General Articles

What We Say Matters :: By Candy Austin

Published on: by RR7

Matthew 12:36 “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.”

This piece is about the things we say and believe. There are statements or beliefs that we may or may not know that have ties to the Occult, Witchcraft, Mysticism, and New Age. Therefore, these ‘buzz words and phrases’ that many circulate are clearly not Biblical and are things that no true Christian should adhere to. Also, this is about realizing what we say has meaning in this life and in the next. Our words matter in how they relate to others, and we should strive to be aware of their effects.

Seeing is believing – Obviously, to see something right in front of you requires no amount of faith, because of course, if you can see it, you know that it is there. The Bible has a lot to say about how blessed those are who have not seen but yet believed, as in the example of Jesus’ words to the doubting Thomas disciple. (John 20:29 “Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.) For Born-Again Christians, we know that our lives are all about walking by faith and not by sight, so the phrase “seeing is believing” is obviously not Biblical.

Your mind’s eye – Huh… your mind has an eye? Oh, you must mean the ‘third eye’ of the occult or the ‘all seeing eye’ of freemasonry. This ‘one eye’ thing is an important symbol in the occult world, symbolizing mind control, which is often gained through various methods or tactics. This symbol of the ‘one human eye’ goes as far back as the start of civilization and is in nearly all cultures around the world. This symbol clearly does not have anything to do with the God of the Bible.

Time heals all wounds – Um, nooo… time does not heal all wounds… God does! This manmade phrase is nowhere found in God’s Word. If anything, it gives one a ‘false sense of hope’ with no lasting power behind it, causing others to look towards something other than Almighty God to relieve their pain and discomfort. The best advice is to embrace the words of Jesus and no other to find lasting comfort and solace for your pain.

Namaste – This New Age Yoga term means, “The divine light in me bows to the divine light in you.” What does God’s Word have to say about this? Are we to bow to anyone other than the Lord Jesus Christ? Does God give His Glory to any other? Clearly, a resounding NO! Sadly, this term is subtly being used everywhere, even in kids’ cartoons! ‘Come out of her, my people’ should be the cry to Christians who woefully partake of this occultic, satanic, Hindu practice, which has absolutely nothing to do with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Soulmate – This unbiblical, pagan, and esoteric term points people to the wrong type of expectation and connection with others. Yes, we were created for relationships, but the ultimate relationship we were designed for was one with God. No person here on earth can ‘complete’ us; only God can. He is the only one who can meet all of our needs and fulfill our yearning for true friendship and intimacy.

Dreamcatcher – An object that originates from an ‘unchristian source’ used to mythologically ‘catch dreams’ and one which has ties into the ‘spirit world’ is not something a true Christian should have. Objects like this often open one up to the enemy by allowing nefarious practices into one’s home and life. Something to also keep in mind is the fact that there are also feathers tied to it, and feathers are often used in witchcraft practices for spell casting and wicked things of that nature.

Tolerance – Oh, how those who are ‘not on the side of truth’ love to tout this term! On one hypocritical hand, they want you to ‘tolerate’ their views and beliefs on some movement, but on the other hypocritical hand, they paradoxically refuse to ‘tolerate’ yours, especially if they are ‘in line’ with the Bible! This ‘buzz word’ has come about in recent years and is ultimately not a good thing, especially in these Last Days.

Positive thoughts and vibes – This phrase is often used by people who, instead of asking for ‘faith-filled prayers’ over their situation, subscribe to an alternative view of ‘positive thoughts and vibes,’ as if that will enlighten or sustain them in whatever trial they are going through at the moment. This is clearly anti-Christ and anti-Christian in its New Age views on the power of ‘positivity and vibes.’

Yin and yang – Dualism, black, white, good, bad, male, female, yin, and yang, all of which stem from Taoism and Eastern Religions. It is the concept that no one or no thing is ‘all good or all bad,’ which is clearly unbiblical. It is the ‘sacred idea’ of the occult and freemasonry that there are no absolutes; everything is grey, so to speak. Um… the Bible is full of absolutes! There is absolute evil and absolute holiness, absolute light and absolute darkness. The idea of blurring these lines between good and evil is overtly anti-Christ and anti-God in nature, which is a mindset that should be avoided at all cost.

Dogma – A term that has been attributed to ‘religious beliefs’ in recent times due to opinions and code of tenets that one holds on to. A lot of times, one will be called ‘dogmatic’ if they hold to their convictions and beliefs too strongly. This is something those ‘not on the side of truth’ like to say about those who want to follow the Way, the Truth, and the Life; so watch out for this ‘buzz word’ to those on the narrow path in these Last Days.

Luckily – In the Christian life, there is no such thing as ‘luck.’ It is either God’s Grace and Favor or it is not. To attribute something to ‘luck, luckily, or lucky’ is to forgo the acknowledgment that God’s Hand of Divine Favor is in sway.

Black Lives Matter – No joke, we recently drove by a huge mega church about an hour away which had this slogan splayed on a jumbo banner on the front of its building for all to see! Uhh… those with eyes to see and ears to hear know that BLM is an organization that has admittedly revealed their ties to not only witchcraft but to Marxism as well! Who in their right mind, especially as a church in these Last Days, would support such a nefarious organization?!

Y.O.L.O. – An acronym that stands for ‘You Only Live Once,’ which implies throwing caution at the wind to do whatever you want without concern of personal responsibility or resulting consequences! The Bible teaches that we are to live this one life we have been given in God’s Eyes for His Glory and for the furtherance of His Kingdom, not for selfish gain or careless ambition. The YOLO philosophy diverts one’s attention away from God and onto selfish ‘self-gratification’ and is not a mindset a true Christian should adhere to.

Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.”

Obviously, these words and phrases are just the ‘tip of the iceberg’ of things we or others may have said or heard, whether knowingly or unknowingly, that have their ties to the New Age, Occult, Mysticism, and Witchcraft, so be aware. Just as Hosea prophesied, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge,” we need to educate ourselves by growing in knowledge of these things and be diligent in studying God’s Word to know the difference and to show ourselves approved unto God.

Our words matter whether we realize it or not – For example, the childhood rhyme of, “I’m rubber, you’re glue; whatever you say bounces off of me and sticks back onto you” is not true. Oftentimes, things we say to or about others resonate deeper than we know. The words often do not bounce off of them or run down off their backs like water on a duck. Instead, they tend to permeate into the deep recesses of one’s mind, and sometimes for long periods of time.

Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.”

Matthew 12:37 “For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”

Proverbs 13:3 “He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.”

Question: what are the odds that a car will come crashing into your home? Not much unless you live right off of a super busy street. Sadly, this very thing recently happened, which ended a young High School Senior’s short-lived life. Local News Sources said she was sitting in her living room one morning doing virtual classroom on her laptop when a van plowed right into her house, instantly killing her. It was not clear if the person in the van was suffering from a medical condition, but that person was critically wounded as well. Her older brother, who was sleeping in the next room, woke up at the commotion and found his sister under the rubble. When he grabbed her wrist to check her pulse, he said she was already gone.

James 4:14 “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”

Needless to say, our lives are very short, and we do not know when our number will be up. We are like a vapor, here today then gone tomorrow. This is why each day we are given is another opportunity to say the things we need to say with meaning. To say things with ‘grace’ to our hearers, to display the Fruit of the Spirit of Love and Kindness through our words.

All of this is ‘preaching to the choir’ which is myself because, like Paul, “I am the chief of sinners” when it comes to this area. Too often, I say things in a ‘crass or rude way but under the guise of joking.’ However, it is still not displaying ‘grace’ to my hearers or about others. With the Lord’s help, I find that I will catch myself and say, “I need to repent; I should not be saying that.” Each day is another chance to improve in this area and to please God with the meditation of our heart (mind) and the words of our mouth.

1 Timothy 1:15 “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.”

Psalm 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.”

Overall, we need to be mindful of our words, whether they be of the New Age, Witchcraft, Mysticism, or the Occult or simply just something that is not graceful to our hearers or about others. The main reason is because we have a Father up in Heaven who is looking down to and fro upon the earth to see who is living mindfully to please Him.

2 Chronicles 16:9 “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.”

Until next time… Maranatha!

JESUS = THE WAY, THE TRUTH, & THE LIFE!

Jesus Will Come.

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Candy Austin is an Ambassador for Christ/Freelance ASL Interpreter/Writer, just passing through on this Narrow Path with her Beloved Husband and Best Friend Doug along with their 2 furbaby cats Harley (12) and Dallas (9).

 

A Microscopic Picture of End-Time Reality :: By Gene Lawley

Published on: by RR7

Jesus painted a word picture of how conditions will be in economic, social and spiritual terms when He is “revealed” in the last days, according to Luke’s report in Luke 17:26-30:

“And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.”

A parallel passage in Matthew 24:36-44 deals only with conditions in Noah’s time, but for the purpose of this article, the passage in Luke that tells of Lot’s situation more closely aligns with today’s end-time scenario.

In Genesis 18-19, the account of Lot and his situation in Sodom are told. In Genesis 18, three men show up at Abraham’s tent whom he recognizes as angels from heaven. Two of them are on their way to Sodom, a city that has attracted God’s attention because its citizens have become saturated with sexual immorality. Homosexuality ran rampant in the city, and God had come to judge its people.

