The Seal of God, Or The Mark of the Beast

A seal in Bible days was a blob of wax into which the particular mark of the person sending a letter or document was impressed. The sealing wax was soft enough to receive the mark, then it hardened so that no other impression could be made on it. In the same manner, our lives are receiving the seal of God, or the mark of the Beast.

The seal of God is the character of the Holy Spirit working in the very human life of the Believer. The seal of God will produce Likeness to Jesus Christ. He perfectly displayed the Life of God in man by perfectly obeying the will of the Father. Don't rely on what someone else has told you about Jesus. Look in the Bible for yourself. Read the Gospels over and over again, until you get rid of all the religious ideas you have believed. Then you will begin to see the real Jesus. We don't know Jesus as He is, because we have been given a substitute and told that it was the real thing.

Whatever or whoever controls our lives is our idol. It may be an idea or a philosophy. It may be a person, or an image of the kind of person we want to be. This image controls our behavior and molds us one way or another. The extreme fanatics, those with total dedication to a leader, religion, rock music, rebellion against the established order, or the perpetuation of the established order, have a distinct life-style. They dress a certain way. They adopt certain words and expressions that those outside the group cannot understand. They cling to one another and shun relationships with "outsiders" because they cannot play the same game with them. They don't know the rules of their particular group. There are some in every group who are driven to be leaders, and who must have control of other peoples lives. These leaders must display more loyalty to, and knowledge about their idol than others. They must outgive, outdo, and outstrip the common ones in extreme behavior which proves how faithful they are to the ideals of the group. The greater the sacrifice, the more devoted they appear to be. It is as true of all religious groups as it is of rock music freaks. They become 1ike what is most important to them. The mark, or seal, of what they admire most (worship) begins to be indelibly fixed in their character. God knows that we are like that soft wax. We wi1l take the imprint of what we desire and crave the most. That is why God forbade His people to worship idols of silver, gold, wood or stone. He knew that their character would be stamped with whatever they called "God."

There are some who come into the group just to have fellowship with the people in the group. They only conform outwardly to the minimum they can. We call them hypocrites because they pretend to be one thing with the group, and can still live a different life-style with others. These are not in as much danger spiritually as the real fanatic. These fanatics are determined to give their "all" to the cause, and will go to extremes to prove their loyalty and devotion. It is these that are the real victims of the false shepherds. Look at what happened in Guyana. One man ordered the deaths of nine hundred people. You think it couldn't happen to you, but many have been ordered into spiritual suicide because they had to obey man, and conform to the standards of some group.

Every religion has its own standards and rules which are different from those of every other group. Some speak in tongues, some do not. Some preach salvation through acceptance of theology and baptism. Some require rigid diets, meditation and separation from all those who do not believe as they do. All require that you continue with them, or you are considered "back-slidden" or "in error." They hold the keys to Eternity's Door. If you lose favor with them, you lose your chance to please God and go to Heaven.

God told me that no man can give or withold His blessings to another. Those who tell you that if you give to their ministry, or join their crowd, that God will bless you...are false shepherds. God will bless you if you obey and fo1low His will for your life. Some of those blessings look like curses until the Lord has accomplished His purpose in you. The Lord gives...the Lord takes away...Blessed be the Name of the Lord! It is His prerogative. When any man or woman tells you that they have the power to give God's blessing to you, or to take them away... Beware! They are serving a different god, and you must not have anything to do with spiritual voo-doo and fortune telling. God will be God, and His glory will He not give to another (Isa. 42: 8). Do you remember what caused the nation of Israel to run before the enemy at Ai? (Joshua 7.) It was one man's coveting and taking what God had set aside for Himself. The whole nation suffered because of one man's sin. When we try to do or be what God has reserved for Himself alone, we cause our brothers to stumble, and to look to us instead of directly to Jesus.

Hebrews, Chapter 10, describes the difference between the sacrifices under the old covenant, the Law, and the "new and living way" opened up for us by Jesus offering Himself to God, without spot or wrinkle. Because He became our Great High Priest, we do not need, indeed cannot have, any other mediator between us and the Father.

Let us right now, renounce everyone and everything that we have put between us and the True and Living God, the Creator of all things...our God and King forever. This will include all sacrifices, all good works that we have done trying to earn our salvation. It will also include all the religious services we have attended to please God and insure our place in Heaven, all the money we have given (supposedly to God) to pay our way in, any preacher, teacher, church, group, or spiritual leader that we look to instead of Jesus. Let us turn away from these things, and return to our First Love. Let us recover what we had when we first, came to the Lord - that wonderful, child-like dependence and joy of fellowship with Jesus. Let us once more experience the awareness of His presence and direction each day, in simple terms that we could understand and obey, without anyone else interpreting God to us.

Break off all other yokes, and take the yoke of Jesus. His yoke is easy, and His burden is light (Matt. 11: 28-30). You will have to choose His will for your life, and realize that it is best. You will have to obey Him at all costs. But what He requires, He furnishes. If He tells you to stand up against lies and oppression, He will give you the courage to act and the words to say. You will have to choose to obey, each step of the way. God will not force you or use you like a mindless robot. All domination and manipulation of one person by another is Satanic and demonic. You must not do this to anyone else, even your own children. God will establish your authority where it is proper, as you get right with Him, and do right by others. You cannot pick and choose the ones to whom you want to be nice and tell the truth. God requires truth and right treatment to ALL. When you have allowed God to deal with what is not right in you, then He will use you as an instrument to deal with what is not right in others in their relationship to you. God's judgment begins at the altar. Those closest to Him must go through the fire first. His judgment is His mercy, since what He judges and deals with, you need to be rid of. The greatest thing we can do at this time is to ask for a New Birth of Jesus in us. He came to do the will of the Father, and if we have the life of Christ in us, we will have the desire and ability to become true, obedient sons of God.

Which do you choose? Will you choose the seal of God (the character of Jesus formed in you by the Holy Spirit, as you obey God's word to you), or the mark of the Anti-Christ (the surrender of your will to anyone, to anything: persons, creeds, doctrines, philosophies, organizations, your own idea of good and evil, etc., other than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself). You will have to choose. Will it be reality or religion? Truth or lies? Freedom in Christ, or bondage to man and doctrines? Do not delay your choice. The Anti-Christ is already sitting in the temple - declaring himself to be God. Jesus said, "Not one stone shall be left upon another" Matt. 24:2. The temple of religious ritual and all the sacrifices we think we have made for God must be counted as dung - if we would see Jesus - and walk in His light - the Truth. There are hidden works of darkness in every religious exercise. We hide behind our own good works (service to the temple) rather than have our darkness brought out in the open, where we can see it, confess it, be cleansed and turn from it. We have misunderstood what the New Birth is. What many have experienced is merely conception. You are not born until you come out of the womb and the cord is cut. You are not born-again until you can come out of your dependence on the church and religious exercises, and learn to walk and choose and grow. You cannot see God as long as you have to be fed by someone else. It is a stage of babyhood, but it is not a full grown son. We must be weaned from the mothers breast, so that we can have a chance to know the Father.

