Excerpts from My Current Project: Bullying, a Spiritual Battle

(False names substituted for all guilty parties, including one school I’d rather forget!)

Taken from Chapter One
My Descent into Hell

OPEN LETTER TO WORMWOOD HIGH
(And Every Other Breeding Ground for Bullies!)


(Spiritual names assigned to school to reflect the universality of this satanic scourge on society)

Wormwood High (You leave a bitter taste like wormwood, as in Amos 5:7 and Rev. 8:10-11)
666 Lucifer Lane (Bullies are anti-love; hence reflect the spirit of satan and of anti-Christ)
Hometown, U.S.A. 00000 (You are universal, and you are of zero spiritual worth!)

 


Wormwood High (You are NOT dear to me!!!):


You profess to be a fully accredited high school, teaching students a well-rounded curriculum. How about adding Common Courtesy 101? Maybe you can’t, because of severe underfunding. For all I know, you could be bankrupt financially as well as morally.

True to my expectation, you issued me no apology in response to my letter. I’d thought that after 30-odd years, you’d be surprised to get a long-overdue complaint about the apathy you demonstrated toward all the abuse I received at your School of Hard knocks!

My theory is logical enough: You’re scared witless that if I hear from you we’ll sue. But what could I gain by suing you? As I said before, you possess absolutely nothing of value, materially or spiritually. I know compensation is due me for the unjust suffering I was subjected to, but I might as well squeeze blood out of the proverbial turnip!

I was a person who enjoyed learning, and would otherwise have found school a pleasure, but I was forced to quit because my ravaged nerves could take no more. The very spirit of Wormwood High is repugnant to me. I wouldn’t pay two cents for one of your diplomas. I wouldn’t even blow my nose on it. If one were to arrive in the mail from you tomorrow, I would just toss it in the trash!
I have to laugh when I remember the pride your school took in its “honors societies”. What a sick joke! To me, your school was an outpost of hell, presided over by a wimpy, politically correct principal too chicken to get tough with those punks who came to school just to stir up trouble.

Even now, three decades later, you’re still as cowardly as ever. You have made it quite clear that you possess neither honor nor decency. Jesus calls things what they are, and so do I. Your campus is a blight on the landscape of my home town, an abomination to a God of Love. I hope never to set eyes on it ever again!

I’ll close on a word of wisdom: America, along with many other countries, is reaping a bitter harvest in its public schools for decades of failure to enforce minimal standards of discipline of unruly students. Even your teachers tremble in fear of actual physical violence from the offspring of those who were treated leniently (or ignored altogether) when they were young. Armed guards patrol the corridors of America’s public schools, thanks to the yawning indifference of school administrators and legal catch-22’s which grant underage hellions immunity from punishment.

Gone is the day when bullying was done on the sly, and only a few unfortunate students were ever subjected to it. Now the bullies are even boldly attacking authority figures, who for many years said by standing idly by and looking the other way: I couldn’t care less!

Patricia C. Backora

 

Taken From Chapter Two

Steal, Kill and Destroy
Satan-One Dastardly Daddy

The Hebrews had a highly descriptive name for one of the chief devils: Beelzebub, “the lord of flies”. Pesky insects, by their tireless persistence, wear you down. They swarm around you, buzzing and waiting for you to relax your guard, so they can zero in and bite you. Bullies are the same way. Even verbal bullying withers the soul of a person by inches. Jesus couldn’t have put it more succinctly when He addressed some Jewish religious leaders who saw the truth His teachings, yet refused to accept them: YOU ARE OF YOUR FATHER THE DEVIL, and the lusts of your father you will fulfill. He was a murderer from the beginning, and did not live in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own; for he is a liar, and the father of lies. Which one of you can justly accuse me of sin? And if I’m telling the truth, why won’t you believe me? He who is of God will heed God’s words. You refuse to heed His words because you are not of God (John 8:44-47). No one who truly belongs to Christ can pledge allegiance to a swarm of bullies.

