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By Rev. Clete Hux

Another area in which Christians have taken license is with the Harry Potter phenomenon. Through the vehicle of creative imagination and encouraging reading among the young, the Neo-Pagan and Wiccan worldviews have been on display in Potter films and books for a long time. By the way, did you know that in addition to Harry Potter merchandise, you can get Wicca & Witchcraft for Dummies at Walmart.com? That’s right, and not only this, you can get many other “how to” books on the same topics from this same retailer known as “America’s store.” (10) This alone should alert us not only to how prevalent occultism has become in our culture, but also to how enamored our culture has become with witchcraft.

As to whether or not Harry Potter stories promote witchcraft, there should be little doubt about it. Those trying to draw Christian parallels with the series seem to be straining to make a bona fide case. The very name Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry ought to be a dead giveaway. What flows from J.K. Rowling’s books and movies, the number of which is unsurpassed in the area of children’s literature, is an occult worldview that has been glamorized and marketed specifically for children.

The proponents have said, “Oh, no! You’ve got it all wrong, Harry Potter is not real witchcraft, it’s fictional fantasy and Christian allegory!” If that is the case why use messages and symbols aligned with paganism and witchcraft rather than with Christianity? Using that which best aligns with paganism and witchcraft yet calling it Christian is nothing more than the baptism of paganism.

A warning sign to parents should be the vast number of pagan and witchcraft websites over the years that have promoted Harry Potter as representing occult practices and beliefs accurately. Consider a few of these endorsements:

“[The Harry Potter series], both as books and in movie form are a wonderful metaphor of how we, as witches/Wiccans/Pagans/Magical people, perceive our own spirituality/works/studies, and our vision of the world. The symbolism is so strong and I have found myself reacting so many times…positively, mostly thinking, “this is SO right!” Even, as I think Quirrell himself has said it so plainly…, ‘There is no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it…’ This might actually offend some, but it hides one of the great truths of Witchcraft, that there is no White or Black Magick, there is only Magick, and it is the use we make of it that defines its purpose, although we usually see a dark use of Magick as weakness, rather than strength.”(11)

“Sure you are seeing witches in Harry Potter…But it is positive. They are friendly. They are good. The book may change the way people feel about us.” (12)

“Harry Potter happens to be one of the best things for witchcraft, and the understanding of it.”(13)

Claiming to be Christian as Rowling does and claiming that Harry Potter has a Christian allegorical meaning, while at the same time promoting a worldview contrary to Christianity, defeats the purpose of any purported Christian message. Claiming to be Christian yet promoting a worldview hostile to Christianity is contradictory. We do not promote witchcraft in order to lead someone to Christ.  We do not promote something contrary to a Biblical worldview in order to promote a Biblical worldview.

While Rowling’s works can be considered fiction, they do not fit the fantasy genre. Some have likened Harry Potter to C.S. Lewis’ stories which are true fantasy. In Lewis’ stories, the setting is an alternate reality quite different from our own. Have you met any talking beavers or talking lions lately? Do people enter alternate realities through a wardrobe? Of course not, that is fantasy. However, in Harry Potter, the stories take place in our present reality. While Harry Potter may be fictional, actual occult practices are being performed by Harry, who was born a wizard from his witch mother and wizard father who also attended Hogwarts, a school very similar to the modern day boarding schools found in England. It is there that Harry, like his parents before him, is in training to learn sorcery, complete with the casting of spells, learning to use potions, rituals and divination, similar to those who participate in these practices today.

There are plenty more instances of reality-based sorcery illustrations including a real historical character, Nicholas Flamel, in the book and movie, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. The students have conversations with the dead Flamel as he walks the halls of Hogwarts, endorsing necromancy, communication with the dead. Flamel was a French alchemist who supposedly succeeded in making the Philosopher’s Stone in the late 1300’s. Students of alchemy know that the Philosopher’s Stone is a metaphor for turning our base, physical natures into our more metaphysical self’s, attaining self-actualization with the Higher Self. This inner transformation supposedly produces everlasting life. (14)

While I do not endorse Catholicism, I do however, endorse Catholic writer, Michael O’Brien, for his excellent critique of Potter. He compares Rowling’s’ Potter world to being gnostic in essence and practice saying, “The wizard world is about the pursuit of power and esoteric knowledge, and in this sense it is a modern representation of Gnosticism, the cult that came close to undermining Christianity at its birth. The so-called “Christian Gnostics” of the 2nd century were in no way Christian, for they attempted to neutralize the incarnation and to distort the concept of salvation along traditional Gnostic lines: man saves himself by obtaining secret knowledge and power.”(15)

Using gnostic-like power as ideal magical power seems to be the modus operandi in Potter. O’Brien further states, “This is consistent with the author’s confused notions of authority. In reality, magic is an attempt to bypass the limitations of human nature and the authority of God, in order to obtain power over material creation and the will of others through manipulation of the supernatural. Magic is about taking control. It is the fundamental rejection of the divine order in creation. In the first book of Samuel ({1 Sam. 15:23}) divination is equated with the spirit of rebellion.”(16) I agree with O’Brien about this being a rejection of the fundamental order in divine creation. The occult/pagan/witchcraft worldview is an upside down world. One should get a sense of this from the beginning of Harry Potter. The natural has traded places with the superstitious, the normal for the abnormal. Witchcraft is portrayed as normal while the “real” or normal (the “muggle” world) is portrayed as abnormal.

