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That’s me. The person everyone sees. Then there’s the real me. Staring me in the face everyday. Who am I? Why am I here? What is going to happen? My brain is bossing me around.

Talking at me. You’re a loser. He’s going to leave you. You’ll be alone. You’re stupid. What IS the point?

There is a point. Sundays at 10:00 a.m. 2676 West Main Street, Rawlinson Road Middle School

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"See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands." (Isaiah 49:16) – page 2

INSIDE Seed of a Woman 20/20 Vision Blindsided Don’t Judge Me Are there Spirits?

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y vision for this publication is 20/20: to tell people far from God that there is a creator who loves them, understands their pain, and wants to make them whole again. This vision was born through all of the pain I have suffered in my own life.

But what is God’s vision for your life? How are your own life experiences preparing you for the vision God has given you. “For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” (Phil. 2:13) If your life circumstances and experiences have left you broken and confused and without a vision, don’t despair.

It is not the end of your story.

God is in the restoration business. “For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

(Jer. 29:11).

No matter where you have been or where you may be, God’s word makes it very clear that he does have a plan for you. You were not born in a vacuum. You were not a mistake. “For you formed my Royal Diadem 3

inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.” (Psalm 139:13) Visions are given to us by God through the Holy Spirit.

They are implanted in our innermost being by a God who created the very universe we see all around us. In fact, visions are so important that the Bible tells us we will perish without a vision. “Where there is no vision, the people perish...” (Prov. 29:18) Visions are also personal.

You were uniquely created by God. He delights in who you are and all of your hopes and desires come from Him. Your unique personality, skills, and experiences are no accident.

Perhaps you are reading this and thinking that you are not fit for God to use. You have left a wake of destruction behind you. You’ve hurt people, you’ve committed crimes, adultery, or abuse.

Your family has given up on you and you have no friends left. You’re destitute and without hope or a vision.

Let me assure you today that God has not forgotten you.

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may

The Jews had grown weary.

And they were in debt. “Now the men and their wives raised a great outcry against their Jewish brothers. Some were saying, ‘We and our sons and daughters are numerous; in order for us to eat and stay alive, we must get grain.”

Others were saying, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards and our homes to get grain during famine.” (5:1-5) Visions thrive in an environment of unity but die in an environment of division.

Nehemiah demonstrated great leadership in handling this crisis but, before he actually addressed the problem, he thought it through first. “When I heard their outcry and these charges, I was very angry. I pondered them in my mind....” (5:6-7) Nehemiah thought through the issues and then did an important thing. He confronted the “insiders” who were causing the problem.

Often when things are not going our way, we complain to God rather than confront the issues ourselves, but God has endowed us with authority. “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.” (Luke 10:19) After Nehemiah had confronted the nobles and

officials, they said, “We will give it back.” (5:12).

Why did these officials listen to Nehemiah, someone who had no power over them?

Because for 12 years, he had demonstrated great character and leadership. He was careful to do things the right way in the sight of God and man. “Instead, I devoted myself to the work on this wall. All my men were assembled there for the work; we did not acquire any land.”

(5:14-16) Nehemiah had clean hands and the naysayers respected this. It is much easier to confront others when we know that we are walking in the will of God. This is moral authority.

Nehemiah had credibility because people could see between what he said and what he did. And moral authority will determine the degree to which others will be open to your influence as well.

To accomplish your vision, you must do what is right. But be forewarned, moral authority is not gained overnight.

It is a lifestyle you live every day by, “picking up your cross.”

You will face many obstacles in your walk to fulfill Christ’s vision for your life and there will be many tests. But faith that is not tested is not very valuable faith.

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WAR OF THE GODS During the reign of Ahab, the Israelites rebelled against God and worshiped other gods. The land was divided and a battle raged between the prophets of Baal and the prophets of God. King Ahab accused Elijah of stirring up trouble with his God so Elijah challenged Ahab in a “war of the gods.”

“Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me and bring the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Aherah.”

When the people were there, Elijah said, “How long will you waiver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God follow him.”

Elijah then told them, “Get two bulls for us. Let them choose one for themselves and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire—he is God.” Then they called on Baal from morning till noon and danced around the alter. At noon, Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” He said.

