"You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word". Psalm 119:114
Visions of HOPE
by Faith Grace Cross
Today, at a time such as this... we need hope, more than ever before. We live in a world that is riding on the waves of fear, anger and mistrust, which leads to a climate of uncertainty and calamity. Can you envision a bright future for yourself in a world like this? As Christians, each time we pray the Our Father prayer asking for God’s kingdom to come on earth, as it is in heaven, do we fully understand what is implied in the asking? The realization of our petition means we are in fact asking for this world, as we know it... to come to an end. That, we know, will not be a pretty sight to see. Compare 2Pet 3:10-12 For certain, times are getting harder day by day.
With rising unemployment, run-away inflation, sickness, marital-family problems, wars, terrorism and world hunger, what kind of future is realistically in view. Things are getting worse and we should be prepared for such because the bible says "You must understand this, that in the last days distressing times will come. It continues, "for people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, brutes, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the outward form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid them".2Tim 3:1-5 NRSV
The above cited scripture is mirrored daily in people all around the world. When we look in the mirror of self examination many of these qualities we may see in ourselves. Man's fallen flesh can be brutal. No wonder there is so much strife and distress in the world today. When we couple this sad state of affairs with the daily bombardment of morally degrading propaganda fed to us through various media outlets, it’s only a matter of time before everything will disintegrate. We live in a time of dense spiritual darkness where emissions of spiritual toxins contaminate the atmosphere all around us. These toxins are detrimental upon immediate contact, spreading its deadly poison quickly.
Rays of Hope
Amidst the canopy of dense spiritual darkness covering the earth today, there are rays of hope piercing through the clouds and toxic atmosphere. Rays of hope live on in the heart of Christians who have discovered a key, a key that opens the way to the true power source of light which is found in the WORD of God. Staying connected to the source is the challenge facing all Christians today. The challenge will not be met without strong determination and a firm resolve to remain stedfast and connected through regular consistent prayer, bible study, meditation and personal application. Rays of hope will illuminate the road that we must travel leading to eternal life in a paradise. God will soon usher in the light of his kingdom; heaven will come to earth so to speak. For a more in depth discussion of the new heaven and new earth, I highly recommend your reading the book HEAVEN by Randy Alcorn.
Just as the early Christians had this hope, so today, we await the new heaven and new earth that 2Peter 3:13 speaks of. Most importantly, it provides some timely admonition for us saying, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire …Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness”. 2Peter 3:10-13
We do not want to be just hearers of the Word but doers also, taking note of the admonishment to "live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming". It says simply, this is how we should be living our lives, in holiness and godliness. There has been a stirring of controversy over what it means to be accounted as holy and righteous. Some believe that it is impossible to truly be holy and righteous before God thereby giving reason as to why God attributes holiness and righteousness to us based solely on our faith in Jesus Christ. That is partly true but not totally.
Righteous and Holy
Righteousness is indeed attributed to us by God not due to our own righteous behavior but due to his mercy and grace and our faith in Him. First, let us consider this , "...not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ-the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith". Phil 3:9 NIV Compare James 2:23 Note also Titus 3:5 which says, "he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life". Compare Isaiah 64:6 ".....all our sins are as filthy rags".
When we compare these scriptures, it is clear that God attributes righteousness to us yet it is not due to our own righteousness but due to our faith in him along with his mercy and grace. So having a righteous standing before God is a GIFT from God and is not earned. Now on the other hand holiness is a lifestyle choice that each Christian must make. There is none righteous but God. Righteousness signifies our standing before God. Also righteousness implies perfection which is unattainable for man in his fallen state. However, as stated earlier...holiness is a LIFESTYLE CHOICE that each Christian must choose in order to please God. He doesn't attribute holiness to us as he does righteousness, but he directs us to choose it for ourselves. 1Peter 1:16 says, "Be ye holy, for I am holy". Romans 11: 16 shows us that holiness stems from a pure heart, stating ".....and if the root is holy, then the branches also are holy".
