I would not be ashamed at Your glorious appearing. Amen.

Dec-02-The Shining

Key Word:- GRACE

Title:- The Shining

John 18:34-36
… “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”

Today in 1954, the U.S. Senate voted by 65 to 22 to condemn Senator Joseph R. McCarthy for ‘conduct unbecoming of a senator.’ This condemnation, which was equivalent to a censure really, related to McCarthy's callous and very controversial investigation of so called suspected communists in the then government and military, even spreading eventually to society as a whole. The Senator died in 1957 from Alcoholism.

McCarthyism has become the term deemed for any ‘witch-hunt’ and subsequent removal of, anyone who holds contrary opinions to you. Some would say that there is evidence of a rise of such 'McCarthyism' within the church of the Living God even today. If this is the case my question then is three fold:

1) Is such a searching and subsequent ejection of those with differing views in the church ever necessary?
2) Should such a searching of those who differ with us and subsequent ejection be expected and seen amongst us?
3) If so, how can we live and function in such perpetual and bitter turmoil as was clearly evidenced in the era of McCarthyism?

For a church seemingly so consitantly at war with itsef these are very important questions.

For years now I have held an ideal of the church being ‘The Safest Place on Earth.’ A place where grace reigns and sinners journey into Jesus and into the loving and waiting arms of the Father. Whilst never condoning or assisting open sin, I will always strive for this ideal. I will always be found amongst sinners, chest beaters, toenail gazers, people seeking mountains of mercy to fall upon them. I have found that there is little danger here among the truly repentant and thankful I can tell you, especially when compared to the wider and established church which is not ‘the safest place on earth’ at all but is in fact, the most dangerous place on the planet. I wonder if well established self resepctability always has been and always will be a most dangerous place for struggling sinenrs? After all, the right and the self righteous have rarely ever taken any prisoners of grace to their hearts.

Phillip Yancey records in his book, ‘Soul Survivor’ ( or how I survived the abuse of the church,) that in his own home church in Georgia, Dr Martin Luther King Jr, was referred to by many white conservative, bible believing, God honouring, patriotic people as, ‘Dr Martin Lucifer Coon.’ Interestingly, if you were a black civil rights activist then, you were also ‘McCarthyised’ by many church leaders. My point is that war in the church is not new. Even history has shown that the ecumenical councils of the early church, the shed blood of the reformation, the social restructuring of equality instead of slavery, have always produced quakes and shakes within the church. Civil wars over such matters have drenched many a battlefield with the blood of thousands who whole heartedly believed in their cause; one way or another.

Truth, it would appear, has often had to wear a blood red gauntlet. Jesus especially told us that His message would not bring community peace upon the earth, but rather the sword of separation. In addition to this, He told us that the enemy would sow tares amongst the wheat; whilst Paul also gives evidence of such tares in the form of spies and false apostles being used remarkably well by the enemy in the disruption and attempted disfiguring of the church and the gospel. The wider church it seems has always been a dangerous place to be.

What are the answers to my 3 questions then? How should we deal with those folk who are dangerously contrary to us?

Well, first, you cannot tamper with the gospel! You are twice cursed to do so, even to the emasculation of the giving of life to anyone! Yes indeed, Paul says if you’re going to tamper with grace by adding circumcision to the gospel for example, then just go ahead and chop the lot off! Paul was a radical when it came to the gospel of grace. So if the gospel of grace is being tampered with, then in this case, ejection is not only dreadful and painful but both mandatory and necessary. Grace cannot be added to. Those that try to, need to leave.

Secondly, because of this persistent infiltration of darkness and warpedness, the church like a mangy dog will often be seen to rise up from the dust and shake itself vigorously. Gentile dogs, redeemed from the termination of the pound, are always vigorous in this kind of shaking. Always. The church like any healthy and living body is always cleaning itself. But please, let's make sure though, that we only get rid of the blood sucking flees.Yes, we must get rid of the blood sucking flees.

Thirdly the church is probably one of the most dangerous places on the planet. We simply need to make peace with that and make sure we are on the right side of many a bloody conflict. This side of heaven, the church will always be a place of conflict and more so as the return of the Lord approaches and false prophets in pathetic pulpits all the more abound.

