You’re Not Awesome…and You Know It

 I am absolutely weary of some of the memes aimed at Christian women these days. You know the ones I mean, ladies- the ones with lovely pictures of flowers or an ocean or a meadow with a superimposed flowing script practically BEGGING us to believe how much worth we have to God, how awesome we are, how we need to discover the greatness within, how God gives us limitless potential and a superfantastic divine purpose, blah, blah, blah.

You know why they have to take that begging tone to try to get us to believe those things? Because they’re not true. You know it, and I know it.

You’re not awesome or great or imbued with some radical purpose or potential that will magically make your life phenomenal and give you oodles of self esteem once you discover it.

You’re a dirty, stinking, rotten, rebellious sinner. You yell at your kids. You don’t submit to your husband. You act out of selfishness. You lie. You gossip. You covet. You bow down to your idols instead of to Christ. You sin against a holy and righteous God in a thousand ways every day in thought, word, and deed. Just like I do. Let’s put on our big girl panties and just admit it. (1 John 1:8, 1 John 1:10)

That’s why these memes and false teachers have to try so hard to convince us of how terrific we are- deep down we know we’re not. It’s a lie. And putting all our eggs in the basket of that lie of greatness sets us up for disappointment and self-loathing every time we sin.

Ladies, stop listening to this hearts and flowers, cotton candy, pump up your ego so you’ll feel better about yourself dreck, and put your faith and hope in the One who will never let you down. The One who looked at all your nasty thoughts and evil deeds and said, “I’m going to the cross for her anyway.” The One who sees all your daily faults and failures and is still willing to forgive when you repent. The One who’s faithful to you even when you’re not faithful to Him.

Stop focusing on how great you are – because you’re not – and put your focus on Christ and how great, and awesome, and superfantastic, and terrific He is. Because if you’re feeling bad about yourself, it’s not because you don’t have a high enough self esteem. It’s because you don’t have a high enough Christ esteem.

We’re not worthy. He is. Let’s get over ourselves and give Him the glory, and honor, and attention, and focus, and praise He so richly deserves.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;

his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,

“therefore I will hope in him.”

Lamentations 3:22-24

Posted with permission

https://michellelesley.com/2020/05/08/youre-not-awesome-and-you-know-it-2/

What the first Three and a Half years of the Trib will be like

I know some people seem to think that the first half of the Trib will be peaceful but that's simply not biblical.  People generally get that idea from movies and books, but not from the Bible. Think of it this way. I wouldn't even call the way things are now entirely "peaceful" and these things aren't going to get better, they're going to get worse! If nothing else just reading the judgements that are going to happen during this time show it's going to be far from peaceful.  Think about it...between a third and half of the worlds population are going to die during these first 3 and a half years!  And that's AFTER all the people have disappeared from the rapture!  Just realizing that one fact alone should be enough to show that the world is going to be in complete chaos.  If it wasn't, they wouldn't need a "savior"; they wouldn't think they needed the antichrist!  I think another reason that causes some people to think that the first half of the Tribulation will be relatively peaceful is because Jesus called the second half of it the "Great Tribulation". You have to realize why He did that though.  For one thing, the second half will be worse then the first half for everyone, but it will be especially worse for the Jews and that's who Jesus was talking to at that time.  He was letting them know that as bad as the first half is going to be, the second will be even worse.  

Another way you could look at it is this:  Human beings might just be able to survive as a race if we only had to go through the first half of the Tribulation.  I say, "might", because honestly, with all the devastation both supernatural as well as that done by men that the earth itself is going to go through, it's also possible that we could do enough damage even in the first half that could cause enough chain reactions for the earth to be eventually uninhabitable.  But I think it's more likely that we could survive it. But there is no way humans could survive the second half of the Tribulation. If Jesus did not return and make the earth habitable again, all life would soon die off on the earth by the end of the Tribulation.  That's one reason Jesus tells us that no one would survive if the Lord doesn't shorten it. (Matthew 24:22)

The AC will get elected because the people are so afraid, so tired of being afraid and hungry and sick etc that they'll be snatching at straws, they'll be desperate for someone to help them. Of course, we know he's not going to help them, he's only going to make promises to help. The only thing he will do that will make people "think" he's just wonderful and that he CAN help, will be to sign the treaty between Israel and her neighbors. We already know he isn't going to keep that treaty though, and we know he isn't even going to totally enforce it either, even at the beginning. Like I said, that will last only long enough to get him into power.

Let's see what the Bible says will happen during that first half of the trib.

The 7 seals will come first: keep in mind that this is occurring during the FIRST 3 years of the Trib:

Revelation 6:1-17 I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.

When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword. 


During the first part of the Tribulation then, we have the AntiChrist coming on the scene promising peace but giving people war instead.  That's another thing people are often mistaken about.  They think the AC will actually bring peace during the first half, but he won't.  The bible tells us that he lies to the people making them believe that he wants peace and that it's not his fault that the wars break out all over the world.  These wars will affect the entire world, not just parts of it.  Yes, that means even here in the US! No one and no place will be exempt. 

  When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a day’s wages, and three quarts of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!” 

