Oct 31
Why The Devil Only Brings Adversity
Over the years, I've noticed that people who place themselves in the devil's
camp tend to suffer high levels of misfortune. You would think that Satan
would take better care of his faithful servants. Perhaps the reason
there is no meaningful "Church of Satan" is because the devil only offers
converts an abundance of heartache.
The demented nature of the devil and his host of fallen angels is the main
reason they only bring misery to people. Having a demon influence
your life is like having Charles Manson as your guardian angel.
In 1804, a group of voodoo priests made a pact with the devil. The asked for
his help in liberating Haiti from the French. At the time of the pact, Haiti
was France's richest colony, and was known as the "Pearl of the Antilles."
Today, Haiti is called the "armpit of the Western world," having become one
of the world's poorest and most benighted nations on earth.
Because evil spirits are cursed with reprobate minds, they are incapable
of being a benefit to mankind. If the devil had better sense, he wouldn't have
allowed some of the most influential rock singers to end their
lives with drugs and alcohol. I'm sure it was the body count from the '60s
and '70s that brought moderation to the drug culture.
Satan is so destructive that the hand of Holy Father is the only thing barring
mankind from self annihilation. I'm sure many rebellious sinners would be
shocked to realize that the grace of God is only reason they are alive
today.
Just as an alliance with the devil has negative consequences, an alignment
with God has positive results. America and Israel are perfect examples of
how a nation can be blessed by its association with the Almighty. The U.S.
is the most wealthy nation on earth and Israel is the richest country in the
Middle East, despite that it is small and lacks the vast oil
reserves that many Arab nations enjoy.
The Heavenly Father has also provided a covering of protection for Christian
believers. David testified to this in the book of Psalms: "I have been
young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his
seed begging bread" (Psalms 37:25). In recent years, several studies have shown
that people of faith seem to have better physical and financial
health than those without.
Having faith in God does not automatically imply that all believers will
enjoy carefree and prosperous lives. The same devil that destroys the lives
of sinners also seeks to bring calamity to the average Christian.
It seems natural for people to realize the devil only brings adversity. After sowing their wild oats in their youth, the
toll of running with the devil causes many people to
eventually seek a new jogging partner.
Anne Rice, the queen of the occult, recently came to this conclusion. She is
the author of several ghoulish books on vampires, including Interview
with the Vampire. After suffering two near-death experiences and the recent
loss of her husband, Rice decided that it was time for her make some
changes in her life. She now says she will only write for the Lord.
Sadly, the majority of folks who realize the error of their ways do not
turn to Christ for deliverance. They try to drive off their demons by
participating in a self-help plan.
The Hollywood crowd is well known for devising new methods for people to cure
their own moral ills. In the past we've had environmentalism, scientology,
and Buddhism. The Jewish mysticism of Kabbalah is the latest fad being
embraced and promoted by various celebrities.
Because we are born with a sin nature, no 12-step program can save us.
Satan's destructive influence began when Adam and Even fell in the Garden of
Eden. His grasp on our lives will not end until we make Jesus Christ Lord of
our life.
"Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order
that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord" (Acts
3:19).
"And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under
heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
--- Todd
Paranormal Probing
Ghostly doings have long been the “normal” pursuit at this time of year in America. However, in recent times, the paranormal has become a matter of increasing fascination year-round. Television shows featuring ghosts, angels, and other extra-worldly entities are popular these days, and are becoming more so. Programs like "Medium," "Ghost Whisperer," and "Supernatural" are capturing more and more shares of the evening TV viewership. More than 12 million viewers, for example, tune in to watch "Medium." Patricia Arquette won an Emmy for best actress this year in that one.
"Ghostbusters" was a movie in the 1980s that spoofed the search for ghosts, apparitions, and other paranormal entities. In the 21st century, it seems the hunt for these roaming vapors and hobgoblins and other types of hauntings have turned serious. One writer told about her own perception of possibly being haunted.
Sometimes when I go to bed, in the minutes between awake and sleep, I feel it. The mattress moves down as if the cat jumped onto the bed. But the cat’s outside. You’ve got a vivid imagination, I tell myself.
