BeLOnGings

 

 

We don’t watch much TV. Occasionally I’ll turn on PBS on a Saturday or Sunday evening for an hour to see if there is anything of interest. Last Saturday I found myself watching a documentary telling the sad story of a woman who had developed paranoid schizophrenia and then disappeared without trace. Months later her remains were found in an unoccupied farmhouse where she had been hiding out. It seemed she had simply faded away there in the midst of a harsh New Hampshire winter.

This story was made all the more poignant for me as I recalled being summoned many times in the middle of the night to the bleak ‘long stay’ units at Purdysburn Psychiatric hospital, to prescribe to a chronically disturbed patient who had become ‘unruly’ a hefty shot of Largactil…. a straight jacket in chemical form…..only to return to my bed of sanity crying out to Jesus on behalf of these ‘hopeless cases.’

I only watched the first 40 minutes or so when I had to leave. But I had seen what I needed to. Beside the decomposing body lay a book. it was a journal, giving a day to day account of how Linda had experienced those last months. It turned out to be her Final Note. 

I talked in this series about two songs that came to the fore during our time in Ireland. There was a third. It too was a Final Note we were given to sound there.

I had most of the song before the trip, but one morning I went out to bathe at Marble Hill when the words of a fourth verse came in juxtaposition to this, the third verse.

In this valley of trouble,

I pick my way through the rubble

The grand edifice now humbled

From what it seemed.

But behind the illusion

And beyond the contusion

Arising from the confusion

What’s real is seen.

So why would we not sing…………

 

I took a plunge in the ocean

Cause I just had a notion

Becoming one with it’s motion

Floating around

Sky grey above me

Gentle rain falling on me

He’s breathing up-on me

I’ve been found!

So why would we not sing……….

I thought I may have had an opportunity to sing the song after the Gala dinner and the speeches by my peers who had risen to the top of the profession. But the time came and went…..

The next morning however my colleague Brian, who owned a cottage right on the beach said, “Why don’t you come over to our place and sing for us?” It turned out the song I had received was not for ‘The Year’ but a gift for Brian’s wife –  Hilary! After singing it to them, she said, “Why that’s my favorite thing to do – float in my big inflated inner tube – just drifting around there on the ocean!!!”

The message of the song in these last two verses is the grace of God…… It is not what we achieve, accomplish or build, but that he reveals to us, no matter what we ‘take a notion’ to choose….that HE HAS CHOSEN US!

I remembered once getting lost on a  run in a forest in Holland, and saying “Father, I’m lost, I don’t know where I am! ” He replied. “No son, you are not lost….. I know exactly where you are!”

The name of the documentary was a line from Linda’s journal.

“God, You Know Where I Am.”

In the minds of the film makers this may have seemed a catchy title, but in Linda’s perplexed mind it revealed to me that in her brokenness she had discovered the only thing that any of us ever need to discover in this life

Whether your name is Linda or Hilary or………..

YOU HAVE BEEN FOUND.

 

 

 

 

 

Rest in the LORD. Wait patiently for him

(Ps.37:7)

There is no condition of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus.

Thus the reading on our Oswald Chambers calendar this morning confirmed this should be my next “blog story.”

One night just after arriving in Ireland I retired early, only to awaken and see the digital display read;

11.29.

I sensed I was to rise and was subsequently lead on a journey through John’s gospel. The Spirit began by pointing out that the first and twenty first chapters were like a prologue and postscript. Then working towards the middle I noticed in that both chapters 2 and 20 there was a MARY to whom Jesus brought a “timing” adjustment; “My hour has not yet come” (2:4) and “Touch me not for I am not yet ascended to my Father.”  (20:17). “Slow down! Slow down!” He seemed to be saying.

I was then lead to read the first sentence in each chapter. I found the ‘movement’ in chapters 3-10 pointed me forward, and in 12- 19 pointed me backwards. So I then went to the middle Chapter, #11 and then calculated the middle verse. There I read,

” …..When MARY heard this, she rose up quickly and went to him.” 

I then realized this verse in John was:

11:29

The time I had been wakened and the verse in the scripture, were one and the same!

