Heaven Is Closer Than You Think!
I don't think of my home in God in geographical terms anymore, but dimensional. A friend of mine, a former nuclear physicist, said scientists are aware of 10 dimensions so far--occupying the same space.
We live in three of these spatial realities: up, down; forwards, backwards; left, right--with time as the fourth dimension. Don't ask me to explain any further. It already blows my mind! As a result, I am now convinced that angels don't travel here...they simply step into our world.
When God's faithful angels appear, the atmosphere charges with power and light that one can hardly stand! (Look at the example in Daniel 8:27.) Why? Because they have permission from the Creator to be in our dimension as protectors, servants, and warriors.
How They Do It
However, when invisible demons wandering the earthly plane attempt to manifest illegally, they have to draw upon (or rob) the energy in the atmosphere. The Bible tells us their leader, satan, is a thief. (John 10:10)
Paranormal investigators use an Electro Magnetic Field Detector (EMF) to pick up what they claim is this increased activity. Cold spots occur, identified by Infrared Thermal Scanners. Sounds and intelligent interactions--called Electronic Voice Phenomena--are supposedly picked up on lower-cycling frequencies because of the tremendous withdrawals these entities have to make for presentation. Digital technology and computer software makes it easy to filter and isolate the audio.
But honestly, why invest all that money in equipment? The Holy Spirit's gift of discernment is better than anything on the market. If there's something HE (God) wants me to gauge, I'm listening.
Being aware of the difficulty these forces face to substantially manifest, I first suspect a strong magnet on the other side of the "door" if the ghostly activity is intense or involves a fully formed apparition. Let me give you an illustration.
My birth mother suffered terrible abuse from an enraged, unpredictable stepmother. The family temporarily moved into an old plantation house known as Woodburn while the father looked for a larger house for his new, pregnant wife.
Woodburn had plenty of "open doors", as do most old homes with a parade of tenants, but especially one that held slaves. However, only Nell (the stepmother) experienced a dramatic "haunting".
There were no cupboards in the old house; folks washed the dishes and pots and placed them on a large table to dry. Mom was then nine-years-old and asleep in her room. Nell was sitting by the fire reading a book. Suddenly, dishes, pots, and utensils began to fly from the kitchen across Nell's head, crashing against the wall!
Mom awoke in time to actually see these things flying through the air. Both of them ran screaming out of the house. When they turned back to look, they saw a shadowy figure standing on the antebellum staircase. No one else was home.
Other such events with Nell indicate that not only was there an open door, but her verbal and physical beatings on the children were attracting demonic forces into the earthly realm with ease (negative, kinetic energy). This fully explains why a former family may report tremendous paranormal activity in a dwelling, while the current tenants report none at all.
Let me say right now that Christians cannot be possessed--even with open doors--because the Holy Spirit already possesses (or occupies) them. (Ephesians 4:30)
However, demons will find "unclean" spots and harass a thought life that suffers from an ongoing lack of renewal and restraint, causing such oppression that one may think he's possessed! Demonic forces can "manifest" internally as a driving, unrelenting oppressiveness, poking and prodding your anger, morbid depression, irrational fears, obsessions and compulsions.
Your emotional and spiritual trash attracts demons, just like your smelly garbage attracts bugs and rats. They'll feast upon the refuse you leave lying around in your soul. Take out the trash and the demons will go elsewhere for lunch!
Joe, Is That You?
If Uncle Joe was saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus, he is happily with the Lord. If he was a blaspheming rascal, then his last breath took him elsewhere awaiting the Great Judgment. So, even if the apparition looks, talks, and smells like Uncle Joe with that cheap cigar, beware--it is a counterfeit called a "familiar spirit".*
Just as God assigns angels to help us throughout our lives, there are demons assigned to us by the demonic hierarchy who become "familiar" with our weaknesses and fears. II Corinthians 11:14 says that satan transforms himself into an angel of light.
The book of Hebrews tells us we've even entertained angels unaware (13:2); so don't think the enemy and his hoards--former angels--will fail to take on whatever form necessary to deceive you into letting down your guard.
Folks alarm me who say, "Well, it's just a benevolent spirit who's looking to find its way back home. It can stay." Uh-oh. They took the bait. The cat will always play with the mouse before it pounces.