There is a malignant spirit at work in the world, at war with the Spirit of Christ, Who is Love Incarnate. By their fruits you shall know them, He says in Matthew 7:20. The fruits of the bully’s life reflect the nature of his father satan: steal, kill, and destroy. Satan incites the wicked to rob others, to engage in extortion, even to wage wars in order to satisfy that demonic drive to conquer less aggressive souls and prey on them. Christ has courageous soldiers who stand for righteousness, but the devil’s troops are a cowardly pack of dogs. My dad used to tell me, “Don’t ever act scared around a strange dog. They can smell fear.” Sure enough, bullies could discern that I sensed their meanness. My subconscious, cringing body language gave me away. Like all wild beasts, bullies can detect fear.

Bullies brandish all the trappings of warfare: knives, guns, iron fists.But they don’t enjoy fighting unless there’s absolutely no chance of personal discomfort or defeat. Six big, strapping youths pitted against one skinny “nerd” is hardly a fair match. But the devil doesn’t fight fair; he fights dirty. Through daily anxiety on the bus, and verbal intimidation at school, satan was trying to kill me by degrees, and harden my heart against a God Who supposedly presided over the religious country clubs many of my enemies’ families belonged to. Later, when I learned to tell the difference between truth and hypocrisy, I realized that it is an insult to Christ to call loveless entities by His name. You must, in your own mind, sever bigoted hypocrites from the Christ of the Bible! I John 3:15 says: Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

My tormentors gloated over my deterioration. I seldom smiled. The carefree giggle of a young girl was unknown to me. Life was a grim ordeal. I was at war, struggling for mere survival, as I daily drew fire from snipers for the crime of just being me. I slinked into the shadows, fearful of being spotted and teased. Bullies are always looking for something of God’s creation to destroy, some quarry to hound to death.

Recently I looked at a photo of myself at seventeen. I honestly don’t appear much younger in that picture than I do today. Now, the Holy Spirit in me causes my eyes to shine with joy. But back then, my face was blotchy from stress, and my eyes betrayed the anguish and fear of a hunted animal.

Before I began writing for the Lord, I had several dreams of lingering around my old high school, as if there were unfinished business to attend to. The multi-colored buildings of Wormwood High came into view. A feeling of revulsion would sweep over me, and I’d run like mad to escape that vast campus. I’d never quite make it to the edge, and all available transportation would leave before I got there. No other address on earth is more loathsome to me than 666 Lucifer Lane.

 

Taken From Chapter three:
The Truth Shall Set You Free
Prayer for Inner Healing


Dear Lord Jesus, this present evil world holds no attraction for me. I have known rejection and abuse, and many sad days where I have felt so all alone. At times I have even dismissed the idea of religion as so much hot air. But You aren’t a religion; You’re a wonderful, loving Savior Who wants to have me as your special friend. You have given me a glimpse of the beauty and glory of Your loving nature. Imperfect humans, whatever they profess to be, have often let me down, but You are altogether lovely. You go out of Your way to seek those whom this world despises. You raise up the poor from the dirt and exalt them to be princes in Your kingdom. This world has called me ugly, but You call me beautiful, and have searched through the darkness for me.

At this time, dear Lord Jesus, I want to respond to that sweet love You are extending to me. I want to love You in return, now and forever. I’m not just saying this because I need a stronger Being to fight on my behalf, but because I want to be set free from all the garbage which this lying world has foisted upon me from my earliest youth. I know that I, even as a victim, have also learned some ugly lessons on how to live, from TV, the movies, and other bad influences. There have been times when I have harbored ill will toward others and ( confess any other sins you can remember).

I ask You to please accept me as one of Your own children and wash away every sin, and every bad influence I have absorbed from this evil world. I now acknowledge You as my Lord, and know that God in heaven is My Father, upon Whom I may cast every care, and turn to for help in time of need. Amen.

