Safe Salvation

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ~Ephesians 6:10-12

I begin with a disclaimer on this topic, for it is controversial to an extent. This, as with all the topics I am writing about, is from my understanding that God has given me. So I start with a question. Do you believe Christians are safe from the Demons once we have accepted Christ? Let’s think about this from a biblical sense for a moment. Now let’s think about our lives and the struggles that we have faced since becoming Christians. Again, I ask, “Are we safe from Demonic influence once we have accepted Christ?”

I would love to say Yes to this question, but alas, I cannot. So let us begin with the rest of the passage from the quote above. It is from the Armor of God payer found in Ephesians 6:10-20. As we look over it and the target audience. This was written for the Ephesians church, it was written for Christians as an empowerment of ourselves to help us stand against demonic influence and direct assault.

So clearly if once we were saved and baptized in the blood of Jesus Christ we were safe from their assaults we would not need such powerful words and prayer.  This is not to scare you so much as make you aware. Many Christians and non-Christians walk through life oblivious to these influences. To an extent there is a protection for those that are truly innocent and blind to things, but that only goes so far.

Through my time practicing the occult, I opened myself up to learn and know things that humans were not meant to know and see. With each of these things, I opened myself up to what was hidden in this corner or that corner by cutting away the hedge of protection that kept me safe from it. A wall is only strong and safe as long as it is intact. Each one of these journeys I knocked a whole in the wall that was keeping me safe.

Demons are smart, they are cunning, so they are always looking for ways to get through these walls, and then sometimes God feels we need to learn a lesson or be tested in a way that allows something through to influence us. For a biblical truth of that all you have to do is look at Job.  This demonic influence can go all the way to possession. It is very hard for a demon to possess a Christian follower, but it is possible.

Each of us have our vices, as our flesh is made of sin. They begin with these vices and look to see if we will give in to their influences. If we slip, then they continue to push until they get in. I believe that some of the failed relationships of Christians are a direct result of this kind of influence. The flesh is weak, so our spirit must be strong.

Again we go back to the Armor of God. Each part is something that we must do. The prayer is instruction for us. First we learn why we need it. Our true struggle is not against flesh and blood, it is against the world, this dark world. The world has embraced sin as a way of life. In fact we are warned of being of the world and told again and again that the flesh that we wear is dead and filled with sin. Baptism cleanses the soul as a bath cleanses the flesh.

It does not stop there however, our enemies are in the heavenly realm as well. This passage may seem odd to a lot of people, but I must remind that Heaven and Hell are both in the Heavenly realm. They are beyond the physical world and cannot be touched by the flesh. That is the meaning of the Heavenly Realm in this passage. It is the spiritual world, the non-physical world, that space between and in-between all things.  That’s why the whole armor is important.

The belt of truth, we must carry truth with us and allow it to be spoken from us and about us. The truth is both a talk about being honest as well as being honest about what you have been through. It helps protect us from the spirit of lies as well as protects our mind. The breastplate of Rightousness, be as righteous as you can be in all you do. It is also the piece of armor that is most visible. Walk the walk of Jesus and do what was commanded of you.

This will help us from getting in situations that we will likely succumb to our fleshy weakness. Shod your feet with the Gospel of Peace; we must know the gospel and be ready to share it as well as allow it to be a marker for ourselves. Spread the word of love and compassion. And above all else carry with you the shield of faith.

The shield of faith. This becomes our symbol of protection. This is what we must use to put out the flaming arrows that are shot over the wall we talked about earlier. We must take great care in building our faith, repairing our shields and keep that with us always. Each and every day we must tend to it for it is what keeps us safe from attacks.

Upon your head the Helm of Salvation; we must believe in our salvation and know the power held within that salvation. We are saved through the blood of Christ, we must not doubt that fact. Carry with us the sword of the spirit which is the holy word of God. Read your bible, carry those words with you.

To quote Tyrion Lannister from “A Game of Thrones” the mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone.” Reading and meditating on the word of God daily keeps your Sword sharp for when the enemy gets beyond the wall and our shield is not holding up, it is through the use of the word of God that we will defeat our foes. But we cannot go into battle naked. A sword alone will not save us.

