An apology

hello friends,

to be honest, I'm tired and I don't feel like writing.
But I have much to say..so..I write anyway.

Yesterday, I was humbled. Let me explain..

I know that, on my blog, I have posted about the numerous ways in which the enemy has literally tried to destroy me. Folks, I have seen and experienced some strange and horrific things in a very supernatural realm. But, through all of these things, I have experienced the Power of Jesus, as my Deliverer.

I recently had a very harsh experience that led me to seek the gift of discernment.
One of the first things that Christ showed upon giving me the gift, was how money is used as a tool of manipulation in many churches and how He is being sold for profit from behind pulpits.

Sigh.

He didn't stop there. He began showing me things that were wrong in our churches..I'll elaborate more on this later, but first, I want to repent for having the wrong spirit in things that I may have said and done..

I'll explain..
Through all of this revelation, I began to do some internet searching.
As Jesus spoke to me about false prophets and led to me to read parts of the Bible that warns of how MANY will be deceived in the last days..

One thing I have learned..am learning..is that there is a difference between pointing out a false teaching (in a spirit of love) and flat out heresy hunting..

anyhow, I am guilty because

I would often find myself on the internet doing a little personal "heresy hunting" of my own.

Ok..here is what I have learned through all of this..

1. There are many websites that have amazing and good information..But..it may or may not be written in the right spirit..
You see, anything that is written to try to tear someone apart, rather than help the Body is probably really only going to cause division.

2. I found and even posted a lot of quotes from these sites..While the quotes may or may not be true..I have to ask..was anything taken out of context? Don't get me wrong..There are a LOT of teachings that I am finding that truly take away the Power of the Cross and put the focus on self..However, the last thing I want to do is wrongly judge or wrongly accuse anyone. It's good to question things, as the Bereans, but it is not good to point out wrongs just for the sake of doing so.

Truthfully, finding these sites and visiting them was causing some depression in my life, and causing me to have a critical spirit.
I realize that perhaps...while I wasn't judging the world..there were times..when I may have judged my own Christian brothers and sisters a little harshly. I have to realize that no matter what path we are on..and whether we are Protestant, Catholic, Mormon, Luther, Pentecostal..(or insert one of the other 37,000 Christian denominations here) Anyhow, we are all on the same path to truth..and only way is the way of the Cross..the way of love..and if we aren't showing that to one another..then we are following man and self and not the Holy Spirit.

Guys, the truth is that I don't trust many people anymore. I guess that came with experience.
If you read through the pages of my blog, you will find countless instances of how the enemy has used things that were spoken at a church to try to gnaw at my insides.

The other day I read an interesting article about how, as Christians, we eat our own.. meaning..we are so unforgiving of one another. We judge one another.

Yesterday, I sat thinking of all of the denominations.
I read that there are over 37,000 Christian denominations and most have separated because they disagree on a few key points.
Guys, do we really think God is going to have this kind of separation in Heaven?

Did you know that a denomination is essentially a division? a faction? the kind that Jesus warns about in the Bible..
But does that mean the Jesus wants us all to be "nondenominationals?
No,
I think it means that He is just tired of the fact that we can't get along..all the while using HIs name..
Lately, I have been following a man by the name of Doug Perry.
Yes, there are people who say hateful things about him too..
but one thing that I am learing..
Is that if you have anything important to say..then you will be attacked..
viciously and relentlessly torn down and dragged through  the mud..
and..in my effort to expose false teachings..I have to ask..have I been guilty of attacking anyone?
If so, then I sincerely apologize..because if I have..then it was done in a wrong spirit..and I, like Christ, should want to see everyone make it across the finish line..


Anyhow...One reason I like Doug Perry is because his main goal is get people of all denominations to have church together in the park. The other day I was watching one of his videos, and he pointed out that..if this were to happen..if people of various denominations met to worship the same Jesus that we all claim to know, would we be easily offended because someone else might worship a little differently. He said ..most people would probably focus on the minute differences ( like wine or grape juice? )  rather than focus on the beautiful fact that we are all in the park together..

Why can't people just celebrate Him together?
Doesn't the Bible even say that there is One Body of Believer..and that the Body is those that are being led by the Holy Spirit..
Isn't it funny how many religions of today will take a verse from the Bible, and through all of their interpretations, create something that doesn't even sound like the original verse? Have we essentially put our trust in man and man made systems rather  than in Christ Himself? Is that idolotry? Did Jesus ever tell anyone in His Word to build churches or did He send His disciples into the world?
Is what we have now what the enemy wanted?
To create 37,000 different religions where no one speaks to one another and we all bash one another?
Look at the fruit of what we have done..
Is this world the fruit of 37,000 differnet man made factions..? or is it the fruit of being led into love by a Christ who calls us to self sacrifice?

I think you all get the point.. Lots more later..right now, I just realized areas where I was wrong..but I am at a place..where I am ready to get it right..

Christ, I place my life in your hands and I pray that you lead me into your perfect way. Help me to push self aside more, so that You have more room to grow in me...

a shocking message

http://www.fellowshipofthemartyrs.com/audio-and-video/63-revival/266-pual-washer-shocking-message-full-lengh

Please take the time to watch this shocking video. This is something that Christians need to hear, but a message that is Not being preached by many.
This is convicting and Needs to be heard. It is scriptural and true.

It addresses one of the greatest lies taught in many churches today..the marks of a false prophet, and many more interesting and convicting truths. PLEASE WATCH.





²¹ “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. ²² Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’-Matthew 7 -21:23

Are you saved?

"The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons." 1  Timothy 4:1




 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, ¹⁰ and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. ¹¹ And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, ¹² that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 2 Thessolonians Chapter 2


a part of the video that touched me....Paul Washer says that American Christianity defines itself as radical by it's t-shirts proclaiming Christ. He says he once saw a young Muslim boy take a bullet in the belly because he refused to renounce Jesus is Lord. That is what radical Christianity looks like....

face value

today's scripture from "Daily Bible Verse."

John 6:27

Do not labor for food that perishes but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.


After, reading this verse, I had an interesting thought.

we all are living in precarious times. We are on the verge of an economic meltdown. Many people speculate that only a few major events are all it would take to send our country and our entire world system into collapse. Imagine food shortages as prices rise..Inflation. Right now, it sounds like mere words but the truth is that I am forced to wonder if these things are and will be a part of our future.
Yesterday, I read an article that says milk prices are going to double next year. What next?

The truth is that we should'nt live in fear. The other day I watched a youtube video by a man that I trust, and he said that hoarding is not the answer.
But, he did say that it wouldn't hurt to do some preparing if we are ever in a place where we need to help take care of others.

Anyhow, in light of all of this speculation..I am glad the God is the One truth on which I can rely.

Note the verse..John 6:27

Do not labor for food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life.. Here He tells us not to fret and whittle away ourl lives in order to get our fill of bread..
He tells us that when we work for His Kingdom, as harvesters of souls, He feeds us..

I think of the George Muller story.
George Muller was never once worried about food. But yet, God supernaturally provided enough food to feed over ten thousand orphans..
and all without asking for a single penny.
How interesting to think that George never joined the workforce as we know it.
Instead, He joined hands with Father, carried out His work by providing for neglected children, and God saw to it that they were fed..every single day..

How interesting..

What would happen if we all began to take the Bible at Face Value? Espesially, the hard parts..like the parts where Jesus tells us to share and love one another..
And the parts when He tells us to feed and clothe..and even the parts where He tells us to rebuke, and exort..and to not dine with a brother given over to sin..

Maybe the world would look more like Heaven..

Titus 3:10-11 As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.

Galatians 6:1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

One step forward, how many steps back?

The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender... Proverbs 22:7


For the past few weeks, I have felt as if ..with every attempt to move forward, I have only been pushed backwards..
a downward spiral..
a slow descent.

I'll explain.. Well, first of all, I am exaggerating.. but once you read this post, you will fully understand what I'm talking about.

