Hello everyone! I hope your having a fabulous Sunday. It's finally fall however, very hot here in Florida. I can't begin to explain how hot. I set the A/C on 72 and it was just way too hot to cool it down that low. It's ridiculous. Every time you go outside you feel the need to shower due to how sweaty and hot one gets just from simply checking the mail.
I'd like to take the time to acknowledge all the families and victims in the Las Vegas shooting. A lot of families are burying loved ones. They need prayer too. And what's up with Florida people ask me...It NEVER use to be like this here up until about 15 years ago. Then slowly bit by bit year by year lead up to this. All the headlines Florida makes....We had the nightclub shooting in Orlando and other things. Lord please have mercy on us all. Anywhere anyone could just snap hearing voices in their head to do things. It's not always true but I believe sometimes it is.
Jesus should be our souls anchor. I can't begin to say how unhealthy just in general it is to be so hateful and bitter over people who have really stabbed you in the back, lied on you, created un necessary stress and drama etc...This is a hard one but forgiveness isn't for that person, it's for you. I struggle with this at times myself but I'm just trying to matter. If that makes sense. Lol For lack of better words I'm just trying to matter. I would get sick with anxiety dealing with un needed stress or drama in my past until I learned who's opinion really mattered. I don't care what mean things people might say. It's their problem. Bullies are so brave online too.
Those who obey my commandments are the ones who love me.. And because they love me, my Father will love them, and I will love them. And I will reveal myself to each one of them. (John 14:21, NLT) The bible tells us this. We need to keep a relationship with God even when things are going good.
No matter what God you serve (other than God of the world Satan) you must repent in some way of sins. Just like karma in Buddhism." Karma is a b****" wasn't a saying for nothing. We must admit our faults and go and try and learn from our mistakes. It's the same thing. It's important to stay spiritually clean as possible because this world is evil. We have people swimming in demon and baby's blood for sacrifice to Satan then swim in blood for youth. It's sick I tell you! Makes me so darn mad this is being allowed and our own government is involved.
Bitterness will eat you alive! If you don't forgive others you won't be given mercy when you make mistakes. You will be judged at the same measure you judged your fellow man. It's unhealthy. I struggle with this badly but have come a long way. Like I said before forgiving someone isn't for them it's for you as well. Keep hate out of your heart. Demons thrive off anything that creates sadness or danger to human health. This world is just going to get so much darker. So much more is to come too. In my humble opinion and I've been at this since age 19 on a serious level. I've seen so much trust me. Demons hate our guts.
If it is true that unacknowledged sin separates the soul from God, that the regarding of iniquity in the heart makes our prayer useless, and sacrifices an abomination, that the look of lust and the motion of causeless anger against a brother provoke God's anger, an immediate and humble confession of sin from the heart unto God is both necessary and safe. Unto them who keep silence God gives sorrow. He makes their bodies and bones rot away.
John 1:8 stipulates that if we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins daily he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify from all unrighteousness. The sin is forgotten in Gods eyes from I believe. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
The first of all commandments, are all written in the book of Deuteronomy 6; for our purposes, verses 4-9, though the entire chapter- and book - is great reading! If you "love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your might", then you will find yourself going where you want to be, namely, "growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ."
Have you ever considered that your unconfessed sin hinders your response to your prayers? The Holy Spirit’s leadership through instruction in righteousness and to a greater call of service unto the Lord? Christian often attend their respective church’s services, the pastor will preach from God’s Word, the Holy Spirit will use the message to bring conviction to the heart of the individual – but how many truly confess their sins in response to the conviction?
So many people will leave their church services just as they came in. David wrote the following words in Psalms 66:18, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” Solomon went on to write in Proverbs 28:13, “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy and everlasting life.." I've seen some praise God one min then after church cussing someone out.
I use to work at Piccadilly Cafeteria. It was my first job ever. I was 17. I wanted to work to buy my own girly things. Not many are around. You go down the line and pick out what you want on your plate. Every Sunday we had many different church going customers so we always had extra staff but my point is, they were some of the rudest people. I didn't care (my poor teen attitude) and I said, "Ma'am or Sir with all due respect didn't you just come from church?" I could tell her party was embarrassed and she was pissed with me. Told the manager blah blah. I never did it again but it was so nice to finally call someone out due to the teasing from non believers saying "see how mean they are to us every Sunday coming in?" I finally made my point.
I was only 17 telling them this! A teenager knew better than to treat people like that. Being that my dear late dad was a Pentecostal Minister/Pastor. I just inadvertently picked up a lot of valuable information growing up. My point is don't be a judgemental hypocrite as believers people are watching the behavior. The Bible says "we shall know them by the fruits they bear". Meaning how we act. The example were setting representing God needs to be correct. Remember that to those who claim to be a believer.
As a matter of fact so many people have been hurt by churches and the people but NOT GOD. They associate that with God not the actual person or people who did them wrong. I've seen it time and again. This world is so dark and getting worse. Please know God knows no,color. NO RACE is better than another in his eyes and laws. We need to unite as a country. If we are divided against ourselves this country will never stand a chance.
Written By Jennifer L Auld
Looking inside the spiritual & literary worlds
Showing posts with label church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label church. Show all posts
Saturday, October 7, 2017
Sunday, August 6, 2017
Demons, Demonic Influences & Holy Angels
The first goal of demons in my opinion is to prevent us from receiving God's love and ever lasting life in Heaven..getting saved. Their sneaky are to attempt to get people to turn away from God. They do this through many forms of temptation, harassment, and also from distorting The Word Of God. Demons lie to us and work hard on our minds so that we are lying to ourselves and thinking awful things of our self worth and our ability to do things right. And pleasing to,God.
Another form of attack is accusation and criticism. Demons will interject condemning thoughts into the minds of believers. They absolutely love to conjure up the past with thoughts of, “You really failed at so much..” or “You really messed up”. Demons are on a mission to destroy us. They work together and strategize. They go after our weaknesses especially times when people are physically and/or emotionally weak. They attempt to affect all areas of a person’s body, soul, and spirit. They don’t play fair.
We know that we are made up of body, soul and spirit. Again the soul in itself is made up of mind, will and emotions. Becoming a believer means we must have surrendered our will to the Lordship of Jesus Christ our savior. But the mind and emotions, we might not have fully surrendered to our Lord. In these circumstances either knowingly or unknowingly we are allowing the devil to have a legal hold on our mind or emotions.
There are several ways by which demons oppresses people. Afflict: To inflict something hard to endure. Harass: To annoy or disturb persistently, to wear out by frequent attacks. Influence: To exercise indirect power over in order to sway or affect. Oppress: To lower in spirit or mood. Torment: To cause severe suffering of body or mind. Torture: To punish or coerce by inflicting excruciating pain. Worry: To disturb one or destroy one’s peace of mind by repeated or persistent torment. Wrong: To inflict injury on another without justification.
A demon can keep you in chains and isolate you by attacking the mind. That is the devils playground. But God has the final say and power to end it all. Rev 20:10 and the devil who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Demons are not God but sometimes they become the object of worship. Behind every idol, there is a demon or an evil spirit. Sometimes we cherish certain beliefs which are not true. This can become a form of idolatry.
Psalms 106:37 They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.
God's Angels Are Invisible But Every Where
God has had angels specifically assigned to supervise and protect his Church throughout all of its history (Revelations 1:4, 16, 20; 2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, 14). He has angels who are to always walk through the earth to watch and report back to him the overall conditions on earth (Zech 4:10; II Chron 16:9; Revelations 5:6). And God has angels specifically assigned to look after his begotten human children (Mattew 18:10 Acts 12:15). God promises: “For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways (Psalms 91:11).” Angels are Good spirits that can manifest them self into a physical body. Good spirits linked to The Holy Spirit always speak the truth. Angels are everywhere my friends. God has us under protection.
In Job 38:4, 7, God is speaking specifically of the creation of earth. He says all the angels shouted for joy at the creation of the earth. This shows us that angels were created before the creation of the earth and probably before the material universe. The suns, planets and astral bodies are material substances. Angels are individually created spirit beings, composed solely of spirit.
Written By Jennifer L Auld
Another form of attack is accusation and criticism. Demons will interject condemning thoughts into the minds of believers. They absolutely love to conjure up the past with thoughts of, “You really failed at so much..” or “You really messed up”. Demons are on a mission to destroy us. They work together and strategize. They go after our weaknesses especially times when people are physically and/or emotionally weak. They attempt to affect all areas of a person’s body, soul, and spirit. They don’t play fair.
We know that we are made up of body, soul and spirit. Again the soul in itself is made up of mind, will and emotions. Becoming a believer means we must have surrendered our will to the Lordship of Jesus Christ our savior. But the mind and emotions, we might not have fully surrendered to our Lord. In these circumstances either knowingly or unknowingly we are allowing the devil to have a legal hold on our mind or emotions.
There are several ways by which demons oppresses people. Afflict: To inflict something hard to endure. Harass: To annoy or disturb persistently, to wear out by frequent attacks. Influence: To exercise indirect power over in order to sway or affect. Oppress: To lower in spirit or mood. Torment: To cause severe suffering of body or mind. Torture: To punish or coerce by inflicting excruciating pain. Worry: To disturb one or destroy one’s peace of mind by repeated or persistent torment. Wrong: To inflict injury on another without justification.
A demon can keep you in chains and isolate you by attacking the mind. That is the devils playground. But God has the final say and power to end it all. Rev 20:10 and the devil who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Demons are not God but sometimes they become the object of worship. Behind every idol, there is a demon or an evil spirit. Sometimes we cherish certain beliefs which are not true. This can become a form of idolatry.
Psalms 106:37 They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.
God's Angels Are Invisible But Every Where
God has had angels specifically assigned to supervise and protect his Church throughout all of its history (Revelations 1:4, 16, 20; 2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, 14). He has angels who are to always walk through the earth to watch and report back to him the overall conditions on earth (Zech 4:10; II Chron 16:9; Revelations 5:6). And God has angels specifically assigned to look after his begotten human children (Mattew 18:10 Acts 12:15). God promises: “For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways (Psalms 91:11).” Angels are Good spirits that can manifest them self into a physical body. Good spirits linked to The Holy Spirit always speak the truth. Angels are everywhere my friends. God has us under protection.
In Job 38:4, 7, God is speaking specifically of the creation of earth. He says all the angels shouted for joy at the creation of the earth. This shows us that angels were created before the creation of the earth and probably before the material universe. The suns, planets and astral bodies are material substances. Angels are individually created spirit beings, composed solely of spirit.
Written By Jennifer L Auld
Saturday, February 18, 2017
What Is The Gift Of Biblical Discernment?
What Is The Gift Of Biblical Discernment?
Hello everybody. I hope you're having a wonderful Sunday so far! I trust you had a great weekend and I hope you enjoy my humble blogs regarding my opinion on the Supernatural from a Christian point of view.... even though I hate calling myself a Christian due to how many of them exhibit poor examples. Remember we will answer for turning people off from getting to know The Lord. Have fun explaining why you called yourself a Christian but wanted to be a hypocrite and judge others using Christ's name in doing so. Remember we really want to be in the book of life. And it's sad because a lot of Christians are not going where they think when they leave this world to the other side. A lot of very bad examples of Christians make us all look bad but please know not all of them are like that. Bad ones ruin it for the good honest ones.
Discernment:
The word discern and its derivatives are translations of the Greek word anakrinoin the New Testament. It means “to distinguish, to separate out by diligent search, to examine.” Discernment is the ability to properly discriminate or make determinations. It is related to wisdom. The Word of God itself is said to discern the thoughts and intentions of one’s heart (Hebrews 4:12).
Just as Solomon sought discernment and wisdom (Proverbs 1:2; 1 Kings 3:9-12) to explore the handiwork of God (Ecclesiastes 1:13) and seek out the meaning of life (Ecclesiastes 12:13), so should believers seek “the wisdom that comes from heaven” (James 3:17). We must study the Scriptures which are “able to make you aware of the enemy as well as everything you will need to know to keep yourself safe. And Satan is not above God. The Lord is coming and he knows that for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15). We pray to our Lord the prayer be “I am your servant; give me discernment that I may understand your words” (Psalm 119:125). The Bible has everything in it all the information how to conduct spiritual warfare when we find ourselves under attack and that's our discernment as well listen to what you might think your gut is telling you until you learn to recognize discernment. The Bible has all that we need. Even spiritual warfare is explained on how we fight the enemy. It's our weapon.
Something that's noteworthy speaking of song I'm finding out not a whole lot of people realize that King Solomon summons demons to do his bidding like building his castle and things to that nature and that's not what God wanted him to do. They say in Solomons last days that he spoke gibberish. Those demons definitely got him back and God only want him and there is such thing as free will. The days up to King Solomon stuff no one could tell he was saying because he was speaking gibberish and talking to people that were not there. Even the wisdom he was blessed with when it comes to having those demons do his bidding had to of known there would be repercussions. The book called The Lesser Keys of Solomon is nothing but a girl matter of how to summon I believe it's 74 demons I think?
The Bible will NEVER leave us defenseless! You see these demons fear Christ. They fear God. They truly do. Like in the Bible when the demon said to Christ "why have you come to torment us before the appointed time?"I believe this was the one where they (the demons) asked to be casted out into the swine. Remember???? I believe it was that depressed man who was possessed by some demons but I could be getting that mixed up with another story in the Bible so forgive me if I mix things up. I know for a fact these things happened in the Bible, my mind is just having a block. Lol. But you get the point that I'm trying to make.
