Following Jesus

The Long Weekend

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What does Easter mean to you?


Is it all about the bunnies and the eggs? I love chocolate, but this year they seem to be even more expensive than filling the fuel tank.


One headline I saw said this: “Modern Aussie Easter made easy: Barramundi with charred pineapple and a stunning upside-down apple & quince cake” So it’s all about the food then.


For other people, the long weekend is a perfect time to get away, possibly camping. Four days off work and time to de-stress.
The hardware shops will all tell us now is the time to buy that camping gear and paint the house, definitely a mixed message there.


So what is Easter about?


It all goes back to around the year 33 AD in the city of Jerusalem. Jesus Christ had become a problem for the authorities. His ability to draw crowds with lively preaching and miracles of healing was upsetting the religious authorities. Worse still, there was the possibility that riots might erupt, political turmoil develop and the occupying Roman authorities clamp down on everybody.


The religious and civil leaders hatched a plan. They rigged a show trial, complete with false witnesses who claimed that Jesus was stirring up trouble, The Roman governor didn’t have any qualms about crucifying one more Jew.


So on the day we now celebrate as Good Friday, Jesus was nailed to a cross at about 9 o’clock in the morning, dying six hours later. He was buried in a tomb. The authorities thought that episode was over, and life could get back to normal.


However, on Sunday morning, the day we call Easter Sunday, it became clear that Jesus had risen from the dead. Over the next few weeks hundreds of his followers reported seeing Jesus alive, in a restored body.


Easter is a celebration of two things.


We remember that Jesus died for us on Good Friday. His death paid for the things that we did that are wrong.


We also celebrate that Jesus has won the victory over death. He died and returned to life and promises that everyone who trusts him will also live forever.


The most famous verse in the Bible says, “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.


That promise is for you if you will believe it.

Ashton Nichols: Caught Up In The Truck

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Caught Up in the Truck: How a Greek Word and a Modern Miracle Exposed the Truth About the Rapture

​We often read the scriptures through the lens of what we’ve been told, rather than what is actually written on the page. For years, I viewed the “Rapture” as a physical exit from this world—a literal flight into the clouds. But what if we’ve been missing the most beautiful part of the mystery? By diving into the original Greek and reflecting on a life-changing encounter in the passenger seat of my truck, I’ve come to realize that being “caught up” isn’t about leaving the earth—it’s about a spiritual awakening that is available to us right here, right now.

​The Mystery of the “Air”

​I recently learned something I was previously unaware of while reading John Noe’s book, The Apocalypse Conspiracy. Specifically, it concerns the Greek word used for “air” in 1 Thessalonians 4:17.

​Most people who focus on the Rapture emphasize being “caught up,” but they often overlook the rest of the verse or fail to examine the original Greek meaning of the word “air.”

​1 Thessalonians 4:17

​”After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.”

​There is no mention here of being in heaven or at God’s throne; it simply says we are caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. In the New Testament, there are two primary Greek words used to translate “air”:

• ​Ouranos: This refers to atmospheric air, where birds fly, or higher.

• ​Aer: This refers to internal breath, derived from a verb meaning “to breathe unconsciously.”

​Aer is the specific word the Apostle Paul used in 1 Thessalonians 4:17. Interestingly, the corresponding Hebrew word is “spirit,” which aligns perfectly with John’s description in Revelation 1:10, where he says, “I was caught up in spirit on the Lord’s day.”

​This is also reminiscent of Paul’s own experience described in 2 Corinthians 12:2-4:

​”I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows… he heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell.”

​Paul didn’t even know if he was in his physical body or out of it; he simply knew he was “caught up” and heard things he couldn’t describe.

​What About the Clouds?

​The original Greek word used in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 is nephos (νεφος). While it can mean a physical cloud, its metaphorical meaning is a “dense crowd” or a “multitude.” This same word is used in Hebrews 12:1: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses…”

​It seems Paul was not referring to the literal clouds in the sky. This mystery is spiritual. It has nothing to do with physical death or being sucked into the sky; it has everything to do with being caught up in your spirit into God’s presence. This applies to all believers, here and now.

