I desparately need friends in my country who believe in UR!!!

[B_T]

That's it... I have shared my faith with dozens of people, but nobody pays much attention to this teaching. I'm tired of religious nuts, crazy scarevangelists. I'm tired of people trying to incorporate fear. I just need people with pure hearts who realize that ET is a dangerous doctrine, false teaching ...

[rosered]

  Hi B_T ,
    There is not any here where I live either , 
  Just this forum bro ,
  for now I am grateful for this place , God bless you and may God send a dear friend to listen and share Gods Truth with .. :icon_flower:

[Nancy]

Hi there B_T,
Where do you live? I live outside of London, England.

Godbless
Nancy

[AJ]

.
Lonely, But Never Alone - by  by Chip Brogden


There are many in the Body of Christ who are in transition between "going" to church and "being" the Church.
The Lord is speaking to many at once and calling them aside from the traditional church building meeting to gather together in homes.
The more in tune with the Lord we become, the more dissatisfied and uncomfortable we become with what is being said and done in His Name.

Yet, there is an uncomfortable pause between where we used to be and where we are called to be. It is a lonely time in which we will be misunderstood by many that have not seen what we have seen.

What God is impressing upon many of us who are in-between the church as a building and the church as a lifestyle is how to walk ALONE. We must not forsake the assembling of ourselves together when we are able to do so; yet God would have us learn to fellowship with Christ, even it means to take the lonely path.

Many times the desire to find other "like-minded believers" is not a spiritual desire. It is rather our emotion, our soul, which longs to be with people who understand us.

We must love not our life (Greek: soul life) and be willing to go for a time without the comfort and fellowship of brothers and sisters if God has called us unto Himself. If we simply MUST be in the accompaniment of other brothers and sisters in order to have any sense of Christ then we are not abiding in Him as we ought.

In many parts of the world brothers and sisters in Christ are not able to meet together because of persecution. They would certainly desire to do so if they could, but if they cannot, how will they maintain fellowship and connectivity to the Body if they are unable to gather?
Why, they must know Christ as Fellowship. Abiding in Him, connected to the Head, they maintain oneness with the rest of the Body.

Someone will say, "We are not persecuted. We have the freedom to gather together. Should we not take advantage of our liberty as Christians and fellowship at every opportunity?"
The answer is yes,
we should thank God for our freedom and make the most of it. But my question to you is, what will your spiritual state be like when that liberty is no longer permitted?

Have you resources within yourself to stay in your place of abiding in Christ, or is your usefulness to God limited by your ability to fellowship with others? Can you maintain connectivity to the Body when isolated, or will you grow faint and fall away?

Some are able to maintain a sweet spirit so long as they are in fellowship with other believers. But when God allows that fellowship to be interrupted, observe how quickly that sweet spirit turns sour.

They will even acknowledge their poor state and say things like, "My temper has become awful. It is because I have been out of church. I must go back this Sunday." Then they will go back to church, feel uplifted, and the sweet spirit returns.
Sadly, this is the experience of a majority of people who have not learned to take Christ as their Life. Is this walking in the Spirit? It is not.

It is true that "whenever two or three are gathered in My Name, there I am." Praise God for such truth.

It is equally true that, "I am with YOU always (singular)."
We do not want to be lone ranger Christians who do not seek fellowship with other members of Christ's Body.
At the same time, we cannot allow the absence of such fellowship to make us despondent or depressed, should we be deprived of it. If it causes us to fall away, then perhaps this is the reason God allows us to go through periods of solitude, that we may be reduced to CHRIST as our Fellowship.

When we find ourselves in such a place, let us not be too quick to seek out others until we have reaped the benefits of being alone with God.

Let us remember that Christ's Body is a spiritual Body. Being in the physical presence of other members does not make us more of a member, and being removed from the physical presence of other members does not make us any less a member.
Of course the exact opposite is true for those meeting together as an institution; without their physical presence and support they lose place as a member. But not Christ's Body, the Church. We are not more or less of a member by reason of our physical contact or lack of physical contact with one another.

And again, we may thirst for fellowship not so much to edify the Body as to be edified ourselves - a mindset carried over from when we used to go to church to "be fed" once or twice a week.
If this is the case, it is no wonder that God would have us look to Him alone as our Edification and learn to draw upon Him before placing us in close proximity with others.
One weakness of the institutional church is that the majority of members are coming to receive, to be edified, to be encouraged, to be fed. It is all "take", and very little "give". Hence, there is little Life.

When we learn to draw upon Christ as our Source we will have abundance to give away. Fellowship with others cannot replace our daily abiding in Him.
If we gather together in the Name of the Lord, yet outside of Christ, we will have much religious carrying's on but little Life to impart to one another. God would have us look to His Son as our Life, and as we do we find our need is met.
Then, when we gather together, we are givers and not takers, and with all giving out of Christ, we have the blessing we sought.

Let us press into Christ with all our heart, and not be discouraged if we find ourselves temporarily without the fellowship and comfort of our brothers and sisters. Though we are lonely, we are never alone.

