Are Demons Real Or Fictional? (2)

What do you believe? Are houses haunted by ghosts? Are they the spirits of the dead?

The plain truth is: No! If you believe the Bible, it says that the dead know nothing (Ecclesiastes:9:5). They do not live on as ghosts or phantoms. In fact, we'll discuss more about this in just a moment. But it points to a major problem: Its an undeniable fact that most Christians take their values and their beliefs from other people - from someplace else and not the Bible. How about you?

There are powers that want you to believe that false, annual celebrations, misidentified as Christian, are perfectly fine to observe. Moreover, they want to convince you that theres nothing harmful about Halloween. In fact, that demons are simply myths. But what about their influence? If you look around, you can certainly see that sinful influence is everywhere in our chaotic world.

People are swayed to follow fraudulent, destructive ways. Therefore, try to discover how you can stand up against demonic deception through the very power of God.The fact is, you shouldnt believe in ghosts! They are not spirits of dead people. If you're a Christian, you should know - it just isn't true.

Your Bible says if you think ghosts are spirits of dead, youre mistaken. Why? All ghosts, without exception, are actually demons. Theyre spirit all right, but not what many think. Theyre not earthbound human spirits, they're not haunting spirits of the dead. Your Bible says they are demonic spirits.

So what are evil spirits? What exactly are demons? 

Well Scripture says they're wicked angels whose only task is to deceive and to harm. Demons are evil spirits that are opposed to God. They're opposed to God's people. In fact, theyre opposed to you. They're sinful. They're rebellious. They're fallen angels.

In fact, we learn a lot about angels in bits and pieces from various Bible passages. And those passages tell us that God created angels with free will - they had the freedom to choose between righteousness or evil. Lucifer, who became Satan - chose rebellion. Yes, the devil does really exist and he also convinced a whole host of other angels, to turn against God.

In the book of Revelation a dragon symbolizes Satan. And it tells us the story of Satan's initial rebellion. Revelation:12:4 says, "His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven."

Were told that those stars are symbolic of angels (Revelation:1:20). So imagine it! Satans evil influence caused one-third of the entire angelic creation to follow him in wickedness.

Now those defiant angels - those spirits who rebelled are called sinful angels. "For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned…" Thats what 2 Peter:2:4 says (NABRE).

The Bible also refers to them as demons or evil spirits. And they've combined their forces to continuously and relentlessly oppose God and try to undermine Gods purpose for humanity. And so, now they're bound to this earth and they devote themselves to their goal of deceit, disorder and destruction in the lives of all people.

To be cont'd. 

God bless you all.

Are Demons Real Or Fictional?

Are they genuine or fictional? Is there is a spirit power behind evil in our world? Are we in a fight with spiritual wickedness?

Are demons real? Did ancient peoples dream them up? Are they genuine or just imaginary? Much of the world today has a celebration that seems to be dedicated to the demonic world. Its Halloween. Is that a problem for Christians? What could be wrong with Halloween?

 Theres a lot of joyfulness in costuming - and then, as a little kid, separating candy by size and color, paper-wrapped and not, you know. Yeah, adults love it.

 Its cool because we never celebrate this kind of festival in China. And yeah, during the Halloween, I actually have sent candies to little children, and I think they are like pretty cool because they like dress up, and get makeup, and yeah.

One guy, being a butcher, he'd decorate his house with animal carcasses. Well, a couple times. Usually instead of a jack-o-lantern, he'd have a pig's head on the front porch, oibvious mixed views on that. Probably scare the pants off the little kids, huh?

>> "Halloweens great. I mean, its fun, I don't see anything evil or wrong about it", some do say.

Lets think about that for a moment. Is there anything wrong about it? And what does that have to do with whether or not demons are real?

Well you may know that Halloween came to us through the Roman Catholic Church. They assigned each day of the year to honor one of their saints. When it reached the point that they had more saints than days, they combined them all together on November 1st and called it "All Saints Day" or "All Hallows Day."

The night before became "All Hallows Eve" or "Hallow Even" - holy evening - which contracted to the name Halloween. Now theres not too much scary about that, right? But lets look at a few of the details.

Why did they choose November 1st? Because it was the same date as the Celtic and Druid festival of the dead called "Samhain." The church tried to redirect those new converts to their Christian holiday by having it on the same day - but, the problem was they brought all their heathen practices right into the church. Check out your history books. I think its fair to say, they Christianized evil.

Heres why: Do you know what the ancient pagan Celtics did on that day? They actually had their own version of trick or treating. They visited supposed haunted houses. They built huge bonfires to ward off evil spirits. Thats because they believed the physical and the spirit world intermingled that night like no other time of the year. They actually thought the dead came back to visit the living, so witches, and goblins, and ghosts would appear. So a pagan celebration was repackaged and relabeled as Christian - ultimately becoming Halloween.