​My Personal Experience

​I want to share an experience that happened to me a little over three years ago.

​I was in a dark place, feeling that God didn’t love me or want me. My husband and I were driving down the road in our truck, and I was staring out the window, consumed by negative thoughts. Suddenly, something happened that is honestly hard to put into words. I heard the words, “I do love you!” very clearly.

​Not only did I hear it, but my body felt strange. An unexplainable peace washed over me—something I had never felt in my life. I heard that I would see miracles, along with a few other things that I curiously cannot remember. Tears streamed down my face. I wasn’t sad; I just couldn’t stop them. It felt as if time stopped and my body was frozen.

​While this was happening, my husband was apparently trying to get my attention to see what was wrong. I was unaware of this. When I finally “came to,” it took a while for my speech to return. When I finally told my husband, the look on his face was one of pure shock. I will always remember that He said He loved me. That experience changed my life.

​One of the miracles that immediately followed involved our home. We were about to lose our house because work had been so slow. That very same day, God used one of our clients to pay off our debt entirely. We also ended up with extra jobs that caught us up on everything else. We were completely out of our financial pickle! It happened so fast it was unbelievable.

​God said “miracles,” and since that is plural, I assume there may be more to come. I haven’t had an experience like that since, but I have been changed ever since. I was “caught up” with the Lord that day, and I didn’t even fully understand it until recently.

​A Call to See with New Eyes

​If this study of the Word and my personal testimony has opened your eyes, I hope you see that this has nothing to do with the traditional rapture. That teaching often keeps people waiting for a physical escape that isn’t coming, causing them to miss the spiritual reality available to them right now.

​When we stop looking at the sky and start looking at the Spirit, we realize that “meeting the Lord in the air” is about the internal breath—the Aer—and being caught up in the overwhelming love of the Father.

​Please share this with someone who needs to hear it. If this has resonated with you, help others move from carnal confusion to spiritual clarity. Let’s remind them that they don’t have to wait for a future event to be “caught up” in God’s presence; they can experience His miracles and His love today.

​Thank you for taking the time to read my story. 💕

The Breastplate Prayer of Saint Patrick

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Saint Patrick is one of the great men of God in church history. It is sad that our culture has removed the man from the celebration, a bit like what they have done with Christmas.

Here is a powerful prayer that he wrote:

Lorica of Saint Patrick (Saint Patrick’s Breastplate)

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ’s birth and His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion and His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection and His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In preachings of the apostles,
In faiths of confessors,
In innocence of virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock.

I arise today
Through God’s strength to pilot me;
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s hosts to save me
From snares of the devil,
From temptations of vices,
From every one who desires me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone or in a multitude.

I summon today all these powers between me and evil,
Against every cruel merciless power that opposes my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of women and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man’s body and soul.
Christ shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that reward may come to me in abundance.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through a confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.

“I Push Back”

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Courtroom of Heaven Pushback Prayer

BACK TO SENDER❗️

Righteous Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, I enter into Your courts this morning by the blood of the Lamb, and I take my place before the throne of grace with boldness, not in my own righteousness, but in the finished work of Jesus Christ. I stand before You as Your daughter, redeemed, justified, and covered by the blood. I stand in the authority You have given me to tread upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means harm me.

This morning I present my case before Heaven, and I push back.

Father, I ask that every accusation spoken against me in the spirit be silenced by the blood of Jesus. Every voice that says I am too much, I push back. Every voice that says I am not soft enough, I push back. Every voice that calls my strength brokenness, I push back. Every voice that calls my discernment pride, I push back. Let every lying spirit be overruled in this court.

Father, I renounce every agreement I have made knowingly or unknowingly with limitation, delay, poverty, confusion, rejection, and low level love. I break agreement with the lie that I must shrink to be accepted. I break agreement with the lie that I must settle to be loved. I break agreement with the lie that I must accept crumbs when You have ordained abundance for my life. Let every illegal contract be revoked now in the name of Jesus.

