Month: January 2014

A fascinating article in the Science section of USA-TODAY yesterday reported on research into the V-formation of birds in flight. Since I was a kid, like most of you probably, I wondered at the graceful way birds in flight followed the leader in the shape of a V. Growing up in Nebraska, I’d watch the Canadian Geese make their way south every fall, and back north in the spring, flying high overhead in perfect V symmetry. How and why they did it fascinated me. Was there some secret training camp that all young geese attended to make sure they mastered this feat? Until recently not even scientists understood what was going on. A study published in the journal Nature says that birds know how to minimize their energy expenditure on long flights by monitoring subtle changes in the flights pattern of their windmates. Each individual bird flies in the V-configuration to catch the rising air generated by the flapping of the bird in front of it. Their bird brains have some kind of internal “computer” that detects the slightest alterations in wind flow and they automatically make adjustments; the V-pattern is the best way to do this. Of course, there is no bird “flight school” they all attend to learn this. It’s built in to being a bird. And how did this knowledge get there in the first place? To survive, the very first birds had to know this as part of their created order. There was no chance for evolutionary survival of the fittest to figure it out and teach all the other birds. The more we know about the world we live in, the more all things point to a Creator. Only a bird brain would conclude otherwise.

An encouraging word:  A GODLY HERITAGE

What were your ancestors like? My latest book CURSE BREAKING (click here to order) emphasizes the importance of spiritually confronting any part of your heritage that was ungodly. Perhaps you can say with David, “I have a goodly heritage” KJV. Wonderful, if that is your case. If not, then you need to carefully renounce what was not “goodly” but ungodly. Be as specific as possible and put the generational effect of ancestral sins under the blood of Jesus, and determine that your children onward will have a worthy heritage.

Gloomy, laughable, majestic, radiance, hurry, generous, frugal, critical, courtship, zany, undress, rant. A dozen words you use in conversation and communication all the time. Nouns, verbs and adjectives that fill our speech without a thought. But until the middle of the sixteenth-century, they were unknown and unspoken — until William Shakespeare came along and invented them. That’s right, the most brilliant writer of English history simply made up words. At least he was the first to write and officially use them. “Majestic” he took from “majesty,” meaning “greatness.” “Critical” came from the Latin “frugi” meaning “honest.” And so on.

But the invented words of the Bard of Avon isn’t the only occasion that we use words in common speech without understanding their origin and significance. Here are a few examples:

REPENT – It is used casually as a vague reference to feeling sorry for actions. But the biblical sense of repenting is far more serious, beyond mere contrition. The KJV Bible didn’t invent the word but gave it new force as an expression of a conscience-smitten decision to change and avoid the judgment of God.

ATONE – In popular reference it is a way of making amends. In the Bible it’s far more serious. Christ atoned for our sins; He paid the price for our rebellion and it cost Him His life on the cross.

SANCTIFY – Once again, the term has been dumbed-down in everyday usage to mean respect. But its theological intent speaks of the sacred act of consecrating something, such as our lives, to the Lord.

Inventing words is a unique art. Changing what words really mean can be spiritually dangerous if one invents a meaning that loses theological significance.

An encouraging word:  WATCH YOUR WORDS

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Prov. 18:21 KJV). This verse has been over-applied and misapplied by prosperity preachers, but that doesn’t demean its significance to what we say. This is especially true in the family. What spouses say to each other and parents say to their children is significant. Many times I’ve counseled an adult in mid-life who was wounded by the caustic comments of a parent (“You’ll never amount to anything!”). Wounding words set the tone for later bad decisions that were driven by the fulfillment of the negative prediction. Watch your words and speak life and hope to those you love.

This week, the body of Israel’s former prime minister Ariel Sharon was laid to rest in a grave at his family’s ranch near Sderot, Israel. Monday, international leaders paid tribute to the ex-military leader who went on to lead his country through difficult times. Sharon died last Saturday at age 85 after being in a coma for eight years following a stroke. Among those gathered were former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Vice President Joe Biden. Sharon’s flag-draped coffin, flanked by an honor guard, lay in state at the Knesset before being transported to its final resting place. There are two words in this paragraph I want you to note: “coffin “and “grave.” Sharon was buried, not cremated as are so many today.

