Diatheosis

Sure, some verses summarize some divine principles better than others. Getting them out of the context however, is problematic. But I think you can on a personal level spiritually sometimes get inspired from some passages via the Holy Spirit. In that way God can build you up as His image, without the greater importance of historical facts per se. We still do well, if we at least have some kind of understanding about the historical context too. I personally appreciate the holistic approach, but sometimes I just wear off the theologian and suck the Word in with no analysis whatsoever

Whilst the emphasis would be on "Your (God's) will be done", it's interesting how many times Jesus' response was according to your faith you will be healed. There was even this elder lady who got healed just by touching Jesus' mantle, without Him actually wanting to heal her, for which He wanted to know who it was that touched Him. That being said, I've personally grown to be pretty cautious about these kind of things. Our own faith should be a sort of key factor here, yet it is God given. Many times Jesus also says, ask and you will be given, or whatever you ask in My name, it is given to you. Or what about the parable of the woman banging on the judge's door day in, day out? Or the friend, who had late visitors, and wanted to have some bread from the reluctant neighbor. Equally it seems to be true, that Jesus is asking us to be persistent in our asking, taking of course, that we are in alignment with what the Father agrees on. Would be insanity to request for things ungodly. This is probably one of the most difficult things Christians struggle with. On one hand, we are told to ask persistently and whatever we ask (in the case of healing as instance) in Jesus' name, it should be given. But practically we all know it doesn't work like that, unless there's someone here who would like to testify other wise. And yet, Paul clearly has a problem, even connected to the devil himself, which God is not willing, for one reason or another to heal instantly. I've often thought about what would it do to us, were we granted too much. Ministry is different kind of a thing, naturally, and is where most of the amazing stuff happens. In the personal life, though, probably for the most, getting their will done would have sooner or later a negative impact on the personal integrity. God is not a genie of the lamp. So I would say, probably for our integrity's sake (which has to do with Him being sovereign of course), God does not all the time cause miraculous healing on our request. Were we to be completely humbled 100% without the risk of falling after our pride, I think He might have a greater rate on agreeing in our wishes. It's like with the children: you just can't all the time affirm their actions, unless you want spoiled brats. Who would want something like that?

I dived the deep waters about all this, and it surely tears one's soul pretty bad. To find that place to meet and worship God as a Father in spirit and truth, and to be sure it is God. There sure is much deception, of many sorts. I used to contemplate, to meditate until it brought me to a point I no longer could not. Spiritual burn-out was the outcome, a bad one. How to graciously approach our good Lord, in union, on a solid ground and doctrine? We need His peace, a peace this world cannot provide, and that peace cannot be produced by our own efforts. It's much deeper, it penetrates right into our soul. When we find that peace within us, that is, what He has given us, that changes everything. Like a loving Father, He will provide us with what we need. It asks discernment. It comes effortlessly. Sometimes, the enemy will try to distract you. But the peace of the Lord will prevail. Exalt Him, cry for Him. He will come for you, because through Jesus Christ we are in union with God whose Spirit indwells us. And our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Howcome we not sense that what is of God. When I was a child, I was with my father and could hear his voice. Now that I am in the presence of my Heavenly Father, as Jesus does just that, puts things in place and reunites, He's the way, I rejoice of His presence. I can speak with Him, and He guides me. Our Heavenly Father.

Google Mark Singleton, to see what he found out about the development of yoga. It could be what we understand as yoga was developed quite recently and is based on a european form of gymnastics called Primitive gym. Before that, there apparently are no documented pictures about asanas, whereas after this gymnastics was exported to India, pictures of asana postures can be traced, and they are quite the same as those in the mentioned gymnastics. Apparently, in the ancient yoga, there were basically a few postures for sitting and meditating. Judge for yourself, I would not be surprised if the information in this book was proven correct. I don't know if it was this author who came up with the stuff, but I remember the one who did had practiced yoga for ten years, plus he had been teaching it five years more before the information was laid before him. It maybe sounds radical, but these days I am not surprised by so many things anymore. If this holds true, then you may quit the debate altogether since no one today in the West is practicing yoga, they are just stretching according to a Danish form of gymnastics. The question whether a Christian should practice something called Primitive gym is another story.