Again, this is another example where intention does not change meaning. The problem that most Christians have in trying to Christianize Harry Potter may not be that they do not understand that the Bible speaks against witchcraft and sorcery. Their problem is twofold: They really do not understand witchcraft and they really do not understand the Biblical teaching against such pagan practices. It needs to be said that we are not given Biblical liberty to mimic forbidden practices. To be honest, this is where the church has failed. It is not enough to say “stay away from witchcraft” if believers do not understand what they are supposed to stay away from. It appears that believers have not been properly warned enough to “abstain from all forms of evil” or that light does not fellowship with darkness.

Conclusion

In closing, Yoga and Harry Potter are just two of many examples that fit the mold of the “Trojan Horse” that has been camping out in Christian circles for a number of years. In Part Two, we will look at the Enneagram craze and the Contemplative Prayer Movement, both of which are penetrating the church.

Scriptures both warn and encourage us to see things from a Biblical perspective. God, through the prophet Isaiah says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa. 55:8-9). Judges 21:25 tells us “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Proverbs 21:2 says, “Every man’s way is right in his own eyes, But the LORD weighs the hearts.” Further, Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” Against such warnings we are encouraged to “Trust in the LORD with all our hearts, and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Prov.3:5-6).

It is easy to get off base when popular human opinion or experience has become the reference point for interpreting life instead of the scriptures being the only rule of faith and practice. Unfortunately, some are using the Bible as merely one rule and not the only rule of faith and practice. It was for freedom that Christ has set us free. But we are set free to do His will, not ours! Since we have been set free, we are to bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (II Cor. 10:5).

Footnotes:

1Rev. Clete Hux. Attempts to Secularize Yoga in Alabama Schools. https://1593137887-da8479395cd0c713.wp-transfer.sgvps.net/product/2020-spring-worldviews-newsletter/

2Dr Peter Jones. Confronting Neo-Paganism Part 1. https://truthxchange.com/2019/08/confronting-neo-paganism-part-1/

3Swami Param, New age yoga: Old age theft and surrender. The Costal News Group March 25, 2013. (internet article accessed at https://www.thecoastnews.com/new-age-yoga-old-age-theft-and-surrender/ )

4Alabama Administrative Code (AAC), Rule 290-040-040-.02, Certain Teaching Techniques, (1) d, e.

5see: www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/testing-prayer/201908/why-christian-yoga

6 Ibid

7 Hans Ulrich Rieker, The Yoga of Light: Hatha Yoga Pradipika, New York: Seabury Press, 1971, p. 101, ( cited in Ankerberg and Weldon, Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs, 606. )

8Rev. Clete Hux, The Evangelical Dictionary of World Religions. Baker Books, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Kundalini p. 295

9 Swami Param, New age yoga: Old age theft and surrender. The Costal News Group March 25, 2013. (internet article accessed at https://www.thecoastnews.com/new-age-yoga-old-age-theft-and-surrender/ )

10 Diane Smith, Wicca and Witchcraft for Dummies. https://www.walmart.com/ip/For-Dummies-Wicca-and-Witchcraft-for-Dummies-Paperback-9780764578342/3401529

11 Richard Abanes, Fantasy and Your Family (Camp Hill, PA: Christian Publications, 2002), 194-195.

12Phyllis Curott, witch, as quoted in Buck Wolfe, “Witches Bless Harry Potter,” ABC Newscom. August 18,1999.

13quote from witchnox.net by “Heather.” Message #1432, November 24, 2001

14 Richard Abanes, Harry Potter and the Bible (Camp Hill, PA: Christian Publications, 2001), 26.

15Michael O’Brien’s Harry Potter and the Paganization of Children’s Culture https://1593137887-da8479395cd0c713.wp-transfer.sgvps.net/culture/harry-potter-and-the-paganization-of-childrens-culture/

16 Ibid

By: Nancy Kilpatrick

What a title for an article!  I chose to add another bedroom and walk in closet to my house a few years ago. For the first couple years I had a leaking roof periodically. I’d have it fixed, but it would leak again a few months later.  Finally, I had complete reroofing done that stopped the leak, and I quit being frustrated when it rained. A year later my daughter came to help me move some furniture and she discovered mold in the baseboard and told her husband.

A couple weeks later, my two sons and two son in law showed up at my house to rip out the molded areas and repair and paint. Needless to say, my house was a wreck for a couple weeks. All the furniture had been moved into the living room, the damaged areas on the wall removed, and replaced with new material.  I’ve been leak free ever since.

Why did I say all of this? What does this have to do with anything several years later? It is a perfect picture of what I’ve been learning since I had my eyes opened in 2008, and I began to study and investigate what is taking place in America.

As a country, we did not just wake up one day and discover that we have all the division in our country that we see and hear every day.  I can tell you, for sure, that America IS divided. Two parties, at opposite ends of the fight, one side fighting for liberty, freedom, constitutional rights, common sense, balanced budget. And the other side wanting to do away with everything our Founding Fathers and our ancestors fought and died for.

