BLESSED Contents 5 DECISIONS THAT CAN MAKE YOU HAPPIER By Therese Borchard
27 31
41
DON’T SCRATCH THAT ITCH! By Gwen Smith
SAVED, SURRENDERED AND SERVING – A PERSONAL TESTIMONY By DAVID PEACH
06 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 09 EDITOR’S LETTER 17 DEALING WITH PRODIGAL CHILDREN How to Respond when your Child is Willfully Rebelling Against God
21 RESPONDING TO CURSES AND SPELLS What to do when witches are out to get you!
45
4 CHRISTIAN TIPS ON HOW TO STRENGTHEN A MARRIAGE By JACK WELLMAN
41 SAVED, SURRENDERED AND SERVING – A PERSONAL TESTIMONY 45 4 CHRISTIAN TIPS ON HOW TO STRENGTHEN A MARRIAGE 51 DISCOVERING AND FULFILING GOD’S PURPOSE FOR YOUR LIFE
27 5 DECISIONS THAT CAN
MAKE YOU HAPPIER 31 DON’T SCRATCH THAT ITCH! 35 BEING SLAIN IN THE SPIRIT What Does God Think About This Ritual? Blessed Magazine Page 4
57 LIVING FOR THE DEAD Trying to Please People Who Are No Longer With Us
61 12 MOST POWERFUL CHRISTIANS IN HOLLYWOOD
On the Cover – Kristin Chenoweth One of the most powerful Christians in Hollywood
69 REVIVAL FIRE APOSTOLIC MINISTRIES A Personal Interview with Apostle Tim Ranyak
Subscribe today for your ‗FREE‘ digital copy of Blessed Magazine www.blessedmagazine.org
Letter from the Editor 013 is gone and we embark upon another year of doing all we can in the name of the Lord! Blessed Magazine has completed one year of delivering our publication into the hands of thousands of individuals across the world. We are proud and excited to announce Blessed Magazine is now available for print on MagCloud for a nominal fee, but digital will remain free! It is our pleasure to display articles that will enlighten, inspire as well as equip all of us in our daily walk with the Lord. Our goal is to always provide pleasurable reading from bloggers, columnists and writers from across the world Please sit back and enjoy this very special issue of Blessed Magazine and as always, remember to keep God first in your life. Love one another and always pray for us here at Blessed Magazine to continue our endeavor to reach lost souls while equipping believers God continue to bless you always………..Sister Laraine Turner Blessed Magazine Page 6
Letters to the Editor… Your article on addiction to porn was an eye opener! As Christians we all have our individual demons we must deal with on a daily basis, but through the grace of God we can overcome any addiction ---- Greg, NV ___________________________
I thank God for your magazine as it provides insight on many subjects I‘ve been searching for answers for. I look forward to reading your next issue ---- Teresa, MI ___________________________
Thank you so much for not bashing pastors who have made mistakes as other publications have done so tactically. It was a real pleasure to read the story of the ‗The Fallen‘ but from a different perspective than other media outlets. Keep up the good work and good reads. God bless you ---- Tamara, NJ ___________________________
Scared to be left behind! I read your article on Oops! I Guess I wasn‘t ready and I am so scared of being one of those. Please pray for me and my family ---- RJ, CA ___________________________
Bishop Eddie Long is a good pastor and I really appreciated the article encouraging people to move on, pray and forgive because it‘s in God‘s hands --Caroline, PA
So many people would love to discredit Bishop Long, but that‘s not the way of the Lord. We must move past our prejudices and become the women and men of God, Jesus has called us to be. Pray for the fallen, embrace them and love them. This is what Jesus desires --- Michael, OR _________________________________________
Jokes aside! I’ve been following your magazine since its launch and every issue has something for everybody. I am eagerly anticipating your print copy. Love the digital, but really would like a print copy of certain issues for my library. Very good magazine ---- Thomas, AZ _________________________________________
What a pleasure to finally read a copy of your magazine. A friend gave me a subscription for my birthday and I am so glad they did. Really enjoy your magazine ---- Sheila, MN We would love to hear from our readers. Write in and let us know what you think. God Bless You for being a fan ---- Blessed Magazine Send comments to contact@blessedmagazine.org Blessed Magazine Page 9
Blessed Magazine Page 12
Blessed Magazine Page 13
Blessed Magazine Page 14
Blessed Magazine Page 15
By Anna Diehl
Blessed Magazine Page 17
God gives all souls the option of refusing to submit to His Authority on this earth. As Christian parents, we must do the same with our children. It is our responsibility to introduce our children to God, to teach them what He wants, and to model reverence for God in our homes. We are supposed to model for our children what being committed to God looks like. Is that what you‘re currently doing? If it‘s not, then you need to ask the Holy Spirit to help you get back in alignment with Him. Before we talk about what‘s wrong with our kids, we need to correct our own areas of rebellion.
THE PURPOSE OF PAIN On this earth, God uses pain to drive rebels back to Him and to spur the obedient on to new levels of growth. Jonah was a rebel, Job was obedient. God inflicted extreme trials on both men. We must be careful in how we assess rebellion in another person‘s life. Just because God is filling their lives with pain does not mean He is displeased with them, nor does it mean they aren‘t aligned with Him in their hearts. Only God can accurately see into the heart of a person. We humans can only guess at what‘s happening in their hearts based on what comes out of their mouths. If our children vocalize disrespect for God and take delight in spurning His Authority, then it seems rather obvious that their heart attitude is rotten. As parents, what should we do? It depends on the age of our children. If they are young, we need to use godly discipline measures to curb irreverent attitudes in the home. It is our job as parents to make sure that God is honored in our home, at least as far as external behavior goes. We can‘t force our children to respect God in their hearts, but we should not allow them to get away with openly defying Him, either. We need to teach them early on that there are serious consequences for disrespecting God. Those who refuse to respect God on earth will end up in Hell for all of eternity. This is far more serious than running out into the street and getting hit by a car. Far too many parents act like street safety is a far more important topic than revering God. This is a very poor model which sets our children up to take the concept of respecting God very casually. Human parents are the first examples of authority our children encounter. It is our job to demand an
appropriate measure of respect. When we do, it is much easier for our children to grasp the idea of a God who demands respect. If we act like spineless pushovers instead, then they will expect the same of God and feel no need to fear His great wrath. If you have young children who are refusing to respect God, then you need to ask the Holy Spirit to show you what disciplinary measures you should be taking. As long as your children are living with you and depending on you to provide for their needs, they should be required to obey certain house rules. Again, we can‘t control our children‘s internal attitude about God, but we can model for them what respect looks like, and ban certain external expressions of rebellion from our home.
DEALING WITH ADULTS When our children our adults, the rules change. We no longer hold the positions of authority we used to, and we must respect their freedom to choose how they want to live their lives. But while we are being respectful, we don‘t have to agree with their choices, nor do we have to be financially supporting them. Again, we are accountable to God for our behavior, and He does not want us to encourage our children in rebellion. But each situation calls for careful discernment, and we must stay in close contact with the Holy Spirit to make sure we are drawing boundaries in the right places. God‘s general cure for rebellion is to make the defiant soul so miserable that he finally breaks down and repents. As parents of rebellious children, it‘s critical that we keep this principle in mind, and always check with God before attempting to bail our children out of the crises He will create in their lives. If our children have strong wills and particularly stubborn temperaments, it might take extreme measures to drive them to submission. It is extremely difficult to watch our children hurting and not attempt to save them. If our children know that we are withholding available help from them, they will undoubtedly turn against us and perhaps even cut all emotional ties. Here again, we must be in continuous prayer. We need to recognize that God is a multitasker who is always working on multiple hearts at once. It is not
just our children He is driving towards repentance. We are also being worked on by Him, and that means we need to be ready to do some growing ourselves while we worry about our kids. While God makes the parent-child bond very strong, He is also clear that all souls are His property. God is the eternal Father of our children—we are more like foster parents who He has called upon to look after a few of His children during their brief time on earth. In our hearts, we must fully release our children into God‘s hands and submit to His higher Authority. We need to recognize that He is a far better Parent than we could ever be, and that everything He does to our kids is for their long-term spiritual best. We don‘t want to get in God‘s way. When crises arise, we need to pray before rushing in. We need to ask God if He even wants us to get involved, and be open to Him telling us ―no‖. God‘s timing is perfect, and He knows how to work with hardened rebels. In His loving and gracious hands, our prodigal children have the best possible chance of being turned back towards righteousness. But we must remember that even God with His unlimited power will not force our children to align with Him. If our children have never submitted to Jesus, they could end up in Hell. If they have submitted to Jesus and are eternally saved, then they could still end up squandering their entire lives in foolishness only for God to finally strike them down in disgust. These are tough realities that we parents must face. There is no guarantee that our children will ever come home again. That is a personal decision that can only be made between their hearts and God.
WHAT DO WE PRAY FOR? Do we pray for our children to return to God? It feels productive, but in reality our prayers are not going to make God override another human‘s will. Rather than spend our time asking God to make our children do something they don‘t want to do, or trying to instruct Him in their care, it is far better that we focus on our own walks with God. We can‘t control the choices that our adult children will make in life, but we can control our own. We need to focus on growing through the pain our children are putting us through. This is our opportunity to exercise our trust muscles. We know in our minds that God is a far better Parent than we
are, but emotionally we struggle to trust His methods, especially when our children fall into some terrible trouble. What does it look like to really trust God? It means we let Him lead in all situations. We check with Him before rushing in. We recognize that our own wisdom is sorely lacking and our ―gut‖ can be easily misled. We are willing to suffer through some sleepless nights and knots in our stomach in order to stay aligned with Him when He tells us to stay back and let Him work. We get the term ―prodigal son‖ from the parable Jesus told in the Bible. The father in that story gives us a good model of what to do as parents of prodigal children today. When his son wanted to leave home and start his own life, the father didn‘t try to stop him. When the son ran into trouble because of his bad choices, the father didn‘t try to save him. When the son finally returned home, the father rushed to meet him. We never want to emotionally cut off our children, even if that is what they do to us. Instead, we want to model a continuous open heart towards them, for this is what God does with all of us. An open heart does not mean also having an open wallet and an open front door. Sometimes it is necessary to make our home off limits, and refuse to give any financial or material support. But our love should always be available—a love that communicates to our children that we will always love their souls, even when we disapprove of their behavior. When God points out manipulative behaviors, we need to respond with boundaries. We don‘t let our children abuse us with their words, or encourage them to show no regard for our feelings. Sometimes we will need to hang up the phone or decline an invitation to meet because our children are showing us no respect. Souls who are rebelling against God end up taking on the traits of Satan, and he is not known for his good manners. Prodigal children can be real pills to deal with, yet God will guide us through each interaction with them one moment at a time. We need to trust Him to take care of our children and us as well. No matter what choices our children make, God will use their actions to benefit us if we are willing to stay focused on Him. All trials that enter our lives are partly about us. Difficult family members are some of God‘s most effective tools for growth. The people closest to us have the most emotional influence with us and can hurt us the deepest.
