I am writing this on this blog, primarily because it is 'Hallowe'en' today and many have a natural curiosity for the supernatural, especially the occult, as I once did.
My experiences with the occult may have gone as far back as when I was a toddler. I remember the terrifying show, 'The Invisible Man' coming on television and I couldn't watch it. Another time I was playing with a tape measure (I was in my crib). It was an apple designed tape measure where you pull the tape measure out. I don't know what I did, but the tape measure did something on its own that wasn't natural, and I became terrified of it. A couple of years later, people that we knew began to die. I often wondered if their spirits were walking around the earth and if they could see us. I really was afraid to go to bed at night for fear of some spiritual being ending up in my room. Maybe that's the reason I have insomnia today?
Everyone goes through those kinds of fears, but they became more prominent for me when I was a little older. When I was 10 years old, I wondered what a Ouija board was. My mom said that it would talk to you, like a friend. That sounded appealing to me, because I didn't really have any friends at the time. I ended up getting a Ouija board when I was in sixth grade.
To be honest, I thought it was cool at first. A friend down the street came over and he seemed to be an expert on how to use it, so I just watched him use it. I would ask questions and the board would answer them. I let my friend do all the controlling of it though.
It wasn't too long after this, I became afraid of it. Not sure why, but I didn't want to use it by myself, so I only used it when my friend came over.
At night, I started hearing voices. They sounded like a man's voice, and the words were inaudible. They sounded kind of muffled. This went on for a long time, then we moved to a new house. Of course, the Ouija board came with us. That was the first mistake we made, but we had no idea there were really spiritual beings that came with the Ouija board. (I had no idea at the time that the Ouija board was connected to the voices I was hearing.)
The voices continued. They were always men's voices and always sounded gurgly. But now there were more than one voice and these voices were having conversations with each other. There was laughing as well. I was terrified of all this.
By this time in my life, I was almost 15 years old. The voices were still there and whatever activity was going on, it became more prominent. No one believed me when I tried to tell them about this situation. But no one can convince me that there is no such thing as a supernatural world!
Early one morning, I lay awake on my bed. It was right after my dad left for work and it was still kind of dark out. I heard a crystal clear male voice calling out my name. Probably 10 seconds later, I heard it again. No question in my mind that these beings, whatever they were, knew my name.
I was not a Christian at the time, but somehow I now knew that there was a connection between the voices and the Ouija board, so I got rid of the Ouija board. After that happened, I did not hear the voices again.
I remember a story about Jamie Buckingham's son, who must have liked some demonic music. (Wish I could find this story somewhere again). The son refused to part with some type of music, and he knew better. One day, the young man could not move. He could not get out of bed because a demonic presence was holding him down. Obviously something happened to release him from the demonic force and he knew it was because the connection of the record jacket that he held onto that was in his room. I'm sure he got rid of that one without any problem, after that incident!
In the book of Acts, we read about an incident where a man named Sceva, who had seven sons who were trying to cast out a demon. These sons had watch Paul as he was ministering to people and demons were leaving, while others got healed. The demon that these sons tried to cast out, came out, but they leaped upon these sons and hurt them. Right after that, people began to fear the Lord. Many were bringing their occultic items to a central place and burning them up. That was a wise thing to do, because they were familiar with whatever happens in the realm of the occult.
Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily. Acts 19:18-20 ESV
Basically, I would urge all of my readers to not get involved with Ouija boards or anything related to the occult. Sure, you can sneak those things in the house and mom and dad might not ever find it or know it is there, but you are the one who will end up suffering. God knows what is going on. No one pulls the wool over God's eyes.
There is a supernatural realm out there, and for those who have been involved in it, no one will ever convince them that everything has a natural explanation. There are two sides to this realm: Good and evil. (Isn't it interesting that God is so much like the word 'good' and the Devil has the word 'evil' inside of it?) The Kingdoms are known by 'light and darkness' or 'truth and error', 'good and evil' and 'right and wrong'? The kingdom of the devil is very active. But we must keep in mind that there is no comparison between God and the devil because God is uncreated and all-powerful, and the devil is a created being that does have power, but it is limited.