Now, because of the wars and other problems, we now have famine all over the world.  This is most likely due to the economy failing as well as crops being destroyed by the wars.  The Bible says that the rich people will be OK, but the rest of the world is going to be pretty miserable and hungry.  Hungry, miserable people often start riots, loot stores, and are violent. They rob others to get what they want. (now keep in mind that a huge number of the population has recently disappeared in the rapture, and many of them are in law enforcement agencies. Plus there could be a lot of chaos left from when the rapture happened that will still be a problem.  So now we have a whole lot more crime, plus wars that are quite possibly nuclear, and a lot of hungry, scared, people all over the world, many of which will be the ones behind all the crime, with little to no police available to help stop it all.  Does that sound peaceful to you?  it sure doesn't to me!
 
When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.


Next comes disease and more death.  My guess is that due to the wars obliterating and or poisoning the crops, the animals are going to get sick, possibly rabid and begin attacking people a lot more often then ever before.  Keep in mind too that evil is on the rise.  More and more people will be giving up all restraint and doing anything that pleases them, meaning sin, no matter who it hurts. It will be a time of "anything goes" on the earth. At this point one fourth of the people who were left behind after the rapture will die.  Let's pretend there were only 100,000 people left on the earth after the rapture.  If that were true, then out of that number, 25,000 of them would die!  Now that's not taking into account the number of people who had already died from wars, famine and crime!  What do you think would be a good guess for that number on a world with little police force left?  Let's say 5% of the population which would be another 5,000 people.  So that would leave only 70,000 people left.  The reason I'm using such low numbers is because we can grasp those numbers a lot easier then the actual numbers of the population. So this allows us to at least grasp the huge number of deaths that will be happening.
 
When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed.



And now we come to the martyrs being killed and a huge number of them as well.  Yet more violence.  As you can easily see by now, the world has become a very violent and ugly place to live in.  It's nothing like what we know it as now. Well nothing like what most of us know it as.  Perhaps those people who currently live in places where ISIS is terrorizing and killing so many people can imagine a whole world like that, where there is no safe place to live. 
 
I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”



Finally, we know that a great earthquake will happen during the first half of the Tribulation as well, which will kill and maim a huge number of the population.  Keep in mind now that none of the other things have stopped happening.  There are still wars, famine, disease, crime, people being killed for their faith in Jesus, and wholesale sin going on constantly.  And we haven't even gotten to any of the Trumpet judgments yet! Scholars differ in just how many of them will happen during the first half of the Tribulation, and a few think they'll all happen in the second half.  So I'm not even going to count any of them, although I do believe that at least the first few of them will happen during the first half of the Tribulation.  So what I'll do is simply list them for you at the end so you can check them out for yourself.

As you can see, during the first 3 and a half years, that's just 42 months, millions of people are going to die! There will be wars, not peace, famine, disease, disasters, unemployment, etc. Food will be scarce and so will money.  People will be living in fear - fear that someone will rob them or kill them, or rape them or beat them. Domestic violence and crime will rise tremendously, as will riots and looting, in part because of all the stress.. This doesn't sound peaceful to me at all! The whole earth will be in utter chaos! I think I can honestly say that the only people on the earth who could be said to be "comfortable" would be those foolish souls who sell out to the Antichrist and work directly for him, staying near him all the time.  While they wouldn't be immune to the judgments, they'd have more money and be part of the rich who would at least still be eating and have a decent roof over their heads, if nothing else.

Remember what happened when Rome fell?  The same kind of things only in smaller measure, just like what's happening now really.  What did Rome do to try to control the masses?  They provided them with "entertainment".  Entertainment that was full of death in the Colosseum. They made it easier for the people to get booze and drugs, and passed laws making it legal for homosexuals to marry.  Homosexuality became the "in" thing after awhile.  Women's lib was introduced as was abortion.  Sounds a lot like us doesn't it?  I've always believed that what happened to Rome was a picture of what was going to happen not just to the US, but ultimately to the world. .

Going back to the Judgements though, if you start at the beginning, each judgment adds to the next and is carried over; in other words, things get progressively worse. How can all of these things have happened and yet everyone is still "comfortable". It simply can't be! People are falling for fantasy rather then reality in this. I think the reason for that is that it's so hard for us to imagine the world being that bad.  We think things are horrible now, but really, compared to the way they'll be then, they're not at all.   Think for a moment about what God said about the people on earth during Noah's time.  He said that every single thought and feeling they had was evil.  Not "most of them", but ALL of them.  Not most of the people, but "all of them" except for Noah and his family.  That's how it will be after the rapture.  All of their thoughts and desires will be evil, except for those of the people who are saved or are being saved. .

The first 3 and a half years won't be as bad as the last 3 and a half but that doesn't mean that people will be comfortable. One reason it will be even worse in the last half of the trib is because the people will still be dealing with the effect all of the previous judgments have had on them as well as with the next new judgments. Plus you have to take into account how things are right this minute. Even now with the problems with the economy, and with the tension in the mid east, and the current wars, and the threats of more wars, the unemployment etc. most of the people are not as "comfortable" as they were before and we know from the financial advisers and well as from the bible that these things are going to get worse, not better. Remember, that one of the things that will happen is the economy will continue to get much worse.  The rich will get richer and the middle class will become the new poor (just like is already beginning to happen) and the poor will get even poorer.  But even the rich won't be living in peace.  They're going to need that wine and booze they can afford to buy, to calm their nerves, because they'll be in constant fear; fear for their lives and fear that their money will be stolen or lost and they'll become one of the poor. 
  