They are also the perfect means for propelling us down the road of spiritual maturity. We need to remember that this life is not about trying to develop positive relationships with other humans. It is about getting closer to God. We are each on an individual journey with Him. Other people are being woven in and out of our lives to help us progress on that journey. As long as we stay aligned with God in our hearts, even the worst prodigals will end up being used by Him to bring about great spiritual progress in our lives. We would love to hear your thoughts on this subject or what you thought of this article. Please contact us at contact@blessedmagazine.org
The Christian Parenting Handbook – $3.99 Nuggets of parenting wisdom condensed into 50 short chapters, each one biblical, practical, and relevant for parents of children ages 2-18. Learn appropriate ways to correct, instruct, and set limits. Glean wisdom for dealing with emotions, conflict, and developing closeness in your family… and much more. These 50 strategies provide you with hands-on tools for parenting children of any age. Available at
Parenting by the Book: Biblical Wisdom for Raising Your Child – $10.37 In the 1960s, American parents stopped listening to their elders when it came to child rearing and began listening instead to professional experts. Since then, raising children has become fraught with anxiety, stress, and frustration. The solution, says John, lies in raising children according to biblical principles, the same principles that guided parents successfully for hundreds of years. They worked then, and they still work now! Available at
Blessed Magazine Page 20
By Anna Diehl
Blessed Magazine Page 21
It‘s extremely disturbing to have some witch, sorcerer, or some other dark magic professional place a curse on you, cast a spell against you, or stick pins in some ugly doll that looks like you. If you‘ve become the target of someone else‘s hateful wishes, this post is for you.
THE POWER TO HARM YOU How much control do people have over the forces of evil? They don‘t have any. From God‘s perspective, people‘s evil curses and dark magic rituals are utterly ridiculous. People are so desperate to control something, that they have allowed demons to sell them many fantastic lies. Witchdoctors fuss around with special potions, say a bunch of sacred mumbo jumbo, and then when someone is healed from their illness, they actually think they had something to do with it. What a bunch of fools. Suppose you step out in front of a moving car and the driver slams on the brakes just in time to miss breaking your legs. Would you then try to say that you forced him to stop? Would you stand there and say, ―Aha! I have control over the physical forces in this world!‖ If you did, no one would believe you for a second. But suppose you actually were this stupid and you started going on and on about how powerful you were. Then suppose the driver got an angry look on his face, got back into his car, and revved up the engine. What would happen next? You would leap out of his way in fear as he started coming at you again. This time he wants to hit you, and you know there‘s not a darn thing you can do about it. All you can do is run around screaming for someone else to save you. Your little fantasy of having super powers didn‘t last long, did it?
This is what‘s going on when humans boast of having supernatural powers on earth. No matter what they call themselves—witch, sorcerer, medium, warlock or some other fancy title—they have as much power over you as you have over the planet Mars. They simply can‘t do anything to harm you on their own. Instead, they are completely dependent on demons to give them the illusion of power. If they chant some ―sacred‖ bit of baloney and at the same time a demon hurls a knife at your head, then naturally you‘re going to feel a bit nervous around that person. Your flawed human logic will tell you that whenever two earthly events happen so close together, they must be related
You‘ll conclude that the first event caused the second to happen, therefore the spell really worked. No, it didn‘t. A human mumbled a bunch of baloney and then a demon threw a knife at your head. These were two separate, unrelated events. The demon simply timed his actions to create the illusion that the human has supernatural powers. Now Satan has an ego that‘s bigger than this whole universe, so why on earth would he ever want us to take the glory for the things he has done? Because as long as we think we‘ve got magical powers, we‘ll never be interested in Jesus. God is a real wet blanket about us having powers. In order to be accepted by Him, we have to admit that we‘re powerless, depraved sinners who deserve to spend eternity in Hell for all of the ways we have offended Him. Our egos gag at this. God reduces us to codependent wretches, but Satan offers to build us into independent demigods. Plenty of souls find Satan‘s offer far more enticing. As is always the case with Satan, his pretty promises are nothing more than a bunch of hot air. He‘ll never give us any real power. He‘ll just toy with us, like a stage magician toys with his audience so that he can monetarily profit from their ignorance. A performing magician heavily relies on the principles of distraction and deception to make his tricks appear real. Satan works the same way. By carefully synchronizing his actions with ours, and by planting thoughts in our minds as a means of bossing us about, he easily convinces our foolish pride that we can be the next Harry Potter: a nobody who was always destined to be a somebody, and just needed a little education about the fundamentals of magic in order to bring out his natural talents. Oh, how eagerly we take the bait! And once we think we‘ve experienced real power flowing through our personal fingertips, we are instant addicts. Bring on the book of spells—we‘re ready to get revenge on all of our enemies! Of course the whole time, Satan and his demon brothers are cracking jokes at our expense in the spiritual realm—pointing out what total morons we are to think we could ever control them or anyone else. The Holy Spirit groans over our stupidity and tries to talk sense into us, but many of us refuse to listen. Even when He starts blocking the demons from pulling off their carefully timed stunts and our curses begin to fail us, we still refuse to believe that we‘ve been total suckers. Instead, we turn to those in the
field who are older and wiser and we try to get them to tell us where we‘re going wrong. We are desperate not to lose the power that we never really had, and we will do anything to try and get it back. We make deals with the devil, we bring him sacrifices, we even try to sell him our own souls. If at all possible, Satan will try to make us think these things are effective, and that we really are ―sealed‖ for Hell. But of course we‘re not. It is God alone who decides where souls end up after eternity. All souls are His property, and when we try to buy and sell them, we are just deluding ourselves, like a man who tries to sell his neighbor‘s house when he doesn‘t own the deed. At some point the buyer will demand proof of ownership, and at that point the deal will be cancelled. Likewise, Satan can‘t really get his hands on our souls no matter how many times and ways we try to hand them over to him, because we simply do not own them. God does, and He never signs His rights away. If we end up in Hell, it will be because God hurled us there, not because Satan slipped some collar of damnation on us while we were still on earth. When it comes to harming you, you need to view all of those magic wielding humans like the powerless idiots that they are. It isn‘t humans that you need to be afraid of. Demons are the ones with very real power, and demons are far stronger than you. Demons take orders from no one. Instead they plant ideas in the minds of their human pawns in order to make them cooperate with their plans. Once demons decide that you‘re annoying them and they want to attack you, then they might tell some witch that she should cast an evil spell on you. They‘re only getting her involved so they can keep feeding her the illusion that she can control the universe. They also want to use her to try and intimidate you because they know that you haven‘t figured out what a scam the whole thing is. When you hear that some powerful witch has put a curse on you, of course you‘re going to feel upset and unnerved. You will then start scrutinizing your life for evidence that that curse is coming true. This is great for demons. With you already believing that the curse will come true, they don‘t have to work nearly as hard. If you trip over a crack in the sidewalk, your imagination will leap to the conclusion that the witch‘s curse is trying to throw you to the ground. If you spill hot coffee on
yourself, you‘ll panic that you‘re going to die some slow death by scalding. On another day, these things would just be minor inconveniences, but once the notion of being cursed has entered your mind, suddenly it feels like the whole universe is out to get you. Demons are just using basic psychology against you. Sure, they‘d like to do a lot more than throw hot coffee on you, but the Holy Spirit tends to be a real pain the neck in these situations by constantly getting in their way.
YOUR PROTECTOR The Holy Spirit is constantly defending you from the attacks of demons whether you notice it or not. Most of the time, you don‘t. Most of the time, you take all of His protection for granted and then act like He‘s abandoned you when some little thing happens. If the Holy Spirit wasn‘t so generous-hearted, He would have ditched us all a long time ago because none of us come close to properly appreciating Him. Why are demons constantly trying to harm you? Because God loves you. God is the One they are really trying to bug by coming after you. You‘re just a symbol to them—a dumb non-angel who they wouldn‘t even bother to notice except that God makes such a fuss over you. It is only God‘s interest in you that makes you a target for demons, and it is only God who can protect you from being harmed by demons. Sometimes He lets them do some little thing to you, but He never just hands you over to them like so much dog meat. God is very protective over you, regardless of how you treat Him. As long as you are on this earth, He is trying to encourage you to do what is best for your soul by aligning with Him. The only reason God lets demons attack you is for your spiritual benefit. God is like a brilliant personal trainer who knows exactly how to get your body into perfect health. When He lets demons harass you, it‘s like He‘s making you lift weights in order to build up muscle. Trying to lift too much too fast will only injure you, but God never makes a mistake in His calculations of what you‘re ready to deal with. The more you work with God, the more intense His training program will become. God is eager for you to progress in the faith. He wants you to learn how to put ALL of your trust in Him. The more you trust God, the more joy and peace you will have. In order to trust God well, you must acknowledge
how dependent you are on Him. Your dependency on God isn‘t something you choose: it is a reality that you can either face or try to ignore. If you pretend that you are not totally dependent on God for absolutely everything in life, your denial will not change anything. You will still be dependent, you just won‘t grow spiritually because you are refusing to acknowledge your need for Him.
ourselves down here. You need God, and even now, He is the only reason you‘re not in a far worse situation than you are. As long as you refuse to submit to Him, you are going to Hell, and that is a much more serious crisis than some stupid curse. Submitting to Jesus Christ is the first step in getting aligned with the One who is protecting you
As a human being, you are utterly defenseless against the powers of the spiritual realm. Demons could easily annihilate you if God ever gave them permission to do so, but He will not. As long as you exist, your Creator will be closely monitoring your existence. Nobody slips past the Holy Spirit‘s guard. Nobody can touch you unless He allows them to, and He puts all demons on a tight leash before letting them near you. Yes, they can do little things now and then, but they never get to have their total way with you. A demon‘s life is filled with constant frustration as he watches all of his brilliant schemes against humans being vetoed and mangled by the Holy Spirit. Demons want to throw you into a blazing fire, but instead all they get permission to do is knock some coffee onto you. Demons want to leap upon you in bed in some physical form and permanently terrorize you for life, but instead all they get to do is make some freaky noises in your house, or plant creepy images in your mind. Whenever you are being harassed by demons, you can be certain that what they‘re doing to you is not even close to what they‘d like to do to you. If only the Holy Spirit would just get out of their way. But He won‘t. The Holy Spirit is always with you. Bummer for demons. But then again, that‘s what they get for thinking they could overthrow God.
If you are a Christian, then you need to view this whole thing as an opportunity to grow stronger in your faith. Remember that demons can‘t do bumpkus against you without God‘s permission, and you know that anything He allows will end up benefiting you down the road if you stay in alignment with Him. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you learn everything He wants to teach you through this experience. On this earth, God gives us a lot of practice in not worrying. It‘s unnerving to think that someone‘s out there trying to bring harm to you, but once you put things in perspective, you realize that there‘s really nothing to be afraid of.
YOUR RESPONSE As the target of some human‘s evil curses, there are two ways you need to respond. First, you need to write off the humans as the delusional morons that they are. Humans have no supernatural powers, and there‘s nothing about them that you need to be afraid of. Second, you need to get aligned with God. If you are not a Christian, you are testing God‘s patience by refusing to submit to Him. When we persist in rebelling against God, He will often respond by giving demons more freedom to harass us so that we will stop trying to think we can take care of
Human curses are a pathetic joke to the Holy Spirit and they have zero impact on His ability to protect you. Your job is to fight against the mental games that demons are trying to use on you. Don‘t let them psych you out. They are powerless to harm you unless God gives them permission, which He won‘t do unless He sees some benefit for you. With God on your side, and your eternal future secure, there is absolutely nothing that you need to be afraid of. There is nothing that either demons or people could ever do to separate you from God. You are a child of the King. Demons are a bunch of losers who are bound for the lake of fire. Their time for harassing souls on earth is very short and their resources are limited. They can‘t afford to waste manpower on you if you aren‘t willing to cooperate with their fear tactics. Frustrate your enemies by refusing to be influenced by their empty threats and ridiculous human pawns. You have the magnificent Holy Spirit dwelling right inside of you. He is the One you want to be focusing on, not curses and worrisome ―what ifs.‖ Every time demons try to freak you out about some harm that might come to you, turn your mind to God instead. They will soon tire of that pattern and give it a rest. Meanwhile, the practice will do you good. Just think of how much stronger your faith will be after you complete this training course.
