Angel or Demon? 1 John 4:1-3

Buddy

You’ve probably guessed by now that I adore my Silky terrier, Buddy. We’ve been together for over eleven years now. Sometimes he acts like a little devil, but I still love him. He’s my best pal—after the Lord.

Whether Buddy acts like a sweet angel or little rascal, he still has a place in my heart. However, I warned last week that it’s critical to test the spirits. Satan is a liar (John 8:44) and a deceiver, he “disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14)”.

Apostle John warned believers in Christ to be on their guard regarding supernatural beings in 1 John 4:1-3 (NASB):

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.”

The Apostle John made several important points:

1. Spirits are real—the supernatural is real.

2. There are good spirits and bad spirits.

2. Don’t believe every spirit.

3. Some spirits serve the omnipotent and loving God (angels) and some do not (demons/Satan).

4. These supernatural beings can influence us.

5. Therefore, test the spirits to determine if they should be listened to or not.

6. The Holy Spirit and angels will testify that Jesus came to earth in the flesh: “Emmanuel, God with us (Matthew 1:23)”. Demons will deny that God came to dwell amongst us; (Gnosticism is an example). Jesus is not an angel, or an enlightened being, or merely a good teacher. He is God (Luke 9:20, John 1:1-3, John 5:18, John 9:38, John 11:27, Colossians 1:19, many etceteras).

7. Deceiving spirits will deny Jesus.

8. False prophets will deny Jesus. Don’t believe everything someone says, just because they claim to be a Christian.

9. These falsehood teachings exist now.

Additionally:

1. Satan and anyone influenced by him will deny the truth of God’s Word (Genesis 3:1). They will teach that the Bible is not true, or just some parts are true and some don’t apply in today’s culture—you can pick and choose your own buffet style Christianity. Apostle Paul (1 Timothy 3:16) and Apostle Peter (2 Peter 1:20-21) advised that all of Scripture was inspired by God and beneficial for our lives.

2. You can disobey God with no consequence—not true. You reap what you sow (Galatians 6:7-8), are disciplined by God as a Christian if you refuse to repent (Hebrews 12:5-11), or suffer in Hell if you die in unbelief (Hebrews 9:27, Revelation 20:13-15). God’s rules are for our benefit and protection, not to harm or restrict us.

3. They will hate God’s people—Jewish and Christian (1 John 4:19-21). “God is love (1 John 4:8)” and teaches us how to love others. Anyone who claims to be a Christian but hates those who believe in the Bible—and Jesus—are deceived or deceivers.

4. Deny that they sin or are sinners (1 John 1:8). Any philosophy that denies the sin nature of humanity is a false teaching and leads to bad outcomes for an individual, relationship, culture and society.

My born-again experience (see blog post dated 10/21/21) passed the test. Not being raised Christian, I was surprised when Holy Spirit rushed into my body after giving my life to Jesus. He reassured me Who He was, so that I wouldn’t be frightened to death. He told me three things:

1. The Bible is true;

2. Anyone who doesn’t believe in Jesus is lost;

3. And, although He knew every sin I’d ever committed, He still loved me very much.

So that is why I take the time to write these blogs, because I know without a doubt that God is real, loves us and Jesus came to deliver us from evil. I want you to have abundant, and eternal, life too.

And one final warning: Please take this to heart. The Bible never advises us to seek angelic encounters or to pray to angels. Every angelic encounter in the Bible was initiated by God. There is a good reason for that: Because, as stated above, Satan and his followers will try to deceive you. Jesus has “all authority…in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18)”. Jesus is our only “mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5,” John 14:6). Pray to God in the name of Jesus only (John 14:13-14). Jesus is all you need.

God bless you.

Love from Dawn and Buddy

***

Satan led humanity into rebellion against God’s authority in our lives. Jesus came to give us abundant life (John 10:10) and to bring us back into relationship with the Lord. Adam and Eve wanted to determine for themselves what is right and wrong, not listen to God. As a result of being rejected, the Holy Spirit left the human race so that we are all born incomplete: born just body and soul, instead of as a triune being.

So we all sense an inner emptiness, which we try to fill in our own unique way: with drugs, food, alcohol, pleasure, distraction, relationships, shopping, sex, knowledge, etc. But we never get enough of whatever that filler is, because that hole can only be filled with God’s Spirit.

If you’d like to become whole, accepting God’s authority and presence in your life, please pray the following:

Dear Heavenly Father, I believe that Jesus came in the flesh, is the Lord and died for my sins. Please forgive my sins because Jesus already paid the price for me at His death on the Cross. I give my life to you. I ask Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. I invite the Holy Spirit into my life. Thank you for loving me. In Jesus’ might name, Amen.