You were living in the house with your father until you were fully grown and responsible for your own behavior. Many hard things you hated as a child, you understood when you became a parent. You see your father in a different light when you feel the responsibility for the safety, provision, training and discipline of your own children. In the same way, we misunderstand the workings of God in our own lives when we are "babes." We want blessings and attention. We would even steal them from our brothers and sisters in the Lord if we could. We often resent it when they are blessed and we are not. We despise the chastening and correction which is so necessary if we are ever to be counted worthy to stand before the Lord in His Kingdom as full grown sons.

We must learn what is of God, and what is a counterfeit of the enemy. There is a false repentance - lots of apologies and promises, but no change in behavior. There is a false confession - we think that by admitting that we did wrong, God wipes it out. There is a false cleansing - the blood of Jesus wipes out my sins, even though I go on sinning. There is a false surrender - this is not to God, but to someone or something that is supposed to be God's representative. Everywhere, we encounter the false love - this is manifested by covering up the truth of how I really feel about what is going on, and pretending to approve and accept what I actually hate. Only the grossest behavior will arouse us out of our lethargy. We close our eyes to the evil in them because we don't want it judged in ourselves. This pretense of brotherly love is just like Judas. We draw nigh with our lips, but our hearts are far from one another. True love demands the truth in our relationships, so that we can be cleansed and transformed by the power of God.

Try taking seriously the commandment of Jesus that you love one another as He loved us. This love is cleansing and transforming, not an "I'm O.K., your O.K." acceptance of the status-quo. God cannot change what we do not ask Him to change. We don't ask because we don't see. We don't see because we refuse to hear and act on the truth when it is pointed out. We defend our righteousness, confirming the fact that we have not submitted ourselves to God's righteousness (Rom. 10:3). We refuse to rebuke and admonish one another in the name of Christian love. Our idea of love is corrupt and must be changed by obedience to the whole word of God. God hates sin and injustice. He hates lying, stealing, oppressing others, and exalting ourselves above others. This kind of activity characterizes every church or group I have had opportunity to worship in. The strong oppresses the weak, and rob and use them. Envy and strife is the normal condition, yet they call themselves the Body of Christ. God forgive us, and help us to come out of lies, so that we might be able to walk in the truth.


Mary Lois Burns

The New Creation Rule

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. (Galatians 6:12-16 NKJV)

And he who sat upon the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." Also he said, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true." (Revelation 21:5 RSVA)

If you are in Christ, your involvement with God goes far beyond "becoming a Christian" or "joining a church." You are called to be a new creation. Regardless of color, gender or race, you have been begotten of the Father into one new humanity that is other worldly in nature-old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. If you are in Christ you have been divinely baptized into one body by one Spirit. That body is not governed by man's laws of organization, but by the life and nature of the One who created it. Your hope of righteousness does not rest in personal piety but in the divine nature that has been placed within you. You owe everything you are and everything you ever will be to your Creator. You are His ongoing workmanship. He who began the work in you will finish it to the praise of His glory.

Referring to this New Covenant, the New Testament speaks of a new genesis, a new birth, a new Adam, a new humanity, a new Israel, a new circumcision, a New Jerusalem and more. Such is the heavenly environment you are called and empowered to live in.

God's old covenant with natural Israel was sealed by circumcision in the flesh, which was a sign of a more efficacious circumcision to come. In the old history, natural Jerusalem entered into bondage with all her children. In the new history the Jerusalem that is above is free. She is the mother of us all (Galatians 4:26). The old covenant ended with the destruction of the Jerusalem temple (Hebrews 8:13), but the new history ends with the New Jerusalem, coming down from above.

The old humanity in Adam, the earthly man, passed away at the cross. The history of the heavenly Man began when Christ, the Last Adam, rose from the dead. Everything is now heavenly. The new creation, the New Jerusalem, the Zion of God, and our very existence are in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Our citizenship is in heaven, ". . . we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens" (2 Corinthians 5:1). According to the book of Hebrews, we have already come to the heavenly Jerusalem and to the heavenly assembly, the church of the firstborn (Hebrews 12: 22-24). In this new covenant, circumcision is made without hands (Colossians 2:11) and is of the heart in the Spirit (Romans 2:29), not the flesh.

It is our earnest prayer that as you read the following pages, the Holy Spirit will make the death of the old humanity in Adam a fact in your life, and that you will be empowered in Christ as never before. We pray that the realities of the new creation will become your guiding rule of life.

http://www.awildernessvoice.com/NewCreationRule.html

Overcoming the Natural Man by the Cross

"Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth" Colossians 3:2.

"But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" 1 Corinthians 2:14.

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" 1 Corinthians 1:18.

The natural man cannot see beyond the natural plane of life. He relates everything to the here and now. The gospel message sounds foolish to him because it speaks of dying to this world in order to receive life from above through the power of God. These spiritual truths will sound like a foreign language to his thought processes.

"Everyone who is born of the Spirit overcomes the world" 1 John 5:4. They know that God is real and He is able to work supernaturally within the heart of man. But even these children of faith do not always learn how to walk in the power of the Spirit. Many of them continue to live on a natural plane of life in their own strength.

The Galatians are an example of Christians living on the natural plane. After receiving the gift of the Spirit, we find them attempting to work out their Christian life in the strength of the flesh. Their self-sufficient spirit was actually separating them from the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit. They simply did not understand Christ's way of the cross ... the way of perfecting God's power through the weakness of dependent faith.

"O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?" {Paul revealed before their eyes Christ's way of being raised by the power of God after being crucified in weakness.} "... Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect {in holy love} by the flesh {by your own strength}? Have you suffered so many things {to break your self-sufficient spirit} in vain ...if indeed it was in vain?" Galatians 3:1-3.

Adam's lineage, from the day that he lost the Spirit, was depraved of the Presence and power of the Spirit. Fallen man was left on his own to live in his own strength. It became natural for him to live in a self-originated form of life based on earthly wisdom. It is a way of life that has been deeply ingrained into everyone's thought processes. Even earnest Christians, like the Galatians, find themselves naturally going back to their old habit of living by the strength of the flesh.

In contrast, the apostle Paul spoke of revealing before their eyes how to live in the Spirit's power. He displayed the way of Christ crucified, which is the way of the cross. It is the way of dying to the strength of the flesh and perfecting God's power through dependent and trusting faith.

Paul came with the same message to the Corinthians. He "preached Christ crucified" 1 Corinthians 1:23. He wanted these Christians to understand the true meaning of the cross. He sought to reveal before their eyes how the power of the Spirit is perfected through the weakness of dependent faith. When he was no longer living out from himself, but was walking by faith in the Son of God, the Spirit was able to manifest the life and works of Christ through Him.

