EFT and Spiritual Warfare

Aleister Crowley was a Coward!

2011-12-16T17:03:00.000-08:00

I just saw this video on YouTube and wanted to post it here. I'm familiar with the name Aleister Crowley, (ok, the video has it typed Crowler in the title, but it is actually Crowley) since I've studied a bit about spiritual warfare; though I don't know a lot about him. I just know he is 'big name' in satanism, and wrote a book about it. This video is by Fellowship of the Martyrs, it's just over 6 minutes long.

20 Years of Linux

2011-08-28T15:59:00.000-07:00

I just ran across this video on a Debian blog I visit on occasion. It runs just a little over 3 minutes. It brought back a few memories. I've only been using Linux for slightly over 2 years, but I do remember hearing about it in the early to mid 1990's. I won't re-hash what I said in my post back when I made the switch, so here's the video and the Youtube link is below it, in case you prefer to watch it directly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ocq6_3-nEw&feature=player_embedded

Super True Stories (satire) on John Calvin

2011-06-30T14:41:00.000-07:00

I saw this video on a blog I follow, and I thought it was really funny, lol funny in fact. It's a little over 5 minutes long.

After pulling up the video link on YouTube I found the author's blog -- so here's the link to the whole article that goes with the video.

Don't we ALL need a Savior ?

2011-06-13T17:04:00.000-07:00

I know, I haven't posted a message here in several months. I've actually made notes for myself with at least a couple of web articles to blog about, but they're the sort of article that would take a bit of time to say what I want to say. (i.e. research, looking up scripture, etc.) Some blog posts can take a couple of hours or so to put together, and if I have something else I'm working on or reading I'll just put it on my 'to blog' list.

In addition, I've started another blog , though I haven't posted a lot on there, either. I started that blog because I thought it might be a better place to put the things of a more political nature. In some respects they both deal with truth vs lies, so in that respect it relates to spiritual warfare and the lines may get a bit blurry sometimes.

However, I was just reading this article titled Baptist leader says Weiner needs Jesus . And as I was reading the article, I read a line that said: There’s also some shock value in Mohler’s statement, since a number of Americans are uncomfortable with the idea of a Christian leader telling a Jewish person to follow Jesus. And I remembered, that used to be one of my 'stumbling blocks' to becoming a believer! I had (and have) some Jewish friends, and it was sort of understood that it was somehow impossible for them to be Christians, too.

I have since become a Christian believer, and also realize that when one says they're Jewish it frequently refers to their ethnic background rather than a belief in Judaism, the religion. I think it would be similar to being called a Hebrew 2000 years ago, though I'm not sure of all of the distinctions.

In addition, I have to admit that I don't follow the news closely enough that I'd even heard of the whole brouhaha with Rep. Weiner until someone asked my opinion and I had to confess I had no idea what he was talking about. I now know enough of the story that I don't need any more details. However, on the topic of salvation and the need to be 'born again', I have a definite opinion. We all need a Savior! He (Jesus) was what I was searching for, for many years, but I didn't know it then.

Since I happen to have a printed copy of the Jewish New Testament (translation by David H. Stern), I'll end with this bit of scripture: For I am not ashamed of the Good News, since it is God's powerful means of bringing salvation to everyone who keeps on trusting, to the Jew especially, but equally to the Gentile. For in it is revealed how God makes people righteous in his sight; and from the beginning to end it is through trust -- as the Tanakh puts it, But the person who is righteous will live his life by trust. Romans 1:16-17.

EFT for War Veterans

2010-11-14T10:28:00.000-08:00

Someone left a comment on one of the articles on this blog that contained a link to a very good article titled Exactly How Does EFT work? That article contained a link to a Google video that I wanted to embed here, it's really good.

It lasts about 20 minutes and is titled EFT for War Veterans. I have the full-length DVD Operation Emotional Freedom that I haven't yet reviewed on here (it's not formatted for a non-wide-screen t.v. so I have to watch it again on my pc), so this video gives a good snapshot.

A different perspective on the devil

2010-10-10T17:03:00.000-07:00

I saw a link to an e-book called Calvinism: A Closer Look by Daniel Gracely on another blog, a few weeks back. I've been working my way through it a bit at a time, and today I'm reading chapter 9. It gives some interesting information about the book of Job, and he's discussing some things about the nature of the devil that are also very interesting. One thing it mentions is

The book of Job is believed by most scholars to be the oldest book of the Bible.

Apparently I don't read many scholarly books, because I don't think I'd seen that before. I've really enjoyed what I've read so far in the previous chapters and I've no doubt I'll feel the same through the rest of the book which appears to be a total of 21 chapters. Here's an important paragraph from the 9th chapter I'm reading:

The position we have been advancing in this book is that God is a free will Person, and that He has made other free will persons. We also want to press forward the idea that all free will persons whom God has made, both angelic and human, have retained their free will. In fact, humans have retained it despite the Satanic activity which has affected human history, and also despite the unlawful acquiring by Adam of the knowledge of good and evil (a knowledge we inherit in seed through the male, Adamic line). In short, we believe the book of Job will show that God does not choose the choices of other persons.

Following are a few more sentences from the article, which certainly give food for thought.

For his own part Job never mentions Satan in any of his conversations, and he seems unaware of the role the Devil played in bringing about his ruin.
The Devil does not appear to be double-minded, however. By being single-mindedly set against God, Satan is all the more effective because he never gives his opposition—God and the believer—the benefit of the doubt. He always assumes the worst about God and us, and this assumption informs his protest.
Perhaps this explains why the Enemy presumed to believe the worst about Jesus, and why the demonic world was astonished when they learned that Christ had risen from the dead. In fact, the Bible tells us that had the demonic world known about Jesus’ resurrection they would not have crucified Him.

Thus, according to the Bible, God took all of Job’s possessions, including Job’s children, and put them into Satan’s power. God did this without directing Satan toward any specific end. God is not the causal agent for any of the disasters brought against Job, even though God speaks in an idiomatic way as though He were responsible for Job’s ruin by having removed His divine protection.

But we must allow God to describe Himself, not some theological system that differs from the Bible. As a friend of mine has pointed out, when Christians allow the latter, they end up going to church and worshiping theology (i.e., so called) rather than the God of the Bible. The point here is that Job teaches us that God is not sovereign in everything, but rather sovereign over everything. To be sovereign in everything would mean God foreordains ‘whatsoever comes to pass.’ To be sovereign over everything means God will ultimately judge how others have been sovereign in their own sphere of decisions.

There's a lot more there, absolutely worth reading.

Search engines and advertising

2010-10-01T17:24:00.000-07:00

In order to increase visitors to my site, I've done some advertising with Google Adwords and Yahoo. Up to this point, my site comes up with a pretty good rank for certain search terms but I figured every little bit helps with only a few hits a day.

However, since Yahoo and Microsoft have some sort of sharing arrangement I've been getting notices from Yahoo that I have to move my campaign over to Bing. I'm not a huge fan of Microsoft but I thought I'd look into the logistics of moving my campaign. (Nor am I a big fan of Google, for that matter, though they are hosting this blog my issues are mostly with Adwords). But, the first thing I saw when I clicked on the link for migration information was a message that it was strongly suggested that I install some software called 'Silverlight'. I figured I'd play the game for a moment or 2 to see what happened, since I'm running Linux and/or OpenSolaris (OpenIndiana) which is obviously not going to run a Microsoft application that will most likely want a registered version of Windows installed.

When I clicked on install, it took me to a page to download a Linux version called 'Moonlight'. Before I opted to install I decided to do some research. I found some very interesting information. Here are some links:

Reject moonlight now
Moonlight is a lead pony
Shining some light on Microsoft's Moonlight covenant

So in the end, I've decided to pass.

What Love Is This? book comments

2010-08-21T15:12:00.000-07:00

I finished reading the book What Love Is This by Dave Hunt about 2-3 months ago. I thought it might be repetitive after reading George Bryson's The Dark Side of Calvinism, but that wasn't the case. I got a lot out of the book, and at 533 pages it takes a bit of time to get through it all. I haven't been in a hurry to write this blog post, because of the time it took to decide which quotes to use; since there were so many good ones to choose from. In addition I've had to wrestle with the question of whether a 'little leaven' in my beliefs about God and what I was being taught about God was acceptable or not. I'm still working on that, but this book helped me gain clarity on some of those issues.

The book starts off with some of the history of Calvinism, as well as it's basis under the teachings of Augustine and Augustine's ties to the Roman Catholic church. Apparently Calvin (and Luther) and other 'protestants' were against some of the R.C. church doctrine, but they held to other (unbliblical) doctrines, such as infant baptism. It also highlights some of the similarities and differences between Calvin and other Reformers, such as Luther. I'd already read a good deal about how Augustine's writings had greatly shaped Calvin's theology in Bryson's book; what was new and rather disturbing to learn about in this book were some of the details about Calvin's propensity to use violence and the power of the (civil / state) government to silence dissent.

Calvin followed his mentor Augustine in enforcing church attendance and participation in the sacraments by threats (and worse) against the citizens of Geneva. ... Sadly, Calvin put into effect in Geneva the very principles of punishment, coercion, and death that Augustine advocated and that the Roman Catholic Church followed consistently for centuries. (pg. 52-53)

One of the major doctrines of Calvinism is that of 'sovereign grace', which isn't actually part of the TULIP acronym per se, but it underpins much of the structure of Calvinism and ties in with the U (unconditional election) and moreso with the I (irresistable grace). I already wrote a bit about that topic in my article about whether the devil needs God's permission to attack a believer? and will probably write more about it, as I gain more clarity on the topic. Here are some quotes that I liked from the book that I want to share here:

And the solution is so simple: acknowledge that God sovereignly gave to man a genuine power of choice, and God is exonerated and honored. ... Irresistable grace is a human invention imposed upon the Bible. (pg. 396)
So God could cause anyone and everyone to believe the gospel and irresistibly draw them to heaven -- but He only does this for a select number? This is Calvinism -- whether one calls it moderate or extreme! It has been imposed upon the Bible in violation of the entire tenor of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. It is a libel upon the character of God, a denial of the nature of love, and an offense to the conscience which God has placed in the heart of every man. (pg. 423)

Here is an interesting quote on the topic of infant baptism, and Calvin's belief that it was sufficient to effect forgiveness of sins and grant one entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven:

Had he not maintained this Roman Catholic false doctrine, Calvin would have had to resubmit to rebaptism, which was repugnant to him. He derided the Anabaptists for opposing infant baptism. Their valid, biblical reason -- that an infant has not believed in Christ -- was scorned by Calvin, and his wrath and that of the other Reformers came upon the Anabaptists. These true evangelicals were persecuted and martyred by both Catholics and Protestants for being baptized by immersion after they were saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. (pg. 429)

The section on the 'P'erseverance of the saints was rather short at only about 8 pages, I wish there had been more but perhaps there isn't as much written material about it available. However, from what I've gathered it leads to a sort of 'works' mentality. Salvation by works is of course in contradiction to the truth about grace and free gifts.

How does the Calvinist know he is one of the elect who have been predestined? His performance plays a large part in helping him to know whether or not he is among that select group. (pg 481)

On page 482 there is a quote by Piper and his staff having written "[W]e must also own up to the fact that our final salvation is made contingent upon the subsequent obedience which comes from faith." The theme of 'obedience' (to God) seems to be prevalent in Evangelical circles. In some respects that's not a bad thing -- it can help steer you out of danger or into wonderful blessings -- but it can and has become a tool of tyranny and manipulation in some cases. I think the difference is whether one is being led by the Holy Spirit or the doctrines of men.

I know I'll want to read this book again, and will certainly use it for reference in the future. I think it's very much worth reading.

eft-sw site offline on Sunday June 27 for a short period of time.

2010-06-25T15:25:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to advise that I plan to have the eft-sw website offline for between 30 and 60 minutes on Sunday June 27th, sometime between the hours of 3-7pm in the U.S. Pacific time zone, in order to do some software updates. I should have some more real blog articles in the next couple of weeks.

I posted this originally using Drivel blog editor, and discovered it doesn't allow one to add a headline to the message.

Changing Website theme

2010-05-06T15:27:00.000-07:00

I finally finished reading the book by Dave Hunt What Love is This? It was very good, and I'll write more about that soon I hope. I am also almost done reading Darin Hufford's book The Misunderstood God. That is also a very good book. I got them both for Christmas.

However, I decided that it was time to update the theme for my Drupal website. I configured Apache webserver for my PC with a couple of test site virtual hosts so I could play with some things without breaking my current set-up. Figuring out how to set up the virtual hosts was a project itself! And last week I discovered that a 'bargain' computer isn't always a bargain a few months down the road. I had to replace the hard drive, and re-install software and all of that.

Now I'm finally ready to play with some new themes, and I think I've decided on one in particular. I'll have it on the website by the end of the weekend, hopefully. Or not more than another week... again hopefully. I thought I'd share some screenshots of the top 3 contenders:

The one just above is called Marinelli. It's nice but it would have too many things I'd have to figure out how to fix.

This one is called Sky. It's a close second, though it would need me to figure out some color options. Next is the one I think I'm going to go with, it's called Waffles; though I'm not completely thrilled with the orange headers in some of the boxes. I'll also replace the header with an image that doesn't have the girl in the picture. Since I still have to fix some things, such as placement of the privacy policy, etc. there's a possibility that I'll go with Sky. It depends on whether what I want to do actually works, or not. If you have an opinion, please share!

Video about Harry Potter

2010-04-24T17:39:00.000-07:00

I recently heard about this ministry and while reading an article, it had a link to a video about Harry Potter. I posted an article or 2 about that topic a couple of years ago. It's a short video, mostly information that shows some of the stuff in Harry Potter is very much authentic when it comes to the spiritually dark topic of witchcraft, and not just mostly harmless fiction, as some would maintain.

More recently, I've been watching the 'Celebrity Apprentice' show on tv on Sunday evenings; except on Easter / Resurrection Sunday when they featured some new attraction based on Harry Potter. I was going to, but didn't, research to see if there were any blog posts about the timing of that show (promoting witchcraft on Easter...)

Testing a new blogging client

2010-03-23T10:10:00.000-07:00

I'm testing a new blogging client that I just discovered using a package search for 'blog', it's called gscribble.

A few weeks ago someone in Texas called me asking about EFT and our Christian faith. We chatted for a few minutes, and she asked how I learned EFT. (I have to put some of that information on the website, too) Then since my new-ish computer also has a DVD writer, I told her that I'm allowed to make up to 100 copies of the EFT DVD's to give to others, though I'd never made DVD copies before making that offer. I had burned CD's on the computer with no problem.

After an initial bad start creating a couple unusable DVD's, I did some research online, and discovered cdrtools / cdrecord; which has to be compiled on one's system. Then you have to remove the 'old' cdrecord program and link a file called cdrecord to the newly installed program. That required learning how to create links and which files needed to be removed and linked, etc. which was another research project. So after all of that, I did manage to get about 4 or 5 of the 7 DVD's for The EFT Course (the 'basic course' as it were) to burn successfully and then semi-successfully for the remaining ones. It will be a while before I make that offer again, and then only after I've tested that things are working right, first!

After that my website had several modules and a Drupal security update to install, and I always do that on my home computer first before I do it on the 'live' web site. While I was at it, I decided to change the theme color to one called 'deep blue', in time for spring-time and Easter. After Easter I'll possibly switch to another theme, but that won't be for a little while, In the meantime I've just finished fixing some pictures / images to update some of the layout of the site. If anyone finds something that doesn't look right, feel free to send me a message.

Lastly, in addition to the above I've also been listening to a lot of the audio mp3's from Andrew Wommack Ministries, and since January I've been reading a large book by Dave Hunt called What Love is This? Calvinism's Misrepresentation of God (3rd Edition) I'll blog about that when I'm done reading it. It's very good.

Gary Craig is retiring

2010-02-12T12:01:00.000-08:00

Apparently Gary sent out a message in the 'EFT Insights' e-newsletter and posted a message on his blog around the middle of December that he would be retiring. I don't always read those newsletters, I'd been receiving them since 2001 or so. Also during that time I was moving my web site to a new hosting company; so I saw the updated note about his retirement around the end of December.

The original retirement date was to be early January 2010; but it's been changed to March 1st 2010. I was really surprised, since a few months before that he'd been talking about a lot of plans he had in response to the updated 'open hands policy'. I'm quoting the message below but not linking to it, since it's likely the link won't be active after March 1st. As a result of this news, I'm going to be adding the 'EFT-ADV' credential back after my name both here on the blog and on my website. I'll also be removing the links to the 'World Center for EFT' -- though I'll add them back or add another link if things change again or if there's a site with article archives, etc.

I am looking forward to the film about (EFT and Veterans / PTSD), what I read about what happened in the book EFT for PTSD was very exciting. See Gary's blog post text below.

I will be retiring on January 15, 2010. It has been a magnificent ride and I am thrilled to have joined with you in bringing the EFT gift to the world. I will keep the EFT website, DVD store, Certification and related items active until my retirement date. This should give you plenty of time to make any adjustments you deem necessary.

Please know that our website cannot be maintained by or turned over to someone else. This is because it has my name all over it and thus turning it over, legally speaking, may create unwanted liability for me and my family. Although I am leaving the website open for awhile, it remains subject to copyright protection and is not to be copied and reproduced elsewhere.
Further developments will be announced as they occur. In the meantime, I'm hoping you will refrain from contacting me directly on this matter. Our email list has 475,000 subscribers and, as much as I would like to correspond with each of you individually, I can't personally visit with even 0.1% of you. However, feel free to comment at the end of this blog. Even though I may not respond to you directly, I will read everything you write. Your input, as always, is highly valued.

Although I have a strong emotional tug about this decision, it was an obvious thing to do. For many reasons it was inevitable and has been a long time coming.

Why?…The Challenges: EFT’s rapid growth has become an administrative nightmare and my ability to handle it was exceeded some time ago. This is so, despite the high quality help I have received from Tina Craig, Eric Huurre, Dawson Church, CJ Puotinen, Chris Wheeler, Carol Vrtis, Rob Lasch, David Mackay and more volunteers than I can count. My gratitude to you all.

While it is my nature to try to accommodate all the requests and demands from the EFT Community, the pile of pressures has grown from a manageable hill to an imposing mountain. Just the day to day questions, clarifications, requests and legal issues from the U.S. alone is enough to occupy a staff double our current size. This is multiplied by the many requests for “special exceptions” to our Open Hand Policy to deal with a dizzying array of laws, cultures and languages from different countries.

Also, as should be apparent to most of our seasoned readers, some EFT'ers have been hyping their products in ways that tend to erode the spiritual essence of the EFT movement. This has resulted in some behind-the-scenes disagreements, deceit and other negative experiences. At the core, I prefer peace to pugilism and wish to distance myself from these unnecessary "fame and fortune" energies. As you will see below, I'm leaving for higher ground.

Finally, my physicians tell me that I have had a heart attack. I am unaware of when this happened and have no symptoms. Nonetheless, the tests show clearly that part of my heart has died. Accordingly, it is sheer idiocy for me to continue with the pressures of running EFT. To do so, is to risk another heart attack, stroke, etc. No thanks.

The Solution: So, the solution is for me to get out of the way and turn the EFT name over to you. I have spent 30,000 hours and over $2,000,000 developing our educational stream and thus the message has been clearly displayed for the world to see. In addition, our EFT Manual has been freely downloaded well over 1 million times (not counting the 20+ translations).

With this in mind, I am contributing ONLY the trademarked names (EFT and Emotional Freedom Techniques) to the public domain so that you can decide for yourselves how best to use them. Different countries and cultures can establish their own organizations and rules without having to go through me. However, this does NOT include our DVDs, website, the EFT Manual, books and other materials. They remain my copyrighted property and are NOT being released to the public domain.

I am fully aware that some will carry the EFT name forward with integrity ... and some will not. That is part of human nature. It is up to you to choose your own ethics. I can no longer be a policeman in this regard.

If you are a serious student and want to learn EFT properly from the source, our DVDs are still available until our existing inventory is exhausted. I don't know if they will be available after my retirement. I'm working on it, but no guarantees.

Please know that my position here has always been voluntary. While there has been some modest profit over time, no one would have taken on this task for the money. My goal from the start has been to launch EFT into TherapyLand and thus bring its healing benefits to the world in a low cost, easy to understand manner. With your help, that mission has been accomplished. Millions of clients have been exposed to EFT and thousands of careers have been launched. Please accept my gratitude for your superb assistance. You can carry it forward from here.

Other issues: If you have an EFT affiliate account, any outstanding balance as of my retirement date will be paid shortly thereafter.

Those who have official EFT Certification through our Certification process will have the only official EFT Certifications ever offered. These may be quite valuable as you list yourselves on the various listing services out there. However, if you feel inconvenienced by my retirement and want your Certification fee refunded, please send your original Certificate (not a copy), postmarked on or before December 23, 2009, with a note stating you are abandoning your EFT Certification, to:
EFT
PO Box 269
Coulterville, CA 95311
If you wish to obtain official EFT Certification or continue on to EFTCert II, you must satisfactorily pass your exam prior to my retirement date.

A Parting Gift: Our full length movie featuring EFT as the answer to our war veterans’ PTSD is in its final stages. The total budget for this movie approximates $500,000 and it will be a stunning door opener for the whole EFT field. It will create a major awareness for the public regarding EFT and all EFT’ers will benefit by it. I have given it to my dedicated film director, Eric Huurre. He will introduce it to the public early next year.

The Future – Where to From Here? EFT has two important features: (1) What it does and (2) Where it points. The vast majority of EFT’ers are fascinated by what it does and are forever delivering ooohhs and aaahhs as EFT does its magic. This is fine. However, this is nowhere near as important as where it points.
EFT is but the doorstep to a far grander Palace of Possibilities. It is way outside our normal experience and its results cannot be properly explained by medicine or conventional science. As remarkable as it now seems, EFT is actually a toy that will someday be tossed away as a mere introduction to the exquisite beauty that is our birthright. It points to a future mental state where disease, war and resentments do not exist. This level cannot be reached, however, by...
* more tapping points or,
* the "latest and greatest" options for delivering EFT or,
* any of the other varied offerings that have found their way onto the EFT scene.

Instead, it will require a new approach, a new way of thinking that may or may not be directly related to EFT. I will be exploring the upper reaches of this Healing High Rise and have my sights on the Penthouse. Perhaps we will meet there someday.

Big Hugs, Gary

PS: I am contemplating a new website and newsletter along the lines of my last paragraph. Just stay on this list and I will keep you informed.

Merry Christmas and website has a new home

2009-12-23T18:47:00.000-08:00

I'll start out wishing you all a wonderful Christmas.

ESV: Luke Chapter 722. And he answered them, Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them.
23. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.

ESV: John 20:29. Jesus said to him, Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.

And it appears that the EFT for SW website domain transfer to it's new home was accomplished this afternoon, and thankfully I think I got everything updated and configured just in time. When I was configuring things I discovered that pictures weren't showing up and I literally spent hours last night trying to figure it out. It turns out it was a simple setting in the cpanel web admin page.

I also updated the Drupal software to the latest version (6.15) that was just released last week, and changed the color of the theme from forest green to teal. I thought the forest green was just a bit too dark. If you discover anything that doesn't look right or doesn't work, feel free to leave a comment here or send an email, or leave a comment on the website forum.

Apartment for rent?

2009-12-12T13:31:00.000-08:00

I had my website set up to email me when there was a new comment to an article. I received an email a couple of days ago and put off looking at it until today; and when I got to my website I see it has a page for 'Apartment for rent at eft-sw.com'. Obviously that's not my website. I tried to pull up the page for my hosting provider (witnesstoday.org) and it just said 'connecting to...' but it never pulled up the page.

The last communication I had from the person that ran (or runs?) witnesstoday was back in May, he was moving the servers to a new location. I haven't heard anything that he was shutting down the service or anything, but possibly that's what happened. I also believe the Lord told me a few weeks ago to get a new hosting provider, but I haven't done that.

So the EFT for Spiritual Warfare website is currently unavailable, and I'll be finding a new host and I'll post updates here. I think I need to start tapping and praying!

Update Dec. 15, 2009

It appears that my website is back up, there was a hard drive failure after a software update, apparently. I'm still a little baffled why my site came up apartment for rent, but it's back up now. I'm still in the process of changing to a new hosting company; which I found out about on a mail list for Christians using linux. There's a good possibility the site will have a new domain -- I'll keep you posted here.

Update Dec. 19, 2009

I could start a new post, and just title it 'arggh!' because that's my mood sometimes when trying to update stuff for the website. I get one thing figured out on my local machine (like Apache and modsecurity that complained about running update.php on Drupal when I used it to update to the newest versions of various things, including Drupal itself). So it feels like two steps forward and 1 step back sometimes. The newest thing is that somehow, in getting footnotes in the right place using the footnote module, the rest of the article seems to have lost it's formatting. My blockquotes and paragraphs look like they should be there but the articles all just run together in one big block of text when I look at them.