The plan? Get in through a little playful deceit--a little scratch in the attic, a luminous orb floating around in Timmy's room that looks like Tinker Bell--how cute. Christian, you don't need to talk to it, ask it questions, or feel sorry for it. It has a two-fold purpose-occupation and sabotage.
Psychics on Parade
John Edward is not talking to your relatives; demonic familiars are telling him intimate things they readily know about Cousin Sam and Grandma Sue because they were assigned to them while on earth.
They can accurately tell Sylvia Brown how your friend died. They were there! And they'll be glad to oblige you with the truth (even though it hurts) if they can get a bigger payoff in the end--an open door into your life and family.
Do you remember the woman with the spirit of divination that Paul encountered in the book of Acts? Once the familiar spirit was cast out of her, she couldn't hear anything from the "dark side". Her employers were furious at Paul for causing them to lose money. (Acts 16:16)
"Sensitives" are real. The genuine ones are God's kids who keep their hotlines to the Holy Spirit open. One of the gifts of the Spirit is discernment, employed primarily to see clearly the motives and intents of a person's heart, despite what they say. It is a tool to get to the root of a person's problem.
It also enables one to perceive the presence of the demonic. Don't get that priority reversed or you'll look for hidden demons in everybody and the devil will oblige your "witch hunt".
Heebie Jeebies
When I hear of a "haunting", I get mad, not scared. And so should you. An alien to our dimension has crossed the border and is wreaking havoc. First, do some historical research and find out where the hedge is down. Was the house or land stolen from its rightful owner? Did an unresolved murder or ritual molestation occur there? What about broken covenants or treaties from the past?
Often, a family will "take on" the sinful character of its patriarchs and become plagued with troubling strongholds of adultery, domestic violence, sexual abuse, life-controlling addictions, and crime. Such things are prime feeding grounds for agents of paranormal activity--more so if compounded generationally by tremendous heartache and harm to others, and covered up for the sake of appearance.
Calamities, crippling diseases, cancer, and mental illness can also run through families that have a generational curse as its root. (Be careful; this is not always the case. It takes a combination of prayer and research.)
What Can You Do?
Let's say you find out the land your family owns was stolen from the Apaches by your great, great granddaddy's daddy Uncle Clem and some bloodshed ensued. Of course, you had nothing to do with all of that, but it troubles you to discover an outstanding offense against God and His word in your family line. You conclude the theft and killings are the source of the unexplainable events happening on your property (your open door).
Like Daniel and Nehemiah, you are willing to step in as a representative to heal the land in Jesus' name and restore a long overdue, righteous balance in the earth.
First, publicly acknowledge the offense; release the truth of what really happened out of your mouth for all of Heaven and earth to hear--right there on the site.
Next, express godly sorrow over what happened. As a righteous representative that now replaces the unrighteous member of your family (or nationality, gender or race), you stand before God to ask forgiveness for what happened.
To give more power to the cleansing, have someone who represents the offended person, race, nationality or gender on hand to receive your forgiveness, if possible.
This act does not absolve the original culprits of their need for personal repentance or from the judgments that may stand secure against them if they've already passed, but it "cleanses" any general curses on God's earth that lingered due to their actions, and the enacted reconciliation on the site seals the breach.
""Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell." (Isaiah 58:12)
With God's delegated authority and power, we are to cleanse the earth of outstanding injustices, regardless of the passage of time or the damage done--seen or "unseen".
Even if you're not able to exactly pinpoint what happened, you know SOMETHING did. Remember Abel? God says, "Life is in the blood" (Leviticus 17:11). Although Abel's body perished and he joined His Creator, his blood still resonated in the earth, crying out for justice!
Energy Still Resonates
"And He (God) said (to Cain), ‘What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out to Me from the ground" (Genesis 4:10).
The word for "voice" in this passage is the Hebrew Qol, meaning a literal call or sound...denoting the intensity of a crying out; a thundering yell for help.
The word for ‘blood' is plural. Matthew Henry noted in his commentary that the blood is both witness and prosecutor, and grieves over not only what has been lost through one life, but the generations that were to come from his loins to impact the world.
Now, try to add all the unjustified bloodshed since. Do you get cold chills, too?
I have become more open to the possibility that many manifestations can be residual energy that "cries for justice", particularly when there has been a hidden or unsolved murder or some other heinous act.