What Is Spiritual Warfare:
Some Christians feel satan and demons are fought, using a variety of methods and prayers depending on the group, mostly prayer and fasting. From a biblical point of view, spiritual warfare is the cosmic war of good versus evil. Many battles are fought daily between God and Satan; between the Christian Church and the world fueled by our enemy; and within every child of God, between the Holy Spirit and the lusts of the carnal flesh. The clear meanings of good and evil, as defined by God rather than man, are revealed within the verses of the Holy Bible and the life of Jesus Christ. The Book of Daniel, chapter 10 provides one of the most striking examples of spiritual warfare found in Scripture. It's truly worth a read.
Discernment And Testing What We Are Being Taught.
Discernment is valuable (at least for me it was very helpful in the situations as Christians are responsible to test teachings, preaching and prophecy. It Hass to line up with the word of God. The Bereans were considered noble for hearing the teaching of Paul and Silas, receiving them with eagerness and “examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (Acts 17:11). These believers tested the words of the apostles, examining the Scriptures to see if what they were being taught was in line with the Word Of God. It's very important that we do that. All Christians are ultimately responsible for what they choose to believe, no matter whether or not they have been gifted with the spiritual gift of discernment. I just pray and do what I think God wants me to put out there. I always pray before doing a blog to see if the Holy Spirit shows me anything he would like me to share.
When I did two blogs on "Demons and Meth? A Door to Darkness?" and Meth and Demons Part 2 I never dreamed so many people knew about that connection yet. Many people fell victim. Please do read the above-linked blogs as I had to write a second one because the first one really reached out to a lot of people. So please feel free to take a moment to (no matter what you believe in) read "Demons and Meth A Door to Darkness?" if you Google that you will be surprised how many hits come up. Not to mention all the different stories people are now starting to share and come out a little bit more with it. Since more and more people are it makes others more comfortable. It's no different than when someone claims they have a demon or ghost, it's very hard to make any assumptions until you have done the walk-through and ask the appropriate questions and speak with all witnesses and take notes.
Spiritual Warfare is really one huge blessing the Lord left us with to cast out evil. Think about that. It's sad at times we may have to get dirty in order to handle that but just like Satan dispatches his demons there are Angels doing the same thing except to protect us and guide us in the right direction but we still have our free will. Search online for the paralysis and demons and it goes into more detail about that or you can read one of my blogs that I wrote about it in detail it was called and titled "The incubus and succubus". The enemy and his disgusting vile creatures Will invade you and your body and there's nothing you can you do. If you've had sleep paralysis know what I'm talking about. The body is still asleep but the brain is awake. I believe it's called a REM cycle. Upon just falling asleep or Just waking up. It's terrifying. And a lot of those cases are natural and known to be medical issue going on but some believe some cases are demonic visitation and I think I agree.
Thank you all for stopping by Eye On The Paranormal. Thank you for taking the time to read our blogs. Feel free to keep commenting the other two blogs I did on " crystal meth and demons". It is still receiving comments, actually both blogs people found help from. They felt better they didn't think they were crazy so you never know who could benefit from it. Just something I wanted to throw in real quick in case you think you have anything to add that would be helpful information on that subject. There's a lot of people struggling to find answers for it. It's definitely something that needs to be addressed already.
Written By Jennifer L Auld
Hello everybody. I hope you're having a wonderful Sunday so far! I trust you had a great weekend and I hope you enjoy my humble blogs regarding my opinion on the Supernatural from a Christian point of view.... even though I hate calling myself a Christian due to how many of them exhibit poor examples. Remember we will answer for turning people off from getting to know The Lord. Have fun explaining why you called yourself a Christian but wanted to be a hypocrite and judge others using Christ's name in doing so. Remember we really want to be in the book of life. And it's sad because a lot of Christians are not going where they think when they leave this world to the other side. A lot of very bad examples of Christians make us all look bad but please know not all of them are like that. Bad ones ruin it for the good honest ones.
Discernment:
The word discern and its derivatives are translations of the Greek word anakrinoin the New Testament. It means “to distinguish, to separate out by diligent search, to examine.” Discernment is the ability to properly discriminate or make determinations. It is related to wisdom. The Word of God itself is said to discern the thoughts and intentions of one’s heart (Hebrews 4:12).
Just as Solomon sought discernment and wisdom (Proverbs 1:2; 1 Kings 3:9-12) to explore the handiwork of God (Ecclesiastes 1:13) and seek out the meaning of life (Ecclesiastes 12:13), so should believers seek “the wisdom that comes from heaven” (James 3:17). We must study the Scriptures which are “able to make you aware of the enemy as well as everything you will need to know to keep yourself safe. And Satan is not above God. The Lord is coming and he knows that for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15). We pray to our Lord the prayer be “I am your servant; give me discernment that I may understand your words” (Psalm 119:125). The Bible has everything in it all the information how to conduct spiritual warfare when we find ourselves under attack and that's our discernment as well listen to what you might think your gut is telling you until you learn to recognize discernment. The Bible has all that we need. Even spiritual warfare is explained on how we fight the enemy. It's our weapon.
Something that's noteworthy speaking of song I'm finding out not a whole lot of people realize that King Solomon summons demons to do his bidding like building his castle and things to that nature and that's not what God wanted him to do. They say in Solomons last days that he spoke gibberish. Those demons definitely got him back and God only want him and there is such thing as free will. The days up to King Solomon stuff no one could tell he was saying because he was speaking gibberish and talking to people that were not there. Even the wisdom he was blessed with when it comes to having those demons do his bidding had to of known there would be repercussions. The book called The Lesser Keys of Solomon is nothing but a girl matter of how to summon I believe it's 74 demons I think?
The Bible will NEVER leave us defenseless! You see these demons fear Christ. They fear God. They truly do. Like in the Bible when the demon said to Christ "why have you come to torment us before the appointed time?"I believe this was the one where they (the demons) asked to be casted out into the swine. Remember???? I believe it was that depressed man who was possessed by some demons but I could be getting that mixed up with another story in the Bible so forgive me if I mix things up. I know for a fact these things happened in the Bible, my mind is just having a block. Lol. But you get the point that I'm trying to make.
What Is Spiritual Warfare:
Some Christians feel satan and demons are fought, using a variety of methods and prayers depending on the group, mostly prayer and fasting. From a biblical point of view, spiritual warfare is the cosmic war of good versus evil. Many battles are fought daily between God and Satan; between the Christian Church and the world fueled by our enemy; and within every child of God, between the Holy Spirit and the lusts of the carnal flesh. The clear meanings of good and evil, as defined by God rather than man, are revealed within the verses of the Holy Bible and the life of Jesus Christ. The Book of Daniel, chapter 10 provides one of the most striking examples of spiritual warfare found in Scripture. It's truly worth a read.
Discernment And Testing What We Are Being Taught.
Discernment is valuable (at least for me it was very helpful in the situations as Christians are responsible to test teachings, preaching and prophecy. It Hass to line up with the word of God. The Bereans were considered noble for hearing the teaching of Paul and Silas, receiving them with eagerness and “examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (Acts 17:11). These believers tested the words of the apostles, examining the Scriptures to see if what they were being taught was in line with the Word Of God. It's very important that we do that. All Christians are ultimately responsible for what they choose to believe, no matter whether or not they have been gifted with the spiritual gift of discernment. I just pray and do what I think God wants me to put out there. I always pray before doing a blog to see if the Holy Spirit shows me anything he would like me to share.
When I did two blogs on "Demons and Meth? A Door to Darkness?" and Meth and Demons Part 2 I never dreamed so many people knew about that connection yet. Many people fell victim. Please do read the above-linked blogs as I had to write a second one because the first one really reached out to a lot of people. So please feel free to take a moment to (no matter what you believe in) read "Demons and Meth A Door to Darkness?" if you Google that you will be surprised how many hits come up. Not to mention all the different stories people are now starting to share and come out a little bit more with it. Since more and more people are it makes others more comfortable. It's no different than when someone claims they have a demon or ghost, it's very hard to make any assumptions until you have done the walk-through and ask the appropriate questions and speak with all witnesses and take notes.
Spiritual Warfare is really one huge blessing the Lord left us with to cast out evil. Think about that. It's sad at times we may have to get dirty in order to handle that but just like Satan dispatches his demons there are Angels doing the same thing except to protect us and guide us in the right direction but we still have our free will. Search online for the paralysis and demons and it goes into more detail about that or you can read one of my blogs that I wrote about it in detail it was called and titled "The incubus and succubus". The enemy and his disgusting vile creatures Will invade you and your body and there's nothing you can you do. If you've had sleep paralysis know what I'm talking about. The body is still asleep but the brain is awake. I believe it's called a REM cycle. Upon just falling asleep or Just waking up. It's terrifying. And a lot of those cases are natural and known to be medical issue going on but some believe some cases are demonic visitation and I think I agree.
Thank you all for stopping by Eye On The Paranormal. Thank you for taking the time to read our blogs. Feel free to keep commenting the other two blogs I did on " crystal meth and demons". It is still receiving comments, actually both blogs people found help from. They felt better they didn't think they were crazy so you never know who could benefit from it. Just something I wanted to throw in real quick in case you think you have anything to add that would be helpful information on that subject. There's a lot of people struggling to find answers for it. It's definitely something that needs to be addressed already.
Written By Jennifer L Auld
Thursday, November 10, 2016
Ghosts and the Great Evangelical Disaster, Part 1
By Reverend Mark Hunnemann
Less than 80 years ago, our country had a Christian consensus.Virtually anyone could have expressed what the basic Christian beliefs were , even if they did not believe it themselves. Let me stop here for a moment, and state that I want to set this debate about the existence of ghosts in a larger context--namely as part of the very rapid cultural decline that has taken place.In order to accomplish this, we must set this debate regarding ghosts within the context of the spirit of our age.What is the prevailing spirit that is driving American culture into a deadly decline? (In my book I set this debate within the context of the clash of differing worldviews and antithetical epistemologies...that is, objective truth versus relatavisitic truth, and how the bible is REALLY true when it speaks about any subject matter--including science and history).
In the last 80 years or so years there has been a mad rush in our society to achieve autonomous freedom-- that is the spirit of the age that is napalming every segment of society. It is the drive to throw of the restraints of the God of the bible.It is search for freedom, but the autonomous aspect means getting rid of the restraints of the God of truth as well as the truth of God. A deliberate rejection of God and His law or morality. Hence, treasured aspects of our culture are destroyed almost overnight. In Romans 1:18f the Lord tells us that, since our country once did know the truth, but willingly rejected it, we are being punished for it. Let me quote my hero Francis Schaeffer, "But if we are looking across the history of the world to see those times when men knew the truth and turned away, let us say emphatically that there is not an exhibition of this anywhere in history so clearly--and in such a short time--as in our own generation." (The Great Evangelical Disaster)
I graduated from high school in 1974, and the changes in our country since then have been enormous...what were once vices are now embraced as virtues.It is a terrible thing for a 60 year old man like me to see how far we have declined in such a short time.It makes me weep.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.(Eph. 6:12) Does the church in the twenty-first century of America really believe we are engaged in this cosmic battle? Again Schaeffer, If we do not believe these things(and we must say that much of the evangelical world acts as if it does not believe these things), we certainly cannot expect to have much success in fighting the battle. Why doesn't the church have more impact on our culture? Because we have not taken the primary battle seriously.And because we don't take this supernatural warfare seriously, we don't use the weapons our Lord has provided (Ephesians. 6:10-18) Without these weapons we have no hope of winning
As a consequence of rejecting the truth, Paul says in Romans 1:18-25 that their (our) thinking or reasoning processes becomes foolish and distorted.The reason I went into such detail in my book about adopting a Christian worldview is that foolish or distorted thinking is flourishing, not only in non-Christians, but in Christians as well. The result has been disasterous. We deserve, and are, under the wrath of God as a country...I say that with tears....
Because we have rejected the one, true God in a manic, depraved quest for autonomous freedom, our nation is now characterized by foolish thinking (and the long list of degradations Paul mentions)--we are drowning in relativistic reasoning--AND God's anger is being poured out upon America.The last few generations have trampled upon the truth of God as well as the God of truth.We are seeing, right now, the outworking of this depraved thinking and acting. Do you think we can slaughter this many unborn children and not anger the Holy One of Israel?
An indicator of how few Christians think like Christians is the recent election. How many Christians viewed abortion as the primary issue? Very few. As important as the economy is, what can come even close to the significance of protecting human life? LIFE, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?!
We are still made in God's image and have a visceral desire for spiritual reality...even if we have rejected the God whose image we are made in. All of this frenzied quest for unfettered freedom from God and His moral absolutes, has left us in a spiritual void or wasteland. That is where ghosts come into the picture. I will develop this them further next time, but suffice it to say that Satan has developed this scheme masterfully.
Having rejected the true God, we have replaced Him and the bible with the satisfaction of immediate contact with the supernatural. Our Christ-less culture has become irrational. Instead of truth we seek experience with the paranormal And where is the church?
Martin Luther (or somebody) said, If I profess with loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the Devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved and to be steady on all the battle front besides, is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point.
Preachers preach on everything but that little point where the Devil is attacking.
Where are the sermons on the bible and ghosts? Again, I insist, where are the messages on the bible and spiritism? Because the church has flinched, it is not confessing Christ. It remains dogged in her dismissiveness of this topic (some rare exceptions). It has not engaged the spirit of this age.....again. Yes, of course there are many other important issues and topics. Our culture will become increasingly demonized if we don't bring the truth and light on this subject.I love the church and I love pastors. The Bride is committing adultery with the world. Lord, please have mercy on us. And pastors..... PREACH!
Read The Great Evangelical Disaster, Part 2 Loving Confrontation
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.
