Showing posts with label meditation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meditation. Show all posts

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Solving mysteries with the Kansas Cowboy: Itching ears



Isaiah 58 Ministries    

                                                       
  June 19, 2014

Pastor: Leah Svensson



Scriptures: 2 Timothy: 4:2-5, John 8:31-32, 1 Peter 5:8, John 8:42-44, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Hebrews 10:13-22, 1 Peter 1:13-23, Mark 16:19-20, Galatians 6:18-20, 15-18


                                                               Itching Ears


                You show me a man; I beseech you to show me  your writing, For such is the true measure of a man: what he thinks, how he abides his time, in a place wherein no one can see, hear, or look inside.  The mind is Satan’s prize, but a strong rooted one is a fruit of the vine. (vine: Jesus)

   

   As of late I have been reading Mark and over and over.  I’ve been thinking not the same, not the same, healed in Jesus name, not the same.  We identify with the world of which we come – we can relate, but not assimilate.








       
      The church reaches down to the world to cleanse, sanctify, to make forthright, heal the wrongs, break the yokes.  Not to assimilate and make jokes.  To see someone in chains, a life that binds is to see their pain, their crying out deep inside.




     We are not here to satisfy sultry, sinful ears that hear, but to release that burden of fear – so they can hold their Lord dear:  cleave to Him steadfast, to dry the tears.  All has been made clear.







     Therefore, when you hear that sermon, when you hear that preacher speak, that must be where he and Christ meet.

2 Timothy 4
2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.

   





      We have all  heard of “what a tangled web we weave when we first practice to deceive (lie).”  


Peter said the Gospel is the Power of God unto salvation.  Ye shall hear the truth, and the truth shall set you free. We can all visualize a fly in a spider web or a web bungee pickup bed cover. 

     They restrict, they constrain, things in the world, non-Godly parents, public schools, college, the government, the church even, their lies are retained in this vein.  All contribute to this web of lies. 



     Now, the web I see is one where babies are comforted by Jesus in the womb, only to be born into a web, to be born into the matrix.

John 8:31-32
31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.





Jesus said you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.  Now that must mean that there are a whole lot of lies out there!





1 Peter 5:8
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

John 8:42-44
42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.



In a world of change, industrialization, computerization, Jesus is the only road that leads to truth.  Truth is peace, stabilization, finding one’s level through God in this world.  God, His Word, His world or creation and conception thereof, never changes.



       



The devil, his lies, his change, his “progress,” His slavery CHANGES!  We seek money to keep up with the changes, to stay current with the times albeit cars, clothes, jobs, investments, college degrees, it goes on and on. 









       In God we are free from change.  Under God truly the “buck stops here!”  No more money, no changes.  The change is made in a righteous man or woman bearing fruits worthy of repentance.  Freedom is repentance from sins.

Therefore, we guard with all due diligence this truth, this self-evident creation (of us under God).  Sin and the devil = death, but to give one’s own life for Me, and you shall save it.  God does not need a church.  God does not need luxurious dining halls.

  He needs us to love Him and Him only. 

 The world has broken, wreaked havoc, and destroyed sanctity, purity, from provision to the marriage bed.

Webs have been cast in our heads, and Jesus and His road to peace and sound mind delivers us from this stead, all the while we are tenderly tucked away in our beds.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20
19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

Hebrews 10:13-22
13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.
14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
15 Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,
16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
18 Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
21 And having an high priest over the house of God;
22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

1 Peter 1:13-23
13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
14 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:
15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
17 And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:
18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

        truth is always the same: the world (God’s vision thereof) does not change – Sin stays the same (image changes, but…) – WE CHANGE!
      No excuses to be the same we are healed, strengthened, made perfect as He is perfect in His holy name.

When you see me, when you see Justin, you see change.  That is what He wants for everybody, to be a healed, healthy, whole-being.

        To preach to the sin is to “feed the need:” slavery, the captivity, but those who are free are free indeed!

        To preach to the sin is to uncover guarded hearts to rape, pillage, and steal, for money and greed, not to heal.


                   Yokes are broken to their pain and suffering, not the need to feel.

Red pill, blue pill, light, darkness, soft, or hard (hearted), peace, confusion, strength in God, or Satan's weakness.





