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· Shillong Times & “Mawphor” news items · “Welcome to the Real, Real World”! · Some interesting revival history in brief · Compare & contrast— an encounter with Jesus vs the Enemy |
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Shillong Revival |
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Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place |
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Eye Witness: Sheila Cherian - Part 1 |
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This is the eye witness account of Sheila Cherian, who visited Shillong recently. This is the email she wrote to her friends which she is sharing with the world. Hi from Sheila Cherian! On my trip to Shillong, I encountered a lot. I’ve put down my observation and understanding in four sections. The is the first section.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Hi! There is so much to share that I shall get to the guts of the matter right away. In the event that you feel someone you know might benefit by reading the contents of this mail, please feel free to forward this. On my part, I would be delighted if anyone is encouraged by it, or if it increases anyone’s hunger after God & His Truth. I have an intense sense of expectancy of what the Lord might do during this season. The Shillong Times & “Mawphor” news items: Thought I’d begin with some secular news media reports. The news items are on the News clippings page of the website. “The Shillong Times” (you can access it from this newspaper’s archives) & a translation from “Mawphor” (a local vernacular newspaper in Khasi) & I think perhaps from another vernacular press as well. Read this 2nd translated report off the net by a person called “Sep Sang” – who is not known to me personally (hence the lack of clarity on whether the translation is from one newspaper report or more). “Welcome to the Real, Real World”! Now to try filling you in on my severely UNREAL experiences! Or should I say as in the wall poster in Ashish Raichur’s software office @ Bangalore, “Welcome to the Real, Real World”?! The inescapable fact of the other world’s reality zoomed in on me, as it has done & continues to do for hundreds of others in Shillong, in a way that is just not possible to avoid! This other world that Jesus & the Bible so consistently refer to ever so often, is not some mysterious “pie in the sky, by & by, when you die,” as some have disparagingly dismissed it. Rather, it is relatively WAY, way more real than this world of material things, which appear as a mere shadow or mere hint of the Real world out there in comparison & bold contrast! Let me be quick to clarify here that – please do not misunderstand what I have just said – IN NO WAY am I saying that a literal Heaven & a literal Hell do not exist. In fact my point is exactly the opposite. The reality of both Heaven & Hell show up ever so regularly & consistently in a manner that makes this temporal world of material things that we currently live in appear in their real nature or order – purely temporal & a mere shadow of things to come that are of eternal nature, value & substance! In bare bones summary, that would be my crucial learning of this my trip to Shillong! Helen Lemmel, the devoted Christian & hymn writer, obviously understood what it meant when under the strong inspired direction of the Holy Spirit, she composed – Turn your eyes upon Jesus; look full in his wonderful face; And the things of earth (assuredly) will look strangely dim ….. & severely lack luster in comparison, (I might add) to the splendor & glory & majesty & action & excitement going on in the other realm! ….. In the light of His Glory & Grace! That precisely summarizes & underlines my experience on this trip. Some interesting revival history in brief: If you are interested, you could read up incredible history on this, off the net if you search for “Revival in the Khasi & Jaintia Hills - 1906”. The Korean revival also has had its roots in this & you could read up some amazing stuff on that revival as well on the net. There are great learnings from each of these studies, as also from studies on the Welsh revival of 1904. It was the Welsh revival which in turn had spawned the Khasi Hills revival of 1906, which in turn was the event that was commemorated & celebrated this year in 2006, in its centenary year. And it was this centenary celebration event in the Presbyterian Church (the curtain raiser being in rural parish of Mairang, where the 1906 Khasi Hills revival had also broken out), that has been the precursor of the current revival in Shillong. Incidentally, though not surprisingly, the revival in Topeka, Kansas of 1901; as well as the Azusa Street revival in Los Angeles in 1906, are all divinely & magnificently connected, all the way upto what is currently happening in Shillong in year 2006!!! Other than fabulous historical interest, & seeing the hand of the Holy Spirit down the ages, what makes these specific studies on revival so interesting