The root is Christ Jesus and Christians are the branches connected to the root. Inside the root are stored the nutrients which nourish all of the branches. So, therefore it is imperative that we stay connected to the root. It is our CHOICE! The ROOT of the matter is in the HEART of God demonstrated through Christ Jesus. The HEART of God is LOVE. We can liken man's figurative heart to the (soul) which is the place of our mind and will. The heart is often called the seat of motivation and in it are stored the spiritual nutrients needed to nourish our heart in soul. When the heart is pure, it draws unto itself all that is pure and holy from God. Matthew 5:8 says that the pure in heart will see God. The person with a pure heart will see tangible evidence of God in his or her life.
Guard your Heart
Proverbs 4:23 says, "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of LIFE." NIV So it is our responsibility to protect our heart and safeguard it against all the negative influences of the world today. Because the heart is the "wellspring of LIFE" it affects both the quality and quantity of life. If the wellspring is contaminated it will not only affect our life in a negative way but will be a "wellspring of DEATH" instead. A wellspring is defined as a "source of continual supply". For example a person's mind can be stored with a wellspring of information. In this case and point we are speaking of what is stored in our figurative heart which encompass our mind, and will.
To reiterate, if the root is holy, so are the branches (our heart). In other words, whatever our heart (our mind and will) is connected to will be the source of our wellspring of LIFE. As long as our heart stays connected to the holy root(Jesus) we will be nourished continually with healthy and nutritious spiritual food that will keep us spiritually vibrant and strong. On the other hand, not guarding our heart we can become detached from the holy root itself. , thereby becoming vulnerable to spiritual starvation or even becoming attached to another source which is unholy. Either way it's a "wellspring of DEATH". Satan extends to the world at large his (wellspring of death) not life with an unlimited continual supply....it is a free smorgasboard of spiritual food for the taking. Everything looks appetizing and delicious yet it is prepared with deadly poisons. This deadly poisonous food being offered by way of entertainment through the various media outlets has been marinated in toxins of the occult.
It is being dished out by the plate fulls to the world filled with astrology, divination, sorcery, familiar spirits, wizardry, charmers, witchcraft and the list goes on. Anyone who feeds on this kind of diet will be plagued with depression, suicidal thoughts, demonic oppression, sadness, anger, jealousy, pride, arrogance, bitterness and rage. One social media network really drew my attention to one particular aspect of the occult. To my surprise, I discovered that there are a large number of Christians delving into the occult through their daily horroscope readings. What I found even more astounding were among the number of professing Christians, ministers, apostles and pastors on social media networks who listed the occult in the guise of horror books and horror movies on their favorites page. I saw many that listed Harry Potter, Twilight, and other spiritually dark movies. It's sad that Christians have allowed themselves to be deceived into thinking it's okay to sleep with the enemy.
That's a harsh statement but its true. When you are married to someone, would you consider it okay to associate by flirting or even worse become intimate with your former lover or anyone else? Would you consider it ok to associate by flirting with or being intimate with your spouse's archenemy? Of course not, you say! Well, before we gave ourselves to Christ we belonged to the world like it or not. Because of one man's sin, the devil became the god of this world and laid a claim on all of mankind. The claim God's enemy had on us was never a legitimate claim. God through Jesus shed blood bought back his rightful legitimate ownership. We are betrothed to Christ. We are his bride. But consider when we entertain ourselves with worldly occult themed entertainment we are opening a wide door for demonic activity to enter into our life. We are relenquishing ownership back to God's enemy by association so to speak. Instead of being intimate with God we choose to be intimate with God's enemy by association.
To take if further, you may be one that is actually in LOVE with the occult...you LOVE the dark things of this world ...the darker, the more you like it. If this is you and you profess to be a christian, you could then be possibly looking at spiritual adultery because you have been bought with the blood of Christ and now belong to him. The Church's silence on this matter makes her guilty as well of the spiritual fornication and adultery being committed against the Bridegroom himself. Upon self examination, I need to ask myself am I safeguarding my heart to stay attached(remaining faithful and loyal) to the Bridegroom Jesus, the ROOT of holiness or am I dabbling (flirting) with my bridegroom's enemy (the world/Satan) the unholy root (the occult) or even worse fallen in love with this spirit of darkness and all that is evil, committing spiritual adultery which leads to death?
