Dec-22-Terms of lease

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Terms of lease

Habakkuk 1:6
For indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans, A bitter and hasty nation Which marches through the breadth of the earth, To possess dwelling places that are not theirs. NKJV

The people of this planet have been involved in warring with one another ever since Cain killed Able. Since time immemorial we have had: Envy Wars; Hate Wars; Succession Wars; Civil Wars; Independence Wars; Ethnic Cleansing Wars; Religious Wars; Political Wars; Guerilla Wars and Terrorist Wars and Resource Wars; and no doubt, you could add a few more to my list. In the coming years, we shall no doubt see more of the same of these types of war appear across the globe, however, I suspect it will be the terrible trio of the political war, the religious war and especially the resource war which will kill the most people. Indeed, as the world’s population increases, together with the demand for its dwindling resources then it is the resource war which shall initially make demands of the acquisition of those lands, under long and historical dispute over ownership, and further, under various pretense, might even arrange and opportunity for invasion and the possession that ‘which is not theirs’. Now then, is such ‘stealing’ sin?

“The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof,” and thus far He has only officially portioned one small segment of this fullness of geography and associated resources to the people of Israel. If then resource theft is sin, then stealing from God is plain stupidity for ‘the strong man armed, always keeps his goods in peace’. The nations must leave Israel and her resources alone, lest we find that it is God almighty that turns around and lays hold of our pick-pocket dipping wrist. Only trouble can follow such an Almighty apprehension.

The coming further resource wars involve the forced acquisition of dwelling places belonging to another, and consequently, legally speaking, together with its resource content, all the earth space surrounding such stolen dwelling places, whether these resources be below them under the ground, even right down to the very centre of the earth, and then even the air space above them. Such ‘theft invasion’, to various degrees, not only dispossess the original owners but disperses them or subjugates them, or eventually, absorbs or eradicates them.

“The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.”  Therefore, all devil run democracies, (oh wake up now!) and all other political, social, economic and cultural entities, exist and promulgate themselves on a planet which does not belong to them. Therefore, the possession of any land mass with all its associate resources are all, ultimately, held leasehold and therefore temporarily, at the discretion of the one true landlord, that is, the Lord God Almighty!

“The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof,” so listen up now. Throughout time, though the devil has had his Kingdom’s overlaying the surface of this spinning orb, ‘the earth is STILL the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.’ Do you see that? The kingdoms of this world may belong to the devil, but all the substance and solid nature of planet earth belongs to God, and so does, the disposing of the same. “I am raising up the Chaldeans, ….to possess dwelling places that are not theirs.” In other words, God is rightly leasing to them, this oh so nasty nation, both place and property which is not theirs. God and God alone has the right to do this and when He does, the transaction and transfer is unstoppable.

The safety of any physical dwelling place therefore is at the behest of God, not stealth delivery weapons, or arms both nuclear and nasty. The disposal of other people’s dwelling places into our lap is also at the behest of God and when this happens, it might just involve another war, a God war. The possession of the promised land was a ‘God War’, and resulted in the unstoppable total transfer of land property and all possession of the same. So let us ask ourselves, outside of that particular time and incident, has there been any other ‘God War’? The answer of course is yes. Look now, “I am raising up the Chaldeans, ….to possess dwelling places that are not theirs.” Think about this: When a renter ‘reallocates’ an owners resources it is theft. When the owner reallocates his resources, then it is his both his desire and right. “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.”

How can we discern between the wicked actions of the devils burglars stealing resources which are not theirs and the ‘legal’ actions of God’s bailiffs? Especially, how can we know when a ‘God War’ is being pursued against us? Well, remember, when a landlord’s property is being destroyed, when a landlord’s place is being utilized for actions contrary to the owners original declared intent, yes, when the owners name is being brought into open disrepute and when proper payment and right honor is long overdue, then we should not be surprised when a removals van pulls up outside our house and some burly men start banging on our door. Should our nations expect a visit from God’s bailiffs?

Habakkuk is later going to see the rightness of this kind of ‘God War’ eviction. However, Habakkuk is also going to have big problems with God’s bailiffs, the Chaldeans. Yes, Habakkuk shall have problems in understanding the kind of ‘eviction people’ that God uses to reclaim His property. We shall look at this later, but for tonight, know that although God uses some brutal bailiffs to evict His bad tenants, once the task is completed, the bad bailiffs themselves will also be dealt with. There is nothing nice about God’s redistribution of resource.

Tonight then, know three things:

1.  “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.” He distributes it as He pleases.
2. The safety of any dwelling place and its continuance is at the behest of the owner. Only God can make us dwell in the safety of possession, provision and peace. 
3. God is in the eviction game even today. 

Tell me now then: “Have our nations been served and eviction notice?”


Listen:- The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein. For He has founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the waters. Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the Lord, And righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face. Selah Psalms 24:1-6 NKJV

Pray: -  Sovereign Father, when our nations lay under You, God most high, then we can truly lay ourselves down and sleep in peace, dwelling in Your gracious safety. But You Lord are known by the judgment You execute and the wicked shall indeed be snared in the work of his own hands and turned into hell. So shall all the nations that forget God. Remember Lord please, that in the nations of the willful sinful, there are still those few who have not forgotten You O God. Have mercy then O Lord, and turn us once again to You. Amen and let it be so.

