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Tuesday, December 10, 2013

A Christmas Message

A Supplement to The Spirit Universe a Christian View available at this Book Site

Introduction 

The Spirit Universe and the Physical Universe existByPJ side by side. While the two universes tend to be separated and distinct, they will be occasionally integrated or blended by the expenditure of energy. Christians know that this blending of the two Universes took place with unparalleled intensity on two separate occasions. In other words, there are two occasions in which heaven touched earth and earth became a portal of heaven. The first occasion and the one that we will discuss here is that of Christmas.

The energies involved in the spirit universe are neutral. That is to say, they are neither bad nor good. However, the energy can pick up the characteristics of the spirit that is using it. The energy utilized by a demonic spirit is experienced as evil or negative energy. On the other hand, the energy used by the Holy Spirit, or an angelic spirit, feels and gives the impression of heavenly glory.

Christmas energy
To see what type of energy was involved with Christmas, we must turn to Scripture:
Luke 2:8-14(ASV) 8And there were shepherds in the same country abiding in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock. 9And an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10And the angel said unto them, Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people: 11for there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12And this is the sign unto you: Ye shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger. 13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14    Glory to God in the highest,      And on earth peace among men in whom he is well pleased.
As we look at the Scripture, we can see that there are three basic descriptions of the energy surrounding this announcement.  It first considers the glory of God,  then it considers the joy of God,  and then finally illustrates the activity generating the energy of God. 

9and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
The glory of God is an incredibly intense manifestation of the presence of God. This "glory " can actually be frightening and can have a strong physical effect on those who are experiencing it.  The energy involved, however, is exceedingly positive and communicates an other worldliness that demarcates it as coming from the spirit universe in the best possible way. 

10I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people
The energy express by the Angels was joyful.  This is again a very positive form of energy that has an immediate impact on those who are experiencing it.  It can produce a sense of celebration that results in dynamic expressions of laughter,  dance,  and uplifting emotions. 

3And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14    Glory to God in the highest,      And on earth peace among men in whom he is well pleased
This particular passage explains the dynamic source of the energy that is being experienced  by the shepherds. The source of this energy was nothing less than complete and focused adoration and praise of God. The Greek word used to describe this energy would be "dunamis". This particular Greek word means that the energy would be experienced in an explosive manner. We get our word "dynamite" from this Greek word.  So this passage is telling us that the praise and worship of God was producing an exceedingly powerful energy characterized by joy and glory.

Conclusion

The entire world was changed by the incarnation of Christ. That incarnation was preceded by proclamations of glory and great joy. The flow of Christmas power put forward and will continue to deliver eternal peace to all men who please God. I can only wish you and yours the merriest and happiest of Christmases from me and my family.

Comments:
In order to stimulate conversations about this topic, the comments section is now open. If you have experiences, insights, or questions, then please leave a comment.

Do You Need Help

Got a problem with the paranormal or have a question you would like one of our authors to discuss? Fill out a Confidential Help Request Form and we will get back to you as soon as we can. . If you have not made a commitment to Jesus and you would like to do so now, then click HERE to go to a page that will show you how to become a follower of Jesus Christ.

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Spiritual Dangers in Paranormal Investigations

A Supplement to The Spirit Universe a Christian View available at this Book Site

Introduction 

The general opinion of a lot of ghost hunting and deliverance ministries is that there is no spiritual dangers involved with what has become a hobby for many people. Yet, when dealing with unknown or negative energies, possibly in the control of demonic or hell bound spirit, there is a clear and powerful danger. This danger definitely involves all three aspect of a person - the human body, mind and spirit.

It is important to realize that, like radiation such as x-rays,  the degree of danger is correlated to the degree of exposure to the negative energy and the spirit forces it contains. We can look at some common practices during an investigation and rate the probability of a damaging experience as follows:

The Danger Scale

The chart on the left attempts to quantify in a general way, the degree of spiritual danger present during an investigation. It really does not matter if the purpose of the investigation is deliverance or ghost hunting. The dangers remain real for both groups.

The red/green bar represents the probability of negative side effects taking place during and after an investigation. The red means a high probability of some kind of spiritual damage taking place, while the green means that the chance of a negative impact  is lower.

The column on the right lists some of the more common methods used by paranormal investigation groups. While some of these methods are very similar, there are enough differences in the methods so that they can be ranked independently.

