It's Okay!

My daughters are just learning to walk. Whenever they wipe out, it's my foremost goal to stand them up and get them walking again, all the while saying, "It's okay! It's okay!" I don't want them to dwell on failure because it prohibits them from future success. At the least, it delays it.

What makes any one of us think our Heavenly Father's goal is any different when we fall? Do we really think he wants us to wallow in our failure? Get back up! It's okay!

What Was... Will Be

Remember in the Exodus, right before the 'redemption', there was a travail in the land.

Exodus 2:23 LITV
(23) And it happened during these many days that the king of Egypt died, and the sons of Israel groaned from the slavery. And they cried, and their cry went up to God from the slavery.

So God sent a deliverer, but he wasn't warmly welcomed. In fact, Satan tried to kill all the male Hebrew children in an effort to see that deliverance didn't come. It came anyways. And before deliverance came, it got DARK.

Exodus 10:21-23 LITV
(21) And Jehovah said to Moses, Stretch out your hand to the heavens so that darkness may be on the land of Egypt, and one may feel darkness.
(22) And Moses stretched out his hand to the heavens, and darkness of gloom was in all the land of Egypt three days.
(23) They did not see each one his brother, and they did not rise up, each one from his place for three days. Yet to all the sons of Israel there was light in their dwellings.

A few hundred years later, Israel's cry again reached the ears of God. And they once again wanted deliverance - from Rome.

So God sent a deliverer, but he wasn't warmly welcomed. In fact, Satan tried to kill all the male Hebrew children in an effort to see that deliverance didn't come. He came anyways. But before deliverance came, it got DARK.

Matthew 27:44-45 LITV
(44) And also the plunderers crucified with Him defamed Him, saying the same.
(45) And from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.

It's getting dark again, friends. There is a cry reaching Heaven. Blood has a voice, and the cries of millions of unwanted babies are being heard (but they are SAFE!). Satan will always declare war over the seed of men because from that seed deliverance always comes. Do they kill babies in Eastern lands? Strangely... no. Only in the lands where the freedom to spread the Gospel still exists is there a warrant out for the unborn. The deliverers are those who declare the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. Ultimately, however, there will come a future dark day.

Revelation 16:10 LITV
(10) And the fifth angel poured out his bowl onto the throne of the beast. And its kingdom became darkened; and they gnawed their tongues from the pain.

We will then participate in the final redemption, with our Deliverer claiming forever what He has already purchased. There will be no more darkness and no more death.

Postponed Covenant

I'm sure most everyone has heard that perhaps the largest terrorist plot since 911 was recently foiled. Life goes on as usual. Most people found that to be an interesting headline, and nothing more.

But all the experts say it's not a matter of if, but when. So what happens when?

Is that the next wave of church/endtime/apocalyptic interest in this nation? It seems that even back in the time of Ezekiel and Jeremiah, people refused to heed warnings but went about their lives as usual. I found something interesting in Ezekiel:

Ezekiel 5:1-2 LITV
(1) And you, son of man, take to yourself a sharp sword, the razor of a barber. Take it to yourself and make it pass over your head and over your beard. And take to yourself scales to weigh, and to divide them out.
(2) You shall burn a third part in the fire, in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled. And you shall take the third part and beat with a sword all around it. And you shall scatter the third part into the wind, and I will draw out a sword after them.

Why Ezekiel's hair? I believe that God was talking about his covenant with Israel, and that He was going to postpone it for a season due to their disobedience. The Nazir covenant was one that meant your hair was never cut - the Nazarite vow. Yet God told Ezekiel to shave his head and do different things with the hair.

It was a temporary judgment, because all hair grows back. That's grace. We learned this lesson from Samson. The unfortunate thing is what Samson and Israel both had to endure because of their disobedience. Are we different in this nation?

Worrying About Nothing

Ezekiel 1:28-2:2 LITV
(28) As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of the rain, so appeared the brightness all around. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of Jehovah. And I saw, and I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking.
(1) And He said to me, Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak to you.
(2) And the Spirit entered into me as He spoke to me, and He made me stand on my feet, and I heard Him speaking to me.

Ezekiel 3:8-9 LITV
(8) Behold, I have made your face strong over against their faces, and your forehead strong over against their foreheads.
(9) I have made your forehead as an adamant harder than flint. Do not fear them, and do not be frightened by their faces, though they are a house of rebellion.

One of the new cries of my heart is boldness. Lord, make me bold! Lord, give me strength to do what you set before me! I'm not the only one that prays this. In fact, I hear it often. Funny thing, however, is that God provides all of that when the time comes. All we have to remain is 'willing'.

Ezekiel was floored, but the Holy Spirit filled him and he was then 'made' to stand. Will you be able to stand when the time comes? Yes. And then when it's time to face the critics, or the skeptics, or even the enemy... He can make your forehead like flint! That's tough, by the way. You aren't going to shout 'that' guy down! Ezekiel would have worn us out!