The Holy Spirit is a Brilliant Teacher.
FIVE DECISIONS THAT CAN MAKE YOU HAPPIER
By Therese Borchard
Blessed Magazine Page 27
Photo Credit: Peanut on the Table
Recent happiness studies indicate that popularity, influence, and money do not make people happiest – even as our culture suggests otherwise. Autonomy, life purpose, and relationships are found at the top of the list. In her new book, ―The Happiness Choice: The Five Decisions that Take You From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be,‖ Marilyn Tam communicates what she learned, in research and through painful experiences, on how to be happy, healthy, and have a balanced life.
She is an international best-selling author, speaker, entrepreneur, humanitarian, and former CEO of Aveda, President of Reebok Apparel Products & Retail Group and VP of Nike and the Founder and Executive Director of Us Foundation.
What are the five decisions that can make you happier? Marilyn: Research has shown that a person is happiest, healthiest and most successful when he/she is making a positive difference; taking care of himself or herself physically, mentally, spiritually and has loving relationships. There are five decisions we make every day to bring us either more happiness or less – what we choose to do with, and how we treat our:
Body, Relationships, Money, Spiritual life and Community Knowing your life purpose will help guide you in allocating the proper amount of energy and attention to each of these five key aspects of your life. Dynamic balance is what we strive for—we can‘t do it all but we can adjust the resources we dedicate toward each part of our life at each stage of our life. Situations and priorities change over time but knowing our reasons for being will guide us along the way. By being conscious about what we choose to do, we can get buy-in and cooperation from others more easily than when we are acting without awareness.
What are five decisions that can make you unhappy? Marilyn: Conversely if we ignore or over emphasize one or more of the five primary components of our life, there will be imbalance and negative consequences – unhappiness is sure to follow. The neglect or abuse of our body, relationships, money, spiritual life or community Blessed Magazine Page 28
Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto.com/RuslanDashinsky
We can make purposeful decisions and plans when we are aware of our own values instead of simply reacting to outside blandishments and events. Knowing your personal priorities, you can take the steps to gain your dynamic balance and the life you‘ve always dreamed of. Happiness and inner peace are yours when you choose what is in alignment with your life‘s mission.
over time will result in illness, emotional distress, financial problems and a feeling of emptiness.
What are three ways you can shrug off impossible expectations? Marilyn: We are suffering from the stress of trying to live up to the impossible expectations of a fantasy life as depicted in the media. There we see how the rich, famous and privileged supposedly live charmed, beautiful and worry free lives with nothing as mundane as laundry to do or bills to pay. Yet these same celebrities are actually dealing with many of the same challenges we have – health issues, relationships conflicts, and yes even money problems. Real life is not TV or the Internet; question the incessant drumbeat of what is purportedly going to make us happy. Here‘s three simple ways to shift from feeling that you have to achieve the outside-imposed expectations.
Photo Credit: Aidon/Getty Images
1. Use your life purpose to guide your decisions and include your own wellbeing in the equation. Question the outside assumptions; are they really the best for me? 2. Pause before you jump into doing what you feel pressured to do. Take some deep breaths, shrug your shoulders and move your arms and legs to loosen your body‘s tightness, then ask yourself, what would happen if I didn‘t do this now? You will realize that there are other options instead of meekly doing the expected. 3. Laugh! Look for the humor in the impossible expectation, and that will reduce your anxiety. Review the situation with more perspective and make the choice(s) that will get you what you really want in the long term. Ultimately we all know what is for our highest good; that wisdom is inside of us all along. Take some quiet time to listen to your own inner voice. Turn off all the outside ―shoulds‖. Spend time in nature, meditate and journal your thoughts. Remember what is most important to you. And in letting go of the impossible outside expectations you will exceed your own idea of how happy you can be!
Blessed Magazine Page 29
“Don’t Scratch That Itch!”
By Gwen Smith
Temptation comes in all shapes and sizes. It might be calling your name from your pantry – or from your computer – or from a bottle – or from another cubicle in your office. What temptations do you face today? Blessed Magazine Page 31
I once woke up with a spider bite that was the size of a quarter. It may as well have been the size of North Carolina for as much as it itched! I was half-tempted to scratch off my arm. That nasty bite was just begging to be scratched. However, I have learned a thing or two in my thirty-something years, and one thing I know for sure: it is best not to scratch this type of itch. It would be like opening a bag of chips with the naive intention of eating only one (yeah, right!) I knew that if I started scratching my bug bite, it would be nearly impossible to stop. I would regret having ever started.
“When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed” (James 1:13-14 NIV). Super-itchy bug bites are a lot like temptations. Temptations are itchy! The call on us with urgent voices that scream, ―Scratch me! Scratch me!‖ Yet, in all reality, a little scratch will not satisfy temptation‘s itch at all…it will just make matters worse. When we scratch the itch of temptation, the itch does not diminish. To the contrary, it increases. The Bible teaches us that when we resist temptation, our faith is then mobilized and the muscles of our character are strengthened. Let‘s look at what that looked like for a guy named Joseph. (For the full account, pause here and read Genesis 39.) Joseph was a man of integrity who did right in the eyes of the Lord, but he definitely faced some temptation! He was seduced by temptation in the form of his master‘s wife, Mrs. Potiphar. You see, Mrs. Potiphar wanted her husband‘s right-hand man to sleep with her, and she pursued him with aggression. Hers was a handdelivered invitation for Joseph to sin that had itchy written all over it. But he flat-out refused. His heart was determined to honor God. Blessed Magazine Page 32
―My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?‖ Though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her (Genesis 39:9-10). Temptation chased Joseph relentlessly. Oh, how he must have longed for the itching to stop! To give in would be sinful. To give in was simply not an option for this young man of character. So on the day that Potiphar‘s wife caught him by the cloak and begged again for Joseph to sleep with her, Joseph ran out of the house. He ran from that tempting situation as fast as his legs would carry him. God was honored in Joseph‘s response. He ran from temptation. We would be wise to do the same. What do you need to run from today? Have you determined in your heart to honor God in everything? Temptation comes in all shapes and sizes. It might be calling your name from your pantry – or from your computer – or from a bottle – or from another cubicle in your office. What temptations do you face today? Name them and run the other way! Don‘t scratch that itch! Determine in your heart that you will choose the path that brings honor to God, and call on Him for strength.
I realize that dealing with temptation is not easy. When that nasty spider bit my arm, I struggled not to scratch the bite. I had to re-direct my thinking to persevere through the temptation. When we come face to face with temptations, God‘s strength is always available to us. We need God‘s strength. Ours will fail us. Friend, when we resist temptation, we get to experience the peace and protection of God, our faith is mobilized and the muscles of our character are strengthened.
5 Ways to Avoid Temptation by Mary Fairchild Temptation is something we all face as Christians, no matter how long we have been following Christ. There are a few practical things, however, that we can do to grow stronger and smarter in our struggle against sin. We can learn how to avoid temptation by practicing these five steps. Recognize your tendency toward sin. James 1:14 explains that we are tempted when we become enticed by our own natural desires.
Run away from the temptation. I love the New Living Translation of 1 Corinthians 10:13. It says, "But remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can't stand up against it.
Let’s Pray Dear Lord, I need You so much. I constantly find myself being dragged away and enticed by temptation. Please give me strength to run the other way, and give me the wisdom to run to Your arms. I really want to be a woman of godly character. Help me be that woman! In Jesus‘ Name Amen
Now It’s Your Turn Contemplate the following questions: What have you been dragged away and enticed by in the past? How did you respond? How have you grown from those experiences? Though our sovereign God allows trials to enter our lives, He does not ever tempt us. (James 1) Tuck that truth in your heart today, and the next time you experience a temptation – great or small – recognize that the enemy is behind the allure. Then tell him to get behind you and pray that Jesus will re-direct your thinking. We would love to hear your thoughts on this subject or what you thought of this article. Please contact us at contact@blessedmagazine.org
Resist with the Word of Truth. Hebrews 4:12 says God's Word is living and active. Did you know you can carry a weapon that will make your thoughts obey Jesus Christ? If you don't believe me, read 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 One of these weapons is the Word of God. Refocus with praise. How often have you been tempted to sin when your heart and mind were fully concentrated on worship to the Lord? Praising God takes your focus off of yourself and puts it on God. You may not be strong enough to resist temptation on your own, but as you focus on God, he will inhabit your praise. He will give you the strength to resist and walk away from the temptation. May I suggest Psalm 147 as a good place to start.
Repent quickly when you fail. In several places the Bible tells us the best way to resist temptation is to flee from it (1 Corinthians 6:18; 1 Corinthians 10:14; 1 Timothy 6:11; 2 Timothy 2:22). Yet still we all fail from time to time. We fail to flee. Notice I didn't say, repent quickly if you fail. Having a more realistic view—knowing that at times you will fail—should help you to repent quickly when you do. It is not the end of the world when you fail, but it is very dangerous to persist in your sin. Going back to James 1, verse 15 explains that sin "when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.‖ Blessed Magazine Page 33
BEING SLAIN IN THE SPIRIT What Does God Think About This Ritual? By Anna Diehl
Blessed Magazine Page 35
All Christians are people and people are very easy to deceive. This is why you must be extra guarded whenever the subject of God comes up. Whether you‘re reading a post like this, standing in a church, or listening to your radio, whenever you hear someone making any statement about God you need to ask the Holy Spirit if that statement is correct. Even if you are currently frustrated with your prayer life and feeling like God never talks to you, it is vital that you get into a habit of asking God for discernment every single time He is mentioned by someone else. You simply cannot put your trust in human beings. No one can fully understand God or properly interpret Him except God Himself. So then, before you read any further, ask the Holy Spirit for discernment about the rest of this post. I am going to say a lot of things about God. How can you know if I‘m telling you the truth or not unless you ask God Himself? You cannot trust me: I am an imperfect human being of limited wisdom. Ask God to help you know if anything else you read in this post is true or if it should all be dismissed as hooey. He is the ONLY One you can trust to advise you in life. In this post, we‘re going to tackle that controversial subject of being slain in the Spirit. Depending on which branch of the Christian Church you currently hang out in, you will already have some preconceived notions about whether being slain is a good or bad thing. No matter what you currently believe, it is important that you check those beliefs with God periodically so that He can make any needed adjustments. We never want to close our minds to the Holy Spirit correcting flaws in our thinking. We all start out building our theology on things we‘ve borrowed from our parents, pastors and Christian friends. We need to slowly advance to the point where all of our theology comes directly from God.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE SLAIN? We don‘t ever hear about a family having a quiet dinner together and the mother suddenly leaping up and slaying her daughter in the Spirit. Slaying is a very public and sensual event which is done before large groups of witnesses. Before individuals start falling over backwards, the entire group undergoes a long session of intense worship and prayer. Whenever a ritual is dependent on an emotionally charged setting, we should hear cautionary alarms sounding in our heads. If we can‘t experience something in a calm, sober state of mind, how valid can it be? Didn‘t God Himself say ―Be still and know that I am God?‖ Yet in the Church today, we find many practices which promote the idea that if you want to really experience God, you must first get emotionally riled up. Humans are the most vulnerable to manipulation when they are emotionally amped. Self-control, sound judgment and spiritual discernment all fly out the window when we start swaying with the tribal beat. In these moments, we find ourselves feeling one with the crowd, our desire to be accepted is intensified, and we are very likely to believe anything we‘re told. Let‘s remember that Satan is Blessed Magazine Page 36
always looking for a chance to deceive us and at the same time dishonor God. He accomplishes both purposes by first getting us so hyped up on adrenaline that we stop thinking or praying soberly. Have you ever tried to have a heart-to-heart conversation with someone who is dancing at a rock concert? It‘s impossible to do. First of all, there‘s so much noise, they can barely hear you. Secondly, they‘re so attracted by the fun being had all around them that they will find your attempts to talk to them very irritating. If you keep trying to get their attention, they‘ll either yell at you to leave or physically move away from you. This is the same response the Holy Spirit gets from us when we work ourselves up into emotional lathers. In those moments, we just want to ride the wave of emotional ecstasy so we close our minds to any truths that might burst our happy bubble. Truths like ―this is all a pack of lies.‖
IS SLAYING IN THE BIBLE? No. Falling forward in humble reverence before God is. Being overwhelmed with awe at His magnificent Presence is. But being shoved over backwards by someone and going into physical spasms is not.