Perhaps the intensity of the injustice was powerful enough to "blast" a lasting imprint in our realm before the soul(s) left earth. Compare this to the radiated imprint of a detailed, human body found on the Shroud of Turin. Many Christians believe the negative image to be of Christ, burned into the fabric at His Resurrection from the dead. Scientists have discovered that the powerful radiation on the shroud proceeded upward in a spiral fashion from underneath the cloth.
In other words, Jesus did not move the cloth or even rise up from the slab; He energized through the cloth...so precisely, that a sharp, highly detailed image remains.
In what some call residual hauntings, the apparition appears but does not directly interact with people or objects on the earthly plane. It manifests again and again, in the same manner, as if trapped in a loop of time due to the unresolved injustice.
The human mind exerts phenomenal energy, so much that it converts our experiences, emotions and thoughts into nightly dreams in order to keep processing. Think of how capable the mind is to have vivid hallucinations. A certain smell, object or song can evoke powerful memories long stored in its unfathomable recesses.
When we die, the human spirit and mind will be freed into realms that have different rules regarding energy conduction and movement. Subsequently, we have to wonder what happens to any residual energy and what it's reverberations are trying to tell us.
As an example, I was watching an episode of "Ghost Hunters" where it appeared that the team verified some genuine phenomena at an old, abandoned insane asylum known for unethical treatment of patients. And then they walked away.
I yelled at the TV, "Hey guys, finish the job!"
The place was obviously full of leftover energy due to the intensity of the pain and suffering, plus I'm sure demons found it a delightful pool in which to wallow.
Tying Up Loose Ends
Mature Christians can go on the grounds of such places to release the trapped, spiritual residue in the name of Jesus; they can break the curse over the place and its former inhabitants, and pronounce a blessing that declares "no longer will this place harbor evil, but liberating peace".
Still, do not proceed without the permission of the Holy Spirit and in His timing. You not only need the assurance that God is with you, but that He has gone ahead to prepare the way.
If you're working with a family that's the magnet rather than a location, tell them they can saturate the place with holy water and smoke it up with burning sage all day, but the entity won't leave unless there is a personal confession of sin and a turning to Christ. If not, the demons can go under the radar and "play dead". They may not manifest for months or years...they may even wait until the next generation, but I guarantee they'll come back bigger and stronger.
Demons lose their feeding grounds if there has been representative and personal repentance. As a result, they put up little resistance (despite what Hollywood would like for you to believe). Familiar spirits have a horrific distaste for repentance and its subsequent cleansing agent--the blood of Jesus Christ.
"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James 4:7)
1. Submit to God
2. Resist the Devil (in the name of Jesus)
3. God says he WILL flee! (not walk, not take time to think about it, not argue, but FLEE! Stand on this promise and settle for nothing less!)
Here's a point many people plagued with paranormal activity miss: they must not only repent of their responsibility for opening illegal doors, but renounce any devices used in the process. For instance, if a person steps out of the pouring rain yet keeps on their wet clothes, they remain affected by where they've been.
Some people choose to visibly demonstrate that renouncement by the burning of certain "tools of the trades" such as books and fetishes of the occult. If you're no longer involved in a certain practice, but still suffer lingering effects, put some measurable, permanent distance between yourself and those things. (Acts 19:18,19)
Restoring (sealing) the house or area is not about using the right implements or reciting a written prayer, but declaring a genuine faith in the Blood and the Name of Jesus. What a demon fears most is not ritual, but real Christians.
The weapons of our warfare are not of man, but "mighty in God for the pulling down of strongholds, casting down arguments (resistance) and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge (truths) of God." (II Corinthians 10:4, 5)
Although your weapons are awesome, be sure that you don't operate in reckless presumption. If your imperfect, yet repentant humanity is cleansed and covered in the Blood of Christ, you can approach evil forces with confidence. Spend time in prayer. Subdue your pride and let your inner man arise. It's not about you, but Christ IN you! The devil will know whether you are relying on your own strength or God's.
No Lone Rangers or Circus Shows, Please!
Don't fake it. Don't go it alone. A team is better; operating in unity in the mind of Christ is more powerful and more of an offense to the devil than one, independent-minded minister who may be relying more on what's written in the pages of a book than the condition of his heart and yours!
Conversely, one genuine believer in an abiding relationship with Christ--ministering under God's sanction--is more powerful than a group of religious mimics.
Put on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6: 10-20), and ask other Christians to commit to pray for and with you--before, during, and after the session.