What Damage

Negative energy and the spirits it contains can do a lot of damage to individuals and whole families. Kids, for example, that come into contact with demonic spirits or who are introduced to occult methods can be influenced through out their lives in both damaging and destructive ways.  Why is this so? Because exposure to paranormal forces can open doorways to spirit influence and oppression. These influences can manifest as depression, anger, delusional thinking, and paranoia.  When spirits are involved, the individual can be oppressed relentlessly, accompanied by a mental and spiritual overload of sensations and truly frightening experiences.

The Scale

The Danger Scale is based on a simple concept. The less personal interaction you have with negative energy and spirits, the safer you are as you investigate or conduct a deliverance session.  The methods in the green do not require inter-personal contact.  After all, recording an energy spike or temperature drop does not demand any interaction at all. On the opposite end, and certainly the most dangerous,  is mediumship of any sort. Mediums open themselves not only to intimate spirit relationships, but they allow spirits to control their minds and bodies.  This is extremely dangerous and most likely will lead to oppression if not possession.
Similarly, trance induction will produce a personality split that comes under the immediate control of a spirit.  A dissociated trance state will diminish the will and confuse the identity of the person who allows spirit contact while in even a mild form of disassociation.

Individuals that practice occult techniques are also in serious danger of negative influences and spirit influence.  In many of these methods, the autonomic nervous system is activated under the control of a spirit.  This is a milder form of disassociation but nevertheless is highly dangerous.

While the least dangerous and safest approaches focus on simple measurements (EMF, Temp, Sound, Video), the danger increases as soon as communication methods are used. From delayed responses generated by EVPs to immediate responses through the use of a “ghost box” the degree of personal interaction increases as does the danger.  Often challenging the spirit to become violent and actually attack the investigator is really giving permission for the spirit to take bodily control. The energies involved can change body chemistry, for example, scratches may often be histamine  reactions rather than actual physical wounds.

Perhaps the most serious danger from communication with spirits is that the person may come to believe that the spirits are telling the truth about themselves and about their final destiny, This leads to false religious beliefs that can prevent the person from embracing the truth as revealed by Christ and His Word.   World religions have been created by spirits who find someone gullible enough to believe that they are getting secret and valid information about God and the spirit universe. The impact of this kind of deception can be world wide and cause misery and suffering for millions of people who follow a faith designed by spirits instead of God.

Conclusion

Not every investigation method is worth following. Deliverance teams only need to establish the existence of spirit influence to do the work of deliverance. Communication with the dead just produces delusion and false belief designed to perpetuate the comfort of the spirit and the discomfort of the follower.  Deliverance teams are there to deliver, and not communicate.

Comments:
Inorder to stimulate conversations about this topic, the comments section is now open. If you have experiences, insights, or questions, then please leave a comment.
Do You Need Help

Got a problem with the paranormal or have a question you would like one of our authors to discuss? Fill out a Confidential Help Request Form and we will get back to you as soon as we can. . If you have not made a commitment to Jesus and you would like to do so now, then click HERE to go to a page that will show you how to become a follower of Jesus Christ.


Tuesday, September 10, 2013

The Spirit of Suicide.

Supplement to Chapter 20 of The Spirit Universe: A Christian View. 
 
Introduction

 Coping with suicide is extremely difficult  for those family
members and friends confronted by the death of a loved one at his/her own hand.  Is suicide a sin? Clearly it is a sin because it breaks one of the basic commandments given to us by God:
13“You must not murder anyone. Ex 20:13
In this case, the word murder is used correctly and implies the premeditated killing of someone, including oneself. In other words, premeditated self-destruction is murder, and those who purposely murder do not go to heaven.


Complications 

What makes suicide so devastating is that it seems to be beyond repentance.  Even if a spirit, who committed suicide, should regret the action, he can not take it back. Death has shifted him from the realm of confession, repentance, and forgiveness to one in which nothing can be changed – the deed is done eternally.  For those who have friends and relatives who may have committed suicide, this is extremely bad news and difficult to bear. Is there no hope for the person who committed suicide?  We must go to Scripture to find the answer to this question. 

What Scripture Says 

While a number of Biblical characters actually committed suicide for various reasons, the most significant and informative Scripture is when Jesus was tempted to commit suicide at the urging of Satan. This temptation is found in Matthew 4:5-7:
5Then the devil led Jesus to the holy city of Jerusalem and put him on a high place of the Temple. 6The devil said, “If you are the Son of God, jump down, because it is written in the Scriptures: ‘He has put his angels in charge of you. They will catch you in their hands so that you will not hit your foot on a rock.’” (See Psalm 91:11-12)
7Jesus answered him, “It also says in the Scriptures, ‘Do not test the Lord your God.’”

