It was about 3 o’clock in the morning when the vibration from my cell phone roused me from a sound sleep. By the time I realized that I wasn’t dreaming the call had already gone to voicemail. Groggily I reached over to my night stand and grabbed the phone. I figured it was probably an e-mail notification that I failed to unsubscribe from but I needed to make sure it wasn’t something important. I blinked as I looked at the screen and saw that the missed call and voicemail icons both displayed. For a split second I fell back to sleep with the phone still in my hand. I stirred myself and hit the button to check my messages. 

“This is central security”, the message began. “We have an alarm notification”. The message went on to give the address of the church that my family attends and where I am at the top of the list of persons to notify when the alarm goes off. I left myself drift off for another second then returned the call. After waiting a minute or so for the next available representative I was asked for my name and password and verified the address of the church. “We’ve received an alarm signal” the voice said. “Oh, not just a trouble signal?” I asked hoping not to have a reason to drive to the church and check things out. “No we are showing an alarm at the outside door”. 

“Again”, I asked? It was the third time this month. “We’ve dispatched the police. Would you like to also respond?” was her next question. “I guess I’d better” was my reluctant reply. I knew I would have to get dressed and make myself half way presentable. It wasn’t far, only a couple of miles. Living so close I was the first name on the list because I could get there the quickest. Lucky me. 

When I got there the police were already on the scene. I could see the door slightly ajar. In the back seat of the police car sat the intruder.

I asked one of the police officers “Is it him again?” The office looked over at the prisoner then back at me. “Yep. You’ve got to give him credit. If nothing else he’s tenacious. This is what, the fourth time we’ve picked him up?” “Yes” I replied sensing that the officer was as tired of this as I was. “So is anything missing?” I inquired. He looked down at his notepad. “Same as last time, a few religious items but what else would you expect to find in a church, right?”

I asked what they were going to charge him with. He explained that the door was not forced open so they couldn’t apply breaking and entering but they would charge him with petty theft like the last time. The next day I had to show up at the courthouse. This time I was going to get a restraining order to prohibit him from showing up within five miles of the church. The judge then directed the prisoner to stand up and state his name for the record. “Holy Spirit Your honor”, He replied. The judge considered Him and asked Him if He understood why He was here. Holy Spirit explained that He had been trying to gain access to our church for some time now but that for some reason Re was not welcome in the place. I interrupted and pointed out that at one time His presence may have been useful but that we had been getting along perfectly fine without His help over the past few years. “The judge then asked Him why He had been entering the building after hours and taking things. Holy Spirit explained that He was only removing things that were harmful. The judge read a list of some of the items the Holy Spirit had taken. “Let see here. This affidavit shows that You removed three religious spirits, six legalistic practices, and six demonic oppressions. So what do You have to say for Yourself?” Holy Spirit responded that He was guilty as charged and said that He would return the items if that was what I wanted. The judge looked at me and asked if that would be agreeable. Just when I was about to agree to the terms I found myself asking if the Holy Spirit had something better to offer in return. The Holy Spirit said that He would be willing to attend services during regular hours and promised to bring much more to the church than He removed. This sounded like a good deal so I agreed. 

The next day I received a call from the police. Annoyed, I asked if there was another break in. I told them that if it was what I though it was that this time I would have the judge throw the Book at the Holy Spirit. The officer simply told me to come to the church. When I got there I had to have the police open up space in the driveway as there were cars and people everywhere. The police said that people were lined up waiting for the doors to open and did I want them to have the people removed. At the front of the line was the Holy Spirit. I asked Him what was going on. All He said was “Didn’t I promise that if you let Me in I would bring you more that I took away?” All I could says was “Yes, I guess You kept Your Word.”