The quest for truth often must begin somewhere in a dense forest of life, and follow a serpentine route of wills and trials to find a firm direction. For Pete, looking back, it’s like the entire journey was well mapped. This is the story of that trail. It took a sharp turn when he got

GUT SHOT

I suddenly woke up panting and in a sweat. I turned over and grabbing my girlfriends arm to wake her, practically yelled, “I've just dreamt that I'd been shot in the stomach.” She didn't seem too concerned and rather casually replied, “O yeah, good on ya,” and went back to sleep.
Two nights later I had exactly the same dream and once again woke up panting and in a sweat. “I just dreamt I've been shot in the guts again,” I exclaimed. This time she took me more seriously.
Another two nights, Christmas Eve, I decided to go around to a mates place for a few beers. On the way, I hoped I wouldn’t get gut shot. As we drank and talked, my mate was playing around with a shotgun, and then,
BOOM!!
I immediately stood up and saw blood; Realizing I had been hit in the stomach, I ran outside shouting, “Phil, you ##$?*&%, you've shot me!”
At first it didn't seem too bad, but soon, I felt a stream of blood running down my leg. I started walking toward a hospital nearby, but By the time I got out to the street, I started going down. I thought I'll soon find out where you go when you die. For some reason, I didn't seem too worried.
Others came to help and after loading me into the back of their van, drove me to the hospital. I heard the doctors whispering and knew it was bad. I had pellets in my mouth, stomach, legs, hand, face and right ear.
After they removed the gunshot, I had an incision and staples from the top of my groin to my chest. I thought I was going to die of pain. I laid awake in agony for three days before the nurse discovered the morphine drip was improperly installed. Then, with a shot, I slept for two days. Thoughts ran constantly through my head. How come I had dreamt I was going to get shot? Was it some kind of premonition? I didn't give God a thought, because to me Christians were little more than a bunch of hypocrites who just loved to get dressed up on Sundays!
I wasn’t all that angelic myself. Even as a Roman Catholic child, raised on a farm in Western Victoria, with a dad who was pretty hard at times, I swayed from obedience. Dad, though, had ways of imposing his will.
On Sundays he insisted I go to church. One day however, when I had decided to 'give church the “flick,” I took off across the paddocks with 'the ol' man in hot pursuit, waving a cricket bat and shouting for me to stop! But being determined. I kept running! That is, until I heard him yell, “right! I'm goin' back fer the gun!” I knew dad always meant business and remembered the gun hung just above the back door. It didn't take me long to come to the conclusion that it might be healthier if I just went to church!
It was about that time, at age nine or so, I started smoking and had my first joint at fifteen. I played around with motorbikes and guns, preferring the outdoor life. I was a failing student (except in math), and left high school at seventeen. My reason I stayed in school that long was that it was easier than carting hay or working in the wool-shed. Most of my boyish pranks were restricted to occasionally doing donuts on the local golf course or riding a motorbike through town in a slightly less than sober state. I didn't think this was too serious at the time.
At 30, I was pretty much your average bloke, I had became an alcoholic and drug addict. I didn't consider this too unusual though, because all of my mates were the same. I had a natural disliking for work, preferring beer and dope. I was mostly either drunk or stoned!
When I had recovered sufficiently to be discharged from the hospital, I focused on finding answers for my dreams. I read about the predictions of Nostradamus, studied the teachings of Psychics and Channellers, anything that claimed wisdom. However, despite all that had happened, I didn't change my life-style, and before long I started believing what I was reading. I took a particular interest in the end of the world, Armageddon and, Eastern Religions, but still had no interest in the God of the Bible.
One day I saw an advertisement in a magazine, “Do you want to know the secrets of the Universe?” I thought That sounds alright. So I ordered the books along with information on rituals I could perform at home. I set up a mirror with candles and an Altar, and there recited a prayer, not to the true Creator of the Universe, but to the god of the Cosmos!
At the time, it all sounded harmless enough. Later however, I discovered that the Greek word for Cosmos was World. So, in effect, I was praying to the god of this World. After praying the prayer I started shaking and remember thinking, This is strange!, what's going on here?' I soon became filled with pride. Everyone else was wrong and I was right. I continued drinking beer and whiskey which led me down an even darker path as I drew deeper into occult practices. I had become paranoid about the end of the world, even burying food in case there was a catastrophe. I was tiring from all the false predictions I was given predictions and dates, that were never fulfilled! These gurus also taught me how to leave my body! I only tried it a couple of times but that was enough. It was a strange experience to be actually out of your body whilst it was still lying on a bed!
Buddhism and Hinduism, however were complicated and unreliable, and made no sense to me. It was at this point I began thinking about God and the claims of Jesus. After all, I had looked at all the other religions with their alternative thinking and none had offered me any helpful answers. By now I was growing more desperate in my search for truth. I became especially interested in biblical prophecy; of special interest were the works of Barry Smith. I found his writings more reliable and informative than others. I was still not into reading the Bible however, except the book of Revelation and the prophet Daniel.