“Surely he is a god!” So they shouted

Almost any attempt to fulfill God’s plan will draw opposition from God’s enemies.

When we face opposition, we would do well to emulate Nehemiah–pray and come up with a new plan.

Nehemiah’s vision was clearly under attack by Sanballat and the surrounding Royal Diadem 23

louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears. Midday passed and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice.

Then Elijah took built an altar and dug a trench around it. He cut the bull into pieces, and laid it on the wood. Then he said, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood. “ He did this two more times until the water ran down and filled the trench.

Then Elijah prayed, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, O Lord so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”

Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. When the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God!

kings. But his vision was also under attack from his own people, the Jews.

When you step out in faith and begin work on the vision God has given you, you too, will face criticism from within.

Friends, family, and even fellow believers may pick apart your vision or question your ability to complete the task.

forget, I will not forget you!”

(Isa. 49:15) Don’t give up on the desires and hopes God has given you because you believe you are beyond redemption. This is a lie from Satan. God’s Word assures us that, “He who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Acts 2:21) Not only are your visions from God, He wants you to succeed in bringing them to pass. “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4) So what do we do with these desires, dreams, and longings God gives us? How do we even begin to accomplish our dreams?

The Bible gives us a great example on how to accomplish our visions in the book of Nehemiah. God gave Nehemiah a vision to restore the ruined city of Jerusalem.

And by studying his vision, we can learn how to accomplish the dreams God has given us–regardless of how impossible they seem.

First, let’s look at how Nehemiah’s own occupation actually helped him to first begin to act on the desires God had put in his heart.

When I studied this, it personally ave me chills

because I realized that everything I have gone through in my own life was no accident!

Nehemiah was a cup bearer to the king, which naturally put him in a unique position to have access to the king and all of the king’s resources. As a cup bearer, Nehemiah had great influence with the king. He was well trained in court etiquette and had great influence as someone with such close access to the king.

God gave Nehemiah the desire to rebuild the broken walls of Jerusalem because his (being a cup bearer) put him in a unique position to accomplish the task.

And God desires to use your own unique life experiences to accomplish His purpose in your life. Right where you are.

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Before we can recognize God’s vision for our life, we must first know that we are actually hearing from God. Does God still speak to people today? Absolutely God still speaks! “God does speak— sometimes one way and sometimes another—even though people may not understand it.” (Job 33:14) God typically speaks to us through His Word, but he will also speak to us through gifted teachers, impressions we have, or even our pain.

Every word of scripture was inspired by the Holy Spirit, and as we study and read God’s Word, He reveals Himself to us.

God’s word pierces our very souls, “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

(Heb. 4:12) God also uses gifted speakers to inspire our visions as well. “When we preached to you, you didn’t think of the words as being just our own, but you accepted it as the very Word of God—which, of course, it was—and it changed our lives...” (1 Thess. 2:13) No matter how charismatic a speaker is, however, you must examine what is said against God’s Word. First John 4:1 Royal Diadem 5

warns us, “Don’t always believe everything you hear just because someone says it is a message from God; test it first to see if it really is.”

And yes, God still speaks to us today through our impressions, dreams, and visions. “God speaks again and again, in dreams and visions at night when deep sleep falls …as people lie on their beds.

He opens their ears in times like that, and gives them wisdom and instruction.” (Job 33:14) “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams…” (Acts 2:14-21) God will use the painful experiences of your life to speak to you. God will use even our mistakes to accomplish His purpose. “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” (Gen. 50:20) No matter how God speaks to you, you must rely on the Holy Spirit, our ultimate teacher, to confirm that your vision is from God. “The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things.” (John 14:26) God never contradicts His Word, therefore, it is vital that you test your vision against His

corrupting the human race, he would have hindered the coming of the perfect Son of God, the promised "seed of the woman," who would defeat him and his demonic angels and restore man's dominion on the earth (Gen. 3:15).

God sent the seed of a woman, the Messiah Jesus, to redeem mankind and bring us back into relationship with Him. If Satan had prevented His birth, he would have averted his own doom and become like the Most High.

The god of this age, and the reign of the principalities and powers is fast approaching its end.

Jesus appointed a new “divine council,” during his time here on earth. “And after this the Lord appointed 70 others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go.” (Luke 10:1) This is a powerful scripture.