It's not the same. With a Horror-scope (pun intended), you are actively seeking to find out about your future through a source outside of God. With Yoga, you can actually do the stretching and exercises apart from actively worshiping other god's. Which are not real to begin with. People say the moves summon demons, but demons are probably right next to you all day everyday anyway. Looking for any weaknesses in your armor. We are at war with them daily, so no silly exercise will make a difference in my opinion. You are right about them lurking around for any legal (or illegal, they seem not to care too much about following divine order) access. It's a thin line, when stretching becomes a method to 'enhance' you spiritual condition. By the way, I am not strictly against good health, and we do have dancing as a way of worship as well in Christian tradition. Apparently, these asanas as we know them today were actually developed by the 20th century according to a European form of gymnastics. So to that regard, their ultimate authority can be questioned. But, and that's a big but, when they are being combined to a spiritual mind set, it's really more of a playing with fire. It's like asking, is it ok for a Christian to practice tantra, even the 'spiritual' aspect of it? Even though we can say God is also using energies to sustain the Creation, at least from how we can perceive it as of now, our approach to them can not only be solely based on how we see the situation, but how reality actually works. So it might be that according to me what I am doing should be fine, and there's no big deal about it, but from God's way of seeing, that may not be the case. And it's not that I have this idea of a God who most of the time keeps Himself busy recording to the smallest detail our every possible trespass against His holiness. But most certainly, we are accountable for what we do, not only why we do it. According to the Vedic philosophy, which means the principles behind yoga as spiritual platform, performing what's part of that system in any (ritualistic) way, we are connecting ourselves to and opening to that reality. In principle it may sound terrific to gym yourself closer to God, (and it's a good question is it ok and if so, to what extent we can take things from elsewhere), but how that's purposed to work, is another issue. That in mind, the best way, is to pray to God about it, and reflect on the scripture how that aligns. I mean, stretching of course should be part of our lives, even the animals do that. But it's a hard question how the energies involved these things work and influence us, and if that's God intended.

"Possibly by embracing the technology of yoga and meditation, the Christian church could finally return to the idea of love and acceptance that it believed it was founded upon" Oh Jesus, Joseph and Mary, don't know that much about love and acceptance, once you get to know the idea of karma and original idea of reincarnation, which by no means is evolutionary. Instead, the old karma haunting after the soul will affect the outcome for several lifetimes from one incarnation only, let alone the total sum of negative karma gained through myriad lifetimes. The elite of the brahmin cast should not come here to preach acceptance, I gather. Most of their people are not even expected to exit samsara, but their suffering is justified due to their past actions. Well, you can speak of acceptance in that regard. Such a blessing we really do not have to rely upon any technology to feel acceptance and love, or try to earn good points. But then again, no matter how expertized this guru is ob the mind, not knowing Jesus person ally heart to heart really leaves a big part of reality unknown to him. Another good reading might be "Death of a Guru: The Story of Rabi Maharaj", a story of a son of a famous guru who found Jesus.

