BeLOnGings

Pro Tanto Quid Retribuamus is the motto of the City of Belfast. It is the Latin Vulgate for the bible verse commonly translated, “What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me?” (Ps. 116: 12)

My brother John, a committed believer, a number of years ago felt lead to move beyond his medical practice to seek to serve the working class people in his district of Belfast as a City Councilor. His heart for reconciliation resulted in him acting as a peacemaker between the two communities in the divided province of Northern Ireland. (Even today there is no local assembly in Northern Ireland because the two sides ‘can’t agree’ what that should look like!)

A few months ago John decided to bring his ‘political career’ to a close. The nationalist SDLP party in acknowledgment of John’s contribution to facilitating co-operation over his years in office proposed that he should be made “High Sheriff’ This was quite something, as John’s political stance had him on ‘the other (Unionist) side of the aisle’. His first loyalty in being politically active was not to a political ideology but to the the Prince of Peace and as a servant of the people he represented.

We were delighted therefore, shortly after we arrived back in Northern Ireland, to receive an official looking invitation to attend the ‘swearing in’ ceremony of my big brother as the High Sheriff of Belfast that next week!

The office of High Sheriff is now mainly ceremonial. Having said that, one of his responsibilities would be to host Royalty who might visit the province, which could make for an interesting year with the upcoming coronation of King Charles III !!!

Growing up as a boy in Belfast (unlike my friends from Nebraska!) my knowledge of a High Sheriff was shaped entirely by the TV staple Robin Hood.

No doubt the theme song about this legendary ‘outlaw’ and his ‘band of merry men’ who was “…feared by the bad, loved by the good. Robin Hood, Robin Hood, Robin Hood.” did at least subliminally, influence us in our choice of names when it came to our first born son.

The arch villain in the series was The High Sheriff of Nottingham, who week in week out used his political power in a corrupt and self serving way only to be outwitted by Robin and his company time and again!

John’s ‘promotion’ at the start of our stay was bookended by another promotion we heard about at the very end of our visit.

Sadly, our friend Tom Livingston from Duluth called to tell us that his son David, whom Robin and I had gotten to know briefly but deeply after he had attended a FREEDOM! retreat, had passed away unexpectedly at the age of 43.

The wonderfully talented and caring young man had been unable to get the breakthrough into freedom in this life he and we had so earnestly prayed and hoped for.

I had lost my ‘timepiece’ – my cell phone, in Ireland when I thoughtlessly put it on the roof of our car in a Ballymena car park and drove off.

“What was that about Father?” I asked.

He answered me clearly through the words of another David, the Psalmist, “My times are in your hands.” (Ps.31:15)

This was before we heard of David’s death, but then…..it made sense!……. David had completed the course set before him. His days had all been recorded in God’s book.(Ps. 139)……. They were just a little fewer than his family and friends had hoped for.

We arrived home in time to participate in the Celebration of Life. As I scribbled some thoughts down on paper that morning Father said, “…… I’m still speaking to you about David….. Look what you’re drinking. ” I realized I had just sipped the last few drops of a particular coffee brand.

I set out to run through the local wood, thankfully fit enough for the first time in many months. Then as I turned a corner I saw someone had dug a new path through the snow……A SURPRISE SHORTCUT…. around a familiar obstacle

Returning by the road I noticed snow banks and solid ice sheets on either side of a clean dry road…… and made a SUREFOOTED SPRINT….. for home.

David may never have made it to the earthly position of “High Sheriff” but from heaven’s perspective he was in Christ, indeed a “High Achiever” as was evident from the many tributes brought from all over the country that day, including this, from our own ‘Robin Hood’

Abraham was called ‘friend of God’. As he was the first to have revealed to him the New Covenant, we too can hope to become friends of God and experience this intimacy by grace through faith.

Jesus said to his disciples, ‘I no longer call you servants….instead I have called you friends’, and then went on to describe the nature of true friendship as something that Knows (walking ‘in the light’) Shows (walking ‘in covenant love’) Grows and Goes

^“You are my friends if you do what I command.  I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.  This is my command: Love each other.” (Jn.15:14-17)

While in Ireland I met another ‘friend’ of God appropriately called Christine (as in Christ -in). She wrote to me from America telling a wonderful story about a shillelagh.

She described how when her mother and grandmother emigrated to the US from Northern Ireland in the 1950s, they brought with them the shillelagh pictured above. She wrote comically about the way growing up she and her brother used it to try and ‘clobber’ each other and how it now hangs on a wall in her home. She continued the story…….

