Saturday, August 21, 2010

Who Is Truly Being Glorified?

The word "into" is a preposition which indicates that somebody or something moves inside something, either physically or figuratively. John 16:13 says, "However, when the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own initiative but will say only what he hears. He will also announce to you the events of the future."

In reading this word of truth, it is safe to say that the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to move or live inside of us in order to show us everything there is to know about truth. He is our Teacher and Guide or in today's term, our "Life Coach". Then what is this truth He is to lead us into? First, we need to find out what truth is. In John 16:14-15, Jesus Christ is the one doing the talking. He said, "He (the Holy Spirit) will glorify me, because he will receive from what is mine and announce it to you. Everything the Father has is mine; this is why I said that he receives from what is mine and will announce it to you." And in John the first chapter, it says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."

Jesus Christ is the Living Word of God, who is Truth. If the Holy Spirit is indeed living or moving in us, then we too, according to John 16:14, will glorify Jesus Christ in word and deeds. Remember, the Holy Spirit does not glorify Himself. He only glorify Jesus Christ. Our words and actions should always lead others to glorify Jesus Christ because He lives in us by the Holy Spirit.

The word "glorify" means to worship, adore, exalt, elevate, celebrate, and to praise somebody or something highly. Let us truly examine ourselves in the words we speak and the actions we take. Now, who is truly being glorified? Is it Jesus Christ? Or self? Selah (think on this).

Saturday, August 14, 2010

The Subtlety of Satan

According to Deuteronomy 18:10-13, the LORD God forbids us in practicing communication with the dead, divination, sorcery, fortune telling, witchery, casting spells, and holding séances. But do you know that there are many of God's children unknowingly doing these things? Satan deceives subtly or cunningly. Here's how:

Example #1: When my Step-Father died (whom I loved very much), the LORD Jesus reminded me to tell my children that if their grandfather appeared to them in a dream, that it was not him. I explained to them that their grandfather was with the LORD and if he was to appear to them in a dream, then it would not be him. It would be a demon masquerading as their grandfather; and they would need to rebuke it in the Name of Jesus and command it to leave and never return. Well, it happened! My daughter said, "In my dream, I saw granddaddy coming toward me. I remembered what you told me and I immediately began to scream at the demon and telling it that he was not my granddaddy. I rebuked it in the Name of Jesus and told it to leave." If I had failed to warn my children in what the LORD told me, my daughter would have been communicating with the dead. But the dead would not have been her grandfather. It would have been a demon spirit posing as her grandfather. There are many children (and adults) whose loved ones have died and demons have posed as them so that they could have an open door in coming into this realm. Communication with the dead will eventually lead a person into other areas of divination.

Example #2: When I was a teenager, the coolest thing among us, was keeping up with our horoscope (or sign). When I was able to purchase a two-door car, I immediately went to the department store and purchased my horoscope or "sign" to place on the passenger side of the car. One day, I was on my way to work. I stopped at a stop sign when all of a sudden, an old lady with rags tied around her neck and face, opened my door and seated herself. She then told me that she wanted a ride around the corner. I did not think much of it because she was old and it looked as if she suffered from arthritis (because my pastor's wife covered herself the same way and suffered from arthritis). Since I loved to help the elderly, I did not mind that she hopped in for a ride to go around the corner. When I proceeded to turn, all of a sudden, she became agitated and commanded me to let her out of the car. I lovingly told her that I will give her a ride to where she wanted to go, but she kept on commanding me with great agitation to let her out of the car. So I did and did not think any more of the situation until many years later when I committed my whole heart to the LORD Jesus. This is when the Holy Spirit reminded me of that incident. So I asked the LORD, "What was wrong with that old woman?" Then the LORD told me, "That was not an old woman." I then asked him, "What was it then?" He said, "That was a demon posing as an old woman." I was then startled and continued to ask the LORD, "What gave that demon the right to appear unto me?" The LORD asked me a question, "What did you have on your car?" I then thought about it and then the Holy Spirit brought it to my remembrance. Then I said to the LORD, "I had my horoscope or "sign" on the passenger side of my car." Then the LORD said, "That was the legal or open door that the demon used to gain access into this realm. His intention was to harm and destroy you. But I would not allow him." Then the LORD asked me another question. He said, "Do you remember the empty space between you and the demon?" I said, "Yes." The LORD said again, "When you turned the corner, I sent my swift angel down and sat right between you and the demon. You could not see the angel, but the demon did. And he was very scared. That is why he appeared to you as being agitated." Dear Hearts, after the LORD revealed this truth to me, I first asked him to forgive me for practicing divination through the horoscope or "sign" and then I began to praise and thank him for His protection, mercy, and grace.

Now I shared this particular experience with you because some of you on here have been subtly and cunningly been lured into practicing divination. The word divination is from Latin divinare, which means to foresee or to be inspired by a god. The application "fortune cookies" attempts to foresee one's future. Any application whose purpose is to predict your character or future is divination. The LORD God has forbidden this practice! He said in His Word, "People who do these things are an abomination to GOD. It’s because of such abominable practices that GOD, your God, is driving these nations out before you. Be completely loyal to GOD, your God." He knows that Satan and his evil kingdom only have the intention to kill, steal and destroy human lives! Remember, it is always the truth that we know that will set us free.