is that in the current revival in Shillong; the Holy Spirit appears to be following a very similar pattern to the revival in Wales & the Khasi hills, years 1904 -1906… Compare & contrast between impact on individual lives having an encounter with Jesus Vs the Devil Jesus & His Angels have been showing up regularly in Shillong; as have been the Devil & his legions of evil spirits. I’ll leave that statement just like that in its bald form! For I do not know what else to say in this regard, other than witness to the fact that I personally saw dozens & dozens of encounters that people were having with the other world of eternal substance. The best I can offer is that I can honestly (& without any exaggeration), witness for what my own 2 black beady eyes saw at Shillong recently. I am no superbly trained theologian or philosopher, though I have sought to follow God and obey His Word for many years now: so I will leave interpretations to others who feel so led by the Spirit of God. To continue from paragraph 1: There is an unmistakable, visible & obvious, ABSOLUTE POLARITY of impact on individual lives, post their encounters with Jesus & the Holy Spirit, versus the Devil & his legion of evil spirits. To repeat: I have just met scores of people across Shillong who were & continue to unexpectedly encounter & meet Jesus & His Holy Spirit & yes, also angels, on an intimate & astonishingly regular basis over the last few months. Close encounters of the Real, Real kind – Whattt?! I have also heard that many have photographed angels on their cell phone cameras in & around Shillong. In fact, on 2nd Oct, “Mawphor” (the local vernacular newspaper in Khasi), reported that many had seen angels at a place called Mowprem, in Shillong. I was in Shillong at the time & I have shared my personal story of the night of 1st Oct, on this site, in the section “Archives”. Concurrently, the Devil & his demons are also making as frequent an appearance, which again seems to be a commonly observed pattern in revivals across ages. Christ’s own imagery & interpretation of the wheat & the tares growing in the farmer’s field side by side till harvest time, in the parable in the gospel of Mathew: chapter 13 & verses 24-30 & again in verses 37 – 43 of the same chapter, teach this very same truth. But there is a key & significant difference between the 2 encounters. When the Holy Spirit’s presence deepens even ever so slightly, the effect or impact on the individual is humungous!!! There is ALWAYS deep & intense conviction of sin & DEEP sorrow about it. Simultaneously an instantaneous, awe-inspiring sense of the breathtaking holiness of God! Deep remorse & the immediate, pressing sense that not one of us is worthy for his mercy engulf those experiencing this deepening of the presence of God’s Holy Spirit. Cries for mercy rend the air as the awareness of our ugly, willful rebellion appears with startling white light clarity. Perhaps it is the truth expressed in Rom 2:15 at work …”their consciences bearing witness …accusing or else excusing them”! A holy reverential respect & fear of God pervade the entire vicinity. Young children are seen weeping bitter, copious tears of repentance for lies they have told! Another curious but common sight during the revival is to see young children (as young as 4yrs, 5yrs, 6yrs & older) interceding fervently for the sins of their parents, extended family & even the community! Sometimes this is accompanied by visions of heaven and they speak prophecies from God. In a few cases however, these young people do not find peace. And the problem often is traced back to the homes they come from. With someone in the family living in sin and resisting God, conviction is often felt deepest by these young ones, who are seeing so clearly into the spirit realm & experiencing the pain of it. Adults could be heard praying and confessing to dishonesty & lack of integrity in various areas of life…to common addictions …to unforgiveness & hatred nursed deep within the heart …. Personal transformation stories abounded as there is a tender spirited ness towards God. Stories of deep personal remorse …bitter tears… confession AND most importantly – of Repentance & a Decisive Turning Away from habitual pathways of sin are commonly heard! They fervently pray for forgiveness in Christ’s name and having received it, sing out in joy. Great peace & the unbelievable, shocking relief of knowing that you are unconditionally accepted & deeply loved by No ONE less than God Himself; though you are thoroughly conscious of being ever, ever so undeserving of His love & acceptance!!! How more amazing can it possibly get??????? Feelings of exceeding joy, deep happiness & pleasure of an elevated/spiritual kind often follow this interaction with Jesus & the Holy Spirit. As also does - a sure & confident hope of a glorious future with Jesus after this comparatively, very brief lifetime on earth. (Incidentally, three score & ten years, is what the Bible says is the average life span of a human being here on earth. What is that limited