Gradually our tiny shell-of-a-house became a smashing place to put your feet up in. Gib appeared on walls ('smatter of fact - walls appeared for gib to be nailed to, firstly); bath, toilet, power and phone made life more efficient; and we waged war on blackberry, enjoyed mammoth bonfires that blotted out visibility on the highway, and dug ditches to make our swamp less soggy.

And we've been good Samaritans to more than a hundred motorists who have broken down at our gate in four years. Including Exclusive Brethren with brand-new vehicles. And the police demanding Eileen's pantyhose in lieu of fan-belt.

It's a standing joke with the neighbours. They claim there's a jinx on our gate. Well - in a manner of speaking...

Now, we're not mechanics. But we've done some tricky things with lengths of number eight. And mostly it's the low- tension wire from the coil that's come off and caused everything that matters to go dead.

And - often enough - while we're peering under the hood pounding at something delicate with a hammer, the driver will make a remark about some other problem that number eight can't fix. That needs an introduction to Dad.

Mission accomplished, off they go. One problem solved, the other well on the way to being fixed. We get enough feedback to know that God is alive and well, and able to look after the new members of his family.

All of which is the answer to the question: how effective is evangelism if you don't send converts to the-package-they- call-church? The fact is - evangelism is more effective. It's off-the-cuff. No set patter. And the 'convert' ('orrid word) gets precisely nothing but a supernatural encounter with God as Daddy. If God doesn't turn up and take over, nothing happens.

Now, perhaps at this point it might be fair to admit that we've begun writing a pretty untidy chapter. Untidier than usual, that is. Sorry and all that.

But there's a reason.

We're leading up to what strikes us as a very simple, very important, very specific way of applying to enter the kingdom. So first we want to clear out of the way all the little niggly objections and queries that we've had trouble with. And that others have been bothered by.

People - religious people - worry about the oddest things that might (or might not) happen if they once give up religion and move into the kingdom of God.

Last chapter, we mentioned the 'problem' of fellowship. No problem, actually. If you really want to meet folk, get to know them, enjoy them. The more you look for fellowship, the more it'll look for you.

One suggestion. Some folk are a highly infectious mobile depression; eager to drain you of every last drop of joy and replace it with their own homebrew of ho-hum, so-what, dull and listless ineffectiveness. (British psychiatrists call it 'psychic vampirism' - we joke not.) Avoid such people. If you feel led to help, be brisk with them, don't feel obliged to hear their full tale of woe. Never listen to the same tale twice. Read our chapter on no-hopers in 'Beyond Murphy's Law'. And feel free to refuse to spend time with such people.

Most Christians drop their biggest clangers by being too nice to other Christians. God isn't nice. Jesus never was nice. A lot of his conversation in the gospels has an edge like a Bic razor. Don't be nice.

A while back we realised that we were getting more down- draught than uplift. So we asked our Dad for better quality friends.

He answered that one. But not until we got our act together and made sure that contact with existing friends was worth-while. Pungent. Stimulating.

Some people get worried about not taking communion if they drop out. Remember the bit in Hebrews about Jesus being the only mediator? You don't need any man or group of men to turn communion into a ceremony for you.

'Breaking of bread' was a meal, always a meal. With believers fellowshipping together. That's special. Doesn't need quotes from 1Cor.11v23, long faces, kids silent as the tomb. Twenty centuries of over-reaction to Paul's problem of Gorging Gaius and Boozing Blastus is no reason for taking communion out of the home and having 'the Lord's supper' done by senior Christians.

A meal with other believers, perhaps with some special acknowledgement of the Lord, makes religious ceremony seem unreal. And in a home setting, communion can handle situations that might remain forever buried and unresolved elsewhere.

Example: friends - known them for years - were staying with us. The husband, during tea, broke a piece off a loaf and passed it around, giving thanks as he did so.

His wife abruptly pushed her chair back from the table. "Do you mind if I don't?" she asked. "Of course not," I assured her. "Not everyone's used to this informality." "No," she said quietly, "it isn't that. Well - the truth is that, being Polynesian, my people have a background of cannibalism. To be honest, I've always felt ill at communion. But this is the first time I've had the freedom to say so."

It was nothing more than an evil spirit oppressing her, so, with her husband, we got rid of it. And - this time with her joining in, we continued to break bread.

