Last night, Jo and I watched a special on pay TV that featured a great deal of previously unseen footage from the day, forming a timeline looking at the events from as many perspectives as possible. From unedited news media footage, to private home movies shot on the day from within and outside of Manhattan, the special was immensely powerful, deeply moving and horribly sad.

Because I was in upstate New York on that day, was watching the news at the time the first reports went to air, and then had to live through the direct aftermath, like it or not, I am tied to those events. So, once again, I offer this made-for-radio special which I produced for this tragedy’s first anniversary, in an effort to never allow ourselves to forget two things; the innocents who lost their lives that day, and that the world we now live in is a very different one to that of seven years and one day ago.

This special first aired on Sydney’s 1032 at 8.47am on Wednesday, September 11, 2002 and it literally stopped the audience in their tracks. It has since aired on the Vision Radio Network in nearly 250 communities across every state and territory of Australia.

My prayer remains that the United States of America might earnestly consider her actions in the light of the Christianity they profess to embrace, both prior to, and since that day.

You can choose to stream this 35 minute made-for-radio special using the player below or you can download it as a tool for evangelism or for use in your church or small group meeting.

Likewise, if you are a radio programmer, you are free to use this production on-air. All I ask is that you let me know you’re using it.

Lest We Forget …..

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II.   Our Spiritual Foes

All the powers of hell are in league to deprive souls of their faith. This has ever been the case and will continue to be so, as long as there is in this world a soul to deceive. Our life on earth is a constant warfare (Job 7:1). A warfare, not against creatures of flesh and blood, but against spiritual principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places (Eph 6:12). The great force capable of resisting the assaults of the evil one is faith (1 Peter 5:9), but not every form of faith suffices to repel every kind of evil spirit, there are some against whom special weapons must be used, as our Lord Himself taught us.

One day He saw a man in the midst of the multitude, who fell down on his knees before Him saying, “Lord, have pity on my son, for he is a lunatic and suffereth much, for he falleth often into the fire and often into the water, and I brought him to Thy disciples, and they could not heal him.” Jesus exclaimed: “O, unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? Bring him hither to me.”

He commanded the devil to come out of him, and the child was cured from that hour. Then came the disciples to Jesus secretly, and said, “Why could not we cast him out?” Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief. For, amen I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, Remove from hence thither, and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you. But this kind is not cast out but by prayer and fasting” (Matthew 17:14-20).

Ordinary faith suffices to cast out the ordinary evil spirits, but in order to overcome more powerful adversaries, extraordinary faith is needed, and it can be acquired only by prayer and fasting. If any one asks why prayer and fasting are essential, we must reply, “Man consists of body and soul, there are two substances within him, the one material and the other spiritual, and in order to resist the spirit of evil, these two substances must be brought into contact with the spirit of good, and spiritualized, each in its own way. The soul is spiritualized by prayer and the body by penance, which raises it into the regions of the spirit, just as prayer uplifts the soul. These are two wings enabling man to rise towards God, and it is only in proportion as he does so, that he gains strength to resist evil. His degree of exaltation indicates the measure of his strength, and his exaltation is proportionate to the power of prayer and penance that he has attained. Faith raises man to God, and man is too feeble to overcome evil if he lacks faith; the greater his faith the greater his strength. If he realizes his own weakness in face of the enemy, he must strive to lift himself up to God and to increase his faith, and both are done by way of prayer and penance.

The whole human race, outraged by the attacks of the evil one, also needs to be raised up, and to increase in faith, and neither can be done except by way of prayer and penance. But how can nations be uplifted? How can they recover faith that is dying out? How can a people, incapable of praying or of suffering, be brought back to prayer and penance? . . .

At the present day there is urgent need of both, for the evil spirits going about to destroy souls are more numerous and more terrible than ever.

Impurity triumphs everywhere, in our theatres and places of amusement, on holidays and in the streets, in pictures and books, in public institutions and even in private families. Crime of every sort abounds. The minds of all classes are being corrupted by education interwoven with falsehood, blasphemy, error and impiety. A spirit of pride and rebellion embitters individuals and stirs up the masses. Urged on by the powers of hell, men strive to enjoy pleasure in all its forms, they seek to please their bodies, hearts and minds. They wish to enjoy life, and beyond this they have no further aim, but for the sake of enjoyment they are breaking down the old barriers of respect for authority, of self-control and dignity, of uprightness and honesty, of faith and loyalty. All the old beliefs and customs, traditions and habits, even family and social life are in danger of being swallowed up in a great cataclysm of foulness, bloodshed and sin.

If ever there was a time when the struggle against evil called for valiant soldiers bearing powerful arms, it is the present. May God give us brave men, well armed, that right may triumph over wrong!