All of that to lead up to -- my website is going to a new hosting company but it's going to have the same domain. The site should look mostly o.k.; but there may be a few things I still need to get figured out -- like not having sentences all run together in one big block with no formatting applied. And I thought I was going to work on sending out some Christmas cards today.

The Misunderstood God

2009-11-21T19:58:00.001-08:00

I've been spending a good amount of time the last few months learning linux (see previous blog posts), and most recently installed Fedora 12 from the beta, and except for a few things that don't work quite right, I like it a lot. I even managed to get it installed on my old laptop that I thought was going to run Fedora 7 until it dies a natural death. In addition to that, I've been trying out different software to see what works and I'm using 'Bilbo Blogger' to write this. For the linux fans out there, apparently Bilbo is a KDE application but I'm using it on the Gnome desktop just fine so far. And in going to the link, I discover it's now called Blogilo. I'd tried it on Fedora 7 and it didn't work very well. But this is a newer version that has a much better look & feel already -- I really don't like using the blogspot editor much. Hopefully this means I'll be back to blogging more regularly. I do have at least 2 other articles I want to write and get posted soon.

I stopped by Facebook earlier today and saw info. about a page for a new book by Darin Hufford (I've blogged a couple of his articles on here before) called The Misunderstood God. I haven't read it yet, but I read a couple of reviews and wanted to link them here, and add a couple of comments.

This is one review by a former pastor, it's worth reading the whole thing. Here's one portion that matches some of what many of us, including me, were brought up to believe about God:

...A God with a hair-trigger temper; someone who may be nice, but only so that He can get what He wants; someone who craves attention for Himself, who loves to impress you with his power; someone who loves to remind people how wonderful He is; someone who is disrespectful toward His inferiors; someone who gets upset if He's not given enough attention; someone you need to walk on eggshells around; someone who always reminds you of your mistakes, and uses fear and threats to keep you in line; someone that focuses on your faults and weaknesses; someone who doesn't really care if you heart gets stepped on; someone who doesn't trust you to anything right; someone who is constantly disappointed in you; and someone who, if things get bad enough, will leave you...

When I read that part, my thought was (now that I know a little better) that sounds like a pretty good description of the devil, and not of the God I've come to know. Then on the other much shorter review, the author said just that.

Darin shows how religion has disfigured the God of the Bible, giving him a personality that has more in common with the devil, than it does the Father of all love. He holds God to his own definition of love in I Corinthians 13 to show us that he is the very definition of love itself and as we come to appreciate that, we’ll find greater grace and freedom to live in [t]his life.

Another view of God that some like to present is one who is in control of all things at all times; so if something bad happens it's because he 'allowed' it. I think that can lead one to feeling apathetic or somewhat condemned. I addressed that somewhat in my article (on my website) about whether the devil needs to get God's permission to harm a believer, as in the story of Job. While I'm not an expert (and none of us can be, I don't think?), I think that view is a bit too simplistic. And that's probably worth exploring in another article. In the meantime, I look forward to reading Darin Hufford's book, along with 2 or 3 others I have on my list to get soon.

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That's my King

2009-10-02T11:25:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged in a while, though I do have a couple of links to articles I'm going to share shortly. My laptop computer was acting flaky over the summer, so I decided to break down and get a new computer. I got a new desktop (AMD phenom triple-core with 2 gb of ram, it's fast!!); installed linux CentOS 5.3 as well as Fedora 11; about a month ago. I got it with no operating system installed, so that made it easier and a bit less expensive. Last weekend I spent updating the eft-sw website to the newest version of Drupal (6.14) as well as updating a few modules.

I just signed onto the International Association of Theophostic Prayer Ministry website, and they had the video below as a featured inspirational video -- I really liked it so I thought I'd share it here. More later. Enjoy!

A License to Sin · is that what the grace of God is about?

2009-08-22T20:15:00.001-07:00

A very good message on the Free Believers Network blog, it's a bit long but very good. Here are a couple paragraphs that I particularly liked, but you may resonate with other parts of it.

For any relationship to be authentic, it must start with a forever covenant of eternal security. Unfortunately, today, most relationships don’t have this one foundational element and they are plagued with secrecy, uncertainty, and shallowness. I think that more than anything, today’s relationships are saturated with control. I have found that control is humanity's antidote to insecurity. This is where the heart of today’s Christian thinking exists.
Teachings about accountability partners, spiritual leaders, submitting to authority and church covering are widely accepted with little or no resistance. When a loving God is made to look unpredictable and not so loving, people submit to someone who they think might know better than them. They lose confidence in themselves and their ability to please an unpleaseable God, so they put themselves under the care and control of others in an effort to find security again.

It doesn’t surprise me that when the grace message is preached today, the first thing that comes to mind with the average Christian is sin. The grace message is spoken of as a “license to sin” and the mere thought of that scares people to death. It goes againstlicenseeverything they think the Christian life is about. Finding out that God loves you whether you sin or not, is a bit scary because people aren’t sure what they’ll do.

Part of giving someone freedom, is giving them their choice back. Christianity today has stripped us of our choice to sin. When we are told that sin separates us from God and we will be punished, our choice in the matter is taken away. We have an entire generation of people who quit sinning because of the outer voice of their religion rather than the inner personal voice of their heart. In other words, their quitting didn’t come from their heart; it came from their head. The grace message gives people back their right to sin, and it provides an atmosphere in which they can grow spiritually right and find truth in the center of themselves rather than in a system. A license to sin is not an encouragement to sin, but it’s the right to sin. Take away that right, and you take away relationship altogether.

"Everything is permissible for me"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"—but I will not be mastered by anything." --Paul--

Without a license to sin, I don’t believe people will ever know their own heart, much less the Heart of God. The problem is that in the process of molding themselves to fit religion'sknow self requirements, a person learns to deny any and all inner emotions of the heart that might cause them to sin. Things like anger, passion, lust and greed are shut down and the result is that they lose contact with self and eventually forget who they are altogether. Sadly, Christians today stand adamantly against sin, but they have no idea why. They don’t feel a thing in their hearts about sin, other than the memorized knowledge that “it’s wrong.” They believe it’s wrong, not because their heart sings that truth, but because that’s what they’ve been taught. When you shut down some aspects of the heart, you end up shutting down ALL aspects of the heart.

The EFT and SW website has a new look!

2009-08-14T12:42:00.000-07:00

I guess it's been a while since I've posted anything here, hasn't it? Time flies when you're trying to figure out new software! During my switch from Win to Linux, and searching various message boards for answers, I discovered there is software that is also 'open source' like Linux for the purpose of website content management, called CMS. (CMS = content management software).

Since my previous web pages were mostly plain html pages, I didn't think they looked terribly professional. But I don't have the budget to pay a web-designer so I've tried to dress things up as well as I can as I learn how to do various things in html. Then when I discovered CMS, and did a little research and decided to try Drupal. I realized I should probably figure out how to use it and configure layouts and that sort of thing on my home computer before I sent it to the web hosting server. I spent 2-3 weeks just learning a bit of Mysql and installing server software and then installing and configuring Drupal.

Then when I did upload it all to the web hosting server a week ago, things didn't go quite as smoothly as I'd hoped; mostly because Drupal is written primarily to run on Linux (Apache) server software and my web hosting is using Windows server software. I couldn't get the theme and colors I wanted to show up; and my pictures weren't showing either. Thanks to information I found on the drupal forums, I think it's finally presentable -- though there are probably a few more tweaks and changes I'll make in the future.

In addition to the cleaner and more professional look and layout, it has a built-in ability to have people leave comments on articles, so I don't have to use the Google 'friend connect' gadget. One thing I didn't like about that gadget is that unlike the comments on the blog; it doesn't give me an option to have an email notice sent about new comments so I had to remember to log onto the friend connect page to see if any comments have been left and I keep forgetting to go over there. Another feature about drupal that I liked was the built-in option for people to sign in using OpenID. Yet another feature is a built-in user discussion forum, which is nice to have even if it doesn't get used by most visitors.

So please stop by and say hi, and feel free to leave a comment or suggestion over there or on here

2009-07-11T20:26:00.000-07:00

Elijah and the Charismatics - FBN blog post

I just added some RSS blog feeds to Thunderbird, (e-mail program) so I'm reading some of the messages that came in on the feed. This one from the Free Believers Network blog touched on some of what this blog and my ministry is all about. It's a year old, but very good, by Darin Hufford. A few paragraphs are below:

Baal worship was about emotionalism.

The evidence is in the emotionalism. They are certain that God showed up because they got emotional and others did, as well. People were crying and sobbing with their hands in the air. After all, this is the normal human response to the Spirit of God. When God's Spirit begins to move, everyone in the room begins to break down and cry. I must have heard my Pastor over a thousand times speak the words, "The Spirit of God is in this room tonight - people are literally crying and sobbing." This has become a common understanding among Christians in America. When the Spirit moves, people get emotional. As a preacher, you can see the moment the Spirit enters the service because tears begin to stream down people's faces.

The irony is that I haven't found one account in all of Scripture where this was the human reaction to the presence of God. I don't recall anyone sobbing and crying the moment the Holy Spirit touched them in the New Testament, yet today we act as if the sobbing and crying is evidence of His presence. No one laughed uncontrollably either for that matter and believe it or not, in the almost 8000 year span of scripture from Adam and Eve to the Apostle Paul there wasn't one single person who "twitched" under the power of the Holy Spirit. No one was "Slain in the Spirit," no one's hands shook violently and thank God no one barked like a dog. I have come to the conclusion that modern day Charismatic emotionalism is nothing more than the resurrection of the Baal religion of the Old Testament times. I know for a fact that not every Charismatic behaves this way or believes like this. I know I don't. There are thousands of others however, who are in serious bondage to outright Baal worship and they don't even know it.

Many Christians today are caught in a ‘Prophets-of-Baal' mindset. I'm not saying that it's wrong to become emotional while in the presence of God. I am stating, however, that it's wrong to think that just because you get emotional, it is evidence of the presence of God, or that getting yourself worked up into an emotional frenzy is the same as creating an atmosphere where God will "show up." I have five children and trust me in this. When they get emotional, I CAN'T DO ANYTHING WITH THEM. In fact, that's about the only time when communication with them is impossible.

It's the straight-faced times that I long to share with them. That's exactly how your Father in heaven is with you. If you feel that God's dealings with you will always result in emotionalism you are basically missing out on an entire life with him. Unless you are suffering with chronic depression and feeling emotional ALL the time you won't have a daily walk with your Father. God cannot be conjured up. The act of trying to conjure Him up is Baal worship. New Testament Christians need to understand that He doesn't "show up" to our services. He lives inside of us always whether we feel Him or not. That's what faith is.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, against such things there is no law. (Gal 5:22-23 ESV)

Switching to Linux - the saga

2009-07-10T13:33:00.000-07:00

This is going to be a somewhat long post -- I'll keep it as brief as I can. Before I decided to switch to Linux, I decided to see if there were any books on the topic at my local library. They had 1 (one) whole book about Linux, that being the 4th edition of Learning Red Hat Enterprise Linux & Fedora, by Bill McCarty . It's 4th edition copyright was 2004; and there were 2 installation CD's enclosed. It explained some basics, which helped me decide to go ahead and make the switch. And of course, I also backed up a lot of important files to CD as well as to an external USB hard drive I got a few months ago.

I had a good idea there was probably something more recent available at a book store, so the following week I bought a Ubuntu linux book at Barnes & Noble that had an installation CD and DVD included. I tried out the live dvd, and it was slow due to having to access the DVD drive, but it came up eventually and I decided to go ahead with the install, after reading the instructions.

The Ubuntu install didn't work, when I used the text install option to see what the hang-up was, I got a message about a kernel panic. I'm not sure how a computer or a kernel can panic, and it's impossible to reason with a kernel that wants to panic; so I went online and read some things that suggested that it needed disk space for the install, it didn't know it was going to get the whole hard drive. So I spent much time defragmenting the 20 gig drive (which had 4 partitions), tried installing again, then got the same error message.

Since Ubuntu isn't the only linux distro, and since I had the RHE Linux and Fedora book with 2 disks, I decided to try to install Fedora instead. It went without a hitch. But then I discovered that I couldn't get online, since I'm using a usb - ethernet adapter for my DSL modem, and/or a Linksys cardbus (pcmcia) wireless adapter -- Fedora core didn't recognize either of them. That just wasn't going to work. Now I was ready to panic, since Win2k was no longer on my computer. I thought I'd see if I could find something newer at another book store.

I found a Fedora 7 'bible' at another store, and that installed just fine. And it did recognize my DSL modem connection, so I could get online. (While the software itself is 'free' -- these books sure aren't! Both books were about $50/each, which wasn't exactly in my budget, but it's nice to have them as reference. I'd actually recommend having at least one.)

Then I ran into the issue of getting Flashplayer installed and working, as well as getting my Linksys wireless cardbus adapter working, all of which required more research since that wasn't covered very well in the book I'd gotten. Thankfully there are a lot of good instructions online, you just have to be able to find it. For the wireless it took several attempts, trying different drivers, but eventually I got it working. Yay!

By now I found out that Fedora 7 was an 'old' version (it's only 2 years old, much newer than Windows 2000! But Fedora pushes out a new release about every 6 months, and they recently released Fedora 11.) I tried twice to install F11, using 2 different methods and it didn't work. So I had to re-install Fedora 7 twice. And F7 runs rather well on my laptop, I just thought it would be nice to use the newest version. It's also running the newest version of Firefox (3.5) just fine, too.

After relating some of the issues I had installing F11 on the Fedora Forums (here), someone agreed with me that my laptop configuration was at the lower edge of what is expected to work with F11 and then suggested I may want to look into Puppy Linux. I looked at it and since it's only about 100mb for the CD, I downloaded it, and tried it 'live' (meaning it'll boot from the CD and run in RAM, without disturbing your hard drive), which also had some issues. I discovered I could use the boot command option of 'acpi=force' to get it to boot, and it did run pretty fast. Since my 2nd (3rd?) installation of Fedora 7 used what they call a 'logical volume manager' I couldn't install Puppy on the hard drive with LVM.

I didn't really want the LVM anyway -- it's probably a good thing if you're running servers and need to add or remove drives while everything else keeps running, but for a single home computer, I didn't think it performed as well as using it without the LVM. So back to re-installing F7 yet again, with a free partition so I could install Puppy, too. I actually ended up installing a puppy derivative called 'Slaxer-Pup' because it recognized my wireless adapter, loads the drivers and everything -- which wouldn't work with Puppy 4.2.1 because the 'acpi=force' option disabled the IRQ that the wireless device uses.

One of the reasons I wanted to get Puppy Linux working was because I also have a 9 year old desktop PC that only has 64mb of RAM. I may decide to add more RAM, but if Puppy will run on it as it is, all the better! I'm not going to attempt that for at least a couple of weeks though. I suspect that if I had a newer computer, in the range of 2-5 years old, instead of a 10+ year old laptop, everything may have gone smoother. Some people install Linux and 'it just works', with a few tweaks here and there. I've certainly learned a lot, and I'm happy with my setup of a dual-boot of Fedora 7 and Puppy Linux.

One thing I noticed while visiting various websites, is that pictures and graphics seem to be sharper and crisper under Linux than they were in Windows(tm); I'm not sure why. I also noticed that some websites were un-readable, due to font issues. I did some research on that, and found some 'web core fonts' as well as some other fonts to install (in /usr/share/fonts); and during my several re-installations of F7, I always had a copy of those to put back on the system, so now everything looks good.

During the several weeks I was doing all of that, I also managed to listen to a couple of online radio programs about the new EFT 'open hand policy', and I'll do a post about that in the next few days or so.

Why I switched to Linux

2009-07-08T19:39:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted much to the blog for the past few weeks, mainly because I've been spending a good amount of time switching the operating system of my used laptop to Linux, replacing Windows 2000. Why did I switch to linux? That's what this post will
answer.

As anyone who uses Windows(tm) and accesses the internet knows, no matter how careful you are, you really need to have a good virus scan or 2 available. I had been using Comodo and AVG scanners for at least a couple of years, both of them are free for home use. (The very first virus-scan software I used was McAfee, which ran on a floppy disk!) At the end of 2008 I was notified that Comodo was changing their software from single-purpose firewalls, virus scanners etc. to a 'suite' where all of those functions would be integrated -- and the minimum (operating) system requirement was Windows XP. My laptop has (only) 256mb of RAM, and if it would run XP it'd be very slow, so that wasn't an option. Spending several hundred dollars to buy a new laptop or desktop computer also wasn't an option. I still had the AVG scanner, but at the beginning of this year they basically went the same route, going to a 'suite' of virus and malware detection with minimum system requirements of Win XP. I did find one anti-virus software that would run in Win 2000, that being ClamAV. Since I'd heard of linux several years ago, I decided to do a bit of research and find out if that would be a viable option.

I discovered that linux has come a long way since I'd first heard about it 10-15 years ago; as far as ease of use, etc. When I heard about it back then, I'd heard it required a lot of programming to get it working, and learning programming wasn't something I wanted to do. I've been using a PC since the early 1990's, back in the DOS days, so I was comfortable with a command line, but it had been several years since I've really used one.

Also, back in the late 1980's / early 1990's or so, IBM and Microsoft had entered into a joint venture to develop a 'multi-tasking' OS -- they called it OS/2. At some point they parted ways, and IBM took over development of OS/2, when they released the version they called 'Warp' in 1994 I got it, and really liked it. It ran Windows 3.1 programs as well as DOS programs and OS/2 programs. There weren't many native OS/2 programs, but it seemed to run Win 3.1 and DOS programs better than they ran on their own. And being able to have more than 1 program running at the same time, back then, was pretty incredible for the DOS platform. It wasn't just a pretty task-switcher, it would really run a report in 1 task while you were writing a letter in the other task-window, while you were downloading your emails in yet another window; all in 8 mb of RAM, which is hard to believe today.

For various reasons, I believe mostly due to marketing agreements with Microsoft, almost no 3rd party software developers were working on or planning OS/2 software releases, and then Win95 came out, and though I thought OS/2 was a superior OS, it basically lost out to newer Microsoft developments. You can read the Wikipedia link above for more of the details. Though I tried at various times over the years to be a fan of Microsoft, I never quite succeeded. So now seemed like the right time to find a viable alternative.

In my quest for a Win2k virus scanner, I did run across a good malware detector that I used for a couple of weeks before I switched to linux -- I'd recommend it to those of you still using Windows. That is WinPatrol, it was nice to have Scotty on patrol for a brief time.

I decided to take the plunge, and part of that story will be in the next blog post.

You Have A Destiny - Article by Andrew Wommack

2009-06-06T15:14:00.001-07:00

I really liked this article; below is a few paragraphs:

The word destiny is defined in the America Heritage Dictionary as “the inevitable or necessary fate to which a particular person is destined. A predetermined course of events.” However, I believe that definition is wrong. It implies that your destiny cannot be avoided or prevented. That is not scriptural and therefore just not true.

It’s true that your destiny is preordained, but it is not inevitable. Whenever I teach this, it always brings up questions about the sovereignty of God. There are some who teach the sovereignty of God in a way that leads one to believe everything happens for a reason and that God is behind it all.

If this is true, then you have to be prepared to blame God for every evil and bad thing that happens on the earth. That means every catastrophe, every war, every murder, every rape, or anything else you can name must be God’s will. If that were true, then God has not done a good job of running the world. I believe this teaching is the worst heresy in the body of Christ today. And it’s very destructive because it takes away the will to resist evil.
God does not force His will or His plan upon anyone. So, is He sovereign? Yes, if the correct definition for sovereign is used. Sovereign means supreme in power or rank. We all would agree with this definition, but I totally disagree with the way religion today uses “sovereign.” God does not make His will for our lives come to pass. We have to submit to God and resist the devil (James 4:7). We have responsibility.

God has a destiny for you, and He wants to reveal it. But He is not going to run you down. He is not going to steamroll you or force it upon you. That reminds me of Romans 12:1, which says you are to present yourself as a living sacrifice. A living sacrifice is a volunteer. If God were to force your destiny upon you, it wouldn’t be a sacrifice; it would be slavery.
Once you believe you have a destiny, you must be willing to sacrifice your will for His. Then, you must renew your mind to the Word of God so it can help you separate soul from Spirit, your soulish plans from God’s plans. Once that is in order, you simply do what you want to do. What a deal!

The whole article is very good, certainly worth reading.

eft-sw website not available Tuesday the 26th of May

2009-05-24T16:48:00.000-07:00

I received a notice from my website host that they're moving the servers to another location on Tuesday May 26, just in case you tried to reach the site and stopped by here in the meantime. Projections are for it to down from approximately 6am to 6pm Eastern (U.S.) time.

Also, I'd mentioned in an earlier post that Gary Craig (who developed EFT) had changed the rules regarding the use of the EFT logo, so I put a palm branch in it's stead. It's a public domain graphic I found on a clip-art page a while back and I think it'll work unless or until I come up with an actual logo for my ministry or until I find another small graphic to add. When I designed (and re-designed) my website I set the colors so they'd be compatible with the EFT logo colors. Now that I have a different graphic, I decided to also change some of the website colors. If it's too much lavender / purple, feel free to leave a comment. I may reverse the light/ dark placement for a while. I liked the colors for spring, and then I may change them again in a few months.

If you don't see the changed colors yet (previously blue/gray and now lavender / purple-y), it's because I'm posting this before I've actually made the new page 'live', which will be later tonight or tomorrow. More later!

Hebrews Highlights: What Do You Believe? - Article - Andrew Wommack Ministries

2009-05-23T15:14:00.001-07:00

Excellent article by Andrew Wommack.

Here are a couple paragraphs:

Yet today, the Old Covenant thinking is still prevalent in the body of Christ. Average Christians have been taught, and believe, that the sins they committed before they were born again were all forgiven the moment they were saved. But they believe the sins they commit after their salvation all have to come under the blood and be confessed, one by one.

The extreme legalist believes that if a Christian does not confess their sins they will go straight to hell. The less extreme believe that at the very least, the person will lose their fellowship with the Lord, and He will not answer their prayers. Both are wrong. If you have made Jesus your Lord, you’ve become a new creature, and sin is no longer an issue between you and God.

Hebrews 10:10 says,

“By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

Verse 14 goes on to say,

“For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.”

I'm still working this out for myself, with His help, of course; it's a process.

Quantum Touch and channeling demons

2009-05-08T16:11:00.000-07:00

I wanted to flag this article, regarding a family that encountered something called 'Quantum Touch'. I hadn't heard of it before reading this article, but it sounded similar to Reiki, from what little is mentioned in the article.

Apparently QT was developed by someone who listened to or studied the teachings of someone who channels a demon that calls itself Lazaris. I was introduced to some of those (Lazaris) teachings by someone in the mid 1990's; I had a couple of his cassette tapes as well as one of his books. They went into the dumpster (trash can) a few years ago, when I understood what it really was.

I also thought it might be a good place to tell my short Reiki story, particularly since there are some sites that purport to use what they call 'christian reiki'. In this, the devil uses deception in order to gain a foothold. First I'll quote a small portion from this article at the site linked above :

The spirit-world is real, but no one- not even the reikimasters have a clue- of what really is going on. ONLY Jesus Christ can help us!

... and from another comment on the page:

Many Christian websites and books make it seem very appealing and [say] that this is how Jesus healed. Your website makes perfect sense and in my heart I know that you are right, Reiki is not of God.

Around 1998 I attended a level-1 reiki 'atunement' and class in Seattle (I lived in Seattle at the time). I attended a sort of pre-atunement introduction on a Friday evening, and the next morning I had a major allergic reaction of some sort; with sneezing and runny nose, watery eyes, etc. Those symptoms were with me all day. There were 2 other women in the class in addition to myself. When it came time for the atunement, it was done separately for each person, with the other 2 people waiting in another room. During my atunement, the 'master' did whatever she does -- and then she was sort of baffled, because she said that it didn't 'take' for some reason. So she did it again, and I had the impression that it may not have taken the 2nd time either, but she said it did. I now believe the Holy Spirit was probably protecting me from my own deception.

Then, after the atunement we were shown how to use reiki on others, with each of us taking turns on the massage table, being shown where to hold our hands on another person to do the 'healing'. The whole process of doing a 'healing' takes about 45 minutes or so. Our only role in the process is to be a 'channel' of the 'healing energy' -- and I basically decided before the day was over that it would be a really boring way for me to spend my days. My thinking was that God gave me a brain for a reason, and performing reiki sessions as a career wouldn't be a good use of that. I think I tried using it on myself a couple of times and didn't get much out of it. So my reiki career was very short-lived, for which I now praise God.

If you're involved in reiki or 'quantum touch' (which appears to me to be a similar modality), please look at the reiki dangers site I linked above, which also has links to other sites on the topic.

he that doeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. To this end was the Son of God manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. (1Jn 3:8 ASV)

Struggling - the avenue of growth

2009-04-27T19:13:00.001-07:00

I follow this blog on Google Reader, and really liked this message, so I thought I'd flag it here. It also reminded me that I'd heard something about the trees in the first 'Biosphere', that they didn't really develop their roots and fell over, because they didn't have any wind. Here's a quote from a climate study on that:

Wind is also necessary for creating hardy and strong trees. When it was first created, there was no wind inside of Biosphere 2. Plants grew relatively quickly, but they frequently fell over before they were of reproductive age. After some intensive observations and experimentation, it was determined that the lack of wind created trees with much softer wood than that species would normally make in the wild. They grew more quickly than they did in the wild, but they were harmed in the long run as a consequence.