I can answer in the affirmative that I hate all that is EVIL. Just think about it. Jesus says he is coming back for a PURE bride. This pure bride (the church) has eyes only for Jesus the bridegroom and no one else. There is nothing this world has to offer that is worth us taking our eyes off of our Lord. I repeat....There is nothing this world has to offer that is worth us taking our eyes off of our Lord. There is no one who compares to Him. He is the lover of our soul. Amen How do we stay connected to the root of holiness maintaining a vibrant healthy Christian lifestyle? One, we must guard our heart by watching out for anything that may divide our heart towards God. God wants our whole heart so there is no side stepping, half stepping or stradling the fence. We can't love the world and God too. It's either one or the other. Next we must take time out each day to talk with God through prayer. Study the word and meditate on it.
Don't just swallow it but chew it slowly to get the most out of it. Something God has impressed upon me to share is the value of praying in the spirit. "But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. " Jude 1:20-21 NIV What must we do to stay rooted in Christ? The apostle Paul sums it up beautifully. "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But in everything exposed by the light becomes visible, , for it is light that makes everything visible.
Be very careful then, how you live, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is." Ephesians 5:8-17 NIV In all practical wisdom stay away from the things related to the spirits of darkness, the occult. The world is enamored and in lust for the occult due to the glamorization created by hollywood and other media outlets. We must hate all that is evil and not compromise. The world is in a frenzy state over all the dark themed movies and tv programs as well as literature and music. Pornography is the number one threat to the believer today. Rebuke the spirit of darkness in whatever form it may come in. Refuse to watch, listen or read anything that is related to the occult. Period. It's a matter of our life or death.
Why Hope Devotions?
God planted inside my heart the ministry of Hope Devotions Ministry (HDM) which is more than just your typical devotional. Although the name is nothing out of the ordinary no quirky sound to it, but it provides the perfect acronym to describe our mission and goals. Hope Devotions has a three-fold mission that delivers a Healthy Optimistic Perspectives Envisioned through the Holy Spirit. HDM's main objective is to provide Christians with a daily devotional focusing on the fruits of the Holy Spirit. We are not an alternative to the horrorscope because we have nothing to do with the fruits of darkness. The majority of people cannot see the horror in horrorscopes, in fact they see it as harmless fun and entertainment. Ahhh! But God says, "My people perish because of their lack of knowledge" paraphrased.
Today many Christians read their horrorscope on a daily basis on social media networks, online magazines and online newspapers as well as print. I see these horrorscope messages quite frequently in social media in passing and the gist of the overall theme is negative. Yes, many times the horrorscope reading is positive, telling the reader something anyone would want to hear but that is only a setup to tear you down later, inspiring FEAR and DREAD. God never tears his servants down but instead is always upbuilding and compassionate towards us.
What horrorscope enthusiasts fail to realize is the kind of Spirit behind horrorscopes which opens the door to demonic influence and activity. Our God-given call and mandate is to educate and enlighten those who desire to know all that is GOOD from God.
We must bring hope to the hopeless, distressed and depressed and sound admonition to the ungodly generation. Hope can grow and flourish, being sustained in the soil of human hearts by a consistent watering of the pure unadulterated Word of God. Note that the word horrorscope is intentionally spelled with 2 r's; which is different from the conventional spelling. Our purpose is to emphasize the Spirit of darkness that is behind the horrorscope. The mission of hope devotions is to show that there is a direct and dynamic correlation between the occult (whether you dabble knowingly or unknowingly) and the spirits of darkness which leads to hopelessness, depression, oppression and even suicide.