All of this would not be needed if we were fully and truly safe from the evil spirits. Through this we are prepared to go into battle. This is part of what prepares us for Spiritual Warfare, but not all of us are soldiers. But by no means am I saying to ignore these powerful instructions.  Look deeply upon these words and their true meaning.

So how do you protect yourself from evil? I’ll quote a website that I came across this morning:

(11) How do I protect myself from evil?

Regular prayer and sharing with others in prayer, and worship that upholds the overcoming of all that is evil through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Believing in the continuing presence of the risen Christ brings protection and peace. Also avoid occult practices that expose you to control by forces beyond yourself.

That sums things up pretty nicely. If you notice that last part, “Also avoid occult practices that expose you to control by forces beyond yourself.” I cannot stress that more. As you go through and learn about yourself and look for who you are in Christ, I urge you to avoid this, unless you feel a calling from God himself to learn about this.

I opened myself up to it and it drug me down as a slippery slope all the way to worshiping the enemies of God. There is something to be said for rites and rituals; you can find them in all branches of religion. They have great power, be mindful of them, you can use them to help and for harm.  May God be always with you, and share the Love the Christ spoke of.

Power of Words

It’s not what goes into the mouth that defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man. Mat 15:11

The power that our tongue has is one that is hard to understand. How such a small part of our body as a whole has so much power that it is a constant warning throughout the entire bible. This is something that I did not understand until after I began going through counseling and preparing for Deliverance Ministry.

The topic of Deliverance Ministry is a touchy one for a lot of people, but it is one of the reasons I’m doing as well as I am doing right now. During my life wandering spiritually I spoke many things that harmed me and my soul. There are things that I allowed for the sake of understanding, knowledge or power that wounded me deeply.

I profess with my word that these things were wrong and I know that now, but when you are wandering in the dark it’s hard to tell friend from foe. My first steps were in tests. If this flame will change color then there is truth to these words. I wanted to see a response, and I received one. Well if that worked what else will work?

Down the slope I went until I began to allow spirits, demons, into my being. I swore oaths turning myself over as a vessel for the evil ones to use. With these words I allowed them to do with me what they would. It was depravity after another as I carved out sections of who I am and who I was becoming to allow them to do with me what they will.

For my seeking I did receive knowledge and wisdom through my folly. However, by knowing the names of demons, they also learn yours. As you go deeper and deeper into the abyss you see things that you cannot unsee. You learn things that you cannot forget. And you do things that you cannot undo. I had become a man filled with Hate, Lust, Anger, Destruction and filled with dreams of a truly violent death and being happy with it.

I am very glad that things happened when they did. God is good. He warned me to turn away, but I would not listen. Who knows how many demons where walking around in my flesh at any point in time. Was I hearing voices? No… just thoughts. Was I schizophrenic? No… Possession is much different from that. When you open yourself up to the demonic host, you get what they want… not what you want.

All of this was done with words. I swore oaths. Dedicated myself to thoughts and uttered blasphemies. Many of them I can still bring to mind even now. I have not spoken those words in over 5 years, but I still hear them. I denounced my salvation, my right and privilege as a child of God. But even with that, God did not give up on me.

I was the wayward son, lost in the depths of the ocean. He was waiting on me to make my choice and to say the words that he told me to say. All I had to do was ask for forgiveness.

As a fool’s tongue leads to strife and folly (Proverbs 18), only with wisdom gained from folly did I see how much of a fool I had become. I had to be put in a situation where there was nothing to distract me from the truth. I needed my Grey Door.

Upon my release from my Grey Door, my journey was only still beginning. I was a new child of God once more, but my tongue had still opened doors that were not yet closed. I had not done this alone either, and because it was with a union of souls with my wife. We had to be separated for God to begin working on us.

We began receiving counseling. We had a church that supported us as we were a challenge to the leadership of the church. Thank God for Providence Road Church of Christ (http://prcoc.org). We were going to Celebrate Recovery on top of the therapy. Our counselor quickly realized that we were outside her area of expertise and had found someone in the area that works on people with Occult pasts.

Clay Barnes met with us. He was the one that shined the light of the true power of words. In the first session I found myself renouncing oaths with the same verbiage that I used when speaking them. They had to be the same in order to close the doors that were opened. He too felt that we needed something rare. He suggested Deliverance Ministry.