Less than 80 years ago, our country had a Christian consensus.Virtually anyone could have expressed what the basic Christian beliefs were , even if they did not believe it themselves. Let me stop here for a moment, and state that I want to set this debate about the existence of ghosts in a larger context--namely as part of the very rapid cultural decline that has taken place.In order to accomplish this, we must set this debate regarding ghosts within the context of the spirit of our age.What is the prevailing spirit that is driving American culture into a deadly decline? (In my book I set this debate within the context of the clash of differing worldviews and antithetical epistemologies...that is, objective truth versus relatavisitic truth, and how the bible is REALLY true when it speaks about any subject matter--including science and history).
In the last 80 years or so years there has been a mad rush in our society to achieve autonomous freedom-- that is the spirit of the age that is napalming every segment of society. It is the drive to throw of the restraints of the God of the bible.It is search for freedom, but the autonomous aspect means getting rid of the restraints of the God of truth as well as the truth of God. A deliberate rejection of God and His law or morality. Hence, treasured aspects of our culture are destroyed almost overnight. In Romans 1:18f the Lord tells us that, since our country once did know the truth, but willingly rejected it, we are being punished for it. Let me quote my hero Francis Schaeffer, "But if we are looking across the history of the world to see those times when men knew the truth and turned away, let us say emphatically that there is not an exhibition of this anywhere in history so clearly--and in such a short time--as in our own generation." (The Great Evangelical Disaster)
I graduated from high school in 1974, and the changes in our country since then have been enormous...what were once vices are now embraced as virtues.It is a terrible thing for a 60 year old man like me to see how far we have declined in such a short time.It makes me weep.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.(Eph. 6:12) Does the church in the twenty-first century of America really believe we are engaged in this cosmic battle? Again Schaeffer, If we do not believe these things(and we must say that much of the evangelical world acts as if it does not believe these things), we certainly cannot expect to have much success in fighting the battle. Why doesn't the church have more impact on our culture? Because we have not taken the primary battle seriously.And because we don't take this supernatural warfare seriously, we don't use the weapons our Lord has provided (Ephesians. 6:10-18) Without these weapons we have no hope of winning
As a consequence of rejecting the truth, Paul says in Romans 1:18-25 that their (our) thinking or reasoning processes becomes foolish and distorted.The reason I went into such detail in my book about adopting a Christian worldview is that foolish or distorted thinking is flourishing, not only in non-Christians, but in Christians as well. The result has been disasterous. We deserve, and are, under the wrath of God as a country...I say that with tears....
Because we have rejected the one, true God in a manic, depraved quest for autonomous freedom, our nation is now characterized by foolish thinking (and the long list of degradations Paul mentions)--we are drowning in relativistic reasoning--AND God's anger is being poured out upon America.The last few generations have trampled upon the truth of God as well as the God of truth.We are seeing, right now, the outworking of this depraved thinking and acting. Do you think we can slaughter this many unborn children and not anger the Holy One of Israel?
An indicator of how few Christians think like Christians is the recent election. How many Christians viewed abortion as the primary issue? Very few. As important as the economy is, what can come even close to the significance of protecting human life? LIFE, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?!
We are still made in God's image and have a visceral desire for spiritual reality...even if we have rejected the God whose image we are made in. All of this frenzied quest for unfettered freedom from God and His moral absolutes, has left us in a spiritual void or wasteland. That is where ghosts come into the picture. I will develop this them further next time, but suffice it to say that Satan has developed this scheme masterfully.
Having rejected the true God, we have replaced Him and the bible with the satisfaction of immediate contact with the supernatural. Our Christ-less culture has become irrational. Instead of truth we seek experience with the paranormal And where is the church?
Martin Luther (or somebody) said, If I profess with loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the Devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved and to be steady on all the battle front besides, is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point.
Preachers preach on everything but that little point where the Devil is attacking.
Where are the sermons on the bible and ghosts? Again, I insist, where are the messages on the bible and spiritism? Because the church has flinched, it is not confessing Christ. It remains dogged in her dismissiveness of this topic (some rare exceptions). It has not engaged the spirit of this age.....again. Yes, of course there are many other important issues and topics. Our culture will become increasingly demonized if we don't bring the truth and light on this subject.I love the church and I love pastors. The Bride is committing adultery with the world. Lord, please have mercy on us. And pastors..... PREACH!
Read The Great Evangelical Disaster, Part 2 Loving Confrontation
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.
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Symptoms of Spiritual Pollution, Part 7
Continued from:
Symptoms of Spiritual Pollution, Part 1
Symptoms of Spiritual Pollution, Part 2
Symptoms of Spiritual Pollution, Part 3
Symptoms of Spiritual Pollution, Part 4
Symptoms of Spiritual Pollution, Part 5
Symptoms of Spiritual Pollution, Part 6
In my continuation on the blog series Spiritual Warfare from the last time I discussed the critical aspect of Discernment about one’s belief and what God views discernment as. In this blog aspect we will now cover what many refer to as the Spirits. So what are the spirits? Demons or Fallen Angels? This I will answer for you.
In the spiritual warfare beliefs, one is taught that there are good spirits and bad spirits which one must contend with. Ministry call the good spirits “angels” and the bad spirits “demons”. People feel angels are your buddies—wrong. These are allies in this battle who assist to protect and defend you against the powers of darkness. Demons are the rulers of this earth. These powerful forces of evil who can only be defeated by great faith and some ritualistic behaviors. This is what many are taught, and it’s a bunch of nonsense. If you’re going to get the proper understanding of the spiritual realm, I need to start at the beginning.
There are demons and angels. Understand these are two different names for the same type of creature. Ponder this, is a human stronger than a person? No, those are two interchangeable words for the same metaphor. So therefore, demons are equal to angels. These are angelic creatures who rebelled against God and are no longer righteous in His eyes. Angelic beings (demons and angels) are very different than human beings. God has limited interests in giving a warrior an in-depth education about those differences. This puts the person at a major disadvantage. You will never outwit an enemy that you can’t even understand.
Now while God prevents you from understanding angels and demons, God gives these beings an education about you. These creatures can read your mind, can hear what your soul speaks to God and can discern your very inept intelligence. Angelic creatures view us as quite unimpressive. If demons are the Lamborghini of cars, then humans are those cheesy plastic cars that a toddler “drives” by sitting inside of it and pushing the feet to the ground. In our world - earth, it’s mind-blowing how ineffective you are.
A human can’t manipulate matter, but angelic creatures can. Oxygen is necessary to breathe, angelic creatures have no use for oxygen. Instant transport of yourself to different locations around the earth is not what humans can accomplish, but angelic creatures can. We have to eat, sleep, and protect ourselves against the elements. We have all the strength of a piece of lint and we are incredibly unwise about relying on our physical senses to guide us in life.
So what about those who can see demons? Many Christians who think they have the gift of discernment believe they can see demons. What are you really looking at when you view whatever it is you see? Are you viewing what demons really look like? Of course not. However, you are seeing an illusion of a creature in costume. Angelic creatures can appear to a person in a massive variety of forms. Amazingly is how much emphasis we put in their images used and we’re incredibly easy to deceive. If they appear to you as an ugly looking gargoyle, you actually think that’s what they look like. When introductions happen as giving a certain name, you actually believe that name is true?
Hearing some demon “expert” from the Church boast about the extensive knowledge of the demonic ranks, having maps of demonic strongholds and they’ve figured out which demons work where and such talk is pure folly. No one grasps that angelic creatures communicate with each other on a regular basis. If demon #1 scared the pants off of you by coming in a certain form, they communicate that data to demon #2. Demon #2 then comes on a different night, appearing in the same form and you declare you’ve been visited by the same evil entity. No! Actually you’ve been visited by two different spirits, but there’s no way you can discern them apart because God has reserved intelligence from you.
What often passes for “the gift of discernment” these days is a little more than a vivid imagination and a head full of gullible garbage about what demons look like and act. Certainly demons are real and sometimes they appear in visual forms. However, they just toy with our imagination and make one think they viewed something that you didn’t really see. Demons love toying with the mind and senses. It is so easy for demons to send that creepy tingly aspect up the spine which one would interpret as their glorious gift at work.
Churning your emotions like a stormy sea is easy for the demons. Then you seem to interpret the whole thing as evidence of your deep spiritual insights. That would be like me kicking you in the shin and asking “Did you feel pain just now?” Clearly all you have a deep understanding of the human nervous system. Feeling your nervous system react to stimulus and understanding the mechanics of how your nervous system works are two different aspects. In the same manner, being conscious that a demon is toying with you and understanding the demon itself are two entirely separate concepts.
So how can you truly defeat an enemy that you can’t comprehend? You can’t. View spiritual warfare like this, you’re a person who is trying to hold back an approaching military tank by throwing tissue wads at it. No weapons that you have will stand against demons, you can’t injure or harm them. Unfortunately the armory is an empty closet. This is critical that you understand this. Why? Because deceived Christians are lying to you when they tell you that your faith is some great weapon that demons can’t stand up against. That is such a bold-faced lie. If your faith was so intimidating, why don’t you hear the demons in the midst of your prayer sessions trembling like they did with the Lord Jesus Christ when the demons encountered him in real life?
Why is it that the attempts to rebuke them prove to be worthless? They laugh when you try to quote holy verses at them? Why are they able to successfully hold you down in an ocean of dread and fear if you’re so full of faith? Are you going to tell me that you need more faith? Well, faith can only grow so fast. You had as much today as you had yesterday. Former times the rebuking appeared to work…or did it? So if your faith has no effect on the demons, what is keeping them off of you? It’s not what, it’s who is. God is the One who flicks demons off of you, but God is also the main reason the demons attack you.
In our next blog we will expand on the Demons and what this affords a person as this is thrown around in Spiritual Warfare.
Rev. Bradley Luoma, Exorcist
Symptoms of Spiritual Pollution, Part 1
Symptoms of Spiritual Pollution, Part 2
Symptoms of Spiritual Pollution, Part 3
Symptoms of Spiritual Pollution, Part 4
Symptoms of Spiritual Pollution, Part 5
Symptoms of Spiritual Pollution, Part 6
In my continuation on the blog series Spiritual Warfare from the last time I discussed the critical aspect of Discernment about one’s belief and what God views discernment as. In this blog aspect we will now cover what many refer to as the Spirits. So what are the spirits? Demons or Fallen Angels? This I will answer for you.
In the spiritual warfare beliefs, one is taught that there are good spirits and bad spirits which one must contend with. Ministry call the good spirits “angels” and the bad spirits “demons”. People feel angels are your buddies—wrong. These are allies in this battle who assist to protect and defend you against the powers of darkness. Demons are the rulers of this earth. These powerful forces of evil who can only be defeated by great faith and some ritualistic behaviors. This is what many are taught, and it’s a bunch of nonsense. If you’re going to get the proper understanding of the spiritual realm, I need to start at the beginning.
There are demons and angels. Understand these are two different names for the same type of creature. Ponder this, is a human stronger than a person? No, those are two interchangeable words for the same metaphor. So therefore, demons are equal to angels. These are angelic creatures who rebelled against God and are no longer righteous in His eyes. Angelic beings (demons and angels) are very different than human beings. God has limited interests in giving a warrior an in-depth education about those differences. This puts the person at a major disadvantage. You will never outwit an enemy that you can’t even understand.
Now while God prevents you from understanding angels and demons, God gives these beings an education about you. These creatures can read your mind, can hear what your soul speaks to God and can discern your very inept intelligence. Angelic creatures view us as quite unimpressive. If demons are the Lamborghini of cars, then humans are those cheesy plastic cars that a toddler “drives” by sitting inside of it and pushing the feet to the ground. In our world - earth, it’s mind-blowing how ineffective you are.
A human can’t manipulate matter, but angelic creatures can. Oxygen is necessary to breathe, angelic creatures have no use for oxygen. Instant transport of yourself to different locations around the earth is not what humans can accomplish, but angelic creatures can. We have to eat, sleep, and protect ourselves against the elements. We have all the strength of a piece of lint and we are incredibly unwise about relying on our physical senses to guide us in life.
So what about those who can see demons? Many Christians who think they have the gift of discernment believe they can see demons. What are you really looking at when you view whatever it is you see? Are you viewing what demons really look like? Of course not. However, you are seeing an illusion of a creature in costume. Angelic creatures can appear to a person in a massive variety of forms. Amazingly is how much emphasis we put in their images used and we’re incredibly easy to deceive. If they appear to you as an ugly looking gargoyle, you actually think that’s what they look like. When introductions happen as giving a certain name, you actually believe that name is true?
Hearing some demon “expert” from the Church boast about the extensive knowledge of the demonic ranks, having maps of demonic strongholds and they’ve figured out which demons work where and such talk is pure folly. No one grasps that angelic creatures communicate with each other on a regular basis. If demon #1 scared the pants off of you by coming in a certain form, they communicate that data to demon #2. Demon #2 then comes on a different night, appearing in the same form and you declare you’ve been visited by the same evil entity. No! Actually you’ve been visited by two different spirits, but there’s no way you can discern them apart because God has reserved intelligence from you.
What often passes for “the gift of discernment” these days is a little more than a vivid imagination and a head full of gullible garbage about what demons look like and act. Certainly demons are real and sometimes they appear in visual forms. However, they just toy with our imagination and make one think they viewed something that you didn’t really see. Demons love toying with the mind and senses. It is so easy for demons to send that creepy tingly aspect up the spine which one would interpret as their glorious gift at work.