That’s not all. Over the past six years of living in an 1880s-era house, there also have been quick flashes of light that bounce off the living room walls, cabinet doors opening, items that disappear and reappear in plain sight (not at the same time, though, that would be too easy), smells of candy cooking, shadows that disappear when I turn to face them and the overwhelming feeling of ‘something there.’
The skeptic in me shoos away any thoughts of "ghosts," though the writer in me is intrigued by the possibility of an unseen world. I mean, that’s what we all want, isn’t it — something to prove this life isn’t all we get? ("When the spirits move you: Paranormal group haunts a home in search of ghosts" by Crystal Cody, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Oct. 27, 2005).
The writer says she had a paranormal researcher come to her home and check it out with her “…video and digital cameras and trusty flashlight…on the last night of September.”
The writer reports:
As soon as she arrives, [the paranormal researcher] announces she’s not a "ghost buster."
"I’m looking for visual and audible proof of their existence. I don’t necessarily want to come in and get rid of them," she says. I wasn’t sure I even wanted her to give me confirmation, but I knew I didn’t want her to try to get rid of any purported lingering spirits. Who needs that kind of karma?
The writer/homeowner wrote that Benjamin Radford, investigator with Skeptical Inquirer magazine, said the following regarding opinions on these other dimensional matters.
"Some people claim that ghosts are spirits of dead people. Some claim ghosts are telepathic projections. Other people claim ghosts are spirits that are stuck here because of unresolved issues. There is no agreed-upon explanation of what a ghost is."
To cut to the chase, as they say, the writer said the researcher into paranormal things came to the conclusion that the writer’s old home had some level of unexplained other-worldly activity. The video and audio, turned to certain decibel and video speed levels, provided manifestations that proved her thoughts to be true.
The article writer said the paranormal investigator feels the spirits within her home are more or less benign. And, the home owner says, “…none of my experiences have been 'bad' — slightly unpleasant, but nothing that has made me run screaming from the house …”.
The paranormal researcher told the writer,
Short of an out-and-out exorcism, I haven’t found anything that anyone really does works. If the ghosts are persistent and they want to be there, it doesn’t matter if you command it to leave in the name of Jesus Christ, if you command it in the name of Buddha, if you smudge it, if you sage it, it doesn’t really matter. If they want to be there, they will be there.
The writer of the article concludes: ”Whatever ‘they’ are, let them stay, I say. I might need help one of these days getting rid of a bad date.”
There can be no doubt what “they” are, if “they,” indeed, are in her home. The Bible speaks to the matter of other-worldly entities:
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Eph. 6:12).
Why do we know these aren’t ghosts of those gone on before?
“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Heb. 9:27).
When a person dies, his or her spirit goes immediately to one of two places–Heaven or Hades. Remember, when the rich man died he immediately opened his eyes in the place of torment (read Luke 16:19-24). We read in a number of places the accounts of demons being cast out by Jesus and the apostles. Always, they are the minions of Satan, not the ghosts of people.
The one notable exception where God allows someone who is dead --but not resurrected to live again in the flesh --to come back to talk to the living is the case of Samuel the priest and prophet being summoned by the witch at Endor to speak to Israel’s King Saul (read 1 Samuel 28:7-18).
The proscription against such activity as seeking out spirits and supernatural encounters–other than with the Holy Spirit for salvation and guidance in holy living—is found in the following:
“There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee” (Deut. 18:10-12).
For the legalists who will read this and seek to confute, let’s probe a little further. So we are talking about the Mosaic Law, not the New Covenant that is for the Church? Really? Do you mean that Jesus didn’t fulfill the law, like He said He did, when He said “It is finished” (John 19:30)?
There are no ghosts to fear. But, demons –they are another matter entirely!
Prophecy teaches that Satan’ and his minions will increase their hellish activity as Christ’s return nears. All we have to do is read, watch or listen to our minute-by-minute breaking news around the globe to know the demons are increasing their soul-destroying activities.
But we, who have Christ as our Lord, can take comfort and receive strength for these closing days of history. “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
--Terry
