LXII

BE SURE YOUR SIN WILL FIND YOU OUT

NUMBERS 32:23

SEVEN SALLIE (FATHER OF SEVENIA SALLIE GIRL PROPHETESS)

It was about ten minutes before Sevenia’s 6^th Bible study/lecture was to begin. Brock and Destiny walked in with the two young ladies Destiny had been bringing. One of them was wearing a denim skirt, and I joked with myself that our church might one day make it an official uniform for the ladies. I just hoped the men didn’t start wearing kilts. I chuckled.

I noticed Brock looking at me with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. I pictured him in a kilt and started laughing. I became concerned that I would look like a nut sitting alone at the slide projector chortling uncontrollably. You know how it is when you shouldn’t be laughing, but you can’t stop. As a matter of fact, it somehow seems to make you laugh all the harder. I put my face in my hands, leaned over, and convulsed with inappropriate merriment.

I felt a strong hand on my shoulder right before I heard Brock’s voice whisper in my ear. “Dude, everyone’s staring.”

This sobered me instantly. Sevenia’s study/lecture had grown to around thirty people, give or take. The last thing I wanted to do was embarrass my daughter. I took a quick moment to come up with an explanation. I lifted my head preparing for two dozen pairs of eyes gawking at me. Not a single eyeball was on me other than Brock’s. He also covered his mouth and jiggled with laughter.

“Laugh all you want,” I said in a low tone. “I’m glad you stopped me. The last thing I want to do is embarrass Sevenia.”

“Same here,” he replied. “But secondarily, I wanted to see you embarrass yourself, so it was tempting to let you go on laughing.”

“Thanks, Cousin.”

“What’s family for?” he asked with a shrug.

Salena walked in, glanced at me, smiled, waved with one hand as the other caressed her pregnant belly. She looked like she could give birth anytime now. I smiled and waved back.

“I thought the interview Destiny did on your podcast the other day was pretty good,” Brock said.

“It went beyond well,” I replied enthusiastically. “It got a bigger response than Sevenia’s interview. What did Destiny think?”

Brock pursed his lips, bowed his head, and sadly shook his head. My spirits sank like a lead balloon.

(DESTINY KNIGHT-STORM)

I was surprisingly calm when Seven introduced me to a pleasant woman named Amber Jenkins for the interview. Maybe it was because I was relieved that it wasn’t an actual couple that had been in something like a love triangle. Yet Amber’s situation did involve a love triangle, two actually. I had been dreading the possibility of interviewing  two people overcoming marital problems, at least when I was brand new to this podcast thing. Amber and I spent some time getting acquainted before we recorded.

Amber grew up in a nominally Christian home. She loved her parents. They were very involved in their two daughter’s lives, and they seemed to have a solid, loving relationship with each other. Her mother was an energetic, aggressive manager of a department for a factory that made aviation equipment. Her father was a laid back former hippie and an art professor at a local college.

She showed me a picture of her parents. Her mother had short black hair and intense blue eyes that seemed like they were looking for a challenge. Her father had sandy blonde hair, hazel eyes framed with laugh lines, and a lazy grin. They were a nice looking couple. Eddie and Janet were their names.

She showed me a picture of a man who looked like a science nerd. He wasn’t particularly handsome with frizzy red hair, close set eyes and a long beaky nose. But he had a nice smile, even though it looked forced.

“This is Conner Kelly,” Amber told me. “He worked with my mother. But he was close friends with both of my parents. He and my father shared the same hobby, which was flying remote control airplanes. Every other Saturday the three of them would go out to lunch together, and then Conner and my mother would spend the afternoon together. This bi-weekly tradition began when my sister and I were in high school.

“I never thought much of it,” she continued. “I always thought it had to do with work. Then when my sister and I were in college, our parents were both killed in a car accident. They were both forty-nine years old.”

“I’m so sorry,” I said. “How long ago was this?”

“Sixteen years ago,” she said with a heavy sigh. “Anyway, Conner was devastated. My parents were pretty much the only people he was close to. He was the top electrical engineer where my mother worked, and as many brainiacs are, he had poor people skills.

“Anyway, to make a long story short,” she said as she showed me a handwritten letter. “My sister and I didn’t really start going through our parents things until several years after they died. Then one day my sister showed up at my house all distraught. I was married with a two year old and another on the way.

“She had had some time off work and was going through some of our parent’s belongings. She came across a show box filled with letters from Conner to my mother. Love letters. And a few to my father.”

“Conner sent love letters to your father?”

“Not exactly,” she chuckled without humor “To make a long story short, Conner was a real life forty year old virgin story. Only he was thirty-five. We were able to piece together this bizarre relationship going by dates. The first was a pair of letters. One to my mom and the other to my dad. But it’s the one to my dad that explains where the love triangle began.”

She handed me a two page letter addressed to Eddie. In it Conner told him that the gift of his wife was the best birthday present he ever received. He gushed about what a good friend he was, how beautiful Janet was, how wonderful it was making love for the first time and how special Janet had made this new experience.

I finished reading it with my mouth hanging open. Amber handed me another letter to her father dated a year later. In it Conner thanked Eddie for the best year of his life. He told Eddie he was the most generous man on the planet and the best friend a guy could ever have. He said he was the most unselfish man he had ever known, and thanked him profusely for sharing his wife with him.

I think my jaw hit the table as Amber handed me a third letter. It was from Janet to her husband. It was dated Valentine’s day and approximately two months after Conner’s first letter. In it she thanked him for being so open and trusting her to be involved with another man. She said she never has loved him more for giving her this experience and bringing such joy to a lonely man’s (Conner) life.

“How long did this go on?” I asked with a blown mind.

“It looks like about six years. The last letter was dated three weeks before my parents died. There’s just over sixty letters in all.”

“Have you ever talked to Conner about it?”

She shook her head. “He had died before we found them.”

“How?”

“An accidental drug overdose we had always thought. But after finding these, I’m wondering if it wasn’t suicide.”

“How long after your parents died did Conner pass away.”

“Almost two years.”

“How tragic, and bizarre.”

“Yeah,” she sighed. “Anyhow, my sister was absolutely appalled with this three way relationship, and still is. I was too at first, but then I began to see it as a uniquely beautiful love story. So, fast forward about a decade. My best friend gets divorced. One of the issues, besides him cheating on her, was an inability to get pregnant. Having a baby was something she always longed and dreamed for.”

“I think I see where this is going,” I told her with a sad smile.

“Yup, you guessed it,” she said with sarcastic snort. “Just like Conner was given a special gift for his 35^th birthday, I gave my husband a threesome for his 38^th. All involved knew the goal was for my friend Debbie to conceive with my husband, obviously, as the donor. And what a fun way to donate, huh?”

“That’s why adultery is still adultery,” I said sympathetically. “Even if all involved are consenting. So what happened?”

“Well, Debbie didn’t conceive. So when Debbie was next ovulating,” Amber told me using air quotes for ovulating and saying Debbie with a hard D. “I allowed Doug, my ex-husband, to visit her.”

She used a hard D for Doug and did air quotes again for visit. I squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry.”

“So after about five or six months of visits,” she said, using air quotes yet again for visits. “I run into Debbie’s ex-husband and his new PREGNANT wife. Turns out the infertility problem was Debbie’s issue. I confronted Debbie on the deception. She argued that she wasn’t convinced that she was infertile. I said after six months and twenty or thirty visits from MY husband, you’re still not convinced? Then she gets this sick, little sinister grin on her face and says ‘Once you gave me a taste of Dougie, I couldn’t stop eating.’”

Amber bowed her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. I was about to console her when she suddenly raised her head. “Later when I told my husband the visits with Debbie were over, he declared that they weren’t. Turns out he preferred the woman that runs five miles a day and practiced yoga multiple times a week to his slightly overweight, out of shape wife who was busy raising HIS children.”

Amber put her face in her hands and sobbed. When she quieted, I gently asked, “Are you sure you’re up for this interview?”

She raised her head with a fierce, determined look in her pretty blue eyes. “You bet I am.”

The interview went well and I actually enjoyed myself. Amber was easy to talk to. She was also receptive to the scriptures I had to share. The strongest point made during the process was the ripple effect of sin. Even if everyone got along in her parents love triangle, and even if they intended to keep it a secret, it ended up getting discovered regardless. (Be sure your sins will find you out). It ultimately ruined an otherwise good marriage by its deceptive influence.

“I’m gonna go tell Mr. Giggles over there that you didn’t like doing that interview and are done,” Brock whispered in my ear two days later at Sevenia’s study/lecture.

“Honey, don’t you dare,” I whispered back. Then I frowned when I spotted Seven in the back with the slide projector laughing about something. Then he put his head down as Brock got up and made his way toward him.

A few minutes later, not long after Salena came in and exchanged waves with Seven, Zella strode in. She wore a green dress with a pale green sweater. One side of her hair was held back with a hair clip. Her short new hair style really brought out her striking features. She was a vision of loveliness.

She sat down without so much as a glance at Seven. Seven on the other hand stared at her in awe. Brock looked at her too, grinned, and said something to Seven. Seven looked flustered, said something back and pointed to the empty chair beside me. He apparently suggested that he leave him alone and sit down. Then Seven smiled and waved to me. I wiggled my fingers back at him,  Brock chuckled, and made his way back to me.

Now I don’t consider myself superstitious. As a matter of fact, I think superstition is an opposite of faith. But at six minutes after the hour, in walks Six Sallie, to join Sevenia’s sixth lesson.

(DESTINY’S STORY IS TOLD IN THE E-BOOK ‘KNIGHT STORM by JOHNATHAN EMBERS)

DESTINY KNIGHT-STORM’S NOTES FROM SEVENIA’S 6^th LESSON

ARE WE LIVING TOWARD THE END OF TIME?

Jesus (The Son of God) coming as a man.

Jesus’ incarnation and defeat of sin, Satan, and death ushered in “the last days.”

“The last days” see: Acts 2, 2 Timothy 3, Hebrews 1, James 5, and 2 Peter 3.

The concept of the last days goes all the way back to the promise of deliverance in Eden. Genesis chapter 3, in particular verse 15. See also Romans 16:20.

Satan’s weapons- sin, fear, and death were overcome by Jesus.

“Do not be afraid” appears 400 times in the Bible.

Satan has known for a long time that he has a short time. See Revelation 12:12.

Something about the cross sealed Satan’s doom. See John 12:31-33, and Colossians 2:14, 15.

Notice the centrality of the cross in ushering in Satan’s defeat and the last days.

The prophetic timelines are mostly fulfilled.

Prophecy is not a prediction. It is a foretelling of what is going to happen.

Biblical Prophecies

Israel’s failures, judgement, and captivity,

Daniel’s many prophecies

The messianic prophecies that Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection fulfilled

Jesus’ prophecies

The end time prophecies of Revelation

Daniel’s Prophecies

Chapter 2: The metal man

Chapter 7: The four beasts and the horn

Chapter 8: The horn and the sanctuary

Chapter9: The covenant keeping messiah

Chapters 10-12: A detailed history

The Basic Outline of Daniel

Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, Rome divided and “the little horn”, Divine intervention.

Daniel was written in the 6^th century B.C. During the rein of Babylon. Yet he foretold the future reins of Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and Rome divided and “the little horn.”

Daniel 2

Head of Gold= Babylon

Chest of silver= Medo-Persia

Belly of bronze= Greece

Legs of iron= Rome

Feet of iron and clay= Rome divided

Divine stone= God’s own kingdom

Daniel 7

Lion with eagles wings= Babylon

Bear with three ribs= Medo-Persia

Leopard with four heads= Greece

Beast with ten horns= Rome

Little horn= The medieval church

Judgement seat= Divine intervention

Daniel 8

Ram with 2 horns= Medo-Persia

Goat with large horn= Greece

Little horn, horizontal= Rome

Little horn, vertical= Medieval church

Sanctuary cleansed= Divine intervention

Prophecy shows that history has a guide and a goal. History is going somewhere specific.

Jesus’ “signs of the times (See Matthew 24) are fulfilled all around us.

(Signs of the Times)

The destruction of Jerusalem

Religious deceivers and confusion

Wars and rumors of wars

Famines, pestilences, and earthquakes

Religious persecution

The love of many growing cold

The gospel going into all of the world

The abomination of desolation

The fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecies

General difficulty and turmoil

The prophecies of Revelation are fulfilling

There is a beautiful tension in the Bible between God’s urgency and His patience.

Your personal “last days” could be this week or even today.

We make our decisions, and then our decisions make us.

Choose for yourselves this day who you will serve Joshua 24:15

And I, if I be lifted up will draw all people to Me. (the words of Jesus in John 12:32)

You cannot drive someone to faith, they must be drawn.

LXI

BEFORE I FORMED YOU IN THE BELLY I KNEW YOU: AND BEFORE YOU CAME OUT OF THE WOMB I SANCTIFIED YOU, AND I ORDAINED YOU A PROPHET UNTO THE NATIONS

JEREMIAH 1:5

DESTINY KNIGHT-STORM

After talking it over with my husband, and praying about it, I decided to join Seven’s podcast. I still wasn’t sure what I was getting into, but I was confident that the Lord would lead the way step by step. As I was talking to Seven via the phone, telling him that I would do it, his daughter showed up on my doorstep. Little did I know, she was about to be my first interview. Albeit not on her dad’s podcast.

“Hi, Dee,” Sevenia said when I opened the door. Although her smile was pleasant and genuine, I could tell by her sad eyes that something not so good was up.

“Hi, Sweetie. Come in, come in,” I told her cheerfully.

“Branch and I broke up,” she declared before her first step landed on the kitchen floor.

“Oh, no!” I said before I hugged her. When we separated, a couple of tears were sliding down her cheeks. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. It was very, what’s the word I’m looking for?”

“Amicable?”

“Yes, amicable.”

“So, what happened?”

“He said we don’t spend enough time together. He said I spend too much time preparing my lessons and also talking to people with questions. Reading in between the lines, I could tell his first love has also grown cold.”

“Reading in between the lines, I detect a duel meaning.”

