If you truly believe in Jesus, why is he not the top of your priorities? What caused him to come down on your scale of priorities?
When you got born again, you always wanted to do the will of God and to please him, what caused the shift?
Have we become too much interested in me, myself, and I so much that everything is about our interest and nothing else?
2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
The level of priority you give to God shows the genuineness of your relationship with him. What caused you to move from pursuing the will of God to become self conscious? Have you been drifting without knowing?
Christianity? Try hypocrisy. Many people profess to be Christians but they are seen as hypocrites because their lights do not shine. They are seen going to church everyday but they are not the salt of their world. When salt loses its taste, it is thrown out and men walk on it. We pretend to love God but genuinely, we don’t. We love ourselves more than we love God.
When we are in our circle of influence, do we glorify God or do we just blend with them and try to be politically correct?
We prefer to remain in our comfort zones rather than be relevant in our society.
Matthew 25:32-40 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye 1 blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Whenever you are not relevant to your society, we deny him. Our actions speak louder than our words.
If we are willing to die to the flesh for him, then we can live for him. If we are willing to stand firm even in the face of death then we will be able to live for him and share the gospel to every one.
Matthew 24:45-46 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
God will come back looking for a remnant who would not have compromised or drifted from the truth. He will come back for those who have remained faithful to the call, who have not been carried away by the things happening around us. He will come back for a remnant who have not defiled themselves.
Sunday, 29 November 2009
Thursday, 12 November 2009
Islamic Demographics
It's time for every beleiver who is a pew warmer and an armchair christian to wake up from your sleep and begin to evangelise.
Saturday, 7 November 2009
Christians persecuted in England
I just can't beleive this. A christian country persecuting Christians in the name of political correctness. God save us.
All beleivers must rise up in prayer.
Friday, 6 November 2009
CALL TO ACTION Rifqa's life is in great dangerFrom Jamal Jivanjee...
To all those who value life,
Please take a few minutes to consider the life of our sister in the faith Rifqa Bary, which is once again in grave jeopardy. On Tuesday October 27’th, Rifqa Bary was handed over to Ohio authorities for placement in foster care in Franklin County. Over the previous weekend, a very unfortunate deal was made by Rifqa’s former Florida Guardian Ad Litem, Krista Bartholomew, with Rifqa’s parent’s attorney David Colley that allowed Rifqa to be transferred back to Ohio. The gist of this (behind the scenes) deal was the following:
1. Because Rifqa’s parents are in the U.S. illegally, they refused and defied numerous court orders to produce documents detailing their immigration status. As a result, Rifqa’s parents were in danger of being arrested for contempt of court. The Florida judge who had emergency jurisdiction over the case said that even though the jurisdiction is transferred to Ohio, he was not going to release her until they produced the proper documentation that satisfied the court.
Well, in order to have the immigration issue go away for Rifqa’s parents, Mohammad Bary’s attorney, David Colley, cut a ‘behind the scenes’ deal in which the Florida court would drop the contempt of court issue regarding their immigration situation in exchange for an assurance that they would leave Rifqa alone and let her stay in foster care for the next 9 months until she is 18. This sounded like it was too good to be true, and it was! As soon as Rifqa was transferred into Ohio custody and the Florida court gave up their emergency jurisdiction over Rifqa and the immigration issue, Rifqa’s parents fired their own attorney that made the deal! Simply put, now that Rifqa was in ‘favorable’ hands in Ohio, all deals are off! They trusted Rifqa's parents hoping they would live up to their word, and because of this, Rifqa is in a dangerous situation and there is nothing the Florida court can do now because the (G.A.L.) gave the entire house away! Let this be a lesson about Mohammad Bary's real intentions.
In my opinion, this was all part of a premeditated plan on the part of Rifqa’s parents and the organization called C.A.I.R. who has been advising them according to the Florida department of law enforcement report released to the public. They have since hired a Muslim activist attorney named Omar Tarazi that is no doubt influenced by the mafia like C.A.I.R. organization whose sole agenda is to paint a positive picture of Islam in America at any cost. (The slander of the Lorenz family and the slander of 17 year old Rifqa’s own character by releasing her prayer journals to the media are perfect examples of how C.A.I.R. ruthlessly operates to accomplish their agenda.)