I looked at the first sentence in this central chapter, and realized it alone contained the word:

“NOW”!

It was as if Father was saying this is the point at which you are NOW in redemption history….the time when a prepared and adjusted MARY company….. will be invited to…..rise up quickly to meet him!

So what does it mean to be part of this company?

To me the abiding image of MARY, the mother of Jesus, is her disposition;

“Be it unto me according to your word.”  

 Total SURRENDER…..yield fully to Him.

To me the abiding image of MARY, Martha’s sister, in Jesus’ words;

“You have chosen the better part.”

Sit STILL.…. focus fully on Him.

It was only after this experience that the last ‘blog story’ with our MARY in Donegal transpired!!!

The double witness for this came on our very last day in Ireland, through our good friends Roy and Rosemary Millar. Roy is a ‘patriarchal’ figure in the Irish church who has ‘fed the sheep’ over the years with the deep insights he has been given into God’s word. His magnum opus has been a commentary on the gospel of John for which he was seeking a publisher. So on 10th October we called to return a lamp Hilary had borrowed from Rosemary to sew a maternity coat for our daughter Abby (Even as I type these seemingly insignificant details I’m made aware of the prophetic significance of it all!!)

Roy greeted us at the door with a wide grin (wide for Roy!) and the news, “I’ve got a publisher for John.”

The other “book end” to my initial revelation was in the title he’d been lead to, and publisher for the commentary;

“COME AND SEE” by “INSTANT” Apostle  BOOK  “QUICKLY” rose up to “BE WITH HIM”

The imagery of both bookends points me toward the words concerning the coming of the Lord in 1 Cor. 15:5 ff and 1 Thess. 4:13 ff……“in the twinkling of an eye….to meet the Lord.”

The key to entering into this reality even HERE and NOW?

…………..coming to a complete (human) stand-STILL and SURRENDER to Him.

………as He continues to write his ‘current’ story – through the BOOK of our lives.

Rest in the LORD. Wait patiently for him.

P.S. This truth was personified for me in two remarkable servants of the Lord I have just met with: a spiritual Mom and Dad. Maureen in Ireland  is 90 years old, Bud in Minneapolis is 95. Both are physically restricted to wheelchairs. Both tell stories of feeling ‘useless’ because they are no longer able to ‘do’. Maureen told us about crying out in frustration to the Lord the morning we visited, and then with a grin, “Then at breakfast a lady came over to me and asked  ‘Maureen would you pray for me?'” Both carry God in their ‘being’. They reminded me of Jesus final words in John’s gospel both to Peter, about his coming physical restriction, and to Peter about John, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”

 

 

 

 

 

We first met Mary in America. Her father had been touched by God at our last FREEDOM! retreat at Rivendell, and he had invited us to his daughter’s graduation party. It was there we discovered she was due to leave for Ireland in September and spend her next year on a NET team. NET is a Catholic youth evangelization program that happens to have been founded by old friends of ours in St. Paul, Minnesota!

We asked Mary where she would be based and she answered, “Donegal.”  

“Wow!” We replied “That is where we plan to be this September too!! – We’ll have to see if we can connect!”  

We eventually made email contact with Mary but because of her packed schedule she said the only possible time for us to meet would be at the NET commissioning service in Letterkenny Cathedral at 1.30 pm on Sunday 30th.

This was the weekend of our Tabernacles gathering in Donegal which I had felt should be from 1 pm Saturday to 1 pm Sunday. I typed into Google maps the location of Maurice and Carolyn’s cottage and then Letterkenny Cathedral, and hit ‘Directions’

I looked to see how long  it would take for the journey;

30 mins.

So our retreat was to end at 1pm, the service to begin at 1.30, and  it was a 30 minute journey!!!

“Hilary I think we’re meant to be at the commissioning service!” I exclaimed. “Yes I agree!” she replied.

It is time for the second work of Christ as prefigured in the law of the two doves in Leviticus 14. Jesus like the first dove in the offering had to die at his first coming. As the second dove dipped in the blood of the first and then released into the world, the second work of Christ is a living work proclaiming and demonstrating the victory of his first work. This work will be done by Jesus, the head, in conjunction with his prepared body. (Heb.10:5)

As such, I realized the Donegal coat of arms (pictured above) represents both the first work of Christ in the cross, and the second work in the hand carrying the message of the cross in ‘Tabernacles’ power throughout the earth.

