Lies We Believe

Twisting the Truth

Satan is the father of lies. John 8:44, TPT reads, “You are the offspring of your father, the devil, and you serve your father very well, passionately carrying out his desires. He’s been a murderer right from the start! He never stood with the One who is the true Prince, for he’s full of nothing but lies — lying is his native tongue. He is a master of deception and the father of lies!” A lie is defined as “an intentionally false statement.” One of the most substantial deceptions the devil pulls is to use the truth to embed his lies. He buries lies inside of truths, so we miss them. Some say he uses a 90/10 tactic, where 90 percent of what is said is truth and 10 percent is a lie. Satan is far more deceitful than we can imagine.

Satan works to twist the truth about God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit in order to keep us away from salvation and intimate relationship with them. He has been doing this for generations going back to Adam and Eve. He attacks us spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally. To take it a step further, he teaches us to attack ourselves. We have become proficient at various forms of self-sabotage thanks to his efforts.

Satan with our permission, consciously or unconsciously, has infiltrated a multitude of areas in our lives. We have agreed with him in twisting the truth, and we are suffering the consequences. Jesus said in John 8:32, TPT, “For if you embrace the truth, it will release more freedom into your lives.” We usually know this verse as, “The truth shall set you free” from the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible. This verse is huge. When we seek out the truth, the lies fall away without manifesting in our lives.

We must focus on truth. The verse above doesn’t say “embrace the lies” it says to “embrace the truth.” If we concentrate on the lies, we are setting ourselves up for failure. We are giving ourselves thoughts that are negative seeds that will grow. Scripture says we reap what we sow, so it’s important to sow positivity in the present moment. Being positive in the now moment creates a positive future. Fixate on truth. Read Scripture to understand what the truth really is and seek the freedom it promises.

Freedom is only necessary when there’s bondage in our lives through sin and death. And it’s safe to say that we all need more freedom. Why sin and death? Because sin is anything that is disobedient, malevolent, evil, unjust, unrighteous, unholy, etc. And the Bible is clear about sin leading only to death. Death is the last thing that Jesus conquered by His own death and resurrection (Romans 8:34).

There are many ways that we are enslaved emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually. Emotionally refers to feelings that are fleeting and not who we are, and mentally refers to our thoughts and thinking processes. Physically we are captive through illness, disease, stress, anxiety, and the like.

Spiritual bondage refers to our spirit, and its interaction with the Spirit of God, and with other spiritual beings in the spiritual realm.

Below is a tiny list of the ways we can be in bondage to sin and death in our lives. They can refer to lack in all things, not just with finances, self-image, relationships, or other areas of our lives. They can attract negativity and abuse in one or more ways. They can be inflicted upon us by the devil, ourselves, or others. They can be our personality and/or character flaws or shortcomings. Wherever they originate, they are destructive and dangerous, rather than lifegiving and wholesome. Spend some time researching these issues for a better understanding of what they mean to our salvation.

Poverty Mentality
Victim Mentality
Rejection
Abandonment
Fear of Intimacy
Worthiness
Illness & Disease
Prideful/Egotistic
Envy/Jealousy
Lack of Identity
Low Self-Esteem/Image
Vengeful
Generational Sin/Curses
Dishonesty
Abuse of Any Kind
Disobedience
Ambivalence
Fear of Man

A few of the greatest sin symptoms are fear, pain, shame, and guilt. It doesn’t matter whether the attack is coming from someone or something else, or it’s coming from self, these are detrimental to living life to the fullest. When we sin, and we have a conscience, we begin to feel emotional pain, shame, and guilt. We know all too well how to shame ourselves and feel guilty for what we’ve done. This causes emotional pain that can become physical pain. This is how we contribute to making ourselves sick. And it all starts with fear.

Fear is an insidious thing that the devil has taught humans to trust ever since Eve took a bite of that fruit. She was tempted by allowing herself to be convinced that she wasn’t good enough or worthy to eat fruit from that tree. She became afraid she wasn’t enough, and that God was keeping something from her. Today, many generations later, that fear is still present in us. The world reminds us of this on a daily basis.