"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live {nothing is done through the fleshly strength of the old man}, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God" Galatians 2:20.

"And He said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness" 2 Corinthians 12:9.

The way of "Christ crucified" will not make sense until there has been a very deep change in how we think. It will be necessary to become like dependent little children."Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted {are changed in how you think} and become as {dependent and trusting} little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven" Matthew 18:3. This renewing of the mind turns us away from the way of living by fleshly human strength to the way of receiving life from the Son "through faith." Only in this way is it possible to put on His heavenly life.

"That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith...that you may be filled with all the fullness of God" Ephesians 3:16-19.

"If indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus...be renewed in the spirit of your mind...{so you may} put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness" Ephesians 4:21, 23-24.


The Wisdom of the Cross and Suffering
The way of the cross depicts suffering and a slow death. The cross is a spiritual type that helps reveal spiritual principles. The Father led the Son through the cross. The Son then instructed everyone to follow Him. Those who choose to follow Him will know from His example that His way of the cross will entail some suffering. The old independent and self-sufficient form of life does not die easily. Dying to the strength of the natural man can be slow and painful.

"Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin {he dies to the old self-originated form of life}, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lust of men, but for the will of God" 1 Peter 4:1-2.

Natural man lives by his own strength according to his own will and desires. He lives independently of God. And wherever there is independence, there is also self-sufficiency. God does away with the independent life by destroying the self-sufficient spirit. This is what Paul was attempting to communicate to the self-sufficient Galatians when he said,"Have you suffered so many things in vain - if indeed it was in vain?" Galatians 3:3. God cannot permit anyone to live by the strength of the flesh in the heavenly realms. He insists that everyone live through His Spirit so "that no flesh should glory in His presence" 1 Corinthians 1:29.

"Not by {fleshly} might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts" Zechariah 4:6.

Those who truly obey Jesus by choosing to follow Him through the cross can expect to be "scourged." Most of the strength was taken out of Jesus by the scourging He received before He ever arrived at the cross. The flesh-life does not die easily. God therefore scourges us beforehand, taking away much of our strength, so we are ready to die to the ways of the flesh when we arrive at the cross. We should also note that He only scourges those who have submitted to His way of the cross. These children of faith who respond to His teachings are the ones He loves.

"He who has My commandments and keeps them {by taking the way of the cross}, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him" John 14:21.

"For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives {into His heavenly life}...for our profit {to do away with the old independent and self-sufficient spirit}, that we may be partakers of His holiness {as we live through His Spirit}. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness {the eternal Kingdom-life} to those who have been trained by it" Hebrews 12:6, 10-11.

"For the kingdom of God is...righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" Romans 14:17.

The earnest soul who has surrendered his whole being to serve the Lord often wonders why he suddenly finds himself going through deep trials and scourgings. But we must remember that this is exactly what occurred to Jesus after He had chosen to go through the cross. Once He had made His decision in the Garden of Gethsemane, everything was taken out of His hands. The providential hand of His Father then worked out the severe trials, the scourging and the final death on the cross.

God knows that this dying to the flesh-life cannot be worked out through the flesh. No one can nail himself to the cross. And so those who truly choose to follow Christ through the cross can expect to go through some fiery trials and scourging to take away their self-sufficient spirit. When their spirit is broken and they have no strength left in themselves they will be prepared to live through the Son by faith and begin enjoying His life in the heavenly realms.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" Matthew 5:3.

As another example, the Lord comes in His holiness as a refiner's fire to do away with the part of the "flesh" that is contrary to His way of life. Even earnest souls will tend to think they have been abandoned by the Lord during this process. The presence of His holiness overwhelms and consumes everything that is contrary to Him. He comes in a special way as a refiner and purifier. Although the believer may not understand what the Lord is working out, those who hold on will come out of this fiery trial in a purified state, which will then enable the Lord to "fill" the temple with His "glory."

"And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple {in this strange work as a consuming fire}... But who can endure {in the flesh} the day of His coming? And who can stand {with a self-sufficient spirit} when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire... He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi {representing those who have fully consecrated themselves to His service}, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness" Malachi 3:1-3.

"Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's suffering {while passing through this dark night of the soul}, that when His glory is revealed {when He fills the temple of your body with His glory}, you may also be glad with exceeding joy" 1 Pet. 4:12-13.

"I will come to you.. At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you" John 14:18, 20.


Teaching Christ Crucified
We are expected to "make disciples of all the nations" by "teaching them to observe all things" that Christ commanded, (Matthew 28:19-20). But this central truth about following Christ through the cross is seldom taught in this day. It is the reason why there are so few Christians who have found His life in the heavenly realms.

Many of those who are called out by God end up turning back when the Spirit begins to take them through difficult trials. Without anyone to teach them what to expect, and to reveal the heavenly Pearl received on the other side of the cross, they do not endure to the end. What we need is many more witnesses of His resurrection life. Someone needs to show them that this heavenly Pearl is worth the price that must be paid.

"Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you {into His heavenly Kingdom-life} in due time... But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while {in dying out to the flesh-life}, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you" 1 Peter 5:6, 10.

There is a natural tendency to ask God to relieve people of their suffering. He is often asked to "touch" them so they may feel better. But these prayers are being made without any discernment of God's wisdom-the wisdom of the cross. It reveals how most Christians are still living on the natural plane. They think in terms of improving a person's spiritual life by improving their circumstances. Until Christian leaders can begin to understand the way of "Christ crucified," and actually teach these principles of the cross, many will fail to recognize what God is attempting to work out through suffering.

"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience {producing a trusting and dependent faith in God}. But let patience have its perfect work {through these continuing trials}, that you may be perfect and complete {learning to live by the Spirit alone}, lacking nothing" James 1:2-4.

"My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord..." James 5:10-11.

Can you begin to see why those who are still living by human wisdom on the natural plane of life have such a difficult time understanding spiritual truths? God has truly turned the ways of this world upside down. The cross will need an opportunity to do a deep work within the heart before the believer will be prepared to live by God's wisdom.

"For the message of the cross {the way of weakness and dependent faith} is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved {from the independent and self-sufficient form of life} it is the power of God. For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty...and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence" 1 Corinthians 1:18-19, 27-29.

"So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen" Matthew 20:16.

"For he who is least among you all will be great {in the kingdom of God}" Luke 9:48.

There are only two basic ways to live in this world. One is self-exalting and one is self-emptying. Because these two different ways are so radically different, they are easily distinguished. Unfortunately, the heart is deceitful above all things. And even God's called-out children can remain blinded to the truth. It is the reason why so "few" of the "many" are being "chosen" by God to be lifted into the Son's life in the heavenly realms.