My latest book CURSE BREAKING (CLICK HERE to order) deals in detail (pages 106-108) with curses than can be attached to cremation. I’ll not restate here what you can read for yourself, in fuller explanation. Historically Jews have strongly opposed cremation. Jewish law firmly states that the dead must be buried in the earth (“to dust you will return” – Genesis 3:19). Jews believe that the body belongs to God. Even after the Holocaust, many godly Jews actually gathered the ashes from death camp crematoria and buried them in Jewish cemeteries. In Deuteronomy the law commands that the dead are to be buried (Deuteronomy 21:23). Cremation destroys the body making it impossible to obey this biblical injunction. Furthermore, Jews consider the body to be created in God’s image, and to violate that deliberately by burning is an affront to God himself. (This principle also applies to self-injury and tattoos.) Cremation is nothing less than a violation of the sanctity of the body. Orthodox Jews hold that cremation is a rejection of the concept of resurrection and an emulation of pagan practices. Read CURSE BREAKING for more information about the historic Christian position on cremation and reconsider any ideas you have had about being burned at death.

An encouraging word:  FALSE GODS

“The sorrows of those will increase who run after other gods” (Psalm 16:4). Whatever you allow to take the place of the Lord in your life is another god. Such “gods” in our culture aren’t necessarily images of wood or stone, they are often the things that replace religion, such as pleasure, money, lust, or inordinate entertainment. The reason sorrows increase is that the real power behind any false god is a demon (1 Cor. 10:20) and such evil forces come to kill, steal, and destroy (John 10:10). Beware running after false gods lest you pursue a demon in disguise.

Okay, I’m giving away my age. “Sioux City Sue, Sioux City Sue, your hair is red your eyes are blue, I’d swap my horse and dog for you.” Those were the words to a popular country song when I was a kid. I may be the only one who remembers; but the “sue city sue” I’m talking about today is the litigious city called America in which we all live. And no one epitomizes it better than the guy above, Sirgiorgio Clardy, a pimp living in Portland, Oregon. (With a name like that he should sue his parents!) Sirgiorgio, a pimp, brutally beat a man who refused to pay one of his clients – and then robbed the man. (He also beat the 18-year-old woman he forced to sell sex. She was so severely injured she bled from her ears.)

But after that, this preposterous pimp attempted to take the moral high ground. Representing himself, from behind bars in the Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution, he filed a $100 million lawsuit against Nike. Not following me? Why Nike? Sirgiorgio beat the prostitute and the John with his Nike Jordan shoes, and now claims he should have been warned by Nike that their shoes could be a weapon and should have been labeled as such. In the words of this plaintiff, the Jordans were a “potentially dangerous product.” Only in America! One look at those eyes tells it all. You can see the devil staring at the mug-shot camera. This is one angry man, likely filled with demons of Hate, Anger, or even Murder. He needs an hour with an exorcist, not a day in court. Nikes are a threat to no one, but anything in the hands of someone such as Sirgiorgio, filled with such evil, is potentially lethal.  Let’s pray he stays locked away for a long time before he can get his hands on one of those seven-inch heels women wear today.

An encouraging word:  GOD IS JUST

“Does God pervert justice?” So said Bildad the Shuhite (one of “Job’s comforters”) with a rhetorical flourish. Of course not. God is just, but when His justice is not enacted forcefully and quickly, evil flourishes. Today it seems that the balance of justice all too often tips in favor of criminal rights, rather than public good. But all who do evil will someday answer to the Supreme Magistrate, the Lord himself. Be sure that you act justly, because the Lord judges in righteousness by the measure of his Son, Jesus Christ. And only His grace will stay the hand of condemnation for what we all deserve for our unrighteousness.