I practiced yoga for about five years, and it got to a point where I could feel something physically rising up to my spine and shoot out of my head. There's the question to which point we are supposed to manipulate our (bodily) functions. As it tends to be with our current state, being more or less blind to the spiritual reality unless discerning or in revelation (God willing), we expose ourselves to danger if we try to open up to something, and that something has nothing to do with Jesus Christ, our risen Lord. Stretching is ok, of course. In fact, the "ancient tradition" of yoga has more to it than generally thought, apparently. For that, read Mark Singleton's research in which he points out how yoga and its asanas more precisely, is actually quite modern and has its roots in a Danish form of gymnastics called something like 'primitive gym'. It was shocking, but not surprising. Do not be fooled to believe we can adapt occult methods and combine them to our faith. I mean, these postures are all about to alter the state of consciousness, and that's nothing but occult. We are not suppose to alter our state of being, other than let God take care of it. Stay away from these practices, I thought too it's safe, but it's not. I would say the same about martial arts. I saw this video, where old Chinese masters could perform a movement and people got knocked over from distance. Interestingly, when these same movements were performed on skeptics, nothing happened. That should prove, that it's about demonic. Why these skeptics were not knocked over, was because they did not believe in the power of kung fu, qi gong whatever. In other words, their minds were not open to the demonic oppression working through these channels. Why to risk your own well-being by seeing how much of the occult you can copy and how close without it getting to you? Just because you think it's on safe ground does not mean you haven't already given them access. Because, even though it has often to do with our faith, there are also legal rights we sometimes grand to our enemies. Yoga and stuff like that most certainly is like that.

Due to the so called Jerusalem syndrome you can spot many Jesus' downtown. Then we have the Theosophical Society which has proclaimed the second coming since 1920s. First it was supposed to be Siddu Krishnamurti who apparently smelled the rat in the last minute and left the movement, later on to teach people about the uselessness of religious traditions. That did not stop theosophists though, and in the 80s they started a huge campaign, promoting their messiah, alleged Christ, in a news paper advertisement sponsored by 500 000 dollars world wide. It's just that in addition to their Christ being simultaneously the buddhist Maytreya, hindu Kalki, muslim Mahdi, as they work to unite all religions, essentially they perceive Lucifer to be Christ. Besides that, their presence (Lucis Trust, formerly Lucifer trust) in the UN, in the World Goodwill program, to officially bring about harmonious relationships between different religions, is according to their own understanding really just about to prepare the world for the coming messiah (ie. Lucifer). We are talking now about world politics folks, and it fits pretty well the end time deception of one world religion and the false prophet. As an end note, let it be known that the great grand father of Helena Petrova Blavatsky, the founder of the Theosophical Society, was a high degree free mason, in whose library she was initiated into the world of occult, thus the presence of Luciferian doctrine in theosophy. That's also why she was obsessed about the secret leaders abiding in various locations. And it's these leaders, which became known as the ascended masters, still prevalent in the new age. Among them, of course, Jesus aka Sananda Kumara Christ. Talking about a big bowl full of rubbish, but these things attract people due to the saccharine coating, and need to be exposed. They stand no chance in the face of Truth and Power of God. In the light darkness disappears and God is omnipresent.

Don't freak out the young couples here brother! But I can say, children are a blessing. It's really hard to think how the here postulated life will actually be like once they have spread their wings. Weren't we commanded to multiply and so on? Jesus said they are sort of short on workers for kingdom, so everyone please step forward now with your contribution. Even one would not consider for one reason or another to have children on their own, there are many needy little ones who lack home. I think it was actually Christians, who started to take abandoned children in early times when unwanted babies were left for wolves etc.

or worse still, you are actually operating under demonic forces, while thinking it's your own accomplishment. The longer you tread that road, the greater stronghold they will get. Every granted wish means exchange, for nothing comes free this way. It's no less than selling your soul to the devil. Ask the Father in Jesus' name, you get guided to the right direction. And test the spirits, especially if you've been doing things differently. Because Satan loves nothing more than taking credit for what is God's, since he really believes to take God's place. That cosmic insanity. Rely on the Lord alone.

Aye. Spent years with these things. Ultimately, visualization is only good if it's brought to you by the Holy Spirit, according to God's Will. Fixation to use your own mind is actually building up spiritual pride, as with other spiritual practices. Essentially I'd say, all spiritual 'accomplishing' is damaging. It's about relationship. Most genuine interaction with my children cannot be attained by my or their practices, but openness and spontaneous affection. Without God's love, there's really no spiritual power in anything that we do. And this love cannot be self-created, just like faith, it's God given and born within us through His Spirit. I got so burned up because of all the different techniques I was using. Essentially, it's very simple, that's why Jesus said we should be child-like in this sense. Ask and you'll be given, seek and you will find. Knock, and He will open. We ought not to rely too much on our biased human thinking, but experience the mind of Christ. And you will know when it hits you..

