Nov-23-Avoiding The Disappointment at the End Of Gushing Tap

Dream Word – PREPARE

Luke 9:62
But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." NKJV.

Avoiding The Disappointment at the End Of a Gushing Tap

At the end of a long day, usually when my old bones are stiff, my joints are a creaking and my muscles are contracted with stress, sometimes, instead of a shower I long for the long therapeutic relaxation that only a hot bath can provide. It never ceases to disappoint me then, even to the point of utter disgust, when while sitting naked and slightly cold, longingly and expectantly waiting in the running water for the final filling up of the shroud of my warm death, that just before you get to the point where you can slip beneath the bubbles and even cover your hairy and white blubbery old belly, the hot water sometimes just runs out! I stand abruptly. Naked, angry, cursing the waves, while whipping out the plug and letting go the lukewarm water down the wasteful drain. What a waste of time and effort. Now I am more tense, more spent and more in need of relaxation than when I first disrobed.

I do not think our Jesus likes to find disappointment at the end of a running tap either. For I wonder if there are there is something which He finds ‘appily anticipatory and even ecstatically expectant at the end of our long ploughed furrows. So much so, that should we fail to reach the end, that when the hot water of our hot beginnings runs out before His watching eyes, it leaves him very disappointed. I think He might wish then, that He never even bothered to get ready to relax in enjoyment with us, never even bothered to prepare to bathe with us in all the hot Jacuzzi like completions of our many started endeavours.

So I say to you tonight, keep your water piping hot and make sure, the tank is full and bubbling.

Listen: - Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him." (Hebrews 10:38 NKJV)

Pray:- Lord, give me fuel and ignition and an ever burning fire in the centre of my soul, in Jesus name I pray, amen.

Nov-22-Suited, Booted & Ready! Having No Sympathy For The Devil

Dream Word – PREPARE

Revelation 19:19-20
And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. NKJV

Suited, Booted & Ready! Having No Sympathy For The Devil

It was in Dallas today in 1961 that President John F Kennedy was assassinated. Nearly forty years on from this event it is interesting that over 70% of Americans believe that this assassination of the president was a conspired removal plot.

Though intriguing, the roots of these many conspiracy theories are at best, tangled. Yet never the less, they all point to some form of secret and shadowy forces hid in the background of world affairs moving and manipulating for their own sordid means, protection, greed and gain.

Evil has been around for a long time friends and Lucifer, its not so hidden head, has been waging war against the saints and more particular against their Lord, for unknown ages. We are privileged to have access to the high points of this long battle if not its intricate historical developments but this long war has developed and is developing still.

Be assured that the enemy though thoroughly defeated at Calvary, is not convinced of it and in his anger and in his pride continues to marshal his forces, his satraps, his own bad blood bought dynasties against the marvelous moving of the Most High God.

Evil has been around a long, long time. It has big plans, big people in its pay and bad things at its heart. We may all mostly be but little players on this present stage, poor foot soldiers as it were, warriors only for the working day maybe but be assured of this, that the devil is out to take you out!

Like it or not, we all have a gun pointing at our head, so watch out dear friends, watch out. Get booted, suited and ready for your part in the fight which is so surely to come upon come upon us with an even greater ferocity than ever before in history.

Listen: - The Beast had a loud mouth, boastful and blasphemous. It could do anything it wanted for forty-two months. It yelled blasphemies against God, blasphemed his Name, blasphemed his Church, especially those already dwelling with God in Heaven. It was permitted to make war on God's holy people and conquer them. It held absolute sway over all tribes and peoples, tongues and races. Everyone on earth whose name was not written from the world's foundation in the slaughtered Lamb's Book of Life will worship the Beast. Are you listening to this? They've made their bed; now they must lie in it. Anyone marked for prison goes straight to prison; anyone pulling a sword goes down by the sword. Meanwhile, God's holy people passionately and faithfully stand their ground. Revelation 13:5-10 from, THE MESSAGE

Pray: - Lord, deliver me from paranoia into truth. Let Your peace reign in my open eyes. Blessed be the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle, my loving kindness and my fortress, my high tower and my deliverer, my shield and the One in whom I take my refuge. Amen!

The Rolling Stones - Sympathy For The Devil

Please allow me to introduce myself
Im a man of wealth and taste
Ive been around for a long, long year
Stole many a mans soul and faith
And I was round when jesus christ
Had his moment of doubt and pain
Made damn sure that pilate
Washed his hands and sealed his fate
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name
But whats puzzling you
Is the nature of my game
I stuck around st. petersburg
When I saw it was a time for a change
Killed the czar and his ministers
Anastasia screamed in vain
I rode a tank
Held a generals rank
When the blitzkrieg raged
And the bodies stank
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name, oh yeah
Ah, whats puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, oh yeah
I watched with glee
While your kings and queens
Fought for ten decades
For the gods they made
I shouted out,
Who killed the kennedys?
When after all
It was you and me
Let me please introduce myself
Im a man of wealth and taste
And I laid traps for troubadours
Who get killed before they reached bombay
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah
But whats puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, oh yeah, get down, baby
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah
But whats confusing you
Is just the nature of my game
Just as every cop is a criminal
And all the sinners saints
As heads is tails
Just call me lucifer
cause Im in need of some restraint
So if you meet me
Have some courtesy
Have some sympathy, and some taste
Use all your well-learned politesse
Or Ill lay your soul to waste, um yeah
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, um yeah
But whats puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, um mean it, get down
Woo, who
Oh yeah, get on down
Oh yeah
Oh yeah!
Tell me baby, whats my name
Tell me honey, can ya guess my name
Tell me baby, whats my name
I tell you one time, youre to blame
Ooo, who
Ooo, who
Ooo, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Oh, yeah
Whats me name
Tell me, baby, whats my name
Tell me, sweetie, whats my name
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Oh, yeah

Nov-21-Destroying Distraction

Dream Word – WATCH

1 Corinthians 16:13-14
Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. NKJV

Destroying Distraction

The ‘dumbing down’ of television continues but evidence of its global dimension to dumb down so thoroughly and with such entertaining zest, was found in the 1980’s CBS Television series called ‘Dallas.’ The Story of a corrupt and powerful, wealthy family in the rich oil business was encapsulated by the seedy and steely lead character, a Mr. ‘John Ross Ewing’ as he was known to both his friends and his enemies. Like all evil characters in pantomime, John Ross Ewing got his comeuppance when a secret assassin tried to kill him. Today in 1980, many estimate that some 350 million people tuned in their television sets to find out just who shot J.R. Imagine that! 350 million people!

Distraction is a key form of attack in the devil’s plan to keep people in utter blindness. Entertainment has always been a key conduit for dissimformation, disarmament, disability and distraction to be drip fed to the masses. Now don’t get me wrong here, it works both ways in that entertainment is also a conduit for truth, armament, endowed ability and focus! Yes and because of this, it has always been and will increasingly become a key battleground for the truth. I am not against entertainment but want you to become aware tonight that when you open yourself to it, you are indeed, being warred upon.

Time is short and the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Do not be distracted by silliness, do not be misled or misinformed, Do not be pacified, petrified or putrefied by little pixels of every kind because I tell you this, whenever the enemy get’s you distracted, he shall try and rip your bowels out with a blunt and rusty knife. Watch how you watch. Watch what you watch. Watch where you watch. Watch who you watch.

Listen: - Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. Revelation 3:3 NKJV

Pray: - Guide me in my looking Lord. Savior, show me what to see and in all my fretful glances God, may my watching eyes alight on Thee. Amen.

Nov-20-One Foot In The Grave

Dream Word – HOPE

Genesis 3:19
“In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.” NKJV

One Foot In The Grave

The South of France has always been a place for British ‘Ex Pats,’ seeking solace in the sun. It was a few years ago when I flew into Nice on that same Cote D’Azur and it is here in this 2000 year old French city, that the Anglican church there has one of its most famous European churches. For me the beauties of ‘Holy Trinity’ lies not in its Neo-Gothic majesty or in its rich stained glass, lit majestically above the high alter warmed by the afternoon sun, but rather it is outside, in the green graveyard where lies the mortal remains of a famous Scottish Poet. Today in 1847, the Revd. Henry Francis Lyte died of tuberculosis and was buried in cemetery of Holy Trinity in Nice.

Since 1927, along with the British National anthem, millions of cheering fans at each and every Football Association cup Final have sung Lyte’s most famous of poems. How wonderful is that! Indeed, it is even more wonderful when you understand the life that this man led, for it was indeed a life ever and always lived with one foot in the grave.

Evelyne Millar writes of the second son of Captain Tomas Lyte of the Royal Marines. Henry, born in Scotland, together with his mother and two siblings, followed his father to Ireland. Captain Lyte had been sent there to help put down the 1798 Irish rebellion. Shortly after this, his father deserted the family taking with him Henry’s older brother, whilst his mother returned to England with his other brother. There they died and Henry aged nine years of age was left in Ireland, alone and destitute.

It was the headmaster of his school, Revd. Dr Robert Burrows, who took pity on young Henry, who took him in and cared for him even to the point of paying for his education. Henry, whilst at trinity College Dublin, was awarded the Chancellor's Prize for English Verse for three successive years!

Henry was ordained into the ministry and worked so fervently at his parochial duties and writing that he wore himslef out and contracted a lung disease that would bother him the rest of his life. Indeed, it was his doctor that told him that if he did not seek easier and warmer climates he would die. Throughout his life he would spend long and torturous absences from his duties and family whilst recov ering from these recurring bouts of debilitating illness.

Henry’s final Parish was Brixham on the South Coast of England where he served the last twenty three years of his life, living always with one foot in the grave. Ministering to the sailors of his parish he wrote them hymn books, prayers to be said whilst at sea and of course, sea chanties!

It was just three weeks before his death that he penned his most famous of poems and he sent the finished manuscript to his wife, from Avignon in France. It seemed that he knew that it was very unlikely that he would ever return home. The poem was first sung at his memorial service which was held at his home parish in Brixham and from the lips of a man who spent all his life with one foot in the grave we have left for us one of the most immortal and moving of prayers and lifes observances which ever flowed the pen and heart of man in love with God despite the sorrows of his life.

Listen: - May Lyte’s most famous poem, be our daily and most ardent prayer.

Pray: - Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

Not a brief glance I beg, a passing word;
But as Thou dwell’st with Thy disciples, Lord,
Familiar, condescending, patient, free.
Come not to sojourn, but abide with me.

Come not in terrors, as the King of kings,
But kind and good, with healing in Thy wings,
Tears for all woes, a heart for every plea—
Come, Friend of sinners, and thus bide with me.

Thou on my head in early youth didst smile;
And, though rebellious and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee,
On to the close, O Lord, abide with me.

I need Thy presence every passing hour.
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

Nov-19-Shocking Roman Catholics & The Problem of Pain

Dream Word – CONSIDER

1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. NKJV

Shocking Roman Catholics & The Problem of Pain

It was Oxford University who in 2008 despite the dire economic climate, showed to the world that they had more money than sense, when they took a dozen Roman Catholics and a dozen atheists and stuck them in an MRI brain scanner. While these two dozen, desperate for a few quid in their pocket sets of guinea pigs lay cocooned in the resonator, scientists gazed astonishingly at the part of the brain which modulated the mechanisms of neural pain reception, for whilst administering electric shock therapy to them, they discovered that whilst the Roman Catholic’s meditated on a picture of The Madonna, they were able to withstand more pain than the atheist, who by the way, were simply gazing at an old Davinci’s paining of ‘Lady With An Ermine.’ Conclusion: It is far easier to burned at the stake of you’re a believer providing you have a positive image to focus on. The response from an Anglican Bishop was typical when he said “Of course we should expect this, for faith change’s people’s perceptions.” “Admittedly” one psychologist later admitted, “We could probably get the same results in atheists, providing we shocked them when they themselves had a more personal and positive image placed in front of them!” Say, Madonna or maybe Maradonna, or even a Mars bar. I tell you, the world has gone mad.

No, you don’t have to have faith in Jesus Christ or God The Father to learn how to control pain. However, as I write, though I do have faith in Christ right now, my lower left molar is still throbbing like red hot rivet! Looking at Oxford’s declared faith and pain conclusions, I have to conclude that, either my mind control techniques are awful, or my faith in Jesus Christ is pitiful. If that is the case, then I find it all rather discouraging for despite all those Christians running around Toronto now able to eat peanut brittle chocolate because of new heavenly gold fillings, it would appear the master Dentist Himself, refuses to fix my very own present throbbing molar. It’s painful, it’s not fair and frankly in my opinion, teeth are a terrible design floor anyway. What's a man to do?

In this fallen world, I am thankful for every incidence of the relief of personal pain in whatever form it takes. Yes, in this fallen world, the relief of any pain is a great mercy for which we should all be thankful for. You see, despite its beauty and the short seasons of pleasantness this present life and world may offer, old age, worn out-ness, accident, madness, selfishness, loss and all the horrors of war, are all our most present and most miserable lot. It is only the future life in Jesus, indeed, with Jesus in heaven, that offers a place where the present tears of pain shall cease to flow forever. Selah.

