All posts filed under: z175

Spiritual Warfare #3: Mind Meld

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The modern culture tells us that faith and intellect are two different things. Either you have belief or you have brains. You can’t have both. In the previous two articles on spiritual warfare I wrote about how most spiritual warfare happens. This week I promised to start fighting back. To do so requires unity between our mind and our faith. In spiritual warfare, the evil enemy has hijacked our reason and rationality. He has been able to make science the final word and pitched it against the Bible. Many people, even those who profess to be Christians, defer to science to explain creation, the progress of life, and the world about and in us. People who chose to believe the Bible to be true and accurate are mocked and thought to be less intellectual. In effect, Christians don’t use their brains and are just wrong or misguided. This elevation of science and rational thinking over faith and divine inspiration (man exalted over God) created an either-or atmosphere. Either you are a believer or you are …

Start walking

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One of the problems with vision is that we want instant success. We want it to happen now, but in order for you to produce fruit, there first needs to be pruning.  Pruning can be a long process for some of us, as in 40 years of pruning from when my husband started to write and pursue his passion for Bible teaching and world events.  It wasn’t until my retirement that I began to pursue my dream and desire for women to connect and whenever I gave up and let go of the dream, it always came back stronger than ever.  Maybe God has given you a dream or vision that He has called you to do. Below are a few tips from a sermon delivered by Matt Adams a couple of years ago, that helped me in my journey: “It doesn’t matter how many we lead. It matters where we lead them and how you lead them.” “Learn to lead from your placement, where you are now, without wanting to be a star.” “We …

Attacks by a spirit of compromise: A sign of the times?

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I believe the church is under attack from what I would describe as a spirit of compromise. This is exemplified by an incident in Communist China where authorities arrested the pastor of a house church in Hunan province because he refused to join the Communist Party’s sanctioned protestant church denomination — the Three Self Patriotic Association. According to Radio Free Asia, when Pastor Zhao Huaiguo was originally arrested in March, he was accused of re-posting messages about the Coronavirus. However, during his interrogation, the police repeatedly asked him to join the Three Self Patriotic Association, which indicated this was the real reason for the arrest. The Communist-run church denomination forces churches to make small compromises such as installing phrases by Mao on their walls. Sure they can still preach the Bible, but that is alongside the communist messaging. Because he refused, the Communist party has since charged him with “inciting subversion of state power.” It appears that Huaiguo could have escaped imprisonment and torture if he made that small compromise. It must have been tempting, …

49 | Thinking old?

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FOLLOW OUR PODCASTS ON: Itunes Stitcher Spotify Google Play IHeartRadio TuneIn Podchaser PODCAST NOTES: Hi my name is Dean Smith and in this podcast, I want to discuss the question: Does how we think, affect how we age? But first let me ask you a question: At what age does a person officially become old? So what age did you pick? A recent survey of 2,000 Americans commissioned by LetsGetChecked asked that very question. This survey concluded that you are officially old when you turn 57. When I read the number I was absolutely shocked and also concerned because if we think we are old at just 57, could this potentially impact our aging process? As well, they provided some top indicators that you have officially reached old age. 39% listed an increased concern about health. 36% said more wrinkles. 35% listed grey hair And perhaps what was most disturbing is that 34% said hair loss. Good grief I was losing hair by the time I was 30. But in England, a similar survey of …

How change reveals the truth of a miracle

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I recently read the testimony about a miracle that completely transformed a family and it reminded me a bit of the disciples. Pureflix recently interviewed Allen Jackson, who pastors the 15,000 member mega church, World Outreach Church in Nashville, Tennessee. In the interview, Jackson shared the miracle that led to his family becoming Christians about four decades back and ultimately played a key role in him entering the ministry. Forty years ago, Jackson’s mother had been diagnosed with cancer. And as so often happens during times of crisis, people turn to God. As Jackson’s mother, who wasn’t a believer, was leaving with her family for the Mayo Clinic, she prayed “Let me know the truth, so I can tell my children.” When she arrived at the clinic and went through the scans, the doctors were amazed when they discovered that her tumours had completely disappeared. It was a miracle. A short time later, she was washing the dishes and the Holy Spirit spoke to her about the prayer she uttered just before leaving for the …