This is an interesting Scripture because it gives us the insight that suicidal ideation is demonic in nature.  In other words, suicide may be the result of a spiritual attack – an attack that is indeed life threatening.  This also means that there is a spirit of suicide! A spirit or spirits that specialize in convincing people to kill themselves as a way out of their suffering and misery.


Operating Procedure for the Spirit of Suicide

We can understand the spiritual manipulations that are operating when a spirit of suicide claims a victim. There are three basic stages which we can see in the above Scripture.
  1. Degradation: Jesus had been without food for 40 days. He was at his lowest both mentally and physically. It was at that point when Satan came to tempt Him to commit suicide. In the same manner, a spirit of suicide begins its attack by degrading the quality of life of its intended victim.  It will do this physically by introducing chronic disease, psychologically through the production of such mental conditions as depression, socially by isolating the person from the loving help of others, and spiritually by blocking the person’s perception of God or by convincing its victim that God no longer cares for or loves him and that he is alone.  The spirit of suicide will put the maximum amount of stress on its victim to drive him to the point of wanting to escape by self-murder.
  2. Deception:  The spirit of suicide promotes three lies in order to make suicide a desired outcome. The first lie is that nothing the victim can do will change the outcome of his life. Essentially the spirit of suicide convinces its victim that the victim is helpless to change his quality of life. The second lie is that the degraded quality of life experienced by his victim is permanent.  This lie steals the hope of ever having a happy or content life.  If there is no hope then there is no reason to continue to live. Finally, the spirit of suicide lies to its intended victim by declaring that no one really cares about him and that even God does not love him. This final lie makes the victim feel rejected, alone and isolated both from his peers and from any spiritual strength he could find in God’s love. An alternative to this lie is that God loves him so much that he will be automatically forgiven for suicide. This is the lie used by Satan as he tried to get Christ to jump to his death. This alternative lie actually "tests" God as Jesus noted in verse 7.
  3. Defeat: At this point the spirit of suicide actually begins to suggest plans by which the person can kill himself. Often these suggestions come in a compulsive manner through thoughts of death, or ways of killing oneself quickly.  Once these plans are accepted, the actual act of self-murder is close at hand.  You might notice that Satan suggested to Jesus that he should throw himself off of a high building. In the same manner, the spirit of suicide will suggest the means of destruction for its victim.
Even with the apparent finality of suicide there is hope for the victim of the spirit of suicide. That hope depends on a number of factors such as:
Once the spirit of suicide had manipulated the person to the point where he is defeated, it will sometimes remove itself from the victim and there will be a sudden realization of the sin involved and a deep desire to confess and receive forgiveness will emerge.
If a slow method of suicide was chosen there will be time for the person to confess and ask for forgiveness even if nothing can be done to prevent his death.  God is merciful and will readily accept the heart felt desire to be forgiven for self destruction if the desire is genuine. Unfortunately, this period of grace does not apply when an instantaneous method for death is chosen and the person has no time to ask for forgiveness.  Such an instantaneous method would be destroying the brain using a gun of some sort. A less instantaneous method would be the use of drugs or even hanging.  In the short period between the initiation of the method of death and the onset of death itself, the suicide victim can be forgiven and if originally saved, can enter into heaven.

  You might take into consideration the response of Jesus to Satan’s suggestion of suicide:
Matthew 4:8-11(NRSV)
8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; 9and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” 11Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

By far the best approach is prevention. If the victim is a Christian, then he can command the spirit of suicide to leave him in the Authority and Power of Jesus’s Name.  It is also possible for other Christians to bring about freedom from the spirit of suicide by deliverance.  Christians were never meant to be victims of suicide because God has a plan and purpose for each life.
If you are contemplating suicide it is first necessary to realize that you are battling a demonic spirit who wants to see you dead.  You need to reach out for help from your pastor or other Christians whom you trust. You can also find help on the internet from such sites as: https://www.facebook.com/AFSPnational

Those Who Remain
If the person who committed suicide was a Christian, a member of your family or just a friend, the question as to whether that person will be waiting for you in heaven can become a torment.  With all your heart you want to believe that he made it and received the promise of salvation.  On the other hand, you recognize that suicide is a sin and may not have been confessed to the Lord before death. Trying to answer these kinds of questions will only produce stress and depression, and will certainly not result in peace of mind or heart!
In the case of suicide of a loved one, a Christian must leave all judgment in the hands of God. We know that God is merciful and just. He understands the influences that a spirit of suicide can have on defeating an individual to the point of death.  He will not punish a victim of a demonic spirit. Yet God is also just, some recognition must be made that the victim of a spirit of suicide had a way out of death just by believing in the Authority and Power in the Name of Jesus. So in the final analysis, judgment must be surrendered to God by placing the suicide victim in His hands, and by trusting Him for the best possible outcome for someone who committed suicide.

Do You Need Help
Got a problem with the paranormal or have a question you would like one of our authors to discuss? Fill out a
Confidential Help Request Form and we will get back to you as soon as we can. . If you have not made a commitment to Jesus and you would like to do so now, then click HERE to go to a page that will show you how to become a follower of Jesus Christ.


Comments:
Inorder to stimulate conversations about this topic, the comments section is now open. If you have experiences, insights, or questions, then please leave a comment.

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Dysfunctional Psychic Sensitivity

Supplement to Chapter 13 – Discussion of the Psychic Receptive Personality.
Introduction:
Hypersensitivity to the spirit universe is a natural phenomenon. It is no different than
being naturally able to play music or create art. It is certainly an inherited trait and one that is basic to the character and functioning of personality.  As such it will play a profound role in the formation of the sensitive's world view and general understanding of who he is at a deeply existential level.

An individual has a number of dysfunctional choices that can be made to deal with hypersensitivity to the spirit universe. In this supplement I would like to expand on these unfortunate choices and then offer a functional and spiritually fulfilling option.

Bury It.
The symptoms of hypersensitivity to the spirit universe can be out and out bizarre. In fact, seeing, hearing or feeling spirits, being subject to negative and uncontrollable energies, and experiencing unexpected emotional reactions to objects can be both frightening and anxiety provoking. A lot of these experiences take place in childhood and can produce a constant state of fear that eventually results in the development of coping skills that suppress or bury the person’s hypersensitivity under a blanket of denial and rejection.

The problem with this is that, like any other personality characteristic, if the individual tries to bury hypersensitivity to the spirit universe, then he buries it alive.  Hypersensitivity can be suppressed but it can not be destroyed without destroying an important aspect of personality.  In other words, a psychic frontal lobotomy is not the answer.

One very predicable outcome that results from suppressing hypersensitivity is periodic and unpredictable outbreaks of the suppressed material. These outbreaks can vary from exterior but intense poltergeist like events to becoming overwhelmed by the flood of sensory information coming from the spirit universe. Often this deluge of information comes at times when the normal ego boundaries are down, such as during sleep, and results in disturbing dreams, visions, or psycho-motor responses that produce a negative aftermath such as depression, anxiety, and physical illness.  Given enough of these outbreaks, the mental health of the hypersensitive is in jeopardy!  Clearly, suppressing hypersensitivity is not the best solution.

Control It
If suppressing hypersensitivity does not work, then many, perhaps the majority, of hypersensitives will attempt to learn techniques and methods to control it.  They will plunge themselves into the mystical but very deceptive world of the occult. They will begin to train themselves in the meditative and occult methods that supposedly will enable them not only to control hypersensitivity but that promises to make them even more hypersensitive and powerful.  There is certainly no lack of such techniques ( See chapter 11 of my book for a detailed explanation of these techniques) but they all depend on a process by which the hypersensitive mentally disassociates from his hypersensitivity to create what I call a Psychic Receptive Personality.

Since all the methods used by the occult result in some level of disassociation, the hypersensitive will eventually develop a part of himself that is not in his immediate conscious control, a part of his personality that eventually functions independently from his primary personality.  To some degree, but not to the same degree in everyone, the Psychic Receptive Personality is going to come into play in those practicing these occult techniques.

The difficulty with all of this is that the Psychic Receptive Personality is unable to tell the difference between good and evil. It will function with any spirit from demons (Type D) to highly deceptive angels of light (Type AL). (See Chapter 8 of my book for a discussion of the types of spirits.)  It may take years before the hypersensitive realizes that he or she is in a terrible bondage to spirits, but when that realization finally hits, it will take serious and long lasting spiritual warfare to get free of captivity and enslavement to spirits.  Clearly, practicing occult methods and attempting to control hypersensitivity by disassociation leaves the hypersensitive in worse condition then ever before.

The Christian Approach
A Hypersensitive can become a Christian just like anyone else because salvation is dependent upon faith in Jesus Christ and not psychic gifting.  Because hypersensitivity is a natural ability, God can use it to His advantage.  This means that Christianity offers a solution to the hypersensitive that is truly unique in the world.