Mary was one of 46 young people who had come from all over the world now to be commissioned to carry the gospel throughout Ireland. Each young person was given a cross in hand.

Over ‘a wee cuppa tea’ and homemade tray bake after the service, the leader of NET in Ireland happened to come over to talk with us. I mentioned to him the number 46 was significant. The first temple was filled with God’s glory (2 Chron.5:14) and Haggai (Ch.2:9) foretold that the glory of the later temple would be even greater. Historically there is no record of  this happening with Herod’s temple, but when in John 2, Jesus spoke of the raising up of his body in three days, the Pharasees responded skeptically referring to the 46 years it took to build Herod’s temple. Since 1953 we have known that each person’s body has 23×2 = 46 chromosomes, I believe this detail was included in John’s account because it identifies the ‘latter temple’ that will be glorified as the ‘living stones’ that form the body of  overcomers who are now being prepared to be joined with their head in resurrection power!

“I knew it was to be 46 Netters – months ago.” Tony, the NET leader said, “So wasn’t surprised when the 46th person had his application to go to America repeatedly turned down!!! Now you’ve explained to me the significance of that number 46!”

In John’s gospel the 8 miracle signs reflect the 8 days of Tabernacles. The eighth miracle sign corresponding to the last and greatest day of the feast is the 153 fish caught in the NET. 153 is the gematria for Sons of God!

I asked Mildred from Uganda why she had come to NET in Ireland. “It was missionaries from Ireland who brought the gospel to Uganda. “ she said. “Now it is our turn to bring the gospel back to Ireland in it’s time of spiritual darkness.”

Is this the beginning of the fulfillment of Patrick’s vision and of the great dragNET being cast throughout the earth in the second work of Christ and fulfillment of the Feast of Ingathering?

“And I, if I be lifted up will draw ALL men unto me!”  Jesus said in John.12:32

The word for ‘draw’ is literally ‘drag’, as in Matthew 13:47:

“Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragNET that was cast into the sea and caught fish of EVERY kind.”

The bishop’s charge came from the story in Mark’s gospel where the disciples exhibit a denominational spirit, “Master we saw a man who is not of us casting out devils in your name; and because he was not one of us we tried to stop him,”  Jesus replies, “Whoever is not against us is for us.” 

The bishop warned against counting anyone out of the kingdom of God….including ourselves!

This echoed a return to the hospitable and inclusive spirit of the early Celtic Church, before the watershed synod of Whitby when the centralized and institutionalized Roman version of the religion won the day.

As the congregation prayed the Lord’s prayer in the Irish language, hope arose in me. It sounded and looked like the glory of the later temple might well recapture and surpass the glory of the original temple in the land of Patrick, and his vision of a global harvest – find it’s fulfillment in our day.

P.S. Upcoming FREEDOM! retreat at Rivendell 2nd-3rd November. Details at paulkyle.org/events

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’ve gone to the Hill, over the Hill, and over the Cliff!

Now airborne (with the Reverend,”Praise the Lord!” : – ) we get a dove’s eye view of the ’emerald isle’

But before we continue our journey  let’s momentarily return to Downpatrick where we went two blogs ago.

Hilary just recalled that Downpatrick is a 22 mile journey from Belfast – Sons of light! She used to make this trip daily, before graduating from Down High 52 years ago….. the same number of days it took Nehemiah to come full circle in rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem.

This place also happens to be where St. Patrick began and ended his ministry in Ireland.

Captured as a youth from Britain by Irish pirates, he escaped from slavery in Ireland, but was subsequently called back in a dream to bring the gospel to the Irish. He landed on his return at the Quoile River where, as a youth, Hilary had played at the yacht club, and after spending his life effectively spreading the faith throughout the land was reputedly laid to rest in the grounds of nearby Downpatrick Cathedral, where as a girl Hilary also played on his gravestone! Her home was in English Street that lead up to the Cathedral.

