for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 1 John 5:4
In Christ we have victory. Because of Christ inside of us we have a Savior to guide us through all of the hardships of life. No longer are we to be prisoners in our own prison cells waiting for someone to take the shackles off of us. Christ paid the ultimate penalty when he took the blows that were intended for us. He paid the price for our sinful nature and He conquered death and paved a way for each of us to experience an eternity in heaven.
No longer are we called to walk alone. God wants to be our hands and feet and He wants us to serve him all the days of our lives. In Christ we are victorious. This is a very powerful video that does a great job dramatically explaining the gospel.
Then Jesus called together the Twelve [apostles] and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases, Luke 9
I find it amusing how we make light of the power of darkness. We think our kids deserve to have the Halloween trick or treating experience and so we take them door to door and allow them to beg for a treat. Some of us remember receiving as kids a gift and when we unwrapped it we find a Ouija board, Kids in some families would play the game by placing their fingers lightly on the pointer and are amazed as it spells out the name of a deceased family member. We make light of darkness by watching scary movies and when those movies are done we are scared out of our wits for hours. What we may not realize is how these satanic rituals can negatively effect us in the long run.
I thank God for making my son the way he was made because he has always had a sensitive spirit inside him. For example, when he was younger he often could not watch certain scenes in Disney movies because these scenes would have a dark side in them that would terrify him and quite frankly, they terrified me as well.
We make light of Harry Potter because in our minds we tell ourselves that Harry Potter has helped our kids to read more and therefore he is good, but we do not realize the damage that long term exposure to the Harry Potter books can have on our kids until years later. The real danger in reading these books is what it leads to with our children which is allowing it to be part of their childhood experience. What I mean is that these books lead to parents allowing their children to decorate their bedrooms in Harry Potter attire from hogswart bedspread, to posters of their favorite Potter character to having a personalized signed copy of their induction into the Hogswart school. I remember, for example, how families would allow their kids to become dressed in their favorite Potter character when the latest Potter movie came out. People make light of the dangers of Satanic activity, but as this video demonstrates it is very real and dangerous to the soul.
We each have a God shaped vacuum where God desires us to fill it with a relationship with Him and when we do not fill it with positive things that vacuum becomes filled with the filth and evil things of this world..
Being married to a Librarian I am constantly reminded that there are good Christian literature that would accomplish the same goals as the Harry Potter books and at the same time our kids would not be drawn into the dark side like those who read the Potter series. While many were immersing themselves in this series our family chose to read the wonderfully delightful Narnia books written by C.S.Lewis. This series of books helped our kids to see the goodness of God and how God has power over all of the principalities of darkness as described in Ephesians 6.
Instead of dwelling on things that glorify Satan we must dwell on our personal relationship with Jesus Christ who has won the victory over darkness.
We must constantly be reminded that Jesus has power and authority over all demons. The man you are about to hear is a living testimony of how dangerous the occult is in our culture. If you are someone who has dabbled in the occult I would encourage you today to say the prayer at the end of the above video that will help you to denounced Satan's powers. I have included this Michael W. Smith worship song in the bottom video to help you glorify our Heavenly father who loves you and desires to be part of your life. Remember, our God loves you and sent His son, Jesus Christ to help you fill your God like vacuum.
He who was sitting on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down. You can trust these words. They are true." Revelation 21:5
Our God is in the restoration business. His job is to come in and restore our lives so we may one day become useful vessels. He takes the ashes and the left over debris of our lives and converts them to a work of art. He takes the devastation and emotional upheavals of grief and makes all things new again. It may not seem like it when you are walking through the desert of grief, but God is walking with you at your side and directing your path in the way that you should go (Job 29:25)
When you are in the throes of emotional pain you may wonder if you will ever smile again. At times you may doubt God's goodness and even be tempted to give up on believing in God, but you must try to cling to promises found in the ancient scriptures that reveal over and over of God's faithfulness and his ability to restore lives.
The God who parted the Red sea to allow the Hebrews to escape from certain death at the hands of the Egyptian's is the same God who will restore your life at the proper time. The God who saved Noah's life from the belly of the whale is the same God who will deliver you from the emotional pitfall of grief. The God who saved Daniel from the fiery furnace is the same God who will help you through whatever it is you are suffering from. The God who who reminded Peter that he would deny Christ 3 times is the same God who became part of Peter's and gave him the power to bring people to Christ.
Our God is in the restoration business. He is a master at restoring lives and enabling you to smile where once there was a frown. Just as Revelations 21:5 says "I am making everything new!"