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Dec | 20 | The Borg of the Lord

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The Borg of the Lord

Habakkuk 1:6
For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwelling places that are not theirs. KJV

There now follows five verses describing the sword of God’s judgment, the Chaldeans. They are bitter and hasty, terrible and dreadful, filled with unrelenting violence and overflowing with scoffing derision, they are hungry devourers and merciless enslavers, all fuelled by a such a self love, that regarding every obstacle, they simply ‘adapt and overcome.’ To such an all consuming, hungry and carnivorous swarm, any national resistance was futile. Now then, I have purposely quoted Habakkuk 1:6 from the KJV tonight, as the opening statement is more pronounced in this translation. “LOOK!” Say’s God, “Lo, I raise up the Chaldeans.”

Here then, God shall use a godless and unrighteousness nation to judge His wayward covenanting people. Indeed, God Himself has raised up and shaped this sharp threshing sledge for such a time as this. Mark well then today, that on planet earth, behind all the black gates of Mordor, it is not Sauron now who is building an army of Orcs beneath Mount doom, no, it is God! “Lo, I raise up the Chaldeans.”

How then can we know when it is darkness and the devil and an infestation of the demonic which raises up a wicked nation against us and even a confederation of nations to come against the righteous light seekers, the holy light holders and the freedom from sin proclaimers? I say again: how can we know when the originator of destruction is God or the devil? Well, there is an easy answer to this question. When a nation is indeed a seeker of light and a holder of righteousness and a proclaimer of the same, then God will never come against it. Ever! Any adversity against such a nation finds its sources solely in the devil. However, when a nation sniffs at holiness, when a nation snuffs out righteousness and when a nation calls bad good and darkness light, then I tell you, it is God who is driving calamity like a stampeding herd of ten thousand rampaging cattle, right down the main streets of every city of that now light rejecting nation. Resistance is futile. “Lo, I raise up the Chaldeans.”

 Look around you now Christian, look at the movement of nations. Look around you now, look at the rise and fall of walls, look at the opening and closing of gates, look at the spread of the dark eagle’s wings! Behind which black gate on earth, is God now raising up a new locust swarm of nation consuming judgment?

Be sure of this: God is at work among the nations and some of them, He is sharpening as a sword of judgment against those other 'dimmer switch' nations who have so shamelessly rejected His light and, like a used cigarette butt, has screw healed His grace into the baby-blood leached ground.

Listen:-  For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwelling places that are not theirs. Habakkuk 1:6 KJV

Pray: -  Sovereign Lord, God over all, who should not be in awe of You? Merciful and patient, loving and gracious, creator of time and all the built spaces for repentance therein, the wind now carries to us the sound of the sharpening of Your sword of judgment. In Your wrath, remember mercy, and look upon the quick ignorance of we ‘forgetors of God’ we ‘forsakers of grace’ and soften our hearts that we might receive Your correction and be saved. Amen and let it be so.

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Dec | 13 | How to get God’s ears to wiggle once more

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How to get God’s ears to wiggle once more

Habakkuk 1:2
O Lord, how long shall I cry, And You will not hear? Even cry out to You,"Violence!" And You will not save. NKJV T

So, Habakkuk is tired of his desperate and repetitious double barreled prayer for mercy and deliverance. However, there are two further parts to his three sectioned open question to God, that second part being: “O Lord, how long shall I cry, And You will not hear.”

Now, we know that God knows and hears all things, but this ‘not hearing’ here, is in fact a ‘not responding to calls for mercy.’ Yes, it is not only a recognition of the un-cupped nature God’s right hand from His once leaning over head, but a testimony of the erecting of the high gates of indignation around the once warm entrance to the ever loving wiggling of the rabbit ears of God. Interestingly, these high barred gates of indignation now set up around the ears of God, have all been cast in the forges of their own rebellion and UPS shipped to heaven on the back of a ‘poo-brown’ truck called ‘arrogance.’ The new covenant good news is this: that ‘Repentance’, that armored car of God’s grace in Christ Jesus, can bust open those gates of God’s indignation forever!

So, if you are groping in a noon day discomfort: repent of your sin.
If you find yourself itching in uncomfortable situations:  Repent of your sin.
If the scabies of your disease is being picked at and pointed at by mocking onlookers:  Repent of your sin.
If there is a shudder of coming judgment reverberating through your being:  Repent of your sin.
If the cold loneliness of your situation is drawing you at last to the warmth of God’s midnight fire:  Repent of your sin.
If you have woken up naked in a pig trough tonight:  Repent of your sin.
If the silence of heaven is making the ears of your heart twitch and wiggle like a nervous rabbit, yes, if you are ungodly this day AND YOU KNOW IT, then my friend, there is hope! Repent of your sin.

Listen:- For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. Romans 5:6-9 NKJV

Pray: -  Turn up the freezer Lord. Make it cold outside Your Kingdom. Make the darkness grip our being and press us tight like the icy pressured depths of the black ocean floor. Open our ears to the howl of the circling wolves and fill us with a drawing fear, that all who are lost would be pulled and pushed to the welcoming orange glow of the courtyard fires of Your midnight love. Have mercy on us O God, have mercy on us before our self made gates surrounding Your fiery indignation are closed forever to those outside. Amen and let it be so.

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May | 20 | Vikings and The Long Boats of The Lord.