Right-Side-Up
The devil has convinced broken humanity that life on earth is nothing more than a "ball and chain" existence...what a staggering switcheroo, huh?
Do sins cluster in your family? What uncanny behaviors or situations occur repeatedly? Do you really want those things to continue to pass unchecked down the line to your children and your children's children?
Are you or any of your family members or friends experiencing creepy manifestations? You don't have to call a psychic or get on the waiting list for Ghost Hunters.
Christian, YOU are God's representative down here!
Get bold--head to toe in the Armor of God that quenches every fiery dart of the enemy and declare: "Devil, this is YOUR prison...not ours!" **
I don't think of my home in God in geographical terms anymore, but dimensional. A friend of mine, a former nuclear physicist, said scientists are aware of 10 dimensions so far--occupying the same space.
We live in three of these spatial realities: up, down; forwards, backwards; left, right--with time as the fourth dimension. Don't ask me to explain any further. It already blows my mind! As a result, I am now convinced that angels don't travel here...they simply step into our world.
When God's faithful angels appear, the atmosphere charges with power and light that one can hardly stand! (Look at the example in Daniel 8:27.) Why? Because they have permission from the Creator to be in our dimension as protectors, servants, and warriors.
How They Do It
However, when invisible demons wandering the earthly plane attempt to manifest illegally, they have to draw upon (or rob) the energy in the atmosphere. The Bible tells us their leader, satan, is a thief. (John 10:10)
Paranormal investigators use an Electro Magnetic Field Detector (EMF) to pick up what they claim is this increased activity. Cold spots occur, identified by Infrared Thermal Scanners. Sounds and intelligent interactions--called Electronic Voice Phenomena--are supposedly picked up on lower-cycling frequencies because of the tremendous withdrawals these entities have to make for presentation. Digital technology and computer software makes it easy to filter and isolate the audio.
But honestly, why invest all that money in equipment? The Holy Spirit's gift of discernment is better than anything on the market. If there's something HE (God) wants me to gauge, I'm listening.
Being aware of the difficulty these forces face to substantially manifest, I first suspect a strong magnet on the other side of the "door" if the ghostly activity is intense or involves a fully formed apparition. Let me give you an illustration.
My birth mother suffered terrible abuse from an enraged, unpredictable stepmother. The family temporarily moved into an old plantation house known as Woodburn while the father looked for a larger house for his new, pregnant wife.
Woodburn had plenty of "open doors", as do most old homes with a parade of tenants, but especially one that held slaves. However, only Nell (the stepmother) experienced a dramatic "haunting".
There were no cupboards in the old house; folks washed the dishes and pots and placed them on a large table to dry. Mom was then nine-years-old and asleep in her room. Nell was sitting by the fire reading a book. Suddenly, dishes, pots, and utensils began to fly from the kitchen across Nell's head, crashing against the wall!
Mom awoke in time to actually see these things flying through the air. Both of them ran screaming out of the house. When they turned back to look, they saw a shadowy figure standing on the antebellum staircase. No one else was home.
Other such events with Nell indicate that not only was there an open door, but her verbal and physical beatings on the children were attracting demonic forces into the earthly realm with ease (negative, kinetic energy). This fully explains why a former family may report tremendous paranormal activity in a dwelling, while the current tenants report none at all.
Let me say right now that Christians cannot be possessed--even with open doors--because the Holy Spirit already possesses (or occupies) them. (Ephesians 4:30)
However, demons will find "unclean" spots and harass a thought life that suffers from an ongoing lack of renewal and restraint, causing such oppression that one may think he's possessed! Demonic forces can "manifest" internally as a driving, unrelenting oppressiveness, poking and prodding your anger, morbid depression, irrational fears, obsessions and compulsions.
Your emotional and spiritual trash attracts demons, just like your smelly garbage attracts bugs and rats. They'll feast upon the refuse you leave lying around in your soul. Take out the trash and the demons will go elsewhere for lunch!
Joe, Is That You?
If Uncle Joe was saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus, he is happily with the Lord. If he was a blaspheming rascal, then his last breath took him elsewhere awaiting the Great Judgment. So, even if the apparition looks, talks, and smells like Uncle Joe with that cheap cigar, beware--it is a counterfeit called a "familiar spirit".*
Just as God assigns angels to help us throughout our lives, there are demons assigned to us by the demonic hierarchy who become "familiar" with our weaknesses and fears. II Corinthians 11:14 says that satan transforms himself into an angel of light.