LAUGHING, ROARING, BARKING AND HEAVING??? Biblical accounts of demon possessed people sometimes describe convulsions and a loss of selfcontrol. Physical jerking and inhuman utterances are common markers of demonic possession today. Since God tells us that self-control and peace are both qualities that come from Him, we shouldn‘t be surprised to find them absent when demons are present. In some slaying situations, we see people losing control of their physical bodies and going into seizure-like fits of uncontrollable laughter, roaring, barking or dry heaving. Those who promote these things as being from God have their mystical explanations. The heaving is supposed to be an expelling of negative things. The fits of laughter are supposed to be a result of supernatural joy overwhelming the person. Yet in all of these things, we see many anti-God characteristics: a lack of self-control, a lack of peace, physical torment, and a blending of animal and human. If you see a stand of apples on the side of the road with a sign in front that says ―oranges for sale‖, are you going to think the world has discovered a new kind of orange or will you conclude that the seller has mislabeled his product? Unless we are very familiar with Who God is and what qualities He promotes, we won‘t recognize when someone is trying to slip us a demonic experience with a Holy Spirit label slapped on it. God promotes peace, quiet, confidence, self-control, sober minds, and critical thinking. Satan promotes chaos, noise, doubt, selfabandon, hyper emotions and no thinking. Since slaying experiences have all the markers of Satan, why would we ever think they are from God? Blessed Magazine Page 37
WHAT’S THE POINT OF BEING SLAIN? Why go for slaying in the first place? Why get in line to be shoved over? Those who promote it say it‘s an exhilarating spiritual experience. They also say it often accompanies miraculous healings from various physical or non-physical problems. When the chronically depressed start laughing uncontrollably, obviously God has cured them, right? Wrong. Demons use the same principles of distraction that human magicians use to pull off their feats. Human magicians depend on the one can fully understand God or properly interpret Him except God Himself. So then, before you ability to control where your attention is focused. While they are distracting you with something on the right, they can slip something past you on the left that would destroy the whole illusion of ―magic‖ if you were to see it. But because you don‘t see it, their illusion comes off: you are deceived by a lack of information. Demons are big on withholding information. When you see someone fall over onto the ground and start convulsing right after someone shouts out for the Holy Spirit to fall or come or move or show Himself, you will conclude that God must have knocked that person over. Of course He didn‘t, because God has no use for these circus performances of ours. Your conclusions are based on a lack of information. You don‘t really know why that person is suddenly convulsing, and because you‘re not thinking very clearly and because you want to believe that God is doing miracles right in front of you, you tell yourself it was God. This is utter foolishness. We can‘t just go around assuming things without checking with God Himself. Just because we want something to be true does not make it so. People get themselves into all kinds of trouble this way. They want to believe they can still talk to their grandmother after she dies, so they attend a séance and when granny appears, they tell themselves they‘re talking to her. In reality, they‘re talking to a demon who is appearing in the image of dead granny. People don‘t want Hell to be true, so they tell themselves that everyone will go to Heaven. They don‘t want God to be true, so they tell themselves they evolved from slime and apes. In the end, do these delusions protect them from the realities of demons, God and eternal torment? Not hardly. By clinging to ignorance and delusions, they‘ve only protected themselves from the Truth. We Christians are guilty of the same foolishness when we neglect to seek God‘s opinion on things.
WHERE IS THE REVERENCE? God tells us in His Word that having reverence for Him is the beginning of wisdom. Reverence is a fear based respect. We fear God like we‘d fear a wild bear who is roaring about in the forest nearby—we fear His power and His wrath and His ability to annihilate anyone who provokes Him. When we fear God, we put conscious effort into not provoking Him. Reverence motivates obedience, this is why it is the beginning of wisdom. Obeying God and submitting to His will is wise. Rebelling against Him is incredibly foolish. Who throws a stick at a snarling grizzly bear when they know it will provoke him into charging? Only a person who has lost their sense of fear. Wouldn‘t we say such a person deserves to be mauled? Likewise, God will say we deserve painful discipline if we intentionally provoke His Blessed Magazine Page 38
anger by refusing to respect Him.
God is clear in His Word that He gets very angry when His children take delight in disobeying Him. The Old Testament provides many lessons on how livid God becomes when His chosen people publicly dishonor Him. In those books, we find terrifying descriptions of the kinds of earthly torments and tortures God inflicts on those who insist on spitting in His face. As long as we are still on this earth, we Christians are in danger of having God inflict similar punishments on us if we rebel against Him. But what fool would intentionally provoke an almighty God into coming against them? Only those who have lost their sense of reverence. It is fear that drives us away from rebellion. Fear of God‘s power and justice makes us stay back from the line of compromise. But a lack of fear makes us think we are invincible. We think God will never really lash out against us because He loves us too much. We think Jesus‘ death on a cross gave us license to treat Him and His Father and the Holy Spirit like our slaves. We are idiots to think this way, but idiocy is where a lack of reverence leads. The way the Holy Spirit is addressed during a slaying session is beyond irreverent. We assign Him the role of our servant who must come and perform for us on cue. We shout out repetitive prayers, speaking to Him as if He is deaf. We ask Him to rain down, fall afresh and come upon us—all disrespectful phrases that blatantly deny the reality that He is already fully with us. If your friend is standing right in front of you, do you ask them to show up? Of course not, yet we are constantly asking the Spirit to come even though we know He is dwelling within us. Does God rot away like old leftovers in the refrigerator? If not, why do we ask Him to come afresh as if He‘s gotten moldy and stale or needs to shower? Such language has nothing to do with truth and reality—we only use it to hype ourselves up and sound dramatic. ―Rain down Your fire!‖ we cry. What does this mean? The Holy Spirit isn‘t weather. He is a Spirit Being, not a mass of liquid particles. Yes, we do deserve to be bathed in flames for such disrespectful talk, but not the kind of flames we‘re wanting. Trying to yank a sensual experience out of God like we‘d yank on the handle of a slot machine is totally insulting. To gather together in large groups and publicly degrade our Sovereign King with this kind of demanding, condescending language is utterly obnoxious. How do Christians dare to go from bowing reverently before His Throne to snapping their fingers and expecting Him to perform at their command? What higher throne do we sit on that we think we can give orders to the King of kings? What more complex universe did we create that we think our wisdom is higher than His? When did we ever give Him so much that He became our debtor? To ever presume that God should follow our lead is to forget our place as His servants. To think He can be aroused into action by our deafening songs and empty praises is utterly stupid. In such an environment, we can be sure of one thing: God will NOT be playing the role of stuntman in our stupid little play. If we want to shove each other onto the Blessed Magazine Page 39
floor and stagger around drunk on our emotions before all of the spiritual realm, He will simply stand back in disgust and let the demons have their way with us. They will be all too happy to give us the sensual rushes we are so desperate for. They‘ll provide the convulsions, the heaving, the hysterical laughter. If there‘s any opportunity to slip inside a body and possess it for a while, they‘ll take it. If there‘s any chance of getting us to believe it is actually God who is playing the part of our puppet, they‘ll take that too and God will let them succeed in deluding us. Since we despise His wisdom and refuse to embrace His priorities and desire the things that He desires, why should He give us the gift of further illumination? Why should He explain to us how things really work and help us discern truth from lies? If we do not use the wisdom He gives us, He will take it away from us and leave us writhing on the floor like dumb animals. God tells us in Romans that He intentionally deludes those who refuse to fear Him. Unless we want to squander our lives away in delusions and have nothing to show for them when we die, we need to stop with the games. We must choose sober thinking over sensual rushes. We must submit to God instead of trying to get Him to submit to us. We must treat Him with honor and be sensitive to His feelings instead of only thinking about ourselves and what we want. We must ask God to interpret God and stop believing every label that we‘re told. The Pharisees in Jesus‘ time accused the Holy Spirit of being Satan when Jesus exorcised a demon on the Sabbath. Today we call Satan the Holy Spirit as we shove people over in God‘s Name and call it evidence of His power and favor. Have you ever stopped to really pray about this slaying issue? Have you ever asked the Holy Spirit to show you His view of it with a sincere and reverent heart? If you haven‘t, you need to. God‘s opinion should be of utmost importance to you. If it‘s not, then you shouldn‘t be calling yourself a Christian. We would love to hear your thoughts on this subject or what you thought of this article. Please contact us at contact@blessedmagazine.org
A Personal Testimony
By David Peach
One Wednesday night in church I clearly remember being impressed by the Lord to surrender my life to full-time ministry. I don‘t know what the sermon was about that night, but I know that the Holy Spirit was leading me to surrender to whatever God‘s will might be. I went forward in the invitation to tell the pastor that I was surrendering to ministry. I was 12 years old. Blessed Magazine Page 41
Early Introduction to the Gospel
Call to Ministry – Surrendered
One Sunday while visiting my uncle‘s church I remember the Gospel being taught to the kids in children‘s church. I was 9 years old and even raised my hand indicating that I wanted to be saved. A man took me to another room and tried to tell me more about the Gospel. He tried so hard to explain it all to me, but I just could not understand why Jesus would die for me. I knew that Jesus died for other people— they were sinners. But I thought that I wasn‘t a bad person. Therefore, I did not need to accept Jesus as my Savior.
Though my parents had not gone to church much when we were younger, they were both saved at a young age. My brothers and I started riding the bus to the church where the Christian school was located. Eventually our parents began to attend church regularly. But we three boys still rode the buses on Sunday mornings and were very involved in the bus ministry until each one of us went off to college. Dad was even one of the bus drivers in the ministry when his work schedule allowed his involvement.