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Vikings and The Long Boats of The Lord

Acts 17:6,7
 But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, "These who have turned the world upside down have come here too. Jason has harbored them, and these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king — Jesus." NKJV 

 I rarely do this, but I had far too much oven baked Camembert, French bread, chocolate and peanuts these last few days. I am just recovering…..Yuk. Why? Well, since WWII, once a year, the nations of Europe get together for a song contest. No it’s true! You see, after what has been estimated by some to be over 100 million war dead on that continent in the 20th century, such a competition was sought to both prosper understanding and acceptance of national differences and singing together beats killing each other for sure. For me, despites its plastic facade, ‘Eurovision’ a bigger spectacle than the Olympics, European cup and FA cup finals all rolled into one, after all, when you can't polish a turd the best thing to do is roll it in glitter! And let me tell you, you have never seen so much glitter gazed at by around 125 million people. I laugh out load for nearly 4 hours.

For those who see past the singing and dancing to all the real political and social interplay portrayed there; the whole ‘set piece’ of the programming publicly pushes all the driving forces of current popular culture down the watchers and the listeners throats! This year, 2013, a smorgasbord of current culture was pushed down our throats by Switzerland in a public display of ‘woman on woman’ kissing, ‘man on man’ kissing, and at the very front, gazing adoringly on to the main stage, what looked like a rabid ‘mosh pit’ scene from the gay proms. ‘Dancing queens’ indeed.

Betwean the end of the contest and the scores announcement, whilst the votes were being counted in the interlude, Compare and Comedienne, ‘Petra Mede’ produced a little vocal ditty which tried to convey her own countries culture and that of Europe's. It was very illuminating when she sang:

 "Our roles are reversing - our daddies are nursing - in all of our cities the men have no titties but they still say at home to raise the kids - and the girls can handle the balls with the best kick line of them all" 

The following verse finished with a line of butch sporty women, a gay marriage and the man on man kiss, all to loud cheers led by the ‘mosh pit’ queens. Now, “In all of our cities the men have no titties but they still say at home to raise the kids’ is a line you are not so easily going to forget! It might be both an observation and even an affirmation of this western role reversal but like it or not, it is killing our societies and leaving many young men adrift in a feminised society that offers them no hope.

Again, on this very day in 2013, the UK parliament, once more tried to pass an unpopular bill on ‘gay marriage’, whilst at the same time the Church of Scotland debated on whether or not to allow openly and active gay men to be ministers. if this was not bad enough, some of the current ‘evangelical lights’ had already designed their own wedding ceremony for the sanctifying of sodomites in marriage and many, if not most, of the UK’s Evangelicals have already quietly re-interpreted Biblical gender leadership roles under the banner of a ‘spiritually politically correct but most corrupt ‘Culturally relevant-Kingdom’ theology.

 I wonder if, after 2,000 years of Christianity on the European and American continent, the problems exhibited among our societies are almost always down to us. I wonder if it is the church who are to blame for the state of family deconstruction, and societal collapse? You see, if we truly are the revolving hub around which the universe so presently rotates, then with respect to gender roles, the church has so obviously compromised the male gender leadership message of the Bible, that it is evident that the spokes are now breaking off that increasingly faster rotating wheel of time, and ‘soon and very soon’ we just might crash into an ever widening truly misogynistic ditch of another religions making.

The Gospel message to our cities is the same it has always been you know… "Repent and believe the Gospel" ….… and should REAL revival come through the preaching of the Word, should there indeed be a 'fresh outpouring' from God Most High, the evidence will not be seen inside the four walls of some sad shed on an industrial estate or even in the plush suites of Pensacola beach, no, real revival shall be evidenced in such a cultural role reversal, such an upsurge of Biblical order, that it will be revolutionary in content and destructive in design! Listen up now, “In a POST CHRISTIAN or PRECHRISTIAN environment real revival has always been marked by trouble.”

 I ask you to consider today then, that whilst respectable Evangelicals are still settling for quietness and peace, it might just be that God's after causing some 'trouble'? Maybe the question we have to ask ourselves is “Do we have any men left in our churches who are the instigators of such holy trouble?” If the answer is no, them maybe those kingdom taking maurauders no longer sit in the long boats of the Lord? Indeed, maybe the Vikings have now long since left the building.

Listen:- And they troubled the crowd and the rulers of the city when they heard these things. Acts 17:8

Pray: - Father, raise up once more those hairy men of old, those rough shirted warriors who have counted the cost in following you; those big sea salted broad shouldered men of old who put their backs into gathering fish. Amen & amen.

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Jan | 22 | The smelly outcome of incontinent cats cooked in a dead dog pie

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The smelly outcome of incontinent cats cooked in a dead dog pie

Habakkuk 1:5
They are terrible and dreadful; Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves. NKJV

An Anarchists may have no dignity, yet despite their nomenclature, they do have laws, yes, they do have some measurement of judgment, be it ever so base, so as not to utterly consume themselves. Here, in our text for tonight, we see that the consuming jaws of this judgment visitation people which would eat up the chosen of God and then swallow the other nations of the then known world, not only had laws, but along with them, had a proclaimed and projected, self styled excellence of lawful application, which, in turn, then produced a great deluded dignity of strong self standing and a solid self centered nationhood. However, this conquering cabal judged themselves by themselves, and consequently all their laws and that dignity and excellence of their national pride encased therein, proceeded solely from themselves. Such self judgment, and such self measured personal and national pride is, however, a thorn surrounded titanic Corpse flower, whose root reaches deep into the ground of pride and whose bed is fertilized with a pit-foul arrogance, the collective and conceited stench of which, is like the used anal wipes of a Crete public toilet on a hot summers day afternoon. So are all the nations who now forsake the Lord and His laws. So is America; so is Britain; and so is Europe.