Meanwhile, we daily seek His mercy, daily seek His miracle of the relief of all our present pains, and whether it is in the form of the direct administrations of the ‘Paraclete,’ or the form of the indirect applications of the famous ‘Paracetemol,’ we are thankful.

The always rising and ever falling temples of youth and health are not those we should seek to permanently inhabit, but rather, whilst enjoying these two most hallowed and temporary of halls, we are encouraged way before we get old, to look from their bright windows of youth and out into our innevitable and gumsy futures of decrepitness, and get our lives sorted out right NOW for the service and worship of God. Yes, get it sorted out right NOW whilst the morning dew still rests refreshingly on our two most sparkling eyes and whilst we still have teeth. You see, despite the silly shenanigans of all our Oxford Dons, the preacher still calls the considering of our future and panful demise, wisdom. So tell me, how wise are you tonight?

Listen: - Honor and enjoy your Creator while you're still young, before the years take their toll and your vigor wanes, before your vision dims and the world blursAnd the winter years keep you close to the fire. In old age, your body no longer serves you so well. Muscles slacken, grip weakens, joints stiffen.The shades are pulled down on the world. You can't come and go at will. Things grind to a halt.The hum of the household fades away.You are wakened now by bird-song. Hikes to the mountains are a thing of the past. Even a stroll down the road has its terrors.Your hair turns apple-blossom white, adorning a fragile and impotent matchstick body. Yes, you're well on your way to eternal rest,While your friends make plans for your funeral. Life, lovely while it lasts, is soon over. Life as we know it, precious and beautiful, ends. The body is put back in the same ground it came from.The spirit returns to God, who first breathed it. (Ecclesiastes 12:1-7 -from THE MESSAGE: by Eugene H. Peterson.)

Pray:- The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, Yet their boast is only labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. Who knows the power of Your anger? For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath. So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Return, O Lord! How long? And have compassion on Your servants. Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days! Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us, the years in which we have seen evil. Let Your work appear to Your servants, and Your glory to their children. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands for us; yes, establish the work of our hands. (Psalms 90:10-17 NKJV)

Nov-18-The Dagger Men

Dream Word – PREPARE

Luke 22:35-38
And He said to them, "When I sent you without money bag, knapsack, and sandals, did you lack anything?" So they said, "Nothing." Then He said to them, "But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one. For I say to you that this which is written must still be accomplished in Me: 'And He was numbered with the transgressors.' For the things concerning Me have an end." So they said, "Lord, look, here are two swords." And He said to them, "It is enough.".

The Dagger Men

It was the eight times wounded and highly decorated American hero, General Robert Tyron Frederick, who not only founded the first and joint Canadian US Special Forces Brigade in WWII, but also helped design their close combat weapon of choice, the sharp and triangular shaped, V42 Stiletto commando fighting knife. This Stiletto fighting knife, is at one end designed to easily pass through the rib cage to the major organs and sharp enough to slice and not raggedly severe any artery, and at the other end, hard enough to act as skull cracker. The Stiletto knife still remains the fearful insignia for most special forces units. Indeed, the terror activities on the battle field of Frederick’s fighting men led them to be dubbed by their enemies as the Devil’s Brigade, for their secret, special and black ops antics meant they also left their calling card on all their sliced and diced, assassinated corpses which simply read, ‘Das dicke ende kommt noch,’ or ‘The worst is yet to come.’

It was the Muslim, Hassan-i Sabbah, who became the founder of the Islamic sect which in turn became known as the Hashshashin, who were, according to Marco Polo’s observations, a drug induced, mass of murderers intent on martyrdom. Nevertheless, it was these same Hashshashin killers who would become the intriguing assassins of both fiction and film.

However, they were not the first assassins by any means, for it was the first century Jewish Sicarii, who by the way, also especially enjoyed doing their knife murdering in public, that were the much feared and infamous assassins around the time of Christ. Yes, we must acknowledge that assassins are not new and that there is something both secret and silently terrifying about the dark infiltration of these most dangerous of dagger men.

Of course the apostles were also ‘knife’ carriers themselves. Yes, even when Jesus was with them! The lost ear of Malchus would be a clear indication of that! Some would also suggest that Judas had not only previously been a Zealot, fighting against the Romans, but that his very name, Iscariot, might also be construed to show that he was also once a Sicarii himself, a political assassin, a sleek and silent terrorist if you will, striking not only at the Romans but publicly at any Jewish leader, political or religious, who were deemed to be in collaboration with their sworn enemy. You will also possibly remember the left-handed judge assassin named Ehud, who leaps from the old Testament narrative, brandishing a concealed and specially designed knife, to spill all the “dirt” from the Moab King Eglon’s oversized belly, onto the floor of his then, not-so-fine bathroom, and in the so doing, begin an uprising which would in turn free his people from the oppression of their Moabite enemies. Yes, Dagger men have been around a long, long time.

In our much misunderstood text for tonight, I believe the Lord may be saying two things.

First, it is obvious that even in the disciples present inventory of protective weapons, that even if you were trained and proficient in their use, two daggers were probably not enough for a decent defence! Indeed, the subsequent command of Jesus to desist from physical defence whilst He got to the repair of Malchus’s ear, is indicative that He had no intention of their being used that night. With all this dagger counting and talking going on then, Jesus quickly says “Enough already!” Meaning either that He had no wish to continue down that line of conversation as it bore no reference to the actions of the present distress, or, that the presence of the two swords would be more than enough to have the possibility of trumped up political charges of insurrection brought against Him, that He might then fulfil the prophecy of Isaiah and indeed be counted as being among the transgressors.

The second and most practical of meanings is that that, where previously the disciples were to make no provision for their mission, from this point on, they were now to make EVERY provision for the Great Commission and that included protecting themselves from attackers. I wonder if Jesus says ‘Even if you have to pawn your most important clothing, get a sword, for the battle is truly on!’ Surely there is no metaphor here? Jesus simply says, ‘Get yourself a dagger because you are going to need it.’

While we have no record of the early church disciples protecting themselves against the indiscriminate attacks of robbing and murderous scum, we do have a clear record of no personal physical defense whatsoever being taken against political or religious attack! Where physical attacks occurred, it is clearly seen that where possible, full recourse was taken to initiate all necessary protection from the existing system of civil law.

Tonight then, I say that within Gods law, we must make proper defense of ourselves and our family from any murderous attack. Tonight then, I say that without the preclusion to the life of faith, we must also make every practical provision to ensure the fulfillment of the Great Commission. This Gospel message then, must not be delivered via the means of any Gunboat diplomacy, but never the less, I wonder if the carriers of this message might make sure that they maybe have some kind of Gunboat in their travelling bag?

Listen: - For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare for battle? 1 Corinthians 14:8 NKJV

Pray:- Lord, help us to make better preparations for the promoting and proclamations of the Gospel of The Great Commission of Your Son and our Saviour, Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen & amen!

Nov-17-Sweet Smiles & Sheer Lies

Dream Word – COMMIT

Hosea 10:2a
Their heart is divided; Now they are held guilty. NKJV.

Sweet Smiles & Sheer Lies

The title of tonight’s Whisper is how Eugene Peterson's ‘The Message’, translates our opening text. I think it most accurate, for I have found both ever and always, that a divided heart can be nothing else but a deceptive heart.

Whenever we are of two minds, whenever we are indecisive we shall become full of deception. We shall deceive ourselves into thinking anything but the truth about the situation, and while this most selfish of self-deceptions continues, we shall inevitably deceive others regarding our directions, actions and intentions.

Deception will inevitably mean a spreading of the legs and of placing a foot in two camps. This trepidatious condition will put us off balance and shall inevitably result in a fall and the frightening thing is that this spreading of the legs can begin to happen so very subtly indeed. Fortunately, there is a tell tale sign for us to watch out for. Attend to this, and the slow slippery leg spreading will be reversed. I am of course talking about the sign of Disguise. ‘Disguise.’

Take note within yourselves, that whenever you are disguising your true feelings, whenever you are disguising your heart intentions, your countenance, your whereabouts, your bank account, your sale amount, then you are donning a disguise. Careful now, for the legs are spreading.

The answer of course to the symptom of ‘Disguise’ is that of focus. Whatever the task, whatever the purpose, whatever the relationship, there is great safety in a singleness of heart, a singleness of heart that decisively pursues, loves and commits. So, if your legs are beginning to spread, you had best drop the disguises and come to a focused and safe, most singleness of heart.

Listen: - You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. (Deuteronomy 6:5 NKJV.)

Pray:- Lord, forgive my spreading legs and help me to be one camp person, focused, solid, steadfast and sure, in Jesus name I ask it, amen.

Nov-16-Praying Until You Taste The Blood

Dream Word – TOUGH

John 7:38-39
He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. NKJV

Praying Until You Taste The Blood

Ah, what can ail thee, wretched wight,
Alone and palely loitering?
The sedge is withered from the lake,
And no birds sing.

As I write this Night Whisper, I find myself living just a fine minute walk away from the former ‘playground’ of Georgian gentry and Royalty. This Colonnade Walkway I speak of is called The Pantiles and was originally paved with S-shaped roofing tiles of the same name. The place is now so famous that the area of The Pantiles is being proposed to become a world heritage site! The main reason for the existence of this area, indeed thw whole town around it, is the discovery made by a drunken Nobleman called Dudley Lord North, who, upon returning home after getting smashed out of his skull with his friends, then being dry mouthed and drooping from his horse, happened to spot a reddish water, seeping out of the ground. He drank it, felt revived, informed his friends of the red water’s properties of rejuvenation and, “hey voila!” An iron rich watery star was born. Just the other week, I went down to that same spring and drank from it out of a glass stained red by the high iron content of the water. It tasted like blood. Did you know that same living water springing from the belly of the Christian, the centre of our being, also tastes of blood for it is also full of iron. I mean the waters of His life, of eternal life are just jam packed full of iron. The precious blood of Jesus you see, is fortified with ferrous from the nails upon the tree!

From this great fact, I need to remind you tonight, that Christ never yet bred anaemic Christians. There are no chocolate soldiers in His ranks and no one that will not be fortified by the springs from heaven bubbling up within them. You see, the springs of heaven are Chalybeate springs, tasting of His blood, putting iron in your backbone and strength in your veins. So, if you cannot taste His blood in your mouth tonight, if you are stooped and not upright, if you are frail and palely loitering fair knight of the King, then I tell you, I’d suspect that so called spring in you, for it just might not be His! Yes, if you are that pale and wretched knight, that poor human being, that pitiful Christian, then you need to pray tonight! Yes, you need to clear the well and then pray and pray again, yes, you must keep on praying until you taste the blood.

Listen: - And in that day you will say: "O Lord, I will praise You; Though You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me. Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; 'For Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation.'" Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. (Isaiah 12:1-3 NKJV.)

Pray:- Let the living waters testify of Your presence within me! So, spring up O iron waters and fill my mouth with the taste of blood, the taste of nails pulled from the wood. Amen.

Nov-15-The Slut & The Dog Dung Exhibit

Dream Word – REPENT

Nahum 3:16
You have multiplied your merchants more than the stars of heaven. The locust plunders and flies away. NKJV

The Slut & The Dog Dung Exhibit

In 2008, in Cambridge England, Stephen Hawking, author of ‘A Brief History of Time,’ unveiled horologist John Taylors gift to Corpus Christi College, the golden ‘Chronophage’ or ‘Time Eater!’

The Clock is unusual in two respects.

First that it has no hands! Neither does it have any digital read out, just a series of slits and blue flashing lights, only really being accurate once every five minutes.

Its second and really its most striking feature is the fierce grasshopper of gargantuan proportions which forms the central theme of its mechanism, sitting astride ever advancing time and eating up each second.

A locust is in effect an all destroying, all consuming swarming, crawling, chewing, grasshopper. It is the ultimate consumer. Really then, this great new golden clock is a picture of the ever consumption of time. Despite Taylor's obvious tribute to John Harrisons 18th Century invention of ‘the grasshopper escapement,’ surely there is no more fitting a creature to describe consumption than the locust grasshopper. When time is over, surely this beast shall like all locusts, finally fly away and feast elsewhere.

The seer Nahum, in his prophecy takes a tour of Nineveh, that city of over consumption, that tart of the ancient east who led the nations in ever consuming violence and by the very Word of God, Nahum pronounced her proud, infectious and ripe for judgement. For not only was she not content to die of her own idolatrous infections but she also pimped her products abroad infecting all the world while shaking her black booty in the very face of heaven! Still, the giant golden grasshopper even there, sat astride Nineveh that great city and having eaten up their time and talents in selfish consumerism was even then, fat, full and ready to fly away and feast elsewhere. Over consuming waste, angers God. Yes, the wasteful feeding of this giant grasshopper of selfish and sinful consumption, angers God, it turns Him into an enemy. Beware! For when this happens, God has the tendency to turn things upside down and inside out, laying them bare for all the world to see.

