Spiritual Warfare
A page full of awesome articles on the topic. My fave is by Steven Hernandez
Thursday, May 20, 2010
The Truth about Demon Possession and Exorcism
Walter Martin Ministries
Here is an excellent presentation of what you need to know about the topic. I love this ministry!
Here is an excellent presentation of what you need to know about the topic. I love this ministry!
Sunday, May 16, 2010
You Might Be Practicing 'Christian' Occultism/Paganism If You:
1. Speak things into existence
2. Pray against Satan
3. Attempt to manipulate spiritual conditions by prayer
4. Tell God what to do
5. Spiritual warfare is taking on territorial spirits
6. Establish your doctrine from experience rather than by God's word
7. Cast demons out of Christians
8. Ask demons questions
9. Think faith is a 'force' rather than a simple trust in God and His word
10. Seek a way out of a curse that is on your life, though you are a Christian
11. Believe that the sins of your forefathers have brought demons into your life
12. Add to Scripture
2. Pray against Satan
3. Attempt to manipulate spiritual conditions by prayer
4. Tell God what to do
5. Spiritual warfare is taking on territorial spirits
6. Establish your doctrine from experience rather than by God's word
7. Cast demons out of Christians
8. Ask demons questions
9. Think faith is a 'force' rather than a simple trust in God and His word
10. Seek a way out of a curse that is on your life, though you are a Christian
11. Believe that the sins of your forefathers have brought demons into your life
12. Add to Scripture
Saturday, May 15, 2010
The Condition of My Heart
The Lord is always teaching me through the example of my wife. She has faith.
Recently she had been placed in a situation where she works which was very unfair to her. Without disclosing the details of the situation, I will say that my wife was unduly handed a situation where she had to unneccessarily sacrifice a very precious aspect of her life. Of course this bothered her. It bothered her to the point that she took the issue to the Lord and gave it to Him. She left it there, as well. She came to me yesterday and shared how the Lord worked the situation completely out for her.
A few weeks ago, my wife and I were walking and she was sharing how she 'wished' that she had a riding partner for she and her horse. We have an Arabian mare that we rescued and Liz enjoys taking her out for a walk through the beautiful woods of South Carolina. But, my wife is a people person. She was alone in this and desired to ride with a friend. Again, she let the Lord know of her need (or desire). The result was that a riding friend showed up at our door and she is exactly who Liz relates to; a teenager! (We have been Youth Pastors for years).
I could continue to share how I have watched the Lord, throughout the years, provide for my wife. However, here is my heart on the matter. I have a real tendency to not 'bother' the Lord with such matters. I still walk believing that I can do things in my own strength! I can honestly say that I would not have 'bothered' the Lord with wanting a riding partner. I have a tendecy to take the big things to the Lord, but struggle with solving the little things; a situation at work, for example.
When will I ever learn that there are no 'big' or 'little' things in life. I don't need to be independent of Him. Ever. He wants everything. Lord, please forgive me...
Recently she had been placed in a situation where she works which was very unfair to her. Without disclosing the details of the situation, I will say that my wife was unduly handed a situation where she had to unneccessarily sacrifice a very precious aspect of her life. Of course this bothered her. It bothered her to the point that she took the issue to the Lord and gave it to Him. She left it there, as well. She came to me yesterday and shared how the Lord worked the situation completely out for her.
A few weeks ago, my wife and I were walking and she was sharing how she 'wished' that she had a riding partner for she and her horse. We have an Arabian mare that we rescued and Liz enjoys taking her out for a walk through the beautiful woods of South Carolina. But, my wife is a people person. She was alone in this and desired to ride with a friend. Again, she let the Lord know of her need (or desire). The result was that a riding friend showed up at our door and she is exactly who Liz relates to; a teenager! (We have been Youth Pastors for years).