Churning your emotions like a stormy sea is easy for the demons. Then you seem to interpret the whole thing as evidence of your deep spiritual insights. That would be like me kicking you in the shin and asking “Did you feel pain just now?” Clearly all you have a deep understanding of the human nervous system. Feeling your nervous system react to stimulus and understanding the mechanics of how your nervous system works are two different aspects. In the same manner, being conscious that a demon is toying with you and understanding the demon itself are two entirely separate concepts.
So how can you truly defeat an enemy that you can’t comprehend? You can’t. View spiritual warfare like this, you’re a person who is trying to hold back an approaching military tank by throwing tissue wads at it. No weapons that you have will stand against demons, you can’t injure or harm them. Unfortunately the armory is an empty closet. This is critical that you understand this. Why? Because deceived Christians are lying to you when they tell you that your faith is some great weapon that demons can’t stand up against. That is such a bold-faced lie. If your faith was so intimidating, why don’t you hear the demons in the midst of your prayer sessions trembling like they did with the Lord Jesus Christ when the demons encountered him in real life?
Why is it that the attempts to rebuke them prove to be worthless? They laugh when you try to quote holy verses at them? Why are they able to successfully hold you down in an ocean of dread and fear if you’re so full of faith? Are you going to tell me that you need more faith? Well, faith can only grow so fast. You had as much today as you had yesterday. Former times the rebuking appeared to work…or did it? So if your faith has no effect on the demons, what is keeping them off of you? It’s not what, it’s who is. God is the One who flicks demons off of you, but God is also the main reason the demons attack you.
In our next blog we will expand on the Demons and what this affords a person as this is thrown around in Spiritual Warfare.
Rev. Bradley Luoma, Exorcist
Sunday, June 7, 2015
Symptoms of Spiritual Pollution, Part 6
Continued from:
Symptoms of Spiritual Pollution, Part 1
Symptoms of Spiritual Pollution, Part 2
Symptoms of Spiritual Pollution, Part 3
Symptoms of Spiritual Pollution, Part 4
Symptoms of Spiritual Pollution, Part 5
Understanding Spiritual Warfare -- Becoming a Victor
In my continuation on the blog series Spiritual Warfare from the last time I discussed the critical aspect of Intimacy with God based upon the 4 essential core values that one must have to defeat the kingdom of evil. In this blog aspect we will now cover what many refer to as DISCERNMENT. So what is the definition of discernment?
Discernment by definition found in Webster’s is as follows: a quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure, an act of perceiving or discerning something. So what does discernment in the spiritual sense then mean? In the Christian context it means a perception in the absence of judgment with a view to obtaining spiritual direction and understanding.
Therefore let’s get this started: what is discernment? This word has multiple definitions. The culture within the Church wishes to define discernment as the power to see things which are not obvious to the average mind. In other words, discernment is a special ability which sets a person apart as a special human. However, once we start using words like “power” and “special”, our egos are listening attentively as well as the demons.
God talks about a person having discernment, this is a different definition. So our dictionary states discernment can simply mean “showing insight and understanding”. Spiritual discernment isn’t about power, this is about receiving information via the Holy Spirit. This is about God helping a person see the difference between truth and deception. Example of discernment is listen to a sermon, as you don’t want to just believe what you hear. You will want to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to show you if anything the pastor is saying is truth.
When you do this act of requesting to be shown truth you are asking God for discernment—you are asking for insight and understanding. This is a comparison much like a student in a class and God is your teacher. When you raise your hand to ask a question, you are asking for discernment. A person is searching for clarification about something that bothers them. Sometimes God will give it to you, but sometimes God won’t. All wisdom and understanding comes from God and thus God never downloads all of this wisdom into your brain at once.
As a person matures in their faith, they will find themselves feeling more and more dependent on God for everything. God created you which as a powerless little speck you can’t do anything without Him. This is a reality that will never change. By listening to God’s truth, the more in touch a person will become and thus the total dependency on Him becomes even greater. Now the opposite occurs as a person listens to lies, the more out of touch they become with their need for God.
When people (whom are not righteous with God) encourage others to view themselves as a little Harry Potter—which is a person who is born with some innate supernatural powers, with which just some cultivating work can turn them into a master over the spiritual realms. These individuals are teaching you to embrace or downplay your dependency on God. These people are teaching others to downplay the dependency on God. Unfortunately, those unrighteous people are teaching these decent people to view God as your willing assistant and not the sovereign King over your life. Do you think that such a mindset might create problems between you and God? Answer: Yes and Big ones at that.
So have you been told that have the gift of discernment by someone other than God? Can you sense the presence of demonic forces more often and clearly more than other people? Do you believe that you have a “special” ability to see into the spiritual realm? Were you taught by someone other than God directly that those special abilities are indicators that God has specially equipped you for battling demons? If so, then you have been led to a very dangerous place.
The way you presently comprehend spiritual warfare and your own spiritual abilities is very damaging to your soul. Being caught in a web of deceptions is only going to carry you deeper and farther into a plot of delusions. A person can’t draw close to God when they’re clinging to those delusions. However, these kinds of delusions which one is headed towards are that these extremely addictive lies leaves a person wanting more. These actions will serve the ego so much that you won’t want to let them go. Demons know how to make lies sound far more attractive than truth and have been doing this since Adam & Eve. The dangerous aspects are that you are some spirit kicking warrior is one of their favorite games to play with these self-absorbed individuals.
Now wait a second—are you saying that demons would encourage one to believe they are a threat to them? Oh, yes and in a heartbeat. That whole rebuking package that they’ve been sold—it comes straight from them. Demons enjoy it when you start rebuking them in the Name of Jesus or better yet—chanting Bible verses at them. Maybe you’ve been sold the version in which you’re supposed to hold up some large crucifix to drive those evil spirits back and commanding them to leave by just the presence of a crucifix.
Perhaps these spiritual mentors of yours took you down the holy liquids boulevard. Teaching you to apply upon yourself some holy oil, holy water or something else holy as a physical shield against those powers of darkness. This is all such a fantastic scam and unfortunately you are the victim. If you’re serious about wanting to know God (i.e. drawing close) and thus please God with your life, then there is a whole lot of relearning needed about the spiritual realm.
Getting a person to the proper place in their life with God is a challenge due to truth. However, this isn’t going to be an enjoyable trek because God’s truth is often very repulsive to our own pride. Sadly, truth is truth, and trying to ignore it doesn’t change anything, this just ends up harming you further by ignoring the truth. Many people feel that God will adjust reality to suit their wishful thinking and that will not happen. If you want to please God, then you have to submit to His rules and align yourself with His definition of truth, not your definition of truth especially in Spiritual Warfare.
In our next blog we will cover DEMONS and what this affords a person as this is thrown around in Spiritual Warfare.
Rev. Bradley Luoma, Exorcist
Symptoms of Spiritual Pollution, Part 1
Symptoms of Spiritual Pollution, Part 2
Symptoms of Spiritual Pollution, Part 3
Symptoms of Spiritual Pollution, Part 4
Symptoms of Spiritual Pollution, Part 5
Understanding Spiritual Warfare -- Becoming a Victor
In my continuation on the blog series Spiritual Warfare from the last time I discussed the critical aspect of Intimacy with God based upon the 4 essential core values that one must have to defeat the kingdom of evil. In this blog aspect we will now cover what many refer to as DISCERNMENT. So what is the definition of discernment?
Discernment by definition found in Webster’s is as follows: a quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure, an act of perceiving or discerning something. So what does discernment in the spiritual sense then mean? In the Christian context it means a perception in the absence of judgment with a view to obtaining spiritual direction and understanding.
Therefore let’s get this started: what is discernment? This word has multiple definitions. The culture within the Church wishes to define discernment as the power to see things which are not obvious to the average mind. In other words, discernment is a special ability which sets a person apart as a special human. However, once we start using words like “power” and “special”, our egos are listening attentively as well as the demons.
God talks about a person having discernment, this is a different definition. So our dictionary states discernment can simply mean “showing insight and understanding”. Spiritual discernment isn’t about power, this is about receiving information via the Holy Spirit. This is about God helping a person see the difference between truth and deception. Example of discernment is listen to a sermon, as you don’t want to just believe what you hear. You will want to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to show you if anything the pastor is saying is truth.
When you do this act of requesting to be shown truth you are asking God for discernment—you are asking for insight and understanding. This is a comparison much like a student in a class and God is your teacher. When you raise your hand to ask a question, you are asking for discernment. A person is searching for clarification about something that bothers them. Sometimes God will give it to you, but sometimes God won’t. All wisdom and understanding comes from God and thus God never downloads all of this wisdom into your brain at once.
As a person matures in their faith, they will find themselves feeling more and more dependent on God for everything. God created you which as a powerless little speck you can’t do anything without Him. This is a reality that will never change. By listening to God’s truth, the more in touch a person will become and thus the total dependency on Him becomes even greater. Now the opposite occurs as a person listens to lies, the more out of touch they become with their need for God.
When people (whom are not righteous with God) encourage others to view themselves as a little Harry Potter—which is a person who is born with some innate supernatural powers, with which just some cultivating work can turn them into a master over the spiritual realms. These individuals are teaching you to embrace or downplay your dependency on God. These people are teaching others to downplay the dependency on God. Unfortunately, those unrighteous people are teaching these decent people to view God as your willing assistant and not the sovereign King over your life. Do you think that such a mindset might create problems between you and God? Answer: Yes and Big ones at that.
So have you been told that have the gift of discernment by someone other than God? Can you sense the presence of demonic forces more often and clearly more than other people? Do you believe that you have a “special” ability to see into the spiritual realm? Were you taught by someone other than God directly that those special abilities are indicators that God has specially equipped you for battling demons? If so, then you have been led to a very dangerous place.
The way you presently comprehend spiritual warfare and your own spiritual abilities is very damaging to your soul. Being caught in a web of deceptions is only going to carry you deeper and farther into a plot of delusions. A person can’t draw close to God when they’re clinging to those delusions. However, these kinds of delusions which one is headed towards are that these extremely addictive lies leaves a person wanting more. These actions will serve the ego so much that you won’t want to let them go. Demons know how to make lies sound far more attractive than truth and have been doing this since Adam & Eve. The dangerous aspects are that you are some spirit kicking warrior is one of their favorite games to play with these self-absorbed individuals.
Now wait a second—are you saying that demons would encourage one to believe they are a threat to them? Oh, yes and in a heartbeat. That whole rebuking package that they’ve been sold—it comes straight from them. Demons enjoy it when you start rebuking them in the Name of Jesus or better yet—chanting Bible verses at them. Maybe you’ve been sold the version in which you’re supposed to hold up some large crucifix to drive those evil spirits back and commanding them to leave by just the presence of a crucifix.
Perhaps these spiritual mentors of yours took you down the holy liquids boulevard. Teaching you to apply upon yourself some holy oil, holy water or something else holy as a physical shield against those powers of darkness. This is all such a fantastic scam and unfortunately you are the victim. If you’re serious about wanting to know God (i.e. drawing close) and thus please God with your life, then there is a whole lot of relearning needed about the spiritual realm.
Getting a person to the proper place in their life with God is a challenge due to truth. However, this isn’t going to be an enjoyable trek because God’s truth is often very repulsive to our own pride. Sadly, truth is truth, and trying to ignore it doesn’t change anything, this just ends up harming you further by ignoring the truth. Many people feel that God will adjust reality to suit their wishful thinking and that will not happen. If you want to please God, then you have to submit to His rules and align yourself with His definition of truth, not your definition of truth especially in Spiritual Warfare.
In our next blog we will cover DEMONS and what this affords a person as this is thrown around in Spiritual Warfare.
Rev. Bradley Luoma, Exorcist
Friday, March 27, 2015
Parenting--the Pleasures and the Pain
“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” (Malachi 4:6)
[last verse in Old Testament.]
13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” Luke
And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed 35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. (Colossians 3:21)
By Reverend Mark Hunnemann
I have three children and three grandchildren, and they are the joy my heart. I'm sure many of you can relate. It is often said that there is not a handbook on parenting but that is not true; the bible has many insights into parenting. In fact, the book of Proverbs begins as a"handbook" from father (Solomon) to his children.
My greatest pleasures, as well as my greatest pain, has stemmed from parenting. Let me quickly add that the pain part was not necessarily due to my children's faults, but to my faults as a dad. Out of respect for my kids I will not mention personal details.
How do we know how to raise our children? How do we teach them how to love and respect others?
What does it mean to display mature masculinity or femininity? How do we teach them the difference between right and wrong? And what do we tell them is the most important thing in life? How do we attain eternal life? Without the bible we are left to wing it or do what our own parents taught us...but were they right?
Mary, the mother of Jesus, was told that a "sword would pierce her soul." A sword through the heart is an apt description of what parental pain feels like at times.Was Jesus ever spanked? I'm sure He was, not because of anything He did (He was sinless), but because Mary and Joseph were not perfect parents--all parents overreact at times, in some way...
It is instructive that the last comment in the Old Testament has to do with parents turning their hearts toward their children, and vice versa. There are thousands of images that the Lord could have chosen to symbolize the in breaking of the New Covenant, but the Lord chose the image of a parent turning their naturally selfish heart toward loving deeply their children. This shows how the gospel has a deeply invasive affect on the most basic of institutions, the family. Malachi is the last book in the Hebrew Old Testament and the last verse in the last chapter speaks to this matter of parents turning their hearts toward their kids. 400 years go by and when the New Testament opens, it is as if the Lord was still 'on the same page'....He does not skip a beat, but continues with the same imagery. He tells us that John the Baptist and Jesus will fulfill the prophecy of turning the hearts of the parents to their kids. He did not skip a beat over 400 years--obviously this is crucial to God.The point is this--we are all selfish and we need to daily ask God to turn our hearts to our children, and their hearts toward us.We need to ask the Lord for wisdom in knowing how to shepherd our children's hearts.
