Hah! God likes Indian Motorcycles.

God I was just this minute looking at Indian Motorcycles on the internet and feeling a bit guilty, feeling like I was wasting time.

Mark you’re not wasting time.

Explain?

Your time is mine. I gave it to you. It belongs to you.

That’s a contradiction in terms God – it’s yours but it’s mine. What??

Yes your time IS yours, but it’s also mine. Everything is mine.

But...?

But it’s only mine if you give it back.

Oh oh… that sounds VERY religious God and difficult to do. People are always saying that kind of thing – it’s so very easily said, but how on earth is it done??

You’re doing it already. You’re endeavouring to speak with me, to talk to me.

Yes but God we both know that’s really only for my own sake – certainly more for my sake than yours. I find I can’t function very well when I don’t have a conversation with you. I’m not doing it to keep you happy. Sorry, but I’m doing it to keep myself happy I think.

Mark what do you expect?

What do you mean?

I mean what sort of motive do you think is required of you, what sort of motive do you think is the right sort of motive for having a conversation with me?

Well I guess that the conversation would be for your sake, that I’d come to you like they say in church and in Christian books – “with a heart full of praise”, or something like that God.

And how realistic is that?

Well in my case not very realistic.

Why not?

Well I can’t say I walk around with a heart full of praise very often.

Mark when DOES your heart feel full of praise, I mean genuinely, not a worked up, manufactured, ‘I-choose-to-have-a-heart-full-of-praise’ sort of praise, but when does your heart just fill up with praise, pretty much without you making any choice or effort for it to do so?

Not as often as it should probably.

No Mark, stick with the point. There aren’t nearly as many ‘shoulds’ as you think. When does your heart fill up with praise without you having to squeeze it out or manufacture it?

Well, generally, when it happens, and it doesn’t happen heaps and heaps…

Stick with the point, answer the question Mark.

Ok God, well it happens when we’re talking like this.

How do you mean?

Well right now I’m kind of liking you. I can feel this wry smile forming on my face as I hear you talk in my heart and I realise I like your style God. I like how un-religious you are. Us Christians are SO religious, but you’re a breath of fresh air. I mean, you get this ‘God thing’ God.

Yes quite.

You smiled then didn’t you?

I did.

Yesterday when I read Michael Moxon’s conversation with you and he saw you smile I really liked that. Obviously knowing that it happened for him somehow opened up my eyes to see the same thing?

Of course. As you share your God conversations with each other you learn more about me. As Charity Kayembe taught you – you get to hear what I sound like through others.

Hah! ‘God conversations’; that’s not even my term God. I think I learned that one from listening to Koia Tomlinson.

You did. Each of you, as you converse with me and share what you learn with others, builds each other up.

God now you’re getting off track, you were talking about something else.

I was, but you changed the subject so I followed you.

What??

I followed you. Mark I know who I am. I don’t need to be reminded that I’m God, I don’t need you to let me set the agenda, I don’t need you to continually assume you can only talk about things that seem like ‘God-sort-of-subjects’. I love to talk about the stuff you want to talk about.

Ok but God now I’m getting lost, I can’t remember everything we were talking about.

Which is fine Mark. This isn’t an exam, it’s a conversation. A LIFE-LONG conversation. Let’s meander through the topics as they come up. You started this morning’s conversation apologising for what you thought was wasting time looking at photos of Indian Motorcycles. It’s not a waste of time.

Why?

Because you like Indian Motorcycles. I do too. They’re a work of art. That surprises you doesn’t it?

Well I guess… it doesn’t seem very spiritual.

I’m not.

Aye??

Mark in the sense that you use the word; ‘spiritual’, religious, a bit stuffy, boring and not exactly relevant to the physical practical world; I’m not. I’m not very ‘spiritual’ at all.

This is getting a bit dangerous God. People won’t be happy with this.

Not for me it’s not dangerous Mark. I don’t have to please people. They might think that ‘God doesn’t like that sort of thing’, but I AM God, I know what God likes and doesn’t like, and you’d all be surprised at some of the things I like. But you don’t know because you don’t ask. So there you are, you’ve learned something new this morning. God likes Indian Motorcycles.

