Have peace now and forever

The international day of peace is celebrated September 21st. In fact, the United Nations has declared that this year will be one focused on peace and safety, along with a couple other words. It makes one wonder - with all the other things going on - if God made this to happen becasue He wants our attention. The Bible talks about these specifically in relation to the end of the world. "When they say peace and safety, sudden destruction will come upon them." 1st Thessalonians 5:3

I'm not trying to say when the end will come. I do, however, want to discuss how you can have that perfect peace.

Because, of course, this world has a lot of things that bring fear to people's hearts. All the Hurricanes, earthquakes, and other disasters combined with the increased violence and other problems make many people long for peace.

Here is how to have peace in your life. It's a peace we must share with others so others know how to be free from the burden of fear and sin and shame.

Know the Prince of Peace

Peace comes in a relationship. That can be hard for some people. Sometimes betrayal and bitterness and sadness at things that did not go the way you hoped they would can bring much pain. However, there is hope.

It is not just a hope like the world gives, such as I hope the Indians finally win the World Series. Hey, the Cubs finally did last year so who knows? What's important is that this is more than just a possibility or even a likelihood. The hope that this relationship gives is one where you have a certainty of God's love for you.

Even when things don't go the way you expect them, they will go according to God's perfect plan, which is better than what any of us can hope for. We plan for things thinking we know the perfect solution, but we don't always. We don't know the future, except for what God tells us in general about the world.

That's because we are all sinners. We all say, do, and think things that are not perfect. They hurt ourselves or others or they go against that perfect plan that God has for our lives that will make things so wonderful. Not everything will be pleasant in this world, but that is why the Bible calls it the peace that passes understanding. Philippians 4:7. It is a piece that gives us strength to go on even when things go very badly.

For instance, I know a woman who just had a stillbirth. People may wonder how she gets through it. The answer is she knows Jesus. She really has to rely on him a lot because it is very painful for her. All the world can't give the assurance Jesus can give.

She knows she'll see her little boy again, because she has trusted Jesus Christ, God in flesh, to save her from her sins.

You can do that right now. It's as easy as ABC. Admit you are a sinner and fall short of God's perfection. Believe Jesus Christ, God in flesh, died to take the punishment for your sins and rose from the dead, because you can't get to heaven on your own. And, call on Jesus to save you, choosing to let him forgive you and make you knew inside.

You can pray something like this. "Lord Jesus, I know I'm a sinner. I know I don't deserve your perfect heaven. But I believe you died to take my punishment for my sins and rose from the dead. Lord Jesus, today I calling you with all my heart to save me and make me new inside. I trust you to forgive me and I believe that you have written me in your book of life. Not because of anything I have done but because I have called on you today because this is all because of what you did. In Jesus name, amen."

If you wander from Him of course you will struggle. However, He will always be there working in you lovingly drawing you back to Himself. You can go here to talk to someone about that life forever that begins right now.

Pursue peace with others

I have written several times, like here, about how we must all work together. We are all One race and one people. There have been people who have thought they were superior because of false pride. However, those people are wrong. We are all equal before the cross. And, God made us all equal here too.

The only difference is some of us are Saved Sinners and some of us are still Lost Sinners. Those of us who are saved need to be sharing our love as well as that of Jesus Christ so that those who are lost can be saved. After all, as I said we don't know when the world will end but it could be soon. It has been very recent for a number of people.

See, we need to ask Jesus to help us to love others despite their differences. This can be hard for some. It's easy when you have families who go to the same school and work in the same offices. At least it should be. It's harder when they are from different communities.

We need to work on building common ground. That common ground is that this is a world of sin and we need to be protecting others and helping them.

While it is true that we cannot bring God's Kingdom on our own - the time spoken of in Revelation must come first oh, a horrible time in this world I will mention later - it is also true that we must work to show God's love while we are here. We must not sit back and just wait for others to do things. We should be feeding the hungry and helping the poor and things like that and not relying on government for it, because we can do so much better as God's people helping them to help themselves.

That means getting rid of some of the sin in our own lives. It means getting rid of sensual things and things were we simply consume them for our own lust. It means getting rid of the vulgar language. It means being dedicated to good, clean, wholesome things. There are so many good things and hilarious things that can happen which do not involve vulgarity and meanness and stuff like that.

The world tries to enforce this on its own through things like political correctness. But, again, this is a human creation and therefore imperfect. No imperfect creature can ever create a perfect system. Only God can help us truly be resilient in this world so we can help others to be.

God, on the other hand, has a perfect system where we accept others and where we do work to respect others and not be bullying and treat others with kindness, doing to others what we would have do unto us. the Holy Spirit must be our guide, being filled with the Spirit means being controlled as God leads us to be the people He wants - but that includes standing for the truth of His Word and speaking it in love. This is why the Bible is so important, especially the New Testament. It shows how we should live Godly lives. And, as I mentioned before, the King James version is the one that should be followed. It is from the original Antioch Greek.

