HOW IT ALL BEGAN

I

n 1975, on a warm summer’s night on the Island of Bahamas, I had a dream. Barely five years old at the time, I hadn’t yet developed any of the complex thought processes or rationalization tools that so often make us stumble, and lose the plot as adults. At that tender age, hearing from the Lord was so simple, so…unforced.

 

In the dream, I saw myself as an adult. I was standing alone on a huge platform, when suddenly I was joined by the Ancient of days.

With a shock of radiant white hair, He was adorned in the most modest-looking, free-flowing linen garment ─ but this garment was aglow. He moved with a grace and majesty so captivating, that I was unable to take my eyes off Him. As I stood speechless, my eyes riveted upon Him, His expression became so kind that I just began to move towards Him involuntarily. I’ll never forget the feeling of being that close to the Lord, it serves as a benchmark in my relationship with Him till this day. The atmosphere  became pregnant with favour-clouds and a warm drizzle of love and acceptance began to gently fall on my face. The longer I stood in that sweet shower, the more saturated I became with an unbreakable sense of authority and purpose.

 

We were standing together side by side when The Lord suddenly waved His hand, instantly transforming the scene before my eyes. The ground we were standing on melted away, and I noticed that we were no longer on a platform, but at the summit of a great mountain. When I looked down from this huge mountain, I was taken aback by what I saw.

 

Gathered at the foot of the mountain for miles and miles, was a vast sea of people. As I looked more closely, I saw a multitude of the most amazing mix of people from every creed and culture. There were men, women, and children of all ages there, dressed in the various attire of different nationalities. From the tattered, dishevelled appearance of the masses, it was clear to me that they had travelled from great distances. Some were badly wounded. Some were crying. And some were even dying. I would not have been able to explain how I knew this, but I was aware that these poor folks had travelled their entire lives through the most punishing and unforgiving terrains to be here.

 

As they arrived at the foot of this great mountain, the expressions of expectancy and jubilation on their faces, began to give me an uneasy feeling. Making matters worse, was the fact that as the people continued to gaze up at the mountain’s summit where I was standing, the Lord turned and looked at me! He smiled ─ and then took a deliberate step back.

 

Suddenly, the penny dropped…with a clang!

Somehow I was to address this famished, journey-worn, expectant mob. Oh…no!!!

A nauseating bubble rose up into the back of my throat: FEAR!

I began to stammer my urgent protests when the Lord simply and silently held up His hand ─  He was still smiling.

 

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE

 

Then, in this most mysterious of dreams, the lord produced a scroll (made out of some sort of parchment) from  the folds of His garment. The scroll began to glow and slowly unrolled itself before me.

Written on this radiant scroll in the most beautiful script, was the infallible Word of God. As I searched and studied the desperate faces of the multitudes at the foot of the mountain, I suddenly realised (with no small sense of relief) that the solution to every one of their problems, the answer for every broken life, was right there in this holy communiqué from heaven: The Bible.

 

Then in one brief moment, the Ancient of days set my little life on fire. He lifted up his hand, pointed a florescent finger at the scroll (which now had my name written on it in bright, fiery letters), and then slowly swept His open hand over the waiting crowd saying: TEACH MY WORD!

Then, as soon as He had appeared, He was gone.

 

In 1992 (at the age of twenty two) I left a life of crime on the streets of Birmingham (England) and gave my heart to Jesus Christ. I have been teaching and preaching the Word of God ever since.