Can you see how needful it is to examine the heart? Do you have a new nature that prefers to be the "least" and the "last"? If the old "pride of life" is still residing within your heart and causing you to enjoy being "first" and "great" in the eyes of men, you are in serious trouble. It will lead you, in spite of what you profess, to live by an earthly and demonic wisdom that is unfit for heaven. (James 3:15-16)

"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who...made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant {a slave}...He humbled Himself...to the point of death... Therefore God also has highly exalted Him..." Philippians 2:5-9.

Today is the day of salvation. Every called-out child of God needs to come to that place where God may lift them spiritually into the heavenly realms. It will entail following Christ in His downward course through the cross. Simply stated, the way up is down.

"Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it will remain alone {separated from the life of the Trinity}. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life {the old "psuche" life} in this world will keep it {the soul} for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me{through the cross}; and where I am {in the heavenly realms} there My servant will be also" John 12:24-26.

Paul preached the gospel, but "not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect" 1 Cor. 1:17. He went on to say, "And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God" 1 Corinthians 2:4-5.

But there are few today who seem to believe in this same gospel. Much of the preaching consists of wise and persuasive words. It results in a mere "fix-up" religion that can never lift anyone into the heavenly life of God. Very few are ever learning how to follow Christ through the cross and live in the resurrection power of His Spirit.

"For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection" Romans 6:5.

The ultimate triumph of "Christ crucified" was revealed when He was raised to the highest position of power and authority after He had emptied Himself of His own glory, sank to the lowest place of servanthood, and had reached the place of absolute weakness on the cross. He was raised by the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit when He was in a state where all strength in the flesh had died. Do you understand this principle? You will need to learn it, because you cannot live on the natural plane in your own strength and also live in the heavenly realms through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Yes, God has graciously provided a means for being reconciled through the Son's shed blood while seeking out His heavenly life. It is also possible to die "in the faith" while in the early stages of light and go to heaven, not having received the fullness of the promise in this world. (Heb. 11:39-40) But those who choose to live on the natural plane in the strength of the flesh are rejecting both Christ's way of the cross and His resurrection power. It will keep their soul separated from the heavenly life of God. Unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies it cannot be raised up with Christ and be honored by the Father. (John 12:24-26)

Christians are expected to take this way of the cross. They have the seed of life from heaven planted within their heart. But it cannot be multiplied until the covering of the natural man dies and disintegrates. It must be planted within the ground where everything from the old man is lost before the eternal Kingdom-life of God is able to rise up and begin to multiply itself.

L.E. Maxwell, in his book Born Crucified, has explained why there has been such little growth of the true kingdom of God. In closing this chapter, we ask our readers to seriously pray over these thoughts from a chapter entitled "The Cross and Fruitfulness."

Certainly the great trouble with many of our orthodox churches is that they are like great grain containers, full of unplanted wheat which has become musty, and moldy, and befouled... If only each little grain had been rent asunder from its fellows, cast into the dark, wet earth, buried out of sight, and left alone to endure disintegration and death, what a harvest we would see!...


We appeal to those who are sick of the shallows and the shams, sick of doing dead things, "sick unto death" of a fruitless, barren existence. Oh barren soul, hear the word of the Lord: "That which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die." Is the reader trying to live the Christian life?-work for Christ?-bear fruit, etc.? You cannot live until you have died. Death precedes life. "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone." J. Hudson Taylor...once said: "We know how the Lord Jesus became fruitful-not by bearing His cross merely, but by dying on it. Do we know much fellowship with Him in this?... There is only one Christ. Are you willing to abide in Him, and thus to bear much fruit?" Death is still the gateway to life, life from the dead, life multiplied, life manifold.

Avoiding The Cross: Unwillingness To Suffer

How can these things be compatible: we want to be Christians, disciples of Jesus Christ, who bore the cross for the whole world and chose to do so voluntarily, and yet we reject our own cross? Jesus says, "He who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me" (Matt. 10: 38), and "Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14: 27). One day Jesus will say to those who avoided their crosses, "I do not consider you to be My disciples!" Then the door to His kingdom will be closed.

What severe judgment will come upon us, if we refuse to carry the cross that has been laid upon us and complain about it to God and man! Our complaints are usually accusations. If we bear our suffering by saying "Yes, Father" we will come to great glory one day above, and here on earth we will be led into an intimate fellowship of love with Jesus. But if we avoid the cross, we will experience just the opposite. Here on earth we will become unhappy, because we are separated from Jesus. Only those who are His true followers, who go the way of the cross with Him, will be near Him here, and then above for all eternity.

If we want to be with Jesus and want our lives to end in the City of God, there is only one way-the way of the cross. Jesus is asking each of us personally "Will you choose My way of the cross?" He is beckoning to us in love, "Come, follow Me; take up your cross!" If we do not follow the call of Him who loves us more than anyone else, if we refuse to take up our cross and even rebel against it, we will have to hear the Lord say to us as He did to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan!" (Matt. 16: 23). For then the tempter has us in his grip. He will bring all those who do not want their crosses into the kingdom of hell. Then they will have to suffer much worse. Satan wants to use every means to deter us from going the way of the cross, because he does not want us to reach the kingdom of eternal joy. There our cross will change to joy, if we carry it for Jesus here. This is a decision which will have far-reaching consequences for all eternity.

If we want to enter Jesus' kingdom one day and inherit the crown of life, we have to follow the Apostle Paul's advice, "Take your share of suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus" (2 Tim. 2: 3). We should surrender ourselves to suffering, for instance, if God lays a cross upon us, if we have to suffer unjustly, if people hurt us without reason, scold us and treat us badly, it is then that we must follow in His footsteps. "When He was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he trusted to him who judged justly" (I Pet. 2: 23). If we want to choose the "ways in Christ" (I Cor. 4: 17), we will suffer everything; persecuted and reviled, we will bless; suffering unjustly, we will be "refuse", a doormat for all. Then we are on Jesus' side. Then He will recognize us as His disciples and want to share His glory with us above, giving us thrones and crowns. Those who have suffered with Christ and have patiently borne various types of suffering and afflictions, such as bodily hardships, disappointments, loneliness, the death of dear ones and family troubles, will inherit eternal glory with Jesus (Romans 8: 17). But if we belong to those who complain about every cross and are discouraged and even accuse God with the question, "Why me? Why do I have to suffer?" we could be destroyed by God's verdict. "But as for the cowardly . . . their lot shall be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone.. ." (Rev. 21: 8).

So everything depends upon whether we really bear our crosses. But how can we get free when we are bound by fear of the cross? The first "must" is to recognize the reason for trying to avoid the cross! We need the insight of truth for our unredeemed, sinful nature. We need to repent of this sinful trait, which makes us guilty again and again. Whoever has recognized how contaminated he is with sin, and is really sorry about it and wants to be freed no matter what it costs, will willingly accept discipline and suffering of all sorts from God. For he tells himself soberly, "I need the crosses to purify and transfigure me into the image of Jesus and so reach the goal of heavenly glory." But whoever does not take his sins and the eternal goal seriously will find that every type of suffering is too much for him. He will complain about it and accuse God and man instead of honestly admitting that he needs suffering and chastening, and lamenting about his own weaknesses and sins. So we need to ask for contrition over this blindness. Then our attitude towards the cross will change and we will see His blessing in it.