Parents, please take yourself and your children to church; a loving church that preaches the bible. Some of us have older children so all we can do is pray and gently suggest that we all need help with parenting, and a good children's ministry is invaluable. If you have younger children one of the most important things you can do as a parent is regular attendance at church. My family is not the only one that has had a painful experience with a church, but that is no reason to throw out the baby with the bath water.
Loving God is the single most important thing we can teach our children. But where do we learn how to love God? Reading the bible, and again, attending a good church with a solid children's ministry. Let me say this--cultivating your own personal relationship with God (through bible reading and prayer) is the most loving thing you can do for your child/ren. The Lord loves our children infinitely more than we do, and He created parenting/family. He longs for us to seek the wisdom we need for this unspeakably wonderful adventure.
Please, from the bottom of my heart, look to the Lord to help you with both the pleasures and the pain of parenting.
"Seeing Ghosts through God's Eyes" (also in a Kindle edition)...please consider purchasing my book which uses science, logic, and the bible to analyze the true source of power behind paranormal activity.
Saturday, November 15, 2014
Demons And Demonic Influences And Holy Angels
The first goal of demons in my opinion is to prevent us from receiving God's love and ever lasting life in Heaven..getting saved. Their sneaky are to attempt to get people to turn away from God. They do this through many forms of temptation, harassment, and also from distorting The Word Of God. Demons lie to us and work hard on our minds so that we are lying to ourselves and thinking awful things of our self worth and our ability to do things right. And pleasing to,God.
Another form of attack is accusation and criticism. Demons will interject condemning thoughts into the minds of believers. They absolutely love to conjure up the past with thoughts of, “You really failed at so much..” or “You really messed up”. Demons are on a mission to destroy us. They work together and strategize. They go after our weaknesses especially times when people are physically and/or emotionally weak. They attempt to affect all areas of a person’s body, soul, and spirit. They don’t play fair.
We know that we are made up of body, soul and spirit. Again the soul in itself is made up of mind, will and emotions. Becoming a believer means we must have surrendered our will to the Lordship of Jesus Christ our savior. But the mind and emotions, we might not have fully surrendered to our Lord. In these circumstances either knowingly or unknowingly we are allowing the devil to have a legal hold on our mind or emotions.
There are several ways by which demons oppresses people. Afflict: To inflict something hard to endure. Harass: To annoy or disturb persistently, to wear out by frequent attacks. Influence: To exercise indirect power over in order to sway or affect. Oppress: To lower in spirit or mood. Torment: To cause severe suffering of body or mind. Torture: To punish or coerce by inflicting excruciating pain. Worry: To disturb one or destroy one’s peace of mind by repeated or persistent torment. Wrong: To inflict injury on another without justification.
A demon can keep you in chains and isolate you by attacking the mind. That is the devils playground. But God has the final say and power to end it all. Rev 20:10 and the devil who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Demons are not God but sometimes they become the object of worship. Behind every idol, there is a demon or an evil spirit. Sometimes we cherish certain beliefs which are not true. This can become a form of idolatry.
Psalms 106:37 They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.
God's Angels Are Invisible But Every Where
God has had angels specifically assigned to supervise and protect his Church throughout all of its history (Revelations 1:4, 16, 20; 2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, 14). He has angels who are to always walk through the earth to watch and report back to him the overall conditions on earth (Zech 4:10; II Chron 16:9; Revelations 5:6). And God has angels specifically assigned to look after his begotten human children (Mattew 18:10 Acts 12:15). God promises: “For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways (Psalms 91:11).” Angels are Good spirits that can manifest them self into a physical body. Good spirits linked to The Holy Spirit always speak the truth. Angels are everywhere my friends. God has us under protection.
In Job 38:4, 7, God is speaking specifically of the creation of earth. He says all the angels shouted for joy at the creation of the earth. This shows us that angels were created before the creation of the earth and probably before the material universe. The suns, planets and astral bodies are material substances. Angels are individually created spirit beings, composed solely of spirit.
Written By Jennifer L Auld
Another form of attack is accusation and criticism. Demons will interject condemning thoughts into the minds of believers. They absolutely love to conjure up the past with thoughts of, “You really failed at so much..” or “You really messed up”. Demons are on a mission to destroy us. They work together and strategize. They go after our weaknesses especially times when people are physically and/or emotionally weak. They attempt to affect all areas of a person’s body, soul, and spirit. They don’t play fair.
We know that we are made up of body, soul and spirit. Again the soul in itself is made up of mind, will and emotions. Becoming a believer means we must have surrendered our will to the Lordship of Jesus Christ our savior. But the mind and emotions, we might not have fully surrendered to our Lord. In these circumstances either knowingly or unknowingly we are allowing the devil to have a legal hold on our mind or emotions.
There are several ways by which demons oppresses people. Afflict: To inflict something hard to endure. Harass: To annoy or disturb persistently, to wear out by frequent attacks. Influence: To exercise indirect power over in order to sway or affect. Oppress: To lower in spirit or mood. Torment: To cause severe suffering of body or mind. Torture: To punish or coerce by inflicting excruciating pain. Worry: To disturb one or destroy one’s peace of mind by repeated or persistent torment. Wrong: To inflict injury on another without justification.
A demon can keep you in chains and isolate you by attacking the mind. That is the devils playground. But God has the final say and power to end it all. Rev 20:10 and the devil who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Demons are not God but sometimes they become the object of worship. Behind every idol, there is a demon or an evil spirit. Sometimes we cherish certain beliefs which are not true. This can become a form of idolatry.
Psalms 106:37 They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.
God's Angels Are Invisible But Every Where
God has had angels specifically assigned to supervise and protect his Church throughout all of its history (Revelations 1:4, 16, 20; 2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, 14). He has angels who are to always walk through the earth to watch and report back to him the overall conditions on earth (Zech 4:10; II Chron 16:9; Revelations 5:6). And God has angels specifically assigned to look after his begotten human children (Mattew 18:10 Acts 12:15). God promises: “For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways (Psalms 91:11).” Angels are Good spirits that can manifest them self into a physical body. Good spirits linked to The Holy Spirit always speak the truth. Angels are everywhere my friends. God has us under protection.
In Job 38:4, 7, God is speaking specifically of the creation of earth. He says all the angels shouted for joy at the creation of the earth. This shows us that angels were created before the creation of the earth and probably before the material universe. The suns, planets and astral bodies are material substances. Angels are individually created spirit beings, composed solely of spirit.
Written By Jennifer L Auld
Sunday, November 2, 2014
Is Intercessory Prayer Against The Demonic Dangerous?
Happy Sunday everyone. This is the day of our Lord. I hope everyone enjoyed their Halloween and didn't eat too much candy. I really hope everyone stayed safe and didn't try anything stupid! Such as trespassing into spooky places. You might have learned you've picked up a attachment from your little adventure. I certainly hope that's not the case but I already have been contacted twice about these unfortunate situations that took place already. It happens so easily. That's why I say to please stay away from these type of places. Halloween tends to be a very busy time of year for me and others called into this ministry. The demonic is very real and it's not hard at all to get tangled up with it. A lot of what I deal with actually were because they inadvertently knocked on that door.
What Is Intercessory Prayer:
Intercessory prayer is the act of praying for other people. God has instructed us to pray not only for our own personal needs but to reach out and pray for others as well. We find an example of this in 1 Timothy 2:1-6 where we are told to pray and to make intercession for all of God's children in need or in danger.
The Greek noun, “enteuxus” in the Bible is the word for “intercession.” It primarily denotes a “meeting with,” a conversation or petition rendered on the behalf of others. “Intercessory prayer,” then, is seeking the presence and audience of God in another’s stead. When we pray for the needs of others that is called “intercession” or we are said to be “interceding” for them. It's a lot like spiritual warfare really. Some may choose to call it that. It can be very dangerous. Satan has a counterfeit for everything that is God's word and truth in the Bible like Angels and miracles, faith, unity, doctrines. He has even has counterfeits our Saviour Himself. (Mathew 24:24.)
Today, saying prayers and prayer in general are very much a priority at many churches. Prayer ministries and prayer departments are showing up everywhere on the Internet and are popping up everywhere to coordinate prayer offensives against the enemy and demonic forces.. These may seem like very positive developments and some feel this is evidence of spiritual growth in the lives of members and a sign of revival in the church. But is it ok for just anyone to start tackling Satan? Shouldn't ones called into this specific area be the ones to tackle and dare step up to this highly dangerous area? The ones boasting about how long they've done this and how much experience they have are the ones who usually have NO business trying to get involved. They are the ones who are all over the Internet and have websites that just continually seem to boast and always find the need to bring up all the "experience" they have. They also put down and slam the few legit Warriors we do have! It blows my mind...and Satan just loves it. All the backstabbing all the fighting people who are so arrogant to think that you have a right to call out and go after people just to create more chaos. As if God can't handle these situations and the people who are of wrongdoing. Don't misunderstand me though, we should call out certain people when it is very blatant what they're up to and if you or someone close to you have been scammed should by all means warn others and make it public. I'm certainly not saying we are always to ignore it there are people out there who should and are called by God to do so. But sadly way too many just choose to think they are because they enjoy drama. That makes them just as low if not lower than the people they are exposing.
The following information I found from the Bible but is also talked about on http://www.bible-knowledge.com
In the area of spiritual warfare, one very controversial issue you will come across is whether or not we, as born-again believers, have the power and authority to try and attempt to engage with demons who are in the 2nd heaven, who are in what the Bible calls the “heavenly places.”
After researching both sides of this very controversial issue, it is our personal opinion that unless God Himself directly authorizes and commissions you to engage in this kind of very special, high level type of spiritual warfare, that you stay completely away from this kind of activity.
If you try to step into this kind of arena without God’s direct approval and protection, you could open both yourself and possibly the members of your immediate family to major attacks from these higher-ranking demons.
The Apostle Paul gives us a major revelation in that there are 3 heavens. As you will see from this following verse, it would appear that he is talking about himself when he was taken up to the “third heaven”where God the Father and Jesus dwell. Here is the first verse you will need to have on this topic so you can see exactly how Satan has some of his demonic hierarchy set up, both on our earth and in the heavenlies.
“I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago – whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows – such a one was caught up to the third heaven. And I know such a man – whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows – how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.” (2 Corinthians 12:2-3)...
To me this is very powerful information that proves I am correct about the wrong people getting involved with this level of prayer. I'm not trying to debate the "The Three Heavens" controversy as I only used this content as a example of my point in this blog. A lot of people feel sleep paralysis is really a way of visiting other spiritual realms. They truly felt when they finally defeated a demon in this state, certain areas of their life became much better and God had answered their prayers and they had defeated the demon of fear or lust whatever it was that they struggled with. Spiritual Warfare is a very real and powerful thing. We must be free ourselves of any major strongholds before we decide to battle on behalf of a loved one or someone under attack. It's so very important to wait and first pray and hear God's Word on what we should do in every situation. He may tell us to find guidance and direct help for that person that is not necessarily our job or calling to do. Never just jump into these situations without first asking God for guidance and protection.
Written By Jennifer L Auld
What Is Intercessory Prayer:
Intercessory prayer is the act of praying for other people. God has instructed us to pray not only for our own personal needs but to reach out and pray for others as well. We find an example of this in 1 Timothy 2:1-6 where we are told to pray and to make intercession for all of God's children in need or in danger.
The Greek noun, “enteuxus” in the Bible is the word for “intercession.” It primarily denotes a “meeting with,” a conversation or petition rendered on the behalf of others. “Intercessory prayer,” then, is seeking the presence and audience of God in another’s stead. When we pray for the needs of others that is called “intercession” or we are said to be “interceding” for them. It's a lot like spiritual warfare really. Some may choose to call it that. It can be very dangerous. Satan has a counterfeit for everything that is God's word and truth in the Bible like Angels and miracles, faith, unity, doctrines. He has even has counterfeits our Saviour Himself. (Mathew 24:24.)
Today, saying prayers and prayer in general are very much a priority at many churches. Prayer ministries and prayer departments are showing up everywhere on the Internet and are popping up everywhere to coordinate prayer offensives against the enemy and demonic forces.. These may seem like very positive developments and some feel this is evidence of spiritual growth in the lives of members and a sign of revival in the church. But is it ok for just anyone to start tackling Satan? Shouldn't ones called into this specific area be the ones to tackle and dare step up to this highly dangerous area? The ones boasting about how long they've done this and how much experience they have are the ones who usually have NO business trying to get involved. They are the ones who are all over the Internet and have websites that just continually seem to boast and always find the need to bring up all the "experience" they have. They also put down and slam the few legit Warriors we do have! It blows my mind...and Satan just loves it. All the backstabbing all the fighting people who are so arrogant to think that you have a right to call out and go after people just to create more chaos. As if God can't handle these situations and the people who are of wrongdoing. Don't misunderstand me though, we should call out certain people when it is very blatant what they're up to and if you or someone close to you have been scammed should by all means warn others and make it public. I'm certainly not saying we are always to ignore it there are people out there who should and are called by God to do so. But sadly way too many just choose to think they are because they enjoy drama. That makes them just as low if not lower than the people they are exposing.
The following information I found from the Bible but is also talked about on http://www.bible-knowledge.com
In the area of spiritual warfare, one very controversial issue you will come across is whether or not we, as born-again believers, have the power and authority to try and attempt to engage with demons who are in the 2nd heaven, who are in what the Bible calls the “heavenly places.”