The one who stayed behind with Abraham was the pre-historic Christ, the Son of God in the form of a human being. Abraham and the Lord “bargained” over the number of righteous people in the city that it would take for the Lord to hold back His judgment. They stopped at ten, but there were only four—Lot, his wife and two daughters. Even the daughters’ betrothed husbands-to-be were not among the righteous.

Let’s draw a comparison with the world today, and specifically, the United States, because it is the citadel of all that is left of freedom and righteousness in the public world today. The steady encroachment of sexual immorality of all kinds, identified by their own label, LBGTQ+P (my addition, for “pervert or perversion”). It is reported that the potential Biden administration is being demanded to allow the sexual revolution to have full sway in his selection of leaders and regulations for his new presidency. In every direction there is compromise with ungodliness, moral degradation and pure evilness. The Bible sums up their evilness in Romans 3:10-18 with the conclusion that “there is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Isaiah 5:20 defines the mindset of the unrighteous: “They call good evil and evil good….” It is not surprising, however, for Satan, who empowers the left who are in bondage to him, is said to come as a thief, “only to steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10a). It is impossible for Satan and those in his camp to accomplish anything good, let alone godly, for there is not one ounce of goodness in them. Their works are of no merit in the Lord’s eyes.

It is interesting how the demons that Jesus encountered dwelling in human beings pled with Him to “not send them back to the abyss, but send us into that herd of pigs” (Luke 8:31). While they did not like to be back in the abyss, their place in hell, they could not be happy dwelling in the man living among the tombs, for they made him into a creature of destruction. It was the same conditions of all of the demon-indwelt people whom Jesus healed. Their presence in those individuals always brought great misery to each one.

Thus, the obvious conclusion is that those who do not fear God are without hope, for Solomon’s wisdom tells us that “the fear of the Lord is to hate evil,” and “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 8:13 and 9:10a).

Look at the ultimate result of the sexual revolution as it appears to God, in Romans 1:18-32:

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.

“Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

“For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.

“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness,  sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers,  backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.”

The city of Sodom is a picture of the whole world, then, and the person of Lot pictures the likeness of the broad, end-time church. It is made up of a mixture of immature, uncommitted believers, dedicated followers of Christ, and even civil people who are not saved. Lot argued with the two angels, not wanting to leave the city, and they practically dragged him and his family out of Sodom.

The participation of believers in the partying and business-as-usual atmosphere described in Luke 17:28-30 is apparent today, for it seems few have been “watching,” as Jesus warned us, that the signs of the times might not take us by surprise when the trumpet sounds for His coming.

The two angels represent “He who restrains” against the encroaching evil, told of in 2 Thessalonians 2:2-8, when they reach out and take Lot away from that lust-driven crowd of men, pulling him inside the house and blinding the men of the city so that they could not employ their evil intentions upon Lot and the two angels. We see in Lot the desire to compromise with those men by offering his two daughters to them instead of the two angels, but they would have nothing to do with it—they wanted those “men.” It tells us much of what Lot was like, and it is comparable to the broad “church” of today, as well as the civil world. Compromising the truth always diminishes its power and influence. Except for what Peter wrote in 2 Peter 2:7, we might not know that he was really a believer: “… and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked.”

When the US Supreme Court issued its opinion on a 6-3 vote recently that updated the 1965 ruling that made discrimination on the basis of sex unlawful, they ruled that sex meant any sexual activity, not just male versus female. The obvious conclusion of that has required that morality and immorality are equal in the sight of the law, a position that will result in the destruction of society. The two opposites are totally unable to exist side-by-side, for where evil is allowed to reign, it seems righteousness is overwhelmed. Thus, the judgment of God is hovering over this nation with impending disaster.

Thus, as the body of Spirit-indwelt believers today are protected as the embodiment of “He which restrains,” likewise was Lot protected until the time came for him and his family to be taken completely out of the judgment to come upon the city. This compares with the account reported in 2 Thessalonians 2:2-8:

 “…Not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

“Do you not remember that when I was still with you, I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.”

It is very apparent that evil is banging on our doors, demanding to be let in, demanding recognition and equality with righteousness. Those who want to compromise with evil are ready to do so, surely knowing God hates evil. But, “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

When will these things come to pass? The “times and seasons” tell us that He is coming to “take away” the redeemed from judgment, but the Scripture makes clear that “today is the day of salvation.” When Jesus answered those who wanted Him to take control over the Roman rule, He would say, as He did in John 7:6, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.”

Contact email:  andwegetmercy@gmail.com