I could continue to share how I have watched the Lord, throughout the years, provide for my wife. However, here is my heart on the matter. I have a real tendency to not 'bother' the Lord with such matters. I still walk believing that I can do things in my own strength! I can honestly say that I would not have 'bothered' the Lord with wanting a riding partner. I have a tendecy to take the big things to the Lord, but struggle with solving the little things; a situation at work, for example.
When will I ever learn that there are no 'big' or 'little' things in life. I don't need to be independent of Him. Ever. He wants everything. Lord, please forgive me...
Friday, May 7, 2010
What the Bible Teaches about Spiritual Warfare
Many Christians today are losing the battle in spiritual warfare because they lack an adequate knowledge of God's Word. This ignorance has led some people into occult practices that are cleverly disguised as 'neutral' self help techniques. Others have one foot in the world and the other foot in the Bible; thus compromised, they cannot understand why biblical principles never seem to work for them. Defeat is commonplace because their lives are not established on truly biblical principles but rather on the shifting foundation of human experience.
As we have surveyed much of the contemporary literature written for Christians, we have discovered an extremely wide range of ideas, many of which are mutually contradictory. Both the issues and the solutions differ widely. We have read many fine-sounding discussions on spiritual warfare that did not have a biblical basis. Some people teach that christians can be demon possessed whereas others teach that they cannot. On the other hand, if one view is true, then Christians must live one way and the solutions to the problems must lie in one direction. If the other view is true, then the problems and solutions offered by the first view are irrelevant. How can we find our way out of this maze and find timeless truth on which we can base our lives?
We believe that the Bible is our highest authority, and only God has sufficient, infinite knowledge and understanding of both our enemies and our human nature to inform us accurately about spiritual conflict and what to do about it. The Christian must always be like the men and women of Berea who received the highest praise from the apostle Paul because they did not simply take his word but searched the Scriptures daily to verify his teaching (Acts 17:11).
The Real Source of Truth
Many of the errors that have crept into the church, some of which have become very popular, are based on misunderstandings and misintepretation of Scripture. Sometimes this happens because the writers have not taken into account the original languages of the Bible or have misused them. Therefore, it is important that we occassionally refer to the original Greek and Hebrew wording of Scripture to interpret more accurately God's Word.
At other times, error creeps in because we rely on interpretations of experiences or personal testimony that might not be consistent with Scripture, especially in the area of Satan and demons and what they can do to Christians. Testimonies of missionaries working among pagan tribes where demonic activity abound are used to support a particular line of teaching. How should these stories be evaluated, especially since some of these occurrences are used to support one position and others are used to support a contradictory position? Is appealing to these types of experiences a valid means to find truth?
Before we can ever hope to have victory over the sin and evil that are part of our universe, we must first understand the role of God's Word. Much of what is taught today contains testimonies of personal experience or the experience of other people. We must find out how we are to regard such testimony, and we must continually seek to determine a true, biblical approach to spiritual warfare. Failure to do so is one reason that so many believers are impotent in the warfare. They have either lost the sure foundation of the Word of God or severely weakened it by relying upon intepretations of experiences that run contrary to what the Bible clearly teaches.
When you have finished reading this book, we hope that you will understand the difference between the worldly, almost superstitious views of Satan that have invaded many of our churches and a truly biblical perspective of evil and our calling to spiritual warfare. We pray that you will be armed with the truth of the Scriptures and will stand firm against the schemes of the Devil and his terrible deception.
Read the book
As we have surveyed much of the contemporary literature written for Christians, we have discovered an extremely wide range of ideas, many of which are mutually contradictory. Both the issues and the solutions differ widely. We have read many fine-sounding discussions on spiritual warfare that did not have a biblical basis. Some people teach that christians can be demon possessed whereas others teach that they cannot. On the other hand, if one view is true, then Christians must live one way and the solutions to the problems must lie in one direction. If the other view is true, then the problems and solutions offered by the first view are irrelevant. How can we find our way out of this maze and find timeless truth on which we can base our lives?