So knowing how things are now and having read some of what is going to happen in the first half of the Trib, there is simply no way that people are going to be at peace and nice and comfy during the first half of it. It's not a pretty picture and certainly not something comfortable to think about, but if we tell people the Truth about it, perhaps then it will be enough to plant some seeds about salvation, and perhaps, if we face the truth about it, it will give us the courage to actually speak up to people who need to hear about Jesus.  

Finally, here are the Trumpet judgments, some or all of which may also happen during the first half of the tribulation. 

Revelation 7:1-4 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.

Revelation 8:1 When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
 
Revelation 8:7-12 The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.

The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water— the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.

The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night.

Revelation 9:1-6 The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss. And out of the smoke locusts came down upon the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth. They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. They were not given power to kill them, but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes a man. During those days men will seek death, but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.
 
Revelation 9:13-19 The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the horns of the golden altar that is before God. It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. The number of the mounted troops was two hundred million. I heard their number. The horses and riders I saw in my vision looked like this: Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur. The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur. A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths. The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails were like snakes, having heads with which they inflict injury

Ancient Rome and the US now

Ancient Rome and the US now

When I was 12 years old, my mother and I went to Rome and I fell in love with it. I was so in love with it that I immediately began to teach myself Italian and didn't stop until I was fully fluent in it. When we got back from Rome, I got the book, "The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire" and read it from cover to cover. I was even then struck by the similarities between the US and ancient Rome and have continued to study that for the rest of my life. So it was quite natural for me when I was saved to notice how the fall of Rome came about as they moved further and further away from God. One of the area's that caused their fall and ultimately will cause ours, was the degeneration of the family which came about believe it or not, through an ancient version of "women's lib" and then "homosexual rights". Sound familiar? It's true though, and there are places in the NT that were written to people because they were getting confused because of that ancient women's lib movement and the gay rights movement. I talked about that in the study I did on What God says for women.

Obviously since I just recently did that study, that's the area I was concentrating on in scripture. I had also just finished reading a fiction book and asked the Lord what I should read next for pleasure. He brought to my mind one of my favorite series that I haven't read for ages so I couldn't wait to get started on it again. When I did though, I burst out laughing because that series talks about these very same things! LOL God is just so awesome in the ways He helps us to understand what he's saying to us!

Last night as I was reading that book, (which by the way is called, A Voice in The Wind (Mark of the Lion series) by Francine Rivers) I came to a passage that I just have to share with you all. I even read it to Bruce last night lol This book came out almost 20 years ago and it amazes me how much the US has changed to be just like the passage I want to quote you about Rome.

In this passage, a father and mother who's children are now adults, were walking in a park and saw a homosexual couple sitting on a bench kissing which was just totally disgusting to them. Now these people aren't saved, (yet lol) but seeing that upset the father so much he just had to vent and this is what he said to his wife: (any comments I make will be in parentheses)

"Marcus (their son) believes nothing is true and anything is permitted. Julie (their daughter) thinks the only thing that matters is her own pleasure. I've worked my entire life in order to give my children everything I never had at their age--wealth, education, position. And now I look at them and wonder if my life is simple vanity. They are selfish, without the least restraint upon their appetites. They haven't the smallest fiber of moral character."....
...Rome tolerated every abominable practice, embraced every foul idea in the name of freedom and the rights of the common man. Citizens no longer carried on deviant behavior in private, but pridefully displayed it in public. It was those with moral values who could no longer freely walk in a public park without having to witness a revolting display. What had happened to the public censors who protected the majority of citizenry from moral decadence? Did freedom have to mean abolishing common decency? Did freedom mean anyone could do anything they wanted anytime they wanted, without consequences?

How sad...and how sad that's exactly where the US and many other countries are now too. Even if I didn't know anything about the Bible or God, just understanding history would cause me to believe that the US will soon fall. It has undermined the very things that held it together and made it what it was, just as Rome did. Things that are good are now called evil and those things that are evil are not only called good, they are proudly and smugly flaunted everywhere we go. After my salvation when I began studying God's Word it became quite obvious to me that the end times were ancient Rome all over again.

I've talked to the Lord many times about how bad it's gotten... how I can't even go on "family friendly" sites to look for a nice graphic without having to view dozens of vulgar ones, no matter what subject I'm looking up. How if we go out for coffee or to eat that we're forced to see homosexuals flaunting their decadence, etc.

What I've also wondered is if the US would fall before or after the rapture. It could happen either way of course since nothing has to happen before the rapture. At first I was thinking it was so bad now that the US would have to fall first, unless Jesus came this very very soon, but then I realized that although we think it's very bad, it's not quite there yet... almost...but not quite. Once we're removed though (by the rapture) there will be no (or very very few) dissenting voices to let even worse things happen here. So now I tend to think that the rapture will happen first and be a kind of catalyst bringing out the worst in those left behind. I'm just profoundly glad that I won't be here to witness it!