Should this wasteful eater be now sitting astride your time, your wallet, your desires or your destiny, even if it is a golden one, then be sure that somewhere idolatry has made a landing space for it. I tell you, if God is getting his bucket of dog dirt ready for a flinging, then no amount of federal interference will get in the way of his strip down, pelt down, melt down. Remember that in the end, all ultimate consumers will someday fly away, and you shall be left alone, naked, embarrassed and stinking, revealed fully and most publicly for who they really are and what they have most truly lived for. I tell you tonight then, that you must get rid of the selfish and sinful idols that are making way for all your giant golden grasshoppers. Christian, if your time is consumed by anything other than the kingdom of God, then all you have to look forward to is the burning of wood, hay and stubble.

Listen: - "I'm your enemy, Whore Nineveh — I, God-of-the-Angel-Armies! I'll strip you of your seductive silk robes and expose you on the world stage. I'll let the nations get their fill of the ugly truth of who you really are and have been all along. I'll pelt you with dog dung and place you on a pedestal: 'Slut on Exhibit.' (from THE MESSAGE: Nahum 3:5-6 )

Pray:- Lord, help me to live a selfless and sowing life, being open handed and giving of heart. Help me O Lord, to number my days and prepare to meet with You, with all my pockets popping over with Gold, silver and precious stones. Amen and amen.

Nov-14-Of Silver Foxes & The Strangulaiton of All Our Secret Sins

Dream Word – REPENT

Luke 13:32a
And He said to them, "Go, tell that fox,-------” NKJV.

Of Silver Foxes & The Strangulation of All Our Secret Sins

Folklore has it, that the devil himself made the black fox, that it might hide in the shadow of a man, an invisible presence, an unseen foe that will bring nothing but woe.

Actually, the black fox is better known as the Silver Fox and it is thought that when they were originally bred in captivity for the purpose of the fur trade, their offspring were, whether by accident or with intent, eventually let loose upon the wild population. In any event, the black fox is indeed an aberration of nature.

Though they can be seen in the day and early evening, Foxes are predominantly creatures of the night and for tonight, I think the black fox is a fitting metaphor for all our pet sins which we have bred in secret captivity, for they too are creatures of the night.



Whenever we think we have control over a particular sin, and in secret fondle it, take it out and pet it, even hold it to our heart, it may only seem to us to be but a small and black little thing which we can control but I tell you, it will grow and it will grow. What are you thinking breeding that particular of a sin? Surely, though it cannot bear its teeth, (no, foxes cannot bear their teeth and snarl) its nevertheless soft and silver fur, coupled with its slit like yellow eyes which make navigation in the darkness a slippery and simple thing for the cat like dog, should tell you something of its haunting intent. Should tell you something of the danger. Don’t you even smell it yet?

You must never make pets of these little black fox sins, for they will escape and for long time to come, even though you thought yourself rid of the tiny little thing, they shall dog your steps, skulking in the shadow of yourself and destroy all your vines. If you have any secret silver foxes tonight, I suggest you strangle them quickly with a certain confession and then bury them deep with the spade of true repentance. If you do not, then be assured that they will grow up into Herod and make all your Rachels’ weep.

Listen: - Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes. (Song of Solomon 2:15 NKJV)

Pray:- Lord tonight, help me to strangle all my silver foxes and bury them deep. Lead me from the stinking cages of all my self contempt, in Jesus name I ask it, amen.

Nov-13-Quiet Querencias

Dream Word – REST

Psalm 27:4
One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple. NKJV

Quiet Querencias

Hemmingway in his 1932 published book ‘Death in The Afternoon,' writes a treatise on the source and descriptions of courage and fear, through the spectacle of the Spanish Bullfight and in so doing, highlights the most dangerous place for the Matador in his attempt at slaughter, and that is, the Querencia.

There are in effect three phases to a Bullfight.

First the ‘Levantado,’ where the giant bull arrives on the scene, proud and angry, its giant neck holding high its impaling horns. At this point the bull’s mighty musculature of a neck is lanced repeatedly by the Picadors and the sharp knives of the razor Banderilleros. The bleeding neck muscles cause the bull to slowly lower its horns.

The second phase is the ‘Parado’ where the bull is now slowed and kept at bay.

Eventually the slaughter moves to the final phase of the ‘Aplomado,’ where the exhausted bull, transfixed now on but one red object straight ahead, is thrust through by the matador, his sword plunging down through the centre of the sorry bulls now tired neck, severing in two its pumping heart. The crowd cheers, Roses and seats are thrown in the arena, people applaud profusely!

In each stage the fighting bull will keep returning to one particular point in the ring. That one point of constant return is it's ‘Querencia,’ its defendable position of felt safety. All animals and all humans have this kind of returned position, this home as it were, this defendable place of felt safety. It is said that if the matador tries to kill the bull whilst it is in its ‘Querencia,’ then undoubtedly the matador will be badly gored, even killed. The matador’s intent then, is always to get the bull out of its ‘Querencia.’

Friends tonight this bullfighting picture may be a very uncomfortable contemplation but never the less a very necessary one. If the Devil is the matador that plays us each to death, then let us note that we each have our Querencia, our defendable place of felt safety. This is a place from which we gain sustenance, from which we gain strength, from which we gain respite from the heat of our days. Your personal Querencia may be a physical place, it may be an occupation, it may be a group of acquaintances, or it may be as simple as a hot bath or as profound as a week in a monastery, but for you it is your Querencia!

Get there regularly for be sure of this: If you are tired, bloodied and with your head and horns down and not in your Querencia, then the devil is out to kill you and it will be by a piercing through your heart.

Listen: - For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock. And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; (Psalms 27:5-6 NKJV)

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. Oh lead me , to the place where I can find You. (Delerious)

Nov-12-Of Suicidal Spit & The True Signs of Salvation

Dream Word – PERSEVERE

1 Samuel 19:18-23
So David fled and escaped, and went to Samuel at Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth. Now it was told Saul, saying, "Take note, David is at Naioth in Ramah!" Then Saul sent messengers to take David. And when they saw the group of prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as leader over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied. And when Saul was told, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise. Then Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they prophesied also. Then he also went to Ramah, and came to the great well that is at Sechu. So he asked, and said, "Where are Samuel and David?"And someone said, "Indeed they are at Naioth in Ramah." So he went there to Naioth in Ramah. Then the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on and prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah. NKJV.

Of Suicidal Spit & The True Signs of Salvation

Just in case you didn’t know, the collective name for a gathering of prophets, is in fact ‘A School of Prophets!’ Now from our text tonight please note that there appears to be no geographical place called Naioth which is currently known. However, as the Hebrew word here word means ‘dwellings’, some believe that it is likely that Naioth was in fact the name of the collegiate residence of this school of prophets, in, or maybe just outside, Ramah. The great water cisterns in that place, I believe could be seen as metaphors for the gathering of that same spirit of prophecy that resided there like an enveloping cloud. So much so, that people entering the cloud became wet with capacity, overwhelmed with propensity and overcome by the ability to speak forth words from God. The old questioning saying of ‘Is Saul also among the prophets?’ is resurrected here because of the manifestation of this gift upon him in particular. My answer to that question is a resounding no.

There was a man sent by Jesus who also gathered himself into another collective grouping, the assembly of the apostles. This man was sent to heal the sick, raise the dead, and in the so doing, he lived by faith, enjoying the life of an itinerant minister, eating frugally and thankfully, yes, blessing the people and heartily preaching the coming of the Kingdom of God. (Matthew 10:1-13). His name was Judas and he sold his Master for thirty pieces of silver.

I have lived long enough to see a number of nationally applauded, well loved and well respected preachers, teachers and so called miracle workers, all ‘go to the wall.’ Yes, I have seen their suicidal spit drench the cheek of Christ. I tell you tonight friends, that even though the whole of the Christian world would in embarrassed shame rather forget these symbols of our own culpable gullabilty, these dreadful disasters are never the less of great importance to us, for they teach us that neither gifting nor anointing is a sign of true salvation. No, there are in the end only two real signs of this: The Fruit of The Holy Spirit and perseverance in the Faith. Scary, but true.

Listen: - And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, "We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God." (Acts 14:21-23 NKJV.)

Pray:- Stick with me O God and then I shall indeed stick at it. Amen.

Nov-11-Of Bread & Blood Red Wine, or, How to Keep From Falling On Our R’s

Dream Word – REMEMBER

Revelation 19:11-16
Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

Of Bread & Blood Red Wine, or, How to Keep From Falling On Our R’s

The 5.00 am signing of the Armistice document which put an end to the on-going hostilities of WWI between the Allies and Germany was signed today at Compiègne in France. Armistice Day is the anniversary of that symbolic end of World War I in 1918, and is brought to mind each and every year on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, when the guns stopped firing and at long and much hoped for last, it finally became ‘All quiet on the Western front.’

In England this act of Remembrance is fully celebrated on remembrance Sunday and in America it is celebrated on the 11th of November and is called Veterans day. The central symbol of this remembrance is the flower which proliferates itself all over the churned up grounds of Western Europe, that is, the blood red Poppy. Surely, there is no more fitting flower or colour to remember the living veterans and ‘The Glorious Dead’ of all our wars.

Granted, on the one hand, there is little glory in the manner of mass and industrialised killing. On the other hand, this term, ‘Our Glorious Dead’ is found on most major war memorials all over this land of ours and is a testimony to the sacrifice our soldiers made against the onslaught of tyranny and also an especial testimony to the high regard the survivors place upon the sacrifice of their fallen comrades, often their very own flesh and blood, their very own most 'Glorious Dead.'

So, in symbols of stones and flowers all draped in silence, around our lands there used to be a nationally observed two minute testimony to the the Remembrance of that sacrifice. This quiet Remembrance brought with it a Respect for the valuable, sacrificial and dutiful offering of those lives. This was important for you see, when the situations which led to the conflict were most thoroughly Recalled they led to a Resolve not to let it happen again. Unfortunately it is here that we all fall on our R's as it were, for not only is this silence now forcefully disdained by the ungrateful living but on the whole, such Resolve not to let the carnage happen again, when placed in the hands of the self Righteous and sinning forgetful blind, has lead to a peace at any price mentality, instead of a Righteousness at any cost way of life. Inevitably, such unRighteous Resolve of ‘peace at any price,’ will lead to our Removal from the map and our Replacement on the scene by the onslaught of old evils dressed in new clothes. It's happening even now. Unfortunately, this generation is totally unable to meet the enemy. All of this is because we have forgotten that peace at any price is no peace at all. We have failed to remember this.

Right Remembrance will lead to Real Respect coupled with accurate Recollection and therefore a Righteous Resolve to Re-arm our forces and Replenish our Reserves. My politics are not to the far right of Genghis Khan but rather, they are Rooted in Reality, for it is dreadfully obvious that darkness and evil take no prisoners in this world and so, for the flowers of peace and freedom to be enabled to continue to flourish, there must always be war, until once and for all, evil is finally ripped and removed from the hearts of nations and of men. Yes, there is such a thing as a righteous war. Evil shall be ripped from the planet and only Jesus can do this thoroughly and last I read, He is coming, booted, spurred and armed to the teeth, to wage a final battle against the darkness. Until that time, He too calls us His people to Remembrance, and a such a Remembrance that it continually fuels our forgetters with dripping Red Reminders. Yes, the central symbols of this Remembrance for Christians are not stones and poppies but are the common a day items of the kitchen larder, even pure white bread and blood Red wine. So Christian when you are remembering the Lord in quiet reflection, remember that the purchase of righteousness was paid for at the ultimate cost. Righteousness was won at the greatest of cost. It always is. Let us no fail and fall on our R's but let us this day, REMEMBER.

Listen: - Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (Ephesians 6:11-13 NKJV.)

Pray:- Lord, help us to stand against all unrighteousness even and especially if it is within our own beloved lands. We remember today then, the immense cost of our present freedom and so resolve in righteous ways, by Your grace and power, to wage war against all evil and all the works of darkness. Especially O Lord, we do not forget but most sincerely remember even Your great sacrifice for us. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Amen.

Nov-10-Of Gerkins & Gurkhas

Dream Word – PRAY

2 Samuel 21:15-17a
War broke out again between the Philistines and Israel. David and his men went down to fight. David became exhausted. Ishbi-Benob, a warrior descended from Rapha, with a spear weighing nearly eight pounds and outfitted in brand-new armor, announced that he'd kill David. But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to the rescue, struck the Philistine, and killed him. (from THE MESSAGE:.)

Of Gherkins & Gurkha's

A Gherkin is a sweet little vegetable suitable for the hamburger generation.

