I must repent
He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends. – Proverbs 17:9 (NIV)
As I read this verse today I became aware of what it means. I’ve read it before, many times, I have always understood it (I thought). But, today it pointed to sin in my life and took on it’s truest form, “..the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:11-13. Today that verse, His Word, pointed to the many times I’ve gossiped about mistakes, sins and faults of others. I feel shame about the gossip I’ve involved myself in, but my overiding feeling is one of relief. I’m relieved that my prayers, that, the Lord will continue renewing me are answered. I feel fortunate that the Creator has taken time from His day to correct me. (Makes me feel that I’m important to Him.)
Anyone who reads God’s word will realize that often we read part of the Bible one time, only to read it again later and see something that totally escaped us at the first reading. Isn’t this why it’s the living Word? Jesus is still living and shaping us through His word. Awesome stuff.
A brother pointed out to me, recently, men will often set standards that are always just out of our reach. When we do not reach the standard they hold our failure against us and may never forget it. Jesus, sets those standards even higher than men. He then gives us the Spirit, He gives us His Word, He gives us whatever we need to reach the standard. If we still manage to fail to reach the standard, Jesus forgives, forgets and starts us on the right path again.
That’s what happened to me today. He put His Word in front of me and corrected my course. I thank you for that Jesus. I thank you Jesus for the people in my life who choose to be Spirit led, who help you correct my course. You are an awesome God.
Be Holy, Be Useful, Love, Be Relevant
Steve
Psalm 37:
23 If the LORD delights in a man’s way,
he makes his steps firm;
24 though he stumble, he will not fall,
for the LORD upholds him with his hand.
Generational Curses, Demon possessed children of God and other Charismatic Voodoo (part 3)
There’s power in the blood, power in the blood;
Would you over evil a victory win?
There’s wonderful power in the blood.
There is power, power, wonder working power
In the blood of the Lamb;
There is power, power, wonder working power
In the precious blood of the Lamb.
(Words & Music by Lewis E. Jones, 1899)
The writer of this wonderful old hymn obviously understood the power released by the events at Calvary. He understood the work the Lord Jesus did was awesome and complete. Why is it some among us no longer understand this? I wonder when it was that some lost that faith and knowledge? I believe the Gospel is being watered down by those who preach a Christ defeated theology. There are those in this world, possibly even in your church, who teach and believe that generational curses, demon oppression, and demon possession are the cause of many problems for Christians today. Many emotional, psychological, financial and physical problems are blamed on curses and evil spirits. But, what does God’s word say to the believer about all of this? What God says is most important; if what we are taught has no foundation in God’s word, then that teaching is harmful and must not be believed. Paul wrote, “faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” Therefore, if we hear the truth of the Gospel, our faith will be increased. In the same way, if we hear and believe a lie our faith will be diminished. We must be certain we are teaching our brothers and sisters the truth so that their faith is built up and not destroyed.
The Christian should know that our “enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” and that, “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) However, the fully devoted follower of Christ needs to also know the victory of Jesus over sin was absolute and that He alone is Almighty. His word says we’ve been purchased with the Blood of Christ for God, that he has died as a ransom to free us from all sin, we have been forgiven all sin and that we are totally sanctified in Christ.
All false teachings diminish the faith of those who fall for them. On the surface, false teachings appear to be godly concepts, however, they fail to acknowledge the power of the Blood of Christ to wash all sin away completely and finally in the Believer. In fact false teachings insinuate that Jesus had less than a total victory on the cross. Belief in these or any other false teachings will weaken your armor, they will dim the Glory that abides in you till it’s light is too dim to drive out the darkness. When you read your New Testament you’ll notice that generational curses, legal claims of Satan and demon possessed believers are never mentioned. However, by a quick count, seven or eight times we are warned against false teachers or prophets. It’s obvious that the writers of the books in the New Testament and Jesus himself considered false teachers and prophets to be the more dangerous to the body of Christ.
I believe one problem in the church is that egotistical and false spirituality is actively taught and sought after. For example, during prayer I heard one of our young people stop praying and she said, “I’m not getting anything, nothings happening.” Shame on us, for this is evidence that we’ve falsely led our young ones to believe that we should feel this or experience that in order to know the Holy Spirit is moving. I’ve heard men and children in the church make fun of other churches (denominations) and judge them as not having the Holy Spirit. I’ve heard men and women in the church judge others as not being saved or not possessing the Holy Spirit. Why is this arrogance tolerated in the body of Christ? True and Holy Spirituality does not build itself up by looking down it’s nose at others. True and Holy Spirituality, has to do with a relationship with the Almighty. True and Holy Spirituality knows that the Holy Spirit is working no matter what we are experiencing or feeling. At times it seems that outlandish and controversial doctrines are sought, believed and taught just to get a spiritual high or to make us look more spiritual. We should not worship or teach, to excite others or ourselves. We teach and worship to exalt the Most High God and to build the faith of others and ourselves. I believe that if we compare ourselves to the Son of God we will find that none of us are very Spiritual.