After researching both sides of this very controversial issue, it is our personal opinion that unless God Himself directly authorizes and commissions you to engage in this kind of very special, high level type of spiritual warfare, that you stay completely away from this kind of activity.
If you try to step into this kind of arena without God’s direct approval and protection, you could open both yourself and possibly the members of your immediate family to major attacks from these higher-ranking demons.
The Apostle Paul gives us a major revelation in that there are 3 heavens. As you will see from this following verse, it would appear that he is talking about himself when he was taken up to the “third heaven”where God the Father and Jesus dwell. Here is the first verse you will need to have on this topic so you can see exactly how Satan has some of his demonic hierarchy set up, both on our earth and in the heavenlies.
“I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago – whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows – such a one was caught up to the third heaven. And I know such a man – whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows – how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.” (2 Corinthians 12:2-3)...
To me this is very powerful information that proves I am correct about the wrong people getting involved with this level of prayer. I'm not trying to debate the "The Three Heavens" controversy as I only used this content as a example of my point in this blog. A lot of people feel sleep paralysis is really a way of visiting other spiritual realms. They truly felt when they finally defeated a demon in this state, certain areas of their life became much better and God had answered their prayers and they had defeated the demon of fear or lust whatever it was that they struggled with. Spiritual Warfare is a very real and powerful thing. We must be free ourselves of any major strongholds before we decide to battle on behalf of a loved one or someone under attack. It's so very important to wait and first pray and hear God's Word on what we should do in every situation. He may tell us to find guidance and direct help for that person that is not necessarily our job or calling to do. Never just jump into these situations without first asking God for guidance and protection.
Written By Jennifer L Auld
Saturday, September 13, 2014
Running Out of Time?
By Pastor Stephen Piersall
It is September, and our children are back in school. The leaves are turning color, and before you know it; snow will be falling, and we will be wondering what happened to 2014? The days and weeks and months and years seem to roll one into another like a dream.
Psalm 90:12 “Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
Take a few minutes this week, and think back on the events that have transpired. How many; births, deaths, how did the economy affect your life, how along did you get in reading your Bible, how many people did you bring to your local church, did you help anyone to receive Jesus’s gift of Salvation?
Psalm 39:4 “Show me, LORD, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.”
I mention this as a beloved pastor friend of mine passed away last week and looking back what a wonderful life of commitment to Our LORD. At his funeral, his wife requested the church to have 50 people in the chorus worshiping God, raising the roof off the church with singing full of love. Just imagine the choir he must have heard when he met with Jesus in person? Awesome!
Job 9:25 “My days are swifter than a runner; they fly away without a glimpse of joy.”
Let us to do the same. As we become more cautious of our fleeting days let us become more appreciative of the Lord's providence and more aware of His favor on us.
Job 7:6 “My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and they come to an end without hope.”
Pastor Stephen Piersall
God's Preservation Ministry Soul Care
Sunday, August 10, 2014
Explanation of Demons, Not Ghosts Part 5
By Rev. Dr. Bradley Luoma
Continued from: Explanation of Demons, Not Ghosts, Part 1
Explanation of Demons Not Ghosts, Part 2
Explanation of Demons Not Ghosts Part 3
Explanation of Demons Not Ghosts, Part 4
In our final summation for our examination Demons not Ghosts, we have demonstrated ground work, the steps taken, willful examples of Demonic charades and now we will bring this series to a close. As we have stated during this series, Demons will use any image known to them to enact a plan of destruction upon humans. This is the forces of Satan and hell acting and posing as former living beings referencing ‘Ghost’ like beings.
Part 5 - When we talk about the subject of demons posing as human ‘Ghost’ spirits, either in a haunted house, building, location or in communications through an Ouija board, a medium, or whatever other means of channeling, contacting, or interacting with them, we can summarize their reasons for their ruses as follows. I have chosen to divide up the sections into the methods of the Demons and their goals:
The Methods of Demons masquerading as ‘Ghosts’ is as follows:
1. Demons masquerade as human spirits to hide their true identity. What would these unholy entities gain by this ruse? The ruse is placed into action as a way for the Demons to interact with unsuspecting humans to get the person to buy into a harmless action or act. If their true motive was known up front by all, which Jesus Christ stated in John 10:10 (set forth to kill, steal and destroy mankind) warned what they are set forth to do.
2. Demons masquerade as human spirits to appear harmless or benign to their subjects. By appearing as benign or harmless gives the target a false sense of nothing is wrong. Many times it’s just a small child; a fellow loved one or the former resident. However any image can be projected to the victim that seems harmless or non-threatening thus appearing more believable. The Demonic realm will also at times appear to be righteous and mighty, even though the intention is to kill, steal and destroy.
3. Demons often portray themselves as a young person who died a horrible and tragic death. The logic behind this is to play on the emotion of humans feeling sorry for someone who died tragically. In truth, Demons love to see humans suffer, bleed profusely and even die in horrific mannerisms. This is why satanic worshippers often use blood in rituals, as human or animal blood represents life.
4. Demons often manifest around their intended victims with tricks such as orbs, vapors or mists. This is designed to draw or entice their victim(s) into "learning" more about why this occurring around them. Often times the victims unsuspectingly do actions to further enhance these tricks. This is part of the infestation phase, and many times the victim will become mad, angry, curse, yell, etc… All of these actions do little to stop the process as the Demons know they are having an impact upon you.
5. Demons entice their subjects to probe deeper and ask questions relating to hidden knowledge. The person becomes so involved and enamored with what is taking place within their life, which the victim starts to ask questions upon the forces inflicting this torment. Victims will at that point even search for help and sometimes bring in improper paranormal teams unknown to them. They are seeking help and all too many cases I have worked these teams have made the situation more severe due to their actions.
6. Demons pose as human spirits to develop the trust of their subjects and to foster a personal relationship, or bond, with them. Demons rarely manifest themselves as they truly are. Their hatred, rage, and desire for the eternal damnation of souls are hidden behind subtle and carefully chosen disguises. Scarcely would anyone follow these creatures if they dared to manifest themselves honestly. If they did manifest in their true form, everyone would be running to a church, priest, minister, etc… to seek help immediately.
So to sum up the entire 5 part series that we have laid out of Demons not ‘Ghosts’, Demons have an extensive knowledge, relatively speaking, of human nature and the psychology of man. Demons can size up an individual and can determine a customized plan of destruction for that individual or group of individuals that they are working upon.
Demons are cunning and have the wisdom of the ages at their disposal. Demons draw upon their vast knowledge of what works and what does not work in leading souls to Hell. With their superior intellect, their knowledge of man, their burning desire to keep man from the vision of God and their millennia of experience in doing just that, demons are a foe that must be dealt with deadly seriousness.
We hope this series has served insights to all of you who took the time to engage in this reading. Hopefully this has opened the eyes of some people today to provide a better and more logical approach to the idea of ‘Ghosts’ just don't exist. Due to actions of people, by their own hand it is the direct result of the Demonic coming forward against them. During Diabolical investigations I often instruct the afflicted person or family the following: “You cannot open the doors of Hell, peek inside to see what is going on without expecting the Devil to not want to come return the view upon you and your life.”
For example, a case which I handled about 6 months ago, I received a call asking that I come over to perform a special blessing on the house. In all seriousness I thought sure, no problem what day and time do you want me to do this, along with the question in my head ‘why do you feel the house needs a blessing?’
The caller went on to say that they have seen a black cat with glowing yellow eyes walking across the couch in their house. Not thinking much of this, a cat with yellow eyes, I said sure what day do you want me over. The caller then said, “Didn’t you hear me Rev. Brad?” I responded “Yes, I heard you, a cat with glowing yellow eyes all black in color walking across your couch.” The caller said well “we don’t own a black cat at all only two dogs.” The case was one I needed to become involved with quickly.
Continued from: Explanation of Demons, Not Ghosts, Part 1
Explanation of Demons Not Ghosts, Part 2
Explanation of Demons Not Ghosts Part 3
Explanation of Demons Not Ghosts, Part 4
In our final summation for our examination Demons not Ghosts, we have demonstrated ground work, the steps taken, willful examples of Demonic charades and now we will bring this series to a close. As we have stated during this series, Demons will use any image known to them to enact a plan of destruction upon humans. This is the forces of Satan and hell acting and posing as former living beings referencing ‘Ghost’ like beings.
Part 5 - When we talk about the subject of demons posing as human ‘Ghost’ spirits, either in a haunted house, building, location or in communications through an Ouija board, a medium, or whatever other means of channeling, contacting, or interacting with them, we can summarize their reasons for their ruses as follows. I have chosen to divide up the sections into the methods of the Demons and their goals:
The Methods of Demons masquerading as ‘Ghosts’ is as follows:
1. Demons masquerade as human spirits to hide their true identity. What would these unholy entities gain by this ruse? The ruse is placed into action as a way for the Demons to interact with unsuspecting humans to get the person to buy into a harmless action or act. If their true motive was known up front by all, which Jesus Christ stated in John 10:10 (set forth to kill, steal and destroy mankind) warned what they are set forth to do.
2. Demons masquerade as human spirits to appear harmless or benign to their subjects. By appearing as benign or harmless gives the target a false sense of nothing is wrong. Many times it’s just a small child; a fellow loved one or the former resident. However any image can be projected to the victim that seems harmless or non-threatening thus appearing more believable. The Demonic realm will also at times appear to be righteous and mighty, even though the intention is to kill, steal and destroy.
3. Demons often portray themselves as a young person who died a horrible and tragic death. The logic behind this is to play on the emotion of humans feeling sorry for someone who died tragically. In truth, Demons love to see humans suffer, bleed profusely and even die in horrific mannerisms. This is why satanic worshippers often use blood in rituals, as human or animal blood represents life.
4. Demons often manifest around their intended victims with tricks such as orbs, vapors or mists. This is designed to draw or entice their victim(s) into "learning" more about why this occurring around them. Often times the victims unsuspectingly do actions to further enhance these tricks. This is part of the infestation phase, and many times the victim will become mad, angry, curse, yell, etc… All of these actions do little to stop the process as the Demons know they are having an impact upon you.
5. Demons entice their subjects to probe deeper and ask questions relating to hidden knowledge. The person becomes so involved and enamored with what is taking place within their life, which the victim starts to ask questions upon the forces inflicting this torment. Victims will at that point even search for help and sometimes bring in improper paranormal teams unknown to them. They are seeking help and all too many cases I have worked these teams have made the situation more severe due to their actions.
6. Demons pose as human spirits to develop the trust of their subjects and to foster a personal relationship, or bond, with them. Demons rarely manifest themselves as they truly are. Their hatred, rage, and desire for the eternal damnation of souls are hidden behind subtle and carefully chosen disguises. Scarcely would anyone follow these creatures if they dared to manifest themselves honestly. If they did manifest in their true form, everyone would be running to a church, priest, minister, etc… to seek help immediately.
So to sum up the entire 5 part series that we have laid out of Demons not ‘Ghosts’, Demons have an extensive knowledge, relatively speaking, of human nature and the psychology of man. Demons can size up an individual and can determine a customized plan of destruction for that individual or group of individuals that they are working upon.
Demons are cunning and have the wisdom of the ages at their disposal. Demons draw upon their vast knowledge of what works and what does not work in leading souls to Hell. With their superior intellect, their knowledge of man, their burning desire to keep man from the vision of God and their millennia of experience in doing just that, demons are a foe that must be dealt with deadly seriousness.
We hope this series has served insights to all of you who took the time to engage in this reading. Hopefully this has opened the eyes of some people today to provide a better and more logical approach to the idea of ‘Ghosts’ just don't exist. Due to actions of people, by their own hand it is the direct result of the Demonic coming forward against them. During Diabolical investigations I often instruct the afflicted person or family the following: “You cannot open the doors of Hell, peek inside to see what is going on without expecting the Devil to not want to come return the view upon you and your life.”
For example, a case which I handled about 6 months ago, I received a call asking that I come over to perform a special blessing on the house. In all seriousness I thought sure, no problem what day and time do you want me to do this, along with the question in my head ‘why do you feel the house needs a blessing?’
The caller went on to say that they have seen a black cat with glowing yellow eyes walking across the couch in their house. Not thinking much of this, a cat with yellow eyes, I said sure what day do you want me over. The caller then said, “Didn’t you hear me Rev. Brad?” I responded “Yes, I heard you, a cat with glowing yellow eyes all black in color walking across your couch.” The caller said well “we don’t own a black cat at all only two dogs.” The case was one I needed to become involved with quickly.
Friday, May 16, 2014
Prayer Works!
By Pastor Stephen Piersall
God's Preservation Ministry Soul Care
gpmsc.org/, http://www.facebook.com/GodsPreservationMinistry
networkedblogs.com/blog/soul-care
I have spoken about; “Forgiveness,” “Giving,” “How to Pray,” and today I just want to show you some examples how prayer can, does, and will be answered by our LORD.
1. Justine had Stage 4 cancer; jaw, sinus cavity, surgery and now in recovery. Cancer all gone, Over 1,100 people prayed for her.
2. Jaymie, broken extended family refuses to accept her, and she is pregnant. Recently had a baby shower with both sides of the family together in harmony. I remember in conversations with the family, that it has been impossible to gather for an outing in peace.
3. Lynn, life threatening abdomen surgery, over 1500 people praying. After recovery, received more bad news she would need another surgery. Everyone kept praying, latest news, No new surgery, swelling is reduced, fluid has drained, and severe pain is subsiding.
4. Someone at church received a prophetic word during the church service. He mentioned that there were people in the congregation with lower-back problems and some with right shoulder pain. No names were given. As I am with the church’s prayer team, I witnessed miraculous healing as we had several people come forward with those specific medical concerns. All left the church fully healed, while some sensed the warmth within them and were starting to notice they felt better. Prayer team that day was less than 10 people.