So this was the site where, like Hilary, Patrick had come “full circle.”

Even before we gathered in Donegal for Tabernacles, The Vision, variously ascribed to Patrick, Bridgit and even Columba (of Donegal) …the Irish ‘Trinity of saints’, had come to the fore from many directions.

Years earlier it had been my inspiration for the song “O Ireland”.

The visionary’s Dove’s Eye View of Ireland, saw the ’emerald isle’ on fire….with the love and light of God….for so it it was in their day. But then the fire died down and the island became ashen. Heartbroken, the visionary asked if this was to be the fate of the country. Directed to look once again, the flames appeared to be rekindled, starting in the north, but spreading to once more engulf the whole island with the fire and light reaching out to touch the world.

A few years ago Father orchestrated an invitation for me to share at the Presbyterian and then the Catholic churches in Ashland, Wisconsin on the southern coast of Lake Superior. I felt I should sing the “O Ireland” song, but changed the words to “O Ashland.” I explained the vision, and was subsequently told by the Tribal Chairman of the local Bad River Reservation that this vision was consistent with their Anishinabe tribe’s creation story. Sitting at a table in a local restaurant Mike took a paper napkin and began drawing Lake Superior. The outline revealed the form of a bird….like the dove I had just sung about, that ‘now hovers o’er your head.” He pointed out where Ashland was on the map. We were sitting….directly under the wings of the dove!

Just before leaving Minneapolis in September I happened to pick up a book that had been left in our house recording George Washington’s vision for America….again his vision for America bore an uncanny resemblance to Patrick’s vision for Ireland!

During the trip to Ireland I seemed to be followed by the US ‘quarter’ pictured above. As we switched back and forth between British Pounds and Irish Euros that coin uncannily kept showing up in my hand or falling our of my pocket or appearing in a book!  I asked Father, “What is the meaning of this?” and realized it was a ‘George Washington Sign.“ 25 (cents) is the number for blessing….. for it is time for the blessing seen at the end of Washington’s vision to come to America even as it is time for the blessing of Patrick’s to come to Ireland….as God’s light disperses the current darkness.

During our retreat I recalled the map above showing the results from the 2018 Irish ‘abortion’ referendum. Notice how the only county to vote ‘NO’ to abortion, was Donegal in the north….where we had now been lead to gather. Every county in ‘the emerald isle’ is GREEN except for the ashen GREY six counties of Northern Ireland where abortion is still not allowed. Interestingly the BBC chose to color Donegal  fiery RED……..like the embers in Patrick’s vision….. being rekindled in the north!!!

Timing is everything, and once again I wondered if Father had gathered us to sing the song, ‘O Ireland’ once more in this place as an “AMEN!”on earth to what has been decreed in heaven….because the time has come for the vision to be fulfilled – beginning here?

The next morning Paul McAree knocked on our bedroom door. “I’d like you to hear something Paul.” He said. “ This is what is currently being broadcast world wide on EWTN“(EWTN is the largest Christian and Catholic radio network in the world)…….It was a program that Paul had produced. “We had to fill in some time at the end of the service.” Paul told me. Then the host of the show spoke:

…… “And now we conclude this program with Irish singer songwriter Paul Kyle singing, “O Ireland” 

The perfect timing of that song being broadcast at that moment worldwide….confirmed to me it was the time!

So that afternoon we gathered again and as I plucked the guitar strings one of our company saw an arrow in a bow being drawn back. Morag rose again to dance and everyone else entered into the spirit of prayer, I began to sing the lament for the land,

“O Ireland, emerald isle in Crystal sea

O Ireland no one bears the mark of Cain like thee……”

Finally we came to the proclamation of the last verse;

“O Ireland from whence the gospel light was shed

O Ireland the dove now hovers o’er your head.

Only in Jesus could you ever be

One in heart completely free

And once again God’s love proclaim

A burning heart in Jesus name.” 

We felt the arrow being released with a thrust out from the bow……..

P.S. One thousand words.

 

We were lead to invite a few folk to gather at Maurice and Carolyn’s beautifully restored “famine’ cottage in Donegal over the last few days of the feast of Tabernacles.