Instead of becoming involved in occult and spiritually negative methods to develop natural sensitivity, Christianity offers the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.  This involves  a direct contact with the Holy Spirit that empowers the believer to function in a supernatural manner.  Natural hypersensitivity is expressed through the nine spiritual gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians  12.  Those gifts govern how the hypersensitive will receive information from the spirit universe (i.e. the Word of Knowledge, the gift of Prophecy) and how the hypersensitive will deal with the powers of the spirit universe (i.e. the working of miracles, the gift of healing.)

Unlike occult methods of development, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit holds no dangers or spiritual entrapment.  It is dependent on submission to the will of God, and obedience to the directives of the Holy Spirit.  Furthermore, the promises of personal power and egotism found in the occult are not present in the Christian approach. Instead, both humility and service to others is the primary basis for supernatural enablement.

Do You Need Help
Got a problem with the paranormal or have a question you would like one of our authors to discuss? Fill out a Confidential Help Request Form and we will get back to you as soon as we can. . If you have not made a commitment to Jesus and you would like to do so now, then click HERE to go to a page that will show you how to become a follower of Jesus Christ.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Extreme Psychic Hypersensitivity–A Challenge and A Danger.

Introduction:
One of the most common questions that I get from the people who read this blog is whether hypersensitivity

to the spirit universe is a blessing or a curse. The answer to that question is complex and depends on such factors as the degree of sensitivity and the spiritual maturity of the person involved.

The Distribution
In my book, The Spirit Universe: A Christian View, I make the assumption that sensitivity to the spirit universe is distributed in the human population in much the same way as intelligence.

  Sensitivity to the spirit universe is on a normal distribution often charted as the figure above, that is, a bell-shaped curve.  The right side of the curve represents those who are sensitive to the spirit universe. The part of the curve outlined in red represents those individuals who are extreme hypersensitives. In my book, I offer a general test for hypersensitivity and anyone scoring 100 to 150 in the survey test would be considered an extreme hypersensitive.
Extreme hypersensitives are the people that most often ask whether their sensitivity is a curse. They do so because their overall experiences are so intense and frequent that they actually interfere in the conduct of life.
 There are a number of  very dangerous reasons for this as I will outline below:

Negative Energy
The majority of the spirit universe is filled with profoundly negative and harrowing images and energies. The extreme hypersensitive experiences these shadowy elements with a great intensity and inadvertently applies them to his life and mental stability.  For example, while a less sensitive person may become aware that there is a depressed spirit in the room,  the extreme hypersensitive will personally experience the  suffering and emotional pain of the spirit and become depressed for days because of it.
It is this uncontrolled and persistently caustic bombardment of painful, deprived, sadistic, and just evil impressions that  will do irreparable damage when incorporated into the hypersensitive's mind and personality. Over time, if an extreme hypersensitive is repeatedly hit with negative spiritual energy, his mind and personality will begin to be shaped into the very image of the spiritual energy  that has recurrently wounded him.

Broken Boundaries
Our perception of the physical universe maintains some semblance of order because of the boundaries we place on our senses. Sound is restricted to hearing, and visual imagery is subject to sight. The extreme hypersensitive finds that these normal barriers and boundaries do not hold for the stimuli found within the spirit universe.  His everyday life is intermingled with the exceptional perceptions of the spirit universe, and his emotional and mental states are equally polluted by the uncontrolled and confusing events from the spirit universe. In short, the extreme hypersensitive can lose his self-identity and sense of reality because he cannot  successfully incorporate the often traumatic events within the spirit universe into his world view.

Demonic Invasion
As if broken boundaries and an unending cascade of negative spiritual energy is not enough, the extreme hypersensitive is like a duck swimming on a pond during duck season with a sign around his neck that says, ” Shoot me first."  The extreme hypersensitive attracts  invading demons like dogs attract fleas.
The general state of an extreme hypersensitive, having already been filled with negative energy that weakens ego boundaries, is fertile ground for a demonic spirit to attempt to take possession of the hypersensitive.  All such efforts are accompanied by abnormal thinking, emotions and behaviors that may be diagnosed as a psychotic break or, at a minimum, the development of a neurosis accompanied by delusions. Suicidal thinking may occur when it seems that all of hell has made its home in the mind of an extreme hypersensitive.