Now you may be thinking, okay, so what? What difference does it make if Halloween is based on a godless heathen celebration? After all, demons and devils, aren't they just a figment of imagination? You may celebrate just the fun, the family aspects. But really, can that be done?

It seems like our world is kind of obsessed with, not just Halloween, but the whole spirit thing. Youve got these programs with the Ghost Hunters, and the Paranormal Witness nd walking with the zombies…

Should you be scared? Or is Halloweens connections to an unchristian past a problem?

Well we still have to deal with the question: 

Are demons real? And in a moment, we'll do just that and discuss what God thinks about it. But what do you think?

A recent survey found that 45% of Americans believe in ghosts, or that the spirits of the dead people can come back.

And Americans arent alone. 50%  of Australians believe in ghosts and spirits.

About 20% of Australians not only believe in them, but say they've had a brush with a ghost or a spiritual entity. About the same number of American adults, almost 1 in 5, say they've seen a ghost or been in the presence of a ghost. Almost 30% say they have felt in touch with someone who's already died.

Have you ever had an experience like that, where you felt there was something strange or different or some type of interaction with a ghost?

To be cont'd 

God bless you all.

Change The Rules Like David Did

A continuation of how David changed the rules in order to defeat Goliath:

The devil and his cohorts must be forced to acknowledge the full weight of the Scripture which says: “Touch not my anointed and do my prophets no harm” – Ps 105:15

 Like David, we are about to change the rules of the game.

Instead of allowing yourself to be beaten black and blue by the devil … in the ignorant belief that it is God’s will for you to suffer at the hands of wicked enemies…

We are about to turn the tables … against affliction … against marital distress … against witchcraft-sponsored poverty … infirmity… the dragon of debt, among others.

If the enemy insists on touching YOU or your marriage… or children… or finances … or your health or that of a loved one, then you have to come to the understanding that God's will for his children is to be victorious over every strategy of the old dragon, satan.  With that in mind, you must live a clean and sanctified life,  obey the words of the Lord and learn to pray in the Holy Spirit. That's where battles are won.

… boldly declare our stand in Christ, and decree total mayhem on the merchants of darkness in the days ahead. 

Pray : Oh Lord,  help me to fight the good fight of faith and let the power of your spirit empower me to be strong in you and in the power of your might in Jesus Christ's name amen.

Thank you Lord for answering my prayer.

God bless you all. 

Change The Rules To Be The Winner

David triumphed over Goliath Because He Decided To Change The Rules.

Let's Look at this scenario carefully:

“And it happened as the Philistine arose and was drawing near David that David hastened and ran out from the lines toward the Philistine,” the Bible says.

“And he reached his hand into the pouch and took from there a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead.”

The second sentence – the slingshot part – is what made David famous. But the first sentence matters just as much.

David broke the rule here.

Now, let’s remember who made that rule: Goliath.

And let’s remember why Goliath made that rule:

When the world has to play on Goliath’s terms, Goliath wins.

So everyday he would come out and state his terms:

“Choose a man for yourselves and let him come down to me.
If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will become your servants;

But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall become our servants
and serve us.”

Again the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day; give me a man
that we may fight together.” – 1 Sam 17:8-10

Then David appeared and changed the rules of the game.

He didn’t know that duels with Philistines were supposed to proceed formally, with the crossing of swords.

All he knew was:

“When the lion or the bear would come and carry off a sheep from the herd, I would go out after him and strike him down and rescue it from his clutches.”

He brought a shepherd’s rules to the battlefield. By so doing he broke the existing rule of combat.

He changed the rhythm of the encounter. He speeded it up.

The sudden astonishment when David sprinted forward must have frozen Goliath… stopped him cold in his tracks… making him a better target.

Lets not forget David was a shepherd.

He came at Goliath with a slingshot and a staff because those were the tools of his trade.

Friend, do you know the tools of your trade … as a believer?

Fasting-Prayer is just one of the tools.

Pray : Oh Lord, in the name of Jesus,  equip me to overcome every enemy in my life so that i will be victorious in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, amen.

God. Bless you. 

What is The. Time Of The End? ( 26)

What Can You Do?

In light of the many prophecies about the end of this age, what can you do? What should you do?

When informed about a recent grisly tragedy, Jesus Christ responded by saying to those around Him: "Do you suppose that these [men] were worse sinners than all other[s], because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish" (Luke:13:2-3
).

Understand the gravity of your relationship with your Creator.  God "now commands all men everywhere to repent" (Acts:17:30). We must turn from our ways, which are bringing the world to the brink of disaster, and turn to Him. Prove for yourself that the Bible is God's Word.

Most important, consider and follow God's words in Isaiah:55:6-7
: "Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon."

God bless you all. 