I could go on with more examples, but I only want to make this point. When someone says to pray for them, don’t acknowledge so and later forget. Pray right then and let God perform the miracles of healing TODAY, just as Jesus did over 2000 years ago.
I'll give a few points to when I have taught people to pray:
1. Be Focused. Ask the Holy Spirit to come and take over the situation and give you the words to pray for someone. Avoid generalizations, e.g. “Bless them," “Be with them," etc. Matthew 28:20 “I am with you always," Tell God exactly what you want him to do. Mark 10:51, Remember when the crowds brought a blind man to Jesus, our Lord asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?" God does not want all the fluff and feel good words; He asks the same question of us, and be specific.
2. Be Consistent. Matthew 7:7, “Ask and it will be given to you.” Start a regular prayer journal, write your prayers down and pray every day as God wants us to. Yes, Matthew 6:8 clearly states, “God knows what you need before you ask him." As we continue to pray, we submit ourselves to the Holy Spirit, so he can mold us into the character of Christ. The longer we pray, the greater we are empowered, led, and matured as a Christian.
3. Expect Results. Pray in faith that you know God is listening. Philippians 4:19 “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Be sure, God will use a multitude of methods for healing. He uses physicians and medical technology of today. Pray for the doctors, nurses, staff, etc. Act and not be surprised that he intervenes in supernatural ways.
a. Death. Sometimes he heals us eternally by taking us from our fallen, diseased bodies into his open arms in Heaven. We must accept the outcome no matter what. He KNOWS best, and we are to remain in faith, “Thy will be done.”
God's Preservation Ministry Soul Care
gpmsc.org/, http://www.facebook.com/GodsPreservationMinistry
networkedblogs.com/blog/soul-care
I have spoken about; “Forgiveness,” “Giving,” “How to Pray,” and today I just want to show you some examples how prayer can, does, and will be answered by our LORD.
1. Justine had Stage 4 cancer; jaw, sinus cavity, surgery and now in recovery. Cancer all gone, Over 1,100 people prayed for her.
2. Jaymie, broken extended family refuses to accept her, and she is pregnant. Recently had a baby shower with both sides of the family together in harmony. I remember in conversations with the family, that it has been impossible to gather for an outing in peace.
3. Lynn, life threatening abdomen surgery, over 1500 people praying. After recovery, received more bad news she would need another surgery. Everyone kept praying, latest news, No new surgery, swelling is reduced, fluid has drained, and severe pain is subsiding.
4. Someone at church received a prophetic word during the church service. He mentioned that there were people in the congregation with lower-back problems and some with right shoulder pain. No names were given. As I am with the church’s prayer team, I witnessed miraculous healing as we had several people come forward with those specific medical concerns. All left the church fully healed, while some sensed the warmth within them and were starting to notice they felt better. Prayer team that day was less than 10 people.
I could go on with more examples, but I only want to make this point. When someone says to pray for them, don’t acknowledge so and later forget. Pray right then and let God perform the miracles of healing TODAY, just as Jesus did over 2000 years ago.
I'll give a few points to when I have taught people to pray:
1. Be Focused. Ask the Holy Spirit to come and take over the situation and give you the words to pray for someone. Avoid generalizations, e.g. “Bless them," “Be with them," etc. Matthew 28:20 “I am with you always," Tell God exactly what you want him to do. Mark 10:51, Remember when the crowds brought a blind man to Jesus, our Lord asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?" God does not want all the fluff and feel good words; He asks the same question of us, and be specific.
2. Be Consistent. Matthew 7:7, “Ask and it will be given to you.” Start a regular prayer journal, write your prayers down and pray every day as God wants us to. Yes, Matthew 6:8 clearly states, “God knows what you need before you ask him." As we continue to pray, we submit ourselves to the Holy Spirit, so he can mold us into the character of Christ. The longer we pray, the greater we are empowered, led, and matured as a Christian.
3. Expect Results. Pray in faith that you know God is listening. Philippians 4:19 “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Be sure, God will use a multitude of methods for healing. He uses physicians and medical technology of today. Pray for the doctors, nurses, staff, etc. Act and not be surprised that he intervenes in supernatural ways.
a. Death. Sometimes he heals us eternally by taking us from our fallen, diseased bodies into his open arms in Heaven. We must accept the outcome no matter what. He KNOWS best, and we are to remain in faith, “Thy will be done.”
Sunday, May 11, 2014
What Does Mother's Day Mean to You?
By Pastor Stephen Piersall
I am confident most of you may have plans to buy flowers, go out to eat, etc. I'm certain husbands with children will have plans for the kids to have a special day all lined up from breakfast in bed, flowers, or a list of coupons that Mom can use whenever she wanted. In fact, my favorite sport NASCAR does not race on Mother’s Day, but the night before they have the race and many pre-race festivities honoring the Moms of the NASCAR teams.
Did anyone think to “take” Mom to church? Hmmmm!
Many know the story of Mary as the mother of our LORD Jesus Christ. Did you know that they did not use last names until many years later but the few who did before so would have used their last name as their occupation? In the case of Jesus “Christ” was his designation.
Let’s verify that
:
The term Christ is a title; it is the New Testament equivalent of the Old Testament term Messiah and means anointed one.
1. Jesus is the Christ, Matthew 16:16, "And Simon Peter answered and said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."
2. Acts 5:42, "And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ."
3. Jesus called himself the Christ, John 4:25-26, "The woman *said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us." 26 Jesus *said to her, "I who speak to you am He."
4. The Christ was born Matthew 1:16, "and to Jacob was born Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ." See also Matt. 2:4; Luke 2:11.
Speaking for my wife and myself, we both have witnessed the deterioration and seen our Mother’s die. Feelings we experienced: painful, helplessness, heartbroken, crying, anger, guilt, etc. All we have our memories to fall back on. What if the roles were reversed, and they had to watch us get tortured? Devastating!
Imagine the pain Mary went through when Jesus her son, our LORD was crucified? Immeasurable agony after having the joy, she must have had been watching him be born and growing into not only a man, but the son of God.
Life is short, and I write this today in celebrating Mother’s Day. They have made a very significant impact in our lives. Do not let that go to waste; this may be their last Mother’s Day, and do not let yourself go through the guilt and agony if that were to happen.
Make this Mother’s Day the best you can. If you have the chance to do something special, I say go-for-it and make the day full of joy and happiness. You don’t have to spend tons of money as I know for a fact that even the card we made as kids with paper, pencil and crayons meant to them more than any store bought gift could.
--
May God shine his light through you †
Pastor Stephen Piersall
God's Preservation Ministry Soul Care
gpmsc.org/
http://www.facebook.com/GodsPreservationMinistry
networkedblogs.com/blog/soul-care
I am confident most of you may have plans to buy flowers, go out to eat, etc. I'm certain husbands with children will have plans for the kids to have a special day all lined up from breakfast in bed, flowers, or a list of coupons that Mom can use whenever she wanted. In fact, my favorite sport NASCAR does not race on Mother’s Day, but the night before they have the race and many pre-race festivities honoring the Moms of the NASCAR teams.
Did anyone think to “take” Mom to church? Hmmmm!
Many know the story of Mary as the mother of our LORD Jesus Christ. Did you know that they did not use last names until many years later but the few who did before so would have used their last name as their occupation? In the case of Jesus “Christ” was his designation.
Let’s verify that
:
The term Christ is a title; it is the New Testament equivalent of the Old Testament term Messiah and means anointed one.
1. Jesus is the Christ, Matthew 16:16, "And Simon Peter answered and said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."
2. Acts 5:42, "And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ."
3. Jesus called himself the Christ, John 4:25-26, "The woman *said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us." 26 Jesus *said to her, "I who speak to you am He."
4. The Christ was born Matthew 1:16, "and to Jacob was born Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ." See also Matt. 2:4; Luke 2:11.
Speaking for my wife and myself, we both have witnessed the deterioration and seen our Mother’s die. Feelings we experienced: painful, helplessness, heartbroken, crying, anger, guilt, etc. All we have our memories to fall back on. What if the roles were reversed, and they had to watch us get tortured? Devastating!
Imagine the pain Mary went through when Jesus her son, our LORD was crucified? Immeasurable agony after having the joy, she must have had been watching him be born and growing into not only a man, but the son of God.
Life is short, and I write this today in celebrating Mother’s Day. They have made a very significant impact in our lives. Do not let that go to waste; this may be their last Mother’s Day, and do not let yourself go through the guilt and agony if that were to happen.
Make this Mother’s Day the best you can. If you have the chance to do something special, I say go-for-it and make the day full of joy and happiness. You don’t have to spend tons of money as I know for a fact that even the card we made as kids with paper, pencil and crayons meant to them more than any store bought gift could.
--
May God shine his light through you †
Pastor Stephen Piersall
God's Preservation Ministry Soul Care
gpmsc.org/
http://www.facebook.com/GodsPreservationMinistry
networkedblogs.com/blog/soul-care
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Faith & the Paranormal
By Chris Baricko
I am noticing that more and more groups and people are saying and using God to help. My one question is how many of them really follow there faith? Do they go to Sunday service every Sunday? Are there children going to religion school to teach them about there faith?
I will go on record as saying we are very strong in our faith and stick by it. Our children go religious school once a week we go to mass every weekend support out church. Why do I bet at least 90% of the people or groups who preach faith or about God have not set foot in a church in years? I bet most only know our lords prayer and that is only cause it is on just about every paranormal TV show. Can they tell the client how to say the rosary? Do they know the priest's name of their local church? But yet they will spill out the words of the lord. Anyone can go buy sage or some crosses and show the client they are following God. What would happen if the client started asking more questions?
I fully support everyone's religion. But if you do not do as much with it as you claim stop posting quotes from the bible unless you really know what they mean. I see it almost daily and it drives crazy. The one that really gets me is when I see people only thanking God when they get something. Why not thank God everyday for everything you have not things you want? So many groups and people use the same old claim that they cleansed the house cause they walked through with salt or sage or said a few fancy words. Or you get a Medium who claims they crossed them over. Now if you walk through a person home saying prayers if you do not have as much faith in God as you do walking around saying his prayers guess what the spirit will not listen. They are looking at you and laughing asking why should they listen to you? You don't even practice what you're trying to preach. And in my opinion when I hear people make an excuse why they do not take an hour a week to go to mass or location of their faiths but say God knows. Really does he? How when you don't bother to give him thanks?
So unless you're strong in your faith don't go around claiming you're going to send a spirit on its way. No matter how you say it. God is on the other side of that white light and no one will cross if he doesn't feel they mean it. He will not allow Evil into his kingdom. So either start going to your weekly services or stop talking about God. Wearing a cross is only as good at the support behind it
I am noticing that more and more groups and people are saying and using God to help. My one question is how many of them really follow there faith? Do they go to Sunday service every Sunday? Are there children going to religion school to teach them about there faith?
I will go on record as saying we are very strong in our faith and stick by it. Our children go religious school once a week we go to mass every weekend support out church. Why do I bet at least 90% of the people or groups who preach faith or about God have not set foot in a church in years? I bet most only know our lords prayer and that is only cause it is on just about every paranormal TV show. Can they tell the client how to say the rosary? Do they know the priest's name of their local church? But yet they will spill out the words of the lord. Anyone can go buy sage or some crosses and show the client they are following God. What would happen if the client started asking more questions?
I fully support everyone's religion. But if you do not do as much with it as you claim stop posting quotes from the bible unless you really know what they mean. I see it almost daily and it drives crazy. The one that really gets me is when I see people only thanking God when they get something. Why not thank God everyday for everything you have not things you want? So many groups and people use the same old claim that they cleansed the house cause they walked through with salt or sage or said a few fancy words. Or you get a Medium who claims they crossed them over. Now if you walk through a person home saying prayers if you do not have as much faith in God as you do walking around saying his prayers guess what the spirit will not listen. They are looking at you and laughing asking why should they listen to you? You don't even practice what you're trying to preach. And in my opinion when I hear people make an excuse why they do not take an hour a week to go to mass or location of their faiths but say God knows. Really does he? How when you don't bother to give him thanks?
So unless you're strong in your faith don't go around claiming you're going to send a spirit on its way. No matter how you say it. God is on the other side of that white light and no one will cross if he doesn't feel they mean it. He will not allow Evil into his kingdom. So either start going to your weekly services or stop talking about God. Wearing a cross is only as good at the support behind it
Thursday, November 7, 2013
What About Visitations After a Loved One Dies?
By Reverend Mark Hunnemann
What about people who claim that when their loved one died, they were visited by them? Does God ever allow a deceased believer to say "goodbye"? This poses a particular challenge for a number of reasons: there are a fairly large number of people who say they had this experience; and some of the most vocal opponents of the notion of ghosts do allow for this exception. Also, it arouses intense emotions, especially in those who are earnest Christians, who "swear" it was their mom (fill in blank). Frankly, I was so intimidated by the topic, that I purposely did not mention it in my book! (of course I justified to myself by saying I had enough material as it was!!) For good or ill, I am no longer as reticent to address this issue. In fact, it NEEDS to be addressed.
Let me define what I mean by "visitation". It is not merely a sixth sense or intuition that something bad has happened. That is a distinct phenomenon which I do not know how to explain. I am referring to a visible manifestation...something akin to what we call an apparition.This "person" appears out of the blue, says goodbye, and is gone. Not just odors, sounds, or feelings. Blinking lights at the time of death,, and similar phenomena, are not what I am analyzing now. I wanted to make sure that was clarified.