Merriam Webster's dictionary defines horoscope as it relates to the word, "watcher" which comes from the greek word "horoskopos" and the latin "horoscopus". In the greek it is akin to the greek word "scopein", which means to look at. The word “spy” is also associated with it. Scope is defined from the greek word "scopos" which means purpose, goal, so to look at with the purpose to evaluate. The greek word "skopion" means an instrument for viewing or observing. Now, let us define horror, which comes from the latin word, "horrere". It means to bristle, shiver, painful and intense fear, dread or dismay. So now, when we put this altogether in one package, we have a watcher looking at something for the dual purpose of evaluation and to inspire feelings of dread, horror and fear. Just as a scope is used to view and examine up closely for the purpose of evaluation, many are allowing the devil up close and personal access into their lives.
Communication is key to intimacy and Christians are allowing the devil to speak into their lives unawares . Also he is evaluating you and I from his own selfish standpoint. He then turns around to feed our minds with his sick twisted report. Of course, he knows his fate and he wants to take as many with him as he can. Would you allow the devil's evaluation of you to take precedence over God's evaluation of you. Now that is something to ponder. The devil's view of you is tainted by his own irreverent, perverted and distorted view of himself and everything else. When you take the"d" from DEVIL, you are left with EVIL.
The "d" stands for darkness, danger, death, delusions, degradation, demonic, depression, deadbeat, debased, depravity, desecration, desolation, disbelief, discordance, dissension, dishonesty, disaster, disorder, divisive, destroyer, doom, doubt, desperation, discouragement and divorce. Wow... no matter how we look at his name, with or without the "d" he certainly lives up to his name doesn't he. EVIL spelled backwards is LIVE, so when we turn away from EVERYTHING that is EVIL and go in the opposite direction, we can LIVE now a fulfilling life which is the abundant life and later LIFE ETERNAL in paradise.
On the other hand God is LOVE. With God's love we can live, laugh, listen and learn and not necessarily in that order. But nonetheless, we have to crucify the flesh. By that I mean we have to die to ourself, denying the carnal desires that are in contrast to God's Spirit. The works of the flesh are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering (patience), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Gal 5:19-26 (NKJV) Add to these godly qualities humility, wisdom and hope to round out the quintessential essence of LOVE. There is no law against humility, wisdom, goodness, kindness, etc.
With rising unemployment, run-away inflation, sickness, marital-family problems, wars, terrorism and world hunger, what kind of future is realistically in view. Things are getting worse and we should be prepared for such because the bible says "You must understand this, that in the last days distressing times will come. It continues, "for people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, brutes, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the outward form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid them".2Tim 3:1-5 NRSV
The above cited scripture is mirrored daily in people all around the world. When we look in the mirror of self examination many of these qualities we may see in ourselves. Man's fallen flesh can be brutal. No wonder there is so much strife and distress in the world today. When we couple this sad state of affairs with the daily bombardment of morally degrading propaganda fed to us through various media outlets, it’s only a matter of time before everything will disintegrate. We live in a time of dense spiritual darkness where emissions of spiritual toxins contaminate the atmosphere all around us. These toxins are detrimental upon immediate contact, spreading its deadly poison quickly.
Rays of Hope
Amidst the canopy of dense spiritual darkness covering the earth today, there are rays of hope piercing through the clouds and toxic atmosphere. Rays of hope live on in the heart of Christians who have discovered a key, a key that opens the way to the true power source of light which is found in the WORD of God. Staying connected to the source is the challenge facing all Christians today. The challenge will not be met without strong determination and a firm resolve to remain stedfast and connected through regular consistent prayer, bible study, meditation and personal application. Rays of hope will illuminate the road that we must travel leading to eternal life in a paradise. God will soon usher in the light of his kingdom; heaven will come to earth so to speak. For a more in depth discussion of the new heaven and new earth, I highly recommend your reading the book HEAVEN by Randy Alcorn.
Just as the early Christians had this hope, so today, we await the new heaven and new earth that 2Peter 3:13 speaks of. Most importantly, it provides some timely admonition for us saying, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire …Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness”. 2Peter 3:10-13
We do not want to be just hearers of the Word but doers also, taking note of the admonishment to "live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming". It says simply, this is how we should be living our lives, in holiness and godliness. There has been a stirring of controversy over what it means to be accounted as holy and righteous. Some believe that it is impossible to truly be holy and righteous before God thereby giving reason as to why God attributes holiness and righteousness to us based solely on our faith in Jesus Christ. That is partly true but not totally.