Sometimes I hate it when my mind starts thinking of the similarities between the US and ancient Rome cause it seems like everything I see and hear is just like how it was then: women's lib, abortion, divorce, homosexuality, increase in crime, increase in disease, increase in both "natural" disasters and man made ones, corruption of politics, and the teachings about "self" and that people should put themselves first etc.

Rome actually got it's "new morality" from Greece. Well, we know it came from Satan in reality, but it was the Greek influence that brought it to Rome after they conquered it. Rome was a lot like the US is now. In the past, when people immigrated to the US (legally) they came and loved this country and learned our language and our faith and became upright citizens. All of that's changed now. Now instead of immigrating here to become American's, they come expecting and wanting to stay what they already are, Mexican, or whatever, and keep their old ways and old beliefs. They have no desire to become an American. And now instead of rejecting those "old ways" the US has decided to embrace them and insist that the rest of us embrace them as well. So those of us who are American's are supposed to now be ashamed of the heritage of our country and put off our ways and accept the ways of these other countries. Just like Rome did. And just like Rome, because we're doing that, we'll fall.

 (Originally posted on  June 18th, 2011)

Magic Charms Enchant Apostolic-Prophetic Movement

Magic Charms Enchant Apostolic-Prophetic Movement

Holly Pivec

Kits to remove curses, cards to interpret dreams, and music to heal people have become popular products in the apostolic‐prophetic movement, also called the “New Apostolic Reformation.” The movement, which is fast growing in charismatic churches, has long been criticized for its promotion of modern “apostles” and “prophets” who claim to have great authority and to speak for God. It is now being criticized for selling products that—many Christians believe—have more in common with the magic charms used in occult practices than with Christianity.

Property Dedication Kit. One organization that sells these products is the Elijah List, based in Albany, Oregon, which is founded and run by “prophet” Steve Shultz. The Elijah List e‐mails daily newsletters that feature prophecies—and advertisements for products like these—to more than 130,000 subscribers, according to its Web site(www.elijahlist.com).

One of the Elijah List’s top‐selling products is the “Portals to Cleansing Property Dedication Kit”—sold for $12—which is supposed to remove curses from houses and properties. Created by Henry Malone, a professional “house cleanser” and founder of Vision Life Ministries in Irving, Texas, the kit contains anointing oil and wood stakes, with Scripture verses on them, to drive into the borders of a property.

“Use it and make the enemy flee!” Shultz promised his Elijah List readers in an advertisement for the kit, sent on October 16, 2006. Shultz personally vouched for the kit, saying he’s cleansed his own 20 acres of land three or four times and, each time, has seen “a noticeable change in the atmosphere and circumstances.” He said curses are the only explanation for “certain sicknesses, diseases, and even death that comes upon very anointed and pure‐hearted people.”

A companion book written by Malone—titled Portals to Cleansing: Taking Back Your Land from the Hands of the Enemy (Vision Life Publications, 2002)—is sold separately from the kit. It promises to teach readers the “keys to reclaiming [their] land, home, possessions and animals from the power of Satan and his demonic forces.” (See the book and kit at: www.elijahshopper.com.) The book recommends holding a communion ceremony at the center of a property—where family and friends gather inside a circle drawn on the ground with anointing oil—then burying the unused bread and juice or wine.

After following the book’s advice, Matthew Spencer posted a review on Amazon.com saying that his home had a new “peace” and “lightness of spirit.” Spencer said, “I no longer feel uneasy walking through the house in the dark. Honestly, it is a night and day difference.”

Marcia Montenegro, author of the book Spellbound: The Paranormal Seduction of Today’s Kids (Cook/Life Journey, 2006) and founder of the Web site “Christian Answers for the New Age,” however, said Christians don’t need to worry about curses since they aren’t emphasized in the Bible. Even if curses were a threat, though, she thinks the kit would be powerless against them.

“How is that going to remove curses?” said Montenegro, a former professional astrologer and occult practitioner who converted to Christianity. She told the Journal that the kit has more in common with an occult worldview, comparing the anointing oil and wood stakes to “amulets”—objects that occultists believe have powers to protect them from evil, disease, or other harm.

“[With the kit,] it’s like you’re engaging in the occult to protect yourself from [the occult],” Montenegro said, adding that occult practices are banned by the Bible in Deuteronomy 18:10–12. She believes that a biblical response to threats is prayer to God—which goes straight to the source of divine power—rather than relying on magic charms. “What happened to regular prayer?” she asked.

Amulets have a long history, according to Dr. Ron Rhodes, founder and president of Reasoning from the Scriptures Ministries in Frisco, Texas, and author of New Age Movement (Zondervan, 1995). The ancient Babylonians, for example, wore cylinders that were supposed to ward off evil spirits, Rhodes told the JOURNAL. Today, New Agers wear crystals to ward off negative energies. The purpose of amulets—like all occult charms—is to harness and manipulate the power of a deity or the forces of nature, according to Rhodes. He sees this as the purpose behind the property dedication kit.

“It is definitely an example of paganism making its way into the church,” he said.