In a home setting, with no artificial solemnity, any difficulties can be dealt with.

The same goes for baptisms - in water and the Holy Spirit. There are creeks aplenty for the former; friends with a pair of hands for the latter. (And just a terse little word in passing: if you'd like to make the trip up north for us to do the job - forget it. We're not trying to build anything up around us. Dad doesn't approve.)

If there's no structure, no hierarchy, it becomes easier to "call the elders" to anoint for healing (as per James 5. 14) rather than harder. In an organisation, the elders are the elders, like it, or lump it. Mustn't say three of 'em are okay, but that fourth one's a rascal. Or they're all okay but I'd like to bring in Joe Blow from down the road.

But if your fellowship is with believers in your area or in your city, then the people you regard as spiritually mature are de facto elders. You might create an interesting situation by calling together folk from opposing groups. That's their problem, not yours. And remember what we said earlier about being nice. Don't be nice.

"Okay, but what about body ministry? You can't have the gifts of the Spirit or teaching without set meetings, can you?"

We're glad you asked us that.

Granted, there will be an abrupt drop in what often is labelled 'body ministry' if you stop having meetings.

Reason? Much of what is assumed to be from the Holy Spirit needs the oomph of a warm emotional group, the sympathetic lead-up with choruses or praise...

In other words: there's strong soul-power at work in conventional religious settings, whether in buildings or home meetings.

Without atmosphere, too many charismatics are at a loss how to behave. They've conditioned themselves to get into the mood before they can deliver.

Not good. Makes it hard to tell 'twixt God and superheated steam - and, believe us, there is an awful lot of difference.

This need for atmosphere explains why I once found myself roped in with a bunch of musicians to practise the chord progressions for singing in the spirit...

This dependency on getting psyched up explains why we (accidentally) deflated a couple of Precious Brothers who sat on our sofa going 'Glory!', 'Praise you, Lord!', 'Hallelujah!' in little machine-gun bursts, building up enough pressure in their boilers to deliver a very directive prophecy. Unfortunately, that was the day God told us to move on to the Maori settlement; we told 'em so, and they tiptoed away without even finishing their cups of tea.

'Body ministry' occurs whenever two or more believers meet. It's as simple as that.

(And on the supernatural side, if you've ever been with a few Christians and God has prompted you all - spontaneously - to sing in the Spirit, you'll never settle for the doh-me-soh-la-doh of free praise again.)

Also, most times Dad gives us something to tell others, it doesn't need an elaborate and thunderous 'Thus saith the Lord'. It's sufficient to say 'Have a think about this'. Then leave it up to God to confirm.

Incidentally, there's a variation of the confirmation angle in the kingdom that Eileen and I find useful between ourselves.

Over the years we've learned to trust each other - to know one of us won't play nasty religious games, say 'God said' to try and twist the other one's arm.

But... Now and then, one of us'll say 'hey, love - I think God wants such-and-such'. And the other one responds 'fair enough, but he'll have to tell me first'.

That way, we both keep our communication going. No free- wheeling. God doesn't mind. Treated Joseph and Manoah along similar lines, remember?

And there's even a variation on that variation, if you follow. There are times when our Dad wants us to do or say something a bit way out. Maybe it involves a lot of money (like a lot; tithing is far, far easier). Or getting into some crazy situation.

Say Eileen's told by God something. If it's really extreme, she'll say 'okay, Lord; over to you to get through to George on that one'. Then she just waits.

And in every case, God gets through.

Saves a whole heap of trouble. Saves one of us being all bug-eyed and spiritual ('I'm the one God speaks through' is often just a cover for a wee bit of blackmail). Saves wondering if I went along with what Eileen said just to please her.

But, like we said, we've learned to trust each other and mostly accept what each other comes up with - as long as God doesn't speak to only one of us too often.

On the subject of husband and wife, 'til you've learned that type of trust, something and the other doesn't - that's an immediate indication not to proceed. Okay, the guidance may be from God, but you-as-one-flesh aren't ready to move into it. No panic, just your marriage needs fine-tuning.

The mistake couples make is for husband or wife to go off on their own and do whatever the guidance happened to be.