We are affected by fear so much that we have lost our innocence and childlike ability to trust God. We entertain doubt and unbelief as a result, which runs rampant in our societies and cultures. Our movies are more violent, sex is more casual and overt, and language is more disrespectful. These forms of debauchery are only a few examples of life’s current state of debauchery. This is why it’s so much more crucial that we rise above the darkness and become childlike again. Matthew 18:3, AMP reads, “…and said, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless you repent [that is, change your inner self — your old way of thinking, live changed lives] and become like children [trusting, humble, and forgiving], you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

There are many areas of life that are in dire need of restoration to innocence. We as Believers have a responsibility to break through the lies and build a better world for our children.

There’s a school of thought out there called the Seven Mountains, or the Seven Mountain Mandate originally written about in Lance Wallnau and Bill Johnson’s book titled, Invading Babylon: The 7 Mountain Mandate, 2013. There is some controversy surrounding the topic, and I don’t want to go into why here. You can research that on your own. I only mention it to say that the seven mountains or categories of society and culture make a good list to follow for prayer, blessings, meditation, and finding our purpose.

The Seven Mountains are:

Arts & Entertainment
Education
Family
Government
Business
Media
Religion

Knowing which “mountain” we are called to is important. Yours may be a bit different than what is listed here and over time it will get more specialized. The key is knowing the area of society you are called to influence. And maybe you are called to more than one area.

The bottom line is that the devil’s lies block the truth of who we are, our healing, and our ability to grow, change, and mature. Lies block our blessings, which we already have been given. Many of God’s promises in the Bible are written in a past tense form. God’s promises have already happened in Heaven; they’ve been given to us already. It’s our job to remember to receive His promises here on earth. We are to pray God’s will be done on earth as it is in Heaven (Matthew 6:10). Sometimes it can be a struggle to receive from God because we are in need of further healing.

Fighting for Freedom

We have victory with Jesus, so why do we still struggle? Upon salvation, we are born again with Christ in the middle of a raging spiritual war. We must work through battles to find our personal victory and freedom. The battlefield is in the mind. It starts with our thoughts which turn into beliefs and if we believe lies, we lose battles.

One way to win battles is to identify the problem and find solutions by asking ourselves important questions. Try this five-step process to find out how to win battles:

Identify the problem (write as much as you need to).
What is the lie or are the lies in this problem?
What is the truth based on God’s Word?
What are some solutions?
Then get some counsel via Scripture, pastors, counselors, and/or mature friends.

Here’s how it looks in a simple grid I developed with an example:

Excerpt from Jana’s book called, “Hardwired to Trust God: And Exploring Trust in Ourselves & Others.”

September 24, 2022 0

Removing Blocks of Healing

Identify Your Blocks

Knowing what blocks to healing we have in our lives is important. We must know what we need before we can begin healing. It takes introspection and a strong sense of self to discover our fractured parts. Introspection takes courage. We must be brave and honest with ourselves about our character behaviors, shortcomings, and flaws. Knowing ourselves honestly and intimately will lead us into understanding our fractured parts.

We can identify our fractured parts by journaling, talking to a professional therapist, and asking a trusted friend. But our first path is always Jesus. Jesus and Holy Spirit should be our first “go-to” Helpers when it comes to removing blocks to healing that we have in our lives. They know exactly what we are going through and what we need to be healed.

We must be able to hear the Lord and be sensitive and discerning of the Spirit to understand how to move forward. Below are several ways to get started on the process of healing.

Practice Self-Care

Preparing for healing takes self-care. When we care for ourselves, we are honoring the temple that God gave us to steward in this life. Self-care is for the mind, spirit, and soul as much as for the body. We must care for our whole person, mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. When we are out of balance with our self-care we are out of balance with God. One of the best ways we can practice self-care is with love.

God lives in us when we love, 1 John 4:12–13, TPT reads:

“…But if we love one another, God makes his permanent home in us, and we make our permanent home in him, and his love is brought to its full expression in us. And he has given us his Spirit within us so that we can have the assurance that he lives in us and that we live in him.”

With God in us, we are able to heal. We must love ourselves in order to fully love God and others. Loving ourselves takes some work when we’ve been unloved as a child, rejected, abandoned, or otherwise traumatized. Any form of child abuse will leave us unloving as adults. We become unloving because we feel unacceptable and unworthy of love. The truth is that we are worthy of love. God can show us how to love again through trust and patience. We must be willing to leave pain and suffering behind to love again.

While in pain and/or suffering, we are vulnerable to new traumatic events as well as re-experiencing past events. It’s a catch-22 that being ready to heal makes us vulnerable to more traumatic events and to re-experiencing traumatic memories or flashbacks of trauma. The very same vulnerability can work for us to heal but can also leave us open to new pain. Being vulnerable takes courage and hope that in the process of healing, even when we feel more pain, the hope can bring us through to the other end of it all.