First, I have lost alot of loved ones to death. (all grandparents, both parents, and four adult age siblings) The deaths of my bother and sisters were all terribly tragic. So, I do know this issue experientially...at the deepest level imaginable--and beyond.
Second, there is no record in the bible of a recently deceased loved one saying "goodbye" enroute to heaven.Okay, all the references you may be considering do NOT fit the criteria of a recently deceased person's soul coming back to family to comfort them. We saw recently that the Samuel incident was singular and must not be used as data to support anything...other than the reality of divine judgement. I can assure you there are NO examples of this occurring in the bible. We will return to this in #4.
Third, closely related to this, don't you think that if it were a legitimate phenomenon that the bible would have either recorded it or mentioned it in the epistles--when it deals with death and the Intermediate State? The doctrine of the sufficiency of scripture (2 Tim. 3:16-17) implies that God has given us all the divine words we need to understand and deal with death. Why would God be silent regarding such a significant issue if it were true? If visitations were part of God's occasional agenda for mankind, surely he would have prepared us.
Fourth, there are hundreds of deaths recorded in the bible and a sizable number of recorded experiences of a person dying (e.g. Jesus, 2 criminals next to Him, Stephen, and numerous others) In Acts 7 we have the poignant account of the stoning death of Stephen, which would seem to be illustrative of any/all believers death experience. Jesus rises to greet Him, and Stephen cries out--echoing Jesus--"Lord Jesus, receive my spirit....Lord, do not hold this sin against them." (Acts 7:59, 60) I do not know the exact number, but there are quite a few death/dying episodes in the bible, but no recorded "visitations" afterwards. What we actually see happening with Stephen is precisely what Paul taught regarding death and the Intermediate State (Phil. 1:21-23; 2 Cor. 5:8) IMMEDIATE...(no interruptions or pit stops), presence with the Lord after death.
Evidently, all of the apostles but John were murdered, but none "visited" the fledgling church. If ever a visitation might have been helpful, it was then. However, the reality is that it did not happen, and certainly that is a significant.
Actually, some who believe in "visitation" may agree with all I have said thus far, but point to their experience. "Mine was a divine exception...I KNOW it was my husband by "discernment".
Well, did it occur before or after their personal judgement (Heb.9:27)? So, there seems to be some difference as to whether the deceased soul was sent from heaven or stopped at their earthly home enroute to judgement.
Questions
1. Why is it that folks from all belief systems experience this same visitation phenomena, with equal certainty of the person's identity and comfort? That is seriously problematic....I seriously doubt God is going to allow a hell-bound unbeliever to say "goodbye." This is a particularly significant argument, in my opinion.The only plausible explanation would be demonic mimicry.
2. We must ask this--are demons not capable of mimicking a person immediately after they die? Certainly #1 would seem to be examples of that. I am sorry if this offends anyone, but this issue must be raised.
3. I have been wanting to ask this question for some time....am I the only "demonologist" (not like label) who does NOT have the gift of discernment? According to Rom. 12 and 1 Cor. 12 God sovereignly gives gifts as He pleases for the health of the Body. The gift of discernment (ability to distinguish or sense the presence of demonic--discern between Holy Spirit and unholy spirits) is only given to SOME people.I am convinced that most folks who think they have the gift of discernment, do not have it. Am I saying they are lying? NO!!! Am I saying they are experiencing a demonic counterfeit of it? NO!!! It is a purely psychological phenomenon--the person is sincere, but sincerely wrong. In certain circles everyone is told they must speak in tongues. However, Paul is very clear that only some have that gift as well.Those who "speak in tongues" but do not have the gift, are simply having a psychological experience.
I mention this because of how convinced many Christians are that they were visited by a deceased loved one. But remember that the gift of discernment was not given to discern if a "visitation" has occurred....not given to discern between human and demonic spirits, but between Holy Spirit and unholy spirits. (1 John 4:1-3) This is the touchiest part of the whole discussion--people's experience and their interpretation of it.. Just on an emotional level, it is hard to argue with a sincere Christian who says that they were certain that it was their deceased dad they saw.
4. Have you come to grips with just how filthy and cruelly inventive demons are? Dare I say this...is not the death of a loved one a perfect time for pure evil to seek advantage? We are traumatized and in weakened condition--just what the prowling lion is looking for.They cruelly target abuse victims, and even handicapped children as objects of their hateful oppression.
They have NOT given Satan any "legal rights"...he is supreme opportunist and the death of our loved ones fits that MO. Nothing is beneath them, as far as cruelty goes.
5. Has anybody who has experienced a "visitation" rebuked it in the name of Jesus to see what would happen? Perhaps some have, but usually the confidence level is so high (sense of love, light, and goodness present) that they are understandably overwhelmed with joy and even worship of God. I say this tenderly,but that wretched Satan can project a heavenly ambiance that would fool even the most experienced, especially while in deep grief.
6. When we allow for "visitations" then we have stepped on a very slippery slope. How long after death is a "visitation" to be allowed? An hour after death? A day? A week" A month? Year anniversary? 10 year anniversary? I have heard stories which expressed all of the above. And how many "visits" are allowable before we should be concerned?
7. The most difficult "visitation" to question is immediately after death and is singular...never repeated.
8. I have devoted my life to understanding death, dying, and the demonic through God's eyes, and the singular significance of this deception of ghosts grows within me each passing day. Would Satan mimic a recently deceased loved one just once? I hope that by now that to ask the question is to answer it. I mentioned the slippery slope above....how many folks who have had this experience, have also had their views toward the notion of ghosts "softened" or made them more "open-minded" to other post-death human appearances? I have seen it happen..... it is certainly not beneath these filthy wretches to do an "angel of light" maneuver at the moment of greatest vulnerability. Is it not a rule that, when we are weakened and emotionally distressed, that demons tend to lurk like vultures?
9. With all the death I have experienced, I have never been visited.
10. God has given us the bible, the Holy Spirit, and loving friends/family to comfort us in times of grief.
11. last, but certainly not least, GOD WANTS US HOME. We cannot be in two places at the same time--in His loving presence in heaven and visiting family here. God wants us home. When we die, like Stephen, we make a bee-line for Jesus.
In conclusion, the argument for visitation is based entirely on experience and our interpretation of it. I wish with all my heart that I could see my brother and sisters again. But knowing what I now know regarding demons, if one of them did appear, I would (while weeping) rebuke them forcefully in the precious and holy name of Jesus.
What about people who claim that when their loved one died, they were visited by them? Does God ever allow a deceased believer to say "goodbye"? This poses a particular challenge for a number of reasons: there are a fairly large number of people who say they had this experience; and some of the most vocal opponents of the notion of ghosts do allow for this exception. Also, it arouses intense emotions, especially in those who are earnest Christians, who "swear" it was their mom (fill in blank). Frankly, I was so intimidated by the topic, that I purposely did not mention it in my book! (of course I justified to myself by saying I had enough material as it was!!) For good or ill, I am no longer as reticent to address this issue. In fact, it NEEDS to be addressed.
Let me define what I mean by "visitation". It is not merely a sixth sense or intuition that something bad has happened. That is a distinct phenomenon which I do not know how to explain. I am referring to a visible manifestation...something akin to what we call an apparition.This "person" appears out of the blue, says goodbye, and is gone. Not just odors, sounds, or feelings. Blinking lights at the time of death,, and similar phenomena, are not what I am analyzing now. I wanted to make sure that was clarified.
First, I have lost alot of loved ones to death. (all grandparents, both parents, and four adult age siblings) The deaths of my bother and sisters were all terribly tragic. So, I do know this issue experientially...at the deepest level imaginable--and beyond.
Second, there is no record in the bible of a recently deceased loved one saying "goodbye" enroute to heaven.Okay, all the references you may be considering do NOT fit the criteria of a recently deceased person's soul coming back to family to comfort them. We saw recently that the Samuel incident was singular and must not be used as data to support anything...other than the reality of divine judgement. I can assure you there are NO examples of this occurring in the bible. We will return to this in #4.
Third, closely related to this, don't you think that if it were a legitimate phenomenon that the bible would have either recorded it or mentioned it in the epistles--when it deals with death and the Intermediate State? The doctrine of the sufficiency of scripture (2 Tim. 3:16-17) implies that God has given us all the divine words we need to understand and deal with death. Why would God be silent regarding such a significant issue if it were true? If visitations were part of God's occasional agenda for mankind, surely he would have prepared us.
Fourth, there are hundreds of deaths recorded in the bible and a sizable number of recorded experiences of a person dying (e.g. Jesus, 2 criminals next to Him, Stephen, and numerous others) In Acts 7 we have the poignant account of the stoning death of Stephen, which would seem to be illustrative of any/all believers death experience. Jesus rises to greet Him, and Stephen cries out--echoing Jesus--"Lord Jesus, receive my spirit....Lord, do not hold this sin against them." (Acts 7:59, 60) I do not know the exact number, but there are quite a few death/dying episodes in the bible, but no recorded "visitations" afterwards. What we actually see happening with Stephen is precisely what Paul taught regarding death and the Intermediate State (Phil. 1:21-23; 2 Cor. 5:8) IMMEDIATE...(no interruptions or pit stops), presence with the Lord after death.
Evidently, all of the apostles but John were murdered, but none "visited" the fledgling church. If ever a visitation might have been helpful, it was then. However, the reality is that it did not happen, and certainly that is a significant.
Actually, some who believe in "visitation" may agree with all I have said thus far, but point to their experience. "Mine was a divine exception...I KNOW it was my husband by "discernment".
Well, did it occur before or after their personal judgement (Heb.9:27)? So, there seems to be some difference as to whether the deceased soul was sent from heaven or stopped at their earthly home enroute to judgement.
Questions
1. Why is it that folks from all belief systems experience this same visitation phenomena, with equal certainty of the person's identity and comfort? That is seriously problematic....I seriously doubt God is going to allow a hell-bound unbeliever to say "goodbye." This is a particularly significant argument, in my opinion.The only plausible explanation would be demonic mimicry.
2. We must ask this--are demons not capable of mimicking a person immediately after they die? Certainly #1 would seem to be examples of that. I am sorry if this offends anyone, but this issue must be raised.
3. I have been wanting to ask this question for some time....am I the only "demonologist" (not like label) who does NOT have the gift of discernment? According to Rom. 12 and 1 Cor. 12 God sovereignly gives gifts as He pleases for the health of the Body. The gift of discernment (ability to distinguish or sense the presence of demonic--discern between Holy Spirit and unholy spirits) is only given to SOME people.I am convinced that most folks who think they have the gift of discernment, do not have it. Am I saying they are lying? NO!!! Am I saying they are experiencing a demonic counterfeit of it? NO!!! It is a purely psychological phenomenon--the person is sincere, but sincerely wrong. In certain circles everyone is told they must speak in tongues. However, Paul is very clear that only some have that gift as well.Those who "speak in tongues" but do not have the gift, are simply having a psychological experience.
I mention this because of how convinced many Christians are that they were visited by a deceased loved one. But remember that the gift of discernment was not given to discern if a "visitation" has occurred....not given to discern between human and demonic spirits, but between Holy Spirit and unholy spirits. (1 John 4:1-3) This is the touchiest part of the whole discussion--people's experience and their interpretation of it.. Just on an emotional level, it is hard to argue with a sincere Christian who says that they were certain that it was their deceased dad they saw.
4. Have you come to grips with just how filthy and cruelly inventive demons are? Dare I say this...is not the death of a loved one a perfect time for pure evil to seek advantage? We are traumatized and in weakened condition--just what the prowling lion is looking for.They cruelly target abuse victims, and even handicapped children as objects of their hateful oppression.
They have NOT given Satan any "legal rights"...he is supreme opportunist and the death of our loved ones fits that MO. Nothing is beneath them, as far as cruelty goes.
5. Has anybody who has experienced a "visitation" rebuked it in the name of Jesus to see what would happen? Perhaps some have, but usually the confidence level is so high (sense of love, light, and goodness present) that they are understandably overwhelmed with joy and even worship of God. I say this tenderly,but that wretched Satan can project a heavenly ambiance that would fool even the most experienced, especially while in deep grief.
6. When we allow for "visitations" then we have stepped on a very slippery slope. How long after death is a "visitation" to be allowed? An hour after death? A day? A week" A month? Year anniversary? 10 year anniversary? I have heard stories which expressed all of the above. And how many "visits" are allowable before we should be concerned?
7. The most difficult "visitation" to question is immediately after death and is singular...never repeated.
8. I have devoted my life to understanding death, dying, and the demonic through God's eyes, and the singular significance of this deception of ghosts grows within me each passing day. Would Satan mimic a recently deceased loved one just once? I hope that by now that to ask the question is to answer it. I mentioned the slippery slope above....how many folks who have had this experience, have also had their views toward the notion of ghosts "softened" or made them more "open-minded" to other post-death human appearances? I have seen it happen..... it is certainly not beneath these filthy wretches to do an "angel of light" maneuver at the moment of greatest vulnerability. Is it not a rule that, when we are weakened and emotionally distressed, that demons tend to lurk like vultures?
9. With all the death I have experienced, I have never been visited.
10. God has given us the bible, the Holy Spirit, and loving friends/family to comfort us in times of grief.
11. last, but certainly not least, GOD WANTS US HOME. We cannot be in two places at the same time--in His loving presence in heaven and visiting family here. God wants us home. When we die, like Stephen, we make a bee-line for Jesus.
In conclusion, the argument for visitation is based entirely on experience and our interpretation of it. I wish with all my heart that I could see my brother and sisters again. But knowing what I now know regarding demons, if one of them did appear, I would (while weeping) rebuke them forcefully in the precious and holy name of Jesus.
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