Selama bertahun-tahun, C.S Lewis penulis karya Narnia, merupakan seorang ateis yang sangat sulit untuk diyakinkan tentang keberadaan Tuhan. Dibutuhkan pergumulan intelektual yang panjang sebelum Lewis akhirnya menerima keberadaan Tuhan. Lewis seringkali membombardir teman-temannya di Oxford, tempatnya belajar dan tempat dimana akhirnya ia mengajar, dengan pertanyaan-pertanyaan tentang Tuhan yang baginya memang tidak ada jawabannya.
Minggu, 09 November 2008
Deliverance from New Age Spirit Channeling (Janice Beakstead)
I was raised in Salt Lake City in a Mormon home. During my High School years I started to question TRUTH in general and rebelled against my parents by denying that the Mormons were the only group with truth. Shortly after graduating from High School I met a man who was very interesting. He seemed to really have it together and I ended up thinking he was and had the truth about life, why we are hear and all the important reasons for living. He introduced me to a few books that were spiritually written (I think the term they use is automatic handwriting) by a spirit named Seth. I can no longer remember the name of the author. The main teaching in these books were that "You create your own reality" and are in complete control of everything. The books also did a good job of taking away the significance of the Bible and what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross.
A few years after reading and trying to live my life like Seth suggested my sister in law invited me to a meeting where a woman was spirit channeling. This group of people were disciples of "The Urantia Book". This was about 1990. I purchased a copy of that book and began attending these meetings weekly on a regular basis. We all thought that we were so special to be part of this. The main spirit that was channeled was named Ham and he would speak through this woman for about an hour and than open the floor for questions and answers. It was quite an experience and the spirit was so full of love and good teachings that we were truly convinced that this was all part of God's plan. That these spirits were sent to us by God to start this group and to see it grow to a world wide movement. We each had a spiritual helper assigned to us. We were encouraged through meditation to communicate to our helper (I always referred to it as my 'thought adjuster'. I look back on it I was I never able to actually channel a spirit but I did feel it's influence on my life. I would sometimes have very vivid dreams about things and I think it would communicate to me that way.
Anyway, to make a long story shorter in August of 1992 a very dear friend of mine who was channeling spirits in the state of Washington had tested the spirits she was directly dealing with. A friend of hers had recently become a "born again" Christian and she had told my friend that she needed to test these spirits to find out if they were really sent by God. We had never experienced any evil coming from these spirits and because the lessons and teachings were all about being a better person in the world we just simply knew that they must be from God. I went to a retreat for the weekend and I had a spiritual experience that had completely convinced me that we were doing exactly what God wanted us to do. My friend called me after I returned and I told her that there is really no reason to test these spirits because they are so loving and kind. She wasn't so convinced probably because she was more intimately connected to them. She prayed to Father God and asked him to reveal the truth about them to her and God honored that request. The spirits were forced to leave her and God convinced her of who they really were from. She called me to tell me about her experience and convinced me to pray and ask God to reveal the truth about them to me. God honored that and I had a dream that night about the most hideous ugly beings you can possible imagine. I woke up knowing without a doubt that we were being deceived.
It is very interesting to look back on this event. I can truly see God working in my life even before I became his child. I was able to feel an evil presence around me to such a degree that I never again want to experience. I had to constantly rebuke them and force them to leave me alone. Only by the power of Jesus was I able to accomplish this. I was down on my face begging for God to make them leave and asking Him to forgive me in believing that they were from Him. The spiritual attack's lasted for several months and decreased in intensity as time went by. I was in constant prayer and God truly protected me through out this whole ordeal.
Shortly after discovering the demons that had moved into my life I read a book by Hal Lindsay called "Satan is alive and well on planet earth". This book changed my life. At the end of the book Mr.. Lindsay explains how to become "born again". I asked God to please reveal to me TRUTH. Do I go back to the Mormon Church or what? I asked Jesus to forgive me of my sins and to please be in my life. God showed me that the only thing I need to know about truth is his Word the Bible. I began reading from it and for the first time in my life it made sense and came alive for me.
I am truly a new creation in Christ and have for nearly ten years seen God work in my life. It will always amaze me that I was so deceived. I wasn't connected with the "Occult" or part of a Satan worshiping group but the result was the same. I was putting my faith and belief in the Father of Lies and headed straight to Hell. Praise God for saving me.