My personal terminology for that group is demonrats. Demonrats, meaning anyone who is actively promoting and upholding this trend to destroy our Constitutional Foundation regardless of what political party they support.  The fake news calls them “global elite”. The term “elite” according to the internet means: superior in terms of ability or qualities to the rest of a group or society. The truth is: they are narcissistic. Also, according to the Goggle search: a narcissistic individual must have at least five of the following qualities. 1. self-importance 2. entitlement 3. superior 4. arrogance 5. grandiose fantasies of success, power, beauty, or love 6. need for admiration and craving attention 7. using other people to reach their goals 8. lack of empathy 9. envying others or believing that other people envy them.  Surprised?  These Demonrats have all these traits. The news media is evidence of all nine of these traits coming from those who support this agenda of transforming America.

America needs a change, that is true, because these Demonrats have passed legislation in Washington DC to take over our schools, our health insurance and hospital personnel; they constantly attempt to take away our gun rights, and many other areas as well.  The constitution clearly states that the federal government has no authority that is not precisely stated in the Constitution, or the Constitution precisely denies the state to have control.  That limits what the Federal Government can do. It’s time we got back to Constitutional law and save America from these Demonrats.

The mold in Washington DC has been growing for several years. It’s time to rip out the baseboards and portions of the wall that has been damaged and get back to a safe America.  Our Great America,  where our kids can go to school without fear of armed intruders, where food is available for consumption without GMO so it can sit on the shelf a year before you buy it, where pharmaceuticals are purchased that did not come from a country that hates us, where Government actually protects us from terrorists coming across our southern border instead of stealing our God given rights that the Constitution actually guarantees us, and where our leaders have the common sense to know what a “woman” is.

Satan and 1/3 of the angels were thrown out of heaven because they rebelled against God. Today, we have these Demonrats trying to replace God. They are saying that what God made “good” in Genesis, like food, isn’t good enough. It needs to be genetically modified or hormones added to it.  A child born “male” can change to female and vice versa. They have legalized same sex marriage and sex change surgeries.  They have given teachers licenses to give hormone medication to students against parental knowledge and went so far as to say that parents rights end when a student enters the school building.

When God looked down on the world in Noah’s day, He saw the wickedness going on and He destroyed everything and everyone.  Scripture says that “as it was in the day of Noah, so will it be when He return to earth again.”

My question to Washington DC is this? Just how much more time do you think you can try to undo or redo God’s creation before He comes back and puts a stop to your agenda? I say, Let’s tear down the walls and the baseboards and rebuild Washington DC before it’s too late. Tony Perkins at Family Research Center in Washington, DC made this statement in a recent e-mail: “you and I know neither the President nor this Congress can revitalize the spiritual condition of our nation. Only a national repentance and a move of the Holy Spirit can restore our nation. The Biden administration’s domestic agenda is poisonous toward that end.”

It’s time for the Church and the Conservatives of this country to join hands and pray that God will intervene and bring our nation back to a Godly worldview and, Lord have mercy, let us install Constitutional law back into our government.  I implore every Pastor to step up and inform your congregation of the necessity to protect our Constitution, our Rights, our Children from the enemy that is attempting to destroy Freedom in our America.  It was God who gave us this country, and just as God instructed Adam to tend to the Garden of Eden, He expects us to tend to our Country.   God Bless those Pastors who are already active Shepherds over their sheep.  But shame on those Shepherds who are not.  You will be accountable one day.  The Scriptures are also very clear about those Shepherds who are not leading their sheep as He intended.

When you find a mold in your home, you must consider immediate actions for its removal.

By: Dawn Hill, The Lovesick Scribe

On February 8, 2023, a mandatory chapel service at Asbury college in Kentucky commenced and did not end, as students continued to linger and to return to the sanctuary in worship and prayer. As of now, the gathering is still going as students and many outside the college and the state of Kentucky travel to be a part of what some are saying is the manifest presence of God. Revival is said to have broken out on this campus, and other colleges, such as Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee, are claiming the same, as students gather in prayer meetings and in worship.

Many of us have heard the word revival, and this word can spark a mixture of A TALE OF REVIVAL AND SUPER BOWL PROPHECY

emotions. We have heard and read of revivals, and many of us have personally attended large gatherings where revival was attested or claimed. While there are people who desire to go where the revival is said to be, others are skeptical yet hopeful. Even with hesitancy and concern, there is a desire to see people truly transformed by the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ and to use Biblical discernment, as instructed in Scripture.

I have seen many posts online pertaining to this revival. There are numerous clips of people worshiping and singing. There are photos of individuals kneeling at the altar. There are video testimonials full of zeal, and if you search for it, you can watch the sermon that initiated these extended gatherings. Asbury has a history of these types of occurrences, as noted on their website, and many are taking note of the current revival.

In addition to the news of these gatherings, there is chatter online concerning a prophecy said to be from the late Bob Jones, a minister once affiliated with the Kansas City prophets. It is said that he told numerous people throughout the years that when the Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl, the billion-soul harvest was coming through the emergence of apostolic chiefs. Though this same prophecy was mentioned in 2020 after the Chiefs won the Super Bowl, it is being called into remembrance once again, given the current state of affairs.

What does it all mean? How are we to navigate claims of revival, and are we to hang our hope of revival on a football prophecy? Must we travel to a specific location to meet with God? Is this truly revival? There are many questions individuals are asking during this time, and they are valid questions to consider. (Here is a helpful article about the characteristics of true and false revival.)