Mark 16:19-20
19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

     Preaching goes hand in hand with the Lord.  The truth is preached, the Lord confirming it later, setting them free.

Galatians 6:18-20, 15-18
8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.
16 And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.
17 From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.

18 Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Yoga: Satan comes as an Angel of light disguised as a "Christian"

dis·guise
disˈgīz/
verb
past tense: disguised; past participle: disguised
  1. 1.
    give (someone or oneself) a different appearance in order to conceal one's identity.
    "he disguised himself as a girl"
    synonyms:dress up as, pretend to be, pass oneself off as, impersonate, pose as


Can or Should Christians Practice Yoga? 




 Now, I'm not here to bash Hindus. I actually have had a wonderful friendship with one and deep discussions about God and morality with him. But for Christians, and anyone else who takes yoga, it's important to know the meaning of the moves and chants- you are being a Hindu when you do them. If that is what you choose- okay, but the god of Yoga is not the God of the Bible. Christians need to know this- when you enter a room full of non-Christians -or young or weak Christians- opening themselves up to their 'inner god self'- they are opening a door to let the demonic realm in- A Christian may say prayers during this time- but, in essence, you are surrounded by the spiritual forces of "the other team." 
This photo was taken from a website "world religions for kids" ergo, at least schools teach that Yoga is a religion


Yoga is bound up in Eastern religious metaphysics and is not an innocent form of relaxing the body and the mind. The goal of yoga is the same as that of Hinduism, which is realizing that one is Brahman, the underlying impersonal God of the Universe in Hinduism. According to Psychic Forces and Occult Shock (Wilson and Weldon): "The physical exercises of yoga are designed to prepare the body for the psychospiritual change vital to inculcating this idea (the realization that one is Brahman) into the consciousness and being of the person. Hence talk of separating yoga practice from theory is meaningless. From a Christian perspective, whether the two can safely be divided is doubtful. 'I do yoga, but Hinduism isn't involved,' is an incorrect statement."




Now, most Christians will tell you that they "just do the exercises," or that the yoga they do is mostly exercise but not spiritual. But is it possible to divide the exercise from it's spiritual origins? Let's take a deeper look at what yoga- even the exercise parts of yoga- really is. This gets really deep and kinda hard to understand, but that's the point. Would a Christian really want to do something unless they were 100% sure it was not of the occult?



This is Shiva-The Destroyer




This is Shiva, the lord of Yoga... every form, even supposed "exercise only yoga. Shiva is the god of yoga- Below is a link to yoga's explanation of their god with some excerpts here:

http://www.vedanet.com/2012/06/shiva-the-supreme-lord-of-yoga/

1."Probably, the simplest and most common explication of Shiva, which one finds in the traditional literature, is that there is a trinity of divine forces governing the process of time in the universe with Brahma as the Creator, Vishnu as the Sustainer, and Shiva as the Destroyer."

 2.We live in a magical and mysterious universe pervaded by an unseen intelligence and subtle energies, which reach far beyond the merely human concerns that dominate our minds today. 





Did you read that- Shiva is the lord of yoga and he is known as the Destroyer. Does that sound really awesome to true Christian believers? I didn't think so. What do you think of when you hear the word "destruction?" Those are the forces you are bowing down to- or stretching to. 
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. "John 10:10




Magic? Christians need to steer far far away from anything that has "magical" components. 
Deuteronomy 18:14 (NAS) "For those nations, which you will dispossess, listen to those who practice witchcraft and to diviners, but as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do so."

Now here's where it gets kinda mumbo jumbo-y, but that is just the point. All that "controlled breathing"- all the "stillness" and "balance" and "peace"- the foundations of even the "exercise only" yoga- it all originates in the bowels of Hell, don't take my word for it, read the yoga handbook for yourself: But hold your breath...ha, just kidding...no, really, to go forward in yoga you've got to hold your breath...



"Yoga as a sadhana or spiritual practice rests upon cultivating the Shiva consciousness of the highest awareness and bliss. This reality of Shiva is the power of silence, stillness, and non-doing, not the ordinary power of self-assertion and aggression. It works through inaction, peace and balance, in which one is centered in one’s own being and grasps the entire universe as a manifestation of one’s own thoughts. This power of Shiva is not the outer force that displays itself for personal gain, nor the outer effort to control that makes a show of itself to gain adulation. It is the spiritual force that turns things around, draws things within, and takes them back to their source, in which a deep unity remains. Shiva symbolizes this balancing and calming effect of all Yoga practices.