We knew Father has assembled us to be about “his business”, but as they say here, “The craic was ninety!” 

Eugene told the ‘true’ story about the minister who wanted to learn to ride a horse.

The riding instructor said to the minister. “Now Reverend this horse is very easy to ride. You just need to remember two things. To go, say, “Praise the Lord.” To stop, say, “Amen.”

So the minister gathered his congregation to demonstrate his new talent:

“Praise the Lord!”  He said, and the horse took off. “Praise the Lord!” again, and it went faster. “Praise the Lord!!” –  faster still!!

“Amen”  He said. But the horse kept going! So louder he repeated, “AMEN!” – Still no response!! He realized they were approaching a CLIFF, so at the top of his voice he yelled, AAAAMEN!!!”

The horse screeched to a halt – inches short of the CLIFF! “Ah!” the relieved minister sighed, – “Praise the Lord!!!”

Father handpicked those who were to attend the weekend, to create a beautiful unity of heart in the midst of a natural diversity. Significantly for Ireland 5 were from a Protestant background and 5 from a Catholic. Maurice and Carolyn themselves in their marriage bridge this age old tribal division.

A song I had written a number of years ago floated up from my spirit into my consciousness again. We had sung it a few times back then but it had lain dormant for several years. I sensed now was it’s time. The first verse went:

“It’s been 50 more years since the killings begun

They’ve known nothing but war our daughters and sons.

But I feel in me bones that the end has begun.

As the Sons of God rise again

Where you born in Belfast?… then give me your hand

From the Falls to the Shankill united we’ll stand

For the meek of the earth shall inherit the land

As the Sons of god rise again; as the Sons of God rise again.” 

The Falls and the Shankill represent the quintessential Catholic/Nationalist and Protestant/ Loyalist enclaves in Belfast city. The subsequent verses widened the circle in terms of geography and ancestry until the final verse included the whole world and the whole of mankind.

Since Adam and Eve the killins begun

They’ve known nothin but war between their two sons

But I feel in me bones that the end is begun

As the sons of God rise again

Where you born of Adam?… then give me your hand

From New York to Baghdad united we’ll stand

For the meek of the earth shall inherit this land

As the Sons of God rise again; as the Sons of God rise again.

We knew the song’s time had come and so cleared the floor for Morag our young Irish dancer to launch the proclamation using her wonderful gift, just as Paul McAree lifted his Bodhran and I my guitar and the whole company raised their voices to sing

“….as the Sons of God rise again: as the Sons of God rise again.”

There were many confirmations that this was an “Amen” on earth to what God has ordained in heaven for this time:

Maurice, for example, told us that before the famine in the 1700s  their cottage had been one of 22 in a little community. Theirs was the only one left standing. I turned from where I had taken the first photo. Behind me along the old path at the back were the broken down walls long overgrown with brambles where many of native Irish had been ‘buried’ – dead from starvation, or gone – to search for a new life in America.

22 is the number for the “Sons of light”.

On the way home we found ourselves driving behind a car with this number plate:

It was the next day as I was putting petrol in the rental car in Belfast, gazing vacantly at a billboard on the wall by the filling station, that it dawned on me this was another amazing confirmatory SIGN.

CLIFF RICHARD is probably the highest profile non clerical Christian witness in the UK.  As a popular singer he has moved in entertainment circles now for years with a sterling reputation as a follower of Jesus.

Then a few years ago Cliff was in the headlines for alleged sexual misconduct. He was in Portugal when a friend called him and said, “Turn on the BBC news!” When he did, he witnessed a televised raid being carried out on his home in England by the British Police.  Subsequently the accusations against him were proven totally false and the BBC and Police Force shown to be guilty of a shameful collusion against Cliff.

As I stared at the billboard I realized that Cliff had been giving a concert in Belfast the night before – the 30th October…“the last and greatest day of the feast” of Tabernacles….the very same day we had been led to proclaim in music, dance and the song – that the Sons of God would RISE again…… beginning in Belfast…..and unto the ends of the earth!!!