The next summer as we returned home from a family vacation, our parents told us that they were going to put us into a Christian school the next school year. My older brother started in the Christian school in 5th grade. I was in 4th grade and my younger brother started kindergarten.
Saved On a Wednesday morning in November 1979 (a few weeks before I turned 10 years old) our school principal gave a clear Gospel presentation in chapel. It was then that I understood that I was a sinner. I needed a savior because of my own sin. Jesus did die for me and not just for other people. Again, I raised my hand indicating that I wanted to talk with someone about salvation. The kindergarten teacher took me to the back of the church auditorium where we were having chapel. She helped me understand what it meant to ask the Lord to be my Savior. That was over 30 years ago when I accepted the Lord. I am very thankful that I understood my need at a young age and that I was spared from a wicked lifestyle before coming to Him. That does not mean that I have not struggled with sin or obedience to the will of God at times. By the way, the kindergarten teacher who led me to the Lord was working in the school that year while her husband was starting to raise their support to go to Paraguay as missionaries. In 2010 when my family and I were serving the Lord in Argentina I was privileged to meet that missionary couple in a pastors conference. They are still faithfully serving as missionaries in Paraguay. Blessed Magazine Page 42
One Wednesday night in church I clearly remember being impressed by the Lord to surrender my life to full-time ministry. I don‘t know what the sermon was about that night, but I know that the Holy Spirit was leading me to surrender to whatever God‘s will might be. I went forward in the invitation to tell the pastor that I was surrendering to ministry. I was 12 years old.
I spent my teenage years doing everything I could to prepare for future ministry; I was involved in any church activity I could be. I didn‘t know how the Lord wanted me to serve, but I studied the Bible and tried to put myself under any good Bible teaching and preaching I could find.
How to Serve? One of the things I did not know as a teenager was in what capacity God would want me to serve. At the
time I thought of four main ministries I might do. I could be a pastor, youth pastor, missionary, or evangelist. But as I grew older I began to really focus on being a pastor. My reasoning for being a pastor went something like this: I didn‘t want to be a missionary because missionaries had to go to Africa and eat grub worms. Besides, I would have to move away from my mommy. I didn‘t think I could be an evangelist because they traveled all the time. I had done very little traveling as a young person and didn‘t think I would like the traveling lifestyle. Besides, I would have to move away from my mommy.
During my first year at college I fully surrendered to God‘s plan for my life. I was willing to go to Africa and eat grub worms. I was willing to travel as an evangelist or even work with teenagers. I didn‘t know if God would lead me in those ways, but the point was that I needed to be willing and obedient. I would even be willing to move away from my mommy if that was God‘s desire
Serving During my freshman year I began learning sign language in the church I attended while in Bible college. Derrell, a friend of mine, invited me to attend the sign language classes at church with him. I thought that if my brother (who was also at the same college) and I learned sign language, we could play practical jokes on people. That really was my initial motivation for learning signs.
Sharing the Gospel with the Deaf
Image via homelessness.change.org
I certainly didn‘t want to be a youth pastor because they had to deal with teenagers like me. I didn‘t want to do that. As a teen I often found it much easier to interact with adults rather than kids my own age. Adults were not intimidating like teenagers were. So, I resigned myself to being a pastor. That became my focus through my teenage years. When I was a freshman in Bible college I finally started to think about what I had been saying to God for the last seven years. Essentially my comments to God were, ―I will do anything you want, but I don‘t really want to be a missionary, evangelist, or youth pastor. So let me be a pastor.‖ I had not been outwardly rebellious to God‘s will, but I did tell God that I had my own will and I would rather Him choose something for me that I wanted to do.
I continued to take sign language classes that year and the next. My parents had moved to the town where we were attending college to make our school bill cheaper. Mom was a nurse and easily got a job at a local hospital. One day she came home from work during my sophomore year and told me about a deaf man in the hospital. She wanted me to go visit him and share the Gospel. But, she felt it was important to tell me about all the diseases he had. The list was very long and scary sounding. But, I still agreed to go That Wednesday night at church I asked my friend Derrell if he could go with me to the hospital to witness to Dewey, the deaf man. I conveniently neglected to tell him about all the problems Dewey had until we were already on the way to the hospital Thursday afternoon. Derrell did not back out and we nervously went on to the hospital. When we arrived on the floor where the patient was, we were told by the nurse that we had to put on protective coverings to enter the room—hair bonnet, mask, disposable gown, gloves and even booties for our shoes Dewey was very sick and weak. It was difficult to communicate with him because he only had the strength to fingerspell words instead of using formal signs. On top of that, he was missing all of one finger and part of another on his strong hand. Reading what Blessed Magazine Page 43
he had to say was pretty tough for two new sign language students such as Derrell and I. After we had been in his room for just a few minutes a doctor came in. The doctor started his conversation with, ―It is great to have an interpreter here!‖ (We were far from being skilled interpreters.) ―You tell him that if he does not cooperate with me then he is going to die.‖ I did not want to tell him that! I came to tell him how he could have eternal life, not that he was going to die. I felt sick. What was worse was Dewey‘s response. He saw what the doctor said and spelled, G-O-O-D. I then asked him if he wanted to die. He said that he had no reason to live.
When we went back the next day to see him, the nurse told us that Dewey had been transferred to another hospital where he would probably die within a couple of weeks. There was nothing the doctors could do for him. We are glad that God gave us an opportunity to share the Gospel and that we did not quit with that first disappointing day.
"Street Nurse" Image via canada.com
The doctor was already angry with the patient from previous interactions. The patient was mad because he was very sick and wanted it all to be over. Derrell and I were upset because of getting ramrodded into a sticky interpreting situation. Needless to say, when the doctor and the patient finished arguing—through me—no one was happy. Dewey did not care to listen to what Derrell and I had to share.
Deaf Ministry – My Calling
We left and went to the car. Derrell and I sat in the parking lot crying and praying. This had not gone anything like we planned. But we did not give up.
Looking back on 20 years of full-time ministry, I have rarely been in a pastoral position, which is what I told the Lord that I would most enjoy doing. I have worked with deaf teens in camps (much like a youth pastor). When not living as missionaries in another country, my family and I drive about 40,000 miles each year in a traveling ministry helping churches and missionaries expand their outreach to the Deaf (like an evangelist would). I have been to Africa. Though I have not eaten grub worms (that I know of), I don‘t mind the thought of spending the rest of my life there if God called me to do so.
We went back the next day and began to slowly build a relationship with Dewey. We even started sharing the Gospel with him. He knew nothing about the Bible. He had a small understanding of who God was, but knew nothing about Jesus. Over the course of five days of going back and forth to the hospital, we were glad to see him accept the Lord as his savior.
Through that experience God started to show me that while there are many different types of ministries in which I can be involved, there was a definite need to share the Gospel with the Deaf. Through the years I have worked with the Deaf in camping ministries, deaf churches, church ministry, and even as a professional community interpreter.
Even though I tried to dictate to God what I wanted His will for my life to be, I am glad I surrendered to allow Him to lead me. Let me encourage you to do the same
Image via amazinglovemin.org Blessed Magazine Page 44
We would love to hear your thoughts on this subject or what you thought of this article. Please contact us at contact@blessedmagazine.org
4 CHRISTIAN TIPS ON HOW TO STRENGTHEN A MARRIAGE
By Jack Wellman
Marriages are in trouble today but there are simple things that you can do every day to strengthen your marriage. Find out how you can strengthen your marriage, and in the process, possibly save it. Blessed Magazine Page 45
Bragging About Your Spouse in Public and Private One of the most demeaning things that couples can do to each other is to belittle one another in public. What is said in public can humiliate and degrade the other spouse and when it‘s done in front of others, it destroys respect and love that each desire (Eph 5:32-33). This can be done in front of the children too and this takes deep roots inside of the conscience of children. How would we like it if someone talks negatively and insultingly about your mother or father? It doesn‘t matter if it‘s true or not, it still should never be done. My wife is one of the best teachers in the public school system in our town. She is revered by many of her former students. I make sure everyone knows that! Have you ever bragged on your children in public? I hope you have. When I do, I can see them beam with pride and their self esteem grows. They tend to do the same thing. When we brag to others in public, to family, friends, and even to co-workers, we are building up that person. When we do the opposite and talk negatively to them or about them in public, we are tearing them down and it tends to replicate their own tendencies in them about how they talk about us. When we talk negatively, we are degrading that person‘s worth. It takes one negative word to tear down twenty positives in a person, generally speaking, so I weigh my words carefully before I speak. If I can not say something good, then what purpose am I really serving except my own self? Nothing ever good comes from speaking ill of another person. Even if something gets broken or the car fender gets dented, I can fix things or replace them, but I can not fix or repair the damage that my words can do. People are always more important than things. People are more fragile than things. Things have temporal value…people have infinite value. By guarding my mouth, I am protecting my marriage. Once my words are out of my mouth, they can not be taken back.
Image courtesy of earl53 / Morguefile.com
A Three Fold Cord When I was tying down a load of wood to take to the burn pile my cord broke. It had been well used and when it broke, my whole load of wood spilled back onto the ground. My cord was down to just one rope and I knew sooner or later it would break. Marriage is a lot like that cord. I had neglected it and just knew I was borrowing trouble. In my many Blessed Magazine Page 46
marriage counseling sessions that I have given, the main problem is that Christ is not in the center of the marriage. My wife and I leave each other notes that get more accomplished than using negatives. We work different schedules so we leave each other notes since we can‘t say goodbye in person. One husband I was speaking with was angry over what appeared to me to be a trivial issue. The wife was upset that her husband was neglecting minor repairs around the house. When they both sat down, I had them write out two sentences and fill in the blanks. I feel really frustrated when you _______. When you ______ it makes me feel _____. The couple wrote down these answers. Husband: I feel really frustrated when you keep pushing me to get this and that done. When you leave me notes about these things it makes me feel you don‗t respect me. Wife: I feel really frustrated when you neglect fixing things that make my life harder. When you don‘t fix things it makes me feel that you don‘t care. Then I turned to Ephesians 5:33 which says, ―each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.‖ What was missing? Love and respect. And Jesus Christ. When Jesus Christ is the central focus of a marriage, I feel that the husband will try to love his wife like Christ loves the church and the wife will try to respect her husband as the church should respect the authority of Christ. I said it would be better to say it like: I feel or it makes me feel. Here is what I typically leave and receive at home: Me: Darling, I really appreciate all the things you do for us and I truly love you for it and by the way, do you know where my Bible dictionary is? Blessed Magazine Page 47
Wife: Dearest Jackson (what she calls me). I really respect how much you do around the house and in providing for our family, and oh yes, the garage door handles about to fall off.
What I have discovered, by trial and error, is that you can draw more flies with honey. By keeping things around the house working as much as possible, I show her that I care and that I love her. Her respect for me lets her put things that need repair on a love note that she leaves me or tells me in person and this shows how much she respects me. She knows that I love her by what I do for her and so she feels the freedom to leave me little notes about things that need attention around the house. By her respecting me, I feel free to ask her questions about something she can help me with. Both are done lovingly and without nagging. We try to put Christ at the center of our marriage, and that way, we are stronger and will be able to take the heavier loads that will surely come our way in life. This ―threefold cord‖ makes it easier to bear what comes our way. One is good, two is better, but three is best. This reminds me of the Scripture which says, ―Though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken‖ (Eccl 4:12).
