Deliver Us From Darkness

by W. Franklin Lattimore

  “One man took care of that whole list of prerequisites for us, and he did it for each of you. He gave his all so that you could have his all. This man is Jesus Christ. He lived a sinless life for thirty-plus years so that he could, one day, purposely die a horrific death on our behalves.”

  Brent began to pray. He hardly heard another word that Pastor Jonathan spoke, but that did not matter. He began to engage in warfare against the enemy of the men, women, boys, and girls throughout the sanctuary. “In the name of Jesus Christ,” he began under his breath, “I bind every spirit that is attempting to deceive the lost in this room.”

  Brent could hear Marta whispering her agreement in prayer. She, too, understood her authority and wasn’t hesitant to use it.

  “Every lying and hindering spirit I command you to be still and shut up, in the name of Jesus Christ. Father, I ask that you would send your angels to enter this place and engage the Enemy in warfare for the protection of those who need to hear and understand your message right now. I speak and plead the name and blood of Jesus over the people in this room. Release them, Father, to be able to make a decision for you.”

  “…take the next step,” Brent heard Pastor Jonathan continuing. “Jesus did his part for you. Now you must do your part for him. Jesus said that if you are embarrassed of him on Earth, that he will be embarrassed of you before the Father in Heaven. My friends, you do not want that. There is quite literally hell to pay.”

  Brent thought about his parents just then. I wonder what they’re thinking? The last time they were here, the message seemed to go over their heads and roll off of their backs. Then after service he heard the obligatory-sounding, “It was a good service. It was an interesting message.” God, I know that something has to be happening in them. You said your Word does not return without effect. I’m just wanting this so bad.

  “There are many of you in this sanctuary who do not have a genuine relationship with Christ, and you need to know this: Every time that you think that you’re not making a decision against him, that is precisely what you’re doing. A yes to Jesus is a yes. A no, a not right now, an I’ll get around to it all equate to no. Listen, folks, you are making a decision this morning, one way or another. If you die having made a decision that is anything but a yes, you will not make it to Heaven. I can’t be any more blunt than that. That’s just the way it is.”

  Pastor Jonathan again walked to the very edge of the platform directly in front of the lectern. “Those of you who know Jesus as your Savior and Lord; who have absolutely no doubt in your minds about your standing with God, I want you, and only you, to please take your seats.”

  Brent had never seen this before, and apparently neither had Marta, as she responded with, “Wow, this is different.” Brent nodded as he watched the overwhelming majority in attendance sit down.

  “Brent!” said Marta in an excited whisper. “Your parents!”

  Brent was looking right at them as his mom started to take a seat. But his dad leaned down and apparently said something to her. She took his outstretched hand and she stood back up. Brent’s heart started beating hard with excitement. God! Really? Really?!

  It appeared that along with his parents around forty to fifty others continued to stand. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen so many respond to an altar call. But his focus returned immediately to his family and to Pastor Jonathan standing almost directly in front of them.

  “All of you who remained standing, that took some guts, and for a few of you, even more guts to stand back up. Let me ask all of you a question. Do you want to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord this morning?”

  There were a few vocal affirmations, but most just stood nodding.

  “Here’s the deal. You’re not making a commitment to this church. You’re not making a commitment to a denomination. You are making a decision for God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. And you will not regret it, so long as you develop a real relationship with the Trinity after you’ve made this commitment. Now, I’m going to lead all of you in a prayer…”

  Marta leaned into Brent and squeezed his arm. He turned to her and saw tears forming in her eyes. She whispered, “They’re doing it, Brent! They’re doing it!”

  Brent hadn’t felt anything but astonishment up to that point, but upon hearing Marta’s words and seeing her tears, the floodgates opened, he leaned forward, placed his face in his hands, and he began to weep with deep gratitude to his God.

  11:32 A.M.

  BRENT AND MARTA stood in the foyer of the church as they waited for all of the new believers to come out of a conference room just off of the sanctuary. The regular counseling room at the front of the sanctuary was too small to accommodate all who had made decisions for Christ. Praise God! Brent reveled.

  “Brent, I’m so excited!” said Marta almost jumping up and down.

  Brent was both excited and apprehensive. He wanted to believe that his mom’s and dad’s commitments were real. He didn’t have any reason to believe that they weren’t, but he’d lived with the disappointments of this family his whole life.

  He didn’t have long to dwell on the thought, as the door to the conference room swung open and people began to stream out. There was a spontaneous outbreak of applause, along with a few shouts, from the people lingering in the foyer. Brent and Marta joined in enthusiastically.

  After some twenty to thirty people had exited the room, his parents came into view; both of them carrying new Bibles. Brent could see that his mom had been crying; the giveaway being her smeared mascara. He started walking toward them when something unexpected dawned on him. His mother was holding onto his dad’s arm, her head on his shoulder.

  Brent caught his breath and halted; stopped by the wonder of it. His parents found him in the crowd and his mom lifted her head. Grins lit up both of their faces as they started walking toward him and Marta.