The Billboard described Cliff’s legacy of tours from 1958 – 2018….a total of 60 years! I immediately realized this was pointing to Isaiah 60….“Arise and shine for your light has come and the glory of the Lord is risen on you…….For behold darkness covers the land, deep darkness on the minds of the people. But the Lord will rise upon you and his glory will be upon you and all nations will come to your light and kings to the brightness of your rising.” 

Subsequently I discovered the name of Cliff’s new album arising from his experience over the last few years was……

“RISE UP!” 

I remembered a photo I had taken earlier in the trip of the sun (Son) gloriously risen over Belfast Lough.

 

Bob Jones and Paul Cain, known as “The Prophets” had a major impact on the church in the eighties and nineties. I mentioned the word I received from Bob back then about sounding a trumpet throughout the land that was borne out in the song “Lord Jesus We Enthrone You.”

Paul Cain spoke at the Mays Field Leisure Center. All that remains there is the flagstone (above) on the restored Lagan waterfront. There were well over a thousand gathered there to hear Paul preach, and to hear what words of knowledge and personal prophecy might come from the front. My brother John and I had received a word at the Beulah conference in London. Now once again Hilary and I were among those addressed.

“I see a lady…Over the Hill? Is it Hildegard?… no Hilary! Your evangelism is going to make people feel both comfortable and uncomfortable!” was the phrase that stuck with me.

Shortly after we arrived here in September Hilary was shopping for bargains (as usual) in  the TJ Maxx store in Belfast, when she got chatting to another lady who was looking for shoes for her two daughters. As the conversation continued, Maud introduced herself as the new headmistress at Down High School in Downpatrick. “Really!” Hilary replied. “I was Head Girl at Down High School!”  What are the chances?…. 1  in 1.8 million? (the population of Northern Ireland) –  No. 1 in 1 if Father has purposed it!

“You’ll have to call in at the school if you are down that way.” Maud said.

So sure enough last week we happened to go that direction and called in. Maud was so welcoming and kind as we were given ‘the tour’ and she and Hilary compared notes about the old and the new. In the main corridor were the photos of previous headmasters including our good friend James Barton who lead a branch of the Community in Downpatrick. Then as we were about to leave, there in front of us stood Maurice, one of the teachers who had also been a member of Belfast Community of the King!! The odds are getting beyond calculation.

“Could I get a photo with some of the girls?” Hilary asked, as they milled through the corridors in their uniforms. “Certainly” said Maud and at the that moment one of her daughters she’d been shopping with walked by and so posed with Hilary for the shot. Later Maud confided in us that after meeting Hilary at TJ Maxx and hearing that she, a former Down High pupil, had played Hockey for Ireland (and was on the team that beat England at Wembley) her daughter decided to switch from netball to hockey!

I believe Hilary too has fulfilled the word  given all those years ago by Paul Cain as the Christ in her has brought “comfort” to many through encountering Christ ‘the lover’ in her while at the same time making many “uncomfortable” through encountering Christ ‘the truther’ in her.

Maud’s daughter represents those who have been both comforted and discomforted in a healthy way as a passion was ignited.

It was later that night on reflection I did the math and realized it was 52 years since Hilary was the Down High Head Girl.

I thought about the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls under Nehemiah’s guidance. As they both built and battled, with tools and weapons in hand, each family took responsibility for a section of the wall. Nehemiah whose name means Comforter i.e. a type of the Holy Spirit, wrote, “The man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me……Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet join us there. Our God will fight for us. “ (Neh.4:18-20)

52 was the number of days it took to complete the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem!

Once again I realized it was a SIGN that both of us have been Summoned by the Horn to come back here at this time, for it is the time of the full circle, for the ring (of God’s covenant of grace) to close and as God fights for us, destroying all our enemies, for the establishing of the New Jerusalem on earth as it is in heaven.

One afternoon driving through Newtownards I was thinking to myself, “One of Father’s main purposes in moving us to America has been to make us more proficient in his ‘sign language.'” At that very moment we passed a shop. In bold red letters above the window were the words, THE SIGN GUY. “Ha!” I chuckled, “He’s done it again – literally read my thoughts and spoken to me by matching it up with my physical location in this time and space world!”