Righteous and Holy
Righteousness is indeed attributed to us by God not due to our own righteous behavior but due to his mercy and grace and our faith in Him. First, let us consider this , "...not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ-the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith". Phil 3:9 NIV Compare James 2:23 Note also Titus 3:5 which says, "he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life". Compare Isaiah 64:6 ".....all our sins are as filthy rags".
When we compare these scriptures, it is clear that God attributes righteousness to us yet it is not due to our own righteousness but due to our faith in him along with his mercy and grace. So having a righteous standing before God is a GIFT from God and is not earned. Now on the other hand holiness is a lifestyle choice that each Christian must make. There is none righteous but God. Righteousness signifies our standing before God. Also righteousness implies perfection which is unattainable for man in his fallen state. However, as stated earlier...holiness is a LIFESTYLE CHOICE that each Christian must choose in order to please God. He doesn't attribute holiness to us as he does righteousness, but he directs us to choose it for ourselves. 1Peter 1:16 says, "Be ye holy, for I am holy". Romans 11: 16 shows us that holiness stems from a pure heart, stating ".....and if the root is holy, then the branches also are holy".
The root is Christ Jesus and Christians are the branches connected to the root. Inside the root are stored the nutrients which nourish all of the branches. So, therefore it is imperative that we stay connected to the root. It is our CHOICE! The ROOT of the matter is in the HEART of God demonstrated through Christ Jesus. The HEART of God is LOVE. We can liken man's figurative heart to the (soul) which is the place of our mind and will. The heart is often called the seat of motivation and in it are stored the spiritual nutrients needed to nourish our heart in soul. When the heart is pure, it draws unto itself all that is pure and holy from God. Matthew 5:8 says that the pure in heart will see God. The person with a pure heart will see tangible evidence of God in his or her life.
Guard your Heart
Proverbs 4:23 says, "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of LIFE." NIV So it is our responsibility to protect our heart and safeguard it against all the negative influences of the world today. Because the heart is the "wellspring of LIFE" it affects both the quality and quantity of life. If the wellspring is contaminated it will not only affect our life in a negative way but will be a "wellspring of DEATH" instead. A wellspring is defined as a "source of continual supply". For example a person's mind can be stored with a wellspring of information. In this case and point we are speaking of what is stored in our figurative heart which encompass our mind, and will.
To reiterate, if the root is holy, so are the branches (our heart). In other words, whatever our heart (our mind and will) is connected to will be the source of our wellspring of LIFE. As long as our heart stays connected to the holy root(Jesus) we will be nourished continually with healthy and nutritious spiritual food that will keep us spiritually vibrant and strong. On the other hand, not guarding our heart we can become detached from the holy root itself. , thereby becoming vulnerable to spiritual starvation or even becoming attached to another source which is unholy. Either way it's a "wellspring of DEATH". Satan extends to the world at large his (wellspring of death) not life with an unlimited continual supply....it is a free smorgasboard of spiritual food for the taking. Everything looks appetizing and delicious yet it is prepared with deadly poisons. This deadly poisonous food being offered by way of entertainment through the various media outlets has been marinated in toxins of the occult.
It is being dished out by the plate fulls to the world filled with astrology, divination, sorcery, familiar spirits, wizardry, charmers, witchcraft and the list goes on. Anyone who feeds on this kind of diet will be plagued with depression, suicidal thoughts, demonic oppression, sadness, anger, jealousy, pride, arrogance, bitterness and rage. One social media network really drew my attention to one particular aspect of the occult. To my surprise, I discovered that there are a large number of Christians delving into the occult through their daily horroscope readings. What I found even more astounding were among the number of professing Christians, ministers, apostles and pastors on social media networks who listed the occult in the guise of horror books and horror movies on their favorites page. I saw many that listed Harry Potter, Twilight, and other spiritually dark movies. It's sad that Christians have allowed themselves to be deceived into thinking it's okay to sleep with the enemy.
