The Prodigal Daughter

If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works? ~ Proverbs 24:12

The battle is lost or won in the secret places of the will before God, never first in the external world. The Spirit of God apprehends me and I am obliged to get alone with God and fight the battle out before Him. Until this is done, I lose every time…That is the Great Divide in the life; from that point we either go toward a more and more dilatory and useless type of Christian life, or we become more and more ablaze for the glory of God—My Utmost for His Highest.   (Utmost) ~ Oswald Chambers, Where the Battle Is Won

I’ve just returned from a train adventure from Poughkeepsie to Sacramento and back. I’ve always wanted to do the old sleeper-car cross-country train. The “roomette” cost me $3,300 round-trip and included all meals with complimentary adult beverage at dinner. Four days and three nights each way on Amtrak. I totally recommend the experience EXCEPT if you have to be at your destination by a certain time. Now, please allow me to attempt to tie this into Proverbs 24:12, Chambers’ Where the Battle Is Won, and this Proverbs 28:4 gem: They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them (Jude’s 1:3 exhortation).

The beauty of the roomette train experience is that you are dining with a different group of people at every meal, where there is a wonderful opportunity to engage in meaningful conversation with folks from all walks of life and all parts of the world. My focus on this Tune-up are the two people I believe the Lord put me on this train to meet for His purpose in today’s message. The first is Aisha (pictured above) traveling to Philadelphia from San Jose, where she had just laid her daughter to rest. And the other, an Irishman whose name I did not care to learn for reasons I will share. Before I get to that I need to explain the purpose of this trip, the second annual Orange Strong Bible Study Road Trip, was to attend the Church of Glad Tidings Rev17 Conference in Yuba City, California, a fundraiser for Peace of Heaven, the FIRST “Safe Home” for the children rescued from child-sex-trafficking, AND who need protection from our own CPS!

Now before I address Aisha and the Irishman, I need you to visualize and understand the unbreakable power and authority of God’s Remnant Warriors who gathered in Yuba City from June 20^th to the 22^nd to support Pastor Dave’s “Peace of Heaven” mission. As I shared with friends this past week, it is very humbling to spend time in the company of those who make you feel as though you are standing still. And at the same time, it is very healthy and essential for spiritual growth. This spiritual war is real, and nobody knows this better than Dr. Frank, Texan Pastor Troy Brewer who has created 54 safe homes around the world for the 11,000 children his ministry has rescued from the evil of child-sex-trafficking, Chris Burgard, Mary Flynn O’Neill, Leigh Dundas, Dr. Christine Northrup, and survivors Cathy O’Brien, Hope Beryl Green, and llonka Deaton. Every single soul, more and more ablaze for the glory of God, refined in their crucible of circumstance, forged by God in the fiery furnace of faith for the battle ahead. Now I can tell you why God wanted me to meet Aisha and the Irishman…

First and foremost, there is nothing that weighs on God’s heart, absolutely nothing that grieves Him more than what is happening to his Luke 17:2 “little ones” on our watch! Every name I’ve mentioned above has been targeted, deplatformed, marginalized, ostracized, and far, far worse by a world gone mad, drunk on the blood of children. So, on the train ride home from Sacramento, God tees up Aisha, a remarkable, well-spoken woman who is a retired federal employee who has worked for both the IRS and the Social Security Administration. God introduced me to this grandmother headed to Philadelphia to help raise and oversee the education of her grandchildren. By the time we got to Chicago, I was able to share the work of Orange Strong and CLOTH with her and offered to assist her in her mission. Now for the Irishman. This is where Proverbs 24:12 comes in. I picked up his brogue in the first few words and experienced a premature delight…short-lived to be sure. When I asked him what he did, he replied, “I’m in healthcare,” which should have been the first red flag. After I shared my story of my first trip to Ireland in 1984 which was greatly enhanced by the hospitality of the Murphy’s and O’Driscolls, I recited my poem, A Land Called Ireland (at the end of today’s Tune-up) to he, his wife, and the young lady seated with us. His response to the poem was my first actual red flag. I saw in his eyes that he knew the Ireland I experienced in 1984 no longer exists, and that he knew why as well. Then I asked him what he thought about what was happening in the UK. He asked, “What do you mean?” To which I responded, “Do you know who Tommy Robinson is?” This elicited an eye-roll followed by, “You can’t believe everything you hear.” NOW, I knew I had your man dead to rights! And he knew it too when I looked him in the eye and said, “Not all ears are afraid to hear.” I could not wait for the meal to end and prayed this would be the last we would see of each other. For those of you who don’t know Tommy, listen to his recent interview with Patrick Bet-David, and you be the judge:

Tommy Robinson ~ “Most people have NO IDEA what’s coming!”

Moving to a This could be heaven, or…close with the revelation which occurred with Aisha as we were waiting for the 48 train together in Union Station on Tuesday. It turns out that this remarkable well-spoken grandmother with a heart for children God introduced me to the day before is on the polar opposite end of the political spectrum of yours truly! The very encouraging thing is that we were somehow able to weave our way through the mine field which included differences on Trump, waste and corruption uncovered by DOGE, the definition of bureaucracy, and how a country founded by slave-owners could have been great to begin with, and STILL remain friends until we parted in Poughkeepsie. She sent me a video on Thursday of Noam Chomsky condemning America as anti-black at its core which seems to have been an influence. I told her how I had experienced racism in my life, but preferred the MLK Jr character over color remedy, and that I would love to see an honest debate between Thomas Sowell and Noam Chomsky. Now the closing ties to Aisha believing there’s a God but rejecting the Bible because “it is written by men.” This sets the stage for Voddie Bachman’s warning to all who have ears to hear:

“Even the Elect are at risk of being led astray. Many have traded truth for convenience, conviction for comfort, and Christ for culture.” ~ The Mark of the Beast Is Here — And Most Christians Don’t Even Know It

As Tommy Robinson pointed out to Patrick Bet-David, the power of political correctness has essentially paralyzed our Western World. We need to start being painfully honest with one another. We do no one any favors by praising mediocrity. In fact, we cripple and retard true spiritual growth in so doing. We have become so pitifully enslaved to feelings over fact, and emotion over reason. Do you want to know the absolute most valuable form of love in this culture today? Help that person who has set themselves on the road to failure accelerate their pace! The next time someone seeks your validation for their missing the mark, simply pray quietly for their eventual success at properly identifying and answering God’s calling on their life. The difference between Aisha and the Irishman? God sees the heart (1 Sam. 16:7). Aisha is the Luke 15:11-32 Prodigal Daughter God longs to see returning home. On the other hand, God showed me the 2 Corinthians 11:14 angel of light in the Irishman…and it chilled me to the bone.

Please keep my friend Aisha and her grandchildren in your prayers…and the Irish too!  

A Land Called Ireland

If your soul is tired & weary,

then my friend give a listen to me.

Go to a land called Ireland,

not so far across the sea.

And if in fact you’re good of heart,

which reflects in all you do,

then the Angel of the Heather shall appear,

and she’ll sing her songs for you.

She’ll sing away your emptiness,

and smile away your fears…

and give you the gift of happiness,

which will last you through the years.

Now if you go, have a jar with the Murphy’s,

and some crack with the Driscoll’s too…

…and tell ‘em I love and miss ‘em,

and they’ll take good care of you.

And for every Irish smile you get,

be sure to give one back,

for that means more to them than gold,

and that’s a simple fact.

So when at last you leave her shores,

and her rolling hills embrace,

Just turn, tip your hat and pray….

and thank God for the Irish Race!

~ Chip Murray -‘84

And PLEASE pray for our brothers and sisters in Texas!!