So here's the blog post by the above title: Struggling - the avenue of growth

EFT Setup Phrase

2009-04-25T11:03:00.001-07:00

I have had several people ask me about the EFT 'setup phrase' or affirmation; particularly the part about 'I deeply and completely accept myself' (or -- I would like to deeply and completely accept myself) and why do you say it three times? That is part of the basic EFT 'protocol' as it were, as developed by Gary Craig. Essentially, that part of the whole tapping sequence is to clear out any possible PR or 'psychological reversal'. PR isn't always present, but if it is it'll keep the rest of the tapping from doing any good. It's been estimated that it's only present about 30% of the time, but in some cases (like depression and cravings or addictions), it's present closer to 100% of the time. Since it doesn't take long to do the 'setup', we do it before we really know whether it's actually needed.

However, due to the questions, I decided to look in Roger Callahan's book Tapping the Healer Within , since it'd been a while since I read it, and found that he just taps the Karate Chop point 5 or 7 times IF the PR appears to be present, without any affirmation or 'reminder phrase'. I decided to try something a little different, and just say a 'setup phrase' once, rather than 3 times, (such as: Even though I have this fear, God hasn't given me a spirit of fear) while tapping the KC point -- you'd end up tapping that point or rubbing the Sore Spot, at least 5-7 times. I then move onto the rest of the tapping points with the reminder phrase. I've done that revised setup with myself and a few clients, and it's worked just fine. I have accordingly changed the tapping points I have available on my website. (see below) There was also the thought for me, that repeating the setup phrase 3 times was almost like a 'magic number', which smacks of witchcraft, which of course is in direct opposition to the topic of spiritual warfare, at least from a Christian viewpoint.

As a Christian, I have come to know I am accepted by God in Christ, so if you have a hard time with 'I accept myself' -- then by all means add it into the setup or say something like 'I know I am accepted in Christ Jesus and I can accept myself'. It's somewhat flexible. To illustrate the flexibility, here's a link (see below) to an article by someone else and how she selects setup phrases. What she uses as setup phrases, I would probably use as variations on the 'reminder phrase' while tapping the various points.

Lastly, while I'm mentioning changes, while I was reading the comments on the blog post I mentioned a couple of days ago about the online 'Summit', I discovered there was a change to the Open Hand Rights for EFT, and have accordingly removed the designation of having received the EFT-ADV certificate of completion on this blog and on my website, and have also removed the EFT Logo since it is no longer allowed to be a top of the page sort of identifier. I may add the logo somewhere else on the site as a secondary logo at some point, but for now I just have a palm branch in it's place. Since it looked silly to have the words Emotional Freedom Techniques next to the palm branch rather than next to the Logo that said EFT I removed that also. I also added a disclaimer that I'm using my version of EFT, etc. These new guidelines are apparently part of the fallout of the online 'Summit'. It's a bit annoying, but it is what it is.

20 Aug 2010 - I edited this article to remove the links to the EFT (emofree) website since it isn't up anymore. I also removed the link to the tapping points on my website since that has since moved and was a broken link, the tapping points are now an attachment to an article on the user forum of the site. In addition, I now have the EFT-ADV designation back on the blog and website as mentioned in the blog post earlier this year about Gary Craig's retirement.

Have you wondered why Gary isn’t part of The EFT® World Summit? - EFT Blog

2009-04-23T18:48:00.001-07:00

I just read this comment by Gary Craig, about the 'world summit' and thought I'd post the link here, for those who may be interested. I'm still reading the comments, there are lots of them.

I wasn't going to sign up for the summit at all, because it originally sounded like (or I assumed?) it was going to be video presentations, and until last week I was using a dial-up internet connection. But I got a DSL connection last week and signed up for it, and it wasn't until I got onto the page the first day that I discovered it's audio, only. In addition, it's put out by the makers of the 'Try it on everything' DVD and book, and I've not seen the DVD and from what little I know of it, there's a lot of the 'law of attraction' belief, of which I have repented.

I wasn't interested in listening to all of the presenters, or even most of them for that matter; but I'll listen to a few of them and see if I can get some good pointers. But I appreciated Gary's input and figured I'd pass it on.

April 25 - update

Here's a new message from Gary Craig on the EFT World Summit topic.Just thought I'd post the link, to sort of complete the picture.

Classical Arminianism: THE CALVINIST'S APPEAL TO MYSTERY, OR ANTINOMY

2009-04-18T20:01:00.000-07:00

Good article, thought I'd post the link:

Classical Arminianism: THE CALVINIST'S APPEAL TO MYSTERY, OR ANTINOMY

YouTube - Becoming Unshakeable In Times Of Shaking

2009-04-17T21:15:00.001-07:00

IA message from Joseph Prince. Just over 5 minutes - good message!

Deception in the grocery aisle and inflation rates?

2009-04-04T20:44:00.001-07:00

Have you noticed that certain items at the grocery store now come in smaller packages, but you're paying the same price? I've been noticing that for about the last year or so, and it's pretty annoying. I wondered if it was a way to get around reporting on the true cost of inflation (or Consumer Price Index, CPI; here in the U.S.). Some examples I've noticed are: a pound (16 oz) of bacon is now 3/4 of a pound (12 oz); as is a pound of spaghetti or pasta. There are some exceptions, and I didn't make a detailed list prior to writing this post, though I may in a later post. Another example is what used to be an 8oz yogurt is now 6 oz. What used to be a 6 oz can of tuna fish is now 5 oz. There may be other examples, but those have been the most noticeable to me. The can of tuna was the most recent, and it made me so mad I refused to buy any. Wondering if this was reflected in government stats on inflation (because it means that in some cases food prices have actually gone up 20-25%, ounce for ounce) I found this from the (U.S.) Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), who release the CPI data every month. Under the question of How are CPI prices collected and reviewed? it says the following:

During each call or visit, the economic assistant collects price data on a specific good or service that was precisely defined during an earlier visit. If the selected item is available, the economic assistant records its price. If the selected item is no longer available, or if there have been changes in the quality or quantity (for example, eggs sold in packages of ten when they previously were sold by the dozen) of the good or service since the last time prices were collected, the economic assistant selects a new item or records the quality change in the current item.

The recorded information is sent to the national office of BLS, where commodity specialists who have detailed knowledge about the particular goods or services priced review the data. These specialists check the data for accuracy and consistency and make any necessary corrections or adjustments, which can range from an adjustment for a change in the size or quantity of a packaged item to more complex adjustments based upon statistical analysis of the value of an item's features or quality. Thus, commodity specialists strive to prevent changes in the quality of items from affecting the CPI's measurement of price change.

Note that a change in quantity of the theoretical dozen (12) eggs down to a quantity of 10 is called a 'quality change', Or, they'll just select another item if there is a change in 'quality'. Then note the last sentence, where it says that they have specialists that strive to prevent changes in quality (not quantity) from affecting the measurement of price change. I wonder if they're related to the same geniuses that priced the derivatives for 'mortgage-backed securities' that have sent some banks into bankruptcy? Those are what I call 'weasel words'.

It may be that I'm mistaken about the wording or actual result of this, and if so I'll note it here. But to me, a 'change in quality' is when they use different ingredients, like using corn syrup instead of sugar. But as far as I know, tuna is tuna, and if the package size went from 6 oz to 5 oz, then it's a change in QUANTITY and not QUALITY. I just did a search for 'package size AND inflation' and came up with a few interesting articles: Food inflation: A truly painful downsizing as well as: Less is more: Packaging Design & Inflation, as well as: Hidden Inflation: The Sneaky Way Manufacturers Raise Prices They all have other examples of food package size changes than the ones I had noticed.

So what's the solution? In my unscientific survey, it appeared to me that I was more likely to find that imported pasta (i.e. from Italy) was still available in a 1 lb (16 oz) package, and the same with bacon from Canada. I suspect it may tie in to the whole notion of publically-traded companies having to deliver 'shareholder value' (a nice buzzword likely made up by lawyers). Or if it's practical, buy in bulk where a pound is still a pound, at least for now. I may break down and buy a can of tuna someday, but for now I just go with chicken salad, egg salad or peanut-butter for my sandwiches. Other comments or suggestions are welcome, too!

April Fool's day attack is no joke

2009-03-29T15:19:00.001-07:00

I wanted to post a few links about a virus / worm that is apparently due to strike on April 1st. It's off-topic for this blog, but I'm posting it just in case.

I just heard about it on the blog for WOT (Web of Trust), a most excellent add-on for Firefox and IE browsers, I use the Firefox one. As a plug -- it's saved me from going to potentially dangerous sites; having ignored the warning once and regretted it later. The one I ignored was for a free html editor, but it also installed a browser toolbar without permission and generally misbehaved itself.

Here's a link for an article with info. from Free PC Security.

And another link with an article from Security Garden, Conficker Information for the Home Computer user. Be safe!

Ability to add comments now on my website

2009-03-26T18:55:00.000-07:00

I wanted to post a message here that I've updated my website articles to include a new-ish tool from Google, called 'Friend Connect'. It's basically a way of adding social elements to one's web site. I'll also be adding a testimonials page to the site in the next few days, which is for the purpose of giving my clients / customers a spot to add their ratings and comments themselves.

I've thought it would be nice to be able to have a message forum, or to add software for comments; but it was on a very back burner. This option makes it much easier, and it won't require people to come up with yet another user name and password -- if you're like me you may have too many of those already. You'll be able to sign in using your google, openid or similar accounts to post your comments. I'm also going to allow anonymous posting, at least for now. I'll see how that goes, since I can delete or edit comments it should work o.k.

Since my website isn't a social networking site, I'm just adding the button to sign in on the home page. Comments here, or there, are welcome! The link to my EFT for SW website is over in the 'What is EFT?' info-box on the right side of this blog.

Taking Every Thought Captive

2009-03-21T15:35:00.000-07:00

I mentioned in a previous article the TPM concept that many times, our negative emotions stem from a lie-based belief. I was re-reading the book Surprised by the Voice of God ^[i]by Jack Deere, and there's a story near the end of the book that is a perfect illustration of this principle. The chapter title is The Power of the Word and the Spirit (ch. 22)

It tells the story of a woman named Jean Raborg, who was a believer in Christ since she was 14. She was overwhelmed with all of the things she had on her plate: teaching, being a wife and mother, as well as being involved in church.

She thought about telling someone at church [because she didn't want to worry her husband who was already overworked], but a voice went off in her mind telling her that no one should ever know that she couldn't really handle things -- that she should just keep going and everything would be all right. She didn't know where this last impression came from, but she decided to obey it.(emphasis added)

More lies came from this voice later on, regarding a health issue. The diagnosis wasn't life-threatening, but she believed her doctors and/or husband were keeping the truth from her about her true condition.

The voice told Jean that she couldn't tell anyone. How could she tell John [her husband] and ruin what few months they had left together? What good would it do to talk to God about this? After all, hadn't he permitted it? Maybe this was a judgement on her because she was failing so miserably ...

Over the course of the next few months, things got worse and she ended up in a psychiatric hospital. Multiple people had prayed for her, but it didn't change things. Some people she knew asked Paul Cain to pray for her, and as he did the Lord instructed him to go to San Diego, and was told that she will be instantly healed to my glory. And I will use this testimony to the end of her life to encourage women with hope. [I know there's some more recent controversy about Mr. Cain -- but this is part of the story, so please just go with it.]

When Paul prayed for Jean, she felt as if a giant heating pad had been put over her abdomen. Then she had a sensation of hot oil being poured over her head and penetrating every fiber of her body. At the same time, she felt a cloud of oppression lift off of her. [I've likewise had a feeling of a cloud of oppression lift off me in response to prayer, once or twice.] It was as though the Lord had turned on a faucet of joy inside her. I'm healed! she exclaimed.

No, not yet, not quite yet, Paul said. When I leave here, the madness is going to try to return. God is going to put a Scripture in your heart when I walk out this door. That Scripture is going to seal your healing. When the evil voice returns to you, don't listen to it. Instead say, 'It is written,' and then quote whatever Scripture the Lord deposits in your heart when I leave.

The Scripture that came to her mind was from Isaiah 41:10.

At just that moment she felt an icy hand reach out of the darkness and grip her heart. She heard that evil voice begin to whisper, but instead of listening to it, she cried out, It is written -- Fear thou not, For I am with thee: Be not dismayed; For I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yeah I will help thee; yeah, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. The icy hand let go. The evil voice stopped. She quoted the Word again, and again, and again. Each time she felt the strength of God pouring into her body. ... On the third day... Jean Raborg walked out of that mental institution, never to return again.

Isn't that a wonderful ending? The ending also illustrates the idea of replacing lies with truth, in this case the Truth of God's Word. I emphasized the part that says She didn't know where the last impression came from..., because sometimes we'll have thoughts or suggestions that take us to dark places. With EFT and Scripture, we can learn to sort it out and discover that we don't have to believe or accept every thought as true. Yesterday morning I had an instance where I was thinking about something, and a familiar thought came to mind along the lines of 'But, what if ...' and right in the middle of the thought that wanted me to start worrying about whatever it was, (I honestly no longer remember what it was...) another part of my thinking realized I didn't have to go there, so I dismissed it before it even had a chance to get me on that old familiar path.

{We are} destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and {we are} taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, (2 Cor 10:5 NASB)

[i]
Deere, Jack; Surprised by the Voice of God, ©Copyright 1996 by Jack S. Deere, published by Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids Mich49530, pg. 343-357.

What is 'the Bezzle' ?

2009-03-08T15:46:00.001-07:00

I've been reading some financial blogs recently, and ran across a term I'd never heard before -- the bezzle . I read it in one article that seemed to assume the reader knew what it meant, but I didn't, so I did a search and found enough information in a couple of short articles that I understood it.

I just now got to this article through an email link, and it really explains it. It's not necessarily related to spiritual warfare, but when you're dealing with lies and deceit and the like, of course it could tie in. And since there are few things like money to get people's emotions in turmoil, I'll tie in EFT by suggesting that you keep on tapping! (And praying, of course!)

Here's the last part of the article, which sums it up -- but it's all worth reading.

The damage will stop only when one of two things happens:

1.
All of the identifiable Bezzle is flushed from the financial system OR
2.
Government comes out and makes clear that it will clamp down, enforce the law, and that the bad actors both forward and back will be prosecuted, the ill-gotten gains recovered to the extent possible, and the truth demanded from all firms going forward.

Those are the only choices folks.

Government is not responsible for the fraud, but it is responsible for turning its head and refusing to look, investigate and prosecute.

Government profited from the increased tax revenue and "fake wealth" that was "created" as a consequence of The Bezzle, and the campaign bribes, er, contributions that flowed from it.

Now government must choose - either put a stop to The Bezzle, here and now, or watch the market dismantle it piece by piece, firm by firm, and deal with the collateral damage - another 10-20 million unemployed (at minimum) and a Depression worse than the 1930s.

Also, for another good site / blog that catalogs another big problem in the financial markets -- check out the Deep Capture Blog.

Calvins Camels - article from Inplain Site

2009-02-24T16:00:00.000-08:00

I just ran across a good article on Calvinism -- and it's rather long, so here are a few quotes from the beginning part of the article:

INTRODUCTION Having read John Calvin’s Institutes and having studied the writings of many Calvinists both ancient and contemporary, I am convinced that Calvin was guilty of straining at gnats and swallowing camels. To accept Calvinism (in any of its forms) is to deny the plain teaching of dozens of Scriptures.
The Calvinist will doubtless argue that I simply don’t understand Calvinism properly, and to this I reply that if Calvinism is that complicated it can’t be the truth.
Of course, Calvinism is not simple by any means and this is one reason why it produces an elitist mentality. To understand Calvinism one must deal with compatibalism, monergism versus synergism, electing grace vs. irresistible grace, effectual calling vs. general calling, effective atonement vs. hypothetical atonement, libertarian free will vs. the bondage of the will, objective grace and subjective grace, natural ability and moral ability, mediate vs. immediate imputation of Adam’s sin, supralapsarianism, sublapsarianism, infralapsarianism, desiderative vs. decretive will, and antecedent hypothetical will, to name a few!
The fact is that every time I have studied Calvinism I have come away convinced that it simply contradicts too many Scriptures, that it is built more upon human logic and philosophy than upon the plain teaching of God’s Word. Whatever divine election means, and it is certainly an important and oft-taught doctrine of the Word of God, it cannot mean what Calvinism concludes, because to accept that position requires one to strain at gnats and swallow camels. The gnats are Calvinist extra-scriptural arguments and reasoning and the camels are Scriptures understood plainly by their context.
Thus, according to the Calvinist, Jesus’ statement in Matt. 23:37 does not teach that God’s will was ever thwarted by man’s will but merely expresses the human side of Jesus’ compassionate nature. According to Calvin, God cannot be disappointed, because that would means He is not sovereign (according to Calvin’s own predetermined definition), but this flies in the face of the Scriptures in literally thousands of places.

EFT on blogtalk radio, Facebook and other stuff

2009-02-14T14:47:00.000-08:00

I just signed up on Facebook about 10 days ago, and discovered there are a few EFT related groups on there that I've joined. Some of them are pretty new, it appears -- one of which is 'EFT from a Christian Perspective'. Stop by and say hi!

Also there's one for an EFT class on blogtalk radio. I haven't listened to any of the shows, and when trying to pull up the page I keep getting a 'page load error' telling me the server was reset while the page was loading. I tried again after allowing javascript from blogtalk radio (I use the Firefox browser with NoScript add-on) and got the same message, so you may have more success pulling up the page than I did. Just be warned that the shows may or may not be 'Christian-friendly'.

Lastly, while on the topic of 'social networking' sites, I'm also on Twitter with the user name of CiaW , at the moment I don't send many updates or messages there but feel free to add me or invite me to your updates if you'd like.

Update Feb. 24 -- I have also started a group on Facebook called 'EFT for Spiritual Warfare', and I'd be happy to have you join that one too, as well as the Christian Perspective group another practitioner started, if you're on Facebook.

Of salt, and leaven

2009-01-23T16:41:00.000-08:00

Those of you who live in the U.S. know that our television broadcast signals are scheduled to be all digital in February of this year. Since I have a rabbit-ear antenna on an analog t.v., I got one of the digital converter boxes a few months ago and have enjoyed watching shows in digital format. One of the local public broadcasting stations (aka PBS) has 2 additional 'channels', one is called Create. I love watching several of the cooking shows they have on Create. (What does all of that have to do with spiritual warfare or EFT, you ask? I'm getting to that next.)

On one of those shows, I forget exactly which one, it may have been 'Baking with Julia' (Julia Child) they were talking about and demonstrating baking bread. There are several ingredients used in baking bread, and a Passover bread omits the leavening. I won't get into that discussion, but all leavening agents were supposed to be removed from the house during the Passover celebration. Jesus broke the bread and gave it to the disciples during the Passover meal before he died and told them to 'take, eat, this is my body...' Jesus was born in Bethlehem, meaning 'village of bread'.

In the discussion of bread making, it was mentioned that salt can kill the action of yeast (which is a leavening agent). That's an interesting thing to know, so I tucked it away as a mental note. I found a couple of web references for that too, as follows: Salt: Salt acts as a yeast retardant, as well as

Salt inhibits the growth of yeast. Never mix yeast into salted water. Since most tap water goes through a filtering process which utilizes salt as a refining/cleaning agent, many cooks use only distilled water for baking. However, if you are baking during the hot summer season and find your dough rising too much, the addition of a little extra salt can control that runaway yeast growth. (from here)

Then while pondering that a couple of days later, some things Jesus said sort of clicked into place. Before that, the saying "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. " (Mat 5:13 KJVA) didn't make a lot of sense to me.

But, when you combine it with other passages such as: "How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. "(Mat 16:11-12 KJVA) as well as: "In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy." (Luk 12:1 KJVA)

I had heard that being the 'salt of the earth' referred to salt being a flavor enhancer. That's all well and good, but I still didn't quite see how following Christ fit into the idea of enhancing flavor. To me, it makes more sense that we are to be 'salt' and stop or inhibit the growth of the 'leaven' (hypocrisy and lies), which very much fits into the idea of spiritual warfare.

I'd been meaning to type this up for a couple of months, but I just read a blog post that discusses a vision. The vision is about pillars in the sea, and that made me think of the sea being made of salt water, and Lot's wife turning into a pillar of salt. (Gen 19:26) I don't know if that has anything to do with the vision or not, but it gave me the nudge I needed to finally type up this blog post.

Do you think God can't use you?

2009-01-19T16:50:00.000-08:00

I just saw this on the CBO blog (Christian Bloggers Online) and thought I'd post it here too. It helps remind us that the Bible is full of imperfect people that God used. We are saved by grace through faith -- which is a good thing because if I, or any of you had to be a model of perfection to come to Jesus, we'd still be wandering around like lost sheep. I could go on and on, but here's the other post:

The next time you feel like GOD can’t use you, just remember…

Noah was a drunk
Abraham was too old
Isaac was a daydreamer
Jacob was a liar
Leah was ugly
Joseph was abused
Moses had a stuttering problem
Gideon was afraid
Samson had long hair and was a womanizer
Rahab was a prostitute
Jeremiah and Timothy were too young
David had an affair and was a murderer
Elijah was suicidal
Isaiah preached naked
Jonah ran from God
Naomi was a widow
Job went bankrupt
Peter denied Christ
The Disciples fell asleep while praying
Martha worried about everything
The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once
Zaccheus was too small
Paul was too religious
Timothy had an ulcer…
AND Lazarus was dead!

Now! No more excuses! God can use you to your full potential…

Besides you aren’t the message, you are just the messenger.

And one more thing… In the Circle of God’s love, God’s waiting to use your full potential.

Your Questions, please

2009-01-13T16:49:00.000-08:00

I am going to be doing an approximately 30 minute interview that'll be available on blogtalk radio. I can list 5 questions I would like to have the interviewer ask me -- and I'm a little stumped. It would also be nice to know if there are questions you have that I could address on my website or here on my blog that I could answer. Preferably, they'd be questions relating to EFT, Spiritual Warfare or a combination of the 2.

So I'm asking for your questions -- if you have any. Please leave them in the comments of this message in the next couple of days. Thank you!

EFT over the phone

2009-01-09T17:06:00.000-08:00

Since I'm an EFT phone practitioner, I wanted to share 2 articles that were in a recent edition of the EFT Insights e-newsletter. Both of these articles are about people who had PTSD issues, one a Vietnam Vet and another from other traumatic events. In addition, both of these show great results from doing EFT over the phone.

Here's the first one, titled: Trauma-ptsd-dominoes.

The second one is titled: An hour and ten minutes.

About The Message Bible paraphrase

2009-01-04T13:00:00.000-08:00

I was shopping at my local Christian Supply store a couple of weeks before Christmas, and noticed that several devotionals, calendars, etc. are quoting from The Message. When looking at Bibles for sale, I didn't see any of the NASB (which I'd purchased a few years ago at the same store), but there was a pretty large display of The Message as well as a NIV / Message combo. (There were also a good amount of KJV and NKJV translations available...)

So, while reading an article on the Berean Call web site, I ran across the following that I wanted to share. I won't be adding this paraphrase to my collection.

Response: Unfortunately, the errors in this paraphrase (it's not a translation) are numerous and serious. The Message cannot be relied upon to tell the truth and, in fact, is dangerously misleading. If Promise Keepers endorses it, that is one more mark against that organization.

Let me give you only a few examples. John 1:1 actually says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." The Message renders it, "The Word was first, the Word present to God, God present to the Word. The Word was God, in readiness for God from day one." That garbling is an improvement?! It is confusing at best and misleading at worst, changing the meaning. "In the beginning was the Word" is changed to "The Word was first." First before God? And what does "in readiness for God" mean? In verse 5, "the darkness comprehended it not" is rendered, "the darkness couldn't put it out," changing the meaning entirely.

In verse 14, "full of grace" becomes "Generous inside and out," while "truth" becomes "true from start to finish." "Generous" and "grace" do not mean the same, nor does "true from start to finish" convey the rich meaning of Christ being "full of truth." In verse 29, "which taketh away the sin of the world" becomes "He forgives the sins of the world." There is a world of difference between taking away the sin of the world by paying the debt mankind owed, and forgiving sins! In John 3:5, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit" becomes, "unless a person submits to this original creation-- the 'wind hovering over the water' creation, the invisible moving the visible, a baptism into a new life," again obscuring, complicating, and changing the true meaning. In 3:17, "but that the world through him might be saved" becomes "He came to help, to put the world right again," a destructive change in the meaning.

"Saved" means to be redeemed, rescued from the judgment we deserve for our sins; whereas "to help, to put the world right again" sounds like social or political reformation. In verse 36, "the wrath of God abideth on him" becomes, "All he experiences of God is darkness, and an angry darkness at that." How can anyone experience darkness from God, when 1 John 1:5 says of God, "in him is no darkness at all"? Serious error is added to serious error!