This focus on Godly attitudes toward others will eliminate the problems people have caused. It is not the political correctness as much as it is the lack of calm, consider a discussion with each other which has so damaged Society. We must get to the back to the point where we accept and understand each other, talking to understand and not just to respond.

A warning about false peace

If I am not predicting the end of the world, what am I saying?

As I mentioned in the beginning, there is a false peace coming. This is the peace of which I said the Bible warns, when they say peace and safety sudden destruction shall come upon them.

This destruction does not mean the end of the world right away. Of course, as you can see in Revelation, many things will happen eventually that will lead to the Lord needing to return to restore things. When he does, as we see in other passages about the millennial Kingdom as well as Revelation 20, it will be a world of peace that lasts.

The Bible tells of many things that I have warned before, such as the mark of the beast. Nobody can take that Mark and enter God's perfect heaven. Those who do take it will be lied to by the devil into thinking that it will give them some sort of immortality or a connection with the Antichrist that is so pleasing for the moment but will be destructive in the end.

This is the kind of thing God wants us to avoid. He has made a way to avoid it, by knowing Jesus Christ is your personal savior. As mentioned before, if you are reading this after many have disappeared, it may be that there will be a false peace developing that was also prophesized about. It will last three and a half years and will lull many into a false sense of security. This is why it is so important to know God so that he can protect you and guide you away from this.

That false peace we'll begin with some sort of Covenant that is signed or confirmed buy a world leader known as the Antichrist.

There have been many things stated by others and we don't know what is actually going to happen. Will there be some demon coming down claiming to be an alien life form? Will Holograms and artificial intelligence and other things be a major part of the deception which will come? These things we do not know.

We Do know, however, that God will protect us and save us from that terrible Wrath. Because, he is about to come sometime and bring down judgment upon the terrible evil of this world. People who have acted like Monsters doing so many horrific things, but also people who have been so prideful thinking that they can do anything they want without any consequences. Remember, that false Pride is something that I said in the beginning leads to such horrible things as racism and hatred of others and all sorts of things.

People, in their imperfect way, have tried to stamp out those things. They have been unsuccessful because only God can change hearts.

Our own hearts need to change, too, so we'll be reconciled to God and, following Him, to each other. That is the most important thing to remember. It is in our hearts that we have that peace from God. It is in our hearts that God must work to bring that peace, so we can share it with others.

Part of revival; Avoiding danger in fallen world

Would you avoid something you knew was awful if you could, be it something as awful as a mile fall from a plane or a shark attack, or as simple as spiders or mice, which spook a lot of people?

We all avoid things we think will destroy us. This recent post discussed celebrating the Abundant Life Jesus gives when we trust in Him to save us from our sins, it's so much greater than what we get when we look at only what we can get out of it. And, as much as we say "live life to its fullest," nobody rushes to be attacked by a shark. Even "Shark Tank" has people taking huge precautions. That or falling a mile from a plane without a parachute would be on everyone's list of things to avoid. For some, even something as simple as spiders or mice make them run in horror.

In the wake of the tragic death of Jose Fernandez, I considered that recent post on enjoying the abundant life Jesus gives. It's very appropriate as a subject itself, of course. And, there are so many good thoughts - like these from Philippines 4:8 - which God shows us in His Word are important for us to live happily.

(Notice I didn’t say to be happy? Happy is an adjective. Happily is an adverb which modifies the verb "live" in the old fairy tale ending. They live happily ever after, but that doesn't mean everything is happy. They simply choose to focus on what they are thankful for. Even if Mongols attack there castle or smallpox ravages the kingdom, they can focus on the love they share no matter what happens. We shouldn't let circumstances define us.)

So, God clearly gives us some wonderful things to focus on as we enjoy the abundant life He has given those who trust Him to save them from their sins. It's something we need as only He can give divine protection against evil.
 

However, one should also avoid certain other things just like one avoids the really bad stuff mentioned above. (And as some people avoid spiders, etc.) We can avoid evil, nightmare-inducing things on our own and - as long as we have a relationship with God - improve it. Just as you avoid things that you know will kill you (a shark or a fall from a plane) or that you are really scared of.

Divine Protection From Evil

 The first step to avoiding evil is to make sure you're on God's side so He can protect you - sit in that chair of grace, so to speak.

God is holy and can't touch sin; He can't allow it into His perfect Heaven; I'll explain in the next section where that sin came from originally. You can go to that section if you want and come back, of course, but for now, suffice it to say that God has it this way so those who are covered by His atonement for sin can't have anything bad happen to them in Heaven.

We have a sin problem, though. We are all sinners; nobody is totally, 100% righteous.(Rom.3:10,23, etc.) Though all we like sheep have gone stray, and turned to our own ways, God laid on Him (Jesus) the iniquity of us all.(Isa. 53:6)

So, we all have sin in us, but God reconciled us to Himself by bearing our sins in His own body.(1 Pet.2:24) Jesus, God in flesh, died to take the punishment for each of our sins - yours, mine, everyone's and rose fromt he dead. That gift of His grace and mercy is free to anyone who trusts in Him to save them. It's not about praying certain words, it's calling on Him in your heart to save you and forgive you.