Who has bewitched our Savior’s church? Who is it that is destroying our faith with superstitions, wives tales, myths and voodoo? We allow it by giving more credibility to inaccurate teachers and prophets who are half right, than we do the perfect Word of God. Some have fallen in love with false teachings given by those who call themselves prophets, who themselves admit they are not perfectly accurate? Many in the church appear to believe that books by Half Prophets (prophets who are half right) about the Bible, carry more weight than the Bible. For example, Jesus taught the apostles to pray using less than fifty words; yet, Half Prophets of today would have us send our children to school and spend big money to learn the same thing. Half Prophets tell us we need to travel great distances and pay large sums of money to be taught to use our gifts. We’re to buy their books to read, so we may develop our gifts. (Paying for your free gifts to work?) When God’s Holy Spirit anoints a person that anointing is complete and perfect. This modern notion that the gifts of the Holy Spirit must be learned has no basis in the Word of God. When the gifts of the Spirit of God are given to a person, that person will immediately heal the sick, speak in foreign languages or edify the brothers with prophecy (to name only a few gifts). God’s gifts are perfect, complete and pure, as He is.
I don’t know if Half Prophets are evil or bad people, I only know they are wrong. They seem to say and do awesome things that exalt the Lord, however, their doctrine is destructive. At times some of them behave more like fortunetellers than Godly Prophets. They teach us that Old Testament things such as curses, spirits, hidden family sin and legal claims of the devil bind us. They fail to remind us that the Old Testament also says prophets of God are always correct. (Duet 18 ) They do not affirm that Jesus had total victory on the cross, thereby, implying He was defeated. We need to ask ourselves why the Holy God of Israel needs an inaccurate modern day Half Prophet to validate His Ancient, Holy, Complete and Perfect Word. Are we to believe that He who is Perfect, who sacrificed His only begotten Son, would trust us to prophets who are not absolutely correct, leaving us to figure out for ourselves that which is correct and which is not? I say, “..He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake..” I say wake up and strengthen what remains of your faith. I have been told that the teachings of these Half Prophets are like chicken, I’m to eat the meat and throw away the bone! I tell you that the meat the Spirit of God feeds us is pure and “is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”(2 Timothy 3:15-17) He who serves tainted meat, which cannot be eaten, does not feed us meat from God. I like how “The Message” Bible states what Peter said in 2 Peter 1, “The main thing to keep in mind here is that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of private opinion. And why? Because it’s not something concocted in the human heart. Prophecy resulted when the Holy Spirit prompted men and women to speak God’s Word.” To me the Word of God says that true Prophets who the Holy Spirit is speaking through are always correct, and will never doubt that their own prophecy is exactly what God wants to say.
Do you want to successfully teach others to be fully devoted followers of the Lord Jesus? If so you must seek first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness. Do not allow false teaching in your church. Remove all the sources of the false prophet’s teachings from your church. (Videos, Cd’s, books, etc) Silence the false teachers and prophets in your midst. Be extremely careful who you allow to teach or even speak to the young. The Gospel means the Good News. The Good News is, “He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Build your church on a solid foundation of Word based faith. Have sound bible studies using the whole word of God, taught by humble men of God. Use teaching material that is time proven and which teaches sound doctrine. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” To love God’s Word is to love God. “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)
Our God is unchanging, all prophets, prophesies, fads and new revelations should be eyed with suspicion. “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.”(1 Thessalonians 5:21) Solomon was the wisest man ever on earth, until Jesus. Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 12:11-13 The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails—given by one Shepherd. Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them. Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body. Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”
( Be a shepherd Proverbs 27:23 Be diligent to know the state of your flocks, And attend to your herds)
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.