Sevenia actually laughed, and it was music to my ears. “You are so perceptive, Dee. But yeah, unfortunately he’s not only lost interest in me, but even worse, God. And that’s what actually hurts the worst.”

“I know the feeling, Sweetie,” I said. “I lose way more girl’s interest than I gain in those that initially show interest.”

 “You’re gonna be amazing on my dad’s podcast.”

Now I laughed. “I don’t know about that.”

“So you are going to do it?” she asked with her arched eyebrows seeming to be question marks.

“Yes. Brock and I talked and prayed about it. We decided there were more favorable reasons to do it than not.”

“Good! You’re such a good listener, and wise with Biblical council. After Branch and I parted company fifteen minutes ago, I just automatically started driving here.”

“That’s sweet of you to say. So, do want to tell me how you feel about the breakup?”

“I don’t know, Dee. I have such mixed feelings.”

“Mixed how?”

“I mean, on one hand it hurts, and I feel a sense of loss. But on the other hand, I feel such a burden lifted.”

“So you felt it was a burden being courted by Branch?”

“Dee,” she began in a low voice. “I’m sorry it was at Branch’s expense, but I think my relationship with him helped me discover that I’m truly asexual. I mean it was kind of fun that time we tried kissing. But, I don’t know, I lost interest in the prospect of being intimate some day. When I thought about marriage and intimacy, I went from thinking it would be nice to a growing dread of being yoked to another person. I only want to be yoked to Christ. I’m feeling a call to ministry rather than domesticity. Not that you can’t do both obviously. Most do. But I just don’t think I’m geared that way.”

“It sounds like it was for the best then,” I told her.

“You do?”

“Sure, in 1 Corinthians chapter 7, the apostle Paul suggests that it is good if a person chooses not to marry, to focus on ministry like he did.”

“He also says if a person can’t contain, they should marry.”

“Do you think you can’t contain?” I asked with a little grin.

“Oh, I think I can manage, Dee,” she replied, giggled, and pinched the bridge of her nose as she closed her eyes and shook her head.

Right as she did this Brock entered the kitchen. He stopped, put a finger to his lips, and tip toed up behind Sevenia. He wrapped his arms around her, picking her up and spinning her around a couple times.

“Weeeeeee,” Brock sang as he twirled Sevenia around. She squealed and laughed as one of her black Chuck Taylor sneakers flew off.

“That was mean,” she told Brock with a smirk.

“You know, your shoe wouldn’t have come off if you learned to tie them properly,” he scolded lightheartedly.

  She stuck her tongue out at him and then asked. “Can I hit you?”

Brock raised his eyebrows, smiled, slapped his stomach twice, and placed his hands on his hips. “Sure, have at it.”

Sevenia’s request was in imitation of a little game Brock and our spiritual daughter, Amy, had often played. Amy, a feisty, but sweet redhead would often ask to punch Brock in his solar plexus after he had teased her or otherwise annoyed her.

“Great,” Sevenia said and went to the side of the door where Brock had kept a baseball bat. Ever since we had a dangerous run in with a deranged cult, Brock had kept a bat at both our front and back doors. Sevenia picked up the bat, took a practice swing, and strode up to Brock.

“Hold on there, Sweet Pea,” Brock said, holding up a hand with a stop gesture. “I meant you could punch me, not use a weapon.”

“I said hit, and you said that I could,” she told him with a mischievous grin.

“Like I said.”

“Are you afraid?”

Brock raised his chin in a dignified manner and declared. “Yes I am.”

Sevenia giggled, returned the bat, returned to Brock, made a fist, cocked her arm back, stuck out the tip of her tongue in concentration, and then became still. Suddenly her face crumpled, and she placed her forehead on Brock’s massive chest and began sobbing. With a startled expression he gently placed a hand on her back. He turned his gaze to me with a puzzled look on his face.

“She and Branch broke up today,” I said softly.

“Oh, Sweet Pea. I’m sorry,” Brock said. “I wouldn’t have teased you if I knew.”

“No, it’s okay. I’m glad you did,” she said, stepping away from him. “It’s just, one of the things I liked about Branch was he seemed sort of like a younger version of you. Not just that he’s big and strong, but his personality. Like you, he’s often quiet, yet he was also sweet and funny.”

“Well,” Brock began and then sighed. “If you broke up with him, I don’t know whether to take that as a complement or not.”

“It’s a complement,” she replied with a sad laugh. “But he was the one that ended things.”

“That fool!” Brock declared. “Did he hurt you? Do I need to go have a talk with him?”

“No, no. It was, it was, what did you call it, Dee?”

“Amicable.”

“Yes, amicable. And even though I’m kind of sad right now, I’m also kind of glad. With what I want to do in life right now. With what I feel called to do. I just don’t have the time, or the desire for a  relationship or courtship, or whatever.”

“It’s funny how wonderful love can be, yet it also can bring torment,” I said, and then snorted a laugh. “I mean look at your dad. He had a nice friendship going with both Zella and Salena. Then he turned them both romantic and was almost driven crazy. And now that he chose Salena, things are awkward with him and Zella.”

Sevenia eyed me with a look of anguish as she bit her lower lip.

“What is it, Sweetie?”

“I don’t know that you are correct.”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, it’s just been such an awful situation. All three of them have been hurt, and someone is gonna get hurt bad in the end. Remember I called you yesterday and told you that Zella asked me to baptize her. I was so excited, I told my dad. He was really happy at first, but he also had this strange look on his face. I guess I’d say a puzzled look. A little later, I saw him looking longingly at a photo of Zella.”

“You don’t say,” I replied, remembering Seven’s and my conversation a couple nights ago.

(DESTINY AND BROCKS’S STORY IS TOLD IN THE E-BOOK ‘KNIGHT STORM’ BY JOHNATHAN EMBERS)

(DESTINY’S NOTES FROM SEVENIA’S 5^th LESSON: WHY SUFFERING)

Suffering and pain are real, the question is ultimately, are they meaningful or meaningless?

Neil D Tyson an astrophysicist with more than 13 million twitter followers and apparent atheist recently posted this on his twitter page. “The universe is blind to our sorrows and indifferent to our pain. Have a nice day!”

Nihilism: The philosophical viewpoint that suggests the denial or lack of belief toward the reputedly meaningful aspects of life.

(All during my prior life as a non-Christian and an adult entertainer, I subscribed to a nihilistic viewpoint of life. Destiny)

Yet someone also known for great intellect said this. Albert Einstein: “The eternal mystery of the world is its comprehensibility. The fact that it is comprehensible IS A MIRACLE.”

I am personally persuaded that a super intelligent Creator exists beyond and within the cosmos, and that the rich context of congeniality shown by our universe permitting and encouraging the existence of self-conscious life, is part of the Creator’s design and purpose. It’s not that the universe is astonishing, beautiful, and unlikely, it’s that we know it is.  (Owen Gingrich professor emeritus of science and astronomy at Harvard University).

Mathematical odds suggests that we should not be here.

The waters of our suffering are only as deep as our sorrows.

You can rejoice in suffering. See Romans 5:3-5

Not a sigh is breathed, not a pain felt, not a grief pierces the soul, but the throb vibrates to the Father’s heart. (The Desire of Ages. Ellen G. White).

John 4:8 He that loves not, knows not God, for God is love.

If reality is fundamentally physical, then the primary force binding it together is electromagnetic. If however, reality is fundamentally social, the most powerful constituting force is that which binds people together, namely love. (Millard J Erikson)

Physical (Matter) or Spirit (Love). We can explain matter, we can’t explain spirit.

You either believe in the beginning was The Word, or you believe in the beginning there were particles.

Spirit made matter, not the other way around. (The girls I brought are captivated by Sevenia’s presentations! How is she only seventeen?).

The existence of suffering can be reconciled with the existence of a loving God.

The Bible opens with an accusation in Genesis and closes with the silencing of that accusation in Revelation.

Conflict: The serpent’s accusation (See Genesis 3: 1-8)

God is a withholder

God is untrustworthy

God is selfish

An answer: (See Revelation 12: 7-10)

That serpent of old refers to the serpent of Genesis written 1500 years before Revelation.

In my view, creation looks like it has been influenced by a cosmic predator because for eons it has been influenced by a cosmic predator. It looks like a war zone because it is a war zone. (Greg Boyd).

EXTERNAL CONFLICT

Anger: at injustice and pain

Confusion: over the state of things

Helplessness: to bring about change

Desire/hope: for something better

INTERNAL CONFLICT

Frustration: over repeated failings

Shame/guilt: from awareness of our sins

Despair: a sense of resignation

Fear: I’ll never be all I should/ought

Dysfunction: In our relationships

Jesus saw Himself in conflict with an enemy

See Matthew 13: 24-30 (Key words in the parable) “An enemy has done this.”

See Luke 13: 10-17 (Key words) “Who Satan has bound.”

See John 8:44 (Key words) “Murderer from the beginning” “Father of lies.”

This disclosure in the Book of Revelation, in particular chapter 12; explains why the antagonist in the conflict cannot be brought to heel by force. The deceiver must be unmasked.

This battle cannot be won on the strength of steel; it hinges on the strength of character

See Matthew 26: 52, 53

When the slaughtered lamb is seen in the midst of the divine throne in heaven (Revelation 5:6) the meaning is that Christ’s sacrificial death belongs to the way God rules the world.

The overwhelming display of love and mercy is not merely the greatest story ever told. It is the greatest story that ever could be told! The fact that it is real and not merely fiction is mind boggling!

Love requires freedom. What makes yes so special, is that no is an option.

Love by definition is free, and freedom involves risk.

The necessary condition of freedom bestowed by the love of God, is the possibility of us rejecting Him.

Love is something contingent upon God’s willingness to enter into such a relationship in the first place. To place Himself under certain relational constraints. To be limited in His freedom by a genuinely free other. Authentic freedom surrendering freedom.

Risk involves responsibility. Responsibility enables growth.

(God’s options)

Make nothing

Make beings that are not free

Make free beings that cannot rebel (This doesn’t seem possible to me)

Make free beings

If we are not faced with morally significant choices, we cannot grow morally.

(Choose you this day who you will serve Joshua 24:15) Notice that there is a choice to be made.

Every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part that chooses, into something a little different than it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all of your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing into either a heavenly creature or into a hellish creature. (C.S. Lewis).

This is not the most perfect world possible, but it is the way to the most perfect world possible.

Our conscience is an internal mechanism to purge ourselves from evil.

(God In Pain)

Surely He has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. Isaiah 53:4

Jesus must suffer many things Matthew 16:21

The Son of Man is to suffer Matthew 17:12

The Son of Man must suffer Luke 17:24, 25

I desire to eat with you before I suffer Luke 22:15

Ought not the Christ to have suffered Luke 24:26

It was necessary for the Christ to suffer Luke 24:26

The Christ would suffer Acts 3:18

Jesus is the only being that has ever experienced everyone’s pain. Thank you precious Savior!

LX

REDEEMING THE TIME, BECAUSE THE DAYS ARE EVIL

EPHESIANS 5:16

DESTINY KNIGHT-STORM (HER STORY IS TOLD IN THE E-BOOK KNIGHT-STORM BY JOHNATHAN EMBER

“I’m glad I got you alone,” Seven said to me breathlessly after we climbed into his car. His automobile was a bright green, somewhat new Camaro.

“Huh?” I replied dumbly as I frowned.

We had just left his daughter’s Bible study that was being held every Thursday evening. My husband, who is also Seven’s cousin, was called away by a friend of ours whose car broke down. Seven kindly offered to give me a ride home, but now appeared to be up to something questionable.

“I dreamt about you and me,” he said as he placed a hand on my forearm.

“Ewh,” I responded as I jerked my arm away and opened the door to scramble out.

“No, no, no, Dee,” he said as his eyebrows arched into his forehead. “I’m sorry, that came out entirely wrong. Please don’t go.”

I cautiously resettled into my seat and shut the door, eying him skeptically. I should have known better. I believed Seven’s conversion two years ago to be genuine. Plus, I happened to know he was currently in a bit of a love triangle. So I’m sure he wasn’t looking to make it a quadrangle, especially with his cousin’s wife. His cousin who is built like a low fat tank.

“Do you ever listen to my podcast?” he asked.

“I have,” I mumbled. “When Sevenia’s on.”

He frowned and pursed his lips. I giggled. “Sorry, I try to.”

“Did you hear the one she did about a love triangle?”

“You mean about Jack and Jill who went up the hill to get a bowl of chili?”

“And then Jill fell for Willie, who made the bowl of chili,” he added as he nodded. “Then eventually began an affair with him.”

“Okay, so what’s that have to do with me, and what role does a dream of yours play?”

“Well, that segment was a big hit. Apparently sex and betrayal, culminating with forgiveness and redemption is quite appealing.”

“And you think this is new? There have been thousands of books and movies on the topic.”

“I know, I know,” he said, waving a hand to suggest slow down. “But you should read some of the e-mails I’ve received. I’ve contacted a few so far, and they would be willing to share their testimony. Some, maybe even most, are still looking for spiritual answers and wondering if healing is even possible.”

“Okay, so are you looking for my approval?” I replied. “Sevenia did a great job moderating. And even though the story was heart breaking for Jack, it was inspirational by the way he handled it.”

“That’s the problem,” he responded. “I asked Sevenia if she would do some more interviews, and she doesn’t want to do it. Although she did a great job, interviewing Jack and Jill made her rather uncomfortable. And I understand. It should be somebody older and more, what’s the word I’m looking for?”

I suddenly knew where he was going with this and felt apprehension crawl all over my skin. “Seven, I know where you are going with this, and I politely, respectfully decline.”

“Here me out, Dee,” he pleaded. “I woke up this morning picturing you in Sevenia’s place at the interview table. You helping people tell their story, and offering wise council when needed. Listen, you are the epitome of Revelation 3:15, 16.”

“Are those the verses warning not to be lukewarm?” I asked with a frown, wondering where he was going with that.