Third Heaven Vision Anointing Oil. Another top‐selling product for the Elijah List is “Third Heaven Vision Anointing Oil,” which is supposed to give visions of the heavenly realm. Sold by Tom Panich of Vancouver, Washington, it’s made with a base of virgin olive oil and six fragrances that are mentioned in the Bible: calamus, cassia, frankincense, myrrh, Rose of Sharon, and spikenard. A half‐ounce sells for $12.

Anointing oil often has been used by Christians on sick people—along with prayer—in accordance with a Scripture passage, James 5:14–15. Christians historically did not view the oil as having any special power, however; they saw its use simply as an act of faith in God. They also did not use the oil to induce visions or cleanse homes from evil, as it is used in the apostolic‐prophetic movement.

In this movement, different brands of oil are depicted as “anointed” and, therefore, as more powerful than other “non‐anointed” oils. For example, in the Elijah List’s first advertisement for Third Heaven Vision Anointing Oil, sent on March 22, 2004, Shultz said, “We’ve carried different anointing oils in the past. But I always try to carry anointing oil with true anointing on it. This oil fulfills that anointing ‘standard.’”

Panich—a graduate of Norvel Haye’s New Life Bible College in Cleveland, Tennessee—claims that, in 2003, God told him to make the oil. Panich said, later, he was in the shower one day when he was hit with “a lightning bolt of God’s Glory,” and the Holy Spirit gave him the name, “Third Heaven Vision.” Panich said, “Every time I mix up a batch [of the oil], a strong anointing hits me and I shake vigorously…Also, on the occasions that I have put a full box (144 bottles) of the anointing oil in the hands of two separate strong intercessors, they have been hit by the power and anointing of the Lord, almost to the point of falling to the ground.”

Panich also recommends that the anointing oil be poured over the wood stakes from Malone’s property dedication kit, something Panich said he has tried. “After I drove the first stake into the ground, I felt the Presence of the Lord come across the yard, hit me, and then I almost fell over,” he wrote on the Elijah List (Oct. 16, 2006).

Such descriptions of anointing oil (as having magical power) concern Montenegro. She said that it’s one thing for Christians to use the oil symbolically, “but it’s another thing if you think that the oil itself is somehow going to magically protect you,” she said. “To think that an object in and of itself has power is [to think according to] an occult worldview.” Such a use of anointing oil reminds Montenegro of the New Age practice of burning sage to cleanse and bless houses, she said.

Dream Cards. The Elijah List also sells “Dream Cards,” created by Barbie Breathitt of “Breath of the Spirit Ministries,” based in North Richland Hills, Texas. The laminated cards contain common dream symbols—such as numbers, colors, and animals—and their interpretations. They are sold for $10 each or in sets of 6 and 12—for $50 and $96, respectively.

Breathitt’s Dream Cards are endorsed by Patricia King, the founder of Extreme Prophetic Television with Patricia King—a half‐hour program featuring well‐known “prophets” that airs on Canada’s Miracle Channel.

“So many believers are having significant dreams but do not always understand the significance of the symbols within them,” King said. “Barbie Breathitt has done a marvelous job of preparing dream cards as a tremendous tool to help this process.”

Besides dream interpretations, one of the cards lists colors and musical keys that are supposed to bring healing to specific body parts. The use of music and colors for healing is also promoted in occult circles, as on New York psychic Ellie Crystal’s Web site (http://www.crystalinks.com/colors.html).

Rhodes said that dream cards that are similar to Breathitt’s are common in New Age stores: “The idea that it [dream interpretation] is penetrating the Christian church is kind of scary,” he said, adding that this represents a growing acceptance of mysticism among Christians.

Rhodes admits that the Bible records times when God’s people, like Daniel, interpreted dreams. He says that in those cases, however, they always made it clear that God gave them the interpretations, not dream cards.

Montenegro, who knew dream interpreters before she became a Christian, said that the assignment of meanings to symbols is subjective. “Who’s going to say what represents what? You can make anything be a symbol for anything,” she said, adding that the people she knew couldn’t agree on the meanings of symbols.

Besides being a waste of time, dream interpretation can encourage egotism, according to Montenegro. “If you start focusing so heavily on your dreams and think everything has a meaning, it leads to selfabsorption,” she said.

Prophetic Worship CDs. Another growing industry is “prophetic” worship CDs—combinations of music, teachings, and prophecies that are supposed to bring healing, visions, and supernatural encounters just by listening to them. Many of the CDs are recorded in live settings, where the musicians and “prophets” perform spontaneously, without preparation. They, allegedly, are taken over by the Holy Spirit—composing music and lyrics that come from the “throne room of God.”

One of these CDs, sold by the Elijah List for $15, is called Invitation to Intimacy. It was recorded by James W. Goll, the cofounder of Encounters Network in Tulsa, Oklahoma, while he was “caught up into another realm,” according to the advertisement. The CD contains over an hour of “prophetic, spontaneous worship and teaching with keyboard and instrumentation in the background.”

Divine encounters are offered by Ryan Wyatt’s CD, titled The Overshadowing. Wyatt—founder of Abiding Glory Ministries in Seymour, Tennessee—urges his listeners to “sit back and relax as you are taken into the Open Heavens and experience Visions of God! Rest under the wing of God as He overshadows and saturates you with His thick, weighty, intoxicating presence!”