Hope?
Even extreme hypersensitivity can become a blessing under three basic conditions:
  • The extreme hypersensitive must become strong spiritually and the way to do that is by establishing a relationship with someone stronger than the demons who attack him. That person is Jesus Christ and exclusively Jesus Christ.
  • Once strengthened by a relationship with Jesus, the extreme hypersensitive will have to become aware of the source of his psychic perceptions. That is, he will have to be able to tell if they are coming from himself or from sources outside of himself.  It is one of the functions of the Holy Spirit to gift him with discernment and knowledge.
  • Finally, the extreme hypersenitive must learn about the Authority and Power he has through his relationship with Jesus in the spirit universe. By using that Authority and Power, he can prevent the impact of both negative impressions and demons.
Do You Need Help
Got a problem with the paranormal or have a question you would like one of our authors to discuss? Fill out a Confidential Help Request Form and we will get back to you as soon as we can. . If you have not made a commitment to Jesus and you would like to do so now, then click HERE to go to a page that will show you how to become a follower of Jesus Christ.

Monday, March 11, 2013

No Place For Religious Intolerance

PhotoIntroduction: 
I recently have had the misfortune of watching what I thought was going to be an entertaining movie about the paranormal. I was not far into the movie when I realized that it was a thinly disguised mockery of a viewpoint that many Christians hold to be true about the spirit universe. Specifically, that all spirit activity is caused by demons. Now if you read my book, you will see that I think this particular belief is oversimplified and over generalized, but certainly must be respected and its assumptions evaluated in deliverance ministry. The real question here deals with the role (if any) of religious intolerance in the paranormal.

What Is Tolerance?
Tolerance is often confused with other religious or philosophic issues, which really do not apply or that add to its meaning. In modern humanistic society, to tolerate something is to agree that it is correct or truthful. So for many, tolerance simply means that one must capitulate truth or one must not strongly disagree with or disapprove of another’s beliefs or practices. In this definition, anyone who holds to the idea of an absolute truth, or who evaluates and expresses value judgments based on concepts such as right or wrong, is considered to be intolerant.

In modern society, tolerance is also confused with respect. That is, to be tolerant is to respect another. Actually, the two attitudes are substantially different. I can disrespect people I tolerate, or I can refuse to tolerate the behavior of people I do respect.

Because of this kind of confusion in the definition and understanding of tolerance and intolerance, Christians are often accused of being intolerant because they reject other gods and stand for the truth of Christ.

Biblical Tolerance
To get a better idea of what Christian tolerance is all about, we can look to the Book of Romans (ESV) starting with the 14th chapter:
1 As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. 2 One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. 3 Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. 4 Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.


5 One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written,
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall confess to God.”

12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. 13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. 14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. 15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died.

In this Scripture portion, Paul gives us some really important principles concerning tolerance and intolerance. First, Paul never says that the truth of an issue must be ignored or that conflict will not take place as we discuss the differences in opinion that folk hold about the truth.  In other words, Paul does not tell us to abdicate speaking the “truth in love” just to placate the emotions of another person who disagrees with us. Nor does Paul suggest that we shilly-shally around discussions about issues important to us.

Secondly, what Paul does recommend is that we attack the issues and not the people who hold a differing opinion.  Nor should we purposely offend someone just because we can do so by mocking their beliefs or practices. Paul attitudinally defines intolerance as both holding people in contempt for what they believe and mocking or ridiculing their practices.  Once these attitudes have matured the door is open to behavioral intolerance. Behavioral intolerance takes place when people who hold a differing opinion are forced to adopt a belief system contrary to what they hold  to be true. Often intolerance results in punishment, or even death for those who remain true to their own opinion.

Thirdly, Paul indicates that tolerance is void of judgment because God is the only true judge. Instead, he suggests that we give grace to those in disagreement, and try to understand their position  by developing empathy for them as people who need the love of God.  To become intolerant is to reject love, and none of us can afford to be without love, regardless of what we believe.

In the Paranormal
By virtue of the topic of study, the paranormal should be wide open to discussion and debate of all types.  As a Christian, I have no fear that my faith or my Biblical knowledge of the spirit universe will be found lacking in any way, but I also know that because I stand for the truth of Christ I will be accused of being intolerant.

Yet, some of the most intolerant people I have ever come into contact with are those accusing me of being intolerant because I strongly disagree with their interpretation of the spirit universe.  Often they mock and degrade my beliefs somehow thinking that they have to right to do so because they think that I am the intolerant one.