That's always a clanger. Let's say categorically that no matter what great-marvellous-terrific stories you may hear, always the results are not good. Because the foundation wasn't right. Him 'n' her are supposed to be joint heirs of the grace of life, functioning as a team.

After all, it's a fact that when husband and wife are united, there isn't a situation they can't handle in total safety together. If we were the sarcastic type (which we're not, eh) we'd say it's why some couples prefer things separately: there's always the chance temptation might strike...

What about the difference between the 'kingdom of heaven' and the 'kingdom of God'. Yes, we know there's a lot of literature on the subject. Some of it is nothing more than an exercise in intellectual one upmanship. The rest is an attempt to make some scriptures apply to the past, or the future, or the Jews, or the millennium, or to anybody except us.

Fact is - the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of his beloved Son are essentially the same. The only futurist element is one day (not too far in the future, either, the way things are going and the way scripture teaches) the kingdom's going to be absolutely obvious to everyone. Meantime it's around and receiving applications for citizenship. The snag is the sort of riff-raff who get preference. Puts decent people off...

Now, several times in this book we've referred to the righteousness of Christ. It's a fact that whenever we're speaking about that to religious groups, it gets a strongly negative reaction.

Not instantly. The first mention of 'seek ye first...his righteousness' evokes always a sprinkling of solemnly murmured amens and hallelujahs. It's a reflex action.

Then we apply it. Saying that being acceptable to God is totally unrelated to anything we do. Good or bad.

A hard-working churchgoer who puts in years of faithful service and a large slice of income, plus private devotions and study is no more acceptable to God than a boozy, foul- mouthed layabout who beats his wife.

To be accurate, the layabout has a bit of an advantage. He won't imagine that he's notched up any credits with God. Whereas the church bloke will.

And when we get to talk seriously and privately to religious people, we find that much of their hard work has an underlying motive of getting into God's good books.

Regarding access to him - no way.

Which is why there are odd little parables that keep cropping up in Jesus' teaching. Stories with endings that don't quite fit our neat heaven 'n' hell theology.

Remember the five wise and five foolish virgins? Bridesmaids, in the modern version. Excluded from the wedding on the grounds that they didn't have enough oil.

Funny, that. Makes you wonder what oil symbolises. (And don't take the old get-out "Oh, you can't find symbolism in every detail of a parable; it's only the broad principle behind the story". Wrong. See the parables which Jesus explains personally - like the "Sower". Every detail counts.)

Then there's the wedding guest. Invited, but doesn't wear the wedding garment. All the best commentaries and preachers say it was provided by the one giving the invites. What happens? Kicked out. Outer darkness.

Outer darkness isn't hell. Or the lake of fire. It's the equivalent of dying in the wilderness - something the Israelites did a lot of between Egypt and the promised land. It's a siding where God shunts those who don't want to enter the kingdom, so they don't clutter the track for the express.

Why d'you reckon, in Revelation, God wipes tears away from the eyes of folk in heaven? Why do some souls under the altar have to be given white robes?

'Going to heaven' isn't the great purpose of God for us. Nor are we instantly perfected-and-matured at death.

The kingdom is God's great purpose. Death only halts this life's learning process. Put off learning, you get set to one side. No loss of redemption, just missing out on something so terrific that the picture of it is a knees-up at a wedding.

Okay, that's heavy. This is why (using the wilderness illustration again) the Israelites spent 30 days mourning the death of Moses. That's happening now. Religion - traditional, modern, liturgical, evangelical, charismatic - finds it harder to keep going. Great projects begin with a fanfare. And run into disaster. Numbers dwindle. Enthusiasm drains away. Big names have feet of clay. Nothing flows. Stop pushing and the system grinds to a halt. Even the under- thirties can remember the 'good old days' when religion went with a swing. Now the best thing going is the newest group in town that picks up a handful of folk here, a dozen or so there, from older, declining meetings. Moses is dead. And the sorrow and the wailing is bitter, genuine and prolonged.

Please don't get us wrong. We're not knocking Moses. We're not knocking the system. And before you laugh uncontrollably... We could have written a serious, well- researched book on the abuses, cruelties and stupidities of religion down the centuries. Or simply quoted headlines from the religious and secular press...

