Perhaps I have not made some things clear with regard to this blog.
After receiving some "odd" responses, which I refused to allow to grace these pages, I feel compelled to make a few things clear concerning what the purpose of these pages are and what they are not.
What It Is
This "blog" is first and foremost to give Glory to my Heavenly Father.
Second, it is a bit of a map of the journey I travel on this earth since the Lord saved my soul.
Third, it is a place where those that the Lord has saved can respond freely without fear of harsh judgment and cruelty; a place where friendly dialogue can take place.
What it is NOT
This blog is not a place for those with differing religious or even atheistic viewpoints to come and attack the beliefs expressed here, nor is it a place where you may come verbally beat me up because of your own lack of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and/or your hatred of mine.
You see, my faith, my beliefs, my salvation, and my earnest desire to follow my Lord are not up for debate. Therefore, I'll not entertain these sorts of posts. Hence the reason all comments are moderated.
"Because that, when they knew God, they glorified [him] not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
And even as they did not like to retain God in [their] knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them."
Romans 1:21-22; 28-32
Thursday
Fundamental Errors of The New Age Belief System
"Fundamental Errors of The New Age Belief System"
(c) EMCL - May not be copied or otherwise used or distributed without express written permission from the author.
Before any meaningful dialogue can take place on any subject matter, it is necessary to define terms ahead of time so as to eliminate the chances of misunderstanding.
As the New Age belief system encompasses many things, for the purposes of this dialogue, I will use the term New Age to describe those with beliefs in the following:
1) That God resides within us all.
2) That earth is a grand experiment from other life forms on other planets.
3) That aliens, angels, and other beings called "ascended masters" walk among us in human form, having either a) been reincarnated into physical form or b) having taken over by the means of a soul exchange, a human being.
4) That lifeless objects such as gemstones, crystals and statues of certain deities have consciousness; life.
5) That someday, there will be those that are made one with God and become pure spirit without death, by means of their own spiritual evolution, because of their own hard work in evolving spiritually. This is called the ascension movement.
6) That humanity suffers illness due to their thought processes alone.
7) That spiritual communication with angels, guides, and ascended masters is possible and more to the point, a necessary part of their spirituality.
8) That the Bible is a lie.
Now, certainly there are many more errors found within their belief system, but these are the primary ones I will address.
Due to the limited space allowed per blog page, I will cover the first 3 only in this entry and carry on with the others in subsequent entries.
Starting with #1 - God resides within us all. No, He doesn't.
The Bible is quite clear on this.
Ephesians 2: 1-9
"And you [hath he quickened], who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised [us] up together, and made [us] sit together in heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in [his] kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."
First of all, note, this is not written to the unsaved. It is written to those whom the Lord has saved and what was our condition before that salvation? Verse 1 clearly states we were dead. That word "dead" in verse 1 comes from the Greek word "nekros", which means "lifeless."
I know of nothing a dead person can do for themselves and these verses make it very plain that there is nothing indeed that we as humans can do in that condition. Dead people are just that; dead.
Further, in verse 2 it is clear that the spirit that works in the children of disobedience is not God, but rather the prince of the power of the air - also known as satan.
Therefore, God does not dwell within every human being.
#2 That the earth is a grand experiment from life forms on other planets.
Again, this is something totally against Scripture.
We need go no further than the book of Genesis to answer this.
Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."
And further in Genesis 1:27 "So God created man in his [own] image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."
#3 - I am of the belief that angels can and certainly do still upon occasion appear to human beings in times of dire distress. However, there is nothing in Scripture that indicates they live among us.
There is nothing in Scripture concerning alien life forms from other planets.
The belief in "ascended masters" has its roots in Theosophy and was made popular in the US primarily by the efforts of one woman named H.P. Blavatsky and her "conversations" with these beings that claim to be the spirits of those who by their own efforts had become "self realised" - that means to be aware of their complete and indivisible union with God, and were able to somehow "by-pass" death through their own efforts and become pure spirit - however, they believe that some of these beings, in order to serve mankind, come back to earth in human form.
PURE WICKEDNESS! It's trusting in works, it is NOT Scriptural, and further, it is my firm belief that those spirits with whom Blavatsky spoke are nothing less than demons from satan himself.
Lastly, as God has given mankind a soul, I do not believe that other beings may come and steal it away, leaving another soul in its place even if a person has agreed to such.
Going back to Ephesians 2:1 we find, "Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: "
Although written to Christians, it is easily understood from this verse that there are only two powers that work in humanity. Either one belongs to the Lord and serves Him, or one serves another spirit, that of satan.