We went into it and again had to be separated. The spirits within myself and my wife could not be removed is we were together. We went through six one-hour long sessions before we were turned back over to Clay. It was a very long process and we came a long way. Still It’s been three years since we finished with that and only now am I speaking about the power of words.

Still now, still so young in Christ with everything that I have seen and gone through. James knew what he was talking about:

“So too, though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things. Consider how large a forest a small fire ignites. And the tongue is a fire. The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is places among the parts of our bodies. It pollutes the whole body, sets the course of life on fire, and is set on fire by hell” James 3:5-6

So what’s next? It is time for the truth to spew forth from my mouth. With that said. Mind your tongue; do not let it become wild and untamed. My journey is not one I wish any of you to follow. I was Christian, then nothing. I then became Wiccan then a practitioner of Witchcraft. From there I became a Satanist. I became a leader for the enemy. Then I became nothing once more, which was better than what I was, and then once more a Child of God. I came back home and the Father was waiting for me.

If I can blaspheme his name, renounce his gifts, spit on his image, walk with those that would stand against him and make friends among the demons of hell and he forgives me…. I know he would forgive you.

Where's Your Seed?

The old parable that calls back to me on many occasions is the one about the three different kinds of soil. You have the seeds cast in with rocky soil; thrown among the thorns; thrown to the way side, and then finally you have the good soil. The parable has always been taught to me to be about the condition of someone’s heart when you or someone approaches them about the message of God. For me I get a little bit of a different message about this passage.

Something that always rang to me is how much tending needs to be done to make the soil good soil. For a long time I have seen myself to be the seed that was thrown among the thorns. It’s got good dirt, but the thorns make it difficult to grow. Looking through life that is how much of my life has been. I get a good spell right after the garden’s been weeded. Go for a while then the thorns grow right back up around me.

Let’s be clear, none of us were gifted with the perfect soil. Everyone that has started a new garden will know that no patch of ground is perfect. Things were growing there before, there are rocks in the dirt and many times it takes many years of tending before you have good dirt. Now that is not to say that it does not help to have the soil prepared for you. I see this as people that were raised in good Christian homes. That does not mean that your seed cannot fall to the wayside, and certainly doesn’t mean that if left alone that thorns and weeds cannot creep back into the garden.

The biggest issue with good healthy dirt is that it is good healthy dirt. Thorns and weeds love to grow in the same place as fruits and vegetables.  You must always tend to your soil. But back to what I’m talking about today. Each of us has inherited this plot of soil that is who we are. This is our heart, mind, body and soul. There are many things that factor into how hard, rocky, thorny or good our soil is. A strong seed can grow in nearly any condition. It’s just harder.

Why is it important to know what kind of dirt you have? Well once you know what you are working with you will know how much work will needed to be put into it. Also the more work you put into it the better it will grow. Any dirt can become good dirt. It takes TLC. The worse your dirt is the more you have to do to fix it. That is part of how we grow as Christians, and as people for that matter.

I started out with really fertile soil, yeah there were plenty of rocks in it, but it had been worked for me for a few years to start out life. The problem is, it was left untended for a good number of years. By the time I first walked to Christ, I had plenty of rocks still there and the weeds had taken over. But the dirt was fertile.

The seed took root and grew. The weeds had been cleared out enough for this one seed. That wasn’t enough. The weeds liked the dirt and grew back up. Well then I began to ignore it even more and threw more junk in the garden. Bottles, cans, distractions, magazines, people and many other things were thrown in this place. I then realized how much of a mess all that had become wanted to pave over it with something else.

Shopping around I found the thing that was as different from the garden as I could. The salesman was good, “You want knowledge, wisdom, understanding and power… I’ve got all that for you. All you got to do is add a little water, mix it up and poor it over all that and you’ll never see it again. Once you’ve done that you can do whatever you want. Risk free! Satisfaction Guaranteed! No conviction, just pleasure and indulgence.”

“Hell yeah, where do I sign!” was my reply.

Hell indeed. So now this fertile ground was covered in a slab of concrete. When I fell I hit this concrete and it did not give way. Jesus then showed up with a sledgehammer and a shovel. You’ve got the dirt down there, all we have to do is get back to it and get it cleaned up. Here I’ll help. Jesus then began breaking the concrete.