Unfortunately, I am not being surprised. Here the church went on to represent itself on erotic exhibitions.Of course, people making these decisions do not represent the whole of the body of Christ. But when you have to study for up to five years or more, to graduate and start working as a priest, you may not be so hasty to change the direction the organization has been heading. After all, you need all those years to pay off finally. When science and technology speed on to offer us some answers that have been so far unnoticed, the spiritual evolution will take a whole leap towards the brave new world. Human enhancement will be accepted by the official churches more or less, sooner rather than later. That's why we need to educate ourselves about transhumanism. By now it is clear, the enemy has infiltrated many congregations, which is why the supernatural gets so much dismissed in the teaching of Word, which itself by its very nature is supernatural. If that's not the end time deception, there is no such a thing.

a good question also is, if they already operated under Satan, was this choice only of lust, or a command? One would have it, that they still need to operate under some chain of command for some coherency. Sure, chaos is their way of being, but I believe they are accountable to the master mind behind all evil. This fits pretty well the picture in the context of abductions in modern times, I mean those that are for real and not for getting some attention. Was it not Mack who while mapping out the psychology of these things found out this kind of experiences stopped when one calls for Jesus? God is Creator, Jesus is God. The fallen ones have no choice as for this, for originally they still belong to the order of Creation and are part of that system, no matter how much they try to create get-a-way. Only a fool tries to escape Him Who is Absolute by nature. Glory be.

if we are talking of false teachers, where is their guidance coming from then? I would not call it the Spirit of Truth at least, based on what Jerry was telling. Which leads to a conclusion, if they are not with God, then they are against Him and we all know to whom does that trail lead. Money should not be an issue when it comes to deliverance or salvation, voluntary gifts are another thing. But I can give these 'teachers' the chance to regret in that we all make mistakes, living in an imperfect world as we are. However, since they have not apologized etc, it seems they continue on that path which leads to wrong way. If it's not from God, we know pretty much what it is. That makes it, more or less, witchcraft.

dear friend Cog, there are reasons why our perception functions as it does. You mention being a bit drawn back from the prophetic as it is quite a powerful dimension. Yet, you refer to how the prophets or people getting prophetic experiences change their way of perception. But, and this is a big BUT, prophetic has ALWAYS to do with God's Spirit and revelation. That comes never without the power of salvation and resurrection, in other words, faith in Jesus as who He is and the power of the Holy Spirit. The prophetic does not occur purely at our own request, but fully in co-operation with God and even then it's He who's calling the shots. You want to transform your way of perception and mind set towards more spiritually based, which great. However, how you pursuit this can lead to two totally different directions. I've read about people who used to summon upon the name of the fallen one, and things happened. In fact, there indeed are some people known by the whole world who literally sold their souls to Satan to become famous. But only because in this way they advance the demonic agenda. Why I am saying this, is that if you pursuit the mentioned spiritual condition for wrong reasons, you will attract unwanted forces. They may equip you with some kind of spiritual enlightenment, but not everything that shines is gold. We are often mistaken by the medieval art where Satan is depicted as a horrible demonic creature. In truth, he used to be a magnificent angel of light. I have a good deal of experience about seducing spirits due to my involvement in the new age and occult, so I know what I am talking about. At that time, I used to wake up sometimes feeling like something was forcing itself to intrude into my body and had to fight hard to occupy it by myself instead. After I become born again and began my journey with the Lord, this kind of activity stopped. When we open up to what God does not desire, we become targeted by the demonic. It's simple as that. The shortest, and the only way to a spiritual mind set that lasts and supports you, is through spending intimate time with Jesus. If you become open to the spiritual realm without knowing Him and having the Holy Spirit by your side, God have mercy on you. It's no funny trip. Believe me, I've been on that road long enough. But the choice is yours, I still do recommend strengthening yourself in God's Word, so that His spirit may abide in you as you abide in Him. That's the kind of spiritual union which fulfills your heart with God's love, and perhaps then, you might see the world through the eyes of Christ, to perceive things as for what they are.