The fact is, the church was never intended to become a stable, enduring organisation. It was supposed to be no more than a bunch of people briefly in transit from one kingdom to another, artificially grouped for convenience and safety, un- naturally associated on a temporary basis until the destination was reached.

No problem on a short journey.

Like flying to Britain or wherever. Two or three hundred people - all kinds, nothing in common - being efficiently processed by trained and smiling staff.

Into the plane. The seats are a marvel of people- packaging. Room to recline, but never a centimetre wasted. And the tightly crammed silver cylinder climbs into the stratosphere. Meals on cute little trays; all you can eat and more. Films (the latest) are shown. In that most unnatural of settings, a crowd of strangers are relaxed and happy, looking forward to their destination.

Except it isn't always like that. Ever had an inexplicable hold-up on the tarmac in some equatorial state? "Owing to routine maintenance, our departure will be delayed..." The air gets stale. The toilet queues lengthen. Staff no longer smile quite so convincingly. The presence of so many other passengers - their chatter, their thoughtless behaviour - becomes intolerable. A flight is intended to be brief - long enough to forget the hassles of setting out and look forward to arriving. The facilities were never designed for indefinite delays.

The church - the outcalled - had been scheduled to enter the kingdom within a hundred years of Pentecost. But there were delays. Those odd little delays quickly built up into something worse.

Rumours suggest a hi-jacking. Most stewards deny it. They try to keep people occupied with drinks and magazines.

Now and then the plane touches down to refuel, take on fresh supplies. Airports all look alike; rather impersonal; heavily guarded. Never ever is the name on the control tower the name of our destination.

But this last stop is different. It's hard to see outside - but rumours are buzzing that in fact the plane has reached its destination and that the hi-jackers (if they ever existed) have fled. Loudspeakers still advise us to stay still, make sure seats are in the upright position, belts securely fastened. But it's only a recording; already some passengers are opening the emergency door and looking outside.

You know - it'll take a conscious effort to believe we've arrived, and walk away from the plane after all those hours (centuries, it seemed) cooped up in there.

I wonder if there's anyone to meet us?

* * *

The things Jesus said were dynamite.

He claimed that everything he said originated from his Father.

He maintained that if his words lived in us, we could ask for anything and it would be granted.

Nothing that Jesus is recorded as saying is trivial.

So when one of his disciples asks to be taught how to pray ("I mean - John taught his disciples; we don't want to miss out, Lord.") he uses the opportunity in a highly specialised way.

The Lord's Prayer is a brief statement of some sixty to seventy words that many churches pray regularly, week in, week out.

We're suggesting that the real purpose of the prayer has been overlooked.

It's quite simply an application for citizenship in the kingdom of God. To enter - NOW.

An application that each believer is expected to understand (it needs understanding: the whole thing has more boobytraps than a minefield). Then it is to be prayed.

And it will be answered.

The Lord's prayer is recorded twice. Once in Luke11 where it's instantly followed by straight teaching on answered prayer: that God meets our needs and doesn't give anything spurious or bad. Once in Matthew 6; the 'sermon on the the mount'.

Both times it was being taught to his disciples: people who were already called by him and in close relationship to him.

Now if you want to get into the kingdom (not merely see it, not merely have the right to enter, but actually move in), it's not just a matter of saying the right words.

Doesn't work that way.

Jesus is insistent on that.

Several times we've said about getting back to what Jesus taught. Here's another of the times when it's important.

And when it cuts across our traditions.

The Lord taught against public prayer.

(Pause for reaction. This undermines the structure of services. The prayers of the minister "on behalf of the congregation" - where he in fact meditates between the believers and God. The prayer meetings where the whole purpose is to pray together.)

Matthew 6, vv 5 - 6.

"When you pray" (these are the words of Jesus), "you shall not be as the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Truly I say to you: they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go to your room and, having shut the door, pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you."

Steady, now. It needs taking carefully.

Jesus did not say it is hypocritical for you to pray in public. People try and evade the force of his command by saying "I'm not a hypocrite, so it doesn't apply to me".

He says: "Don't be like them. Don't do as they do". Regardless of motive - DON'T DO IT.

D'you reckon that there could be just the tiniest bit of temptation lurking in public prayer? A temptation to perform (oh, only a tiny bit) for those who are listening? A temptation to (only slightly) tidy up those phrases, adjust, modify, edit.