They completely went back on the agreement that they made to leave Rifqa alone, and I believe they now are planning to continue to pursue to get her back against Rifqa’s will. C.A.I.R. wants her silenced both now, and in the future, because they know that Rifqa’s story of abuse is common among many Muslim families. Apostasy in Islam is not something they want to shine a light on. They know that as her story gets out there, there will be a massive exodus of Muslims just like her. Indeed, it has already begun!
2. If that was not bad enough, Rifqa went back to a hostile environment in Ohio right away. In an article posted on Saturday October 24’th, three days before her return to Ohio, the Columbus Dispatch reported that Eric Fenner, the executive director of Franklin County Children Services, has said that he has stated that he “has no reason to believe that Rifqa wouldn’t be safe with her parents.” Remember this is coming from the very person who has charge over protecting her!
Rifqa then arrived back to Ohio on Tuesday October 27’th. Upon her arrival came a new set of restrictions that her parents and Muslim attorneys have been trying to impose on her from the beginning…solitary confinement! While Rifqa was being protected in Florida, they repeatedly tried to separate Rifqa from other Christians that she leaned on for strength and encouragement. Rifqa’s Muslim parents have been saying from the beginning that they don’t believe that Rifqa became a Christian on her own accord, rather they believe that her real problem is that she has been brain washed by other people through facebook and over the phone.
Immediately upon Rifqa’s arrival to Ohio, came new draconian measures to limit her freedom already! Franklin County Juvenile Magistrate Mary Goodrich put these restrictions on Rifqa at the request of the Franklin county children's services agency immediately upon her arrival back to the state of Ohio.
“Bary's use of Facebook was one issue that led to the situation, said Jim Zorn, a children's services attorney, who asked Goodrich to restrict Bary from using the Internet and her cell phone. "What we want to restrict is the other people, the other organizations, the other forces, that have interjected themselves into this case inappropriately, and has caused the additional problems that we've seen," Zorn said.
Zorn’s account of Rifqa’s situation is absolutely false! Where is he getting his information? It seems as if the Ohio director of children’s services in Franklin County is reading right out of the C.A.I.R. and radical Muslim playbook for this case. Facebook did not in any way lead to this situation. What led to this situation was the fact that a very bright and intelligent girl decided to leave Islam and become a Christian. According to numerous passages in the Qur’an and other Islamic scriptures, this is called apostasy and is punishable by death. Like many others all over the world, Rifqa faced this threat of death, or even deportation back to Sri-Lanka by her own family along with pressure from the Columbus Ohio mosque that her family was actively apart of.
What crime did Rifqa Bary commit that she would be held with such restrictions from communicating to the outside world? While it is legal for 17 year old girls in this country to have abortions without parental agreement, this 17 year old girl is forbidden to have unrestricted access to her phone or facebook friends of her choosing! Is she under house arrest because she is a Christian? This sounds like Sharia law in Ohio!
Immediate Call to Action:
Before I get into the specifics of how we can help, let me say this about a very common misunderstanding that many Christians have regarding God’s sovereignty and fighting for justice. Many of my well meaning brothers and sisters in the church have wondered what the balance is between sitting back, trusting God, and actively fighting for justice. Some have said that because I am fighting for justice in Rifqa’s situation, I am taking the situation in my hands and I am not trusting that God is sovereign over this situation. That is ridiculous to say the least. First of all there is a tremendous amount of support in scripture that commands the people of God to not remain silent in the face of injustice, and to speak and defend those who cannot defend themselves. For time’s sake, I will not list those passages here. If you need help finding these scriptures along with their proper context, let me know and I’d be glad to help direct you to the appropriate passages.