“So it goes, back in November 2022, I was sitting in our living room & thinking of my Ma, and I said “Dear God, I miss her terribly at times & this is a time.” Shortly after, my eyes fixed on the Shillelagh. I picked it up giving it a look over, and read Pal Kyle. Now it just dawned on me that this was someone’s name. I reflected back to all the times I looked at that name, and as a child thought it was an old Irish saying of some sort, and one time I asked my gran as it was in my hand, “What does it mean?” well I just got the old norm, “Put that back where it belongs!” So I never pressed for an answer, just said something along the lines of, ‘geeeeze I was only asking a question!’ in a mumble, as a scolded child would. 

So, there I was, thinking & smiling to myself, “I wonder if this Pal Kyle was the wee friend that made this as a parting gift? Could Pal be Pal as in friend, and his name was Kyle, or was Pal as in Paul was his name.” So that lead me to search for Pal Kyle with no luck, then onto Paul Kyle, and up came your blog. In reading your posts such a wonderful feeling overcame me with goosebumps, I like to think a confirmation from the Holy Spirt that I was meant or led to find your blog. Mr. Kyle your music and your blog are gifts!!!

I thank God I found you all. Many Blessings to you & yours!!!!

Best regards

Christine.”

When I got round to repliying to Christine today what a timely encouragement the Pal Kyle story was for me, she wrote further….

“I felt, it was the Lord lifting me up in a time of sorrow & showing me “You are not alone, you are on the right path, you’re not losing your head”  and yes, he was introducing me to his friend (YOU) as he knew it was what I needed, and could relate to, on a few different levels. He checked off all the boxes, as he knows me well!

As I read your blog,  encouragement, faith, and love was filling me, and things that have been going on in the world, my husband & I have been paying attention to & praying over for quite a few years now.  So seeing you share some of this was in a sense also confirming to me (I’m not out of my head) lol  

It seems the Great Awakening may be starting (Praise God!!)” 

I was walking past this sign at the end of the side street I’ve discovered which has a few spaces where you can park FREE! …near the city center. (Shhh. Don’t let anyone else know 😊)

Anyhow it was a photo opportunity too good to miss, and so I snapped the litter strewn “sheugh” at the end of Great Patrick Street. We have just settled on the date for our next FREEDOM! Retreat in Minneapolis, 17th , 18th March…… which happens to be St. Patrick’s weekend!

How appropriate as the name Patrick means “hostage looser” So if you feel there is a lot of junk littering up your personal “sheugh” this is an opportunity for you, your family or friends to get FREE!… of the trash (mixing Irish and American terminology here😀) to make yours a truly GREAT Patrick Street, cleaned up and ready for the coming of our Bridegroom and King.

You can register for the retreat at paulkyle.org/events

The reason for my blog silence in recent weeks is not because we have found God to be silent, far from it, but because firstly myself and then Hilary have been healing from respiratory infections that have caused us to cut back and re-order our plans here. This together with my loosing my iPhone/clock has reminded us of Psalm 31: 14-15.

But I trust in you, Lord;
    I say, “You are my God.”
My times are in your hands;
    deliver me from the hands of my enemies,
    from those who pursue me.

P.S. We plan to return to the US tomorrow, but as I just said, “Our times are in your hands.” 😊

“Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.. Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” (James 4:13,14)

The book of Job and The Space Trilogy both have very beautiful endings!

We read of the daughters born to Job after his ordeal “Nowhere in all the land were there found women as BEAUTIFUL as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an INHERITANCE along with their brothers.” (Job.42:15)

Their given names speak of the loveliness, the consecration, and the maturity of the BEAUTIFUL end time BRIDE. The INHERITANCE piece points to the pre-fall relationship between man and woman, needing no ‘pecking order’ but coming together in a powerful and complementary unity as was the ‘original intention’ at the beginning in Genesis and as portrayed at the end of the book in Revelation at, ‘the marriage supper of the Lamb’

The Space Trilogy also ends with ‘a feast’, and ‘a marriage’ beautifully restored.

The husband Mark who had sold out to the ‘beast’ system realizes now, how brutishly insensitive he had been to the beauty of his wife. Up until the last sentence we wonder will she receive her humbled husband now returned home? I love the way Lewis genius for understanding men and women is revealed in the very last sentence of the Trilogy.,....”the sleeve of a shirt – Mark’s shirt – even hung over down the outside wall. And in all this damp too. How exactly like Mark! Obviously it was high time she went in.”

I noticed that all three of the books had 17 chapters. interestingly this is the biblical number for VICTORY a victory that is is only realized at the very end of the story but is assured throughout!

This is why I choose the song “O Behold the Lamb.” to head this blog, for this is the Lamb ‘slain before the foundation of the earth.” (Rev. 13:8) In other words the end of the story can be known from the beginning. Our journey through all the ups and downs of this ‘mortal coil‘ is that we might learn to ‘behold the beauty of the Lord’ throughout (Ps..27:4), knowing like Job that ‘our Redeemer liveth’

Leading up to Christmas a ‘beast of a storm’ brought windchills of – 30’s and 40’s our way. So as Robin’s song “A Billion Little Ways” put it, we were,”In the belly of the beast’ ……’Locked Down’…….. this time not in submission to a capricious human government but in awe of a benevolent creator!

And yet in this place, (where we find ourselves again today with another 10 inches of snow!) there is such beauty.……for those with eyes to behold it.

My normal running path had narrowed with snow bowed branches. A pause to savor and catch the beauty with my phone before ‘passing through the restriction’ heightened the joy of this little “Job journey”!

For the beauty of the earth, For the beauty of the skies

For the love which from our birth over and around us lies

Christ our God to thee we raise this our sacrifice of praise.”

………..was another old hymn that rose up with fresh meaning

“Hidden treasures in hard times.” was how Megan, Dave and Cindy Watson’s daughter described the family’s faith perspective throughout Dave’s recent ‘Job journey’ beginning with CPR by a stranger on the sidewalk!  

It reminded me of how I had been given to ‘behold the beauty’ during my illness.

There was of course the realization that beauty is not ‘skin deep’ as I beheld in the mirror my disfigured face and knew at a deeper level the joy of “Christ in me”, as I shared in the last blog. 

I was repeatedly made aware of Psalm 23. “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.”

Amazingly time and again provision was made.

Primarily this was through people, especially my bride as she manifested the unfailing love of Christ that from our birth, ‘over and around us lies.’

She discovered a card that dear friends from the Netherlands had sent us last Christmas. He is a prophet. It’s often only in retrospect that we understand something to be prophetic and what that prophecy (Blessed 2022) meant! 

On one occasion I discovered that milk and honey could both help with the itch. Hilary had arrived home that day with a little jar of honey. Despite the fact we had just purchased a 50 pound tub of honey she’d felt prompted to buy this. It turned out that the Manuka type of honey she’d bought was even more perfect, and the milk Robin had bought was raw…again perfect. It felt like the ‘land of milk and honey‘ had come to me! Remedies such as Basil leaves , an aloe vera plant and silver, all just happened to ‘turn up!

“You anoint my head with oil.” the psalmist says ….and the essential oils which have for 25 years been our ‘go to’ again provided healing and relief from Father’s medicine cabinet in nature.

“My cup runneth over” shows how by faith we can move beyond temperament where the optimist and pessimist see the cup as half full’ or ‘half empty’ to realizing the everything God allows in our lives has it’s place in fulfilling God’s purpose for our lives in his time, as this scene from The Chosen illustrates so well.

https://www.facebook.com/InsideTheChosen/videos/696598458779025/?extid=CL-UNK-UNK-UNK-IOS_GK0T-GK1C&mibextid=2Rb1fB

On rereading the Christmas story in this year of 2022, the character Herod was highlighted to me, and how he evilly ordered the slaughter of the children under 2 years of age.

Human nature has not changed and we have seen over the last few years that there are still what psychiatry would call ‘psychopaths’ and ‘sociopaths’ in our day, who rise to places of power and will do literally anything to preserve and increase that power.

In The Space Trilogy this is personified in the character Weston who became what Lewis described as the Un-man. In tandem we see Ransom move in the opposite direction and morph through his Job-like struggles into the True man, a son formed in God’s image.

Likewise, with the exposure of the evil and corruption that has been so deeply embedded in our modern world, there has come the emergence of many ‘beautiful” people we would otherwise never have been aware of.

I think of many of those I’ve mentioned here over the years who have all been granted not the whole truth, but an an aspect of truth to share with those who ‘hunger and thirst after righteousness’ A beautiful emergent community of courageous heroes like…..Kash Patel, Dave Hayes, Johnny Enlow, Del Bigtree, Joseph Mercola, Amazing Polly, Zach Bush, Neil Oliver, Shiva Ayyadurai, Andrew Bridgen, Judy Mikovitz, etc.etc.

