Familiar Spirits

Hello everyone.  I hope you had a wonderful weekend. I chose this topic because most people don't know much about it is very important. I spoke of this in another blog I believe last year and there are some things that I think I need to do it and again. Due to Halloween I need to bring this up again. People do some dangerous things "just to see" what happens and that is still very dangerous even if your intentions aren't evil.

A familiar spirit is a demon. Demons serve or prompt people to do evil, and to go against the commands of God. There are several references in the Bible to "familiar spirits," and they are all in a bad sense.

The word "familiar" seems to be added to the word "spirit" because the person in mind seems to have had contact with that spirit or demon previously; hence that person is "familiar" with that demon.

Leviticus 20:27 says, "A man also or woman that hath A FAMILIAR SPIRIT, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them."

I Samuel 28:7-9 says, "Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath A FAMILIAR SPIRIT, that I may go to her, and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath A FAMILIAR SPIRIT at Endor. And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by THE FAMILIAR SPIRIT, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee. And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have FAMILIAR SPIRITS, and the wizards, out of the land: wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die?"  The woman seemed to be readily known to have contact with a demon, thus a "familiar spirit" to her.

I Chronicles 10:13 says, "So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had A FAMILIAR SPIRIT, to inquire of it."

Familiar spirits operate under their master, Satan. They influence people to create hate and hurt. Basically raise hell and torment us relentlessly. They spew lies and make a person believe such horrible things of others and ourselves. To knowingly open oneself to the work of demons is an evil act: "Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in a fire, who practices divination or sorcery." To knowingly open yourself up to these demons and their tasks is considered a sin. They are very evil spirits. They are very convincing to make you believe it's a passed loved one making contact. Test the spirit each time. Ask if he/it believes Jesus Christ is the son of man and does it worship Christ. You'll know real quick then if it's real and not eyes playing tricks on you or a person seeking attention.

The Bible is full of information about these medium spirits. This allows us to study their wiles in the Bible and find out how they work. They may appear under different names; but their works, manifestations, and their deceptive ways are found both in the Old and New Testaments. We must, therefore, be alert and be prepared because Scripture warns us that these deceiving spirits and false manifestations will be found among God’s people in the last days. Familiar spirits operate under their master, Satan. They influence people to create hate and hurt. Basically raise hell and torment us relentlessly. They spew lies and make a person believe such horrible things of others and ourselves. To knowingly open oneself to the work of demons is an evil act: "Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery." To knowingly open yourself up to these demons and their tasks is considered a sin.

The many accounts of evil spirits in Scripture affirm the reality of powerful spiritual forces of wickedness. Evil spirits(also known as demons or devils) are depraved spirits which are familiar with human weaknesses and desires. Some are more vile than others. Spirits speak to all of us to inject ungodly beliefs into us. These are thoughts that steer us away from our identity in Jesus Christ. For some people these supernatural voices are far more destructive and can cause harm to the individual hearing them. For some individuals, hearing these thoughts can be just utter tor,ent trying to convince them to commit suicide or harm others.

Long before the ancient Dead Sea Scrolls people were aware that spirits existed.  They knew spirits could affect people, their health, their success or failure, their family and friends and how they perceived the world around them. Long before the ancient Dead Sea Scrolls people were aware that spirits existed. They knew spirits could affect people, their health, their success or failure, their family and friends and how they perceived the world around them.

Evil spirits are normally viewed as "influences," and their effectiveness in the lives of people is undetected because they are not seen as real personalities that are totally and unreservedly evil. People discuss the issue of whether or not a Christian can be "possessed" by an evil or unclean spirit; all the while, these ambassadors of Satan are busy doing the thing they do best - deceiving men and women, both unsaved and believer alike.

Please be aware and very careful of these things. They are very sneaky and before you know it they destroy your life. Complete devastation in different forms. Financial and health seem to be the biggest of all from what I've seen.

Written By Jennifer L Auld

Ancient Aliens/Astronauts Debunked

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

It seems that almost every week the History Channel has yet another program on Ancient Aliens/astronauts.  Though this issue is closely related to the notion of alleged current alien activity, there is a distinction because these shows focus on all of the supposed evidence around the world for alien activity IN THE PAST.  Hence, the title “ANCIENT  Aliens”.

Of course the alleged alien activity in the past usually leads to some comments about alien existence today.

I am convinced that all true “alien”/UFO activity today is demonic in nature, and there is a plethora of evidence for that conclusion. When the bible mentions that Satan can appear as “an angel of light’ that is meant as a general principle of wide-ranging deception. That is why I like to call it the “angel of Light PRINCIPLE.” (2 Corinthians 11:14)Satan’s deception abilities are limited only by his considerable intellect and diabolical imagination. If Satan, the Prince of Darkness, can appear as totally opposite of his true nature—when he appears as a gloriously holy angel or even as Jesus Christ Himself—then, appearing as an alien or a little girl would be easy in comparison. Remember that when we first see Satan in Scripture he is deceptively guised as an innocent serpent, which at the time was not yet a slithering, fear inducing snake. Notice that neither Adam or Eve were repulsed by Satan’s guise. Instead, since we don’t know what the serpent originally looked like, .we can assume that it was innocent looking…even attractive. The Angel of Light Principle was in action from earliest human history……

While academics reject this show as miserable pseudo-science, it has taken pop culture by storm.
The basic premise of the show is that in ancient times aliens visited our planet and interacted with our ancient ancestors, often empowering them to do things that they allegedly could not have done with their primitive technology. There are many other ‘projects’ (some good, and some nefarious) that supposedly have universal evidence of having happened.