CDs that offer physical healing include one by “prophetic revivalist” Matt Sorger of Seldon, New York, titled Healing in His Wings. The advertisement says the CD combines instrumental music and many other “heavenly sounds, healing scriptures, spontaneous healing prayers and prophetic song.” It claims to be a “powerful combination of both the biblical healing word and the manifest healing presence of Christ.” Another CD by Canadian “prophet” Todd Bentley, titled The Voice of Healing, promises to “bring the transferable, tangible healing anointing and atmosphere to your home, hospital room, or healing service.”

The concept of music or teaching that is composed directly by the Holy Spirit alarms Rhodes. “That whole idea assumes a direct pipeline to God,” he said, adding that if someone claims to receive revelation from God, then it needs to be perfectly consistent with the Bible. “But oftentimes it’s not,” he said. Rhodes also objects to the idea that an anointing can be transferred through a CD, saying, “There is definitely a pagan connection there—a transference of anointing or power or energy.”

Rhodes said that New Agers also have released music they claimed was inspired by the Holy Spirit, but they redefined the Holy Spirit in non‐Christians terms—as a nonpersonal force rather than as one of the three Persons of the Godhead. In the same way, people in the church sometimes redefine the Holy Spirit, Rhodes added. “Just because someone is talking about the Holy Spirit doesn’t mean it’s the Holy Spirit you and I know from the Bible,” he said.

Hocus Focus. Rhodes suspects that many of the people who sell dream cards, prophetic music, and similar products are motivated by a love of money—something the Bible warns against in places such as 1 Timothy 6:10. “People are capitalizing on, and ripping off, gullible people,” he said. Rhodes believes the biggest danger for Christians, however, is not being conned out of cash, but being deceived by a magical worldview that diverts their focus. “Their attention is being taken off of God and put onto objects and potions,” he said.

posted with permission

http://journal.equip.org/articles/magic-charms-enchant-apostolic-prophetic-movement

 

See also: False Spiritual Warfare Teachings: How the Church became pagan...

Is pleading the blood of Jesus biblical?

Is pleading the blood of Jesus biblical?

"Is pleading the blood of Jesus biblical?"

“Pleading the blood of Jesus” in prayer is a teaching that can be traced to some of the early leaders of the Word of Faith movement. When people speak of “pleading the blood of Jesus in prayer” they are referring to the practice of “claiming” the power of Christ over any and every problem by using the phrase “I plead the blood of Jesus over _______.”

“Pleading the blood of Jesus” has no basis whatsoever in Scripture. No one in the Bible ever “pleads the blood” of Christ. Those who “plead the blood” do so as if there was something magical in those words or as if by using them their prayer is somehow more powerful. This teaching is born from the misguided and heretical view of prayer that prayer is really nothing more than a way of manipulating God to get what we want rather than praying for His will to be done. The whole Word of Faith movement is founded on the false teaching that faith is a force and if we pray with enough faith, then God guarantees us health, wealth, and happiness and will deliver us from every problem and every situation. In this view, God is simply a way to get what we want instead of being the holy, sovereign, perfect and righteous Creator that the Bible reveals Him to be.

Those who teach this Word-Faith falsehood have an exalted view of man and our “rights” to plead what we want and get God to respond the way we want. This is in opposition to true biblical faith exemplified by Paul’s life and his approach to suffering and trials. Paul wrote in 2 Timothy that “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12). But Word of Faith teaches that if we suffer or are sick or struggle with sin, it is because we do not have enough faith or that we are not pleading the blood of Jesus to claim what is rightfully ours. But we do not see Paul pleading the blood of Christ or claiming what is “rightfully his” when he was faced with trials and persecution. Instead we see his unwavering faith in Christ no matter what the situation: “I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that day” (2 Timothy 2:12).

Paul had “learned in whatever state I am in to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:11-13). Paul’s faith was in Christ alone, and he could say with conviction “the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever, Amen!” (2 Timothy 4:18).

“Pleading the blood” as it is commonly practiced has more in common with mysticism—reciting a magical formula and hoping it works—than it does with biblical prayer. Saying certain words does not make our prayers magically more powerful. Furthermore, “pleading the blood” of Christ is not needed to defeat Satan. He has already been defeated, and if we are truly born-again, Satan has no power over us other than what God allows for His purpose and glory. Colossians 1:13 makes this perfectly clear: “For He has delivered us from the power of darkness and has translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son in whom we have redemption through His blood, the remission of sins.”

Rather than “pleading the blood” of Christ for protection or power, Christians should obey the command in James 4:7 “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Rather than practicing an unbiblical model of prayer, we are to follow the simple precepts of Scripture—leading a pure life before God, taking captive all our thoughts to avoid giving sin a place, confessing our sins when we fail those first two precepts and putting on the full armor of God as outlined in Ephesians 6:13-17.