A good way to remember that is ABC - Admit you're a sinner, Believe Jesus, God in flesh, died to take your punishment for your sins, and rose from the dead, and Callon Him to save you from yoru sins, Choosing to repent (turn from your sins) and make you new inside.

You can do that right now, in fact. If you haven't, you should do so now because we never know what will happen. You can turn from your sins and tell God something like this: "Lord Jesus, I know I'm a sinner, I know I can't get to heaven on my own, but You died to take the punishment for my sins and rose from the dead. Lrod Jesus, I trust you today to save me from my sins and make me new inside, come into my heart today and save and change me. I believe you have saved me not by anything I have done but by the fact I totally trust in what You did for me. In Jesus' name, Amen."

If you don't know Jesus as Saviour, you can't go to God's perfect Heaven where you'll be free from sin and all those burdens when you die. You'll be separated from that perfect love and peace and goodness forever in a horrible, wicked place meant only for the devil and his angels.(Mat.25:41) So, it's important to trust Jesus as your Saviour first.  Here is a great tract with more explanation. Gotquestions is a great site to help with questions, and online mentors here can help personally.

Anyway, we should love God's grace and mercy because He has given it as a free gift to anyone who will trust him to forgive them for their sins. He will cleanse them from all unrighteousness. A saved person can't be possessed by the devil.

However, a saved person can be oppressed, just like Job when he followed the Lord and the devil was allowed to try to ruin his life, but Job apparently kept his sight on those eternal rewards. And, the devil can certainly possess an unsaved person and, made bad enough, can totally wreck that person.

Thankfully, there is hope for such a person, as we see witht he possessed man in Mark 5, but the best thing is to never allow evil to be in your life in the first place.

Yes, i talked about possession. there is a spiritual realm; indeed, superstring theory has proven there are more dimensions than jsut what we can see plus time. I mentioned it because it, and all spiritual warfare, is very real. We need God's protection from that evil so we can enjoy the freedom from oppression God gives us.

 

Making the shark from Jaws look tame

This leads to the main subject - avoiding Deception like mentioned to some extent in the previous post, though it focused more on the devil counterfeiting things. This centers more on a type that would be a big problem even without a movie about it. it is something which can appear harmless but is really dangerous and is something to avoid at all costs.

Before the Sharknado movies - which I have never seen but which I have heard one could make fun of on the level of Mystery Science Theater 3000 - there was Jaws. A shark attack is one of those really important things to avoid, though thankfully there will not be tornadoes with many, many sharks in real life. They almost certainly won't happen even in the tribulation period, that terrible time when God will judge the evil of the Earth and the devil will try to take as many as he can with him to hell.

Even today, however, the devil is at work trying to lure people away from God's goodness and to his evil. And, he does that through things that look innocent.

As discussed before, the devil was a created being that had untested creature holiness, meaning he had not been tested to see whether he would sin. He chose to try to overthrow God. (Isaiah 14:12-15,Ezekiel 28) This rebellion caused him to lose his place in Heaven and he took a third of the angels with them him(Rev. 12) and they became demons.

So, think about it. When you see images of things that are demonically possessed, these are things that hate God and want to destroy His perfect love, peace, compassion, and all the other good things about God. They do not love His grace and mercy.

These things are real and they can and do possess things and even people. It may seem innocent, and when you walk out of a movie theater or turn off a TV you may think it's okay now" - or at least after about a month when you finally go near the water again after watching "Jaws." However, keep in mind that these things not only hate love, mercy, and other good things, they also hate you. The beasts of the field stalk their prey by blending in with their surroundings till they can pounce. Even so, the devil walketh about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.(1 Peter 5:8)

God gives us hope. he gives us freedom from the terror those evil things cause. However, we need to put our faith in Him to do somust as one must put their whole eight into a chair to sit in it; you aren't trusting it if you think it'll collapse and thus you're ready to spring out of it if it starts to teeter.

How To Avoid Evil

As noted numerous times, revival begins with us. That means not just trusting Jesus as your Saviour and then doing good, but also staying away from things which can hurt us, just like you stay away from a shark attack.

 Yes, demonic things and things which have them in them can hurt us. They want to, in fact, because they hate God's creation. Therefore, we should stay away from them.

How far away? Obviously, some people can handle a little more than others. But, there are some limits all need to have as we trust the Lord to protect us.

First, understand that any so-called games or other activities involving magic really are inviting evil spirits into your life, those bad guys that want you to eventually be miserable even if they make things look fun at first.

Next, remember that Hollywood and other places want to make money. They want to make things seem innocent because if they made things really horrible and gory who would watch? Okay, things have gotten a lot worse than they were with Jaws back then, so maybe people would watch.  But, that just shows that the devil is trying to downplay things so that people can be drawn in.

