I know my blogs tend toward the darker, or more somber and serious side of life. But I think I try to point out the "silver lining" around the dark clouds, to give hope where there may seem to be little or no hope. The following is a good example of good coming from something that has little or no appearance of good.
We recently butchered all of our Buff Orpington chickens because they were not being very good layers. As an experiment of sorts we decided to get 25 "spent hens" from a chicken farm nearby that was getting rid of their layers because production was starting to decline. There are quite a few of these confinement chicken barns around here, owned by Amish Mennonites. The farmer I work for owns one and I am often called upon to help out with his chicken chores. To me, it is a travesty to raise any animal in the kind of confined conditions that most farm animals are raised in these days. Although the conditions may technically be called "humane", the fact that egg production begins to fall after only eighteen months is an indicator that these chickens are under unusually stressful conditions. (Normally a healthy hen should be able to maintain egg laying capabilities for at least twice that length of time.) A friend had told us that we could buy chickens, cheap, from one of these operations that were getting ready to ship out their "spent hens", and that these hens could still continue to be productive for about another 6 months. So we decided to give it a try.
Most of these spent hens truly look spent. They are the sorriest hens you'd ever want to see. Most of their beautiful tail feathers are gone, as well as the feathers around their necks and elsewhere, giving them an almost naked appearance. Well, we were able to pick out some of the nicer looking ones of the bunch, but as my sister-in-law commented when she saw them, "they didn't look quite right."
But we were so encouraged when these 25 hens laid 14 or 15 eggs the first day, and since then have laid over 20 eggs in a single day. And this is almost the middle of November when the days are getting shorter and the colder. Normally, egg production drops at this time of the year, but ours was increasing. The phrase, getting a "new lease on life," was certainly applicable to these hens. At first their egg yolks were typically pale like the store-bought kind. But after a couple of weeks of being out in the fresh air and sun, and eating greens from the pasture, their yolks turned a nice, bright orange. It was truly fun to see these confinement raised hens, at first hesitant and uncertain about being outside in the bright sunlight, turn into birds that couldn't wait to get out every morning and begin begin their day with all the sun, fresh air and greens they could get.
So, to all you "spent hens" out there . . . there is hope! There indeed can be life after "confinement"!
[Yahweh] said to me, "You are my servant . . .
in whom I will display my splendor."
But I said, "I have labored to no purpose;
I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing . . ."
This is what Yahweh says:
"In the time of my favor I will answer you,
and in the day of salvation I will help you . . .
to restore the land
and to reassign its desolate inheritances,
to say to the captives, 'Come out,'
and to those in darkness, 'Be free!'"
. . . But Zion said, "Yahweh has forsaken me,
the Lord has forgotten me."
"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
I will not forget you!"
(Isaiah 49:1-16)
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
deliberate neglect
As I was preparing a seedbed yesterday to plant a small nursery of chestnut trees, the thought came to me that this plot of ground represented "deliberate neglect". I had grown vegetables there for several years and then had let it go fallow to give it a sabbath year of rest. Of course it was quite overgrown with weeds and it took a bit of effort to clear the weeds and get it ready for growing the chestnuts. But it was pleasing to see how nice and workable the soil was after allowing nature do her work. Although that patch of land looked untidy and unattractive, nevertheless something very beneficial and restorative was happening all along. Billions of micro-organisms, as well as insects, worms and nematodes had been at work, feeding on the decaying carbon matter as well as on each other, in an intricate give-and-take that characterizes every ecological niche of creation. And it all results in greater soil fertility and a structure that can more easily absorb and hold on to rainwater. The weeds that grew there not only added their above ground foliage to the carbon matter that would end up as humus, but their roots, left to rot below the surface also added nutrients and food for the micro-organisms that thrive below the surface of the soil and also contribute to its overall life and health. All these benefits, and more, from "deliberate neglect"!
What encouraged me the most, though, in considering these things, was to realize that I was seeing a picture or metaphor of how God has been working in my life. I could so easily become discouraged that "nothing is happening", that somehow I've missed God and my best years are behind me. When so much time passes without seeing any fulfillment of promises God has given in the past, doubt and discouragement can begin to eat away at one. It feels very much like deliberate divine neglect.