Revival Food for Thought

A friend and sister in Christ, Emily Massey, shared this on her social media, “Don’t believe the lie that because you don’t travel to a college campus where hundreds are flocking to worship God that His presence is not with you in the kitchen while you wash the dishes.” The mentality that we must be in a specific location in order to experience God negates His omnipresence. One could even say that it “puts God in a box”, a common phrase stated when those on the other side of the aisle dare to question or to raise concerns about spiritual matters. You and I are able draw closer to the Lord and to be refreshed in the reading of Scripture, in prayer, and in the local church gathering. You are also not a Pharisee for asking such questions or for testing all spirits. In fact, you are obeying Scripture (1 Thessalonians 5:19-22, 1 John 4:1).

A good Berean tests and goes back to the Word of God for truth out of love for God and love for others, and this should encourage us in our faith. When we see areas of revival taking place in Scripture, we find a consistent pattern of God’s people being taken back to His written instructions, reminding them of His ways and His commandments. We see the typology of the gospel in the Old Testament, and we see the fulfillment of the gospel in the New Testament through Jesus Christ. We remember His promises, His love, and His holiness, and we are compelled by His Spirit to walk in those ways and to obey His instructions. Regeneration comes in the proclamation of the gospel, where dead men are raised to life in Christ Jesus.

Like others who have expressed caution, I pray that revival and regeneration does come to people. Lasting fruit of God’s true work in the lives of people will be the evidence of true revival, not hype, emotion, or sensationalism. Lasting fruit is not in the length of public gatherings or lines of people outside of buildings. Fruit is cultivated in the repentant and obedient before God.

Let’s remember that as believers, we are to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is part of the lasting fruit in the life of a believer. People are unable to be regenerated and to understand the love of God apart from Christ’s atonement on the cross for our sin. The Lord is daily adding people to His Kingdom through the preaching of the gospel, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Hearts of stone are transformed by God into hearts of flesh, and His Word is being written on those hearts. People who have never graced the walls of Asbury and other locations marked as revival spots, have been brought to repentance and saving faith in Christ in the privacy of their homes and in local church gatherings, apart from any well-known gathering.

Let’s also consider the power of music and that worship is not in song alone. I love music, and I love to worship the Lord in music. I along with many of you can understand how influential music can be, especially as a former “worship leader”.  A believer revived by God will worship the Lord in every area of life, even when the tune fades, and what we do in word and deed is to be worship unto the Lord, even when washing the dishes.

I want to see revival in the hearts of God’s people and to see others come to saving faith in Christ. I want to see brothers and sisters in Christ increase in their passion for the Lord. I pray it is not temporal or fleeting based on emotion and location. I say yes and amen to God’s work in the hearts and lives of people while testing claims of revival and knowing that enduring fruit testifying of Christ and the truth of His Word is where this is to be grounded.

Listen to this episode discussing the Asbury revival and Bob Jones’ revival prophecy: The Lovesick Scribe Podcast: A Tale of Revival and Super Bowl Prophecy on Apple Podcasts

By LeeAnn Witzigman

“Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”

1 Corinthians 9:24-25

In the summer of 2021, our oldest son Blake enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and was bused from his hometown to Parris Island, South Carolina for 13 weeks of bootcamp. He had confidently committed to a calling on his life and we leaned forward as we watched from the sidelines when he took off on this new leg of his race. For Patrick, the following weeks served as a trip down memory lane as he read the letters Blake sent and relived his own bootcamp experience from days gone by. We decided before he even got on that bus that we would each write him a letter every day, so he’d never go a day without hearing from someone who was cheering him on. This proved to be the sweetest season of my relationship with Blake, who was 14 years old when God turned the ashes of two failed marriages into beauty for a family that was destined to be rebuilt on faith. I took such pleasure in the one-sided conversation I got to have where I could just affirm him, tell stories of how much he meant to me in moments I’m sure he didn’t remember, and to have the ear of his heart without the interruption of everyday distractions. And I could often feel the response from him as he was being met in a place of fatigue and weariness with words of love and life. Our God can place the weight of His glory on a weightless piece of paper marked with postage to the place of military training and extreme testing of endurance, so that His words light up dimly lit places.

The day before his graduation from bootcamp, we arrived early and decided to walk around the military base. We heard the sound of marching feet and followed it into the outdoor arena where rehearsal was being held by thousands of newly minted Marines. As we stood to the side of the entrance gate, every few minutes hundreds of young, uniformed soldiers would run by us. It seemed highly unlikely that we would find Blake in the sea of identical boots, clothing, and hats. After a few moments, Patrick erupted beside me with tears and clapping. Blake had spotted us first and I wish you were there to see his face when all of our eyes met. It was an expression I had never seen before on my son … who was now a man I might add! It was as if all the emotions, every drop of sweat, each thought of throwing in the towel, and the hope of the assured coming victory was displayed all at once in his eyes, smile, and tears. He was truly unrecognizable, except that I was deeply tucked into the pounding heart within him.

I was thinking about that unforgettable moment this week as I begin a new leg of my race at another church where God has recently called our family. As I was praying and re-dedicating my heart to God in this season of trust and newfound faith, He brought that split second memory of Blake before me. I know He was showing me that He’s the one at the entrance to this next open gate and His claps and tears are louder than every collective sound on the earth right now. He has also spent eternity writing daily letters to me and using every possible moment of my life to reveal Who He is and has always been. And I saw myself in gratitude and humility as I almost didn’t recognize who I was, because the woman who journeyed these last five years certainly is not the same one who is crossing over this threshold of glory and goodness today.