By the blood of Jesus, I cancel every covenant formed in my bloodline that invited struggle, delay, perversion, poverty, or limitation. I revoke the right of every spirit that has claimed access to my life through generational doors. Every bloodline curse, I push back. Every spirit of delay, I push back. Every spirit of complacency, I push back. Every anti progress spirit, I push back. Every anti marriage spirit, I push back. Every anti prosperity spirit, I push back.

Father, let the record of Heaven show that I no longer agree with what has been fighting me. I reject fear disguised as humility. I reject false peace that keeps me small. I reject manipulation that tries to control my emotions. I reject every arrow sent to distract me from my assignment. Every word curse spoken over my life, I send it back to the place it came from, and I declare that it has no power over me.

Every spirit that tried to convince me that my boundaries were wrong, I overrule it now. My boundaries are not rebellion. My strength is not brokenness. My discernment is not pride. My voice is not too loud. It was given to me by God, and I will not turn it down.

Father, I ask for a ruling in my favor this morning. Rule against delay. Rule against limitation. Rule against poverty. Rule against perversion. Rule against confusion. Rule against every spirit that has tried to punish me for being strong. Let divine justice speak on my behalf.

For it is written that the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. So this morning I take back territory. I take back my authority. I take back my confidence. I take back my discernment. I take back my joy. I take back my destiny. I take back my inheritance.

Every power of darkness interfering in my life from any direction, I command you to release your hold now by the blood of Jesus, by the authority of Jesus, by the word of God, and by the power that has been placed inside of me.

I push back. I overrule. I revoke. I reclaim. I advance. And nothing shall by any means harm me.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

The Power Pusher, LICSW

European Parliament Names ‘Christianophobia’ in Formal Resolution for First Time

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From the Daily Declaration by Kurt Mahlburg

Christianity is the world’s most persecuted religion, the European Parliament recently declared, using the term ‘Christianophobia’ in a formal resolution for the first time.

The European Parliament has used the term ‘Christianophobia’ in a formal resolution for the first time, declaring Christianity the most persecuted religion in the world and calling out the EU’s failure to appoint a coordinator to combat anti-Christian hatred — a position that already exists for Islamophobia.

The resolution, adopted in Strasbourg earlier this year, stated in Paragraph 84: “Christianity remains the most persecuted religion in the world today, with more than 380 million people affected.”

“There is no European coordinator responsible for combating Christianophobia, even though a coordinator has been appointed to combat Islamophobia,” it added.

The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) welcomed the resolution and urged the European Commission to act on it.

“Taking note of this important statement by the European Parliament, COMECE encourages the European Commission to give serious consideration to the appointment of an EU Coordinator responsible for this field,” the bishops’ body said in a statement last month.

The resolution — formally titled the Annual Human Rights Report 2025 and adopted under reference TA-10-2026-0014 — also condemned the persecution of Christian communities in the Middle East.

It described Christian communities from the Middle East as “among the oldest in the world,” noting they continue to face “severe persecution, discrimination, forced displacement and restrictions on their freedom of religion or belief.”

In January, Pope Leo XIV had raised the same concern. “We must not forget a subtle form of religious discrimination against Christians,” he said, “which is spreading even in countries where they are in the majority, such as in Europe.”

Coalition and Pushback

The specific language of Christianophobia was the result of sustained amendment work by centre-right and conservative MEPs.

The European People’s Party (EPP) and the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) drove the provisions, with Dutch MEP Bert-Jan Ruissen (ECR) and Croatian MEP Davor Stier (EPP) leading the effort in coordination with Aid to the Church in Need. The Patriots for Europe group also supported the text.

The final vote drew backing from a cross-partisan majority that included a significant portion of the Renew Europe group, whose members argued religious freedom is an indivisible pillar of human rights.

Radical left groupings and some Greens opposed the specific mention, reportedly concerned it would create a hierarchy among victims of religious hatred.

The Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe (OIDAC) welcomed the result, noting the Parliament “not only acknowledges the global scale of anti-Christian persecution but also highlights an institutional asymmetry within the EU’s existing anti-discrimination architecture.”

The Coordinator Question

COMECE proposed that the future coordinator’s title refer to “anti-Christian hatred” rather than ‘Christianophobia’, to align with existing EU positions on other communities and to avoid a term built on the contested concept of ‘phobia’.

The bishops’ body also called for dedicated funding through the EU’s forthcoming AgoraEU instrument.

The push for the role has been building for over a year. In December 2024, COMECE adviser Alessandro Calcagno told a European Parliament conference: “The time is ripe for the appointment of an EU Coordinator to combat anti-Christian hatred.”

In November 2025, COMECE Vice-President Mgr Czeslaw Kozon raised the same call directly with EU Commissioner Magnus Brunner.

The resolution also called for the timely appointment of an EU Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief — a post that has remained vacant for more than a year.

A Framework for Action

The resolution is political in nature and does not bind the European Commission to act. Whether the Commission appoints a coordinator — and on what timeline — remains to be seen.

The text of the resolution notes that the EU’s post for combating Islamophobia already exists as a standing institutional position.

COMECE’s statement drew a direct line: the protection of Christian communities in Europe “must become tangible” through both a dedicated coordinator and financial support.

The resolution, COMECE said, marks a point at which the European Parliament has moved beyond recording statistics toward providing “a legal and political framework for action.”

Rethinking “Quiet Time”: Frank Viola

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The term “quiet time” was coined in the late nineteenth century from the Christian and Missionary Alliance movement. By the 1940s, it replaced the Anglican concept of “the morning watch.” The morning watch focused on prayer requests while the new “quiet time” focused on Bible study and meditation.

InterVarsity’s 1945 booklet “Quiet Time” popularised the term among evangelical university students. The term went mainstream when Billy Graham started using it in the 1950s during his crusades.*

There are three main problems with the modern concept of a “quiet time” that I wish to address in this article. Let’s take them up one at a time (and please don’t skim lest you miss the nuance).


1) Quiet time has been the source of guilt in evangelical circles for decades.

Here’s how it works. Your pastor tells you that God wants you to have a daily “quiet time” — which essentially means praying and reading your Bible.

You’re inspired by his words, so you begin with zeal. After a week or two, you miss a day. Then another day. Then the guilt trip begins.

Here’s the narrative that replays in your head:

“God is upset with me. If I really loved Him, I wouldn’t miss my quiet time. Jesus died for my sins, and I can’t even spend 10 minutes with Him each morning? I’m a sad excuse for a Christian. In fact, God has just finished carving out a new 2 x 4 by which to beat me silly. And I deserve it.”

The guilt you feel over missing your quiet time is now an obstacle standing in the way between you and your Lord. And that obstacle leads to additional missed quiet times.

Months roll by and the pastor preaches another sermon on the importance of prayer and Bible reading. More guilt. But this time it motivates you.

So you try again. Things are great … for a week. Then you miss. And the guilt trip starts all over again.

After several months of living under three tons of “missed-quiet-time” condemnation, you are in need of a travel agent to handle all the guilt trips you’ve been on.

Years go by, and nothing changes with respect to your quiet time. It’s still hit and miss. You’ve just become accustomed to living under a pile of guilt, which ends up hurting your relationship to Jesus Christ — whether you realise it or not.


2) You leave Jesus Christ behind after your quiet time.

For those disciplined enough to have a daily quiet time without missing, something happens that you aren’t even aware of. You begin your day with the Lord, but you leave Him behind in your room when your quiet time is over.

In other words, you go about your day without ever considering Him again unless someone mentions Him or you turn on a Christian radio station (or worship CD) in your car.

So you get an A+ on keeping a consistent quiet time (yay!), but a D- on living in the Lord’s presence throughout the day.

Why? Because no one ever taught you how.


3) Your quiet time will eventually grow stale. Sooner than later.