All actions of justice should come from a heart of prayer first and foremost. It is from this place of prayer and intimacy with the Lord that we will find the courage, specific direction, and strength to understand and actually do what He is calling us to do! While not everyone will be called to do the same thing, the Lord will burden our hearts for the things that burden His heart as well. His sovereign heart and actions are carried out through the church, which is simply people! We cannot separate ourselves from this. We are His body, His hands, His feet, His mouth, etc…
A lack of a proper understanding between God’s sovereignty and His heart for justice is what allowed the church to sit passively by in Nazi Germany as Jewish people were slaughtered by the millions while Christians were paralyzed by fear and did nothing. Corrie Ten Boom was an exception to the rule. She was not afraid, and she knew what God had called her to do. There should have been millions of Corrie Ten Booms in Germany at that time. This same cowardice and passivity is also what has allowed over 3000 children to be murdered by abortion each and every day in this nation with little or no outcry in prayer and public against this tragedy. We must get this right! Now with that said, here are some specific things we can do for Rifqa right now:
Since most of Rifqa’s Florida support base is cut off from her, and she is now under the care of authorities that do not take the threat to her life seriously, I would like to ask you to help them understand that Rifqa is not alone and that there are many people who will not sit idly by while Rifqa is sent back to her demise. This does make a difference. Rifqa’s story must continue to be told for her sake, and for the sake of many others! Feel free to repost this article and pass it along to anyone you would like for the sake of getting the word out.
Please contact Franklin County Children Services, and the Ohio governor’s office at the following addresses and let them know that you want Rifqa to be able to have the basic freedoms to communicate to the outside world, and that she needs to be protected from her parents & the radical Islamic community:
Please take a few minutes to consider the life of our sister in the faith Rifqa Bary, which is once again in grave jeopardy. On Tuesday October 27’th, Rifqa Bary was handed over to Ohio authorities for placement in foster care in Franklin County. Over the previous weekend, a very unfortunate deal was made by Rifqa’s former Florida Guardian Ad Litem, Krista Bartholomew, with Rifqa’s parent’s attorney David Colley that allowed Rifqa to be transferred back to Ohio. The gist of this (behind the scenes) deal was the following:
1. Because Rifqa’s parents are in the U.S. illegally, they refused and defied numerous court orders to produce documents detailing their immigration status. As a result, Rifqa’s parents were in danger of being arrested for contempt of court. The Florida judge who had emergency jurisdiction over the case said that even though the jurisdiction is transferred to Ohio, he was not going to release her until they produced the proper documentation that satisfied the court.
Well, in order to have the immigration issue go away for Rifqa’s parents, Mohammad Bary’s attorney, David Colley, cut a ‘behind the scenes’ deal in which the Florida court would drop the contempt of court issue regarding their immigration situation in exchange for an assurance that they would leave Rifqa alone and let her stay in foster care for the next 9 months until she is 18. This sounded like it was too good to be true, and it was! As soon as Rifqa was transferred into Ohio custody and the Florida court gave up their emergency jurisdiction over Rifqa and the immigration issue, Rifqa’s parents fired their own attorney that made the deal! Simply put, now that Rifqa was in ‘favorable’ hands in Ohio, all deals are off! They trusted Rifqa's parents hoping they would live up to their word, and because of this, Rifqa is in a dangerous situation and there is nothing the Florida court can do now because the (G.A.L.) gave the entire house away! Let this be a lesson about Mohammad Bary's real intentions.
In my opinion, this was all part of a premeditated plan on the part of Rifqa’s parents and the organization called C.A.I.R. who has been advising them according to the Florida department of law enforcement report released to the public. They have since hired a Muslim activist attorney named Omar Tarazi that is no doubt influenced by the mafia like C.A.I.R. organization whose sole agenda is to paint a positive picture of Islam in America at any cost. (The slander of the Lorenz family and the slander of 17 year old Rifqa’s own character by releasing her prayer journals to the media are perfect examples of how C.A.I.R. ruthlessly operates to accomplish their agenda.)
They completely went back on the agreement that they made to leave Rifqa alone, and I believe they now are planning to continue to pursue to get her back against Rifqa’s will. C.A.I.R. wants her silenced both now, and in the future, because they know that Rifqa’s story of abuse is common among many Muslim families. Apostasy in Islam is not something they want to shine a light on. They know that as her story gets out there, there will be a massive exodus of Muslims just like her. Indeed, it has already begun!