If you have read the “Grey Door” then you know this portion of the story. For 115 days Jesus pounded away at the concrete. Somewhere in there I began to help. We got back down to the soil and started clearing it out. Man it has been hard work. Still 5 years later, people still see all the junk in my garden. Those that do not know Christ says, “Man what a mess you are. I can’t help you.”

This is not my concern though… The story that I have to hear to keep my strength is with the ones that look at my garden and say, “Wow, you’ve come a long way. You’ve got a ways to go, can I help. If you need another shovel just let me know.” These people are my brothers and sisters. My garden is still a mess, but it’s a work in progress. Luckily God loves works in progress just as much as he loves the well-tended gardens.

Mark 4:3-9, Ecclesiastes 4:7-12, 1 Timothy 1:12-17, 6:12-16

Standing for Beliefs

“If you do not believe in something you will fall for anything.” That quote is one that I’m sure everyone has heard more than once. It’s sound advice. We all also have heard stories of people that stood up for what they believed in no matter what the cost. Some of these stories appall us, others yet, excite us.

The moments that really take hold are the ones that inspire awe in us. These range from Rosa Parks to Ghandi to the founding fathers of this county. They also go to people that are less known such as the monks that set themselves on fire in protest, to the man in Gastonia, NC that robbed a bank for one dollar just to get medical treatment. They can be figures that will be remembered for ages to come like Jesus Christ, to the man that will be forgotten tomorrow.

As Christians we are told that by our faith we shall be known. We are told there is a way that we should act. Look through the first few books of the New Testament and we are slammed with expectations. Jesus tells us to be more like him each and every day. To do that we must go against the grain of society, culture and modern thought. To go even further, we have to go against the policies of the companies in which we work for. But to do that costs. We have to go against injustice, reach out and help people.

Paul went to jail for the rest of his life, when with a few simple words, he could have lived as a free man. Jesus went to his death with Pilot trying to get him to phrase “Truth” in an angle that lead to un-truth, when he could have so easily said something to set him free. Rosa Parks could have given that white boy her seat. What kept them from taking the easy way out? It wasn’t right, it was against their ideals. They stopped accepting, “Well that’s the way it’s always been done.”

Just because that’s the way it was done does not make it right. Today the world is in uproar. Look all over the world and there are protests and people fighting for change because things today are not right. When a man is turned away from a hospital because he does not have the money to get the surgery that he needs, that is just not right. But yet we support the systems that make this possible and accept that is the way of it.

I understand the concept of obeying the laws of the land, but do we have to accept them? What if a law goes directly against something we believe in? What if it goes against a teaching in the bible? Do we still accept it? We give unto Cesar what it Ceaser’s, but when do we do like Moses and make them let out people go? How many of you do not like what is on TV these days, but still have cable? If you do not like something, but you accept it and continue to let it come into your home… who’s at fault?

The world is not our own and our bodies are made of sin and are of this world. Newton’s laws of physics proves that change takes action and is hard. “An object at rest will remain at rest.” Even bigger than that, “An object in motion will remain in motion until it meets equal and opposite force.” So, if we are in a routine of sin, it takes at least as much effort to stop. So what does it take to turn us in the other direction? To change what we are doing instead of just stopping, well it takes more. You have to put in more effort to make a life change than the force effecting us in sin.

 That is why I believe that as Christians many of us continue accepting the way the world is. Think about how hard you would have to push back to get the entire world to change from the way it is currently going? That would be humanly impossible, alone. That is why we have another idea ingrained in our heads. We are each part of a greater whole. We cannot be as big of an impact as Jesus by ourselves, it requires all of us working together to make this change.

This change that I am talking about it not just a single change, no it is a complete change. We must stand up for our ideals, our beliefs, and more importantly for one another. “This fight is one that we cannot win alone,” said Dane Johnson. He is exactly right as well. We are fighting a world that wants us to accept the way things are. It wants us to be a cog in the machine and just live life according to the way things are planned out for us.

I mean we have our lives plotted out for us in a simple checklist:

Go to school, get good grades, graduate, go to college, get a job, get married, get a house, have a family, send them to school, make sure they continue to do the checklist, pay taxes along the way and die.

