How to Distinguish the Holy Spirit from the Serpent

From Sinclair Ferguson July 03, 2015

How do we distinguish the promptings of the Spirit of grace in His guiding and governing of our lives from the delusions of the spirit of the world and of our own sinful heart? This is a hugely important question if we are to be calm and confident that the spirit with whom we are communing really is the Holy Spirit.

Kundalini Awakening

Worship of the Serpent

Kundalini (Sanskrit kuṇḍalinī, "coiled one"), in yogic theory, is a primal energy, or shakti, located at the base of the spine. Different spiritual traditions teach methods of "awakening" kundalini for the purpose of reaching spiritual enlightenment. The Yoga Upanishads describe Kundalini as lying "coiled" at the base of the spine, represented as either a goddess or sleeping serpent waiting to be awakened. In modern commentaries, Kundalini has been called an unconscious, instinctive or libidinal force, or "mother energy or intelligence of complete maturation".

Happy Canada Day! - Respond Rationally and Respectfully

The Birth of Transableism

The Birth of Transableism: Why Our Culture Bites Absurd Bullets

OTTAWA — When he cut off his right arm with a “very sharp power tool,” a man who now calls himself One Hand Jason let everyone believe it was an accident….

His goal was to become disabled.

Read more at STR

Why Did John Baptize People?

I was wondering why, seeing as baptism was not performed in Old Testament times, John the baptist started to baptize people to symbolize their repentance. I know in the New Testament Jesus instructs people to be baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, but John came before Jesus. John’s baptism was an adaptation of the mikvah, or ritual immersion bath, that had been part of Jewish life for generations and symbolized a spiritual cleansing. It was part of the preparation for undertaking a new beginning. Jewish men took a mikvah each Sabbath in preparation for the new week. Women took a mikvah after each monthly period as a spiritual cleansing. On Yom Kippur the High Priest took 7 mikvot (plural of mikvah) during the ceremonies in preparation for entering the Holy of Holies. Jesus came to John for a mikvah at the beginning of His ministry. The reason John had people take a mikvah was to show that they had changed their minds (repented) about their need for a Savior and were taking a new direction regarding their salvation. No longer would they focus on keeping the Law but would look instead to the coming redeemer whose arrival John was announcing. Today, baptism is no longer an act of spiritual cleansing in preparation for a new direction, but a public declaration that the spiritual cleansing has already happened and the new direction has been taken.

Why Did Jesus Come?: Satan's Side of the Story

As you know, Satan is known as "the prince of this world." He rules the nations. But let's rewind to just before Christ was born....

 And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it.
Revelation 12:4 (ESV)

Satan was precious to God. God called him "Morning Star, son of Dawn." He was the chief angel. So close to the Father. But he became jealous and full of pride (Isaiah 14:13-14). Now, we look at the time Jesus came. He was the promised King to rule all nations. Satan is ruler of the world but now the heir was about to be born. His power and position is threatened by this child and his mother. Woman who Satan deceived will be the vessel in which man will be given power to stop Satan in spreading his lies. A man will be born with power to be blameless and untouchable by sin. This man will also be the new ruler of all the nations. And Satan will do anything to make him fail because he wants to be the one on the throne. Satan has been called "the father of lies," and we expect him to do just that because every word he says is a lie! He tempted Jesus just as he tempted Eve.

Imperfection

...."Imperfection" is really in the eyes of the beholder. For example, a sphere would not be perfect if it had any pock mark upon it. Nonetheless, our planet (a sphere) would be less perfect if it did not have the Grand Canyon (a pock mark) to explore. So, in sum, it seems to me from a Biblical perspective that our perfect God created imperfection simply because it was the perfect thing for Him to do. But it doesn't stop there -- He also chooses to save us from sin through His Son Jesus. In most religions, man must sacrifice his prize possessions to bless God. In Christianity, God sacrifices His prize possession to bless man. - See more at: http://www.godcontention.org/christian/if-god-is-perfect-how-did-he-create-imperfection#sthash.AqZzjtoT.dpuf


[Atheists] have little problem with offering challenges to the infinite God, judging Him according to their own understanding, and then pronouncing to everyone why God can't exist--according to their reasoning.
They think they are wise enough, logical enough, and experienced enough to justify denying God's existence.  They resist the truth to the point of their own destruction.


Matt Slick, CARM.org