That's a harsh statement but its true. When you are married to someone, would you consider it okay to associate by flirting or even worse become intimate with your former lover or anyone else? Would you consider it ok to associate by flirting with or being intimate with your spouse's archenemy? Of course not, you say! Well, before we gave ourselves to Christ we belonged to the world like it or not. Because of one man's sin, the devil became the god of this world and laid a claim on all of mankind. The claim God's enemy had on us was never a legitimate claim. God through Jesus shed blood bought back his rightful legitimate ownership. We are betrothed to Christ. We are his bride. But consider when we entertain ourselves with worldly occult themed entertainment we are opening a wide door for demonic activity to enter into our life. We are relenquishing ownership back to God's enemy by association so to speak. Instead of being intimate with God we choose to be intimate with God's enemy by association.
To take if further, you may be one that is actually in LOVE with the occult...you LOVE the dark things of this world ...the darker, the more you like it. If this is you and you profess to be a christian, you could then be possibly looking at spiritual adultery because you have been bought with the blood of Christ and now belong to him. The Church's silence on this matter makes her guilty as well of the spiritual fornication and adultery being committed against the Bridegroom himself. Upon self examination, I need to ask myself am I safeguarding my heart to stay attached(remaining faithful and loyal) to the Bridegroom Jesus, the ROOT of holiness or am I dabbling (flirting) with my bridegroom's enemy (the world/Satan) the unholy root (the occult) or even worse fallen in love with this spirit of darkness and all that is evil, committing spiritual adultery which leads to death?
I can answer in the affirmative that I hate all that is EVIL. Just think about it. Jesus says he is coming back for a PURE bride. This pure bride (the church) has eyes only for Jesus the bridegroom and no one else. There is nothing this world has to offer that is worth us taking our eyes off of our Lord. I repeat....There is nothing this world has to offer that is worth us taking our eyes off of our Lord. There is no one who compares to Him. He is the lover of our soul. Amen How do we stay connected to the root of holiness maintaining a vibrant healthy Christian lifestyle? One, we must guard our heart by watching out for anything that may divide our heart towards God. God wants our whole heart so there is no side stepping, half stepping or stradling the fence. We can't love the world and God too. It's either one or the other. Next we must take time out each day to talk with God through prayer. Study the word and meditate on it.
Don't just swallow it but chew it slowly to get the most out of it. Something God has impressed upon me to share is the value of praying in the spirit. "But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. " Jude 1:20-21 NIV What must we do to stay rooted in Christ? The apostle Paul sums it up beautifully. "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But in everything exposed by the light becomes visible, , for it is light that makes everything visible.
Be very careful then, how you live, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is." Ephesians 5:8-17 NIV In all practical wisdom stay away from the things related to the spirits of darkness, the occult. The world is enamored and in lust for the occult due to the glamorization created by hollywood and other media outlets. We must hate all that is evil and not compromise. The world is in a frenzy state over all the dark themed movies and tv programs as well as literature and music. Pornography is the number one threat to the believer today. Rebuke the spirit of darkness in whatever form it may come in. Refuse to watch, listen or read anything that is related to the occult. Period. It's a matter of our life or death.
Why Hope Devotions?
God planted inside my heart the ministry of Hope Devotions Ministry (HDM) which is more than just your typical devotional. Although the name is nothing out of the ordinary no quirky sound to it, but it provides the perfect acronym to describe our mission and goals. Hope Devotions has a three-fold mission that delivers a Healthy Optimistic Perspectives Envisioned through the Holy Spirit. HDM's main objective is to provide Christians with a daily devotional focusing on the fruits of the Holy Spirit. We are not an alternative to the horrorscope because we have nothing to do with the fruits of darkness. The majority of people cannot see the horror in horrorscopes, in fact they see it as harmless fun and entertainment. Ahhh! But God says, "My people perish because of their lack of knowledge" paraphrased.