Honestly, I have seen few shows that are so riddled with logical errors, factual mistakes and out-right lies. Instead of inventing the wheel, I am including a link to a website—Debunking Ancient Aliens….Chris White. The author was a former “believer” and he does not merely shoot down a few of their theories, but shows clearly that the whole argument is intellectually bankrupt through and through.

Repeatedly, ancient astronaut theorists will present some phenomenon, note its oddity, and ignoring all other explanations, make the giant leap that ancient aliens is the only proper/adequate explanation of the phenomenon. See the logical fallacies (and falsifying of evidence) they commit re: the Nazca lines, crop circles, Puma Punku, Easter Island, the Pyramids, and Incan sites, etc.

While I had wanted to address this issue for a while, it wasn’t until they butchered the bible's teaching on angels that I got miffed enough to be motivated to write. There are many things I don’t know, but I do know Hebrew and Greek-thanks to several semesters of each in seminary….and my continued using of it. The word  ‘angel’ in Hebrew and Greek simply means “messenger” , but they attempt to twist the Hebrew and Greek texts. Ignoring all biblical theology, these “experts” postulated that the biblical angels (and God Himself!!) were really aliens! I trust that my anger is righteous anger.  They ignore biblical details when mutilating the texts in Ezekiel, and come to conclusions antithetical to the theology of Ezekiel and the whole bible.

This is awful on several levels. They assume the truth of ancient alien theory and then look for anything they can twist to support their preposterous assumption. They show evidence of consciously ignoring compelling evidence that contradicts their theories. Most serious of all, is the blatant dishonoring God and His holy Word.

For example, one thing they talk about a lot are how big the stones were that ancient folks moved  to their religious sites. “Must have been a laser or levitation from an alien craft” they breathlessly assert….ignoring the groove marks of ancient tools, logs, and ropes which could have easily accomplished the task. The problem is exacerbated by their habitual exaggeration of what needed to be achieved—eg  lying about the weight of the rocks. The discussion of the pyramids is especially noteworthy re how the stones were put in place.

Please notice the range of topics he debunks below. The great thing about this site is that you can click on a particular topic and watch a short video, or quickly read the notes of the shows.
As my son said, the only reason he watches this stupid show is because of the interesting sites and scenery!

Megalithic sites: Intro, Puma Punku, The Pyramids, Baalbek, Incan sites, Easter Island. Ancient artifacts: Pacal’s rocket, The Nazca Lines, Tolima “fighter jets”, Egyptian “light bulb”, Ufo’s in ancient art, The crystal skulls Ancient text issues: Ezekiel’s Wheel, Ancient nuclear warfare, Vimana’s, Anunnaki, Nephilim, Misc. and conclusion - See more at:

http://ancientaliensdebunked.com/

If you are unable to click on the link, please cut and paste it into your browser

Ancient Aliens Debunked is a 3 hour refutation of the theories proposed on the History Channel series Ancient Aliens. It is essentially a point by point critique of the “ancient astronaut theory” which has been proposed by people like Erich von Däniken and Zecharia Sitchin as well as many others.

The film covers topics like:
Ancient building sites: Puma Punku, The Pyramids, Baalbek, Incan sites, And Easter Island. Ancient artifacts: Pacal’s rocket, the Nazca lines, the Tolima “fighter jets”, the Egyptian “light bulb”, UFO’s in ancient art, and the crystal skulls. Ancient text issues: Ezekiel’s wheel, Ancient nuclear warfare, Vimana’s, the Anunnaki, and the Nephilim.

All the claims are sourced at the website: http://ancientaliensdebunked.com
It was produced by Chris White and includes commentary from Dr. Michael Heiser.
It is distributed for free on the internet and is a completely non-profit project.  Viewers are encouraged to share, and burn copies to DVD, as long as they do not profit from its distribution.
You can download the video by using sites like http://keepvid.com
After you download a copy you can also burn it to DVD by using a very simple and free program like Freemake Video Converter http://www.freemake.com/free_video_converter/

Mark Hunnemann is the author of Seeing Ghosts Through God's Eyes: A Worldview Analysis of Earthbound Spirits. It's also available in eBook format.

The Dalai Lama on Love, Compassion & Tolerance

“Love, compassion, and tolerance are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.” 

By The 14th Dalai Lama

The essence of all religions is love, compassion, and tolerance. Kindness is my true religion. No matter whether you are learned or not, whether you believe in the next life or not, whether you believe in God or Buddha or some other religion or not, in day-to-day life you must be a kind person. When you are motivated by kindness, it doesn’t matter whether you are a practitioner, a lawyer, a politician, an administrator, a worker, or an engineer: whatever your profession or field, deep down you are a kind person. Love, compassion, and tolerance are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive. If you have a particular faith or religion, that is good. But you can survive without it if you have love, compassion, and tolerance. The clear proof of a person’s love of God is if that person genuinely shows love to fellow human beings.