Ever make a faux pas? A completely unintentional, awkward act or utterance? A miscue, saying or doing something that didn’t come out quite right? Last week I was in California for a seminar, and I saw the bumper stickers above on the car I was following. At a stop sign I quickly grabbed my camera and took a picture. You can’t make this stuff up. As you can see, there where three bumper stickers that said, in progression:

Even Democrats can get a chuckle at the unintentional irony. And Republicans must be howling with laughter. One has to wonder if the owner of the car had been smoking some of that new Colorado weed or was politically clueless as to the implications of linking those three messages in succession. A mistake of this sort isn’t fatal, just embarrassing – a least we hope it would be. But spiritual unintentional ironies are a lot more serious. Take, for example, some things that people link in the same breath:

The irony of being a mental patient and voting for Obama makes us grin at the oops factor. The suggestion that an individual may dismiss Christ’s claim of divinity and still inherit an afterlife of eternal bliss is damningly deceptive. Be careful what you put on your bumper, and be a lot more careful what you believe in your heart. There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death, declares Proverbs 14:12.

An encouraging word:  HONOR FROM THE LORD

Psalm 15:4 notes that God honors those who “fear the Lord.” That’s how I want to be known. I don’t fear what people say, but what God thinks. Do you? As Paul said, “If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Gal. 1:10). Through my years of ministry I’ve had some very ugly things said about me. Of course it hurts, but it doesn’t deter me. It’s the honor of the Lord I strive for, He who really knows the inner motives of my heart. Don’t be concerned about the accusations of men. Seek honor from the Lord and you’ll be spiritually successful.

It’s a dirty habit and a deadly habit. And it’s an addiction — legally promoted, government subsidized, and widely advertised. It’s costly. The average price per pack of cigarettes in the U.S. is $6.03, but the health-related costs per pack are $35, according to the American Cancer Society. Over a year, those added costs can amount to $12,775 for a pack-a-day smoker. It causes one-third of all heart attacks and raises the risks of 14 kinds of cancer. That should end the argument for any Christian who smokes, without even looking at the repulsive pictures above. Worldwide it kills 100 million annually, and by the end of the century it will kill one billion! A lot of attention has been given this week to this issue as America commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Surgeon General’s Report that starting turning the tide against tobacco’s dangers.

And yes it can be compelled by a demon. I know, I’m an exorcist. The demon usually doesn’t go by the name of Smoking, though I have encountered that garden-variety demon, but it generally calls itself by the names Addiction or Death. To be clear, smoking isn’t itself a demon, but a demon can attach to or facilitate the habit. Satan is in the business of killing and destroying (John 10:10) and what better way to do it. Sadly, in my early days of ministry I preached in Southern Baptist churches in the tobacco-belt and watched deacons light up on the front steps after the Sunday morning sermon. Things are a bit more enlightened now, but the biggest problem with Christians, especially in the south (including a lot of born-again Texans), is chew, which is just as bad and just as demonic.

The pictures above of chewers say it all. If you smoke or chew, you definitely have an addiction and you could have a demon. Get deliverance and trade in your Marlboro Man for a Newly Delivered Man in Christ.

An encouraging word:  HONOR YOUR WORD

Scripture tells us that God blesses a man who speaks the truth and honors his word, even when it is hard to do so (Psalm 15:4 “keeps his oath even when it hurts” NIV). We’ve all been disappointed by Christians who promised things and didn’t come through or said one thing and did another. We have high expectations of our brethren in Christ, and rightfully so. We expect them to be different from the “world” and so does God. Think of what you’ve said to your fellow Believers and make sure that you’ve followed through. It’s a great way to keep friends and a certain way to keep God’s favor.

A lot wrangling has been going on lately at meetings of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. And it’s all about the cross. It’s not the first fight over whether or not the Christian cross would appear on County seals which are displayed on flags, vehicles and written communications. From 1957-2004 the cross was above a rendering of the Hollywood bowl. Since the new seal replaced the Bowl with a depiction of a Catholic mission, paying tribute to Catholic missionaries who were early settlers of the area, some wanted the cross included as an accurate “historical” portrayal. Said filmmaker John Newcombe, “Our mountain ranges, our valleys, and our hills, all these things are named after Catholic saints.” Good point. Do the Supervisors now bow to the whims of atheists and the ACLU to start renaming everything in the state with a religious reference? As for now, the vote is to keep the cross in spite of threatened lawsuits. Good for L.A. and one small victory for religious freedom.