Last night at the boxing club, a local councillor in his seventies popped in to lend his support to the new endeavour. This one legged veteran was in his seventies and had been up and working for the last 12 hours of the day getting a petition together for an old Gurkha colleague who was sick, infirm, destitute and deserted by the Government of the country he had fought for, and in urgent need of a pension. The old soldier still had a 4 mile journey home in his electric invalid carriage, in the dark and in the rain. It was parked near the door, in the light, just in case the local teenagers vandalised it, trashed it or stole from it.

On that particular night I was preparing for a sermon series entitled: ‘War! What is it good for?’ My answer was a Biblical one and so the answer was most definitely not ‘Absolutely nothing!’ Doing some background research on the subject then, I was reading the WWII War narrative of Major General Sir John Kennedy, entitled, ‘The Business of War.’ This man served in the war ministry for the length of WWII, being responsible to the Chief of the Imperial General Staff for all plans and operations. It’s a fascinating read concerning the background state, preparations and ambitions of the British Empire around that particular period of just 60 years ago, or if you will, just two generations ago. I was chatting about those times with a woman in her early seventies this morning and commented that this England in which we now live bore virtually no resemblance whatsoever to the one I was reading about and that I suspected that the folk who sacrificed so much during those dreadful times, even their very lives for the defence and continuance of our freedom, our culture and our country, might not have lain it all on the line so willingly for such a state as this. She agreed. Whichever way we cut this so sad a state of affairs of our now not so great Britain, we have to say that the freedom so valiantly fought for by that most recent of warring generations, has been in the peaceful aftermath, thrown away, frittered and lost. The oh so sad evidence of this is clearly seen in a poll taken of the present younger generation, who think that Winston Churchill is either a myth or a nodding dog that sells car insurance! How did we come to this most paupered position? Well, it seems to me that although we won the war, we most dreadfully and most definitely lost the peace. And there we have it! We lost the peace.

You see, what we thought was the end of the war, was merely the end of an expression of the war, for it did in fact continue at more vicious a pace than ever, and the V3 rocket targets of utter destruction and total annihilation were our Christian values, especially where they were embodied in personal, sociological, institutional and ethical edifices. For those that can see then , the damage done to us after the physical hostilities had ended, is of far greater damage than any done to us during the burning blitz.

Humanly speaking, I have to tell you that all is lost. For the church is presently like a one legged veteran gathering a petition for a sick friend, trying to find its way home in the cold dark rain, trembling at the thought that the rubber wheels of its invalid carriage might be punctured by the sharp and ignorant teeth of politically correct and drug empowered and drunken youths. We are finished. Go home and prepare to die.

BUT GOD! Yes, BUT GOD! And I tell you that it is only those two magnificent words that get me up in a morning. BUT GOD! Yes there is hope in those two great words, so, let us leaders all make prayerful and practical ways in this current death sentence, for those two most marvellous words to be redemptivley expressed. Let us rip the heads off the nodding dogs of our sick society and pray that God might raise up to us some spiritual 'war mongers', some new Churchill's, ready, at whatever the cost, to fight the good fight once more! Now then is the time for us to pray and implore, that those troops of the Empire of The Son, who were birthed in the New World by the bloody efforts of the soldiers of the old, now long gone missionary people of these God forsaken islands, would with all their power and might come to the aid, rescue and liberation of the old. My God, we need help from abroad and we need it now for all our sweet little vegetables will simply flavour the pattied mince meat of their own consumption. Maybe God will send in His Gurkhas? We need the Gurkha's rather than the gherkins that's for sure for a

A Gurkha is a soldier. Fierce, formidable, fanatical.

Listen: - “----- We shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.".(Winston Churchill)

Pray:- Lord, from the sown seeds of the saints of old who from these islands took Your Word abroad, please send back to us the fruit of spiritual sustenance and deliverance, in Jesus name we pray, amen.

Nov-09-God The Grandfather and N.O.M.A.N.

Dream Word – GODLY

Malachi 2:13-16
So He does not regard the offering anymore, Nor receive it with goodwill from your hands. Yet you say, "For what reason?"Because the Lord has been witness Between you and the wife of your youth, With whom you have dealt treacherously; Yet she is your companion And your wife by covenant. But did He not make them one, Having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit, And let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth. "For the Lord God of Israel says That He hates divorce, For it covers one's garment with violence, "Says the Lord of hosts." Therefore take heed to your spirit, That you do not deal treacherously." NKJV

God The Grandfather and N.O.M.A.N.

In the Coen brothers 2003 film ‘Intolerable Cruelty,’ George Clooney stars as Miles Massey, the cynical attorney who is highly specialised in breaking marriages apart and making the divorce as profitably as possible for his client, regardless of their own personal culpability in the divorce! The leading lady in the film is Catherine Zeta Jones who plays Marilyn Rexroth, a woman choosing to marry men who are exceptionally rich and astonishingly silly and therefore very likely to commit adultery, thus giving her the excuse to divorce them, so she can in turn then win a massive financial settlement, that will make her independent of all men! The dialogue, the acting, the timing, the humour of the movie are in my opinion, all quite brilliant and very Coen-esque.

The main speech of the ‘Intolerable Cruelty,’ concerning all the possibilities and vulnerabilities of true and selfless, sacrificial love is made by the character ‘Miles Massey’ at his key note address which is given at the annual convention of his professional association. The association is cleverly called: The National Organization of Matrimonial Attorneys Nationwide. I remember watching the movie and seeing their organizational logo and motto in the background of the main dialogue and emblazoned underneath it was the fictional association's most hilarious tag line, here it is…. "What God hath joined, let N.O.M.A.N. put asunder." It was a most clever and hilarious contrivance and I laughed considerably!

In the real world however, divorce is not funny and it remains exceptionally painful for many, many years, often times even a lifetime. There is very little laughter in it, I can tell you that. Divorce remains financially painful, it remains emotionally painful, it remains relationally painful, and in my Pastoral observance of it over the years, it remains painful for the rest of a person’s life. Friend there is no condemnation in my writing this tonight because the saying “There but for the grace of God go I,” most certainly applies to me and my wife. God has been very gracious to us. Indeed, I say to all people who are still married to their first spouse, “God has been very gracious to you!” Be careful then in your often unwarranted and sometimes very ignorant judgment of others, for none of us really knws what goes on behind closed doors.

Never the less in our text for this evening God says several important things to us and hangs them all on one massive nail! “I hate divorce!” Listen to how ‘The Message’ brings this climactic statement to our attention ‘And here's a second offense: You fill the place of worship with your whining and sniveling because you don't get what you want from God. Do you know why? Simple. Because God was there as a witness when you spoke your marriage vows to your young bride, and now you've broken those vows, broken the faith-bond with your vowed companion, your covenant wife. God, not you, made marriage. His Spirit inhabits even the smallest details of marriage. And what does he want from marriage? Children of God, that's what. So guard the spirit of marriage within you. Don't cheat on your spouse. "I hate divorce," says the God of Israel. God-of-the-Angel-Armies says, "I hate the violent dismembering of the 'one flesh' of marriage." So watch yourselves. Don't let your guard down. Don't cheat.

Divorce is indeed, the violent dismembering of the 'one flesh' of marriage. So watch yourselves tonight. Don't let your guard down. Don't cheat on your mate. To help you and heal you, I have three things for your consideration this evening:

First, if you are divorced, there is no need to keep adding to your existing pains. Self condemnation, anger at your former spouse and a multitude of other leather tails of self flagellation, will only fan the flames of hurt and keep the blood flowing and the wounds from healing. It’s time to heal. Get with God and get it sorted. Forgive yourself.

Secondly, I want to tell you, especially those of you struggling in your marriage, that God is interested in marriage. Indeed, God is interested, immersed and inhabiting ALL aspects of your marriage. Be aware of that. Prayerfully seek Him then in every part of your marriage. Every part of it I say, for He will indeed help you in every part of your marriage.

Thirdly, don’t mess up the covenant and if you’ve messed up, then please don’t keep messing up. The Bible here I think is particularly speaking to men and I wonder if it is speaking to older more well off men especially. I mean older men who compared to their wives are more well-off financially, more well-off opportunistically, more well-off physically, more well-off health wise maybe? I wonder? In any event, to men in particular the Scriptures clearly speak tonight: DON’T BE A TRAITOR. DON’T CHEAT ON YOUR WIFE!

Listen:- And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate." Matthew 19:4-6 NKJV

Pray:- Mercy Lord, please forgive us our many sins and our traitorous hearts. Mercy Lord, and despite our many sins, we ask that you wash us and make us clean, that You change us from traitors into people of honour and integrity and courage. Make us new Lord and make us stronger too. Yes, make us a testimony to Your grace and to Your love and to Your redemption and do it in such a renewing, regenerate and revitalising way, that our offspring would rise up amazed! Indeed, they would rise up refreshed and call us Godly parents! Mercy Lord, mercy, for we wish to be Godly and to give You the Godly offspring of Your heart’s desire. In Jesus name we ask it, amen.

Nov-08-It’s Only Make Believe!

Dream Word – FAMINE

Judges 2:10
When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel. NKJV

It’s Only Make Believe!

Famine is not a good word to go to sleep on as you might end up consuming your pillow during the night! However, here in the early twenty first century is what we have ravaging our land.

It’s a peculiar but particularly dreadful kind of famine, and it is in fact the worst kind of famine. For me, astonishingly it is the accompanying blindness of Christians regarding it and with that blindness comes every kind of spectacle you can imagine but with no cure whatsoever!

The famine I am talking about is the famine of ‘conviction of sin.’ It has been so long since I have truly seen this, in America or the United Kingdom that I have to conclude that God is supremely indifferent toward us. If the Holy Spirit came to convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment to come, then frankly, God the Holy Spirit as either gone home or moved to another continent.

Yes, there is a famine in our lands but we Christians bumble around regarding, our lips dripping with pious platitudes and desperate, ignorant phraseology more full of fairy tale superstition than faithful hopefulness. God has gone home, God has left us to our sinful ways, but we are still having little girl tea parties and pouring nothing into red plastic cups before a very absent guest. It’s a pitiful blindness in time of unequalled famine.

Maybe it would be good for you tonight to take a few minutes and make a list. Under three columns entitled, hope, faith and make believe, write down all your dreams and practices. Should God th Holy Spirit shine his flashlight under your bed cloths tonight as you do this, then I am pretty sure it is the column of Christian make believe that shall be falling off the end of your page.

Tomorrow, may faith and hope remain but please dear Jesus, in this season of burning, may all this silly make believe, be right royally cast into the flames.

Listen: - Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baals; and they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they bowed down to them; and they provoked the Lord to anger. They forsook the Lord and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel. So He delivered them into the hands of plunderers who despoiled them; and He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies. Wherever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for calamity, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn to them. And they were greatly distressed. NKJV

Pray: Lord, despite the desperate screaming that will follow, please reach down and remove the rose colored glasses which we your people have manufactured and distributed in their thousands upon thousands. Lord please, arrive in Your greatness and tear down our tea parties, in Your great name I pray, amen.

Nov-08-Creating After Our Kind

Dream Word – PRODUCT

Genesis 6:19,21
And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. Of the birds after their kind, of animals after their kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. NKJV

Creating After Our Kind

I am sat in a friend’s house tonight and at my feet are two black and white border collies, one lying on its back, paws stretched out stiffly to the heaven’s begging for a belly rub.

These two dogs are in fact the daughter and granddaughter of a dog we used to own, whose multitude of black and white offspring have permeated the locality with joy, goodness, comfort, and of course, much belly rubbing!

All these black and white beasts bear the mark of their creator. In each face we find, yes, in every photograph of black and white offspring that we look at, our old dog stares lovingly back at us. I sometimes think, the best thing we ever did whilst living and working in that lovely area, was mate our dog! Maybe it was?

In any event, the point is perfectly clear to me tonight that these puppies though substantially different from one another bear the beautiful marks of their father. It was commented upon in much the same way when I stood next to my very handsome son and someone remarked that we looked like two peas in a pod. I felt rather pleased for me but quite sorry for him, for the older I get, the more pug ugly I become and frankly, I’m not sure my son would want to bear the old not so beautiful markings of his father!

My point tonight is that despite ourselves, when we produce, we produce after our kind. Like for like and like it or not, our offspring possess our genetic imprint.

Might I also suggest to you that our spiritual offspring are also imprinted by us. You will both give birth and disciple after your kind, you can do no other! The good news is that though we might not be able to bend and manipulate our physical genetics, not yet anyways, and possibly never righteously so, we can I believe, never the less, bend and Christipulate our spiritual genetics in gloriously righteous ways and to such an extent mind you, that all our spiritual offspring have the beautiful markings of the heavenly Father. We need to work on ourselves that we might better imprint the disciples we give birth to. Do you see that?

Tell me tonight, just how beautiful are your genes?

Listen: - But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:5-9 NKJV

Pray: Lord, deep within myself, make me better and better, that I might produce the most beautiful and healthy, solid and whole, spiritual offspring which is possible. Help me play my part in creating after our kind, in Jesus name I ask it, amen.