“Yes, it would be better to be hot or cold,” he replied enthusiastically. “I can’t think of a better example of someone going from cold to hot than you. You were a very a successful adult entertainer. Then you become a born again Christian and end up ministering to women in your former profession.”

“But you’re comparing apples to oranges. I know how to talk to strippers and porn stars. I don’t know how to council married people with adultery issues.”

“You wouldn’t be a counselor, though. You would be a sympathetic listener who happens to be, not only Biblically grounded, but an expert on sex. A sexpert if you please.”

“Give me a break,” I laughed. “I’m ashamed to say that I was good at being sexy for a camera. But I am a far cry from Dr. Ruth. A sexpert? That alone tells me I shouldn’t do it.”

“Look, Dee,” Seven said in a low, conspiratorial voice. “You’re as devout of a Christian as I know. But with this very phone in my hand, I could google nude images of you in seconds. Not only that, but videos of you also having sex with other women.”

I felt my face get hot with both anger and embarrassment. He was bringing up my Achilles heel. God has helped me immensely to deal with my past. It also true that my husband has held me in his big, strong arms as I wept over the fact that I was still causing way more men to sin than women to being brought to Christ.

“When I was a foolish, drug addled young woman, I was paid to be perverse, and the people that paid me own the images. Those images of me are on the worldwide web until God creates a new heaven and a new earth. (Revelation 21:1). So there is nothing I can do about it.”

“But there’s something you can do about it,” Seven said, and this is where he first hooked his fish. I went from desiring to slap him as hard as I could, to curious and intrigued.

“What can I possibly do about it?” I asked skeptically, yet hopeful.

“Don’t you see,” he said, his eyes dancing with merriment. “By partnering with me on my podcast, you can counteract your former career in porn.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, even though I began to see where he was going with this. My own flesh began to now tingle with excitement rather than apprehension.

“Right now, you are only known on the internet for your porn career. Sure, it’s also documented that you are not only not active anymore, but a devout Christian who warns against it. But that’s a tiny segment compared to dozens of videos and thousands of pictures. On my podcast, you will have a voice, and could even have video, in opposition to your former career, your former lifestyle.”

He was right! I could possibly become more known for teaching and preaching about sexual immorality and exploitation than I was for indulging in it. Yet I still didn’t fully understand his plan. How exactly was he going to intertwine interviewing couples that survived adultery to preaching against adult entertainment? I asked him this.

“We’ll work that out,” he said with a shrug. “And I do mean we. You and I will be a team. Not only that, but you will also have full say on what’s appropriate and what’s not. What you are comfortable with, and not.”

“I have to admit, I’m already considering it,” I replied calmly, even though I wanted to shout, I’ll do it! “But I’m going to need a day or two to pray about it and discuss it with Brock.”

“Fair enough, take all the time you need.”

We had a moment of silence. This was always odd with Seven. He was one of the most talkative people I had ever met. I always marveled that Seven and my husband looked more alike than Seven did with his own twin. Genetics can work in strange ways. Yet they couldn’t be more opposite in most other ways.

If I had to compare their looks to somebody well known, I would have to say George Clooney. But Brock was built like a pro wrestler, while Seven was built like a long distance runner. My husband was scared and weathered, albeit in a distinguished way, whereas Seven was smooth and kind of pretty. Brock tended to be quiet and contemplative, whereas Seven was inclined to be noisy and opinionated.

“Can I ask you something personal?” I asked.

“Okay,” Seven replied cautiously as he arched an eyebrow at me.

“Does your fascination with love triangles have anything to do with your own?”

“Whatever do you mean?” Seven responded with a sing song voice, causing me to giggle.

“I think you know what I mean.”

“Actually, I do know what you mean. Obviously, you’re referring to Salena and Zella. But it seems to be resolved now.”

“Really? Do tell.”

“Yeah, I decided Salena was a better fit for me. Her spiritual beliefs are more in line with mine.”

“Oh,” I replied, apparently unable to hide my disappointment.

“What?” Seven said with something like hurt in his expression. “Don’t you like Salena?”

“Oh, I like her just fine for how little I know her. But Zella and I have become pretty close friends, especially over the last few weeks. We’ve gotten together several times since Sevenia’s lecture studies began and have really bonded. I think she’s getting close to making a decision for Christ. The day before yesterday she was asking me about baptism.”

“Really?” Seven replied with a baffled expression. “Why hasn’t she told me this?”

“She’s very hurt by, well, hurting you.”

“What do you mean?” Seven asked with a low, concerned tone.

“She told me she snuck you alcohol.”

“Anything else?”

“That she surprised you by coming out in a sheer negligee.”

“Anything else?”

“That you two knew each other in the biblical sense.”

Seven groaned and bowed his head so it was resting against the top of his steering wheel. “You probably think I’m the biggest hypocrite.”

I shrugged. “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. It doesn’t seem like you and she are continuing in sin. Besides, I’m sure your judgement was impaired with a buzz.”

“I can’t blame it on that,” Seven whined in a self-deprecating way. “It was mostly seeing her basically in the nude that made me cave. I mean that coupled with the fact that I’ve always found her incredibly attractive anyway.”

“What do you think of her new hair style?”

“Her whole new look even,” Seven replied. “The last two times I’ve seen her she’s worn a long skirt with sneakers. It’s both intriguing and a little creepy.”

“Creepy. Why creepy?”

“It’s a little like being attracted to my daughter.”

I frowned in contemplation. “I guess it is quite similar. But so many women at church wear long skirts that I hadn’t really considered it. Hey, check that out.”

Seven turned his gaze where mine was. Under a light just outside of the church, Salina and Zella appeared to be looking up scriptures together with their Bibles. Seven groaned, and his head thunked against his steering wheel again.

(DESTINY’S NOTES FROM SEVENIA’S 4^th LESSON: WHY NOT TO BE AFRAID OF DEATH)

Death is not a punishment from God, but something He is trying to save you from.

Eden means pleasure. See Genesis 2:16, 17

God did not say he would kill if they ate from the tree of life, he warned that they would surely die. Is there a difference between a warning and a threat? Yes!

Look up Romans 6:20-23

Death is a natural and inevitable consequence of sin and separation. See James 1:14, 15

Is God the causer of death? No, He is the giver of life! See Proverbs 8:35, 36

God gave sinners up TO and OVER to their sins. God did not give up ON them. See Romans 1:24, 26, 28

Look up Romans 8:2

Isaiah tells us why 59:1, 2

Clearly God is comfortable in the presence of sinners. Sinners aren’t comfortable in the presence of God. When the woman washes Jesus’ feet, He wasn’t offended, but appreciated her gesture. It was the religious zealots that were offended that he allowed a “sinner” to do it.

There are two kinds of death.

The first death is referred to, as a sleep. See Matthew 9:23-25, Mark 5:38-42, Luke 8:49-55, John 11:11-26. In each of these Jesus refers to death as a sleep. See also Acts 7:59, 60, 2Peter 3:4

The phrase “slept with his fathers” occurs 36 times in the Old Testament.

The Bible warns against trying to make contact with the dead. Deuteronomy 18:9-12, Leviticus 19:31, Leviticus 20:6, Deuteronomy 32:16-21, Psalm 106:36-38, 1Samuel chapter 28

Jesus died the second death! Not just the first.

Look up Matthew 10:28

Not just 2 deaths, but 2 resurrections. One of “life” and one of “condemnation.” See John 5:29, compare Acts 24:15

Read Matthew 26:36-39. I loved how Sevenia pointed out that Jesus’ soul was dying not a physical death, but the second death several hours before He experienced any physical torture from His adversaries. For our sins! Thank you precious Savior!

He was being numbered with the transgressors. See Isaiah 53:12

Look up Matthew 27:46, John 1:18, John 10:30

God was broken to heal human brokenness.

While Jesus had previously spoken confidently of His resurrection (Matthew 17:22, 23) Now, as He hung on the cross, bearing the crushing weight of OUR sins upon His conscience, he was enshrouded in mental darkness and felt completely separated from the Father. Psalm 88 is a messianic prophecy that describes just how deep the mental darkness was into which Jesus was plunged… and yet Jesus suffered all of this voluntarily. (Ty Gibson)

Look up John 10:17, 18, and John 19:10, 11, Matthew 26:53

Jesus’ resurrection is the believer’s guarantee of rescue from death.

Look up Acts 2:24, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, John 15:13,15, Revelation 1:18

LIX

AND BE YE KIND ONE TO ANOTHER, TENDERHEARTED, FORGIVING ONE ANOTHER, EVEN AS GOD FOR CHRIST’S SAKE HATH FORGIVEN YOU

JAMES 4:32

SEVEN SALLIE (FATHER OF SEVENIA GIRL PROPHETESS)

I felt every bit as uncomfortable at the next Bible study a week later as I did at the previous one. Both of the women I had romantic interest in were there, and the tension between the three of us had only grown over a week’s time.

After the first study, I had a talk with Salena in the parking lot. I confessed my transgression with Zella the previous night. After what she had done with my brother six months earlier, I felt surprisingly comfortable telling her about Zella and me. I was confident she would be sympathetic and understanding. I was wrong! She actually became indignant. This caused my own vexation. I pointed out similar behavior between her and my brother. She pointed out that we were strictly platonic friends at the time of her indiscretion with my twin.

“So, are you gonna tell me that the reason that you slept with Zella was three unwitting glasses of Twisted Tea?” Salena asked heatedly.

Life was so much easier when these two women were simply my friends.

“Well, um, no,” I stammered. My mind’s eye watched Zella coming out of her bedroom wearing little more than her birthday suit. I shook my head and rubbed my eyes.

“What’s the matter?” Salena asked.

“Nothing, just clearing my head.”

“From what, picturing Zella naked?”

My eyes widened. Zella was supposed to be the former psychic, not Salena. Not that I believed in psychic phenomenon. Zella explains that she’s highly intuitive.

“Way to be like Joseph and flee,” she said.

“Huh?” I replied stupidly.

“I doubt Potiphar’s wife was homely. I’m sure she was extraordinarily beautiful. Yet he fled when she propositioned him. You probably didn’t even consider that as an option.”

“I did too,” I blurted. Then frowned as I realized I didn’t give serious thought to it, although it did cross my mind. “I think, maybe. Well, no, I guess not. But Joseph hadn’t been toying with romance with Potiphar’s wife. Before my conversion, I was actively pursuing Zella romantically. Then we became close friends after. I don’t think you’re making a fair comparison.”

She snorted and began to walk away. “We’ll talk later.”

A week went by and I had not talked to either woman. I had tried to call Salena twice, and she didn’t answer or respond. I had thought of calling Zella several times, but I stubbornly felt like she should contact me with an apology. Yet, the more I thought on that, the more I realized I was being unreasonable. After the study, I would apologize to her. I wanted to at least to reconcile a truce between us if we couldn’t repair our friendship.

But Zella showed up right at 7pm on the dot, so we couldn’t talk beforehand. She was also the first to leave a split second after the study concluded. The next day I called her and left a voice mail asking her to call me. She didn’t. I called Salena, and we had a good conversation. We agreed to remain friends only until after the baby was born.

Salena and I talked daily, and seemed to get back on track. The night before the third study, we had a really nice dinner together and great conversation. When she walked me to her door at the end of the evening, on impulse I kissed her on the lips. She seemed to kiss me back. So I kissed her again. She pushed me away.

“Have you forgot our agreement already?” she asked, giggling like a schoolgirl.

“You’re just so beautiful,” I told her as I ran my knuckles over her cheek. “It’s so pleasantly strange how kissing you is both new and familiar.”

“I know,” she said with an expression of awe. Then she paused and studied me for a few seconds. “How about we revise our rule and can kiss each other good night?”

“Works for me,” I said as I leaned in quickly and kissed her.

“Hey now,” she scolded with a grin. “A kiss good night, meaning one.”

“Starting now,” I said, leaning in again.

She stopped me. “Enough Seven.”

“This ones not for you,” I replied, going to one knee and kissing her pregnant belly. “Good night, little guy.”

The two week silence between Zella and me made her feel more distant. Her betrayal in giving me alcohol, especially without apology made me realize I couldn’t fully trust her. But I desperately wanted peace between us. At the third lesson, I asked Brock if he would man the slide projector for me. He said no problem and asked me to show him what to do.

Zella actually arrived two minutes early. I almost didn’t recognize her. She had cut her hair. I mean she really cut her hair. She usually wore braids that went past the middle of her back that I loved.  Now her hair was maybe three or four inches long. But she looked cute, even stunning as the new hairdo somehow enhanced her sharp, angular facial features.

She also wore a denim skirt rather than her typical form fitting jeans or spandex leggings. She had on a pink t-shirt that declared life to be good covered with by a navy sweater, unbuttoned. Her legs were covered with navy tights, and New Balance running shoes protected her feet. It occurred to me that from her hairdo, down to her sneakers, it was eerily similar to Sevenia’s usual attire. Was this healthy or unhealthy, or did it simply not matter? I sat down next to her and detected surprise in her eyes.

“Hi,” I said.

“Hi,” she replied.

“Can we talk after the study?”

“About what?”

About what? Why couldn’t she just say yes, no, or okay. “You know, stuff.”

“What kind of stuff?”

“Well, us.”

“I didn’t think there was an us anymore.”

“Listen, can we talk after the study or not?”

“Sure,” she said, nodding and looking at me cautiously. Her lovely, big, almond shaped eyes, wide and expressive. Those intense windows to the soul that stared into mine as we made love. I quickly looked away. Then turned my gaze on her hair.

“Your new hairdo looks nice,” I told her.

“Thank you,” Zella said with a shy smile as she touched a hand to it. “I felt it was time for change. In more ways than one actually.”

I wanted to ask her what she meant, but there wasn’t time as my daughter petitioned the class to open with prayer.

An hour and a half later Zella and I stood next to a wall in the church foyer and awkwardly commenced a conversation.

“Listen Zella, I, ah…”

“I’m sorry,” she blurted forcefully, then placed a hand to her chest and gasped.

“Huh?” I replied dumbly.