If you prayed with sincerity, congratulations, you are born-again. You’ll become aware of the presence of God in your life. (Remember to test the spirits. The Holy Spirit will never contradict the clear teachings of the Bible.)

Like your body needs food daily to function properly, your soul needs soul food—The Bible. Please begin reading it daily. I suggest starting with Matthew as it’s easiest to understand. Some also suggest the book of John, firstly, as it focuses on God’s love for us.

And find a Bible-based church or Bible study to fellowship with other believers and to be strengthened in your faith. You have joined the family of God; families gather together. If that’s not possible right now, these are my three favorite ministries, which also have apps if that’s your preference: http://www.LTW.org, http://www.InTouch.org and http://www.BasicGospel.net.

God bless you. Buddy and I will see you in heaven.

Is The Supernatural Real? 1 John 3:24

This story starts with another dog, far different in character than my beloved Buddy.

My mother and I traveled to the UK and split our stay in the city of Liverpool, spending one night before moving on to a private tour of Wales and Chester the following morning. Then returning for another two nights at another hotel, due to cost, to explore the hometown of the Beatles and the port that my great grandpa traveled to the New World from.

Though we enjoyed visiting the lovely city and its friendly citizens, we will never return, due to the frightening experiences we had at both hotels.

In the middle of the night at a remodeled brick hotel, sleeping in a loft room, I awoke to a suffocating presence. The air seemed oppressive, as if it thickened somehow, making it difficult to breathe. I sensed the strong presence of a Bull Mastiff sized black dog, sitting between my and my mother’s twin beds. Recognizing it as a demonic presence, I earnestly began praying and praising God, being particular to mention the most powerful name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, God in the flesh Who defeated sin and death for us.

Do you believe me? You see, I feared waking my slumbering mother, so I prayed in hoarse whispers. I continued praying until I sensed that the presence had left, which seemed an eternity but was likely about twenty minutes.

The next morning, I discovered that my mother had also been awakened and was praying quietly, trying not to wake me. She also sensed the presence of a large, black dog sitting between our beds.

We also had a bad supernatural experience at the other hotel: We both sensed/saw a dragon like figure.

Neither presence exuded the loving presence of God, Who is love (1 John 4:8).

Why we had these experiences, I cannot say. Only that we’ve been to the United Kingdom twice, visited several cities, yet only had these negative experiences in Liverpool.

How do I know that these spirits were not from God?

I was not raised in the Christian faith. And the Christians who witnessed to me during my college years never explained to me what being born-again meant. Nor was it explained that those without Jesus are spiritually dead. I didn’t understand why I felt so empty inside and incomplete.

So it was a total shock when, after I gave my life to Christ through talking to a volunteer with the Billy Graham organization, the Holy Spirit swooped into my body. Being kind, God immediately reassured me Who He was. I was filled with the amazing sense of God’s presence, of love that is indescribable.

I had a “born-again” experience.

Which was totally unanticipated. And could not, therefore, have just been a product of my imagination as I had zero knowledge this would occur.

I became a new creation through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Now I had read through the Bible a few times, but a lot did not click or make sense. Yet, after becoming born-again, I became aware that there are many passages in the Bible that declare that a true Christian had the life of Christ within themselves:

“We know by this that He (God) abides in us, by the Spirit He has given us.”—Apostle John, 1 John 3:24

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me,”—Apostle Paul, Galatians 2:20

“Christ in you, the hope of glory.”—Apostle Paul, Colossians 1:27

“Guard, through the Holy Spirit Who dwells in us,”—Apostle Paul, 2 Timothy 1:14

Next post I’ll explain more about testing the spirits to discern if it’s from God (1 John 4:1) or Satan, masquerading as “an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14).

But can I leave you with this advice: Don’t listen to the atheists. They are dead wrong about the supernatural. It’s real.

God bless you.

Much love from Dawn and Buddy

***

What I didn’t understand as a nonbeliever is that every person is born spiritually dead. Because our ancestors (Adam and Eve) rejected God’s authority to tell them right from wrong, the Holy Spirit left the human race. All of their descendants were, thereafter, born incomplete. Made in the image of God, we were intended to be triune beings: flesh, mind/soul and Spirit of God. If you sense that there is an inner emptiness that cannot be filled, you are correct. No amount of pleasure, drugs, sex, food, possessions, or money can ever fill this empty space in your soul: only the life of Jesus can.

If you’re ready to give your life to God and become born-again, please repeat the below prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, Please forgive my sin. I ask Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. Lead me, guide me and teach me to discern right and wrong. Fill me with the Holy Spirit. I give my life to You. N the mighty name of Jesus I pray, amen.