Nov-07-Loving on Len

Dream Word – WARRIOR

Proverbs 20:29
The glory of young men is their strength, And the splendor of old men is their gray head. NKJV
Loving on Len

Len was 87 when I met him. He had been a Christian for 77 years! He was old-school, you know? Grey hair parted to the right, pinstripe Sunday suit, black Bible and had been part of a Brethren Assembly for years. You’ve maybe seen the breed; you’ve maybe known the type. From another age, old, irrelevant, out of touch, useless. The leader of the service that morning had given way to to him though, as Len apparantly wanted to make an announcement.

Len stood up. Len stood to attention, yet he was still smaller in stature than even me, time and gravity had compressed his backbone you see. Yet he was still upright and straight, as straight as the creases in his well kept trousers, his steely eyes without blinking, staring into mine, searching out my soul. He looked a bit dangerous.

Len was a former Regimental Sergeant Major in the Gordon Highlanders, the second wave to hit Gold beach and fight his way into Nazi Germany. He later told me that whilst out of ammunition, he and a friend had been captured by the SS outside of a prison camp. It was when moving in and out of consciousness whilst his fingernails were being ripped out that he had, in pain and in desperation, simply cried out, “Jesus! It’s Len!” Amidst the blood, the agony and the shouting, a great peace came over him and as he heard the voice, “Len! It’s Jesus!” The door was kicked open by rescuing Ghurkas, who, after dealing with his captors, fell on him, embracing him, crying, “Master my master.” One of these fierce Nepalese warriors put him on his back, carried him four miles to a field hospital and stayed with him until his recovery. He never forgot that.

The leader of the service that morning had given way to Len, as he wanted to make an announcement. In a broad Northern accent Len began, “Let us praise God together!” The story went that he had been woken that morning by the Padre of Lincoln prison who reported that the man Len had visited the previous week and spoken with until 1:30 in the morning had committed his life to Jesus! The prison governor was now apparently very happy that his worse inmate, once permanently handcuffed, was now out of shackles and praising God.

Len was 87 when I met him. He had been a Christian for 77 years! He was old-school, you know? Grey hair parted to the right, pinstripe Sunday suit, black Bible and had been part of a Brethren Assembly for years. You’ve maybe seen the breed; you’ve maybe known the type. From another age, old, irrelevant, out of touch, useless.

Listen: - Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host, That he which hath no stomach to this fight, Let him depart; his passport shall be made, And crowns for convoy put into his purse; We would not die in that man's company That fears his fellowship to die with us. This day is call'd the feast of Crispian. He that outlives this day, and comes safe home, Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam'd, And rouse him at the name of Crispian. He that shall live this day, and see old age, Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours, And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian.' Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars, And say 'These wounds I had on Crispian's day.' Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot, But he'll remember, with advantages, What feats he did that day. Then shall our names, Familiar in his mouth as household words- Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter, Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester- Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb'red. This story shall the good man teach his son; And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by, From this day to the ending of the world, But we in it shall be remembered- We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile, This day shall gentle his condition; And gentlemen in England now-a-bed Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here, And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day. ----from Henry V

Pray: Lord, come gentle my condition and allow me some battle scars to brag about in heaven in Your great name I pray, amen!

Nov-06-Scattered, Smothered & Covered

Dream Word – MOVE

Acts 8:1b-5
----- At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison. Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. NKJV.

Scattered, Covered & Smothered.

I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again.
I love ‘Waffle House!’

Started in 1955 in Georgia, those low-rent, yellow restaurants at the side of the road not only serve over half a million eggs per day but their daily offering of sausage patties alone, if stacked on top of one another would be higher than the Empire State building! In addition to this, waffle house waitresses are a breed apart, they are to be experienced rather than to be described, God bless their hearts! The fun part of their food order delivery to the ever-frying short order cook, is in turn a never to be forgotten short order diner dictation service! Hashed brown potatoes for example, are called in as “scattered” (spread on the grill), “smothered” (with onions), or “covered” (with cheese), and oh by the way, everything is covered in cheese in America! Now there’s a three-point Waffle House sermon if ever these was one! “The Church, scattered, smothered and covered!”

Our text for tonight us informs us that God allowed a Religious Rottweiler to be let loose within the gentle flock of His church and his name was Saul of Tarsus. As he ripped the flock apart like a rabid mastiff, not only were body parts and blood scattered all over the place, but the very people of God themselves were also scattered like speaking seeds across the face of the then known world, smothering it with the Good News about Jesus. Yes, even in the face of such terrible persecution, these early followers of 'The Way' smothered the demographic landscape with the savoury knowledge of God’s goodness toward us in Jesus and covered the land with the spicy practice of the all gracious and all forgiving love of God. It is obvious to me, that God even used this Religious Rottweiler to harry his sheep into obeying His command to take the Gospel into the entire world.

So, if you are being ‘chunked.’ ‘diced,’ ‘peppered,’ ‘capped,’ and ‘topped,’ all along your tired way today, then I have to tell you tonight, that God maybe also have a purpose for all the religious Rottweiler’s that are in your life at the moment, for though they may be destroying some stuff, they are also pushing you somewhere. Tell me, where are they driving you tonight? Maybe that’s where you should be going? After all, maybe you are part of the church which is scattered, smothered and covered

Listen: - Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. And there was great joy in that city. (Acts 8:5-8 NKJV.)

Pray: - Lord, use these Religious Rottweiler’s in my life to make me a city cleaner, a sidewalk healer and a certain joy giver. Please put me where You want me, in Your great name I ask it, amen.

Nov-05-How To Get High!

Dream Word – GOOD

Psalms 107:25-32
For He commands and raises the stormy wind, Which lifts up the waves of the sea. They mount up to the heavens, They go down again to the depths; Their soul melts because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, And are at their wits' end. Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble, And He brings them out of their distresses. He calms the storm, So that its waves are still. Then they are glad because they are quiet;So He guides them to their desired haven. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people, And praise Him in the company of the elders. (Psalms 107:25-32 NKJV)

How to Get High!

Standing on the warm beach and looking at the deep blue ocean lapping against the distant horizon and splashing up against the far stretched clouds sinking with the setting sun, the sea looks beautiful and inviting, even an all enfolding loveliness. On the land, looking out that that immeasurable coldness, you still feel warm, secure, steady, rock like, safe. Now climb aboard a small yacht and set sail for a day or two into that vast deep blue and its vastness becomes seemingly infinite, seemingly never ending, eternal, dangerous, deep, sucking, scary, and I tell you, there as a small bobbing speck in the middle of that desert of blue water, you feel anything but safe. When a storm comes up across the bay of Biscay and stirs the deep beneath into a leaping hunter, a force nine howler, the insignificance of your little self against the roaring of so great a watery and all-consuming lion makes you feel less than nothing, an angry voice maybe, but never less, simply a small dot of dust, trodden on by gigantic actors who are fighting hot, living violently and screaming their way into a fiery death upon a vast eternal stage, each one playing out a story of cosmic and multidimensional proportions, to which you seem to be as less an insignificant worm. In the same way, I tell you that the more I read the Bible, the more days I set out to sea upon this deep and never ending story of God, this narrative, this journey, this revelation of the Most High, these players, these decisions, the whole kit and caboodle of it all become to me nothing short of terrifying! For the Bible, the very Word of God is the most troubling book that has ever been written. If you disagree with me here, then friend, I do not think you have even begun to read it.

It was writer Frank Cottrell Boyce who wrote the screenplay for the BBC’s television Drama, ‘God on Trial.’ May I say that it is a quite brilliant and terrifying performance piece, for the screen play wrestles with the deep question we all have on our hearts, which is ‘Why do bad things happen to good people?’ Or better still, ‘How can a good God allow so much suffering in the world?’ The 90 minute play has the unpacking of these questions take place amongst a group of inmates in Auschwitz, just hours before half of them shall be murdered. Cottrell himself confesses that his seemingly invulnerable catholic faith was beaten black and blue as he wrote the screenplay. The possibility of prisoners in Auschwitz concentration camp actually putting God on trial is rooted in an apocryphal story from WWII to which the Auswitch survivor and writer Elie Weisel gives some credence to when he made his statement that “God was hanged on the gallows in Auschwitz.” In the play, ‘God On Trial,’ the closing statement made by the prosecutor is that “God is not good, He is just powerful. Once upon a time He was on our side and now He is on the side of the Nazis. God is not good, He is simply all powerful. God is guilty of breaking His covenant with us.” God is then pronounced guilty of the charge.

The narrative and supposition of Cottrell’s screen play can be Biblically contested at every God damning point but that is not the point. The point is that on this great sea of History which we find ourselves floating upon, the storms of our own life stir up the dregs of our days and from that sin matted mud, the festering odour of the foul stench of that constant and unremitting theme exuded daily from it, always runs gangrene like along the ground proclaiming to one and all and to the delight of the devil himself especially, that ‘God is not good!’ The truth is that as individuals and communities, as nations and now even as continents and soon, maybe sooner than we dare to think, the whole world has put God on trial and found Him guilty, so much so that we all together now in our hearts, sing in condemning proclamation like some great accusing choir concerning both God’s seeming failings and His dreadful lack of goodness. The old lie that God is not good.

Let me say that I have no doubt that if I had been in Auschwitz I would have put God on trial and found Him guilty. Good grief, I have done it often enough in comparative kind kindergarten picnics when compared to that most terrible place. How about you? Even so, whether in the terrors of Auschwitz or the comforts of Ipswich, this most sinful of singing, just has to stop. For God is good!

My friends, if we dare, we need to truly get to grips with the meta-narrative of this great redemptive story and more so, we need to see the true states of our God condemning heart. We need to wake up to the old lie whispered by the devil since Eden’s paradise was lost which is even today embedded in our genes. We need to grow up regarding this. Be honest with ourselves, get real. For the old lie has robbed us of so much hope and faith and joy. Yes, we need to set our bow of faith toward the great horizon of His all consuming love and with the courage of belief, set sail across the turbulent deeps of all life’s waiting blues. For sure, this is a terrifying journey across wild seas of temptations and the deepest oceans of doubt, but I tell you that it is a journey into a God that we shall indeed find not only to be so very powerful but also to be so very wonderfully good. Stop believing the old lie. Stop the sinning song, by BOTH inwardly condemning the lie and outwardly proclaiming His goodness through living in expectant joy. I mean Have a blast today! Laugh wildly whenever you can! ENJOY life to the full for GOD IS GOOD!

Listen: - Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business on great waters, They see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep. (Psalms 107:23-24 NKJV)

Pray:-
Lord, let Your glory fall, as on an ancient day.
Songs of enduring love, and then Your glory came.
And as a sign to You, that we will love the same,
Our hearts will sing that song, as we pray!
God, let Your glory come!

You are good, You are good, and Your love endures.
You are good, You are good, and Your love endures.
You are good, You are good, and Your love endures today.

Voices in unison, giving You thanks and praise,
Joined by the instruments, and then Your glory came.
Your presence like a cloud, upon that ancient day,
The priests were overwhelmed, all because, because Your glory came!

You are good, You are good, and Your love endures.
You are good, You are good, and Your love endures.
You are good! You are good, and Your love endures today.

A sacrifice was made, and then Your fire came.
They knelt upon the ground, and with one voice they prayed,
And they sang as we sing today, That,
You are good, You are good, and Your love endures.
You are good, You are good, and Your love endures.
You are good, You are good, and Your love endures today.

(Lord Let Your Glory Fall – by Matt Redman)

Nov-04-The Antidote To Christian Cannibalism

Dream Word – DEDICATE

1 Samuel 1:9-11
So Hannah arose after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the tabernacle of the Lord. And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish. Then she made a vow and said, "O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head." NKJV

The Anti-dote To Christian Cannibalism

Barren Hannah was desperate for a child and in her desperate prayer she promises to give the gift she hopes she shall receive, right on back to God. Samuel is born and Hannah does indeed follow through on her vow.

All children are of course gifts from God and it does a person good to both realise this and act on it, for these good gifts are always kept longer and remain far fresher to us, when they are dedicated right on back to Him. Please note tonight that ANY gift selfishly consumed by us will in the end corrupt us and I tell you, this is especially true if we eat our children, consuming them in our own desires and making them the cherished idols of our hearts. If you are doing this, you had best watch out, for cannibalised children always give the very worst of stomach aches.

So following the blessed example of the Holy Family and of Hannah, give back your gift to God! Dedicate them to the Lord and remember that this dedication means a letting go of and a laying hold of.

As to letting go, you must remember that this child is not yours. It shall grow and shall become and in the all of its becoming the child shall decide on so many things for itself, including whether or not they shall follow the Lord. You must have faith in letting the child of your care be found by the God that you love. Do all you possibly can to help them develope into who they are and then, let them go as your prayerfully deliver them to God.