As most of you know, I have taken to making video blogs that I post on my facebook page. Well, the other night..I made a video blog about three very strange experiences in my life and what God has shown me through each one of them. The video turned out to be long. I made it in two segments. One segment was over twenty minutes. The second segment was 34 minutes.
Needless, to say, I invested a lot of time and thought into the making of this particular video. I felt it was important and wanted to leave people with a clear image of what I felt God was showing me.
Well, lately, I have been having "technical difficulites" with my "smart" phone.

After making this uber long video, the entire first segment completely goes missing. Seriously. It literally disappeared off of my phone..without a trace..vanished into thin air..

So, I remake the first segment..only this time, I invest thirty more minutes into the video.. Same thing . Disappeared.

The other night, I made Yet another video attempt. This one was warning people of the dangers of astrology, pyschic powers, and things that might "seem" harmless, but nevertheless, harbor the demonic..
Well, can you guess what happened?
Disappeared.

So, I have chocked it up to a severe glitch in my phone, and I have decided to start making videos with my camera. Truthfully, however, I am glad that the videos disappeared..because during the course of the last few days, I feel as if God has shown me that the first video might have been misconstrued by some people, and that I really needed to clairify some things before proceeeding to tell the stories of my experiences.

So, it all had a purpose, after all.
But yet, it still seemed like one step forward , while moving nowhere.

Round two of the hamster wheel, came with finances.

In about two months, I was on schedule to be one hundred percent debt free. I have been anticiipating this moment for the course of the past few years. I have diligently worked and have done all I can to smother the engrossing embers of the slavery of debt, and I finally found myself coming out of it's suffocating flames...

Two months..
but then,
Yesterday, as I was drivng to work, my engine failed on my car. I need a new engine and it isn't going to be cheap.
My initial reaction was unbelief.. Unbelief turned into disgust.. I even had the audacity to  briefly wonder why God would allow my engine to self destruct.
I thought of all of the times that i had given and been faithful..and, for a quick moment, I half expected some sort of divine intervention.
But I was humbled as I realized some things.
God is not there to do my bidding. He sent His son to die for me. That is enough. To expect money to fall from the sky like rain, is enough to equate God to a finanical genie.
Third, It is only a hunk of metal.
It is not the end of the world.
Life goes on, and God is good..
Fourth, the reason the engine failed in the first place is my fault. Yep, I didn't tend to it the way that I should have..I neglected routine maintence. The engine is man made. They fail, as do all things created with the hands of men.

I regret ever even playing the pity card even for a moment.

And yesterday, God showed up for me through every helping hand and gracious smile. I am fortunate enough to have family who is going to let me borrow a vehicle until mine gets fixed. I had coworkers drive to meet me in the predawn hours in the cold..to see if they could be of any assistance.

It's metal. I think of all of the families and people grieving over important things, and I am saddened that a blown up piece of man made steel could affect me in any way, shape, or form.

What's another few months of debt?
Big deal if I get pushed back..even when trying to move forward?
maybe sometimes, God pushes us back to keep us humble, and to allow us to see full circle..
To remind us, that "things are only things" and the most valuable things can be found in Him and in family and friends

_________

on another note, today I had the honor of typing up a newsletter for women in prison.
I cry everytime I read their stories. They humble me and allow me to see how vast is God's Grace..

I think of the verse, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy." I also think of the verse that says, "let mercy triumph over justice.."
Do you notice that when something goes wrong or someone does something that we deem offensive or hurtful, our first reaction is for a good dose of "justice."
But when we are merciful, we too, will receive mercy.
Let mercy be your heart's cry.. Seek the Father and ask Him to give you a heart of mercy.

A part of the newsletter that I found inspiring is how God is delivering these women from smoking through fasting and prayer. At a prayer meeting, they left thier lighters and cigarettes on the alter and haven't smoked since.

 Anyhow, I want to share two poems written by a woman in prison. Her name is Krystal Jordan.

Me

Do you know what it’s like..

To never want to be alive?

Into the great abyss to want to dive?

To wonder why the world is such a rotten place?

Or why anyone would want to be in this rat race?

Do you know what it’s like..

To  be a little girl with monsters in your bed?

To be 26 with their images still inside your head?

To always need a place to hide?

For no one to ever be on your side?

Do you know what it’s like…

To be beaten black and blue?

But never able to say who?

To listen as your siblings cry?

To watch your sister die?

Do you know what it’s like…

To have a mom that didn’t  care?

To have a dad that was never there?

To have to get high so you can be numb?

For your best friend to be a bottle of rum?

Do you know what it’s like..

To be too blind to really see?

To be held captive and never be free?

Do you know what it’s like…

To be me?

Krystal Jordan, 2010

“A New Me”

Do you know what it’s like…

To be completely blind to the me you’ve all seen?

Then all of a sudden see with eyes so keen?

To think you’ve given up on life, then be filled with faith?

To have written upon your heart, all the Lord saith?

Do you know what it’s like…

To be drowning in sorrow and strife?

To be saved by grace and given everlasting life?

To walk with Jesus hand in hand?

Like the ocean and the sand?

Do you know what it’s like…

To really want to be alive?

Into the Father’s mercy to want to dive?

To no longer need to run or hide?

To know the Great I Am is forever on your side?

Do you know what it’s like…

To be so in love you can no longer live on a whim?

For your greatest desire to be to live only for Him?

For the hand of the Almighty to collect all of your tears?

To be given the power to overcome all of your fears?

Do you know what it’s like…

To know God’s son died for you, to become a mediator?

So that your relationship could be restored with the Creator?

For your Spirit to quicken and recognize what’s true?

To be made completely new?

Do you know what it’s like…

To know, to believe, to finally be free?

Do you know what it’s like…

To be me?

Krystal Jordan, 2012

Vision of True and False Revival

This is an interesting article that I found from the website www.fellowshipofthemartyrs.com I am interested in your thoughts and opinions.  It is a man's vision of true and false revival. I feel as if God has shown me some of the same things lately so that is why I am posting this.. Test all things.. VISION of TRUE and FALSE REVIVAL - Patrick Ersig