Today many Christians read their horrorscope on a daily basis on social media networks, online magazines and online newspapers as well as print. I see these horrorscope messages quite frequently in social media in passing and the gist of the overall theme is negative. Yes, many times the horrorscope reading is positive, telling the reader something anyone would want to hear but that is only a setup to tear you down later, inspiring FEAR and DREAD. God never tears his servants down but instead is always upbuilding and compassionate towards us.
What horrorscope enthusiasts fail to realize is the kind of Spirit behind horrorscopes which opens the door to demonic influence and activity. Our God-given call and mandate is to educate and enlighten those who desire to know all that is GOOD from God.
We must bring hope to the hopeless, distressed and depressed and sound admonition to the ungodly generation. Hope can grow and flourish, being sustained in the soil of human hearts by a consistent watering of the pure unadulterated Word of God. Note that the word horrorscope is intentionally spelled with 2 r's; which is different from the conventional spelling. Our purpose is to emphasize the Spirit of darkness that is behind the horrorscope. The mission of hope devotions is to show that there is a direct and dynamic correlation between the occult (whether you dabble knowingly or unknowingly) and the spirits of darkness which leads to hopelessness, depression, oppression and even suicide.
Merriam Webster's dictionary defines horoscope as it relates to the word, "watcher" which comes from the greek word "horoskopos" and the latin "horoscopus". In the greek it is akin to the greek word "scopein", which means to look at. The word “spy” is also associated with it. Scope is defined from the greek word "scopos" which means purpose, goal, so to look at with the purpose to evaluate. The greek word "skopion" means an instrument for viewing or observing. Now, let us define horror, which comes from the latin word, "horrere". It means to bristle, shiver, painful and intense fear, dread or dismay. So now, when we put this altogether in one package, we have a watcher looking at something for the dual purpose of evaluation and to inspire feelings of dread, horror and fear. Just as a scope is used to view and examine up closely for the purpose of evaluation, many are allowing the devil up close and personal access into their lives.
Communication is key to intimacy and Christians are allowing the devil to speak into their lives unawares . Also he is evaluating you and I from his own selfish standpoint. He then turns around to feed our minds with his sick twisted report. Of course, he knows his fate and he wants to take as many with him as he can. Would you allow the devil's evaluation of you to take precedence over God's evaluation of you. Now that is something to ponder. The devil's view of you is tainted by his own irreverent, perverted and distorted view of himself and everything else. When you take the"d" from DEVIL, you are left with EVIL.
The "d" stands for darkness, danger, death, delusions, degradation, demonic, depression, deadbeat, debased, depravity, desecration, desolation, disbelief, discordance, dissension, dishonesty, disaster, disorder, divisive, destroyer, doom, doubt, desperation, discouragement and divorce. Wow... no matter how we look at his name, with or without the "d" he certainly lives up to his name doesn't he. EVIL spelled backwards is LIVE, so when we turn away from EVERYTHING that is EVIL and go in the opposite direction, we can LIVE now a fulfilling life which is the abundant life and later LIFE ETERNAL in paradise.
On the other hand God is LOVE. With God's love we can live, laugh, listen and learn and not necessarily in that order. But nonetheless, we have to crucify the flesh. By that I mean we have to die to ourself, denying the carnal desires that are in contrast to God's Spirit. The works of the flesh are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering (patience), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Gal 5:19-26 (NKJV) Add to these godly qualities humility, wisdom and hope to round out the quintessential essence of LOVE. There is no law against humility, wisdom, goodness, kindness, etc.
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©“Visions of Hope” by Faith Grace Cross Copyright 2011-2020 Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from the author and/or owner of Hope Devotions Ministry (HDM) is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author of HDM, Faith Grace Cross with Editor and Chief the Holy Spirit with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
©“Visions of Hope” by Faith Grace Cross Copyright 2011-2020 Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from the author and/or owner of Hope Devotions Ministry (HDM) is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author of HDM, Faith Grace Cross with Editor and Chief the Holy Spirit with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