The book of Hebrews tells us we've even entertained angels unaware (13:2); so don't think the enemy and his hoards--former angels--will fail to take on whatever form necessary to deceive you into letting down your guard.
Folks alarm me who say, "Well, it's just a benevolent spirit who's looking to find its way back home. It can stay." Uh-oh. They took the bait. The cat will always play with the mouse before it pounces.
The plan? Get in through a little playful deceit--a little scratch in the attic, a luminous orb floating around in Timmy's room that looks like Tinker Bell--how cute. Christian, you don't need to talk to it, ask it questions, or feel sorry for it. It has a two-fold purpose-occupation and sabotage.
Psychics on Parade
John Edward is not talking to your relatives; demonic familiars are telling him intimate things they readily know about Cousin Sam and Grandma Sue because they were assigned to them while on earth.
They can accurately tell Sylvia Brown how your friend died. They were there! And they'll be glad to oblige you with the truth (even though it hurts) if they can get a bigger payoff in the end--an open door into your life and family.
Do you remember the woman with the spirit of divination that Paul encountered in the book of Acts? Once the familiar spirit was cast out of her, she couldn't hear anything from the "dark side". Her employers were furious at Paul for causing them to lose money. (Acts 16:16)
"Sensitives" are real. The genuine ones are God's kids who keep their hotlines to the Holy Spirit open. One of the gifts of the Spirit is discernment, employed primarily to see clearly the motives and intents of a person's heart, despite what they say. It is a tool to get to the root of a person's problem.
It also enables one to perceive the presence of the demonic. Don't get that priority reversed or you'll look for hidden demons in everybody and the devil will oblige your "witch hunt".
Heebie Jeebies
When I hear of a "haunting", I get mad, not scared. And so should you. An alien to our dimension has crossed the border and is wreaking havoc. First, do some historical research and find out where the hedge is down. Was the house or land stolen from its rightful owner? Did an unresolved murder or ritual molestation occur there? What about broken covenants or treaties from the past?
Often, a family will "take on" the sinful character of its patriarchs and become plagued with troubling strongholds of adultery, domestic violence, sexual abuse, life-controlling addictions, and crime. Such things are prime feeding grounds for agents of paranormal activity--more so if compounded generationally by tremendous heartache and harm to others, and covered up for the sake of appearance.
Calamities, crippling diseases, cancer, and mental illness can also run through families that have a generational curse as its root. (Be careful; this is not always the case. It takes a combination of prayer and research.)
What Can You Do?
Let's say you find out the land your family owns was stolen from the Apaches by your great, great granddaddy's daddy Uncle Clem and some bloodshed ensued. Of course, you had nothing to do with all of that, but it troubles you to discover an outstanding offense against God and His word in your family line. You conclude the theft and killings are the source of the unexplainable events happening on your property (your open door).
Like Daniel and Nehemiah, you are willing to step in as a representative to heal the land in Jesus' name and restore a long overdue, righteous balance in the earth.
First, publicly acknowledge the offense; release the truth of what really happened out of your mouth for all of Heaven and earth to hear--right there on the site.
Next, express godly sorrow over what happened. As a righteous representative that now replaces the unrighteous member of your family (or nationality, gender or race), you stand before God to ask forgiveness for what happened.
To give more power to the cleansing, have someone who represents the offended person, race, nationality or gender on hand to receive your forgiveness, if possible.
This act does not absolve the original culprits of their need for personal repentance or from the judgments that may stand secure against them if they've already passed, but it "cleanses" any general curses on God's earth that lingered due to their actions, and the enacted reconciliation on the site seals the breach.
""Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell." (Isaiah 58:12)
With God's delegated authority and power, we are to cleanse the earth of outstanding injustices, regardless of the passage of time or the damage done--seen or "unseen".
Even if you're not able to exactly pinpoint what happened, you know SOMETHING did. Remember Abel? God says, "Life is in the blood" (Leviticus 17:11). Although Abel's body perished and he joined His Creator, his blood still resonated in the earth, crying out for justice!
Energy Still Resonates
"And He (God) said (to Cain), ‘What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out to Me from the ground" (Genesis 4:10).
