Demonic – Godinterest

March 6, 2024

Satan Attacks

Sometimes I sit back and think that these attacks from the enemy never stop. With the more we do kingdom work for God, the more we seem to be his target practice. Jesus said, “Simon, listen to me! Satan has demanded the right to test each one of you, as a farmer does when he separates wheat from the husks. But Simon, I have prayed that your faith will be strong. And when you have come back to me, help the others” (Luke 22:31-32 CEV).

We often face the most severe attack when we’re living out God’s plan for our lives – when we are in His will. When we’re determined to make a difference in the world for His glory, to advance His kingdom, we’ll most likely face more intense attacks from Satan, as he doesn’t want us to be doing kingdom work. But we need to remember God is in control. He has given us ‘all authority in heaven and on earth’. So when we’re feeling under attack, from addiction to sexual sin and everything in between, we shouldn’t give up. When we’re going through tough times, remember we serve a tough God, who is setting us up for a massive blessing and testimony of God’s goodness.

Today, just like in Luke 22, ‘Jesus was allowing you… to experience a trial so that you can encourage your brothers’. He knows that the church, and the world, need to see and hear real stories of His power. So our difficulties may be preparing us to encourage others who are struggling and heartbroken. Open your mouth, testify not only to your brothers but to your enemies. Remember what Joseph said to his brothers: ‘You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good’. Since God loves us and is in control of our lives, good things will come from the difficulties we’re going through right now.

‘Satan has demanded the right to test each one of you.’ (Luke 22:31 CEV).

Let’s Pray

Yahweh, I receive Your authority today over all evil, sickness and demonic forces, based upon Your Word. Thank You for exposing the enemy’s plans to me. I bless You God, for loving me and equipping me for the battle ahead. I receive Your armour today, and will stand behind You as You fight for me. God, please remove my defeatist mindset, as I claim victory today. In Jesus’ name! Amen.

April 6, 2018April 25, 2021

Should I Do Yoga if I am a Christian?

Recently I’ve been on a spiritual journey that includes deep prayer, meditation, and mindfulness to help me to connect with God. At the same time, I’ve also been on the hunt for some low-impact stretching that could potentially help with chronic pain in a natural way.

Meditation and stretching. Put those two together and what do you get?

Yoga.

So, I’ve said I need to stretch. And I find that meditation brings me closer to God. These all naturally come together in the form of yoga. But, as a Christian, should I do yoga? Am I allowed? Will Jesus love me less?

Well, first, let’s see”¦what does the Bible say about the word “yoga”? Nothing. Zero. There’s no record of that word being used.

So now what do I do? Since the Bible doesn’t talk about yoga specifically, I have to use the brains God gave me to dig a bit deeper. Then I can determine how best to deal with this current cultural trend.

Let’s start with a few of the basics:

Yoga began as a spiritual disciple in Hindu which includes breath control, meditation, and static postures of the body. Some people who practice yoga are active Hindus or Buddhists. Many are not.
In the western world, yoga is a broad term that is often descriptive of people engaging in the physical body postures that encourage strength and stamina. Sometimes this is combined with meditation for mental strength, but not exclusively. Some yoga classes used sacred words such as “Om”, “Namaste”, and certain chants that hint to Buddhism and Hinduism. Other classes make no reference to the spiritual world at all and are simply a form of physical exercise. Yoga potures have Sanskrit names that have spiritual meanings. Many times these are replaced with English names that simply describe the form the body is taking. (For instance, “lotus” has become “criss-cross applesauce”.)

The word “yoga” in Sanskrit means “yoke” or “union with God”. God tells me to not worship another god, and I must obey.

So I know that yoga started as an ancient spiritual practice of another religion which should lead me to move forward with caution. But I also know that Jesus came to redeem all things.

Is it possible to engage in a moderated form of yoga that feeds our Christian souls, or should we avoid it altogether? Can we be aware of the potential pitfalls and dangers of the spiritual side of yoga and then practice it in a meaningful way with a Christian bent and attitude?

The famous American minister John Piper seems to think that we can’t. He says we should avoid yoga completely, citing it as antithetical to Christianity.

Don’t get me wrong, I think Piper has some good things to offer. But in this situation I tend to think that maybe he’s throwing the proverbial “baby out with the bathwater”.

