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Showing posts from July, 2014

Our Allies

  For the past couple of posts I have talked extensively about our enemy and the spiritual warfare every Christian needs to participate in. Having focused on the insidious and the infiltrators I feel it is necessary to talk about our allies. Let me start with the most important. Our chief and greatest ally in the Spiritual War is Almighty God himself. The Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Creator, Savior, and Power are omnipotent and capable of annihilating our enemies. God has not limits, he can snap his fingers and Satan is no more. Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father, enthroned and interceding (praying) for us believers. (Romans 8:34). The Lord assists us with his power, he brandishes his scythe for the wicked and his sword for the demonic spirits. The Lord God commands the mighty winds that can strip the forests bare (Psalm 29:9). Thunder and bolts of lighting fly according to his command. (Psalm 144:6). Consuming fire in the form of coils, hail stones, blazing

Scripture Spoiling

There is a sinister switch going on with Scripture. The Bible is being altered and verses & meanings are changing. For two thousands years the Word of God has said that Mary was a virgin, that she "knew no man carnally." (Luke 1:34). Now the word virgin is being replaced with maid or maiden! A maiden is not a chaste woman. Maidens can be carnally involved, but the word virgin means absolutely untouched sexually. The reason this is so important is that if a virgin is substituted with maiden, then Christ's conception is caste into doubt as being miraculous. This allows unbelievers to use the word maiden to say Mary was not a virgin and that Jesus could have been biologically Joseph's son! But the true Greek word translates virgin, that Mary did not have sexual relations with a man ever, and thus conceived Christ via the Holy Spirit! It is starling how scripture is changing and being watered down. In the older translations the Psalmist David uses rhetoric to des

The Last Judgement

Behold the great and terrible day of Judgment. The day when all nations shall bow before Jesus Christ and be weighted. (Romans 14:11). The Last Judgment is not particularly popular with unbelievers, nor is it with believers. People prefer a merciful God, one who gives people limitless second chances. The problem is that many do not understand the balance of mercy and judgment. Without judgment there is no justice, without justice there is no security, without security there is no safety and without safety there is no peace. Jesus offers the olive branch to all mankind in the form of the cross. Any who believe in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. The Lord is compassionate, He has given every man and woman the opportunity to hear the Gospel at some point in their lives. With the advent of the internet, there is no more excuses for ignorance. The real issue however, is not that people are unfamiliar with the Gospel, but rather that they are rebellious towards it. Man of th

The Balance of Spiritual Warfare

As Christians there is a tendency to fall into two deceptions. The first deception is the fear disposition. When Followers of Christ discover there is an enemy known as the devil and legions of demons out to destroy them, they become overcome by fear. This knowledge of the powers of darkness and what they can do causes many believers to feel bereft of peace. While it is good to be aware of the enemy, it is also imperative to lift up the Shield of Faith against fear, and repel the flaming arrows of the Evil One. The Lord tells us not to fear, but to trust in Him. Christ's blood protects us when call upon Jesus's name. We have been given all authority over the devil. (Luke 10:19). The other deception that many Christians fall under is the reckless faith disposition. This disposition is where a Christian believes he is invincible and untouchable; that no power of hell or person of Earth can do him or her harm because Christ defeated the power of Satan at the cross. It is true

The Two Kinds of Christians

There are two kinds of Christians in this world: The committal and non-committal Christian. The Committed Christian takes seriously the Scriptures and makes Christ their focus in life. A Committal Christian believers earnestly and fervently in Jesus Christ and will reject the things of this world that would try to sabotage that relationship. The committed believer is often labeled a fundamentalist. By the eyes of non-committal Christians and worldly people, committed Christians are naïve, obsessed, and possibly mentally ill. An uncompromising Christian is mocked and considered crazy by the more worldly believer. The reason for this is that the non-committal Christian is offended by the very presence of a devout believer. The reason for the offense is because they cannot let go of the world and have not in them the devotion of the ones they label fundamentalists. In addition the worldly Christian thinks their uncompromising brothers and sisters are missing out on the joys of life.