To have strong consideration for others’ happiness and welfare, we must have a special altruistic attitude in which we take upon ourselves the burden of helping others. To generate such an unusual attitude, we must have great compassion — caring about the suffering of others and wanting to do something about it. To have such a strong force of compassion, we must have a strong sense of love that, upon observing sentient beings, wishes that they have happiness — finding a pleasantness in everyone and wishing happiness for everyone, just as a mother does for her sole sweet child. To have a sense of closeness and dearness for others, use as a model a person in this lifetime who was very kind to you. Then extend this sense of gratitude to all beings.

Deep down we must have real affection for each other, a clear realization or recognition of our shared human status. At the same time, we must openly accept all ideologies and systems as a means of solving humanity’s problems. One country, one nation, one ideology, one system is not sufficient. It is helpful to have a variety of different approaches on the basis of a deep feeling of the basic sameness of humanity. We can then make a joint effort to solve the problems of the whole of humankind.

Every major religion has similar ideas of love, the same goal of benefiting through spiritual practice, and the same effect of making its followers into better human beings. All religions teach moral precepts for perfecting the functions of mind, body, and speech. All teach us not to lie or steal or take others’ lives, and so on. The common goal of all moral precepts laid down by the great teachers of humanity is unselfishness. Those teachers wanted to lead their followers away from the paths of negative deeds caused by ignorance and to introduce them to paths of goodness. All religions can learn from one another; their ultimate goal is to produce better human beings who will be more tolerant, more compassionate, and less selfish.

Human beings need spiritual as well as material sustenance. Without spiritual sustenance, it is difficult to get and maintain peace of mind. The purpose of religion is not to argue which one is the best. Over the past centuries, each great teaching has served humanity, so it’s much better to make friends, understand each other, and make an effort to serve humanity than to criticize or argue. Buddha, Jesus Christ, and all other great teachers created their ideas and teachings with sincere motivation, love, and kindness toward humanity, and they shared it for the benefit of humanity. I do not think those great teachers created differences to make trouble. Our human mind always likes different approaches. There is a richness in the fact that there are so many different presentations of the way.

There are two ways to enter into Buddhism: one through faith and one through reasoning. Faith alone may not be sufficient. Buddha always emphasized a balance of wisdom and compassion: a good brain and a good heart should work together. Placing importance on just the intellect and ignoring the heart can create more problems and more suffering in the world. On the other hand, if we emphasize only the heart, and ignore the brain, then there is not much difference between humans and animals. These two must be developed in balance, and when they are, the result is material progress accompanied by good spiritual development. Heart and mind working in harmony will yield a truly peaceful and friendly human family.

I feel that my mission is, wherever I am, to express my feeling about the importance of kindness, compassion, and the true sense of brotherhood. I practice these things. It gives me more happiness, more success. If I practice anger or jealousy or bitterness, no doubt my smile would disappear.

The real troublemakers are anger, jealousy, impatience, and hatred. With them, problems cannot be solved. Though we may have temporary success, ultimately our hatred or anger will create further difficulties. Anger makes for swift solutions. Yet, when we face problems with compassion, sincerity, and good motivation, our solutions may take longer, but ultimately they are better.

When I meet new people, in my mind there is no barrier, no curtain. As human beings you are my brothers and sisters; there is no difference in substance. I can talk with you as I would to old friends. With this feeling we can communicate without any difficulty and can make heart-to-heart contact. Based on such genuine human relations — real feeling for each other, understanding each other — we can develop mutual trust and respect. From that, we can share other people’s suffering and build harmony in human society.

Excerpted with permission from the book Handbook for the Spirit
© 2008 Edited by Richard Carlson & Benjamin Shield.
Printed with permission of New World Library, Novato, CA.

So Who Are the People Who Have Demons?

This writing is done to get you as a reader to understand that every person (human being) living has Demons until they get delivered from them.  The word of God says in John 10:10 ‘For the thief comes to steal (you), kill (you) & destroy (you)’.  This verse is referring to all humans.

So as you are sitting here now reading this blog you are saying “oh come on that is not true”, “your off your rocker”, “oh you’re a whack job”, etc.  Well here is the truth –There are NO (none/zero/zip) Scriptures that say an UNSAVED or SAVED person CAN or CANNOT have demons, or that the demons leave when a person gets saved.  So who has demons? EVERYONE!!  Even Christians professed in Christ Jesus have demons until they get casted out and that is who those of us in the Deliverance ministry who do this to help.

The Bible says in Mark 16:17 ‘THOSE THAT BELIEVE SHALL CAST OUT DEMONS.’  That means ALL Believers - MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN are to cast out demons.  Demons are anything that control, harasses, torments, or drives a person to do things they ought not to do, or wish they didn't do.

Examples of demons would be as follows: temper, depression, fear, sickness, envy, anxiety, lust, greed, pride, suicidal thoughts, mental illnesses (schizophrenia, bi-polar, Tourette’s), homosexuality, rejection, abandonment, hurt, body illnesses, anger, rage, obesity, vanity are just a few of the demons. They are INSIDE of you as well as others!