Spiritual Warfare #2: Guerrilla Warfare

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There’s an old song by The Platters called the “Great Pretender.” The first line is: Oh-oh yes I’m the great pretender”. I used to belt it out because it is one of the few lines I can sing well.  That line could also be Satan’s tag line. Satan, the great pretender. Pretending he is God. Pretending that he has our best interests at heart.  According to Oxford, to pretend is to speak and act to make it appear that something is the case when in fact it is not. A second definition from Oxford is to lay claim to a quality or a title. This is Satan’s problem. He speaks and acts as if he is God and tries to lay claim to the throne of God. He knows he is defeated, and he knows his claim is false. Yet he continues to “prowl around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). As we read in last week’s article, Satan does not directly attack God since he would lose such a …

The Coronavirus: Were We Warned?

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Nostradamus was a French predictor, possibly a prophet who said something about a “twin year” when life would change for the whole Earth. I am no expert on the writings of Nostradamus, but I know he lived almost five hundred years ago. If he told us something about a pandemic in our time, we should pay attention. One big problem with the writings of Nostradamus is that they are cryptic, like a puzzle. It is possible to say now, that he wrote about something in our times. It is also possible to interpret what he said in some other way. If Nostradamus was a prophet, he did not communicate clearly to us so that we could hear his warnings, and protect ourselves. A warning that we don’t understand until after the event is mostly a curiosity. READ: Nostradamus ‘There will be a twin year’ prediction: Did Nostradamus predict coronavirus?: Express And then there is Bill Gates. He is a wealthy man who seems to be concerned about the welfare of his fellow humans. With his …

Can we block our own prayers?

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What is your stance these days in light of all that is happening? What are your thoughts? Are they fear based or faith based? Are you standing on solid ground or shaky ground? Do we need to shift our prayers from a place of fear and frustration and step onto more solid ground? The Apostle Peter writes: “Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. (2 Peter 1:3) Based on this promise, I have challenged myself to change my position from pleading to God for help to stepping into a posture of thanksgiving and praise. God’s word says that He has already given us everything we need to live a life of abundance. Asking for what we want or need is a good thing, but staying stuck in a place of continual pleading may block us from receiving or even seeing God’s provision and answers to our prayers because of our frustration and …

Why did a Danish Bible translation remove references to Israel?

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Recent reports are claiming that a new translation of a Danish Bible, Bible 2020, has basically been censored removing almost every reference to the nation of Israel in the New Testament. This was the first new version of a Danish Bible published in 20 years. According to Jan Frost, who has gone through the new version in depth, Bible 2020 has replaced terms such as the “land of Israel” with phrases such as “the Jews” or the “land of Jews.” According to Frost, 59 of the 60 reference to Israel in the New Testament were changed. And even the Old Testament didn’t completely escape this renovation. In one instances, they replaced the word “Israel” with “us.” Instead of Psalm 121:4 reading: “indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” It now reads, “he who watches over us.” But somehow the names of other ancient foreign nations, such as Egypt, managed to survive in the new translation. So why did the authors of the new translation decide to remove the name Israel? In …

Persecuted for doing good? Somethings never change.

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It’s not the first time something like this has happened, but Samaritan’s Purse ended up in trouble because of its willingness to help heal the sick. Samaritan’s Purse, founded in 1970, is now run by Franklin Graham, the son of Evangelist Billy Graham. With offices in over 100 countries, one of its goals is to provide material assistance and medical aid in times of disaster. During the recent COVID-19 pandemic, Samaritan’s Purse set up a 68-bed field hospital in New York City, one of the regions the hardest hit by the Coronavirus in the US. As a Christian humanitarian organization, it is staffed by believers and volunteer Evangelical doctors and nurses. Though the organization supports traditional marriage, and requires its staff to do the same, Samaritan’s Purse helps all who come through its door. It doesn’t matter what their faith is or sexual preference, if they are sick, the doctors and nurses will tend to their needs. And equally important, Samaritan’s Purse provides this help at no charge. But as Samaritan’s Purse set up its …