If you have to deal with the subject, bathe it in prayer. Jesus is more powerful then these things. He cast them out all the time, after all. But some can't be stopped without prayer, and lots of it.

This is where I say that some people can handle it better. Look at a passion play, for instance. Somebody has to play Judas, who betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver and had so much hatred in him, right? Someone else may play people who shouted to crucify him. Still other performers have played Nazis like the Gestapo and SS. They weren't the bumbling people who were likely in on the prisoners' plans and worked to defeat Hitler in Hogan's Heroes. They were cruel and hateful and despicable people. Some actors and actresses can do that and not have it affect them, well others might find themselves deeply bothered by it.

However, that is when acting is someone's job. There is no need to pretend the scary stuff at other times.

When it comes to certain things, of course, they are urban legends and really can't happen. A youth told me once of a story that if you said "Bloody Mary" she would appear. That is a trick to scare people, although there was a real queen named that - she persecuted Protestants in the 1500s in England. Her spirit won't reappear if you say her name - although it might cause you to then think bout her.

Evil spirits do exist, though, and we should be careful never to attempt to communicate with them or use them. They are not dead loved ones - those types of things are really calling up demons. Same with any sort of fortune telling or astrology. The devil might try to trick you into thinking he's guessing right, but it's usually very vague, and God commands us to live by faith anyway, and He actually does reveal quite a bit to us when we trust Him. He gives us as much as we need to live and the rest, well, some people really want to live an adventurous life, right? Not knowing everything about your future is actually an important part of that adventure. Of course, you want to be sure where you'll go when you die, but that's different.

Things like that prey on the imagination. The imagination can be good, of course. It's great to be creative and use the talents God gave you, of course. The key is, first, people with imaginary friends when pressed will admit they are imaginary, and they serve a developmental purpose anyway, though not everyone has them. They should ot be turning the person away from God, though. In fact, when I got older I prayed and dedicated my stuff ed animals to the Lord to be used however he wanted; because of some developmental delays(possibly very mild Asperger's Syndrome) I knew He could use them to help me and He did.

You know what I found then? They always pointed me toward God or if I was talking with one of them since it was hard to verbalize stuff that "animal" would remind me to talk with God about the situation. Why? because I knew that God was using them. In fact, my biggest struggles in lie came at a time I thought I was grow up enough I'd never need them anymore to help me verbalize things and make sene of thigns in my mind. It was never "them," though - in fact, I readily say I'm them or they're me. That ws God at work using what He needed to use to help me.

Don't let it take you away from God

Whatever it is you are thinking about, then, make sure that God remains on the throne of your heart.

The devil wants control of this world, and one day he'll hve it for seven years of the worst stuff in human history. God will judge the world's sin then. This post tells how to avoid trouble and what to do if it starts and you're still here.

For now, remember that there is great deception out there even without the devil having complete control of things. To avoid deception, stay in God's Word and away from the evil things like the next Ouija movie and any boards or other things like it. There are so many good, family-friendly things you can d, and so many non-spooky characters you can be and things you can write. You don't have to include the Gospel in everything you write - unless God leads you to do it. However, God wants to protect you from bad stuff He knows is out there.

So, stick close to Him, know He is personal and knows you better than you know yourself. You are fearfully and wonderfully made by Him(Ps.139:14) for a special purpose, and that is to glorify Him and show His love, goodness, grace, mercy, compassion, and all those other great attributes of His to a lost and dying world.

The only way to show them is to be following Him and not the spirits of darkness in this world. He died and rose from the dead to give you freedom from all that, and to give everyone else that freedom, too.

How To Avoid Being Fooled

Youthquake just recorded this radio show on Daniel 9 and praying for repentance revival.(Which also faced spiritual attack as it wasn't able to be uploaded on the Youthquake site for a while because of computer glitches.) It meshes with what I've said about the need for a repentant heart, like here, and reconciliation.

Part of that is avoiding deception, too. It's vital to know what's real so you can avoid being tricked, because if you fall for the wrong trick, it can be fatal. It's like if you think your road is clear when there is invisible ice and you wind up skidding and crashing into a tree or slipping and breaking something while walking. The ice can't be seen since your senses (which, being human, can be wrong) may say it's not there, but your faith(trust in what you know of driving) tells you to be careful.

Yes, our senses are faulty at times. Even places like this secular article suggest there are dimensions beyond what we perceive, thus explaining the spiritual realm. The devil uses tricks I'll discuss to turn people away from God.

However, God has unconditional love for each of us and is always longing for people to come to Him for salvation. You are only a single, sincere prayer of repentance from eternal life.

He made this world without suffering or sin in it. However, mankind brought sin in by choosing to rebel(Rom. 5:12), and things have been declining since. Still, each of us - you - have God's Word: You are "fearfully and wonderfully made"(Ps.139:14), a special creation of God here for a special purpose. The devil wants you to think you have no purpose or design, but you do - to show God's love to everyone once you are saved from your sin. While we've all sinned and come short of the glory of God, and we earn spiritual death - separation from God's perfect love forever - because of our sin, God has given each of us the free gift of eternal life by simply trusting Him to save us from our sin.

Indeed, if you or anyone else were the only person ever on the face of the earth. God still would have come to this world, and Jesus Christ, God in flesh, would have died to take the punishment for your sins and risen again. He wants to give each of us life more abundantly, with eternal rewards that will last forever. You can go here to talk to an online mentor who can help guide you in your walk with God.

God reveals His truth so we can avoid deceptions, just like something that can reveal when that invisible ice is there so we don't slip driving or walking.

What Counterfeits Can Trick Us?

Some things have been discussed, like how to pray the devil doesn't counterfeit things in a revival. Others haven't. I'll mention them later, but first, the need to understand and follow sound Doctrine is vital. There are many traps that sound good but aren't. A milkshake might sound great, but one little bit of dog food will make it very yucky and you won't want to eat it. At least I hope not. Yet if it is only called a milkshake and you don't investigate it, you won't know till it's too late that it has dog food in it.

That's why, as some are famous for saying, there are no counterfeit $47 bills. There aren't any real ones. Sound Doctrine comes from the inspired Word of God, and even the original Antiochan texts have been counterfeited. (This is why, while we know the Bible is fully reliable, in places like this,  I've mentioned it's important to use the King James; others come from the Alexandrian texts.)

No, I'm not talking about some weird place that serves dog food milkshakes. If only I was talking about something that simple. It would be funny. However, the devil tricks us with much different things, things which look very satisfying on the outside but are destructive inside, just like having a $5714 bill might feel satisfying till you try to use it and find out it's worthless.

One of those things is the ecumenical movement. Many churches in it do not preach sound Doctrine. That in itself should turn you off. They may be nice people, but they are deceived as to what is most important. God is most important. We can't create a perfect world because we are sinners who come woefully short of the glory of God. God's ways will always be better than man's ways, as posts like this on God's justice shows, and this on His ways versus the world's.

It's just one of the things I warned about here. It's leading to the One World Religion of Revelation which even the devil will fight (2 Thess.2:3-4) before this world of sin is destroyed by God. We must lovingly warn people away from it in a spirit of compassion so God can protect them. It will be the devil's way of trying to draw many to destruction. They are trying to create a world in their image by making works the most important thing, but nobody can overthrow what the Bible says,. The Bible says salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.(Eph. 2:8-9,John 3:16,etc.) It is available to everybody, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.(Romans 10:13.)

Others focus only on the world. They think that God will give us worldly things. However, this idea doesn't even make sense logically. God wants us to focus on treasures that can never grow old, can never wear out, and so on. In wanting what is best for us, God doesn't let everyone become rich with worldly things because He knows those will never last. If a person happens to be rich with them, God expects them to use that for His Glory by giving to missions, tithing, and so on. Sure, he provides their needs, but many people have lived for Him while facing poverty, persecution, and so on - the case of George Muller and how he had to pray and have God provide that day's food that very morning at times is a perfect example. He says, "In this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."(John 16:33)

The above factors are important to take into account whenever we pray for revival. There is another solemn assembly being called September 21, but we must be repentant and not just call on God without turning from our wicked ways in our own hearts and lives. We can't say, "Turn this wheel and let me drive North" as we continue to push the gas pedal to the floor and speed South.

Avoid "Science Falsely So Called"(1 Tim.6:20)

 Superstring theory shows that extra dimensions beyond our three physical and time can exist. There is a spiritual realm; we know that from the Bible.What we take in should be tested against God's perfect, inerrant truth.(John 17:17)

Creationism isn't a requirement for salvation, you just have to trust that Jesus Christ died for your sins and rose from the dead and call on Him by faith to save you and make you new, putting all your trust in Him to do so. Still, the devil uses what the Bible calls "science falsely so called" to trick people a lot. This Bible quote shows the Bible supports science but doesn't support pseudoscience, things that are based on false assumptions, etc..

For isntance, even secular Discover Magazine had this article on Neanderthals, for instance, debunking a lot of evolutionists theories about them. Actually, their DNA is present in many Europeans and Asians today, and could easily be said to have just had normal diseases. Much about them has been debunked by science, which keeps changing, whereas the Bible's comments about science, such as here and here, have been true since time began. God told of them thousands of years before we discovered them

 Evolutionists use time to try to prove things, but they claim the simple becomes more complex without an outside force, when it can't, any more than a bunch of airplane parts can form an airplane.Cave paintings of dinosaurs and dragons, all of which are remarkably consistent, seem to indicate - along with some Out of Place Artifacts - that people lived with them and were much more intelligent than we credit them with being.

Let's leave that aside, though, because some are now claiming it was aliens because they can't explain it any other way. This leads to the spiritual realm and an even more dangerous deception. This link is around 2 hours long, but it's a video from December, 2011 that talks about how demonic creatures may appear from other realms pretending to be aliens, but they are not. That link, starting at about 29 minutes, starts talking about string theory and why there are multiple dimensions we can't see. Starting about 1 hour, you'll hear the connection to Genesis 6 and the evil Nephilim.