When we finally arrived at the little pop up shop in the ‘back of beyond’ another sign caught my attention;

Dahl is of course reworking the truth Jesus’ stated, “Unless you become like a little child you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.”

The next day, riding through some old familiar parts of Belfast that have been given a new ‘tourist friendly’ look explaining the local history I was thinking about the ‘Sign‘ title for this series when I came across this new one:

The small print described the old man with the ‘bushy eyebrows’ whose estate originally stood here.

” Ha! Nice one Da’. That confirms the series title!”

The various signposts in the top photo, name places in the north west corner of Ireland where we were lead to on this trip. When Father first made the invitation it was through the Year of ’78 Queen’s Medical School Reunion Planning Committee.

Many times in my childhood our family would drive to Donegal through Creeslough to Marble Hill, stopping short of Falcarragh, taking  a detour to visit Downings and inevitably going to Horn Head where my Father had bought a little piece of land where he hoped someday to build. It was his “Lake Isle of Innisfree”

Just today my brother John pulled into his parking spot at the Belfast City Hall (one of the few perks to being a City Councillor)  and we wandered over to Avoca for lunch with brother Chris. Inevitably the craic and conversation came around to ‘The land and the dream.” and just as inevitably the final comment came, “Ah! Can’t see it ever happening!”

When the invitation to the reunion came I knew that even though I had ‘retired’ from conventional medical practice 38 years ago we had to go again to meet with my class at HORN Head on the western coast. The organizer told me, of the 147 graduates in the year, my email was the first response!

My childhood had been spent on the eastern seaboard of Ulster in a town land called Gilnahirk which is Irish for “The brow of the hill of the HORN holder.”

It was on that “hill of the horn” that I had experienced the personal fulfillment of the spring feasts of Passover and Pentecost. Our being caught up in “The Jesus Movement” that had swept in from America and “Turned on to Jesus.” (Passover) was shock enough for our traditional Presbyterian church, but being “Baptized in the Holy Spirit”(Pentecost) was just too much for it to absorb, and so we, the Presbyterian Youth Fellowship, were put out of the church but within a few years, had blossomed into a full blown Catholic and Protestant,  cross generational, city wide, intentional Christian community!

Horn Head overlooks  Dunfanaghy, which had it’s Jazz and Blues Festival the week end before the reunion. Our friend Carolyn was  singing with the Limavady Big Band at the Sunday service in the Presbyterian church which was going to be broadcast world wide on Highland radio!

The local minister stood grinning in the pulpit with tambourine in hand, obviously taking great delight in the occasion. He chose to preach from Psalm 81.“Raise a song sound the tambourine…..blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our feast day.” He read. Then he commented that this issue of timing was no longer relevant in our day.

Another aspect of our training in America has been to understand that the ‘Feasts of the Lord’ have been established as God’s calendar, and these dates continue to be  significant in the unfolding of His plan as set forth by the ‘prophetic’ old testament law.  I had come to understand that the minister’s  choice of text was more inspired than he realized….. even as the full moon hung in the Donegal sky.

So I had been called once again by the “Horn.” This time to the other side of the island and at the other end of my life,

Most significantly I realized the Planning Committee had unwittingly scheduled the event for Yom Kippur, during the fall feast days when some year we will see them fulfilled in the second work of Christ even as the spring feasts were fulfilled in the first coming of Jesus 2000 years ago.

Bob Jones once prophecied to me, “I see you sounding a trumpet throughout the land” 

The song “Lord Jesus We Enthrone You” has literally circled the earth.

Just yesterday in the Avoca coffee shop sitting with my brothers  a lady approached me and said, “You’re Paul Kyle aren’t you? We still sing one of your songs at our church.” 

I simply taught the song one night over 40 years ago at our little fellowship on the Hill of the Horn Holder. The Spirit lifted and carried that horn blast, “Come Lord Jesus and take your place” around the world  within days.  Just a few years ago I remember, with joy hearing it sung in Chinese by 30 passionate believers packed into a small room in an underground  house church there.

In the words of another song, is “the King and Judge of all the earth” now about to appear?

More next week.