Along the way we get little add-ins that society tells us we have to do to be accepted. Dress a certain way, eat certain things, get credit cards, go in debt. I mean even as we look at the way the financial market is right now. We have to have credit to buy a house, a car or even to have certain jobs. Yet the bible tells us PLAINLY to not lend nor borrow. As we get in debt, we use it to live beyond our means, which leads us to more debt.

So are you a Christian? Do you live by these models? Why?

I am tired of hearing Christians say, “It’s the way society is, and we can’t change it.” I say that if we are going to be more like Jesus, YES we can change it. Do not accept that the world is broken and just “Paint over the wallpaper.” We are being that are told to go into the world and make disciples of the world. If the world were disciples then the world would change.

Do not accept the status quo. Do not accept that’s the way things are. Do not do it because I said so. Do it because it is what Christ asked us to do. Help your fellow man, and help see the love of God. We can change the world; we have been as a people for thousands of years. Let’s not stop today, let’s not stop now.

If you do not believe in Corprate Greed, stop Supporting It! If you don’t want crap on your TV, stop Watching It! If you are against the Debt System, stop using it! If you do not like a company, stop shopping with them. Do not accept that’s the way it is, or I have to because society tells you to. Take a step closer to Christ. If we continue to support the system that is degrading society and pulling it further and further away from what God would want, we are just as guilty when we fall into line. Make a change starting with the person you look at in the mirror each morning, then to your home, then in how you live your life.

Make changes in your life, and make a difference in the world. Opinions always welcome.

Impact, a challenge to pagans

With the Lord has done so much in my life, fulfilling prophecy that was given to me years ago. Those words that I felt at the age of 11 ring out to me today. That promise he made me, “You were here in the beginning, and you will be here in the end.”

God has always had something planned for me. It does not seem to me that it is “ordinary.” I do not claim to be extraordinary or special. I have just taken a walk that, Thankfully, not so many have taken. Those that have, unfortunately, did not find their way back out, or have not yet.

The ministry, if you will, that I feel may be in my future is not an easy one. Not that ministry is easy. Taking people with Occult backgrounds and either drawing them to Christ Jesus or helping those people heal. Ironic, bringing pagans to Christ, that was the mission so many people in the bible was tasked with.

Idolotry is something that this country, nay, this world has issues with. The worshiping the all mighty dollar and those worldly possessions, however, is not what I am talking about. No, I am talking about those that worship false gods. The worship of the Great Mother, Diana, Odin, Loki, Ares, Athena etc. is for fools. These figures are like Gods as the Angles are to The God. 1^st Corinthians 10:18-19 tells us a truth that I knew even when I was not a Christian! When I was in darkness, as now when I am in the Light of the Lord, this truth is sound. These pagan gods are only Demons and Fallen Angels in guise. Lucifer’s former heavenly host.

I will not dispute the existence of beings that prey off followers of these idols. They want you to worship them to take you away from God. Many pagans are fine with this as well. They would not be pagan if they loved God. So these angels that fell from Gods grace use this void put on a mask and draw victims into dark places. They draw them to a place where they hide themselves away from Gods light. They take you to a place where they can whisper lies to you.

Brutalness is just. Might is Right! If you do this ritual, you can be with child. If you make this oath I will reward you with Power, Love, Money, Strength and/or Courage. If you let me in, I’ll give you even more! This is a Lie! These are false promises. They MAY give it to you on short term, but the damages left behind is simply not worth it. And I am not even talking about after you die and what your soul will be forced to endure.

I know this to be true, because I walked it. There is only death from the worship of idols. Pagans do not want to hear this truth. You want to believe in the Gods and Goddesses that you chose to follow. You want to be so in the face of every Christian so that you can have justification for your opinion that Christians only want to cast you aside and shun you. You want to make Christians persecute you so you can say you are persecuted.

I challenge each and every one of you to this. Give Christians an honest chance to show you love and the love of God. Do this without being argumentative and hatemongering, and you will see what you get from them. “Hate begets hate, but Love brings forth love.” The love that the one true God has for you is pure and it is just. If you allow yourself to open up to him and allow him into your heart, then you will know what Love is.