Simply by suffering in the flesh we stop sinning (I Pet. 4: 1). God allows a cross to enter a sinful area of our lives-so that the sin may be put to death, in this way we become transformed more and more into Jesus' image and one day will be able to see Him face to face. Through discipline we share His holiness (Heb. 12: 10) and without holiness, no one will see the Lord (Heb. 12: 14). For instance, the cross of losing earthly goods, if willingly accepted, has often freed people from their bondage to things of this world, making them free to live for Jesus and His kingdom. Or the cross of losing a beloved person, to whom we were bound, freed our soul to give Jesus undivided love and brought the greatest happiness into our hearts. The cross brings glory and deep joy even here on earth, because God the Father in His love cannot wait until eternity; He yearns to reward us here also.

The second "must" for becoming free from trying to avoid the cross is to look at the Father, whose heart is full of love for His child and who carefully considers how much we can bear and what will be best for us. He gives us the very cross that can bring us to glory. He hides a wonderful treasure in our cross. We are to discover it: wonderful fruit, transfiguration, victory, eternal joy, oneness with Jesus. And we must tell ourselves again and again, "Because God is love, suffering is never the end of the story. God always has a way out of suffering; He always has comfort and aid, for He is my Father." Faith in the Father's love, which has given us this cross, will make difficult things easy and bitter things sweet.

At the same time look at Jesus. He was the Crossbearer. Humbly bending beneath the heavy burden, He carried His cross lovingly to Calvary for us. He has gone on before us and levelled the ground for us so that we will not stumble. Now He is bearing our cross with us. He knows what it means to carry the cross, since He bore the sins and suffering of all mankind. He knows how to help and strengthen us. Should we not trust Jesus that we can bear it? Yes, if we bear our cross with Jesus, we will come closer to Him than ever before and experience His joy.

So let us renounce our mistrust and stop thinking that God is not love and that He brings us suffering without comfort and aid. For such thoughts nourish our desire to avoid the cross and turn our cross into an unbearable burden. Then we will really become unhappy. The worst suffering is our own desire to avoid the cross. That is why we want to renounce this sin. In faith we want to praise the power of Jesus' redemption and experience this power in our lives.


My Lord Jesus,You are called the Crucified Lord and the Crossbearer.
I have chosen You as my Lord, given You my
will and my love, desiring to follow You.
Hear my plea:

May You never have to say to me: "You are not
worthy of Me; you cannot be My disciple", because I
did not want to carry my cross.

Grant me the grace to say "Yes Father" to every
cross, trusting that it has been prepared for me personally
and comes from the loving hands of the Father.
It will bring me an abundance of divine blessing.

Grant me grace to rejoice in my sufferings (Rom. 5: 3),
because they transform me and prepare me for
Your kingdom of joy and glory-and also give me
intimate fellowship with You, my Lord Jesus, here
on earth, and let me taste eternal joy.

I thank you, my Lord Jesus, for showing us:
In the cross is great fruit
in the cross is glory
in the cross is victory, power and resurrection.
The cross frees my soul from this earth and draws me to heaven.
The cross brings me gain here and above.

Teach me to love my cross as a precious gift from
Your hand, which I will thank You for in eternity.
Out of love for You, my Lord Jesus,
I wish to follow You.
Make me a true cross-bearer.
Amen. 

http://lovestthoume.com/Preparation/AvoidingTheCross.html

And He Came to His Own

Chances are if you consider yourself a believing Christian at some time in your life you were invited to ‘receive Jesus’.  It’s the common evangelical catch cry for ushering unbelievers into the Kingdom of God.  Countless numbers of church goers believe they are going to Heaven because at some time they raised their hand, signed a card, or repeated a prayer that indicated they were “receiving Jesus as their personal Saviour”.  This is despite the fact that the Bible endorses none of these methods as evidence that an individual has started following Christ, and the concept of a ‘personal’ Saviour is not even found in scripture. 

Some posts I write are easy to prepare.  From first conception to their final expression they seem to flow smoothly and without struggle, like milk and honey.  This one is not like that.  This post has been difficult to bring to birth.  It has been more wrestle than flow, more question than answer, more challenge than encouragement, more grief than joy, and, I believe, more “God breathed word” than personal opinion.  For that reason I am endeavouring to leave as much of myself out of it and as much of Christ within it as I possibly can. 

In the first chapter of the gospel of John we read one of the saddest statements in all of scripture:

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.  He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.  John 1:10-11

He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him…..   

Friends, how long shall we go on deluding ourselves that we have received Jesus, when in so many ways, we have yet to receive Him?  Here are just some starting points to clarify that last statement:

*When we, as individuals, consciously choose not to deny ourselves in order to indulge our flesh just that one more time, we have not received Him.

*When we, as individuals, demonstrate greater loyalty to family, tribe, denomination, political party or nation than to His Kingdom, we have notreceived Him.

*When we, as individuals, elevate the tradition of our church or denomination as equal to or above His Word, we have not received Him.

*When we, as individuals, knowingly withhold from Him His rightful Lordship over any and every aspect of our life, we have not received Him.

*When we, as individuals, seek after the approval of any man or woman more than the approval of the Lord, we have not received Him.  

*When we, as individuals, judge Him unjust by questioning His fairness, we have not received Him.

*When we, as individuals, are ashamed of Him before others, we have notreceived Him.

*When we, as individuals, harden our hearts to the cry of the poor, the needy, the brokenhearted, the widows and the orphans, we have notreceived Him.

And what of His church, the corporate Body of Christ, the multi-membered witness of Christ on planet earth?  Surely the church has received Him?  Consider the following:

*When we, as His church, reject, control, manipulate or quench His gift of the Holy Spirit, then we have not received Him;   

*When we, as His church,  limit the power of His shed Blood to save, heal, sanctify and restore, to only certain segments of society, then we have notreceived Him;

*When we, as His church, elevate mere men or women as mediators between God and ourselves, then we have not received Him;

*When we, as His church, seek salvation through our religious acts rather than His holy righteousness, we have not received Him;

*When we, as His church, decide between who is worthy of the Father’s love, and who is not worthy, then we have not received Him;

*When we, as His church, desire signs, wonders and supernatural experience more than Christ Himself, then we have not received Him.

*When we, as His church, misuse our stewardship by using the offerings of the poor to build monuments to our own ministries, then we have notreceived Him;

*When we, as His church, seek to perpetuate our ministries, our influence and our institutions rather than taking up our Cross and following, then we havenot received Him.