Anyone who joins either a paranormal investigation team or deliverance ministry should closely examine their level of tolerance and follow the advice of Paul. Speak the truth but do so in the love of Christ for those who need him.


Do You Need Help
Got a problem with the paranormal or have a question you would like one of our authors to discuss? Fill out a Confidential Help Request Form and we will get back to you as soon as we can.. If you have not made a commitment to Jesus and you would like to do so now, then click HERE to go to a page that will show you how to become a follower of Jesus Christ.

Monday, February 4, 2013

Spirit Universe Supplement 4– Visitors in Heaven.


I was recently watching a television program in which two people, having clinically died, went to a place in the spirit universe that they thought was heaven. Once in heaven they were contacted by a spirit being of great beauty who allowed them to experience his love for them.  When they returned to the living, they were deeply impressed by this “unconditional love” and were more or less implying that everyone is going to heaven because God loves everyone without condition!  This message flies in the face of the Christian faith which requires a commitment and relationship with Jesus Christ in order to abide in heaven with God the Father.  How can this difference be understood?  Is it possible to visit heaven even if you are not a believer in Jesus Christ, or if you are a believer in a totally different religion?




Introduction

The Structure of Heaven
In chapter 12 of my book, I discuss  heaven and base my understanding of heaven’s structure on the earthly structure of the tabernacle of David and of the Temple of Solomon.  The book of Hebrews clearly tells us that both these places of worship were reflections of the way heaven is structured (Hebrews 9).  Without going into the detail covered in chapter 12, part of the structure of the temple was an outer court that was open to visitors to the temple. These visitors did not have to be Hebrews,  and some certainly believed in other gods and had their own pagan temples in which they worshiped their god.  While visiting the temple in Israel, they could experience some of the meaning of Judaism and perhaps even have an experience with the holiness of God, but they were not allowed to enter either the inner court or the Holy of Holies.  They could visit but not abide. They could experience the fringes of God’s presence but not come into a deeper relationship with Him.

So it is with those who visit heaven!  They can visit the outer courts, and since they are having a spiritual experience, they can directly and intensely sense the presence of God, but they cannot  get any closer to Him because they are not in relationship with Him. They can visit the outer courts of heaven but cannot  enter  the inner court because they do not belong to Him, and they cannot  enter  an intimate relationship with Him because they have not walked the path that He set forth for those who want intimacy with Him – the path of Jesus Christ, who is the "way" to intimacy with God.

God’s Unconditional Love
It always amazes me when people have a supernatural experience with God and are shocked that His love is both comprehensive and profound.  I think this is because of the common misconception that God is some angry judge ready to punish them at the slightest violation of His will.
The Biblical perspective of God is radically different. The Old Testament portrays Him as a God of righteousness and stern judgment, but the New Testament clearly says that “God is love” (1 John 4:18).  The New Testament also declares that God has an almost indescribable love for everyone, regardless of their sin, or even if they have rejected Him and are in a miserable spiritual condition (John 3:16).

Love does not equal Intimacy
If you do not believe in Jesus Christ and have an after death visit to the outer court of heaven, you will experience the soul shaking love of God for you.  That is because God does love you without condition, nor does your spiritual state in any way diminish His love for you.
What many who have had this experience do not understand is that God’s love for them does not mean they have a relationship with Him, or will spend eternity with Him.  If God is just and righteous, then the condition of their spirit cannot  be ignored, and God will not fellowship with or become intimate with sin even though He deeply loves the sinner.  The problem has nothing to do with God placing conditions upon His love, but has everything to do with the person’s inability to love God because of the deteriorated condition of his spirit.
 
Take a look at this Scripture:
16For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

This Scripture has two messages. The first message is that God loves the world and everyone in it. There are no conditions mentioned that restrict His love. The second message describes the path to follow in order to enter into an intimate relationship with God and to have this intimacy for all eternity. You must believe and accept the work of Christ in your life, and then walk with him till you reach the end of your physical journey.
Coming to Christ changes your spirit to the extent that when you die, you will enter  the Holy of Holies, the inner sanctuary of God’s love. You will be able to feel fully the love of God, but most importantly you will be able to  experience totally your mutual love.  That is why, having eternal life means knowing Jesus. Eternal life is having the full Godhead dwell within, and experiencing all the love of God that you can receive from Him and all the love you can give to Him.