I can tell you who’s behind efforts to remove the cross – the devil and his demons. Satan fears the cross of Christ. In every exorcism, when I whip out my special Cross of Deliverance, the demons recoil in fear. Not because the metal object I hold has any power in itself. It is a visible expression of my invisible faith, an objectification of a metaphysical, spiritual reality. It forces the devil to face a visual emblem of what is in my heart. That’s why we put crosses on the steeples of our churches, and Mormons don’t, by the way. It signifies ownership, authority, identity and submission. Without those early Christian missionaries there would be no California as we know it today. Even Hollywood owes its ultimate founding to the cross (gulp!). Satan fears the cross so let’s put it everywhere we can. It exposes who is really behind the atheists and the ACLU when they get bent out of shape over a simple, symbol.

NOTE: To get your very own replica of my special Cross of Deliverance, used in thousands of exorcisms all over the world, CLICK HERE. Each cross has been anointed and consecrated by prayer.  Proceeds go to support our international missions worldwide. Thank you.

An encouraging word:  LOOK TO THE CROSS

“The preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness,” Paul told the Corinthians (1 Cor. 1:18). Sadly today it sometime adorns the bling of gutter-language rap artists and the cleavage of erotic Hollywood starlets. But such demeaning of the cross never takes away what it really represents. Thousands of cathedrals place it at their apex and stained glass windows glow with its hope. The cross is truly, as Paul says, “the power of Christ.” In His crucifixion there is hope. In His death there is life. And in His resurrection there is immortality. Thank God for the cross.

By now you’ve probably heard the story going ’round about the Satanists who claim the right to put up a statue of their Dark Lord outside the Oklahoma state Capitol, which since 2012 has had a Ten Commandments monument. The proposed display features the Baphomet symbol of Satan, complete with cloven hoofs and horns, welcoming two children to his embrace. This depiction of the devil is the one popularized more than 100 years ago and adopted by occultist Aliester Crowley and the late Anton Lavey. A spokesperson for the campaign, Lucien Greaves, says, “The statue will also have a functional purpose as a chair where people of all ages may sit on the lap of Satan for inspiration and contemplation.”

The seven-foot tall structure depicts Lucifer with a goat’s head, adored by two happy children.  Says Greaves, “The status will serve as a beacon calling for compassion and empathy among all living creatures. This is to be a historical marker commemorating the scapegoats, the marginalized, the demonized minority and the unjustly outcast.” I can’t imagine the good folks of Oklahoma buying that logic, but let’s wait and see what the ACLU and Obama-appointed judges have to say before we dismiss this proposal as preposterous. In our world of compromise and political correctness, nothing surprises me anymore. As for words like “compassion” and “empathy,” tell that to victims of satanic ritual abuse. Tell it to those who have been victimized by war, violence, and perverted predators. Satan is the origin of all evil in the universe and to even suggest honoring him in any way, let alone on public land, is the height of hubris. Don’t believe what the proponents of this memorial to Belial have to say because their leader is the father of all lies (John 8:44).  If by some warped twist of logic these Satanists are allowed to erect this statue, they’d better put a lightning rod on the top. A thunderbolt from heaven might be expected at any moment.

An encouraging word:  YOU ARE NOT FORSAKEN

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” You’re probably familiar with those words of Jesus on the cross. The feeling of forsakenness, abandonment, and rejection is so much a part of the human condition: the employee whose years of faithful services ends abruptly with a pink slip; the husband or wife who suddenly discovers the infidelity of a lifelong partner; the child who wonders why his parents are getting a divorce. “Why am I forsaken?” is a universal human cry, to which the Lord, who himself felt forsaken, answers, “I will never forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).