Human beings are body, soul, and spirit.  The demons (fallen angels) get into our body through sin, ancestral aspects (curses) and other forms of actions.  The demons enter through one of five gates of the body (eyes, ears, nose, mouth and skin).  Demons are the reason morbidly obese people cannot keep the weight off in many cases. ONE SIMPLY CANNOT DIET A DEMON AWAY.  These forces must be cast OUT in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

The demons get in the soul (which is your mind, will, and emotions).  Once there they cause the person to think, do, and act in a way they shouldn't and wish they hadn’t.  The Demons CANNOT get into your Spirit though, because this is where the Holy Spirit is found.  This is why Christians CAN and DO have demons.

However, the unsaved are rooted far deeper because Christ Jesus is not present on the inside.  Now these people (who have not accepted Christ Jesus into their hearts) can be wonderful and good people but they still have demons.  The demons surround your spirit area so one cannot do the things they ought to do, like pray, read the Bible and study the word of God as a Christian.

So here is an example to understand.  If you clasp two hands together tightly interlocking your fingers and squeeze hard and run water over your hands what do you notice?  See how nothing can get inside of your palms, not even water or air for a matter of fact.  This is what the demons do to your spirit area, as this is the place where the Holy Spirit reside within the believer.  So the act of deliverance releases these demons, which causes a believer to now grow closer to the Lord Jesus Christ.  Obviously there are Christians who are not yet totally "clenched" by the demons, but it is the goal of these Fallen Angels to clench them down even further by causing willful sin.

So do demons still possess Christian people even today?   Well not possess but rather have them in control so to speak, meaning in the grasp or grip.  Non-believers are in the grasp further than the Christian.  In the book of Zechariah, an Old Testament prophet, who spoke of the time when Christ Jesus would arrive.  Zechariah said “In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness” (Zechariah 13:1).

This fountain was opened when the Lord Jesus Christ shed His blood on the cross for the sins of the world.  Zechariah said “And it shall come to pass in that day, saith Jehovah of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered; and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land (13:2).” Following the time when the Lord Jesus Christ would die for our sins, prophets (men who spoke by the Holy Spirit) and unclean spirits (demons) would no longer be in the land (earth).

God provides permission for the demons to possess (be in the grips – not own them for God the Father owns all souls) so to speak.  Certain people in the time of Christ Jesus and the apostles dealt with demonic forces so that HIS power could be seen.  Not only did Christ Jesus have power over nature, disease, and death, but HE also has the power over the spirit world.

The Devil and the demons were proved to be powerless before the Son of God (Colossians 2:15; 1 John 3:8).  Demons still exist and they do pursue sinners (both willfully sinning Christians and the non-believers) to place in them into the grips to this very day. Today, we need to be concerned even more with the Devil, the demons and those messengers of Satan who tempt us to sin (James 1:14; Matthew 4:3; 1 Peter 5:8).

Here is the sad reality so to speak.  Christians, unfortunately, think that just because they have turned their lives over to the Lord and the Holy Spirit has come into their lives, that they are safe from the wiles of the Devil.  WRONG!  Satan loves to hear this and preach this as well. The Devil has a good chance of wrecking that Christian's life, because evil is a powerful force which takes discipline to overcome by resisting sin and the temptation to sin.

Christians are not building their arsenal for warfare properly.  Christians are not “in training” to ensure they are ready to do battle with demons or the devil directly, let alone the non-believer which is far worse.  Sadly, Christians today seem to do just enough to stay on “par or status quo.” Just enough reading and praying that the majority of Christians partake with is just enough to keep their knowledge and battle expertise at some small level as the day they gave their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ.

However, one must realize that Satan has a plan for all lives, just as God has a plan too. Both are going to fight for each and every one of us. God is the stronger of the two, which we know this, but HE also tells us what we need to do, how to do it and what will happen if we do what He tells us to do. However, if Satan can interfere with that advice and get the person off track and keep them off track, then Satan will probably win the battle.

So now you understand even more about humans having demons!

Rev. Bradley Luoma

Don't Live With False Rejections & a Defeated Soul & Spirit...

... That's exactly what the enemy wants you to do.

Hello my my friends I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend and this lovely Sunday and everyone you love this healthy including you.

A lot of people (including myself) really struggle with such a broken soul and having a hard time letting go of the past all because of what the devil took from us. Whether somebody may have grew up without a mother or father or sadly they were molested, physically abused, verbally abused..and please don't misunderstand me, I'm NOT about to minimize any of these issues at all. As I said above, I have my own demons that I without a doubt deal with everyday. (no pun intended). But we have to remember what God's word tells us and it can only be executed by faith. If our needs were met all the time we would never have that blind faith in believing the Lord is going to intervene and it's going to be okay because his word tells us so. We must turn to God. Living with bitterness and unforgiveness in your heart is terrible. It doesn't affect the person who wronged us. They are living rent free in our head. Not to mention the Devil's having a party in hell while we torture ourselves for something that was NOT our fault that was done to us but yet we wonder "what is wrong with me" "why am I not loved, why won't anybody love me?" Those are lies from the enemy.  We have to remember the Bible tells us he is the father of all lies and we must rebuke him.

What is the origin of demons? According to the Bible, the origin of evil and, subsequently, demons or evil spirits began with the fall of Lucifer. Most Bible students are fully aware of this.