Is it possible, though, that just like the fallow ground that is overgrown with weeds and is looking anything but productive, that in reality something really is at work, unseen to our human eyes? Although death and decay is rampant in the ecosystem of the soil, that death is actually establishing the very foundation necessary for new life. I call it the oxymoronic nature of truth. To gain life one must give it up.
"Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it abides alone. But if it dies, it brings forth much fruit . . ."
"That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, . . . being made conformable unto his death . . ."
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me! . . . Into your hands I commit my spirit."
What encouraged me the most, though, in considering these things, was to realize that I was seeing a picture or metaphor of how God has been working in my life. I could so easily become discouraged that "nothing is happening", that somehow I've missed God and my best years are behind me. When so much time passes without seeing any fulfillment of promises God has given in the past, doubt and discouragement can begin to eat away at one. It feels very much like deliberate divine neglect.
Is it possible, though, that just like the fallow ground that is overgrown with weeds and is looking anything but productive, that in reality something really is at work, unseen to our human eyes? Although death and decay is rampant in the ecosystem of the soil, that death is actually establishing the very foundation necessary for new life. I call it the oxymoronic nature of truth. To gain life one must give it up.
"Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it abides alone. But if it dies, it brings forth much fruit . . ."
"That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, . . . being made conformable unto his death . . ."
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me! . . . Into your hands I commit my spirit."
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
listen!
I've really appreciated James' exhortation to be "quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger" and I've been trying to improve along those lines. But I was caught up short recently when I unthinkingly cut my wife off by questioning one of my sons before she had finished saying something she was in the middle of saying. Immediately I could tell that this was very hurtful to her and even though I apologized it took awhile to mend the relationship. What was especially eye-opening to me was that my son told me that I had a habit of doing this, Ouch! Even though I can remember occasions in the past where I've interrupted or cut my wife off I never dreamed that this was actually a regular habit of mine, so much so that my son was calling me on it! I'm so glad he did because I really needed that wake up call!
But, consider this. Why did I need another male to tell me this for me to take it seriously? My wife has told me in the past that I have this tendency and I sort of took it seriously, but not as much as when my son told me the same thing. And it was my older brother, a medical doctor, who made me really take seriously the dysfunction I was experiencing in my marriage, although my wife had been telling me that for years. Why is it that we men have such a hard time seriously listening to our wives, that we don't give their words as much credence as we do the words of our male peers? If there's any place where we ought to be quick to listen and slow to speak it should be with our wives!
I'm convinced that listening to our wives is an important aspect of listening to God. If I have said this before in one of my blogs I don't mind repeating it because this is so important: God has given man two helpers: woman and the Holy Spirit. How well are we listening to them? They both tend to speak more quietly than the louder male authorities that we are so quick to acquiesce to. Like Elijah, we need to be reminded that God's preferred way of speaking is by a "still, small voice" more than by those louder means that males seem to prefer. Even if our wives should raise their voices with us, or fail to meet up to our standards of what we think they should meet up to before we'll take them seriously, ultimately the voice we need to be tuning in to is that of the Father. Are we listening . . . to Him . . . to His helpers . . . both of them?
But, consider this. Why did I need another male to tell me this for me to take it seriously? My wife has told me in the past that I have this tendency and I sort of took it seriously, but not as much as when my son told me the same thing. And it was my older brother, a medical doctor, who made me really take seriously the dysfunction I was experiencing in my marriage, although my wife had been telling me that for years. Why is it that we men have such a hard time seriously listening to our wives, that we don't give their words as much credence as we do the words of our male peers? If there's any place where we ought to be quick to listen and slow to speak it should be with our wives!
I'm convinced that listening to our wives is an important aspect of listening to God. If I have said this before in one of my blogs I don't mind repeating it because this is so important: God has given man two helpers: woman and the Holy Spirit. How well are we listening to them? They both tend to speak more quietly than the louder male authorities that we are so quick to acquiesce to. Like Elijah, we need to be reminded that God's preferred way of speaking is by a "still, small voice" more than by those louder means that males seem to prefer. Even if our wives should raise their voices with us, or fail to meet up to our standards of what we think they should meet up to before we'll take them seriously, ultimately the voice we need to be tuning in to is that of the Father. Are we listening . . . to Him . . . to His helpers . . . both of them?
