‘Listen to your heart’ is one of the most used phrases in our world today. This phrase has inspired songs, movies, art, poetry, and even our very lives. But is this sound advice? Can we really depend on this advice to guide us in life? Can we really trust our heart? Join ArieRashelle as she searches through Scripture to answer the question, ‘Can You Listen To Your Heart?’
Genesis 6:5-8 Genesis 8:21 Jeremiah 17:9 Matthew 15:19 Luke 6:45 Psalms 51:9-12 John 3:3 Jeremiah 18:3-4 2 Corinthians 5:17 Hebrews 10:15-17 Romans 2:29 Hebrews 4:12 Ephesians 6:10-13 1 Corinthians 2:11-12 John 14:15-17
Listen To Your Heart Verses
Verses on The Heart
7 I will give them a heart to know that I am the LORD, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.
Jeremiah 24:7
19 And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, 20 that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.
Ezekiel 11:19-20
2 Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Romans 5:2-5
21 And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, 22 and who has also put His seal on us and given us His Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
2 Peter 3:9
God’s desire is that NONE would perish, but ALL be saved. How can we be sure?
17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.
John 3:17
11 Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?
Ezekiel 33:11
God’s desire is that ALL of mankind be saved, this is the will of God. This is the heart of God. So, what does that mean for us? Our overall call on ALL of our lives is to win lost souls. We are ALL called by God, and this is the overall call of God.
19 And He said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
Matthew 4:19
Can You Trust To Your Heart?
We have to listen to the heart of God, instead of trusting in our own heart. Don’t trust your own heart, trust the LORD. Follow the heart of God and He will guide you. Act in love and you will never stray from God. Live your life as though you love God with more than just words, love Him with your actions. Put your trust in Him and He will lead you to where you need to be.
Do you love Jesus? That’s a weird question to ask, right? As a Christian or a person of faith, you obviously love Jesus. We live in a society today that’s obsessed with love. And that’s not a problem in itself, love is good. God is love, but it becomes a problem when you make a blanket statement such as ‘I love Jesus’ or ‘I love God’ but live your life as if He doesn’t exist. What does that mean exactly? How do you know you love Jesus? Join ArieRashelle as she searches for the answer to these questions and more.
https://rumble.com/embed/vb6lg1/?pub=4ukgh
John 14:15 1 John 2:4-6 Matthew 22:34-40 Romans 13:8-10 Ephesians 5:25-27 Jeremiah 31:31-33 Ezekiel 20:30-31 Ezekiel 23:28-30 Romans 6:16 Galatians 5:1 Deuteronomy 4:23-24 Exodus 34:13-15 Hebrews 6:4-6 Hebrews 10:29 Galatians 5:19-24 Romans 12:21 1 John 5:4 John 3:3 2 Corinthians 5:17 Revelation 3:20
How Do You Love Jesus?
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
James 4:7-8
According to James, in order to love Jesus, you have to spend time with Him. You have to seek Him because when you seek Him, you will find Him. This is what God tells the prophet Jeremiah to tell to the people of Israel:
“11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
Jeremiah 29:11-13
Jesus tells us that in order to love Him we have to put Him above ourselves, our family, our desires. He has to be our everything. He has to be our number one. We have to follow in His footsteps, even if that means following Him to the cross.
24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?”
Matthew 16:24-26
How can I know for sure that you love Jesus? When you start to change who you once were, and you start to become more and more like Jesus. When you see the fruit of the Spirit start to manifest in your life, that’s when you know that you love Jesus.
As a gentile, it’s easy to feel as if Jesus didn’t really come to earth to save us. It’s easy to feel as if it was just a side effect of saving His own people. Almost as if He really only came for the Jews, we were just thrown in by default when He did on the cross and rose again on the third day. But is that the Truth? Did Jesus really only come for the Jews, or were the Gentiles always a part of His plans? Join ArieRashelle as she searches through Scripture to find the answer to the question, “Whom Did Jesus Come To Save?”
Matthew 15:24 Matthew 10:5-6 Jeremiah 4:1-2 Genesis 12:1-3 Romans 15:8-13 Galatians 3:7-9; 23-29 Romans 3:29-30 Revelation 5:9-10
More Verses on Who Did Jesus Come To Save
16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.