2. If that was not bad enough, Rifqa went back to a hostile environment in Ohio right away. In an article posted on Saturday October 24’th, three days before her return to Ohio, the Columbus Dispatch reported that Eric Fenner, the executive director of Franklin County Children Services, has said that he has stated that he “has no reason to believe that Rifqa wouldn’t be safe with her parents.” Remember this is coming from the very person who has charge over protecting her!
Rifqa then arrived back to Ohio on Tuesday October 27’th. Upon her arrival came a new set of restrictions that her parents and Muslim attorneys have been trying to impose on her from the beginning…solitary confinement! While Rifqa was being protected in Florida, they repeatedly tried to separate Rifqa from other Christians that she leaned on for strength and encouragement. Rifqa’s Muslim parents have been saying from the beginning that they don’t believe that Rifqa became a Christian on her own accord, rather they believe that her real problem is that she has been brain washed by other people through facebook and over the phone.
Immediately upon Rifqa’s arrival to Ohio, came new draconian measures to limit her freedom already! Franklin County Juvenile Magistrate Mary Goodrich put these restrictions on Rifqa at the request of the Franklin county children's services agency immediately upon her arrival back to the state of Ohio.
“Bary's use of Facebook was one issue that led to the situation, said Jim Zorn, a children's services attorney, who asked Goodrich to restrict Bary from using the Internet and her cell phone. "What we want to restrict is the other people, the other organizations, the other forces, that have interjected themselves into this case inappropriately, and has caused the additional problems that we've seen," Zorn said.
Zorn’s account of Rifqa’s situation is absolutely false! Where is he getting his information? It seems as if the Ohio director of children’s services in Franklin County is reading right out of the C.A.I.R. and radical Muslim playbook for this case. Facebook did not in any way lead to this situation. What led to this situation was the fact that a very bright and intelligent girl decided to leave Islam and become a Christian. According to numerous passages in the Qur’an and other Islamic scriptures, this is called apostasy and is punishable by death. Like many others all over the world, Rifqa faced this threat of death, or even deportation back to Sri-Lanka by her own family along with pressure from the Columbus Ohio mosque that her family was actively apart of.
What crime did Rifqa Bary commit that she would be held with such restrictions from communicating to the outside world? While it is legal for 17 year old girls in this country to have abortions without parental agreement, this 17 year old girl is forbidden to have unrestricted access to her phone or facebook friends of her choosing! Is she under house arrest because she is a Christian? This sounds like Sharia law in Ohio!
Immediate Call to Action:
Before I get into the specifics of how we can help, let me say this about a very common misunderstanding that many Christians have regarding God’s sovereignty and fighting for justice. Many of my well meaning brothers and sisters in the church have wondered what the balance is between sitting back, trusting God, and actively fighting for justice. Some have said that because I am fighting for justice in Rifqa’s situation, I am taking the situation in my hands and I am not trusting that God is sovereign over this situation. That is ridiculous to say the least. First of all there is a tremendous amount of support in scripture that commands the people of God to not remain silent in the face of injustice, and to speak and defend those who cannot defend themselves. For time’s sake, I will not list those passages here. If you need help finding these scriptures along with their proper context, let me know and I’d be glad to help direct you to the appropriate passages.