The word for "voice" in this passage is the Hebrew Qol, meaning a literal call or sound...denoting the intensity of a crying out; a thundering yell for help.
The word for ‘blood' is plural. Matthew Henry noted in his commentary that the blood is both witness and prosecutor, and grieves over not only what has been lost through one life, but the generations that were to come from his loins to impact the world.
Now, try to add all the unjustified bloodshed since. Do you get cold chills, too?
I have become more open to the possibility that many manifestations can be residual energy that "cries for justice", particularly when there has been a hidden or unsolved murder or some other heinous act.
Perhaps the intensity of the injustice was powerful enough to "blast" a lasting imprint in our realm before the soul(s) left earth. Compare this to the radiated imprint of a detailed, human body found on the Shroud of Turin. Many Christians believe the negative image to be of Christ, burned into the fabric at His Resurrection from the dead. Scientists have discovered that the powerful radiation on the shroud proceeded upward in a spiral fashion from underneath the cloth.
In other words, Jesus did not move the cloth or even rise up from the slab; He energized through the cloth...so precisely, that a sharp, highly detailed image remains.
In what some call residual hauntings, the apparition appears but does not directly interact with people or objects on the earthly plane. It manifests again and again, in the same manner, as if trapped in a loop of time due to the unresolved injustice.
The human mind exerts phenomenal energy, so much that it converts our experiences, emotions and thoughts into nightly dreams in order to keep processing. Think of how capable the mind is to have vivid hallucinations. A certain smell, object or song can evoke powerful memories long stored in its unfathomable recesses.
When we die, the human spirit and mind will be freed into realms that have different rules regarding energy conduction and movement. Subsequently, we have to wonder what happens to any residual energy and what it's reverberations are trying to tell us.
As an example, I was watching an episode of "Ghost Hunters" where it appeared that the team verified some genuine phenomena at an old, abandoned insane asylum known for unethical treatment of patients. And then they walked away.
I yelled at the TV, "Hey guys, finish the job!"
The place was obviously full of leftover energy due to the intensity of the pain and suffering, plus I'm sure demons found it a delightful pool in which to wallow.
Tying Up Loose Ends
Mature Christians can go on the grounds of such places to release the trapped, spiritual residue in the name of Jesus; they can break the curse over the place and its former inhabitants, and pronounce a blessing that declares "no longer will this place harbor evil, but liberating peace".
Still, do not proceed without the permission of the Holy Spirit and in His timing. You not only need the assurance that God is with you, but that He has gone ahead to prepare the way.
If you're working with a family that's the magnet rather than a location, tell them they can saturate the place with holy water and smoke it up with burning sage all day, but the entity won't leave unless there is a personal confession of sin and a turning to Christ. If not, the demons can go under the radar and "play dead". They may not manifest for months or years...they may even wait until the next generation, but I guarantee they'll come back bigger and stronger.
Demons lose their feeding grounds if there has been representative and personal repentance. As a result, they put up little resistance (despite what Hollywood would like for you to believe). Familiar spirits have a horrific distaste for repentance and its subsequent cleansing agent--the blood of Jesus Christ.
"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James 4:7)
1. Submit to God
2. Resist the Devil (in the name of Jesus)
3. God says he WILL flee! (not walk, not take time to think about it, not argue, but FLEE! Stand on this promise and settle for nothing less!)
Here's a point many people plagued with paranormal activity miss: they must not only repent of their responsibility for opening illegal doors, but renounce any devices used in the process. For instance, if a person steps out of the pouring rain yet keeps on their wet clothes, they remain affected by where they've been.
Some people choose to visibly demonstrate that renouncement by the burning of certain "tools of the trades" such as books and fetishes of the occult. If you're no longer involved in a certain practice, but still suffer lingering effects, put some measurable, permanent distance between yourself and those things. (Acts 19:18,19)
Restoring (sealing) the house or area is not about using the right implements or reciting a written prayer, but declaring a genuine faith in the Blood and the Name of Jesus. What a demon fears most is not ritual, but real Christians.
The weapons of our warfare are not of man, but "mighty in God for the pulling down of strongholds, casting down arguments (resistance) and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge (truths) of God." (II Corinthians 10:4, 5)
Although your weapons are awesome, be sure that you don't operate in reckless presumption. If your imperfect, yet repentant humanity is cleansed and covered in the Blood of Christ, you can approach evil forces with confidence. Spend time in prayer. Subdue your pride and let your inner man arise. It's not about you, but Christ IN you! The devil will know whether you are relying on your own strength or God's.