None of the ‘good guys’ are without fault even as we must believe none of the ‘bad actors’ who are human are without hope of redemption.

The most beautiful heroes of course are that community of truth seekers whom you have found and gotten to know personally where you live, likely little known on earth, but recognized from heaven!

It is a critical time in His-story, when we must each and everyone of us, “Chose you this day, whom you will serve.”

Then as the song says,’“

“The scene is set, this is your slot.

Walk on…….. and give it all you’ve got.”

Jesus tells us, in John 15, that if our lives are to bear fruit that will last, it will result from our ‘abiding in Christ.’

Paul tells us that if we are to share in the fruit of Christ’s resurrection life, we must also share with him in his sufferings and death. (Phil.3:10)

This is borne out in both the story of Job in the bible and the story of Professor Ransom in The Space Trilogy. Both had ‘more than a Near Death Experience’ that transformed them and made them fruitful, Job at a more personal level, Ransom at a more universal level!

After being lead to read “That Hideous Strength” which is the third book in The Space Trilogy, I subsequently reread the text from my high school days, the first in the series, “Out of the Silent Planet” and then finished with the second book in the series, “Perelandra”.

My readings were seemingly ‘out of sequence’…….. book three, then one, and then two!

However It was indeed Father’s prescribed order!

Book 3, “That Hideous Strength” describes humanity facing a crisis on Earth which bears an uncanny likeness to what we are currently facing today. I elaborated a little on this in Part 1. of this series.

Book 1, “Out of the Silent Planet” (i.e. Earth) confirms the origin of the problem – an ‘evil’ on Earth, embodied in Weston, who kidnaps the central character, Ransom, and takes him to Mars.

Book 2, “Perelandra” is set on the planet Venus where there has been no ‘fall.’ Here we read about Ransom’s lengthy struggle to the death with Weston who has followed him from ‘fallen’ earth and who has surrendered his will to ‘the evil’ there. He seeks to ‘spoil’ Venus too. Lewis brilliantly describes him as ‘The Un-man’

In Ransom’s wrestling with Weston, he at one point sustains an injury to his foot. When he appears again in “That Hideous Strength” where he has become, “The Director” to the little group who work with him to secure the final overthrow of ‘the evil empire’, he still carries this wound.

It was at the end of Perelandra, this second book in the Trilogy, that I realized why Father had ordained it be the last in my reading order.

There, at the climax of Ransom’s battling with Weston we read,

“In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, here goes – I mean Amen.” said Ransom , and hurled the stone as hard as he could into the Un-Man’s face. The Un-man fell like pencil falls, the face smashed out of all recognition…….there was hardly anything left that you could call a head, but he thought it better to take no rsks. He took it by it’s ankles and lugged it up to the edge of the cliff; then after resting a few seconds. he shoved it over. He saw it’s shape black, for a second, against the sea of fire, and then that was the end of it.”

That, however proved not to be the end of it, for the same ‘evil’ reappeared again to be finally destroyed on earth, in the last book, “That Hideous Strength.”

“…..he will crush your head, and you will bruise his heel” was the scripture that came to mind where God speaks to the serpent about the ‘seed’ of the woman.(Gen.3:15) For Ransom to play his part in the final overthrow of evil, he has to qualify by going the way of ‘the Son’ …. crushing the enemy’s head while having his own heel bruised.

I realized that the message of Perelandra (where I had landed) was to do with the training and transformation of Ransom (‘the sons’) in order for him to participate in the final victory of “the Son” who became the Ransom for all men.

……and so Father’s emphasis for me was that…… this is where we are NOW in His-Story

We have been, and are being, trained to ENGAGE in the current battle of the ages on earth, as members of the Body of Christ, Jesus himself being our Head.

In other words it is God our Father who is Looking for a Ransom (and a Job!)……. those whom He has trained and transformed so that they can, while contributing nothing, participate fully in the work of Christ!

So how are we to ENGAGE NOW in the work of Christ?

That is for each person to be lead by the Spirit, but let me mention a few things we have been lead to do.

Job like Ransom was getting ‘on the Job’ training to do what he was then only able to do, in the final 42nd chapter. Having shared in Christ’s sufferings “who ever lives to make intercession for us” he now qualified in unity with Christ, to move beyond ‘saying prayers’ as he had done in chapter 1, to effectively interceding for his friends.