The Visitor
I believe that God allows people to visit the outer court of heaven for several reasons.  First, I think that He wants the visitor to experience His presence so that the visitor knows God does exist. Second, I believe that the visitor experiences the unconditional love of God so that the visitor becomes motivated to find the way back to that love. It is the first step toward God consciousness. Finally, I believe that the experience of a loving God will illuminate the sad condition of the human spirit who has the weight of sin to bear.  The self-recognition  produced by the visit to heaven can cause a desperate need to change, to find a way to be free from the destruction produced by sin.

Do You Need Help
Got a problem with the paranormal or have a question you would like one of our authors to discuss? Fill out a Confidential Help Request Form and we will get back to you as soon as we can.. If you have not made a commitment to Jesus and you would like to do so now, then click HERE to go to a page that will show you how to become a follower of Jesus Christ.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Spirit Universe Supplement 3–The Psychically Receptive Personality.

Introduction
In several chapters of my book, I discuss the phenomenon of the psychically receptive personality fragment. This is a part of the  personality of a hypersensitive that has separated from the primary personality and functions as an entity unto itself. This personality fragment is extremely sensitive to the spirit universes and has established control both of the energy and information found in that universe.

The problem is that it is often abusive, or acts detrimentally toward the primary personality of the hypersensitive. Because of this, the hypersensitive personality fragment can be enslaved to the dominant spirits of Sheol. In this post I would like to provide additional information about this psychic receptive personality and how it both forms and functions in the life of a hypersensitive.

How Does It Form?
The psychic receptive personality fragment can form in three basic ways:
  1. It forms when a hypersensitive practices disassociation techniques in order to increase his hypersensitivity. Such techniques include trance induction, self-hypnosis, and meditation techniques designed to inhibit self-identity and rational or analytical thinking.  Given enough time, the hypersensitive aspect of the primary personality will separate into one or more personalities. Often the hypersensitive will identify these splits as his “spirit guides”.
  2. The psychic receptive personality can fragment because of mental illness. Mental illness such as multiple personality disorder results in rapid and extensive development of a psychic receptive personality.  Unfortunately, mental illness often exaggerates and distorts the psychic receptive personality so that it becomes captive to either demonic or tormenting spirits.
  3. Finally, the psychic receptive personality can result from both  psychological and psychical abuse.  Such abuse results in trauma  so extensive that the hypersensitive will attempt to reduce its impact by splitting the most psychically sensitive aspects of his personality into fragments.  Such fragments are insulated from the onslaught of the pain and suffering caused by the abuse. In other cases, the fragments will contain the rage and fury of the abused person and express it through psychic channels. Such individuals become easily possessed by demonic entities and often express their rage and torment through violence and destruction.
The Damage Done
Many of the people who have sent me help requests are dealing with a psychic receptive personality fragment.  Sometimes this condition developed because they were encourage to practice  meditation or trance inducing methods by an occult or New Age group. The motivation here is to become a medium or a well known psychic. These kinds of people are victims of ignorance about the detrimental effects produced by such practices.

The most serious cases of psychic receptive personality fracture are produce by traumas resulting from involvement with Satanic or demonic religious groups.  Such trauma is purposely inflicted in order to produce a victim that seems to demonstrate the power of the group and thereby build its reputation, or to make a psychic slave to serve the interests of the group.  Blood rituals, curses, hallucinogens, and sexual perversion  function as blunt force instruments to forge the psychic receptive fragment into existence.

 Eventually, these people are not only tormented by their mental condition, but are equally inflicted by demonic persecution and the horrors of their spiritual
condition.

Recovery
Healing from this condition can only take place when the psychic receptive personality fragment is integrated back into the primary personality of the hypersensitive.  This is a slow process for all who have experienced this condition, but is especially difficult for those traumatized by evil.

The foundation of healing is forgiveness and acceptance of the personality fragment so that it can rejoin the primary personality. Before this can happen, the person needs to find a source of forgiveness.

This source must not only have psychological power but also spiritual power in order to stop demonic control. In the case of those involved with the demonic, there must be a determined rejection of any future  involvement with the group. This must be accompanied by an expression of faith in Jesus Christ who is the only one with both the authority and power to deliver them from their bondage. Even so, reintegration of the personality fragment will take a lot of work and time to complete.

Do You Need Help Got a problem with the paranormal or have a question you would like one of our authors to discuss? Fill out a Confidential Help Request Form and we will get back to you as soon as we can.. If you have not made a commitment to Jesus and you would like to do so now, then click HERE to go to a page that will show you how to become a follower of Jesus Christ. Please note that the Discussion Forum is no longer available. No one was using it and it was just attracting spammers.