As to laying hold, well, you must lay hold of Your God and of yourself. It is imperative that you grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. As the child becomes and as the child decides, you must lay hold of God on their behalf. You must also lay hold of yourself, for you must become a model of Godliness before them, a mentor of graciousness and hope, a mother of love, prayer and care, a father of manly courage, wisdom, perseverance and provision. The child will become and will make its own decisions, you are not responsible for this. However, you are greatly responsible for laying hold of both God Himself and of you yourself!

So, whatever you do tonight, do not selfishly consume your kids, yes, you must not eat your children.

Listen: - "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9 NKJV)

Pray:- O Lord we cast down our idols, even if they are our most dearly beloved children. So help us to leave them with Your good discipline and Your love and Your care, yes, this we do tonight with both hope and faith in Your faithfulness. Now O Lord, we lay hold of Your goodness and lay hold of ourselves to walk with You, as models and mentors of the Christ like life, lived before the gifts You have so graciously granted us. Amen and amen.

Nov-03-Of Jennels, Jiggers, Snickleways & Twittens

Dream Word – WAY

Isaiah 35:4-6
Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.KJV.

Of Jennels, Jiggers, Snickleways & Twittens

I presently live on the border of East Sussex and the county of Kent and my part of South Tunbridge Wells is riddled with well established and beautiful ‘Cut Throughs’ and ‘Short Cuts’ between all the walls and hedges, fences and houses. In my home county of Derbyshire we call these short cuts, these new ways, ‘Jennels’ and in other part of the country they are referred to as ‘Jiggers’ or ‘Snickleways,’ (isn’t that cute!) but down here in this part of the ‘Soft and Sunny South,’ they are delightfully referred to as ‘Twittens.’

A Synapse is a highly specialized junction either between two neurons (nerve cells) or a neuron and a protein cell which in turn allows the transmission of chemical and electrical signals, resulting in a quick cascade of a physical response. These established synaptic pathways are of course especially important in brain function and can be easily destroyed by anything from drugs to disease, thus limiting the capacity of brain functionality. The brain however is quite remarkable, especially in younger people, in that even with the destruction of existing synaptic pathways, others can be established as time goes on.

Now, I have neither the knowledge or understanding to correctly communicate how the brain works, but then who does! The investigation and understanding of brain function and the defining of intelligence and consciousness seems almost as accurate as describing a single star on the Eagle Nebula. Yup, I reckon we understand about that much! Never the less, this phenomenon of the damaged brains capacity to establish new ‘Cut Throughs’ and ‘Short Cuts,’ or if you will, new ‘Jennels’ ‘Snickleways’ and ‘Twittens’ is quite remarkable.

My point tonight is this: In the establishment and growth of towns and cities, human beings have always been in the business of establishing ‘Twittens,’ those quicker and often prettier ‘Cut Throughs,’ so as to arrive speedier and more refreshed at their desired destination. In the same way, even nature, from rivers to streams and from the establishment or re-establishment of broken brain synaptic pathways, has been in the business of making ways were there are none. Do you not think tonight then, that our God can make for you WAYS where at the moment there are none? Of course He can! So, to some of you tonight, I need to tell you that GOD CAN MAKE A WAY! Trust Him in this.

Listen: - No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. (1 Corinthians 10:13 NKJV.)

Pray:- It is a very simple prayer of mine tonight dear Jesus, please make a way, open up a new way, a hidden way, a forgotten way, where at the moment there appears to be none. In Jesus name I pray, amen.

Nov-02-Beware ‘The Undertone of The Overtone,’ or, ‘The Rat in The Scat’

Dream Word – TRUE

Psalms 29:3
The voice of the Lord is over the waters; The God of glory thunders; The Lord is over many waters. NKJV.

Beware ‘The Undertone of The Overtone,’ or, ‘The Rat in The Scat’

Overtone singing is practised by many peoples of the world and is the ability to produce two or even four voices at the same time from but one human being! The ethereal quality of such voice production has led many to believe that this kind of throat singing is indeed a metaphysical event! Some proponents go further, even suggesting that it taps into what Jung referred to as ‘the collective unconscious,’ or, the collective human and racial metaphysical memory. In other words, some would have it that human beings are somehow endowed with a common ancestral memory which can be accessed through over tonal singing. The nearest we come to this in the west I think, would be Scat singing, the chief and most famous proponent being the great Ella Fitzgerald, whose use of non lexical vocables in music, or rather, NONSENSE syllables, made her the most famous of Scat singers! It was musician and lecturer Roberto Laneri, who suggested that even ‘Scat’ was a metaphysical event and that this kind of vocal of improvisation could be rooted in different states of consciousness which in turn would draw on the Jungian model of being able to access the collective unconscious. I find that it is interesting that the association of such vocal overtone techniques have long been and continue to be associated with, not only performance art but also ancient Shamanistic practices. Well so what? Well, I do believe that there are three things here for us tonight to be gleaned from this interesting art form.

The first is that I believe we do carry a collective unconsciousness! It is however not Jungian but rather Jehoviam, in that God has put eternity in our hearts and a sighing God shaped hole that only He might fill. Our human collective unconscious, along with all creation groans for the revelation of the ultimate goodness and glory of God.

The second is that in many of our charismatic churches, the practice of having open and singing prayer encouraged by so many young worship leaders, means that the congregation often erupts into a cacophony of sound. This may sound metaphysical in connection but is rarely as good as Scat and hardly ever as evocative as true overtone throat singing. If you are a worship leader tonight, then please remember that people want to sing! They want to sing corporately, and most of all, they want to sing sensible syllables of meaningful praise and practical prayer. Cacophonic charismatic singing is neither spiritual nor mystical, it is just that Cacophonic.

The third and final thought is that all kinds of overtone are usually carrying an undertone, are usually singing another not so nice tune. When we as individuals or as collective bodies even, begin to communicate with more than one voice, then let us beware of the undertone of malevolence that can so easily be carried on such dancing and deceitful waves. How’s your tone tonight? How’s your timbre? How’s the colour of your words? Let’s make sure that all our undertones are honour, born out of overtones of love.

Listen: - Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God. (Ephesians 5:17-21 NKJV)

Pray:- Lord, help us not to be too scatty in both our praise and in our prayer, but clear in love and honour and clothed in constant care. In Jesus name we sing it, amen!

Nov-01-Beware This Flower's Power

Dream Word – COURAGE

Numbers 14:31
But your little ones, whom you said would be victims, I will bring in, and they shall know the land which you have despised. NKJV

Beware This Flower’s Power

Fear is a most fantastic flower, unfolding itself in the most colourful of forms and fragrances. From concerned and seemingly mild musings, to loud and strong, fist shuddering rebellion, it shakes its stubborn stem even in the most mild of summer breezes, casting forth the very seeds of its own ultimate and most deserved destruction. Yes, from sweet to sour, fear perfumes its own perverted way with the most justifying of scents. “Well after all,” it says, “What about the kids? We have to think about them? If anything happens to us, well, what about them? I mean, how can we provide for them if.....well, they shall never forgive us if....and if we ever did do what You ignorantly intimate, what you wildly and most seemingly suggest, then how could we ever provide. I mean, if we went there, how would they survive? I mean, this is fanatical...I mean, this is totally irresponsible....I mean, this is not a command to respond to with a ‘yes sir’ salute and a fast return to the seems with a quick to obey like snap. No! This is a bear baited trap! A deception that will lead to our destruction, a madness that if followed will surely only lead to misery” Yes, fear is a most fantastic flower, its roots finding their abundant sustenance in even the scantest of soils, which is nevertheless, so rich in unbelief and that’s the problem with fear, it gives birth to unbelief.

From our text for tonight, we see these same flowers of fear now finding themselves within the very tent doors of the whole camp of Israel, whose many open blooms, all together sucked out of the blue and sunlit skies of the waiting to be possessed, giant filled promised land, such a gross and debilitating deformity, that God their Saviour could not fail to find it both offensive and disgusting to His soul. So offensive in fact, that He would now kill them for it. Yes, He would scour them from the smelly pan of unbelief and start again with a new and pollen fear free people. Indeed, it was only Moses who stopped Him from killing the self convicted and self condemned nation in an instant as one man. It was only Moses that stopped Him from carrying out His plan

Restrained by the prayers of Moses then, God limits His most terrible tirade and goes to His fear poisoned flower powered people saying “There is no reason for this soul of unbelief. For if you had taken the salt of My signs and wonders performed among you, and sprinkled it upon those places of death in your hearts, then fear would have found no sustenance to spread its roots. Now, not only have you have failed to deal rightly with the soul of your souls, but you have fertilised it with the mad manure of your most consistent and complacent disdain. So, concerning those whom you deceitfully feigned to fear for the most, even your children, well they shall posses that which you now most scurrilously are rejecting and you shall never see their joy, nor settle in the sweet places I had prepared for you along with them.”

Granted, this is a stark message yet there it is. So, let us daily take the salt of His greatness and sow it with great extravagance upon the surface of our own unbelieving souls, that we might be kept from the flowering of those most pernicious of fear filled blooms. According to the word of God, He can take care of your kids far better than you can. So go ahead and obey Him, go into the land of giants!

Listen: - "How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who complain against Me? I have heard the complaints which the children of Israel make against Me. (Numbers 14:27-28 NKJV)

Pray:- Help us daily then Lord, each night to salt our souls with the remembrance of Your great power and goodness, that faith would flower in the night and so make our mornings ever fresh with faith and hope. In Jesus name I pray, amen.

Oct-31-The Dark Billions & The Baptism at Bellarmine

Dream Word – DARKNESS

Romans 1:21,23
… because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, NKJV

The Dark Billions & The Baptism at Bellarmine

I am sat in Detroit Airport as I write this NightWhisper. Already I have been the recipient of free candy distributed by personnel dressed as thieves and one eyed pirates. Cutsie little Japanese girls dressed as witches holding on to Daddy’s hand have just walked past me, as maniacal laughter echoed over the intercom. It’s Halloween here in America and this week, depending on which statistics you read, anywhere from 2.5 to 6.5 Billion dollars will be spent on all things, gruesome. I tell you this because tonight’s whisper is an Halloween humdinger. Be afraid, be very afraid.

I set the scene at Bellarmine Roman Catholic university, even the repository of the writings of the world renowned, spiritual giant of Thomas Merton. Here this Halloween week, late one night in the decked and darkened halls, a young mother, who for months had been hiding her pregnancy from others, went to the bathroom and whilst all alone, gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. The child was then plopped by the young mother directly from the watery womb, yes, right into the watery U bend of the lavatory, where it drowned. Hidden in a garbage bag, the dead child's corpse was eventually found by the police. The mother, even as I write, is being charged with murder.

The most shocking thing about this harrowing Halloween story is however not so much the dreadful event, but the cries from the university staff and the people of America all saying, “My God! How can such a terrible thing be happening in our country and at one of our prized universities!” Since the dark drowning, I have heard this cry on all media sources and I tell you that on this not so happy Halloween, that it is this cry which is the most astonishingly shocking thing I have heard, for it is uttered in both bared faced stupidity and unforgiving ignorance. Friends, we have sown to the wind and now we are reaping the whirlwind.

10% of the nearly one million women getting an abortion in America in 2007, would have cited ‘an inability to successfully complete their chosen education’ as a reason for killing the kid not yet born. It’s an Halloween haunting to consider that if this young mother, just six months previously or even less maybe, had gone to a licensed practitioner, citing her education and golfing career as a reason for the need for help with murder, then she could have had her baby ripped from her womb, soaked in salt, or vacuumed out in little pieces and all done free of charge. This acceptable and legalised murder would have been followed by all the care and counselling she could ever need of, delivered hard on heels of the dastardly deed, yes indeed, she could have even gotten on with her golfing, whilst the murderers themselves would have received their fee as usual and all the surrounding industry of death been able to further and statistically justify their existence whilst applying for even more government funding to continue the silent genocide. If she had only acted six months previously, then all would be have been well with the law. Now, you just hink about that!

In 2007, America alone has over 40 million murdered babies since Roe V Wade! With such genocidal figures just whose family I wonder, has not been touched by tragedy such as this. I tell you that I pity this one solitary, sad and silly girl, who out of above 40 million other murderers and countless millions more in complicit genocide, stands as the only one at present counted guilty. At present I say, for judgement is still to come. Still, let’s not think too much for after all, it’s Halloween and the orange sugared candy corn abounds, and laughing witches invite me to smile.

In this ‘One Nation Under God, with websites hosting billions of pornographic pages, with billions of dollars being spent on Halloween, billions being spent on treating sexually transmitted diseases, billions being spent on armaments and war, billions being spent on an entertainment and communications industry that glorifies supernatural darkness as sexy and pushes all the accompanying violence, selfishness, pride, witchcraft, rebellion, atrocity and atrociousness in all its meanest forms down our open mouths, that is not the real shocker! No, The real shocker which remains for me this Halloween, is the startling stupidity of that media cry, that shakes it head in wonder, and then asks the reason, “Why?”