I’ve said it many times, but I’ll say it again: Everything eventually wears out except for Jesus Christ. That includes every spiritual discipline that humans have ever imagined or experienced (be it reading your Bible, praying, singing, fasting, interceding, speaking in tongues, etc.).

You and I are in need of acquiring more tools in our spiritual toolbox so that whenever a spiritual practice runs dry, we can pick up another tool to take its place. In this way, everything stays fresh.

So what’s the solution to all this?

The antidote for number one — guilt — is simple. I’ve addressed it thoroughly in elsewhere, but the reason why you feel guilty about missing a quiet time is because you are unwittingly basing your worthiness before the Lord on your work instead of on His. And you’ve accepted a man-centred narrative that puts you at the centre instead of God’s narrative.

If you get clear on the value of the blood of Christ and what makes you worthy in God’s eyes, and you’ll be forever freed from a guilty conscience when it comes to any religious or spiritual activity.

The fact is, God loves you exactly the same regardless of how often you pray or read your Bible. His love for you isn’t based on any of those activities.

Another important point to consider is this. Treating one’s failure to keep to a regular “quiet time” should never be treated like explicit sins described in the Bible (like lying, gossip, stealing, slander, etc). There’s no command saying, “Thou shalt have quiet time of reading your Bible and praying every day.”

The fact is, 90% of the first-century Christians couldn’t even read. And that’s been mostly true since around the 19th century. Even today, approximately 1 billion people are illiterate (about 16% of the total population). Shall we condemn them all?

As I explained in elsewhere, many evangelicals have merely updated Pharisaism with an ever-changing Mishnah of behavioural expectations that I’ve dubbed “The Christian Expectation” — and the famed “quiet time” is a part of it. Thankfully, Jesus Christ destroyed the entire code and gave us something higher.

Nuance alert.

Unfortunately, some people have taken the above insight and washed their hands of the whole practice of spending time with the Lord in the name of “grace” and “freedom.” But this only reveals that their motivation for spending time with Him wasn’t love. It was guilt. Thus once the guilt is removed, they have no desire to know the Lord better.

Quick personal note: I spend time with the Lord virtually every morning. It looks nothing like the typical “quiet time,” however. And if I miss a day, I don’t feel the slightest bit of guilt. In addition, I’ve discovered various ways of living in God’s presence throughout the day. And I’m not spiritually inclined nor disciplined by nature (which means there’s hope for all of you who are like me).

This blog post is long enough, so I will end with this point.

Living in the conscious presence of Jesus Christ is an essential aspect of living in God’s kingdom.

Gift and Work

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I was putting on my shirt prior to going for a bike ride the other day when I noticed something that shocked me. The shirt was a commemorative shirt from a charity bike ride that I participated in along the Great Ocean Road. We rode a total of a little under 300 km from Geelong to Warrnambool over three days.

What shocked me was the date on the shirt- February 2006. It can’t possibly be ten years ago!

I have many fond memories of that ride – the beautiful scenery, iconic locations such as Bells Beach and the Twelve Apostles (now reduced to nine) at Port Campbell, and the hard slog of the final morning when the unrelenting westerly breeze made riding so difficult.

I have never been athletic or sporty in any way, so this ride in my late 50’s was a once in a lifetime event.

I felt at the time that this was a gift from God. When I saw the Facebook ad I just really felt like I wanted to do this. It seemed that the Lord was saying “You can do this.” That decision led to months of training to get my body used to riding 100 km in a day, and then the hard work of the actual ride.

I was talking to somebody recently about a business expansion he is considering. It seems a little bit crazy, but he knows that God is in this project. He has a peace that it is right to do it, but that doesn’t take away from the work of doing the evaluation and planning and then executing it.

God has given every person the gift of eternal life. It’s a free gift in the sense that you cannot earn it by your own efforts. But it comes with a price tag that you have to put Jesus first in your life decisions.

He gives us the chance of a new start, but we have to live out the new life. He shows us what to do, but we still have to do it.

The Bible says, “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Take hold of that promise, and start living for God today.