Courage and hope lead us in the process of self-care and healing. The more we love ourselves, the more prepared we will be for our healing. We must find hope in our circumstances. There’s a lot of hope in the Bible. There’s hope in Jesus as the Lord of our lives. Jesus gets started on healing us from the second we believe in Him. And Jesus always finishes what He started. Jesus is the Finisher of our faith.

Use Love & Kindness

Satan and his minions hate to love, so love is what we must do. When we are down, depressed, anxious, or in any other bad place, we must love God, ourselves, and others. When we are not doing well and we are kind to others, love increases and the darkness leaves. There’s instant freedom for us as we practice love for ourselves and one another.

Practicing love for ourselves and others sows love into our whole being. Remember, according to Scripture, we reap what we sow (See Galatians 6:7). If we want more love and kindness in our lives, we must love and be kind. Being loving and positive will prepare us for healing. When we are positive, we are more open to processing painful events and memories. No matter what we sow, we must keep our eyes on the Lord.

Focus on The Lord

We must keep our eyes on Jesus and everything He is teaching us as we prepare to heal. Peter learned above all the apostles to keep his attention on Jesus. Once, Peter courageously walked on water with Jesus. Here’s what happened: Peter took his eyes off the Lord, began thinking on his own, and feeling frightened he sank. In Matthew 14:28–31, TPT, we read:

“Peter shouted out, ‘Lord, if it’s really you, then have me join you on the water!’ ‘Come and join me,’ Jesus replied. So, Peter stepped out onto the water and began to walk toward Jesus. But when he realized how high the waves were, he became frightened and started to sink. ‘Save me, Lord!’ he cried out. Jesus immediately stretched out his hand and lifted him up and said, ‘What little faith you have! Why would you let doubt win?’”

Peter doubted what he was doing and sank. We learn here that doubt is one of the biggest ways we can turn away from the Lord. When we aren’t focusing on Jesus, it focuses us on the world and our flesh. Yet, Jesus is never far away from us. Listen to what Mark 1:15, New King James Version (NKJV) says:

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

Jesus and the Kingdom of God are never farther away from us than our own hand at arm’s length. We are the ones that keep Jesus away, but He’s always near to us. Jesus is always ready for our repentance and reconciliation. Jesus wants to heal us, but we have to let Him into our lives in order to do so.

Pray & Prepare for Healing

Pray for healing. We can prepare for our healing by continually praying for ourselves. Praying for ourselves readies us for healing by opening up our will to align with God’s will for us to be healed. When we pray for ourselves, we are asking the Lord in intervene on our behalf for healing. It’s advisable to pray as much as possible until the healing has happened, or we’ve been set free. Praying in the Spirit, in our angelic tongues, helps heal us even more.

When we pray in tongues, we are praying in a language unknown to us, unless we are given the interpretation. According to Galatians 5:16, we are to walk in the Spirit, rather than the flesh. In order to walk in Spirit, we must be set free from the enemy of God. Praying in tongues can free us from what we don’t know we need freedom from. Praying in tongues is a proactive approach to healing. Tongues give us a direct connection to God. If you don’t have tongues, just ask Holy Spirit to give them to you and/or get help from a Spirit-filled friend.

Use the prayer model below or pray on your own:

Lord God, I repent for having blocks to healing in my life. In preparation for my healing, I repent for allowing false idols to enter the life that has kept You away from me. I repent for allowing false idols to sit in Your position in my life as the One True God through Christ Jesus. I repent for ____________ (name as many false idols as you feel you have used, such as a person, career, possessions, etc.). God remove these false idols from me. Lord, remove from me all of the ungodly false idol gatekeepers I have put in place. Wash me cleanly in Your blood. Cover me and fill me in the areas I have fallen. My desire is to be healed fully mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

September 10, 2022 0

My Secret Place

Entering Holy Ground

Our Secret Place exists in the innermost depths of our being and the outermost heights of our existence. It’s a place that begins and ends in the battlefield of the mind in our soul, the flesh of our body, and the essence of our spirit. The Secret Place exists in us where we meet Jesus, Father God, and Holy Spirit, and is sacred and holy ground.

Holy ground occurs in the very heart of God’s presence. There are only two places in Scripture that mention holy ground, and both are about Moses. The first verse refers to when Moses was in the presence of God in the form of a burning bush. The second reference was in Acts 7:33 talking about Moses’ experience. Listen to Exodus 3:5, NKJV, “Then He said, ‘Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.’”

If you’ve supernaturally encountered God’s presence in any form, you know that you know that you were with Him. And if you’ve had that experience of being in His holy presence, you’ve touched your Secret Place.

Every Believer in Christ walks with differing abilities to access God and their Secret Place. The Secret Place is easily sensed and accessed by some Believers in Christ Jesus. Other people struggle because their Secret Place lies more dormant and inaccessible. Recognizing and accessing our Secret Place is pivotal to our walks of salvation because we must mature by intimacy and relationship with God.

We are called to mature as Believers in Christ as we walk out our salvation story. Our salvation story is our testimony to living life with the Lord. Our testimonies never go away, always improve by increasing our relationship with God, and are to be celebrated no matter how hard they may have been.

Many of us have had difficult lives and we want the future to be different. We want to change to become the person we know we were meant to be. The beauty is that we can change when we enter our Secret Place with Jesus. We change because we are blessed in God’s presence with healing, wisdom, strategies, knowledge, understanding, and love.

Enter your Secret Place with Jesus to change, heal, grow and find freedom. By entering the Secret Place, we can get rid of many of the negative challenges we face in life because we will mature. In our Secret Place, we can increase positivity and learn about employing constructive actions and activities available to us for living an abundantly full life.

September 5, 2022 0

In Christ One Day at a Time

Keep Your Eyes on Jesus

In 12-step programs, there’s a saying, “one day at a time.” To stick with something one day at a time is doable: it’s an attainable goal — though for some it’s one hour at a time or one minute. Looking at an unknown and frightening future can just be too much. In our walk of salvation, we too may only be able to commit to one day at a time — one hour, one minute. Keeping our eyes on the Lord helps us to get through our day when we are overwhelmed, tired, and stressed. Keeping our eyes on Jesus pulls us back into alignment with God. When we are aligned with God our burden is light. The Passion Translation Bible says, “Are you weary, carrying a heavy burden? Come to me. I will refresh your life, for I am your oasis. Simply join your life with mine. Learn my ways and you’ll discover that I’m gentle, humble, easy to please. You will find refreshment and rest in me. For all that I require of you will be pleasant and easy to bear.”

We cannot bear the weight of our burdens alone. We need the Lord; we need our brothers and sisters in Christ. We need to experience God’s presence, His promises, and His glory. God wants to help us battle. If we are overwhelmed and blocked by stress and worry, we have a harder time accepting help. We are required to pick up our cross every day; we are to choose Jesus every single day. We read in Matthew 16:24, Amplified Bible, “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to follow Me [as My disciple], he must deny himself [set aside selfish interests], and take up his cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me].”

The enemy of God only wants us to focus on what we can’t do and who we are not made to be. It’s imperative in this hour to stay focused on God and what He is doing in our lives and in His Kingdom. We have a responsibility to keep God’s Word in our hearts. We must work on our relationship with God daily. We can do that by surrendering all our lives and self to Jesus. We can work on our relationship with the Lord by worshipping Him and praising His holy name. We can align with God by intentionally seeking Him in every area of our lives. Living in this way everything that is not of God or doesn’t align with His will for our lives will fade away. Sometimes it’s challenging to stay connected and present with God, but we must try — one hour, one minute at a time.

Tips for One Day at a Time

Pray and sing in tongues.
Pray and bless your life and the lives of those around you.
Be thankful for your life and all that God has already given you.
Worship with music and the life-giving Words of God.
Read your Bible and press into its meaning for you.
Ask Holy Spirit to fill you and remove everything, not of God.
Find an anointing oil that you enjoy breathing in and focus on your breathing and the sweet fragrance of the Lord.
Call a pastor or positive and uplifting friend.
Journal without holding back.
Be ready to receive God and His presence and Word.
Set your heart on Jesus.

September 2, 2022 0

Jesus Loves Me Podcast: August 2022

JLM Podcast August 2022

Sharon and Jana get back on track by recording the Jesus Loves Me Podcast for August 2022. Listen as they break down Psalm 110 and discuss the next move for the Podcast.

August 27, 2022 0

BE BOLD AS A LION

Proverbs 28:1

“Guilty criminals experience paranoia even though no one threatens them. But the innocent lovers of God, because of righteousness, will have the boldness of a young, ferocious lion!”

The Passion Translation

Matthew 10:16

“Now, remember, it is I who sends you out, even though you feel vulnerable as lambs going into a pack of wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes yet as harmless as doves.”

The Passion Translation

We are living in a time where we are encountering the explosive nature of evil. It seems like everyday we are experiencing some form of lawlessness associated with evil. Whether it is people running red lights, porch pirates, usury on some level, usually credit debt or criminals raiding stores. We see it on a very blatant level today. I personally witnessed two young adults, a male and female together, stealing two 24 packs of alcohol from a mini mart. Laughing during the whole robbery. The mini mart employee could only video the license plate and car, due to corporate protocols.

I know that this is not even something brand new, although it has become rampant and without remorse. It reminds of the scripture as follows:

“And here is the basis for their judgment: The Light of God has now come into the world, but the people loved darkness more than the Light, because they want the darkness to conceal their evil. “

John 3:19 The Passion Translation

The more we study the word of God and hold it in our hearts, we come out of the darkness and become more like God. We lose our appetite for darkness and gravitate to the light. and the light will hurt our eyes! Just like coming out of a dark room to the outdoor sunlight. The solution to become bold is to become more like God. We take on His righteousness.

Being bold, gives the ability to stand up to evil in the darkest of days. Overcoming evil and darkness shows that we are for the Kingdom of God. In this day we are bringing Heaven to earth. Darkness will not prevail if we move forward in boldness for the Kingdom.

So let’s define the word bold.

1. Fearless before danger

2. Showing or requiring a fearless daring spirit, a bold plan

3. Confident and courageous

The Lion is the King of the land. Lions are apex land predators. They occupy the highest trophic level in their environment, meaning that no animal hunts them. God chose us to have dominion over the entire earth. We have given our authority away to do this unfortunately. God is calling us back to take up our God given dominion over the earth. He also has given us boldness to take it back.

Today, I encourage to be bold in your sphere of influence to model the Love of Jesus. I encourage you to believe what God tells you to do according to the call on your life. I encourage you to not be faint but to ask for more boldness to walk the journey you have with Jesus. You will not be disappointed!

Here are some more scriptures regarding being bold.

“So don’t lose your bold, courageous faith, for you are destined for a great reward!”

Hebrews 10:35 The Passion Translation

Here’s what I’ve learned through it all:

Don’t give up; don’t be impatient;

be entwined as one with the Lord.

Be brave and courageous, and never lose hope.

Yes, keep on waiting—for he will never disappoint you!

Psalm 27:14 The Passion Translation

“I leave the gift of peace with you—my peace. Not the kind of fragile peace given by the world, but my perfect peace. Don’t yield to fear or be troubled in your hearts—instead, be courageous!”

John 14:27 The Passion Translation

“And everything I’ve taught you is so that the peace which is in me will be in you and will give you great confidence as you rest in me. For in this unbelieving world you will experience trouble and sorrows, but you must be courageous, for I have conquered the world!”

John 16:33 The Passion Translation

We are greater than the Lions! We have dominion over them also. Think of how much more God has given us to start getting ready to rule and reign with Him. We are more than conquerors and have the authority to take back that which has been stolen and in some cases forgotten. We can refer back to the original plan in the Book of Genesis 1:26, 1:28

” And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”

“And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”

King James Version

Be blessed and be bold today!

August 22, 2022 1

A Future & A Hope

Photo by Mark Fletcher-Brown on Unsplash

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
Proverbs 13:12, English Standard Version

A Quick Exegesis

Proverbs 13:12 powerfully states that we need hope in our lives for our hearts to be healthy, but that’s not all it says. We hear the first part of this verse repeated often, but we rarely look at the second part of the scripture, let alone the whole meaning of the verse.

We can look at the Hebrew transliteration and clearly see the author of this verse is talking about a weak or sick heart where “heart” represents our inner man, mind, or will. Let’s take a quick look at all three of these areas. Our inner man can represent our soul as we exist today with its mind, will, and emotions. Our mind containing our emotions takes us to a complicated place of potential positivity and negativity. Emotions are feelings and they are temporary. Emotions are not who we are, they are fleeting within the scope of eternity. Our will represents our free will which God gave humans to make choices for Him or against Him.