In the middle of such open war then, how can we the true church, ever hope to remain unscathed and experience at least some measure of peace and unity? After all, being a dog owner of many years, I know, that too much shaking and too much scratching, can lead to unnecessary bleeding, infection, sickness, and disability!

Well, surely Jesus in our text today is saying that we should fight, not for the Kingdoms of this world, but for His kingdom, which is remember, of another world. Again the gospel demands we lift our eyes and seek out the gates of a distant and very distinct Kingdom, coming soon in practicality but here already in a risen reality that shines from our hearts, or should do any way! The kingdom of God changes the places in which we live and we must remember that without ‘the true shining’ without the shimmering of God’s golden grace, such seeming community change is actually forced and not free and often led by the flesh and a thousand other false ideas. All communities are doomed to eventual failure unless they are built on sacrificial love and sacrificial love always fights for grace and the rights of the truly redeemed.

Lastly, let us remember that when all of our shaking exceeds its righteous bounds by beginning to bite and devour one another, then the bad bitch of death has come to gnaw our bones and soon the smell of the prison pound from which we were once so royally purchased, will be upon us once again. All our shaking and ejecting, all our pruning and protecting, must be done in Kingdom light and kingdom love.

At any cost then, we the redeemed of the Lord, must always manifest the shining of the light of the gracious Kingdom of our loving God.

Listen:- “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.” Luke 17:20-21

Pray: - Lord in all our shaking, in all our shedding and in all our civil wars, Shine Jesus Shine,! Let the world see the Father’s glory! Amen.

Dec-01-A Martian with a Message

Key Word:- COMMUNICATE

Title:- A Martian with a Message

Jonah 4:9
Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” And he said, “It is right for me to be angry, even to death!”

British poet, Craig Raine is reputed to be the founder of ‘Martian Poetry.’ That is, poetry that takes the every day common things of life and by seeing them from a different perspective, a different pair of eyes even, is able to magnify their properties purpose and being to such an extent, that the wonder and quality of what they are can be more clearly seen and then in new found freshness, be that much more excitedly appreciated!

It’s not a new technique, indeed, it is an ancient and biblical form of communication. Painting pictures, vast canvases of communicative convection, which lift us up like soaring eagles forcing us to fly against the gold basement entrance door to the heavenly cityis not new. No, this is the way God has always communicated to us. Through the visual.

It is true that the Word became flesh and when He clothed Himself with the body prepared for Him, He then focused for thirty years on His job as carpenter and creator of both form and function. Aged thirty however, He took off the workman’s pouch and decked Himself with the robe of the painting prophet and whilst purposely pacing the road to Jerusalem, producing a million pictures to communicate to the listening lost and the watching and weeping masses, He magnificently portrayed the love of the Father through: ‘sheep, shepherds, vines, camels, candles, gates, wolves, needles, hens and chicks, roads and robbers, bread and gates, millipedes and mustard seeds, leaven and lost coins……well, you see what I mean? A picture is worth a thousand words, and Jesus knew it and utilised it.

As students of effective communication, we Christians should be examining the canvass in which we live to see what relevant similes and metaphors exist so that we too can effectively utilize them to communicate Biblical truth to people who are lost and going to hell! Some people have suggested that God is already doing this through non Christian Hollywood directors anyway and we simply need to get with His program! It’s an interesting thought but again, it’s not a new one. Many Years ago, Don Richardson, reputedly one of the most wildly read authors on missions at the end of the twentieth century, produced a book called ‘Eternity in their Hearts,’ proposing the idea that each culture has some God embedded story, ritual, or tradition that can be used to illustrate and apply the Christian gospel message. Hmm. I wonder?

If God is at work in our world today, is it inconceivable that He might be embedding pictures of redemption in the visual and audible canvass of contemporary culture? Is God embossing His redemptive truth upon Hollywood movies? Is God implanting His truth in sitcoms and television programs? Is God repeatedly reaching out to people in these ways, despite the slowness of His church in taking up the challenge and reaching for the golden thread, running rich and coated red amongst the rolling reels? Is it a concept worthy of consideration? Many Christians certainly think so. After all, just how much does God love the world?