I AM spirit Mark, THE spirit, the GREAT spirit, SPIRIT AND TRUTH. So I don’t have to keep acting in a ‘spiritual’ religious, stuffy, boring sort of way. What do you Christians REALLY think is going on?? I have to run the world, I have to be practical. I have a universe to hold together so it doesn’t implode/explode/disintegrate.

This is going all over the place God, I can’t remember if this is on track.

Don’t worry about it. It doesn’t have to be ‘on track’. As I said, this isn’t an exam, it’s not a pre-prepared dissertation, it’s a conversation Mark. Relax, let’s talk. There’s no pattern you have to follow. A pattern is religion. I’m not. I’m not religious and I’m NOT a pattern. I’m me. You’ll discover more of what that really means as you talk with me. ACTUALLY TALK!!! Back and forward. Like friends. Yes you can talk AT me, but you won’t find it nearly as satisfying as a discussion back and forward.

Oh and Mark while we’re on it, the other way around, letting me do all the talking, that’s not satisfying either. It’s slightly better than you doing all the talking, a definite step forward, but not for the reasons you think.

How do you mean?

You all think that listening to me talk all day, no interruptions from you, a ‘download’ from God, me talking in a monologue would somehow be the ultimate in spirituality.

Well yes, I guess we do think that?

It’s not. You were designed as a copy of me. Us. We, the three of us talk, we like to exchange ideas as we work and create. You’re mini creators. We don’t want you to try and sit in some silly state of adulation. Occasionally that’s ok, but what you’re designed for is conversation. Not sitting, or singing, or swaying about in a euphoric state as you experience the feeling of my presence. That’s alright sometimes. But what we really want is discussion.

Mark if a young man is overcome with the joy of just being in the presence of his girl’s beauty that’s lovely. But if every time he gets near her he wills himself into a mindless trance, then their relationship will not be very practical, and although satisfying for him on one level, not very satisfying for her. And ultimately, not for him either. She wants interaction, discussion, a meeting of minds. He needs that too. And Mark that’s what we want with humans - INTERACTION. DISCUSSION. CONVERSATION - THE INTERCHANGE OF IDEAS. CREATING WITH YOU. We DO NOT want you to be constantly willing yourselves into a trance of euphoric feelings as a result of our presence. If Christians keep doing that then eventually we will have to consider removing the sense of our presence. WE WANT CONVERSATION.

If the sense of our presence encourages you to will yourselves into a state of mindless adulation, what you have misinterpreted as a ‘heart filled with praise’, then we will eventually… you’ve got time to work through this, but eventually will have to consider removing the sense, the feelings that go with our presence.

God this is making me ask then what IS a heart filled with praise? What does that mean then?

That’s another discussion Mark, but let’s finish on this. Praise, true praise is interaction. Having such a respect for the other that you deem them worth an interchange of minds and words. Real praise for a great artist, singer, film star or writer is when a person deems them worthy of conversation and discussion. Adulation without conversation leaves them feeling empty, like an object. I, we, the three of us – we’re not objects Mark. Are you understanding this?

A bit.

PRAISE FOR THE FREEDOM DIARIES

The Freedom Diaries will stretch you. It describes Mark’s real life struggle with Doubt as he discovered that he could hear God’s voice every day.Dr Mark Virkler. Author of 4 Keys to hearing God’s Voice. Buffalo. New York.

Like a child on Christmas morning, I was delighted to discover how simple yet wonderful it is to place my hand into the hand of God and listen to his whispers and enjoy his affection.  I could only ask why no one had ever told me he was this good and this close.  I wish I had read this book a long, long time ago.  Daniel Walker. Founder and Executive Director of Nvader. Author of God in a brothel.

This is new and exciting. It’s not the idea of hearing from God that’s new, it’s having conversations back and forth, question and answers. That’s new for most of us. Now I am enjoying my own conversations with God, which always leave me with hope. David Garratt of Scripture in Song. Hawaii.