Jesus said don't do as they do. He didn't say you are a hypocrite. He said if you want your prayers answered, pray privately.

What's wrong with starting there? Are we, deep down, afraid of answered prayer? Or do we merely want to reassure others that our piety hasn't slipped, we're still as outwardly spiritual as ever.

Think about it.

Then there's 'vain repetition' in v7. It's also a bit funny, in the context of a regularly-repeated, traditionally corporate prayer like the Lord's prayer.

'Nuff said. Let's look at the prayer itself. Making sure that our familiarity with the words hasn't caused us to miss what Jesus is teaching.

* * * *

In a few pages you'll see why this is going to be a matter of life and death for you. For some people it already is. Eileen and I were met by a group of psychics who had a problem. They knew the reality of the spirit world. They were used to receiving guidance from beyond.

They were also used to being deceived.

"How," they demanded, "can you be sure that you aren't being deceived? What makes you think you've managed to get through to the Supreme Being?"

A wise question. One which Christians could well ask themselves.

Our answer was this:

"There are many great spirit beings who claim to be supreme. They insist on abasement, respect and awe. And often to contact them needs the most elaborate procedures and qualifications. But there is only one being who can be approached through the Blood of Jesus, through his death and resurrection, and approached intimately as Daddy. All other beings will recoil at such an approach; the One whom you meet will never deceive."

That might cause a problem. Freemasons can't get into the kingdom. Not only do they take vows of violent death (and if you don't know the psychic power of these things, be assured such a vow needs deliberate breaking) but in one of the Degrees there is the use of the secret Masonic name of God which incorporates Jehovah, Baal and Osiris. That is forbidden.

Another problem area: the upsurge in Maoritanga. Services are being held (remember when Maori art treasures were sent to New York) with Christian prayers and hymns combined with invocations to Maori gods. That too is forbidden.

Just one further point on 'hallowed be your name'. Don't get hung up on the word 'name'. Western civilisation's odd in making a difference between 'names' and 'titles'. Names nowadays are words that sound nice, titles describe a person.

That's dumb. Everything has a meaning. And in the Bible there's no distinction between 'name' and 'title'. Was Abraham a name or a title? And Revelation 19. 16 says: 'he has...a name written - King of kings and Lord of lords'. That's a name. Or a title.

This is where the JWs make one of their many mechanical mistakes. They rightly take God's name to be important. But they get the wrong one. Do a careful study of OT quotes in the NT; you'll find that Jehovah turns out to be Jesus.

But the name of God which Jesus brought to us, concerning which he said 'I have manifested thy name to those whom you gave me out of the world' - that name is Father. Daddy.

It starts with you. Person to person.

Are you ready for that?

Frankly - we're not.

We've found it's never been wise to make out we're more spiritual than we really are. Dangerous business, spirituality. And the thought of what God might do with us if we prayed some sort of no-holds-barred type of prayer is terrifying.

Kamikaze sort of liturgy.

Fortunately, this prayer isn't some bright idea dreamed up by a board of bishops. Jesus received this from his Father; the wording is absolutely precise. And there are in fact, not one but two restrictions on God's will and kingdom built into it.

Without them, maybe nobody would want to join. With them - well, it all becomes safe without spoiling the fun.

What are the restrictions on God's will? We'll go into that a little later on.

We can understand that millions in the Third World would find the fulfilment of these words a literal lifesaver. For them entry into the kingdom would be the ultimate in good news. But for us?

It still has to be good news for us.

Look at it this way...

How much of your time is taken up with working to make enough to live on?

What if God provided your needs? A kind of pension.

Suddenly you'd be free to do and be and become; to move into whatever your Dad has specially planned for you.

Oh, we know the problems with the puritan work ethic thing. And the text: 'if a man will not work, neither shall he eat'.

That's just to prevent the layabouts from bludging off the industrious.

But the daily bread clause specifically asks God to supply. Remember the descriptions of the promised land. 'A land of wheat and barley, vines, fig trees and pomegranates; a land of olives and honey; a land where you shall eat bread without scarcity; you shall not lack anything therein.'

Quite clearly and simply, it is a formal request to God to forgive us to the same extent as we forgive others. In the same way. No more, no less.

