Interview with Jack Haines

By Ian Acheson

Photo courtesy of Rendeeplumia/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I had the opportunity to sit down with Jack Haines, the hero of Angelguard. In a long wide-ranging interview that covered various topics including Jack’s faith, dealing with grief and the loss of loved ones, to his passion for ball sports and a hidden talent, Ian was able to share an excerpt with us on Christian Writers Downunder.

Thanks Jack for your time today. Perhaps fill us in with what occupies most of your days.

Ian, it’s my pleasure. I spend most of my weeks during the academic year teaching organisational design, leadership and entrepreneurship to students at the one of Australia's leading Graduate Management Schools. I also run my own consultancy business where I share my learning’s as a student of business with a small number of global clients.

And what about when you’re not working?

Running around being exhausted by two daughters, two-year-old twins. As a single dad it can be a lot of work. I’m blessed that my dear mum, Louise, moved into my home after Sarah, my wife, passed away last year. Mum cares for the girls while I’m working. I’m fortunate that I’m able to do a lot of preparation work at home so I can be within earshot of the family on most days.

Last year was a traumatic time for you. Are you able to share a little about how this impacted your walk with the Lord?

As you can imagine it was really tough at first. We were living the life, busy work and enjoying being a family of six, and part of a wonderfully caring church community. Then bang, tragedy struck, that family was halved and all of a sudden I felt terribly alone having to care for my two little ones. It was a real test of my faith. At first, I blamed God, but through His gentle reassuring touch He ministered to my broken heart. It’s still healing but what I’ve come to appreciate is that God wants us to depend on Him. Not just for the big things in life, but the everyday. So each day when I rise I seek Him out and ask for His help in everything I’m doing that day: caring for Gracey and Catie, teaching my students, being a son, friend and brother.

You confronted real evil last year on a few occasions. What was that like?

Fortunately, I can now only remember the joy I felt when we were together on the train heading towards Circular Quay. What happened after we crashed has now become a blur, until I woke in the hospital to be told Sarah and my two eldest had perished at the hands of a terrorist. Those first moments on hearing that news I expect I’ll never forget even though I was on heavy painkillers.

We’re all familiar with the Bible verses that tell us about what Satan and his workers are all about. John 10:10, “the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;” well I’ve seen the results of his handiwork firsthand. All the atrocities that occur in this world should remind us that evil does exist and as far as the enemy is concerned it’s a full-bloodied assault for our souls.

But the second half of that verse tells us we have the ultimate warrior on our side: Jesus. He has come that we may have life and have it to the full.

Even though there’s still sadness, I know God’s in charge, He’s crazy about me and as I mentioned before I’m learning to give over more of myself to Him. My prayer life has become such an important part of my day. Even days’ that are incredibly busy I make sure I give time to be in His presence and thank Him for all that He has blessed me with.

That’s all with have today. Further excerpts will be made available in the future.

If you’re not familiar with Jack Haines, his story can be found in Angelguard, the first novel in the Chronicles of the Angelguard.

Angelguard reveals the timeless supernatural war that continues unabated and it’s intersection with our physical world. In bringing the warring angels and demons to the forefront of a rollicking tale that crosses the globe, it highlights the ferocity of this conflict. The physical story focuses on three survivors of separate acts of terrorism that occur within weeks of each other. 

The power of prayer in engaging heaven is a second prominent theme of the novel. 

Ian Acheson is an author and strategy consultant based in Northern Sydney. Ian's first novel of speculative fiction, Angelguard, is now available in the US, UK, Canada and Australia. You can find more about Angelguard at Ian's website, on his author Facebook page and Twitter

Perspectives - The Hidden Reality of Satan's Influence

This post is not about writing – essentially – but it is about something that may influence your work as a writer. It’s about Satan’s war against God from both a global and a personal perspective. Have you ever read a book and thought, “Every Christian should read this!”? 
I have, but only a few.  

Renald Showers’ What on Earth is God Doing: Satan’s Conflict with God is one of those few. It’s a quick trip through history as recorded in the Bible – from Adam and Eve to the end of this world. "Nothing new in that," you may say. True. But the perspective is surprisingly new and invigorating: it uncovers the active, ongoing, spiritual war behind the scenes of human history. For those of you who are interested in spiritual warfare, and especially its influence on church history, this book is one you would not want to miss.

It’s a fascinating read because it reveals the moves of God, the counter-moves of Satan, and the subsequent conquering moves of God. We all know who the winner in this war will be, and we also know many historical facts, but ahhh… the impact of a new perspective!

Reading this book has re-awakened my awareness of Satan’s hidden influence on world affairs and – in our personal realm - the lives of those who are dear to us.

I recently had the opportunity to witness Satan’s hold on a person that is very dear to me: my father.  I took a couple of months out of my busy schedule to fly overseas and spend time with my dad who is nearing the end of his life. Trying one more time to lead him to Christ had priority over everything else.

My father is not an atheist, but he isn’t a Christian either – despite being christened and confirmed in a traditional church. He bases his hope of acceptance by God on his baptism and on leading a ‘good’ life because that is what he had been taught.  If you were to ask him if he’s a Christian, he would certainly say, “Yes.” But in reality, he has no awareness of his own sin and need of salvation. And despite an occasional church attendance and reciting the creed of faith with everyone else in the pews, he neither understands who God really is, nor does he know Jesus as his Saviour. And therefore he has no pardon for sin – another victory won by Satan through planting strategic lies. What better way of leading many people to hell than by propagating false teachings among the leaders of organised religion?

Can you understand how angry I feel towards churches that make false promises? Being baptised as a baby and leading a ‘good’ life means nothing without personal faith. Every Sunday people’s consciences are soothed when they make a routine confession of sin and think they are forgiven by this ritual prayer. They even confess a faith that they don’t possess. It’s a kind of universal salvation thing. And sadly, most of their teachers never tell them that they will spend eternity in hell if they don’t personally turn to Christ in repentance and faith. Heartrendingly, my father is one of the many who are blinded by Satan in this way. 

So far my trip has not (yet) yielded its desired fruit. But it has made me acutely aware once again of Satan’s moves to hinder God’s plan of salvation and has inspired me to speak out wherever I can. So here I am, speaking out... Read Renald Shower’s book – it may change your perspective on spiritual warfare, and in so doing it may influence your writing.

For those who are interested, this book is available freight-free from
http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/search?searchTerm=what+on+earth+is+god+doing&search=search

And if you are interested in how Satan works in the life of believers, watch "The Wiles of the Devil" video on Vimeo   http://vimeo.com/26658500

With love from one of God’s soldiers,

Margaret

Margaret is a Christian Counsellor, Educator, Author and Speaker. 

Visit her website for free resources and an evangelistic 'Truth Matters' page.
http://drlepke.com.au