“What I did to you was despicable, unforgiveable,” she said as she wiped a tear from the corner of an eye. “The truth is, I’ve been in love with you for quite some time now. And to be honest, it scared me. But when you told me you chose Salena over me, that scared me even more. I panicked. I thought if I gave you what most men crave, you might change your mind. But you’ve become principled. So I tried to numb your inhibitions with a little Twisted Tea, and tantalize your manhood with my womanhood.”

“It was some kind of womanhood,” I thought, and then realized I had actually quietly spoken it.

“What?” she asked with a shy smile.

“Oh, um, nothing,” I stammered.

Thankfully, she let me of the hook and asked. “So do you forgive me? I truly hope you haven’t relapsed into drinking. I should have apologized before now, but the truth is I have been just down right chicken. Even after I heard your message asking me to call you. I must have picked up my phone to call you a hundred times, but lost my nerve.”

“I absolutely forgive you. And no, I haven’t drank again since that night,” I told her and then smiled warmly. “You know, you could have just texted.”

“I thought about that too,” she said with a shoulder shrug. “But it somehow seemed disingenuous.”

I nodded.

“Wow, I’m so glad you asked me to talk,” she said with breathy little laugh. “It felt good to get that off my chest. By the way, what did you want to talk to me about?”

“I just wanted to make sure we were good,” I said.

She smiled and nodded. We had a moment of awkward silence. Her hairdo was really growing on me, she looked incredibly cute. My mind’s eye pictured her walking out of the bedroom in that negligee with this hair style. I shook my head as I cleared the thought. Bring every thought to the obedience of Christ, I half thought half prayed.

“You okay?”

“Yeah,” I said smiling. I hoped not sheepishly. “It’s been a long day.”

“You know,” she said and then paused, eyeing me cautiously. “I’m glad we made peace and all. But you know our friendship is drastically different now. Maybe even over.”

“What do you mean?” I asked dumbly, which is easy for me to do.

“So, tell me,” she asked with a sarcastic laugh. “If you end up heading toward marriage with Salena, do you really think our friendship will be the same as it has been? And where it has slowly been trending? I mean what happens with that? It wasn’t one sided, Seven, that’s why I got desperate and tricked you.”

How stupid could I be! I had been so preoccupied with the present chaos, I wasn’t thinking much about the future. Other than it seemed ruined with Zella and damaged with Salena. I just stood and gazed moronically at Zella. Obviously if I pursued Salena romantically, I could no longer hang with Zella too. Especially after our indiscretion two weeks ago.

She snorted a humorless laugh and said, “See ya next week, Seven.”

“See ya,” I replied, as I sadly watched her walk away, feeling that it was a subtle goodbye.

(Destiny Knight-Storm’s notes from Sevenia Sallie’s 3rd lesson: Is God Good?)

Oh taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the person that trusts in Him. (Psalm 34:8).

If I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to me. (John 12:32).

You cannot drive someone to faith, they must be drawn.

You cannot force someone to love you. God wants obedience due to love for Him.

God created our universe and our world, and He made them good. (See the first chapters of Genesis).

So much good: Friendship and connection. Love, marriage, and sex. Babies, children, and family. Mangoes, blueberries, peaches, and other good food. Music, melody, harmony, and rhythm.

Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for these desires exist. A body feels hunger; well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim; well, there is such a thing as water. Men feel sexual desire; well, there is such a thing as sex. If I find a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. (C.S. Lewis).

You will show me the path of life: in your presence is the fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. (Psalm 16:11).

You were created for pleasure, joy, and Holiness, and these are not different things.

Delight yourself in the Lord; and he shall give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4).

Who better to fulfill our desires than Him who made the heart to desire?

The first step is delighting yourself in your maker.

Universally, we crave meaning goodness and joy.

The God that our hearts craves is the God of scripture.

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled. (Matthew 5:6)

Jesus said, “I am the bread of life: he that comes to me shall never hunger; and he that believes on me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35).

Reality is compellingly explained in the context of “God is love.”

We take for granted the opportunity to: Individuality, freedom, love, risk, meaning.

To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one. Wrap it up carefully with hobbies and little luxuries. Avoid all entanglement; lock it up safely in the casket of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless- it will change. It won’t become broken, it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. (C.S. Lewis).

God’s greatest strength is His love, and therefore His vulnerability. Hence the most quoted scripture. (John 3:16).

The story of scripture is that God will ultimately fix the world by promise, not by power.

“He that has seen Me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9). God did not show us what He is, but who He is. Jesus was saying I am what God is like. I and my Father are one.

The good news is not that God gave someone to die for our sins, but he gave Himself.

Look up John 10: 17-19.

Jesus revealed a new kind of power, a new kind of strength. That of love and self-sacrifice.

So impressed with how Sevenia is building a foundation before she gets to harder truths. I can tell that the girls I’ve been bringing are very enthralled. Is she really only seventeen years old? I wish I was like her at that age.

LVIII

BUT EVERY MAN IS TEMPTED, WHEN HE IS DRAWN AWAY OF HIS OWN LUST AND ENTICED.

JAMES 1:14

SEVEN SALLIE (FATHER OF SEVENIA GIRL PROPHETESS)

I was so pleased with my daughter. She was such a natural teacher. Although she does physically look her age, you otherwise never would have guessed she was only seventeen years old as she taught the class. Other than the road bump at the beginning, her first Bible prophecy study/lecture couldn’t have went better.

After my daughter closed the study with prayer, my heart began to slam against my chest as I pondered the level of awkwardness that would ensue between Zella, Salena, and myself. The two women I had been platonic friends with for the last two years. I currently was experiencing a degree of romance with both! Or I was? Regardless, changes would definitely be in the works after the strange happenings of the previous day and night.

Zella is a beautiful, lithe African-American woman. She was the first to rise and go to my daughter. I couldn’t hear what she said, but I read Sevenia’s lips as she thanked her. Then Zella turned, and without giving me a glance, walked briskly out of the door. I was both relieved and disappointed. Yet I desperately needed to talk to her about last night. I rose to go after her, but as I did, I looked at Salena. She was giving me a sad smile. This caused me to sit back down.

Salena was beyond lovely, voluptuous and of Mexican-American decent. She was also my first love. She broke my heart by marrying another man right after we graduated high school. I had harbored hidden jealousy and resentment for years. These jealous feelings surfaced again after she had a brief fling with my twin brother. She became pregnant from this tryst.

At the time of conception, I was in the process of transferring my feelings for Zella from friendship over to romantic. Yet envy ate at me over Salena and my brother. When Salena and I dated, we were saving ourselves for marriage. The deepest intimacy we had ever shared was kissing.

I know what my brother experienced with her was fornication, but it still bothered me that my brother actually enjoyed becoming one with her in the most intimate sense. Even if it was a lapse of temperance and judgement on their part.

However my brother, having recently lost his wife, was not fit for a new relationship. Years of a secret hedonistic lifestyle also played a role in him telling me I should be with Salena. I should play the role of father to his child. In my head it was the biggest “yeah right” of my life. But then something changed in my thinking.

As I prayed earnestly over my love for Zella, I increasingly became convicted that we would not ever be a spiritual match. She did not embrace Christianity. Even after the powerful experience of Lexi Gomez’s deliverance from demon possession. If that wouldn’t change her heart, what would?

Then something happened. Although I had long harbored feelings of jealousy, I also had never stopped loving Salena. It occurred to me that our spiritual beliefs were more in harmony than were Zella and me. Plus, my brother made a couple profound points.

Biology shouldn’t matter, it was pride that made it an issue. Salena made a mistake by becoming drunk and then sinned by having sex with my brother. She in no way had cheated on me because we were not romantically involved. My brother even asked my permission to pursue her affections. At the time, I told him to go for it, never thinking he would succeed. Even though I was wrong, I wasn’t wronged by either party.  

Salena’s baby needed a father. My brother Six pointed out that I would be raising my own nephew. I’m ashamed to say, the thought of raising blood kin was a turning point for me. It shouldn’t have been, but it was. I’m definitely not somebody you would want to pattern you life after. My daughter, maybe, but the only sure bet is Jesus.

Plus I liked feeling needed.  Another thing my brother told me as I balked at pursuing a woman he knew I cared for. He said my German heritage makes me stubborn. I asked him what his German heritage made him. He replied industrious. We both laughed. Yet he was right. I had strong tendencies toward stubbornness. Not only that, but pride and arrogance, among other things. Conversion doesn’t mean you’ve arrived, but you better be growing.

So, I told Salena I was interested in pursuing a deeper relationship than just friends. I asked her if she was interested, and she was. Then yesterday, for the first time in two decades, Salena and I kissed passionately. After a few minutes of this, I told her that I needed to have a talk with Zella. I needed to let Zella know that we weren’t going to be a good fit, and that I was exploring a relationship with Salena. That evening I met Zella at her place.

“I get the feeling this isn’t gonna be good,” she said with a hesitant smirk after we sat down together on her sofa. She crossed one long jean clad leg over the other. She propped an elbow against the back of the couch and leaned her jaw into a closed fist. Would she be punching me with that fist when I told her the truth of my feelings?

I bluntly told her in a nutshell what was what. Rather than burst into tears, she stared blankly at me and lazily said, “okay.”

“Let me explain,” I stammered. “I, um, I, I…”

“Let me get into something more comfortable first,” she said casually and coolly. “Can I get you a raspberry tea?”

“That’d be great,” I said with a nervous smile.

She smirked and disappeared into her kitchen. I frowned. I dreaded the thought of tears, but selfishly, her nonchalance hurt. She returned a couple minutes later with a glass of iced tea. She knew that since I had quit drinking, Lipton raspberry tea was my drink of choice. I know it’s not the healthiest beverage, but better than the whiskey I had been drinking. The fact that she brought it in a glass instead of the plastic bottle it came in, which is how I usually drank it, should have been my first clue I was being set up.

“I know you prefer Lipton,” she said matter of fact. “But this off brand cost more. Trust me, it’s tasty. If you like it, there’s a full pitcher in the fridge.”

This should have been my second clue. She went into her bedroom. I downed the whole glass in about a minute. She was right about it being smooth and tasty. But I frowned and sniffed the glass. This should have been my third clue. Was there alcohol in this? I sniffed again. Keep in mind I was used to straight up whiskey. No, Zella wouldn’t give me anything with alcohol in it because she knew my struggle with addiction.

I retrieved another glass. Halfway through it, I thought, am I getting a buzz? But this is where Jeremiah 17:9 (The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it) kicked into full gear for both Zella and me. I now suspected that the tea was tainted, yet I played Barney Fife and pretended, even to myself, that I was blissfully unaware.

I looked at the time and frowned. Zella had been gone more than ten minutes. How long did it take to change into a pair of sweats? I retrieved a third glass of tea, feeling really good and telling myself, there’s no way Zella would be giving me alcohol.

“It’s about time,” I chuckled when I heard her bedroom door open.

 I turned to look at her and my jaw dropped to the floor. Then I bolted to a standing position. “Zella! What the!”

She was wearing a seductive grin. The smile she wore was more than the negligee that barely reached her thighs. I think it was pink, but it was so sheer, I wasn’t sure.

“Don’t you like it?” she asked as she placed her hands on her hips.

“I thought you were changing into something more comfortable,” I stammered as I fought to keep my eyes on hers. They desperately wanted to roam downward.

“This is more comfortable.”

“Zella, what kind of tea was that?”

“Raspberry.”

“I mean, was there alcohol in it?”

“You talk too much,” she replied and kissed me.

I was done. Not only did I not resist, but she also proceeded to seduce me and I let her. I don’t know how much time elapsed, an hour, more like two. I was dozing when I heard my phone. I scrambled out of Zella’s bed and ran to the living room to retrieve it. It was Salena!

She asked if I had talked to Zella. I told her that I did, and then I began to ramble. I had to have sounded guilty as the sins I had just committed, but she perceived it differently.

“I can tell it was really difficult for you,” she said sympathetically. “I’ll let you go and talk to you tomorrow.”

I stood in Zella’s living room and stared numbly at nothing. I heard her pad up behind me, her arms snaked around me, and she hugged my back side. Her voice was sultry when she spoke. “Salena I presume? Did you tell her you decided on me rather than her? Did you tell her that when we became one, you declared your love for me?”

I honestly couldn’t tell if she was being serious or disingenuous. I gently, yet firmly, released her arms from me and dashed back into her room, dressing hastily. She leaned against the door jam, her arms folded under her bare chest and watched me with a blank expression.

“So you lied then?” she asked blandly.

I didn’t know if she meant when I had just talked to Salena, or when I proclaimed my love for her when I was consumed in lustful passion mere moments ago.

“Let me ask you something,” I said boldly. “Did you spike that tea?”

“No,” she barked.

“So you’re gonna stand there and tell me that there was no alcohol in that tea?”

“No, I said I didn’t spike it.”

“So there was alcohol in it?”

“You tell me. Does Twisted Tea have alcohol in it?”

“You know it does.”

“Then yes it did.”

“How could you do that? You know I’m a recovering alcoholic!”

“Oh, give me a break. A few glasses of tainted tea isn’t gonna make you an out of control drunk again. If it does, this so called faith you want me to share and you dumping me because I don’t have it to your standards, it’s pathetically fragile.”

“Well, addiction is fragile.”

“So is playing with somebodies heart,” she declared with a quivering lip and tears beginning to spill from her lovely almond shaped eyes.

This wasn’t fair, was it? I questioned.

“Come on Zella, you owe me an apology, not drama,” I mistakenly said. Talk about poking a beast. Her lip stopped quivering and her teeth clenched. Her teary, blood shot eyes now glared daggers at me. She took three quick steps toward me and pointed a finger in my face, the tip of her nail grazing my nose.

“I’ll have you know mister that all’s fair in love and war. Until tonight, I haven’t been intimate with a man in nearly half a decade. I spent two years with a growing attraction toward you. Just when I’m convinced we will be nothing more than friends, you insinuate more. We start cautiously talking of a future together. You start holding my hand, and kissing my cheek in greeting and goodbyes. Then shortly after that you move it up to pecks on the lips. Then tonight you come waltzing in here and tell me that you’re better suited for another woman!”

