I dared to call Him “Father”

[Red Sky at Morning]

Chapter 5 (extract)

“O Father, my Father . . . Father God.” Hesitantly, I spoke His name aloud. I tried different ways of speaking to Him. And then, as if something broke through for me I found myself trusting that He was indeed hearing me, just as my earthly father had always done.

“Father, O my Father God,” I cried, with growing confidence. My voice seemed unusually loud in the large bedroom as I knelt on the rug beside my bed. But suddenly that room wasn’t empty any more. He was there! I could sense His Presence. I could feel His hand laid gently on my head. It was as if I could see His eyes, filled with love and compassion. He was so close that I found myself laying my head on His knees like a little girl sitting at her father’s feet. For a long time I knelt there, sobbing quietly, floating in His love. I found myself talking with Him, apologizing for not having known Him before. And again came His loving compassion, like a warm blanket settling around me. Now I recognized this as the same loving Presence I had met that fragrance-filled afternoon in my garden. The same Presence I had sensed often as I read the Bible.

“I am confused, Father,” I said. “I have to get one thing straight right away.” I reached over to the bedside table where I kept the Bible and the Quran side by side. I picked up both books and lifted them, one in each hand.

“Which, Father?” I said. “Which one is Your book?”

Then a remarkable thing happened. Nothing like it had ever occurred in my life in quite this way. For I heard a voice inside my being, a voice that spoke to me as clearly as if I were repeating words in my inner mind. They were fresh, full of kindness, yet at the same time full of authority.

In which book do you meet Me as your Father?

I found myself answering: “In the Bible.” That’s all it took. Now there was no question in my mind which one was His book. I looked at my watch and was astonished to discover that three hours had passed. Yet I was not tired. I wanted to go on praying, I wanted to read the Bible, for I knew now that my Father would speak through it. I went to bed only when I knew I must for the sake of my health. But the very next morning I told my maids to see that I was not disturbed, took my Bible again and reclined on my bed. Starting with Matthew, I began reading the New Testament word by word…

Source

 

[Red Sky at Morning]

From the Back Cover
How do I give myself to God completely? What happens when I do? I Dared to Call Him Father is a book for everyone who has ever asked these questions. It is the fascinating true story of Bilquis Sheikh, a prominent Muslim woman in South Asia who faced these questions at the crossroads of her life-and found the astonishing answers. Her entire life turned upside down as a series of strange dreams launched her on a quest that would forever consume her heart, mind and soul. This 25th anniversary edition contains a new afterword by a Western friend of Bilquis and a new appendix on how the East enriches the West.

About the Author
Bilquis Sheikh was the wife of a high-ranking government official in Pakistan. She gave her life to Jesus Christ in 1966. In 1972, sponsored by Samaritan's Purse, she resettled in the United States, where she spoke widely and shared her faith with many. Years later Bilquis returned to Pakistan, where she died in 1997. She was given a Christian funeral.

 

[Red Sky at Morning]

Luke 15


The Parable of the Lost Son
11 Then He said: “A certain man had two sons.12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. 13 And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with [a]prodigal living. 14 But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. 15 Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the[b]pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.

17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, 19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ’

20 “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

22 “But the father said to his servants, [c]‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. 23 And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; 24 for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.

25 “Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’

28 “But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. 29 So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. 30 But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’

31 “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. 32 It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’ ”

 

[Lizard King]

I dared to call nature Mother. Now if I can only figure how to get book deal.

 

[Red Sky at Morning]

I dared to call nature Mother. Now if I can only figure how to get book deal.

“Nature vs nature” might make a good one?

“The Scopes ‘Monkey Trial’ Revisited” - An invitation to examine both sides of the origins debate

[Edit] This heated presentation by Dr James Tour reflects the closed shop of Evolutionary science. His response is as incisive as it is scathing! I found something I wrote years ago... “Earlier this century the famous Scopes "Monkey" Trial proved to be a turning point in science education...

vigilantcitizenforums.com

 

[Red Sky at Morning]

I just heard this in a sermon I was listening to this morning, and had a “wait, what” moment!

John 17


20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And theglory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

Does that mean that God the Father loves His children as much as He loves Jesus. If so, the enormity of that has never fully hit me till today.

 

[Red Sky at Morning]

From Christianity to Islam… and back!