No Lone Rangers or Circus Shows, Please!
Don't fake it. Don't go it alone. A team is better; operating in unity in the mind of Christ is more powerful and more of an offense to the devil than one, independent-minded minister who may be relying more on what's written in the pages of a book than the condition of his heart and yours!
Conversely, one genuine believer in an abiding relationship with Christ--ministering under God's sanction--is more powerful than a group of religious mimics.
Put on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6: 10-20), and ask other Christians to commit to pray for and with you--before, during, and after the session.
Right-Side-Up
The devil has convinced broken humanity that life on earth is nothing more than a "ball and chain" existence...what a staggering switcheroo, huh?
Do sins cluster in your family? What uncanny behaviors or situations occur repeatedly? Do you really want those things to continue to pass unchecked down the line to your children and your children's children?
Are you or any of your family members or friends experiencing creepy manifestations? You don't have to call a psychic or get on the waiting list for Ghost Hunters.
Christian, YOU are God's representative down here!
Get bold--head to toe in the Armor of God that quenches every fiery dart of the enemy and declare: "Devil, this is YOUR prison...not ours!" **
* I am convinced there are rare exceptions when God will allow the RIGHTEOUS in Christ to appear, but again I emphasize--these are rare, and are specific assignments from God to either comfort or warn.
It is predicated on the Biblical account of some of the souls of RIGHTEOUS who were reunited with their bodies at the Resurrection of Jesus. They arose and went into Jerusalem and were seen by many. It is generally believed they accompanied Jesus to the presence of the Father when He laid His blood on the Mercy Seat. (Matthew 27:52,54)
Also, when King Saul consulted the witch at Endor, she was terrified at the appearance of Samuel. Why would a medium, used to conjuring up familiar spirits, become so frightened? I believe it was because she recognized Samuel as the "real deal". Also, a careful study of her description seems to indicate that this soul didn't come from the same place as her demons. (1 Samuel 28:3-25)
Therefore, we see that the "dead in Christ" have been allowed, under extenuating circumstances, to return to the earthy plane. I put the phrase "dead in Christ" in quotations because actually, our loved ones who have passed in Christ are more alive than ever before!
Based on accounts over the years from family members and friends who have seen or strongly sensed the presence of their loved ones, I cannot help but conclude that indeed, they have been visited.
HOWEVER, and again I write with a strong caution, each phenomenon has a warning or comforting purpose, and is usually a one-time event. The atmosphere is not compromised and the visitation bears the fruit of righteousness, peace, and joy.
Bob Faid, a nuclear physicist and dear friend, told me of a missionary friend of his who traveled throughout Eastern Europe. He was devastated when his son died. Although he knew the boy was with the Lord, he deeply mourned the loss and struggled with guilt about not making it back home in time before Ian died.
A year passed, and Ilya sank into a lingering depression. He turned down an increasing number of ministry requests.
His wife invited several family members over for a picnic on Ilya's birthday, hoping to encourage her husband to get out of the house and enjoy his friends. He conceded and spent the day at a nearby park.
His wife had the roll of film developed a few days later. Ilya didn't like to have his picture taken, but had agreed to be in one group picture. In that one photo, there appeared a faint, but distinct image of a smiling Ian--with his arm around Ilya. Bob's friend was able to let go of his pain and guilt, conclude his grieving process, and continue his ministry with great joy and renewed strength.
My husband's mother had passed when he was eighteen from a long battle with cancer. About two months later, he was driving down a busy street in McAllen, Texas in broad daylight. Glancing by habit into the rear-view mirror, he momentarily saw his mother in the back seat!
It shook him so badly that he missed his turn. He immediately pulled over into a parking lot to stop and regain his composure. Within seconds, George heard a tremendous crash. Looking back, three cars had collided on the street where he should have been! Two people tragically died.
These are just two of numerous stories in my circle of family and friends; yet, ALL of them fall into one of two categories: the manifestations either warned or comforted. They DID NOT reoccur.
None of the incidences I investigated of this kind resulted in a morbid fixation on the one who passed, a lingering fear, or an obsession to reconnect through psychic channels. Such aftereffects are a sure sign of a deceiving, familiar spirit. Judge the fruit it leaves behind, and you'll rightly discern the source.