All actions of justice should come from a heart of prayer first and foremost. It is from this place of prayer and intimacy with the Lord that we will find the courage, specific direction, and strength to understand and actually do what He is calling us to do! While not everyone will be called to do the same thing, the Lord will burden our hearts for the things that burden His heart as well. His sovereign heart and actions are carried out through the church, which is simply people! We cannot separate ourselves from this. We are His body, His hands, His feet, His mouth, etc…
A lack of a proper understanding between God’s sovereignty and His heart for justice is what allowed the church to sit passively by in Nazi Germany as Jewish people were slaughtered by the millions while Christians were paralyzed by fear and did nothing. Corrie Ten Boom was an exception to the rule. She was not afraid, and she knew what God had called her to do. There should have been millions of Corrie Ten Booms in Germany at that time. This same cowardice and passivity is also what has allowed over 3000 children to be murdered by abortion each and every day in this nation with little or no outcry in prayer and public against this tragedy. We must get this right! Now with that said, here are some specific things we can do for Rifqa right now:
Since most of Rifqa’s Florida support base is cut off from her, and she is now under the care of authorities that do not take the threat to her life seriously, I would like to ask you to help them understand that Rifqa is not alone and that there are many people who will not sit idly by while Rifqa is sent back to her demise. This does make a difference. Rifqa’s story must continue to be told for her sake, and for the sake of many others! Feel free to repost this article and pass it along to anyone you would like for the sake of getting the word out.
Please contact Franklin County Children Services, and the Ohio governor’s office at the following addresses and let them know that you want Rifqa to be able to have the basic freedoms to communicate to the outside world, and that she needs to be protected from her parents & the radical Islamic community:
Wednesday, 28 October 2009
Halloween: A Celebration of Evil
Dear Friends,
As Halloween approaches, I think this piece provides a useful reflection.
Modern celebrations of Halloween may appear on the surface to be quite harmless, but the spiritual implications of dabbling with the spirit world are extremely serious.
What must an unfamiliar observer think of Halloween? Parents dress their children as monsters, vampires, devils, witches and ghosts and encourage them to approach total strangers to ask them for candy and other treats. Homeowners decorate their houses with images of black cats, ghosts, goblins and carved pumpkins and sometimes transform their yards into make-believe graveyards. Adults dress in similar strange and outlandish costumes and go to parties in rooms decorated like dungeons or crypts.
Why are such bizarre practices so popular? Why would anyone celebrate a holiday emphasizing the morbid and macabre? Where did such strange customs originate?
As with Christmas and Easter, we can trace the roots of Halloween far back into the pagan past. The Encyclopedia of Religion says, "Halloween, or Allhallows Eve, is a festival celebrated on 31 October, the evening prior to the Christian Feast of All Saints (All Saints' Day). Halloween is the name for the eve of Samhain [pronounced sow-en], a celebration marking the beginning of winter as well as the first day of the New Year within the ancient Celtic culture of the British Isles. The time of Samhain consisted of the eve of the feast and the day itself (31 October and 1 November)" (1987, p. 176, "Halloween").
Besides Halloween, the Celts observed many other holidays including the winter solstice (later transformed into Christmas), spring fertility rites (reborn later as Easter) and May Day as a harvest festival.
Concerning Halloween The Encyclopedia of Religion continues: "On this occasion, it was believed that a gathering of supernatural forces occurred as during no other period of the year. The eve and day of Samhain were characterized as a time when the barriers between the human and supernatural worlds were broken. Otherworldly entities, such as the souls of the dead, were able to visit earthly inhabitants, and humans could take the opportunity to penetrate the domains of the gods and supernatural creatures.
"Fiery tributes and sacrifices of animals, crops, and possibly human beings were made to appease supernatural powers who controlled the fertility of the land ... Samhain acknowledged the entire spectrum of nonhuman forces that roamed the earth during the period" (pp. 176-177).
On this holiday "huge bonfires were set on hilltops to frighten away evil spirits ... The souls of the dead were supposed to revisit their homes on this day, and the autumnal festival acquired sinister significance, with ghosts, witches, hobgoblins, black cats, fairies, and demons of all kinds said to be roaming about. It was the time to placate the supernatural powers controlling the processes of nature. In addition, Halloween was thought to be the most favourable time for divinations concerning marriage, luck, health, and death. It was the only day on which the help of the devil was invoked for such purposes" (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15th edition, Micropaedia, Vol. 4, p. 862, "Halloween").
Ancient practices continued today
As with Christmas and Easter, church leaders adopted this ancient celebration to serve their own purposes. "Samhain remained a popular festival among the Celtic people throughout the christianization of Great Britain. The British church attempted to divert this interest in pagan customs by adding a Christian celebration to the calendar on the same date as Samhain. The Christian festival, the Feast of All Saints, commemorates the known and unknown saints of the Christian religion just as Samhain had acknowledged and paid tribute to the Celtic deities" (The Encyclopedia of Religion, p. 177, "Halloween").