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I have not yet finished reading the whole book, but the half of it that I’ve read so far has been leaving me open-mouthed from its insightfulness and its prophetic relevence to the hour we find ourselves in today .. and to think, it was written just short of a century ago!

I may, or may not, reprint the entire book, but what I will do is commit to you that any chapters I choose to reprint, will be reprinted in their entirety to maintain as much context as possible. You’ll also note that while the chapters are short they are succinct in their message and their power.

At this stage, I do not intend to tell you the title of the book nor its author. I want the content to speak for itself so that you will read it with no preconceptions. Either at the end, or near the end, I’ll be sure to divulge that information .. and I’m sure you’ll be as surprised as me.

So here, for your edification and exhortation, is chapter 1, both in print and as a podcast which you can either download or stream at the end of the text. I hope it effects you in a similar way to how it has me …

I.   The Decay of Faith

Faith is passing away, and it is the most terrible of all misfortunes. No other disaster can be compared with it, for no possession is so precious as faith, which is the foundation and root of all good. What is a nation deprived of faith? What is a man whose faith is wavering? Every nation, like every individual possessing faith in his own destiny, succeeds in accomplishing something that is useful but without faith of some kind, nothing is done; life without faith is barren, and this is true with regard to the supernatural even more than to the natural. “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” (Hebrews 10:6).

Every man and every nation who has done anything for God, has done so in proportion to the faith within him.

Faith is passing away! Such is the triumphant cry of the wicked and the complaint of the good; and the number of the former is ever increasing, whilst believers are becoming more rare. Agnostics boast of their scientific knowledge, the faithful seem to know nothing. The enemies of God redouble their audacity whilst even His friends allow themselves to waver. Evil grows bold and goodness becomes lukewarm. Blasphemy and atheism proclaim themselves with triumphant audacity and strong, deep convictions give way.

There are, it is true, some faithful souls still left, but how few they are! What is the faith of the great majority of those who are called Christians? Is it anything but an ignorant kind of assent, a superficial religion, a piety that is chiefly external, consisting of some shreds of truth and a confused mass of outward observances? The shadow remains, but there is very little substance, and it is precisely because the substance is passing away that good and evil alike, with very different feelings, utter the cry: “Faith is becoming extinct.”

It is indeed passing; will it leave us altogether? The duty of reviving the divine flame rests with those in whom some spark of it still glimmers.

O faithful souls, suffer it not to be said that faith is becoming extinct! We have it in our power to prevent God from removing our candlestick, and to retain the light in our country; yes, we have the power, and we ought to use it. Let us determine to do so with all the energy that we possess. Let us cling to our faith and bring it back, a true and living faith, strong and fruitful, sincere and pure, simple and practical; a sturdy and efficacious faith, able to conquer all the forces of the world.

Let us preserve our faith and revive it in the souls where some trace of it still lingers, and strive to impart to them that fulness of light which will make them see our Lord in all things, and that fulness of love, which will make them respect all His claims upon them. Under all circumstances the human soul needs to recognize the Lord who has made us and governs us, and to remember how He does so. He is the Master who has planned our existence and is directing our work according to His good pleasure. He is the Master, and it is for us to do His will and carry out His designs, and in order to do this, we must keep them ever before our eyes, and there fore we require the bright light of living faith, to turn away our gaze from the vanities of things created and to fix it thoroughly upon our Master. Not only must our eyes be fixed on Him, but our hearts also; for we must love what He claims of us, love His will truly and respect it loyally. Let us give back to the souls of men this upright and living faith in their Lord.

Let us give back to them their faith in God, their only good, the end and consummation of their lives. Why have we to pass through this earthly existence? Are we to seek either amusement or weariness here? No, we are here in order that we may go hence to our heavenly Father, and live with Him for ever and ever. Alas! how apt we are to forget that our journey in this world belongs only to time, and our joy in heaven to eternity! How often do the mists of this material existence obscure the brightness of eternity, our hopes based on faith, the promises given by faith, the everlasting realities, and the immortality of life in God! We are so steeped in lower pleasures that we forget what is higher. It is indeed necessary to bring back mens’ souls to the warm rays of the divine light, to disperse the clouds that envelop them, and to restore to them the thought of eternity and the desire to rise to heaven.

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{mos_ri}

Today, on this the sixth annversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, I offer this made-for-radio special which I produced for this tragedy’s first anniversary.

It first aired on Sydney’s FM103.2 at 8.47am on Wednesday, September 11, 2002 and it literally stopped the audience in their tracks. It has since aired on the Vision Radio Network in nearly 250 communities across every state and territory of Australia.

My prayer is that it will not only move you to remember .. but also to pray .. that an event of this magnitude, perpetrated on innocent people, would never happen again, but also that the United States of America might earnestly consider her actions since in the light of the Christianity they profess to embrace.