Okay- so, it's pretty clear that a person might think  they can take the spiritual side away from yoga, but yoga gurus, the guys who started it- say that you can't. Soo.... Let's move on to that innocent, silent "OM"- no big deal, right? Just a little silly humming?? Well, what does the yoga handbook say about your "OMMing..." 
Shiva is the lord of cosmic sound or the cosmic music, particularly the great mantra OM from which all the Vedas and all mantras are said to derive, and the entire universe generated. The Sanskrit alphabet is said to arise from the beating of Shiva’s drum, whose resonance pervades all space. He has other important bija mantras of Hum and Haum or Haum Joom Sah. Hum represents the cosmic fire or Agni. Haum represents the Cosmic Prana, two important aspects of Shiva energy. Haum Joom Sah reflects the speed and power of his energy moving into us and taking us beyond from the standpoint of this Cosmic Prana.





Okay, so most this doesn't make a lot of sense, but in layman's terms... a god named Shiva, who is known as the Destroyer- he invented all those yoga chants- hey, he is said to invent the entire yoga derived alphabet. All the chants summon up forces...and they are not Christian or from the God of the Bible.





Okay, so this isn't going to make a lot of sense if you don't do yoga, or even if you do, but you need to understand the meanings and stories behind the poses, behind the chants. It is all based on Hindu's gods, and Hindus are quite proud of this. It's Americans who like the "cool" parts of yoga that keep trying to cut away the spiritual aspects from the physical. Which, is physically and spiritually impossible.


Here is an example of a chant. Notice the worship here:
Perhaps most notable for dealing with all of life’s difficulties and dangers is Shiva’s aspect as Tryambakam, the Three-Eyed One orMrityunjaya, the one who takes us beyond death, as the rishi Vasishta lauds in the Rig Veda.

Tryambakam yajamahe sugandhim pushtivardhanam; urvarukam iva bandhanat, mriyor mukshiya mamritat.

We worship the three eyed one, who is fragrant and increases nourishment. As a gourd from its stalk, may he release us from death but not from immortality. (By the way, this is exactly what Jesus does!!) The worship of Shiva pervades the Yoga tradition from the most ancient to modern times. The Nath Yogis who gave us Tantric Yoga, Hatha Yoga and Siddha Yoga, were followers of Lord Shiva who is Adi Nath or the original Nath guru. This includes the great teachers Goraknath and Matsyendranath, who still have wide followings in India today.

As Christians, we know that our Lord, Jesus Christ- He has truly done for us what the Hindus believe Shiva has done for them- but our Lord and Savior GAVE HIS LIFE SO WE MIGHT OVERCOME DEATH! We will still pass away one day but never die. This is our religion- the Hindus are worshipping their god through yoga just as we worship the ONE true God. 


1 Peter 2:24 "He himself bore our sins" in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; "by his wounds you have been healed."


2 Corinthians 5:1 For we know that if the tent which is our earthly home is destroyed (dissolved), we have from God a building, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. vs 15 15 And He died for all, so that all those who live might live no longer to and for themselves, but to and for Him Who died and was raised again for their sake. vs 17  Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!

Now, let us continue with the yoga handbook here. You see, as Christians we know that God trancends all. In this Yoga and Christianity are very similar. One is the truth, the other is a lie. I don't wish to harm or put down Hindus but we serve the One True God. 

Return to Shiva

Our return to this original clear light of reality, which is Shiva, is the essence not only of yogic spirituality, but also of all true science, art, philosophy and psychology.
You may wish to only "exercise" but those stretches originated in a religious form that leads to higher and higher states of "awareness." If you travel to India, you will see the god of yoga EVERYWHERE. Yoga is a religion. Just like if you were to visit a church with a cross on top, you would know that that is a Christian church. Hindus believe their god, Shiva, is the lord of all yoga. Separating yoga from it's spiritual aspects is like separating a Christian church with a cross on it from Christ, (which, sadly, some try to do).