In 1 Corinthians 1:17, "For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel" is perverted to read, "God didn't send me out to collect a following for myself but to preach the Message." It is important that Paul, a former rabbi, is a follower of Christ--The Message says "of God." The main point Paul makes is that baptism is not part of the gospel--The Message misses that completely. "Lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect" is changed to "...lest the powerful action at the center--Christ on the Cross--be trivialized into mere words." There is a vast difference between the eternal effect of "the cross of Christ" as the Bible states it and "Christ on the Cross" as The Message puts it and Catholicism depicts it. Christ is not on the cross; the work is finished! In verse 30, "sanctification, and redemption" is changed to read "a clean slate and a fresh start"--both trivializing and misleading. In Hebrews 11:1, "the substance of things hoped for" becomes "the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living," a totally different meaning, with hope for eternity expunged. In verse 4, regarding the lamb, which speaks of Christ, the "more excellent sacrifice" offered by Abel, the comment is interjected, "It was what he believed, not what he brought, that made the difference." On the contrary, the sacrifice he brought was important to his belief, and without the proper sacrifice there could be no forgiveness no matter what was believed.

In verse 7, "became heir of the righteousness which is by faith" is changed to "became intimate with God," again an entirely different meaning which leaves out the vital phrase "righteousness which is by faith." In verse 16, "God is not ashamed to be called their God" is twisted into "God is so proud of them." Never! Attributing the human evil of pride to God is blasphemy and leaves the dangerous impression that if God is proud then it isn't so bad for man to be proud as well.

In verse 35, "that they might obtain a better resurrection" becomes "preferring something better: resurrection." Again the meaning is changed completely. It makes it sound as though resurrection is dependent upon good works. It was not a question of whether they would be resurrected, but of the reward they would receive in the Resurrection.

These are only a few among many errors, some extremely serious. It is appalling that any mere man would change or ignore the meaning of God's Word under the vain delusion that he could improve upon what God has said and the way He has said it! It is even more appalling that a leading evangelical publisher would publish this blasphemy, Christian bookstores would sell it, and Christian leaders would praise instead of denounce this perversion!

Dreaming of a white Christmas?

2008-12-24T18:38:00.000-08:00

I've lived in Spokane almost 8 years now, and for at least the last few years we'll get a little snow in December and then a few days before Christmas it'll warm up above freezing, the snow melts; and no white Christmas. This year is making up for that, and then some! A couple of weeks ago some arctic air moved down from Canada (not very neighborly of them, I'd say!) and it's been below zero Farenheit many nights, and just barely above that during the day. Then a week ago the snow started, and except for a few hours here and there, it hasn't let up. It sort of messed up my plans to attend the Christmas eve service at church, as well as my plans to drive across town and uphill to my brother's house for Christmas, since we have yet more snow tonight. My little car isn't made for this kind of weather. Of course, judging by the news of cars sliding off roads, and buses getting stuck; apparently a lot of vehicles aren't made for this kind of weather! But as the Apostle Paul said: If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. (1 Tim 6:8 NASB)

So I took some pictures from my second floor apartment window, for those of you who don't get to enjoy (?) living through a winter climate, or a white Christmas. Skiers love it, at least.

The first one is from this afternoon , and the 2nd one is from a week ago. Winter in the inland Northwest.

And here's some scripture to remind me (us) why we celebrate Christmas:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.
The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
(John 1:1-5, 14 NASB)

Does God give the devil permission to attack us?

2008-12-07T14:25:00.000-08:00

I just finished an article on the topic above that I'm posting to my website. It's somewhat long (and I could have made it longer!), so I'm putting most of it below -- but for the whole thing please see here:

Have you ever heard someone say that the devil can't attack a believer (in Jesus Christ) unless he gets God's permission, as in the story of Job? And then there's sort of the underlying premise or statement, that IF you've been so attacked and God 'allowed it' -- then there isn't much you can do because that would go against God's will. Or maybe God allowed it to teach you to lean on Him. Right? I've heard it a few times from various believers, and even find it on a 'discernment' web site, yet even here some discernment is needed. Here's the quote:

This idea of the Devil claiming his wife is problematic in that believers are under the sovereign care of Jesus, it is he who has the keys of death and hell. No believer will die unless God himself allows it. The book of Job gives us insight on how God may allow the devil to afflict us but it is only by his permission, the Devil is not running around doing whatever he wants, his power and ability has to answer to God first.

Well, ok. This sounds plausible and not unreasonable at first glance. But, let us reason and see if these things be true. Since this sort of teaching appears to be somewhat prevalent, and since it does touch on issues that directly affect the issue of spiritual warfare, I wanted to sort it out myself, and write about what I found.

One of the premises is that as believers, we have a 'hedge of protection' around us, as Job had. Since there were no scripture references given to bolster this argument, as far as it may be applicable to Christians, I can't directly respond to this or any of the assertions in that regard. The only New Testament passage I may be able to liken to a 'hedge of protection', off the top of my head, would be the sheepfold that Jesus mentions in John chapter 10. He says that He is the door to the sheepfold, and that His sheep may go in and out and find pasture. However, He also adds that there may be some that try to enter in another way (sneaking over the fence perhaps?) and they would be thieves and robbers. [...] So to me, this argument is a mixed bag, one could make a case either way.

The first part of my response to the premise of God's sovereignty in our lives, is that according to Scripture (His Word), He operates in our lives under Covenant. We could speculate endlessly about what God could or might do or allow, but if it disagrees with His Word AND if we're believers, then Scripture is (or should be) our final authority. Right? From reading the Bible, there are many places where God tells his people that IF they do some thing, THEN he will do or not do certain things. I just did a search in e-Sword, for the term 'if ye' (King James Version) for both the Old and New Testament -- and it came up with 151 verses! Here's a very small sample, and not all of the 151 verses are in the 'if-then' category:

And if ye shall despise my statutes,or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant: (Lev 26:15 KJVA)
And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil. (Deu 11:13-14 KJVA)
But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. (Gal 5:18 KJVA)
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. (Joh 15:7 KJVA)

So clearly, where the word 'if' is used, it's a conditional sort of statement, there are conditions to be met. Jesus speaks of establishing the new covenant in Mat 26:28, Mar 14:24 and Luk 22:20. As far as I can tell, since I'm not an expert on the topic, a covenant is similar in some respects to what we in the U.S. would call a 'last will and testament' (hence the terms 'Old Testament' and 'New Testament'); and the terms of the will take effect after the person who drew up the will is deceased. Of course, in our case Jesus died and was resurrected, but it's through the covenant that we get to inherit the terms of his 'will', so to speak. So in relation to that part of the premise (namely the 'sovereign control' question), I think there's an element of free-will and choice along with God's sovereignty.

To me, the biggest question is: Does the devil need to get God's permission to attack a believer, or does God give such permission? This is the one I really wrestled with, and then after studying several scriptures the light came on.

First of all, we find in 1Jn 3:8b The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. (ESV) and that When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him. (Col 2:15 NASB) Which begs the question, why would God re-arm the devil when Jesus disarmed him? Finally, this is the passage of scripture that really settled the question for me: And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. (2Co 6:16 KJVA) Oh yeah, this made me remember, and it finally sunk in past my thinking, that I am a temple of the living God! Why would God give the devil permission to attack His temple?
If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. (Mar 3:24-25 ESV)

And just to put the icing on the cake, there is only 1 verse of scripture in the New Testament that mentions Job:
Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. (Jas 5:11 ESV) The KJV uses the word 'patience' instead of 'steadfastness'. And just to state the obvious, if Job were an example to the New Testament believer of God giving the devil permission to attack us, wouldn't that have been the place to say so? Yet, all it says is that Job was patient / steadfast, as we should likewise be patient and steadfast.

I think one reason I wrestled with this so much was because I end up contradicting some people whom I greatly respect. However, I decided to 'let the peace of Christ rule (govern) my heart', and I've been greatly edified in the process. I think this particular belief or teaching benefits the devil more than God -- I can almost imagine him or one of his dark cohorts whispering in someone's ear 'hey, don't go running to God about that trouble, he gave me permission to attack you! Look at Job!'. In the end, if you come across a statement that appears on the surface to be scriptural, but that leads to feeling despair or without hope, confused or having been forsaken; then I submit it's not of God. Of course, you can use EFT for some of these feelings; but more importantly, look to the Lord for His Spirit to lead you into the truth of the matter through prayer and His Word.

Also, I ran across this article that also addresses the issue with a similar conclusion.

An Outrageous Idea - EFT blog

2008-11-20T16:11:00.000-08:00

I wanted to point you to a recent blog entry from last year on the emofree web site -- suggesting that EFT should be mandatory for all war veterans. The blog article isn't very long, but read the comments too! It was linked in a recent edition of the EFT Insights e-Newsletter, so most of the comments are very recent.

Positive Confession article

2008-11-19T18:12:00.000-08:00

I just ran across this article on another blog, and thought it gave a balanced view of some things I've been pondering lately. On the one hand (exteme) you have those who say that everything that happens in your life is your doing, as in the 'law of attraction' teaching. On the other hand (extreme) there are those who say God has foreordained all things. This article is about the Christian use of 'positive confession' which would fall more along the lines of the 'law of attraction' end of the spectrum. It's a position paper by the Assemblies of God. It's somewhat lengthy -- I'll highlight a few paragraphs below:

While there are variations of interpretation and emphasis concerning this teaching, a conclusion seems to be that the unpleasant can be avoided by refraining from negative confessions. The pleasant can be enjoyed by making positive confessions.

According to this view, as expressed in various publications, the believer who refrains from acknowledging the negative and continues to affirm the positive will assure for himself pleasant circumstances. He will be able to rule over poverty, disease, and sickness. He will be sick only if he confesses he is sick. Some make a distinction between acknowledging the symptoms of an illness and the illness itself.

This view advocates that God wants believers to wear the best clothing, drive the best cars, and have the best of everything. Believers need not suffer financial setbacks. All they need to do is to tell Satan to take his hands off their money. The believer can have whatever he says whether the need is spiritual, physical, or financial. It is taught that faith compels God's action.

According to this position, what a person says determines what he will receive and what he will become. Thus people are instructed to start confessing even though what they want may not have been realized. If a person wants money, he is to confess he has it even if it is not true. If a person wants healing, he is to confess it even though it is obviously not the case. People are told they can have whatever they say, and for this reason great significance is attached to the spoken word. It is claimed the spoken word, if repeated often enough, will eventually result in faith which procures the desired blessing.

It is understandable that some people would like to accept the positive confession teaching. It promises a life free from problems, and its advocates seem to support it with passages of Scripture. Problems develop, however, when Bible statements are isolated from their context and from what the rest of Scripture has to say concerning the subject. Extremes result which distort truth and eventually hurt believers as individuals and the cause of Christ in general. [...]
When the positive confession doctrine indicates a person can have whatever he says, it fails to emphasize adequately that God's will must be considered. David had the best intentions when he indicated his desire to build a temple for the Lord, but it was not God's will (1 Chronicles 17:4). David was permitted to gather materials, but Solomon was to build the temple.
The positive confession teaching advocates reigning as kings in this life. It teaches that believers are to dominate and not be dominated by circumstances. Poverty and sickness are usually mentioned among the circumstances over which believers are to have dominion.

If believers choose the kings of this world as models, it is true they will seek the trouble-free life (although even kings of this world are not free from problems). They will be more concerned with physical and material prosperity than with spiritual growth. [i.e. the 'deceitfulness of riches' which promises what it can't deliver.] [...]
In this view there is very little consideration given to communion with God in order to discover His will. There is very little appeal to search the Scriptures for the framework of the will of God. There is little emphasis on the kind of discussion with fellow believers which results in two or three agreeing what the will of God might be. Instead, the desire of the heart is viewed as a binding mandate on God. It is seen as constituting the authority of the believer.

It is true that Jesus said, "Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son" (John 14:13). But Scripture also teaches that the asking must be in harmony with the will of God. "This is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us: and if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him" (1 John 5:14, 15). [...]
God's Word does teach great truths such as healing, provision for need, faith, and the authority of believers. The Bible does teach that a disciplined mind is an important factor in victorious living. But these truths must always be considered in the framework of the total teaching of Scripture.

When abuses occur, there is sometimes a temptation to draw back from these great truths of God's Word. In some cases people even lose out with God altogether when they discover that exaggerated emphases do not always meet their expectations or result in freedom from problems.

The fact that doctrinal aberrations develop, however, is not a reason for rejecting or remaining silent concerning them. The existence of differences of opinion is all the more reason why believers should continue diligently to search the Scriptures. It is why servants of God must faithfully declare the whole counsel of God.

The Sovereignty of God

2008-11-16T16:46:00.000-08:00

I haven't blogged in a while, mostly because I've been doing some research. I'm working on an article about Job right now, it might take a few days to put it all together. In the meantime, part of the 'Job question' has to do with God's sovereignty, and I found a very helpful article on that topic that I wanted to share. Here's 2 of the first 3 paragraphs of the article, see the rest of it here.

I believe this is the worst doctrine in the church today. I know that this is a shocking statement and is near blasphemy to some people, but the way sovereignty is taught today is a real faith killer. The belief that God controls everything that happens to us is one of the devil's biggest inroads into our lives. If this belief is true, then our actions are irrelevant, and our efforts are meaningless. What will be will be.

If we believe that God wills everything, good or bad, to happen to us, it gives us some temporary relief from confusion and condemnation, but in the long-term, it slanders God, hinders our trust in God, and leads to passiveness.

Let not your heart be troubled

2008-10-17T12:28:00.000-07:00

Since fear and anxiety (particularly in the area of finances) seems to be such a prevalent news topic, I thought I'd pull together a few verses of scripture that may be helpful. You could combine it with EFT by tapping a round on your fear or anxiety, and then do a round with 1 or 2 scriptures at a time. I read a news story the other day that said something like 'traders on Wall Street were fearful (or in panic?)'.... and my first thought was that they should learn EFT! Then maybe cooler heads can prevail. Remember to Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: (1Pe 5:8 KJV)

All verses are from the King James Version (KJV); and there are many more verses I could add -- a search under just the word 'riches' brought up 97 verses!

A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked. (Psa 37:16)

The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand. I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. (Psa 37:23-25)

He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD. (Psa 112:7)

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. (Joh 14:27)

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. (Mat 6:24)

He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch. (Pro 11:28)

And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. (Isa 45:3)

Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD. (Jer 9:23-24)

That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, (Eph 3:16-20)

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Php 4:19)

Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; (1Ti 6:17)

Consider the lilies, how they grow: they toil not, neither do they spin; yet I say unto you, Even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God doth so clothe the grass in the field, which to-day is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven; how much more shall he clothe you, O ye of little faith? And seek not ye what ye shall eat, and what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: but your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. Yet seek ye his kingdom, and these things shall be added unto you. Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. (Luk 12:27-32)

For ye received not the spirit of bondage again unto fear; but ye received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. (Rom 8:15)

So that with good courage we say, The Lord is my helper; I will not fear: What shall man do unto me? (Heb 13:6)

There is no fear in love: but perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath punishment; and he that feareth is not made perfect in love. (1Jn 4:18)

And it may go without saying, but I'm also available for coaching, and donations are always welcome, too!

Truth vs Lies, the essence of Spiritual Warfare

2008-09-27T12:34:00.000-07:00

When I first felt the call to become an EFT practitioner, I thought or maybe decided that I'd offer it more as a secular or 'generic' EFT. So I took the EFT-CC and ADV exams, got the certificate(s) of completion; and figured if I just had myself listed as a practitioner then I'd be set. (The old 'if you build it they will come' scenario.) It turns out that Gary Craig's listings required that you have at least 50 (now 100 I think?) individual sessions before you could be listed. Apparently some of the people listed there weren't really even offering EFT, which is why the whole scheme was recently changed. So, I haven't been listed there. (Which goes to show that honesty doesn't always pay, but I'll stick with it anyway...)

So my practice, as it were, was going nowhere fast. Through prayer, I was led to research and write the EFT for SW booklet. I'd been researching SW for a few years anyway, but I hadn't thought to really tie the two together for public consumption. Near the end of the booklet I have a list from Clint Byar's book Devil Walk , of various lies the devil uses, along with God's truth as found in His Word. When I started the blog, and even somewhat since then, I keep having this thought of 'the truth vs the lie'. While I know that's important, from an EFT practitioner perspective, I wasn't quite sure how to reveal or discover the lie. I felt like I was floundering around and not really 'getting it'. [For those who don't understand the 'floundering around' reference -- Flounder is a type of fish, so imagine a newly caught fish on a deck or boat flopping around.]

In addition, I'd put forth my idea that there's a link between one's emotions and the spiritual realm, and felt like I'd really crawled out on a limb with that idea. But, I found nothing in scripture or elsewhere that convinced me that wasn't true. Since EFT is a great tool for emotional issues, I saw it as sort of a method of 'deliverance lite'. Now that I'm studying Theophostic Prayer Ministry (TPM), it's clearing up a lot of the questions or issues that had me floundering around. Essentially the premise is that a lot of our emotional turmoil is rooted in lie-based beliefs, and sometimes conflicting beliefs. This fits in perfectly with what I found in Dr. M. Scott Peck's Glimpses of the Devil , on pg 52 he writes: Some instinct told me that the attack [on the demonic spirits] would fail unless it could discern the roots of Jersey's nihilism and demonstrate each of them to be fallacious. And on pg 74 he writes: Each of the four demons we encountered ... represented a lie of sorts or a false pattern of thinking.

To tie that into TPM and the topic of spiritual warfare; I found the following in the TPM Basic Seminar Manual 2007 to be very helpful:

The cure-all for a person’s emotional distress is not exorcising demons. Demon oppression is rooted in the lie-based pain in the person’s mind. When the lies are removed and truth replaces the pain with His peace there is no basis for further oppression. ... If we deal with the reason the demons are there in the first place, they can be permanently removed without a battle. ... I am convinced that demonic oppression is nothing more than demons punching our lie-based “buttons” and triggering the pain that is already there. If this is so, then they are actually providing a helpful service if we will attend to what they have exposed. ... Truth resides in a spiritual realm. However, we live in a physical world, and it is more natural to see with our physical eyes and to evaluate things from this perspective. As life happens around us, we are prone to draw conclusions based on lie-based interpretations, and as a result suffer emotional distress. (pg 45)

Apparently, in earlier training for TPM, there was some focus on more of the 'traditional' spiritual warfare practices, i.e. binding demons and the like. Now the focus is on uncovering the lie-based beliefs, and resting in the finished work of Christ. Page 44 of the Manual says: Satan is no longer in the same place he was 2000 years ago before the cross. Hebrews 2:14 says he was “rendered powerless” through the death of Christ. Either he is powerless or he is not. We cannot have it both ways. If he is powerless, but yet expresses power in our ministry sessions then something is wrong. I suggest we look at what we believe. It makes no logical sense for us to celebrate the victory of Christ and yet continue in the fight. To which I say, amen!

Does that mean that I'm abandoning EFT in favor of TPM? No. They're both excellent tools. I mention an instance in my e-book, about pondering some frustration I was having, and how I had a sudden thought that 'I can't make it on my own' and a childhood memory came up; that I ended up tapping on. In relation to what I've learned with TPM, it was a spontaneous exposure of a lie-based belief and the memory-container where the lie originated. Ed Smith has made it clear that if you're using something else in addition to TPM, then he doesn't want you to call it 'Theophostic', which is certainly fair. My inclination right now is to use EFT for the emotions or areas where there is a high level of pain -- say a SUDS level of 8+; and then when the pain is reduced, move on to Theophostic. Also, EFT is often helpful for things that I wouldn't use TPM for, such as some knee pain I had a couple of months ago. I also haven't yet completed the requirements for being able to officially call myself a TPM facilitator -- so for now I'll just say that I will most likely include prayer in any ministry or coaching sessions, but still follow the TPM Guidelines.

Using Theophostic Prayer

2008-09-27T12:20:00.000-07:00

I wrote a few weeks ago about discovering Theophostic Prayer Ministry (not to be confused with Theosophy, which is a new-age philosophy), and after reading 'Healing Life's Hurts' I ordered the 2007 Basic Training, since the concepts are very much in line with what I've discovered through EFT and related spiritual warfare / discernment and Biblical studies. On one of the DVD's, Ed Smith says to take responsibility for your own painful emotions, as opposed to making it about other people or events. Just a few days before that, I'd asked a woman at church to pray for my ministry and I could tell from her response that she didn't believe I'd actually been called to this ministry. When she asked, I said things have been a little slow, as far as customers, but that I've only recently begun to feel more self-confident about it. (Doing web site support or other things at my current part-time job isn't quite as big a responsibility as putting myself out as a coach, but I've finally begun to trust that it's Jesus who is my / our Savior, and I can lean on Him, so I don't have to try and do it all under my own power... it had felt like it was more responsibility than I wanted to take on. After all, this is people's lives we're talking about! And of course the devil does his best to make me feel discouraged, etc.)

So I asked and she confirmed that no, she didn't believe it. That didn't feel good! It was sort of bugging me for a few days, since she's someone whose opinion I'd like to be favorable. So taking Ed Smith's advice, I decided to see if there were some memories with similar feelings attached to them, and I came up with 2 memories. The strongest and earliest one was where I'd been maybe 11 or 12 years old, and I was sitting at the dining room table writing a poem. My step-mother asked what I was doing and I told her, and though I hadn't finished the poem she wanted to see it. She decided immediately that I couldn't have written it, because it was too good. (!?) She was convinced I had to have copied it from a magazine -- though there was no magazine in sight; and started yelling at me to tell her where I'd copied it from. I kept saying I didn't copy it, I wrote it and then she showed it to one of my step-sisters and she also agreed I had to have copied it. That basically ended my poetry writing career, short as it was.

When I was thinking of that memory, I recalled an earlier memory from when I was in grade school (age 8 or so?), and our local library had a drawing contest -- and I won first prize! I had spent days on that drawing, after a couple of false starts. It's not like I'd hidden in a closet to do the drawing either, but I guess no one paid attention while I was drawing it. Because again, my step-mother didn't believe I'd drawn it and thought I copied it. So I was thrilled to have won (the prize was a copy of the book Charlotte's Web ), but there was this cloud of disapproval around it too. I was a little surprised that there was still a 'sting' left in these memories, because I'd already used EFT and tapped on them. So I discovered that the lie-based belief was that it's not o.k. to be who I am . When I asked the Lord for His truth about that belief, what He said was "I made you in my image." and the remaining sting of those memories is now gone. And my feelings about whether people believe me about this ministry are not great, but it doesn't feel so personal.

In fact, a couple of days ago I realized that the Lord had addressed the issue for me through scripture a couple of weeks before. I usually watch In Touch with Charles Stanley on Sunday mornings from 8-9am and then go to the 11am service at my church. On July 27, both Charles Stanley and my pastor had the same verse of scripture as part of their sermon, which is unusual -- so it really 'spoke to me'. That scripture was: Is 41:9 You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, And called from its remotest parts And said to you, 'You are My servant, I have chosen you and not rejected you.

Is 41:10 'Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.' (NASB) He really does know what we need before we ask!

I'm going to post another message about how all of this relates to spiritual warfare.

The Occultic Mindset of Spiritual Warfare

2008-09-15T17:46:00.001-07:00

Thought I'd share this article I just read on another blog. I'm going to put a very few comments [in brackets] in the article -- see below:

By Keith

Paul and Drew have both graciously shared a part of their spiritual journey with us. For myself, the area of the fringe that I became most involved with was spiritual warfare. For a season in my ministry I became deeply immersed in this teaching. I declared things in the heavenlies, attempted to discern the demons over my city, drove around my city claiming it for Jesus, anointed the chairs in our sanctuary on a regular basis, and bound Satan daily. I would be lying if I said that there wasn’t a part of me that really got in to this whole experience. I felt very important and very powerful. Even today, when discussing some of the things that I used to do, I have a strong feeling of power rise up in my body. It was very exciting. Until one day a very simple question refused to let go of me. “When did anyone in the Bible do this?”

That was the question that started me on an investigation of this teaching. Today I am confident that not only is this teaching not Biblical, it is actually occultic in nature. I don’t make that statement lightly. I have studied and written on the subjects of the New Age, Wicca and even tribal religion. The modern teaching on spiritual warfare has more in common with these practices than anything that can be found in the pages of the New Testament (that book that is supposed to teach us, among other things, how the church is to operate).

I should hasten to say that this is not an exclusively Charismatic issue. Evangelical writers like Neal Anderson and Mark Bubeck (incidentally one of the nicest guys you could ever hope to talk to) have done much damage to the body of Christ in this area. Bubeck’s books even include prayers for the Holy Spirit to search your blood stream, gastro-intestinal organs and other body systems for demons. (i.e. the demon of cholitis and I am not joking.)

Space will only allow for a small number of examples but perhaps these will cause readers to dig even further to determine if these teachings are truly from the Lord.