In the middle of my sickness Brian sent me a video Q and A session, given by one of Watchman Nee’s colleages. The saintly brother (over 100 years old!) said, “Leadership is meant to be ‘the neck’ in the body of Christ. It’s function is to facilitate communication between Jesus, the head, and his body. Problems arise when the neck starts thinking it is the head!”

My neck was the focus of my suffering and I discovered at the same time Brian too had a painful neck. We realized we were like Paul being given an opportunity to participate in the mystery that is to ‘complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body that is the church.” (Col. 1:24) We were interceding for the leadership of ‘the church of God’. – the neck!

So there is the prayer..……. and there is the practical.

As someone who is easily distracted I have had to learn how to continuously ‘Stop and Drop’, then ‘Discern Decide and Do.’ You might think about it as learning to ‘Drop Down‘ into your spirit, or learning to ‘SINK’

One simple practical action we were lead to take was to respond to Juan O Savin’s encouragement to write a letter to the Supreme Court in advance of the January 6th hearing in support of the Bronson brothers case I mentioned earlier in the series! You can learn more about that here.

https://american-media-periscope-22168252.hubspotpagebuilder.com/share/hubspotvideo/95624082806?utm_campaign=Newsletter%20Launch&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=239279929&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_trkquogUQAkqUfiK4g1EPDSPlQr6TfEuTryIECGfLb-CkinJoyRuiHimh8NVNjpENiTDJ4Lu3jtT8hukqw_d7um8Q_BSKvUWq5cDhn4WhdhZSpao&utm_content=239279929&utm_source=hs_email

This coming Sunday, one local expression of ‘the church’ will meet in our home – a God joined, heart knit, relationally based, Spirit lead Christ centered ‘motley crew’.

We were given the name HQ which has turned out to have multiple levels of meaning! One is HeadQuarters. as we gather together to honor the Head and encourage the members of his body where he is Quartered in their various gifts and callings. Reflecting on the year past and looking forward to 2023 we will be seeking to help one another answer the question, “How should we then live in these critical days in order to bear fruit that will remain?”

Next week Hilary and I follow the Spirit on an assignment back to Ireland. I hope to complete this blog series before we leave.

My friend and blog reader Tom P. sent me a message on Christmas Eve that was a wonderful nod and gift from heaven!

It was the article below by Dwight Pryor giving a second witness and scholarly basis for what I have been blogging recently. In particular how God answers our “Why?” not with Reason but with Revelation.

Dwight Pryor, a teacher of teachers, was the president of The Center for Judeo Christian Studies.

What Tom didn’t know was that I personally had the privilege of meeting and becoming friends with Dwight, many years ago, in Australia. Subsequently we ministered together in Auckland, New Zealand.

Dwight had his own ‘Job Journey’ as he suffered greatly from severe rheumatoid arthritis. He died a number of years ago.

I always remember when he was on earth, the encouragement of his saying to me that he had set his alarm to awaken each morning to my singing,

“I open my eyes,

I see your smiling face

Warming my heart.

Good Mornin’ Dad “

In the last blog I recommended this to you as my habit : – )

Dwight and I also ministered together at Mars Hill Church in Grand Rapids Michigan, at a conference on Men and Women.

His first wife had died and he had just remarried and so he had asked me to sing from the platform on his behalf the song, “How Beautiful You Are” from the Song of Solomon’ to his new bride!

It was from Dwight that I learned how scripture never tells you to trust in man, but only to trust in the Lord…..with one exception, when in Proverbs 31 it speaks about “the virtuous woman” whose husband ‘trusts in her’

Even there, Dwight said, you must understand that this woman is primarily representing ‘The Bride of Christ’

This has been where we have been going with the blog,….. how the process of becoming part of that company involves a ‘job Journey’ for each and every one of us where God does a work of cleansing and purification and by his grace alone brings us to be a trustworthy bride for his Son!

So be encouraged, heaven’s company wants us to know……. we’re on the right track : – )