Generational Curses, Demon possessed children of God and other Charismatic Voodoo (part 2)
“Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest.” (Proverbs 26:2)
There is another teaching in small parts of the body of Christ. it is a heinous teaching which says, that, we as children of the Most High God, can have demons clinging to us, witches can oppress us with curses or the even more odious idea that the child of God can be possessed by evil spirits. This line of thought is a rejection of the Word of God. When Jesus even walked near an evil spirit they would scream out in fear and beg for His mercy. Mark, an eyewitness to many of the miracles of Jesus, wrote, “Whenever the evil spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” Yet we are led to believe that an evil spirit can dwell in us, in coexistence with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Others may say evil spirits or demons are attached to us like a leech sucking away the Blood of life. I have heard evil spirits and curses blamed for the consequences suffered for bad choices, unhealthy lifestyles and anti-biblical behavior. Spiritual warfare is real, Satan is real, the devil harassing and tempting us is real, but, God is Almighty is also true. Here is a fact: “We know [absolutely] that anyone born of God does not [deliberately and knowingly] practice committing sin, but the One Who was begotten of God carefully watches over and protects him [Christ's divine presence within him preserves him against the evil], and the wicked one does not lay hold (get a grip) on him or touch [him].”(1 John 5:18 ) You should also know “Little children, you are of God [you belong to Him] and have [already] defeated and overcome them [the agents of the antichrist], because He Who lives in you is greater (mightier) than he who is in the world.”(1 John 4:4) Paul writes in the book of Ephesians that the believer must “use the shield of faith with which you can stop all the burning arrows of the Evil One.” I believe that if the evil one comes close to the Glory of God, which abides in us, he will be destroyed. As a consequence he must stay so far away from us that he has to fling arrows at us from a distance. Those that would instill the fear of the devil clinging to us would do well to learn that “the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.”(2 Thessalonians 3:3) They that teach these things may not understand that “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”(1 John 4:18 ) Are you concerned about the devil and his schemes, do you fear that he may be oppressing you? If so, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you.”(James 4:7-8 ) The great and complete Victory of the Cross and the Power of the Blood is what should be taught. Jesus said, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (Additional reading: Psalm 34:7 “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.” Read Psalm 23)
The person who believes the Son of the Most High God, Jesus Christ, was crucified, died, buried and resurrected has powerful Protectors to be reckoned with. David wrote “The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” Notice he is not wishing or hoping that the Lord will be his Rock, David is stating a fact. Our covenant with God promises, “..in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:37-39 ) Notice that Paul believes even God’s own angels are not able to come between God and us, much less demons. When contemplating our relationship with our Lord to determine if He will keep the evil one away from us or let any curse affect us, we must consider the nature of God. We know God is Love. So then a partial description of His nature is, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” (1 Corinthians 13) By knowing the nature of God we know He’ll never fail to protect us or even remember the sin associated with us. We know that we are children of God and we know “every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.” (1 John 5:4) Where does our faith come from? It comes from reading and learning from what we know to be the inspired Word of God. This pure and perfect Word will never lead us astray. We must, “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. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6 )
Be noble. Be holy. Be useful. Be relevant.
Peace, Steve
Generational Curses, Demon possessed children of God and other Charismatic Voodoo (part 1)
I want to first address “generational curses” and the teaching of Satan having some kind of legal claim on believers of the Lord Jesus. Let me explain that I’m not talking about inherited physical problems or what I call “self-inflicted generational curses” i.e.: our parents made bad choices; they taught us to make these or worse choices, and we choose then to teach our children to make those same bad choices. For example, those raised in families where there is domestic violence are more likely to be guilty of domestic violence than those raised in peace. This is also true of sexual sins, drug/alcohol abuse and other learned/chosen behaviors. When dealing with “self-inflicted generational curses”, we must repent (if we need to), perhaps be counseled and make the choice to learn and teach new behavior. While this doesn’t seem to be easy or even possible, we must always know that Jesus says, “”With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”(Matthew 19:26) Paul writes, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”(Philippians 4:13)
The “generational curses” that I really want to address are those which are said to be associated with idolatry, the occult, witchcraft, Satanism, Free Masonry and other various wrong associations members of our family tree may have been involved in. For example, if your Grandmother was involved with witchcraft, the demons or curses related to that experience supposedly could be passed from generation to generation. Or perhaps, parents dedicated a child to the Catholic Church, the Jehovah Witnesses, or whatever, leaving the child indebted to Satan. They teach that somehow sin of others from years ago will affect us today. But, what does God’s word say? “The soul that sins, it [is the one that] shall die. The son shall not bear and be punished for the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear and be punished for the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him only, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon the wicked only.”(Ezekiel 18:20) This says very clearly that curses are not passed from generation to generation. More importantly is the Power of the Blood. Here is what the Most High God has done for us by the sacrifice He made at Calvary “;… anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17) How can there be generational curses for those who are a first generation person in Christ? Or to put it another way, our Father is God, how can there be generational curses for those whose Father is God? If that’s not enough, consider that it is also written; “For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.” (Col 1:19) The word reconcile is translated from the Greek word apokatallasso, which means “the restoration of a relationship of peace which has been disturbed.” Our relationship with God Almighty was disturbed by sin; now our entire relationship has been restored completely. So you see the Believer has been washed in the precious blood of the Lamb of God and no curse or sin will stain the Believer, if “indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven”.(Col 1:23) When we believed in the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus, any and all debts were canceled, if indeed they were ever in effect. Consider this fact “God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”(Colossians 2:13-15) When the Born Again Believer is confronted with the misguided teaching that Satan has any legal claim to them, they must know that their Father in Heaven is our Judge, and “He will judge the world in righteousness; he will govern the peoples with justice.” (Psalm 9:8 ) It is written, “Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.”(Romans 8:31) It’s always good to have family in Most High places. Not only is our Father the Judge, also, our attorney is Jesus. “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1) How can anyone believe this lie named “generational curses” in light of the facts? “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:28-31) (Additional reading: “”Galatians 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” and “Hebrew 10: 14″ because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. And Titus 3:5 “…….He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit…..” Please read Jeremiah 31:“29 In those days people will no longer say, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’30 Instead, everyone will die for his own sin; whoever eats sour grapes—his own teeth will be set on edge. )
Be noble. Be holy. Be useful. Be relevant.
Peace, Steve