I didn’t know what to say. I ran a hand through my hair and looked at my feet, unable to look Zella in the eyes. Then my brain told my mouth to say something without me really thinking about it. “I can’t believe you gave me alcohol.”

“Get out of here,” she said with menacing calm. “Go back to the woman that more closely shares your beliefs. You know, the woman that left you twenty years ago for a man old enough to be her grandfather. A woman with such strong faith she chose old money over young love. A woman, your apparent spiritual peer, who is such a rock of faith that she got drunk and is now pregnant by your brother.”

I just stood there, my brain in a muddle. I felt so many things. Love for two women. Betrayal by two women. Confused over my affection for two women. Forgiveness for two women. “Everyone makes mistakes.”

“Thank you for that,” Zella said sarcastically as she nodded her head. “Now, please go.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” I barked. “Some friend you are. What kind of friend sneaks alcohol to an alcoholic?”

Even though I felt bad about the look of surprise and regret on Zella’s face, I slammed the door behind me.

(Destiny Knight-Storm’s notes from Sevenia’s 2^nd lesson: Can We Believe the Bible?)

Oh taste and see that the Lord is good. (Psalm 34:8)

You can remain skeptical about an idea or a philosophy. But God became a person.

No one can understand God completely no matter how much you’ve studied, prayed, or how long you have been a Christian. It will always be a growing, learning process.

‘For now we see through a glass darkly.’ (I Corinthians 13:12)

The story is compelling. God became broken, to heal human brokenness. Even if it wasn’t real, can you think of a more intriguing story than that of Jesus?

What you call defeat I call a miracle: for to make things which are not itself and thus to become, in a sense capable of being resisted by its own handiwork. Is the most astonishing of all the feats we attribute to Deity. (C.S. Lewis).

The story is experientially persuasive

‘And there was a war in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels. And prevailed not; and neither was their place found anymore in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the devil and Satan, which deceives the whole world: he was cast out into the earth. (Revelation 12: 7-9).

Conflict lies at the very heart of reality.

Even with the fascination with superhero’s like Batman, Superman, and Spiderman etc. At the heart of this phenomenon of entertainment is that human beings know we are in trouble and need a deliverer.

We are all going through a war, an internal struggle with self and sin.

‘For I know that in me, that is in my flesh, dwells no good thing.’ (Romans 7:18).

It’s as if we are prisoners in our own bodies.

Anger: at injustice and pain

Confusion: over the state of things

Helplessness: to bring about change

Desire/hope: for something better

Frustration: over repeated failings

Shame/guilt: from awareness of our sins

Despair: a sense of resignation

Fear: I’ll never be all that I should or ought to be

Dysfunction: in our relationships

Conflict is at the heart of the way we see ourselves and our world.

‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Not as the world give I to you. Let not your heart be troubled; neither let it be afraid. (John 14:27).

Jesus is the most influential person in human history.

The new Republic December 4, 2013 ranked the most influential people in human history along one dimension: Significance. The following is the top ten. 1. Jesus 2. Napoleon 3. Mohammed 4. Shakespeare 5. Abraham Lincoln 6.George Washington 7. Hitler 8. Aristotle 9. Alexander the Great 10. Thomas Jefferson.

Jesus, number one on the list, an obscure carpenter/rabbi who lived 2000 years ago said in John 12:32. “If I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to me.” Jesus is in fact worshipped all over the world to this day.

All of the rulers and kings in history put together have never affected mankind like Jesus has. His is a story and a life worth orbiting your own around.

Bible prophecies are accurate. Historians tell us the past. Journalist are supposed to tell us the present. Only the Bible can tell us the future. It told of Israel’s failures, judgment, and captivity. The destruction of Jerusalem. Messianic/Jesus prophecies. Daniels many prophecies. The end time prophecies of Revelation.  

(FYI: Destiny’s notes are based off of ‘5 reasons’ seminar videos by David Asscherick which can be found on YouTube or The Hope Channel).

LVII

IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD, AND THE WORD WAS WITH GOD, AND THE WORD WAS GOD. THE SAME WAS IN THE BEGINNING WITH GOD.

JOHN 1:1, 2

DESTINY KNIGHT-STORM (WIFE OF BROCK STORM)

(THEIR STORY IS TOLD IN THE E-BOOK ‘KNIGHT STORM’ BY JOHNATHAN EMBERS)

I have been doing lay ministry for more than three years now. I mostly help my Aunt Belle with the ministry she started over thirty years ago helping girls escape the sick, slippery world of adult entertainment. She probably never guessed she would one day help her own niece in the aftermath of her own career in porn. Especially after I had been an embarrassing mark on her ministry.

But she did just that four years ago now. She herself had been an exotic dancer for almost 20 years. She like me almost ended her own life. She like me followed some still small voice that told her not to do it. She like me had a profound spiritual occurrence soon after that. She like me experienced a Christian conversion not long after that.  I like her began to minister, mostly to young women.

(My Aunt Annabelle Knight’s story is briefly told in the e-book by Johnathan Embers titled ‘Spoiled Produce.’ A quirky little love story that took place in the mid 1980’s while the main protagonist worked for a wacky produce company.)

Recently I found myself doing just that, helping and guiding two young women who were possibly in the process of conversion. I was at Sevenia Sallie’s Bible prophecy study with two former exotic dancers. One thing I’ve learned doing ministry, whenever God’s people are at work, the dark side is there to disrupt, harass and get in the way.

I noticed immediately, right after we sat down, that there was a strange dynamic going on with Seven, Sevenia’s father, and two women I thought were just his friends. One of the women, Zella LaStella, who I really liked and wanted to get to know better, talked of spiritual struggle at the beginning of class.

The other woman, Salena, who I had only met once but thought was really nice, actually became rather snarky. She complained that we weren’t immediately getting to the subject at hand. She also seemed to belittle people struggling with faith.

Zella got up and stormed out. Then to my surprise, Salena followed after her. Seven followed her but stopped just outside the door and watched them. Apparently he was making sure a cat fight was not about to ensue. Especially since Salena appeared to be about six months pregnant.

I felt horrible for Sevenia. She’s such a sweet, Godly young lady. I love her immensely! She appeared so confident and filled with energy before the study began. After this incident, she looked like a deer in headlights. I hopped up and went to stand beside her.

“Everything will be alright,” I whispered to Sevenia with what I hoped was a relaxed smile. Then I spoke to everyone. “Why don’t we sing a hymn or two while this little disagreement gets settled?”

“Thank you,” Sevenia whispered back to me.

By the time we decided on the first hymn and sang it, the two women and Seven came back in. It was clear on the countenances of the two ladies that they had made peace. However Seven looked forlorn. The two women apologized for the disturbance. Especially Salena, insisting she was to blame.

Sevenia welcomed everyone again and opened her study lecture with prayer. Then she introduced us to the outline of her study. She said it would take at least eight to ten sessions to get through her various topics. She said that although our group was relatively small, all of our places in our spiritual journey were different.

Sevenia said that the first couple of lessons were going to deal with the question of God’s existence and whether or not we can have faith in the Bible. She said that although some of us have been over these topics many times, it never hurts to have spiritual realities reinforced. Yet if anyone chose to leave, she said she would understand completely and take no offense.

Sevenia paused briefly and glanced uneasily at Salena. Salena didn’t budge. But looking humble, even embarrassed, she smiled apologetically and nodded. Sevenia smiled back and began. As my custom was at a sermon, lecture, or study, I began to furiously take notes.

My husband Brock often teased me about my note taking. He never took notes himself. His usual comment was something like, ‘are you trying to write down every word they’re speaking?’ Well, my diligent writing didn’t go unnoticed at the study. So I was asked to write this addition to Seven’s blog, and to also include my notes at the end.

I politely declined, saying no one could probably understand my scribbling. They laughed and said it would be on the computer, not my own handwriting. I replied that I wasn’t just talking about penmanship. Then my husband, who had shown up late to the study due to a conflicting engagement spoke up.

“I think you should do it, Dee,” Brock said. “You don’t how much reading your notes after a sermon has helped me process the teachings.”

My mouth dropped open in surprise. The man who often teased me about being a note nerd read them! I couldn’t help teasing him a little and punching him playfully in his midsection. “You cheater!”

Brock put a hand to his stomach and doubled over as if my punch actually hurt his massive, bulging bicep. Then he looked up and grinned. “Not so sweetheart. There’s never been a test on a sermon, so how could it be cheating? Just the opposite as a matter of fact. Your notes might shed light for somebody in the ultimate test, the test of life and how we live it.”

“Point taken,” I said as I hugged and kissed my husband.

So, even though it makes me feel somewhat self-conscious, here are my notes if you’re interested.

(DESTINY’S NOTES ON THE EXISTENCE OF GOD)

The universe and time itself had a beginning: Genesis 1:1

My argument is that the best data we have are exactly what I would have predicted had I nothing to go on but the 5 books of Moses, the Psalms, and the Bible as a whole. (Arno Penzias: Physicist and astronomer.)

Sir Fredrick Hoyle, the cosmologist who proposed a “steady state” a universe with neither a beginning nor an end, was compelled by Dr. Penzias to abandon his theory. (New York Times 1978).

There could not have been an infinite number of days before today, or we could not have arrived at today. The data seems to indicate that it is open, this is precisely the universe that the Bible tells of.

David Berlinski: Author of books on mathematics and science: “The hypothesis of God’s existence and the facts of contemporary cosmology are consistent.”

Robert Jastrow: Astronomer, physicist, and NASA scientist: “For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance. He is about to conquer the highest peak. As he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.

It’s not that the universe is astonishing, beautiful, and unlikely. It’s that we know it is.

Life comes from life, comes from life, comes from life…

Anthony Flew: western philosopher and long time atheist changed his mind after studying DNA.

Something about DNA proved to him that a higher intelligence must have been involved in getting these extraordinarily diverse elements together. The enormous complexity with which the results were achieved. The intricate ends, self-replicating capabilities, and coded chemistry.

Even before DNA was discovered. People always knew that children often resembled their parents.

John 11:25: Jesus said, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.”

The best explanation of a mind is a mind.

Albert Einstein: “The most incomprehensible thing about this world, is that it is comprehensible. The eternal mystery of the world is its comprehensibility. The fact that it is comprehensible is a miracle.”

C.S. Lewis in his book ‘Mere Christianity.’ “If the world had no meaning, we wouldn’t know that it had no meaning.”

The human brain is the most complex organism in the world.

The human brain is made up of 100 to 200 billion neurons. An average of 7000 connections/neurons. More potential neuronal connections than electrons in the universe.

There are actual universal ought’s and ought not’s.

‘The Golden Rule’ of the New Testament. (Do as you would be done by). Is a summing up of what, at bottom, had always been known to be right. (C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity).

The moral law tells us the tune we ought to play. Our instincts are merely the keys. (C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity).

If God does not exist everything is permitted. (Fyodor Dostoevsky).

God’s love can be known personally and certainly.

Jesus answered and said unto them, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word; and my Father will love her or him, and we will come to her or him and make our home with her or him.” (John 14:23).

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. (1 John 4:8).

LVI

THERE SHALL COME IN THE LAST DAYS SCOFFERS WALKING AFTER THEIR OWN LUSTS

2 PETER 3:3

ZELLA La STELLA (FRIEND and ROMANTIC INTEREST OF SEVEN SALLIE)

“I have a confession,” I heard myself say and instantly regretted it. I could feel Seven squirm behind me. He didn’t deserve it after the despicable thing I did to him the previous night. I’m sure he thought I was about to reveal what happened between us. It did play a big role in the desperation I was feeling, but I wasn’t going to throw him under the bus. What happened was my fault, not his.

I was at an informal gathering, a study on Bible prophecy. There were not quite two dozen people congregated. Seven’s daughter Sevenia Sallie was holding court just as beautifully as the young woman she was.

“Okay, Zella,” Sevenia said sweetly.

“I fear I’ve blasphemed the Holy Spirit,” I said, and then bowed my head, not knowing what to say. I lifted my head and looked at Sevenia. She gazed at me with such love and compassion that I couldn’t stop my lower lip from quivering and a tear leaking out of my eye.

“Do you know why I don’t believe that’s true?” she asked with a pleasant smile.

“Why?” I asked with a frown.

“Because you wouldn’t be here if you had truly done that.”

“How do you know I haven’t come here as a scoffer?”

“Have you?”

“Well, no. Maybe sort of though. I mean, nothing seems to penetrate my hard heart.”

“This may be a dumb question, but have you given your heart to Christ?”

“That’s just it,” I replied. “I can’t seem to get myself to believe like you all do. Every time I do, doubts creep in. So called sin creeps in. I guess that’s why I’m here. I’m hoping your study will enlighten me. Cause me to truly believe and have faith in the Bible. But I fear that I won’t and I will go away an even bigger skeptic. If I do, I fear I will permanently slip back into the darkness of my nihilistic beliefs that I’ve held most of my life.”

“See!” Sevenia blurted cheerily. “You said slip back. That means you’re still searching, and active searching is the place we need to be, whether we are a new seeker for truth or a long time believer.”

Her optimism was contagious. I felt the more hopeful than I had in a long time, and it was only one day after I had done possibly the most appalling thing of my life. I turned to look at Seven. He was looking at me with a shell shocked countenance. But then he managed a smile. This gave me another boost of hopefulness. I feared I had ruined our friendship. Not only had Seven become a dear friend of mine, he had saved my life two years ago.

Seven and I also were both in attendance at the demon possession ordeal of Lexi Gomez. What we witnessed had a big impact on our lives. It awakened our minds to spiritual realities. First the extremely dark side, and then overwhelmingly light and love.  As a result, Seven became a born again Christian, and I was frightened into giving up my psychic reading business.

However, Lexi’s ordeal wasn’t my first go around with a, for lack of a better word, miraculous life change. I was housemates for several years with a beautiful woman named Willa Waconia. Willa and I first met on the west coast when we were both aspiring models. I was in an abusive relationship at the time, and her personal life wasn’t any better.