The Rock of Salvation

Throughout the Bible God is compared to many things. A lion, a lamb, and even a leviathan. He also called the Rock by the Psalmist David (Psalm 62:2) and the Cornerstone by St. John (Ephesians 2:20). The imagery of the rock is important for us to understand. A rock is a constant and it can withstand the crashing waves, the whirling winds, and the fires of woe. Nothing can destroy a truly strong stone. Christ is the rock upon which we pitch our faith and our salvation. We stand upon the mound of hewn stone as the waves crash against us and the fiery trials are hurled our way. We fail when we lose faith in the Rock of our Salvation and leap into the unknown seas or trust in the castles of sand. When the storms and scorching fires of Satan come, we shall find yourself sunk or seared. If we feel ourselves falling from the Foundation, we should climb again to the top were lies the cross. There our we safe in the arms of Christ. Our enemy is like a tidal wave, a great tornado, and fire

Infiltrators: Deux

As I mentioned in the former post, Satanists infiltrate churches and Christian companies. I shared how high level occultists use money to enter the good graces of Christian circles. However, I failed to mention the other ways infiltrators infiltrate. Satanists can in addition to the ways mentioned in previous post, enter Christian families and friendships. Witches or warlocks target Christians for romantic bonds. The goal in this circumstance is to infiltrate a strong family of saints and make them suffer and ultimately surcome to defeat.  Infiltrators are not interested in merely destroying Christian finances and outreaches, they want to spiritually slay any believer in Jesus Christ. A great analogy of this is contained in the Star Wars Saga between the Jedi and Sith. Satanists like the Sith are not content with causing the downfall of the Jedi Order (Christian institutions, like churches). No, these Sith Satanists want every last Christian corrupted or killed. Like Order 606

Infiltrators

It is a marvel how science fiction often parallels the spiritual. There are very few who are not familiar with The Terminator . In particular, Arnold Schwarzenegger's T-101 Infiltrator who begins as the antagonist in the first film and then the protagonist is subsequent installments. Infiltration is an art that is alien to Christians. There is not a believer who would honestly try to infiltrate a witch coven or Occult group because the rituals would have them break faith and violate their convictions. The opposite is true about Satanists. Servants of the devil often infiltrate churches, Christian bookstores, Christian music, and even Christian media. The reason they are successful at masquerading as believers is two fold. The first reason is that they can easily blend in. Satanists can confess they follow Christ with impunity because it does not violate their goals or allegiance to Satan. The devil is a liar and so they can lie if it means sowing seeds of doubt and making Christ

Selfie World

  It seems you cannot go anywhere without seeing a selfie. I suppose I should define what a selfie is before it gets misconstrued with something sensual. A selfie is urban word for taking a self portrait or more accurately a self picture. Usually the reason one would take a self pic is for a social networking site profile like facebook or Twitter. However, selfies have turned into something more than just letting everyone know what you look like. They are a status symbol as well. Celebs gather around commoners and takes selfies, so that the common person can post it and say, "look who I was with!" Selfies have taken the internet by storm. People seem obsessed with documenting their latest hair style or situation. I remember when it was normal to take pictures of other people or if you took a self picture it was with a crowd or family members and for the sake of preserving the memory of the event. Now self portrait has evolved past posterity and has become a force for

God On Trial

The audacity of man. We feeble creation put the Creator on trial. What utter folly. Our arrogance shall be our downfall. "Can a Man judge God?" (1) The new trend is to put God on trial. It has become a sport of sorts, to scrutinize and scorn the Lord. People who claim to love peace and goodness claim that God has no right to judge any man or to punish the wicked. The acts of the Almighty in the Old Testament are cited as crimes of the Creator, as intellectual men and women make their case against the Creator. For us Christians this comes as a shock. How can mere man judge the Maker? What pride must be in people who believe they can put the Almighty on trial. It does seem rather surprising at first, but if we look back in the Scriptures we will see this is not anything new. Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God was put on trial by three courts: The Sanhedrin, King Herod, and The Romans under Pontius Pilate. God has already been on trial. God has already been judged by