Janice Beakstead
E-mail Janice: janice-beckstead@leavitt.com
Jumat, 07 November 2008
TESTIMONY OF AN EX-MUSLIM LAWYER - STORY OF 25 YEARS LONG PERSECUTION IN PAKISTAN (Martyr)
INTRODUCTION: My name is G. Ahmed Rana (LL.M) 39 year old. I am a lawyer from Pakistan. I belong to an extremist Muslim clan of Islamic Republic of Pakistan. I completed study course of Holy Bible when I was 15 year old. Due to my pro-Christian faith I have been suffered 25 year long persecution in a Muslim country Pakistan.
Testimony of Annie Fintan - A Former Occult Member and Ex-Witch, now in Christ & serving in Deliverance Ministry at Refuge Ministries
From the time I was very young, I felt that I was different from the other kids that I knew. I was incredibly sensitive to things of a spiritual nature. Without having an explanation, I often knew things that I had no natural way of knowing. I knew there was a spirit realm, because I had seen spirits. Since I knew of their presence, it seemed only natural to seek what I could learn from them.
Annie Fintan - an Ex-Witch - Speaks on Territorial Spirits
As a Christian, I have heard various theological viewpoints on different issues. I generally prefer to stay out of the arguments that surround these opinions. However, one in particular has drawn my attention recently.
Due to the fact that I am a former witch, it is not uncommon for people to ask my opinion on the spirit realm.
Lately there has been a lot of teaching about Territorial Spirits and it is rapidly gaining in popularity. Naturally, those who have heard this teaching have many questions.
I have been asked whether I believe that territorial spirits do exist. However, I cannot give a simple "yes" or "no" answer to that question. The truth is, I really do not know. In fact, I don’t think any human knows. It concerns me that some of these beliefs border on superstition, and I believe they should be closely examined.
Those who teach of Territorial Spirits often use Daniel 10:12-13 as the basis for their teaching. This passage tells of an angel of God who was intercepted by the "prince of the kingdom of Persia". There are various opinions of what was actually meant by this passage of Scripture, but I am going to set those aside for the moment.
I would like to point out that one of the first things the angel said to Daniel was "Do not fear."
I have seen many people who have heard these teachings led into tremendous fear, rather than faith in a God who is All-Powerful. They become terrified at the slightest disturbance in their life, and are sure that a demon is responsible. I have to think that the devil doesn’t even mess with these people, because he already has them where he wants them. They are defeated once they have lost their faith and trust in God.
On the other side, I have watched people become obsessed with the spirit realm, to the point that their entire Christian walk is based on fighting it.
Throughout the Bible, we are reminded that we as Christians have nothing to fear. We are also told that our focus is to be on Christ, and if our focus is on anything else, it will damage our relationship with Him.
When we meet challenges in our lives, it would be easy to blame our difficulties on the demonic. However, there are many causes for our day to day problems that have nothing to do with demons. God uses the trials that we face to strengthen us and to bring us closer to Him. But it seems that many get so busy warring with the principalities that they see as the source of their problems, that they forget to turn to God at all. We so easily forget that ultimately we can do nothing in our own strength. The battle is God’s and Satan has already been defeated!
Daniel 10 actually speaks of a spiritual battle that was not fought on earth and was directed by God Himself. The demon did not ruin God’s plan, and Daniel was not ordered to take authority and bind this demon. He was actually not even asked to pray about the matter.
God does not need our help. Nowhere in the Bible are we told to rebuke Satan or his demons. We are told to put on the full armor of God and resist evil. We are instructed to intercede on the behalf of those who are deceived, not bind and take authority. When the Bible does speak of binding, Jesus is the one who does it, without any human involvement.
As Christians, we are not to spend our time obsessed with identifying and fighting demons. The commission we have been given is to share the love of God with those around us. I am concerned that we may be loosing sight of what God has asked us to do.
I have also been asked if, in my travels as a witch, I set up demonic strongholds and claimed certain areas for the entities that I served. People want to know if I tried to take control of locations so that Christians would be ineffective.
My answer to that is a most definite "No". As a witch, I had no interest whatsoever in anything the Christians were doing. I believed that those I served already owned the earth or were a part of it, so there was no need to stake a claim. I did not believe the Christian God had any power, so I had no reason to occupy myself with challenging Him.
If I had encountered Christians battling to break strongholds that they assumed I had set up, I would most likely have found it amusing. Their fervor would not have impressed me in the least. If anything, it would have left me with a bad impression of God’s people.
However, when I encountered God’s Love through His people, although I was demon possessed I could not help but be affected. No one tried to bind the spirits within me, or take authority of them. No big show was needed, just God’s love, and that is what transformed my life.
So while I cannot give you a definite answer on whether Territorial Spirits exist, I certainly believe that if they do, they cannot hinder God’s plan.