This Halloween, despite all the sugar coated laughter around the shocker of a murderer mum, are all your sins forgiven, are you prepared to flee the wrath to come?

Listen: - “They sow the wind, And reap the whirlwind.” Hosea 8:7 NKJV

Pray: Lord, come carve the word accounting, into the temples of our thick old pumpkin head, that no more little babies would be murdered, left for dead. In Jesus name I pray, amen.

Oct-30-'Decisive' of Tunbridge Wells

Dream Word – LIGHT

Matthew 9:11-13a
And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, "Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" When Jesus heard that, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ' NKJV.

‘Decisive’ of Tunbridge Wells

I presently reside in Tunbridge Wells which has often been referred to as the ‘Spiritual home of Middle England,’ that is, the home of the presumed right wing views of middle class, mainstream, non urban white folks. In light of this, it was the satirical magazine ‘Private Eye,’ who in its playfully constructed, obsessively and excessively complaining ‘letters to the editor,’ always signed them off with mock outrage as ‘Yours faithfully, DISGUSTED of Tunbridge Wells.’ Mock social outrage is of course hilarious! Mock religious outrage born out of a lifetime of fat slumber is however, absolutely anything but funny, for it is both in and of itself a mockery.

In this mad world in which we presently live, in this end of the age relationship freak show, this silicon side show of drug induced enhancement and totally spiritually disenfranchised and demonised societies, I am afraid we need to lay aside any semblance of an attitude which lifts its nose, and shakes its head while writing letters to the Evangelical Times signed by ‘Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells.’ For many years far too many folk have done nothing to remedy our societies worsening situation and so really, just how can we act so disgusted? What right do we have?

I wonder if it is at all possible for us to be shocked anymore? No, I didn’t think so. Therefore do not act shocked. Therefore do not feign religious disgust. It will do no good anyhow. Rather, guard yourself and become an exemplary point of moral reference. Rather, gird yourself with grace and stoop to conquer. Rather, go into all this mad and messy world and preach the gospel to every crazy creature you will come across.

Don’t be disgusted but be decisive about doing something about our society for it is most certainly sick and in great need of the great Physician. Oh and by the way, He shall do those house calls through you! So, are you ready for the sacrifice? Yes, are you ready to call sinners to repentance? Are you learning what this means?

Listen: - I desire mercy and not sacrifice.' For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance." (Matthew 9:13b NKJV)

Pray:- Lord, help us not to feign disgust anymore, but rather fight so compassionately that we would become the beacons of direction, the samples of redemption that this old world most desperately needs. I decide to wake up tonight then! Yes, I decide to take action tonight then, and so on the morrow, become the medic with the medicine even the carer with the call to repentance, sacrificing myself for the salvation of others, seeking Your mercy, sowing in hope and striving for goodness sake.

Yours forever, ‘Decisive’ of Tunbridge Wells.

Oct-29-God's Russian Dolls Are Always Opened In Reverse

Dream Word – PRESENTS

Psalm 47:1-4
Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph! For the Lord Most High is awesome; He is a great King over all the earth. He will subdue the peoples under us, And the nations under our feet. He will choose our inheritance for us, The excellence of Jacob whom He loves. NKJV

God’s Russian Dolls Are Always Opened In Reverse

True Karmic destiny is to be content with your position and calling in life, even if you’re gifted as a doctor but still cleaning out the elephant cages! Breaking Karmic destiny, creating bad Karma by ceasing to be an elephant keeper and actually becoming a doctor can have grave consequences for both you and your family both now and in all future life cycles. So is the understanding on one ‘world view’ held by countless millions in other parts of this weird and weary world.

Tonight I do want to talk about receiving an inheritance but in cosmic proportions and not in Karmic propensity. In others words, when God gives us an inheritance, though it has location with respect to boundaries, both materially and metaphysically, it also has within it, infinite room for eternal growth which can only be gained through a continuing conquest of personal faith. Yes, spiritual acquisition always takes faith, strength and courage! When this trident of pursuance is stabbed into the rear end of all our resistant enemies, they will eventually fall back screaming or be destroyed in the possession! Faith and the need to walk and act by faith is an eternal necessity for the pleasure of God most High. You are not as limited to where and who you think you are or for that matter, even what you do.

When God divides to us our inheritance, we still have the possibility, the need, the desire, even I believe, the expectation of God to also say to Him, “Give me this mountain!” Or, “Give me also springs of water!” Or “Give me also this better gift which I seek,” Or,..well you get the picture.

That possession God has divided to you is an unfolding, never ending, expanding universe of conquest and discovery. There is no need to envy another person’s inheritance, when whole continents, planets, star systems and universes, lay waiting for the discovery in that particular inheritance which is yours. God’s gifts, you see, are like Russian dolls, the opening of which goes on forever and forever, amen. So, stop whining about your seeming inadequacies and instead start discovering the unfolding of all God's good gifts to you. There is more in you and more to come out of you than you ever imagined! Gods gifts to you, you see, are like Russian Dolls, except when you open them up and take out the next gift and shining possibility, the one inside is always bigger than the one it came from. Believe this and begin to enjoy your discoveries, for at His right hand are pleasures for ever more.

Listen: - For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Romans 11:29-30 NKJV

Pray: - Lord, what wonders lay waiting, all wrapped in sparkling paper, within Your purposeful and never ending gifts to me? Give me O Lord, a spirit of adventure to seek these out and help me take full possession of all Your inheritance divided in love to me, in Jesus name I pray, amen!

Oct-28-Remembering The Hidden Rock Piles Of Redemption

Dream Word – COVERED

Joshua 4:4-7
Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel, one man from every tribe; and Joshua said to them: "Cross over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, 'What do these stones mean to you?' Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever." NKJV

Remembering The Hidden Rock Piles Of Redemption

There is little that is more enduring than rock. In my homeland, the famous Stonehenge and many dancing rock circles are even now intriguing testimonies to ancient communities long since wiped from the face of the planet. Yet, still the testimony of speaking rocks remain for there is little that is more enduring than rock.

My suspicion is, that God delights in rock more than He delights in any other non sentient part of His creation. The fixed, protective immovability of rock is at the very least, that which He desires most for us and in us. Yet I think there may be also a secret and metaphysical side to rocks yet to be fully comprehended, for what other singing sentinels stand so firm in the bearing of their living water spewing testimonials? There is little more enduring than rock.

So, God wants us to remember and like so much of the Old Testament, begins to ‘book end’ the chapters of His redemptive story with rock alters and rock piles! In our text for tonight, it is from the middle of a presently dried up Jordan river, that twelve burly tribal representatives obey the command of God and remove the smooth stones to dry Canaan land, to stand as a generational testimony to what God has done for the Israelites. Yet tonight, it is not this rock pile which I am focused upon, but rather the ‘Joshua rock pile’ that is listed in verse nine. And the children of Israel did so, just as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the midst of the Jordan, as the Lord had spoken to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them to the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood; and they are there to this day. Joshua 4:8-9 NKJV

Maybe Joshua was following some other unrecorded explicit command of God right here in verse nine, or maybe Joshua did this off his own bat? Who knows? Still, tonight underneath the rolling Jordan, lay twelve, now very smooth stones, all huddled together in the wet and fishy darkness! Here is a hidden rock pile, an unseen testimony, yet known by one and all who have been redeemed. Yes, the visible pile, up from the banks of Jordan, speaks of another pile of unseen rocks, brought from the wilderness maybe but now long since hidden, covered, all smoothed out and long, long time gone.

Our present life of victory, should be full of present and permanent testimonies to a salvation once wrought upon us, rock like testimonies to a redemption from a dreadful slavery to sin and lost-ness in a wandering and dried up wilderness, even though our old life, our past life, like Joshua's rock pile is covered and long lost in the way once parted for us.

For everyone of us tonight, for all the true Israel of God, I say that every past life sinful stone is hidden, is covered and is long, long smoothed out beneath the rolling waters of redemption that once piled up high at a city called Adam far, now so very far away. Look to your Salvation's seen rock piles, and ask yourself tonight, “What do these stones mean to me?” They shall mean something special for you and especially, that everything else, everything my dear friend concerning your life on the other side of Jordan, is gone and lost forever in the middle of God’s redemptive pathway. It is gone, all smooth remembered rock covered in the depths of His love. There is nothing more enduring than a rock.

Listen: - ----and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest), that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away at Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan. So the waters that went down into the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, failed, and were cut off; and the people crossed over opposite Jericho. Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan. Josh 3:15-17 NKJV

Pray: Jesus, when Your feet stepped into Jordan’s floods, t’ween heaven’s desire and the Father’s will, the waters rose up O Lord, rose up in a heap so very far away, at the base feet of Adam, hoping still and in the pathway of redemption every testimony to my sin, is now covered by the waters of Your love. Thank you. Amen.

Oct-27-What to Do With This Old House

Dream Word – NEW

James 3:11,12
Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? 12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh. NKJV

What To Do With This Old House

Britain still has the abysmal record of currently the worst serial killer ever the stalk the earth. The Doctor of Death, Harold Shipman was convicted for the murder of hundreds of his patients. No one really knows that actual number.

Before the horror of Harold, it was the ferocity of the serial Killer Fred West, that haunted people’s dreams. Fred West and his wife Rose confessed to killing thirty people, many of whom were found to be an integral part of the structure of 25 Cromwell Street. This house has since been demolished and every brick has been crushed and every piece if timber has been burnt.

It is not 25 Cromwell Street that bothers me, but rather 27 Cromwell street, the building next door, which was and still is a 7th Day Adventist Church, still offering Sunday School and Divine worship on the Sabbath. These services both are and were then held right next next door to this house of death, I mean just feet from these grotesque happenings! Twice on the Sabbath and no doubt mid week as well, they would lift their faces to God Most High in prayer, for themselves, for their missionaries, for their communities and for their neighbors, even the people who lived next door to them.

As God looked down from heaven, He saw in the same screen shot, both the hands of these worshippers lifted high in praise and supplication and no doubt the pleading hands of women being brutally murdered, mistreated, begging for their life, before being hacked to death and hidden just feet away from the all the prayers and praise. God saw the living and the loving wanting to be anointed for service and sacrifice whilst next door, He saw the blood in the basement and the bodies in the walled up chimney, their screams settled silent in concrete. One community of life and light pleading for mercy and another community of darkness and death, screaming for justice and both just feet from one another. All this happened down a simple street in England, down our street, down my street, down your street. Now tell me, how haunting is that!

In the same screen shot, God looks at every happening on our planet. In the same screen shot, God takes in every happening on our planet that is happened, is happening and will happen, in both space and time, all at the same time. Imagine that! Such knowledge is too much for me.

So we Christians all, draw near to God. Our lips full of praise and our hearts like the sinking Titanic. Some chambers playing ‘Nearer my God to thee,’ other chambers full of laughing and hope, others, behind the water tight doors, already full of death and drowned bodies. Still other chambers sealed with murders, unforgiveness, vengeance, bitterness, greed, foul and pestilent thoughts and all this in the same body, just from one another, drawing near to God at the same time. Imagine that.

The growth of the new man, the expansion of the new heart, does not reclaim old death, but rather demolishes it, crushing every brick, burning every timber, letting the wind of god’s freshness blow the ashes across His own great deeps where they are dissolved forever in the blood of The Lamb. No, the growth of the new man, the expansion of the new heart does not reclaim old death, but builds something new and grows something better than there ever was before. God the Holy Spirit says, “Come on in! Let me show you around a little. Come and discover all the newness that is mine, all the newness that is thine and let me teach you, how to live in its freshness, how to live in its fullness, how to decorate it according to your eternal future and not according to your ‘piddly’ little past.

Let me encourage you tonight, to stop revisiting the old house of death, stop visiting with the Father whilst you are still inhabiting the old house of death! Rather friend, move houses, move into the new and living, ever growing, ever renewing, ever fresh and flowering new man of the heart. Let it be so!

Listen: - But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, Colossians 3:8-11 NKJV

Pray: Lord, do not allow me to decorate the new with the language of the old. Lord, do not allow me to put my old furniture on the rooms of the new. Lord, do not allow me to invite old smelly guests into my new home. Lord, do not allow, do not allow, do not allow. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Oct-26-The Real Road Show

Dream Word – COUNT

2 Samuel 24:24,25
Then the king said to Araunah, "No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. NKJV

The Real Road Show

An examination of the Old Testament use of the received Tithe, that fictitious ten percent the church is always so focused upon, reveals that it was used essentially in three major areas, that is, for the support of personnel, the purchase and upkeep of premises and the financing various people keeping, money spinning programs. Local churches of today and I suppose every Christian para-church organization uses the larger percentage of it’s collected finances for exactly the same three P’s in the same old pod.

Now do not get wrong here! The workman is worthy of his hire, though often some Pastors just are not as worthy as much as we pay them and more often than not, many Pastors are worthy of so much more. Yes, the workman is worthy of his hire, and premises should be warm inviting and attractive, though not necessarily plushy, lushy and cushy, and correctly funded programs are not only justifiers of our existence but they sometimes actually do some good. Sometimes.