Several ancient Halloween practices still exist in modern observances. Bobbing for apples was originally a form of divination (fortune telling) to learn of future marriages. The first person to bite an apple was predicted to be the first to marry in the coming year ... The jack-o-lantern ... represent[ed] a watchman on Halloween night or a man caught between earth and the supernatural world" (Jack Santino, All Around the Year: Holidays & Celebrations in American Life, 1994, p. 26).
The Bible condemns the occult
Although some may dismiss the demonic symbolism and divination associated with Halloween as harmless fun, the Bible reveals the existence of evil spirits, led by Satan the devil, whom God holds responsible for great suffering and sorrow inflicted on the human race. Revelation 12:9 speaks of "the great dragon ... that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan ... [who] deceives the whole world ..."
The name given him in the Bible, Satan, means adversary or enemy. The apostle John tells us that "the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one" (1 John 5:19). Satan and the other fallen angels (demons) constantly try to keep humanity spiritually blinded, turning them aside from their awesome destiny as part of the family of God.
As a loving Father, God commands us to avoid things that can harm us. Concerning the spirit world, notice what God says to His people: "Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God" (Leviticus 19:31).
In addition to this command to avoid practices that pertain to evil spirits, God warned ancient Israel to avoid any kind of occult practices: "There shall not be found among you anyone who ... practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord " (Deuteronomy 18:10-12).
God has called His people to a different standard. Instead of superstitions and myths, God tells us to look to Him for our blessings, direction and future.
Modern celebrations of Halloween may appear on the surface to be quite harmless, but the spiritual implications of dabbling with the spirit world are extremely serious. Fortune-telling, Ouija boards, astrology, voodoo, clairvoyance, black magic and the like can all be related to occult, satanic forces or the worship of natural phenomena and are forbidden in Scripture.
Jesus Christ tells us that "the first and greatest commandment" is to love our Creator "with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:37-38). God alone is the giver of life and all good things. To give recognition to false gods, and to imitate practices that honored them, is unacceptable and idolatrous.
As Halloween approaches, I think this piece provides a useful reflection.
Modern celebrations of Halloween may appear on the surface to be quite harmless, but the spiritual implications of dabbling with the spirit world are extremely serious.
What must an unfamiliar observer think of Halloween? Parents dress their children as monsters, vampires, devils, witches and ghosts and encourage them to approach total strangers to ask them for candy and other treats. Homeowners decorate their houses with images of black cats, ghosts, goblins and carved pumpkins and sometimes transform their yards into make-believe graveyards. Adults dress in similar strange and outlandish costumes and go to parties in rooms decorated like dungeons or crypts.
Why are such bizarre practices so popular? Why would anyone celebrate a holiday emphasizing the morbid and macabre? Where did such strange customs originate?
As with Christmas and Easter, we can trace the roots of Halloween far back into the pagan past. The Encyclopedia of Religion says, "Halloween, or Allhallows Eve, is a festival celebrated on 31 October, the evening prior to the Christian Feast of All Saints (All Saints' Day). Halloween is the name for the eve of Samhain [pronounced sow-en], a celebration marking the beginning of winter as well as the first day of the New Year within the ancient Celtic culture of the British Isles. The time of Samhain consisted of the eve of the feast and the day itself (31 October and 1 November)" (1987, p. 176, "Halloween").
Besides Halloween, the Celts observed many other holidays including the winter solstice (later transformed into Christmas), spring fertility rites (reborn later as Easter) and May Day as a harvest festival.
Concerning Halloween The Encyclopedia of Religion continues: "On this occasion, it was believed that a gathering of supernatural forces occurred as during no other period of the year. The eve and day of Samhain were characterized as a time when the barriers between the human and supernatural worlds were broken. Otherworldly entities, such as the souls of the dead, were able to visit earthly inhabitants, and humans could take the opportunity to penetrate the domains of the gods and supernatural creatures.