The decades old, two meter high, Titan Arum, or ‘Corpse plant’ is an inflorescent, that is, a plant consisting of hundreds of small flowers all flourishing from a single proud stem, whose foul odor attracts the carrion insects and foul flesh flies to its putrid pollination party.

Now then, in the nations which have forsaken the Lord and His laws; yes, in the nations who have now long ejected the Bible from their beds and from all the backyards of their now unholy habitations, the ‘Necrophila americana’ have come to lay their larvae in all those old and cancerous Kentucky lungs, who smoked themselves to breathless loss whilst murdering their own babies and dropping bombs on those other mothers they considered ‘badder then themselves’. ‘Pride cometh before a fall,’ and the exaltation of the law firm of ‘Simon Fitzpatrick and Patrick Fitzsimon’ will simply further call the flesh flies to the feast of the now bent body of a dying country, consumed by self judgment and self indulgence, and clothed in the heavy, heavy back bending cloak of a thoroughly sodden and urine soaked pride. Do you see this now? Do you see the nation which has forsaken the Lord?

Whilst checking your own armpits for any foul smell of pride, be sure to wash yourselves daily with the Word of God. The rest, leave. Don’t even let the smell of them be on your clothing. Get out of the way and get yourselves ready. God is coming.

Listen:- Behold, the day of the Lord comes, Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, To lay the land desolate; And He will destroy its sinners from it. For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not give their light; The sun will be darkened in its going forth, And the moon will not cause its light to shine. "I will punish the world for its evil, And the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud, And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold, A man more than the golden wedge of Ophir. Therefore I will shake the heavens, And the earth will move out of her place, In the wrath of the Lord of hosts And in the day of His fierce anger. It shall be as the hunted gazelle, And as a sheep that no man takes up; Every man will turn to his own people, And everyone will flee to his own land. Everyone who is found will be thrust through, And everyone who is captured will fall by the sword. Their children also will be dashed to pieces before their eyes; Their houses will be plundered And their wives ravished. "Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, Who will not regard silver; And as for gold, they will not delight in it. Also their bows will dash the young men to pieces, And they will have no pity on the fruit of the womb; Their eye will not spare children. And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, The beauty of the Chaldeans' pride, Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. Isaiah 13:9-19 NKJV

Pray: -  Father, we humble ourselves before You. We have forsaken Your laws, denied Your grace, abused Your goodness, abandoned Your ways. Have mercy on us O Lord, and if You will, in Your anger, remember mercy. Amen and let it be so.

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Did you know that we are preaching from each of the 66 Books of the Holy Bible in the 66 Most Influential Cities of the 250 Nations of the World? That's 16,500 cities which will hear a solid prophetic message from each book of the Bible over the next 25 years! Do you want to be part of this? Then please go to www.66Cities.TV to find out how.







  

Dec | 20 | What's Needed To Sniff Out The Things of God

Dream Word – CHANGE

Song of Songs 7:6-9 How fair and how pleasant you are, O love, with your delights! This stature of yours is like a palm tree, And your breasts like its clusters. I said, "I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of its branches." Let now your breasts be like clusters of the vine, The fragrance of your breath like apples, And the roof of your mouth like the best wine. NKJV

What's Needed to Sniff Out The Things of God.

In the South of France, it is the city of Grasse that claims to be the perfume capital of the world. It is the industrial professionals of this ancient industry that at the time of my writing tonight, claim that although there may be 1,000 professional Perfumers in the world, there are only fifty 'Noses' and each of them have originated or have been trained in the city of Grasse!

A ‘Nose’ is a unique technical artiste, an inventor of perfumes with the ability to recognise up to 3,000 different smells. Working for months at a time, their task and calling is the ability to mix such an harmony of fragrances that the tone of their invention will set all other noses to dancing!

Of course perfume has been used for thousands of years in commemoration, medication, sanitation, seduction and sacrifice. Useful stuff! Knowledge of perfumery came to Europe from the East early in the 14th Century, but it was Queen Elizabeth of Hungary who ordered the making of the modern perfume of today, made from scented oils blended in an alcohol solution. Indeed, this first European perfume became so popular that is was known throughout the Western World as ‘Hungarian Water.’

I would like to suggest tonight, that the church has much more than fifty 'Noses'! Indeed, I wonder just how many folk have the capacity of leadership to orchestrate such a harmony of fragrances? Fragrances of commemoration, healing, health, spiritual seduction and sacrifice, that when steeped in the preservative and powerful alcohol of the Holy Spirit, they will set the church to dancing! I suspect there are many and should such a ballad of fragrant forcefulness be let loose in the church and subsequently upon the world, that the top note of ‘Wowness’ would turn their necks in wonder, the middle note of ‘Wooing’ would win their hearts to Christ and the base note of warmth and tenacity, would both bind them in the loving arms of the Father and keep them firmly and happily in His strong eternal grip.

I reckon we need to get to picking a few 'Noses' this Chrstmas time and then imploring them to make us some Hungry Water to be sprinkled on a tired old church and a stinky old world! The big question then is 'do we the church have any noses to left to pick, any noses left to do us such a fragrant service, to help us both smell the love, and smell the hidden danger and flee? In the olden days, we used to call them prophets and I tell you, it's been a long long time since we've seen any sitting on our grass.