Don’t Try to Change Them We are not to be in the business of changing our mate. The Holy Spirit is the only One Who can change the human heart (Prov 21:1). When we try to become the agent of change, we are subverting, and sometimes negating the true work of the Holy Spirit. We take the Spirit‘s place in changing the human heart. I have never had any success in changing my spouse but when I pray for her, I submit to God the Holy Spirit to work in her just as He does in me. The more we try to change someone, the more they tend to dig in their heels. It has the opposite effect of changing. I have an effect alright…and it‘s always negative. The real change agent is God and God has a positive effect because He works from within. My efforts work from without. Real change, as always, comes from within and not from without. The only way that I can affect any change in my spouse is to change my own behavior.
Words of Affirmation I believe that we must include these important words in our daily lives with our spouse: Thank you, I appreciate all you do, I love you so much, I need you, I‘m sorry, please forgive me.
Blessed Magazine Page 48
I have heard men say…too many times, that I don‘t need to tell her ―I love you. She knows how I feel.‖ Wrong men. We need to tell them and reaffirm them. We need to say this every single day: I love you. We need to show we love them by sending them cards, sending them flowers on days of no special occasion, leave them little love notes where they‘ll find them sometime during their day. When I worked for Head Start I traveled widely and my wife would pack little love notes in strategic places in my luggage where I would find them on one day, then the next, and then another. These were so special. I have kept many of these to this day. Women can show respect by bragging to others about their man…men can brag about their wife when in the company of others, co-workers, and for me, even strangers. She may not hear these, but I do. Somehow it strengthens our marriage and marriages just don‘t happen. They take work.
Conclusion We know that when a person feels valued, they feel loved. When someone brags about you, you feel a greater sense of worth. When we can safely communicate problems, we can more openly work on solutions. Stay away from words like, ―You never, you always, or you can‘t.‖ These words sometimes become self-fulfilling prophecies. Instead, say, ―When you do this, it makes me feel like‖ or ―I feel frustrated when you….‖ These make the problem the focus and not the spouse. It makes it easier to work on a solution when the problem is the focus and not the spouse. We can not change a person. The Holy Spirit is the only One Who can do this (Prov 21:1).
If you enjoy reading this article, you can subscribe to download our eBook 'Of Love, Marriage And Relationships' for free!
Finally, pray together and put Christ in the center of your marriage. A three-fold cord is harder to break. When Jesus is in the home, when Jesus is the focus, and when Jesus is embedded within the marital relationship, the chances of having a stronger marriage are better than going it alone. This may be why Solomon wrote, ―Though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken‖ (Eccl 4:12). Blessed Magazine Page 49
By Ashley Boyer
Blessed Magazine Page 51
To truly start fulfilling God‘s will for our lives, we must see life the way He sees it, focusing on what really matters and minimizing the din of things that only threaten to veer us off that path. We were all created with a purpose and it is time we start living out the purpose for which we were created. Sometimes a line from a book or a song or even a sermon can act like an arrow, piercing your heart with the truth you needed to hear. The first line of John Greco‘s ―God‘s Perfect Plan for Your Life‖ was that kind of experience for me. ―Is it possible that what we're really after is not God's will at all, but only His good gifts?‖ Who hasn‘t wondered at least once or five million times, What is God’s will for my life? I probably asked that question every day during my last semester in college and probably multiple times a day when contemplating a particular break up.
family and friends and fast food and hot water, to live in a hut and eat bugs and preach the Gospel to people completely unlike us? What if our worst fears are true, and giving our life over to Jesus means that it winds up nothing like our dreams? What if we're miserable? Now maybe your dream is the missionary life. So for you, the fear might be God calling you to a nine-to-five job with little opportunity to travel or share Jesus directly. The apprehension is the same though: What if God's plans don't mesh with our dreams?
Greco asked the same thing, but found that ―sometimes the longing to know God's will is paralyzing, leaving us to look for a sign or divine confirmation for every choice we make. And while it's certainly not wrong to seek God's will, it's a dangerous thing to seek a divine path instead of God himself.‖ Ouch. I definitely have the tendency to trying to figure out God‘s specific direction for my life instead of figuring out God — who He is and what it means to truly follow Him. But the thing is, ―There is no figure in the Bible who received full instructions for his life's choices, no one for whom the future wasn't a mystery. Patriarchs, prophets and priests, monarchs, martyrs and magi — they all had to walk in close step with God. While it was God's prerogative to specially reveal a bit of His will for a person's life, no one got the whole script.‖ But deep down, haven‘t we wondered at some point if God‘s will means doing the very thing we don‘t want to do, leaving us in a state of misery? ―What if we yield all of the intersections in our life to God — and we end up in some third-world country, far away from
"But Jesus is good. He never disappoints. He is always so much better than any fleeting pleasure or selfish choice we can make. When it comes to our dreams, it helps to remember that every good and beautiful dream we have in this life came from Him in the first place. Though He doesn‘t always give us the desires of our heart the way we might expect, He knows what lies at the core of those desires and He knows what's best for us. The Bible says that in God's presence, there is ‗fullness of joy‘ and ‗pleasures forevermore‘ (Psalm 16:11, ESV). God is not holding out on us. He is good — so good — and He can be trusted.‖ We would love to hear your thoughts on this subject or what you thought of this article. Please contact us at contact@blessedmagazine.org
LIVING FOR THE DEAD
Trying to Please People Who Are No Longer With Us Can Be Harmful to your Soul
Photo Credit: Getty
“If your father could see you, he’d be so proud of you.” “Your mother would never want you to marry that man.” “Your sister wouldn’t have wasted her money like this.” “What would your grandmother say if she were here now?”
By Anna Diehl Blessed Magazine Page 57
Photo Credit: Stuart Clarke
When people die, we have a hard time accepting the fact that they are no longer a part of our lives. They aren‘t watching over us, they aren‘t forming opinions about us, and they certainly aren‘t who we should be trying to please. How can you ever succeed at pleasing someone who is no longer on the earth? You can‘t, you can only engage in mental fantasies in which you decide how that person would react to your choices in life. But in reality, that person isn‘t reacting to you at all—they aren‘t even aware of you because their soul exists in another dimension.
It is very damaging to our souls when we go through life focusing on the dead. It is God we need to be living for, not other human beings. Other people are not going to judge us in eternity. Suppose you guess right about how your dead father would react to your choices. Suppose you do a bunch of things that he really would have approved of. What is it worth in the end? Is God going to call in your father on Judgment Day and ask for his input about how well you did on earth? Not hardly. God doesn‘t care what your father thinks of you at all, but He does find it frustrating when you treat your father‘s approval like some kind of golden trophy. God‘s opinion is the only one that matters. This means it is ridiculous for us to go around putting words in the mouths of dead people or pondering what they might have thought if they were still with us. They AREN‘T still with us, and that is quite on purpose. No one leaves this planet before they‘re supposed to. They leave before we want them to, but from God‘s perspective, their departure is right on schedule. When we admire someone for the right reasons—because they made righteous choices and tried to honor God in their lives—it can seem appropriate and correct that we view them as some kind of standard to measure ourselves by. Yet in reality, no human being is an appropriate substitution for God. Suppose you had a son who was so busy trying to please his teacher in school that he ended up virtually ignoring you. When you asked him to do something, he shrugged you off, but if the teacher made a request of him, he would bend over backwards to please her. Even if you respected the teacher and thought she was being a model Christian, would that make it okay for your son to ignore you? Of course not. As the parent, you should come first. Your son should certainly care more about you than he does some total stranger. God is far more particular than we are. He wants to be the only One you care about pleasing. It doesn‘t matter how marvelous your dead role model was, they aren‘t God and therefore their opinion doesn‘t matter. We must remember that Satan is constantly looking for ways to distract us from focusing on God. Living to please the dead is an excellent downgrade from living to please Jesus. Living to please dead people is a complete waste of time and we‘ll only end up making God feel insulted as we sit around glorying over how our dead mother would be smiling on us today. If God wanted us to have the support of the people we can‘t stop thinking about, He would still have them in our lives today. But the fact that He has Blessed Magazine Page 58
“Talking to the dead, praying to the dead and trying to live for their approval are all things which lead us astray and distract us from very important truths”
intentionally severed our connection with certain souls is a loud statement that He feels the usefulness of that relationship has ended. When someone we love dies, we often feel ripped off, but this isn‘t how God views our situation at all. He takes people away from us in order to help push us on into new seasons of growth and maturity. When we sit around mourning the past and creating shrines of memories, we are only hurting ourselves. God wants us to be focused on the present with Him, not dreaming about days gone by.
“God will help us put our loss in perspective and prepare for the new relationships He wants to bring into our lives.”
We need to learn to view our lives as a series of chapters and seasons, for this is how God arranges them. There is no turning back the clock, no reliving past chapters. We live each moment once. Every relationship on earth has a beginning and an end. If we live long lives down here, God ensures that we won‘t walk the whole journey together with someone else. Instead He carefully weaves us in and out of each other‘s lives, having us touch for only a moment in time, or perhaps for many years, but not for forever. Even long lasting friendships experience seasons of distance where communication hardly happens. God forces us to keep shifting about because He wants to be our only constant. When loved ones die on us, it should make us cling to God all the more, but too often we push away in our grief and end up clinging instead to our memories. This is unhealthy and fruitless. We must move on, for God has new and better things He wants for us. Too much focusing on the dead will only fill our hearts with idols. Once people die, they go on to an eternal existence in either Heaven or Hell. We don‘t like to think of our loved ones in Hell, yet to reject this possibility is to insult God. Without reverential submission to Jesus, no one is getting into Heaven. Those that do will be too busy being with Jesus to care one bit about us. Regardless of what Satan likes to tell us, there is no window in Heaven through which the souls there can watch what‘s happening on earth. Such fantasies are attractive and we like to tell them to our children, but they will actually lead our children astray into Satan‘s delusions. In the Bible, God strictly forbids us from trying to make any contact with the dead. Teaching our children to pray to their dead relatives at night is just as bad as seeking the assistance of a medium. God detests idolatry in any form, and once we start praying to something, we are treating it like a god. Instead of deceiving our children with lies about how their dead loved ones are watching over
Photo Credit: Japan Times
them, we should be teaching them the truth: GOD is watching over them, and He is the only One they truly need. Also, we should not be assuring them that people are in Heaven when we don‘t know if that is really true. We should teach our children God‘s requirements for salvation and assure them that anyone who meets those requirements will certainly be with Him. When we disregard our responsibility as spiritual guides for our children, we end up teaching them a pack of lies that will lead them astray. Reverence and salvation are extremely serious topics to God. We insult Him when we pretend that everyone we like must be saved just because we thought they were good people. And when we cling
to the memories of dead people with more tenacity than we cling to Jesus, we are telling God that He simply isn‘t worth very much to us.