John 3:16-17
25 As indeed he says in Hosea, “Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’ and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’” 26 “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”
Romans 9:25-26
16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
John 10:16
Jesus didn’t come just for the Jews or just for ‘the righteous’. Jesus came for everyone. Why? Because God loves all of His creation. He doesn’t favor one more than the other, He shows no partiality. Jesus came for everyone, that means He came to save you.
The Death Penalty is instated and abided by in many countries all over the world. Many feel that the Death Penalty is an unjust, inhumane, evil law that should be abolished, while others feel that the Death Penalty is a necessary evil that we need to instill so that we can keep order in our countries. We all have opinions about the Death Penalty, but the only opinion that really matters is God’s opinion because, unlike mankind, God is perfect and all of His ways are Just and True. Join ArieRashelle as she searches through Scripture to find the answer to the only question that matters, ‘Does The Bible Support The Death Penalty?’
Matthew 5:29 Exodus 21:12-14 Hebrews 10:1 Hebrews 8:4-5 Colossians 2:16-17 Romans 6:23 1 John 5:16 Matthew 26:52 Genesis 9:6
Does The Bible Support The Death Penalty?
16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
1 Corinthians 3:16-17
10 If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.
Revelation 13:10
33 You shall not pollute the land in which you live, for blood pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of the one who shed it.
Numbers 35:33
10 And the LORD said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.”
So many people have given their lives for freedom. They’ve defended this country. They’ve defended our many freedoms. But in the process, many have died. Does the Bible justify this? Join ArieRashelle as she searches through Scripture to answer the question, ‘Can Christians Support War?’
Matthew 24:6 Matthew 5:38-39 Exodus 21:24 Leviticus 24:20 Deuteronomy 19:21 1 Samuel 8:7 Numbers 35:9-34 Romans 6:12-23 Galatians 5:1 2 Peter 2:19 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Romans 13:8-10 Matthew 5:43-48 John 18:36 Revelation 12:7-9 Ephesians 6:10-12 Matthew 10:14-15 2 Corinthians 6:14-16 Luke 14:31-33 Romans 13:1-7 1 Peter 2:13-17 Revelation 19:11
More on Christians and War?
Christians can and should serve in our military. Only the redeeming blood of Jesus can remove the pain of taking a life. When Jesus met with soldiers, He didn’t denounce them because of their job. He didn’t tell them to go war no more, in fact, Jesus commended a Gentile soldier for the amount of faith he had.
See, God has nothing in common with evil, so He cannot use sin as an example of who we are as Christians. We are the bride of Christ, but we are also warriors of Christ Jesus. That doesn’t mean we are supposed to go out and slaughter the heathen, it means we are spiritual warriors. We are in a war, both physical and spiritual, the only ones who can win this war are those who are Christ-Following Christians.
So, defend your nation as a soldier in the military, but don’t carry the pain of the military with you when you’re home. Give it to God, and He will take it. Quote Scripture, and you will be freed from all that you have seen and all that you have done. Christians should support just and righteous war. Seek discernment to know when war is righteous and when it is not.
Freedom Verses
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
Psalms 51:10
2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:2
21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
When it comes to prayer, is prayer only for God, or can Christians also pray to the Saints who have gone on before us? Does the Bible even cover this topic? Is this a grey area in Scriptures, or is the Bible clear on prayer? Join ArieRashelle as she searches through the Scriptures to find the answer to the question, ‘Can Christians Pray To The Saints?’
Revelation 6:9-11 Psalms 106:28-29 1 Samuel 28 Isaiah 8:19 1 Timothy 2:5-6 John 14:6 1 Corinthians 15:51-53 1 Corinthians 3:16 Galatians 2:20 John 15:4 John 15:9 1 John 4:8 John 15:16 John 14:14 Romans 8:26-28 Romans 8:34
More on ‘Can Christians Pray To The Saints?’
We oftentimes find it difficult to let go of sins simply because it is tradition. When something is passed down from generation to generation, it becomes a generational curse. It becomes a stronghold in the lives of our descendants. Look at what Jesus accuses the Pharisees of doing:
Matthew 15:1-9
1 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” 3 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?