After Willa lamented posing incredibly nude in a famous magazine, the only advancing results being that she should do porn, she decided she wanted to go home. At the same time I was severely stressing over being the subject of a boyfriend control freak I could never satisfy. So I fled with her two thousand miles away to a state where she had relatives, Iowa.

She and I then went in together, buying an old Victorian house. I opened an herb store on the first floor with a psychic reading room in the back. Willa got into a strange form of prostitution. Her notoriety as a centerfold had given her a decent internet following. She became a dominatrix and developed a rather lucrative clientele of well to do men that wanted to be, well, punished by a hot, sexy, semi famous centerfold.

I never had a problem with any of her customers. I often thought that they were sick, perverse, and twisted. But they were always polite and respectful for the most part. Then a man named Billy Bob Booker entered her domain. He was definitely not her typical Jon.

When I say I did psychic readings, I should clarify that I’m not clairvoyant. I don’t even believe in it, just like my current struggles with the opposing belief system. As a psychic, I was mostly a con. Yet I justified it by believing I was highly intuitive. What I intuited about Billy Bob was that he was different. Very different! (The story of Willa and Billy Bob can be read in the e-book ‘Billy Bob Booker and the Hooker).

I volunteer at an animal shelter. I also had a chocolate lab of my own that had been traumatized by a man or men. Anyway, my dog Free hated men. When Billy Bob was a new client of Willa’s, I didn’t think much of him. Except he seemed to be more, for a lack of a better word, more peaceable than the average man. I thought he had a great aura.

As he waited for Willa in my store, he wandered toward the back room, which was actually off limits unless I was doing a reading for someone. Willa and I had personal pictures on the wall back there. He asked about one of Willa on a horse when she was quite young. At the time I couldn’t remember what I told him because my dog Free growled at him. He wanted to pet her, but I emphatically warned him to keep his distance. I told him that she didn’t like men and would bite.

I get busy with something and the next thing I knew, he was scratching Free’s belly! He was talking softly to her as if he was an angel or something. When he and Willa finished their business and he left, I asked her about him. Willa was absolutely stunned! Not only that I asked about one of her guys, which I had never done, but because Free let him scratch her belly. Like I said, Free hated men! And Billy Bob Booker is a big, muscular guy. Not quite as ripped as Brock Storm or as handsome, but at a glance, tough looking.

Willa told me that he wanted to hire her to go to a wedding his ex-fiancée and her current beau would be attending. She told me that she had declined. I explained to her in more detail about what transpired between Free and Billy Bob. She looked at my beloved chocolate Lab that hated men with awe. She ended up calling Billy Bob and telling him she would go with him.

Willa became close friends with Billy Bob, even though he had second thoughts about using her services. Billy Bob ended up rekindling his romance with his ex-fiancée. But even more surprising, his influence led Willa to become a born again Christian. Willa gave up her practice as a well-paid dominatrix. She is now a mother and a committed, conservative Christian. She traded her leather and whips for long dresses and a Holy Bible.

Fast forward to Seven and me. Like I said, after the Lexi deliverance ordeal, Seven became a Christian convert himself. I floundered as I searched and stumbled. But he and I still became good, close friends. We also had an attraction that began before the Lexi Gomez ordeal and wouldn’t go away.

Seven and I would have these amazingly deep spiritual discussions. Yet he tended to be on the side of faith while I was on the side of doubt. We also had deep personal conversations. With these, I tended to be vague while Seven was quite revealing. I also made it known that when it came to romance, I would be moving at a snail’s pace. Seven made it known that any future intimate partner of his would have to share his spiritual beliefs.

Since he told me everything, I had known that he had strong feelings for his first love, Salena. The previous night he told me regarding Salena that he was overcoming his feelings of jealousy and rejection. He said that she was also beginning to embrace his spiritual beliefs. He told me that since it was probably never going to work between him and me, he was considering marrying Salena! The moderate jealousy I had always felt over Salena turned extreme and became overpowering.

That’s when I did the biggest con job of my life. Afterwards Seven knew it. His words of rebuke still echoed in my head. Yet right here, right now, a day afterwards, he had just given me a reassuring smile. I was so pleased with this that I forgot my secret arch nemesis was part of this group. Then she spoke and forgive me, but my skin crawled.

“I don’t mean to be rude,” Salena said coldly. “But is this meeting going to be about Bible prophecy or personal problems?”

Poor Sevenia looked as if she had just been slapped. Her mouth opened, and then closed. I, in turn, wished I could crawl under a rock. I hadn’t felt this embarrassed since I had an incident as high school freshman with my menstrual cycle. Sevenia’s mouth opened and closed a second time. She looked at her father with anxious eyes. Seven stood, and this man that became famous and well to do by speaking began to stammer.

“We, ah, I, ah, see no reason why we can’t, um, do like Sevenia had said at the start,” he managed to say. “Understanding prophecy isn’t gonna do us much good if our souls aren’t nurtured in the process.”

“Right,” Salena said with a phony smile and a fake calmness to her voice. “So maybe you could have two separate studies. One to iron out the love of sin, and one to analyze so called prophecy.”

My embarrassment was replaced by anger. If this woman was beginning to share Seven’s spiritual beliefs, I had him all wrong. I wanted nothing to do with these Pharisees. I realized that my hand had reflexively gone into my purse and my thumb was stroking the smooth worry stone I had in there.

I stood and tossed the worry stone to Salena. “Let she that is without sin cast the first stone.”

I then walked briskly from the room. I heard even faster footsteps behind me. Was it Sevenia? Destiny? Please, oh please, Lord, let it be Seven I thought. Let him tell me he forgives me, loves me, wants me to not leave.

“Zella,” Salena said with croak. I turned and looked at the pregnant woman. Tears spilled from her pretty brown, almond shaped eyes. “I’m sorry. Your point was taken, and well deserved. If anyone should leave, it’s me.”

She put her face in her hands and sobbed. I stepped toward her and put a hand on her shoulder. “I forgive you.”

She lifted her head and her lower jaw stretched as she delicately wiped tears with both index fingers. She looked at me and forced a sad smile. “It’s just women’s intuition kicked in. I noticed the way you and Seven were looking at each other, and I became overwhelmed with jealousy.”

“I know the feeling,” I replied, forcing a sad smile of my own.

“Even though I’m pregnant by a brief, foolish, sinful fling with his brother,” she explained “He admitted to me the other day that he was in love with both you and me. He also said that my spiritual beliefs were more in line with his than yours are. He said he chose me if I would have them. I told him I would indeed have him.”

Suddenly, Salena looked horrified and pressed her hands to her cheeks.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, thinking maybe she was having a problem with her baby. She wasn’t exactly young to be having a baby.

“I assumed you already knew this right?” she asked.

“I did.”

“Good,” she said, letting out a breath with relief. “I thought so. That’s why I became so jealous. Seven said he needed to talk to you. That he needed to tell you his feelings and intentions. He was supposed to call me before the study tonight. He never did. Then I see the looks going on between you two.”

“What  kind  of  looks?” I asked slowly, not realizing how obvious the tension between Seven and me must have been. Did Sevenia and Destiny pick up on it as well?

“I don’t know,” Salena said with a shrug and a sigh. “It was like a look between forbidden lovers.”

I was thankful for my ebony skin. I could feel my face and neck get hot.

“It was, wasn’t it?” she inquired.

I cleared my throat. “Excuse me.”

“I think the opposite of him telling you he chose me over you happened,” she said softly.

“No, he told me. But to be honest, I tried to make a claim on him. But he rejected me. Angrily even, and I don’t blame him.”

“What happened?”

“I’m not saying,” I said with a sigh. “He’ll have to tell you.”

“Do you love him?” she asked.

“I do,” I groaned. “Immensely.”

“Me too,” she said with a sigh and a sad smile. Then to my surprise she offered her hand for me to shake. “May the best girl claim his affections. With no hard feelings?”

“Actually, I concede,” I replied humbly. “After what I did last night, I’m sure he’s more confirmed in his decision for you.”

“What happened?” She asked again, frowning.

“Like I said,” I replied calmly “That will be up to him to tell you. If he does, then I’ll tell you my side of the story. If you want to hear it, that is.”

“Okay, fair enough,” she said nodding, but looking confused. “But will you please come back to the study? I intend on apologizing to you in front of the rest of the group. I’d like to blame my behavior on pregnancy changing my hormones. But your rebuke hit home. I simply felt like a woman scorned.”

“You know, I didn’t like you just because, but you’re actually really awesome,” I laughed. “It’s no wonder Seven chose you over a wishy washy former psychic.”

“Are you kidding?” She chuckled nervously. “You’re gorgeous! You look like a combination of Halle Berry and Naomi Campbell.”

“You weren’t exactly wacked with an ugly stick,” I replied giggling.

We had a brief moment of enjoying our truce. Then before awkward silence ensued, Salena petitioned with a smile and a second offered hand, “Friends?”

“Friends,” I replied affectionately, ignoring her hand and gently hugging her.

“Will you come back in with me then?” she asked me. “I’ll apologize to the group and take blame for the drama.”

“Yes,” I croaked.

We turned to go back in. She took my hand in hers, and we grinned at each other and took a step toward the study room. We had only taken three steps when Seven came out the door. He stopped in his tracks. Looked at Salena and me hand in hand. He looked beyond confused as he ran a  hand through his hair.

“I don’t know if this is good or bad,” he mumbled almost to himself.

“It’s all good,” Salena and I said at the same time.

“But probably not for you,” Sevenia said sympathetically as she stepped beside her father.

LV

BEING CONFIDENT OF THIS VERY THING, THAT HE THAT HAS BEGUN A GOOD WORK IN YOU WILL PERFORM IT UNTIL THE DAY OF JESUS CHRIST

PHILIPPIANS 1:6

FATHER AND DAUGHTER

SEVEN SALLIE (FATHER OF SEVENIA SALLIE GIRL PROPHETESS)

My blood pressure must have been through the roof as my heart pounded against my chest! A dozen human beings were assembled in the church basement as my lovely daughter prepared to begin a study of Bible prophecy. However, it wasn’t her being the master of ceremonies that had me beyond nervous to just short of a panic attack. It was my own guilt, shame, and confusion.

Over the last two years, I had developed two platonic friendships with two different women. One was my first love and teenage girlfriend, Salena. Not quite two decades ago, Salena had broken up with me to marry an older, wealthy man for the sake of her impoverished family. A year after she became a widow, we became reacquainted.

The other woman was a former fortune teller by the name of Zella LaStella. She and I began an intense friendship after she and I witnessed the demon possession and deliverance of Lexi Gomez. I call our friendship intense due to the physical attraction and chemistry that simmered between us. Yet we remained platonic due to her extreme caution with romance and my religious conversion. Zella believed in the supernatural, but not the God of the Bible. Zella believed Jesus was a great man, teacher, and prophet. Although I believe those things too, I also believe Jesus is God. Zella did not.

Over the previous months, Zella had softened her stance against romance. I had relaxed my belief that we needed to share the same beliefs. But then I changed my mind. I saw too much turmoil in marriages that differed in belief systems. About the same time, I realized I had been denying a desire for Salena due to pride and jealousy.

Pride because she had dumped me to marry another man. Jealousy because she had a fling with my twin brother that led to her current state of pregnancy. But as I realized that Salena and I shared the same spiritual beliefs, I also realized my pride and jealousy were forms of self-love. I pushed self aside and began to rekindle my love for Salena. My new attitude became confirmed after hearing the story of Jack and Jill Griffin. Jack had waited several uncertain years for his wife to return to him after leaving him for another man. Jack’s situation was far more grueling than mine.

There was one element to my situation that was seemingly more difficult than their situation. Salena was pregnant by another man. However, that other man was my twin brother. So I would be raising my own nephew. My brother also suggested that I should be with Salena. That she loved me. That she needed me rather than him.

After weeks of consideration, I decided to ask Salena to marry me. The thought of finally consummating a marriage with Salena after all these years excited me. But first I felt that I needed to explain things to Zella. So last night I went to her house and explained the situation to her. She seemed to take it well. But then things went awry in a way I hadn’t expected. They went amiss in such a way that I couldn’t ask Salena to marry me right now. Maybe ever.

The Bible study was due to start at 7 pm. It was five minutes till 7. Both Salena and Zella had not arrived. There was no way I would pray that anyone would not show up for a Bible study. Yet as I heard the door open, I felt myself tense. Then I relaxed some when Destiny walked through the door with two young women. Then I re-tensed when Salena walked into the room right behind them.

We smiled and waved at each other, then I kept myself busy fiddling unnecessarily with the slide machine my daughter asked me to operate. I just couldn’t face Salena right now. The strange, unexpected happenings with Zella the previous night was too fresh on my mind

At 7:05 pm, there were sixteen of the roughly thirty people that had shown interest in the study. Zella was not one of them. At 7:07 pm, Sevenia welcomed everybody and I prematurely breathed a sigh of relief. Then the door opened and Zella stepped into the room.

“Sorry, I’m late,” she said as she gave Sevenia a warm, apologetic smile.

“No, you’re fine, Zella,” my daughter said happily. “This is just an informal gathering of friends.”

Zella eyed a dozen available chairs and chose one. As she made her way to it, our eyes met. Her eyes narrowed and seemed to glare at me for a few minutes, even though it was only a couple seconds. Then I think she smirked as she sat and crossed one shapely leg over another.

Zella looked like she could be Naomi Campbell’s daughter. She also didn’t subscribe to our church’s conservative tendency on dress. She was wearing form fitting leggings and a tight athletic top that was glued to her healthy form. Even though said top had long sleeves, the bottom of it rose several inches above her jeans revealing a flat muscular abdomen.

I glanced at Salena, who was staring somberly at Zella. She had a hand on her ever expanding belly, and forgive me, looked a little frumpy in a maternity dress that was a bit too big for her. Zella turned and looked at her. I felt my toes curl. I feared my night was about to become a nightmare. Were these two women aware of some confusing romantic competition between them that I didn’t understand?