Listen: - The fig tree puts forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grapes give a good smell. Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away! Song of Solomon 2:13 NKJV

Pray:- Lord, lead us to the 'Noses' and help us to honour them and release them, for Lord, how can Your church begin to smell without proper noses? So send us some today, in Jesus name we pray, amen.

Dec | 11 | The Reluctant Dragon

Key Word:- CHANGE

Title:- The Reluctant Dragon

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

Certainly in England, my country of origin, we have some most unusual names. I lived down the road for example from 'Pease Pottage', which literally means 'Pea Soup or Broth.' A number of local tales explain why it might be called this, but no one really knows. Most of the other unusual English names are rooted in Anglo Saxon usage and so just might sound a little silly today. America however, is unsurpassable for amusing nomenclature. How about these for a few: The Proctologist called ‘Dr Butt’, the Dentist Called ‘Dr Payne’, the town in Florida called, ‘Two Egg!’ Or how about these other names: ‘Dudley Boobus,’ ‘Bertha Clapsaddle’ and of course ‘Shanda Lear!’ Yes indeed, these are funny but I want you to know that names in the Scriptures as well as encapsulating promises, are also prophetic and instructive. Yes, names encapsulating promises like: “No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.” (Genesis 17:5-6)  Names encapsulating the prophetic like: “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)  Both these names are instructive like today's verse. Here's the scene: Israel is in a mess and again, like a silly dove, is flitting to and fro to her human allies for solace and support and today, it is Egypt that appears to be Israel’s source of protection. Egypt the strong, Egypt the mighty, Egypt the powerful!God comes to that same flitting dove of Israel and says, “you lot are rebellious kids, just heaping up sin after sin. Yes, you're taking counsel alright but not from Me! You've not asked my advice, Oh no! You're happier sitting in the seemingly strong shadow of Egypt, strengthening yourself in that over confident, pompous prig of a Pharaoh; the same type of nation and geezer that tried to annihilate you! Have you forgotten that I delivered you from such people? It's just not on,” says the Lord, “I'm gonna see to it that they let you down, so listen up. I am now calling Egypt, 'Rahab-Hem-Shebeth'. There, stick that in yer pipe and smoke it. Write it down and DON'T forget it 'Rahab-Hem-Shebeth!!”
The actual meaning of this name is 'Rahab who sits still', or 'the strong one who sits still,' or as the Living Bible so wonderfully translates it, 'THE RELUCTANT DRAGON.'

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Nov | 17 | Maiming Mephibosheth

Key Word:- CHANGE

Title:- Maiming Mephibosheth

Psalm 34:18 The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.


Denzel Washington, plays the fallen and haunted, former U.S. Marine and lead character, in the 2004 Film, ‘Man on Fire.’ Based on the novel of the same name by A.J. Quinnell, though fiction, the film is supposed to be a construct of several true stories and personalities, especially that of the American hero, ‘Creasey.’

The selling point of the book and the film, is that great attraction to fallen humanity of ‘redemption through ordeal.’ Indeed, many have speculated that this is why Quinnell’s character ‘Creasey,’ remains very popular in Japan, where the cultural attraction of stories of ancient ‘Ronin’, or shamed Samurai, fighting to regain their lost honor, still draw greatly on Japanese cultural roots and so consequently, still retain an high dollar value! My point is this: because of the work of God’s grace, there often arises something in Christians, that both wants to redeem ourselves and make amends for what we have done. The difficulty and danger we have in religion, is marrying this desire of ‘restitution’ with the need for ‘personal redemption.’ Penance, which involves either eternal or temporal ‘redemption through ordeal,’ all sounds so honorable, so wonderful, so possible, so glorious, so why not do it; and even better why not 'can it, pack it and sell it'! We have forgotten that the backlash to this packaging of penitential redemption, was one of the main driving forces in the Reformation. Yet penance, still has great influence on our lives.

So, let me cut to the chase and ask you this: “What ‘trial by ordeal’ are you consciously or unconsciously subjecting yourself to today, in the hope of ‘penancing’ your way into feeling better, or changing your circumstances?” Or how about this: “How and why do you continue to punish yourself, for already forgiven sins?”

Now don’t get me wrong, grief, remorse, and restitution, or if you will, the practicalities of making amends; may all be a necessary part of the ‘panoply of repair’ needed for healthy emotions and relationships. I also acknowledge that these things have never been an academic or intellectual exercise. No. They cut deep into our present reality and change the course of our personal history. I think for example of the man I met a few years ago, who upon becoming a Christian, confessed to his boss, that he had been cheating on his travelling expenses. Though we are talking about extremely small sums of money, he felt he needed to make open confession and restitution. He lost his job, and quite probably any hope of being hired in the same professional field he was extensively trained and superbly gifted to fill. Or, how about the former ‘playboy’ husband with four children, who over recent years has fallen in love with his wife, honoured and adored his children, become a Christian and a deacon in their local church, who, wanting to make amends with those within and outside of his family that he has hurt, eventually owns up to multiple adultery, only to find himself divorced, separated, excommunicated, and penniless, living in an efficiency apartment, all alone. I wonder if both circumstances were an act of unwarranted penance?
The church has always had these problems to deal with. At the beginning of the 21st century, as the former mafia men, corporate hucksters, gang members, drug dealers, sex offenders, secret porn consumers, all come into the church, (well, admittedly, the porn consumers are already there) we shall have to deal with redemption and it’s consequences in ways we have yet to dream of. Oh, and lest we get a holier than thou kind of attitude, it is my belief, that if every Christian were to write into the Inland Revenue, confessing and making amends for every cent they had withheld from the government, then we could in one fell swoop of confession and contrition, overwhelm the beaurocracy of our land to a stunned and startling stand still!

