Decorating with Darkness – Purity 1471
Purity 1471 10/08/2024 Purity 1471 Audio Podcast
Purity 1471 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Well, it’s Tuesday and it is the eighth day of October and depending on where you are in the upstate NY you may be worried about whether or not the leaves on the trees are pre-peak, peak, or post-peak for those Autumn hues, and while I would never seek to encourage anyone to be anxious, I would recommend keeping your eyes open to enjoy the splendor of the season now while it’s here because if we get too focused on the business of our daily lives we run the risk of missing out on the joy that is available in the present moment and those unique sights that come and go with the changing seasons.
Speaking of the seasons, being October, it is also a season of increasing darkness, as not only do the evenings come progressively quicker, but the celebration of Halloween causes our local landscapes to be decorated in dark things that knowingly or unknowingly worship Satan. While I used to be right there with everyone else in enjoying the spooky splendor of Halloween, since coming to the Lord I have become increasingly convinced that the more one celebrates Halloween the less likely they will be in that number when the saints come marching in.
If your yard is decorated with ten-foot skeletons, looks like a graveyard, or has been transformed into a house of horrors, you may want to ask yourself: What do I believe in? What am I worshiping here? And do I really think God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit would be pleased with what I have done here?
Repent!
Anyway, when you do “freedom prayer” or are familiar with other forms of deliverance ministry, like I am, you realize that Satan isn’t just a symbol of the evil in the world. Satan and His demonic powers and principalities are real. They really deceive, tempt, accuse, condemn, oppress, and possess people and they delight when people give them worship and grant them permission to be a part of their lives.
Ephesians 4:26-27 (NKJV) warns us:
26 “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath,
27 nor give place to the devil.
Our anger (an example of wrong attitudes) and sin (wrong actions) give a place (or a foothold – NLT-) to the demonic forces of darkness in our lives. We reap what we sow and when we reap anger, bitterness, depression, anxiety or fear, those things grow. When we sin one time, it becomes easier and easier to sin again. When we persist with wrong thoughts, attitudes, and actions, which may, in fact, have been assisted by demonic temptations, a habit – or stronghold – can be formed that causes our bad attitudes, sinful actions or physical addictions to have a spiritual component driving our vicious cycles – where unseen spiritual forces of darkness keep us bound by lies, temptation, and sin and oppress us with accusation and condemnation that drive us to fall into sin over and over again.
I know this to be the truth because I have not only received my own freedom through repentance and freedom prayer ministry but have led several others through freedom prayer to be set free. By leading others through the Steps to Freedom in Christ, having them renounce their occult involvements, sin, unforgiveness, and ancestral curses, and committing themselves to follow Christ alone, I have seen things that could only be demonic manifestations, and more importantly, have seen others come to experience their freedom in Christ.
As for those Halloween decorations, they could be classified as objects of the occult or quite simply as things that give glory to Satan and the kingdom of darkness rather than giving glory to God. We really don’t want to be associated with darkness. Jesus told us as much in:
John 3:18-21 (NLT2)
18 “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him (Jesus). But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.
19 And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.
20 All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. 21 But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”
Do you love the darkness more than the light? Do you love your sins more than God? Let me assure you that if you do, you have made the wrong choice.
For as Jesus indicates here, one day your sins will be exposed and judged and without a saving relationship with Jesus, you will be eternally separated from God and consigned to Jesus called the “outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 8:12)
So although you may think decorating with darkness for Halloween is just fun and games, beneath the surface these displays worship Satan, knowingly or unknowingly, and that’s evil, something that faithful Christians pray to be delivered from.
So enjoy the fall foliage, go apple picking, or enjoy a pumpkin spice latte’ but let’s put those childish and dark things away because as Christians we should be walking in the light rather than dancing in the dark.
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For those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple encouragements provide, I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/ .
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Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling” By John G. Kruis.
( While Bible verses on various topics of Counseling can be found with a quick Google search, we encourage you to purchase this resource to support the late author’s work. (https://www.amazon.com/Quick-Scripture-Reference-Counseling-Kruis-ebook/dp/B00CIUJZT2?ref_=ast_author_dp )
This morning’s meditation verse comes from the section on Forgiving Others
Mark 11:25 (NIV2011)
25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”
Today’s verse falls under the eighth point of our counseling reference guide resource’s section on Forgiving Others.
8. Jesus commands us to forgive others.
Today’s Bible verse indicates that we should come to times of prayer unburdened from bitterness and warns us that an unforgiving heart could cause us to be separated from God.
The Steps to Freedom in Christ includes a section on forgiving others because the bitterness of unforgiveness can not only cause division with our personal relationships and disharmony with our heavenly Father, but it can also be used by the spiritual forces of darkness as legal grounds to oppress us!
If we fully grasp the meaning of our redemption and the forgiveness of sins that received when we put our faith in Jesus, we should be full of love for God and humbly obey His commands to forgive others as we have been forgiven. The words in today’s Jesus’ and if He is our Lord we should obey Him – to be sure we receive the Father’s forgiveness and to be set free from the bitterness that unforgiveness brings.
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As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.com where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today we continue sharing from “According to Your Word: Morning and Evening Through the New Testament” By Stephen F. Olford – A Collection of Devotional Journals: 1940-1941.
As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage you all to purchase Olford’s books for your own private study and to support his work. This resource is available online for less than $10 at many sites.
EVENING READING: 2 PETER 3
“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise.”
– 2 Peter 3:9
Jesus is coming, is coming again!
Jesus is coming again!
Shout the glad tidings
O’er mountain and plain!
Jesus is coming again!19
Here is a very stirring message. Peter had to stir his readers up in remembrance of the great fact that Jesus was coming again. With the elapse of time, many were getting weary and asking such questions as “Where is the promise of His coming?” Thus, the apostle answers with these words: “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise.”
Lord, keep me ever watching for Your return,
for Your Name’s sake.[1]
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“The views, opinions, and commentary of this publication are those of the author, M.T. Clark, only, and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of any of the photographers, artists, ministries, or other authors of the other works that may be included in this publication, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities the author may represent.”
Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship
[1] Stephen Olford and Heather Olford, According to Your Word: Morning and Evening Through the New Testament, A Collection of Devotional Journals 1940-1941 (Nashville, TN: B&H Books, 2008).
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