-by Patrick Ersig. Here is the account of a vision from God that I received regarding true and counterfeit revival. This vision occurred on March 4th 2006. The VISION Everything was black and I saw one person walking at a semi-brisk pace. Not fast walking, but a slight cadence above normal pace. Walking with purpose. This person was walking straight and sure - upright and strong - solemn and serious, like a revolutionary  - a warrior - a light to darkness. I then saw a couple more people and then others in the distance and they were bright and shining against the blackness that was all around. They all walked the same way - solemn and serious and the Lord spoke and said, "These are my remnant who are walking in holiness, righteousness, obedience, brokenness and utter submission to MY WILL - watch what I am doing Patrick." Then I saw the individuals begin to unite in small groups of two to three at first and then more came and the groups grew to five and even ten and the light intensified greatly. It was beautiful like a sunset over the mountains or a sunrise on the ocean, a rose in full bloom. What I saw next made me burst into tears and sobs to the point that I couldn't continue to describe what I was seeing. My wife keep saying "What?!, what is it? What to do you see?!" After a few  minutes a was able to control the weeping to explain what I saw happening. As the Lord was drawing together His remnant into these small groups the power God came down - like in the book of Acts - the lame were walking, the blind were seeing, the deaf were hearing, (literally and figuratively) and persecution fuelled the fire! This end time HOLY and RIGHTEOUS remnant of serious and solemn warriors and revolutionaries walked in the deep darkness of America and her backslidden lukewarm churches with apostolic glory and power not seen since the book of Acts - to proclaim the true Gospel of Jesus Christ - repentance and holiness and freedom from sin! The Lord spoke and said, "This is the revival that I am bringing about and it starts with the individuals who have been called out to personal revival and are walking straight and sure - upright and strong - solemn and serious, like revolutionaries, warriors, lights to darkness. My remnant is walking in holiness, righteousness, obedience, brokenness and utter submission to MY WILL and I am drawing them together." Then the vision switched. Now I saw what looked like a dimly lit movie or a video shot with poor lighting. I saw clips of people dancing and shaking. I saw people falling down, shouting, jumping, and singing. There were huge multitudes rather then the few and many, many were coming in large groups that filled large auditoriums and stadiums instead of small groups of individuals being drawn together. Even some of the lights that were in the first part of the vision were drawn to this part of the vision. I saw dancing and clapping, shaking, shouting, strong and powerful emotionalism and sensationalism.  Soulish and fleshy spirits claimed to be the Holy Spirit. Great miracles abounded - signs and wonders. People proclaimed, "This is the revival we have been waiting and praying for!! -This is the revival we have heard prophesied!!! - This is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit - a great move of God!" But the Lord spoke and said, "Patrick this is not from me - this is from Satan - it is a counterfeit!! And many will be fooled and tricked by this clever deception from the enemy!" Then the vision switched again. Now I saw both visions side by side - split screen, so to speak. They both grew in intensity at an equal rate - as the true would grow in power, the false would grow in numbers and as the true would grow in numbers, the false would grow in false signs and wonders. The Lord spoke and said, "This is not a vision of the future, but this has already begun and will grow as the days pass. I am doing this now and the enemy is coming against it at this very moment." Conclusion: The Lord is bringing about an end times revival of which the like we have never seen and it begins with you. The Lord is calling you to be separate, to holiness and righteousness unto the Lord and to walk in obedience and utter submission to His will. Be free from sin, be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect, be dead to flesh and alive IN Christ. Walk sober and solemn and serious before the Lord with a reverent and holy fear of God. If you are looking and waiting for some big corporate outpouring of emotionalism and signs and wonders you are going to miss the coming revival. The revival starts with you! Seek the Lord and press into Him closer everyday. Allow the Blood and Grace of Jesus to break the bonds of your flesh and produce Holy and Righteous living in your life. Ask the Lord to show you what it is in your life that is keeping you from that which is perfect - no matter how small or how painful; ask the Lord to expose everything that is keeping you from being closer to Him and bring Glory to Him and His kingdom and deeply renounce all that He shows you. Live your life as a living sacrifice - a living drink offering poured out before the Lord for His glory and honor. There are many things that are cultural, societal and religious that keep us separated from God and walking in His Spirit. Pray for God to bring these things to light and put them to death no matter how hard it may be. If you don't realize that the revival the Lord is doing begins with you individually, then you are going to miss it! The Lord is calling you today, repent for your lukewarmness and your lackadaisical attitude toward sin in your own life and those who are perishing and plunging into hell all around you everyday! The Lord is calling you today to allow the Blood of Jesus and the grace of God to produce holiness and rivers of righteousness in your life that you maybe salt to a decaying world and light to the darkness that prevails. What will you do? The Lord is calling you right now to make up your mind to love Him with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, take up your cross, die to self and follow HIM - forsaking ALL and seeking after Him with all that you are and have. Come out and be separate in holy, righteous obedience unto God! WARNIG - DO NOT be fooled by these sensual, emotional counterfeits that are and will be popping up, that these people and churches call "revival". IT IS A TRICK FROM THE ENEMY! When you hear that "revival" has broken out in the next town or the next state or even in your own city - please remember this warning. There will be much singing and dancing and shouting and many things will sound as though they are true. There will be great surges of emotion that will cause people to fall down and jump and shout, cry and weep but this is not from God. Many will be crying out in joy, "Peace, peace".   But God's Servants will have discernment above and beyond any gift, and a willingness to die than lie - despite the increase of signs and wonders from all of the counterfeit moves around them in the 'churches'. If the "revival" you are in is not serious and reverent, holy and righteous, and the Love and reverent fear toward God are not the only things you see, then RUN FOR YOUR LIFE, and warn everyone you know. These spirits are strong and extremely powerful - get out of the building and don't be fooled by the signs and wonders. Please, I am begging you to remember this, for I know that there will be many who are fooled and even (if possible) drawn away from the real to the counterfeit, but I also know that there will be some who read this warning and remember it and are spared. The true revival army will look like small bands of revolutionaries or Special Forces with an end times mission to complete and Satan's counterfeit will resemble a band of wild Indians or tribal warriors dancing shouting battle cries. The true revival army will attack the enemy at its stronghold, sin - their mission will be the souls of men through the power of the Holy Spirit - they will be concerned with setting people free from the bondage of sin through the message of the cross and will watch strongholds of sin topple. Satan's counterfeit will go after places and methods of sin - they will try to legislate morality and get laws changed, which results in forced morality and no salvations. God's army will seek to save that which is lost in the streets and alleys - Satan's army will try to change the laws to prevent sin but result in the salvation of no one. "Whosoever loves his life shall lose it. Whosoever loses his life for MY sake, shall find it." Satan you are on notice! God is preparing a revival army that is going to tear down the strongholds of your kingdom and Jesus is preparing a bride for Himself that is spotless and pure! God is calling to make a decision right now - what will you do?!

Tonight, the tears came..a tribute to the lives lost at Sandyhook Elementary, Newtown Conneticut

Today, the tears finally came.
Ever since the massacre at Sandyhook Elementary, I have felt immense sadness. I have felt disgust at the senseless act of violence that brought mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters and entire families to their knees.

I have felt pity and compassion and hurt and all sorts of other emotions.
But today, the tears finally came.

sadly, violence is so prevalent in our society, that I fear that we are becoming numb. Mass shootings are getting to be a daily occurance.

How many this week? this month? this year?

Yesterday, I read that Westboro Baptist Church is taking their hatred to the families and community of grieving parents and a devastated community.
I literally wanted to book a plane ticket to Conneticut and use myself as a human shield to block the roads. I felt so angry that a community's grief could be mocked and mimicked..all under the guise of God.

I read about how the community was planning on dressing up as angels and using their wings to sheild the families and the hurt and broken from the rants and taunts of the Westboro hate mongers.

A few weeks ago, I watched a video on facebook..It was a video of a troup of people who went into the mall to sing Christmas carols. They mall goers were stunned and watched in awe as angelic voices filled the busy spaces.

Today, I thought about the power of music. I thought about the power of love. I thought about Mrs. Jeanette. Mrs. Jeanette was my sister in law's mother. She was murdered. I remembered her funeral.
Voices rose out of the darkness to sing amazing grace. I felt like God was saying, In all this darkness, I am here. I am the light that emerges in chaos..

Tonight, I watched a video of children singing, Silent Night, on Saturday Night Live...Sleep in heavenly peace..
I saw the faces of twenty innocent children on facebook and all across the news. I heard the voices of angels singing..
I see the world coming together in love.. people dressing up as angels to offer solace from the hate..


and tonight,
the tears came.
Tears for all those who have ever lost a loved one to senseless violence and hatred.
Tears for the twenty six slain in Conneticut..beautiful children and teachers with names..

Tonight, our president gave a speech. Although I didn't see it..I heard about it..

"Suffer not the little children, and let them come unto me.. For the kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.." Jesus..

Tonight the tears came..and it wasn't from the suffocating violence, it was from the overwhelming acts of love.. and from the reality of loss.. but if we think with minds eternal..then life never ends.. For those who are in Christ Jesus..it yields and it surges into forever..

These are only a few of the faces..

Sigh. Today I am both sick and heartbroken. I keep looking at my boys and thanking God for them. I also keep thinking of the parents today who got a phonecall and were told that their children won’t be coming home from school today. How would one even begin to cope with something like this? How? Yesterday, I went to see the movie, Lincoln with my mom. A part of me wondered if a madman wasn’t goi...

ng to whip out an AK and shoot us during the theater scene.. Even walking through the grocery store, I occasionally half expect to see a crazed lunatic in a bullet proof vest emerge with a semi from the fruit aisle. I don’t live in fear, and yet I realize that this is the world that we live in. It’s sad. I don’t even want to discuss gun issues and laws. Because To me, ,this is a heart issue. Many people are sick. We talk bad about one another, we yell at one another..we are a road rage type of people. These days I am seeing so much anger. We think the world revolves around us..”our needs and wants..” Even our ‘gospel” reflects our behavior. Many of our churches have traded in the Jesus, who came to serve, with the Jesus of hatred and self love. We have traded in the Jesus who taught self denial, with the Jesus who is only concerned with procuring a “nice lifesyle” for ourselves. The result is unprecented greed and a spoiled nation who is quick to point the finger. Don’t we find it ironic that we are fighting terrorism, and yet our people are turning the guns on one another? It’s sad. And even if we aren’t pointing a gun at someone..we are quick to shoot others with our words.