Ours is a Resistance Movement (part 4 of 4)  Dwight A. Pryor, JC Studies. Here is a helpful clarification.Hanukkah commemorates a historic event in the life of God’s people that was subsequently established as a festival to remember the event. In the time of Jesus, the focus of Hanukkah was on the military victory of little Israel against the mighty army of the Syrians. However, the meaning of this festival shifted over time.After the destruction of the Temple in AD 70—and following the Second Jewish revolt in AD 135—the Rabbis began downplaying the military aspects of the revolt. They emphasized instead the more spiritual aspects of Hanukkah—the rededication of the Temple and the supernatural light that God provided for the Menorah. These traditions and celebrations continue to this day in Jewish communities worldwide.As I pointed out before, the meaning of Hanukkah for us is to be found in grasping the historical context. What seemed a clash of cultures was actually a battle for allegiance. Whom would they serve, the God of Israel or the gods of the nations?Before I share some final thoughts, let’s take a moment to draw several key contrasts between a Hellenistic and a Hebraic worldview.It never occurs to many people that ours is different from the culture of Jesus. Even our way of thinking differs from the way Jesus or the writers of Scripture thought. Yet there are significant differences between a Hebrew orientation to life and a Greek orientation to life, between a biblical and a western worldview.Consider these examples:What is ultimately important to the Hebraic mind is reliance upon the Omnipotent God and conformity to his moral law. To the Hellenistic, no revelation is considered ultimate because reason takes precedence. This idea of reason or logic is then used to analyze everything else. It does not submit to divine revelation.Ultimate wisdom, to the biblical mind, is to seek God and the ultimate virtue is to obey Him. To the western mind, there is no law to which one bows except self-expression.Ironically, the ultimate freedom in a Hebraic worldview is the freedom of obedience. To the Hellenistic, it is the freedom of self.The biblical mind typically asks, “What does the Lord require of me?” while the western mind asks, “Why are things the way they are?” One places supreme importance upon conduct and obedience, while the other places supreme importance upon truth and knowledge.I am not suggesting these two ways are antithetical, as if one is all good and the other is all bad. Nor am I advocating ignorance or isolation as a means to being faithful. Our ability to reason is a gift from God meant to bow to and serve Him.As I said before, educating to a more Hebraic—a more biblical worldview—is required. Then we will discern how the values and ideas of culture carry with them a worldview that, in many respects, diverges from a biblical one. If you are not sophisticated enough to know that, you will get sucked right into it without even knowing.Here is a hard truth. Our world so conditions us that we are not too interested in giving sacrificial service or making our bodies temples of holiness.We are much more impressed with comfort and convenience. Trust me; I am looking in the mirror as I say this. We are all guilty. How many hours a day do we spend watching TV as compared to studying the Word of God?Do you realize that the whole advertising industry flaunts the Word of God? What does one of the Ten Commandments say? You shall not covet. Yet the entire basis of advertising is to make you want, to make you covet. What you have is not good enough. You need the latest fashions! The sages taught that a contented man is a wealthy man. Yet the fundamental principle of advertising is to make you discontented with what you have.In our day, we face battles in many areas, including issues related to properly understanding God’s Word.During this period of Greek influence, a subversive and uniquely Jewish writing genre arose in Israel. We call it apocalyptic literature, which serves as an example of Jewish opposition to paganizing forces. Interestingly, another form of resistance developed over time, the parable. Parables are biblical truths captured and pictured in story form.Here is one from the Talmud, a Jewish compilation of oral teaching, traditions, and dialogue.A wicked government issued a decree forbidding Jews to study and practice the Torah. Papus Ben Judah found Rabbi Akiva publicly bringing gatherings together and occupying himself with the Torah. He said to him, “Akiva, are you not afraid of the government?” To which Akiva replied, “I will explain to you with a parable.””Once there was a fox walking alongside a river, and he saw fishes going in swarms from one place to the other; and the fox said to the fishes, ‘From what are you fleeing?’ They replied, ‘From the nets cast for us by men.’ And the fox said to them, ‘Why don’t you come up on the dry land so that you and your friends and I can live together in a way that my ancestors lived with your ancestors?'””And the fish replied, ‘Are you the one that they call the cleverest of animals? You are not clever but foolish. If we are afraid in the element in which we live, how much more shall we be afraid in the element in which we would die.'””So it is with us,” said Akiva. “If such is our condition when we sit and study the Torah, of which it is written ‘for that is your life and the length of your days’ (Deut 20:30), if we go and neglect it, how much worse off shall we be.” – Tractate Berachot 61bFinally, brothers and sisters, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.Amen.

Let me linger a little longer on the THIRD REVELATION Job had, and zoom in on the vision I believe he was given.

History tells us, that when the Romans crucified a man, the passers by were encouraged to lift rocks, and throw them at the face of the crucified one!

In Isaiah we are told “he had nothing in his appearance that we should desire him”. Is this a reference to his disfigured face upon the cross where he became ‘one from whom men hid their faces.”?

Was this the face that Job peered into in his vision, asking the question,

“Who is that?”