Since the evening became an anxiety riddled blur for me, I will now turn this story over to my precious daughter.

SEVENIA SALLIE (GIRL PROPHETESS)

How ironic! I had just done an interview for my dad’s podcast on how a couple managed to save their marriage from a love triangle. Now at the beginning of what we hoped would be a regular Thursday night Bible prophecy study, my dad unintentionally had brought his own love triangle to the meeting.

Moments after Zella LaStella arrived, I noticed a strange look pass between her and my father. It was an odd combination of both hostility and affection. Then I saw Salena staring at Zella. Then Zella looked at Salena. Then the expression on my dad’s face looked like he was about to face a firing squad.

“Shall we open with prayer?” I asked loudly, snapping the strange aura between Salena, Zella, and my father. After I prayed vocally, I begged God silently that he would dispel any discord. So few of the human population thirsted and hungered after God, I knew Satan would be here trying to disrupt this quest for truth.

“Once again, welcome,” I said. “Thanks for coming. I believe I have at least met everyone of you here. I also know that many of you are new students of the Holy Bible. I also know that a few of you have doubts about believing the Bible. If our study accomplishes anything, it is my hope that it instills faith that this centuries old inspired book of books can be relied upon as the ultimate life guide.

“When I first joined Cotton Creek Cove, something Pastor Samson said to me has stuck with me ever since. He told me when this fellowship first began, he wanted the worship to be more of the format of an AA meeting rather than a religious service. That said, at any time you have a question, a comment, a concern, a struggle, a prayer request, please, please, please break in and make your need known.

“Okay, so we’re going to study Daniel and Revelation. Most evangelical churches teach that these prophecies are futuristic, as in haven’t been fulfilled yet. But we’re going to examine scripture and history and discover that much has actually already been fulfilled. We’ll also see the roll the United States will play.”

“Daniel and Revelation mention the United States?” Chloe, one of the ladies Destiny brought asked. “Like, by name?”

“Not by name,” I replied. “Much of Daniel and Revelation is symbolic. But as we examine the symbolic meanings, hopefully you will be able to see the various representations.”

“Why symbols?” Chloe asked. “Why didn’t God just come right out and say this is this and that is that?”

“Good question,” I replied. “My personal opinion is that God used symbols to protect His followers from the very antichrist system it warns us about. It is a persecuting power and the main reason the dark ages were called dark. In the early days of Christianity, the Bible was actually withheld in a large degree from non-clergy.”

Chloe nodded, along with a few others.

“Oh, before we get going, does everyone have a Bible?” I asked. Everyone nodded, except Zella. “Does anyone need one?”

Zella meekly raised her hand, and I handed her one.

“Please turn to Revelation Chapter one and verse one,” I instructed. “Revelation is the last book of the Bible. Destiny, could you read that for us?”

“Sure,” she replied merrily. “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to Him, to show to His servants, things which must shortly come to pass; and He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John.”

“Thanks, Dee,” I said cheerily, and then my face fell. I noticed Heather, the other girl Destiny had brought with her. She looked as though she were on the verge of tears. I couldn’t very well ask her if anything were wrong in front of everybody, so I made myself smile and pressed on.

“At the center of the prophecies we will be studying is Jesus and the law of God,” I continued. “The entire Bible itself is a Revelation of Jesus Christ. I find it fascinating that in the first couple chapters of the Bible, God creates a paradise. Then we have the fall of man. Then in the pages following, we have how God deals with fallen man. Most predominately the life, death, and resurrection of His Son for our salvation. Then in the last couple chapters of the Bible, God creates a new heaven and a new earth.

“But the central theme of the entire Bible is Jesus! The old testament looked forward to Jesus coming, and the new testament looks back. The two books go hand in hand. A lot of Christians just want to use the new testament and forget the old. Yet when Jesus quoted scripture, the scripture he quoted was obviously the old testament.

“Take the book of Matthew, the first book of the new testament. It has at least 129 references to the old testament. Many of those are prophecies concerning Jesus. When…”

A sob barked followed by a gasp. It was Heather. “I’m sorry. I don’t belong here.”

“Oh, Honey,” Destiny said as Heather picked up her things and began to rise. Destiny gently grasped her arm as Heather began to cry. “No matter what is going on in your life you are most certainly welcome here. You definitely belong here.”

“Would you like to talk in private?” I asked.

“No,” she said shaking her head. “You said we’re all friends. I don’t want to be fake. I gave my heart to Jesus a few weeks ago. Destiny was going to baptize me the day after tomorrow. But a few days ago, I had a drink with an old boyfriend. Actually a few. Then one thing led to another.”

She began crying again

“Heather,” I said softly as her tears brought tears to my own eyes. “Have you ever dropped the soap when you were taking a shower?”

“Of course,” she replied with a puzzled frown.

“What did you do?”

“I picked it up,” she shrugged.

“Did you stop showering?”

“Of course not.”

“What we’re doing here,” I said happily. “When we study and pray, it’s like we’re taking a spiritual shower. If you give in to sin, you don’t stop trying to get clean. You use more soap and water.”

“By soap and water, do you mean Bible and prayer?” She asked with a surprisingly shy smile for someone who used to be an exotic dancer.

I nodded. “And fellowship with your fellow fallen human beings. Philippians 1:6 tells us to be confident that He who began a good work in you will finish it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

Heather walked rapidly to me, hugged me and whispered, “Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome.”

“Destiny was so right about you,” she grinned and wiped at a stray tear. “I guess I’ll stay then.”

“Praise God!” I replied cheerily. “Please let me know if you ever want to get together and talk.”

“You’re so sweet,” she said as her eyes filled again. She returned to her seat.

I was about to continue when Zella spoke. “I have a confession.”

I looked from her to my dad. He looked as if someone had just shot him with a taser.

LIV

LORD, HOW OFTEN SHOULD SOMEONE SIN AGAINST ME AND I FORGIVE THEM? 7 TIMES? JESUS SAID TO HIM, I SAY NOT 7 TIMES, BUT 70 X 7 TIMES.

(MATTHEW 18:21, 22)

SEVENIA SALLIE (GIRL PROPHETESS)

My dad pulled me aside with a look of anguish on his face as he ran a hand through his dark hair. “I shouldn’t have had you do this interview.”

“What do you mean? Why?”

“For one thing, I don’t like you discussing ‘Fifty Shades of Grey.’”

“Dad, if anything, this discussion with the Griffin’s is only gonna make me less inclined to read something like that.”

“You mean you’re somewhat inclined to read something like that?”

“No, not at all,” I laughed. “I’m just saying.”

My dad and I went back and forth for a couple minutes. I had been in the midst of an interview with Jack and Jill. They were a couple whose marriage had survived a long love triangle. I must have reassured Dad that the graphic content would remain at ethical levels, because we resumed recording.

“Jill,” I began. “You were saying that if you hadn’t developed a habit of reading sexually explicit books, you don’t believe you ever would have entered into an adulterous relationship. Would you mind explaining?”

“Not at all,” she replied, even though she seemed stiff and uncomfortable as she forced a smile. “I had never really been the flirtatious type. I had never been the type to dress all that sexy. But even the year before my affair with Will began, I had started to wear tighter and more revealing clothes.”

“Jack,” I said. “Did you notice these changes in Jill during this period?”

“Well, like they say, hindsight is 20/20,” Jack said with a forced chuckle. “I noticed, but I actually liked what I was seeing. During the time she was indulging her secret hobby, she was also exercising like never before. Our intimate life increased to the frequency that it was when we were newlyweds. Even when she was in the midst of her affair, I was somewhat oblivious. Once again, in hindsight, I was in denial. I choked up her behavior to feeling healthy, rather than, um, feeling amorous.”

“So, how long was it after you started working for Will before the affair began?” I asked Jill.

“It was probably three or four months before we were physical for the first time,” she replied. “But flirtations began right away. It was subtle at first. He would simply compliment my looks and I would thank him with a sultry smile. Then his compliments slowly became more suggestive.

“He would verbally admire specific body parts. Instead of discouraging him, I would giggle, smile seductively, or even make my own suggestive comment. Then he began touching and groping. The me from a year previous would have slapped him and quit on the spot. But the new, naughty me encouraged him by rubbing up against him instead. It wasn’t long after the touching began before we kissed for the first time. Once we kissed we, ah, what’s a tactful way to put this?”

“There isn’t one,” Jack said somberly as he stared at the table, and I could see his jaw muscles tighten.

“I think we get the point,” I said, laughing uneasily. “So how long was the affair a secret, and what brought it out into the open?”

There was an uncomfortable silence for a few seconds. Keep in mind we were recording an interview. So a few seconds felt like a few minutes for me as the hostess. I was about to say ‘I am sorry if that was too blatant of a question’ when Jill thankfully spoke.

“It was secretive for about three years, because we were careful and not as frequent as you might imagine,” Jill said quietly. “We weren’t alone often, but we always waited until we were. But then we eventually began to get reckless. There was even an illicit thrill with being careless. But then we got caught by Will’s wife in an extremely compromising position, and it all came crashing down.”

Jill took a deep breath and sighed. She began to stare off into the distance and appeared to be holding back tears.

“Jill woke me up at three in the morning very distraught,” Jack said. “She was crying and her mascara was smeared around her eyes. At first I thought there had been an accident, or somebody had died. Then I spotted her purse on the nightstand. I saw a foot of her pantyhose dangling out and I instantly knew what was going on. I was actually relieved because I knew that whatever happened to make Jill so upset, it meant her affair must be over.”

“So you actually did know Jill was having an affair with Will?” I asked.

Jack sucked in a deep breath and looked at the ceiling. “I did and I didn’t. I had plenty of clues to indicate she was. But I was also in denial. I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt.”

“Can you tell us some of the clues, or is that too personal?” I asked.

“The biggest clue was on the days she closed at the bar. In the beginning, she would get home about 2:30 am. Then it became 3:00, then 3:30 and 4:00. Also, I discovered her books of erotica in a drawer. I figured if she was reading about sexual adventure, she was probably partaking of her own.”

“Did you ever think about confronting her?” I asked.

“No, I have occasionally looked at porn, so I couldn’t very well chastise her for reading it.”

“Actually, I meant confronting her about the affair,” I said, hoping I wasn’t blushing.

“Oh, sure I did. Yet I didn’t want to appear the jealous husband.”

“Can you explain why you actually felt relieved when you pretty much had it confirmed that your wife was romantically involved with another man?”

“Well, like I said, because it also appeared to be over. Then through her sobbing, she confessed everything. Even details I didn’t really want to hear.”

“How did you react to her confession?”

“He couldn’t have been more loving,” Jill whimpered. “He hugged me, told me he forgave me, told me he wanted to get our marriage back on track. He wiped my tears. We even made love.”

“But if I’m doing my math correctly, this wasn’t the end of the ménage a’ trois, was it?”

“No,” they said in unison, both shaking their heads.

“So how long did the reconciliation last before the affair resumed?” I asked.

“A few months,” Jack said. “We were even going to marriage counseling.”

“What happened?”

“I was still in love with Will,” Jill said, and then looked apologetically at Jack. “And absence made the heart grow fonder for both Will and me. I also missed the illicit thrill of our, um, escapades. The lust and desire was like some kind of drug.

“Then Will and his wife separated after she filed for divorce. He wanted me to move in with him. Even though I still loved Jack, what I had with Will was newer and fresher. Well, that’s the way I saw it at the time. So, I did the hardest thing I ever had to do in my life. I told Jack I was leaving him. It ended up being the biggest mistake of my life. I’m so sorry, Jack.”

Jill began sobbing. Jack rubbed her back. and I looked at my dad. He whirled his hand to keep recording. I thought about shaking my head, but looked at Jill. It appeared to be a brief shower of tears.

“Jack,” I said gently. “Would you mind telling us how you responded to this?”

“I was devastated,” he replied somberly. “I was never much of a drinker. But within the hour of her saying her last goodbye, I headed to the store to buy a bottle of Jack Daniels. My mantra was get drunk, get divorced. Get drunk, get divorced. Then a song by Sting came on the radio. He sang that if you love somebody, set them free. Free, free, set them free. Free, free, set them free.”

I almost started laughing at the unmelodious way he spoke the lyrics. But I had it under control until I looked at my dad. His head was bowed and his shoulders were jiggling. I looked away quickly as I clenched my stomach to hold in a burst of laughter. I spoke abruptly to avert my mind and to stop Jack from speaking anymore lyrics.

“So did this song have a profound affect on you?” I asked.

“It did,” he replied. “I realized I still loved Jill despite her treatment of me. I knew she still loved me, and that the woman that married me was still there deep down in her heart. I thought maybe if she lives with him for a while, she’ll see that the grass isn’t necessarily greener on the other side.”

“If I would have only known,” Jill said sadly as she shook her head.

“So instead of getting a bottle of whiskey,” Jack continued. “I decided to go see a guy I met through work. Billy Bob Booker is his name, and he experienced his fiancée’ leaving him for another man. He too forgave her, and took her back.”

“Yes, I read his story in the e-book by Johnathan Embers,” I said.

“Right, Billy Bob Booker and the Hooker,” Jack replied, nodding. “Just think. If his fiancée’ hadn’t left him for another man, Willa, the hooker, might never have come to the Lord.”

“Amen,” I responded, as Jill replied with an amen of her own. “So did his story and friendship inspire you?”

“It did. It showed me anything is possible. I also decided that I would not be the one to dissolve our marriage. I also decided that I would remain faithful to my wedding vows, even if my wife hadn’t.”

Jill hung her head in shame. I felt bad for her, yet I had no words of comfort in the moment. I needed to just proceed with the interview.

“Jill, I noticed you said if you had only known when Jack mentioned he was waiting to take you back,” I said. “What did you mean?”

“Within a month of living with Will, I knew I had made a terrible mistake,” Jill replied. “Not that I was necessarily miserable. But it wasn’t like living with Jack. Maybe I should say I simply liked living with Jack better. Before I lived with Will, I idealized him. But my fantasies didn’t live up to realities.”

