There is a place in the scriptures called Gilead, it was known for it’s healing balm and it’s physicians.

Jeremiah 8:22 “Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there?…”

When you are seriously wounded it is wise to see a physician. Most likely he will have a balm or some other medicine to heal you. The same is true spiritually. If you are spiritually hurting or wounded, you need the great physician. 

Luke 5:31 “And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick.”

Whatever your wound is, no matter how deep, or how long you have had it, the great physician, Jehovah Rapha, is able to heal you, if you are willing. Your will, your volition, is the most important aspect of your healing. If you don’t want to be healed, then the Lord can do nothing to help you.

John 5:6 “When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?”  This was a pivotal question indeed. There must come a time that your desire to be made well must overpower the attachments you have to your offenses. You see, the bitterness you have over your past offenses can become a part of you, a part of your personality, a part of who you are. Many just want to offer excuses as to why they cannot get over it. Some people have spent so much time down in the hole, that they have made their home there.

There is a way out, there is hope, you can be set free. But first you must want it more than you want to hold on to your bitterness. You must want freedom over bondage, and forgiveness over bitterness.

In the next several blog posts, I will be dealing with this subject, a little at a time. If you are hurting spiritually, then you may want to follow the next several posts…

How should Christian men and women dress? Well, first of all, if we are walking close to the Lord then our outward appearance will reflect our heart, and we will not dress carnally, or in a revealing way. The problem is that many people don’t know where to draw the line. In fact, it is disturbing how many “Christian” women and girls wear men’s clothing, and how many men dress in feminine clothes – in church!

It says in Deuteronomy 22:5 “The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are an abomination unto the LORD thy God.”

Also, 1 Corinthians 11:14-15 “Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? ¹⁵ But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.”

And, 1 Timothy 2:9-10 “In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.” 

In churches across America, supposedly “mature” believers are dressing in ungodly ways. It is different for a new convert that doesn’t know better, but what about those who should know better? Women are wearing tight pants and shorts, and tank tops, men are wearing pink shirts and earrings, men have long hair and women have short hair….I think the devil is mocking God by showing how easily he can pervert God’s children…even in church.

How a Christian dresses matters to God!!! Yes, God looks upon the heart, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t care how his children dress. It is a very direct reflection of the heart…either a heart for God, or a heart for the world, the flesh, and the devil.

“There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.” Proverbs 30:12

“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31

“It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.” Romans 14:21

I wonder how God feels when we pull up to our Bible, place a quick order to God, and then grab it and go. How can that be spiritually nutritious at all? How can we be satisfied eating those kinds of spiritual meals all the time?

It says in Luke 10:41-42 “And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

As Mary sat at the feet of Jesus, she had the right priorities. She waited on Him. Oh, how the Lord wants us to wait at his feet, to let him set the pace, and to let him nourish our souls. What a divine invitation to sit at the Kings table, and be both filled and satisfied.

I know the Lord will serve us in those “fast food” times, Ihave been there myself. I have also experienced the spiritual stomach aches that inevitably come from not eating right spiritually. I pray that I will learn only to be satisfied by dining at the Master’s table every day.

This post is actually a test. I have been watching how many hits my blog gets daily. It seems that when I post about the devil and demons I get almost double the hits. Yet when I post about other subjects the interest is much less.

As Christians, shouldn’t we be more attracted to the light rather than to the dark? Shouldn’t we have a hunger and thirst for righteousness, rather than darkness? Why is it that so many “believers” are so enamored with demonism, and so disinterested with the Holy Spirit?

It says in 1 Thessalonians 5:5 “Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.”

Also, Ephesians 5:8-14 “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.”

Why do so many “believers” have satanic infatuations?

• Is it a salvation issue?
• Is it a seperation issue?
• Is it a satanic issue?

I am looking for comments and feedback on the subject…feel free to contribute your thoughts and comments…

On Saturday night, July 4th, 2009, megachurch pastor and “emergent church” leader,  Rick Warren, spoke at the Islamic Society of North America. He says “the two largest faiths on the planet — Muslims and Christians — must work together to combat stereotypes, promote peace and freedom and solve global problems.”

Click here to read about it on Fox News –  http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,530083,00.html?test=latestnews

Revelation 13:11-12 “And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.”

Now first, I am not saying that Rick Warren is the Anti-Christ, but he may be an ignorant participant. In the end times, the false church will EMERGE “like a lamb”, but “as a dragon”. Those people who think that so-called “Christian” churches will not be a part of Satan’s one-world church have a surprise coming. The One-World Church is “like a lamb”, but “as a dragon”.

Holding hands with the Muslims sounds wonderful…”like a lamb”. Should Christians work together with Muslims? What does the Bible say…

Amos 3:3 “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?”

 Ephesians 5:11 “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.”

 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? 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. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”

Well, the scriptures speak for themselves as usual….

