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A friend of mine recently experienced what must be a mother’s greatest nightmare: the suicide of one of her children. Not only did he kill himself, he did so in one of the worst possible ways, dousing himself with petrol and setting himself alight at a family gathering. The grief and trauma suffered by this mother and the rest of her family is almost unimaginable.
Yet both this young man and his mother were Christians. Jim (not his real name, but one I’ll use to protect their privacy) had battled with schizophrenia for years. He had seen countless visits to the psychiatric ward of the local hospital, and innumerable changes to his medication in the course of the doctors’ efforts to stabilise his condition. More importantly, he had been the subject of much prayer by many people over many years.
Although at one point his illness had seen him turn his back on God, over the last couple of years he had returned to faith and renewed his commitment to Christ, recently being baptised. Many people, myself included, were believing for his healing and deliverance.
Now, it would seem that all that faith, and all those prayers, failed. It would seem that the devil has been victorious, and this little corner of the Kingdom of God has taken a sickening defeat.
Do I believe that Jim is in heaven? Unquestionably. He was not responsible for his actions on that terrible morning, and I have no doubt that God’s grace was still extended to him. In that sense, he has not been defeated. Jim is more alive at this moment than he has ever been. He no longer has schizophrenia, nor is he bothered by the demonic force that I am convinced plagued him during his earthly life. Even the emotional scars from his childhood that gave ground for his mental and spiritual problems have been totally healed.
Yet, at least in my heart, there is the frustration of knowing that Jesus taught us to pray that God’s will would be done ON EARTH as it is in heaven. The freedom and victory that Jim is experiencing now in the presence of God should have been his here on earth, where he could have shared it with those he loved.
Perhaps the harder question, though, is what we do with the defeat. I spoke to Jim’s mother a couple of days ago. For the moment, at least, she is taking the predictable path of saying “God allowed it. We don’t know why, but He knows best.” Part of me wanted to shake her, to say “NO! NO! NO! God did not want this! For some reason He didn’t prevent it, but it’s not what He wanted!” Of course, I would not violate her grief by actually saying it. But it saddened me that it is so easy to put the blame on God.
Yet we are the ones to whom He has given the mandate of dominion. It was not God who allowed this: we did, by not rising to the fullness of the authority He has given us. No, I’m not trying to “beat up” on myself or anyone else – I’d just like to see the Body of Christ take responsibility for where we are at.
Every time we say “God allowed it”, whether it be death, sickness, demonic oppression, or any of the multitude of other evils that the enemy seeks to inflict upon mankind, we weaken our faith. After all, if “God allowed” defeat this time, who are we to say that He will not allow defeat next time … and the next … and the next …
Does God take even the very worst of situations and bring good out of them? Most definitely. That does not mean that He caused them, wanted them, or even “allowed them so that the good would come.” He is perfectly capable of bringing about the same good outcomes without the terrible situation.
Is it hard to say, “This was not God’s will” when we don’t understand how God’s will could have been violated in this situation? After all, isn’t He sovereign? Definitely! Yet, for reasons that we will probably never understand till we get to heaven, in some situations He does not give permission for it to happen, but He does not step in to prevent it.
God’s will for people is summed up in Jesus’ statement, “I am come that they might have life, and have it more abundantly.” Somehow we have to learn to keep our eyes on His will, not on the situations where His will has been blatantly violated. As hard as it may be when our eyes have seen horror and our hearts have been rent by agony, we must continue to hold to Jesus’ victory. No matter what is happening in the present skirmish, we must cling to the truth that the war has already been won. We dare not allow us to believe that there is any situation in which God does not want us to be victorious – any situation in which He would deliberately allow our defeat. To do otherwise is to give the enemy ground that he will most assuredly take.
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This blog is © copyright Lynn Fowler.
There is one God, and one mediator between God and people, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:51 Timothy 2:5
English: World English Bible - WEB
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
WP-Bible plugin)in Whom all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in bodily form (Colossians 2:9Colossians 2:9
English: World English Bible - WEB
9 For in him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily,
WP-Bible plugin)and Whom God the Father has exalted to the highest place, giving Him the Name which is above every name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11Philippians 2:9-11
English: World English Bible - WEB
9 Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name;
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
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In recent weeks Glory to the King Ministries and I personally have been attacked by a word that was given as a “prophecy”, but was definitely not of God. This kind of false word is one of the devil’s favorite tactics against God’s people. He well knows that a word given as “thus saith the Lord”, or that purports to speak with God’s voice, has far greater power to penetrate the Christian’s heart than words that don’t pretend to be anything other than the opinions of man. Unfortunately, the more soft we are toward God, the greater the possibility of being attacked in this way. Sadly, the devil also knows that many Christians would not have a clue how to distinguish a “word of the Lord” from one straight from the pits of hell.
Now, I don’t want anyone to think I am saying that you will never receive a word of rebuke or correction from the Lord. I have personally received such words, and I have been His instrument to deliver such words (mercifully, not very often.) However, if a rebuke is from the Lord YOU WILL KNOW! Even if you don’t want to hear it, something in your spirit will tell you, “this is true!” It will be totally consistent with both God’s Word and His character. I’ve just put a post about some ways to test prophetic words at my Rev. Lynn’s Blog: http://www.revlynnsblog.com/christian-life/2010/06/01/testing-prophecy/ so I won’t repeat that here – just follow the link to check it out.
What I want to address in this post is how to protect yourself when you receive words that purport to come from God, but are really an attack of the enemy.
We are all familiar, at least to some degree, with the armor of God listed in Ephesians 6. (If you are not sure what it’s all about, sign up for my free e-course.) When this recent attack happened, the Holy Spirit took me back to school and gave me a lesson in how to apply the armor very specifically in this situation. I hope that I can share that insight here in a way that will help you if you find yourself in a similar situation.
The first part of the armor is the Belt of Truth. In the case of the prophecy that was made against us, some accusations were made about me personally that were simply not true (one of the reasons that I knew this was not from God, because He is a God of truth and knows my heart.) If you are given a false prophecy, it may contain untrue accusations like this. On the other hand, it may contain untrue flattery – building you up by crediting you for things you know you haven’t done. So the first thing you need is to be absolutely honest with yourself. What is the truth about the things that have been spoken? Take hold of that truth and wrap it tightly around yourself. Remember, man may only see the externals, but God knows what is really going on in your heart. Every time the devil tries to attack you with these falsehoods, simply tell him and yourself – aloud if necessary – “That’s not true!”
Next is the breastplate of righteousness. The devil will try to break down your righteousness by causing anger, bitterness or resentment toward the person who brought the word. Be sure to keep your heart pure by relying on the Holy Spirit. Make sure your responses are gracious, be sure to pray blessing on the person, and be quick to cut off any thoughts of revenge or retribution.
The word you have received will be designed to bring confusion, turmoil and hurt. Be sure that your feet are shod with the Gospel of peace: that is, walk in the peace that is yours as a blood-bought child of the living God. Take hold of Romans 8:28Romans 8:28
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28 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.
WP-Bible plugin, that God works all things together for good to those who love Him, and allow the peace of that knowledge to saturate your soul.
Take up the shield of faith, remembering that faith is not mere intellectual assent, but a relationship of total trust in God. Your faith should never be in what He does, but in Who He is. Trust absolutely that, because of Who He is, He will complete that which He has begun in your life, and nothing – including the word you have received – will prevent Him from doing so.
The helmet of salvation is given to protect your head. Remember, the key component of salvation is GRACE. The word you have received will quite possibly have a strong element of judgment, even to the extent of condemnation. The Word of God tells us that mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:13James 2:13
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13 For judgment is without mercy to him who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
WP-Bible plugin), and grace is greater than mercy. (Mercy is “not receiving the penalty we deserve”, grace is “receiving the blessings we do not deserve.”) The Word also tells us that “there is no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1Romans 8:1
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8
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who don’t walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
WP-Bible plugin) God may correct or discipline us, but He does not bring judgment or condemnation against His redeemed people. Remind yourself that you stand by grace. If there is an area where you genuinely need to repent, do so – and know that once you have sincerely repented, you are forgiven! Don’t let the devil, or the person who gave the prophecy, tell you otherwise.
Take up the Sword of Faith, the Word of God. A good Scripture to use against this kind of attack is Isaiah 54:17Isaiah 54:17
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17 No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of Yahweh, and their righteousness which is of me, says Yahweh.
WP-Bible plugin – “No weapon that is formed against you will prosper, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.” Remember also that the “Word of God” does not just refer to Scripture, but to the true prophetic words that you may have received. If you have had true prophecies that relate to the word being brought against you, bring them out and begin to declare them over the situation.
Receiving a false prophecy can be a very shaking experience, particularly if it comes through someone you know, respect and trust. But by making sure the Armor is properly in place, you can withstand the attack and come through victorious.
This blog is © copyright Lynn Fowler.
There is one God, and one mediator between God and people, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:51 Timothy 2:5
English: World English Bible - WEB
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
WP-Bible plugin)in Whom all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in bodily form (Colossians 2:9Colossians 2:9
English: World English Bible - WEB
9 For in him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily,
WP-Bible plugin)and Whom God the Father has exalted to the highest place, giving Him the Name which is above every name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11Philippians 2:9-11
English: World English Bible - WEB
9 Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name;
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
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Often when people think about spiritual warfare, they think of those times when demonic forces rise up in a direct, external attack upon us, either personally or through other people. Whilst certainly we all face these times in our lives, and we need to understand our authority in Christ to deal with them, they definitely not the most common means by which the devil comes against us. By far his most constant and consistent attack comes not from anything external, but internally, through our own thoughts and feelings.
Every time the devil can persuade us to think that sin in any of its multitude of forms is ok; every time he can nudge us to live out of our negative emotions rather than standing in Christ’s power; every time he can divert us to focus on the problems in our lives rather than on the Lord, he has won a small victory.
Much of the time, we don’t even think of these things as warfare. We see the source as being within ourselves – we are just down, or stressed, or overwhelmed – and therefore we don’t put up a fight. That, of course, is exactly what the devil wants.
Even when we do recognise the warfare element, the question arises, how do we fight against something that seems to come from within us? Is it just a matter of discipline: grab ourselves very firmly by the bootstraps and pull ourselves up? Should we start on a prolonged course of counselling to find the root causes of our problems and deal with them? Perhaps we should start on the “antidepressant merry-go-round.”
Self-discipline, counselling and medication all have their place, but they are not enough to bring us through a spiritual attack in victory. We need to fight spiritual battles with spiritual weapons: and one of the greatest of those weapons is the Word of God.
The problem, of course, is that those times when we are tempted, down, or overwhelmed are not the best times to try to start using the Word of God. If it is not our normal habit to turn to the Word, we will probably not even think of turning to it in the difficult times. Even if we do think to open our Bibles, if we are not familiar with the Word we will not know where to go in the Word for what we need. It’s a very simple equation: you can’t take out what you haven’t put in.
David wrote, “I have hidden Your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” (Ps 119:11Ps 119:11
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11 I have hidden your word in my heart,
That I might not sin against you.
WP-Bible plugin) When He was preparing them for His death, Jesus told His disciples, “The Holy Spirit … will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.” (Jn 14:26Jn 14:26
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26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and will remind you of all that I said to you.
WP-Bible plugin) Whilst the Holy Spirit is perfectly capable of moving sovereignly to give someone a revelation of things he had never known before, most of the time He chooses to give revelation through the Word that we already have in us. No Word means no revelation, and no revelation means no power.
It is not enough to turn to the Word in times of crisis. We need to be storing it up, hiding it in our hearts as David did. That comes from regular times of reading and meditation, not just on our favourite “blessing” verses, but through the whole of the Word. Over the years I have tried many Bible reading plans, but I always come back to the simplest plan of all: start at the beginning, read to the end, then start at the beginning again. (Actually, I now do a slight variation on this simple plan: I begin simultaneously on the Old and New Testaments, and read twice as much of the Old as of the New. It’s a good way to balance Law and Grace.) It’s important, too, that we don’t just read the word, but spend time thinking about it, chewing it over, finding its relevance for our own lives and situations. That’s what the Bible calls meditation.
As we regularly take the Word into our hearts and minds, it begins to become part of us, and once it is part of us we can count on it being there when we need it. When sin starts to look attractive, the Word will pop up and remind us of God’s opinion about the things we are considering. When we are down or overwhelmed, the Word will be there to remind us that, even if we don’t feel it, we are on the victory side in Christ.
This blog is © copyright Lynn Fowler.
There is one God, and one mediator between God and people, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:51 Timothy 2:5
English: World English Bible - WEB
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
WP-Bible plugin)in Whom all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in bodily form (Colossians 2:9Colossians 2:9
English: World English Bible - WEB
9 For in him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily,
WP-Bible plugin)and Whom God the Father has exalted to the highest place, giving Him the Name which is above every name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11Philippians 2:9-11
English: World English Bible - WEB
9 Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name;
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
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Some time ago a friend invited me to go with her to a one-day seminar that covered areas of bondage in which Christians can find themselves. In fairness, I should say that from the start I did not see eye-to-eye with the presenter, who held some very outdated views about women and their needs. (It never ceases to amaze me how many men think they are experts on “what women want” – but that is a totally other soapbox that I won’t climb up on today.)
At the end of the day he gave handouts with pages of written prayers that people were supposed to use when they were involved in spiritual warfare. Now there was nothing scripturally wrong with what was written in these prayers, but I am absolutely convinced that for most people they would be totally ineffective for spiritual warfare.
I also understand that for many, they would have been exactly what they wanted – a “how-to” manual, cut-and-dried, just add your voice and no thought required. I understand that, because it’s what so many people ask for – “spiritual warfare prayers” that they can simply repeat and have the problem go away. What they want, basically, is a verbal “magic wand” … and that is precisely one of the reasons why it won’t work!
God does not work through “magic wands”. Ritual and legalism serve only to keep us distant from His power, not to release that power through us.
Our victory in spiritual warfare is based on three things: firstly, the finished work of Christ at Calvary, by which He once and for ever defeated satan; secondly, our personal relationship with Him and the authority He has given us; and thirdly, our understanding of those truths. Without those three things, we are at the mercy of the devil. It doesn’t matter how much Scripture we quote, or how many cookie-cutter prayers we read, if we don’t have that personal relationship and are not absolutely sure of Christ’s victory and our authority in Him, then we will be no better off than the sons of Sceva who tried to cast out demons “in the Name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches.”
Now just in case someone thinks I’m saying that we shouldn’t pray as part of spiritual warfare, let me clarify that I am talking here about set prayers that someone else has written and we just parrot off. True prayer – prayer in which we actually express our heart and connect with God – is very much part of spiritual warfare. However, we also need to understand that, as well as prayer, we need proclamation – directly addressing the forces that come against us and declaring Christ’s victory and God’s will in the situation.
“Spiritual warfare prayers” might serve a purpose in giving you some understanding of how to pray, but they will never replace the expression of your own heart and mind.
Called to Battle Spiritual Warfare Seminar
Find it at http://christianspiritualwarfaregtk.com
Free e-course: Put on the Armor of God
Find it at http://christianspiritualwarfaregtk.com/armorofgod
This blog is © copyright Lynn Fowler.
There is one God, and one mediator between God and people, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:51 Timothy 2:5
English: World English Bible - WEB
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
WP-Bible plugin)in Whom all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in bodily form (Colossians 2:9Colossians 2:9
English: World English Bible - WEB
9 For in him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily,
WP-Bible plugin)and Whom God the Father has exalted to the highest place, giving Him the Name which is above every name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11Philippians 2:9-11
English: World English Bible - WEB
9 Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name;
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
WP-Bible plugin)
This is sort of a follow-on from my last post about occultic symbols. Sometimes people ask me about alternative medicine and what should be the Christian response. It seems to be one of those areas that polarizes people – some embrace it wholeheartedly, whilst others want nothing to do with it because they see it all as being “New Age.”
Like so much New Age stuff, alternative medicine is very much a mixed bag. Some alternative therapies are totally legitimate, whilst others are demonically backed. So how do you tell the difference? Things like the use of herbs and plants for healing are fine – God placed those things in the world for our benefit – but what about things like aromatherapy, reiki and hypnosis. How can we know what is safe and what is not?
My personal practice is to start by asking the simple question, Is there any kind of scientific backing for this? Some therapies, even though not generally accepted by traditional medicine, do have a scientific basis. One that springs to mind is aromatherapy. Studies have shown that aromas do certainly influence the mental/emotional wellbeing of patients, and may also influence their physical wellbeing.
Others have absolutely no scientific backing at all, but rely on drawing on some unseen power. In Reiki, for instance, the practitioner supposedly “heals” by channeling his/her inner healing power to the patient. The reality, however, is that human beings do not have any innate healing ability, and the power these people are channeling is actually demonic. In fact, it is exactly the same thing as I used to do before I was saved when, as a spiritualist, I operated as a healing medium. Unfortunately, the results are also the same – the patient may get “healed”, but he/she also gets a bunch of demons.
If any therapy does not have some scientific basis, avoid it. Maybe in time it will be proven to be scientific, but it is far better to risk missing out than to take a chance on it being ok only to learn too late that it is demonic.
Just to make life more complicated, some therapies do have an apparently scientific basis, but are still spiritually dangerous. I am thinking particularly of hypnosis. Certainly, hypnosis works, and there are studies which show how and why it works. Hypnotists also argue that nobody will do under hypnosis anything that they would normally consider morally wrong. However, that is very easy to work around. If a woman under hypnosis can be made to believe that the onion she is biting into is a sweet, juicy apple, they why could she not be made to believe that the man kissing her is her husband? She might have moral standards that would never allow her to kiss a man who was not her husband, but if she believes he is, then those standards are over-ridden. Even worse, hypnosis places people in a spiritually vulnerable position where they can be attacked by demons without even recognizing that an attack is taking place. Don’t ever fall into the trap of thinking, “Because it works it must be ok.”
Some Christians say we should not worry about such things. They quote the Scripture that “greater is He who is in us than he that is in the world” and insist that we are safe to do anything because of the power of God. However, God never promises to protect us from willful stupidity. If you step off the top of a building, God is not going to send an angel to hold you up; and if you deliberately get involved in things that are demonic in their origin, He is not going to shelter you from the consequences. He gave us intelligence and will, and He means us to use them.
Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater – some alternative therapies are ok, and very helpful. Pray and ask the Lord to give you wisdom, consider whether a particular therapy has any real scientific basis, and also consider what the results could be. If there is any doubt, it is far better to err on the side of caution.
Called to Battle Spiritual Warfare Seminar
Find it at http://christianspiritualwarfaregtk.com
Free e-course: Put on the Armor of God
Find it at http://christianspiritualwarfaregtk.com/armorofgod
This blog is © copyright Lynn Fowler.
There is one God, and one mediator between God and people, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:51 Timothy 2:5
English: World English Bible - WEB
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
WP-Bible plugin)in Whom all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in bodily form (Colossians 2:9Colossians 2:9
English: World English Bible - WEB
9 For in him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily,
WP-Bible plugin)and Whom God the Father has exalted to the highest place, giving Him the Name which is above every name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11Philippians 2:9-11
English: World English Bible - WEB
9 Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name;
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
WP-Bible plugin)
A discussion arose recently on one of the forums where I hang out, about occultic symbols. Some people think that all symbols are harmless, whilst others think that even seemingly innocent things like butterflies can have sinister undertones. I decided this is something I really should address through this blog.
Firstly we need to understand what symbols are. Symbols are not just pictures: they say something. After all, the letters which make up our alphabet and from there our words, sentences and stories, are just symbols. When we see the letter “G”, we know that it stands for a certain sound. When we see the letter “O” we know it stands for a different sound. When we put them together, we know that they stand for a word that tells us to move ourselves from where we are to somewhere else.
This is even more true in pictographic languages like Chinese, where each “letter” represents not a sound but a picture of something. Or consider the many symbols we see in our everyday lives. We do not need to be told what a raised hand sign means, for example – we know that it “says” stop, even though we don’t see any words. In a sense we can think of symbols as words or sentences written in a different language.
The most powerful occultic symbol is the pentagram, the five-pointed star. This is normally drawn upside down, so that it has two points at the top and one each at the sides and bottom. It is a stylized picture of a face with two horns and a pointed beard, and is a symbol of satan. It says that the thing to which it is attached belongs to the devil.
Closely related to the pentagram is the “horned hand” in which the index and small fingers are extended, while the other two fingers are held down in front by the thumb. Again, it is a stylized devil’s head, and it is a declaration that satan is lord – not exactly something that any Christian would want to do.
Next is the hexagram, the six-sided star, normally drawn inside a circle. It says that the thing to which it is attached is cursed (hence the word hex, meaning a curse.) If you wear that symbol, you are declaring yourself to be cursed.
Another is the Ankh, which looks like a cross but has a loop at the top instead of the top part of the main beam. Many Christians wear this, thinking that it is just another type of cross, but in fact it is the Egyptian symbol of death.
The peace symbol is another that many use innocently, not understanding its origins. This is a circle with a vertical bar, and downward sloping bar going from the center bar to the circumference on each side. The story is that the Roman emperor Nero, who despised Christians, took a cross and broke its arms downward, saying that Christ was worthless. No Christian would want to wear a t-shirt emblazoned with the words, “Christ is worthless”, yet many unwittingly wear peace symbols that say exactly that, just in a different language.
Then there’s the yin/yang symbol – a circle with a squiggly line through the middle, half dark and half white. It is the symbol of dualism, the philosophy that says there are two equal but opposite forces in the universe. Ultimately, it is saying that satan is equal to God (but opposite.) Again, that’s not a message that most Christians would really want to wear on a t-shirt, but by wearing a yin/yang symbol, that is what they are declaring.
These are symbols that were specifically designed for occultic use. There are many others, but that is enough to give you the idea. Two very good reasons for avoiding these symbols: firstly, they make statements in another language that you would never want to make in your native tongue. Secondly, because they are linked to the occult, they can actually be an invitation to demonic forces to attack your life.
What about other symbols? Some people have attached occultic meaning to all manner of things, such as butterflies, frogs, elephants and rainbows. Should we avoid using these things, too? My response to that is a very definite “NO!” Such things are not intrinsically occultic. For the most part they are beautiful creations of God, which occultists have “stolen” and adapted to their own purposes. We should refuse to give up such things: the devil does not have a right to them.
This is an illustration I often use: suppose you had a block of land with a caravan on it. Someone comes along and takes up residence in the caravan. You have every right to kick that squatter out and reclaim the caravan for your own use. However, suppose the squatter did not take up residence in your caravan, but brought his own caravan with him and parked it on your block of land. Now, you would have every right to remove both the van and the squatter; but you would not have the right to kick the squatter out of the van and keep the van for yourself.
In the same way, some symbols “belong” to the devil. They were made for him, and he has a right to them. You need to remove both them and him from your life. Other symbols do not belong to the devil, and never have. He has merely taken them over. You have every right to kick him out and keep the symbols for your own use.
Called to Battle Spiritual Warfare Seminar
Find it at http://christianspiritualwarfaregtk.com
Free e-course: Put on the Armor of God
Find it at http://christianspiritualwarfaregtk.com/armorofgod
This blog is © copyright Lynn Fowler.
There is one God, and one mediator between God and people, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:51 Timothy 2:5
English: World English Bible - WEB
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
WP-Bible plugin)in Whom all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in bodily form (Colossians 2:9Colossians 2:9
English: World English Bible - WEB
9 For in him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily,
WP-Bible plugin)and Whom God the Father has exalted to the highest place, giving Him the Name which is above every name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11Philippians 2:9-11
English: World English Bible - WEB
9 Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name;
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
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Quite a few years ago there was a television advertisement for a particular brand of motor oil (I can’t remember which one, which just goes to show that whilst an ad might be memorable it doesn’t always mean that people will remember the product being advertised – but that’s another story.) Anyway, in this ad the small time gangster, Louie, was changing the car oil for the Big Boss. Asked whether he had used the brand being advertised, he replied that he had used a cheaper brand because “oils is oils.” The Big Boss’s response was that “oils ain’t oils” – in other words, there was one “real thing”and the rest were pretenders.
I thought of Louie recently, following a discussion with an acquaintance (who thinks of herself as a Christian) about the legitimacy of other religions. This lady has been caught up in the idea that there is only one God (true!) and that everyone worships the same god, just under different names (most definitely not true!)
Now I don’t want to offend anyone here, but unless God suffers from multiple personality disorder, there is simply no way that this can be so. Think about it for a moment. Some religions worship hundreds – or even thousands – of gods, some worship only one. Which is true? God cannot be both. Either He is one, or they are many.
Islam teaches that God is an absolute mathematical unity, and that He has no Son. Christianity teaches that the one God consists of three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit (which is something quite different from the concept of multiple gods), and that God the Son became man in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Both cannot be true. Either God has a Son, or He doesn’t.
Now if you were to come up to me and say, “I know you. You’re that lady who doesn’t have any children,” I would quickly tell you, “I’m sorry, I don’t know who it is you know, but it isn’t me. I have two children and five grandchildren.” Do you think maybe God might have a similar response when people suggest that He doesn’t have a Son?
You cannot strip Christ out of Christianity. The God of the Bible is the God Who manifested Himself in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Any god that did not do that is not the God of the Bible, no matter what claims people may make.
So what about the idea that Christianity should be, as my friend insisted, an “inclusive religion”? We don’t have to read very far in the Bible to see that God had very different ideas. The first of the Ten Commandments states categorically, “You shall have no other gods before Me.” Now, just in case anyone thinks that means that it’s ok to have other gods as long as we don’t put them ahead of YHWH (the God of the Bible), let me make something clear. The word “before” doesn’t mean “ahead of” but “in my presence” – much the same as we use the word “beside” today. Since God’s presence fills the universe, that boils down to very simply “no other gods!” Hmm … doesn’t seem very inclusive to me.
The Old Testament is filled with warnings about not worshiping other gods. YHWH would not tolerate the worship of the Baals, and much of the prophecy recorded in the Old Testament was directed at God’s people as a rebuke for their breaking of those prohibitions. Eventually, Israel was dispersed by the Assyrians and Judah was taken into captivity by the Babylonians, primarily because of their refusal to repent of the worship of false gods. Doesn’t sound very tolerant!
In the New Testament, Paul used the “altar to an unknown God” (Acts 17) to point people to the truth in Christ; but he did not for one moment suggest that the worship of that unknown god – or of any other god – was equal to the worship of YHWH. In fact, he ended his message with a call to repent and turn away from these false things. Earlier, Peter and John had declared boldly before the Sanhedrin that salvation was available only in the name of Jesus (Acts 4:12Acts 4:12
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12 There is salvation in none other, for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, by which we must be saved!”
WP-Bible plugin), echoing Jesus’ own words that “No-one comes to the Father but by Me.” (John 14:6John 14:6
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6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.
WP-Bible plugin) All of that sounds pretty exclusive, not inclusive.
The truth is, the whole “tolerance and inclusion” philosophy is a trick of the devil, designed to make people think that they don’t need to come to Christ. After all, if there are “many paths up the mountain”, then it would make sense to choose the one that is either least demanding or best suited to one’s personal tastes. If all gods are the same, then it really doesn’t matter.
On the other hand, if the Bible is true, and the God of the Bible is the true God Who will not tolerate the worship of any other god, then it is a matter of (eternal) life and death.
No, Louie. Oils ain’t oils. And gods ain’t gods.
Called to Battle Spiritual Warfare Seminar
Find it at http://christianspiritualwarfaregtk.com
Free e-course: Put on the Armor of God
Find it at http://christianspiritualwarfaregtk.com/armorofgod
This blog is © copyright Lynn Fowler.
There is one God, and one mediator between God and people, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:51 Timothy 2:5
English: World English Bible - WEB
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
WP-Bible plugin)in Whom all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in bodily form (Colossians 2:9Colossians 2:9
English: World English Bible - WEB
9 For in him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily,
WP-Bible plugin)and Whom God the Father has exalted to the highest place, giving Him the Name which is above every name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11Philippians 2:9-11
English: World English Bible - WEB
9 Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name;
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
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The devil is probably one of the most mocked characters in the modern western world. From cartoons of a little red fellow with horns and a pitchfork, to Halloween costumes, to representations in films, he is treated as a joke. Many people – even people who believe in God – simply don’t believe that there is such a thing as a real, personal devil. He is, they say, just a mythical personification of the evil in the world.
In reality, that concept is one of the two most dangerous lies spread around by the devil himself (the other is the one that says he is all powerful – so big and powerful that you’d just better do what he says and not argue.) The Bible makes it clear that there is a real, personal being, known as the devil or satan (I refuse to give him a capital letter), who is the ultimate source of evil.
Isaiah 14:12-20Isaiah 14:12-20
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12 How you have fallen from Heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, who laid the nations low!
13 You said in your heart, “I will ascend into heaven! I will exalt my throne above the stars of God! I will sit on the mountain of assembly, in the far north!
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds! I will make myself like the Most High!”
15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the depths of the pit.
16 Those who see you will stare at you. They will ponder you, saying, “Is this the man who made the earth to tremble, who shook kingdoms;
17 who made the world like a wilderness, and overthrew its cities; who didn’t release his prisoners to their home?”
18 All the kings of the nations, sleep in glory, everyone in his own house.
19 But you are cast away from your tomb like an abominable branch, clothed with the slain, who are thrust through with the sword, who go down to the stones of the pit; like a dead body trodden under foot.
20 You will not join them in burial, because you have destroyed your land. You have killed your people. The seed of evil-doers will not be named forever.
WP-Bible plugin and Ezekiel 28:11-19Ezekiel 28:11-19
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11 Moreover the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
12 Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and tell him, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: You seal up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz, emerald, chrysolite, onx, jasper, sapphire or, lapis lazuli, turquoise, and beryl. Gold work of tambourines and of pipes was in you. In the day that you were created they were prepared.
14 You were the anointed cherub who covers: and I set you, so that you were on the holy mountain of God; you have walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
15 You were perfect in your ways from the day that you were created, until unrighteousness was found in you.
16 By the abundance of your traffic they filled the midst of you with violence, and you have sinned: therefore I have cast you as profane out of the mountain of God; and I have destroyed you, covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
17 Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you have corrupted your wisdom by reason of your brightness: I have cast you to the ground; I have laid you before kings, that they may see you.
18 By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your traffic, you have profaned your sanctuaries; therefore have I brought forth a fire from the midst of you; it has devoured you, and I have turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all those who see you.
19 All those who know you among the peoples shall be astonished at you: you are become a terror, and you shall nevermore have any being.
WP-Bible plugin are two passages that seem, on the surface, to be addressed to earthly kings. However, we don’t have to go far beneath the surface to realize that the things said in these passages could never be applied to a human being. The Ezekiel passage speaks about one who was created perfect, full of beauty ans wisdom, and was appointed as the “guardian cherub”. Satan, as he was originally created by God, was not an evil being, but the head angel.
However, both Isaiah and Ezekiel show that he became proud, and then tried to rise up and make himself even greater than God. Because of this he was thrown out of heaven and cast to earth, where he took the form of a serpent. In that form he tempted our first parents to do the same as he had done, promising them that if they disobeyed God they would themselves become “as gods”. Sadly, they fell for it. God had given them dominion over the world, but by obeying the devil rather than God they handed that rule over to satan.
Satan could not return to rule from heaven, the place of God’s throne, so instead he set up his throne in the physical heavens, becoming known as the “prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2Ephesians 2:2
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2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the powers of the air, the spirit who now works in the children of disobedience;
WP-Bible plugin). From there he was able to influence everything that happened on the earth.
When Jesus came, the devil tried to destroy Him almost as soon as he was born, by influencing Herod to have all the male children killed. When it came time for Jesus to enter into His ministry, the devil tried to stop Him with the wilderness temptations (Matthew 4). Notice that Jesus was not battling against some kind of evil force, or a principle, but against a real, personal being who spoke to Him and took Him to various places in the effort to tempt Him away from His goal.
Jesus’ death on the Cross was a defeat for satan. By His perfect obedience to the Father, Jesus reversed the disobedience of our first parents and claimed back the earth as part of God’s Kingdom. The devil’s fate was sealed. However, for the present time he continues to “hold his fort” in the physical heavens – much as, in the Second World War, some Japanese soldiers continued to hold their positions long after the war was over. He still influences, and even controls, those people on earth who make themselves available to his influence.
The day is coming, however, when his time will be up. The victory that Jesus won at Calvary will be fully enforced, and the devil’s influence will be removed from the world. Till that time, we have to choose whether we will follow the devil and share his eternal destiny in hell, or follow Christ and share His eternal reign in heaven.
Called to Battle Spiritual Warfare Seminar
Find it at http://christianspiritualwarfaregtk.com
Free e-course: Put on the Armor of God
Find it at http://christianspiritualwarfaregtk.com/armorofgod
This blog is © copyright Lynn Fowler.
There is one God, and one mediator between God and people, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:51 Timothy 2:5
English: World English Bible - WEB
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
WP-Bible plugin)in Whom all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in bodily form (Colossians 2:9Colossians 2:9
English: World English Bible - WEB
9 For in him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily,
WP-Bible plugin)and Whom God the Father has exalted to the highest place, giving Him the Name which is above every name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11Philippians 2:9-11
English: World English Bible - WEB
9 Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name;
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
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I think it was Snoopy, in the Peanuts comic strip, who said, “We have seen the enemy, and they is us.” (If it wasn’t Snoopy, I apologize – but whoever did say it, got it right.) Often, we spend a great deal of time and energy looking for an enemy “out there” somewhere: our family, friends or workmates; our boss or pastor or the government; the weather, global warming or the financial crisis. And when all else fails we can always blame the devil and his demons.
Now I am not for a moment suggesting that people never do anything to harm us; or that political systems, the environment and economics don’t, on occasion, cause us problems. And most certainly the devil and his cohorts are always seeking for an opportunity to attack us.
What I am saying is that all too often we give these things far more credit than they are due. Sure, they may play some role in the problems we face, but often the root of the problem lies not in front of our eyes, but immediately behind them. It all starts with our thinking.
I was reminded again this week of a saying I first heard very early in my Christian life:
Sow a thought – reap a feeling;
Sow a feeling – reap an attitude;
Sow an attitude – reap an action;
Sow an action – reap a habit.
Let’s look at it a little more closely. Many people believe that emotions are simply things that come upon us, that we have no control over them and can do nothing to either cause or prevent them. This is absolutely not true.
Feelings are the result of thoughts. They are brought on by the things we tell ourselves about our circumstances or what is happening in our lives at the moment. Take an example: You are walking down the street and your friend, Mary, walks by without even acknowledging you. If you think to yourself, “What a snob! Just who does she think she is to just ignore me like that!” then you will start feeling angry. If you think, “Mary mustn’t like me any more,” then you will begin to feel sad or abandoned. If you think, “Mary must have some kind of serious worry that she didn’t notice me,” feelings of compassion will begin to come over you. If you think, “TeHe, Mary’s off in her own little world again. I’m going to give her heaps when I see her next!” then you will stir up feelings of affection toward your friend.
Did any of those feelings “just happen”? No, they were all directly prompted by your thoughts. A feeling is the consequence of a thought. We can change the feelings by changing the thoughts. What we cannot do is separate the thought and its consequence, the feeling.
Feelings, in turn, produce attitudes. Attitudes are the spectacles through which we view life. If we regularly allow ourselves to indulge thoughts of being rejected, producing feelings of rejection, these will eventually build into an attitude of rejection. Instead of just seeing rejection in one person or situation, we will begin to see rejection everywhere, and from everybody.
Once attitudes are entrenched in our lives, we begin to act out from those attitudes. If we see ourselves as being rejected, we begin to act like a rejected person. We put up walls. We take things personally. We respond as if we had been rejected, even if the person speaking was not directing his words to us in any way. The really sad thing is, when we act like this we actually bring rejection upon ourselves. It’s as if we had stuck a big sign on our backs saying “Reject Me!” The same applies to every attitude we act out.