The Bible gives us numerous instructions in victorious living in Christ, and pleading “the blood of Jesus” is not one of them. We have been cleansed by the blood of Christ and He is our High Priest and mediator who “always lives to make intercession” for us (Hebrews 7:25). As His sheep we are already under His protection, we simply need to live day by day trusting in Him for what He has already promised and provided.

posted with permission
http://www.gotquestions.org/pleading-the-blood.html

See also: False Spiritual Warfare Teachings: How the Church became pagan...
Magic Charms Enchant Apostolic-Prophetic Movement

Parents: Watch for these red flags at school

by Linda Harvey / WND

As summer winds down, kids don their backpacks and jump on school buses once more. Yet few parents realize what’s about to descend on those innocent heads.
While your children frolicked at the lake, visited Grandma and sang songs at summer camp, the leaders of America’s education system prepared more essential “LGBT” lessons to infuse into the hearts of Chloe, Emma and James. Most will be packed with insidious, Christ-less lies that present great risk to every child’s medical, social and spiritual future.
Grassroots efforts by frustrated parents are trying to eject the leftist Common Core standards, but meanwhile, educators are being pressured to get that “gay” subject in front of as many kids as possible. Consulting the essential wisdom of the Huffington Post “Gay Voices”page, we learn that one high-school social studies teacher who just “came out” as homosexual last year is determined to weave homosexual themes into the classroom wherever possible. His method will be to assume a boy might not be heterosexual, for instance. So when chatting with a male student about dating, he will refer to his possible girlfriend or boyfriend, to make him feel more comfortable.
But what if he is straight, as most boys are (or should be)? This overheard conversation will cause speculation by other students about that student’s sexual proclivities. Good plan, teacher! Put our boys on the spot. Start rumors. Fuel adolescent insecurities. But it’s all for the greater cause of deceptively painting the “gay” identity with glorious rainbow colors, and not in the blackness of sin it deserves.
That same student may be forced to read literature that normalizes homosexuality. The National Education Association’s New Business Item 51,passed at its recent Denver annual meeting, directs the union to publish a list of books about what they term “LGBTQ and gender non-conforming themes.” This augments the trend toward lessons about actual or imagined homosexuals in social studies curricula, called “gay history.” The primary event on the timeline of an honest history of homosexuality would start with Genesis 19, Sodom and Gomorrah. That’s not going to happen anytime soon.

It may be up to parents to prepare children ahead of time. No, Abraham Lincoln was not a homosexual and, yes, Oscar Wilde was and he even had relations with boys. And yes, that is still illegal. …..

…  One book recently published by a homosexual man “married” to “his husband” and sure to show up in school libraries is called “The Princes and the Treasure.”It promotes homosexual relationships and same-sex “marriage.” The ALA is surely ecstatic over this book but routinely bypasses conservative titles while still claiming to oppose book banning.

The lessons would have taught children as young as middle school, for instance, that the anus is a genital. The high risk of anal sex was also being concealed, a medical reality that would not come as a surprise to HIV-infected homosexual males and public health professionals.

So, this year if you really would rather your son or daughter not be taught that homosexuality is inborn, that it’s no big deal, and that the Bible’s instruction against homosexuality is wrong, hateful, or dismissible, watch for the presence of these “gay agenda” elements at your child’s school:

1) “Gay” history, which attempts to normalize, exalt and sometimes invent the homosexual preferences of famous historical figures. Whatever other talents these folks possessed, they would always have done better without any “gay” behavior.

2)“LGBT” advocacy disguised as “civil rights.” It’s not hateful, but constructive, to question homosexual behavior or gender confusion, and this vicious, deceitful movement is nothing like race relations.

3) Same-sex families being portrayed as a normal, uncontroversial variation in stories or lessons, even in math class. “Jenna and her dads bought milk. How many cups are in a gallon?”

4)“Health” education that smoothly advocates homosexuality but fails to note the 30,000 new HIV cases among male homosexuals each year in the U.S., and that the rate among the youth segment alone has more than doubled in the past decade. HIV is not “everyone’s” disease, condoms are unreliable and abstinence remains the best option.

5) “Gay”-straight alliances as legitimate school clubs, whose existence creates the false impression that homosexuality and gender change are acceptable. Educate your children that, while unkind behavior is off limits, none of these students should be engaging in these behaviors and these students are not a different category of human. True equality is that in God’s eyes; He expects the same avoidance of sin from them as He does from all of us.

Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2014/08/parents-watch-for-these-red-flags-at-school/#LYjDd7RDJ0H28iKd.99 

check out the link to that book they're stocking up on now!

I'm worried about this because I have grandchildren in public school and my grandkids love to read. I couldn't find the list they're talking about as it apparently hasn't been done yet. But I did find a list of LGBT children's authors so at least a parent can check any book against this list to see if the author is on it. I'm sure they don't have the name of every author, but it's a place to start anyway.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_LGBT_writers

I also found this:

Gay Author Wins Prestigious Children’s Literature Award

In all my excitement over the latest Rainbow Bibliography and Stonewall Children’s and Young Adult Literature Award, I neglected to mention that prolific children’s author and illustrator Tomie DePaola—who happens to be gay—won this year’s Laura Ingalls Wilder Award from the American Library Association. The award “honors an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made, over a period of years, a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children.” With well over 200 books to his name, including Caldecott honor book Strega Nona and Newbery honor book 26 Fairmount Avenue, DePaola is certainly deserving of the award.
DePaola, although gay, has not written books with overt LGBT content. In fact, many (but not all) of his books have religious themes, including Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland and his latest, Let The Whole Earth Sing Praise. DePaola left the Catholic Church in the 1960′s, concerned that the Church was becoming more conservative—but he almost became a monk earlier in his life, according to a 2009 interview in the New England Journal of Aesthetic Research. Personally, I love that a gay author is producing children’s books with religious content. It puts lie to the claim that there is a battle between the LGBT community and religion, or that one can’t identify with both.
While his books may not have clear LGBT content, it doesn’t take a big leap to see that his 1979 book, Oliver Button Is a Sissy, has definite resonance for the LGBT community.

more:
http://www.mombian.com/2011/02/10/gay-author-wins/

Watch out for his books because he's not on the list!