"Fiery tributes and sacrifices of animals, crops, and possibly human beings were made to appease supernatural powers who controlled the fertility of the land ... Samhain acknowledged the entire spectrum of nonhuman forces that roamed the earth during the period" (pp. 176-177).
On this holiday "huge bonfires were set on hilltops to frighten away evil spirits ... The souls of the dead were supposed to revisit their homes on this day, and the autumnal festival acquired sinister significance, with ghosts, witches, hobgoblins, black cats, fairies, and demons of all kinds said to be roaming about. It was the time to placate the supernatural powers controlling the processes of nature. In addition, Halloween was thought to be the most favourable time for divinations concerning marriage, luck, health, and death. It was the only day on which the help of the devil was invoked for such purposes" (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15th edition, Micropaedia, Vol. 4, p. 862, "Halloween").
Ancient practices continued today
As with Christmas and Easter, church leaders adopted this ancient celebration to serve their own purposes. "Samhain remained a popular festival among the Celtic people throughout the christianization of Great Britain. The British church attempted to divert this interest in pagan customs by adding a Christian celebration to the calendar on the same date as Samhain. The Christian festival, the Feast of All Saints, commemorates the known and unknown saints of the Christian religion just as Samhain had acknowledged and paid tribute to the Celtic deities" (The Encyclopedia of Religion, p. 177, "Halloween").
Several ancient Halloween practices still exist in modern observances. Bobbing for apples was originally a form of divination (fortune telling) to learn of future marriages. The first person to bite an apple was predicted to be the first to marry in the coming year ... The jack-o-lantern ... represent[ed] a watchman on Halloween night or a man caught between earth and the supernatural world" (Jack Santino, All Around the Year: Holidays & Celebrations in American Life, 1994, p. 26).
The Bible condemns the occult
Although some may dismiss the demonic symbolism and divination associated with Halloween as harmless fun, the Bible reveals the existence of evil spirits, led by Satan the devil, whom God holds responsible for great suffering and sorrow inflicted on the human race. Revelation 12:9 speaks of "the great dragon ... that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan ... [who] deceives the whole world ..."
The name given him in the Bible, Satan, means adversary or enemy. The apostle John tells us that "the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one" (1 John 5:19). Satan and the other fallen angels (demons) constantly try to keep humanity spiritually blinded, turning them aside from their awesome destiny as part of the family of God.
As a loving Father, God commands us to avoid things that can harm us. Concerning the spirit world, notice what God says to His people: "Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God" (Leviticus 19:31).
In addition to this command to avoid practices that pertain to evil spirits, God warned ancient Israel to avoid any kind of occult practices: "There shall not be found among you anyone who ... practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord " (Deuteronomy 18:10-12).
God has called His people to a different standard. Instead of superstitions and myths, God tells us to look to Him for our blessings, direction and future.
Modern celebrations of Halloween may appear on the surface to be quite harmless, but the spiritual implications of dabbling with the spirit world are extremely serious. Fortune-telling, Ouija boards, astrology, voodoo, clairvoyance, black magic and the like can all be related to occult, satanic forces or the worship of natural phenomena and are forbidden in Scripture.
Jesus Christ tells us that "the first and greatest commandment" is to love our Creator "with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:37-38). God alone is the giver of life and all good things. To give recognition to false gods, and to imitate practices that honored them, is unacceptable and idolatrous.
Tuesday, 27 October 2009
Off to Ohio foster CAIR...Update from rifqabary.com
Judge Daniel Dawson has relinquished Florida's emergency jurisdiction and ordered Rifqa to return to Ohio where she will be placed in Franklin County Children Services. It is unclear whether the parents complied with the judges thrice-repeated demand for immigration paperwork.
This order comes the day after the FDLE interview was released in which Rifqa adamently reiterated the horror she lived with in Ohio for years.
This also comes on the heels of a report from Arizona where an Iraqi man is on the run after driving over his daughter for becoming too Westernized. The daughter's name? Noor. Ironic? Or a foreshadow?