What Is The Time Of The End? ( 25)

Protection for God's servants

One of the most encouraging aspects of this subject is knowing that God has promised to watch over and care for His people during this time of unprecedented worldwide turmoil. Jesus said there is nothing wrong with wanting to avoid suffering the end-time disasters. In fact, as we saw in Luke:21:36, He encourages us to be alert and aware, watching our own spiritual state as well as world events and conditions and earnestly praying we will be worthy to escape the coming devastation, if it occurs during our lifetime.

Just as in Noah's day, God will provide a way for many of the faithful to be protected during those 3 1⁄2 years. As Zephaniah:2:3 tells us, "Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth, who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the Lord's anger."

Although Satan will try to destroy God's people, God will provide the means for many of them to be spared this dangerous time (Revelation:12:13-17



). Jesus says He will care for those who faithfully serve Him during that time.

He tells one faithful group at the end, "Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth" (Revelation:3:10).

In Revelation 7, God's servants are sealed and spared from the coming global upheavals. "Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, 'Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads'" (verses 2-3).

Who are these servants of God? Notice how the book of Revelation describes them. They are those "who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus," those "who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus" and "those who do His commandments" (Revelation:12:17; 14:12; 22:14).

The book of Revelation shows that those who keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus are God's people. 

Yet, sadly, prophecy reveals that not all of God's people will be protected during the end time. Christ foretold that part of His Church at the end would not be spiritually ready. In Matthew 25 His parable of the 10 virgins shows that some of His people would neglect their spiritual state and be unprepared.

He concludes the parable with this warning: "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming" (Matthew:25:13). Consequently, as the end time begins, some of God's people will be protected from Satan's persecutions while others bear the brunt of the devil's fury (Revelation:6:9-11

; 12:14, 17).

A time to be spiritually awake

Although the end time is a period of unprecedented world trouble, it is also the threshold of God's Kingdom. Paul gives a wonderful perspective of how we should spiritually prepare for that time, regardless of when it comes:

"But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night.

"But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him. Therefore encourage one another, and build up one another, just as you also are doing" (1 Thessalonians:5:4-11






, NASB).

We should take great comfort in God's promises and the knowledge He has made available about the end time. The good news is that, if we prepare ourselves spiritually, this can be a time of confidence, hope and joy leading inexorably to God's incomparable Kingdom. As Jesus assures us in Luke:21:28, "Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near."

God bless you all.

What Is The Time Of The End? ( 24)

Preparing for the End Time

Why does God reveal what the future holds? So we will be spurred to change. What do you need to do to be prepared?

Approximately a fourth of the Bible is prophetic in nature. Much of this material is profoundly connected to world-changing events. The Bible is a perennially up-to-date, applicable book.

Regarding earth-shaping trends and occurrences, no section of Scripture is more applicable to our world than the Olivet Prophecy, recorded in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. This is where Jesus Himself warns us to be vigilant about our spiritual state. He describes and summarizes the conditions and events that will lead to His second coming. What should we be doing—or not doing—as that time draws closer?

After describing the dire state of the world to which He would return, Jesus said to His disciples regarding the exact time of His coming, "But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone" (Mark:13:32, New American Standard Bible).

That we will not know for sure does not mean we should neglect to keep a watchful eye on world trends and conditions and our own spiritual condition. Notice what Jesus instructs in the next verse: "Take heed, keep on the alert, for you do not know when the appointed time is" (verse 33, NASB).

He then compared Himself and His second coming to a man who traveled to a distant country, left his servants in charge of his property and asked the doorkeeper "to stay on the alert" till he returned.

Then Jesus Christ gives His warning to His disciples a second time. "Therefore, be on the alert —for you do not know when the master of the house is coming …" (verse 35, NASB).

Next He warns His servants not to fall asleep on the job, followed by a third and final appeal emphasizing the importance of their task. "And what I say to you I say to all: 'Be on the alert!'" (verse 37, NASB).

Luke's account emphasizes our personal conduct, with Christ warning us to be diligent in keeping our personal spiritual house in order and showing us exactly the kind of distractions to avoid:

"Be on guard, that your hearts may not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day [of Christ's return] come upon you suddenly like a trap; for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of the earth" (Luke:21:34-35
, NASB).

The vast majority of people, says Jesus Christ, will be taken by surprise. They will not be spiritually alert, much less aware, as prophesied conditions and trends develop. Christ wants His servants to avoid falling into this trap.

So He tells us in verse 36: "But keep on the alert at all times, praying in order that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man" (NASB).

In his exhortation regarding the Day of the Lord, the apostle Peter asks, "Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness?" (2 Peter:3:11, NASB). The emphasis throughout is on the importance of personal preparedness for Christ's coming and having a heightened alertness and anticipation of that event.

To be cont'd. 

God bless you all.