The many accounts of evil spirits in Scripture affirm the reality of powerful spiritual forces of wickedness. Evil spirits(also known as demons or devils) are depraved spirits which are familiar with human weaknesses and desires. Some are more vile than others. Spirits speak to all of us to inject ungodly beliefs into us. These are thoughts that steer us away from our identity in Jesus Christ. For some people these supernatural voices are far more destructive and can cause harm to the individual hearing them. For some individuals, hearing these thoughts can be just utter torment trying to convince them to commit suicide or harm others.

There are many demons assigned to torment us by Satan just as Jesus assigns angels to look after us . We have demons of fear running amok trying to destroy any and all humans before the appointed time. Yes they know very well the second coming of Jesus Christ will in fact take place. They already know they are defeated but they will still try to drag as many souls to hell with them or make our life hell in hopes we may take our own life or just live so miserable and depressed we end up making ourselves sick. It is their job to torment us day in and day out. Mess with our heads in major ways. They HATE humans. They hate our guts and want nothing but death for us.

The demon of Rejection is also among many others very much real. And Satan utilizes him against us. The enemy using these types of demons to harass and attack not just Christians but everyone all over the world! This is a major weapon that we need to be aware of. This demon I believe will play a huge part in the end times. This demon of Rejection will open doors for the other demons such as demons of sadness, loneliness, depression, despair, dread, worthlessness, hopelessness...etc...to enter into your mind and start tormenting you.

Many times the demon of rejection will enter us when our parents reject us, or when our brothers and sisters reject us! Other times the demon of rejection will enter us when our boss rejects us, or co workers reject us or when we get rejected for a promotion! More often than not the demon of rejection will attack when a person of the opposite sex rejects us. Also attacks will take place when we get bad news, or when we get terrible disappointments coming. Sometimes it can be so subtle, we have no clue until GOD starts to reveal to us his attacks and the way he is tormenting us.

The demon of rejection and his workers will tell you that you will never ever meet a good Christian man or woman who will love you and want to marry you despite your flaws. He will start to tell us that nobody wants to be around you or cares about you. Nobody loves you, nobody wants to be friends with you! You will be constantly tormented to deceive you into believing that nobody in your church likes you and God has rejected you. This my friends are all lies. It's easier said than done but we must cling to Jesus and His Word when these events take place. It is so very important we do this.

I personally believe that some mental depression can be caused by demons. Enmeshment can occur where a demon can attach to someone. It's usually when they are already vulnerable due to a crisis situation as I already mentioned above. But instead of improving, they become much, much worse. They have changes in personality, character, and behavior. They become far removed from the person that they once were. Thoughts are not their own usually and they question as to where the thoughts are coming from - as they cannot find a logical or valid reason as to why they feel the way they feel. This happens more often than many will believe.

The following is just part of a post a women shared about her tormenting struggles with evil when she allowed her pride to take over and she turned away from God. She started seeing these vile demons with her own human eyes. Here she talks about a incident that proves we have nothing to fear when we have God in our hearts....

"I asked: “What?” The voice repeated: “Read the Scriptures.”  I obeyed and started reading the Scriptures. But in a little while God said to me: “Read it out loud.” I got a bit confused, but God repeated: “Read the Scriptures out loud.” When I started reading the Scriptures out loud I noticed the evil spirit covered its ears with its paws and started moving its body like in a great torment. This is how I learned that the demons cannot stand hearing the Word of God. The Word of God applied in faith and truth is a great weapon against the powers of darkness."

As I've stipulated many times in my past blogs demons cannot stand hearing the word of God they cannot stand to be rebuked in the name of Jesus they cannot handle it. I also feel as well they are especially tormented by the Book of Revelations. Which makes sense because anybody who's read the book of Revelations knows out of all the 66 books in the Bible that's the most intimidating, the most scary and can be the most difficult to understand and comprehend. But the Scriptures that speak about Satan and his demons final destiny is intolerable to them. They absolutely can’t stand being reminded about the fallen Babylon and the verse about the devil and his false prophets thrown into the lake of fire.

I want to take the time to ask anybody who's reading this right now suffering from depression or any kind of pain to please reach out to God even if you think he's not hearing you I promise you he is. I may have been a preachers kid but it took a lot to convince me and God loves us more than anything in the world. He will never forsake us and he will never give us more than we can handle. I like to pray and tell the Lord that I leave it at the foot of the cross. I refused to take on this stress or I refused to take on this depression on or whatever the case may be for anyone out there. Ask for peace. Contact me privately and I will pray with you. Everything stays confidential. There is no fear of judgement. Who am I or who is ANYONE on this earth to judge the actions or the troubles of our fellow brother or sister in Christ? Sadly in my experience these holier than thou Christians and many of other faiths really give our Lord a bad name. They set a terrible example. You know who you are and shame on you! Sit in judgment on yourselves before you dare think you are so pure that you have the right to do such actions. You need to repent. No wonder many are afraid of church or to turn to God. You will be held accountable for each and every person you scared away from God and they never got saved. Remember that.

Written By Jennifer L. Auld

Mark 6 (Walk on the Water)….Does It Teach that Jesus Believed in Ghosts?

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

If you are a Christian and believe in ghosts, are you open to changing your mind if the bible teaches otherwise? I certainly hope so…He demands absolute submission in all areas of life, including what we believe.