It's not a promise: 'We will try and forgive others in the way you forgive us'. God's got our number. He knows we have a little trouble with promises.

It's not a request for God to forgive others. Ever heard someone say: 'May God forgive you; I know I never can.'

No. It's awfully straightforward. 'God - if I forgive someone, then you forgive me, eh. But if I don't, you don't.'

And it's no good trying to play word games with sins and trespasses and debts and things and making out that they mean this but not that. Like we said, he's got our number. This one's written like the fine print on a H.P. contract. Matthew 6v12 uses one Greek word. At the end of the prayer, Jesus promptly goes over that bit again, putting it even more strongly. And a different word is used there, in verses 14 and 15. And the version in Luke 11 uses yet a third word.

And those three words totally encompass every aspect of sin, shortcoming, negligence, omission - whether justifiable, accidental, persistent, unconscious, premeditated...

Anything, trivial or devastating, that anyone does to bug you is what we - you - must forgive in order to be forgiven.

To be honest, our first reaction to this 'as we forgive our debtors' bit was decidedly negative. After all, it seems to cut across the Christian teaching of salvation by grace and the imputed righteousness of Christ.

Surely our forgiveness depends on Jesus and his sacrifice. Not on our attitude to others. In a word: yes and no.

Salvation is by grace, certainly. And the keynote of salvation is absolute forgiveness.

That's a fundamental part of God's character. God is love. The basis of the new covenant.

Now - what's the opposite.

Karma. Cause and effect. An eye for an eye. The basis of the old covenant.

And if we are unforgiving to others, after having been forgiven ourselves, we are on incredibly dangerous ground. Our reactions become a denial of our experience. We unleash a psychic power for evil that will inexorably bounce back on us.

It doesn't matter whether we've got grounds for not forgiving. It's illegal for us to be just. We're only allowed to be merciful.

Otherwise we're back at square one.

Unforgiven.

Remember the parable of the unmerciful servant in Matthew 18?

Servant number one owed his master millions. And was let off the debt. That's mercy.

Servant number one exits with a great sense of phew and bumps into servant number two. Who happens to owe him a few dollars. That's interesting.

Number one takes action to recover those bucks from number two. That's justice.

And in the story - that makes number one liable for the whole of the original debt. That's nasty.

Maybe you don't like the story. Join the club. Neither do we. And the bit about his master delivering him to the tormentors until he paid all that was due doesn't square with our theology. But it ties in with the Lord's prayer, because at the end of the parable Jesus says: 'So also shall my heavenly father do to you, if you don't forgive - from the heart - your brother's trespasses.'

And it's a kingdom parable, too. Heavy. Remember the mention we made of outer darkness earlier? This is stronger.

But maybe unforgiveness could account for some of the odd, unexplained problems that believers have. After all, in this parable, even the wife and kids get involved in the repayment of the debt.

If it's any consolation, nobody's claiming that forgiveness is easy. The mere fact that we notice we've been wronged shows that something deep in us has been affected.

Ever hear someone say 'I could forgive anything except that'? Well, we've got news for you. Whatever 'that' is - is the clanger that's going to be dropped. Time and time again. Until you get the message and say 'Ah! Light dawns. That's my problem. Okay - I forgive you'.

The trouble is - there's a cussed part of human nature that takes the unforgiveness game a step further. Sometimes a person's life can be so dull, so meaningless, that it needs a jolt of anything to lift it even momentarily from the rut it's in.

Unforgiveness provides the jolt.

(Anything can. Take the argumentative person who is addicted to the surge of adrenalin in a stress situation. He or she will create the stress for the kick that it brings. They will stay in a situation they claim to hate, to despise, to desire release from - because they are hooked on the high it gives them.)

And with unforgiveness, there are some who "nurse their wrath, to keep it warm". Even though the cause might belong to the past, it is kept fresh because - there is nothing better to live for.

Again, believers have a problem with being nice. This fellow says or does something that really gets to you. Instead of blowing your stack, you act all Christian and loving and grin and bear it. All the time your little inside is churning and curdled and hating his guts.

Don't be nice. Be angry and sin not. Get up on your hind legs and tell the bloke off in no uncertain terms. Have a good showdown, publicly or privately.

Maybe it'll ruin your reputation for being such a sweet little old lady or gentleman. So what? You never were, were you.