Mephibosheth, son of Jonathan, of the house of Saul, had been dropped as a child by his fleeing nurse. Consequently, he was maimed and incapable of walking at all. This is the biblical picture of a contrite heart. It is one of maimed brokenness, of poor and utter dependence. It contrasts directly with the proud, arrogant, and ‘I don’t care ‘coz’ I can fix it’, kind of heart. It does not prefix some internal or external quest for redemption by ordeal but limply and beggarly, lies weeping for grace before the eternal throne of God.

Have you got this kind of contrite heart? Good. Now be wise with it.

Listen:- “But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, And who trembles at My word.” Isaiah 66:2b

Pray: - Lord, You redeem. Lord, You restore. Lord, You reclaim. Lord help me today in Jesus name I pray, AMEN.
 

Nov | 15 | The Slut & The Dog Dung Exhibit

Dream Word – CHANGE

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 for us, surely this beast of time 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 you really are and what you 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 – CHANGE

Luke 13:32 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 of, breeding that particular sin? Surely, though it cannot bear its teeth, (no, foxes cannot bear their teeth and snarl) nevertheless its 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 Rachel's 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.

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

Dream Word – CHANGE

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 onto 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 think 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 a 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 about that 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 are 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 | 22 | The Dough Boys & Mary Mallon

Key Word:- CHANGE

Title:- The Dough Boys & Mary Mallon

1 Corinthians 5:6 Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?

It has been suggested that the ‘Bonus Marchers’ of 1932 forced the endearing name of ‘Dough Boys’ into disrepute. Several years after the stock market crash that brought on the great depression, thousands upon thousands of homeless veterans camped in Washington to try and gain their promised and long delayed war bonuses paid to them. They were eventually routed and removed from the capital. Though the appearance of the name was well before the early 20th century, the term 'Dough Boys' became the nomenclature of the American soldier during the First World War. In both world wars, there is no doubt that the introduction of the American war machine into endeavours of the Allies led to a rising strength of such proportions, that victory was eventually secured. It seems the dough boys carried the necessary yeast for the growth of victorious success, or to use its ancient name, the American 'Dough Boys' carried the necessary leaven.

Dough girl, ‘Typhoid Mary’ Mallon, was a somewhat healthy carrier of the disease in New York at the beginning of the 21st Century. Though not succumbing to the disease herself, she never the less spread Typhoid wherever she was employed. Caught from her, a number of people died of Typhoid Fever. Despite her eventually knowing she was a carrier, Mary refused to remove herself from society. Finally, Mary Mallon was forcefully isolated from the wider community for over 23 years, until her death on North Brother Island. Her dough girl name of ‘Typhoid Mary’, a knowing spreader of disease and death, is now an infamous term in the English language. Remember this, for our verse today carries a principle of nature which has obvious parallels in the spiritual realm. Here it is, ‘Active ingredients of any kind have the tendency to spread!’

I would broadly describe an active ingredient in the sense of it being: any observed, acquired, felt attitude or action. For example: courage spreads, so does fear! Goodness spreads, so does evil. Excitement and anticipation are contagious, so is depression and so is malaise! See what I mean? “Active ingredients of any kind have the tendency to spread!” For life's sake then, dealing with the general principle we can say this: “Those active ingredients beneficial to the growth of the body need enhancing and those which bring death, need removing.”

The principal is clear. When the ‘Dough Boys’ of despair camp in our capitol, they need to be removed. When our ‘Typhoid Mary’s’ spread disease amongst the body, they need to be isolated. In our verse for tonight, the apostle Paul is encouraging the church in Corinth to do just that. As individuals today, we also need to examine ourselves and deal with ourselves in these areas. What infectious death do we carry with us?

My last word and final counsel today is important. Our attitude in these things needs to be one of grace. Before you let loose the terrible troops and the hard health inspectors upon yourselves or your churches, let there be grace. Where there is sin, let it be repented of. Where there is dysfunction, let it be corrected. Where there is disease, let it be cured, let it be healed. Be firm friends; be specific but let love have its way. Especially with yourself! Yes at the beginning of this day, in Christ’s all forgiving grace, be so serious with your cleansing, that you might be better in the evening, even healed, restored and clean.

Listen:-But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:7-8 

Pray: - Lord, heal me of all my infectious diseases. Lord, remove from my heart those malcontents that disrupt my very being. Lord let grace flow and be the balm of Gilead to my body and to Your body the church, in Jesus name I pray, amen.

 

Oct | 16 | Wild but Not Woolly

Key Word:- CHANGE

Title:- Wild but Not Woolly

Isaiah 3:8,9 For Jerusalem stumbled, And Judah is fallen, Because their tongue and their doings Are against the LORD, To provoke the eyes of His glory. The look on their countenance witnesses against them, And they declare their sin as Sodom; They do not hide it. Woe to their soul! For they have brought evil upon themselves.

The most publicly flamboyant of 19th Century homosexuals, Oscar Wilde, was born today in 1854 in Dublin Ireland. From 1895 onwards, his imprisonment for sodomy and subsequent total destruction at the hand of a revengeful Marquis of Queensbury, have made him a figurehead of homosexual persecution and suffering. Christ died for all kinds of sinners including Oscar Wilde, yet God is neither woolly nor silent concerning the sin of sodomy.