I take renewed comfort that God will give us all we need to serve Him.

Kingdom Is

Kingdom is the realization that all I have is the Lord.
Kingdom is knowing that He is truly enough.
Kingdom is the worldly view that I apparently don't have much, but that I obviously have everything.
Kingdom is giving away all I've been given, because it was given, and there will be more.
Kingdom is only having a sack lunch that can feed 10,000 people.
Kingdom is rebuking cancer.
Kingdom is fellowship that never ends.
Kingdom is God obsession.
Kingdom is taking possession.
Kingdom is casting a shadow.
Kingdom is spontaneous acts of love and kindness.
Kingdom is compassion.
Kingdom is unbridled fury against powers of darkness.
Kingdom is wisdom in motion.
Kingdom is guerrilla warfare.
Kingdom is walking in the supernatural.
Kingdom is seeing as the Father sees.
Kingdom is doing as the Father does.
Kingdom means no goodbyes.

Too Much Light

Have you ever wondered about our solar system? Isn't it interesting that life as we know it depends totally upon a molten hot globe of fire in the dead center of our solar system? I mean, if you read much fantasy growing up, it's not hard to envision the opposite. Perhaps it's a gigantic ball of ice that offsets the heat given off by the earth! But no... it's not that way.

That much light gives off so much heat! So much energy! If you get too close... bad news! Even if you just stay outside too long!

In the Hebrew, the word for 'sun' is 'shemesh', or 'east' (by implication, from where the sun rises). Jesus is directly linked to this phrase, as He is the 'son', and will return by splitting the eastern sky.

Matthew 24:27 LITV
(27) For as the lightning comes forth from the east and shines as far as the west, so also will be the coming of the Son of Man.

Have you noticed that the closer you get to God, the less you care about the fleshly things of the world? The analogy is the same. Too much sun hurts the flesh. In fact, if you get too close all flesh is consumed. That is what we as Christians should be shooting for. I want to be so close to God that the fleshly lusts are just consumed.

If The Frog Croaks

Leviticus 11:29-36 LITV
(29) And these shall be unclean to you among the swarming things which swarm on the earth: the weasel, and the mouse, and the great lizard according to its kind,
(30) and the gecko, and the monitor, and the lizard, and the sand lizard, and the barn owl.
(31) These are unclean to you among all which swarm; anyone who touches them in their death is unclean until the evening.
(32) And anything on which any one of them falls in their death is unclean, whether of any vessel of wood, or garment, or skin, or sack; any vessel in which work is done shall be caused to go into water, and shall be unclean until the evening; then it shall be cleaned.
(33) And any earthen vessel into the midst of which any one of them falls, whatever is in it shall be unclean, and you shall break it.
(34) And of all the food which may be eaten, that on which such water falls shall be unclean, and all drink that may be drunk in any such vessel shall be unclean.
(35) And anything on which any part of their dead body falls shall be unclean; an oven or hearth shall be broken down; they are unclean; yes, they are unclean to you.
(36) But a fountain or a well, a collection of water, shall be clean; only that touching the dead body is unclean.

Our pastor commonly tells us that we are to be rivers, not lakes. Water has to keep moving in order to keep the dead flushed out of it. The scripture above describes just that. If something dies in a clay pot, you must destroy the pot. If it dies in a fountain, the fountain is still clean.

This also describes our spiritual condition. There is a difference between stumbling and being lame (always stumbling). If we are spiritually dead, we are headed for destruction. Our earthen vessel bodies cannot - on their own accord - make themselves clean again. But with the Living Water of Jesus within us, even sin cannot make us unclean. Yes, we may stumble, but we get back up without pulling up 'lame'.

The devil uses guilt as a great weapon against the Christian trying to walk in Christ. He would have every Christian believe they are simply lame. Remember, guilt is always from the devil if you are in Christ. By the way, the last thing he wants to do to a lost person is make them feel guilty. If guilt has plagued your walk, realize that you've been a target. Move on in victory!

Shut Up and Get To Work!

Exodus 14:15-16 LITV
(15) And Jehovah said to Moses, Why do you cry to Me? Speak to the sons of Israel, and let them pull up stakes.
(16) And you, raise your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide it so that the sons of Israel may go in the midst of the sea on dry ground.

TheIsraelites were pinned down between the Red Sea and Pharaoh's army. Time was running out. Moses was talking big talk, but the people were afraid. Then an odd thing happens. God tells Moses to quit talking and get to work.

"Raise your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide it..." Well, duh. What else was Moses going to do?

The observation I gained from this passage is that whenever we hear God speaking to us, He is usually telling us to take some authority that we didn't previously think we had. It's almost as if following Him restores much of what we gave up in the garden. In Eden, man had dominion over the earth. After Eden, man struggled to make a living from the earth. But following God, man once again is expected to start exercising dominion.