There's no point in adding two-facedness to your existing list of sins.

And once you've brought out into the open where you're really at - you'll find forgiveness so much easier.

Another point: the thing you find particularly bad in others is, sure as dammit, your own personal weak point. And it's a natural (...bad...) response to lash out with law. As a defense. So you won't be condoning your own problems.

Wrong way.

Forgive.

And let's make it quite clear we haven't found it easy to write about forgiveness.

We're still learning.

And it's uphill all the way.

Let's hope the next chapter gets a bit easier.

* * *

OUR FATHER

In the previous chapter, we said that the Lord's prayer puts a couple of major restrictions on the outworking of the will of God in our lives.

It's a startling concept: that in God's highest revealed purpose for mankind there are two clear and specific limitations placed on him.

Let's say immediately that these limitations are God- imposed. Anything Jesus taught originated from his Father. They are included to give us total confidence in making the transition from wilderness to promised land.

What are the restrictions? Here's the first one.

Don't argue over the 'temptation'. Don't say that God never lures people into sin.

Of course he doesn't. But that doesn't mean that some situations can't prove dangerous for the right (or wrong) kind of people.

And some tests can be greater than we can handle - outside the kingdom.

This part of the Lord's prayer is a cast-iron guarantee that God won't have anything planned for us that will backfire. Nor will there be any adverse circumstances that wipes us out.

Ever sat under any teaching on Job?

Most of the sermons we've heard on Job left us thinking that the topic was taught by sadists for the benefit of masochists.

The poor fellow's calamities were always described in lurid, bloodthirsty tones, ending with "curse God and die" dramatically cackled with almost a self-satisfied glee.

And after the sermon we'd slink off home, driving well within the speed limit, and waiting for the first thunderbolt to fall.

No way. Not in the kingdom. Tests, trials, hair-raising experiences, sure. But nothing you won't be able to handle at the time.

Mind you - keep a sense of humour over this one. Some dear souls have a respectable streak. And anything less than a hundred grand a year, an address in Remuera and a new Porsche represents disaster.

"God mustn't touch that. I couldn't stand it. Go to pieces, that's what I'd do."

Sorry: you can't blackmail him. Just take comfort from the fact that when he's chipping away the social pretensions and the civilised shell, he won't harm the new creation hidden inside. Just make it visible.

Another thing. 'Lead us not into temptation' means that God won't jack up situations that play on some weakness of ours.

(This is the other side of the statement: 'if your right hand offends you, cut it off'.)

Mind you, the snag is that we're supposed to ask God not to lead us into temptation. Which in turn means that we're expected to want to avoid the situation.

That calls for a little bit of honesty.

'Know thyself', quoth the old philosophers. And religious ladies and gentlemen have dismissed the epigram as mere humanism.

Humanism, maybe. Mere, never.

If you don't know you're a rascal - you've got problems. If you don't know whether some form of sly sex or secret drinking or easy money is a skeleton in your cupboard - you've got problems. If you don't know how much it costs to buy you - an elder's badge, a vote of thanks from the platform, some form of social acceptance - you've got problems.

We're not teaching condemnation This isn't a plea for morbid introspection. Just that life would be a whole lot easier if folk were honest with themselves.

Don't be in any hurry to pray 'lead us not into temptation': there's the risk it might be answered. And if the only jollies you get are illegal ones - life's going to be awfully dull, eh.

And - that restriction on the will of God in your life is - seriously - a marvellous one. Means there's nothing to be scared of.

Okay. What's the other restriction?

God is restricted to performing his will in, through and to you in the context of his love as your Daddy. Not as judge, avenger, lawgiver.

Pilate fulfilled prophecy - and, therefore, the purpose and plan of God. So did Judas. Cyrus. There are destroying angels. Vessels of wrath.

We're not in that league. The will - the desires of God are limited to the love of a Father for his children. And obviously the word 'limited' is almost ridiculous in this sense.

Because it gives us freedom to apply for membership of the kingdom with a fair degree of confidence.

Then there's the bit about 'deliver us from evil'. We covered the question of handling the supernatural in 'Beyond Murphy's Law'. But the effect of living in the kingdom is to move into total deliverance.

Not click-bang-instantly. The further we move into the kingdom, the more we experience freedom from the Evil One.