Demonic possession is very possible as can be seen from the number of people who had demons cast out of them by Jesus during His earthly ministry, as written in the four gospels.
I assure you, as one who has been on the other side of this mess, that possession is very real, very ugly, and if God does not intervene, it shatters the life of one possessed completely.
1 John 5:21
Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.
(c) EMCL - May not be copied or otherwise used or distributed without express written permission from the author.
Before any meaningful dialogue can take place on any subject matter, it is necessary to define terms ahead of time so as to eliminate the chances of misunderstanding.
As the New Age belief system encompasses many things, for the purposes of this dialogue, I will use the term New Age to describe those with beliefs in the following:
1) That God resides within us all.
2) That earth is a grand experiment from other life forms on other planets.
3) That aliens, angels, and other beings called "ascended masters" walk among us in human form, having either a) been reincarnated into physical form or b) having taken over by the means of a soul exchange, a human being.
4) That lifeless objects such as gemstones, crystals and statues of certain deities have consciousness; life.
5) That someday, there will be those that are made one with God and become pure spirit without death, by means of their own spiritual evolution, because of their own hard work in evolving spiritually. This is called the ascension movement.
6) That humanity suffers illness due to their thought processes alone.
7) That spiritual communication with angels, guides, and ascended masters is possible and more to the point, a necessary part of their spirituality.
8) That the Bible is a lie.
Now, certainly there are many more errors found within their belief system, but these are the primary ones I will address.
Due to the limited space allowed per blog page, I will cover the first 3 only in this entry and carry on with the others in subsequent entries.
Starting with #1 - God resides within us all. No, He doesn't.
The Bible is quite clear on this.
Ephesians 2: 1-9
"And you [hath he quickened], who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised [us] up together, and made [us] sit together in heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in [his] kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."
First of all, note, this is not written to the unsaved. It is written to those whom the Lord has saved and what was our condition before that salvation? Verse 1 clearly states we were dead. That word "dead" in verse 1 comes from the Greek word "nekros", which means "lifeless."
I know of nothing a dead person can do for themselves and these verses make it very plain that there is nothing indeed that we as humans can do in that condition. Dead people are just that; dead.
Further, in verse 2 it is clear that the spirit that works in the children of disobedience is not God, but rather the prince of the power of the air - also known as satan.
Therefore, God does not dwell within every human being.
#2 That the earth is a grand experiment from life forms on other planets.
Again, this is something totally against Scripture.
We need go no further than the book of Genesis to answer this.
Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."
And further in Genesis 1:27 "So God created man in his [own] image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."
#3 - I am of the belief that angels can and certainly do still upon occasion appear to human beings in times of dire distress. However, there is nothing in Scripture that indicates they live among us.
There is nothing in Scripture concerning alien life forms from other planets.
The belief in "ascended masters" has its roots in Theosophy and was made popular in the US primarily by the efforts of one woman named H.P. Blavatsky and her "conversations" with these beings that claim to be the spirits of those who by their own efforts had become "self realised" - that means to be aware of their complete and indivisible union with God, and were able to somehow "by-pass" death through their own efforts and become pure spirit - however, they believe that some of these beings, in order to serve mankind, come back to earth in human form.
PURE WICKEDNESS! It's trusting in works, it is NOT Scriptural, and further, it is my firm belief that those spirits with whom Blavatsky spoke are nothing less than demons from satan himself.
Lastly, as God has given mankind a soul, I do not believe that other beings may come and steal it away, leaving another soul in its place even if a person has agreed to such.
Going back to Ephesians 2:1 we find, "Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: "
Although written to Christians, it is easily understood from this verse that there are only two powers that work in humanity. Either one belongs to the Lord and serves Him, or one serves another spirit, that of satan.
Demonic possession is very possible as can be seen from the number of people who had demons cast out of them by Jesus during His earthly ministry, as written in the four gospels.
I assure you, as one who has been on the other side of this mess, that possession is very real, very ugly, and if God does not intervene, it shatters the life of one possessed completely.
1 John 5:21
Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.
For C D of the Desert - Much loved dear Sister of mine. =)
Mat 7:15 Beware of false Prophets, which come to you in sheeps clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves,
Mat 7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns? or figs of thistles?
Mat 7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit. But a corrupt tree, bringeth forth evil fruit,
Mat 7:18 A good tree can not bring forth bad fruit: neither can a rotten tree bring forth good fruit.