Jesus engaged mankind in the battle. And the verse that follows the return of the 72 is even more powerful. “The 72 returned with joy and said, ‘Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.’” (Luke 19:17) Jesus told the 72, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy, nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits

submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:18) If you are a believer in Jesus, God has given you authority over this demonic governmental host. “Whatsoever you bind on earth shall be bound on earth and whatsoever you loose on earth I will loose in heaven.”

Jesus tells us, “In my name you will cast out demons. “ Jesus warns his disciples against pride, however. He admonishes us not to take pride in our power over demons but that our names are written in the Book of Life.

God has transferred power over to His church and at the end of the battle, the end of days, we will rule and reign with Christ.

So are you going to join the army or will you remain a pawn of the devil.

Today,when you hear his voice do not harden your heart as they did in the rebellion.”

(Heb. 3:15)

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nation out of another nation….”

(Deut. 4:32) God decreed that he would give 70 angels dominion over 70 nations, just as there were 70 original nations after the flood that corresponded to the number of these same “sons of God.” “From one man (Noah) He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.

God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though he is not far from each one of us.”

(Acts 17:26) God would not tolerate a cruel and unjust one world government. “God presides in the great assembly; he gives judgment among the gods: How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked? ... I said, ‘You are gods;’ you are the sons of the Most High; But you will die like men; you will fall like every other ruler.’” (Psalm 82) In this passage, God tells these wicked angels that they will die like men! We then read in the psalms that all the nations will belong to him and will serve Him and all nations will be turned back to God. There are spirits battling in the heavens to rule over the world. In Daniel 10:12, the angel told Daniel, “Since the first Royal Diadem 21

day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me 21 days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me because I was detained there by the King of Persia.”

This is an amazing scripture.

For 21 days, Gabriel, a mighty and powerful angel, was engaged in warfare against these spiritual principalities and rulers of the darkness of this age.

Clearly this “King of Persia” is a spiritual being with governmental authority to rule over this “nation” on the earth.

However, God is still in control. He is still on His throne and is in charge of all of the nations and governmental bodies of the universe. All must answer to God. “Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord.”

In I Kings 22 and Chronicles 18, the prophet Micaiah said, “I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing on His right hand and His left...”

God originally created man to rule and to reign over the earth.

If Satan had succeeded in

Word. “Heaven and earth will pass away but my words will never pass away.” (Luke 21:33)

they left their nets and followed him.”

Jesus then called James and John, “and they left the boat and their father and followed him.” (Mat. 4:22) So many of us never In both of these incidents, accomplish our dreams because Jesus’ disciples were not told we charge out on adrenaline the details of what was to only to become overwhelmed come. Yet these men stepped with the task. Yet it is when out in faith, listening to the we live in this tension of what voice of God. And he wants could be, as opposed to what you and I to do the same. is, that God does something on After God gives calls you, the inside of us to stretch our He will take you through a faith and remind us of our process to clarify and hone dependence on Him. “For your vision. He does this as without faith, it is impossible to you seek Him in prayer and talk please God.” (Heb. 11:6) with Him. The Holy Spirit will Timing really is everything. help you to identify the What God originates, He “problem,” provide you with orchestrate. If we already know the “solution,” fill you with the how we are going to “purpose,” and then He will accomplish our vision, it is not orchestrate the “timing.” from God. God deals in the If you cannot identify these impossible; the supernatural. If four areas of your vision, you you examine the scriptures, you will become confused. And will find that God often calls “God is not the author of people without supplying them confusion.” (1 Cor. 14:33) with details.

Nehemiah had such a desire In Matthew 4:18, Jesus in his heart to rebuild the walls called two of his own disciples of Jerusalem but he, like us, without providing them with had to go through a process to any details. “As Jesus was hone his vision. He did this by walking beside the Sea of seeking God in prayer before Galilee, he saw two brothers, he traveled to Jerusalem to Simon, called Peter, and his survey the problem (the broken brother Andrew. They were walls); he thought through the casting a net into a lake, for solution (how to they were rebuild the walls); fishermen.

