I had a fascinating conversation a few weeks back during which the issue of identity came up. We both grew up in Belfast before “the troubles”, and came from a middle-class Protestant Christian background. In adulthood, our journeys were to take slightly different paths, though we were both undoubtedly influenced/formed by that culture: the home we grew up in, the schools we went to, the games we played, the friends we had both inside and outside of the church, the conscious and subconscious negative attitudes we embraced regarding the catholic ‘other’, the superior attitudes we had related to our ‘us v them’ thinking, the history of our culture - flags, bonfires the 12th of July…
With all that in mind, I look back in amazement at the journey God has taken me on from the early 1970s, culminating in writing “A Tree has Roots.” The night, when I was baptised in the Holy Spirit, changed everything - God was doing the same thing with Catholics who were also present! Now we were brothers and sisters in Christ; we had the same heavenly Father! Our journey into worship and intercession as “the troubles” raged about us, caused us to increasingly gain an understanding of each other's culture! That thread, regarding reconciliation, has woven its way through my life since then and in the research and the writing of three books. This last one condenses all of that into what I sense is a prophetic word of God, calling us as the church to be truly a kingdom people.
In 2 Corinthians
The first of these is connected to what we believe – our mindsets, our worldviews. These would include philosophies, religions, racism, intellectualism, materialism, and roots of rejection – anything that causes us to think, act or react in a certain way. So if you grow up being told that ‘You are useless, stupid, fit-for-nothing’, ‘Home Rule is Rome Rule’ or ‘For God and Ireland’, by the time you become a teenager they have become firmly established ‘arguments’ - very resistant to being told otherwise.
The second of these - ‘pretensions’ - means ‘any elevated place or lofty thing that sets itself up against the knowledge of God’. The Living Bible calls it ‘every wall that can be built to keep men from finding Him’. This came to humanity at the Fall, when Adam and Eve bought the lie ‘you will be like God’ (Genesis 3:5), the possibility of being able to be on equal footing with God Himself. At that point, we become ‘not the Most High, but our own most high – filled with pride’. So ‘pretensions’, encompass all mind-sets that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God. Pride.
Both of these are core elements of satanically inspired strongholds. Needless to say, when we as Christians embrace kingdom of God values so that they are evident in our lives - in the church, our marriages, in business - we are establishing strongholds of God in our society. That's what societal transformation is all about!
This raises questions for us. What are the strongholds of God that I am establishing in my life? What am I doing to demolish the ‘arguments’ and ‘pretensions’ that have been built up over a lifetime in my life, that are not of God? As I have been researching my cultures history in Ireland I have had to face some of those tough questions. What are the ‘arguments’ within our cultural identities that reinforce the adversarial ‘us v them’ stances within them? For example: was the plantation of Ulster (which included forced removal, scorched earth policies, and orchestrated famine) a manifestation of a wrong stronghold or an outworking of God's kingdom principles? Were my ancestors in 1912 energised by a stronghold of Satan or by the Holy Spirit? Another question arose in the light of the recent election - can I as a Christian embrace a Unionist or a Nationalist identity? Searching questions!
Another recent and totally unexpected meeting was with a seasoned group of intercessors. As I shared my journey, which led to the writing of “A Tree has Roots”, they got it and were so appreciative of the insights I opened up to them regarding the spiritual root issues of the ‘empire spirit’ in the church and how these influence our cultural identities. These two meetings epitomise what I carry in my spirit for the church and Ireland. What I have written in “A Tree has Roots” needs to be embraced and owned by the Church and every ministry in Ireland. Not because I wrote it or because of my ministry. We have got to allow the Holy Spirit to search our hearts regarding these issues. That is my prayer!
A Tree has Roots can be bought on Amazon at £8.99 or directly from me.
Contact me at harry@dignityrestored.org giving me your postal address.
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