*When we, as His church, allow the sins of spiritual, sexual and physical abuse to go hidden and undealt with in our midst in order to protect our reputations and our lifestyles, then we have not received Him.

These lists are not exhaustive.  I am sure many other valid statements could be added.  But they are enough.

Brethren, how can it be that in so many ways we, His own, have not received Him?   How is it that the Christian church worldwide is not found on its face seeking repentance and forgiveness for the audacity of our nakedness?  How is it we are not ashamed?  How is it, as His corporate Body, we do not share the Spirit’s grief over the depth of our emptiness?  How is it we count ourselves as having received Christ, when again and again we demonstrate that we have not?

I cannot say I have the answers.  I can only say I know the Spirit grieves deeply over these things.  And when the Spirit grieves, the Father and the Son grieve also.  If John were writing to us today might he not confront us with our spiritual nakedness in the follow way:

He was in the church, and the church was made through Him, and the church did not know Him.  He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.

Receiving Jesus is not a momentary, one off event.  He is not a package deal.  He does not come wrapped in a tidy little box with hearts and ribbons.  Receiving Jesus is a lifestyle.  It is an ongoing, ever-expanding phenomenon.  Our hearts need continually to be opened wider and dug deeper by the Holy Spirit in order to receive more of His fullness.  We did not arrive at our destination the day we signed that card, raised that hand or whispered that initial prayer.  We simply began a journey into Christ, a journey in which complacency and pride are our worst enemies.

Let each of us continually examine our own hearts humbly and openly before Him, allowing His holy fire to burn freely, convicting us, cleansing us, moulding us into the true image of Christ.  Not because we need to strive for our salvation.  If we have believed, we have that.  But He came to do more than save:  He came to inhabit. 

May the Lord grant all who are willing the grace to cease playing church, coming before Him in all humility to finally know what it is to truly receive Christ.

© Cheryl McGrath, Bread for the Bride, 2013

http://breadforthebride.wordpress.com/category/words-of-grace-and-truth/

Lucifer Rising - Part 1 Light of the World"

"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! —Isaiah 14:12
"LUCIFER, the Light-bearer! Strange and mysterious name to give to the Spirit of Darkness! Lucifer, the Son of the Morning! Is it he who bears the Light…Doubt it not!" —Albert Pike, preeminent Masonic authority, Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, p. 321

"A generation would soon be born that had never known a world without Lucifer." Best selling author and world renowned scientist, Arthur C. Clarke, penned these words in his science fiction masterpiece, 2010: Odyssey Two–a book/movie sequel to his ground breaking 1968 work, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Unknown to those who only watched 2010, there was a major difference between the motion picture and the novel. Eerily, the book contained a section titled "Lucifer Rising."
In Clarke’s Lucifer Rising story line, the hydrogen atmosphere on the planet Jupiter is ignited. The ensuing new "little" sun is dubbed "Lucifer" and illuminates the earth with its light. The result: darkness no longer existed. Fear, suspicion, and crimes of the night disappear. Mankind has become illuminated through the light of Lucifer.
To occultists and New Agers, the symbology of Arthur C. Clarke’s writing was unmistakable. Lucifer, the "light bearer" shines his knowledge (occult "truth") upon all humanity, chasing away fear and ignorance, and providing mankind with the opportunity to discover his own intellect.
While Arthur C. Clarke helped to perpetuate the occult view of Lucifer, the source authority on the subject of the fallen angel is the Bible. According to Ezekiel, Lucifer was an anointed cherub created by God, he was gifted with wonderful musical abilities, and was adorned with beautiful gemstones. He was also a creature of intelligence, possessing memory and a will–and pride. Scripture makes it clear that he led an angelic rebellion against God, attempting to become "like the Most High" (Isaiah 14). In response God condemned Lucifer, along with those angels who had chosen to follow him in disobedience, and removed them from their exulted heavenly positions. Lucifer–an eternal being–is now named Satan, the devil, the king of death, and the god of this world. Scripture warns us about Lucifer’s current obsession: to twist God’s word, to lead souls to spiritual death, and to assail his wrath against earth’s inhabitants–those whom Christ died for.
While Christianity views Lucifer as the personification of evil, the esoteric teachings of the occult and the New Age movement embrace him as an agent of intellectual and spiritual freedom. Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, the "mother" of the New Age movement and modern occultism, taught in her Secret Doctrine that Lucifer was "higher and older than Jehovah, and had to be sacrificed to the new dogma" of the Church. She further expressed in her "great work" that Satan, under different god-names, is really an allegory of "Good, and Sacrifice, a God of Wisdom." Blavatsky believed that Satan was the only god of earth, "is one with the Logos," and is the "cosmic reflection of God."
Blavatsky also equated Lucifer with Jesus Christ. This thinking is partially derived from various mystical interpretations of God’s Word. In Revelation 22:16 Jesus is called the "bright and morning star," and in Isaiah Lucifer is referred to as the "son of the morning" (the NIV also says "son of the dawn"). Mystically and astrologically speaking, the bright and morning star is Venus, which, in the teachings of occult schools, is symbolically Lucifer. And in the solar cults, the morning star is frequently referred to as the Sun, or "son" of the morning, and "son of god." According to Blavatsky’s esoteric theology, "Lucifer is divine and terrestrial light, the ‘Holy Ghost’ and ‘Satan,’ at one and the same time…" Her Secret Doctrine further stated,

"And now it stands proven that Satan, or the Red Fiery Dragon, the 'Lord of Phosphorus,' and Lucifer, or 'Light-Bearer,' is in us: it is our Mind – our tempter and Redeemer, our intelligent liberator and Saviour from pure animalism." (Vol. 2, p. 513)

Thankfully the Bible sets the record straight, and in a very simple and non-confusing manner: 2 Corinthians 11:14 tells us: "for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light."
For a time the Theosophical Society published Lucifer magazine, a monthly periodical which proclaimed the inverted doctrine of Lucifer coming to redeem humanity. In the February, 1917 issue of Theosophy, the publication of the United Lodge of Theosophists in Los Angeles, an article reprinted from an early edition of Lucifer magazine gives a detailed account of Theosophical creation:

"And, when God said: 'Let there be light,' Intelligence was made and light appeared.
"Then, the Intelligence which God had breathed forth, like a planet detached from the Sun, took the form of a splendid Angel and the heavens saluted him with the name Lucifer.
"Intelligence awoke and it fathomed its own depths as it heard this apostrophe of the divine Word, 'Let there be Light.' It felt itself to be free, for God had commanded it so to be, and it answered, raising its head and spreading its wings, 'I will not be Slavery.'…"
"God then unloosed from his bosom the thread of splendour which held back the superb spirit, and as he watched him dive into the night, cutting in it a path of glory, he loved the child of his thought, and smiling with a smile ineffable, he murmured to himself: 'How fair a thing was this Light!'…""Perhaps Lucifer, in plunging into the night, drew with him a shower of Stars and Suns by the attraction of his glory?" (italics in original)