When I finally stopped reading all the other New Age material, something inside me started to stir! I became depressed, anxious and fearful. I heard noises in my head. I couldn't think, read a book, watch television or do anything. I was a total wreck! I even wondered if I was going mad and whether others suffer like this. I just didn't know what was happening. Even so, I continued drinking and smoking of marijuana.
In desperation, I picked up another Christian book that contained “the sinners prayer” Through this prayer, you invite Jesus into your life. I did this, but felt no different. It said that Jesus would deliver me from my torment. I sure wanted to be free! So I kept on asking Jesus to set me free. I would recite the Lord's Prayer over and over. By now I was close to having a nervous breakdown. There was a struggle going on inside me, a spiritual battle was raging between the forces of good and the forces of evil. I needed to be released from whatever it was that was trying to control me.
One night, at around 2 am I went outside to see why the dog was barking. We lived in the bush and the dog often barked at wallabies and other animals. I still couldn’t sleep, and decided to amuse myself with a favorite mind-game. I would empty my mind and then ask a question. The first thought would be my answer. So I asked for exact time and the answer came as 4:17. I thought, that's strange, why would I think that when it's only 3:30am? So I tried again and this time the word Matthew came to mind. I realized that Matthew 4:17 was in the Bible.
It said, Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near. I found this rather interesting and mentioned it to my girlfriend. “Perhaps God is telling me something and maybe we should go to Church .” It was something we wouldn’t have imagined, but we went. After we got there we both became quite emotional. “Half-off-our-trolleys” from smoking dope, we saw what we thought was nothing more than a bunch of weirdos waving their hands about. Yet they seemed happy enough. Although glad to get out, I still intended coming back the following week—a pattern we actually repeated for the next three months!
One Sunday the pastor invited me to the front and asked if I wanted to become a Christian. I thought what are you on about mate. I've been coming for three months, I'm dressing up and everything. I thought I already was one. I said 'Yeah, whatever.' I started repeating the sinner's prayer after him when I suddenly began shaking.
I felt something in me trying to resist. Finally I made a confession and invited Jesus to be Lord of my life. The resistance I had been experiencing suddenly stopped and I felt free for the first time in my life! I was what the Bible calls, 'born again.'
Then, the noises started coming back. It was like someone had left a wireless on in the next room and I knew the enemy was trying to tempt me back to my old habits.
A visiting evangelist came to our church and invited anyone who wanted a special touch from God to come forward. I went and he asked me what my problem was. I replied, “My mind keeps wandering,” I said.
He immediately he rebuked the enemy. You lying, tormenting spirit, begone in the name of Jesus he said. And it did! I dropped to the floor and everything went real quiet. From that moment, I knew I could fully trust God to remove all my anxieties and fears as well as the guilt and the shame of my former life.
My greatest desire now was to share the gospel with others. After what God did for me, I just want others who are bound to be free. I knew they can when they are prepared to trust God and invite
Jesus into their lives. I love God and I'm not afraid to share my faith with anyone anywhere. Jesus died on a cross for my sin and I want others to know about His love.
I know I am saved and going to heaven, not because of anything great I have done but because of what Jesus has done for me. The only part I played was to simply believe and make Him part of my life.
The rewards for me were an absolute peace and joy I could never had imagined. But the greatest was the love that washed through me and has never left or diminished. And there is the expectation and excitement of Heaven!
I love God and I've become bold, telling others about my relationship with God. My heart’s desire is that everyone may have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and know the same joy, love, and life He’s given me.
Within 3 months of being saved, Pos and I got married because we knew that's what God wanted. We almost own our home now, I no longer live out of a bag of clothes; drugs and alcohol are banished. God has made all things new, including my insides.
Commentary:
The power of deception is for destruction: The deceptions that Pete encountered were presented as avenues to truth when in fact they were sweet mirages based on Godless intrigue of a promise to fulfill, to enlighten and instruct. The fulfillment was a shroud for bondage, enlightenment engendered darkness, and instruction became indoctrination. And in it all conflict, and the subtle sugar-coated treachery of Hell’s king.
The power of truth begins with the gift of life. And all of its paths are peace, enlightenment, instruction and fulfilment, and track toward enrichment. Many of us at first avoided the gift of Jesus Christ as though it were a bottomless well, not perceiving the vistas of grace He bestows. But when we truly sought truth, we eventually found it, and looking back saw His footprints along the trail, even if we had to be gut shot.
If you wish to contact Pete McMaster
soulwinners@bigpond.com
you can write to him at
28018 Tasman Highway, Pyengana 7216
Tasmania Australia.

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