1. Manipulation of spiritual forces: One of the underlying assumptions of the occultic worldview is that all of life is connected by a spiritual force. The practice of magick is based on attempts to manipulate this force in order for the practitioner to create their own reality. Modern Word Faith teachers and spiritual warfare teachers unknowlingly have bought into the same mindset. For Word Faith teachers the monistic force is faith itself. Kenneth Copeland has frequently stated that faith is a force that even God uses to accomplish His purposes. David Yonggi Cho has stated that this force can even be used by non-believers which is why Buddhist monks sometimes get results. Many of the modern prophets have stated the same thing about the New Age. For many in the spiritual warfare community the force is more personal in the form of angels, demons and the Holy Spirit. While this may seem more biblical the fact remains that much of their efforts are aimed at manipulating these beings to their own ends. [A couple of the practices in New Age circles in 'keeping away dark spiritual forces' that I heard about is sprinkling salt outside windows and doors -- apparently they don't like salt? and also 'smudging' ; burning sage.]

It is out of this foundational belief that many other ancillary beliefs and practices arise. For instance words are seen as extremely powerful. Once again, in Word Faith circles, words are the containers of the force. What I confess I possess. If I say that I am going bald I will get more baldness. But if I confess that I have a full head of hair then that is what I will receive. This is what leads teachers like Marylin Hickey to teach us to, “Say to your wallet. Why you big fat wallet. You’re so full of money.” Of course, apparently it doesn’t work for her because she has to keep asking for donations. Similarly prophetic teachers like Victoria Boyson and Mike Bickle teach that when we criticize someone we are releasing and activating Satanic activity upon them and if we bless them we are releasing Holy Spirit activity. [I think there is some merit to the idea that words are powerful, but it's more along the lines of whether we build up or tear down ourselves or others, some of these ideas are 'over the top' and in the same vein as the 'law of attraction' ideas.]

This authority that is supposedly in words then leads to the increasingly popular binding and loosing and warfare in the heavenlies teachings. In this practice Satan and his forces are actually addressed and commanded in prayer. Their “strongholds” over cities are pulled down. Their strategies are foiled. They must leave the region. Authority is claimed by the Church and the Spirit is loosed.

Now, I hate to spoil the party. But is this really what Jesus was teaching in Matt. 16 when He said that whatever you bind on earth is bound in heaven? The answer is a decided “no”. Before discussing what binding and loosing really means, the evidence that modern spiritual warfare teachers cannot be correct in what they are teaching is easy to detect from the New Testament. The fact is simply this, NOWHERE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT IS SATAN EVER ADDRESSED IN PRAYER. Prayer is made to God. We do not have one single example of anyone in the New Testament ever engaging in this type of prayer. The only time that Satan or a demon is ever addressed by a believer is when they are being cast out of an individual. The historical fact is that binding and loosing were rabbinical terms that the apostles would have been familiar with that had to do with forbidding and permitting certain practices and which speaks to the apostle’s authority in laying the foundation for the practices of the church.

Christians are spending too much time shouting at the devil. And can someone please tell me, “What is the statute of limitations on binding the devil?” He seems to continually get loose! How long does it take to bind a demon and clear the heavenlies? This stuff has been going on over KC for over twenty years and yet 2005 was one of the worst years in our history for murder.

2. Ritual Magick. In the occult worldview, rituals can be performed in the physical that have ramifications in the spiritual. So a pin stuck in a voodoo doll can cause spiritual forces to work against an individual that can result in bodily injury. One of the most disturbing segments of the film, “Jesus Camp” was to see a teacher hand a hammer to children and tell them to go to the front and smash cups labelled “abortion”, “homosexuality” etc. etc. and by commanding the heavenlies and smashing the cups things would be broken in the spirit realm. Much of the same thing can be seen in many of the practices of anointing. Rebecca Brown teaches people to anoint the doors and windows of their homes so that demons don’t have any points of access to their homes.

3. Power Centers. In the occultic mindset, certain grounds are sacred. They may be possessed by either good or evil spirits. Some of these power centers may be taboo to all but the most highly initiated or they may be places to gather for worship because the power is strong. We have seen over the last two decades a number of these power centers emerge and diminish, Toronto, Pensacola, Smithton, etc. etc. Additionally, the modern teaching of spiritual portals by prophets like John Paul Jackson, Kathie Walters, Paul Keith Davis and many more has more in common with the occult than the bible despite the way they butcher the story of Jacob’s Ladder to try and make it fit.

4. The Devil Made Me Do It. The occultic world is all about spirits. Animism is all about spirits. Spirits are responsible for everything. Spirits must be placated. While it is certainly true that the Western mind tends to ignore the spiritual dimension and tends almost toward Deism, the modern spiritual warfare teachings are certainly an over-correction. If it rains on a church picnic it is the devil’s fault. Every sin is evidence of a “stronghold” that must be pulled down. The problem is that this silver bullet approach to holiness keeps the individual from dealing with what is often the true source of the problem, a carnal, rebellious heart. [That would tie into the emotions, wouldn't it?]

5. Shamanism. In the occult the shaman is the expert in the things of the spirit. He has visions of the spirit world and brings back information to the followers. Many of today’s so-called prophets are nothing more than shamen. People flock to them to hear of their visits to the otherworld and to act on the information that they bring back. This has opened a literal pandora’s box of new practices. What is particularly disturbing in the spiritual warfare scenario is that many of these practices were supposedly learned by interviewing demons!!!! Bubeck says that when we interview a demon we should ask, “Will this information stand as truth before the throne of God?” For some reason Bubeck believes that a demon can’t lie if you ask him in that way. But why would we ever seek to learn about the things of the Spirit from a liar and the father of lies?

Remember the question that I said started it all for me. “When did anyone in the Bible ever do this?” It’s a good question. It’s worth pondering the next time you are thinking about jumping into a new thing.

Emotions and evil spirits

2008-09-03T20:17:00.001-07:00

Here's a short but interesting article on Spirit Daily, and I wanted to share a couple of sentences because they tie demonic attacks to our emotions -- confirming some of what I've written. And of course, EFT can be a good tool to help calm the situation, along with prayer, of course!

"The evil spirits might attempt to afflict you with spirits of agitation and aggravation," explains the author, John LaBriola, in explaining methods of detection. "He will either try to excite, exaggerate, or deaden your emotions. All at once you get to the point where you become irritable and angry for seemingly no reason. Or you may find yourself flat, devoid of feeling."
"He'll play with your emotions and push your buttons to the point of distress and distraction, agitation, or apathy," writes the author. "He'll use either end of the spectrum to try and lure you into the sins of despair or presumption."

Let's Hear It For The GOP!

2008-08-30T17:02:00.001-07:00

Since the Republican National Convention is next week and I've been a little negligent in blogging lately -- I wanted to share the following article :

Let's Hear It For The GOP!
by Chuck Baldwin
March 25, 2008

I think it is time that we all stood up and gave the Republican Party a big round of applause. I mean, they have done us all a huge favor. By an overwhelming majority, the GOP has prevented a potential plague from enveloping these United States of America, and I think it is time that we acknowledged it. Yes, the GOP stopped a potential catastrophe. Without the combined efforts of millions of Republicans, there is no telling what kind of disaster might have ensued. Let's hear it for the GOP! Hip Hip Hooray!

For a few minutes there, I thought the GOP might have lost its mind, but I am glad to report that all is well with the Republican Party. The international bankers and oil companies, and the military-industrial complex, as well as the presidents of Mexico and Canada, can breathe easy. With John McCain as the presumptive Republican nominee, the globalist power brokers who have dominated the last three Presidential administrations can know that they are still in charge. There will be no changing of the guard this November.

It was scary there for a while. You see, there was this kook who was running for the Republican nomination that had the potential to upset the applecart real good. But thankfully, the fine people within the GOP rose to the occasion and beat back the attempts of his nutty supporters to vault him to the nomination.

After all, just think what would have taken place if this kook Ron Paul had won the Republican nomination for President. This nut case actually believes that the U.S. Constitution is the supreme law of the land. Imagine that. That means he would never take America to war except with a Declaration of War by Congress. Think how such a thing would prevent America's meddling and interventionism worldwide. Think of the billions and even trillions of tax dollars that would not need to be spent overseas. Think of how much money Halliburton would lose. Think of how much money the Federal Reserve bankers would lose by not being able to loan money to the U.S. government. It is too ghastly to think about.

Furthermore, this Ron Paul nut might have actually insisted that the federal government declare unborn babies to be "persons" under the law. Think of it. This would mean that every unborn baby would have the immediate protection of law. And this would have happened without the necessity of appointing a single Supreme Court justice. Whew! The Republican Party dodged a bullet on that one. Now they can continue to talk about being "pro-life" for the next thirty years in order to fool Christian conservatives into voting for them without having to actually do anything about it.

This Ron Paul kook would also have put a stop to the incessant spying on the American people by their own federal government. Egad! This Paul character would have set America back two hundred years. Think of it. No more illegal wiretaps. No more reading private emails, letters, and telegrams. No more harassment by the BATFE of law-abiding firearms dealers for honest errors in paperwork. No more using the wars on "terror" and "drugs" to violate the Fourth Amendment. Think of the money that would be lost by the feds not confiscating the private property of the American people.

In addition, if this Ron Paul nut had actually become President, he might have succeeded in abolishing the Internal Revenue Service and overturning the Sixteenth Amendment. Holy Horrors! Can you imagine the tragedy that would have ensued? No more income taxes. No more tax forms to fill out. No more IRS agents arresting hard-working citizens for "tax evasion." No more government tracking of our private financial transactions. Think of the US attorneys whose services would no longer be necessary. Imagine that. The federal government would actually be required to live within its means; it could no longer raise taxes, because there would be no more taxes to raise.

And if all of the above is not bad enough, this Ron Paul kook would actually demand that the federal government obey the Tenth Amendment. This, all by itself, would reduce the size and scope of the federal government by at least fifty percent. Imagine if the American people suddenly had the federal government out of their pocketbooks and off their backs? What would they do with all that newfound freedom? It is too scary to contemplate.

Do not worry, however. Thanks to the fine men and women of the Republican Party, John McCain will carry their standard into the November elections. Yes, my dear friends, David Rockefeller and his fellow travelers at the Council on Foreign Relations can rest easy. Should McCain win the general election, they will retain their influence in the White House. Indeed, we can all rest easier knowing that John McCain will be the Republican nominee for President.

After all, John McCain will see to it that our borders and ports remain open to illegal aliens. In fact, a McCain Presidency will ensure that illegal aliens become permanent U.S. citizens. Or better yet, that the U.S. and Mexico will be merged into a North American Community, thus eliminating the need for U.S. citizenship altogether. This will greatly help the Chamber of Commerce and Big Business. Think of the money they can save by hiring cheap Mexican labor. Think of the plants and factories that can be moved to Mexico. Think of the cheap Chinese goods that can be loaded onto Mexican trucks from Mexican ports and shipped into the United States on the NAFTA superhighways.

And did I mention the advantage a John McCain Presidency will provide to incumbents in future elections? Because John McCain does not believe in the U.S. Constitution, the First Amendment means nothing to him. This is good, because he can use the bully pulpit of the Presidency to promote his McCain/Feingold bill that would make it illegal for citizens to voice their concerns and opinions regarding the voting records of incumbents during a general election. That means those sinister organizations such as the National Rifle Association and Gun Owners of America will no longer be able to publicly promote their views regarding the anti-Second Amendment voting records of congressmen and senators.

That Ron Paul kook would never have tolerated such a law as McCain/Feingold. But thanks to the fine men and women of the Republican Party, we do not need to worry about these little inconveniences such as the First and Second Amendments (or any of the other articles within the Bill of Rights, for that matter), because they wisely selected John McCain to be their standard-bearer.

Furthermore, because the good men and women of the GOP decided to nominate John McCain, we can look forward to one hundred years of war in the Middle East. We can all anticipate the opportunity of sending our troops into harm's way all over the world to promote the interests of international corporations, nation-building, and other U.N. machinations.

Had that nut Ron Paul been elected, he would have practiced a non-interventionist foreign policy. He would have sought peace with all nations. And, instead of preemptively invading foreign countries, he would have dealt constitutionally with terrorists, resulting in their capture or death, the protection of America, the absence of long-term war, and the respect of nations throughout the world. Furthermore, that nut Paul would have refused to use U.S. forces to do the bidding of the United Nations and other international entities.

However, we do not need to worry about old-fashioned, out-of-date ideas such as constitutional government, conservative principles, or common sense, because the fine men and women of the Republican Party wisely chose John McCain as their presumptive Presidential nominee. Yes, indeed. Let's hear it for the GOP!

*If you enjoyed this column and want to help me distribute these editorial opinions to an ever-growing audience, donations may now be made by credit card, check, or Money Order. Use this link:

http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/donate.php

© Chuck Baldwin

This column is archived as http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2008/cbarchive_20080325.html

Speaking 'Shoat'

2008-08-21T17:30:00.001-07:00

Excellent blog post , here are a few of the paragraphs:

I finally understand why Jesus didn't allow His time to be monopolized by Pharisees. He simply dismissed them and walked away. He wasn't willing to water down the message so they could get it and He wasn't about to try to explain it to them because doing so is impossible. He actually protected the message from the Pharisees in the same way that I might protect my children from an unsafe person. The problem with today's institutional system of American Christianity is that we have taken a heart-message and we've turned it into a head-religion. Because we need the money to make the Church payroll, we have found a way to include both those who get it and those who don't. We have successfully moved the sheep and the goats into the same house. The real catastrophe is that they've started breeding with one another and now we have a generation of "Shoats," people who half get it and half don't. The result of this is that the message becomes compromised and contaminated. I now understand fully why Jesus was so protective of in the first place.

Jesus identified the goats right away by their response to His teachings. In fact, His teachings were delivered in such a way that they would specifically root out the goats from the sheep. If you close your eyes and listen to the sound of sheep and goats, it's almost impossible to tell them apart. We actually used a baby goat in our Church Easter Pageant one year because we couldn't find a baby lamb, and you know what? Not a single person knew the difference. Jesus, however, found a way to catch the goats and winnow them. He placed "goat traps" all around the message. It had no effect on the sheep but would stop the goats dead in their tracks. When Jesus was finished with His sermon, He would walk through the field and collect all the goats that were caught in the goat traps and dismiss them. The goat traps were nothing more than illustrations that the goats couldn't swallow. While everyone else chewed them up, swallowed them and went on to see and experience the glorious truth that He came to show them, the goats grabbed their throats, doubled over along side of the road, gagging and coughing on an illustration and ended up missing the entire heart of the message. When confronted by one of the sheep as to why He did this to the goats, Jesus said, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand." (Luke 8:10)

It was brilliant. He spoke in metaphors and parables because "head-thinkers" can't get beyond them in order to behold the truth. Metaphors and parables become a vault that protects the truth from those who would certainly defile the message if they came anywhere close to it. The metaphor would be so outlandish that only the heart-people could see past it. While the head thinking goats were choking to death from trying to figure out how a man could crawl back up into his mother's womb, how gross it would be to eat Jesus' flesh and blood, the heart-thinking sheep were frolicking in the grass of salvation and relationship with God. Unfortunately, today's version of Christianity has adopted both head and heart principles so that everyone can join, even with partial understanding. The results are devastating. No one frolics in the grass of salvation. Instead, they merely stand in line at the feeding trough with hollow looks in their eyes, waiting patiently for their pastor to dump the slop in front of them. ...

"Shoats" are an interesting breed. Some are sheep who were raised by goats and others are goats who were raised by sheep. In my opinion, the latter are the most impossible to deal with. I have found that the best way to separate the sheep-shoats from the goat-shoats is to set them all free. The goats-shoats will either attack you out of anger for opening their cage, or they'll run back into a life of sin. The sheep-shoats, however, will thank you and immediately recognize their need for freedom. They'll run nowhere. They will simply graze close to the shepherd because that's where they choose to be.

Another way to separate them is to speak the language of love. Only sheep recognize this language. It's totally foreign to goats. Sheep-shoats recognize it in their hearts even though they've never spoken it before and goat-shoats get angry when they hear it because their head cannot understand a word of it. The truth is encapsulated "in love" so that those who do not love cannot retrieve it.

If you are worried that you might be a goat-shoat, you probably aren't. The very fact that you even care is proof that you have sheep blood running through your veins. If you're angry because you think I'm accusing you of being a goat-shoat, and you need to see a Scripture with the word "shoat" in it for you to grant validity to this post, you're probably a goat-shoat.

I believe that the Free Believers movement taking place all over the world is a great way of separating sheep from goats. ONLY sheep can survive outside the pen. The goats cannot follow us to where we are because they'll run out of breath or starve to death. Surviving in the wild takes all heart in order to make it. It's either sink or swim out here. Learning to live in the wild is one thing, but reclaiming your identity as a heart-thinker sometimes takes years.

Using EFT when a specific word triggers you

2008-08-16T14:26:00.001-07:00

Here's an interesting article from the EFT Insights e-newsletter, and while it has some 'new age' or non-Christian leanings; it has some good information. I'm going to quote the parts that are applicable regardless of one's faith (and it also ties in to some of the premises behind TPM or Theophostic Prayer which I'm going to write more about later).

By Jo Hainsworth

When I commented to a friend recently that I was struggling with reading a book because of the word ‘God’ appearing in it regularly, she suggested I try using EFT on it. Despite being a real advocate for EFT, after seeing amazing results for myself and others, I hadn’t even considered this as a possibility. This article details the process that I followed. It was just incredible how this netted amazing results in a very short time. I’m sure that you could use the same process with any other word that causes a negative reaction. If I had rated my reaction to the word when I started it would have been a level of intensity of 10 out of 10, and having done the EFT, I would now say it is a 0 out of 10.

I began by listing down all the memories I have of things that could have given me a bias against the word ‘God’. I didn’t think I’d have much to write down, as I was brought up without any religion at all, but soon had a list of 7 things that stood out as experiences with the word or concept of God that could have potentially left me with an issue with it. My intention at the start was to work through tapping each of the 7 experiences over a number of days, then trying some reframing using Wayne Dyer’s 7 Faces of Intention/God which I intellectually liked when I read them, but had been unable to really buy into because of my negative reaction to the word.
I next decided to tap the earliest memory, because experience working as an EFT practitioner has taught me that if we can collapse the earliest event that resulted in us taking on a belief, all the other events that simply reinforced that belief often tend to resolve soon after. The earliest memory I had was of being told about a man who lived nearby to us who was said to be doing something very cruel that resulted in a number of animals dying, who went to church each Saturday to Confession. As I started working with this event, a vow that I had made when I was about 9 or 10, and never consciously thought of again since, popped into my mind. I could suddenly clearly remember thinking “If God is OK with that sort of cruelty, so long as you go to church and confess it, I’m not having anything to do with God!”

I know from working with others (and from the Stephen Daniels in the Using EFT for Chronic Diseases DVD) that a vow made as a child or young person can alter the course of our lives, so I decided to tap not only on the event itself, and my memories surrounding it, but also the vow too. I started with tapping on the event, and while I hadn’t thought about it for over 25 years, found myself crying and feeling quite emotional. I tapped through all the emotions and words that came up for me, and by the time I’d finished tapping on the event, I realised that the person involve just didn’t know any better. No longer a monster in my mind, they became someone who simply lacked awareness. I then moved onto the vow, tapping on:

Even though I made a vow that day that if that's what God was like, I wouldn’t have anything to do with him, I now choose to recognise that God was misrepresented that day and to let the vow go. ... This was no longer an intellectual thought, after simply tapping the choices statement to set up my intention, the earliest memory and the vow that had come up as a result of it, my entire attitude towards the word ‘God’ had changed. As I couldn’t get any charge on any of the remaining issues on the list, it felt totally redundant to do any tapping on any of them.

I know I've had instances where I've blamed God, or been mad at Him and then tapped on it. Of course I also had to tap on feeling like it wasn't even o.k. to be mad at Him, but then I realized He already knows how I feel. Then after I tap on it I can see whatever the issue is more objectively or better yet, from His perspective (through scripture and/or prayer).

Tables of Comparison of Selected Scriptures

2008-08-01T13:03:00.001-07:00

I happened to be looking for something in my bookmarks, and as so often happens I ran across something else. It is as the title above states, a Table of Comparison of Selected Scriptures -- it compares various verses of the KJV, RV, NASB, NIV and NKJV translations. It's laid out very well, so I thought I'd share it here for those of you who may be interested.

At my church, my pastor reads from the NKJV (New King James Version), and I read from the NASB, so I sometimes notice differences and make notations if it looks like there's a big difference between the two.

I admit I haven't done any deep study on the topic. At home I have a larger KJV that I read along with the NASB, fwiw.

In Defense of Theophostic

2008-07-19T14:54:00.001-07:00

To add to the article I just posted about Theophostic, I wanted to point to another article I just found, with the same title as this post. It sounds to me like some of the underpinnings of this are very similar to what EFT does. Here's one part in particular I wanted to note:

Some Christians are suspicious of Theophostic® because it uses some truth that psychologists have discovered. For example, it acknowledges that we are complex human beings, and our present way of experiencing life is heavily predicated on our early childhood experiences.

And this ties into what many EFT practitioners have found, and in the arena of spiritual warfare, in at least a few books I've read, it is noted that it is frequently through significant traumatic or emotional events that the demonic gains access.

Overall I really enjoyed the article, and will be spending more time exploring this topic.

New to me - Theophostic Prayer

2008-07-19T11:57:00.001-07:00

I exchanged some messages from someone on a discussion group for Christian EFT Practitioners (on Yahoo), and she mentioned Theophostic prayer ministry (TPM). I had heard of it, but hadn't really looked into it. So I did a search and found an article titled A Biblical Evaluation of Theophostic Ministry that I want to comment on.

Some of the quotes taken from the founder of TPM, Dr. Smith, I very much agree with. I suspect most EFT practitioners, regardless of faith, would also agree. Here's a sample:

"Recovery is not building strong defenses against the lies or controlling undesirable behavior. Genuine recovery is freedom from the lies that control and dictate such behavior" (Genuine Recovery, p.10).

"If a person is truly recovered, then relapse should not be a concern…" (Genuine Recovery, p.12).

The article goes on to say:

That Theophostic offers new "methods" is indisputable. But that it offers new "applications" (presumably of Scripture) would be hard to establish. The proposal that Jesus Christ must directly reveal to a struggler the specific lie he is believing (not through Scripture or through bringing Scripture to mind, but directly) — that He does this only as painful memories are re-visited — and that Jesus himself must then personally refute that lie in that person’s heart, not merely in general but while the person is recalling the life context in which he began embracing that lie — these are not notions derived from a study of Scripture. They are new revelation.

I say it is not a new revelation, it is entirely scriptural if you take into account the spiritual side of the equation. And EFT has a similar approach, though EFT helps relieve the emotional 'hold' that keeps the lie in place, from my perspective. I'll probably expand on that in another article, but it's basically my premise behind using EFT as a tool in spiritual warfare. I think that would be in agreement with

Luk 8:35 ESV
(35) Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. (emphasis added)

I think, from some of what's in the article, that it's written from a Reformed / Calvinist theology, which I don't hold. It appears to me that TPM is predicated on the Holy Spirit speaking directly to a believer, and that it's a form of deliverance (though they may not call it that, it'll be a bit before I have a better grasp of that.) However, in this article the author appears not to believe that the Holy Spirit speaks directly to believers, even though that belief is unscriptural. I think they believe that the following passages only applied to the Apostles at pentacost and now they don't apply.

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; (Joh 14:16 KJV)

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. (Joh 14:26 KJV)

Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. (Joh 16:7 KJV)

Here's the part of the article that talks of the Holy Spirit:

So what do people need? "They need an experience." People need Jesus Christ to talk directly to their souls. This is not the secret work of the Holy Spirit, blowing like the wind, regenerating a person or strengthening him with power in his inner being (Ephesians 3:16).
This is the second person of the Trinity, the Son of God, directly speaking extra-biblical (although not anti-biblical) content into the person’s heart."

So to the author's way of thinking, the Holy Spirit does a 'secret work' and not according to the following verse of scripture: (13) When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. (14) He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. (Joh 16:13-14 ESV) However, the author at least says it isn't anti-biblical. It's a long article, but there's just one more part of it that I want to comment on, which also reveals the Reformed point of view, and ties in with a previous blog article I wrote. Here's a quote from the latter part of the Theophostic article:

Then why does it work?
We might ask, "Suppose Theophostic is shown to be in error — how do
we explain that it often seems to help people?" God alone can answer this. But two suggestions follow. [...]
Do any of these cases prove that the supplicants’ methods were justified? Not at all. They prove only that God sometimes responds generously to our misguided — or even sinful — approaches toward him. Many people no doubt pray sincerely during Theophostic sessions. God is at liberty to answer any of them with mercy, even while his Word demonstrates the error of their approach.

Second,in many cases people may merely be imagining that Christ speaks to them or that they receive divine help. The power of suggestion is very strong. [He then goes on to quote from a book titled Abnormal Psychology about the power of suggestion. Which begs the question of whether the field of psychology even acknowledges the spiritual realm -- but that's another topic I won't address here.]