Even Worse Tricks To Avoid - Occult, etc.

Those are big problems. However, the occult is an even bigger one since there is so much spiritual warfare. In fact, the devil does so much to get into our minds that I've chosen not to link occult stuff; it's not good for even adults like me who are strong in their faith, let alone those who struggle. Event he strong should do lots of prayer and even fasting, immersed in God's Word, before searching the 'Net about it. It is vital to recognize some things are real problems. One video tells of something which clearly exists and speaks of a desire to limit human population to 500 million; this lack of concern for life goes against God, who values each person individually, as I shared above and have blogged in places such as here. He is personal and wants a relationship with you to not only save you from sin and hell but to be a trusted guide, comforter, helper, friend, and so much more.

The devil makes things very enticing, drawing people into it, if they're not careful. People who refuse to accept God's unconditional love will fall for a strong delusion someday in order to continue doing wickedly. The Bible says it's coming. We don’t know what that delusion will be. However, we know two things for certain:

1. Every spirit must be tested, to see whether it is of God.(1 John 4:1) In fact, 1 John 4:1-3 – along with 2 John 7 – show why a certain question from the Bible is important to ask any creature.

2. Today is the day of salvation. Whether or not that delusion involves demons posing as aliens - mentioned in part of this radio show from Youthquake - the greatest evil is being restrained. That delusion will come full force on those who remain after the restrainer (the Holy Spirit) is taken out of the way (2 Thessalonians 2:7) as believers are caught up in the Rapture. Jesus’ return is imminent. He could come at any time.

Superstring theory proves there is a spiritual realm, as noted. The devil could use the idea of aliens when it is really demons appearing to people. Thus, this warning is issued.

There is a lot more out there than we can see, including spirits. Those who experience strange, supernatural things generally view them as scary, and have dabbled in occultic stuff beforehand. These are NOT aliens from other worlds. They are demons. These people did not test things to see if they were of God. They got caught up in evil instead.

That's why this question will allow that person to know for sure if something can be trusted. It must be answered “yes.” Such a question is important.

Before the question - a summary of what the devil/demons are

The Bible warns that God has an enemy, the devil. The devil can masquerade as an angel of light. He hates humans. Why? We are God’s creation, formed in God’s image.

God created everything in the beginning, and gave angels freedom. However, in his pride, the devil – an angel named Lucifer - tried to overthrow God, and become like the Most High. Instead, the devil was defeated by God’s perfect love, goodness, etc.. Now, the devil works with fallen angels which followed him to deceive God’s creatures. That deception is what led to the fall of Adam and Eve, which is when sin came into our formerly perfect world. It’s also what leads to those spooky sightings, if those sightings are of evil spirits and not some experiment.

God is a God of love, though, as well as one of justice. He wants us to believe and follow Him willingly. He gives us free choice. He doesn’t want us to be mindless robots. Still, He wants us to be in His perfect Heaven someday. We can’t get there ourselves, because we are imperfect. We say, think, and do things that displease God; that’s what sin is. We can’t earn our way there, because we can never be perfect. Only perfection can be in Heaven, because it is a place with no pain, no suffering, no tears, no decay, no death. We, as imperfect people, can’t see, hear, or even imagine the wonders that await us. But, we will always have that sin on us unless something is done for us.

God not only made the way, he gave Himself for us. God couldn’t just say “Sin is forgiven” from up in Heaven. He had to come to this world, be born as a baby, and live a perfect life, before He died on the cross as the perfect, sinless substitute for our sins. He took the punishment for each of us, the punishment we deserved. He had to be human in order to die for us humans, to take human punishment. And yet, He was also God the Son, so after He died, He then rose from the dead. God the Father sent God the Son to die for us, but at the same time, God the Son came willingly. He lives in every believer through God the Holy Spirit, and intercedes on our behalf before God the Father in Heaven.

This is why I emphasize salvation so much. We need God's protection from that evil, since we are powerless against it ourselves.

Even the devils – the fallen angels – understand who God is. That’s why in Matthew 8:29, and elsewhere, they cry out that Jesus is the Son of God. This means that he is God. It’s just like James and John were nicknamed the “sons of thunder” because of the way they acted, or Barnabas, the “son of consolation.” The devils feared God, and trembled. However, there is one important difference between those evil spirits and good spirits.

Evil spirits deny that Jesus Christ is God in flesh. That is the spirit of antichrist, as the Bible says. It poses great danger. They deny that Christ’s salvation cleanses from sin. They try to lead people down another path, a path that seems good to people. But, it’s a path that ends in destruction.

That’s why we must test the spirits, to see if they are of God. And, why we are warned so emphatically about the spirits that deny that Jesus Christ is God in flesh. They must *never* be followed, because they lead man away from our perfect, loving, yet holy and just God.

So, what is the question which must be asked?

After all that, i imagine you can guess it. It is this: “Is Jesus Christ God in the flesh?”