It has surprised me the number of seminary trained Christians whom I respect who point to the text in Mark 6 as proof positive that Jesus believed in ghosts. They say it is the clearest text of Jesus affirming the existence of human spirits/ghosts populating the earth, and that Jesus Himself believed in ghosts because He did not correct his disciples when they thought/said Jesus was a ghost as He walked on the water. Though I dealt with this in my book, I want to address this again in more detail. What I want to do is take the cumulative evidence to show that Jesus was NOT affirming the existence of ghosts. As we shall see, the Holy Spirit's intent for this text is antithetical to the notion of ghosts.

To interpret a passage correctly you have to understand the context, and what the Holy Spirit’s intent was/is in writing this story of Jesus walking on the water.

"Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. 47 And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 48 And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, 50 for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid." 51 And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, 52 for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened."

1.It is important to put this text in context. Mark, spokesman for Peter, wrote this "docudrama" in order to persuade people to be followers of Jesus--words and actions of Jesus are presented by Mark to draw true disciples to our Divine Messiah.
This episode is "hooked" into the preceding narrative of Jesus miraculously feeding over 10,000 people by using the word "immediately".(5,000 was just the men) Jesus is trying to show his obtuse disciples that He was the "greater then Moses" by giving us eternal Bread, and not ephemeral manna.The parallel text in Matthew 14, which includes Peter walking on the water, is also followed by the word "immediately". This is important because the authors want us to connect what had just happened (empirical evidence of Jesus' deity as seen in miracle of feeding of large multitude)The disciples were eyewitnesses of this profound miracle.
In order to interpret this text correctly, we must remember that didactic/teaching texts interpret historical narratives.Both in the OT and NT followers of God did and said many wrong things, which are not always corrected by the editor. The classic case is Jepthah (Judges 11:30--who vowed to kill the first thing that came out of his tent, if God gave him victory. His daughter came out of his tent to congratulate him and was condemned to death. Jepthah had made an unbiblical vow--which the bible had made provisions for him to repent of. However, it seems that he did not repent and felt obliged to follow through with his horrible vow--he killed his daughter. However, the editor does not explicitly condemn this act. The inspired editor assumed prior knowledge of his readers. Anyone conversant with Leviticus/Deuteronomy would know  that wrongful vows should not be acted upon, and that Jepthah SHOULD have known human sacrifice was repugnant to God. The editor assumes this prior knowledge, but does not give commentary. That is that danger of drawing doctrine from the silence of historical narrative. The same is true of the NT.Many evil words and actions are recorded in the historical books of the bible but are not always condemned. It is HISTORY….a record of events In the NT there are numerous examples of the disciples saying/doing wacko things prior to Pentecost,but Jesus did not always correct them (e.g. Transfiguration experience where Peter stuck his foot in his mouth, again)....a precedent of the disciple NOT being rebuked by Jesus for saying stupid things.

2. What was the Holy Spirit's intent in above text? Was it to prove the notion of ghosts? NO!! This text, and its parallel text in Matthew 14. was included to prove that Jesus was Yahweh! How sad and ironic that it is used to "prove" that Jesus believed in ghosts.
Jesus intentionally "walked by them" in order for them to see Him, and thus give empirical evidence that He was the Creator of Heaven and Earth. By walking on the water Jesus wanted them to see Him walking in the midst of a ferocious storm to show He was the Lord of creation. "it is I....."ego eimi"...I AM" echoing Exodus 3:14 )By walking on the water in a furious storm He was demonstrating that He was Lord over creation, and that there was no need to be afraid.
Not only Jesus' actions but His words were designed to show the disciples that He was/is God Almighty. The Septuagint uses the same word for "passed by" when Moses experienced God "passing by" him) Exodus 33:19,22....giving Moses/disciples a glimpse of God's glory. In Mark 6:48 "walking on the sea" echoes the Septuagint Job 9:8 where "God trampled upon the sea"....same Greek words. The Holy Spirit's intent in this text is to accent the deity of the Lord Jesus--King over creation (see Mark 4).

3. First century Judaism was rife with superstition and theological confusion. For example, Jewish leaders believed in salvation by good works, and the popular superstition of a plentitude of ghosts was rampant, as it has been since the dawn of time. Peter and the rest of the disciples were deeply effected by common superstition, and were very slow to change until after Pentecost.

4. Why would they call Jesus a "ghost" when they had just seem him a few hours earlier...very much alive? Was He a ghost of a living Person? Perhaps they were terrified because they thought this was a demon trying to deceive them? That is an option not often mentioned. Either way, with an abundance evidence for Jesus' deity, why would they call Him a ghost? How could God be a ghost?!This is (and the parallel text) is the only place that "phantasm" is used, which can mean superstitious imagination.

5. Recall that the Holy Spirits intent was to exalt the deity of Jesus, and the disciples de-exalted Him by calling Him a "ghost".

6. So, why did not Jesus correct them?  First, we do not know if Jesus corrected them or not because in many cases the entirety of what Jesus said is not recorded. But my guess is that He did not correct them....not then, anyway. Why? They were deathly afraid! He was keen on comforting them, and not correcting them.It is an argument from silence to say that Jesus must have agreed with them since He did not correct them.The most common negative command that Jesus uttered was, "Do no be afraid!"
If your child was drowning, and you jumped in to save them, what would be your first words to them?