The second part of the verse is very straightforward. A desire is a feeling to want something or want something to happen. God places desires in our hearts that support our calling and purpose. We can also create our own desires from our flesh, which can get us into trouble.

The Tree of Life is now more accessible to us because of what Jesus did. We must believe in and trust Jesus to have access to the Tree of Life. The good news is that Holy Spirit came to us, and He teaches us everything we need to know to mature and grow closer to Father God.

Hope Reimagined

In the entirety of Proverbs 13:12, we can see that a person without hope can become desperate and long for a happy life, identity, and purpose. Without a strong identity in Christ as sons and daughters of God, and an understanding of our calling and purpose, we can have a hard time finding meaning in life.

It is without hope one can become depressed, fearful, and even suicidal.

Hope is defined as a feeling of expectation of something happening or trust that a desire will be fulfilled. The thing is, we can trust God. God does what He says He is going to do; He is not a liar. God has made all of us many promises throughout the Bible that we can count on happening. Our Bible is a manual for finding hope, faith, and love.

We need to desire the Word of God, which is Jesus Himself as stated in John 1:1–3 to be set free from negative machinations. Our minds must be on the Word with our faces turned toward God in this season. It’s time to use our righteous and sanctified imaginations to desire the things of God.

I repeat, it is without hope one can become depressed, fearful, and even suicidal.

To have hope, find your calling and your purpose, and walk toward doing them. God will meet you as you walk, and He’ll give you new hope and renewed meaning to live.

July 19, 2022 0

Living in Love

Walking with God

Scripture says that when we love God, He will abide in us (See 1 John 4:12). Think about that. The God of everything will live in us. He will make us His dwelling place. Our lives can be difficult here in this world. We are attacked at every opportunity the devil gets to come against us. He hits us with illness, ruins relationships, and distracts us from time with the Lord. The devil steals, kills, and destroys as he roams around like a lion seeking whom he can devour. And devour he will when we forget that God live in us when we love Him.

It sounds simple enough — just love God and He’ll live in you. The thing is, we don’t always know how to love. Love is twisted for many of us who have suffered. We have a less than perfect definition of love thanks to our upbringing or dysfunctional relationships. We don’t know how to set effective boundaries, honor each other, or remain independent versus being co-dependent. We have had parents divorced, trauma and abuse, and we’ve engaged in self-destruction.

Our only out is Jesus. Jesus is the only One who can heal our understanding of love permanently. Holy Spirit knows what we need to learn and grow in love. God is the foundation of our loving relationships. We must cry out to Him with sincerity of heart for restoration of love in our lives. So, let’s stay in God’s Word, Who is Jesus Himself, and ask Him to show us how to engage in His righteous and unconditional love. Let’s walk with for love Him. Let’s know that no matter our understanding of love, He will live in us and teach us how to love ourselves and others.

November 9, 2021 1

Celebrating Satan

“I am glad that Christian parents let their children worship the devil at least one night out of the year. Welcome to Halloween.” — Anton Lavey, founder of the Church of Satan

Concerning Halloween

Halloween is widely defined on Bing.com as, “the one night of the year when the spirits of the dead can return to earth.”

There is a lot of information out there about Halloween. Some of the information is innocent sounding enough, other data speaks to the evil, ungodly origins of the day. We at Hardwired for Life will present some of that information here for you to do your own study about the “Holiday.” Just a note: we do not celebrate Halloween, and this Post tells why.

Our belief is that Christians should not participate in Halloween in any way, because it’s not Biblical to do so. If anything, we should celebrate the Jewish Fall Festivals (Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot).

Following the Bible

We don’t celebrate Halloween because of the evil history and practices involved. We Christians are to not engage in ungodly acts of the flesh. The Bible tells us in many places in the Old and New Testaments not to participate in evil doings. In Galatians 5:19–21, New King James Version, we read, “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

We know how difficult it can be for Christians, especially with small children, to refuse to celebrate Halloween. Mainstream society, both secular and Christian, is deeply sold on participating in the traditions of Halloween.

What kid wants to go to school without a costume like everyone else? We get it. Is God going to forsake you if you allow your children to dress up and trick-or-treat? Probably not in His grace and mercy. God is faithful and we can trust Him. But we would rather you had some truth about Halloween, its traditions, and current societal norms in America in order to make a more educated decision about taking part or not.