The truth is that we live in a fallen world, and we may actually encounter demons from time to time. Whether or not these demons are Territorial Spirits seems of no consequence to me. They cannot interfere with God’s plan, because He defeated them on the cross. The only way that they have any control over us is if we give them that control, either by taking our focus off of God, or by fearing their demonic abilities.
I do not believe that as Christians, we need to say certain words in a certain way to avoid the demonic. If we are challenged by a demon, we need only to tell it to go. We are not told to go looking for them, or to rebuke them.
As God’s people, let’s not get caught up on peripheral issues that ultimately are of no consequence. Our relationship with Christ is what is important.
Due to the fact that I am a former witch, it is not uncommon for people to ask my opinion on the spirit realm.
Lately there has been a lot of teaching about Territorial Spirits and it is rapidly gaining in popularity. Naturally, those who have heard this teaching have many questions.
I have been asked whether I believe that territorial spirits do exist. However, I cannot give a simple "yes" or "no" answer to that question. The truth is, I really do not know. In fact, I don’t think any human knows. It concerns me that some of these beliefs border on superstition, and I believe they should be closely examined.
Those who teach of Territorial Spirits often use Daniel 10:12-13 as the basis for their teaching. This passage tells of an angel of God who was intercepted by the "prince of the kingdom of Persia". There are various opinions of what was actually meant by this passage of Scripture, but I am going to set those aside for the moment.
I would like to point out that one of the first things the angel said to Daniel was "Do not fear."
I have seen many people who have heard these teachings led into tremendous fear, rather than faith in a God who is All-Powerful. They become terrified at the slightest disturbance in their life, and are sure that a demon is responsible. I have to think that the devil doesn’t even mess with these people, because he already has them where he wants them. They are defeated once they have lost their faith and trust in God.
On the other side, I have watched people become obsessed with the spirit realm, to the point that their entire Christian walk is based on fighting it.
Throughout the Bible, we are reminded that we as Christians have nothing to fear. We are also told that our focus is to be on Christ, and if our focus is on anything else, it will damage our relationship with Him.
When we meet challenges in our lives, it would be easy to blame our difficulties on the demonic. However, there are many causes for our day to day problems that have nothing to do with demons. God uses the trials that we face to strengthen us and to bring us closer to Him. But it seems that many get so busy warring with the principalities that they see as the source of their problems, that they forget to turn to God at all. We so easily forget that ultimately we can do nothing in our own strength. The battle is God’s and Satan has already been defeated!
Daniel 10 actually speaks of a spiritual battle that was not fought on earth and was directed by God Himself. The demon did not ruin God’s plan, and Daniel was not ordered to take authority and bind this demon. He was actually not even asked to pray about the matter.
God does not need our help. Nowhere in the Bible are we told to rebuke Satan or his demons. We are told to put on the full armor of God and resist evil. We are instructed to intercede on the behalf of those who are deceived, not bind and take authority. When the Bible does speak of binding, Jesus is the one who does it, without any human involvement.
As Christians, we are not to spend our time obsessed with identifying and fighting demons. The commission we have been given is to share the love of God with those around us. I am concerned that we may be loosing sight of what God has asked us to do.
I have also been asked if, in my travels as a witch, I set up demonic strongholds and claimed certain areas for the entities that I served. People want to know if I tried to take control of locations so that Christians would be ineffective.
My answer to that is a most definite "No". As a witch, I had no interest whatsoever in anything the Christians were doing. I believed that those I served already owned the earth or were a part of it, so there was no need to stake a claim. I did not believe the Christian God had any power, so I had no reason to occupy myself with challenging Him.
If I had encountered Christians battling to break strongholds that they assumed I had set up, I would most likely have found it amusing. Their fervor would not have impressed me in the least. If anything, it would have left me with a bad impression of God’s people.
However, when I encountered God’s Love through His people, although I was demon possessed I could not help but be affected. No one tried to bind the spirits within me, or take authority of them. No big show was needed, just God’s love, and that is what transformed my life.
So while I cannot give you a definite answer on whether Territorial Spirits exist, I certainly believe that if they do, they cannot hinder God’s plan.
The truth is that we live in a fallen world, and we may actually encounter demons from time to time. Whether or not these demons are Territorial Spirits seems of no consequence to me. They cannot interfere with God’s plan, because He defeated them on the cross. The only way that they have any control over us is if we give them that control, either by taking our focus off of God, or by fearing their demonic abilities.
I do not believe that as Christians, we need to say certain words in a certain way to avoid the demonic. If we are challenged by a demon, we need only to tell it to go. We are not told to go looking for them, or to rebuke them.
As God’s people, let’s not get caught up on peripheral issues that ultimately are of no consequence. Our relationship with Christ is what is important.