7. In a context in which the deity of Jesus is being accented, it must have broken Jesus' heart that His disciples responded so faithlessly. He "walked by" in a manner to empirically display His Lordship over the storm, but the lesson was lost on them. Instead they became wild-eyed with fear, and superstition enveloped them like a cocoon.

8. To say that Jesus must have believed in roaming human spirits because He did not (that we know of)correct His disciples, is an argument from silence--a logical fallacy. Jesus/apostles did warn us of Satan and demons, but they never warn us of roaming human spirits. This is NOT an argument from silence because knowing who populates the spirit realm is utterly necessary for discernment and victory in spiritual warfare. In the gospels we have many instances of Jesus casting out demons. However, there is not a single instance of human spirits seeking their Creator to send them to the light, nor did Jesus have a ministry in which He sought to help earthbound spirits. And neither do the epistles address the issue as something we should be involved in. It seems paranormal investigators have more knowledge or more compassion than Jesus did.

9. Not all historical narratives are bereft of teaching or editorial comment.v.52 is an inspired editorial commentary on this whole episode--they were afraid and their hearts were hardened. Faith Vs fear, and teachability vs hardened hearts. Unlike many historical narratives, this one is concluded with an editorial comment. This is extremely important in interpreting this text accurately. Everything...EVERYTHING...the disciples did and said has a shadow cast over it. Everything they said and did was compelled by fear and hard-heartedness. Their comment re: Jesus being a ghost was an expression of both fear and hardness of heart. They did not learn from the feeding of the 5,000 (or the 4,000) that Jesus was God almighty. How utterly tragic that they would call Him a ghost, when what He was doing and saying displayed that He was the culmination of the I AM". It is difficult to over-state the significance of this concluding comment...it renders the ghost comment utterly suspect.

10. The epistles were written largely to interpret the actions and words of Jesus.

To those who are unduly affected by the fact that the bible does not mention Jesus correcting their comment that He was a ghost, was He a ghost in that text? NO! As parents, do we correct our kids EVERY TIME they make a mistake? The bible says that would break their spirits if we do. If your child was in danger of drowning and was frightened, would you feel the need to immediately correct them of anything dumb they may have uttered in their terror? I hope not....rather we would embrace them.

With an issue as significant as ghosts, we cannot camp on a text in which we are told explicitly that they were full of terror and hardness of heart, which casts a long shadow over everything they said. It is much more plausible that their cry of "ghost" was fueled by superstition.

It saddens me how folks who do believe in ghosts assert that those of us who don’t believe in ghosts are allegedly “close-minded”. As disciples of Christ, our minds are to be ’held captive by the word of God’. That is, we are to rightly divide the word of truth….interpret the bible correctly and believe what the bible says/teaches. To make this text into something it is not, is an example of close-mindedness.

If you believe in ghosts, are you ‘open’ to having your mind changed if the bible teaches otherwise? My observation is that many Christians who are fascinated with the paranormal are not teachable re this issue. The result is that they have one foot in the Word and the other foot in the occult. When that happens one cannot avoid getting hurt. It is out of compassion that I plead with you to let the paranormal loosen its hold on you. The only disembodied spirits are in heaven or hell. Call it simplistic or close-minded, but it is what Genesis to Revelation teaches.

This text, rightly interpreted, does NOT infer the existence of ghosts. Rather, the Holy Spirit wants us to see that Jesus is the Divine Messiah…Yahweh!

Mark Hunnemann is the author of Seeing Ghosts Through God's Eyes: A Worldview Analysis of Earthbound Spirits. It's also available in eBook format.

Dalai Lama at Conference on ‘Living and Dying in Peace’ at University of Lausanne

Lausanne, Switzerland, 15 April 2013 - The University of Lausanne that originated in 1537 as a school of theology, the only French language Protestant school of theology, is now a modern university well regarded as a leading institution for research in Europe. It is located on the banks of Lake Geneva. Today, it invited His Holiness the Dalai Lama to participate in a conference on the theme ‘Living and Dying in Peace - Crossed Perspectives on Aging’. He was welcomed on arrival by the Rector, Dominique Arlettaz and the conference moderator Philippe Moreillon.

In his opening address, the Rector said:

“I have the privilege today to welcome His Holiness the Dalai Lama and thank him for spending this day with us.”

Moderator Philippe Moreillon explained that when they heard that His Holiness would attend, faculty and staff members from many disciplines showed interest in participating. They have worked together to formulate common questions for the event that they felt they had been unable to answer within their own areas of study. The first question put to His Holiness imagined a young boy asking his grandfather “Is it a good thing to grow old?”

His Holiness replied:

“I think it depends on what kind of life you have led, whether your life was meaningful and of benefit to other people. The grandfather might say time keeps moving on, eventually we all become old. One day, although you are young now, you will be old too. This is a natural process. He might say I’m fortunate to have lived this long, but I’ve not wasted my time and I’ve gained some experience of how to live.

“On the other hand, if he’s filled his time with sensory pursuits and dedicated himself, for example, to sport, he might say I can’t hear properly any more, can’t see properly - it’s all become hard work.”