Isaiah 61, one of my favorite chapters in the Bible, speaks of bringing about “beauty for ashes,” or as we say in the vernacular, “turning lemons into lemonade.”  That’s what 29-year-old Oskar Zepeda is doing. Following nine tours of duty in Iraq and having 25 operations after being hit with a hand grenade, Zepeda is truly making something beautiful from the ashes of his life. He has volunteered to serve in a special group trained in computer forensics who operate with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office. His job? Taking the mindset of his military training to seek and destroy the enemy, he now goes after child predators. Zepeda, along with other wounded veterans, now fights child pornography. They analyze computer evidence to help determine if a child is in harm’s way and needs to be rescued.

This very brave group of ex-soldiers even goes on raids sometimes. One of Zepeda’s associates, a former Army soldier says, “I’m talking about young kids, 18-month olds, toddlers. This is some of the most horrible stuff I could conceive of imagining and I’m looking at it on a daily basis.” For the sake of our children, thank God that they are. Another of Zepeda’s compatriots observes, “My time got cut short in the service. I wanted to continue serving my country, and this was my way to do that.” I don’t know about you, but I get a lump in my throat thinking about what these courageous ex-service personnel are doing. Applying this principle to making beauty from ashes, I wonder why there aren’t more spiritual warfare soldiers, willing to track down the devil who is behind child abuse. That’s what our DWJD� (Do What Jesus Did) deliverance teams are all about. If you’re looking for a place to serve and hunt down the Enemy, join or start a team. Turn the ashes of abuse into beauty and set the captives free. Call today 303-980-1511 and find out how you can make a difference by doing what Jesus did.

An encouraging word:  SPEAK WELL OF OTHERS

Congress is getting back in session and already the rancor is starting. Each side seems to be positioning itself to take advantage at the expense of the other. Psalm 15:3 tells us that God will only bless the person who “has no slander on his tongue and who does his neighbor no wrong.” There aren’t many Senators or Representatives who can qualify. And it’s not just politics. Our culture seem to thrive on getting ahead at the expense of someone else. So, no matter what the way of the world is, remember that God honors one who, as verse three continues to say, “casts no slur on his fellowman.”

The graph above was printed front page in USA-TODAY last week. No article, no comments; just the poll results. So, I’ll add the commentary. Some might say that a 4% drop in belief in the devil isn’t much (it’s actually a 6.5% drop from 62%) but extrapolate that decline out over time. In another decade we’d nearly be at the mid tipping-point with half of Americans no longer taking Satan seriously. (Two years ago a Barna Group survey claimed that only 43% of Americans believe the devil to be a “living entity” as opposed to a symbol of evil.) Contrast this change with the rise in violent crime, terrorist attacks, sexual violations, child abuse, and wars and rumors of wars around the world. Dismiss the idea of the devil and who’s left to blame? Humanity as a whole? You mean we’re not on an evolutionary ascent to greater nobility as a species?

In the original preface to his famous expose on evil, Screwtape Letters, author C. S. Lewis wrote about “the two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils . . . to disbelieve in their existence [or] . . . to believe and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.” Lewis concluded that the devils “are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.” On another occasion Lewis said, “Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil.” As an exorcist confronting the devil on a daily basis, I can attest that Satan is very real and exceedingly active. Check out our YouTube Exorcism Channel (CLICK HERE) if you doubt me. Come to one of our seminars and see the reality of possession up-close and personal. Most off all, do whatever you can to get rid of Satan’s influence in your life. (Call 303-980-1511 to schedule a Personal Encounter.) Remember, the reality of the devil doesn’t depend on polls reflecting the whims of public opinion. Satan’s existence is validated by Scripture and backed up by Christ himself who faced the Evil One in the wilderness temptation.

An encouraging word:  WALKING RIGHTEOUSLY

“Who may dwell in your sanctuary?” David asks (Psalm 15:1). Good question. The sanctuary is where God is, so David is really asking, “Who can walk in God’s presence?” The next verse answers: “He who does what is righteous.” In the midst of American feel-good theology and seeker-friendly evangelism, too many avoid the call to righteous, true character that comes from internal humility and external morality. Righteousness is what God does or does not see when he looks at us. To walk righteously you’ll need to drop the fa�ade and allow others to see who God sees. Prayerfully, that will be righteousness and behaviorally consistent.