To truly discern spirits as for what they really are, you need the chief Spirit, known as the Holy Spirit. You can get the Holy Spirit and the giftings of the Spirit when you embrace Christ Jesus and let Him show you the way. I used to be much involved in all kinds of spiritual activity, had it not been thanks to Jesus, I might still be deceived by all different sorts of spiritual manifestations. Do not let the spirits deceive you, because all you get from them comes with a price, and you do not want to walk with them to where they want you to go. Instead, walk with God, and be revealed the truth in Jesus. As for your question about how too stay spiritually minded, once you receive Jesus and establish a relationship with Him (notice the difference between religion), you will be given the mind of Christ. That will suffice as for being spiritually minded. It comes not by your own effort, but is given to you freely. Your job is to nurture the relationship with Him from your side. He will take care of the rest. I meditated hours every day for many years and practiced all kinds of different methods to 'perfect' myself. What I noticed later on, was that all that spiritual practice builds up spiritual pride within us. It's only through the mercy of Jesus having died for our sins, that we receive the true humility to begin to walk with God. The kind of mindset you are referring to you will receive when you get born again from the Spirit. That you will do by confessing your sins, as we all do, and asking for Jesus to come into your heart. While you probably did not expect to get an answer like this, as I once fought against the idea of letting go and letting God, let alone accept Jesus as my Lord. But once my pride gradually broke down, and the streams of the living mercy entered me, everything changed. Hopefully this answered what you wanted to know, and more over, what you need to know. be most blessed.

What I have found a useful thing to do, is to have water, bless it in Jesus' name and go around the house sprinkling the water all over the places praying in Jesus' name all the time, follow the way the Holy Spirit leads you. You may want to spend more time in some spots and deal with them more efficiently. This you can do also around the yard etc. Water we use to baptize people and dedicate them for the Lord, so apparently it serves as a good medium for consecrating things for God.

Gay marriage was voted for in the parliament one week ago, and will quite surely proceed next year to be legalized in Finland. The sad but not unexpected thing was the arch-bishop of the Lutheran church welcomed this, being the main cause for 13000 to resign themselves from the church for over one weekend. That's quite high number being in Finland. As I have long been saying, that is only one step forward and more is to follow. I have told many polygamy will be the next, since like homosexual "marriages" it can also be defended as a human right. I've seen many signs on this in the media, like articles about polyamoric relationships with no critic about it at all. Now they proceeded and presented a show on tv about a Finnish "family" of one man and two women. The success Mormons have had with this thing in the states predicts expansion of the movement, considering the muslim immigration in Europe we can see how pieces start falling into place. They quite surely will soon start raising their voice for polygamy, and the European governments bow their heads once again. Besides, isn't it only exciting to go further that path once you have started the journey? If only you knew the destination.. Once the very basic unit, family, that was made sacred by God has been corrupted in its principle, the Antichrist has paved the way for further exploitation of humanity. And those poor souls who lack the backbone to stand up for what God has instructed us with,will cheer the beast on to the throne. Sometimes it would be so wonderful to be wrong, but I doubt the Word of God would fail.

He also provides useful information for debates with muslims, since he can point out many flaws in their doctrine based on Quran. The bounty placed on his head speaks for some level of success.

The body of Christ is under constant attack by the enemy, we really need to wear the full armor of God to win this race. The more known the preacher, the more demons chasing after them. Nothing the Holy Spirit could not deal with, unless the mind gives in the temptation and decides to taste of that fruit yet again. We've got all it takes to claim victory that has been delivered to us, choose we only to do so. And never forget, even one of the most beautiful angels of light fell, how easy it is for us humans to fall prey to our pride.