Mat 7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit, shall be hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Mat 7:20 Wherfore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Mat 7:21 Not all they that say unto me, LORD LORD, shall enter in to the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22 Many shall say to me in that day: LORD, LORD: have we not prophesied in thy name? Have we not cast out devils in thy name? Have we not done many great deeds in thy name?
Mat 7:23 And then will I knowlege unto them: I never knew you, Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity.
The above quote is taken from the Tyndale New Testament. All that has been changed is that the spellings have been modified to our present day English spelling. For anyone reading this, and desiring a copy of the FIRST ENGLISH New Testament, they are available through Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk for a very reasonable price. (I have provided a link to the Tyndale site to the left of this blog.)
It is a little known fact that Tyndale gave his life in order to translate from the Greek, a New Testament in the English language and he also did a great deal of work on the Old Testament before the Catholics stirred up the authorities and had him killed for daring to translate the Scriptures into English.
Tyndale never got the credit he deserved in an earthly sense for it was his work that was used extensively to create the Geneva Bible and of course, it was the Geneva Bible and Tyndale's work that was used for the KJV we now have.
So much for long introductions... =)
My dear desert pal wishes to discuss more of the mysterious ways of the Holy Spirit and how these have been distorted and used in paganism.
Well, we see above in the Scriptures quoted, that there are many that will "do things" in the name of the Lord and the Lord does not commit Himself to them, and tells them to depart, that He never knew them.
I've known witches that actually said, "I can talk christian." And they could! But this shouldn't really come as any surprise for the Bible clearly tells us
James 2:19,
"Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble."
The devils have more sense than human beings. Sad state of affairs!
So from what I have seen, there are people still today looking for miracles, signs and wonders as proof of God's existence. Yet the Bible clearly teaches us in the book of
Matthew 16:1-4
The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.
He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, [It will be] fair weather: for the sky is red.
And in the morning, [It will be] foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O [ye] hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not [discern] the signs of the times?
"A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed."
I am not saying that our Lord is not in the miracle business today, for certainly my own salvation is nothing short of just that!
Yet, I think it's important to realise that there are those in this world that proclaim to do miracles, signs and wonders in the name of Jesus and Jesus never knew them and He will tell them so in time to come.
Certainly, I do not believe the circus side shows televised on so-called christian television are of the Lord for many reasons, not the least of which is due to the fact that our Heavenly Father is not the author of confusion and works in a way that is clear and orderly.
And that's my "brief" outline regarding so-called miracle workers of today in religious circles.
I'll go into more of the New Age/Pagan tendancies in my next post.
Mat 7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns? or figs of thistles?
Mat 7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit. But a corrupt tree, bringeth forth evil fruit,
Mat 7:18 A good tree can not bring forth bad fruit: neither can a rotten tree bring forth good fruit.
Mat 7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit, shall be hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Mat 7:20 Wherfore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Mat 7:21 Not all they that say unto me, LORD LORD, shall enter in to the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22 Many shall say to me in that day: LORD, LORD: have we not prophesied in thy name? Have we not cast out devils in thy name? Have we not done many great deeds in thy name?
Mat 7:23 And then will I knowlege unto them: I never knew you, Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity.
The above quote is taken from the Tyndale New Testament. All that has been changed is that the spellings have been modified to our present day English spelling. For anyone reading this, and desiring a copy of the FIRST ENGLISH New Testament, they are available through Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk for a very reasonable price. (I have provided a link to the Tyndale site to the left of this blog.)
It is a little known fact that Tyndale gave his life in order to translate from the Greek, a New Testament in the English language and he also did a great deal of work on the Old Testament before the Catholics stirred up the authorities and had him killed for daring to translate the Scriptures into English.
Tyndale never got the credit he deserved in an earthly sense for it was his work that was used extensively to create the Geneva Bible and of course, it was the Geneva Bible and Tyndale's work that was used for the KJV we now have.
So much for long introductions... =)
My dear desert pal wishes to discuss more of the mysterious ways of the Holy Spirit and how these have been distorted and used in paganism.
Well, we see above in the Scriptures quoted, that there are many that will "do things" in the name of the Lord and the Lord does not commit Himself to them, and tells them to depart, that He never knew them.
I've known witches that actually said, "I can talk christian." And they could! But this shouldn't really come as any surprise for the Bible clearly tells us
James 2:19,
"Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble."
The devils have more sense than human beings. Sad state of affairs!
So from what I have seen, there are people still today looking for miracles, signs and wonders as proof of God's existence. Yet the Bible clearly teaches us in the book of
Matthew 16:1-4
The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.