So friend, if these things are indeed so, then the implications on evangelism are far reaching. Dare I suggest, that God has left us many opportunities for communication of the gospel within our own contemporary culture and that if only our skin got a little thicker and our heart a little bigger, we might just be able to change from being viewed as weird and wacky, angry little aliens from another planet, with no relevance to real life at all, to becoming viewed as maybe “Martians with a message worth listening to!” For the sake of the millions without Jesus, it’s surely worth thinking about. Isn’t it? What and how are you watching the images of your contemporary culture? Do you see pictures of redemption to build your conversations on? Are you contemporary? Are you redemptively relevant?

Listen:- But the LORD said, “You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night. And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left — and much livestock?” Jonah 4:10-11

Pray: - Lord; lover, writer, potter, painter, touch the dead hearts of grey ghosts we live with and cover them with the resplendent and living colours of Your seeking, searching and sacrificial love. Do it through us and O God make us Your brushstrokes please and if we will not willingly be dipped in Your paint, please grab us anyhow and then do it anyway; do it despite us dear Jesus. Make us contemporary, make us Martians. Amen.

Nov-30-Of Delirious Proportions

Key Word:- ONCE

Title:- Of Delirious Proportions

Hebrews 9:27
And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,

Mark Twain, that ‘personality which defined an era’, was born today in 1835. His married and eldest daughter Susan, ‘passed away’ aged 24. His son Langdon, had already died of diphtheria at an early age, so the death of Susy Clemens, came as an even greater blow. Clemens was Twain’s real last name and the epitaph on his daughters grave stone reads as follows:

Warm summer sun, shine friendly here
Warm western wind, blow kindly here;
Green sod above, rest light, rest light,
Good-night, Dear heart
Goodnight, good-night.

This is in fact taken from the end of a much longer piece written by Australian Poet Robert Richardson, published in 1893. In this work entitled ‘Annette,’ the poet imagines himself standing by the graveside of this former vivacious and promiscuous young woman and saying “

If that ancient ethic view
Of Pythagoras be true,
Your light soul is surely now
In that bird upon the bough,
Singing, with soft-swelling throat,
To the wind that heeds it not;
Or in that blue butterfly,
Flitting like a jewel by,
Flashing golden to the sun.
Soon, like yours, its day is run -
Dead, and only twenty-one!

My point today is to highlight that ‘there is nothing new under the sun’ and the espousing by the ‘New Age Movement,’ of reincarnation and transmigration of the soul, is indeed nothing new, having it’s roots not only in the East, but in the ancient past.

Current Gurus, whether with flowing beards or shaved legs; or whether wearing pants or togas; decked in brilliant minds or braggart souls; are not touting, spouting any new stuff but old guff, gilded anew in political correctness! There is more to come, mark my words, there is more to come and with it, a whole panoply of deceiving spirits, ‘channeling’ pictures perspectives and power. I am convinced, we have not yet seen the half of it.

The Bible is clear. One life. One death. One judgment. I can understand how the echoes of eternity, it’s dark and empty vastness within us like some deep and bottomless well, demands to be filled by something, by someone. Deep cries to deep. Listen. Deep cries to deep. Let us be vociferously violent in our proclamation of truth, so as not to give these shallow charlatans the opportunity to try and fill this God shaped vastness with bobbing lies and sea green sewage from the shores of hell.

However friend, in doing this, the call is out: “The old will not do! A new type of disciple is required to meet this old, New Age. A disciple with the ‘goods of the gospel and not just the words;’ a disciple with true depth of and in, the Almighty; a disciple of delirious proportions, a disciple that laughs at hells gate and rejoices with joy unspeakable and full of glory before the mad and watching crowds.” What age are you fit to witness to today dear friend?

Listen:- For Christ has entered into heaven itself to appear now before God as our Friend. It was not in the earthly place of worship that he did this, for that was merely a copy of the real temple in heaven. Nor has he offered himself again and again, as the high priest down here on earth offers animal blood in the Holy of Holies each year. If that had been necessary, then he would have had to die again and again, ever since the world began. But no! He came once for all, at the end of the age, to put away the power of sin forever by dying for us. And just as it is destined that men die only once, and after that comes judgment, so also Christ died only once as an offering for the sins of many people; and he will come again, but not to deal again with our sins. This time he will come bringing salvation to all those who are eagerly and patiently waiting for him.
Hebrews 9:24-28 TLB

Pray: - Holy Spirit, dig and clear Your deep well within me. Remove the garbage and let springs of living water flow, that I and others, may draw joy from the wells of salvation. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.