I feel that God has many of us in a season of training right now and we are being developed for greater Kingdom assignments. I sense that He is repositioning and moving His army of warriors into places where the enemy has established strongholds among His children. I hear Him calling out, though only a few will respond and have the courage to move at the sound of His voice. But I want to encourage the Body of Jesus Christ that whatever you must lay down and place back into the Father’s hands, He will surely exchange everything for a greater portion of Himself, which is better than all we’ve come to know and experience in this life.

I’m praying for my fellow Kingdom advancers that you would be faithful to endure the testing and spiritual exercise that will be necessary to grow you into the useful servant who will see great glory. And I smile to know there is a day coming where the look on your face as you cross over into whatever God has next for you shines brighter than all the heavenly lights turned on at once.

Press onward and run to win that His beautiful name might be exalted in all the Earth! And see the everlasting crown He has promised you is hanging in the air above you like a kiss blown right from His prized heart.

www.pearlsandpresence.com/

By: Tresa Walker

As Valentine’s Day approaches and store shelves are covered with red hearts and quips of love, I can’t help but reflect on the lack of love displayed daily in our society today. We live in a world that is fostering attitudes of hostility and hatred. It seems that people have become more hostile and less patient, more judgmental and less kind, more selfish and less caring. Proverbs 10:12 says, Hatred stirs up conflicts, but love covers all offenses. In spite of all of the negative influences, God has called His people to influence the world with His love and mercy. Imagine how much better this world would be if we, as Christians, faithfully showed God’s love rather than acting and living like the world.

It is special to have a day to recognize those that we love. But we should also recognize the One who truly and forever loves us and remember the true definition of love which is shown in John 3:16: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Relationships are complicated, and many do not survive the test of time. Whether you are single, married, or in a committed relationship, Jesus will always be the perfect Valentine. How can you know that Jesus loves you?

• He gave his life for you. – This is how we have come to know love: He laid down His life for us. 1 John 3:16
• The bible tells me so. – Jesus says, As the Father has loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. John 15:9
• He offers salvation and hope. –  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. John 10:28
• He cares for you. – Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7
• His love never fails. – His faithful love endures forever. 1 Chronicles 16:34
• He never changes. – Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Hebrews 13:8
• He pursues you. – For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. Luke 19:10
• He is faithful. –  Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for His mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness! Lamentations 3:22-24
• He is the only way to heaven. – Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6

The love of Jesus is for all people! 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 defines love: Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not conceited, does not act improperly, is not selfish, is not provoked, and does not keep a record of wrongs. Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. We may live in a world full of hatred, but we have a perfect love in Jesus!

Because we do live in a negative world, it is important to consider the world’s influence in our personal life as well as that of our churches. We are surrounded by unholy influences every day, so we must be careful that while we are in the world we are not also of the world. Romans 12:2 says, Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. If we are not careful, we may find that we have conformed to the ways of the world, so we must be on guard to keep our attitudes and actions in check. On the flip side, we can also impact those around us, but in order for us to be a godly influence, we must daily renew our mind by reading and studying God’s word and also maintaining an active relationship with Him.

As Christians, we are called to love others because He first loved us. In John 15:12, Jesus says, This is My command: Love one another as I have loved you. Instead of being influenced by the negativity in the world around us and reacting as the world would, we are called to love. We must be sharing the love of Jesus in hopes of giving others the salvation and hope that can only be found in Him. It is not always easy to love people as Jesus does or to avoid reacting as the world does; this is why the renewing of our minds and daily interaction with Him is so important. The more time we spend with Him, the more we will begin to look like Him.

Ephesians 3:17-19 says, I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Valentine’s Day is only one out of 365 days in a year, but there is One who shows us love 365 out of 365 days. There will never be anyone who loves you more than Jesus Christ

strengthrenewed.blog

By: Jeff Sutherland

Many people listen to sermons about the love of God. They hear that God loves them and accepts them as they are. This is a common belief but in reading Ezekiel a few weeks ago, I discovered a very different view of God’s love.

Over twenty times God spoke through Ezekiel to His chosen people, Israel that He was going to send swords from nations to destroy them, send plagues to decimate them, send strong nations to overtake them and put them in slavery, send pestilence to demolish their crops. In every instance the love and purpose of God shows through. He put His people through these things for one common purpose, so that they would know that He is God.

In Ezekiel God’s love is shown toward His people in all of this utter destruction. Today we usually don’t think that way yet God does not change. The truth is He will do whatever is necessary, have us go through much in order to cause change, to get us to the point where we see Him as the God of Gods, Lord of Lords and King of Kings, a God who loves us too much to leave us where we are, in our sin. A God who loves us more than we know.

Here are a few examples:

I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful rebukes; and they will know that I am the Lord when I lay My vengeance on them. (Ezekiel 25:17)

Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have made the land a desolation and a waste because of all their abominations that they have committed. Ezekiel 33:29

Your outrageous conduct will be repaid to you, and you will bear the guilt for your idols; so you will know that I am the Lord God.’” Ezekiel 23:49

⁷ The slain will fall among you, and you will know that I am the Lord. Ezekiel 6:7

⁴ So I will tear down the wall which you plastered over with whitewash and hurl it down to the ground, so that its foundation is exposed; and when it falls, you will perish in its midst. And you will know that I am the Lord. Ezekiel 13:14

There are over twenty more references to ‘so you will know that I am the Lord’ in Ezekiel and hundreds more in the Bible. But I share this because God impressed on me during the reading of Ezekiel that God’s love is much deeper, more purposeful and more salvific. If you are going through hard times or know someone who is and you don’t understand why take the time to dig into His Word looking for God’s purposes.