We believe that the Bible is our highest authority, and only God has sufficient, infinite knowledge and understanding of both our enemies and our human nature to inform us accurately about spiritual conflict and what to do about it. The Christian must always be like the men and women of Berea who received the highest praise from the apostle Paul because they did not simply take his word but searched the Scriptures daily to verify his teaching (Acts 17:11).
The Real Source of Truth
Many of the errors that have crept into the church, some of which have become very popular, are based on misunderstandings and misintepretation of Scripture. Sometimes this happens because the writers have not taken into account the original languages of the Bible or have misused them. Therefore, it is important that we occassionally refer to the original Greek and Hebrew wording of Scripture to interpret more accurately God's Word.
At other times, error creeps in because we rely on interpretations of experiences or personal testimony that might not be consistent with Scripture, especially in the area of Satan and demons and what they can do to Christians. Testimonies of missionaries working among pagan tribes where demonic activity abound are used to support a particular line of teaching. How should these stories be evaluated, especially since some of these occurrences are used to support one position and others are used to support a contradictory position? Is appealing to these types of experiences a valid means to find truth?
Before we can ever hope to have victory over the sin and evil that are part of our universe, we must first understand the role of God's Word. Much of what is taught today contains testimonies of personal experience or the experience of other people. We must find out how we are to regard such testimony, and we must continually seek to determine a true, biblical approach to spiritual warfare. Failure to do so is one reason that so many believers are impotent in the warfare. They have either lost the sure foundation of the Word of God or severely weakened it by relying upon intepretations of experiences that run contrary to what the Bible clearly teaches.
When you have finished reading this book, we hope that you will understand the difference between the worldly, almost superstitious views of Satan that have invaded many of our churches and a truly biblical perspective of evil and our calling to spiritual warfare. We pray that you will be armed with the truth of the Scriptures and will stand firm against the schemes of the Devil and his terrible deception.
Read the book
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Free Resources
CD’s ONLY:
“Anxiety Attached” by Philip de Courcy
This is a two part series on a subject not often talked about church, but exists in the Body of Christ.
“He is Able” by Chuck Smith
Balances the 1st message – God Alone
“Speak the Truth” by Scott Rachels
A great message from the 10 Commandments. Simple and direct.
“Four Things I Have Learned About God” by Sy Rogers
Sy has a powerful testimony and this is the lessons from his walk with Jesus.
“Someday” by Gisela Yohanna
Do not put off what God is calling you to do..
“The Healing of America – a four CD series” by Charles Stanley
As we celebrate July 4th it is important to remember our country in prayer and return to the belief that our founding fathers had in God. We must, if we are to survive as a nation, return to God and seek Him. Our nation’s survival is at stake.
“Sitting At His Feet” by Jean McClure
The only safe place to be in these trouble times.
“Best of Chuck Missler”
Request by sending your name and address to our friends at firefightersforchrist@cox.net
“Anxiety Attached” by Philip de Courcy
This is a two part series on a subject not often talked about church, but exists in the Body of Christ.
“He is Able” by Chuck Smith
Balances the 1st message – God Alone
“Speak the Truth” by Scott Rachels
A great message from the 10 Commandments. Simple and direct.
“Four Things I Have Learned About God” by Sy Rogers
Sy has a powerful testimony and this is the lessons from his walk with Jesus.
“Someday” by Gisela Yohanna
Do not put off what God is calling you to do..
“The Healing of America – a four CD series” by Charles Stanley
As we celebrate July 4th it is important to remember our country in prayer and return to the belief that our founding fathers had in God. We must, if we are to survive as a nation, return to God and seek Him. Our nation’s survival is at stake.
“Sitting At His Feet” by Jean McClure
The only safe place to be in these trouble times.
“Best of Chuck Missler”
Request by sending your name and address to our friends at firefightersforchrist@cox.net
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Ultimatum
"We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum.”- A.W. Tozer (1897-1963)
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