Sunday, October 4, 2015
open letter to Dad
David Roy Jones August 24, 1925 - September 15, 2015
My Dad has experienced the ultimate stripping - the removal of his body of suffering. He has now entered in to his reward. This is the letter that I wrote to him after his death which I read at his memorial service.
Dad, you were many things to many people: a missionary statesman, el fundador de la radioemisora HRVC, "la voz evangelica de Honduras", a friend and servant to the university student missions movement, a faithful husband and father, someone committed to showing hospitality to foreigners (especially foreign students), a good organizer and administrator, and someone who never lost their sense of humor. I think Dr. Seuss had someone like you in mind, Dad, when he wrote about Horton the elephant. Like you, when Horton committed to something, no matter what happened, "he was faithful one hundred percent."
But Dad, I'm not going to put you up on a pedestal. I know you would not feel comfortable there. My appreciation and admiration of you was never diminished, but rather enhanced, by your ability to be transparent and straightforwardly honest about your flaws and failings. You never hid behind a facade of machismo or let the high esteem given you by others go to your head. You were a man of integrity, Dad - the same person at home and in your private life as you were in public.
Your faithfulness at letter-writing meant so much to me, Dad, especially when I left home to go to college and the years after. You were never rattled by my forays into non-traditional spirituality and lifestyle choices. Instead you encouraged open communication and a love that transcended our differences,
Above all these things, Dad, you gave me a foundation - a rock solid foundation, that I could build on and pass on to my own children and grandchildren. I am still testing and exploring that foundation, maybe in ways that you never would. But as you now know with perfect clarity, our Saviour - Yeshua Hamashiac (Jesus Christ) invites us to explore with all thoroughness the intricacies and intimacies of his love.
Thank you, for being my father. I am proud to be your son, I love you and will miss you.
My Dad has experienced the ultimate stripping - the removal of his body of suffering. He has now entered in to his reward. This is the letter that I wrote to him after his death which I read at his memorial service.
Dad, you were many things to many people: a missionary statesman, el fundador de la radioemisora HRVC, "la voz evangelica de Honduras", a friend and servant to the university student missions movement, a faithful husband and father, someone committed to showing hospitality to foreigners (especially foreign students), a good organizer and administrator, and someone who never lost their sense of humor. I think Dr. Seuss had someone like you in mind, Dad, when he wrote about Horton the elephant. Like you, when Horton committed to something, no matter what happened, "he was faithful one hundred percent."
But Dad, I'm not going to put you up on a pedestal. I know you would not feel comfortable there. My appreciation and admiration of you was never diminished, but rather enhanced, by your ability to be transparent and straightforwardly honest about your flaws and failings. You never hid behind a facade of machismo or let the high esteem given you by others go to your head. You were a man of integrity, Dad - the same person at home and in your private life as you were in public.
Your faithfulness at letter-writing meant so much to me, Dad, especially when I left home to go to college and the years after. You were never rattled by my forays into non-traditional spirituality and lifestyle choices. Instead you encouraged open communication and a love that transcended our differences,
Above all these things, Dad, you gave me a foundation - a rock solid foundation, that I could build on and pass on to my own children and grandchildren. I am still testing and exploring that foundation, maybe in ways that you never would. But as you now know with perfect clarity, our Saviour - Yeshua Hamashiac (Jesus Christ) invites us to explore with all thoroughness the intricacies and intimacies of his love.
Thank you, for being my father. I am proud to be your son, I love you and will miss you.
Sunday, September 13, 2015
stripped
The way I have come to look at life, especially my life, is to ask the question, " What is God up to?" As I ask myself this question these days the word that comes to mind is stripped. When I started blogging again this past June I used the metaphor of darkness to describe my situation. Before I share a few thoughts on being stripped I'd like to refer you to a Scripture I ran across that confirmed the truth that we (as believers) are indeed still in a station of life that can be described as darkness.