To achieve this higher state of awareness, we can practice Shiva Yoga or the Yoga of Shiva, of which there are many varieties in many Shaivite traditions. Shiva is the great deity of the Himalayas with many forms from Amarnath in Kashmir, to Kedarnath near the origin of the Ganga, to Pashupati Nath in Nepal, and Mount Kailas in Tibet. His great city is Kashi (Varanasi), but also has Uttar Kashi in the Himalayas. There are many famous Shiva Jyotirlingas or lingas of light, mainly in Central India, like Omkareshvara, and a number of Shiva sites in the South like Tiruvannamali, the fire linga of Lord Shiva, where Ramana Maharshi, regarded by many as a modern incarnation of Lord Shiva, has his ashram located. This worship of Shiva has gone global as in the example of the Kauai Hindu temple in Hawaii of the Hinduism Today magazine and its powerful crystal Shiva linga






In Psychic Forces and Occult Shock Wilson and Weldon state, "Yoga is really pure occultism, as any number of yoga and occult texts prove (R.S Mishra's Yoga Sutras and Fundamentals of Yoga , J. Brennan's Astral Doorways and H. Chaudhuri's Philosophy of Meditation are footnoted). Occult abilities are very common from yoga practice, and the numerous dangers of occultism are evident from many studies (K. Koch's Christian Counseling and Occultism is footnoted). 

The yoga scholar and Sanskrit authority, Mishra, states: 'In conclusion, it may be said that behind every psychic investigation, behind mysticism, occultism, etc., knowingly or unknowingly, the yoga system is present. (Mishra, op.cit.)'"

 Kurt Koch in his various excellent books correlates delving with the occult with subsequent experiences of anxiety and depression sometimes resulting in suicide.

The Bible informs us that God created Adam of the dust of the earth and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (Genesis 2:7). Man is a created, separate being. Man can have a relationship with the Living God by accepting His Son, God's physical incarnation, Jesus Christ. The Bible does not teach that through yoga man can attain progressive higher levels of consciousness so that man will realize he is one with God and merge with Brahman as Hinduism teaches or that man's personality can be extinguished as a flame is extinguished as Buddhism teaches. The Bible does not mention or recognize yoga or any system where man can become one with God.



Below are some comments from my facebook post on yoga. I really like how many Christians are thinking this thing through. Knowledge is power. Jesus will always speak the truth and the truth will set us free. One thing we shouldn't do is ignore the facts when they are right in front of us just because we enjoy something doesn't mean it's right to do or pleasing to the Lord. Worse yet, many people have gotten caught up in the very real demonic world that is opened up when you mess with any part of the occult. God Bless ya'll and I hope this helps some.

Jason: I do yoga. It's very good for your health. Ive never heard any chants though?
Me:I know you are into all natural ways of healing/living and that is great! For my part, so am I but as a Bible believing Christian I steer clear of anything connected to occultic practices. I really had no inclination to study up on yoga but the Lord put it really heavy on my heart and a couple days ago spoke to me and said "yoga is a spiritual path that is not of Me." I've been doing some research lately and found the physical poses are themselves worshipful to the gods of Hindu. I just put this stuff out there and if it speaks to someone great!!! I also don't have anything to do with Halloween either and while St. Nick was a real person, I cannot condone when parents lie to their kids that he is coming to their homes. There are many things with cultic natures and yoga just so happens to be king of cults here in America right now. 
Jason:i do agree with most of what you say here, especially that many people do take it to far (yoga) and use it as though it were a religion (if that makes sense - basically putting such importance to it that it becomes worship)