Our present day occult revival is firmly rooted within these teachings. And not unlike today, Theosophy itself sprang up during a surge of occult interest. During the 1800’s, Rosicrucianism, Freemasonry, Mormonism, Hermetic Orders such as the Golden Dawn, the blossoming of reincarnation teachings, and the writings of occultists such as Eliphas Levi and Aleister Crowley, had cut deep groves into the spiritual fabric of society. Borrowing from these demonic sources, Helena Blavatsky and her organization became fertile ground for spiritual seekers and experimenters. Theosophy, boiling out of this cauldron of mysticism, not only spawned the New Age Movement, but a host of other mystical orders and schools of thought–including Nazism.
Once hidden within the occult priesthood of the mystery religions, the New Age Movement has now made the teachings of Lucifer available to the public. Hence, a new period of rejuvenated spiritual experimentation has taken shape. But while this new generation of mysticism is flourishing, its Luciferic doctrines are old–going back to the early days of history when a serpent claimed that mankind could "be like God" (Genesis 3:5). Today, the New Age Movement and the secret doctrines of the occult are attempting to do what Lucifer himself tried, to be "like the Most High." Their claim to the throne: the Satanic "redemption" of man’s intellect.
The Bible plainly tells us that Jesus Christ, not Lucifer, is the savior of humanity. Jesus Christ alone offers salvation from Lucifer’s "illumination" of pride, greed, selfishness, hatred, maliciousness, deceit, pain, and death. Unfortunately, mankind has bought the lie of the dark lord, and is willfully being manipulated to build an earthly kingdom for the Destroyer.
The question boils down to this: Whom will you serve? Jesus Christ, who sacrificed Himself–the light of the world–for our spiritual freedom, or Lucifer, the "father of lies" and binder of souls? You need to choose this day.

"God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." —1 John 1:5-7

http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/2002/carl-teichrib/lucifer.htm

Schools: The War on Christianity

A fifth-grade teacher in a school in Colorado placed a wide assortment of books in his classroom for students to enjoy during daily reading times. When a parent complained that two of the 239 volumes were based on the Bible, the principal told teacher Ken Roberts to remove them. A judge upheld the school’s order to censor the two books from the classroom. In school, the children could legally read books on Buddhism, Indian religions, and Greek mythology—but not on Christianity.1
In San Jose, California, 300 teachers and school employees gathered to “improve education” with workshops and lectures on communication, relaxation, and self-esteem:

"One group sat cross-legged in a darkened classroom, learning how to reduce stress with Yoga. While some felt self-conscious, others happily released their minds to the quieting sounds that flowed from a tape player on the desk. In the next room, another group meditated behind locked doors."2

Since the ’90s, an explosion of New Age influence has occurred in North American schools—children from as young as pre-school age are being taught about  Mother Earth, Yoga, meditation, and just about every other kind of pagan religion and Eastern practice.
Masks of the New Age
New Age, or New Spirituality, is actually ancient occultism with a facelift. It is the “beautiful side of evil,”4 an enticing facade for the kingdom of darkness. Disguised as peace, inner-power, wisdom, and love, this attractive deception pretends to offer everything God promises, yet asks nothing in return—for the moment. Its seductive call to be like God dates back to the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:5).
God told us long ago about deceptions that would lead many to “depart from the faith, giving heed to "seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils” (1 Timothy 4:1). The Bible warns:

 "[T]he time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine....And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

Today’s most popular myth distorts the character of God and the identity of man. Unwilling to bow to a personal, holy God, multitudes have reshaped their Creator into an image of their own wishful thinking. This imagined god becomes an impersonal power source ready to fulfill the whims of a god-man determined to direct his own destiny....
For all intents and purposes, Satan can counterfeit almost any good thing God gives us. In his hands, even tools for learning can become weapons loaded with distorted messages aimed at young minds. Look at his three major thrusts toward global society:

• Replace biblical Christianity with a self-centered blend of all religions joined in spiritual oneness.
• Replace Judeo/Christian values with New Age values—anything that frees people to follow the desires of self and create their own reality.
• Replace nationalism with a one-world government under a spiritually evolved leadership.

War on Christianity
Despising Christianity, the 20th century humanists paved the way for New Age/global education, but most of us didn’t notice. Now we can no longer deny the fact that most -- if not all public schools -- teach goals and values that contradict biblical values. And the humanist-oriented educational establishment promotes its beliefs as aggressively as any other religious group. Listen to their war cry:

"The battle for humankind’s future must be waged and won in the public school classroom by teachers who correctly perceive their role as the proselytizers of a new faith: a religion of humanity....
These teachers must embody the same selfless dedication as the most rabid fundamentalist preachers, for they will be ministers of another sort, utilizing a classroom instead of a pulpit to convey humanist values in whatever subject they teach, regardless of the educational level—preschool, day care, or large state university.
"The classroom must and will become an arena of conflict between the old and the new—the rotting corpse of Christianity...and the new faith of humanism, resplendent in its promise of a world in which the never-realized Christian ideal of ‘love thy neighbor” will finally be achieved."5

American philosopher and educator John Dewey kindled the fire of such educational reform. The first president of the American Humanist Association, Dewey was determined to weed out Christian absolutes and reseed our schools with “truths” that could adjust to changing cultures. The Humanist Manifesto, which Dewey signed in 1933, declares the heart of the movement. This is part of its introduction:

"There is great danger of a final, and we believe fatal, identification of the word religion with doctrines and methods which have lost their significance and which are powerless to solve the problem of human living in the Twentieth Century . . . Any religion that can hope to be a synthesizing and dynamic force for today, must be shaped for the needs of this age. To establish such a religion is a major necessity of the present."6

Without the 3.2 million-member National Education Association, considered one of the nation’s most powerful political machines,  Dewey’s ideas might have been confined to university campuses. Supported by the NEA, comprised of textbook writers and superintendents as well as professors and public school teachers, Dewey’s vision spread like wildfire. Through its militant leadership, the whole educational system became involved—with or without the personal support of local educators, many of whom didn’t realize what was happening.
Few textbooks have escaped the watchful eye of NEA censors, who have doggedly followed Dewey’s plan to provide a “purified environment for the child.” Historical facts that clashed with "progressive education” have been distorted or erased. The NEA has sought total control of curriculum content, control of teachers’ colleges, and sex education, free from parental interference....
One book, Censorship: Evidence of Bias in Our Children’s Textbooks, unveils some alarming facts. Christianity, family values, and certain political and economic positions have been systematically banished from children’s textbooks. For example, in 670 stories from third-and sixth-grade readers:

"No story features Christian or Jewish religious motivation, although one story does make American Indian religion the central theme in the life of a white girl.
"Almost no story features marriage or motherhood as important or positive. . . . But there are many aggressively  feminist stories that openly deride manhood.
"In an original story by Isaac Bashevis Singer, the main character prayed 'to God' and later remarked 'Thank God.' In the story as presented in the sixth-grade reader, the words 'to God' were taken out and the expression 'Thank God' was changed to 'Thank goodness.”'8
"While some elementary history textbooks still tell about Thanksgiving, they do not explain to whom the Pilgrims gave thanks. Pilgrims were defined as “people who make long trips.”
"The Pueblo Natives “can pray to Mother Earth—but  Pilgrims can’t be described as praying to God.”9...