We have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention
to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in
your hearts. (2 Peter 1:19)
How can the morning star rise in our hearts if we are already full of light - if Jesus, who is the light of the world, lives within us? Is Peter aware of something that we as modern believers are blithely unaware of? Have we confused faith with presumption?
I cannot speak for anyone else. I can only speak for myself. The longer I live the less I know and the less I have certainty about what I used to feel so sure of. I am being stripped. It is a very vulnerable place to be. As unsettling as it is I do find some comfort in it. I'm comforted by the thought that this is a necessary part of the process of drawing nearer to God. Whatever that quality is that a young child has that Jesus said was necessary to enter his kingdom, surely that same quality is necessary for growing and maturing within the kingdom. But that quality is so quickly lost! And if we don't regain it we're in grave danger! We get a clue as to what this quality is when Jesus says, "Unless you humble yourself as a little child . . ." A child's humility is very different than an adult's. It is unencumbered, open-faced, no facades. The only way we can get back to that kind of humility, I believe, is to be stripped. A child has no problems with intimacy, as long as it feels loved. Why am I not quicker to run to the open arms of Him whose arms are always open wide to receive me? As adults we have to work hard at recovering that child-like humility. A good place to begin is to start addressing your heavenly Father as "Daddy", or "Papa". I heard Bob Jones (a modern day prophet who is no longer with us) tell a group of pastors to do that (he himself used the term "Papa" whenever referring to God). I took his advice and discovered that although it took months to get used to doing that, it has now become my most frequent, one-word prayer - "Daddy!" That prayer has brought more peace and comfort to me than all the others combined! So often I simply don't know how to pray, words seem so inadequate. But I know that He who made me knows my heart and always will hear and respond to the cry, "Daddy!"
So let the stripping continue. The servant is not above the master. Before Jesus went to the cross he also was stripped. We could never go through what he went through for our sakes. But he does ask us to follow him and in some way become like him in his death.
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his
sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from
the dead . . . I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me . . .
(Phillipians 4:10-14)
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
the Word II
In this post I would like to give some Scriptures that, to me, demonstrate what I've called this seamless tapestry between the written Word, the Scriptures, and the prophetic word. One is communicated on stone tablets or on the black and white of written letters on pages of a scroll or book. The other comes through less tangible means, but is equally real and equally authoritative and powerful. We can try and tease the two apart by saying the Scriptures are given to establish doctrine while prophecy is intended to be limited to specific times, circumstances and strategies. But what the two have in common is that they both are direct communications from God to us and they both require faith to receive. I don't have the intellectual gift to be a theologian or a Bible expositor to be able to get into all the intricacies of this matter. But I simply want to bring to your attention the following Scriptures and ask you to consider the possibility that Scripture and prophecy must be held together, not separately.
Man does not live by bread alone but on every word that comes from [present tense] the mouth
of the LORD. (Deut.8:3c)
You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him, and keep his commandments and obey
his voice . . . (Deut.13:4a)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. (John 10:27)
You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life.
These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life. (Jn. 5:39)
In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various
ways, but in these last days he has spoken to to us by his Son . . . (Hebrews 1:1)
What I love about that last Scripture is that it shows how the movement of God toward us is one of increasing intimacy. And that is precisely why I have appreciated prophecy so much. Prophecy says to me that God is a personal God who loves me enough to communicate in the most personal and intimate of ways. When Jesus prepared his disciples for his having to leave them and return to heaven, he didn't say that he would send them the Bible to comfort them and be their guide. No - they already had the Scriptures! He promised them something much more intimate and personal, but just as authoritative - his presence, in the form of the Holy Spirit. Could we be led astray by "just following the Spirit"? Sure! Just like we could be led astray by just following Scripture (prime example: Pharisees). My point is, we need both. Scripture tells us that truth is established by at least two witnesses. We need the Bible and the Spirit - words on paper as well as revelation that comes by less tangible but equally real means.