What does this have to do with aliens? See, claims of life on other planets would change all of society. However, we’d have to be sure the “aliens” were not lying spirits, since we wouldn’t know what their inside was. It's just like we need to gauge whether a person is saved by how they act and not just by their words. I can say I'm the King of Belgium but it doesn't say anything about the real King of Belgium. And, I sure wouldn't want Belgians thinking I was their king. (Though they do make great waffles. :-) )

Another reason is that strong delusion God warns of in 2 Thess. 2:8-12. That strong delusion could, possibly, be devils disguised as aliens. They could also be the Nephilim of Geneses 6:1-4, about which there is much debate, but which some believe to be part demon, and part human.

Is there intelligent life on other planets?

No, it will be up to those who have been saved from their sins to explore the cosmos once we get to Heaven.

Here’s why: 1. Creation began on Earth, no other planets are mentioned; 2. Jesus died once for all. He didn’t die in several places; 3. God never changes, he is always faithful and true; he wouldn’t have one plan of salvation for one planet, another for another – even in the Old Testament, salvation was always by faith; 4. Jesus’ talk of others “not of this flock” refers to Gentiles, as His followers then were all Jews; 5. God wiped all flesh from the Earth during the Flood, save for those in the Ark, because of the gross evil – in His mercy, He gave them one last time to repent as the waters rose. There is no sign people built spaceships before then. Even 10 Edisons and Einsteins living centuries couldn’t create all that would be needed for interstellar travel. So, that eliminates that option.

Even if there could be, though, that brings us back to the question that must be asked, and why they'd have to say "yes.":

God had a perfect relationship with Adam and Eve until the Fall of Man. If creatures never fell from grace, they’d have a relationship like angels who remained loyal to God. He’d tell what He had done for humankind. Since Jesus died once for all, and Jesus is God, they would know. They would clearly say “Yes, Jesus Christ is God, and He came in flesh as mankind’s Savior, for all who receive Him, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord (Jesus) shall be saved.” They’d testify that the Bible was true. We’d know they were friendly. And, they’d be people. They’d see common history from the start of Genesis. The Word of God is swift, and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, and can easily pierce the hearts of His creation – us. (Hebrews 4:12)

God can’t lie. It’s impossible. When He says something exists, there it is. He tells the story of Creation, the Fall, Redemption and through it all, His great love for His creation. When the fullness of time was come, He came into this world to die once for all of His fallen creatures. He would not leave His fallen creatures without the possibility of salvation.

The Bible is our authority for everything. Jesus Christ alone should be followed, as He alone is perfect love and goodness. Only He provides salvation, as He is God in flesh; only He was the perfect, sinless sacrifice for our sin. The Bible has an answer for everything. One key passage is James 1:5, the promise that God will give wisdom to anyone who asks; He will give cheerfully, and never complain about it. Go to Him with all your questions, and all your problems, because He can help you like noone else.

Jesus is, after all, God, Who came in the flesh; He is well acquainted with our infirmities, yet was without sin, so He could take our punishment when He died on the cross, and then rose triumphantly from the dead. The Bible clearly shows (in Revelation 19) how He’ll come after the Battle of Armageddon, and rule and reign on this Earth.

Will America be judged soon? Focus on sharing Gospel, having faith & trusting God to get you through turmoil

Some people believe America is due for judgment quickly. Is it? I can't say for certain, but this much Ican say.

The Dow Jones had been going down substantially before a rally, as have other markets, and this could continue. America has so much debt even 3 years ago the very respected Forbes Magazine ran an article asking if America was bankrupt.. More importantly, America is morally bankrupt on a number of fronts. I won't get into what, because the key is to occupy till Jesus comes.

How do we do that? The key is not to focus on the future by worrying about it, but to focus on the present and let the Holy Spirit guide you.

Remember, the Spirit lives in each believer. You are sealed by the Holy Spirit, and He lives in you, the moment you trust Jesus Christ to forgive you of your sins, calling on him by faith and asking him to do so.

The next key is to share Christ salvation with everyone. It is vital to have a good testimony. If you are harboring sin, pain, or whatever in your heart, give it to the Lord and let Him take care of it. He wants to help you like this, because he loves you. He loves all of us. It's just that that personal relationship with Him can only exist if we have Him living inside us.

When you share Jesus Christ with others, it is important to have the words to share what God has done in your life. It doesn't have to be some amazing thing. Just that you feel more peace since you've known him, or that He helped you in a certain situation, or something like that. Here is a great little video on how to do this.

Remember the Bible reveals God is the God of all comfort(2 Cor. 1:3-5), he will provide a peace that passes understanding(Phil. 4:6-7), He will supply wisdom whenever you need it(James 1:5), and many other things. He lets you build treasure in Heaven where moth and rust cannot corrupt and thieves cannot break forth in steel. In other words, treasure that will never grow old, wear out, or become useless.

God is a personal God, He desires a personal relationship with each of us.