Photo Credit: Stuart Clarke
Talking to the dead, praying to the dead and trying to live for their approval are all things which lead us astray and distract us from very important truths. Once a soul leaves this earth, our communication with them is completely severed and, depending on what they did about Jesus, we might never see them again
As serious Christians, we need to submit to God‘s Authority and higher wisdom in our lives. We need to accept the fact that when He takes away our loved one, it means He wants that person out of our lives and He wants us to move forward with Him. In all things, we must seek to align with God‘s perspective instead of just obsessing over what we want and how we feel. Being separated from someone we love can certainly feel devastating, but if we are allowing God to have His total way in our lives, He will help us put our loss in perspective and prepare for the new relationships He wants to bring into our lives. No human being is essential for our happiness. Satan tries very hard to convince us that we just can‘t live without someone, but this is a lie. God is the only One we truly need, and as long as we have Him, there is nothing we can‘t get through. Staying in alignment with Him is the key to a satisfying life, not clinging to the memories of those He has taken away. We would love to hear your thoughts on this subject or what you thought of this article. Please contact us at contact@blessedmagazine.org
Blessed Magazine Page 60
The 12 Most Powerful Christians in Hollywood By Belief.net
Blessed Magazine Page 61
Mel Gibson Blessed Magazine Page 62
Denzel Washington
Not one to wear his faith on his sleeve, Denzel Washington surprised many by lending his voice to "The Bible Experience," an audio Bible featuring some of the country's top AfricanAmerican stars. (Washington and his wife Pauletta narrate The Song of Songs.) The twotime Oscar winner is in the upper echelon of Hollywood actors, receiving a $20 million paycheck per movie. But his superstar status rises far above mere moviemaking. A 2006 Barna study found that Washington is better known and better loved than any living American religious figure. The son of a Pentecostal minister, he has reportedly donated $2.5 million to his church, the West Angeles Church of God in Christ. It was in the parking lot of that church that Washington landed the "Bible Experience" gig. Casting director Robi Reed told the L.A. Times that when she saw her fellow churchgoer and started describing the project, he interrupted her to say, "I have to do it."
Despite everything--a drunken-driving arrest, an anti-Semitic outburst, movies brimming with graphic violence--Mel Gibson still tops the list of most powerful Hollywood Christians. His "Passion of the Christ" changed everything for Hollywood when it comes to matters of faith, waking up the powers-that-be to the box office potential of the Christian audience. Since then, "making the next 'Passion'" has been Hollywood's own unique Holy Grail quest, resulting in movies successful ("The Chronicles of Narnia") and disappointing ("The Nativity Story"), and leading to the creation of FoxFaith and other religionfocused studio subsidiaries. And even after Gibson's Summer '06 PR nightmare, his "Apocalypto" went on to make a reported $50 million--and was seen by many as a Christian allegory, despite its ancient Mayan setting.
Patricia Heaton
Tyler Perry You know her as the harried wife and mother--and Ray Romano's comic foil-in the popular sitcom "Everybody Loves Raymond," a role for which she was awarded two Emmys. Off-screen, she's not shy about making her faith or her opinions heard. Born a Catholic, she embraced evangelical Protestantism as an adult, and now attends a Presbyterian church and advocates on behalf of an anti-abortion group called Feminists for Life. Since "Raymond" ended, she has emceed a Christian comedy tour featured in the DVD "Thou Shalt Laugh," and told Beliefnet last year that she had "an opportunity to get back to reading and studying and praying more, which I didn't have much time for" while doing the show. That period of calm didn't last long, however: She returned to TV this fall, starring opposite Kelsey Grammer in the new sitcom "Back to You."
Hollywood's golden boy of the moment, writer and actor Tyler Perry, seems to have a new movie or TV show coming out daily. Though well known for years among urban African Americans, Perry burst onto the Hollywood scene in 2005 with "Diary of a Mad Black Woman," which took in more than $50 million after being made on a $5.5 million budget. Since then, he's come out with the films "Madea's Family Reunion" (2006) and "Daddy's Little Girls" (2007). His second movie release of the year, "Why Did I Get Married?" arrives this month. He's also conquered the small screen, producing the sitcom "Tyler Perry's House of Payne," for which TBS reportedly gave him a whopping 100-episode commitment. Citing filmmakers who keep their faith "in the closet," Tyler told Beliefnet last year, "I'm not afraid to have a character say, 'I am a Christian,' or 'I believe in God,' because I think they represent real people on this earth."
Blessed Magazine Page 63
Ralph Winter Blessed Magazine Page 64
Martin Sheen
Well known for his liberal political activism, Martin Sheen is a Catholic who chose his stage name in honor of Catholic theologian Fulton J. Sheen. Though he strayed from the Church, he returned after falling seriously ill during the filming of "Apocalypse Now." Sheen, an Emmy and Golden Globe winner, has often been quoted linking his faith and his activism. "You know, the essence of the Gospel of Jesus was extremely radical, and that's why they killed Him," he told one interviewer. To another he said, "It doesn't really matter how much of the rules or the dogma we accepted and lived by if we're not really living by the fundamental creed of the Catholic Church, which is service to others and finding God in ourselves and then seeing God in everyone--including our enemies." Most recently, he played President Josiah Bartlett on "The West Wing" as a liberal Catholic who was often known to debate theological issues and quote the Bible. Since his TV presidential administration ended, he's appeared in the Oscar-winning "The Departed" and made news protesting the Iraq war with Cindy Sheehan.
Best known as the producer of such blockbusters as the "X-Men" trilogy, "The Planet of the Apes," and "The Fantastic Four," Ralph Winter has also produced such Christian fare as "Left Behind," "Thr3e," and "The Visitation" and works regularly for FoxFaith. He is also a frequent speaker at Christian conferences and prayer breakfasts. Of his unofficial but unrelenting role as a liaison between Hollywood and the Christian community, Winter told Beliefnet prior to the final "X-Men" release, "I have been placed in this job for a purpose, and I am just trying to make great movies and keep my eyes on Him. I don't deserve any praise....It is definitely all God's hand that I get to do this. And who knows how long this will last? He may choose someone else." Having brought in a reported career total (so far) of $1.6 billion, here's betting that Hollywood's decision-makers will stick with Winter.
Kristin Chenoweth
Angela Bassett Kristin Chenoweth's career has ranged from Broadway--where she was a Tony winner (for "Wicked")--to TV ("The West Wing," the short-lived "Kristin") to movies ("The Pink Panther," "RV," "Bewitched"). Last year, she was even fictionalized in exboyfriend Aaron Sorkin's "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," in which the character Harriet, the beautiful evangelical who stood firm in her faith while defying stereotypes of the closed-minded Christian, was widely assumed to be based on Chenoweth. She has spoken at Women of Faith conferences and released an album of Christian inspirational music called "As I Am." Having grown up dreaming of success in Christian music, Chenoweth has said, "I'm an actress and a singer and I'm also a Christian. We're not all crazy right-wingers. I just want to be like Jesus, forgiving and loving and nonjudgmental, accepting of everyone even if they don't agree."
She's played such iconic women as Rosa Parks, Betty Shabazz (Malcolm X's wife), and Tina Turner, and voiced Queen Esther in the audio "The Bible Experience." Along the way, Angela Bassett has picked up a Golden Globe and been nominated for an Oscar, an Emmy, and many other major awards. Like Denzel Washington, Bassett is a longtime worshipper at the West Angeles Church of God in Christ. Though she rarely speaks to the media about her faith, Bassett recently told the L.A. Times, "When you realize that every breath is a gift from God. When you realize how small you are, but how much he loved you. That he, Jesus, would die, the son of God himself on earth, then you...you just weep." She added, "Loving God is like my being black. I just am. [No one says] 'You know what? I'm gonna be blacker today!' It's my culture. It's not something I put on or take off or show more. You just communicate that in the way you live your life."
Blessed Magazine Page 65
Philip Anschutz Blessed Magazine Page 66
Martha Williamson
The force behind the beloved series "Touched by an Angel," Martha Williamson is that rare producer who has name recognition and a following of her own. She has said the secret to the success of that series is that "We create a place every Sunday night where God's honored" and "God is the show's true executive producer." Williamson started her career writing for sitcoms such as "Facts of Life" and "Family Man," before transitioning to the hour-long drama "Touched..." and, later, its spinoff, "Promised Land," which ran for three years. Williamson has said that CBS asked her to take the helm of "Touched by an Angel" a few months before it was set to premiere, and she asked for--and received--their blessing to make a show that respects God and doesn't leave any doubt about the reality of angels. Since "Touched by an Angel" ended its nine-year run in 2003, Williamson has worked to connect with the show's fans on the Web and will soon be launching an inspirational video blog on Beliefnet.
How does a multibillionaire former oilman and co-owner of several sports teams find himself on a list of Hollywood's most powerful Christians? By bankrolling some of the most critically acclaimed and financially successful family films of recent years, including "Ray" and "The Chronicles of Narnia." Both were created by production companies Anschutz founded to bring high-quality, uplifting family fare to theaters--Bristol Bay targeting adults and Walden Media for children. Walden's "Narnia," was marketed directly to evangelical Christians, who flocked to the film and helped propel it to the Number 2 spot for 2005 (behind the final "Star Wars") with nearly $300 million at the box office. Anschutz, a Denver resident active in conservative political causes, said he was driven to get into the movie business by his anger at the focus on sex and violence in mainstream films. "My wife and I now have a number of grandchildren who are growing up surrounded by products of this culture," Anschutz said in 2004. "So four or five years ago I decided to stop cursing the darkness."
Scott Derrickson
Howard Kazanjian Scott Derrickson may not be a household name, but you may be familiar with his next project: "Paradise Lost." Yes, that "Paradise Lost," John Milton's epic poem. And he's reportedly got a budget of around $100 million to make it. Not bad for a guy who's best known for the horror films "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" and "Hellraiser: Inferno." If horror may seem like an unlikely genre for a Christian filmmaker, Derrickson--raised a fundamentalist, now a self-described "orthodox Christian"--sees it as part and parcel of his faith. "By approaching spiritual issues and religious questions through the window of the horrific or the dark side of life, you suddenly had free reign to deal with spirituality in a way that was not going to be preachy or come off as propaganda," he told Beliefnet in 2005.
He produced two of the best-known and commercially successful films of all time, "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Return Of The Jedi" and worked as assistant director with legendary filmmakers such as Alfred Hitchcock, Clint Eastwood, and Francis Ford Coppola. More recently, Howard Kazanjian produced the first season of the hit series "JAG" and the movies "The Rookie," starring Clint Eastwood, "Demolition Man," starring Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes, and "The Bridge of San Luis Rey," starring Robert De Niro. Yet Kazanjian also has had time to serve on the faculty of Act One, a program that trains Christians for mainstream Hollywood success, on the jury of the Damah Film Festival, which features spiritually themed movies, and on the board of trustees at the Christian college Azusa Pacific University.