Where is our love? Is what happened today a reflection of what we are becoming? We need to see less denominational hatred and more love..We need to see less self love and more service. We need to serve one another in love the way christ called us to do..instead of judging the poor and those we disagree with.. Christ came to show us that love changes things. He came as the Son of God to teach us that, and yet the message often seems to fall on deaf ears. More on this later.. Love you guys, sorry for my rant..I’m just upset. I know that this doesn’t apply to everyone, but it applys to many.. I once read that the greatest cause of athiesm is Christians who claim to believe in God with their lips, but deny Him in their lifestyle… I know that this isn’t a “belief” issue.. This isn’t about what someone believes..this is about love and the lack of love we are seeing..

Terribly Interesting: Forgotten God by Francis Chan

Terribly Interesting: Forgotten God by Francis Chan: I could write a blog about every chapter of this book. It is rich and full. There are many things I knew and things I had knowledge of. With...

ahhh

Tonight, I just want to post a few of my favorite songs...and that..is all...nothing "strange" or complex...
Just music...ahhhhhh..

enjoy!

sad day

Today, I am sad. Well, I don't even know if sad covers the emotions that I am feeling. I am learning that if you challenge anyone's way of thinking, people often get angry. They say things that hurt. I'm trying to come to a place where I can "let it go," and still speak what I believe to be the Truth.

Guys, I'm not God. I don't have all of the answers. But the first thing I will tell you is that God has shown me that deception runs deep in our society. Deeper than you could ever imagine. The thing about all of this..is that you don't have to take my word for it...I encourage you to read the Bible for yourselves..seek God on your own..
If you don't like what I have to say, then don't read my blog..don't watch my videos.. You have a choice.
But if you don't agree with me, then please, all I ask is that you don't be ugly to me.

Tell me why I am wrong..that is all I ask..

This life is too short to be immersed in anger. This walk, this path that we are on, is too narrow to get things wrong.

For the past two weeks, I have had a thorn lodged in my thumb. Yesterday, my entire hand started hurting. Today, I noticed that the thorn had caused my entire thumb to swell. I started secretly wondering if my hand wasn't becoming infected. At one point, I actually wondered if an infection could find it's way into my bloodstream and ultimately lead to my death.. I know it sounds far fetched, but I have heard of fatal blood infections that begin with something very small and simple.. like a thorn..Last night, I was at work and my hand was throbbing. I actually had trouble perfoming basic job tasks.

Lately, I feel as if Christ has pointed me to research and learn about false teachings. He has been leading me to read about it in the Bible. Today, He gave me an illustration. False teachings are like the tiny thorn. They seem tiny and insignificant, but they begin to infect the Body of Believers in very serious ways. They get into the bloodstream, and like a poison, they make their way into the heart.  Before you know it, the entire Body is sick and infected.  The fruit becomes evident..selfishness, greed, and a severe lack of love. As a Body of Believers, we each have talents and gifts. We are anoited of the Holy Spirit and false teaching and lies are hurting the Body of Believers in that they are keeping us from performing the tasks or jobs for which we are created.

One word that I have heard as of late is "complacency." We have become content in our walk with Christ, and truthfully, I blame the permeance and infiltration of false teachings.

Jesus showed me something the other day. I was searching the New Testament and I noticed that nearly every book mentioned the danger of false teachings. The apostles said that they would be "among us."

When we think of false teachings, the first thing we have a tendancy to do is point to another religion and refuse to acknowlege that we could be decieved in any way.

It's not my point or purpose to show "people where they are wrong." I simply want people to begin to seek the heart of Christ himself.

 I don't care if you agree with what I have to say, but if you disagree, at least please have the decency and respect for me to peacefully disagree.

One point of trauma for me has been the fact that I have seen money misued in churches. I have friends who have turned away from Christ because they have been hounded for cash.

Last week, I watched a video of a mega preacher by the name of Creflo Dollar who told his congregation that God was going "line up the non tithers" and shoot them. I watched a mega preacher tell his congregation. "It's all about the money, telling them that if they didn't pay a tithe, never to step foot inside of his church again." These men live in extreme wealth, and they preach wide path messages.
That concerns me..and it should concern you, as well.
Jesus tells us to defend the orphans and widow..He tells us to shine the light into the darkness.
Many people say that if you don't tithe, then you are robbing God.
They point to scriptures in the Old Testament where a tithe was imposed upon the Levitical priests.
The other day I simply pointed out that a tithe was a part of the Mosaic Law, or the law of Moses, and that in the New Testament, we are told that we are no longer under the Old Law, but under the New Law of Grace. We are under the law of love and Christ wants us to, and I quote from scripture, "Give generously as we have decided in our hearts and never "under compulsion"
We should never  be "bullied" to give.

I have more on this later. Folks, I don't care if you tithe or not. That is your perogative, I love you regardless. But I am convined that Christ does not want our ten percent. He wants our entire being. HE wants all of us.... He wants to fill us in such a way that we love each other so much that we are willing to lay down our lives for our brother..
Am I wrong for thinking that?
It seems that some think that I am...
I am not here to please man.

Today was a hard day. Even at my job, there is tension.
Push on..move forward..
More posts coming soon..
Love you.
And if anyone wants

Witchcraft in the church?

As you read this post, I encourage you to test all things. There are things included that will upset many people. I pray that you seek God before getting angry or upset, and please know that if you read through the pages of my blog..I do not believe in lies.

For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 2 Timothy 4:3


For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough. 2 Corinthians 11:4


Lately, I have felt a deep sense of unease.. I can't really explain it other than the fact that as I continue to pray for spiritual discernment, I feel Christ showing me that things are desperately wrong within the Body of Believers.

I feel a source of tension as war is looming between Israel and Gaza and the economy of our nation hangs in the balance. I am certain that God does not want us to fear, but yet I feel that the pangs that we will feel as a result of world unstability is inevitable. 

For the past two weeks, I have had a thorn lodged in my thumb. Yesterday, my entire hand started hurting. Today, I noticed that the thorn had caused my entire thumb to swell. I started secretly wondering if my hand wasn't becoming infected. At one point, I actually wondered if an infection could find it's way into my bloodstream and ultimately lead to my death.. I know it sounds far fetched, but I have heard of fatal blood infections that begin with something very small and simple.. like a thorn..Last night, I was at work and my hand was throbbing. I actually had trouble perfoming basic job tasks.

Lately, I feel as if Christ has pointed me to research and learn about false teachings. He has been leading me to read about it in the Bible. Today, He gave me an illustration. False teachings are like the tiny thorn. They seem tiny and insignificant, but they begin to infect the Body of Believers in very serious ways. They get into the bloodstream, and like a poison, they make their way into the heart.  Before you know it, the entire Body is sick and infected.  The fruit becomes evident..selfishness, greed, and a severe lack of love. As a Body of Believers, we each have talents and gifts. We are anoited of the Holy Spirit and false teaching and lies are hurting the Body of Believers in that they are keeping us from performing the tasks or jobs for which we are created.

One word that I have heard as of late is "complacency." We have become content in our walk with Christ, and truthfully, I blame the permeance and infiltration of false teachings.

They have become so mainstream that they are truly hard to discern. For the past week, I have felt weird. I feel a disconnect from others in way that almost frightens me to some extent. While other women my age are out getting manicures, I feel as if God is calling me to point out the dangers of seed faith, and The Word of Faith Movement, the Little god heresy, and the prosperity gospel.

It is a humbling and very lonely place to be.

So now the question remains:

What do we do when we are sick? The answer is simple..

 We go the One who Heals. We go straight to the source of His Word.

Today, I see many people listening to other people’s interpretation of the Bible. We live an age where people in pulpits are distorting the gospel in such a way that it is barely recognizeable. It has become a doctrine where we line up with “itching ears” to hear the latest self help sermon. We have replaced the Jesus of Humility with the Jesus of Prosperity, and, in doing so, we have truly lost our way.

Look around. The sickness is evident. We ignore the needs of the poor and seek to largely serve only members of our own congregations. We expect others to pour into our churches, but we forget that the church is not about a building, but rather a Body of Believers who should seek to care about the lost enough to minister to them by telling them the Good News.