You can choose to stream this 35 minute made-for-radio special using the player below or you can download it as a tool for evangelism or for use in your church or small group meeting.

Likewise, if you are a radio programmer, you are free to use this production on-air. All I ask is that you let me know you’re using it.

Lest We Forget …..

Jesus Wept .. at the Site of the OKC Bombing

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The original story can be read here.

To be honest, the demo audio does not do the lyrics justice (in my opinion) but it’s posted for you to get an idea of how it could sound.

Under Southern Stars

Home to first Australians,

Joined from near and far,

Shining light for freedom,

Under Southern Stars.

Nation made of many,

Bound in hope as one,

Building for the future,

Under Southern Sun.

Free and Friendly Nation,

Born of our own hand,

Peace our greatest virtue,

Mighty Southern Land.

Valiant into Battle,

Courage to the end,

Standing firm for freedom,

Loyal southern friend.

Nature’s earthly heaven,

Glory for our eyes,

Ours alone those treasures,

Under Southern Skies.

Shining light for Freedom

Under Southern Stars.

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In view of me probably not being able to write the article for perhaps another month or so, I have decided to post the audio of the message I shared on a subject that has become close to my heart, when I spoke at the Storm Harvest Gathering 2006, as an interim measure.

By way of a short explanation .. I was watching the National Geographic Channel on pay-tv last year when they ran a promo which featured something that astounded me and triggered an encounter with the Lord. Here is the text of that promo:

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

Most likely you, like me, were surprised to discover that you could read the text very easily. In case you had trouble, here it correctly spelled:

According to a researcher at Cambridge University, it doesn’t matter in what order the letters in a word are, the only important thing is that the first and last letter be at the right place. The rest can be a total mess and you can still read it without problem. This is because the human mind does not read every letter by itself but the word as a whole.

Seeing this on my TV screen triggered an encounter with God that still resonates with me. Hence, the title of this post says it all … Christ .. First and Last.

Listen to the audio of this message by clicking on the player below.

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During the course of planning this project, Kerry spent some time investigating the right type of music to use as the backing of the Scriptures he chose to voice for Covenant.

As a result of a mutual friend, Peter Shurley gifted Kerry with full permission to use the whole of his instrumental devotional album “Still“; as the backing for Covenant.

So, an idea dropped into Kerry’s heart about 15 years ago by Alison Chant, wife of renowned Bible teacher Dr Ken Chant, has borne much fruit.

You can preview Covenant by clicking on the player above and you can even buy the album right here in the new Wind Farm Shop. You can choose to immediately download the album for either your MP3 player or for your iPod .. or we can ship you a CD within 14 days.

The Wind Farm Shop also features downloadable versions of The Green Tree Prophetic School manuals or you can buy them on CD-ROM. This school is one of the most comprehensive prophetic schools available and was written by Kerry Denten.

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You can read the whole story here. I had the following to say on-air …

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“Here at NEWS Corporation we know the business of publishing can be a tricky one. But cartoon violence has never been as real as the global reaction this week to the publication of images depicting the prophet Mohammed.”

As a result, this story became News Corporation’s second most important story of the week .. because of the violent backlash it brought.

You might recall that on Wednesday I spoke with Dr Helen Szoke of the Victorian Equal Opportunity Commission about how the Victorian position on the publication of the cartoons was seen as non-vilifying compared to the decision of the Tribunal that Catch the Fire Ministries seminar on Muslims was vilifying.

One of the things I didn’t get to discuss with her was the outcomes of each instance.

What I mean is this:

If the publication of these supposedly blashpemous cartoons does not constitute vilification on the grounds that they are simply an artistic presentation, and yet, their publication results in wide-spread riots around the world .. surely then, their publication MUST be considered vilifying because the outcome was to have stirred hatred and violence.

However, what Danny Nalliah taught in the seminar run by Catch the Fire Ministries has had no effect at all other than to bring insight and understanding to Christians about the ways that Muslims believe and operate. There has been no increased hatred, no increased ridicule, no acts of violence perpetrated on Muslims by those who attended the seminar.

If the Victorian Racial and Religious Vilification Act is intended to stop these very things, and none of them were clear and obvious outcomes from Catch the Fire Ministries seminar, then how on earth can the content of that seminar be considered vilifying?

Let’s continue to pray that this foolish and restrictive Act will be turned on its head at appeal or at the very least be turned back on those who have tried to test it at the potential expense of Danny Nalliah’s ministry.

Listen to the audio of this comment from the air program on Vision by clicking on the player below.

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We spoke about Victoria’s Racial and Religious Tolerance Act as it relates to the publication of cartoons depicting the Muslim prophet Muhammed and, more specifically, as it relates to the case against Catch the Fire Ministries and Danny Nalliah.

Listen to the audio of this comment from the air program on Vision by clicking on the player below.

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