The founders recognized the Bible for what it is, the inerrant, infallible, incorruptible, perfect word of God. The Bible was taught to nearly every child of every family. The Bible was the primary book used in the schools to teach science, math, English, and history.

 Today as a nation, we have been saturated with the truth of God and the message of the Gospel. The danger we face today is not that we don’t know the truth, but that we have grown tired of it, and seek new “enlightened” ideas.

John Adams said in a speech to the military in October 1798, “We have no government armed with power which is capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and a religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

The very popular Patrick Henry, who is best known for his declaration “Give me liberty, or give me death!” concluded, “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians, not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ! For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here.”

As you walk up the steps to the Capitol Building, which houses the Supreme Court, you can see the following:

• Near the top of the building are a row of the world’s “law givers”. Each one is facing the middle. Inside the middle, facing forward, with a full frontal view, is Moses and the Ten Commandments! 
• As you enter the Supreme Court courtroom, the two huge oak doors have the Ten Commandments engraved on each lower portion of each door.
• As you sit inside the courtroom, you can see the wall right above where the Supreme Court judges sit a display of the Ten Commandments! 

James Madison, the fourth president, known as “The Father of Our Constitution” made the following statement …”“We have staked the whole of all our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.”

•  Every session of Congress begins with a prayer by a paid preacher…whose salary has been paid by the taxpayer since 1777. 
• The very first Supreme Court Justice, John Jay, said, “Americans should select and prefer Christians as their rulers.”

 Without a doubt we have an undeniable, rich Christian heritage that is claimed by the majority of Americans today.

Even Bob Dylan (whom I don’t normally quote) had it right when he said, “it might be the devil, or it might be the Lord, but your gonna have to serve somebody”.

It says in Romans 6:16-18 “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.”

Well, you are free….free to choose. You have a free will. You will either serve sin or righteousness, the devil or the Lord, self or the Savior. No doubt you are yielding to one or the other. Your choices, your decisions, your actions will prove that you are a servant.

For the Christian the choice is clear, but all too often even Christians are serving the masters of self, sin, and Satan. All are cruel masters indeed, dominating the life of stolen subjects.

2 Timothy 2:24-26 “And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.”

Freedom comes with choices, whose servant are you choosing to be?

As I consider this subject a few thoughts come to mind. First, most men find a great portion of their worth and value in their ability to work and provide for their families. This is wrong thinking that has crept into our churches. Our value and worth is not found in the world at all…it is found in God. Did those who went through the Great Depression have less worth or value because of their unemployment? No!

It says in 1 Corinthians 7:23-24 “Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men. Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.”

If you are saved, you are bought with a price, oh, and by the way, you were very expensive to God. Your worth and value is far greater than you probably realize. YOU MATTER TO GOD!!!

Second, it is God’s responsibity to provide for the man that is willing to work, and his family. Unemployment is a great opportunity to increase your faith and improve your prayer life.

Philippians 4:19 “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

Third, if you have been giving faithfully and biblically to your local church, then you shouldn’t have too much to worry about, the Lord will keep his promises…but if you haven’t been a faithful steward of what the Lord has already trusted you with, why should you expect God to bail you out now? Maybe this will be an expensive lesson, it would be best to learn it as quick as you can.

How much mileage is God getting out of you, spiritually? Are you a “church hog” that provides no spiritual fuel efficiency at all? What are you putting in the tank? Too many Christians today fill up their tanks at church, but not on GOD, and they sure don’t go very far on it. What are the symptoms? They are sluggish, unresponsive, weighted down, slow and unreliable. Worse yet, most of the time they fill up and then don’t even pay!

However, God is the answer, and the result is a fine tuned – well running, efficient and effective Christian life. Is it time to trade in your old “spiritual hog” for something that can run the race? How do you make that trade? The answer is God – the Holy Spirit. Fill up with the Holy Spirit and you might be surprised…

Ephesians 5:17-20 “Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;” 

How do you fill up on the Holy Spirit? The answer is the Word of God and PRAYER…no prayer – no power! So fill up today and enjoy the drive, he might even take you on the ride of your life…

Don’t get me wrong, I think that it is vitally important to be a lifelong student. In fact, I am still studying myself, and earning college degrees. The question is, what should we be learning…

It says in 1 Corinthians 1:19-21 “For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”

How often do you listen to great preaching? It amazes me how fast the truth of God cuts through the foolish wisdom of this world. Christianity has always been the thinking man’s religion, but that too is most often a dead end. Collecting religious knowledge is no better than any other information. So what should we study, what should we be learning, what education is helpful?

Jesus says in Matthew 11:28-30 ”Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Now that indeed sounds enlightening doesn’t it? Learn of Christ, and you will find rest for your souls! But oh, that doesn’t always sit well considering the measure of many people’s so called “intellectual prowess”. Let them have their “prowess”….learn of Christ, find a great Bible preacher to be your pastor, and go to the school of prayer.