If you prayed sincerely, congratulations: You are a born-again child of God. You may have a dramatic experience of the Holy Spirit or come to a gradual awareness of His presence within you.

As your body needs food daily to be healthy, your soul needs daily feeding through the Word of God. Please begin reading the Bible. I recommend starting with the New Testament book of Matthew as it’s easy to understand.

Also, please attend a Bible believing church or Bible study. If that’s not possible right now, I recommend these three ministries, which also have apps, if that’s your preference: http://www.BasicGospel.net, http://www.LTW.org and http://www.InTouch.org.

Good bless you. Buddy and I will see you in heaven one day.

And please read next week’s blog post. It’s very important so that you are not misled by deceptive spirits.

Thank you for reading my posts.

Thank you for taking your precious time to read and like my posts. I realize that you have many alternative ways to spend your time. I’m honored that you chose to share some of it with me and my beloved Buddy. God bless you. Dawn

Are Ghosts Real? Matthew 14:25-27

Buddy staring.

Sometimes Buddy stares off into space or shivers with fright, making me wonder what he’s seeing or hearing that I’m unable to see or hear.

There seems to be great interest in ghosts and stories of hauntings. Some TV channels have an increasing number of so-called ghost hunters or series about ghost investigators.

The apostle Matthew relates a story about Jesus walking on the water. His disciples set off in a boat without Jesus because He apparently needed some alone time to pray after feeding five thousand men, not counting the accompanying women and children.

“And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.’”—Matthew 14:25-27

Now Jesus did not rebuke the disciples, claiming that they were silly to believe in ghosts.

So if ghosts are real, then who or what are they?

Jesus makes it clear that the dead cannot return to speak to the living in the passage of Luke 16:19-31. A rich man died and suffered great torment in Hades. During his lifetime he had callously ignored a poor man suffering outside his gate when he had the means to assist him. Lazarus, the poor man, suffered during his brief earthly life but found comfort and love in the afterlife.

The rich man had the effrontery to beseech Lazarus to leave his happy place to come over into Hades and offer him some respite from his torment by dipping a finger in water to cool off the rich man’s burning tongue. But the rich man was told that no one could cross over to Hades to assist him due to a “great chasm” between the realm of torture and comfort.

Apparently the rich man was not totally rotten because he was concerned about the welfare of his five living brothers. He wants someone to go to earth and warn them about the eternal torment that may await them if they continue along his same selfish path in life. But he’s told that his brothers need to heed God’s warnings through Moses and His prophets (the Old Testament Bible writings), that his brothers won’t be persuaded by someone returning from the dead to warn them.

The rich man, himself, cannot leave Hades to warn his brothers of potential eternal damnation.

Some may disagree with my interpretation of the passage in Luke, but to me it’s clear that Jesus is teaching that we should be seeking His word and not the dead. That the dead cannot return to the earth to speak to the living, once they’ve died and entered into their eternal home of either torment or happiness.

But if Jesus doesn’t deny the existence of ghosts, yet teaches that the dead cannot return to communicate with us, then who or what are ghosts?

The Bible teaches that spirits are real. The book of Mark in the New Testament relates several stories about “unclean spirits” which are demonic beings that torment and destroy humans, and animals, when they inhabit their bodies. Jesus delivers many people from the torment of these wicked spirits.

The only good Spirit, that I recall, mentioned in the Bible is the Holy Spirit of God.

Both the Apostles Paul and John warned about evil spirits who pretend to be good so that people would fall away from the true God.

“But the Spirit (God) explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons.”—1 Timothy 4:1

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”—1 John 4:1

Even Satan himself pretends to be a good angel to deceive people, “disguising himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14).”

The Old Testament prophet, Isaiah, said that the Egyptians would become demoralized by civil war and “resort to idols and ghosts of the dead and to mediums and spiritists (Isaiah 19:3).” Deuteronomy 18 makes it clear that God forbids contact with idols, mediums and speakers of the dead, so for Isaiah to include ghosts in this group is a clear warning to not have contacts with ghosts, that they’re demonic.

Now God is not a spoil sport: He warns us not to do or engage in an activity to protect us and others.

I wish I could find the YouTube video for you, but a man and his wife used to be ghost hunters in Texas. They had some frightening experiences and came to the realization that ghosts are actually demonic spirits. They converted to Christianity and the power of God delivered them from the ghostly oppression they were experiencing. And gave up their ghost hunting hobby.

Ultimately it’s your choice. You can heed my warning not to mess with ghosts, as I believe they’re demonic spirits trying to deceive and harm you—or not. I honestly don’t think it’s good for your soul to watch hours of these ghost hunting programs a week.