I do not believe that we are justified by works. However, I do believe in the verses that say that we should not be hearers of the word only. In doing so, We deceive ourselves and The truth is not in us..

I know you are all itching to find out what this has to do with witchcraft, but hold out, and you will soon come to understand..

A few years ago, I boasted to my coworkers that God was going to pay off my student loans.. I said, "God is going to give me fifty grand, and I am going to be debt free."

You see, I had been planting what I thought were "little seeds." I would give to someone, but when I  gave..I expected a blessing in return. I prayed for God to wipe out my student loan because I had been planting "seeds" with my money.

I didn't realize back then, that I had a thwarted image of God. I didn't realize that I was using God for my own personal benefit and gain.

You see, I grew up thinking that "seed faith" was normal and even right. But what I didn't see is that it reduced God to cosmic coin and money machine who I was using for my own financial gain.

God already gave us a gift. He gave us the gift of His One and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall have eternal life. I didn't realize back then that giving is and should be a joy..not because we expect to reap any earthly rewards, but because when we do give to help the poor and clothe the naked..it is an expression of His love. It should be a joy for any Christian and Jesus says that in doing so, we store up treasures in Heaven.

I also learned that giving doesn't even have to be about money, and it should never be "under compulsion" as the Word states. God wants our time, our hearts.. He wants us to do His will because when we do...His Kingdom comes to earth.

The other day I was at my grandfather's house and I saw a book that caught my eye. It was a book of prayers. The prayers had dozens of different prayers for different purposes. One prayer was for financial success.

Without the gift of discernment, I would have seen absolutely nothing wrong with this book. But I have since learned that God is not always concerned with our personal ambitions. As a matter of fact, He tells us to die to self that we may live with Him. He tells us to lose our very lives so that we may find it...Matthew 10:39

In the Bible, God tells us how to pray, and yet there are thousands of books on this subject.
Here is how Jesus said to pray..

"Our Father Who art in Heaven, Blessed is Your Name..Your Kindom Come, Your will be done, On earth, as it is in Heaven."

Jesus showed me something the other day.. It was profound.

When we do His Will… His Kingdom comes to Earth.  His peace, his fruitfulness, His divine and perfect love, …It plays out in our own lives and it spreads into the lives of others.

The will of Christ leads us into humility and humility is the complete expression of love.

Love changes things.. Christ’s love is Life changing!

When His will comes to this earth..It sets people free!

But we no longer trust Him with His will. Instead we follow Word of Faith preachers who “tickle our ears” and tell us a distorted gospel. We use "our prayers" to pray for our own wills, but don't realize that we reduce God to a cosmic genie.

The result is a brand of selfishness and greed that is unprecedented.  We use prayers as a source to channel a God that very few really know or understand. We forget the verse that says, "Narrow is the gate that leads to life and few will enter. Work hard to get in."

These things concern me, and while I do not judge those who follow the Word of Faith.movement,  It is my duty as a Christian, to “contend for the faith, and to shine the light of Truth into the darkness.

Ok. so now for the witchcraft part and I pray that you can see how this all ties in together..

I want to tell you about a disturbing youtube video that I watched. It involved a man who had seen and recognized abuse and manipulation inside of his church.

He said that he spoke with his pastor, and told his pastor that he was no longer going to be  a member of the congregation.

The man said that the pastor started casually rubbing the back of his neck. The man thought it was a strange gesture, and asked the preacher what he was doing..
The preacher casually responded, "oh, i'm just putting on a string."

The man said that he didn't really think much of the experience...he shook hands with the pastor and parted ways..

But.. he said that a few nights later, he started having extreme pain in his neck. He said that the pain was severe, and he couldn't understand what was happening.

He spoke to his friend, who had the gift of discernment, and they discovered that the preacher had used a form of witchcraft and was attempting to pull some sort of invisible string to lure him back into the church.

The man then goes on to say that they prayed for his neck and rebuked the evil spirits.  The man said that the pain immediately left him.

I want to detail a very, very strange experience that I have had in the not too distant past. It involves two men who came to our church. Keep, in mind I am not speaking against these men in any way, but I want to share what I experienced because it seemed really strange.

Here is the story:

A few months ago a speaker came to our church. Listening to him talk, I perceived that he was the real "deal". I saw that he wasn't asking for money, and actually spoke of time that he spent in Haiti as a missionary.

He began to talk of how Christians in the area are experiencing the demonic, and asked if anyone in the congregation needed prayer in this area.

Well, having had experiences with the demonic, I went to the front for prayer.

The man put his hand on my head and started talking about negative thoughts. I thought it was strange because I hadn't had any kind of negative thoughts. By this time, another man who I think was the missionaries friend, stood up and began to pray as well. He asked me if I needed healing in any area of my body. I told him about my mild thyroid issues. He then, put his hands on my stomach and proceeded to move his hands across my belly. He then asked me if I "felt anything."
Truthfully, I felt nothing. I was very confused.. he kept asking, Do you feel that?...He said, do you know who that is..in my confused state, I stated, in a way that more of a question, "God?" He said, yes..

The men began praying for others in the church and declaring miracles, and I wondered if any were actually taking place.

I believe in healing, and I believe in the laying on of hands as it says in the Bible, I believe in miracles, but I also think that if God shows up to perform miracles it will be a beautiful and unmistakeable experience.

A few days after this particular service, I began to be bombarded with negative thoughts. They were so bad that I didn't want to get out of bed. A level of hopelessness and guilt over the past pervaded my mind in such a way that I silently wanted my life to end.

A short time later, I was laying in bed and trutfully I don't know if I was dreaming or awake, but I began to feel an immense pain in my belly. The pain was excrutiating and like nothing I had ever experienced. It literally felt as if claws were trying to rip out my insides.On a separate night, I even dreamt of a huge worm that was ravaging my insides.

It was during this time, that I truly began seeking the gift of spiritual discernment.

The Bible says that we fight not against flesh and blood but against the unseen in the realm of darkness..

It also says to "Test the spirits to see if they are from God."

To be honest, I still cannot say anything against the men who prayed for me, only that I have come to be extremely cautious in who I trust. Truthfully, I believe that man is falliable, and I have learned that the only one I can truly trust is God...

(if you want to read about the experience I wrote about and a few others, click here and here.)

I know that this must strange to some of my readers..trust me, I know..it is strange. I read something the other day that I found disturbing. It is a little hard to believe, but I suppose it makes sense.

I read that there are real witches and those who practice witchcraft whose sole purpose is to infiltrate churches and cause harm to the Body of Believers.

I also read that witchcraft is a form of conrol and manipulation, and that witchcraft in the church doesn't have to look obvious. I read that it is cleverly disguised amidst twisting scriputures for the purpose of obtaining money and even in using controlling techniques to create fear and submission.

One practice that has always bothered me is seed faith and even using the Old Testament practice of the tithe to generate fear. I have heard preachers preach that God will not bless someone who does not pay a tithe and I have even heard it preached that a "curse" will come upon a non tithing member....

If someone is dabbling in curses and proclaiming curses that are not from God, are they, in essence, dabbling in a subtle form of witchcraft?

I guess in order to find out we need to hear what God says about witchcraft..

The scriptures say that God says rebellion is as the sin of witchraft.

"Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. So because you have rejected the command of the LORD, he has rejected you as king." 1 Samuel 15:23


 Is this practice of creating fear and using the word to twist scripture considered rebellion against the nature of God? Therefore, a form of witchraft in the eyes of the Lord?


In the next segment of this post, I want to bring some things to your attention.

Keep in mind the story of Simon in the Book of Acts Chapter 8. Simon was a sorceror who was perceived as a great man of God. He used powers to allure the people of his day..He was also guilty of trying to sell the gospel..

Read this verse:

¹⁸ And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,

¹⁹ Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.

²⁰ But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.

²¹ Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.

²² Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.

²³ For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.

Notice verse 22 which says The gift of the Holy Spirit cannot be purchased with money.. but how often do we see Jesus sold in our churches?  Many sell him via seed faith and many use the the twisting of the word to accumulate wealth.. Doesn't the Bible even say that false teachers will use deceptive words to expoit others out of covetous hearts?