Indeed our identity ought to be established on the solid bedrock foundation of Christ. What I mean, is that even though congregational relationship is of extreme importance, we do well to dive deeper into the psychology of how we function as individuals. Taking good time for profound contemplation of God's Word, we do become more aware of our thought processes and how we feel about things. Ie. more discerning and spiritually sensitive. From personal experience, I can say sometimes I ached to have some companion, but in the long run to press against God's presence provided me with something no other human being could ever have been able to do. Sometimes wandering in the desert does not have to mean utmost wilderness, but can also mean more of a spiritual condition and landscape. And it's at the times of personal loneliness when the enemy tries to knock our defense down, when we are not surrounded by nice people or good friends, when our stability in Christ is tested yet again. To survive this dark night of the soul, as it is referred to at times, releases something from God that will make you a real torch of the gospel in this world. Facing my own mortality in a very real sense is probably one of the best things I could ever have hoped for, although it certainly did not feel like that when it happened, since that was at a time I did not believe in supernatural or such. It was just to face my death with calmness, trying to convince myself it was better that way, and that soon all suffering would end. When I realized I wasn't going to die as of yet, that really pumped some new life in my veins. Then it was only to survive the muddy waters of new age to find myself on the shore of salvation. There's always new life in God. Sometimes you can walk in wilderness even you are surrounded by people. What matters is that you find your way out of there. Jesus did not stay out of the reach for longer periods because there was a job to be done. Likewise, I believe that even though these intense periods of loneliness clarify many things for us, we live to deliver the message of salvation. And what kind of a life it is, yet better is to come.

Sometimes raising children in this world can be frustrating, because knowing God's Truth, you have to say no to so many things kids feel attracted to. The late instance the widely known Halloween, originating from the druids of Scotland, so having very little to do with our culture as such. It found the way to Finland too as late as in the end of 90s, and really is in no way connected to our cultural heritage in its current american hollywood styled form. Of course, as the times are what they are, this feast is welcome quite widely. Well advertised to children specifically. We have made it pretty clear to our youth we do not celebrate it, explaining why. They are aware of things enough to understand there's something about the occult practices not to mess up with them. But still, as the friends are having these parties, which in truth are quite innocent except the costumes, it feels quite heart rendering not allowing them to participate. The back kick comes at times because our kids know why they can't go and why we won't let them. BUT, glory to God, saying no Satan's easy first offer, gives God the chance to clear the game, so to speak. In our case, not letting our 11-ear-old to participate a friend's halloween party, opened up a gate way for our family friend to take her to a Christian concert and Holy Spirit celebration event. She liked it a lot, too. So I just wanted to share this as a reminder for all and families struggling with their youth and this world. Saying no to Satan's easy first offer, you get the chance to see what God has in store.

Got my share of that substance among others for some five years of my life. At times seemingly harmless, but in truth really something to deal with. What is needed is the power of the Lord and the Holy Spirit. They made it very easy for me to quit that rubbish. Once we get to feel God's love, nothing else will do it. It would be so great to know what I know now already back then. But the drugs are so seductive and offer an easy entrance to pleasure. More reason for the Lord to fill up the gap. A good idea to bring this up here, the prayers are already doing God's work on Earth.

Intimacy with God, learning about inner personal life and self, thus becoming more sensitive to spirituality, aka discerning as external stimuli do not constantly turn attention to the worldly things. If we don't know ourselves properly the enemy has better chances of fooling us around.

there are many different methods, so to speak, of contemplating God's Word. Personally, I find the most effective to be just doing it. Willamina has just provided you with an excellent and perhaps the only way which works most of the time. That is, press yourself against God and continue doing so. Some day, He will make Himself known to you. It may take ten minutes, might take ten days. But count on Him as your Father. If it takes long, one might get bored, but most certainly it's worth doing it. More than anything else.