Let's turn the tables on evil and make this 'holiday' (If you could even call it that) into a real holiday by using what the devil wants to glorify his name, and taking this opportunity to do evangelism. There are people in every neighborhood who have never heard the Gospel message. We don't have to dress up like witches or demons to reach them. They will come to the door asking for a 'trick or treat' (a phrase that I never heard until I got older). The devil will trick us by giving us plausible reasons why we cannot trust God. The only thing the devil knows is how to play tricks. Let's treat people by giving them the Gospel! Let's make this day an opportunity for God to be glorified, and take advantage of people coming to our houses to receive candy, but they can receive a whole lot more. In fact, it could be the difference in where they spend eternity.
I know I have a blog on this story somewhere, but after a couple of years of giving out tracts and toys with Gospel messages on them at Hallowe'en, I overheard some girls talking who were walking on the sidewalk. One of them said, 'I love this house!'. I believe it might have been the two girls who were here a couple of years ago having a discussion about receiving a money tract with Justin Bieber's picture on it. My first thought was that I don't have anything with Justin Bieber's picture on it so she must be confusing me with someone else. Then I remembered that I had used some celebrity million dollar bill tracts and I imagine that Justin Bieber's picture was on it and the girl remember that. These girls were having a discussion trying to decide if this was the house they were remembering, when one of the girls suddenly exclaimed 'This is the God house'. Hmmm. That's a pretty good reputation for only being out here a couple of times a year with tracts and things. Another time, I was talking with a woman who lived way down the street. I was trying to tell her where my house was because she wanted to know which one was mine. When I told her, she said something like, "Oh, you are the one that gives out all the Christian material at Halloween." Life for the people in our neighborhood is very good. They have no needs and they can do life without God, so they think. But the day will come, as it does for all of us, when trouble strikes. When the hard times in life come for these people, I want them to be free to want to come to my house and talk. I want my house to be known as a house of prayer. I want my neighborhood to know that I will be glad to talk with them and pray with them, should they be concerned about spiritual things.
Tonight is a good night to make this known again. We might only have 4 or 5 people knock at the door, or we could have 70 or more. So, I will get all my goodies ready and I will be prepared to talk with people about the Gospel message and communicate the words of life to them.
Friday, October 31, 2014
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
The Stolen Purses
Years ago, I was in dental assisting school. The story I am about to tell is true, and for reasons unknown to me, God was very merciful to me this day.
While in class one day, there was a small group of us left in the classroom. Most were out doing hands on training at various dental offices. We were to do work in another room that was the lab. We worked with dentists which came to the lab to work on indigent patients.
For some reason, I put my purse on the other side of the desk. The desk was long and in the middle it was raised. If I remember correctly, it was one piece, but double sided.
After I did this, the group of us went into the lab. Little did we realize what would happen while we were gone.
Someone broke into the room and stole every purse, except one, which was mine. Each purse was on the visible side you could see as you entered the room, but mine was on the other side, because I had put it over there for some reason, unknown to me, at the time. Now I know why.
I am very grateful that God protected my purse that day. He has a reason for everything He does.
While in class one day, there was a small group of us left in the classroom. Most were out doing hands on training at various dental offices. We were to do work in another room that was the lab. We worked with dentists which came to the lab to work on indigent patients.
For some reason, I put my purse on the other side of the desk. The desk was long and in the middle it was raised. If I remember correctly, it was one piece, but double sided.
After I did this, the group of us went into the lab. Little did we realize what would happen while we were gone.
Someone broke into the room and stole every purse, except one, which was mine. Each purse was on the visible side you could see as you entered the room, but mine was on the other side, because I had put it over there for some reason, unknown to me, at the time. Now I know why.
