"What is that?"
"That is a stronghold."
"A stronghold?"
"Yes, a very old one."
"How long has he been in it?"
"Hmm . . . quite sometime. Years, in fact."
"But doesn't he know that he's captive?"
"No. Humans don't always know what is in their own minds."
"It is a very strong looking stronghold."
"Yes, and it will take a large amount of truth to pull it down."
"And what are we doing?"
"We are helping Holy Spirit by speaking truth to him."
"Then he shall be free?"
"Not immediately, but yes, I think he shall."
"They won't be happy about that."
"No, I dare say they won't. But the Glorious One has a hold on this one and nothing can snatch him out of His hands. Not even them. So, we better get to work."
Photograph: man behind bars, unknown
It is outrageous that a God so high and lifted up would care for such an ordinary soul as mine. But you do. And though I ponder it, I cannot fully understand.
It is not a doctrine that I love nor a religious system that has captured me. It is a Father, dear and perfect, gentle, fierce, and strong.
Praises spring from my mouth as I remember all the deeds that you have ever done. And your thoughts toward me are more than I can count. Who am I that you would love me so? . . . I am your girl, and that is quite enough.
Artwork: God the Father by Leon Frederic
I wanted you to be my hero - my protector, even. But you could not. And I was not strong enough to stand against the rage when you would morph into that Mr. Hyde.
If only I were Wonder Woman I would have been strong enough to stand, to love, to persevere when the tide was proving not to change . . . but Wonder Woman I was not.
I needed Mr. Hyde to go away. Depart. Never dare return again; yet, leave my hero here, so he could cover me like Boaz did to Ruth. But after feet were cut and bleeding by the eggshells I was always walking on, I had to finally be the one to quietly depart. For Mr. Hyde chose not to leave, so I had to be the brave one. And God gave me strength to make the change when my hero found that he could not.
Artwork: angry superhero, angry superman, unknown
"Why do they follow him? Why do they choose Jesus?" asks the clerics of Iran.
They pound on doors, imprison Christians, destroy house churches - yet, still, the people turn to Jesus from Islam by the thousands.
So hard-lined cleric Alava, in a speech to other clerics, vowed to find out why. "It's happening right before our eyes!" he lamented. "Mass conversions everywhere! Why are they embracing Christ?"
Dear sirs, do you not know? Jesus is the most beloved of them all. All heaven bows to him, how can we not also? All creation worships him, and so must we. His love cannot be stopped, as you have noticed. There's nothing you can do. Our hearts belong to One much higher than all others and His followers shall only grow.
Artwork: Called by Baron Arild Rosenkrantz