Main Entry: twenty–twenty he pondered the ‘Come, follow Function: adjective reason (to realize me,’ Jesus 1 of the human eye : meeting a standard of normal visual acuity God’s promise to said. At once <twenty–twenty vision> the exiles); and the 2 : marked by facilely accurate discernment, judgment, or assessment <hindsight is twenty– twenty>

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timing (God had to first prepare the Jews hearts and the king’s heart).

Nehemiah traveled alone in the dark of night to examine the task God had laid on his heart, “I set out during the night with a few men. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem.” (2:12) Nehemiah’s silence regarding the vision God had given him is significant. We, too, must give our vision time to marinate as we seek God. We need to apply reason to our vision.

"Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him.” (Luke 14:28-29).

Nehemiah prayed for four months about conditions in Jerusalem before he spoke to the king about them!

Nehemiah also kept silent about his plan when he surveyed the wall. He needed to formulate a plan. When he finally did present his idea, his message was received positively.

“Then I said to them, ‘You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins...Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace. I also told them about the gracious Royal Diadem 7

hand of my God upon me and what the king had said to me.’

They replied, let us start rebuilding...’ ” (2:17) God put a vision in Nehemiah’s heart to restore Jerusalem. He also has a vision for your life. God told the prophet Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart…”

God created you and has set you apart too. He desires to use your unique life experiences and talents to accomplish the dreams He has planted in you. God wants nothing more than for you to realize your full potential and to make your dreams succeed. As the psalmist David said, “May He give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.”

God loves to show off by doing the impossible. “You are my witnesses, declares the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me.” (Isa. 43:10) However, if we rush headlong into trying to make our vision come to pass without first clarifying it, we are doomed to failure. More important, if we don’t seek God first, we will not be able to stand when the criticizers come, and the kill-joys will come.

worshipped other gods. In Psalms 29:2, David writes, “Ascribe to the Lord, O mighty ones, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.”

The mighty ones David refers to in this passage are called to ascribe glory to the Lord, but it is easy to see here how mere mortal man may have worshiped the sons of god instead of the creator.

The Samaritans, the oldest civilization, tell of gods who came down from heaven and intermingled with man and ruled over men. We know of the gods of Egypt, the gods of the Assyrians, and the gods of Greece and Rome. The story is the same: gods coming down from the heavens and cohabitating with humans and ruling over the earth and were mean, cruel, and hard.

God himself acknowledges their existence when he answers Moses question of,“Who shall I tell the people you are?” God tells him, “I am who I am.”

Moses knew that the people would want to know the name of the Israelite God.

Up to this time in history, God had tried

to have relationship with man, but man continued to rebel and worship these profane angels and their offspring.

It wasn’t until mankind and these rebellious gods and demigods tried to form a “one world government” that God intervened again.

At the tower of Babel, the human race undertook a united and godless effort with the fallen angels to establish a world government tto dominate the earth.

This was obviously no small threat because the Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them...” (Gen. 11:7) This is a tremendous passage, however, something even more extraordinary happens in this part of the story that is easy to miss.

In Deuteronomy 32:8-9, a strange passage tells us that God then turned the nations over to these lesser “gods.”

“When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of men, he fixed the bounds of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God. For the Lord's portion is His people, Jacob his allotted heritage... “ “Ask now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created man on the earth...Has any god ever tried to take for himself one Royal Diadem 20

Simply put, Noah was uncontaminated by alien invaders.

What a plot! It was nothing less than the demonic realm attempting to pervert the human race. Satan was out to rob God of the people He had made for Himself through genetic control.

God told Satan in the Garden of Eden, “You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life and I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers, he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Gen. 3: 15) and Revelation 4:12 tell us “...And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.”

Satan was well aware of God’s plan to redeem mankind so he set out to destroy the human race.

Most of us think that the Greek gods are purely mythology, however, the Bible confirms that there were other gods during Old Testament times and a multitude of scripture references these other “gods. “ In fact, Moses tells the Israelites in no uncertain terms that God is the God of gods: “For your God is God of gods, and the Lord of lords, the great God.” He then goes on to warn them in Deuteronomy 11:16, “Be careful or you will be enticed to Royal Diadem 19

turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them.”

So who are these other gods?

We are told in Genesis 6:2 that the Nephilim, “were on the earth in those days—and also afterward— again on the earth. “ Some theologians have speculated that the Nephilim in Numbers 13 belonged to a second eruption of fallen angels, since the earlier Nephilim had been destroyed in the flood. The honest answer is we don’t know.