I am very grateful that God protected my purse that day. He has a reason for everything He does.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
How My Husband and I Met 42 Years Ago
I was a teenager, once, a long time ago, and one of the places I used to go to for entertainment was called, 'The Winter Park Youth Center". My mom had checked this place out and decided it was ok for me to attend. What she didn't know...
At the time I attended this place, I had not come to the place where I had put my trust in Jesus Christ as my Savior yet, and, naturally, I followed the crowd. But, God was dealing heavily with my heart, in spite of my rebellion.
In October of 1971, I was getting to know a young man who was in the band that played at the Youth Center, but I was not allowed to date him. He introduced me to the man I was going to marry one day. I wasn't paying attention though, for I was trying to get another old boyfriend back who was sitting just a few feet away.
On October 23rd, I was at the Youth Center again. I had a baby sitting job that either got cancelled or I changed my mind about doing. My mom prayed that I would meet a nice boy that night. Little did she know how God was orchestrating everything that evening.
He was sitting at a big round, high table, when I had an impression to meet him. I wasn't really shy when it came to meeting guys, but this seemed a little awkward. I went past him a couple of times. He came over and met me, and we talked for a couple of minutes. Then it was time to go, and I gave him my phone number (back then, it was against the rules for a girl to give a guy her phone number. I didn't know the rules).
To better appreciate this, you have to understand that God was working heavily on my heart. I thought it was just my imagination, but couldn't get away from this awareness. So, this new 'boyfriend' calls and sets up a date. I said 'yes'. But before we went out on this date, he wanted to take me somewhere else. He wouldn't tell me where he wanted to take me, but he said I would like it. It had music. But what if it had to do with something religious? I didn't know if I could handle that back then.
When we got there, it was a 'Young Life' meeting. Since it had religious overtones, I chose to clog my ears. Needless to say, this was just the beginning of many events that were to come.
We dated for three and a half years, and then married. Sometime during that time period, I came to know Christ. My whole life was changed and at the age of eighteen, I was a married woman.
Marriage wasn't easy though, and it didn't help that when we married I was eighteen and my husband was nineteen. But somehow, I knew that God was going to work through all the difficulties that lay before us in the coming years.
When I was a brand new believer in Christ, there was a church in town where God seemed to be moving. There was nothing more that I would have desired, than to be there, but it was impossible for us to be involved there for a number of reasons. But, in God's mysterious ways, we ended up at the particular church. It was there that our marriage was touched and we were changed forever. The pastor over the young couples taught us about marriage principles. He became our friend, and when it was time for him to pastor his own flock, we joined him.
Things were a lot different when we met at ages 15 and 16, but in each step of the way, we could see God's sovereignty in each one. We didn't live happily ever after, but we are happy. God's grace has helped/sustained us in very difficult times. God's blessings were evident in the good times. God has used our marriage to change both of us, so we could become more like the image of Christ, and we were able to draw closer to Him.
I always wondered what life would look like when I was older. Now I can see that God isn't just sitting back watching how life is going to pan out for us, with the choices we make. He has been with us and will continue to be with us.
We don't know how many more years we will have, but we will have however many God chooses to give us. And we will be grateful for each one.
I am grateful for October 23rd, 1971, March 17, 1975, and today. I am a most blessed person.
At the time I attended this place, I had not come to the place where I had put my trust in Jesus Christ as my Savior yet, and, naturally, I followed the crowd. But, God was dealing heavily with my heart, in spite of my rebellion.
In October of 1971, I was getting to know a young man who was in the band that played at the Youth Center, but I was not allowed to date him. He introduced me to the man I was going to marry one day. I wasn't paying attention though, for I was trying to get another old boyfriend back who was sitting just a few feet away.
On October 23rd, I was at the Youth Center again. I had a baby sitting job that either got cancelled or I changed my mind about doing. My mom prayed that I would meet a nice boy that night. Little did she know how God was orchestrating everything that evening.