I also found another possible resource to check:

LGBT Childrens Literature (72 books) - Goodreads

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...ens_Literature

since it's only 72 books and has a picture of the book by each one, it should make it easy to check and see if your child/grandchild has one of these. And finally here's another similar list:
Amazon.com: LGBT Children's Books

http://www.amazon.com/LGBT-Childrens-Books/lm/R2RQKYZLJZ8VEQ

More to Beware Of! 

I’ve seen and heard of other really bad things happening in our children’s elementary schools and higher too.  Now many of the children are being brainwashed by the world in mandatory “Guidance classes” as early as kindergarten!  Some of what the children are told is harmless and most parents don’t have a problem with it.  But I saw this coming when my children were in school and now that it’s here, it’s worse then even I thought it would be!  In many schools they’re teaching the children New Age meditation techniques, only calling them by different names.  Why is that bad?  Because those techniques call for the person to “empty their minds” and that goes against God’s Word.  God says we’re to be in control of our thoughts at all times and that we’re to never empty our minds and just allow whatever wants to come in to do so! I’ve heard of them also teaching the children yoga and other similar things.  Again, many ask what’s wrong with that, let me simply say that again, it' goes against God’s Word.  Don’t take my word for it though, do some research on it yourself and find out.  It will be worth your while!  Of course another thing taught in these guidance classes is that homosexuality and bisexuality is normal and perfectly OK.  Anything said against them is consider bullying and hate speech. They also work against God by teaching your children something you yourself were taught, and that’s all about having a good self esteem, putting themselves first, taking care of themselves, etc. Again that’s against God’s Word.  He says we’re to put Him first, others second and ourselves last!  He says we’re to find our worth in Him and Him alone, not in ourselves because there’s nothing good in us except that which He gives us when we’re saved.

here are some links on some of these things to get you started:

Sola Sisters: Yoga Can Be Hazardous To Your Health

Sola Sisters: "Christian" Yoga?

Sola Sisters: A Christian Woman and Her Frightening ...

Sola Sisters: Nondenominational Meditation?

Transcendental Meditation Promoted as Health Benefit

Sola Sisters: What Is Mysticism?

Sola Sisters: Monvee: Mysticism For The Masses

Fear Based Advertising?

"Fear Based Advertising." A book I'm reading suggested I google that phrase, and so I did, as I was curious, never having heard it before. I have to admit that I was shocked....and then again, I wasn't considering how sinful man is. I knew that advertisers used sex and other sins to sell things, but I'd never considered that they used the sin of fear as well. Check out what one of the first things that popped up on the search says about it:

Quote:

Sex doesn't sell, it's fear. In the first episode of Mad Men (Smoke gets in your eyes) Don Draper outlines the appeal of fear as a tool for selling with chilling clarity. "Advertising is based on one thing: happiness," he calmly tells his clients. "And do you know what happiness is? … It's freedom from fear." This has been the simple quest of consumerism for the past half-century: to pinpoint with laser-like accuracy the anxieties of the consumer at any given moment, from the nebulous (economic insecurity) to the specific (bird flu). One former marketing executive from a soft drinks multinational even told me how they would brainstorm these anxieties on a "whiteboard of worry". The purpose? To brilliantly, cunningly hone a product that offers temporary "freedom from fear", temporary because a new fear and a new product will be on their way soon. Here are some of the ways it is done. http://www.theguardian.com/media/201...y-concept-fear

You might want to check out some of the ways it's done too...pretty interesting! And maybe by knowing about it, it will help us remember that God is in control, not man, nature, the world, or Satan. I mentioned Satan on purpose though as this is surely another of his schemes. He's the master liar, and he most certainly attempts to keep us afraid. He wants us to fear that we're not really saved, that God doesn't really love us, that He doesn't hear our prayers when we're hurting, and that we'll be left behind to face His Wrath in the tribulation, among other things. He wants us to fear that God won't provide for us when we can't pay our bills, when we're sick and need healing, or when we're in pain and can't take it anymore. He wants us to fear that we're on our own with no one to help us, whatever our situation is, when that's obviously not true according to God's Word. Right now, he wants us to fear that if we don't store up a bunch of food and any money we can, that we'll never make it through the economic crash that's coming...as though we had no Father who loves us and will take care of us. Then of course there's the biggest fear of all that Satan throws at us, and I see this through advertising a lot: the fear of death. Amazing when you think of it because we're told that one of the reasons Jesus came was to set us free from the fear of death! (Hebrews 2:15)

Now that it's been brought to my attention, the more I think about it, the more I see fear based advertising everywhere. That's good, because now when I see it, I can laugh at it and be victorious over the mastermind behind it!