One of my favorite stories in the Word is that of Joseph. In Genesis 37-50. He went through horrible, unfair times but in the end he realized God’s purpose in it all. Genesis 50:20, to his brothers he said, “You meant it for evil but God meant it for good in order to bring about this result and keep people alive.

If you would like to discuss this I am available. Jeff Sutherland HOME | Fortmorgan (fortmorganministries.com)

By Rev. Clete Hux

The area of doctrine concerning Christian liberty is known as adiaphora, meaning “things indifferent”– things in personal choices that should not affect an individual’s salvation one way or the other if a person chooses to exercise those choices. These should be things the Bible neither condemns nor approves because they are considered to be non-essentials of salvation. For most believers, these choices have centered around issues like eating and drinking.

Quite often the scriptures, “All things are lawful for me, …” (I Cor. 6:12; 10:23) and, “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31), are used to justify a personal choice. As a matter of opinion, the “all things are lawful” statement is often used as a mantra and taken too far by being wrongly applied to things condemned by scripture. When this happens, Christian liberty becomes libertinism that ignores biblical limitations. And, let’s face it, only the naive would believe that professing Christians limit their liberty to the physical appetite alone. That being said, the “all things are lawful” attitude has gone awry, drifted off base, and is leading people into worldviews that are contrary to the Christian faith. This should be a concern for all Christians and a warning that paganism could not only be knocking at the door, but could be camping out in the living room.

It has been said that the road to hell is often paved with good intentions. It can also be said that the road to paganism is often paved with pragmatism, which interprets not just eating and drinking, but all things as being neutrally indifferent and their use to be determined by individual choice. Yes, I know – this borders on the attitude of relativism, “you’ve got your truth and I’ve got mine” and “who are you to interfere with my truth?” We’ve become a society of experience-oriented truth seekers, but only defining and confirming as true that which will correspond to our individual experience. This aligns closely to narcissism with its out of control fixation on self.

The out of control personal experience oriented mindset is manifest in areas too numerous to count. My original intention was to cover four or five areas in this article, but I soon realized that it would be too long. So, the article will be in two parts. For the sake of space, Part One will cover the first two areas that I believe Christians have wrongly deemed “indifferent” and are now fully endorsing.

Yoga

There is a fad floating around on social media right now encouraging people to choose their avatar. All in fun, some are choosing an electronic image of what newly incarnated body they would like to have rather than the one they are presently stuck with. It is doubtful that people using the term this way ever heard of its Hindu roots. Avatar is a Sanskrit word referring to an incarnation of a Hindu deity. When this is pointed out, the response is, “Well I don’t mean it that way”. In other words, “Let me tell you what I think it means.” The implication is that a person can take something out of its original context and redefine it to suit that individual’s likes or dislikes.

Due to applying Christian liberty beyond its Biblically intended boundaries, questionable areas have become like a smorgasbord for the choosing. Sadly, to many it does not seem to matter if such things “ripe for the pickin” represent a worldview that is diametrically opposed to the Christian worldview. This is certainly the case with Yoga. There is no getting around the fact that Yoga is religious by nature and a form of Hindu worship. Yet for years, there have been attempts to distance the practice of Yoga from its religious essence. The Hindu American Foundation knows this well and is upset with pragmatists who try to redefine Yoga as merely physical exercise. The result is not only a redefining of Yoga, but also a covering up of its religious heritage and meaning. (1)

From the Sanskrit word meaning “yoke” or “union,” Yoga defines and promotes a monistic (all is one/one is all) worldview that teaches there are no separations as those recognized in a Biblical worldview such as a personal God who exists apart from His creation. My good friend, Peter Jones, illustrates this difference in what he calls a One-ism versus Two-ism worldview. Two-ism represents the Biblical Creator/creature distinction, while One-ism represents paganism which does away with separations.(2)

Because there is no Yoga without Hinduism, Yoga is consistent with a Hindu pagan worldview that divinizes creation (Rom.1:23-25). As such, it promotes both pantheistic (all is God/God is all) and polytheistic (many gods) worldviews. All the millions of gods in Hinduism are part of the one supreme being called Brahman. All is Brahman and Brahman is all. This is paganism, pure and simple. Yet, this does not seem to bother pragmatists, including Christians, who intentionally or not, are baptizing paganism by redefining Yoga, all the while assuming they have the liberty to do so.

It has become a fad in America to reduce Yoga to what “pop” culture wants it to be. This is exactly what is happening today with Hatha Yoga, based on bodily postures (asanas), breathing techniques (pranayama), and meditation (dyana). In response to the distortion of Yoga by the commercialization and simplistic use of the asanas, Swami Param, President of the Classical Yoga Hindu Academy, explains that asanas represent a specifically Hindu worldview and the word Hatha refers not only to nature worship (moon; sun:tha) but also to the Hindu deities Siva, Vishnu (Hara:Hari).(3)

These contextual historical understandings of Yoga’s religious history are completely ignored and cast aside. This “pop” culture treatment of Yoga has found its way into many contours of society including public education. Many states are already teaching yoga in their schools. Others may follow. Alabama’s legislature is considering a bill that would lift a ban on practicing Yoga in its K-12 schools. The Alabama Administrative Code (AAC), Rule 290-040-040-.2 that bans the practice of yoga and meditation in its public school system has been in place for twenty-seven years.(4)

Perhaps if school administrators and politicians better understood the religious teachings of Hinduism concerning the practice of Yoga they would uphold the application issue concerning the establishment clause of religion in the First Amendment. Better yet, if they understood that they may be subjecting students to possible spiritual danger they may think it best not to allow Yoga to be taught in schools. This certainly would be the wiser choice.