Blessed Magazine Page 67
Blessed Magazine Page 68
Personal Interview with Apostle Tim Ranyak By Laraine Turner
Blessed Magazine Page 69
W
hile scanning through a group invite on Facebook, I came across a posting ―Have You Received the Holy Ghost Since You Believed?‖
I was intrigued and watch the segment by Apostle Tim Ranyak. Immediately after it ended, I was compelled to reach out to him and when we connected, I knew it was God who placed us together to share the gospel and be a support system for one another I would like to introduce to some and present to others, Apostle Tim Ranyak of Revival Fire Apostolic Ministries! In this article, he will share with us his journey as he lives for Christ… Tim Ranyak: I was born in Erie County in Pennsylvania. The son of a hard working father who made his ways up the ranks in an aerospace component factory. My father was a Korean War Veteran and my mother had a strong faith. I remember being about 5 years old when I first felt the call of God on my life. I would often come home from church, lock myself in my bedroom, taking my Sunday school lesson and pretend I was preaching to all my toys and stuffed animals. My intimacy with God increased rapidly rather at an accelerated pace. I would often find myself holding intimate conversations with God, talking with Him and praying prayers that normal five year old children do not pray. I also would spend a lot of time on my mothers lap as she would sing gospel songs to me rocking me in the chair. I would weep at the presence of God as I would feel Him so strongly. Today worshiping God is a great part of my life as with prayer as well. The Apostle Paul said pray without ceasing. Pray with all prayer and supplication. The Bible is clear that we are to give thanksgiving unto God making our requests known unto Him. I learned at an early age that I can come boldly to the throne room of God. And whether I knew there was a scripture that pertained to that yet or not; coming boldly to God I did. Growing up in my home was a rather difficult Blessed Magazine Page 70
thing. My father was brought up catholic, my mother protestant. My dad practiced neither faith too much really, leaving the spiritual upbringing in the hands of my mother. Being the youngest of five children; me being the fifth one, there was a lot of drama and turmoil and chaos in our home it seemed. I at a young age would often try to tell others what sin it was to live like this. A lot of events and occurrences happened in my life, however I grew closer to know the Lord. At the age of sixteen a turning event occurred in my life. My father was diagnosed with cancer only a year and a half before and by age sixteen we were burying my father. This took my faith on a trip and a journey that challenged me to the fullest extent. Although we were in a church that did not teach God's healing power, I somehow believed that God was going to heal my father. Little did I know, that He had to believe God for himself. The blessing through all of it was, my father on his death bed had a vision of angels, and he gave his life to Jesus Christ. More challenges were still to come. I soon met whom is now my wife at around the time of the death of my father. She came out of the religious and legalistic apostolic church denomination. Not the Pentecostal Apostolic Church. She was in what was called the Apostolic Christian Church that derived from Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary. This church denomination was formed as in their country in the depression era, law enforcement was coming against Christian group organizations and they were coming under persecution, so therefore they became rather inverted. The beliefs of segregated seating, head coverings, and only men in leadership became some of the many man made rules and regulations that had crept in that church. That all being said. My wife was forbidden to marry me because I was from outside of the church. I was a Christian yes, but to become a member of their church you had to be baptized in their church. A complete perverting of the Word of
God and the meaning of what water baptism is about. That being said a battle between religion had begun. My wife and I knew we were called of God to wed. Being wed now for over 13 years we still believe that God had called and ordained us to be together. Ministry began for us about 15 years ago. As at about the age of 20 I was baptized in the Holy Spirit by watching a broadcast on a Christian television network. I was fully immersed in the power of God, and baptized by His Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. With that the mantle of prophecy fell on me as I began to prophecy over everyone that was in my mom's house at that time. I remember feeling a fire in my bosom, as the Holy Spirit had baptized me according to the scripture; with Holy Ghost and with Fire.
came upon me at a rather young age as well.
Being honed and the rough edges chiseled off by the Holy Spirit, God began speaking to me about a ministry call and gift. I later at about the age of 28 took on a pastoral position in a church that was about to close their doors. After being left with only 8 people, the Holy Spirit led me to lead a series of Revival Meetings in that region that was intended to go only three days, but went on for about ten days straight. The Holy Spirit moved in signs and wonders. There were multiplied salvations, people getting baptized in the Holy Ghost, healings, deliverances, you name it, God was doing it. God was showing up and showing out. After that occurred the church was then taken to over about 60 people in regular attendance after only about three short months. If that. God had His stamp of approval on this thing. God even saw to it that the bills that were behind when we took over were paid in full, and extra funds were available now and the church had a savings account building. God was and is awesome. Then a sad event. Jealousy rose up in the midst. That same demon that seems to rise up every-time there is a true move of God, had now tried rearing up it's ugly head. The name of that spirit. The well known Jezebel spirit.
“With that the mantle of prophecy fell on me as I began to prophecy over everyone that was in my Mom's house� From that point I began serving in an Apostolic Pentecostal Church, on the worship team, serving as an assistant to our Youth Pastor and getting involved in home groups leading them as well. I grew rapidly at an accelerated pace in the gift of prophecy, the Holy Ghost using me to bring prophetic words, and words of knowledge, wisdom, and edification to the body of Christ. Discernment
Although this was my first real head on encounter with that foul antichrist of an entity Jezebel spirit, God had a plan of deliverance. Long story short and after several events taking place of accusations and what have you, the Holy Spirit told me to let those people, those that want their own way; to let them have their own way. As the account in the Old Testament how the nation wanted a king, finally God gave them what they wanted, and the result; Swift judgment as idolatry filled the land.
Blessed Magazine Page 71
Sadly enough to say this self same occurrence happens time and time again repeatedly in the body of Christ. It is called schisms, or in latest terminology division. After a short season after leaving and seeking God for some healing and restoration, I stayed in the process. God had then anointed me with a spirit of entrepreneurship and I then started my own business. This was launched after the Holy Spirit spoke to me about, and revealed to me about market place apostles. This term meaning those anointing with dominion and Jesus Christ's authority to go out and take the wealth out of the hands of the wicked, therefore bringing it back into the kingdom of God, for the purpose of the gospel being preached and souls being saved. God was about to put His Joseph anointing on my life. Friends if you have not noticed this is how the kingdom of God and being in relationship and covenant with Him should look like. The Bible says that He takes us from faith to faith, and glory to glory. There should always be advancement and increase in the true believers life. Never looking the same nor being in the same place very long at once or at all. As the ministry of the apostles were, apostle meaning sent one in the Greek; so shall our lives, and ministries look like. My advice to Christian business owners is this. If you are building a business, have a business, or are thinking about launching a business, remember it is not yours, you are like a pastor being set as a shepherd over that thing simply because God has entrusted you to do so with it. The days of ownership is over. I believe and teach that no man can own a church, and that no man has rights to anything lest Jesus Christ through His authority has granted us access and jurisdiction to do so. That being said; I ask the question, what is God asking you to let go of, or what have you taken complete control or ownership of that God has not called you to do? My other question is? What is God calling you to do right now, and what are you going to do about it. The Bible says that the earth is the Lords and the Blessed Magazine Page 72
fullness thereof. It is He (God) that owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and the wealth of the wicked is laid up for the just. The reason why many are not obtaining the current wealth and assets God has placed in the earth is simple. The answer is: many are not in their proper gifts and callings.
The Bible says that we are to be sure of our callings and elections. Are you sure of yours? Oh I am more than sure you know what it is God is calling you to do but the key is getting rid of all of the other voices that are trying to tell you what you are, and what you are supposed to do. To find the will of God and in order to get into the will of God, one must drown out all the other controlling voices that are invading and occupying the space in our hearts and lives and spirits that we should only be allowing access to the Holy Spirit in. Yes God is not playing in this hour.
The Bible says for God is a jealous God. He is jealous for His people. He is a God of zeal as well according to the book of Isaiah. God in all His glory and splendor is going to see to it in these final days that they that are faithful shall and will be delivered, and they will find themselves in an exalted place, while the proud, the haughty, the high minded shall find themselves abased to a low place because of the hardness of their hearts and the stiffness of their necks. Yes God in this hour is
about to visit His people. Are you ready? Are you in position? Will you be found in the place that God has called you to be in or will you be found succumbing to that lustful, seductress voice of that harlot Jezebel who is controlling and manipulating so many in the body of Christ today? Listen to these strong words Jesus Christ spoke as he was evaluating the seven churches. To the letter to Thyatira Jesus wrote: “I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first. Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not, Behold I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit fornication with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds, and I will kill her children with death: and all the churches shall know that I am He which searcheth the reigns and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works” - ( Revelation 1: 19 – 23 ). So you see believer God is not playing. This end time antichrist spirit is around now and even 1 John tells us that the antichrist is with us even now. Think about this, if among the twelve disciples there was a deceiver and a back stabber, how many do you think Satan is sending to our congregations of 20 30 100 or even 200? If there was a Judas Iscariot sitting at the table of Jesus, I wonder who is sitting at your board room table, or even on leadership on your ministry team. This is what Revival Fire Apostolic Ministry is all about. Like the scripture said in in 1 John : “Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as He (God) is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning, for this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil” - ( 1 John 3:
7-8 ).
You see what was the assignment of Jesus is our assignment. Here at Revival Fire Apostolic Ministries God has given us a true apostolic mandate to lead the lost to Christ to be saved, first and foremost. Then to heal the sick, raise the dead, and allow for God to miracles in our midst of our revival meetings and gatherings. We live by the Great Commission as found in the gospel of Mark 16: 15 - 20. We believe her at Revival Fire Apostolic Ministries that it is our duty to complete that which Jesus Christ came to earth to begin and to first accomplish. It is His will, our call, His Heart, and our assignment. What ever is the heart of God is our assignment I say. Areas that we really do specialize in is not only holding revival meetings but also doing training in the areas of the apostolic, the prophetic and teaching spiritual warfare and deliverance. Without these the church of God is bound. It is by His anointing that the captives are set free. See Isaiah 61.
The great Apostle Paul said these words: “For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me” ( Romans 1: 11 – 12 ) . It is our God given mandate here at Revival Fire Apostolic Ministries that God is given total and complete and full reigns in our meetings and gatherings.
If you would like to be in prayer about inviting us as a special guest, you can contact us by email: revivalfireapostolicministries@gmail.com. Also you can go tour website at : www.revivalfireapostolic.org. Our contact phone number is 1 (814) 431 - 2952. If you would like to hear Tim speak you can catch some of His teachings on his YouTube channel by logging into YouTube and type in the search engine
Blessed Magazine Page 73
Revival Fire Apostolic Ministries with Tim Ranyak. Or just put my name Tim Ranyak in the search engine. Also catch us on www.blogtalkradio.com and type in the same as well. Revival Fire Apostolic Ministries with Tim Ranyak. Friends it is the time and it is the season. A fresh wind of the Holy Spirit is about to blow. And it is blowing right here, right now in Jesus Name. I invite you to order a copy of our two latest books we had just recently published this year. The first book is called: From Discipleship To Apostleship Transitioning Into The Apostolic Anointing, and the second book is Redigging The Wells Of Our Spiritual Forefathers. Both books are available to buy copied print or kindle download by logging onto www.amazon.com or by going to barnesandnoble.com/. There you can purchase the copies or go to our website where there will be a link to take you directly there. Also if you would like to sow a seed, your donation would be very much greatly appreciated as we are launching full time trusting God by faith for His supernatural provision in our lives. I pray that the Lord richly guard you, and keep you, and bless you, settle, you, and establish you according to His glorious plan that He has for you, In Jesus Name. From all of us here at Revival Fire Apostolic Ministries, until next time, keep the faith, and keep pressing forward. Your greatest days are not behind you, for they are ahead of you. Keep fighting the good fight of faith. You are winning whether you see it or not right now. The Lord God in Heaven richly bless you,
Apostle Tim Ranyak.
Blessed Magazine Page 74
Merchant Showcase
Blessed Magazine Page 75
Blessed Magazine Page 76
Blessed Magazine Page 77