[alihaymeg]

Words of wisdom AJ.

     

[alihaymeg]

That's a good point. I don't think it is so much the fellowship or even the church system that I can't get past. It is more the judgmentalness and focus on preaching fear that turns me off.

I'm sure there are some churches that support tolerance and love, but not any of the ones I've been a part of. Maybe I should look a little harder.

[rosered]

That's a good point. I don't think it is so much the fellowship or even the church system that I can't get past. It is more the judgmentalness and focus on preaching fear that turns me off.

I'm sure there are some churches that support tolerance and love, but not any of the ones I've been a part of. Maybe I should look a little harder.

  Great Point alihaymeg  :icon_flower:
  It seems  in the Church systems is where most  lies and deceptions comes from ?
  Babylon[confusion]  is a Big deal  at all times /seasons

  I got a small article  and dear  friend sent  a year or so ago , that I read  every now and again
  here it is , it may help  any of you as it has me

Are You A Witch?


Witchcraft is a subject that most people do not like to talk about. Just the thought of it conjures up visions of black magic, black pointed hats, and broomsticks. However, there is a very subtle form of witchcraft which often goes unrecognized even though it is just as evil and dangerous as the stereotypical form. The purpose of this article is to give you the tools to identify and defeat this enemy.

Let us begin by defining the term witchcraft. The scripture says "Witchcraft is rebellion" or "Rebellion is witchcraft." (1 Samuel 15:23) The words witchcraft and rebellion interchange depending on which translation you are reading. In this passage King Saul is being chastised for his rebellious disobedience and it is said to be witchcraft. In the book of Galatians a group of false teachers rebelled against the authority of the Apostle Paul and the apostles in Jerusalem by misleading the Galatians with an unsanctioned doctrine. Paul said that these false teachers had bewitched the Galatians. (Galatians 3:1) So then, we can see that the scriptures define whitchcraft as rebellion.

So now, let us define rebellion. Rebellion is not limited to the common perception of the rebelliously defiant teenager or the disident military faction. Rebellion is any act which usurps or subverts authority. Sometimes rebellion is called illigitimate authority because it takes authority where it does not have authority.

To determine if you have authority in a particular area, simply ask yourself the question, "Do I have responsibility in that area?" Authority and responsibility go hand-in-hand. If you DO NOT have one then you DO NOT have the other. If you DO have one then you DO have the other. A person commits an act of rebellion whenever they try to take authority in an area where they do not have responsibility.

This is what King Saul did when he decided to spare certain animals in the battle in order to offer them as sacrifices. He had not been given responsibility to provide for a sacrifice and yet he authorized the sparing of these animals in direct opposition to what he had been told to do. King Saul took authority where he did not have responsibility thereby commiting an act of rebellion which is witchcraft.

Perhaps an even better example of this is found in the book of Galatians. (Galatians 5:7-12) Some false teachers went into Galatia and began teaching a doctrine the had not been sanctioned by the Apostle Paul or the apostles in Jerusalem. Paul wrote to the Galatians and told them that by allowing themselves to be influenced by the false doctrine, they had become bewitched. The false teachers were in a position of responibility for the church at Galatia and therefore did not the authority to teach any doctrine. By illigitimately exercising influence over the Galatians, they practiced witchcraft and damaged the church there.

Let us look in detail at the mechanism which this type of witchcraft employs. There are primarily three things that indicate the practice of witchcraft. Those three things are MANIPULATION, INTIMIDATION, and DOMINATION. If you remember nothing else from this article, remember those three words. Whenever you see these things being utilized, witchcraft is being practiced. They cast a spell on you.

When we consider the stereotypical witch involved in the black arts, we see that she/he uses potions (i.e. chemicals), encantations, evil spirits, etc., in order to force their will on another person. Manipulation, intimidation, and domination act in a similar way to cast a spell on another person. It is more subtle than the stereotype, but the result is the same.

Manipulation may be the most subtle of the three. This has become such a common practice that it is not only socially acceptable, but most people do not even realize they are doing it. People use guilt, fear, embarassment, sympathy, etc. to get someone to do something that they would not otherwise do. You may have heard someone say, "They made me feel guilty so I..." did what the other person wanted even though they would not have done it had they not been made to feel guilty. People will play on the sympathy of others in order to manipulate them. There are legitimate needs and sympathy has a proper place. But when someone deliberately uses anothers compassionate heart as a means to manipulate them into complying with their will, it is witchcraft. Even fear can be used to manipulate. This happens all to often in churches when ministers intentionally instill fear of hell or the tribulation into their congregation in an effort to manipulate them into reciting the sinners prayer or attending church more regularly. Of course, hell and the tribulation are terrible things but the awful truth of these things can be presented without premeditatedly using fear as a means to an end.

Intimidation is another means of employing this subtle brand of witchcraft. Intimidation very often comes in the form of bullying or threats. Just because someone has the capacity to push someone else around whether physically, financially, emotionally, or otherwise does not mean that they have the authority to make that someone abide by their will. Many people with strong dominant personalities cross the line from a God-given ability to lead into an ungodly intimidation. These people are often intimidating to others simply by virtue of their personality. But all too often these people abuse their gift and deliberately intimidate others into compliance with their wishes.