Jesus The Pacifist

There is a very bizarre tradition in Christianity. This tradition is that Jesus was a pacifist and that He came to bring peace. Many paintings and art pieces emphasize this belief by depicting Christ as a Lamb or holding an olive branch. In fact, it is quite difficult to find any artwork that depicts Jesus holding a sword. The only opportunity to find such an art piece is to look at The Last Judgment paintings. The belief that Jesus was a peace-loving hippy is a gross misinterpretation of the Messiah. Does Jesus come to bring salvation and peace to the souls of saints, yes. Is not our Lord called The Prince of Peace? Of course He is. However, Jesus is also the just judge and He encourages us to fight and not to be a footstall. Take for instance this verse, "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace, but rather a sword." (Matthew 10:3). In addition we have the verses when Christ took up a whip and drove the money changers out of the Temple and His commission to his

It's a War Out There

As Christians we often live in a delusion. We a fed doctrines of prosperity and peace from the pulpit. We are told that our lives shall be blessed and our trials surpassed. But these beliefs bereft us of our place on the battlefield. We have been promised no bed of rose pedals, but instead thickets of thorns. There is a war out there and we are God's soldiers. Our enemy is not always seen, nor is our foe as tangible as people or objects about us. No, our foe lurks in the shadows and the unseen. He slithers into our lives though people, circumstances, and outright invasion. The fire drakes and feminine fatal fairies wait for us. The seek to slay us spiritually, emotionally, and if possible physically. The powers of darkness are not to trifled with or to be ignored. While Christ is greater (1 John 4:4) we must be on the alert at all times. As Christians we have been called to spiritual arms! Take up the Shield of Faith and swing the Sword of the Spirit! (Ephesians 6:12). Spiri

Holding On to the Truth

It is a challenge to be a Christian in the Twenty First Century. According to society and the scientists we are seen as a backward people. In colleges and our culture we are told to open our minds and let other perspectives in. At first this seems rather harmless. We have to tolerate other beliefs and viewpoints to get an education, but what is happening unaware to many believers is the subversion subconsciously and sometimes consciously of the Christian Faith. Like an ivy that begins at the base of a wall, we can still see the wall or altar with the Truths of God written on it. However, in time that ivy climbs and begins to obscure our vision and the Truth is lost. In the Book of Hebrews there is a sobering sentence for Christians. It says, "So we must listen to the Truths that we have heard, or we may drift from them." (Hebrews 2:1). We must as believers beware of saturating our minds in the lies of the world. If we are to be in classes or work environments that are ho

Memories and the Moment

"When I was a child, I thought as a child, I played like a child. But now thanks to the adults, I have had to join the world of adults. " -Fredrick The Wise (Luther) Many of us do not want to grow up. This Peter Pan complex is not for a few people, but it is within most men and women. The reason so many people are drawn to Disney films, to fantasy worlds like Narnia and Middle-Earth is to escape the world of adults. When we are children we want to grow up, when we are grown up we want to be children. Melancholy and Nostalgia become the saviors of our inner child. Because of them, we cannot let go and obsesses over times long since past. There is some health to remaining young at heart. Jesus said, "suffer the little children to come unto me, for to enter the Kingdom of Heaven you must be like a child." (Matthew 19:13). Great theologians debate over what this means. Some say that it is the attitude of a child, how they accept the things of God quickly and witho