There are many other things you can share with people which will allow them to see they can follow Jesus Christ and know that He will never leave them or forsake them.

But, what about this debt, or this Shemittah some talk about?  Or the blood red moons?

First, we are to rightly divide the Word of Truth.(2 Tim.2:15) We must never expect that God will use the same thing to signal Israel than He will to signal a Gentile nation like ours, because He works specifically with His people  in ways He doesn't with others. Even regarding Israel, there is no guarantee that something will happen. It could, as some scholars believe, but it's just as possible these only fulfill Luke 21:25-26 as far as peoples' hearts failing them for fear. It doesn't have to be something as dramatic as the rapture, even - the Iran nuclear deal could be what we look back on and know was the big thing.(Also, that doesn't mean war is imminent there. Look at 1492 as an example - Jews were expelled from Spain, but communication and travel logistics means they were not likely all out for several years afterward. So, war between Iran and its allies against Israel as prophesied in Ezekiel 38-39 could still be years away.)

No, we must focus on other thigns in the United States. And, there are many signs of decay. However, the best advice it not to panic or hoard everything. It is to trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all they ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.(Prov. 3:5-6) He knows what will happen and when or whether a large earthquake, volcano, etc.. His Holy Spirit will guide you. It's just important to remember not to act based on fear, but on faith. He has give us a spirit of lvoe, peace, faith, etc..

So, if after much prayer you feel led to do something like sell your stocks, too it - but don't bury it in yoru backyard and yell "the sky is falling" like Chicken Littel. Instead, recognize God's will and that His ultimate will is seeing souls saved, and go out and share Him with others.

Because, in sharing Him while having confidence that God will get you through, those who are afraid will wonder what's different about you and you can then share how that relationship with Jesus gets you through everything, just as He gets me through everything with the handicaps I have. Because our goal should be to make Him know and to love one another, for they shall know we are Christians by our love. And, if you have concerns, give them to Jesus. And, you can always go to Jesus2020.com with questions. And, you can learn how to be a spiritual leader here, too.

New incident, this time Delaware, let's pray & show that God still reigns

Once again the devil is trying to stir things up, this time in Delaware. Let us first realize that no matter who was right and who was wrong before the suspect was kicked in the face, we need a national repentance revival. Repentance begins with us. Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are, and what did he do to bring change? he prayed.(James 5:16-17) And, it worked! Certainly, many are passionate about these events in Ferguson and Baltimore, and now this video has been added. But, to defeat the devil, to win we must take our passion to the Lord, and win the battle like Elijah did. (And, if need be, fasting.)

I had planned, in the next day or two, to blog about what our response should be if the devil would strike again with his attempt to stir up sttife. Let me first of all assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. We must dedicate ourselves to fighting this battle on our knees.

How? By repenting of our sins and turning to God. Trust the Lord, as I said in earlier posts, to protect us first of all from the evil one. Because the devil is the real enemy, as we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against powers...against spiritual wickedness in high places. (see the post for a complete verse and examination of that armor of God. See the entire blog for more encouragement.)

Let us pray first of all for God's forgiveness for the last four hundred years of oppression. Remember Daniel repented of evils done by his forefathers before he was born, which he personally would have opposed, being a man of God. (Scroll down for "Daniel's prayer of confession in the above link.) Let the oppressed seek God's forgiveness for whatever has been done that has toward others down, instead of building them up. (Again, see Daniel's Prayer of Confession; also Job, whom God was angry at because he tried to justify himself as being self-righteous.) Let us all, of every culture (again, there is only one race) seek God's face that we may be brought together United against that which would destroy and let us have peace. Not the false peace of the Devil, but God's peace which passes understanding.

Then, let us pray ISIS not have any place in Delaware like they tried in Ferguson and Baltimore. let us remember and encourage others that they are the enemy and should NOT be joined, but that they are just another oppressor who want to drag people down and impose a horrifying law that degrades women and all humanity instead of building people up in a loving, Christlike manner. In fact, Sharia law promotes slavery! African-Americans must be warned, and we should all oppose ISIS tooth and nail! Let us pray ISIS be stopped just as in World War Two when we united for a common cause. Let us never turn to them, but realize instead that the Bible is the Word of God and their view of God is a misunderstanding, as I pointed out in part here, of the true God who loves all sinners and  wishes all to come to Him for salvation. We are each only a single, sincere prayer of repentance to Jesus Christ away from eternal life.

Let us pray God's protection over the city over the region over the nation that the devil will not be able to use Isis, or any other force, to bring turmoil. What us instead, seek God's face in bringing about peace, so that we can be sure that he will deliver us. The battle does not belong to the strong, but to the one who has faith. Because this battle must belong to the Lord.

That is why we must go to our knees EVERY time we see or hear an incident like this, and this post should be sent, tweeted, and everything else possible so people can see that this is a spiritual war that must be won by the Lord. If you can't kneel where you are, just seek the Lord, wherever you are, and repent and pray that repentance revival may come to this nation and that we may be protected from whatever violence the devil wishes to bring.