4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” 6 he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. 7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:
8 “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 9 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”
Explanation
The Pharisees were living in sin and teaching others to live in sin all because of tradition. Tradition is one of the most dangerous weapons the Devil has in his arsenal. Don’t let that trip you up. Study the Scriptures for yourself to see if what is being taught to you is true or not, don’t just take someone’s word for it. Be like the Bereans who would go and look to see if what Paul was teaching them was true. If the Bereans took the time to double-check the greatest apostle who ever lived, we can take the time to double-check our pastors and teachers of our day and age. Seek the discernment of the Holy Spirit so that you may recognize false prophets in your lives. So that you can recognize wolves in sheep clothing. And so that you can recognize the goats living among you.
As Christians, we are to abstain from the very appearance of evil, but how do we know if something is evil? Aren’t we called to go out into the world? Aren’t we told to do as the Romans do when in Rome? So, once a year on Halloween, can’t Christians Trunk or Treat? It’s not like we’re really trick or treating. Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he searches through Scripture to answer these questions and more in his video, Can Christians Trunk or Treat?
Proverbs 18:13 Exodus 32:4–6 Matthew 23:25 Matthew 23:27–28 Proverbs 8:36b 1 Thessalonians 5:22 1 Corinthians 10:31 Colossians 3:17 1 Peter 4:11 2 Corinthians 6:14b–16a Ecclesiastes 5:1 Proverbs 14:12
Can Christians Trunk or Treat?
Trunk or Treat
Trunk or Treat is just the Christian way of saying Trick or Treat. It’s so that our children don’t feel left out while all of their friends get to go trick or treating. We then try to make it Christian and change the name so that no one can say anything, but God still sees this as it is. It’s still sin.
14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?15 What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17 Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, 18 and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”
2 Corinthians 6:14-18
Our Story
While in Lakeland, Florida, we did host a Trunk or Treat event, with the Pastor’s blessing and participation in 2012. We provided food. Handed out candy. Did face painting. We only played Christian music. We even had a trunk specifically about Jesus. With all of that said, there were still no converts. No one got saved. No one found Jesus. We were simply falling into the lie that you can mix paganism with Christianity as long as you make it look Christian enough.
We fell into the lie again when we moved to Tennessee in 2015. The problem was we allowed ourselves to give into a form of peer pressure, if you will. We didn’t want to come across as that rude, anti-social house. So, we gave out candy. We once again mixed paganism with Christianity. We’ll tell them happy Thanksgiving instead of Happy Halloween. We’ll build relationships with our neighbors so we can witness to them. Once again, no one saw Jesus. The only change was in our home when an evil spirit entered in 2017, which we talk about more in our video Can Christians Celebrate Halloween?
When we mix the righteous with the unrighteous, like Christians and Trunk or Treat, we are giving in to the Spirit of Belial. The Spirit of Belial is the King of The Religious Spirits. He will help you justify any sin that you want to partake in, and sooner or later, you will believe the lie that you have told yourself.
From haunted houses to horror movies, we, as a people, have become obsessed with the supernatural, specifically possession. We see girls’ heads turn all the way around, people levitate, get telekinetic abilities all because of demon-possession, but are any of that even real? Is demon-possession real at all? Does the Bible validate the notion of people being possessed by demons and levitating or their head spinning all the way around?
If demon-possession is real, what does it look like? If we haven’t experienced something for ourselves, oftentimes, we find ourselves relying on what we’ve seen and what we’ve heard to understand a subject, even if the source is fiction. We see the words ‘based on a true story,’ and we automatically assume that every portrayal in that movie (or book) is accurate, but is that true? Is demon-possession just like in the movies?
What about Christians? If demon-possession is real, can Christians be demon-possessed? How can God live in us if we are possessed by an evil spirit? The two just seem to contradict. God can’t be where evil is. Right? Join ArieRashelle as she searches through Scripture to answer these questions and more.
Luke 13:10-13 Mark 9:17-29 Matthew 11:4-6 John 9:1-7 John 5:2-9 1 Kings 18:28 Job 2:7-10 Genesis 12 Genesis 20 Mark 5:1-15 Acts 19:11-16 Acts 16:16-19 1 Samuel 28:8-14 Luke 13:16 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 2 Corinthians 10:4-6 Colossians 2:13-15 Isaiah 53:5-6
Demon-Possession: The Spirit of Infirmity
14 Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled. 15 But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,” 16 while others, to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven.