Remember the teaching of Jesus about 'when an evil spirit leaves a man'? Some Christians have been scared of the thought of the thing returning with several of its mates, and have refused to touch the whole exorcism scene.

That's dumb. Okay, leave 'the house empty' and you've got problems. Every tuppeny-ha'penny gremlin'll want a corner to kip in.

But - to change the metaphor to the story of the Israelites entering the promised land - as they moved in, so God drove out the inhabitants. Bit by bit. Not all at once 'lest the wild beasts over-run the land'.

There's no problem. Because in the kingdom we're guided further in by God.

Just one point to watch out for. Right at the start of this book we said the kingdom isn't compulsive. We're not puppets. So one thing to remember (keeping the promised land illustration going) - don't 'make a pact with the inhabitants of the land'.

What does that mean?

Don't accept or tolerate any supernatural beings that aren't specifically from God. Okay, that may sound all very abstract and irrelevant right now - but the fact is that although there's nothing to worry about, it's an important thing to remember.

That way, we get total deliverance. From anything in our family background, our religious upbringing, what we might've got up to before we met the Lord, and anything that anyone tries to hang us.

Let's get on with the prayer.

The JWs say 'Jehovah has an organisation on earth'. And a great number of more orthodox Christians think along the same lines.

No way. Organisation is the wrong word with the wrong overtones.

Because the kingdom belongs to God, he does something only God can do - he directs everyone in it personally, individually, in a unique fashion designed for that person alone.

If the mark of the beast is literal, and literally we can't buy or sell without it - no problem; God has the whole shebang under control. If the tribulation is literal and future - no problem. The only ones who go through it are the ones who need to. History bears this out. There's never been a major persecution yet that didn't have its prior warning, its ways of escape.

Trouble is, there are always those who like to wait until it's too late. It happened in Armenia, it happened at the Russian revolution, it happened in Hitler's Germany. It's just no good telling God to taihoa a while.

Because Jesus promised greater works than he ever did. All that happens will be far more effective than anything jacked up by the Big Names of the past.

But - it's the earthen vessels department. It'll be obvious that nothing works by technique and expertise. Dad's kids will be, well - ordinary.

Don't forget that. Unless you're like a kid, you don't get into the kingdom. If you're a lady or a gentleman, you're going to run into the odd insurmountable difficulty.

You see - ladies and gentlemen have learned to be artificial. They've programmed themselves with a set of tribal customs and - worse - they have started to believe that those funny little ways really matter.

They don't.

Being our real self is what matters. Because only that makes any sense of the way God deals with you.

For example...

There was this dear lady we knew. Gracious, well-mannered, with a kind word for everyone she met. Troubled with a recurrent physical difficulty that she should've been able to shake off.

But never could. Despite the prayers of many friends.

Then, one day, a young fellow put a foot wrong. Said or did something that niggled her.

Nothing awful. Just something she couldn't handle.

She exploded. There was a scene that a Billingsgate fishwife would have been proud of. In an instant, that precious devoted saint had let her mask slip, to reveal the cantankerous, sharp-tongued human being underneath.

As Eileen and I tiptoed quietly away from the incident, we gave each other significant looks.

God had been trying to get through to the real person concealed below. Her sainthood was only the result of much willpower. He wanted to produce something genuine, work on it. And get the glory.

In this book, we haven't attempted to do an exhaustive word-study on 'kingdom'. You can do that yourself with Bible and concordance. We're mainly concerned with the here-and-now how-to aspects.

But there are enough clues in scripture to show that to be in the kingdom is to be in at the beginning of something unbelievable. To miss out - although it doesn't mean a loss of redemption - is described as 'outer darkness, where people wail and gnash their teeth'.

* * *

After the thirty-day period of mourning over Moses, there's a three-day period of preparing for the entry into the promised land, the place of God's rest.

We, and you, have spent a long time bewailing the death of religion. Now it's time to go on. There is only a short period in which to prepare to enter the kingdom.

At the moment (see Hebrews 4) the promise remains open - some must enter into God's rest.

Not those who had the first opportunity - for they disobeyed God and refused to enter.

But he has set another time for coming in. And that time is now. Today, when you hear his voice, don't harden your hearts, but strive to enter.

* * *