Paperwork was due in court at noonRifqa's parents had until noon on Friday, 10/23/09 to submit passports and immigration paperwork to Judge Dawson in Florida. Because juvenile court records are not public, it is currently unclear whether her parents complied with this request.
There are several possible scenarios with this issue.
1. The parents comply and turn over the documentation that proves they are in the U.S. legally. Rifqa would then be sent to a foster care facility in Ohio.
2. The parents can't comply because they are illegaly in the U.S. but submit whatever they have. Judge Dawson could send Rifqa back to Ohio even with incomplete documentation.
3. The parents can't comply because they are illegaly in the U.S. Judge Dawson could decide that Rifqa won't leave Florida until her immigration status is worked out.
4. The parents can't comply because they are illegaly in the U.S. The DHS or INS could decide to deport the entire family to Sri Lanka.
Rifqa should be allowed to apply for amnesty. Contact Governor Crist and plead with him to keep Rifqa in Florida. Contact information is on the 'How To Help' tab.
'He would beat me'
The transcript of Rifqa's interview with FDLE was released. She gives details of her life and the fear of her father. Notably, she asked for a lawyer and was denied; the interviewer validated this denial by saying that only susptects, not victims, get lawyers.
To listen to the interview, click here.
To download the full transcript, click here.
For more coverage of this interview, click here.
Rifqa will be returned to Ohio
Judge Daniel Dawson decided that Ohio holds the proper jurisdiction in this case and will send the girl to Ohio into a foster care facility. He retains Florida's emergency jurisdiction.
However, the judge has demanded that the family turn over the immigration paperwork that he has requested at the last 3 hearings that the family has refused to disseminate (thus placing the parents in contempt of court). He said Rifqa will not leave Florida until the immigration status of the entire family is resolved.
Pamela Geller was in the courtroom for the hearing. Click here for her report.
Click here for the CBN News report.
This order comes the day after the FDLE interview was released in which Rifqa adamently reiterated the horror she lived with in Ohio for years.
This also comes on the heels of a report from Arizona where an Iraqi man is on the run after driving over his daughter for becoming too Westernized. The daughter's name? Noor. Ironic? Or a foreshadow?
Paperwork was due in court at noonRifqa's parents had until noon on Friday, 10/23/09 to submit passports and immigration paperwork to Judge Dawson in Florida. Because juvenile court records are not public, it is currently unclear whether her parents complied with this request.
There are several possible scenarios with this issue.
1. The parents comply and turn over the documentation that proves they are in the U.S. legally. Rifqa would then be sent to a foster care facility in Ohio.
2. The parents can't comply because they are illegaly in the U.S. but submit whatever they have. Judge Dawson could send Rifqa back to Ohio even with incomplete documentation.
3. The parents can't comply because they are illegaly in the U.S. Judge Dawson could decide that Rifqa won't leave Florida until her immigration status is worked out.
4. The parents can't comply because they are illegaly in the U.S. The DHS or INS could decide to deport the entire family to Sri Lanka.
Rifqa should be allowed to apply for amnesty. Contact Governor Crist and plead with him to keep Rifqa in Florida. Contact information is on the 'How To Help' tab.
'He would beat me'
The transcript of Rifqa's interview with FDLE was released. She gives details of her life and the fear of her father. Notably, she asked for a lawyer and was denied; the interviewer validated this denial by saying that only susptects, not victims, get lawyers.
To listen to the interview, click here.
To download the full transcript, click here.
For more coverage of this interview, click here.
Rifqa will be returned to Ohio
Judge Daniel Dawson decided that Ohio holds the proper jurisdiction in this case and will send the girl to Ohio into a foster care facility. He retains Florida's emergency jurisdiction.
However, the judge has demanded that the family turn over the immigration paperwork that he has requested at the last 3 hearings that the family has refused to disseminate (thus placing the parents in contempt of court). He said Rifqa will not leave Florida until the immigration status of the entire family is resolved.
Pamela Geller was in the courtroom for the hearing. Click here for her report.
Click here for the CBN News report.
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