"But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber. 2 Peter 2:1-3

How will God judge this, and when scripture is twisted to maintain control and create fear and enslavement, is this a form of witchcraft?

Many people think of devil worsip, ouija boards, spells and incantion sort of witchcraft, but if  God defines rebellion as the sin of witchraft, then we have to be aware that it is something that is less noticeable. It is more crafty and cunning and we often submit to it because it is something that is being done in many of our churches.

The good news is that Jesus was sent to free us from the chains of bondange. He says, "For you have been called to freedom brothers, not freedom to fall into your old sinful natures, but freedom to serve one another in love."

The more I read the word and become aware of how the word is twisted..the more I see that the Good News really is Good News.. Sadly, however, many use Jesus as a tool for bondage when HE has really called us to freedom.

I also read that another possible use of witchcraft in the church is through questionable prophesies and through direct revelations. Some preachers use these "prophesies" as nothing more than a tool to keep their tithing members on a leash. Keep in mind, the gift of prophesy is in the Bible and many use the gift for the good and building up of the Body... However, it is wrong someone falsely prophesies and claims a direct revelation in order to generate fear.. An example of a false prophesy would be..God says He is going to heal you if you plant money in my ministry. Or God says that if you leave this church, something bad is going to happen.

Keep in mind that we have to be very careful when we say that God says something. What God says is found in His Word and we should adhere to what the Word says rather than being quick to have "ticked ears"  We should also be wary when people in positions try to create an atmosphere of fear.

What does Jesus say about fear? He says that He does not want us to fear. "For I have not given you a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of Love, and of a sound mind"

Also remember the verse, IF God is for me, then who can be against me?

That sounds like Good News to me. Jesus does not want His children to fear.

Ok, now that we have established that rebellion is like withcraft, we need to ask..Rebellion against what or whom.? I have heard it falsely stated that rebellion against traditions or institutions is tantamount to witchcraft, but what does God have to say?

In the story of Saul, we are presented with Saul's disobedience to God.

Saul was ordered to completely destroy the Amalekites and their animals. The Bible refers to the fact that they were a wicked nation. Instead, Saul did what was right in his own eyes and kept all that was good.  He tried to rationalize his actions to Samuel, but Samuel replied in verses 22 and 23 that God does not delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord.  It says that rebellion is like the sin of divination (witchcraft).

From reading the following verses, we can conclude that not following the will of the father, or rebelling against His will, is tantamount to witchcraft in His estimation.

So, for purposes of arguement,...I now must ask..what are the characteristics of one who follows his own will. Well, we know those who have the Spirit of the Lord by their fruits..and those fruits are..

^"

 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control." Galatians 5:22

So, if these are the Fruits of the Spirit that Christ gives, what is the direct opposite of these fruits? The fruits of the flesh are listen in the book of Galatians.

Galatians 5:19-21, “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”

So, if these things are against the will of God, we must then ask, what works of the flesh are being brought into our churches. Once, they are identified, then hopefully we can present the light of truth in order to begin to weed them out..I will only cover a few in this post.

1. Adultery - Since this is against the will of God, it is considered rebellion, and therefore a form of wichcraft. Sadly, I hear that many pastors have slept with members of their congregation.
I read that many women are seduced by the "man in the front" so to speak..He is given status, and some will use that status to prey on unsuspecting members. This is tantamount to witchcraft in the eyes of God.

2. Lasciviousness - Lasciviousness equates to a desire for pleasure and things of the world. Have you noticed that amidst today's prosperity crowd, the one thing that is placed in high esteem are the pleasures of life. Many of the preachers tout rich lifestyles and preach of resurecction benefits, but in doing so, deny the Power of the Cross in their lives. They boast of the material "possessions" that  God has given them. They represent pride and not the true humble nature of Jesus. Jesus said in His Word that many would leave the true faith because their ears would  be "tickled" and they would abandon the truth for "another gospel." The Prosperity Gospel, in it's false teachings, is one of those "other gospels" In Christ's eyes, it is tantamount to witchcraft in the sense that the true humble nature is corrupted and replaced with a "prosperity Jesus"

3. Hatred - Have you ever  gone into a church that preaches against another denomination and, instead of showing love and kindness to people of other faiths, they are rude and proud. I have experienced this in more than one setting. It is equivalent to religious hatred, and it the Lord's eyes, it is equal to witchcraft.

4.  Heresies - In this segment, I will cover both the topic of heresies and lies. The truth is that Christianity largely has come to resemble a business. We live a world where the majority of leaders are charging for something Christ intended to be free. In regards to His gospel, Jesus said, "Freely give as you have been given," and yet, we see the scriputes being twisted and things like seed faith being born. We also see wealthy leaders exploiting the congregants, while some suffer in the pew. Many are made to feel guilty. I recently heard a story of a woman who attended a church. She was penniless and literally did not have a dime on her at the time of the service. The pastor kept pushing people to give. He use fear and manipulation in order to attempt to whittle money out of the crowd. He probably even twisted the scripture. This damaged the woman significantly and she never returned. The New Testament says that we should never give out of compulsion..or because someone is pushing us to give. We should give only out of the joy of our hearts when we are able.
The modern day tithe is another example of how scripture is twisted in order to obtain money. The tithe was a Old Testament Law that was intended for Levitical priests. The Testament lets us know that the Old Testament Law is no longer valid. Instead,, we are given a New Law, the law of Grace..
Under this law we are expected to give ourselves wholly..God does not want our ten percent. We are expected to care for one another and share with one another, never out of compusion, but out of JOY.
This twisting of scripture for personal gain is a heresy and it is witchcraft in the eyes of God.


5. Revelings - Lately, I have heard the idea of going to church simply to satisy the "experience."
The truth is that we crave experience and entertainment. In our church, we often see "powers" by which we are allured.

BUT, it is important that we keep in mind that NOT ALL POWERS are from God.

The Bible says that Satan appears as an angel of light. The Bible also says there are false miracles and signs and wonders.
Think about the New Testament story of Simon. Simon was a sorceror, but the people percieved him as a great man of God.

9 Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, 10 and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, "This man is the divine power known as the Great Power. Acts Chapter 8 verse 9,10.

Also, keep in mind that Simon was one who thought the gifts of the Holy Spirit could be bought with money. Keep in mind this next verse from Acts Chapter 8.

18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money 19 and said, "Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit." 20 Peter answered: "May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21 You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God.

One thing that I want people to take note of is the fact that Simon was a swindler and yet he had powers that were perceived as godly powers. But, Simon was anything but godly. He spoke the language and probably decieved many people.

Lately, I have began to question some of the powers that I have seen and experienced in churches all of my life. The truth is that the spirit world is real and, as Christians we are called to "Test the spirits"

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.1 John 4:1

At some point, I feel as if many have forgotten this verse. Instead, we accept whatever we deem normal. But we forget that we are not fighting against flesh and blood, but against the unseen. (See Ephesians 6:12)

To think that the enemy has never infiltrated our churches is naive. By the fruit of today's dark world, the enemy seems to be having his way. You don't have to look very far to the see the damage done. Mothers are killing their babies, the faces of missing children are splattered all over the news, murder is rampant, abuse has become the norm rather than the excpetion. Yes, folks, the enemy is very real and the fruits of the flesh only prove that he has taken over the lives of many.

I digressed..

Back to the subject of powers in the church.

This has been a very touchy subject for me, and a part of me doesn't even want to touch it..but I am coming to a place where I feel I must.
I grew up in church where I saw many powers. As a child, many of the things that I  saw frightened me. I often didn't even want to go to church. However, after a while, many of what I witnessed seemed normal.
I'll give you a few examples.

I once saw a church member, who I know was living in sin, raise her hands, and begin to "convulse." She would start screaming and writhing and her entire body would shake.

Another time, there was a man who spoke at my church. I remember him using fear and manipulation in order to get money, even out of the poorest members. I think he even used "seed faith" language to attempt to enlarge his coffers. He equated money with blessings and curses.