He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, [It will be] fair weather: for the sky is red.
And in the morning, [It will be] foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O [ye] hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not [discern] the signs of the times?
"A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed."
I am not saying that our Lord is not in the miracle business today, for certainly my own salvation is nothing short of just that!
Yet, I think it's important to realise that there are those in this world that proclaim to do miracles, signs and wonders in the name of Jesus and Jesus never knew them and He will tell them so in time to come.
Certainly, I do not believe the circus side shows televised on so-called christian television are of the Lord for many reasons, not the least of which is due to the fact that our Heavenly Father is not the author of confusion and works in a way that is clear and orderly.
And that's my "brief" outline regarding so-called miracle workers of today in religious circles.
I'll go into more of the New Age/Pagan tendancies in my next post.
Friday
Temptation and Testimony
"My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not." Proverbs 1:10
It was bound to happen and it did.
I got a telephone call from across the ocean; someone wanting me to help them "see their future" because they couldn't tell "what was going on" in their life.
I told this person I don't do that anymore and they wanted to know why. Well... they DID ask, and they weren't happy with the answer either.
This person tried every trick available to them to get me to fall back into my old way of life.
I was told what a phenomenal healer I was; what a phenomenal mystic I was and why on earth did I want to give all that up?
Faster and faster they talked, growing more and more nervous and there was a hint of fear and then anger in their voice.
I tried to explain that all I need is found in the Lord and all the guidance I need is found in His Word, but it seemed the words fell on deaf ears.
The call ended with that person sounding upset and angry, after 27 minutes of grilling me and trying to push that old paganism down my throat at every turn.
Well, that person is at the top of my prayer list now. =)
"But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil." Proverbs 1:33
It was bound to happen and it did.
I got a telephone call from across the ocean; someone wanting me to help them "see their future" because they couldn't tell "what was going on" in their life.
I told this person I don't do that anymore and they wanted to know why. Well... they DID ask, and they weren't happy with the answer either.
This person tried every trick available to them to get me to fall back into my old way of life.
I was told what a phenomenal healer I was; what a phenomenal mystic I was and why on earth did I want to give all that up?
Faster and faster they talked, growing more and more nervous and there was a hint of fear and then anger in their voice.
I tried to explain that all I need is found in the Lord and all the guidance I need is found in His Word, but it seemed the words fell on deaf ears.
The call ended with that person sounding upset and angry, after 27 minutes of grilling me and trying to push that old paganism down my throat at every turn.
Well, that person is at the top of my prayer list now. =)
"But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil." Proverbs 1:33
Monday
Thoughts of being in my Lord's Presence
When I think of the promises of being in the presence of my Lord, I am utterly overwhelmed.
To think that He would grant me 1 inch in His presence causes my head to fall in shame as I know I DO NOT deserve it!
And yet, He loves me - with a love so great that every wrong thing I've ever done, every wrong thing I will ever do, every bit of wickedness that resides in this body - He paid for with precious, Holy Blood enduring not only the pain of rejection and betrayal, the actual physical pain of His torture and ultimate cruxifiction, but He took my place and faced the most horrible isolation possible so that His own would never have to face it - that of God having to turn His back upon Him as He bore the innumerable sins of His children.
There is no human logic that can account for why my Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, did this for someone like me.
And so I sit in amazement of His wonderous mercies, totally bankrupt without Him and the love and salvation He has chosen to expend upon the wretched, vile person that I am.
"And you [hath he quickened], who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
And hath raised [us] up together, and made [us] sit together in heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus:
That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in [his] kindness toward us through Christ Jesus."
Ephesians 2:1-7
To think that He would grant me 1 inch in His presence causes my head to fall in shame as I know I DO NOT deserve it!
And yet, He loves me - with a love so great that every wrong thing I've ever done, every wrong thing I will ever do, every bit of wickedness that resides in this body - He paid for with precious, Holy Blood enduring not only the pain of rejection and betrayal, the actual physical pain of His torture and ultimate cruxifiction, but He took my place and faced the most horrible isolation possible so that His own would never have to face it - that of God having to turn His back upon Him as He bore the innumerable sins of His children.
There is no human logic that can account for why my Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, did this for someone like me.
And so I sit in amazement of His wonderous mercies, totally bankrupt without Him and the love and salvation He has chosen to expend upon the wretched, vile person that I am.
"And you [hath he quickened], who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
And hath raised [us] up together, and made [us] sit together in heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus:
That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in [his] kindness toward us through Christ Jesus."
Ephesians 2:1-7
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