He was sitting at a big round, high table, when I had an impression to meet him. I wasn't really shy when it came to meeting guys, but this seemed a little awkward. I went past him a couple of times. He came over and met me, and we talked for a couple of minutes. Then it was time to go, and I gave him my phone number (back then, it was against the rules for a girl to give a guy her phone number. I didn't know the rules).
To better appreciate this, you have to understand that God was working heavily on my heart. I thought it was just my imagination, but couldn't get away from this awareness. So, this new 'boyfriend' calls and sets up a date. I said 'yes'. But before we went out on this date, he wanted to take me somewhere else. He wouldn't tell me where he wanted to take me, but he said I would like it. It had music. But what if it had to do with something religious? I didn't know if I could handle that back then.
When we got there, it was a 'Young Life' meeting. Since it had religious overtones, I chose to clog my ears. Needless to say, this was just the beginning of many events that were to come.
We dated for three and a half years, and then married. Sometime during that time period, I came to know Christ. My whole life was changed and at the age of eighteen, I was a married woman.
Marriage wasn't easy though, and it didn't help that when we married I was eighteen and my husband was nineteen. But somehow, I knew that God was going to work through all the difficulties that lay before us in the coming years.
When I was a brand new believer in Christ, there was a church in town where God seemed to be moving. There was nothing more that I would have desired, than to be there, but it was impossible for us to be involved there for a number of reasons. But, in God's mysterious ways, we ended up at the particular church. It was there that our marriage was touched and we were changed forever. The pastor over the young couples taught us about marriage principles. He became our friend, and when it was time for him to pastor his own flock, we joined him.
Things were a lot different when we met at ages 15 and 16, but in each step of the way, we could see God's sovereignty in each one. We didn't live happily ever after, but we are happy. God's grace has helped/sustained us in very difficult times. God's blessings were evident in the good times. God has used our marriage to change both of us, so we could become more like the image of Christ, and we were able to draw closer to Him.
I always wondered what life would look like when I was older. Now I can see that God isn't just sitting back watching how life is going to pan out for us, with the choices we make. He has been with us and will continue to be with us.
We don't know how many more years we will have, but we will have however many God chooses to give us. And we will be grateful for each one.
I am grateful for October 23rd, 1971, March 17, 1975, and today. I am a most blessed person.
 |
| Happy Anniversary to my husband on our 39th Anniversary |
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Monday, March 3, 2014
Divine Appointments?
Recently, a friend of ours was at a restaurant and had an impression to talk to a lady who worked there, and to tell her that God was going to save her boyfriend. I'll admit, this would take a lot of faith to just step out and say that to someone who you don't know anything about! The lady had tears in her eyes and apparently she had a boyfriend who wasn't a Christian yet. I'm sure she was praying for him too. Later on that evening, our friend was out in the parking lot. There was a guy coming out of his car and our friend had an impression to ask him a question. He said, 'Do you want to become a Christian?' to which the young man replied, 'yes, I do.' He had apparently been thinking about this and his answer took our friend by surprise. So, they talked for a while and the guy came to Christ. A little while later, the guy went toward the restaurant and the lady who our friend originally talked to came out. The lady and the young man embraced. So, the young man must have been the boyfriend of the lady who worked at the restaurant who was going to be saved! This is a true story and I heard it with my own ears!
Saturday, February 1, 2014
Are Miracles Supposed To Be Happening Today?
In the Bible, we read Jesus' words which say that we will do greater works than Jesus did (John 14:12). What is that supposed to look like for us today? Why doesn't that seem to be happening among true believers in Jesus Christ, 2,000 years later?
I had this question and the answer I had received seemed to be one of the issue of pride. Unless, we have a good understanding of what pride is, and how it dishonors God when activated in our lives, we will never understand how dishonoring it would be to God if we performed miracles in His name today.
