Sooo..over the last couple of days, I read Piercing the
Darkness by Frank Peretti. I guess it just proves tht there is a time for
everything and a thing explored before its time is going to be useless to you.
I have had This Present Darkness for over 5 years and I haven’t ever got past
the second chapter. I thought..this Peretti dude is sooo tedious and impossible
to read and so booooring! So I just stocked up on DekKer who was going down
oh-so-smoothly. I used to think that people who enjoyed Peretti had a mindset
that I would never come to understand…
One time when I was going through this depression, downhill
spiral thing, somehow God sent the Big Bro’s wife to talk to me and we had the
most amazing conversation (which totally drew me out of that state and gave me
new strength), and somewhere during that conversation, she used the Peretti
book as an illustration how fear and depression and anxiety ati be be lo were
demons that latched on to us and we carry them about and feed them by indulging
them and giving in, and dwelling on them when we should be renouncing them…so I
bore that in mind and picked up the book when I got the chance..
Bear with me if this sounds like a book review for a bit but
that’s how it is :P…The theory with the demons and our negative emotions is a
topic all in itself, but the theme that resonated with me personally, and the
one which I want to try and broach in this post is about deception and the very
thin line between the truth and lies.
The book made me squirm a bit because it touched on things
that I feel I’ve been guilty of and may still carry the residue about with me
unknowingly. In it there’s a whole movement dedicated to basically re-educating
people in such a way that it effectively eradicates and undermines Christianity
and creates a world culture that is totally controllable by these people…
See, the thing is…that they didn’t all out go and say
this…oh no, they approached it with a lot of logic. They indoctrinated school
curriculum which was void of “excessive
religious instruction”, making Christianity out to look like this ancient,
dumb, often bizarre thing…nevermind that according to the new curriculum,
children were made to meditate and
“channel” and receive “spirit guides” and all this, of course was
presented in the most matter-of-fact way as perfectly normal and supremely
logical…
Let me try and narrow down what exactly pinches me
funny…first of all, it’s the way the devil tries to make a mockery of Christianity,
as per makes it out to be irrational,
impractical and generally silly and even dangerous, while replacing it with
outrageously questionable things but speaking of them as though they were pure
logic and ”humanity” and of course, the total opposite of the picture of
Christianity they’ve painted.
This is what is scary. Lies are presented as common sense.
Having morals and values and obeying God’s word are presented as being
intolerant and unloving. God’s commandments are made out to be burdensome and
unfair..and then people start looking for answers elsewhere, and the devil is
all to happy to provide this elsewhere, provide alternatives that “logically”
sound like a good deal, sound like a good idea, sound like they make a whole
lot of sense and are practically dripping tolerance and love…and people accept
this..because it’s easier..it’s easier o pick rules that agree with what YOU
want to believe, it’s easier than rules that break that and shape you into a
better you..people will pick what seems easier..but there is that road that is
wide, with the easy way, and the end of that road is death. That yearning that
they will seek to fill will never get satisfied, so they hop from belief system
to system…eastern mysticism, occultism, witchcraft..because they seem to be
bathed in mystery and offer that secret that is the key to it all..this, of
course, is a lie..people seeking an easy andwer and oly eager to look for it in
complicated places. The yoke of the Lord is light..but that’s not enough,
apparently.
This is the part that made me squirm…If you’ve read this
blog for a while, or if you somehow read it down to way back when…you’ll see
that it is indeed a journey, and I have been at that place where I sought God
in other places than through Jesus. All these other philosophies seemed to make
so much sense, they seemed so fair and all embracing, and I was gathering my
“spirituality” from all these sources..a little Buddhism, a little yoga there,
some meditation here, an interest in crystals there. God has saved me, and is
still saving me, opening my eyes to understanding why exactly that isn’t the
way..this book has been a huge step. I am super thankful for His work this way.
I would say that when stuck in a confusing situation, just
ask yourself…Does the Bible agree with this? Is it through Jesus? If there is a
no, then move on and leave it alone. I realize how this sounds like the typical
“intolerant”, “blind” “fanatic” Christian that the enemy tries to paint..but
believe me, this is between you and your interest for the destiny of your soul.
Things like this used to rub me the wrong way, used to grate against my ego,
like…oh please, so I should dumb down and limit myself in order to be a
Chistian? And the devil just goes to town with that deception, using pride to
make you seek God everywhere but where He is. Just leading people astray. It’s
not “dumbing down”, it is humility, and surprise surprise, humility is quite a
difficult thing to do…but when you humble yourself before God, He gives you a
whole new type of understanding and clarity..i am testimony to this.
I think the summary to this post is this…There is a very
thin line between lies and the Truth. I keep remembering the Sunday school
class I sat in on and they really concentrated on explaining how in the garden,
the devil didn’t all out lie to Eve. He did not construct a fresh story for
Eve..oh no..He took God’s word, and edited it, so that Eve was deceived. She
heard some parts that rang true and allowed the lies to come in under that
umbrella. This is the same way a “teaching” or “philosophy” doesn’t have to
scream evil intentions from a mile away with lights flashing.. For the most
part, it will come looking rational and logical and tolerant and all that good,
sensible stuff…it doesn’t make it God’s word… again, this situation is leading
me to a lot of prayer and contemplation, because it means I might have to
review my support of some things that I really kinda like, for example, Coelho
and the part where he’s advocating “channeling” and then you stop and think…and
wonder how much that is backed up in the bible..it is a practice that can let
in anything..not just the angels you intend to talk to..why dabble with fire? I
do think this is a whole other conversation though..right ow, I’m praying, and
trying to work with the..stop, and ask yourself, pick a situation apart and
hold up every bit against God’s word..don’t let in any kinds of Trojans. If you
knaaamean! Basically , watch, be vigilant, for the enemy is a prowling,
deceptive lion, out to destroy.
Again I will say…this blog Is about a relationship, a
journey. Relationships are not stagnant, I have watched my thoughts and
convictions grow, change, evolve. This is life, this is evidence to progress as
far as I am concerned. It is not wisdom to pick a ship and sink with it. The
Lord has been at work in my life, and I can see that looking back..i am
thankful that I have this platform as a testimony and reminder and chronicler
of that..
I am thankful for life
I am thankful for my family
I am thankful for God
I am thankful for the relationship He has made possible for
each and every one of us to have with Him
I am thankful for my friends
I am thankful for forgiveness
I am thankful for Love
I am thankful for thoughtfulness
I am thankful for understanding
I am thankful for God teaching me everyday
I am thankful for growth
I am thankful for the Holy Spirit
I am thankful for Inspiration
I am thankful for this post…because as per usual, when I sat
down….no clue as to what exactly was going to happen.lol was ready to type “do
not be deceived” and let it be that…
I am thankful for curiosity
I am thankful for laughter
I am thankful for grace
I am thankful for His patience
I am thankful that He is faithful
I am thankful that He loves me so
I am thankful for communication
I am thankful for each new day..it’s always a gift, a
surprise, and worth living for
I am thankful for His perfect plan
I am thankful for purpose
I am thankful for relationships
I am thankful for books
I am thankful for signs
I am thankful for pleasant little gifts He sends my way
I am thankful that I am SO blessed
I am thankful that He never abandons me
I am thankful that He saved, and keeps on saving me
I am thankful for praise and worship music
I am thankful for beautiful people dem
I am thankful for prayer
I am thankful for God’s commandments
I am thankful!!!!!
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