But we do know by this passage that another infestation occurred.

As created beings with amazing power, it stands to reason that the offspring of this union between the "sons of God" and the "daughters of men" was so extraordinary that in no way could the Nephilim have been ordinary humans. They were gods.

And the Bible clearly tells us that the ancient peoples worshipped these other gods or demigods.

According to the biblical account of creation, God’s law of reproduction is "everything after his own kind."

God's law makes it impossible for giants to be produced by normal parentage.

History, too, confirms that early civilizations

Gulliver, the memorable character of “Banana Splits” fame, is infamous for saying, “It’ll never work.” And you can be sure that when you begin to tell people what God has laid on your heart, you, too, will be criticized.

When people realize that you or your circumstances are changing, they will feel threatened. They may feel threatened because you are taking away their power or because they are afraid you may succeed. Nehemiah also faced criticism.

“When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews ...’” (Neh. 4:1-2) Sanballat criticized the Jews character, competency, sacrifice, commitment, and even the vision itself.

Nehemiah was certainly tested. And you will be too.

However, the real test will be in how you face the crises and react to the opposition.

“But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the men of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead ... they plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it. But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet the threat.” (Neh. 3:7)

So how did Nehemiah handle the criticism? First, he prayed to God. “Hear us, O our God, for we are despised.

Turn their insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity.

Do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from your sight, for they have thrown insults in the face of the builders.”

Nehemiah did not consider prayer as a last resort but as his primary weapon against opposition! Nehemiah believed that God’s work (building the walls he dreamed of) was being maligned. These officials were not insulting Nehemiah, but God. After Nehemiah prayed, he did an important and often overlooked thing. He refocused the Jews attention on God. “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome.”

(4:15) Next, Nehemiah put Plan B in action. He posted a guard day and night to meet the threat. “From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor.” (4:16) Continued on page 23

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t is hard to wrap your mind around the thought that God loves you when you are lost in a dry and desolate place. I know. I spent 13 years exiled in the desert, and I am still there.

My relationships were broken, my career was in shambles, my finances in ruin, and I no longer trusted a God I thought loved me and who would never have allowed me to experience the pain I had endured.

But what I have learned these past 13 years is that God is faithful. He does not leave us alone in the desert to die of thirst or lose your way.

Instead, He meets us in the harsh and dry places of our lives. He is that barely imperceptible hum, or white noise, that leads you to drink from springs of water.

And it was in the desert that I learned to rely on Him alone to restore and redeem my life.

God punished the faithless people of Israel, but it was not until I was exiled in the desert that I discovered just how much God hurts when we are unfaithful.

“But if you do not listen, I will weep in secret because of your pride; my eyes will Royal Diadem 9

weep bitterly, overflowing with tears, because the Lord’s flock will be taken captive” (Jer. 13:17).

God will allow us to go our own way. He will allow us to wander in the desert, but he will not desert us.

When I finally came to the end of myself, I wanted to end my life.

Yet it was in this dark place that God reached through my pain and called me back.

“For the Lord comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.” (Isaiah 49:13) At that moment, I had a choice to make. I could continue to try to make things happen in my own power or I could trust that God was who He said He was. I decided to trust Him. I poured out all of my pain to Him and begged Him to forgive me of my sins, “one more time.”

I wept for my mistakes, my broken relationships, my sins, and my wasted life. When I peeled myself from the floor, depressed and spent, my finances, relationships, and career were still broken.

men and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of men.” (Dan. 4:17).

Nebucanezzar’s lost his mind because the “holy ones decreed it. Here we see that it was angels who were ruling over the affairs of men in God’s staid. But then things went terribly wrong.

Most of us are familiar with the story of God flooding the entire earth, wiping out all of mankind and every creature except for Noah and his family, but what terrible thing happened that made God take such a drastic step? As children, we are told “everyone sinned.” True enough. But there is more to the story than that.

When man began to increase in numbers on the earth, we read a very strange scripture in Genesis 6:2, “The sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. “ From this passage, it is clear that the angels were lusting after women. “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were

the heroes of old, men of renown.” (Gen. 6:4) Not only had the angels lusted after women, they procreated with them! The offspring of this union was the Nephilim. The Lord was so grieved by this wickedness that he regretted ever making mankind and resolved to destroy humankind. Jude 6-7 states, "And the angels, which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Even as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh…."