Dr. Candy Gunther Brown, in an article for Psychology Today, talks about a Christian and former Yoga instructor who makes the argument that simply relabeling Yoga as Christian fails to make it so because “authorship implies ownership”, and “ownership implies right of possession and control.” Yoga is “not just a human invention” but “coauthored” with the “spirit realm.”(5)

Further pointed out was that no matter what Christians call Yoga postures, they are a “moving liturgy, an embodied form of worship, a physical offering to the Hindu gods” who are “attracted to the offering.” By analogy, the owners of a “stolen Lexus” won’t be fooled” if a “thief removes the license plate.” Likewise, the “Hindu spirits” who own Yoga retain the “title deed, so to speak. They’ll get back in the vehicle while you’re driving it.”(6)

Hinduism teaches that there exists in all forms of Yoga something known as Kundalini energy and is, as Hans Rieker puts it, “…the mainstay of all yoga practices.”(7) Taken from kundal (coiled up), kundalini refers to the Hindu belief that a “serpent power” lies coiled up at the base of the spine. It is revered as a goddess who begins to evolve in a person’s first incarnation (in the reincarnation cycle), being fed by the other six chakras on the spine and by the cosmic energy entering through the feet from the earth. Starting at the lowest chakra, she is aroused through yoga practice and travels up through the other chakras, finally reaching the crown. In Tantric Yoga, which is more sexual than other forms of yoga, Kundalini is a part of Shakti, the divine female energy and consort of Shiva (male deity).(8)

There are a number of websites alerting people to dangerous exposure to the demonic spiritual realm that exists in yoga. One website actually quotes the non-Christian renowned psychoanalyst Carl Jung in his warning about yoga:

“One often hears and reads about the dangers of Yoga, particularly of the ill-reputed Kundalini Yoga. The deliberately induced psychotic state, with certain unstable individuals might easily lead to a real psychosis, is a danger that needs to be taken very seriously indeed. These things really are dangerous and ought not be meddled with in our typical Western way. It is a meddling with Fate, which strikes at the very roots of human existence and can let loose a flood of sufferings of which no sane person ever dreamed. These sufferings correspond to the hellish torments of the chönyid state…” (see www.yogadangers.com).

I cannot believe that any politician, administrator, or any school authority, if they really understood the implications of allowing Yoga, would want to open such a “pandora’s box.” Why choose Yoga when there are hundreds if not thousands of other exercise programs that are available? It is not wise to promote a practice that is an inherently religious and spiritual by relabeling it. We must remember that intent does not change meaning. Regardless of intention, there is no Yoga without Hinduism and there is no Hinduism without Yoga. I agree with Swami Param when he says, “If one wants to learn Hinduism/Yoga (and perhaps become a Hindu), do that. If one wants to stretch and relax, be thoughtful and considerate, but don’t call it Yoga!

By: LeeAnn Witzigman

“I will also speak of Your testimonies before kings and shall not be ashamed.”  Psalm 119:46

At a women’s conference last year, one of the speakers shared a beautiful testimony of healing and redemption from tragedy and devastating loss. She then went on to preach about her faith that God was going to recover all in her life, and she spoke that word of truth over us as well. A few hours later, I was waiting to get baptized and was praying over the women going into the waters ahead of me. One 19-year-old girl confessed she was struggling with sexual sin and that she had been baptized at this church a few weeks earlier and fell back into the temptation, which started a flow of repentant tears in the water. Something about her vulnerability caused my heart to weep and I knew her confession was my own.

A little while later, I entered the baptism pool and prayed a simple prayer that God would recover all for me. As I prayed those words, a blur of my 20’s swirled by and I longed to hold that young woman who got caught up in an evil trap and married a dangerous person. As I came out of the water, I knew something had resurfaced deep within me and I got excited for the moments ahead when God would bring me back to some of the years I couldn’t remember. That night, right before I fell asleep, God told me He would recover all for me and He would start by giving me back my virginity. I laughed with joy knowing that He went well beyond my 20’s to get back the part of me I’d given away so casually in my teenage years. Only He would dig to uproot and address the cause of the heartache that followed that regrettable encounter and sent me on a highway to hell for many years afterward.

I’ll spare you all the details 😊, but the next night God did exactly what He promised to do! And for two people who lived entire lives before remarrying it was an unforgettable moment in time … one that we didn’t even think to pray for, but God decided we needed anyway. I remember looking into Patrick’s eyes and telling him what the Lord had said and how it was actually happening, and he cried. So, I cried. And there was Jesus crying too. If we only knew everything that His blood has so willingly covered for us.