Amy C: I have to agree. Last year, i've found the yoga as exercise was super beneficial. It helped me get my body strengthened after a time when I was going through a lot of back pain. But I did encounter with the spirit behind yoga and I would agree, it can seem safe, but the Spirit of God is against all other spirits. It's hard to explain it, but I've encountered the Ganesh/Shiva spirit a few different times. And it is a very antagonistic towards the Spirit of God. Once it was in the home of a practicing hindu family (landlords to my MIL's basement suite). We ate dinner with them. That night I felt a dark spirit was trying to enter my MIL apartment. I began to pray and felt we had angered their gods by "stepping on their stronghold." A second time is after my cousin's hindu wedding. Hard to explain, but again darkness and confusion filled our families cabin last summer after the wedding was over. Both my friend visiting our cabin with me felt this darkness/confusion. Then the last time I ever had a yoga class was when my instructor came in wearing Ganesh on her clothing, yoga matt and water bottle. It's weird she was so aggressive with me. I've never had an instructor keep badgering me about form before. And then all of a sudden she locked eyes with me and I realized it was the spirit behind her antagonizing me. I knew it was because of my faith. — That was last time I'll do a yoga class. Now I have rented a few Yoga dvds to practice in my own home. otherwise if I want a good stretching/strength class I just go to Pilates classes. Anyways, that's my story. we have to be careful to not be desensitized to the spiritual life around us.

Amy O: There is a Christian yoga movement as much of it focuses on stretching. It is called Holy Yoga.

Me:Thanks so much for sharing Amy Crissman!!! What a powerful testimony!  You have always been in tune with the spirit realm. Praise God you are able to recognize these spiritual attacks and combat them for you and your family. When I read your story I got goosebumps! I have only had a couple run ins with leaders who told me to open up myself spiritually and clear my mind. Once in school and the other time when I was taking Taekwondo. I am so grateful for having a Christian mom who told us NOT to let our minds go blank when the leader told us to, but to pray. In fact, having known Jesus since a small child, I could sense that this was not a Godly thing but rather a Satanic thing- it was described as a yoga-esk exercise and that we would not be able to advance in class without this spiritual exercise. There are alternatives to yoga if someone feels they need it- one is called Praisemoves and another is called Holy Fit. Both call themselves alternatives to yoga but not Christian Yoga because they say it's impossible to separate yoga from Hindu. It is so important for people to know the principalities and rulers in different areas- such as Hinduism. When a yoga center moves into a neighborhood so do the demonic forces invited in by this spiritual practice just like when a truly Spirit filled church moves into a neighborhood so does the Spirit of God!!  http://praisemoves.com/
Thanks for sharing Amy O
Mom:Someone told me, who is not a devoted Christian, that they went to a yoga class and was so freaked out by it they'll never go back. This person does any kind of exercise. This person is devoted to exercising.

Jason:Just to clear things up. I've never been to a yoga class. I just know some yoga stretches which help to stretch tendons and muscles and align the back. Maybe that is the difference. I'm probably doing them wrong anyway lol

Amy C: Jason I also don't think using the poses are worship. Jesus says we worship in spirit and in truth. If someone attends a yoga class it isn't sin, just as if someone attends church doesn't make them born again. I do think it is good to be aware of spiritual influences. The encounter I had actually showed me how people's behaviors are influence either by God's kingdom or the devil's. I have no conviction on using the poses. My conscious is clear. But the pursuit of yoga and the idea that being spiritual in any form is good enough is a lie. I think the Hindu spirituality interests a lot of people cause it sounds cool and tolerant of many types of faith. Jesus is the only way.

Me:Ha,Jason,having read your last comment in light of your first one I had to laugh,"no chanting though"...most people don't look up yoga poses and then try to simulate yoga chants. The thought just was humorous to me.  Also, having been in gymnastics and tons of sports as well as having back problems, I've stretched unknowingly in yoga like poses- I wouldn't go looking for them to repeat personally but the body can only move in so many ways and exercise in and of itself is not evil. God is very gracious to those who really want to do the right thing. If and when we find out something is wrong or "food sacrificed to idols," then it's important to re-examine our actions. He is so great to help us make things right!

Elizabeth:Interesting discussion. I am Amy Crissman's MIL..I appreciate the prayers ofPhil & Amy, binding the spirits and praying protection..they worked. I lived there for another 14 months and while I had challenges, as we all do, I also grew much in my relationship with the Lord and had ...many opportunities to pray over that family. We live in the world but need not be prisoners to the spiritual darkness that is still present here. As believer's we can expect to overcome every spiritual influence that is not of the Holy Spirit. See Psalm 91.

Me:Thanks for sharing Elizabeth! The enemy has no power over real Christians who are sensitive to the Holy Spirit. We don't need to be afraid of the occult or any other evil practices but we do need to be aware of the spiritual world around us!