O.K. so now we are clear on that, let me say six things tonight in closing.

First, that ten percent of giving is far too much for some people. Giving ten percent of nothing, when you have less than nothing coming in and more than nothing going out is just stupidity. Either that or faith. I hope it’s faith, because that alone will please God, and that alone will unite your family in the cost of such sacrificial giving.

Secondly, that ten percent is just not enough for some people. Ten percent of ‘loads a money’ is an accounting line item that your accountant needs to use to ensure tax relief at the end of the fiscal year. There is no sacrifice here. No really, there is no sacrifice here.

Thirdly, that Tithing though a Biblical principle is not a New Testament practice. The practice of the New Testament is the hilariously happyand regular giving of that which we have decided in our hearts. It might be a whole lot less than ten percent and then again it might be a whole lot more. It may vary from gift to gift and giver to giver and that’s O.K.

Fourthly, that if you have committed to regular giving to the three P’s in that oh so pesky pod, then GIVE and GIVE regularly! Other people are relying on your regular committed giving.

Fithly, that there is another principle to be applied to giving that precedes the hilarity of the task. Giving that honours God, giving that incites belief, giving that is astonishing and giving that will be utilized by the receiver in the most holiest and astute of ways, is giving that is sacrificial. Giving that can most easily have the largess of hilarity affixed to it is giving that has cost you something.

Lastly, a confession. It’s a double edged confession really, in that on the cutting edge I tell you that I have given my all to God. Many times I have regretted it and often I have wanted to take it back and much of the time it has not been done with gay abandon. I am sorry to God for this sometimes, very reluctant gift. On the back edge of the gift I have to tell you as well that regarding the basic material stuff of life, in the form of food, clothing, transport and tools, it has cost me nothing to give myself away as a bond servant of Jesus Christ. That’s a little scary eh? The feeling, that it has cost me nothing to give myself away.

I do not know what kind of accounting software package the Lord has but I do know that He has got one and that it is open access, there for all to see. One day, we shall all know the true cost of our sacrificial works in terms of the gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay and stubble in the right hand column of God’s great balance sheet. I must tell you, that this is one of the great things that I am most looking forward to finding out about at the great Antiques Road Show in the sky. That is, finding out what is the real value of all our goofy looking investments! Imagine all those disappoint faces at the sad evaluations of treasures both touted and shouted about, and all the other wide eyed intakes of breath that shall be seen and heard, when what some considered to be a piece of old junk, releases untold millions to the tips of their of well worn, tired and torn little fingers, that might be later spent at their leisure, in every angelic outlet shop, spread across the universe anew. Oh yes, even angels engage in trading and therefore engage in manufacturer. However, let us stop there at this flight of fancy….

Tonight, I dare not and I will not set myself up as anything but a reluctant disciple and a reluctant giver to boot, but I do find it interesting when considering these things, that on some counts I feel the cost of giving, yet on many counts I simply feel both the need to give and the pull of greed not to give. What about you tonight? In all your giving of self and stuff, What do you think shall be the real price tag placed upon all your giving to Jesus?

Listen: - If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor. John 12:26b NKJV

Pray: Thank you Lord for the great cost you paid for me. Thank you Lord for others that count the cost for me, of me, with me. I am willing Lord to pay the price of pleasing You right now! Help the hilarity of the gift become then that much more insane to my head and helplessly funny to my heart, to my soul and spirit and my body. Yes, help me laugh like a lion, in Jesus name I pray amen.

Oct-25-The Deal of Death

Dream Word – BE

Luke 3:7,8
Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? NKJV

The Deal of Death

I might have said this before but like it or not, intended or not, the Paul Newman film classic, ‘Cool Hand Luke’ is a veritable mine of Christian Metaphor.

Taking note of the crucifixion like posturing of Luke following his eating of fifty eggs, to all the crosses at the end of the film, I never the less especially like the fact that the character of Luke, is assigned the prison number of 37. Of course Luke 3:7 is our text for tonight and speaks to hypocrites regarding ‘fleeing the wrath to come!” And what are hypocrites, except those folk who are not true to themselves?

In any event, the film of ‘Cool Hand Luke’ is on the positive side, the story of a misfit and a rebellious one at that. It is the story of man who will not give up being who is, and in being who he is, brings hope, inspiration and happiness to the rest of the motley chain gang he is in prison with. These, in turn begin to feed on both him and his exploits. Like Luke Jackson, Jesus, in simply being who He was, most certainly clashed with those in authority and in the same way, that clash also most certainly brought life to others! There are many Christ like comparisons to that fact in the film, but for tonight, I have found three things in the movie and in my own life that prove being your authentic self, does bring life and light and hope to others.

First, please note that God has put certain people on this planet, that no matter how hard you or they try, just will not fit the standard mold of things, in any shape or form! These circus folk, these rebels who are too often without a cause, need to be celebrated for who they are and guided in the planning for what they shall become. Unfortunately and very often, all of society’s social misfits, are kept hidden in the attic, or way back in the research and development area of businesses that benefit from their seeming eccentricities but are embarrassed by their exploits. Yes, in one way or another, this circus crowd is always hidden away because of their seemingly weird and wacky ways. Yet given the right kind of encouragement and direction, these shooting stars can shine brighter and longer than anyone ever imagined, across the sky of which they long to streak. Embrace such circus folk with happiness and laughter, for even though they might be firecrackers, they will light up your life and light up your world! God made them and their individuality needs to be seen as a gift and not a curse.

Secondly, know that all of us are cramped in some way by our sin sick societies. All of us are crippled by unnecessary rules and may I say, most of the sick, restricted, stunted, stayed and stifled people I have ever met are those which have been brought up in, or brought into the church of the living God! Like it or not, that is the truth. The church of the Lord of life, is often more guilty of the control of and perpetuation of death. The church needs to learn to release the uniqueness of the individual within its walls and outside to the world. Oh my, imagine when people are finally served into their destinies! Imagine what an uncontrolled explosion of life and light, might just envelope our communities of boring darkness. For darkness, death and Hell are above all things, boring. Think about that.

Thirdly and most importantly, please recognize the ‘deal of death’ which is often presented to firecrackers. I personally have had this deal presented to me so many times now, that I am astonished that the devil continues with the presentation! Yet he does and throughout the ages of time and the seasons of our life still persists in his coming to us with the same sad deal.

This ‘deal of death’ and with it, the destruction of destiny, is seen in the scriptures passing across the lips of the best friend which Jesus ever had on this planet, Peter the rock. Here the devil tries to use this best of friendships to scupper the eternal destiny of the Son of God and all who should be found in Him! “From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!’” Matthew 16:21-22 NKJV.

This ‘deal of death’ often comes from the best of places, the best of intentions and the best of friends, yet if you listen you can hear the serpents hissin.’ In the film ‘Cool Hand Luke,’ it is Luke’s best friend, ‘Dragline,’ played by Geroge Kennedy, who comes to Luke after his passion in the church and amidst all the sirens, Police and the crazy correctional officers waiting to tear him apart, says to him with a nice big hopeful smile, “You’ve got to listen to me, all you’ve got to do is give up, nice and quiet. Just play it cool.”

There you have it! Do you see it? If life, if change, revival, love and light and world shaking can only come through the release of authentic Christians into destinies which are designed uniquely for them, then the devil will always, and I mean always, come to them come to you and say “Draw back, be quiet, be cool….” and my dear brother and my brave sister, when that happens, then ‘what we’ve got here, is a failure to communicate!’ For death of both the individual and the team will always follow such cowardly compliance to play it cool and draw back from our own uniqueness. Life will no longer be communicated when the draw back from who we are.

If you want to shake that tree your hiding behind, if you want to shake the earth for Jesus, then you must be all you are in Jesus and do all He wants you to do! Do not let anyone stop you being otherwise. Do not enter any deals of death! No, go on being who you are, for despite the embarrassment of the populace, true and lovely life will always follow hard on the heels of any release of your spirit.

Listen: - For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. Psalms 139:13-16 NKJV

Pray: Lord, help us all tonight, to see beyond any restrictive boundaries set for us by others simply wanting us to play it cool, in Jesus name we pray, amen!

Oct-24-A Kicker With A Gun 'til Heaven Doth Come

Dream Word – FANTASIZE

Luke 3:7,8
Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? NKJV

A Kicker With A Gun, 'till Heaven Doth Come

Like it, or not, intended or not, released in 1967, the Paul Newman film classic, ‘Cool Hand Luke’ is a veritable mine of Christian Metaphor.

In 2007, Donn Pearce the writer of the both the novel and the majestic screen play for this film, was still living and writing in Fort Lauderdale Florida. Leaving home aged only fifteen, the author’s personal life is a rich source of story for the film. Pearce, lied about his age when joining the army in 1944, went absent without leave because he was a rebel against unnecessary rules, spent time in the stockade before the intervention of his mother, who finally informed the army of his true age. Thrown out of the army, Pearce then joins the merchant navy, travelling the world, only to be imprisoned in France for the black market counterfeiting of money! Escaping from the outside prison detail, he fraudulently makes his way back to America where he takes up a new career in Burglary. Being imprisoned, aged twenty, for safe cracking he had to serve two years in the Florida State Department of correction chain gangs. At the very least, this young man experienced more of life in those eight years than many would dare to do in 800 years! Having previously given up writing, as a much older man he had now taken up his pen once more. In those intervening years he had an office where I used to live in Dania Beech, from which he arrested run away killers from the Carolinas and Store Front Preachers who moonlighted in the drug trade. I often wonder if some of the latter are still operating in that same trade in Broward county today!

I tell you all this because Don Pearce is not a financially successful author. He is struggling to take care of his ailing wife, and to find extra money for medical bills. He most certainly feels like Sysiphus, bound to an eternity of frustration in forever rolling a rock uphill and never reaching the top. Ben Alsup, writing in Esquire magazine from an interview with Pearce in 2005, records Don Pearce telling him one very particular story:-
“A man, beaten and bleeding, is crawling after a gun. Every time he comes near to laying hands on the gun, another man kicks it up the road a little farther, keeping it always just out of reach. The kicker holds a gun of his own. And the crawler knows, should he ever succeed in reaching the gun he's after, that the kicker will shoot him dead. The kicker knows this as well. Still they travel up the road. The crawler crawls, and the kicker kicks, and the road, it never ends.”

Friends, under this present sun, there is a seeming futility in the circle of life, there is seeming pointlessness to all our journeying. If that outrages some of you, then you are either too young, or too insulated to know the truth of it. The former condition is excusable and will pass with time, the latter however, is a chosen state of lunacy and the church is full of such people.

Tonight I say to you three things.

First enjoy our journey, enjoy the day, the night, the peace the fight, the hot still days and the wind borne kite. Enjoy life!

Second, enjoy your story! See yourself as a character within the pages of a book where you have a start a middle and an end, a with it a development. Enjoy being who you are and enjoy becoming who you can become. Enjoy life!

Thirdly and above all though, know that this story, under this present sun, is terribly tainted. It is marked with a curse and a futility, it is stained with loss, it is full of open crosses, upon which you might climb or be forced upon. In the middle of a groaning creation, all creaking and falling apart, happy endings are rare and frankly, so they should be. So, wherever you can, enjoy life!

You see, “What we’ve got here, is a failure to communicate.” The church under this present sun, is guilty today. Absolutely and totally guilty of selling snake oil to the masses. Guilty of promising heaven on earth. Guilty of promising better days ahead for a small weekly tithing. “Yes siree, just turn up, sit up, shut up and pay up and all shall be well this side of heaven!” I tell you now, this snake oil selling of better days under the sun for small fee, is not Christianity and it is a damnable lie! Under the sun, life is tough, yes, life is often a kicker with a gun.

For you to find hope at the beginning, middle and end of your story, for you to find true hope at the end of each hard day of yours under this present sun, you must turn your mind to thoughts fantastical! Yes tonight and every night, you must steer your heart to the deepest of dreamy wonders. Tonight you must pass beyond the outer and much restrictive boundaries of human possibilities and step through the portal of child like fancy, into gross and startling human impossibility! Tonight, you must fly, Peter Pan like, into unknown worlds, even worlds to come, worlds that one day, as in the long, so long ago, will once more shatter the space time dimensional boundaries and shine brught again in our forever changed and star lit skies. For friends, amidst the frustrations of the long journey which we find ourselves upon, true Christianity will be a dream yet realized, even an unclothed mystery yet to sprout it’s breasts of fullness. Do not forget tonight, that in our Christian story, the best is always yet to come, yes the best is ever and is always, “Milk and honey on the morrow, with skipping lambs and jam tomorrow.” Tomorrow, as much as you can, enjoy your life under this present sun but expect frustration until heaven doth come.

Listen: - Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful." And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." NKJV

Pray: Lord, help me tonight to see beyond the boundary, in Jesus name I pray, amen!