time frame when compared to the limitless dimension of eternity, where we will be spending the rest of our lives?) Mostly, though most definitely not exclusively, - youngsters & young adults (average ages 8 yrs to18 yrs), are the ones personally experiencing this current revival season in Shillong. This was also the case in the 1906 Khasi Hills revival of a hundred years ago. Here again, I only present observed facts, & not any interpretations. And this has been the pattern from the end of April, when the revival began in Shillong to the current month of October when I returned after a brief visit there. There is no telling what could be awaiting us just around the corner, though. This encounter with the Kingdoms of Heaven & Hell is currently being experienced by hundreds of people across locations in & around Shillong, tens of kilometers apart, in both urban & rural areas. Some older adults are also experiencing this – but like I said earlier, a far lower number of them when compared to the number of youngsters & young adults. This again, history tells us, was the case in the Khasi & Jaintia Hills revival of 1906. There is a wonderful book on this season you could read if further interested. It is titled, “Revival in the Khasi & Jaintia Hills – Meghalaya” - & is a book authored by Mrs. John Roberts. In absolute contrast to the encounter with Jesus & the Holy Spirit is the impact on individuals post an encounter with the Devil & his legion of evil spirits. Unfortunately this encounter too is fairly common. (I heard one wide eyed young man at the Laban church in Shillong; refer to having seen Lucifer. Only this young man, who didn’t seem to be Biblically literate, referred to him as “Crucifer”! Personally I thought that was both funny & a plausible alternate name for Lucifer who crucified Christ – he could be called Crucifer now, couldn’t he? Of course these are just my random thoughts. So those of you who are offended by this comment – please forgive me & please don’t discredit the rest of this note based on this one comment made in jest!) Like I just said, in total contrast to the fruits of an encounter with Jesus is the impact of an encounter with the Devil & his legions. When the Devil & his demons show up, the resultant experience is ALWAYS intense overwhelming fear & terror and life threatening threat of violence. This naked aggression could be directed either at the concerned individual directly, or in fiendish attacks on loved ones that the individual recognizes immediately as close family or friends. Can we even begin to imagine the terror experienced when person after person sees either themselves or beloved ones being helplessly & hopelessly dragged by the Devil & his legions of Darrrrk beings, screaming & kicking to the fires of hell, a place thick with burning flames, ghastly insects & crawling worms??? Yet I’m reminded that Jesus spoke a lot about hell— He talked about it about 70 times in the New Testament! And what when the experience is in 3 dimensional fullness, at a level of consciousness & quality that overwhelmingly underlines the level of the reality being personally experienced? How can you possibly keep from wildly freaking out in terror? The experience is as if the person has physically visited the verandahs (I’m doing my best to describe the experience, pardon the poor choice of words & metaphors used) leading to Hell & returns from a visit there! Would it or would it not impact the person indelibly – you think??? Fear, horror, dread, fright, alarm & all such other fearsome emotions impact the person’s consciousness indelibly when they encounter the Devil & his evil legions! The struggles, cries, physical contortions & spiritual battles such individuals experience during such an encounter of spiritual warfare, are dreadfully piteous to see - nerve racking might be a better choice of word, actually. And once even observed, leave alone experienced, it is likely to cure the most rationalistic & unbelieving skeptic of his unbelief in things eternal or demonic! This experience certainly does not fit the category that we would normally call “Vision”, referring esp. in corporate circles normally to, ”concepts in imagination “.
It does not even fit into the unlikely category we reserve for what we might term, “Supernatural Vision”. Even when we think in terms of supernatural vision, we might ordinarily take it to mean an unusual mental image or series of mental images about supernatural stuff. But this stuff those in Shillong are encountering is in entirely another dimension of experience & understanding. They seem to be actually entering another dimension or dimensions (some in the plural; i.e encountering both dimensions of eternal Heaven & the verandahs of eternal Hell) - for the period of time of the encounter. Some have this encounter only once. Others have it several times. And later in this letter, I shall try to describe dominant or common patterns that they seem to experience during these encounters.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 |