I’ve shared this testimony with a handful of women I adore in safe places but have kept it close at heart for a year now. But God keeps opening doorways for it to be shared. Two weeks ago, the same woman who spoke at the conference was walking out of church ahead of me. I knew the Holy Spirit wanted me to briefly testify to encourage her on how much her message meant to me, as she was scheduled to speak again at this year’s conference. After a few missed opportunities, there she was one step in front of me and the Holy Spirit was hot in pursuit. In a span of no more than 30 seconds, I told her I was praying for her and that her message last year became the prayer I prayed in the waters and God answered it in an overwhelmingly unexpected yet breathtaking way. Though the moment was short in time, it will linger for eternity. That’s how it is when we testify of Jesus. Something always remains.

As soon as the Holy Spirit spoke those words through me, I knew He was showing me the power and privilege of our testimonies. And I felt stirred inside of every proclaimed meeting with Jesus there is a prayer for each one of us to take hold of and cling to until it is answered in His gracious timing. The public confession of a teenage girl wrapped around the fiery faith declarations of a beautiful servant of the Lord just hours before, became a life-changing, hell-shaking, never-going-back-to-that-person-I-was kind of experience. There is tremendous freedom when we speak the name of Jesus and shout to the world all that He has done and is doing right now!

I encourage you to listen closely when your brothers and sisters are bearing witness of the Lord Jesus Christ in your midst. The very breath of God is carrying those holy words into your heart like an invitation to open and savor in the here and now. And when it’s you speaking praise and hallelujahs to elevate faith all around you, take heart to know that God is dancing upon your lips as He translates your testimony into prayers that open Heaven.

https://www.pearlsandpresence.com/

By: Dawn Hill, The Lovesick Scribe

And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them, and the evil spirits came out of them. Acts 19:11

While thumbing through old notes from years ago, I could not help but to notice things I had written down or had received from an instructor regarding the language of the Spirit. In these notes were true statements intertwined with things I now understood to be unbiblical. I was taught for years that the Spirit is not in charge and that Satan got man’s permission to dominate. This was why Jesus Christ came in man’s form; He came to reclaim the dominion for man. I was taught that the body has permission to be on Earth and that in order for the Holy Spirit to operate in the earth, He had to have us. He was limited in what He could do based upon our level of obedience. I had no idea at the time that this is classic Word of Faith teaching.

I was taught that the baptism of the Holy Spirit was a deeper experience than being born again. Imagine believing that any experience could surpass God raising you from spiritual death into life in Jesus Christ! I cannot even comprehend that thought now. I was taught that when you pray in tongues, you are speaking mysteries and building yourself up. I was taught many things about the prayer language, and I perpetuated these teachings as well. Over the past several years, it has been a blessing to study Scripture and to gain a better understanding of passages I was once taught out of context, now in context. It has also been eye opening to learn more about the history of speaking in tongues, with regards to the belief of a private prayer language.

If you have been a part of the hyper charismatic/ NAR movement, you tend to think you have seen just about everything. I have been proven wrong in this thinking more than I would like to be. I recently came across a video where a professing deliverance minister was teaching a group of people about the power of the anointing in written words on a whiteboard. However, these were not just words in English. On this board was an alleged interpretation of a sentence from Scripture into his prayer language. He invited the people to come up to the board and to touch the area where he had written the alleged prayer language, trusting that the same power in the Word of God would be tangible in this interpretation.

As individuals touched the scribble in dry erase marker, they fell onto the floor, some were crying and shaking, while others were speaking in tongues. This practice was said to have been modeled by another minister who had done the same teaching and application years ago. Talk of tapping into an infinite God was given for the outcome of this gathering and teaching.

When I watch videos like this, my heart goes out to those who attended this meeting and think that this is of God. I am reminded in my own life of how our hearts can be deceived. Our flesh can be manipulated, and our emotions can be heightened. The experiences are real, but are they Biblical? I find myself asking who is truly being glorified. Is it Christ, or is it the man or woman claiming to have a powerful anointing while using the name of Jesus? This particular individual seemed to believe in his questions and statements that his written private prayer language interpretation was as equally anointed as the very Word of God. Was he that powerful, or are these people being given over to strong delusion by God?

Some may ask why this is an issue, and it may seem benign to do such a thing. Some may even reference Acts 19:11 where Paul’s own handkerchiefs or aprons he wore during tent making were placed upon people and miraculous things were taking place among the people. I can recall this passage being referenced numerous times in years past. I can also recall the practice of cutting up cloth napkins, anointing them with oil, and giving them to people to use in desperate situations. There were wild stories told where specific objects in contact with anointed men and women of God were alleged to have supernatural power to heal and to deliver people.

The concern with using this passage prescriptively is the very fact of it being descriptive, not prescriptive. We are never instructed in all the epistles to conduct ourselves in such ways as Christians. There are no other instances, aside from Peter’s shadow. We may do well to take note of the time this occurred and the authentication of the ministry to the apostles by Jesus Christ. We are not instructed to create extrabiblical practices based on personal experience or on one descriptive Bible verse.

I also observed in this practice the potential similarities to New Age practices in believing objects contain spiritual energy or power. According to Pew Research, sixty percent of professing American Christians hold a belief attributed to the New Age, one of which included spiritual energy in objects.

If I can encourage you in anything, as I continue to be encouraged in my walk as a believer in Christ, personal experiences are not the barometer of truth. The standard of truth must be the Word of God rightly divided. Practices such as this should be avoided by us as members of the body of Christ. We are not to walk or to conduct ourselves in such a way that Biblical Christianity is foreign to the claimed beliefs and practices. This is my concern with such teachings as this.

https://lovesickscribe.com/