These angels not only failed to keep their original dominion and authority, but they "left their own habitation," or "dwelling place," going after “strange flesh.” The mingling of these spiritual beings with mankind was contrary to God’s laws.

God spared only Noah and his family because he was “perfect in his generation” (Gen. 6:9).

Noah was not spared because of his moral or spiritual qualities but because of his physical purity (Gen. 9:20-23). The Hebrew word for perfect here is "tamiym," which comes from the root word "taman," meaning "without blemish" (Exodus 12:5, 29:1 and Leviticus 1:3).

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the Most High.” In other words, he wanted to be God. Satan rebelled against God and, as punishment, God banished him and the angels that revolted with him from the heavens. “And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven, and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.” (Rev. 4:12) God then created mankind, an entirely different creation.

Humans, unlike angels, were not created as ministering spirits, but in God’s own image. He also created mankind to rule the earth and to have dominion over it.

Think about it. God gave mankind complete authority to rule over the earth. That is, until man abdicated his authority to Satan through sin.

Through mankind’s sin, Satan now had the toehold he needed to rule over the earth and to “be like the Most High.” This is where it gets interesting.

Psalm 89:5 tells us in no uncertain terms that God has a divine council. “Let the heavens praise your wonders, O Lord, your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones. For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord? Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord, a God feared in the council of the holy Royal Diadem 17

ones, great and awesome above all that are around him?“ The sons of God, or the angels in God’s council, were also present with God when He created the earth. “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.

Who set its measurements?

Since you know. Or who stretched the line on it? On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Job 38:4-7) Not only was this divine council present at the creation of mankind, but God gave these spiritual beings authority mankind.

In the book of Daniel, we read the account of Nebucanezzar, the rebellious king who lost his mind and “began to eat grass like cattle’” as a direct result of the verdict, or punishment, of this divine council:“The decision is announced by messengers, the holy ones declare the verdict, so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of

It wasn’t until months later that I realized God had begun to heal my heart because I found myself filled with an unexplainable joy.

Unexplainable because absolutely none of my circumstances had changed, yet my heart was heart was light for the first time in 13 years. I had never felt true happiness before!

God does not leave us, we leave Him. He is that white noise we hear all of the time, that buzz in the back of our consciousness that tells us we are not alone.

God began to restore me the minute I repented and cried out to Him. “How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. (Isaiah 30:19).

My life and my heart were so broken that only the great physician could heal me. God is with the contrite and lowly in spirit, and “a bruised reed he will not break...” (Isaiah 42:3).

God desires to use your desert experiences to draw you back to Him, but like me, you will have to make a choice.

No matter how broken you are, how addicted you are, or how long you have wandered in the desert, your redeemer lives. We don’t worship a dead Jesus but a living savior, a God who weeps for us in our pain.

God is jealous for you.

He paid a great price—the blood of his very own son— to redeem you from death and the misery you are now in. "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?” (Luke 15.4).

God desires to bring you out of an arid land use your brokenness. “My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them.

I will give them a heart to know me and that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with their heart” (Jer. 24:6).

Today, I am still in the desert, but God is slowly restoring all that the enemy has robbed me of. I have come to know God and, for the first time in my life, to understand His unfailing love for me.

Main Entry: blind·side Pronunciation: \blīn(d)­ˌsīd\ Function: 1 : to hit unexpectedly from or as if from the blind side <blindside the quarterback> 2 : to surprise unpleasantly

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his is what one “unchurched” Christian man said when asked about why he didn’t attend church: “I came from a broken family (his father left the family when he was 8), my own family is broken (divorced 10 years), I’m addicted (pornography), and a single father. “‘I love Jesus. I got saved when I was a teenager, and I tried church, but I wandered off. When I was going through my own divorce, I came back to church, I was really seeking God. I wanted to change my life and fix my family, but I never fit in. I had all these problems, and I just did not want to open myself up to all of these judgmental people. “ ‘I mean, how can people, you know, who go eat pancakes after church with their families ever relate to me?”