Luke 11:14-16
32 As they were going away, behold, a demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to him. 33 And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds marveled, saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.” 34 But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.”
Matthew 9:32-34
21 And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and was teaching. 22 And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. 23 And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, 24 “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.”
25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28 And at once His fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.
Mark 1:21-28
Non-Demonic Infirmity
25 And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, 26 and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. 27 She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. 28 For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” 29 And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.
30 And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” 31 And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’ ” 32 And he looked around to see who had done it. 33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. 34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
Mark 5:25-34
46 And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.”
50 And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51 And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” 52 And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.
Mark 10:46-52
40 And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” 41 Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” 42 And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. 43 And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, 44 and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” 45 But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter.
Mark 1:40-45
1 And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. 2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. 3 And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. 4 And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. 5 And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 8 And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— 11 “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” 12 And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”
Mark 2:1-11
27 And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” 28 When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” 29 Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.” 30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, “See that no one knows about it.” 31 But they went away and spread his fame through all that district.
Matthew 9:27-31
Demon-Possession: Cutting and Self-Mutilation
1You are the sons of the Lord your God. You shall not cut yourselves or make any baldness on your foreheads for the dead. 2 For you are a people holy to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
Deuteronomy 14:1-2
28 You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord.
Leviticus 19:28
Demon-Possession: Violent and Supernatural Strength
9 Then a harmful spirit from the Lord came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. And David was playing the lyre. 10 And Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.
1 Samuel 19:9-10
22 Abimelech ruled over Israel three years. 23 And God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem, and the leaders of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech, 24 that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the men of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers. 25 And the leaders of Shechem put men in ambush against him on the mountaintops, and they robbed all who passed by them along that way. And it was told to Abimelech.
Judges 9:22-26
Demon-Possession: The Spirit of The Occult
1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. 2 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. 3 For he rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. 4 And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem will I put my name.”
5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. 6 And he burned his son as an offering and used fortune-telling and omens and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. 7 And the carved image of Asherah that he had made he set in the house of which the Lord said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever.
2 Kings 21:1-7
9 When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer 11 or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, 12 for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you.
Deuteronomy 18:9-12
16 And they abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God, and made for themselves metal images of two calves; and they made an Asherah and worshiped all the host of heaven and served Baal. 17 And they burned their sons and their daughters as offerings and used divination and omens and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. 18 Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them out of his sight. None was left but the tribe of Judah only.
2 Kings 17:16-18
4 I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and prospering in my palace. 5 I saw a dream that made me afraid. As I lay in bed the fancies and the visions of my head alarmed me. 6 So I made a decree that all the wise men of Babylon should be brought before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream.
7 Then the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers came in, and I told them the dream, but they could not make known to me its interpretation. 8 At last Daniel came in before me—he who was named Belteshazzar after the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods—and I told him the dream, saying, 9 “O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no mystery is too difficult for you, tell me the visions of my dream that I saw and their interpretation.”
Daniel 4:4-9
Explanation:
Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon, had a dream that troubled him deeply, so he went to his magicians and his enchanters, all those who were demon-possessed or filled by a Spirit of The Occult, but none of them could tell him his dream. Because of this, he had to go to Daniel because he knew that the Spirit of God rested upon and Daniel. So, if no one else could determine the meaning of the dream, he knew Daniel could because he knew Daniel’s God could.
During the time of Moses, Pharaoh also had demon-possessed men who were magicians able to imitate some of the works of God that Moses did. Exodus 7:10-12, “10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent. 11 Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts. 12 For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.”
Christians and Demon-Possession and Demonic Legalism
There is a Christian who used to dabble in the occult, but then she found Jesus and accepted His Salvation. She even was filled with the Holy Spirit, but the demonic realm still had a legal tie over her life because she didn’t cast out that demon. Here’s her story.
1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. 2 And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?” 3 Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. 4 And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.”
5 And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord was standing by. 6 And the angel of the Lord solemnly assured Joshua, 7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my charge, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here.”
Zechariah 3:1-7
Explanation:
This has to occur before the Final Judgment because Joshua has not yet been changed into his immortal, pure, perfect body. 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality (1 Corinthians 15:51-53). So, this has to before The Final Judgment, and yet, Satan, the Accuser, is accusing a Christian in the Courts of Heaven.