Only to hear,

“My Son. Your Savior.”

It was then as he continued to stare, he saw in that face, as if in a mirror……his own face!!!….and the great mystery of ‘in Christ’ dawned on him.

When I went through my recent ordeal and posted the photo of my ghostly face, (Into The Deep. November 19th)…. my children, and a number of you said,

“I didn’t know who it was!”

In fact looking into the mirror then……. I didn’t recognize myself!

It put me in mind of a little rhyme,

“My name is space

I have no face

I am a disgrace

To the human race.”

This was the rhyme that someone who came to our FREEDOM! retreat said his uncle used to laughingly recite over him.

It transpired that those words repeated in jest turned out to have a devastating effect on the young boy, that became evident from the wonderful freedom he experienced when that curse was broken and the grace of God displaced the disgrace and assured him of a name and a face.

The fact is we do have a face. We do have an identity. We are ‘in Christ’

As Job starred into that smashed up face of the ‘suffering savior’ he saw his face and discovered his true identity….“I am a son of God!”

The second aspect of the marvelous mystery of God’s salvation is that not only am I in Christ, but Christ is in me!

When I wake each morning the first thing I do is to say, “Good morning’ Dad‘ as I look by faith into ‘His smiling face’ revealed in his son Jesus.

The second aspect of the marvelous mystery of God’s salvation is that not only am I in Christ, but “Christ is in me”!

Once a saintly old lady cornered me and prophesied.” When you look into the mirror each morning, you need to say, “Good Mornin’ Jesus.’

So that has become the second thing I do : – )

During my ‘faceless’ time I would stare at the strange countenance looking back at me from the mirror, and with a grin, again by faith, utter those words,

I love Robin’s song “A Billion Little Ways”, which begins “I’ve been in the belly of the beast” ….could that be Leviathan like Job, or ‘the big fish‘ like Jonah?

But then the chorus goes on to say that everything in our lives including ‘the belly of the beast’ experience is designed by our loving heavenly Father,

“…..to bring you back to the gaze

Of the love that you’ve come from,

The love you’re goin’ back to.

……………and it’s in you

..……….it’s in you.

..…..It’s in you.

...it’s in you.

The love you came from.

The love we’re goin back to.

Sing it to your mirror!

Sing it to everyone!

P.S. Those of you who know me, know I try not to ‘push myself’, however I was so inspired listening to Robin’s song again, I want to push you to push it…. simply because I can’t think of a better Christmas present you could give anyone, than the message of truth and hope that this song carries!……so please forward it to everyone! It needs to ‘go viral’ : – )

Robin’s new album “The Rubicon is a Red River’ is available on streaming sites and at robinkyle.com

Thanks

Paul (and Hilary)

After I spontaneously jotted down the final sentence on the last blog, our Father, stopped me in my tracks and had me read it again.

I realized that therein,“Sorry to leave you hanging….” did in fact lie…. the THIRD REVELATION!

Was Dad confirming in this riddle my revelation of these THREE REVELATIONS?

In verse 5 of the final chapter Job says, “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.”

Up until this point Job’s experience of God had actually been ‘second hand’. He had heard ‘about’ God. I believe what he now had been given to ‘see’ by God, was a vision of the cross. Hundreds of years in advance of the actual earthly event, he had been given to see someone

…....’left hanging.’…. on a cross.

As he gazed on that ‘suffering servant’ it dawned on him that this was none other than the Son of God.

Again in advance of it ever being written, he was given a profound understanding in his spirit,

“…. that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting people’s sins against them.” (2 Cor. 5:19)

I believe as he continued to gaze on that Holy One he then saw……. HIMSELF! – as one of the countless number of humanity that make up ‘the world’ that had been ‘put in’ the Christ, and whose sins had been taken away. (1 Cor.1:30).

He too had been,

…...’left hanging.’…..in Christ.

He had at last found the ‘Ransom’, that ‘gracious mediator’ he had been looking for in chapter 33.

Once again after being ‘gobsmacked’ by the GREATNESS OF THE SOVERIGN CREATOR and ‘undone’ by the GROTESQNESS OF THE SINFUL CREATURE he is completely ‘flummoxed’ at……

the GRACIOUSNESS of the SAVING CHRIST.

It is “the kindness of God that leads us to repentance.” and so Job responded, “I despise mySELF and repent.”