 


Taken From Chapter Four:
Seek the Holy Spirit and His Power
A River of Healing
Ezekiel 47: 1-12

Psalms 46:4 speaks of the River of God: There is a river, whose streams shall bring joy to the city of God, to the holy Tabernacles of the Most High. We who have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us are His Tabernacles (I Corinthians 3:16). There is nothing so wonderful as being refreshed by that Living Water. The prophet Ezekiel was shown a vision of the glorious Temple which Christ shall occupy during His 1000-year Reign. Rivers of life-giving water will issue from His Temple in Jerusalem. Ezekiel 47:1-12 describes the wonderful attributes of this divine watercourse. The further along Ezekiel waded in God’s River, the deeper it got. We need, by faith, to dwell in the depths of the River of the Spirit, for there is much-needed healing there. There is power in the Spirit of God.

Verse 8 speaks of the “east country” of Palestine, which has always been dry, barren desert country. At present that territory must be artificially irrigated from a scarce water supply before vegetation can grow there. Sometimes the abuse and hurts of this life drain us of vitality, and make us feel like a dead, dry, lifeless shell. When the scathing heat of battle withers the soul like the merciless desert sun, it’s virtually impossible for you to blossom as a person. It takes a miracle to heal such deep-seated hurts.

The Lord turns Ezekiel’s attention to the Dead Sea. This is a huge lake to the southeast of Israel which, at present, can support no life at all. It is overloaded with salt, because while it receives water from the Jordan River, it has no outlet. One of the greatest hurts of being rejected is that no one wants to receive the love you have to give. You have no outlet for expressing the qualities that make you unique. It makes you feel dead inside. Not even human love is enough to restore such a wounded heart. It takes the River.

The salty Dead Sea will someday be changed into a body of life-giving fresh water. We read in verses 8-10: These waters issue out toward the east country and go down into the desert, flowing onward till they reach the (Dead) Sea. As these waters enter the Sea, the waters of the Sea shall be healed. And it shall be, that every living thing which comes into contact with the Water shall live. There shall be a very great multitude of fish, because of the waters which come to heal the Dead Sea; and wherever the River comes, there will be life. I believe this substantiates my belief that this wonder will take place during the millennial Reign of Christ on earth, rather than occurring in heaven. There are no bodies of water in heaven which require healing, for all the waters there already impart blessing from the Throne of God. Truly this blessed River typifies the Lord Jesus Christ, Who alone is the Way, the Truth, and the LIFE. In Jeremiah 17:13, Almighty God calls Himself the Fountain of Living Waters. It is He Who will be the source of that literal River which will proceed from His earthly Throne in Jerusalem. I have learned to appropriate the benefits of the Kingdom even now, by faith. I always look to Him to refresh my spirit, to impart guidance and wisdom for daily living, and to give me love far more genuine than was withheld during my high school days.

A dear minister friend of ours, “Brother George”, often encouraged his flock by quoting verses 7-8: Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord (not people!), and whose hope is in Him. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out her roots by the River, and shall not worry when hot weather comes, but its leaves shall stay green. It shall not worry in the years of drought; neither shall it cease to yield fruit. This corrupt world really puts the heat on us all sometimes. But if we stay close to the River, God promises us provision and protection, even when people all around us are worrying.

In verse 12 we read of the Lord’s provision for His people during the Kingdom Age: On either side of the River, on both banks, fruit trees will grow, whose leaves shall not wither away; neither shall the supply of fruit be exhausted. A different crop of fruit will be brought forth every month, because of the waters (of the River). The fruit will provide food, and the leaves will be used for medicine. Notice, one benefit is medicine. The resurrected saints will, at that time, already possess their incorruptible immortal bodies. So, obviously, it must be the mortal saints who will benefit from this product of those trees. Many centuries later, the apostle John received a similar vision. In Revelation 22:1-2 he writes:

And He showed me a pure River of the Water of Life, clear as crystal, flowing out from the Throne of God and the Lamb. In the middle of the city street, and on either side of the river, was the Tree of Life, which bore twelve varieties of fruit, and yielded its fruit every month. The leaves of this tree were for the healing of the nations. Dear reader, it has taken me many years to realize these precious truths. The only place I, as a survivor of bullying belong, is to be planted beside the River of Life. Unkind people will not contribute to your feeling of self-worth. Their malicious tongues minister only death, and the fruits of their lives are bitter and destructive. The fruit of the Spirit is life-giving and restoring. You must depend upon the Spirit of God to impart healing to both body and soul, and to water the parched areas of your being with the sweet love of Jesus. By faith ask the Heavenly Father to pour into you that same miraculous healing power which will be released to mortal humans who will partake of those blessed leaves during the millennial Kingdom. All our healing was provided for through the merits of Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross, which is the Tree of Redemption.

 

Taken From Chapter Five
God is Our Defense
Prophecy:
God: Your Mighty Fortress
II Samuel Chapter 22;Psalms Chapters 7, 46, 91, and 57; Psalms 9:9-10;12:5; 27:1-6;
Isaiah 49:25; Nahum 1:7; Ephesians 6: 13-18


I, the Lord, am a Fortress in the time of trouble, for all oppressed people who call upon Me for help. The earth is shrouded in gross darkness, but I will be an the Everlasting Light round about you, and the darkness shall flee before Me. If only you will call upon the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ in faith, I the Father will acknowledge you as one of My own and will hide you under My wings like a Great Eagle covers her brood under her own wings to protect them from all danger.
The wicked are growing ever bolder in their wickedness because the rulers of this earth have cast out the precepts of the Lord like rubbish and despised His Revelation of Righteousness in Christ Jesus. They have cut themselves off from My protection because they trust in the Arm of Flesh which cannot save. But enter ye into the Ark of Salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ, and ye shall be borne up on Eagles’ Wings, high above the power of satan which presently rules this earthly sphere.

O storm-tossed and weary one, do not hesitate to trust in the God of Israel Who delivered David from all his afflictions, who cried out to Me in the desolation of the wilderness when he was being hunted like a wild animal by vicious enemies. I was faithful to this man of faith, and he lived to fulfill the glorious calling I had placed upon his life.

All ye who have felt like rejected orphans because you’ve been denied love, come unto Me and I will be a Father to you. You shall be Mine forever, and need never feel lonely ever again. Your entire being shall be filled with My Love. You shall be loved by the Father, by the Son, and by His sweet Spirit. The angels of God shall keep you safe from harm, and shall rejoice forever over you.
Surely, saith the Lord, becoming one of My children confers a far greater dignity upon you than bullies have robbed you of in times past. I am able to fortify you with My Truth to the extent that you will be able to dismiss cruel words as mere rubbish, spoken by ignorant mouths which feed on lies. You will walk as a prince or princess, with the eternal Glory of God resting upon you. You will know the Truth, and the Truth shall set you free. There is no greater happiness than enjoying My friendship and love.

The children of the devil have no prospect of eternal happiness. Those who have rejected Me are condemned already. They walk in the ways of their evil father satan. He is a liar, and has often lied to others about you. Words have the power to destroy, and are a favorite tactic of the Kingdom of Darkness over which he presides. Receive the Words of My mouth into the depths of your wounded being, and they will minister to you like soothing balm to heal the hurts inflicted by the father of lies, the devil.

I will fight your battles for you, if only you will call upon Me in faith. I will contend with those who contend with you. Your enemies shall counted as My enemies. I will even cause them to flee before your face. I will scatter your foes. I will cause them to fall into any trap they’ve set for you, and I will make their weapons backfire against themselves. If they refuse to repent, retribution for their wickedness shall fall in full measure upon their own heads.They shall show themselves to be what they truly are_cowards_ as they are chased away by the mighty Angel of the Lord who encamps round about you.

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