  George and Cheryl appeared out of the periphery of his vision and joined Brent and Marta as his parents approached.

  His dad was the first to speak. “We get it. We finally get it.”

  Brent’s heart leapt! It was real! It was real!

  1 Go to Appendix B to read Pastor Jonathan’s message on “The Ten Virgins & The Wedding Feast of the Lamb”

  So, I’ll see you at 7:00 p.m., then,” said Brent.

  “Yes. See you then,” said Tara. “Oh, and Stephanie is out with some friends for the week—thank God—so just come on in when you get here. The doorbell is broken and if I’m in my room I might not hear you knock.”

  “Sounds good. See you in a little while.”

  Tara hung up the phone. It was getting to be crunch time. She had to make one more interesting preparation in order to make the camping trip everything she was hoping it could be.

  Brent was coming over to pick her up, along with all of her camping and hiking equipment, so that they could get a head start in identifying the necessary gear before they all left for Southern Ohio on Saturday morning. She planned a little surprise for him this evening, though; one that he was certain to enjoy; one that she was certain to enjoy showing off.

  6:57 P.M.

  TARA SAT BEFORE her window watching through the sheer curtains for Brent to arrive. Her hair was freshly washed and dripping wet. At the moment, she wore only a robe. Never before had she done anything this brash. She felt a twinge of nervous excitement. This is going to be simply delicious.

  After a couple of minutes she saw Brent’s Grand Am turn the corner onto her street. She got up and her robe dropped to the floor. Walking straight to her Walkman cassette player, she picked it up and put the headphones over her ears.

  Tara walked into the bathroom just down the hall and waited.

  7:03 P.M.

  BRENT PULLED HIS Grand Am to the curb in front of the house in which Tara was staying for the summer. He got out of the car and walked across the lawn to the front door. He knew that Tara had said to just walk on in, but he just didn’t feel comfortable doing t
hat unannounced.

  He knocked on the door and waited. He knocked a second time without a response. Turning the handle to the door he pushed it open and stuck his head into the house. “Tara! It’s Brent. You here?” He didn’t hear anything so he walked in.

  Knowing that this wasn’t Tara’s home, he felt awkward entering as he did. However, having been in the house one time before, Brent did know where Tara’s room was.

  He walked into the hallway and called out her name once again. A door to his right opened and Tara walked into the hallway wearing only a set of headphones attached to a Walkman in her left hand. Brent stopped, stunned.

  Tara was bobbing her head to music and looking at the player. She lifted her head and looked down the hallway toward Brent. She screamed and dropped the Walkman on the floor ripping the headphones from her ears. She quickly brought her hands up to her chest and crossed her legs, attempting to hide that which Brent had already gotten an eyeful.

  “Brent! What are you doing?! What are you doing here?!”

  Brent was completely flustered and didn’t know what to do. His initial instinct was to turn away, but he couldn’t make himself do it. Adrenaline and testosterone surged into his bloodstream. He was unaware it was happening, but endorphins had been released that immediately led to an imprint of this moment being seared into his memory. “Uhh … You said seven,” he said quickly in his defense.

  “What? It’s not seven!”

  Brent tried to keep his eyes zeroed in on hers. He realized that she had just said it wasn’t seven o’clock. “Umm … yes. It’s seven.” Why isn’t she going into her room?

  Tara seemed to relax. “It is? I’m sorry. I thought I had plenty of time still.” She dropped her hands and stood straight before him. “I suppose hiding myself now is ridiculous since you already got a good look.” With what appeared to be an embarrassed smile, she said, finally, “But I should probably go put some clothes on.”

  “Yeah, okay. I’ll just … umm … wait in the living room.”

  “Okay.” She hesitated for a moment, then turned and walked away from Brent, toward her bedroom. Brent didn’t turn away until she had disappeared. What he didn’t see after she rounded the corner, was the smirk that played across her lips.

  7:28 P.M.

  BRENT DIDN’T KNOW what to say about the incident. Tara was sitting to his right as they drove to his house. Packing the car had created a bit of nervous tension, but nothing like having her sitting right next to him.

  While driving out to pick up her camping equipment he had wanted to relate to her what had happened with his parents the previous Sunday, but now he wasn’t so sure that he wanted to talk about anything spiritual. He knew he was losing a small battle by not saying anything, because his real hope was that conversation would turn back to what he had seen just under a half an hour ago. He didn’t have to wait long.

  Without any small talk, Tara just asked him, point blank. “Did it bother you to see me naked?”

  “Depends on what you mean by bother.” Brent cringed the moment his little joke escaped his lips.

  Tara giggled. “Well, I’m all dressed now. Don’t stress yourself about it. Besides, truth be told, it’s not like you wouldn’t have eventually seen me naked sometime soon anyway.”

  Brent’s testosterone levels were beyond tolerable now. He wanted to give in and just go with the flow. He wanted to reach over and take her hand and lift it to his mouth and kiss it. He wanted her to respond to his touch…

  “Brent?”

  Brent cleared his throat. “Yes?”

  “You just missed your turn,” she said with another one of her tantalizing giggles.

  THURSDAY,

  JUNE 25 – 1:15 P.M.

  IT WAS ANOTHER boring afternoon. Though the sun shined outside, Tara sat in Stephanie’s living room and sulked.

  At least Saturday’s only two days away. That should be the start of several days of interesting. There was an anxiousness building inside of her to get close to Brent, and even Marta. Of course, she refused to allow mental or emotional connections of friendship to take place. They weren’t going to reach that status in her life. The two of them were simply playthings; entertainment for the summer. Be that as it may, being around either of them at least passed the time.

  As the monotony of the afternoon got to her, she decided to take a walk. Getting up off the couch, she went to her room to get her sandals.

  Stephanie’s phone rang. As it wasn’t her phone to answer, she allowed the call to be taken by the machine. After the fourth ring she heard Stephanie’s outgoing message, annoyingly cheerful: “You’ve reached Stephanie. It’s not that I don’t want to talk with you—possibly; It’s more likely that I’m just not here—possibly. Leave your message at the beep!”

  As Tara worked the buckle on her sandal Stephanie’s voice came through. “Tara, if you’re there, please pick up.”

  With a slight grimace, she walked back into the living room and did so. “Hello, Stephanie.”

  “Tara, there’s no reason for this to be long and drawn out, so I’ll get to the point. We have come to the conclusion that you are a liability to our cause. I want you to pack up your stuff and be gone from my house by the time I get back on Sunday.”

  “What?!” Tara could hardly restrain herself. “What do you mean? Who’s ‘we’?”

  “The answer to that is not your concern. Suffice it to say that those with whom I associate do not want you bringing undue attention to us. What you were being groomed for will not happen now.”

  “Groomed? You mean I was being fashioned for something?” asked Tara with both frustration and a sense of impending loss.

  “Everything is a test, Tara. And you failed yours.”

  Tara went from hate and anger to repentance in the blink of an eye. “Stephanie. I’m sorry! I’ll back out of my plans right now. If I had known…”

  “… If you had known, Tara, it would not have been a test. I will expect you to be gone by Sunday.”

  “Wait!” said Tara in desperation. “Please wait. I can do it. I can do whatever it is that you and the others want!” She began to grasp for straws. “I was the most advanced and well-practiced in my coven...”

  “Coven?” questioned Stephanie, with obvious disdain. “That wasn’t a coven, little girl. That, too, was a test. A qualifier. Trust me, you have no idea what a true coven is. Anything and everything you’ve ever done has been little more than child’s play.”

  Stephanie continued in measured tone, “You are a danger to everything that I—that we—are working to accomplish. I want you out of my house and out of my life.”

  Tara heard the phone connection click dead. She lowered the receiver slowly to the cradle and stared at it in disbelief. Tears welled up in her eyes as she dropped to her knees next to the small table on which the phone rested.

  “No, no, no, no, no. This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening.”

  She was overwhelmed with emotion. The initial shock of disappointment and regret would eventually transition into anger and hatred, along with no small amount of self-loathing.

  After several minutes she got up off the floor and walked back into her bedroom and began pacing and biting the nail of her right ring finger.

  What now? What am I supposed to do now? With those questions, she heard in her mind the unmistakable voice of her spirit guide.

  “Tara, you are at the end. You’ve missed your chance to be useful.”

  “That’s not true. You could be wrong,” she whispered.

  “We are never wrong, Tara, my love. You know that. Now, do what many others have done before you. Reach for the final fulfillment. Be free. Just step across the threshold into the Otherealm. I will be here to meet you.”

  “Shalinar, you’re wrong. I know it. I can still be useful. I can still be used.”

  “Come to us, Tara, my dear one. Join us and we’ll give you a purpose here, with us. There is power to be had here in the Otherealm. Leave y
our old broken life and let me introduce you to your true calling. Let me make you happy.”

  Broken in spirit, with all pride now gone, she thought about what was being offered. She was tempted. Oh, was she ever tempted. But she still thought she could prove herself somehow. She couldn’t just give up yet. Not yet.

  “You have been my spirit guide for many years, Shalinar. I’ve done what you’ve asked. I’ve trusted you with my development. Now I’m asking for your help. Help me get back into Stephanie’s favor.”

  “Come to me, my lovely. Come to me.”

  But Tara knew that she couldn’t leave this earth yet. She knew that she could still prove herself worthy. She would prove herself worthy.

  Saturday morning was a flurry of activity, as all of the would-be campers converged on Brent’s lawn. Camping equipment by the carload was sorted out to determine what was needed, what was too much, and what was what were you thinking?

  Tara, Marta, Eric, Karen, and Terry all showed up on time. Brent’s dad had risen to the task, as well. Keith Lawton had done his share of backpacking as a young man and passed on that love to both Brent and Lydia, though Sharon had never been a big fan herself.

  Sharon Lawton was also up and lending her expertise to the mix. She brought out a tray of muffins, granola bars, and fruit to give the campers a good boost into the day. Coffee was also served, much to the joy of a few who were dragging in the pre-dawn hours.