Sadly, this man’s story is not unique. You don’t have to look far to see that people all around us are broken and desperate to experience God.

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“Unchurched Christians,” or those who believe that Jesus is the son of God but have not attended a church service in the last six months, are longing for their lives to have meaning and value.

They are eager to be a Jesus follower but not a follower of the Christians of suburbia.

Too Often the church has sought to “convert” people rather than engage them in the life-long pursuit of teaching them how to make Jesus the Lord of their life, teaching them His eternal truths through His word, and equipping them to become disciples of God. It is a harsh thing to say, but the perception,

The battle lines are being drawn and the time is fast approaching when every human on the face of the earth have to make a choice. You will either be for Him or against Him. Let me warn you before you read further. God is not looking for newly converted pew warmers.

God does not need mealy mouthed weaklings. If you are looking for something you can actually believe in and fight for, I challenge you to put aside all of your concepts on who you think God is, why you think you are here, and the mental pictures you have of Christians and even the devil himself.

The devil and his legion of fallen angels have succeeded in making modern man think that God’s story has already been told, contained in a dusty old book that has no relevance to you today.

Satan wants you to believe that the Jesus story is a tired one and that Christians are nothing more than uptight, unhappy people. If this is your idea of Christianity, then let me suggest

that you have been deceived by the greatest deceiver of all time.

Make no mistake. There is a colossal battle raging now and Satan is, “roaming to and fro on the earth seeking whom he may devour.” But we are not only fighting “that old serpent, who is the devil,” but a virtual legion of spiritual wickedness.

Ephesians 6:11 instructs Christians to put on the whole armor of God in order to battle their enemies. But who are these enemies Paul speaks of?

The enemies Paul is referring to are created spiritual beings that have rebelled against God. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Eph. 6:12) Knowing your enemy requires a basic understanding of who these spiritual beings are. God first created angels, or the sons of God, as ministering spirits to do His work in the heavens and here on the earth before he created humans. Satan, or Lucifer, is an angel created by God. He was also the originator of sin. Satan wanted to “be like Royal Diadem 16

o you think Christians are weak people who “couldn’t cut in the real world?”

Then let me suggest that the God of this age has blinded you to the truth and you have bought his lie. Christianity is not for wimps. Christianity is for warriors.

For nearly 2000 years there has been a misunderstanding of how God governs the earth through His divine council as well as the war raging in the heavens all around us.

Even if you have never heard of a divine council, it is a sure bet you have heard of Captain Planet, the Fantastic Four, or Captain America, super heroes uniting to fight the evil superpowers seeking to rule the world.

Well the super heroes of your childhood had it right. There is a colossal battle to rule the world.

It is raging around us every day-and it is not for the faint of heart.

If you think Christianity is boring and that Jesus is some mystical white guy with a beard, some spiritual hippie-teacher that preached only, “love thy neighbor,” you are wrong.

Jesus was and is the most radical warrior to have ever walked the face of the earth. He Royal Diadem 15

was also God in action, taking back the universe from the evil superpowers. But the battle rages on.

You would have to be living under a rock not to have heard all of the hype on the end of days. Countless television dramas have documented Nostradamus’ predictions, global annihilation, and how ancient civilizations such as the Mayans have predicted the last days of the human race I am going to let you in on a little secret. The world as we know it is coming to an end.

Scripture makes it clear that we are living at the end of an age— the Church Age—and an epic battle for who will rule and reign is fast approaching.

Many people profess to be a Christian, but attending church on Easter Sunday does not a Christian make. Perhaps this has been the type of Christians you have encountered. Maybe it is you. You believe there is a God, but you haven’t really thought much about Him.

deserved or not, that Christians are hypocritical is one of the biggest obstacles to hurting people seeking God through the church. It is even more so for our young adults and youth.

For this group, they don’t even see the church as relevant to their lives. They are indifferent to today’s Church, or worse, they have been hurt or rejected by well meaning Christians, such as this man, or turned off by what they see as hypocritical, self-righteous Christians.

God did not take on the form of man and walk among us to create a subculture of Christian clubs, committees, or church buildings. Jesus’ mission was clear: to reach the outcast, the rejected, the poor, the sick, and the disenfranchised.