But note this warning from the Bible’s great book of wisdom: “But he who seeks evil, evil will come to him.”—Proverbs 11:27

***

In Africa the Book of Mark is often one of the most important books used in converting people to Christianity because it shows that God is far more powerful than evil spirits. The demonic is often quite real to people living on that continent. Jesus commanded the spirits and they had no choice but to obey Him. All of the universe was created through Jesus and is held together through Him (Colossians 1:16).

When you give your life to Jesus, you are “rescued from the domain of darkness, and transferred…to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in Whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:13-14).” It is the omnipotent God, alone, who can protect you from supernatural evil.

“The Lord will protect you from all evil, He will keep your soul.”—Psalm 121:7

If you want the power to resist Satan and sin, please ask Jesus to be the Lord of your life. Come under His protection.

If you’d like to do that, please pray the following: Dear Heavenly Father, please forgive my sin and deliver me from evil. I ask Jesus to be my Lord and Savior and invite the Holy Spirit to come into my life and fill me. I give my life to You. Thank you for saving me. In the name of Jesus, amen.

If you prayed sincerely, congratulations, you are born again, the Holy Spirit has come into your life. But just as out bodies need food to eat to be strong and healthy, your spirit requires soul food to be healthy, which is God’s word, the Bible. Since this topic interested you enough to read this blog post, please start with the book of Mark in the New Testament to learn how powerful Jesus is.

Also, please join a Bible-based church or Bible study to grow strong in your faith and to fellowship with likeminded people. If that’s not possible right now, please check out these ministries, which are my favorites. They also have apps, if that’s your preference: http://www.BasicGospel.net, http://www.InTouch.org and http://www.LTW.org.

Romans 10:9-10: “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

God bless you. May Buddy and I greet you in heaven one day.

Why Tyranny Is Increasing, 2 Corinthians 3:17

My forever pal

Buddy has total freedom—within boundaries. He’s permitted to go anywhere in his home where it’s safe, which means he’s not allowed in the cupboards under the kitchen and bathroom sinks where cleaning agents are kept. The only time he’s restricted is when we leave the safety of our condo, because he, being car stupid, could easily come to harm if I am not vigilant.

Communism, Fascism and Socialism have two things in common: a disdain for religion (except to worship the state and its leaders) and a lack of respect for the individual. They are totalitarian, collectivist philosophies: the individual is disposable to protect the group and its elitist rulers.

God is a lover of freedom and the individual.

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”—Apostle Paul, 2 Corinthians 3:17

We are made in God’s image. Yet He allows us the freedom to choose to serve Him or not. When a nation rejects Jesus, the people are rejecting freedom and His love and protection.

Western nations have traditionally had the most freedom and liberty because of their foundations based in Biblical principles and belief in Jesus Christ.

Additionally, besides political freedom that respects the rights of individuals to develop their potential, Jesus offers freedom from the bondage of sin, of behaviors destructive to ourselves and others.

The more people in a society who are born again and ruled by laws based upon Biblical principals, the more liberty that society will cherish and promote.

Please don’t listen to the devil: a society that loves Jesus loves liberty.

A society that rejects Jesus is in bondage to sin and the tyranny of Satan.

“All those who hate me love death (Proverbs 8:36b).”

God bless you.

Love from Dawn and Buddy

***

Jesus saves. Saves you from lies, self-destruction and the power of the devil. Do you want true freedom? You’ll only find it in Jesus, because only He is the source of spiritual life.

If you’re ready to accept the authority of God in your life, experiencing a personal love relationship with Him, please repeat the following prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for sending Jesus to die for my sins on the Cross. Please forgive my sin. I ask Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. Fill me with the Holy Spirit and help me understand how much You love me. I give my life to You. Help me because I need You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

If you prayed with sincerity, congratulations, you are born again. You either just experienced the presence of God coming into your spirit or you will gradually come to an awareness of His presence.

Being born again means that you are now whole, the way humans were meant to be: body, soul and the presence of the Holy Spirit. We are all born incomplete till Jesus personally enters our lives.

Just as your body needs to be fed daily, so your soul needs soul food: the Bible, also called the Word of God. Please begin reading this great book daily. I recommend starting with the book of Matthew in the New Testament as it’s easy to understand and interesting. Even a few verses is better than none at all.

And please join a Bible-based church or Bible study to grow in the knowledge of God and to develop godly friendships. If that’s not possible right now, these are my three favorite ministries, which also have apps if that’s what you prefer: www. BasicGospel.net, http://www.InTouch.org and http://www.LTW.org.

God bless you. Buddy and I look forward to seeing you in heaven one day.