The first presenter spoke about increasing life expectancy and different categories of older people, the ‘young old’ who are still active and the ‘old old’ who are increasingly frail. He asked: “How can we age well when our physical abilities are declining?” His Holiness answered that an important factor is your state of mind. Whether your mind is calm and peaceful depends not on your being knowledgeable, but on whether you are warm-hearted. Inner peace automatically gives rise to trust and friendship. On the other hand suspicion, mistrust and lies mean you end up alone and unhappy.

“From the individual’s point of view, if we train from a young age on a mental level, developing our analytical ability, the mind will remain alert. I’ve noticed that people who do this may face physical decline, but their minds remain clear and alert. From the family point of view, affection and support are important.”

Asked how to deal with dementia in the old, His Holiness replied:

“I don’t know, because I have no experience, but I believe showing affection is very important. You can show affection without having to rely on words.”

He speculated about how memory declines, noting that while you tend not to forget faces, remembering names is difficult and because of the concepts they represent there is terminology that you never forget. He wondered whether we forget names because they have no meaning, whereas terms with meaning are much easier to remember.

A question about spirituality prompted him to try to define the term, wondering if it means looking for meaning in life and the world; a collection of visions and values that are beneficial to ourselves and others. Because there could be spirituality linked to religious faith and independent of it, he suggested that people who have no faith might derive benefit from secular ethics. Otherwise, they are prone to come under the sway of destructive emotions. He stressed that just as it is wise to take care of our physical health, we also need to take care of our emotional well-being and proposed a programme of emotional hygiene.

The discussion came round to the role of the aging in society. His Holiness recollected a programme in Stockholm in which old people were brought in to work in kindergartens. They took part in the care of young children, played with them and told them stories. He said that there is great potential for mutual benefit in such activities. The children liked the presence of the old people, who in turn were re-energised in the presence of children. His Holiness joked:

“When I talk to young people it makes me feel young, but when I’m talking to old people I wonder ‘Who’ll be going first, you or me?’”

His Holiness said that his discussions with scientists, educationists, social workers and other concerned people lead to the conclusion that we need a system of values that contributes to the basic happiness of all members of society. Such a system could include techniques for training the mind. Education is the avenue for change. Education is the way we can change the course of humanity. And he suggested that ancient Indian knowledge about the mind and emotions as preserved in literature belonging to the Nalanda tradition could make a valuable contribution to this.

When pressed to recommend ways that the elderly who have not trained themselves earlier in life could begin to change, His Holiness said he doubted that there was an effective method, pointing out that such methods need to be adopted when we are young.

After a leisurely lunch filled with conversation and discussion the conference resumed. Asked to respond to the statistic that a majority of people die in hospital His Holiness surprised the panel by saying that if you die in hospital it means that all efforts to save your life have been exhausted, so there will be no room for regret. On the other hand he agreed that doctors and nurses need to treat their patients as beings with feelings of pleasure and pain, rather than as inanimate machines brought in for repair.

Commenting on whether warm-heartedness is a natural function, he said:

“Yes, our lives begin in our mother’s womb and her physical touch and expression of affection are essential to our healthy growth. This is the basis for our later development of a warm heart.”

To questions about helping the old or sick to die, he said we have to investigate why they wish to die. We have to use both compassion and wisdom to assess what is the best course of action. He said that in Buddhist practice helping to end someone’s life is permitted if it will benefit them in the long run, but again compassion and wisdom are needed to make the judgement.

He was asked whether it is important to train ourselves to meet death, and if so, how to do it.

“Death will come because it is a part of life,” he said. “People who avoid the very words old age and death will be caught unawares when it comes. In some of our meditation practice we visualize the process of death and the associated dissolution of the elements every day, so that we may be prepared for the actual event. For those who believe in a succession of lives, death is just like changing your body. If you have led a meaningful life, when death takes place there’ll be no need for regret.

“Training depends on the individual’s ability. One approach is to develop awareness of your dreams. If you can train yourself to recognise that you are in the dream state and take control of it, you can have a deeper experience of the dissolution of the elements that take place during the process of death.”

When it came to questions about rituals associated with death, His Holiness was firm in asserting his scepticism about the efficacy of rituals in the process. He conceded that if they were conducted by someone with experience and understanding they may have some benefit, but otherwise he doubted they would be of much help.

Coming back to the meditative practices that in effect rehearse the process of dying, he mentioned that he goes through them himself four of five times a day. In this connection he talked about meditators who remain in posthumous meditative equipoise after death. These are cases in which brain activity and the heart have ceased and yet the body remains fresh for several days. Over the last 50 years he is aware of 30-40 cases like this, including that of his Senior Tutor who stayed in such meditation for 13 days after he died. Science has as yet no explanation of this phenomenon, while the Buddhist explanation is that it involves the existence of subtler levels of consciousness. Although the heart, circulation and the brain have stopped, it is only when the subtle consciousness departs that the dying moment is reached and the decay of the corpse begins.

As the conference came to an end, the Rector offered words of thanks, expressing his gratitude to His Holiness for his understanding, his accessibility and his humour. He said it had been an honour to have his presence on the campus. He thanked both university staff and members of the Tibetan community whose hard work and support had contributed to the success of the event.

Original link + photos: http://www.dalailama.com/news/post/931-conference-on-living-and-dying-in-peace-at-university-of-lausanne