Incentive to Use Incense

The tradition of burning incense dates back 4,000 years. Incense is used for a variety of reasons: prayer, aromatherapy, bug replant, and to cleanse. While using incense for insect replant and to make a home smell clean is self explanatory, let me delve into the religious and aromatherapy aspects of this burning wood. Incense is used for prayer in many pagan religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism. However, incense does have a long and ancient tradition within the Church. It was used long ago in the Temple of the Lord and then found its way to Orthodox Churches in the 3rd Century. Even Jesus Christ himself received incense in form of Frankincense from the Wise Men. There are several scripture verses that mention incense. In the Old Testament God Almighty commanded the burning of incense, "You shall make an altar on which to burn incense," (Exodus 30:1), "And he shall take a full censer of coals of fire from the altar before the Lord." (Leviticus 16:12).  The Ps

The Family of Faith

All Christians are part of one family of faith. If you are Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Messianic, Protestant, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, Methodist, Baptist, Seventh Day Adventist, Assemblies of God, Charismatic , or simply Christian you are part of the family of God (except for The Jehovah Witnesses and Mormons/The Church of Latter Day Saints: the Jehovah Witnesses or LDS do not believe in the true tenets of Christianity laid out in the Apostolic and Nicene Creeds) . The Church began long before the Cross. It started in Eden, where the Lord intended to build his Family (Church) with two people: Adam and Eve. It failed, because they fell. From there the Lord rose up a man out of Ur named Abraham and took him to a new land to start a new nation of God fearing followers. From there the Israelites (God's Pre-Church) swayed between faith and false belief. Under King David Israel had a new capital named Jerusalem and under King Solomon

"All you need is LOVE (Jesus)"

The Beatles were phenomenon that still continues to effect the world. Among there many catchy songs was one called "All you Need is Love." Unfortunately, this song was birthed in the sixties and thus denotes the 'free' loving hippie life style that lacked commitment. However, as Christians we can commandeer this song and tell a different story. We can re-write the song to say, "All you need is Love (Jesus)." Unlike the unfaithful love of the sixties and the cohabitation of todays couples, the love of God is commitment. Jesus' commited to loving us when he choose to be nailed to a cross. Some may rebuttal, that it was the Romans who nailed him to the cross and that he had no choice. Actually, Jesus did have a choice, in Hebrews it says, "The Father asked who will go on our behalf? And the Son answer I will." The mission to save man was clear to the Almighty and the cost was not elusive to Christ. Jesus even said to Pilate who was saying he

Eastern Emersion

   There are many cultures that have great appeal. One of the most popular is the Eastern-Asian culture. There is scarcely a person or child that has not become familiar with Samurai and Ninjas. From The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to Imaginex's Samurai Showdown , entertainment is filled with eastern characters and traditions. I wish I could say that these eastern influences are harmless, but that would be a falsehood. Everything the East produces is filled with their religious and ideological belief systems. Take the Samurai Sword alone. Often called a Katana or Daito, The Samurai Sword is a curved sword that attracts adults, teens, and children alike. What is not as widely known about this famous weapon is that it is part of the quasi-chivalric religion called Bushido. The Samurai believed their sword to be their soul. If they lost their sword, they lost their soul. Samurai also believed that dishonor was a cause for death; if they failed in combat they would commit

Judas' Kiss: Betrayal

Why do men betray? Why do people break faith? The answer is often easily excused with the Doctrine of Original Sin. However, betrayal is more than being bedeviled, it is a conscious choice and thus deserve proper consequences. The greatest betrayal in history was when Judas sold Jesus out for 30 pieces of silver. Judas with the Sanhedrin's posse went to Gethsemane and there the Son of Perdition betrayed the Son of God with a kiss. The question of Judas' treachery is a subject debated by theologians. Some claim that Judas had no choice in the matter and that the devil entered into him and control him until the Crucifixion. Other scholars believe that despite that Judas was predestined to be the Son of Perdition, he did still have choice and that is why Jesus says, "Judas, you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?" (Luke 22:48). Either way it was a betrayal and to this day is the model for breaking faith. To be betrayed is one of the worst sensations in life. The coll