What I do want to address is the statement: "God sometimes responds generously to our misguided — or even sinful — approaches toward him." and "God is at liberty to answer any of them with mercy, even while his Word demonstrates the error of their approach."

The above statements seem to imply, at least to me, that there is a 'right way' to approach God, outside of being a believer in the finished work of Jesus Christ. I think that idea borders on witchcraft, where you have to say the 'right words' and perform the 'right actions' to (allegedly) get results. I wanted to respond with the following verses of scripture that came to mind when I read that, which to me are in direct opposition to the premise:

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. (Heb 4:16 KJV)

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Heb 11:6 KJV)

Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. (Jer 29:12-13 KJV)

That's my response to this article, though I'll probably have more on TPM.

More on Todd Bentley

2008-07-08T18:22:00.001-07:00

Here is an excellent article about TB and the 'Florida outpouring'. It's a pretty long article, so I'm just going to give the link (above) -- it has some information that I hadn't seen before and it's well worth reading.

Time to 'Get Real'

2008-07-08T17:26:00.001-07:00

This is from an article titled Authentic Spirituality The whole article is worth reading , it's a bit long - here's a few paragraphs:

I think we do this because deep in our hearts we're trying to sell Jesus to the public. We attempt to make Him out to be more than He is in an effort to spark interest. We present "life with Jesus" as though it's a continuous mountain-top experience that comes with batteries included and a life-time guarantee. If this isn't your personal experience with Him, something is wrong with your spirituality. Sadly, the result of this pattern of exaggeration is that people chase a carrot that is always just out of reach and then become depressed and disillusioned.

Let me be the first to say that the reason you can't find the peace and joy and freedom that you've heard about is because it doesn't exist. At least not in the way it's been presented. The Christian life as advertised to you is a lie! The promises and claims that were made to you about Jesus were nothing but a list of sales tactics to close the deal. After all, who would reject eternal happiness and contentment? Who in their right mind would walk away from a Jesus who could make all their problems go away overnight? Who would say no to instantaneous freedom and victory? Especially when it's as easy as 1, 2, 3. Rattle off a quick sinner's prayer and you're on your way to a life of constant adventure and roller-coaster spirituality.

I think there is something to be said for the way Jesus presented Himself 2000 years ago. He rode into the city on the back of an ass. Now that resonates with my life! I get this real and raw picture in my mind, "Life on an Ass," and it rings true. Maybe it's not a popular concept with the Christian world, but the fact is, life is humdrum. There are "up" days and there are "down." There are times of purpose and times of purposelessness. There are extended times when there is clear direction and you know where you're going and then there are times when you just sit and stare at the walls and go nowhere. Life with Jesus is not filled with a continuous vibration of exhilaration and adventure. Scripture never promised that to us.

The Faith of a Mustard Seed

2008-07-05T15:34:00.001-07:00

IT IS OKAY TO BE "TROUBLESOME"

One, mustard seed grows every place in the world...in cold climates as well as hot ones. It can grow in any type of soil. It is disease-resistant and hardy. It comes in four different kinds of color: yellow, white, brown and black. And it is described as a TROUBLESOME seed. That word TROUBLESOME caught my immediate attention! Something clicked! For then I remembered the story of the unjust judge:

"There was in a city a judge which feared not God, neither regarded man, and there was a widow in that city, and she came unto him, saying. Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for awhile but afterward he said within himself, though I fear not God nor regard man, yet because this widow TROUBLETH me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find FAITH on the earth?"

Here was a revelation! The mustard seed certainly caused that farmer a lot of trouble...because it kept on multiplying and multiplying, just as that woman kept nagging that judge night and day about her case! And Jesus had linked her act of being persistent with FAITH!! The word "weary me" in this scripture is described as a "pugilist" (prize fighter) constantly pounding somebody in the eye! What does a prize fighter get in the ring to do? To win...by keeping up the blows until the opponent goes down and he wins the bout!

Mustard seed, when crushed, sets off a pungent odor...it also stings and hurts! It definitely gets your attention! And Jesus had used an unjust judge in this illustration to tell us that we have a JUST judge...our God! And would He not avenge us of our adversaries, our problems, our situations if we too could have this same kind of persistence? I had now discovered why Jesus had linked mustard seed to faith...it was hidden in that story of the unjust judge! He even closed out the discourse by saying, "When the Son of Man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8). Mustard-seed faith?

See the rest of the article here.

Florida 'revival' - using discernment

2008-07-04T12:26:00.000-07:00

Here's a good video that offers some sound advice (imho). It's about 10 minutes long. Also, given something he says near the beginning of the video, I wanted to share an experience I had before I posted the 1st post about this so-called revival in Florida. I'd been praying for discernment, and I was getting something in the kitchen prior to reading an article on the Apostasy Watch web site-- and I clearly heard a threatening voice behind me warning me to 'stop researching this'.
Prior to that, I wasn't particularly planning to post anything here about the 'revival' or 'outpouring', whatever they're calling it this week; since no one had actually asked for my opinion. BUT, since some demonic voice was trying to get me to stop researching I decided after I read the article to post about it, too.

Also, here's a link to the video I'd just watched when I saw the video above on the sidebar, and watched it. Pray for protection before watching it, if you watch it. I haven't watched many of these, but for some reason I did this one, and one thing I noticed was TB giving what I call the 'devil's hi sign' or it's also called devil's horns, at 2:14 into the video (total time for this one is about 6 minutes). And, he gives the sign with his left hand, and the church of satan calls itself 'the left hand way'. The implications are not good, to put it mildly.

GRACE - it's just not fair

2008-06-26T17:22:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share this video - just 3 minutes; and it almost brought tears to my eyes!

More on EFT and Christians

2008-06-20T14:24:00.000-07:00

I just updated the article on my website (link in title above) about whether EFT is ok for Christians?, and wanted to post some of that here, in relation to acupuncture:
In the book They Shall Expel Demons , Derek Prince tells of a Chinese doctor in Malaysia as follows, leading to the inescapable conclusion that acupuncture is not something a Christian should engage in or practice:

About eight years ago, at a retreat in Singapore, God spoke to me about the dangers of acupuncture and its link to the occult, especially its inseparable origin with traditional Chinese religion. I immediately renounced my practice of acupuncture - a skill I learned in Hong Kong and practiced successfully for five years.
... I gathered all my machines, needles, books, diploma and charts and made a great bonfire of them publicly. The total cost of the items was about $15,000-- but the blessings after that were priceless because:

1. My wife, who had suffered from chronic migraine and had acupuncture, done by me many times before, was immediately healed without medicine or prayer.
2. My unexplained fear of darkness immediately vanished.
3. My medical practice, instead of suffering a loss, received a doublefold increase in blessings. [i]

There are 3 more paragraphs of the letter, well worth reading. After reading this (June 2008), I again became concerned about using EFT, since I obviously don't want to be involved in something that would be spiritually dangerous, and it is nominally based on the acupuncture meridian system. So I prayed, being ready to renounce EFT publically, along with re-doing this article and re-thinking this ministry. Had I been deceived? I slept on it, and when I woke up I remembered my dilemna and prayer, and here's what I believe the Lord revealed to me: 'The training for acupuncture involves many hours of study, and that study involves a good deal of the spiritual basis of the practice. However, one can learn EFT without any particular spiritual basis behind it.' Essentially leading to the conclusion that I can continue with the EFT work. However, I am also open to the thoughts of other believers on this topic.

[i]
Prince, Derek They Shall Expel Demons © 1998 by Derek Prince, Chosen Books, Grand Rapids MI,(Sixteenth Printing March 2008),pg 135.

The devil loves to take over those who hold political office

2008-06-11T19:39:00.000-07:00

Here's an interesting article I thought I'd pass on --

Famous exorcist: 'The devil loves to take over those who hold political office'

Fr. Gabriele Amorth - Rome, Jun 6, 2008 / 11:10 am

In an interview with the magazine "Maria Mensajera," famous Italian exorcist Father Gabriele Amorth said, "Everybody is vulnerable to the work of Satan" and that "the devil loves to take over those who hold political office."

The Spanish daily "La Razon" published the interview in an article by Alexander Smoltczyk in which the 82 year-old priest describes what happens in an exorcism. He said he has performed more than 70,000.

"Evil exists in politics, quite often in fact," Father Amorth said. "The devil loves to take over business leaders and those who hold political office. Hitler and Stalin were possessed. How do I know? Because they killed millions of people. The Gospel says: 'By their fruits you will know them.' Unfortunately, an exorcism on them would not have been enough, since they were convinced of what they were doing. We can't say it was a possession in the strict sense of the word, but rather a total and voluntary acceptance of the suggestions of the devil."

"I tell those who come to see me to first go to a doctor or a psychologist," the priest continued. "Most of the time there is a physical or psychological basis for explaining their suffering. The psychiatrists send me the incurable cases. There is no rivalry. The psychiatrist determines if it is an illness, the exorcist if it is a curse," Father Amorth explained.

Nobody, he went on, not even himself, is "safe from the devil. Everyone is vulnerable." "The devil is very intelligent. He retains the intelligence of the angel that he was."

"Suppose, for example, that someone you work with is envious of you and casts a spell on you. You would get sick. 90 percent of the cases that I deal with are precisely spells. The rest are due to membership in satanic sects or participation in séances or magic. If you live in harmony with God, it is much more difficult for the devil to possess you," Father Amorth stated.

"The Pope supports exorcists," he explained, but "satanic sects are proliferating," and for this reason Father Amorth said his calendar for the next two months is full."I work seven days a week, from morning until night, including Christmas Eve and Holy Week," he said.

An article about EFT for Christians

2008-06-10T17:49:00.001-07:00

I was testing search engine keywords for my website, and one of the results was this article which adds a good perspective to the question. The title for the article is: Is EFT Appropriate for Christians? by Sally Creed, on the Family Christian Counseling Center website. Enjoy!

The Florida revival - 'real deal' or demonic deception?

2008-05-25T18:20:00.000-07:00

Like some of you have probably seen, I've seen some articles online about the 'Lakeland Revival' happening in Florida. Prior to this, I'd not really heard of Todd Bentley. Some of the articles I'd read are not very flattering, but on the other hand if this IS a 'move of God' and people are really being healed, then I didn't want to write against it. Mostly what I've done is to pray for discernment and that if it is a demonic deception, that God make that clear to me and more importantly to those of His children that are in the middle of it. I live on the other side of the country from where this 'revival' is going on, and I don't have God.tv; so except for reading a few articles I've mostly ignored it.

Since one of the main topics of this blog is spiritual warfare, and discernment and demonic activity very much relate to spiritual warfare, I decided to post what I've come up with. My answer to the question posed in the title is: demonic deception. Over a year ago, close to 2 years ago perhaps, I subscribed to the email list for 'Extreme Prophetic' with Patricia King. I'd seen some of her video's on her website and some of them had some good info. (She's more lately turned almost exclusively to the 'glory' and manifestations of this 'glory' -- and the word that came to mind when I prayed for discernment about that was 'sorcery'; but otherwise I'll leave it at that.)

On May 20 I received an email from XPMedia with the title:

Revival is for YOU and it is for NOW! Grab Hold of the Spirit of Revival and Bring it to Your Region!

I thought that was kind of interesting and sort of creepy & scary at the same time. So, I sent an email quoting part of the email as follows:

On Tue, May 20, 2008 at 8:52 AM, EXTREME PROPHETIC - XPMEDIA <patriciakinginjesus...> wrote:
<In addition to the powerful presence of God, and all the miracles, there are two things that really jump out about the revival going on in Lakeland. The first is that the Spirit of Revival moving there is so impartable. Everyone who comes back from Lakeland feels the Lord has told them to give it away, give it away, give it away! The second thing that jumps out is that it seems to be God's plan for this to be a revival that spreads!>
I have a question, if we have the Holy Spirit, why do we need a 'Spirit of Revival' ?? Is this one of the gifts of the Spirit? The fact that this 'spirit' is 'so impartable' makes my discernment antennae go up. Are they 'giving it away' with or without the gospel being preached? Is it for believers only, or are non-believers receiving this 'spirit' too?

I am in prayer about it, and hope it's for real, but there's a creepiness about it that gives me pause.

Here's the response I received, from Ruth Ripley at xpmedia:

Well, the spirit of revival is just an igniting of our spirits to get out there and do the “stuff”………it’s not like a 'real spirit' whereas the HOLY SPIRIT is actually real.

How's that for a non-response?

The following article is what finally convinced me that this 'move' is a demonic deception, below is a pivotal quote from an article: Todd Bentley Imports Anti-Christ Spirit

Based on the Holy Bible, Todd Bentley could not be imparting the Holy Spirit of GOD, since one human cannot impart the Holy Spirit to another, nor anoint one with the Holy Spirit. It shows in the Holy Bible, however, that one can impart demons. In Revelation 16:
12 Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. 13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
As I thought and thought about why on earth Todd Bentley would blow on people when he does this impartation…this verse soon came to mind. What on earth is in Todd Bentley that he not only wants to touch you to give it to you, but needs to blow it on you, too? My guess is that unclean spirits have possessed Todd Bentley and are spreading themselves among the willing. What on earth could all of those convulsions be about. Does Todd Bentley want us to believe that when the Holy Spirit manifests, He makes you shake your head from side to side, swing your arms wildly and fall backwards seemingly unconscious? [Might I also mention the uncontrollable laughter, twitching; literally behaving like an animal and making strange, guttural sounds?]

In addition, here some more good articles here: click on 'what's new' and then the link for The Florida 'Revival'.

The ones I'd recommend are 'Warning about watching 'revival' videos' by Joseph Urban; as well as 'Most 'contagious' anointing' by Andrew Strom.

Addition to post Wed May 28, 2008

Apparently Todd Bentley claims to have visitations from 'angels'; most notably one called Emma O and another one related to the Florida Revival is called Winds of Change .
The most important question would be: are these angels of God? Or demonic spirits? I haven't done a thorough study of the Bible in relation to angels, but from what I've gathered they are NOT called upon by us to increase our finances or to do healing. If, in response to a prayer to our Heavenly Father, He sends an angel on an assignment, or to communicate a message, that's all well and good.

So I wanted to share the following passage of scripture that appears to me to relate to this issue.

Col 2:18 Let no one defraud you by acting as an umpire {and} declaring you unworthy {and} disqualifying you for the prize, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, taking his stand on visions [he claims] he has seen, vainly puffed up by his sensuous notions {and} inflated by his unspiritual thoughts {and} fleshly conceit, [From the Amplified Bible ]

Destined to Reign - Grace has a name!

2008-05-16T09:48:00.001-07:00

I previously wrote about reading a book called Destined to Reign by pastor Joseph Prince. Due to previous mental programming, I thought that maybe the title was a little presumptuous. But that's o.k., because He is faithful to show the way, one step at a time. And, it's also scriptural --

Rom 5:17 KJVA
(17) For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; [meaning Adam] much
more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness
shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

and closely following that verse:

Rom 5:21 KJVA
(21) That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

As I was reading the book, I came to page 149 where it discusses Romans 8:1, where the KJV says:

Rom 8:1 KJVA
(1) There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

So many (including myself) have come to the understanding that IF you walk after the Spirit, there is no condemnation; but IF you walk after the flesh, there IS condemnation. When I was growing up, my 1st step-mother would either threaten or proclaim that some 'wrong' action had put you on her 'shit-list'. Some days, it didn't take much more than having a pulse to put you there - seriously! So my view of God was somewhat colored by that, wondering if I was on or off that list. How wonderful to begin to glimpse the Truth of His grace.

In addition to e-Sword (electronic Bible); I have a print copy of the King James version and an NASB, as well as a Lamsa translation and the Jewish New Testament translation by David H. Stern. So before I finished reading pg 149 in Destined to Reign, I jumped up and got my NASB Bible and read that it says:

Rom 8:1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ
Jesus.

[period]

Then I turned the page, and see that on pg 150 Joseph Prince has the NASB translation there, too. Wow, that's amazing, was what I thought. Now I know there's some controversy about the different translations, and there's the 'King James only' crowd, so take a look at this discussion about that, in relation to this passage, if you'd like.

In case you're wondering, here's a couple of other translations:

There is therefore no condemnation to them who walk in the flesh after the
Spirit of Jesus Christ. (Romans 8:1 - Lamsa translation)

And in the Jewish New Testament it reads:

Therefore there is no longer any condemnation awaiting those who are in union
with the Messiah Yeshua.

As I was pondering this insight, the Spirit had me look up the following passage, in effect He's confirming the NASB (and similar) translations:

Joh 3:17-18 KJVA
(17) For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
(18) He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Notice it says 'He [or in my case she] that believeth on him is not condemned:...' with no qualifiers! (in verse 3:10 it says: "Jesus answered and said unto him..." and then it goes on. So if you have a 'red letter' Bible, John 3:17 and 18 are written in red!) So what Paul wrote to the Romans was and is in agreement with the words that Jesus himself spoke, and there is no higher authority!

As Joseph Prince says (I've watched some of his YouTube videos) - Hallelujah!
Knowing that goes a long way toward being relieved of the fear of condemnation, as a believer. It'll be a process to fully grasp the understanding and being able to rest in His finished work, and of course EFT can help in that process. More to come!

For we are fearfully and wonderfully made

2008-05-05T18:05:00.000-07:00

I just ran across this video and thought it was great -- so I wanted to share it.

False Prophet ? I think so.

2008-04-25T10:44:00.001-07:00

Back on July 6, 2007 I posted a message about Kim Clement, and that I was still on the fence about him.

Then I saw a message (prophesy) that seemed to point to God saying Barack Obama was going to be our next President (of the U.S.). Since my support has been and still is for Dr. Ron Paul -- I prayed about it, mostly to gain some insight or discernment whether Mr. Clement is indeed a prophet of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the same God who sent His only son to be our Savior. Sometimes answers to that sort of prayer come by way of allowing me to answer the question myself, as it did in this case.

The evening of Sunday, April 13 2008 I watched something on TBN, I forget what it was now. Then I left the room to get ready for bed and left the t.v. on; and as I was walking back to turn off the t.v. I saw Kim Clement was on so I listened for a couple of moments. I'm going to paraphrase what he said, since I didn't write it down right away, or record it (I did write it down the next day). He gave some sort of prophesy and then he said that 'if you believe (or accept) what I've said, a spirit of prophesy will be put inside you, because I have spoken it.' I thought it was kind of creepy, and also pretty unscriptural. I've read the New Testament a few times, and not once did I see anywhere that one had to wait for a prophet to speak something and for you then to believe or accept it before it would come to pass. (The word that comes to mind is hubris.)

In my spiritual warfare studies, it seems that demonic spirits will take on a singular name; so as far as I can tell -- if such a 'spirit of prophesy' were to come into a person because they accepted what Kim said, it was a demonic spirit. (See: Acts 16:16 - (ESV) As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a [singular] spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling.

According to scripture, prophesy is one of several 'gifts of the Spirit' (Spirit being the Holy Spirit). 1Co 12:4 (4) Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; (ESV) as well as 1 Cor 12:9 and 10.

When I went to the Elijah List site to find the particular message where Kim 'prophesied' about Mr. Obama, I found this recent message on the site and decided to read it. In it he says:

The enemy has put up barriers and lies and persuaded you. Why are there always boundaries, why are there always laws, why does the enemy always come and restrict us?

Having come from an abusive home and studied spiritual warfare, I know for sure that it is the devil that tries to destroy boundaries, we need to have some boundaries and discernment or else you end up with 'anything goes', don't you? In John 10:7 it is written:

(7) So Jesus again said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. (ESV)
and in John 10:1 and 2 it is written:

(1) "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.
(2) But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. (ESV)

Isn't a door and a sheepfold a boundary? And isn't the one who 'climbs in by another way' someone who tries to get around those boundaries? Yes, and yes. And in Nehemiah 1:3 it is written:

(3) And they said to me, "The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire." (ESV)
and in Nehemiah 2:17 it is written:

(17) Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision." (ESV)

He went to re-build the wall -- which is a boundary, so that they would no longer suffer derision. It appears to me that Kim (or his 'god') is suggesting that we remove all boundaries, without discernment, and that is dangerous. That leaves one wide open to any lies the devil wants you to believe. In the above quote Kim Clement said 'why does the enemy always come and restrict us?' -- my question is: who is the enemy that he speaks of?

While it's true that we sometimes have unneccesary restrictions or burdens, (and EFT can help with those) we also need to use discernment. One of the biggest dangers I see with some of these prophesies is that it can lead to feeling apathetic, and believing something has already been 'ordained' when it really hasn't been. So, fwiw, I've now come off of the fence so to speak, and now believe Kim Clement to be a false prophet.

Christians' authority over the evil one

2008-04-18T19:07:00.000-07:00

Here is a very good article I just ran across while researching healing ministries.

HOW TO USE YOUR AUTHORITY

I have more stuff to blog, as always, but I'm spending some time on promotion for now.
Enjoy!

The gospel is good news?

2008-03-29T10:13:00.001-07:00

I just finished reading a couple of books by Pastor Joseph Prince, and now I can finally say that Yes, the gospel of Jesus Christ is indeed good news! (gospel means 'good news' -- and according to this article it means 'nearly-too-good-to-be-true news!' More from the article later.)

The 2 books I read are: Destined to Reign, and Spiritual Warfare. I'll have more in subsequent blog articles on info. from both of those, because they really helped clarify some things for me. Much of what I've heard of the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been a mixture of 'law' and 'grace' and the 2 are just not compatible. No wonder it didn't always feel like 'good news'.

I'm still learning to discern the voice of the Holy Spirit (Emmanuel, if you will), but one day at church almost a year ago (May 27, 2007 - I wrote it down in a journal I write in sporadically) I was at church and we were standing up singing a song; which I now wish I'd also noted what song it was, but it probably doesn't matter -- and inside my head I heard a loud (almost booming) male voice say "Cia - hope!". (Cia being my first name and hope being a command of sorts.) It was just those 2 words. Wow. I looked around to see if anyone else heard anything, it was so loud. But they were all still singing.

You see, I'm studying this spiritual warfare issue because it's something I need for myself, too. That had never happened before, and so far it hasn't happened since. Maybe He wanted to make it dramatic enough that I couldn't miss it. I had meant to do a search for scriptures about 'hope', but it's one of those things that has been sitting on the back burner. All I wrote in my sermon notes for that day was that we studied Romans ch 6. Usually I write a little more than that, but that day I didn't.

I was reminded of that and looked back in my journal for the date, because Joseph Prince discusses hope in the Spiritual Warfare book, beginning on page 71:

[quoting from 1 Thessalonians 5:8] ... putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation." So what is "hope"? In the Bible, hope is a positive or confident expectation of good. Today, we use the word hope too glibly. ... So when God says "have hope", he wants you to have a confident expectation that good things will happen.

Is that great, or what? I also just looked it up in my Strong's Concordance, and in most of the New Testament uses of 'hope' it comes from the greek 1679 or 1680 - 1 Thes 5:8 is 1680. The definition for 1679 says it's from 1680, and means to expect or confide and is translated in the KJV as hope or trust. Strong's definition of 1680 is that it's from another word that means to anticipate, usually with pleasure; expectation or confidence and is translated in the KJV as faith, hope. I need to take that to heart.

And in closing, I'll quote a few paragraphs from the article linked below.
Grace: The Power Of The Gospel - Article - Andrew Wommack Ministries

Many people around the world who embrace “Christianity” have never heard the true Gospel.
They believe Christianity is nothing but a different set of rules, substituting Christian "dos and don’ts" for those of other religions. They continue to believe they must earn their way to God and then do their best to deserve the benefits of salvation. That’s not the true Gospel.

The Gospel is directly related to the grace of God. That's the only way this forgiveness of our sins can be obtained. It isn't through our holiness or good works. God doesn’t take the 'good' people and save them; He justifies (extends salvation toward) the ungodly (Rom. 4:5).

This causes many problems for religious people. They say, "Wait a minute! I believe you must do this and that to be holy." Religion—false religion, man's concepts—teaches that right standing with God and His blessings come as a result of our own goodness and works.

Salvation is a package deal and it's all accomplished by the grace of God, not our works. However, Satan is always trying to deceive us. He is the one who wants us to believe we must earn things from God. He is the one causing us to doubt the Lord’s willingness to use His ability on our behalf, and unfortunately, the church is often reinforcing that belief.

There's more, it's a good article.

The Dark Side of Calvinism

2008-03-07T14:47:00.000-08:00

I haven't made it a secret on here that I support the candidacy of Ron Paul for U.S. President, which isn't the reason I'm writing this article. However, through the local Ron Paul meetup group I met one of my neighbors, who introduced me to Reformed Theology (since he attends a reformed church) which lead me to do a little research and I discovered that Reformed and Calvinism are basically synonymous terms.

As I've probably also mentioned, I attend a local Calvary Chapel church. One day a book on a shelf in the 'resource center' caught my eye, titled: The Dark Side of Calvinism., by George Bryson. I got the book 2-3 weeks ago, and finished it last week. Early on in the book, while quoting from Reformed / Calvinist sources, some of it sounded similar to some of the eastern religion / 'new age' type teachings I'd seen before and I made a mental note to get something more specific. However, close to the end of the book (it's 398 pages) I discover he added more specifics, as follows, from pages 317-318:

In the Jim Henson animated Disney movie The Dark Crystal, the forces of light and darkness, good and evil, finally meet to see who or what will ultimately triumph. To the delight of New Agers everywhere, as it turned out, the ultimate victory, according to the creator of the Muppets, was not good over evil but the realization that these were mere illusions. That is, ultimately there was no good or evil, right or wrong. Unwittingly, the Calvinist view of the sovereign decrees of God accomplishes essentially the same thing.

If evil can be traced to God the way good can, if God is responsible for everything the way Calvinism says He is, if man is just an actor in a divine play (a tragedy at that), then the Hindu concept of Maya, which says (among other things) that human morality is just an illusion, is not that far off after all. A well thought-out understanding of Calvinist logic actually leads to views which are more in keeping with Hinduism than with biblical Christianity. I do not say these things to inflame the Calvinist. I do not believe Calvinists are Hindus. I do believe, however, that the Calvinist view of sovereignty and predestination logically lead to ideas which are as foreign to Scripture as is Hinduism. Some ideas in Calvinism lead logically to other ideas that should be anathema even to the most staunch and extreme Calvinist.

And here's a good blog article I found that's titled: Why you should not be a Calvinist.

The upshot of reading this book for me, was that I will now be much more discerning in which articles and commentaries I read and/or pass on, with a particular interest in whether the writer follows a Calvinist / Reformed doctrine or what? It's been an eye-opener. And of course there'll be more to learn, but at least I know that even among fellow 'Christians' I need to use a good deal of discernment.

IF you happen to be a Calvinist who is reading this, and if what I'm writing is eliciting one or more negative emotions, please note that I am not equipped and have no desire to engage in theological debates or discussions. Otherwise, general comments are welcome! In addition requests for information or EFT coaching services is also welcome.

Good article by Pastor Chuck Baldwin

2008-02-13T17:12:00.001-08:00

The following article by Pastor Chuck Baldwin echoes my sentiments, so I thought I'd post it here. I am going to start writing more about this blog's topic any day now, really. Here's a couple verses of scripture that fit in well with the article's theme, so I wanted to add those too:

(Mat 20:25-28 ASV)
(25) But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.
(26) Not so shall it be among you: but whosoever would become great among you shall be your minister;
(27) and whosoever would be first among you shall be your servant:
(28) even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

And here's the article, in it's entirety:

What's With All These Clueless Christians?
by Chuck Baldwin
February 12, 2008

"For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect." Mark 13:22 (KJV)

"And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie." II Thessalonians 2:11 (KJV)

What's with all these clueless Christians? How is it that people who have the benefit of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and the warning and insight of the Sacred Scriptures--not to mention a rich Christian heritage here in America--can be so ignorant, blind, and naïve? Yes, the majority of evangelical Christians seem to be all of the above. The problem has passed being serious: it is catastrophic!

How is it that we have drifted away from being an informed, active, knowledgeable, and dedicated group of highly motivated Christian patriots to a group of impotent and anemic sheep? Our Christian forebears must be turning over in their graves, because we are in the process of squandering the greatest human sacrifice--save that of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ--ever made: the sacrifice of America's Founding Fathers.

The problem is manifold, of course. For the most part, our pastors have become glorified politicians and business executives. As attorneys are not schooled in the Constitution, today's ministers are not schooled in the Scriptures. They are motivational speakers, salesmen, and business managers. The Bible is only used as a side reference, if at all. It is not taught or preached literally. Pastors go through the Bible the way people go through a salad bar: gleaning a few sweet-tasting morsels and rejecting everything that appears the least bit distasteful.

Then there is the "fit-in-with-the-brethren" mentality. The politicos in Washington, D.C., have nothing on many pastors' fellowship groups. Fitting in with the denomination seems to be a far greater priority than being an independent man of God. And, of course, let's not forget the importance of not "making waves" with the deacons, elders, or church trustees. In a word, today's pastors have been very effectively neutered.

Another problem is the way our pastors and churches have become "success" driven. Churches used to focus on truth and discipleship. No more. The church-growth movement of the last three decades has produced a generation of Christians much more concerned about crowds, buildings, and activities than they are fidelity to truth. Church has become a numbers game where success is measured by attendance and offerings.

There is yet another problem: today's churches are completely enamored with power. No, not the power of God. They are completely infatuated with the power of men. Rich men. Popular men. Influential men. Celebrities. Politicians. Millionaires. Sports stars, etc.

Yet, listen to what God tells us about rich and powerful men. "Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?" James 2:6 (KJV)

Historically, it has always been the super-wealthy, super-powerful elements of society that have brought tyranny and persecution to God's people. It is the political and business elite who have trampled people's freedoms and liberties, enslaved their children, and ravaged their lands and properties.

Nothing has changed: the super-elite in the United States and Europe are continuing to do what they have always done. Both the Republican and Democrat parties are controlled by those who desire to create a globalistic society in which they will control the world's materials and peoples.

Both George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush have contributed to the tyrannical goals and ambitions of the super-elite. So has Bill Clinton. If John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama is elected, they will follow in the globalist footsteps of their predecessors.

The Christian professions of our political leaders mean nothing. Absolutely nothing! Putting an "R" behind his or her name also means nothing. Neither does calling oneself a "conservative" mean anything. Our political leaders are mostly walking in lockstep with the evil designs of the super-wealthy. Ditto for the executives who control our major media.

And our Christians and ministers seem to be absolutely clueless.

James Dobson endorses Mike Huckabee, as does Jerry Falwell, Jr., while Gary Bauer endorses John McCain. Yet, the truth is, one is as bad as the other. In fact, Huckabee is posturing himself to be McCain's running mate after McCain wins the nomination. Does anyone really believe that Mike Huckabee would turn down an invitation from John McCain to be his running mate? Get serious! Mike Huckabee would support the liberal, Big-Government John McCain with all of the enthusiasm he could muster. Why? Because Huckabee, himself, is a Big-Government liberal who has joined ideological forces with the super-elite who run both parties.

And no one within the Religious Right seems to get it. Say you are "pro-life" and "pro-family" and you are "in." Forget the Constitution. Forget national sovereignty and independence. Forget the principles of sound money. Forget the Bill of Rights. Forget "Just War" theory. Forget non-interventionism. Forget protecting American jobs and manufacturing. Forget putting America first. It's all about getting along with the establishment, having a seat at the table, and enjoying the perks of power.

Christians are supposed to be different. We are supposed to think differently. We are clearly commanded to "be not conformed to this world."

In addition, as Americans, our heritage and history is that of being "non-conformist." We loved liberty, freedom, and independence. We recognized no sovereign authority, save that of Jesus Christ. We believed in self-reliance and hard work. We didn't expect government handouts or charity. We believed in disciplining our children and did not expect that they would learn their values from government schools. We viewed human government with deep suspicion and demanded that it be held in check by powerful Bible preaching and by the constraints and restrictions of the U.S. Constitution.

Remember, it was the political and business elite who killed the Old Testament prophets, persecuted the early church, and crucified the Lord Jesus Christ. It was the political and business elite who oppressed our Pilgrim forebears. It was the political and business elite who tried to stamp out liberty and independence from the American colonies. And it is those same political and business elite who are forcing globalism, socialism, and fascism upon the American people today.

And our pastors and churches seem to be absolutely clueless.

Furthermore, when someone appears from outside the elitist mainstream, someone such as Congressman Ron Paul, he is ostracized, ignored, and even lampooned by the very people who should embrace and support him most: evangelical Christians.

The truth is, America is in the doo-doo we are in because of the cluelessness and cowardice of today's Christians. Or, has the elect been deceived? Have they succumbed to delusion? The result is the same either way.

*If you enjoyed this column and want to help me distribute these editorial opinions to an ever-growing audience, please send your check or Money Order to:

Chuck Baldwin Live
P.O. Box 37070
Pensacola, Florida 32526

© Chuck Baldwin

Ron Paul in Spokane, Washington!

2008-02-05T18:36:00.000-08:00

I guess it's been a while since I've posted anything here -- I do have some links to articles in draft form, I just need to catch a few moments to post them. I've previously posted that I'm supporting Ron Paul for President here in the U.S. And guess what happened last week? We had 2 days' notice on our meetup group that Dr. Paul was going to pay us a visit here in Spokane!

I was there, and it was great! Given that there was about 7 inches of snow the night before, on top of about 12 inches a few days before that, there was a great turnout. (It was a great turnout for any weather, in fact.) We had a room with 300 chairs set up, and the ability to remove a partition behind that room for overflow. They realized pretty early that they'd need to remove the partition, and the overflow room was packed, it was standing room only for most of the attendees. Estimated 900-1100 in attendance.

All of that leads me to two videos of the event. The first one is a little over 5 minutes and is from the back part of the
room, it gives
an idea of how many people were there. The second is one is number 1 of 5 -- from a lot closer, you can find the rest of them on the YouTube listing. I'll be back to posting more messages here after the local caucuses on Feb. 5th. (please forgive the formatting, the word wrap seems to be out of kilter!)

Why the Beltway Libertarians are trying to Smear Ron Paul.

2008-01-18T15:38:00.000-08:00

Here's a good article in response to a smear piece that was posted in the online edition of The National Review on Jan. 8th, just in time for the New Hampshire Presidential Primary. I've previously posted things on this blog in support of Ron Paul, since it's my belief that political and emotional freedom go hand-in-hand. In addition, I think that there is much to be learned from those in the political arena that don't stand for the truth. Which or whose kingdom (spiritually speaking) are they serving? Here's a few paragraphs from the article:

“If a person cared about liberty,” asks the blogger who calls himself “a former beltway wonk,” “why would they be eager to mindlessly repeat smears about the most popular libertarian candidate in decades on the very day of the most crucial ‘king-making’ primary in the United States?”

it’s no mystery, really: Ron Paul is, in many ways, the exact opposite of the Beltway fake-“libertarians.” He’s a populist: they suck up to power, he challenges the powers-that-be; they go along to get along – he has never gone along with the conventional wisdom as defined by the arbiters of political correctness, Left and Right. And most of all, he’s an avowed enemy of the neoconservatives, whom he constantly names as the main danger to peace and liberty – while the Beltway’s tame “libertarians” are in bed with them, often literally as well as figuratively.

In short, the Beltway fake-libs are in bed with the State, and all its works, while contenting themselves with the role of court jester and would-be “reformer” of the system. As long as they don’t challenge anything too fundamental to the continuation of the Welfare-Warfare State, the pet libertines of the neocon-led GOP “coalition” are deemed “urbane” and “cosmopolitan,” the highest compliment the Georgetown party circuit can bestow. Once they begin rocking the boat, as Paul insists on doing, they become fair game for the Smearbund.

To read the whole article, click here or on link above. It's somewhat long but worth reading.

What fruit are you eating?

2008-01-14T16:39:00.000-08:00

I've recently had a couple of insights about using EFT and how it ties in to scripture that I wanted to share.

The first one was a few weeks ago at church, we were reading through the 1st chapter of 1 John, in the 9th verse it says:

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1Jn 1:9 KJVA)

And in some respects, that's exactly what happens with EFT; we confess or bring to light our negative feelings or behavior and once we've tapped on it and brought the SUDS level to 0, then we are 'cleansed' of it. Now I know some find immediate cleansing or deliverance with prayer or confession. But in some areas EFT helps to allow us to really let it go. Then of course the command to forgive our debtors becomes much easier, but that's probably a topic for another time. To me, it means we don't try to continue hiding or 'stuffing' whatever the issue may be.

Then later, the passages about various fruit of the spirit came to mind, as follows.

(19) Now the works of the flesh are obvious, which are: adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustfulness, (20) idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, heresies, (21) envyings, murders, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these; of which I forewarn you, even as I also forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
(22) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith,[2] (23) gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Gal 5:19-23 WEB)

And here are the mention of 'fruit' that deal with emotions: hatred, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, envyings (same as jealousies?), love, joy, peace, and self-control.

And the big insight that I had tied that in to the book of Genesis, way back in the Garden of Eden.

(2) The woman said to the serpent, Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat,
(3) but of the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die. (Gen 3:2-3 WEB) .

And the passage that prompted me to make the connection, was from psalm 37: Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. (Psa 37:1 KJVA) That's sure easier said than done much of the time, and EFT helps a lot for me to be able to have faith that that instruction will help keep me out of the devil's clutches.

Some of the questioning I've done about using EFT as a Christian, has been because I wanted to make sure that it wasn't unscriptural. But in a spiritual sense, I see the 'works of the flesh' as noted above being in the category of the 'fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden.' So to the extent that EFT is an excellent tool to allow us to do away with the 'evil fruit' (See also Matthew 7:16-18) and then we can more readily cultivate the 'good fruit'; EFT is in fact scriptural.

Beloved, dont imitate that which is evil, but that which is good. He who does good is of God. He who does evil hasn't seen God. (3Jn 1:11 WEB)

I know that for me, as I go through the process of pruning away the negative emotions with EFT, it is much easier for me to be sensitive to what the Spirit is saying, particularly as it relates to scripture. What do you think? Please also feel free to contact me to inquire about EFT coaching.

Herescope : Happy New Year from the New Age "Christ"!

2008-01-14T16:35:00.000-08:00

Good message. Here's a link to a message about 'A Course in Miracles'. I'll probably add another message at a
later date with a couple of other articles about this topic.

Blog: Herescope
Post: Happy New Year from the New Age "Christ"!

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Spirit releasement - a different kind of therapy

2007-12-30T18:33:00.000-08:00

I'm reading an article about something called 'spirit releasement therapy'. I'd previously heard about it from something mentioned in the EFT e-newsletter that I've been receiving for a few years. I looked at the website (linked above) and thought it was interesting, but since it's primarily a secular endeavor I just bookmarked it, and prayed that if it's worth knowing more about that the Holy Spirit let me know.

Here's a couple of paragraphs from the article, followed by a couple of personal comments.

Most of us have a child or relative or friend whose life is shattered by depression, sexual dysphoria, obsessive compulsive disorder, eating disorder, chronic fatigue syndrome, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism or a host of other ailments. What if you were told that there was a healer who could get to the bottom of the problem and heal it, but that the source of the problem was probably an attached spirit? Would you go for it? Could you open your mind to the possibility that your sister’s untreatable 30-year-long bulimia could be stopped dead in its tracks by identifying the spirit behind the disease, releasing it into the light, and then teaching her how to protect against a future attachment?

All in this movement hope that you would. They see the procedure not as a throwback to medieval times when demoniacs were put to death, but as an advance. William Woolger, an internationally renowned transpersonal psychologist, sees it as “the next and essential stage in the development of psychology, a kind of return to the source.”

My thinking on this topic is that 1^st, yes I do believe in a spiritual realm. (Obviously, since I talk and write about spiritual warfare!) 2^nd, my approach doesn't necessarily require a 'direct involvement' with attached or possessing or whatever types of spirits. My contention or belief is that with EFT we're getting to the emotional 'roots' of any hold such a spirit would have, and once that's cleared then any spirits involved either leave automatically (since they have nothing to 'hold onto'); or using the authority of Jesus Christ / Yeshua the spirit would be banished pretty easily once it's roots have been removed. If there's any need for direct involvement, I'd leave that to the Holy Spirit and His direction.

Another thing that bothers me with this particular approach and having researched the topic, particularly exorcisms and deliverance, is that the devil and his demons are liars and deceivers. The article points out that these practitioners have found that some of these spirits are 'earthbound' spirits, i.e. former physical human persons who have passed on and have not gone 'to the light' yet. Then there are some that are termed DFEs, or “dark force entities”, and those I'd equate with the satanic or demonic realm. From this article and the spirit releasement website stories, it appears that one doesn't need the authority of Christ to have the spirit(s) release it's hold on a person. And the logical conclusion to that is that He (Jesus / Yeshua) died in vain. Or maybe His sacrifice was only needed until someone could come up with this spirit-releasement therapy? Overall, I don't buy it.

Obviously, if it's helping people that's a good thing. And if it leads people to Jesus and not away from Him, that's also a good thing. From what I've read, I gather that it does the opposite, and that's not a good thing, because I know in whom I believe. There's a song running through my head as I type this: That He would leave His place on high
And come for sinful man to die, You count it strange, so once did I, Before I knew my Savior.

I'll add more if or when I have more insight, and if anyone wants to join in the discussion you're welcome!

The War on Religion - article by Dr. Ron Paul

2007-12-27T18:45:00.000-08:00

Below is the text of an article written by Dr. Ron Paul in 2003. I really liked it and since we're just a couple of days after Christmas, I thought it was appropriate.

The War on Religion

by
Rep. Ron Paul, MD

ep. Ron Paul, MD

As we celebrate another Yuletide season, it’s hard not to notice that Christmas in America simply doesn’t feel the same anymore. Although an overwhelming majority of Americans celebrate Christmas, and those who don’t celebrate it overwhelmingly accept and respect our nation’s Christmas traditions, a certain shared public sentiment slowly has disappeared. The Christmas spirit, marked by a wonderful feeling of goodwill among men, is in danger of being lost in the ongoing war against religion.

Through perverse court decisions and years of cultural indoctrination, the elitist,secular Left has managed to convince many in our nation that religion must be driven from public view. The justification is always that someone, somewhere, might possibly be offended or feel uncomfortable living in the midst of a largely Christian society, so all must yield to the fragile sensibilities of the few. The ultimate goal of the anti-religious elites is to transform America into a completely secular nation, a nation that is legally and culturally biased against Christianity. This growing bias explains why many of our wonderful Christmas traditions have been lost. Christmas pageants and plays, including Handel’s Messiah, have been banned from schools and community halls. Nativity scenes have been ordered removed from town squares, and even criticized as offensive when placed on private church lawns. Office Christmas parties have become taboo, replaced by colorless seasonal parties to ensure no employees feel threatened by a “hostile environment.” Even wholly non-religious decorations featuring Santa Claus, snowmen, and the like have been called into question as Christmas symbols that might cause discomfort. Earlier this month, firemen near Chicago reluctantly removed Christmas decorations from their firehouse after a complaint by some embittered busybody. Most noticeably, however, the once commonplace refrain of “Merry Christmas” has been replaced by the vague, ubiquitous “Happy Holidays.”

But what holiday? Is Christmas some kind of secret, a word that cannot be uttered in public? Why have we allowed the secularists to intimidate us into downplaying our most cherished and meaningful Christian celebration?

The notion of a rigid separation between church and state has no basis in either the text of the Constitution or the writings of our Founding Fathers. On the contrary, our Founders’ political views were strongly informed by their religious beliefs. Certainly the drafters of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, both replete with references to God, would be aghast at the federal government’s hostility to religion. The establishment clause of the First Amendment was simply intended to forbid the creation of an official state church like the Church of England, not to drive religion out of public life.

The Founding Fathers envisioned a robustly Christian yet religiously tolerant America, with churches serving as vital institutions that would eclipse the state in importance. Throughout our nation’s history, churches have done what no government can ever do, namely teach morality and civility. Moral and civil individuals are largely governed by their own sense of right and wrong, and hence have little need for external government. This is the real reason the collectivist Left hates religion: Churches as institutions compete with the state for the people’s allegiance, and many devout people put their faith in God before their faith in the state. Knowing this, the secularists wage an ongoing war against religion, chipping away bit by bit at our nation’s Christian heritage. Christmas itself may soon be a casualty of that war.

December
30, 2003

EFT-SW now has a website, too!

2007-12-20T21:00:00.000-08:00

I'm re-posting this and deleting the other post from a few days ago - I was a bit confused over some of the hosting technicalities. The important thing is - it works! Comments about the website, and even about my temporary confusion are welcome. ;-)

I know you've all been anxiously awaiting this news, so here it is -- I now have a website for EFT and Spiritual Warfare, in addition to the blog! (Ok, maybe no one else but me is excited by the news, but I wanted to share it anyway!) It doesn't have a lot of the technological 'bells and whistles' other sites have, or the fancy layout and design, but for a home-made effort I think it's not too shabby. Feel free to offer criticism, so long as it's constructive (and keeping in mind that being a web-master isn't my calling, though dealing with html code is probably easier than dealing with real live people some days!).

I also don't really aspire to learn how to put together java scripts, but if someone has some expertise they're willing to lend, it may be welcome. I can't think of much I want the web site to do that it's not already doing -- basically a landing page with some contact info. for me and links to some topical articles I've written, which I hope to add to as time goes on, and possibly cross-post a few on here.

The articles are (for the most part) taken out of the e-booklet I wrote earlier this year, though I did add to and/or make some revisions to what is written in the booklet, for the article asking

is EFT ok for Christians? and also on the EFT and the Law of Attraction article.

Lastly, the site is hosted by Witness Today - Free Web Hosting for Christians. If you have some funds in search of a place to donate, they'd be a good spot. Of course, it wouldn't hurt my feelings if you clicked on my donate button, either! (Or hire me for coaching and I'll start donating to the hosting service; after doing boring things like buy a few groceries and pay the electric bill!).

There's a link to the new site over on the links section ---> and you can also find it again here.

Spirit Daily article about near death experience

2007-12-20T17:38:00.000-08:00

Here's a good article with a testimony about a woman who had a near death experience and also mention of others who have had similar experiences. She met our Lord and Savior and had a glimpse of heaven. Merry Christmas!

Exclusive Ron Paul family pictures

2007-12-07T09:34:00.001-08:00

Here's a link to some pictures of Dr. Ron Paul -- the future president of the USA, and one of the pictures is of the future first lady by his side. (hopefully! I've been praying!)

It's a message along with the pictures written by one of his grandsons. I think it's pretty awesome. If we all had families like that, we may not need EFT, but that isn't the case for all of us.

Also, for your reading pleasure and in case you're wondering if Dr. Paul is a Christian, the answer is yes he is. Here's a page from the official campaign website with some of his articles about religion, and as of my writing this post -- the last one on the page is his statement of faith. Here's the summary of that statement:

I have never been one who is comfortable talking about my faith in the political arena. In fact, the pandering that typically occurs in the election season I find to be distasteful. But for those who have asked, I freely confess that Jesus Christ is my personal Savior, and that I seek His guidance in all that I do. I know, as you do, that our freedoms come not from man, but from God. My record of public service reflects my reverence for the Natural Rights with which we have been endowed by a loving Creator.

Enjoy!

Entering True Sabbath Rest

2007-12-01T17:25:00.000-08:00

I'm reading a very enlightening article about the Sabbath, a subject that certainly causes some contention among the faithful. I don't stress myself out about it too much, and I like what the article says. One of my thoughts on the topic, from those who claim the Sabbath must be kept on Saturday as opposed to Sunday; is that calling Saturday the '7th day' is arbitrary, (imo) since it's a matter of whoever put together the calendar we use. For those who are strict about the issue, the command is that one should rest on the 7th day after 6 days of work. That could just as easily be Sunday as Saturday -- in fact many European calendars show Sunday as the last day of the week. That's about it, short post this time.

Article on Exorcisms - from New Zealand

2007-12-01T17:14:00.001-08:00

I ran across this article about a vicar of an Anglican Parish who performs deliverance ministry. I'd recommend reading the whole article, and I couldn't really find a few paragraphs that stuck out for me (since it's all pretty good). So I'll just leave you with the last 2 paragraphs of the article for your reading pleasure:

The level of demonic activity can vary from people having bad thoughts, who feel they've had a brush with evil, to total demonic possession.

Hewat wants people to be aware of the good deliverance ministry can do: "Given that a small number of people in our society do suffer the terrible affliction of demonic possession and will only find freedom through exorcism, it would be regrettable if the tragic experience of Janet Moses were to discredit what is a valid ministry of the Christian church."

And a note just to keep my faithful (or not-so-faithful or first-time) readers up to date, I haven't posted much here lately because I've been working on a website! It's a lot of work, but I'm learning a few things about HTML and about how MS Word puts a bunch of gibberish into pages that web 'validators' don't like -- so I'll soon have a 'lean mean' website to point y'all to. Complete with an adorable picture of a house for folks to click on to return to the home page. How about a preview of the house? I told you it was adorable. Or maybe I've just lost my last marble after all the editing! Back to work.

Spiritual Pyromaniacs

2007-11-15T14:40:00.000-08:00

I'd mentioned in an earlier post that I had been watching the 'Let Us Reason' website for updates on the Healing Rooms, here in Spokane, Washington (and elsewhere). I then said that'd wait for another blog posting, and here it is. Part of the reason I was looking for those updates was because I had found the Healing Rooms website, and saw that they had Sat. evening 'services' for their ACTS ministries.