He did not come to sit at the buffet to eat with the church elders and deacons or to serve on committees, but rather He broke bread with prostitutes and tax collectors. He healed the leper. He showed compassion to the hurting.

Jesus saved his most scathing remarks for the church of His time and the religious leaders of His time.

The good news is that in our instant, text-messaging, downloading society, people want Jesus more than ever–it is just the culture of Christians that turns them off.

We may live in the fastestchanging times in human history, but people are empty.

They are hungry for real communion with God. As ambassadors for Christ, we can no longer afford to sit idly by within our fortified churches. We must move beyond our formulaic, evangelistic approaches and Royal Diadem 12

introduce people to the one true God, the “I am that I am.”

God is not seeking a church filled with self-righteous pew warmers. He wants His servants to make an impact on people’s lives. “So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth” (Rev. 3:16).

We are called to help the hurting among us, such as this man and the many others who don’t believe that the church cares about them.

We must be honest with one another about the sins we struggle with. We must be willing to admit that, in our journey to know God, we are not yet there, but that we “press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 3:14) We all struggle with sin. In one recent survey, more than half of the participants said they were still struggling with

addictions such as pornography, alcohol and drug abuse, lust, and other sins, even though they attended church regularly and attended small groups.

So look around. You are in the right place. God isn’t seeking perfect people. He is seeking those who will, “take up their cross and follow Him daily,“ people “after God’s own heart.”

God uses imperfect people to show Himself strong. It is from them that He receives His greatest glory (1 Cor. 1:26-31).

So the next time you are in church or small group, why not be honest about your struggles? What does it profit us to “put on” a Christian mask while wrestling alone with our own demons? We are not called to judge one another, but to encourage one another in love. “It is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.” (Phil 2:13) In a study of 1,402 “unchurched” adults, LifeWay Research found that 72 percent of participants said they think the church is ‘"full of hypocrites.”

But there is hope. A full 71 percent said they believe Jesus “makes a positive difference in a person’s life,” and 78 percent said they would “be willing to listen to someone who wanted to share what they believed about Christianity.”

Most of us believe there are much about the Holy Spirit by atoms–matter made up of protons, looking at His many names. neurons, and electrons– even The Holy Spirit lives inside us though we cannot see them with when we accept Christ as our the naked eye. Perhaps you don’t savior. “...having believed, you believe in things you cannot see, were marked in Him with a seal, but spirits, like atoms, are all the promised Holy Spirit.” around us.

Before Christ, the Holy Spirit As humans, we have a body, a hovered over the ark of God. soul, and a spirit. We are limited Today, He is not in a manmade by our physical bodies but our temple. “Do you not know that spirits are immortal. Other your body is a temple of the Holy spiritual beings, however, are not Spirit, who is in you, whom you confined to the form of human have received from God? “ flesh and they are all around us.

This is mind blowing! The God Yet there is one spirit over all–the of the universe lives inside of us!

Holy Spirit.

There is no The Holy reason for any Breath of the Almighty, Comforter, Eternal Spirit is one of believer to live a Spirit, Good Spirit, Holy Spirit, Power of the the least Highest, Spirit of adoption, Spirit of defeated life burning, Spirit of Christ, Spirit of counsel, understood when God Spirit of glory, Spirit of God, Spirit of grace, persons of the dwells in him.

Spirit of holiness, Spirit of judgment, Spirit Trinity and Jesus tells us in of knowledge, Spirit of life, Spirit of might, many believers Spirit of prophecy, Spirit of revelation,Spirit Matthew 16:19, of the Father Spirit of the fear of the Lord, find it hard to “I will give you Spirit of the Lord, Spirit of the Lord God, see him as the keys of the Spirit of the Son, Spirit of truth, Spirit of God Himself understanding, Spirit of wisdom kingdom of rather than a heaven; whatforce or emotion of God. God, who ever you bind on earth will be has made us in His image (mind, bound in heaven, and whatever soul, and body) relates to us as you loose on earth will be loosed in in one being. God is three heaven." Yes, there are spirits not three “gods,” but one God. watching us, some for evil, some But is the Holy Spirit? In for good. “I call heaven and earth ancient times, names were to witness against you today, that I descriptive of a persons have set before you life and death, characteristics, and we can learn blessing and curse. Therefore choose life...” (Duet. 30:19)