There are reports of miracles that happen though. Many miracles, probably most, happen in Third World countries. Could there be a tie in with pride here?
America is a very rich nation, compared to most of the world today. America is probably the wealthiest nation that ever existed. This is important to note because the more people have, by default, the more independent of God they become. How can God ever work in us???
What about the faith healers though? I am not going to comment on whether they are from God or from the devil right now. Let's assume they are from God, and God has given them a healing ministry. Or, let's go further and say that these people can pray over dead people and have them rise again. Here is my observation on that; if a normal, God-fearing person prays over a dead person, and the dead person gets up and walks around and comes back to life, the God-fearing person should respond by being in utter amazement and awe. Even if the God fearing person did this 100+ times, there should always be a response of awe. I don't see this in the faith healers of today. They pray, and something happens, then they go on to the next one. My question is, what does this say about who God is? If God is so powerful and awesome, and we pray for the sick and they get healed, these people should be in awe. They should be in utter amazement. We should never get used to praying for the sick and watching them get well. Why is it that the modern day faith healers aren't in awe? I believe it is because the fear of God is missing.
Either people really aren't being healed and miracles really aren't happening, or, if they are, the fear of God is lacking. Also, there is the issue of 'entitlement' and I think that runs rampant in our culture today. We believe God to heal. We expect God to heal. We command healing to take place. What happens when healing doesn't take place, or the miracle doesn't happen?
So, in summary, I believe there are three reasons why we don't see the miracles today, that Jesus and the Apostles did, as well as those which are happening in Third World countries.
1. Pride
2. Lack of fear of God
3. Belief in entitlement from God
God never changes. He is supernatural. He is all powerful. He wants His name to be made known in truth. He promises to give us His Holy Spirit and empower us to serve Him. Let us consider these things and let us believe God to do great things in our midst for His glory.
I had this question and the answer I had received seemed to be one of the issue of pride. Unless, we have a good understanding of what pride is, and how it dishonors God when activated in our lives, we will never understand how dishonoring it would be to God if we performed miracles in His name today.
There are reports of miracles that happen though. Many miracles, probably most, happen in Third World countries. Could there be a tie in with pride here?
America is a very rich nation, compared to most of the world today. America is probably the wealthiest nation that ever existed. This is important to note because the more people have, by default, the more independent of God they become. How can God ever work in us???
What about the faith healers though? I am not going to comment on whether they are from God or from the devil right now. Let's assume they are from God, and God has given them a healing ministry. Or, let's go further and say that these people can pray over dead people and have them rise again. Here is my observation on that; if a normal, God-fearing person prays over a dead person, and the dead person gets up and walks around and comes back to life, the God-fearing person should respond by being in utter amazement and awe. Even if the God fearing person did this 100+ times, there should always be a response of awe. I don't see this in the faith healers of today. They pray, and something happens, then they go on to the next one. My question is, what does this say about who God is? If God is so powerful and awesome, and we pray for the sick and they get healed, these people should be in awe. They should be in utter amazement. We should never get used to praying for the sick and watching them get well. Why is it that the modern day faith healers aren't in awe? I believe it is because the fear of God is missing.
Either people really aren't being healed and miracles really aren't happening, or, if they are, the fear of God is lacking. Also, there is the issue of 'entitlement' and I think that runs rampant in our culture today. We believe God to heal. We expect God to heal. We command healing to take place. What happens when healing doesn't take place, or the miracle doesn't happen?
So, in summary, I believe there are three reasons why we don't see the miracles today, that Jesus and the Apostles did, as well as those which are happening in Third World countries.
1. Pride
2. Lack of fear of God
3. Belief in entitlement from God
God never changes. He is supernatural. He is all powerful. He wants His name to be made known in truth. He promises to give us His Holy Spirit and empower us to serve Him. Let us consider these things and let us believe God to do great things in our midst for His glory.
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