The man called several members to the front for prayer. As everyone was standing in line, the man  began to "blow" on people. I remember when it was my turn for prayer, the man asked me if I had any faith? I said, "of course I have faith," The second that I said that, the man "blew" on me, and I felt as if I temporarily lost conciousness as I fell backward to the ground.

The truth is that I have never questioned any of these experiences until recently. I was always told that what I was experiencing was a "move of God, an outpouring of the spirit, or the anoiting." But one thing that truly bothered me is the fact that I know a girl who went to church and witnessed things like this, and truthfully, I wonder if she will ever come back. Also, I began to notice that many ministries are engaging in this phenonmenon, but after reading some of their heretical quotes and misrepresenations of God, then I began to wonder if there could possibly be something else at work..because these men are perceived as "great men." Remember that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light, and he can counterfeit so as to decieve.

I recently became of aware of the dark staments that have come out of Benny Hinn's minsitry. Upon reading some of the documented things that he has said and done, I discovered , upon his own admission, that he claims to get his "anointing'" from the dead bones of a woman considered to be a "prophetess." If you are interested in learning about the dark fruit of this ministry, I encourage you to click here.

One thing that has greatly bothered me over the course of the last few months, is the fact that many people in Hinn's congregation are experiencing what they believe to be a "powerful move of God."
People are experiencing what I experienced.... The phenomenon is known as "slain in the spirit" or "falling out." They are also experienced something called holy laughter.

The more I seek discernment, the more I am convinced that many of the powers that I thought were from God are simply not from God. They are the powers that Simon used to lure sheep to the slaughter.  Many people begin to put faith solely in the "man using the powers" and in turn, forget the gospels entirely. I have also noticed that other ministries teaching false teachings are also experiencing this movement.

When I think of being slain in the spirit, it is important to test all things against the Word of God. One thing that I think it is important to note is that there was never any instance of being slain in the spirit in the Bible. Also, we have to look at the verse that tells us in 1 Timothy, "Do Not be quick in the laying on of hands." If I am wrong, please correct me.

So, now let's test.. We can all agree that we are seeing a lot of power in our churches. However, we can also heed the fact that Not all Powers are from God. We can recall the story of Simon who had great powers that he used to deceive, and we know that even Satan, himself appears as an angel of light, meaning that he appears to be good.

Let's assume that the devil would try to use "slain in the spirit" to his advantage. How would he do it, and what would it look like?

I"ll explain.

Well, if I were the devil, I would deceive men into believing that they had "great powers." The people would be moved by "great signs and wonders" They would begin to put their trust in these "men of God." They would perceive that God was doing great and mighty things in their midst.  Meanwhile, in the midst of all of their fervor, their hearts would grow complacent. They would see that "god was moving amongst them, and so they would abandon reading their Bibles. I would deceive them into thinking that their duty to God are limited to a tithe. I would then use a twisting of scripture to tell them that in order to be accepted by God, they must first give Him money. This will distort their perception of the true God and diminish His loving nature. If I were the devil, I would do everything in my power to see that the people use their resources to support "his ministry." I would encourage him to appeal to people's good nature and hearts, and I would throw in scripture and people would throw money at him and even buy him jet planes to fly around the world spreading "prosperity gospels, and other distorted gospels.

If I were the devil, I would convince the people that the "men with the power are the anoited ones." They would, in turn, forget that the Bible says that we are all anoited and each have certain gifts. If I were the devil, no one would be using their gifts..If the Body started using their gifts, then That would be chaos for my kingdom... So, I would try to keep the Believers so caught up in revelry and in "movings and outpourings" that they would forget the words of Jesus. Instead, they would listen with open ears to anything that the man says, because they believe that he is a powerful man. I would fill entire stadiums full of people, and they would see such a great "outpouring" that they will forget to test all things against the word. All of the people's attention will be on the man in the front and center. He would preach a wide path message of hope and prosperity and people would forget or disregard the call for self denial and the Cross would lose power amongst the people..

You see, If I were the devil..Once the people forget the power of the Cross, then  they are already mine.

If I were the devil, I would use strange manifestaions in the Body of Believers to create fear in the lost and unsaved world. I would distort the character of  God by convincing people that shaking, convulsing, and even barking like dogs is a sign of His power. Thousands of the unsaved would laugh at such things and never know the true manifestion of the Holy Spirit is in the form of the most perfect love. You see, if they knew that..then my kingdom would be in severe danger. People would start sharing and loving and my kindgom of hell would be doomed because people would grasp the great nature of the love of God.

If I were the devil, I would see to it that people were "puffed up" and prideful because they percieve that God is in their midst because they see these great powers. They would begin to compare themselves to other denominations, and hatred and division would increase. They would see that these "great signs and wonders" are only happening amongst their denomination, and they would percieve that their teachings are true.

Oh, and churches..ha! I would create thousands and thousands of churches. Trillions of dollars would be spent every year on brick and mortar buildings because they people don't know that the Body of Believers is about people! Meanwhile, millions of people around the world will continue to live in hunger and extreme poverty. By now, the people's hearts are so fat with God's "prosperity" that sharing becomes obsolete.. Or if they do share, I will see to it that they give their money over to huge organizations like TBN who take pictures of themselves with orphans in order to manipulate and raise more money.

If I were the devil, I would counterfeit miracles and other gifts of God so that people will more readily put up with unsound doctrines. Because you see, I disguise myself as something good. The Bible even says I appear as an angel of light. If I were the devil I would rejoice! Because it says that in the last days, that people would be vain, lovers of money, lovers of self, immoral, lovers of pleasure... and I would see that my Believers no longer follow the gospels, do what it says, or even read their own Bibles..Then, the whole world would look like chaos and millions or billions, who have fallen for lies, and do not carry the power of the Cross, will inherit my kingdom.

"For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 2  Timothy 4:3

For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect--if that were possible. Matthew 24:24

Ok, I recant a few of my words.. I believe that there may be a real and a counterfeit slain in the spirit.. Also, I made a made a video on my experience with holy laughter and demonic laughter. A woman came forth and said that she had experienced a genuine holy laughter..and gave me the verse..
however, we should put all of trust in God alone and remember to test things. Just because we experienced a power does not mean that it was from God. Satan is a counterfeiter.. But how are we able to recognize the counterfeit? We don't study the counterfeit, we study and learn the real thing. We get close to Jesus. We talk to Him, read His Word, and simply learn to hear His voice. We give up what He asks and be obedient to His calling on our lives.
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Please take the time to read the following article about false miracles in the end times.
http://www.aibi.ph/articles/falsemir.htm

Ok, I know this is an extremly long post..I only want to cover one more thing.. It involves false miracles. For everything real, there is a counterfeit. (I recently saw a video that implied that perhaps there is a real slain in the spirit and a counterfeit. I encourge you to be wary and if you see something out of line with the gospels, run for the hills)
Such is the same with miracles, and Christ tells us this is Matthew 24:24

Last week was a very strange week. One night my grandfather came into the room and started telling me that he heard on the radio that God is giving people new teeth. He said that there are miracles happening where people are getting new teeth filled with gold and/or gold specks.
My grandfather then told me that he is praying for new teeth.

A few days later, I am browsing facebook and I hear a story about how Christ is physically appearing to the Muslim world. Immediately, I thought of how Benny Hinn is stating that Jesus will appear at his crusades. I also thought of the verse that tell us that many will claim to see Christ appear..ONLY it will NOT be Christ..

Consider this verse in Matthew Chapter 24: ²³ 

At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. ²⁴ For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. ²⁵ See, I have told you ahead of time.

I also began to  wonder why Christ would give someone gold teeth when He warns against greed and riches. Would a humble Jesus who told us to carry our crosses and lose our lives for His sake, really be filling our mouths full of gold?

I highly doubt it.

You see, I do believe in miracles. But, I believe that miracles come when our lives begin to look like the Cross. Those are the true miracles. One only needs to read about the life of Jesus in order to see a true miracle.. Miracles come when we hand our will over to the will of Our Heavenly Father.

 The other day Jesus showed me something about His miracle with the loaves and fishes.

On the day when He fed the crowd of five thousand.. There were hungry people by the droves.. but there was no food to be found... Jesus didn't have any butlers to arrange for His feast....instead, there was a boy walking with some bread and fish.  Jesus asked the boy if He could have the fish and the boy agreed to give up his only meal.. 