“So why didn’t you repent and ask Jack to take you back?” I asked.

“Well, Sevenia, I had already badly hurt Jack by the initial affair,” Jill said. “But Jack found it in his heart to forgive me. When I actually left him to shack up with Will, I figured I had completely burned the bridge back to him. Even when I considered approaching him, I felt too ashamed.”

“Okay, so now you two are quite reconciled,” I said with a smile. “So what happened?”

“Well,” Jack grinned. “For the next three years I went to church with Billy Bob Booker. I didn’t date or hook up with other women. I grew up in a  nominally Christian household, but for the first time in my life I became spiritually reborn. As hard as Jill’s infidelity was to accept, it taught me to depend on God rather than another person. Until Jill left me, I didn’t realize how dependent I was on her for my happiness and contentment.”

“How about you, Jill?” I inquired. “Tell us about the previous three years and your reconciliation with Jack.”

“It wasn’t worth it,” she said emphatically and sadly as she shook her head. “It was bad enough hurting Jack to satisfy my lusts of the flesh. What I stupidly didn’t anticipate was how negatively our kids responded to my behavior. Although I still managed to maintain a relationship with them, their disappointment and disrespect was palpable.

“Anyhow, Will ended up proposing as we were enjoying a romantic get away,” Jill said and then glanced uneasily at Jack. “I was caught up in the moment and happily said yes. During the three years I lived with Will, he only asked if I filed for divorce a couple times. After I accepted his proposal, he insisted I file within the week.

“In the days after accepting Will’s marriage offer, I was beyond regretful. Not only for saying yes, but for leaving a good man three years earlier for a cheat and a selfish slob. Don’t get me wrong. Will had his charms, I wouldn’t have fallen for him if he didn’t. I guess it took almost ruining my life to see that Jack was a diamond and Will was cubic zirconia.”

Jack smiled and humbly bowed his head.

“Okay, so how did you two reconcile then?”

“Our son called me with the news that Jill and Will were engaged,” Jack said and then sighed. “Not long after I talked to him, Jill called and asked if she could come and see me. I told her of course, and thought, well, this is it. She’s coming to present me with divorce papers or something.

“When she arrived on my doorstep, she took my breath away. Her hair was held back with a clip, just the way I liked it, and she was in a dress she used to wear to church back when our kids were little. I invited her in and we exchanged awkward small talk for about five minutes. Then I couldn’t stand it anymore. I asked her if she had something for me to sign or anything. She got wide eyed and almost looked frightened. That’s when she threw me a curve.”

Jill giggled. “I told him that I hadn’t filed for divorce yet. He asked me why I wanted to see him then. I told him that before I filed, I wanted to ask him why he had never filed. He told me he always held out hope that I would come back to him. I asked him if he meant even now after three years. Without hesitation, he said even now after three years.”

Jill pinched the bridge of her nose and began to whimper. Jack rubbed her back, and she put her face in her hands and cried.

“I wanted to make love with him right then,” Jill said. “But he told me I needed to end things with Will first. So I went back to what I considered home for three years and threw Will a curve. I told him I had changed my mind. I gave him his ring back. I also told him Jack took me back.

“He threw a fit! We argued, and he almost hit me. This told me all I needed to know about the only two romantic partners in my life. Jack never even raised his voice due to my shenanigans. Yes, I knew I hurt him and he was disappointed. This hurt me too, but not enough to stop my selfish desires. Yet he forgave me! I then went back to what I had called home for more than twenty years, and that’s where I plan to stay until death do us part.”

“Jesus said in Matthew 6:14,” Jack said. “That if you forgive people their trespasses, your heavenly father will forgive yours. Without the love and forgiveness of God in my heart, my love and forgiveness for Jill wouldn’t have existed. Therefore I wouldn’t be experiencing this fresh start.”

Jill wiped a tear before she spoke. “If Jack wouldn’t have exhibited this extreme act of love, patience, and forgiveness, I wouldn’t be experiencing my own spiritual revival right now. I would have ended up yoked with a man that was my legal husband, but not truly my spiritual husband. Or even an okay husband if he was tempted to hit me. Thank God his Son intervened in Jack’s life! And as a ripple effect, mine as well as our kids!”

“Amen!” my dad and I said at the same time.

LIII

BUT I SAY UNTO YOU, THAT WHOSOEVER LOOKS ON A WOMAN (MAN) TO LUST AFTER HER (HIM) HAS COMMITTED ADULTRY WITH HER (HIM) ALREADY IN HIS HEART.

(MATTHEW 5:28)

SEVEN SALLIE (FATHER OF SEVENIA SALLIE GIRL PROPHETESS)

“Dad!” my daughter had said a week ago, running an exasperated hand through her short auburn hair before putting fists on her hips. But a little smile played at her lips and her big lovely emerald eyes twinkled. “It would be nice if you would have asked me first. What if I don’t like doing this interview stuff for your podcast?”

“But you do, don’t you?”

“Well yeah, sort of,” she shrugged. “But it would have been courteous to talk to me before you announce something regarding me to your audience.”

“But I got a text from Jack while your interview was recording. He and his wife Jill would be willing to share their testimony on how their marriage went from nearly ending to becoming revived in a powerful way. They just renewed their wedding vows last week on their 25^th anniversary.”

“Wow, it does sound interesting,” Sevenia said. “I didn’t even know Jack Griffin was married. His wife’s name is Jill? Like Jack and Jill went up the hill?”

“To fetch a pail of Chili,” I said nodding.

“What? Don’t you mean water? Then Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after.”

“This little ditty quite literally happened to their marriage,” I told Sevenia. “You just have to change some of the wording.”

“Huh?”

“Yeah, Jack will explain. It has to do with a restaurant his wife went to work for and the guy that she fell love with.”

“Okay. Obviously, I know Jack. He’s been at Cotton Creek Cove fellowship ever since I’ve been going. But have I ever met his wife Jill?”

“I don’t know, have you?” I asked. “She’s been coming with him the last few weeks.”

“That woman he’s been coming with is his wife? I thought she was his sister.”

“Yeah, they do sort of look alike. Brown hair, brown eyes, narrow noses, thin lips.”

Seven days later I eyed my daughter as I prepared to record another interview. She talked with Jack and Jill. As often happened, affection for her swelled in my heart. She was so mature, wholesome, and had a way of putting people at ease. Her being part of my podcast was already boosting ratings.

“Are you all ready?” I asked. My daughter and Jill sat six feet across from each other at a table and Jack sat back and in between them, facing me. As I gazed at the ladies profiles, I decided to tease a little. My asking if they were ready had put a frightened look into Jill’s eyes. “Did you ladies decide to dress alike for the photos later?”

The three laughed. Then Jill and Sevenia look at each other, realizing that their light blue blouses looked similar. They were also wearing what I sometimes thought of as sort of a uniform for women who belong to our fellowship. Women tended to wear dresses on Sabbath, but long denim skirts otherwise. It wasn’t a rule or anything. But more women than not seemed to prefer this attire.

They also were both wearing navy tights. But Jill wore blue flat shoes while my daughter wore black converse sneakers. It was cool for early October, and it was the first I’d seen Sevenia in tights since May. It was a sad sign that summer was over.

I began the podcast by welcoming Sevenia back and introducing our guests to the audience. I explained that by calling the interview, the Seven Year Switch, it had nothing to do with my name. Rather, it signified the seven year period that a third party was involved in Jack and Jill’s legal marriage. With their marriage on the brink of ending, it suddenly and quickly turned around. I turned it over to my daughter to extract the details.

“We were talking about the famous Jack and Jill ditty before we got started here,” Sevenia said with a giggle. “Jack, would you explain the significance of the wording change you implemented. It would be a good way to get your story rolling.”

“Sure,” Jack replied and then cleared his throat. “Seven years ago, Jill and I had both gotten home late and we didn’t feel like making any supper. We lived in a small town, and I recalled having recently run into an old friend and former co-worker, Will. He told me he had opened a bar and grill in a neighboring town six miles away. The place was called Willie’s Chili and More Bar and Grill. I suggested we have supper there.”

“The town is kind of hilly, and after parking, you need to climb about dozen stairs or walk around on a ramp to get to the entrance. So we had a burger and a bowl of chili. Since it was late, we ended up being the last customers to finish eating. My old friend came over to sit at our table to ask us how our meal was and to catch up a little.”

“So this Will or Willie,” Sevenia said to Jill. “Is he the man you, ah…”

“Yes,” Jill interrupted quickly, followed with a nervous laugh. “Until that night, I hadn’t seen Will in years. It had been around ten years previous that he worked with Will. I had only met him a few times, but the irony is that I didn’t like him at all back then. Sure he was good looking, but I found him disgusting. He was a big blonde rowdy redneck. He always had a big wad of tobacco in his mouth and didn’t seem to be able to complete a sentence without a swear word. He was the type of guy that whistled at women passing by construction sites.”

“Was that the type of work you guys did back then?” Sevenia asked Jack.

“Still do, I’ve been a carpenter my whole life,” Jack replied.

“Okay. So Jill, you said you didn’t like Will back then, what had changed?” Sevenia asked.

“I guess the first thing I noticed was he aged well,” she replied. “For a big man approaching fifty, he still had more muscle than fat. He still had most of his hair and it was now a distinguished silver. But most importantly, he seemed to have matured. He seemed more sophisticated.”

“He also flattered Jill,” Jack interjected with a frown. “He mentioned she was pretty and fit.”

“That was after you suggested I work for him,” Jill replied, with a seemingly forced smile.

I felt myself go rigid. Was this interview, barely under way, about to go sideways? Was this interview going to cause their reconciliating to go the other way? I simply thought their story was inspiring. Thankfully, my smart girl kept them on the right path.

“Jack, I’m curious now,” Sevenia said. “Tell us your ditty.”

Jack and Jill looked at each other and chuckled. I felt myself relax a little.

“Just a little more background before the ditty,” Jack said with a sigh. “Jill’s right, I suggested that maybe she should waitress for Will. He had mentioned that he was hurting for help. Jill had worked part time at the county as a clerk, but due to budget cuts, she got let go. Before and just after we married she had waitressed for a couple years. She was hesitant with my suggestion, but that’s when Will said that with her good looks, she’d make nice tips.”

“But I was concerned about being on my feet for long periods of time,” Jill explained. “I remembered being exhausted when I was nineteen. How would I be at forty something? That’s when Will said I looked really fit to him. He also told me to please give it a try, and I could quit anytime, no hard feelings. Then we shook on it.”

“Right about that time, I excused myself to use the restroom,” Jack said. “When I came out, I didn’t like the way they were looking at each other, all googly eyed. Then I had gotten a text from a guy that worked for me. He said he was sick and wouldn’t be in the next day. As I was texting back, Will’s phone rang behind the bar. As he went to answer it, I noticed Jill didn’t take her eyes off of him. I thought, uh oh, what did I just do? Then I laughed to myself thinking, Jill’s never given me a reason not to trust her.”

“I’ll admit it,” Jill interjected. “It’s part of the healing process. I was smitten with Will. I didn’t believe then that I would ever actually cheat on Jack, but I was trusting to myself. When Jesus said that whoever looks on a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery in his heart (Matthew 5:28). It doesn’t just apply to men. But with women, it’s more in the mind, the feelings.”

Jill and Sevenia both chuckled politely. My daughter opened her mouth to proceed with the interview, but Jack spoke.

“So the ditty,” He said with a sigh. “When Jill actually left me and moved in with Will, I wrote her a letter. I recalled that first meeting when we went for that fateful late supper. So I concluded  the letter with a P.S. It was a little poem. Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a bowl of chili. Jack turned around, and then he frowned, because he saw that Jill had eyes for Willie.”

“So Jill,” Sevenia said. “You mentioned the warning Jesus gave in the book of Matthew, yet you also mentioned trusting to yourself. Can you explain?”

“I’ll try,” Jill chuckled nervously. “Jack and I were both raised in religious homes. We both grew up in the same church. We were married in this church, and we were both virgins when we married. Well, I mean, technically. But until I left Jack for Will, we attended church regularly.”

I noticed Jack blush when his wife informed the audience about their level of being chaste when they married.

“We had two kids, and I was a stay at home mom until both our children were in school full time. I ended up getting a part time job with the county as a clerk. Over the years my prayer life and devotional life slowly dwindled. About a year before I started waitressing at Willie’s Chili, I was let go by the county. I ended up at a temp service. At one of the offices I worked at, I met and became friends with someone who raved about the book Fifty Shades of Grey.

“When she offered to loan me her copy, I had resisted at first. Up to that point in my life, I had mostly just read Christian fiction for recreational reading. To make a long story short, I gave it a try, and I couldn’t put it down. I was curious, tantalized and intrigued. All three in the trilogy had been out by then and within two weeks I had them all read.

“Just to be clear. I’m not into BDSM. Yet reading about it aroused me on some level. I went in search for something similar. I found myself at a used bookstore. The only other person there besides myself was a middle aged woman who was the cashier. I told her what I was looking for, and she led me to a small section labeled erotica.

“I spent the next hour reading the backs of twenty or thirty novels of erotic fiction as well as supposedly true stories. I purchased about a half dozen that intrigued me the most. I’m ashamed to say that I became addicted to erotica.

“Girl porn was the main reason for my downfall. Jack was a wonderful husband and father, we had a great marriage. But if it weren’t for my fascination with tantalizing sexual stories, I don’t believe I ever would have entered into an affair. Like it says in the book of James. Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed.” (James 1:14).

“Then when lust has conceived,” Jack said mechanically. “It brings forth sin. And when sin is finished it brings forth death.” (Verse 15).

Jill began sobbing hysterically.

“I’m sorry, Jill. I didn’t mean it that way,” Jack said soothingly. Then he spoke something into her ear and patted her back. She kissed his check, but then only sobbed the harder. Sevenia put an arm around her and looked at me. I whirled my hand to keep recording. Sevenia scowled and shook her head. I nodded and we took a break.