Pagan & Catholic Origins

Pagans call Halloween, “All Hallows Eve.” Historically, Catholic traditions call the day after Halloween, “All Saints Day.” This is a day dedicated to venerate martyrs and saints. There are other religions and beliefs, such as Wicca, Santeria and Voodoo, that also celebrate the Halloween or the Fall Harvest season.

Pagans particularly are individuals, cults, sects, covens, and many other groups that are not Christian (Christian meaning, believing in Jesus is Lord and Savior). Pagans hail worshipping Satan, demons, ungodly religions and gods, the earth and its elements, and/or the flesh/self.

Satanists consider Halloween, Christmas, and Easter high holy days for them to engage in evil practices against humans and animals alike. These evil practices include curses, torturous abuse, sexual abuse, and human and animal sacrifices. This is happening today, whether you choose to believe it or not. Do some research on your own to discover more.

This Post is barely scratching the surface of the darkness surrounding the Halloween season.

Please do your own research. Do what you can to make an educated decision about your personal participation in Halloween, regardless of your religion, faith or denomination.

Dark Symbology

Halloween comes with a slew of dark and scary imagery. Scary icons are not lifegiving and are meant to scare people. Life can be frightening enough without one being exposed to glorified evil. Here are just a few:

Ghosts: Disembodied spirits of the dead manifesting as apparitions.
Witches: According to Bing.com defines witches as, “a person thought to have magic powers, especially evil ones, popularly depicted as a woman wearing a black cloak and pointed hat and flying on a broomstick.”
Jack-o-lanterns: Wikipedia states, “The name is also tied to the Irish legend of Stingy Jack, a drunkard who bargains with Satan and is doomed to roam the Earth with only a hollowed turnip to light his way.”
Skeletons: Typically, a human framework of the bones of a dead person.
Black cats: Bing.com says black cats are superstitiously thought about this way, “A black cat crossing one’s path by moonlight means death in an epidemic.”

Celebrating Darkness

Trick-or-Treating & Costumes

Modern day trick-or-treating is thought to have been around for about 100 years. In Pagan, Celtic communities long gone, people dressed up in frightening costumes. These costumes were made to hide themselves from the spirits and fairies out on All Hallows Eve. The fear is that they would be harmed or taken away by the spirits, according to HolidaySmart.com.

Candy was given out to treat the children, or a trick was played on them. Today the candy given out by Witches of all kinds is heavily cursed, and it pries open spiritual doors that should remain shut. Candy at Halloween also promotes poor health in our children.

Haunted Houses, Parties, Decorations & Commercialism

The National Retail Federation says that Americans spent more than $8 billion on Halloween in 2020. That says something. People spend money to create Haunted Houses, have Halloween Parties, and Decorate like its Christmastime. People celebrate Halloween without considering that the day is dedicated to ungodly things and making money.

Christian Churches Today

Glorifying Evil

Many churches celebrate Halloween by creating Harvest Festivals and things like Trunk-or-Treating. Churches do this to give people, especially with children, a place to go on Halloween or to safely Trick-or-Treat. Children wear superhero costumes, princess outfits, and other “cute” costumes on Halloween. These costumes placate the desires of society to dress-up on Halloween. The older the child gets, the darker and sexier the costumes become. Dressing-up in evil or sensual costumes is an attack on the child’s identity as children of God.

Christians choosing to participate in Halloween are opening doors for evil to creep into their lives. Christians open doors to Spiritual Warfare they are not prepared for. Halloween is not innocent, not godly, not lifegiving, and it glorifies evil and darkness. Make a stand against Halloween and pray for those involved.

October 30, 2021 2

Get Powered Up

“God has transmitted his very substance into every Scripture, for it is God-breathed. It will empower you by its instruction and correction, giving you the strength to take the right direction and lead you deeper into the path of godliness. Then you will be God’s servant, fully mature and perfectly prepared to fulfill any assignment God gives you.”

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (The Passion Translation)

The Bible IS Power

In the beginning of the Book of John we read that the “Word” is Jesus and Jesus is the “Word.” God inspired every Word of the Bible that we read and it was written infused with Jesus’ Spirit. When we speak the Words of the Bible we are drawing Jesus out of the Book and into the atmosphere around us. When Jesus is present the world with its darkness fades away.

Let the Word who is Jesus lead you and guide you in your beautiful walk of life and salvation. When you do, you’ll be able fulfill all of the assignments God has for you. And when you engage in the Word of God with others, the effect is amplified.

Be blessed today and thank you for visiting!

October 26, 2021 0