Christians have often taken “secular” symbols or practices and re-stored them into something that is healthy and even God-glorifying. Take Christmas, for example. December 25, the day on which we now celebrate Jesus’ birth, was reclaimed from the pagans. That date was redeemed from a pagan holiday to a Christian celebration.

Jesus has come to redeem all things. Even pagan holidays. Possibly even stretching and meditation and breathing?

Over the ages, Christians have used wisdom and the discernment to choose what is right for them as individuals and as a Body of believers. To apply Jesus’ redemption to various non-Christian things.

“Everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial.” 1 Corinthians 10:23

So I need to decide if yoga could be beneficial (or detrimental) to me. In my case, I truly believe God has given me the wisdom and discernment to be able to stretch and strengthen my body without accidentally worshipping a false god. I even believe that I can meditate and breathe while I simultaneously reflect and contemplate how incredible God is. All without slipping into the devil’s snare.

But I am aware that this may not be the case for all people.

Personally, think that I can apply the idea of a “yoke” or “union with God” in yoga to my relationship with Christ. But that doesn’t mean I’ll just sign up for any yoga class that is offered. I need to be wise and first ask questions about how spiritual a class is before taking it. For my own purposes, I tend to learn at home with videos, so there’s not much of a risk of me getting caught in an awkward situation. If something gets a little weird, I can just turn it off.

Holy Yoga is a practice that is gaining traction, offering the grounding of the Gospel while reframing the positive aspects of yoga in a Christian way.

“Holy Yoga embraces the essential elements of yoga: breath work, meditation and physical postures. In all of these elements, Christ is the focus of our intention and worship.”

So as I‘m making a decision about yoga (or anything in my life!), I need to ask if it creates a risk of becoming a detriment to my walk with Jesus. If so, then I absolutely shouldn’t do it! But if yoga can be practiced in a way that is healthy to my body and mind, while drawing me closer to Christ with mindfulness and meditation, then is it possible that even John Piper can’t argue with that?

May 4, 2014May 4, 2018

You’re Possessed, Now What?

“When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’

“And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order.

“Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.” Luke 11:24-26

Demonic spirits are constant – their existence does not change just because the times we live in have changed. While many Christians may believe that demonic possession is not possible for them and may not even be a reality for others anymore, the forces of darkness still continue with their rampage through the earth to take as many souls as they can before Jesus comes again. Instead of burying our heads in the sand, we should arm ourselves with GOD’S Word and remain vigilant because our LORD is fast approaching.

In warfare, it is advisable that each side learns as much as they can about each other. Many a time a spy will be sent to learn secrets that could have one gain advantage over their enemy. With the gleaned information, they can launch an attack that will either defeat their opponent or at least temporarily put them out of action. Based on Scripture, we know that, as Believers, we are in open warfare against “… principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:12). Some Christians may say that this Scripture is not as relevant today as back then, but they would be in error. In Matthew 24:3-28, Jesus speaks of the Last Days. He tells us that wickedness will increase upon the earth in various ways, whether it will be a lack of love, false prophets etc. 2 Timothy 3:1-7 also describes these Last Days, how the condition of man will be and what to watch out for. What is behind this wickedness? Do you think that it is just man taking greater liberties in deciding what is right and wrong and even blurring those lines? Perhaps this Scripture will give you an idea: “We know that we are of GOD, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one” (1 John 5:19). Did you catch that last part of the sentence? The world is under the influence of the wicked one, the wicked one is Satan.

Seeing as how the world is being influenced by Satan, how is he doing it? Fallen angels, beloved, demon spirits. Their handiwork is open to your viewing pleasure, just check out the latest movies, the decrease in morals, the increase of hatred (especially towards Christians), popular music and their artists… they are everywhere! Still in doubt? Just go to Youtube and check out what is going on- people are constantly posting about the influence of these fallen angels. Some may not be credible, but I assure you that there are many truthful videos available. Make sure to pray about what you are watching, you wouldn’t want to be deceived into believing the wrong things now would you?

These demons are affecting the world through people. Demonic possession does not always mean that you’re going to levitate in the air, change your voice, become supernaturally strong etc. It just depends on the situation really. These demons are intelligent- they have been around far longer than you have (obviously), and they have been studying mankind all of this time. They have been essentially monitoring you-possessed or not. Being possessed is different with all people because each person is different. It still all boils down to the same thing really, but the circumstances are always individually influenced. Some people do not realize that they are possessed, they may feel something odd about themselves, but other than that they just don’t know.