I attended a couple of those services, and had the opportunity to say hello to Michelle, Cal Pierce's wife, before one of those services. The service isn't exactly like a traditional church service, they were more of an update on the travels of Cal and crew, or their plans for the ACTS ministry. There's some live music before the service, and some of that music left me a little uneasy. It was the unscriptural lyrics to at least 1 song that convinced me that ministry wasn't the place for me, so I haven't been back there since a few months ago. And the long, drawn-out songs during 'worship' reminded me of a live Grateful Dead concert I listened to on the radio back in the late 1970's or early 1980's. Repeating the same notes or words over and over for several minutes. Not my 'bag', as they used to say.

However, I'm now reading an article by Jackie Alnor, titled the same as this blog posting. In the article she writes about something called 'fire tunnels' as below:

And now in Toronto John Arnott’s young people are involved in some of the scariest spreading of this fire onto other young folks who come looking for a spiritual jolt. They call this ceremony "fire tunnels" in which two rows of young people line up while a group of blessing-seekers go single file down the middle. As they proceed into the tunnel, shouts of "Fire" and "Fire on you" come out of the mouths of the imparters as they touch the seekers’ heads and foreheads in order to spread the fire. As they do, the recipients of these fire spirits jolt and jump around with some pretty scary looks on their faces. (To see this in action – go to these links at TACF:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-4pyiYAlzg
; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_ErxBdAm8M )

When I was at the first of the 3 meetings I attended at ACTS ministries, rather than doing their usual (?) prayer for people at the end of the service, they did one of these same 'fire tunnels' !! I had no idea what they were, but given that I'd been researching this spiritual warfare issue for a while AND remembering the following passage of scripture --
(1Ti 5:22 KJVA) Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins: keep thyself pure.

I said a silent prayer before I went through this line, since I'd never done this before and didn't know any of those people. I prayed asking God to keep me safe from any unclean spirit that those touching me may attempt to send my way, asking for this protection in Jesus name. So as I went through this line most people used the word 'blessing' when touching my forehead or shoulder, and one woman said something and then while she was touching me she started shaking uncontrollably. Her teeth were chattering, she was shaking so hard, she had to let go of me to make it stop. There were people laid out on the floor at the end of the line, another first for me. I was fine, I walked over to the chair where I'd left my Bible, picked it up and went home.

So while I do believe in the 'gifts of the spirit' and attend a local Calvary Chapel church, I also know that it is written that one of the 'fruits of the spirit' is self-control. Uncontrollable shaking and/or being laid out on the floor, and similar things are not of God's Spirit.

The reason I went there in the first place was primarily as a possible avenue for networking for EFT. The article by Jackie is additional confirmation for me that I made the right decision in steering clear of that ministry. Discernment is so important, since there are places where they can use some of the right words and it sounds like it's all full of the 'light of truth' when it's really just the opposite.

Gods and Monsters article

2007-11-15T14:00:00.000-08:00

This is a very interesting article titled: Gods and Monsters. It's from the National Catholic Register, and again I'm Protestant. However, it appears likely that those of the Catholic faith are more likely to believe in things spiritual.

Here are a few sentences that resonated the most with me:

Uncritical acceptance of spiritual forces can have disastrous consequences.

[I have noticed that in some circles, there's a general belief that if it's from the 'world of spirit' it's more likely to be accepted without question as from a 'more enlightened' source.]

In my own case, the spirit that I was in contact with consistently tried to make the ordinary world seem dismal and meaningless and to present an image of death as a beautiful awakening of the fettered soul. I nearly committed suicide for its sake. I was going to do so, and sincerely believe that I would have if my guardian angel had not intervened.

An education in anti-supernaturalism leaves one easy prey for evil spirits.

Undefended by the armor of God, unwarned against the existence of demonic intelligences, and starving for the wondrous and spiritual, modern man is about as well defended as a pack of shepherdless sheep in a wolf’s den.

Someone captivated by the possibility of occult magic will not find his way back into the fold if all he finds there is worldly wisdom and prosaic ritual. He must find, in the teachings and liturgy of the Church, a vision of the spiritual world that puts all others to shame.

Such a vision already exists. It exists in the works of the theologians, where all the complexities of the angelic orders are laid out. It exists in the Scriptures, where the hosts of heaven descend in power to scatter the proud in their conceits.

We've been neo-conned

2007-11-09T12:49:00.001-08:00

I just watched this video and it's an eye-opener. I didn't quite understand the term 'neo-con' until I watched it. I found the video while reading an excellent article about Dr. Ron Paul, found here.

It's also kind of scary, so EFT as well as prayer, comes in handy! Part of it also reminded me of something I read in M. Scott Peck's book 'Glimpses of the Devil', which is something said by one of the demons during an exorcism Dr. Peck writes about. From page 178:

"I demanded to know of Satan why it hated Beccah so. Initially the answer was vague, suggesting that it just hated people in general. But with my prodding it warmed up to the subject, saying, "I am against people loving one another. They need to work." I demanded to know why. "They need to work," it replied, "so there will be war and prosperity instead of love and all that crap."

I'm also adding a couple verses of scripture that came to mind while watching it.

(Isa 5:20 KJVA) Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

(Act 20:29 KJVA) For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.

(2Jn 1:7 KJVA) For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

The video is 51 minutes, well worth the time to watch it.

There is also a text version of the speech titled "We've Been Neo-Conned" found here.

A demon caught on film?

2007-11-06T17:16:00.001-08:00

Check out this article -- in it there's an image that's easy to miss (on a computer screen, at least!) until you see the close up image. It appears to be a dog -- without ears? -- looking over the man's shoulder. The man believes it's a demon, and it looks fiendish enough that maybe it is an image of just that. Since I, and others do believe they exist but can't generally see them, I thought it was worth sharing. Here's the image:

The Truth behind 'The Secret'

2007-10-20T09:57:00.001-07:00

I just finished reading The Truth Behind The Secret, 'The Secret' being the book and DVD by that title about the (so-called) 'law of attraction'. Since I had a small rant in my booklet about the (so-called) 'law of attraction' I thought I'd post a bit of a follow-up here.

The book confirmed that the 'secret' book is based on some of the teachings of Abraham, a group of 'entities' (i.e. demonic spirits) channeled by Esther Hicks. I used to subscribe to their tape series and had several of their books, before I came to Christianity and repented and have thrown out all of the books. I may still have a few of the tapes, in a box somewhere. There's also some influence of the Religious- Mind Science / Unity teachings. Since the authors are much more knowledgeable in these areas, I was glad to see it also agreed with the conclusion in my booklet that they basically preach pantheism. (God is in all things, and/or is a 'universal energy' but isn't a personal God that can save you from their demonic deception.)

The biggest thing I've gotten out of it, now that I've been out of it for a few years and studied the Bible, is that their focus is on 'the deception of riches' -- which is essentially believing the devil's lie that riches are going to bring you happiness and security. I'll certainly admit that struggling financially isn't a lot of fun, but as Jesus said: 'For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?' (Mar 8:36 KJVA) and see also Matthew 16:26.

I wanted to share a couple of paragraphs from pages 44 and 45 of the book, it's discussing channeling in general.

THE DANGERS OF CHANNELING

Most interesting is Klimo's warning about evil spirits in connection with channeling. As a proponent and practitioner of channeling, Klimo is familiar with the traditional Christian perspective that fallen angels (demons) may be involved. Although Klimo does not completely agree with this perspective, he readily acknowledges that some channeling does involve evil beings bent on deception.

In his interview, he explained, "not every ancient spirit is wise or benevolent" -- some belong to "the dark brotherhood." Klimo repeatedly referred to these dark beings as spirits who are involved in some kind of invisible warfare against all that is good. While he believes these evil spirits are in the minority, he recognizes a significant potential danger when it comes to channeling, noting" [There are] even more dangerous sources ... nonhuman demons, evil spirits, forces of Satan or Lucifer and the 'Dark Brotherhood'. These entities await every opportunity to tempt and control human spirits. Historically, the negative presence of lower astral human spirits has been attributed to these demonic entities."

If we accept Klimo's explanation of channeling, then we have to acknowledge that deception is possible. There is a possibility of fraud and fakery, self-deception on the part of the channeler, a mental illness or psychological phenomenon, or even an evil, demonic spirit pretending to be a wise helper.

The book is certainly worth a look, it covers a good deal in 149 pages (before the end-notes). I read a copy from my local library, and it's also available here, or here.

Apparently there is also going to be a DVD documentary, there's a link on their website to view a preview clip.

What is God's will vs Christian Liberty ?

2007-10-06T14:37:00.001-07:00

I wanted to share a very good article that I found on Brian Flynn's website (author of a book I recently finished titled: Running Against the Wind. It's very good and I plan to post something from it a bit later.)

However this article is about Christian Liberty -- as in what are we at liberty to choose in certain areas if it's not specifically mentioned in scripture; since scripture is His revealed will? This article is written by Bob Dewaay.

Here are a couple of paragraphs from the article, and it's helped clear up some of my thinking on the topic.

How do we find out God’s will in matters of Christian liberty? By making an informed choice and living out all the ramifications of that choice to God’s glory by His grace. God’s providential will is known after we make the choice ─ it is whatever we chose. If that choice does not transgress anything revealed in Scripture, then it cannot be a sinful choice unless we make it with evil motives. Examples of choices that the New Testament expressly says are within the realm of Christian liberty are things like marriage, food, circumcision, and holy days to be observed. Some choose a more rigorous and restricted approach to life (see Romans 14), and others less restrictive. What we are not free to do is judge others on matters that rightfully fall into the category of liberty. These are matters God has not dictated in Scripture.

and a few paragraphs later he adds this --

Paul was in prison when he wrote to the Philippians: “Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel” (Philippians 1:12). Paul was in prison because civil authorities put him there. Thus God’s providential will was revealed. There is no assurance that by learning to follow some secret “inner voice of God” we will be more pleasing to God and be more “in the center of His will.” This idea hinders true Christian liberty and leads to many sorrows.

Many think that God will feed them information about all their decisions and give them the “Midas touch.” This concept is false. God does not tell us which stocks are going up, which car will never break down, which house will go up in value, and other turn by turn directions that will lead us to bliss and success in this life. In God’s wisdom He has granted us freedom to make these decisions freely, and without recrimination for the results. It is not a sin to make decisions within the realm of Christian liberty that we regret later. As earthly parents, we will judiciously allow our children to do the same. It is a central part of our human freedom and dignity to make decisions and watch the consequences play out in life. It sounds good to have the “Midas touch” but if it existed it would be ruinous as it was in the fable.

I think that the idea of making the 'right decision' to be sure what we're doing is in God's will comes from the evil one. I've certainly tied myself into mental & emotional knots over it, and I think it's part of what sends people to psychics and the like. However, I do think that praying over a decision before you make it can probably keep you out of harm's way in some cases. The Holy Spirit does indeed communicate with us, but that doesn't mean He needs to put his 'stamp of approval' on every matter before you can do something. My current thinking, after reading this excellent article -- would be that praying over things / decisions is a good idea. Particularly if it's a big decision, like who to marry or where to live or go to church, and the like. If the Holy Spirit gives you guidance or words of knowledge (which don't always come immediately!), then go with that. Otherwise, make your best decision and move forward. For a really good book about the Holy Spirit, I like Chuck Smith's book 'Living Water'.

Wide is the path that leads to destruction

2007-09-28T19:57:00.000-07:00

Here's a very compelling video message from Paul Washer, it's addressed to a teenagers / youth group meeting, but it's not the usual 'ear tickling' message. Wow, it's good. It's 59 minutes (1 hour).

A short attempt to debunk EFT and SW

2007-09-24T17:24:00.001-07:00

I'm pretty sure this article on the 'Let Us Reason' website is in reference to EFT and similar modalities in general, and in particular as a tool for Christians. Why I say that, is because a few months back I sent an email to Mike (the admin / owner of the LUR website) telling him that I liked his website and invited him to read my e-booklet and welcomed any feedback he may have. I then advised that our correspondence may or may not end up on my blog, and asked that if he specifically did NOT want it posted here for him to please let me know. I believe in fair warning, fair play and that sort of thing.

His only response was a couple of weeks later, warning me against things not invented by Christians, as well as warning me against the Elijah List, since I have an article or 2 on here from that website. Since I check in at the 'what's new' link on the LUR website on a regular basis, particularly looking for the article(s) about The Healing Rooms. That's a topic for another blog message, perhaps. Among the 'new' articles is the one linked above, and it's so short I'm going to cut & paste it and then address it. The one thing that really bothers me most though, is that I specifically emailed and requested feedback. But I received not even so much as a courtesy message that he was posting his response to his website. But, as my pastor said once during a service, shortly after becoming head pastor of a church he discovered that 'sheep bite'. Plus, I have EFT to help soothe my feelers over the whole issue. Here's the article:

When does alternative medicine cross over the line where we need to be concerned?
The sicknesses that we often treat are in the body, it is physical. Regular medicine uses a physical means to treat the physical body (other means are employed when it is emotional/psychosomatic). The majority of New age medicine has the premise that whatever is happening to the body first begins in the spirit. they believe in treating the spirit to fix the body. By manipulating energy centers or meridians that supposedly run through the body, they can align our spirit into health, which will then affect the body.

When we use a spiritual means to treat the physical body, that is when has crossed the line to be something else other than medicine. It is not longer medicine but in the category of the metaphysical or the Occult. We are no longer using a physical cure for a physical ailment.
We find many of these techniques are connected with other religions and spiritual systems. The belief that sickness is in the spirit first and manifests in the body (like Mind sciences teaches).
These kind of methods used from other religions the Bible tells us not to use.

Where does the Bible tell us not to use them? We're told in the Bible not to engage in sorcery or divination and not to consult those with familiar spirits (i.e. 'channelers' ), and told not to worship strange gods. EFT does none of those things, though some EFT practitioners may do some of those things. The part where it mentions meridians is really what tipped me off that it might be discussing EFT type modalities. Plus my e-booklet puts forth my contention that emotion and spirit are linked. Thus if you're using EFT for emotional issues it would also tie into spiritual issues, and I cite many passages of scripture to back up my contention. My response is going to be somewhat short, since this is one of the few articles on this website with absolutely NOT ONE scripture to back up his contention. The article says it has crossed the line when we use a spiritual means to treat the physical body and that puts it in the realm of the occult? First of all, how many scientific studies have shown links between stress and disease, just one of several 'emotional states'. I just did a search on the dogpile search engine, using the terms 'stress AND disease' and it came up with 95 results. (Granted, some of them aren't more than links to shopping sites, but many contain useful information.) I then did the same with 'sadness AND disease' and that came back with 100 results. Plus, EFT is primarily about emotions and not necessarily the physical body.

Not to mention, how many passages of scripture say that Jesus cast out devils and they were healed? Would that not be a 'spiritual means to treat the physical body' ? Using eSword, I did a search of the KJVA New Testament using the words 'devil heal' and include a partial match, it came up with 11 results. Here are a few of them:

Mat 4:24 KJVA
(24) And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.

Mat 12:22 KJVA
(22) Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.

Luk 8:2 KJVA
(2) And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils,

Luk 9:42 KJVA
(42) And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tare him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father.

Act 10:38 KJVA (38) How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

In some cases it appears that 'casting out of devils' and 'healing' are not one in the same thing, in some cases one thing was done and then in others people were healed. Though in some passages it appears the two are in fact linked. And there are many, many mentions of various and different emotions in the Bible -- several of them in my e-booklet or and/or the appendix.

Of course, there's always the possibility that the article had very little to do with EFT, either in conjunction with using it as a tool in spiritual warfare, or not. But I doubt it. I'll close this response with the following verses from the book of Romans:

Rom 14:13-14 WEB (13) Therefore lets not judge one another any more, but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block in his brothers way, or an occasion for falling. (14) I know, and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean of itself; except that to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.

EFT - Not just for emotional issues

2007-09-21T10:45:00.001-07:00

I just read an article / testimony from the EFT Insights newsletter that is amazing, so I thought I'd share part of it here and suggest you take a look at it too.

It's by a 73 year old man who'd been in a car accident and had some injuries to his leg that were bleeding quite a bit. He first used EFT to address his anger about the accident and then addressed the pain and bleeding of his injuries -- and in the process saved himself a trip to the hospital! Proving that EFT is not just for emotional issues. I'll share the last couple of paragraphs of the article below.

By this time I was feeling remarkably better ,started laughing and used the thymus thump to gain more energy, because I was feeling rather tired. People thought I was nuts but I just did not care. I was so happy that all had gone so fantastically after the initial disaster.

Without EFT I would have had to go to the hospital. After 3 weeks I am still 100% OK and there is no pain, I can walk perfectly, the scabs have gone and the scars are almost invisible. All the affirmations have been fulfilled.

You can read the whole article here.

Wisdom and the Proverbs, part III

2007-09-15T10:22:00.000-07:00

Below is a link to an excellent blog post which discusses emotions as mentioned primarily in Proverbs,

Wisdom and the Proverbs, part III

Chad (the writer of the blog piece) makes a good point about our emotions, in that some that we may call 'negative' are not always unwanted, such as fear when confronted by some danger.

However, if you're still anxious or fearful long after the danger has passed, it would be a good time to use EFT. So take a look, it's a good message.

Acupuncture and Christianity

2007-09-02T15:29:00.001-07:00

I'm making some small updates to my booklet on EFT and Spiritual Warfare, and wanted to include some information I found in Larson's book of SW about acupuncture. (And I'm going to remove the 'free ebooklet' for a short while, since EBay has no listing fees until the end of Sept., I'm going to list it there and see if there's any buyers.)

In that vein, I decided to do an internet search on acupuncture history, none of which really contradicted the info. in Larson's book; and then I did a search on acupuncture AND christian, and found a link to this website article, which I wanted to share here. There are links to a few articles with some of the science that's been done on the topic. (Since EFT is somewhat based on principles of acupuncture, it's basically related to EFT, also.) The writer of the article, linked above, is a Christian acupuncturist. A couple of things he writes sum up my feelings on the topic, too.

He writes:

God and Christian faith come first in importance and priority. Healing and medicine come after that.

And then goes on to make some other important points, and adds this to which I completely agree:

Science: I have reviewed a number of scientific studies on acupuncture on PulseMed.org. I am a Christian and an acupuncturist, I believe that acupuncture is inherently medical and non-religious. I have made every effort to remain objective in my Christian review of Chinese Medicine. I would like to find out it is compatible with Christianity, but I also am willing to move on if that turned out to be incorrect.

Of course, I'd substitute EFT, and since it deals more with emotional issues, the medical studies may or may not apply. But I see it as something where I am also willing to move on if it turns out I'm incorrect. The Holy Spirit led me away from other 'new age' beliefs and gave me a love for God's Word (i.e. the Bible); and I even believe that using EFT to clear away some negative emotional 'baggage' enhances my walk, and my faith and discernment. In addition, here is another good article that addresses the topic.

Hidden things of darkness

2007-09-01T08:38:00.001-07:00

Here's a good article in Spirit Daily, about some of the 'hidden things' of the powers of darkness. It's mostly anecdotes of various people who have sensed different spiritual forces.

One note, it is written from a Catholic perspective and I'm Protestant -- so I don't go in for praying to patron saints and/or to Mary, mother of Jesus. I do as Jesus told us, which is to pray to 'our Father, who art in heaven...' And sometimes I pray directly to Jesus, since He said that 'if you've seen me, you've seen the father' and He said that he makes intercession for us.

And to tie this in with EFT, and my premise about the spiritual and emotional being linked, here's a couple of quotes from the article:

"Jealousy is a big curse and is not to easy to remove. But like you said, 'love' breaks the curse and it does work."

"But this is even more strange: I am living with my agnostic sister for a while, making it very uncomfortable for me, as she is nice and generous, however very negative. I have never felt a spirit here, but I do feel depressed at times and for no apparent reason. My grandchild came to visit this summer and she felt a spirit in my sister’s bedroom, and saw a shadow out of the corner of her eye, without knowing anything about my sisters lack of faith! Simultaneously my sister’s daughter felt a spirit too, also not knowing that my grandchild felt it (nor does she take note of her mother’s lack of faith). My granddaughter does not feel this spirit anywhere else. So I have been blessing the house with Holy Salt and Lourdes water, especially on Sunday, and praying for my sister. A few nights ago, my sister went on vacation and I tried to sleep in her bedroom because it is more comfortable than on my tiny futon. I could not sleep! I felt fear in her bedroom and had to go sleep elsewhere. My granddaughter went to Disney World and said she felt the presence of a spirit there too. I truly believe that children can sense those spiritual things that are not sitting well in an environment, and like magnets, pick up on them."
Some good food for thought.

Ron Paul for President 2008 worldwide comments

2007-08-22T15:47:00.001-07:00

Since this isn't a political blog, I haven't put much on here about those issues. Though again, it goes hand-in-hand with emotional freedom. And of course there's very much a spiritual aspect to one's beliefs in that arena.

I have joined the local meetup group for Ron Paul for President (USA), 2008. Spending some time with that is also part of what keeps me away from doing some of the blogs on here I want to get done. With that being said, I wanted to share this message. It is called 'Ron Paul earns the world's attention - and you can read it here:

I love the picture of some folks holding a banner in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.

check it out -- and if you're in the U.S. then all I can suggest is that you 1.) register to vote in the Republican party. and then 2.) be sure to VOTE in the primary election, for Dr. Ron Paul. (He's a medical doctor, not a lawyer -- not too many politicians aren't lawyers, which imho explains a lot!) And if you want to know more about him, there's tons of info. to find. He even has his own page on YouTube. Watching some of those video's was what convinced me he's 'the real deal' and not just one of those 'air-brushed, base your opinions on the polls' sort of politicians.

Secret of Spiritual Power

2007-08-16T16:23:00.001-07:00

Here's a most excellent article by Chip Brogden, I'll put the last few paragraphs below -- however it's all good. It starts with this passage of scripture:

"God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (James 4:6b,7)

RESIST THE DEVIL, AND HE WILL FLEE

So many times we try to resist, but we are defeated. Why?
Simply because we attempt to resist the devil before we have first submitted ourselves to God. There is a proper order that must be observed without fail. First, we must
understand the principle of God resisting the proud but giving grace to the humble. This is the foundation of everything we do. Second, the word "therefore" signifies that those who learn this principle will act upon it accordingly. If they understand the truth just stated, they will submit "therefore" to God. Third, as a result of their submitting to God, they will find the devil flees whenever and wherever they offer him resistance. The word "flee" means "to run away in terror". How wonderful! How delicious to see the devil running from us in terror, instead of the other way around! That should be the normal
experience of all Christians. That is the normal Christian life, a life that overcomes.

The whole object of satan is to bring us down from the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 2:6) and entangle us into some kind of earthly, fleshly thing that saps us of our strength and diminishes spiritual authority. Knowing this, the Lord has us to pray daily, "Deliver us from evil" (Matthew 6:13ff). That is to say, "Deliver us from the
earthly, the fleshly, the worldly, the carnal, the selfish, the natural, the human, where satan has influence to work evil against us. Deliver us from all that hinders and
distracts us, and bring us into the Kingdom of Your dear Son, that we may walk in Spirit and Truth, in the heavenly places, demonstrating your preeminence over all things
Below." Brothers and sisters, praying in this way is what it means to resist the devil. He cannot stand before us when we take the high ground and maintain the Lord's
Testimony.

If we grow impatient and fall into the flesh then we become weaker. To react in the flesh diminishes spiritual authority, and this must be avoided at all costs. Allowing the flesh to
have its way for only a moment guarantees defeat against a spiritual adversary. "We worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh" (Philippians 3:3). To lose all confidence in the flesh is to take the higher ground of the Spirit. To meet flesh with flesh means the victory will go to the strongest, and there
is always someone stronger than you according to the flesh. Instead, if people come against you in the flesh, let them come against you. If they wish to rail and argue with you according to the flesh, do not respond in kind. If they attack you without cause, let them attack, because the fleshly, the carnal, the natural cannot defeat the spiritual. The one who is submitted to the Lord has authority over those who remain unsubmitted to Him. Flesh is overruled by Spirit. Hate is overruled by Love. Darkness is overruled by Light. Death is overruled by Life. Earth is overruled by Heaven. "He that comes from above is above all" (John 3:31ff).

We offer no resistance, no defense, no argument, no justification to people who mean us harm. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12a). We resist satan, not the person. We stand against the devil, taking no action against the instruments the devil uses. We submit to God, we offer no resistance to man, but we stand firm against the spiritual adversary. Outwardly, before others, we appear weak. But inwardly, before God, we are strong. "Though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds" (II Corinthians 10:3,4). If we war after the flesh then we are emptied of spiritual strength. If we war after the Spirit then we are emptied of fleshly strength. Which will you have, spiritual authority, or fleshly power? You can have
either one you want, but you cannot have both.

We face perilous, dangerous times. The secret of spiritual power to see us through these times is humility. The arm of the flesh will fail us. Brothers and sisters, since we cannot avoid weakness, we may as well make the best possible use of it. Let us accept the dealings of the Holy Spirit with us and offer no resistance to Him. "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up" (James 4:10). Amen.

You can read the whole article here

And just to tie some EFT into the article, I believe it's much easier to be humble when our emotions aren't running amok. In addition, if your emotions are in control, then He can't be a light unto your path and it's also a lot harder to 'submit yourselves therefore to the Lord.' ..