I recently heard it said that the rock on which Jesus would build his church was the revelation of the Father. After Peter made his famous confession of Jesus being the Christ, Jesus tells him that flesh and blood did not reveal this to him, but rather the Father did. All the other "rocks" that Christians have argued that Jesus was going to build his church on cannot stand without this revelation of the Father to an individual's heart. And that is the essence of prophecy: God speaking, through his Spirit, directly to us, without the need of the Bible or a church authority. Prophecy is the sine qua non ("without which not") of the Bible and church authority. You can't have either of these without prophecy, but you can have prophecy without the Bible or church authority. God was speaking to anyone who wanted to listen to Him generations before the Bible was ever written (consider Enoch, Noah and Job) and He was obviously speaking during the time of the Scriptures. He is still speaking today to any and all who have a love for the truth. If it sounds like I am putting down either the Scriptures or proper Church authority I would say that I'm only wanting to put them in their proper place, which I believe is also the witness of Scripture and the apostles.
The Word became flesh . . . full of grace and truth . . . and from his fullness have we all
received grace upon grace. (John 1:14,16)
". . . the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it."
(Deut. 30:14)
Man does not live by bread alone but on every word that comes from [present tense] the mouth
of the LORD. (Deut.8:3c)
You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him, and keep his commandments and obey
his voice . . . (Deut.13:4a)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. (John 10:27)
You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life.
These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life. (Jn. 5:39)
In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various
ways, but in these last days he has spoken to to us by his Son . . . (Hebrews 1:1)
What I love about that last Scripture is that it shows how the movement of God toward us is one of increasing intimacy. And that is precisely why I have appreciated prophecy so much. Prophecy says to me that God is a personal God who loves me enough to communicate in the most personal and intimate of ways. When Jesus prepared his disciples for his having to leave them and return to heaven, he didn't say that he would send them the Bible to comfort them and be their guide. No - they already had the Scriptures! He promised them something much more intimate and personal, but just as authoritative - his presence, in the form of the Holy Spirit. Could we be led astray by "just following the Spirit"? Sure! Just like we could be led astray by just following Scripture (prime example: Pharisees). My point is, we need both. Scripture tells us that truth is established by at least two witnesses. We need the Bible and the Spirit - words on paper as well as revelation that comes by less tangible but equally real means.
I recently heard it said that the rock on which Jesus would build his church was the revelation of the Father. After Peter made his famous confession of Jesus being the Christ, Jesus tells him that flesh and blood did not reveal this to him, but rather the Father did. All the other "rocks" that Christians have argued that Jesus was going to build his church on cannot stand without this revelation of the Father to an individual's heart. And that is the essence of prophecy: God speaking, through his Spirit, directly to us, without the need of the Bible or a church authority. Prophecy is the sine qua non ("without which not") of the Bible and church authority. You can't have either of these without prophecy, but you can have prophecy without the Bible or church authority. God was speaking to anyone who wanted to listen to Him generations before the Bible was ever written (consider Enoch, Noah and Job) and He was obviously speaking during the time of the Scriptures. He is still speaking today to any and all who have a love for the truth. If it sounds like I am putting down either the Scriptures or proper Church authority I would say that I'm only wanting to put them in their proper place, which I believe is also the witness of Scripture and the apostles.
The Word became flesh . . . full of grace and truth . . . and from his fullness have we all
received grace upon grace. (John 1:14,16)
". . . the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it."
(Deut. 30:14)
Monday, August 17, 2015
the Word of God
I grew up in a conservative, evangelical church tradition which used the phrase, "Word of God". or simply, "the Word", as a synonym for the Bible. Bible study could also be referred to as "getting into the Word" and someone who preached from the Bible was a preacher of "the Word". But the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements of the 20th century added a new dimension to "the Word". A long lost gift of the Spirit - namely prophecy - was coming back into use. More and more believers began to experience what Peter called the fulfillment of Joel's prophecy (Joel 2:28-32) on the day of Pentecost. Years later the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, exhorting them to "eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy (ICor. 14:1). It was this gift, Paul said, that would cause a visiting unbeliever to "be convinced that he is a sinner . . . and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you (I Cor. 14:24-25)!" Now good, Holy Spirit inspired, Bible preaching can have a similar effect. But what is unique to the prophetic gift is that it doesn't require Bible study and preparation. All that is needed is the anointing or inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And because prophecy comes from the heart and mind of God, it can indeed reveal knowledge and wisdom that would otherwise not be available to us.