Finally, those actions become a habit. Psychologists tell us that it only takes three weeks to establish a habit – and most people have been acting out their attitudes much longer than that! These things become our normal way of doing things, and the further we go the harder the pattern becomes to break.
Then, somewhere down the track, we realize that we have a problem going on in our lives. To stick with our illustration of rejection, we realize that we are being rejected right, left and center. That’s when we start throwing out the blame. It’s the fault of the people around us, who reject us. It’s our parents’ fault, because they rejected us. Maybe there is a demon of rejection operating in our lives? We seek deliverance, and get no results.
The uncomfortable truth is, even if there is a demonic force involved, it is there because we gave it a comfortable place to lodge. We are the problem: not our parents, not our friends, not our boss, not demons. What we have to do is go back to the beginning and change the equation. This whole downward spiral started with our thoughts. By changing our thoughts, we can reverse the spiral.
Now, it will not be easy, nor will it be instant. In the beginning we will have to consciously grab our thoughts and tell ourselves, “No. That isn’t the truth. This is.” To do that, we need the Word of God, so that we can replace the lies we have been telling ourselves with the truth of Scripture; and we need the Spirit of God, Who will help and empower us in our new way of thinking.
Yes, we can be our own greatest enemy. But we can also be our own best friend. It all depends on how we think.
Called to Battle Spiritual Warfare Seminar
Find it at http://christianspiritualwarfaregtk.com
Free e-course: Put on the Armor of God
Find it at http://christianspiritualwarfaregtk.com/armorofgod
This blog is © copyright Lynn Fowler.
There is one God, and one mediator between God and people, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:51 Timothy 2:5
English: World English Bible - WEB
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
WP-Bible plugin)in Whom all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in bodily form (Colossians 2:9Colossians 2:9
English: World English Bible - WEB
9 For in him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily,
WP-Bible plugin)and Whom God the Father has exalted to the highest place, giving Him the Name which is above every name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11Philippians 2:9-11
English: World English Bible - WEB
9 Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name;
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
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“and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.”
(Ephesians 6:15Ephesians 6:15
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15 and having fitted your feet with the preparation of the Gospel of peace;
WP-Bible plugin, NIV)
Often when people read this verse, they think it is talking about the preaching of the Gospel. Preaching and witnessing are important, and are most certainly a part of our spiritual warfare. However, these are offensive measures – tactics which we use to take territory from the enemy. The armor, however, is defensive – it is our protection against the enemy’s attacks. Paul is not talking about our taking the Gospel to others, but rather about the effect that the Gospel has on us personally.
As with the whole of this passage about the armor of God, he is using the picture of the armor worn by a Roman soldier. On his feet the soldier wore heavy leather sandals, which were studded underneath with metal, so that no matter what kind of terrain the soldier had to cover, he would never slip or lose his grip. Paul is saying that is what the Gospel does for us.
How does the Gospel achieve this? It is the Gospel of Peace – and that means, firstly, that it is the Gospel that brought us peace with God. Before we heard the Gospel, we were God’s enemies. We may have been consciously and deliberately opposed to God, perhaps denying His existence or at least living as though He did not exist. Or we might have been “good” people, perhaps even churchgoers, but had never truly surrendered our lives to Christ. Either way, we were God’s enemies. There are only two possibilities in life – either we are in the Kingdom of God or the kingdom of darkness. Those in the kingdom of darkness are God’s enemies, and if they remain in that kingdom they will suffer the same judgment as the prince of that kingdom.
Being at war with God creates all kinds of problems in our lives, and leaves us open to the attack of the enemy on every side. However, when we heard and responded to the Gospel we changed sides – we switched our allegiance from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of God. Now we are no longer His enemies, but His friends and bound to Him in a covenant that guarantees He will fight on our behalf.
Since we are now God’s friends, we also have another benefit – the peace of God. This means that, because of our relationship with Him, we can walk through any situations that life might throw at us in perfect peace, knowing that He will work them all together for our good and His glory. That does not mean that we will never have problems, but that we can rest in the knowledge that God is bigger than all our problems.
Most important of all, we now know the God who is Peace. Jehovah Shalom, the Lord is my peace, was one of the names of God in the Old Testament. When we know Jehovah Shalom, we not only have the peace of God in our hearts in any situation, but we carry His peace with us wherever we go, and are able to release that peace into the situation. That’s why, in the middle of a storm that had the disciples – all of whom were experienced fishermen – absolutely terrified, Jesus was able to stand up and simply say, “Peace. Be still.” and the storm stopped.
The Gospel of peace does indeed allow us to walk through all of life’s troubled roads and never lose our footing.
Called to Battle Spiritual Warfare Seminar
Find it at http://christianspiritualwarfaregtk.com
Free e-course: Put on the Armor of God
Find it at http://christianspiritualwarfaregtk.com/armorofgod
This blog is © copyright Lynn Fowler.
There is one God, and one mediator between God and people, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:51 Timothy 2:5
English: World English Bible - WEB
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
WP-Bible plugin)in Whom all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in bodily form (Colossians 2:9Colossians 2:9
English: World English Bible - WEB
9 For in him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily,
WP-Bible plugin)and Whom God the Father has exalted to the highest place, giving Him the Name which is above every name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11Philippians 2:9-11
English: World English Bible - WEB
9 Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name;
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
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