Note my handwritten note from 27 years ago beneath the scripture ……+ trust in Dad, for now he has come to understand first hand, ‘the gospel’ of ‘the New Covenant’ where his religious practices and virtuous behavior count for nothing, and that he can truly and fully trust the work of “Abba” God through his son Jesus Christ, on the cross, counts for everything.

And so he in repentance turns, as Paul writes to the Thessalonians, from the I DOLL, of self, to serve a God, who is now “living and true” in Job’s own personal experience.

And so Job does find true comfort, the comfort the prophet Isaiah declared, that we are reminded of at this time of year.

In my old bible it too is a well worn page,

Hearing about Job’s tragedies we read of ‘three friends‘ who decided to go ‘and comfort him.’

They would be forever immortalized as “Job’s Comforters” for their efforts met with no success and neither were they meant to. God had something better in store for Job than just ‘a feeling fix.’ True ‘comfort’ must come from a deeper source!

Job’s dis-ease would not be healed at the level of the EMOTION in his SOUL, he needed an adjustment at the level of his SPIRIT

In Chapter 3 he begins his lament which can be summerized……

“Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?”

The biggest question of them all…..“WHY (my) SUFFERING?”

He concludes with, “What I feared has come upon me, what I dreaded has happened to me. I have NO PEACE, NO QUIETNESS. I have NO REST, but only turmoil.”

Our Father had the above video arrive in my inbox in perfect time for this blog!

Notice the repeated appeal to personal Ease, Comfort and Convenience. These seem to have become the I – dolls in our ‘western’ world today. Above all we must avoid pain and suffering.

As I was typing this last sentence our mail arrived. I was puzzled when I opened a parcel addressed to me. Robin had ordered it, but had forgotten to change the name of the recepient! Father knew I needed the visual aid to make this very point : – )

God does not answer Job’s question “Why” with a REASON, rather when he does speak toward the end of the book in Chapter 38, it is in order that Job might receive a REVELATION…… or rather, three Revelations.

This insight came to me in the midst of my first run in with Job, also by way of a personal revelation. Feel free to concur or not as I offer my perspective.

To receive the FIRST REVELATION, Job is taken on a ‘magical mystery tour of creation’ in three wonder – filled chapters – 38, 39 and 40! His eyes are opened and he is ‘gobsmacked’ by The GREATNESS of the SOVEREIGN CREATOR!

Then in Chapter 41 at the end of ‘the tour’, Job is finally introduced to a great monster. It’s name is LEVIATHAN.

The final words describing this beast are, “Nothing on earth is his equal – a creature without fear. He looks down on all that are haughty. He is KING over all that are PROUD.”

I believe Job’s SECOND REVELATION was, that staring into the face of Leviathan….he saw none other than…….his SELF!

“That’s me!” He realizes.” ‘A creature without fear’…… the ‘fear of the Lord’ that is…….. I am indeed ‘KING of the PROUD’“

Again he is ‘undone’ as it dawns on him the GROTESQENESS of the SINFUL CREATURE….that lies within, and arrogantly exalts it’s ‘SELF’ over it’s creator.

SIN is literally and figuratively when “I” is at the center

Earlier in chapter 29, we see this illustrated. That chapter can be briefly summarized,

“ IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII“

………as Job recites to himself and his friends, one by one, examples of “MY virtuous life.”

Job’s problem is of course fallen humanity’s problem. and is again well illustrated in the above video. I decided to do a rough count of the number of times YOU or YOUR was said in the Ectolife video within the space of a few minutes. Here was the count,

“UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU”

The globalist elite of the New World Order who are seeking through Artificial Intelligence to take control of every facet of every life are banking on calling up this Leviathan by reinforcing, “Yes! It’s all about YOU!”

As the song “All Will Be Well” puts it,

“Though the famed and the fortune dictate the song

Though our fallen desires just play us along.”

All will indeed be well in the end, but in order for that to happen including our personal “well-ness”, there is a ‘Job Journey’ each of us must undertake. That JO(URNE)Y ends with the THIRD REVELATION

Sorry to leave you hanging…… but you’ll have to wait for the next blog for that one : – )

I uploaded to Youtube, Hilary’s video clips, posted with the November 18th blog, Into The Deep, as some of you had difficulty accessing them.

You should now be able to hear and catch the drift of that evening where something got reversed as Club 331 became Club 133 and as promised in Psalm 133 a blessing was commanded as brothers dwelt together and sang together in unity.

Someone said they’d never seen this sort of thing happening at the club before, where people paused from drinking and talking to listen, and let themselves be moved by another Spirit.