Now friends, though I am personally flamboyant, love poetry, chick flicks and weep openly, I am not homosexual. No, I am afraid to say that my sins run far, far deeper. If a gene can be discovered for ‘pride and prejudice’ then maybe I shall feel a little better in being reconciled to my evil twins? Maybe?

My point is this, God will not, He will not reconcile sin with the sinner. His task is Wholeness and Holiness, no less! He will deliver us all, me included, from every evil. Friend, sodomy may not be as evil as my personal stumbling and fallings, but I tell you that homosexuality is also an evil that needs repenting of.

So what to do? We are in the depths of open warfare between the polite and politically correct and the seeming impolite bombastic bigots of a far right conservative evangelicalism. The lines are drawn but what are we to do when many of the churches children have openly confessed and are walking in homosexual sin? What are we to do when some of our most renowned leaders have come ‘out of the closet’ and shaken us to the core in advocating such a lifestyle? What are we to do when society presents us ‘repenters’ as white hooded, pokey hatted, full of hatred, sulphur spitting Bible thumping oh so phoney, homophobic homicidal maniacs? What are you to do, when today you battle with that same sin? Dear friend, what are we to do?

I believe our verse today is dealing with my personal problem of pride. Overtly Jerusalem and Judah had already prophetically fallen, when their inward sin of pride began to be outwardly and unmistakably worn upon their rebellious and hard-nosed faces. Some might say that our society is already well past that stage and is consequently and doomed to destruction. What can we do? From the lips of a ‘repenter’ I wonder if you would all, consider my advice:

Confess your tendency and if needs be, confess your sin. Agree with God concerning your sinful condition, for you know He’s been wrestling with you about this. Ask for God’s gracious forgiveness and humbly receive it, and then finally begin to lay hold of His power, especially as it is expressed in a loving community of fellow ‘repenters’ of every size, shape, colour and background!

This is not easy. He never said it would be. This is a fight, He told us it would be. Yes, that’s what you are to do, it’s what we all are to do and do together. Repent & Fight. We can do it; after all, we’re all in this together.

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

Pray: - Have mercy upon us, O God, According to Your loving kindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out our transgressions. Wash us thoroughly from our iniquity, And cleanse us from our sin. For We acknowledge our transgressions, And our sin is always before us. 4 Against You, You only, have we sinned, And done this evil in Your sight — That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge. Behold, we were brought forth in iniquity, And in sin our mother conceived us. Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make us to know wisdom. Purge us with hyssop, and we shall be clean; Wash us, and we shall be whiter than snow. Make us hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice. Hide Your face from our sins, And blot out all our iniquities. Create in us a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within us. Do not cast us away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from us. Restore to us the joy of Your salvation, And uphold us by Your generous Spirit. Then we will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You. (adapted from Psalm 51:1-13 )
 

Oct | 15 | Divine Dental Floss

Dream Word – CHANGE

Amos 4:6 "Also I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities. And lack of bread in all your places; Yet you have not returned to Me," Says the Lord. NKJV

Divine Dental Floss

The little term ‘Cleanness of teeth’ has always seemed to me to be a most humorous way to describe the ravages of famine! Yet I think a most descriptive way as well, for after a fine Sunday lunch with friends, even after brushing my teeth, there is always an afternoon of tongue discovery and subsequent meal remembrance. Ah yes, there is always evidence of the previous meal hiding amongst the molars and refusing to be swallowed.

Since not so long after WW11, we in the West have eaten very well indeed, over-eaten even. Indeed, the visual rise of obesity is a swelling testimony to that fat fact seen daily waddling through all our burgeoning cities. “Avast behind!” Is no longer a quaint old naval term.

I have never gone hungry. Oh, I’ve missed a meal or two maybe, but never gone hungry. I have used the word starving, but have never starved, no, nowhere near. I do not know either the chilling chase of a hunting hunger or the forever-ness feeling of a finger sucking famine. In these full times, maybe that lack of a hungry experience, is a big problem for us all, rather than a blessing?

Our text for tonight in all its terrible stunning-ness, never the less offers hope to a cared for covenant people. God at least is saying, “Hey you have broken our contract and these are the consequences and they are now in effect solely to cause you to come back to me and gain the blessings of the other end of the deal!” We have none of that in our Western world today, but rather we are struck on all sides by the stunning indifference of God! It is as though God is saying by His lack of action, “Go ahead, eat yourself stupid and sin yourself silly. See if I care!” And so we sail on, super-sized and sick, settled on simply satisfying a cesspit of selfishness, that has quietly sold us into a seething self-serving slavery, leaving both us and our societies, foolish, foul and fat, in all our festering forms, and God, well like I said, God doesn’t seem to care one bit. Is this the truth?

Well maybe not, for on the contrary, if anything, God has sent a worrying wind, scooping up in its angry path, ten billion quail, filling our waiting nets, whilst saying, “You want it? OK here it is! Eat it until you are sick of it. Consume it with such a vicious voraciousness until you vomit it out of your growling and grunting, green snot dripping, piggy-like snouts. I’m past caring” It’s a nasty and nauseating picture isn’t it? I wonder then, if famine would be better than this foul fatness? I wonder if famine would be better than this overwhelming and blinding fullness? For, it seems to me, that being sick of fullness, is always the long way round to seeking God.