Domination is the third and most obvious of the three. This occurs many times in criminal acts such as rape, murder, or kidnapping. Domination is, however, not limited to these examples. Other forms of domination would be spousal abuse, an employer wrongfully terminating an employee, or any abuse of authority that forces someone to comply with the abusers will. You will find that this type of witchcraft is manifested any time that someone forces their will on someone else leaving them no choice whatsoever.

Let us be carefull not to confuse legitimate authority with illigitimate authority. Legitimate authority attempts to persuade through presentation of facts or good salesmanship. Illigitimate authority attempts to manipulate in order to get its own way. Legitimate authority is a strong influential leader. Illigitimate authority is a bully who intimidates in order to make someone do his bidding. Legitimate authority is a police officer who arrests and imprisons a criminal offender. Illigitimate authority is wrongfully and unduely forcing the abusers will on an innocent person. Illigitimate authority is rebellion and it is witchcraft.

One area where people cross the line into witchcraft is in their marriage. They get married with the idea that they can change their spouse. But only God can change people, and even He will not do it against their will. When entering marriage people need to consider carefully their spouses ways. They will not change unless they want to.

Witch hunts are unacceptable. Do not use the information in this article to seek out witches under every rock. Rather, look for the practice of witchcraft in your own life. Ask yourself if you are manipulating, intimidating, or dominating someone yourself. Or ask youself if someone is trying to put you under their spell. These are the issues we should deal with. Leave the pagans to their own folly. Their real problem is not being washed in the Blood of Jesus. You may correct a brother. If you know a fellow servant of the Almighty God who is involved in this type of witchcraft, you may gently correct them in love. But, as it is with any other ministry, correcting a brother must be done with the guidance and annointing of the Holy Spirit. If you try to correct someone acting solely on your own, you will probably do more harm than good. Remember, always "remove the beam from your own eye before you try to remove the splinter from your brothers eye." (Matthew 7:3-5)

Let us look now at the issue of becoming free from the practice of witchcraft. Like all of the other works of the flesh, (Galatians 5:19-21) witchcraft must be dealt with as the sin that it is. We begin with salvation by the grace of God through faith in the Blood of Jesus. Without salvation, all other steps to ending witchcraft in your life are meaningless. If you have never been born again, then the experience of salvation is your first step to freedom. If you have been saved for a while, but are just now learning about this bondage of witchcraft, then you may need to take further steps. One thing you must do is to determine in yourself by an act of your will that you will stop practicing witchcraft. This act of repentance is necessary to achieve freedom. (Luke 13:3) The Scripture says that as Christians we are named with the Name of Jesus and are given the right to use His Name. (Ephesians 3:15, Mark 16:17, 1 Corinthians 5:4) So then, stand in the Name of Jesus acting as He would act and you are free from the bondage of witchcraft. Then immerse yourself in the Word of God. The Sword of the Spirit is a powerful weapon that will build your strength in overcoming your enemy. (Ephesians 6:17) The Scripture also says that the victotious ones overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. (Revelation 12:11) So remind yourself of the Blood of Jesus and what He has done for you. Remind yourself of all the miracles that God has done for you no matter how big or small. And declare that you are free from the bondage of practicing witchcraft.

Not only does witchcraft need to be dealt with when you are practicing it yourself, but it must also be dealt with if someone else is trying to put you under their spell. Of course, you cannot "force" anyone to stop trying to illigitimately influence you because that would be witchcraft on your part. But you can resist them. (James 4:7) The Scripture says to resist the devil and he will flee from you. So then, refuse to be manipulated. Refuse to be intimidated. Refuse to be dominated. Many times simply saying "No," is enough. Sometimes, depending on the circumstances, you may have to separate yourself from the one attempting to bewitch you. And always you can intercede for the offender praying that the Lord will draw them to Himself (Jeremiah 31:3, John 6:44) so that they may experience salvation and freedom from the bondage to witchcraft. Remember "the Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that all might come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9)

In closing, let me say that I understand this brief article only scratches the surface of a widespread problem. It is my prayer that you will find enough information here to help you achieve freedom and a more intimate relationship with the Almighty God. Feel free to contact me with any questions, comments, or suggestions.


Written by
Reverend Bill McLean

With additions and revisions by
Reverend Kathleen McLean


I had to look up  just what  manipulation , intimidation and domination  means  in the dictonary   hee hee
  and was enlightened  by how true this really can be when it comes to religion 

  pure religion undefiled / Clean  is to help the fatherless and widow .
 

  To me, it means those with God and Christ that just went through   LOSS
of loosing  their religion,    their  security  and comfort  in the  image of the beast  they had called god /God and worshipped adored  counted on , so to speak , to many lords  a lording  /confusion , that is Not of God

  we have to be secure in Gods love  first , before we can be any help to anyone else  :icon_flower: