No temptation has overtaken you
When I was young I recall being told by my mother that God would never test you beyond anything that you could not endure. This was something that had been impressed upon her by her parents and seemed like a great comfort from a loving God. Only when Gill mentioned this verse in First Corinthians did I make the connection.

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

Paul prefaces the verse above with ‘Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.’ [v12], showing that we have to have a clear understanding of, and faith in Him, before His faithfulness can operate in our lives. The word
translated as temptation* [See note below], primarily means to prove or test, and not — to me at least — my initial understanding of tempting.

When the waiter in a restaurant says “Can I tempt you to dessert?”, I do not consider it a trial of my faith. I do not believe Paul thought of it that way either.

Flee from idolatry
Verse 14 tells plainly where Paul is with this: ‘Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say.’ The issue at stake here is idolatry, one of the ‘immutable laws’.** (A definition of idolatry is shown below). Paul insists that we turn our backs and run from it, saying that the wise will know and understand what he means.

Idolatry takes many forms and it impinges on our lives in ways we do not always recognise. As an instance of this, I mention a confession by a dear brother in the Lord some years ago about recognising idolatry creeping into his life when a young man. He was an avid reader of novels by Zane Grey and J T Edsen, relishing these tales of the Wild West. At some point, he recognised that his reading of these tales was taking precedence over his Bible reading — effectively putting his faith in God into second place. He had turned his enjoyment of these stories into an idol.

This man was quick to recognise what was happening and took immediate action; committing himself afresh to The Lord. The temptation common to man had overtaken him, but God’s faithfulness granted him ‘the way of escape’.

The way of escape
If we are hearing from God by His Holy Spirit, speaking to us in the deepest parts of us, we can quickly recognise when we are going adrift from the narrow way and the strait gate. His Spirit bids us return to Him ‘…for He knew what was in man.’ [John 2:25b NKJV]

If I were to sum up our way of escape, I would say simply, His forgiveness.

In dealing with the life of Abraham as the Father of the faithful, neither faith nor common sense must be our guide, but God Who unites both in a test tube of personal experience. To be guided by common sense alone is fanatical, both common sense and faith have to be brought into relation to God.
[from ‘Not Knowing Where’]

In this series, we are looking at how unclean and perverse spirits can easily take hold in a place and turn it away from The Lord. We are taking Kilmartin in Argyll as an example; largely because we live there, but also because it is a focal point where faith in God, once dominant, is being seriously challenged by unbelief, Humanism and New Age philosophy.

Last summer [2020], a fire erupted in a local farm destroying much, but thankfully it was contained before too much damage was done. What was lost, however was the part of the building that was the meeting room for the Renewal Fellowship when they moved to Kilmartin from Prestwick in Ayrshire, having heard a word from God. Many were the signs and wonders that led them (and soon others also) to leave what they knew and seek ‘the promised land’; for indeed that was the spiritual pattern that they were following.

Was the destruction of this particular place mere coincidence? Or a sign of a different kind.

“And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your old men shall dream dreams,
Your young men shall see visions.
And also on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days.
“And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth:
Blood and fire and pillars of smoke.
The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD.
And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.
For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance,
As the LORD has said, among the remnant whom the LORD calls.
[Joel 2:28-32 NKJV]

Those were the days, back in the 1970’s when there seemed to be an outpouring of prophecy; when dreamt dreams were fulfilled and visions flowed from many lips. We have a volume of prophetic words written down around the time of the millennium, which are filled with encouragement, hope and a way ahead. Yet, where are we now?

We seem to have slipped into a time of darkness once more … and it is plainly visible to see on every side. It would be easy to let it happen and accept what seems inevitable. Is that us? If it is, it is to our shame.

That is emphatically not our calling. His fire still falls from heaven. When darkness arises, the people of God are required — indeed can do nothing else but — shine The Lord’s light, declaring His everlasting presence with ‘blood and fire’, as The Salvation Army motto declares. Do we mean standing on street corners and shouting out the Word? No, for we are told …

“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.
But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues.
You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.
But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak.
For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
[Matthew 10:16-20 NKJV]

To be witnesses and watchmen, praying relentlessly despite the persecution. And that is where we are in this hour … among the remnant whom the LORD calls. There are still visions being spoken. A few years ago — Jean Darnall spoke words of revival about Scotland. Jean died in 2019, but here is a video from 2009, in which she speaks of her prophetic vision.

Jean’s vision does not stand alone and unsung. A number of people have had similar visions — that revival will begin in the land of the Gael. Gill had a vision only two or three years ago, seeing little clusters of sheep on her way from Kilmartin northwards. The Lord showed her that these small ‘fires’, the clusters, would be the way forward for His church through the times of darkness until the new dawn arises.

These visions are not idle fancies, but genuine outpourings of the Holy Spirit in these days. He has not forgotten us; we are not passed over. He is with us.

For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.
Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
[2 Corinthians 1:20-21 NKJV]

This is His song, indeed. We are not without hope, and HE WILL PREVAIL.

Yet not I, but through Christ in me…

The faith of many really spiritual Christians is eclipsed today, and the reason it is eclipsed is that they tried to remain true and consistent to the narrow confines of their experience instead of getting out into the light of God.
[from ‘The Place of Help’]

In this series, we are looking at how unclean and perverse spirits can easily take hold in a place and turn it away from The Lord. We are taking Kilmartin in Argyll as an example; largely because we live there, but also because it is a focal point where faith in God, once dominant, is being seriously challenged by unbelief, Humanism and New Age philosophy.

In the first five meditations in this Kilmartin series, we looked at what the Bible says about a place (and a time) such as this. We noted that none of us are immune to the unGodly spirit outworkings around us, and that what is revealed in the natural world has resonance and impact for us in the spiritual realm.

We have seen that

• Satan tries to encroach on our ‘land’ and claim us for himself by moving our boundaries in his favour.
• The land thus becomes a spiritual battleground with our spiritual inheritance the prize to be wrestled from our grasp
• Satan tempts us (as he did with Jesus) to fall into idolatry with the things of this world
• and the ‘familiar’ spirits of darkness await to welcome us with their vain imaginings and false promises
• However, if we know Jesus, we have the choice of life over death

For the final two meditations, we will look at a couple of instances which can be seen to indicate the presence of this ancient evil. In Acts 19 we read this story …

Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so.
And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”
Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
[Acts 19:13-16 NKJV]

The telling part of this story is that the evil spirit knew Jesus and Paul; “but who are you?” Evil spirits recognise Christ and flee from Him (Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. [James 4:7 NKJV]). Pretenders to the life of Christ are dismissed unrecognised, but are ripe for assimilation and will be easily overpowered, just as those who know not Christ at all.

In 2017 the life of the Living Stones Christian Centre was diminishing; numbers were falling as more and more of those who had breathed the inspiration from The Lord passed through the veil, or had to move on to pastures new. Few were drawn in to be inspired afresh. Despite the faith of those that remained, a dark cloud covered the face of the sun. The season had passed.

Around that time there was a tragic spate of suicides among young people in the area, two from Kilmartin Glen itself. The sense of stifling darkness was palpable and overwhelming. I offer no reasons for this fall, although we lived though that trying time. I suspect we, most of us, took our eyes off the calling, and forgot our purpose. Despite many declarations that we believed in ‘now’, maybe there was too much indulging in reminiscence of past glories. The prince of the power of the air seized his moment.

In the four years since, we believe that we have seen these old spirits dancing. They have leapt and overpowered, but will not rest until they have prevailed. They know who we are, but they may think they have God’s people, if not defeated, then at least gagged and bound — hemmed in on all sides. Has that evil spirit prevailed against us? Not yet, but we must ask, where is that once powerful praying voice?

In the next and final part of this series, we will look for the vision of the way forward. Our God always has a remnant of His people.

Be ruthless with yourself if you are given to talking about the experiences you have had. Faith that is sure of itself is not faith; faith that is sure of God is the only Faith there is.
[from ‘My Utmost For His Highest’]

In this series, we are looking at how unclean and perverse spirits can easily take hold in a place and turn it away from The Lord. We are taking Kilmartin in Argyll as an example; largely because we live there, but also because it is a focal point where faith in God, once dominant, is being seriously challenged by unbelief, Humanism and New Age philosophy.

But for him who is joined to all the living there is hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
For the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten.
Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished; nevermore will they have a share In anything done under the sun.
Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has already accepted your works.
Let your garments always be white, and let your head lack no oil.
[Ecclesiastes 9:4-8 NKJV]

I am currently reading ‘The True Believer: Thoughts On The Nature Of Mass Movements’ by Eric Hoffer, which, while not a book about scripture, frequently quotes the Bible to illustrate some of the ‘thoughts’. In one paragraph that I read yesterday evening, Hoffer quotes Ecclesiastes 9:4 …

What you might ask, has this to do with our Christian outlook in Argyll, or the world for that matter? The Bible view of this is that both the living and the dead are in this world now. The living are ‘alive in Christ’, while the dead are ‘dead in trespasses and sins’.

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
[Ephesians 2:4-6NKJV]

So where is our focus? Hoffer noted that the ‘mass movements’ of the radical and the reactionary in this world revere the idea of self-sacrifice for their cause, while the common man avoids self-sacrifice of any sort, if at all possible. The sacrifice that the true Christian makes is not for a cause but for a person; the Lord Jesus Christ, willingly returning the life that God gave him to God so that he avoids death ‘in trespasses and sins’ in exchange for everlasting life. I hope that makes sense.

In terms of Kilmartin, Argyll, we see that over time there has been a movement away from ‘life in Christ’ and an increasing reverence for the gravestones, burial cists, relics, standing stones and rock carvings from pre-history. I have seen people putting their arms around standing stones to ‘feel the life force’ in the rock. This is worshipping the dead.

Christians are not immune to such things; the spirit forces in nature are real enough, but they are subtle and insidious — every bit as real as Covid-19, and just as life-threatening. Our protection from such death is also real enough, it is the Holy Spirit, the thread that keeps us alive in Christ, our intercessor with Father God. Hallelujah!

Experience is a gateway, not an end. Beware of building your faith on experience. You can never give another person that which you have found, but you can make him long for what you have.
[from ‘My Utmost For His Highest’]

Six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.
For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
[Exodus 20:9-11 NKJV]

The Sabbath is a word taken from the Hebrew meaning to repose, or rest*. In Genesis chapter 1 we are told that God rested on the seventh day (seven revealing wholeness, completion, perfection). We translate this pattern by churchgoing on Sunday’s, while to the Jews their Sabbath is a Saturday; but looking at the Bible in more depth, we see that the seven days become a pattern of our growing into a relationship with God.

If we look at Hebrews chapter 4 we read of the deeper revelation of ‘entering into His rest’…

For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; and again in this place: “They shall not enter My rest.”
Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said:
“Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.”
[Hebrews 4:4-7 NKJV]

When do we enter? Hebrews says ‘today’; and today is this day and thus every day, from which we can conclude that once we have entered His rest, it is the place where spiritually we should remain. The Sabbath is an every day state of life.

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
[Hebrews 4:16 NKJV]

We all are called to be a Seventh Day company of believers, resting in His presence because we know that our purpose is to seek only more of Him.