Jesus took the meal, gave thanks...and showed the crowd..that when we share...there is more than enough... There is supernatual provision when we humble ourselves to do the will of Christ.

I also think of the story of Jesus walking in the desert. He walked in the desert for 40 days and nights. He went without food and water. He endured temptation, but when he came out of the desert, He began His ministry. It was then that the Bible mentions Jesus' healing of the blind and the lepers and the sick.

Many of our prosperity pastors today are quick to offer the blessings of the resurrection, but in thier lives, they deny the power of the Cross.

The power is in the Cross.. It is in the verse that says, In order to have life, we must first DIE TO SELF.. that means foregoing many of our  carnal  and earthly tempations..

that means..being willing to be set apart...Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.Matthew 10:39

The Power is in the Cross.. without a death, there is no new life.. Without a Death, there could be no resurrection.

When we speak His name, but don't carry our Crosses, are we, in essence..claiming to have a form of godliness but denying the power, thereof..

The power is in the Cross of Christ, and that is something that today's TBN preachers and many others aren't preaching.

The miracles come when our lives look like Jesus... but rarely will you find a George Muller or a Hudson Taylor... and I haven't finished the book, but I think I can see it in the L'ABRI story or the stories that resemble  Koinonia, mentioned in the Book of Acts.

Yes, I know this is a lot of meat... and now I simply want to encourage you to Seek.. because He says that when you seek, you will find. I encourage you to turn of Christian networking and TBN. I encourage you to pray and get deep into the word and listen to what God says through it.. Ask for the guidance of the Holy Spirit..

I hope this message has offended no one. That is not my intent. I have cried real tears for the past week because this is the stuff of real and I have a deep concern for my brothers and sisters..
with that being said, I love you :)

Oh, there is one more story that I would like to share. The other day I made a youtube video. I haven't uploaded it yet, but I will in the near future.
In the video, I told people that I feel as if Christ is being grossly misrepresented in our society.

I told a few stories of who Christ is to me..

I began by saying that when I was a teenager I used to drive around in my car..I would often pray to Jesus. There were times when my I would begin to cry. Tears would literally begin pouring out of my eyes because I could feel an immense love. Often, I look at complete strangers and am literally overcome with such a love that I can't help but cry. One day, a long time ago, I was at a hospital.
There was a lady standing near the elevator. The Holy Spirit came over me and I walked over to a complete stranger, put my arms around her, and cried. The woman was happy that I had done this.

Another time, I was driving though the parking lot at Walmart. I saw a man sitting near a picnic table outside. He was on smoke  break. The man had many tattoos. I felt an overwhelming love for the man, and felt as if the Holy Spirit was asking me to give him something. I felt as if Jesus was telling me that no one had ever given this man anything...all people have ever done is take things from him.
I pulled my car near him,and asked to please come speak to me. Immediately tars began to fall from my eyes as I told him how much Jesus really loved him. I handed him a one hundred dollar bill and I could see this giant of a man, begin to cry. His lips began quivering and I told him how real God really is..
That, my friends, is the reason Christ died. He died for our sins and His hope for us is not to make us rich, but to lead us into humility. In doing so, we march toward the Cross.

Friends, do not forsake the Cross.
It is the only path that leads to life.

The Bible says that God is Spirit, and that  God is love.
The Bible says that God is a light  , and In Him, there is no darkness at all.

The bible says that He loved us so much that He sent His One and Only Begotten son so that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.


 He also says that life is difficult, but on this path, there is joy ( Colossans 1:24). There is true joy.. He says my burden is light and when you are tired,, then I will give you rest.(Matthew 11:30)

Work hard to get in. You will be persecuted for my names sake, but I have rewards and a mansion for you in heaven.. (Matthew 6:19-20)  As a matter of fact, if you can make it through this hard life, then your wildest imagination cannot even conceive what I have in store for you.. ( 1 Corinthians 2:9)

He says seek and we will find. So, I encourage you to start seeking.Keep in mind that there is a lot that I don't understand. But I am certain that God is good and He is grossly misrepresented as He said He would be.

Be Blessed :)

Friends, I know this is a lot to take in..Truthfully, a part of me is afraid to even publish it. I have no idea how certain things are judged by God. I do know that His mercy and His compassion are great. I also know that it wrong to take advantage of people for money and teach false doctrines for personal gain. It is wrong to preach hatred from the pulpit and tout the name "christian" Christ has been marred severly and I recognize that the deception runs deeper than I thought. I encourage your thoughts, comments, and opinions but will not publish profanity or hate speech of any kind. Thanks :)

It is important that my followers note that I sometimes post articles and youtube videos. I do not  promote any religion. My goal in my Christian walk is simply to seek God, adhere to His Word, and seek discernment. I no longer affiliate myself with the Protestant religion because there are many false teachings, and I do not like labels. My family is part Protestant and part Catholic. I see things that with which I disagree in both. My goal is simply to share the gospel from the Bible. Sometimes, I may come across an interesting article or video. However,  I do not claim to promote the site. I may not even agree with every single thing in the article, but really liked a few key points. Deception runs deep in our society. There are many false teachings, as Jesus said there would be. So, all I can say is that if you read through the articles that I post or recommend..do it prayerfully. And know that just because it is posted on my site, I may not agree with every thought in the article.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritual_abuse

a man talks about how manipulation is witchcraft and how God does not want our money, but our hearts.

a sister hurt and very angry that the black community is being decieved by a false prophets who are speaking their language

a video about a dream where there were thousands in a stadium laughing and rolling on the floor, and there were three serpents in the room.

a man talks about his experiences about witchcraft in the church

a lady reads from the Bible about what is witchcraft in the eyes of  God according to the Bible

Benny Hinn, Holy laughter. I once had an experience with holy laughter. I started laughing uncontrollably. It actually seemed like a pleasant experience. However, I have had experiences with the demonic and I have seen how demons disguise themselves. Once, in the presence of a demon, I first perceived it as angry, and then I started laughing because I percieved it as something good. Yes, I know this all sounds strange. The Bible says to test all things. Even if you don't listen to my experiences, read your Bibles. Experiences need to be questioned. All of them. But the devil does appear as an "angel of light." When I have been in the prescence of the true Holy Spirit, I am often moved to tears because I feel an immense love for others. The Holy Spirit leads us into complete love and  truth..That truth produces joy, not uncontrollable laughter.

Benny Hinn, false prophet, heretical quotes

Joyce Meyers advocates seed faith and lives in riches

Video on the prosperity gospel

Creflo Dollar tells people that if they don't tithe, they are cursed and will be shot. He lives in luxury.

David Wilkerson talks about strange manifestions in the church.. he says that in some churches, people are barking like dogs and walking around on invisible leashes. He points out that people are commiting suicide and God's children are in the sanctuary laughing and barking like dogs. He says that God is being portrayed as a buffoon.

This is a two hour long video, but it has some highly disturbing things. In this video, you will see Jim Jones say that he is a "little god." Then, you will see TBN ministers say on air that they are "little gods" You will then see a trail of dead bodies from the people who followed Jones. You will see people barking like dogs and howling like wolves in church, and a man being led around on a leash. You will see people convulsing. You will see Kenneth Copeland and his heretical and dangerous teachings and you will see a stadium of people gathered around him as he speaks in "tongues" with another man on stage. They make a joke out of it. You will also see a demon possessed woman speak in a "counterfeit" tongue.. For every real, there is a fake.. The real gift was in the Book of Acts and it was a great miracle. You will see New Age gurus using "slain in the spirit" to knock people unconcious. You will see Benny Hinn use a young boy to get huge amounts of money from his crusades. Watch this with discernment, there are some true things on here and some things I would like to address, but if you are looking to see how decieved people are..this is a good place to start.

This is a video from a friend of mine. She sold her house in the suburbs and shares her home with those who need a helping hand. To, me this is what part of the true gospel being played out. Please watch. This is a beautiful video.

These are the words of Jesus for you. This is beautiful! Please watch

This is another version of the above video. Simply gorgeous.