When children are subjected to such suggestions and pressures year after year, many yield to the hostile forces that oppose their beliefs....
Back in 1982, Professor Benjamin Bloom, an internationally known behaviorist, defined “good teaching” as “challenging the students’ fixed beliefs and getting them to discuss issues.”18 He stated:

"[T]he evidence collected so far suggests that a single hour of classroom activity under certain conditions may bring about a major reorganization in cognitive as well as affective [attitudes, values and beliefs] behaviors."19

Indoctrinating students with diverse beliefs, socialist values, utopian dreams, and idealized love leads to deception, disillusionment, corruption, and chaos. Today’s change agents need chaos and crisis to justify their oppressive action. Not only does it unravel the old social order, it gives an illusion of newfound freedom—from family values as well as moral restraints.23 ...

---

Chapter 4: What Can Parents Do About The War on Christianity?

Now that we have glimpsed the conflict, let’s take a look at the invisible war behind the visible facts. Remember that the battle is infinitely greater than any potential conflict between your child and his school. Teachers and principals, many of whom share your values, are not the enemy. Neither are the humanist “new” spirituality missionaries in the NEA. The real enemy is the one who opposed God’s plan from the beginning—Satan, who uses his blinded victims to carry out his hidden agenda.
God is our strength in this struggle against a counterfeit force, and He will accomplish His purposes through us. As we trust Him to give us courage and strength, He will remove any fear we have of contending for the faith and doing what we must to protect our children, even if it sometimes means we are standing alone.
Step One: Be Alert & Always Keep on Praying
Pray! For as Jesus said, “[W]ithout me ye can do nothing.” (John 15:5). The battle begins and ends with prayer. Pray for open and trusting communication with your child. Pray for discernment to detect teaching that contradicts God’s truth. Pray for wisdom to know when to speak up and what to say.
● Pray for your child. Pray that he learns to discern error on his own and that he will be bold enough to speak truth with courage and to stand alone when all his friends follow after other gods. Pray that pleasing God will be more important to your children than pleasing teachers and peers.
● Pray together as a family. Put on the “whole armor of God” daily. .... It means reading (or hearing) and following the Word, and knowing it well enough to discern error. Read and discuss Ephesians 6:13-17. Memorize the parts of the armor....
● Trust God, not yourself. “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Step Two: Know What Your Child Is Learning in School
● Talk with your child. Listen for clues that help you spot good as well as questionable teaching. Be objective and model appreciation of schools and teachers.
Perhaps you have a child who gladly gives detailed accounts of all events from the time he left for school that morning. My boys preferred to answer all my questions with a brief "Good!” or “Okay.” But I discovered that a tasty snack after school could produce at least five minutes of sharing. When my son was fourteen, a sandwich at a local deli boosted our conversations immensely. ...
● Scan elementary textbooks, take-home papers, and fliers. Check to see if significant facts are deleted or distorted. Consider their effects on your child. Ask yourself the following questions about the above material:

Does it censor out important facts about the influences of Christianity in the development of our country? ..

Does it emphasize, promote, or give detailed descriptions of other religions, while ignoring Christianity?

Does it include a blatant pro-homosexual slant?

Does it ask your child not to share information with his parents?

Discuss your findings with your child. Express your appreciation for the good things you see. Explain any area of concern. Teach  discernment by pointing out contradictions to God’s truth.

Step Three: Know & Exercise Your Privileges as a Parent
If you suspect a problem, you may need to talk with the teacher and, if necessary, ask to see the teacher’s manual and classroom projects.....
● Be spiritually and emotionally ready to face resistance, defensiveness, and denial, but don’t expect them. Cyndie Huntington, author of Combat Handbook for Parents with Children in Public Schools, tells about one encounter with school officials:

When you reach this step, it is not unusual to be told, “Mrs. Jones, your child doesn’t seem to have the problem, you do. Now what can we do to make YOU feel better?” or “We’re the experts, let us raise your children.”
[One parent] was told by the principal to consider counseling for herself. Upon the recommendation . . . she went to a secular counselor for two months of therapy. She stated that she . . . counseled the counselor more than the counselor counseled her. It was then suggested by the school that she take the STEP (Steps to Effective Parenting) course. The school said that this would help her “interact” better with people and her children. So she signed up.
At the second session, the instructor made the following statement: “No longer does the biblical principle of the wife being submissive to her husband and the children being submissive to both parents [apply] in society today. We are all equal.”
. . . The mother asked the instructor what she should do if her ten-year-old did not want to clean her room. She was told that the room was the private property of the child and she should close the door if it bothered her; she had no right to enter without permission!
She resigned herself to the fact that she did not have the problem, her child did not have the problem, the school system had the problem. She took her child out and put her in a private school.1

Step Four: Enlist the Support of Other Families
 ● Get together with other parents to discuss issues, compare notes, seek God’s guidance, and plan strategy. Go to the board meetings regularly and speak out! One strong and wise but gracious voice can wield tremendous influence.
● Show your child you understand the loneliness he may feel in an anti-Christian classroom, and remind him he is not alone.
Equipping Your Teenage Child to Deal With Deception
● Equip your children to discern evil and resist compromise. “Be not deceived...” (1 Corinthians 15:33).
● Listen! Give undivided attention! Be patient. Pray for understanding. Don’t react with shock, dismay, or fear when your teenager shares what’s happening in his world. Respond with gentle wisdom and compassionate love.
● Encourage your child to read the Bible each day. He needs to wear God’s armor as much as you do—and that requires regular feeding upon and exposure to truth....
● Get in the habit of praying together....
● Be a friend as well as a parent....
Children are a precious gift, an awesome responsibility, and your greatest investment. Training them to follow God challenges your faith, demands your time, drains your energy, forces you to your knees, shows you God’s sufficiency, and delights your heart. Hang in there—and “count it all joy” (James 1:2).

"...in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:31

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Note: I intend to eventually post excerpts from most of our 21 chapters. Few will be as long as these two. I trust that God will continue to guide me. May He use this book to encourage and prepare your family for the challenges ahead.

By His grace alone,

Berit

http://www.crossroad.to/Books/1-protect-your-child/excerpts/3-schools-war-on-Christianity.htm