But can prophecy be called "the Word of God"? Because of the long history of the Bible being referred to as "the Word of God" I would avoid equating the two. I agree with the teaching that says that only Scripture should be used to establish doctrine. The Bible is our ultimate weapon against the deceptions of Satan, as Jesus himself showed when he answered Satan's temptations with "It is written . . ." But, the fear that embracing the prophetic gift is to undermine the authority of Scripture is totally unwarranted. The opposite is true. When used properly, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, Scripture and prophecy form a seamless tapestry that demonstrates the wonderfully creative and diverse ways that God will communicate with men and women. Scripture itself is the best witness to this reality.
In my pursuit of God, of intimacy, it has been the prophetic that has captured me, that has drawn me closer. I have had friends, best friends, who have turned their backs on me because of my continuing pursuit of prophecy. Both of these friends, when I first became friends with them, shared my interest in and belief in the prophetic gifts. But for some reason that eludes me, they both came to a point in their own spiritual journeys, where they saw the prophetic as a threat to the final authority of Scripture. They became what I call, "Bible only" Christians (and it also had to be King James only, interestingly enough). Now I really appreciated these two guys (whom I knew at two different periods in my life, not simultaneously) and would have liked to have continued the friendship with them. But because of my continuing interest in the prophetic, and their increasing suspicion of it, they ended their friendship with me. I felt like I had become contaminated material to them, that they had to keep their distance. Those were two of the most confusing experiences I've ever had. I told one of those friends (who went so far as to make sure that his children no longer played with ours) that his cutting off of our friendship felt, emotionally, like being stabbed in the back.
But do you know what it was that brought perspective and consolation to me at that time? It was a prophetic revelation, entitled, The Hordes of Hell are Marching. This word explained that Satan's number one tactic against God's people is to bring division at every level possible, beginning in the home between husbands and wives, and on up to governmental and national levels. As we draw closer to the end of this age there will be increasing division, and warfare, between light and darkness, and the church will become involved in an all-out civil war within its own ranks . . . Oh-h-h-h-h, so that's what I've been experiencing . . .
(to be continued)
But can prophecy be called "the Word of God"? Because of the long history of the Bible being referred to as "the Word of God" I would avoid equating the two. I agree with the teaching that says that only Scripture should be used to establish doctrine. The Bible is our ultimate weapon against the deceptions of Satan, as Jesus himself showed when he answered Satan's temptations with "It is written . . ." But, the fear that embracing the prophetic gift is to undermine the authority of Scripture is totally unwarranted. The opposite is true. When used properly, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, Scripture and prophecy form a seamless tapestry that demonstrates the wonderfully creative and diverse ways that God will communicate with men and women. Scripture itself is the best witness to this reality.
In my pursuit of God, of intimacy, it has been the prophetic that has captured me, that has drawn me closer. I have had friends, best friends, who have turned their backs on me because of my continuing pursuit of prophecy. Both of these friends, when I first became friends with them, shared my interest in and belief in the prophetic gifts. But for some reason that eludes me, they both came to a point in their own spiritual journeys, where they saw the prophetic as a threat to the final authority of Scripture. They became what I call, "Bible only" Christians (and it also had to be King James only, interestingly enough). Now I really appreciated these two guys (whom I knew at two different periods in my life, not simultaneously) and would have liked to have continued the friendship with them. But because of my continuing interest in the prophetic, and their increasing suspicion of it, they ended their friendship with me. I felt like I had become contaminated material to them, that they had to keep their distance. Those were two of the most confusing experiences I've ever had. I told one of those friends (who went so far as to make sure that his children no longer played with ours) that his cutting off of our friendship felt, emotionally, like being stabbed in the back.
But do you know what it was that brought perspective and consolation to me at that time? It was a prophetic revelation, entitled, The Hordes of Hell are Marching. This word explained that Satan's number one tactic against God's people is to bring division at every level possible, beginning in the home between husbands and wives, and on up to governmental and national levels. As we draw closer to the end of this age there will be increasing division, and warfare, between light and darkness, and the church will become involved in an all-out civil war within its own ranks . . . Oh-h-h-h-h, so that's what I've been experiencing . . .
(to be continued)
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