The unrighteous who die outside of Christ have no inheritance in Heaven OR Earth...and particularly no portion in the lives of the saints who are IN Christ, whether they be dead or alive. They are banished forever from the earth, which is the future inheritance of the redeemed of God (Matthew 5:5) and their returning King. (Revelation 21: 1-7)
You see, all who are in Christ make up His Body, the Church--either the Church militant on earth or the Church triumphant in a Heavenly realm.
For now, we are not separated by distance, but dimensions that, as stated earlier, occupy the same space. Even upon death, we remain safely, intimately IN CHRIST with our loved ones.
It is predicated on the Biblical account of some of the souls of RIGHTEOUS who were reunited with their bodies at the Resurrection of Jesus. They arose and went into Jerusalem and were seen by many. It is generally believed they accompanied Jesus to the presence of the Father when He laid His blood on the Mercy Seat. (Matthew 27:52,54)
Also, when King Saul consulted the witch at Endor, she was terrified at the appearance of Samuel. Why would a medium, used to conjuring up familiar spirits, become so frightened? I believe it was because she recognized Samuel as the "real deal". Also, a careful study of her description seems to indicate that this soul didn't come from the same place as her demons. (1 Samuel 28:3-25)
Therefore, we see that the "dead in Christ" have been allowed, under extenuating circumstances, to return to the earthy plane. I put the phrase "dead in Christ" in quotations because actually, our loved ones who have passed in Christ are more alive than ever before!
Based on accounts over the years from family members and friends who have seen or strongly sensed the presence of their loved ones, I cannot help but conclude that indeed, they have been visited.
HOWEVER, and again I write with a strong caution, each phenomenon has a warning or comforting purpose, and is usually a one-time event. The atmosphere is not compromised and the visitation bears the fruit of righteousness, peace, and joy.
Bob Faid, a nuclear physicist and dear friend, told me of a missionary friend of his who traveled throughout Eastern Europe. He was devastated when his son died. Although he knew the boy was with the Lord, he deeply mourned the loss and struggled with guilt about not making it back home in time before Ian died.
A year passed, and Ilya sank into a lingering depression. He turned down an increasing number of ministry requests.
His wife invited several family members over for a picnic on Ilya's birthday, hoping to encourage her husband to get out of the house and enjoy his friends. He conceded and spent the day at a nearby park.
His wife had the roll of film developed a few days later. Ilya didn't like to have his picture taken, but had agreed to be in one group picture. In that one photo, there appeared a faint, but distinct image of a smiling Ian--with his arm around Ilya. Bob's friend was able to let go of his pain and guilt, conclude his grieving process, and continue his ministry with great joy and renewed strength.
My husband's mother had passed when he was eighteen from a long battle with cancer. About two months later, he was driving down a busy street in McAllen, Texas in broad daylight. Glancing by habit into the rear-view mirror, he momentarily saw his mother in the back seat!
It shook him so badly that he missed his turn. He immediately pulled over into a parking lot to stop and regain his composure. Within seconds, George heard a tremendous crash. Looking back, three cars had collided on the street where he should have been! Two people tragically died.
These are just two of numerous stories in my circle of family and friends; yet, ALL of them fall into one of two categories: the manifestations either warned or comforted. They DID NOT reoccur.
None of the incidences I investigated of this kind resulted in a morbid fixation on the one who passed, a lingering fear, or an obsession to reconnect through psychic channels. Such aftereffects are a sure sign of a deceiving, familiar spirit. Judge the fruit it leaves behind, and you'll rightly discern the source.
The unrighteous who die outside of Christ have no inheritance in Heaven OR Earth...and particularly no portion in the lives of the saints who are IN Christ, whether they be dead or alive. They are banished forever from the earth, which is the future inheritance of the redeemed of God (Matthew 5:5) and their returning King. (Revelation 21: 1-7)
You see, all who are in Christ make up His Body, the Church--either the Church militant on earth or the Church triumphant in a Heavenly realm.
For now, we are not separated by distance, but dimensions that, as stated earlier, occupy the same space. Even upon death, we remain safely, intimately IN CHRIST with our loved ones.
** The armor of God, listed in Ephesians 6:10-18 is none other than Jesus Himself!
"But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ..." (Romans 13:14)
"But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ..." (Romans 13:14)
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