I think we need Elijah. I think we need men and women anointed with the spirit of Elijah. I think we need people of great power who can command the heavens to withhold their watery goodness, for years if needs be, so that our crops would fail, so that our bones would become familiar with our skin once more, so that we would seek out the Divine dental floss, that we might eat what is left between our hungry little canines. Maybe such a famine will foster a seeking that fatness never will? Maybe all this fatness is not the indifference of God, but rather His judgement?

Where shall we get such Elijah like people for they shall not come from the church? Not from the church fearful. Not from the church pandering. Not from the church lying flat on her back before the masses, her legs laid open wide to all the world and its mass marketing methodology. No, they shall not come from the church, but rather from the desert places, the secret places, the waste places of God’s wilderness. And when they come, they shall suddenly appear on the scene like Elijah of old, seemingly without father and without mother, but with a message from on High, lit with fire and formed in thunder! My heart looks out daily for such prophets, for they will prepare the final coming of our Lord.

I fear this fat generation of ours shall miss this fast coming and mighty message. Ah, but our children, maybe they shall hear it? Maybe?

Listen: - But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, 'to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,' and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." Luke 1:13-17 NKJV

Pray:- Lord, tonight we pray that You would annoint Your wilderness warriors with the spirit and power of Elijah and that you would bring them to Your fold with this mighty message of preparation. Lord, please cease Your indifference of convition toward us and send the Holy Spirit, to convict our societies of sin, righteousness and coming judgement, in Jesus name we pray, amen!

Sep | 28 | The Trail Of Tears

Dream Word – CHANGE

1 Timothy 6:10  For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. NKJV

The Trail of Tears

It was whilst first driving down Interstate 75 in Georgia in the late 90s, that I first noticed the white signs on brown backgrounds saying “Trail of Tears”. Now the USA has a habit of naming its freeways after people of power, presence and prominence, but it was the first time I ever saw a highway called Trail of Tears, National Historic Trail. How interesting.

Another time on the same highway when driving to the North Georgia Mountains and to Ellijay, Georgia’s 'Apple Capital', I was tired and couldn’t wait to kick back, relax a little and smell the roses, indeed knowing that a white rose is Georgia’s state flower, it made the prospect of relaxation all the more attractive. How interesting.

At the time of writing this 'Whisper' I am off to a men’s retreat on the Coosawattee River. The very names of Ellijay and Coosawattee when said out loud, indicate the roots of a very different language. Indeed, these places were once part of the vast and enchanting, ancestral home of the Tsilagi People, or the Principled People, or as we know them, the Cherokee nation.

After a good night’s sleep at the men's retreat, the following day I took my laptop and drove to the Crimson Moon Café in the small town of Dahlonega, a beautiful tourist trap, selling trinkets and flavoured coffee! Dahlonega’s quaintness and beauty however, hide the fact that this was a major boomtown in the Georgia Gold rush, the first in U.S. history actually, and indeed, even became a branch mint for the United States Mint. The name Dahlonega is also of Cherokee origin and means, 'yellow money'.

The examination of history is a complicated affair. However I believe it is safe to say that ultimately, it was the discovery of gold in these same North Georgia mountains that led to the forced removal of over 16,000 Cherokee Indians, to diseased holding forts and then to a journey of over 1,000 miles on foot, to their new and very different lands in Oklahoma. This forced march resulted in the death of between 4,000 and 6,000 Cherokee. It is reported that the mothers of the Cherokee were grieving and perpetually crying on the journey, because they were unable to help their children survive. The Cherokee elders prayed for a sign that would lift the mothers' spirits and so give them strength to continue. The next day, a beautiful rose began to grow where each of the mothers' tears had fallen. The rose is white for their tears; a gold center representing the gold taken from Cherokee lands, and the seven leaves on each stem represent the seven Cherokee clans. This Georgia state flower, this wild Cherokee Rose, grows along the route of the Trail of Tears into eastern Oklahoma even today.

Make no mistake about it; Chief Dragging Canoe was correct when he said that it was the “continual advancing banners of a greedy host” that consumed the ancient nations in the USA. Spiritually speaking, greed always leads to a 'trail of tears'. So then, may I ask you what might be greedy for tonight? How might that end in tears for other people, even for you? Think about that. If greed destroys nations, how will you fair in succumbing to that self same lust?

Many Cherokees had become Christians by the time of the Trail of Tears and missionaries who travelled with them, report that they were great singers. On this Trail of Tears, the Cherokee Christians sang one particular song, which since then has become the unofficial national anthem of the Cherokee Nation. That song is ‘Amazing Grace.’ Translating it back from the Cherokee it reads:

God's son
Paid for us,
Then to heaven He went,
After paying for us.

But He said,
When He rose,
"I'll come again,"
He said when He spoke.

All the earth will end
When He comes.
All will see Him
All over the earth.

All the good people living
He will come after.
Heaven always,
In peace they will live

The first book to be translated into Cherokee was a hymn book. Along your 'trail of tears', the answer to destruction of the pursuit of great greed is always amazing grace. Did you get that?

Listen: - Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." So we may boldly say: "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?" Hebrews 13:5-6 NKJV

Pray: Lord I set my eyes on You. Deliver me from greed, especially the covetous greed of another person's, goods, land, property and relationships. By Your amazing grace, help me O Lord to be content with what I have. In Jesus name I pray, amen.