There are demons for everything! Lust, hate, addiction, covetous, idolatry, adultery, murder, destruction, witchcraft, unbelief, death- you come up with the rest. Not only are there demons for everything (of an evil nature), but through these demons, you can receive counterfeit gifts. You know about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, right? Prophecy, healing, wisdom… read 1 Corinthians 12 to find out what the others are (by the way, each Believer has a gift/s, it’s a matter of prayerfully finding out what they are). The dark kingdom also has their version of these gifts, thus counterfeit gifts. Remember when Paul and the other disciples had that one girl following them around and proclaiming them as servants of God (Acts 16:17)? The Scriptures tell us that she had a spirit of divination and earned her masters a living by fortune telling. This would be a counterfeit gift of prophecy. Well, Paul became quite annoyed with her and eventually commanded the spirit to come out. Boy, were her masters mad!

The counterfeit gift of tongues is often mistaken for the true one in many churches. Instead of communing with GOD, they are uttering curses down on the church. It’s sad really, this kind of atrocity can be prevented if only people adhered to John’s words in 1 John 4:1-3 and Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 14:27.

Let’s tackle a more taboo subject among Christians: demon possession of a Believer. You might say: Oh come on now, Steph, that’s not possible! When we accepted Jesus, those evil spirits had to go! Okay then, perhaps they did, but did you close your doorways? Doorways are the openings that you give the demons to dwell within you in the first place. Some doorways are through your own sin, some come about through dreams, others through traumatic events (eg rape, molestation etc) and others are hereditary.

Okay, you’re born again now. You have been freed from bondage to sin and the works of the devil. Perhaps for a few weeks, everything is okay, but suddenly all hell breaks loose. What could have happened? Read Luke 11:24-26 again. That demon/ s that were cast out of you, they roamed about, looking for somewhere to dwell. Well, they couldn’t find anything and decided to come back to you, just to see if they could try their luck. It turns out that you’re available and there is ample room for them to bring in seven more demons, more wicked than the first lot. Now your situation is worst off than when you began. They came into your house (your body), through the door (your doorway). This doesn’t mean that you’re no longer Christian- salvation doesn’t work that way. It is by grace that you have been saved, not through what is going on with you. But guess what? According to Luke 10:19, you’ve got power and authority over these spirits and you can rebuke them and cast them out of you. If you’re not certain about doing it yourself, rather find true Believers to help you. Repent of the sin, ask for forgiveness from GOD, and finally, close that doorway in Jesus’ name, praying the blood of Jesus to seal up that door.

Some Believers are probably up in arms because of this, but I’ll explain this demonic possession a bit further- with Scripture of course. Look to Ezekiel 8:1-18. There were abominations in the temple of GOD, while the glory of GOD was there! So how does this fit in with us? We are the temple of GOD (1 Cor 3:16 & 1 Cor 6:19), the Holy Spirit dwells within us. So, if the abominations could dwell in the sanctuary of GOD while He was there, why wouldn’t a demon dwell within us if we commit a sin that opens a doorway for them or, through lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6), we neglect to close the doorways already present? Instead of shying away, examine yourself. Were you involved in the occult? Did you dabble in occultic games? Were you raped, whether as a child or adult (please, I am not seeking to lay blame on rape victims, but this doorway is a major one), had an abortion? There are others, but I would advise you to please pray about this and get others to be in agreement with you. You are a child of GOD, you do not have to suffer alone. You can walk around, pretending that everything is okay, or assume that whatever problems are befalling you are trials sent by GOD. Often times certain sicknesses have demonic origins, some traumatic events happening (losing a loved one) have been caused by demons- there are just so many things caused by them because of their possession of you. And they have the right to- you didn’t close the door. Throughout the Scriptures, examples of spiritual laws are given- how the spiritual world operates, etc. That is why GOD has commandments in place, they are to protect you! When He says do not do something, He is keeping you from harm.

I’m not saying that all sins lead to demonic possession, of course not! But there are sins that do and you need to be aware of them. Please, study the Scriptures- the Word of God is the sword of the Spirit. It is mighty indeed. There is life in the Word of GOD, and you need it amidst all this evil.

Ending Thoughts: “If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death, I do not say that he should pray about that. All unrighteousness is a sin, and there is a sin not leading to death” (1 John 5:16-17).