Satan The Accuser:
Satan is constantly accusing the Church, if all ties are broken the moment that you accept Salvation what is he accusing you of? 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.” (Revelation 12:10)
Peter’s Warning To The Church:
8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8-11)
Healing Is The Children’s Bread:
26 And He answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” (Matthew 15:26)
24 He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24)
Often times, we hear that Christians need to keep their faith out of politics because politics has nothing to do with their faith. Is it possible to separate faith and politics? Should we, as Christians, vote based on our Christian beliefs? Or should we separate faith and politics? Join ArieRashelle as she digs into Scripture for answers in our latest video, Does The Law of The Land Matter?
How Do We Know If The Law of The Land Contradicts God’s Word?
First, we must know what the Word of God actually says. The only way to do that is by going to Church and spending time in the Word of God for ourselves. Paul tells us that it’s not just enough to go out and listen to someone preach. He tells us we need to take it a step further and go search the Scriptures to make sure that whatever they are teaching us lines up with the Word of God. “11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” (Acts 17:11)
The only way to know if laws are Godly or immoral is by knowing the difference between good and evil, which is only learned through Scripture. With that said, I understand that it can get confusing when it comes to certain laws and certain beliefs, as the Bible and its teachings are not as popular and easy-going as culture is today. See, culture is changing rapidly. It is straying, no, running farther and farther away from God. The problem with following culture, is that culture is continually changing and is different everywhere you go because the people are different and believe different things everywhere you go.
Different Cultures with Horrifying Practices:
For instance, in around 27 countries located in the sub-Saharan and North-east Africa, as well as a few Asian countries, including India, the practice of Female Genital Mutilation exists. In our culture, this sounds like an evil, wicked, and cruel practice, but these peoples that practice these rituals, to them it is just culture. For the past 700 years, the people of South Indiahave practiced religiously, I might add, the act of Baby Tossing. Every year, during the month of December, more than one hundred babies are thrown from the top of a Hindu Temple roof to a group of men standing below with a cloth intent on catching the babies. These aren’t the only cultural horrors of other countries and peoples; there are plenty more that include: eating the flesh of the dead, human sacrifice, finger amputation, feet/neck binding, and more. For a few more rituals, check out this website.
So, how can we hold to culture’s beliefs and culture’s truth, which is based on the premise that what we think is best, is best? We can’t hold to a continuously changing standard created by flawed men and women. No, instead we have to hold to the firm, established, perfect Word of God that is unchangeable. We have to believe that Jesus meant what He said in John 14:6, “I am The Way, and The Truth, and The Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
“I think God would want me to be happy” is a common response in today’s Church whenever we’re being spiritually corrected. But is that a fair statement? Does God want us to be happy? It would seem only right that God would want us to be happy and enjoy life to the fullest, but is that what God really wants for our lives? Is the Joy of the LORD the same as happiness? Join ArieRashelle as she searches through Scripture to find the Truth in our video, Does God Want Me To Be Happy?
Revelation 20:11-15 Matthew 18:7-9 Matthew 26:40-41 John 21:15-19 Romans 7:14-25 Psalms 37:3-4 1 Samuel 13:14
Does God Want Me To Be Happy?
How to Have Joy
Oftentimes, we fall into this trap because we have been told that God loves everyone and just wants us to have the best. That statement in itself is true, but the problem with that statement is that we base ‘love’ and ‘best’ on cultural standards instead of Biblical standards. According to Biblical standards, God’s desire for us is to have life and life more abundantly. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you will be a millionaire because that’s living life more abundantly, and let me be clear, there’s nothing wrong with being a millionaire; that’s just not what God was promising.
Having life and life more abundantly had nothing to do with material things; instead, it was about living without the chains of sin, shame, anger, depression, anxiety, etc. God’s promise was FREEDOM. Freedom from the chains and strongholds of this world. And happiness is one of the biggest strongholds of this world. If we stop chasing happiness, then we can start chasing freedom. Then and only then will be filled with The Joy of The LORD. And the Joy of The LORD, that is our strength. God doesn’t want us happy, He wants us filled with His joy because happiness doesn’t lead to freedom.