A Land Full of Giants

Deuteronomy 9:1 LITV
(1) Hear, O Israel, you shall cross over the Jordan today, to go in to expel nations greater and mightier than yourself, cities great and walled up to the heavens;

Promised Land living, although great and God-purposed, is not something you are going to attain on your own. By our own strength, we really have no chance. The nations and inhabitants of this land are mightier than we are.

The biggest problem with Promised Land living is the risky lifestyle. To be anything like Caleb, we must approach the giants and gently explain the options to them. If the giants choose not to listen, then God had better be in our corner. It's a step of faith that most Christians don't care for. So what exactly does that mean?

It could mean a lot of things, so it might be able to identify what it doesn't mean. When was the last time in our Christian walk that we have been out of our comfort zone at work, at school, or at church? What was it? Identify the giant you faced. Was it the giant of passing the offering plate at church? Or was it the giant of praying for the sick man at McDonald's? Maybe it was saying the prayer at a company party. Remember who is in your corner. Remember WHO is in your corner. Be a risk taker. I'm doing my best to live up to this very thing. Ultimately, my reputation with man isn't worth anything anyways.

The Millennium Pt2

The Millennium is the Sabbath day of God's first millennial week. God created the world in 6 days and rested on the 7th. Man, created on the 6th day, really saw nothing until the 7th day when his eyes were opened to the creation of God.

Maybe that's what we're heading towards. We are being built, now, as the stones being chiseled for the temple were chiseled out of earshot of the building site. We, too, are being hewn and shaped for our real place in God's House, and we haven't seen it yet!

1Co 2:9 MKJV
(9) But as it is written, "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard," nor has it entered into the heart of man, "the things which God has prepared for those who love Him."

Doesn't it make you wonder? Seeing what God created in the span of six 24-hour days, what has He created for us in the span of six 1000-year days? It 'has not entered into the heart of man'.

The Millennium

One Thousand years of peace! Guys, it isn't that far off. I'm telling you, it's not. God reveals things to His people - and those who are seeking Him in this are all saying the same thing: aint much time left. We have to be particularly careful to NOT fall into the group Peter said would emerge:

2Pe 3:3-4 LITV
(3) first, knowing this, that during the last days scoffers will come walking according to their own lusts,
(4) and saying, Where is the promise of His coming? For from which time the fathers fell asleep, all things remain so from the beginning of creation.

These are all church people, by the way. Worldly people don't know He's coming and don't care.

Back to the 1000 years... where will you be? What will your purpose be? Suppose for a moment the Tribulation begins next year some time. That puts the Millennial beginning 8 years from now, approximately. Could it happen? There is no doubt. Will it? Watch and see - that's what I'm doing.

What will life be like on earth? Perfect utopia under a Wise King. Will there be sin? Yes, in the hearts of mortal man. This is because some will survive the Tribulation Period. These will have children and grandchildren, and they will ALL have a decision to make about whether or not to follow Jesus. Some will choose not to, in their heart.

This will serve to prove that even when satan is bound and falling for a thousand years, man will still have the capacity to do his own thing, go his own way, and live for himself. We have a sin nature.

But meanwhile, life here will be pretty good for those who are mortal. Perfect peace and wise government, along with the blessing of God upon the world and no satanic influence. We are talking about a remnant of people who come out of tribulation and will prosper to enormous proportions. By the end of the 1000 years, there will probably be more people living on earth than ever. Maybe even more than have ever died to that point. Isn't that a mind-blower? But such is the way living in a utopia would be. No war - no disaster... only peace. Until they reopen the pit for a season... more on that later. Mull over this verse:

Isa 65:20 BBE
(20) No longer will there be there a child whose days are cut short, or an old man whose days have not come to their full measure: for the young man at his death will be a hundred years old, and he whose life is shorter than a hundred years will seem as one cursed.

Anyone Can Procreate...

In Genesis, man is given the commission to go forth and multiply.

Gen 1:28 LITV
(28) And God blessed them; and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the seas, and over birds of the heavens, and over all beasts creeping on the earth.

That was before man sinned, however. Once he did, things got a little more difficult. There was soil to till and were animals to chase. Sweaty work. But along came the Promised Land, which brought more options.

Deu 8:1 LITV
(1) You shall take heed to do every commandment which I am commanding you today, so that you may live and may multiply and may go in and possess the land which Jehovah has sworn to your fathers.

Now we can go forth, multiply, and possess! That's really a reversion to 'taking dominion' again. When Jesus says He has given us the keys to the Kingdom, He means that the right is given to us to take ground - we must simply take action. We lost dominion, but He regained it for us if we'll take it. By following His commands we can step into our destiny.

Jesus Himself follows this pattern. He overcame death and claimed the keys of hell itself when He died and rose. This was the price paid by a Kinsman Redeemer to recover what was lost. But He has not officially retaken possession of His physical Kingdom - yet. He will when He begins to open the seals of the deed (read Revelation).

I Dig This

Deu 8:7-9 MKJV (7) For Jehovah your God brings you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills, (8) a land of wheat and barley and vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey, (9) a land in which you shall eat bread without want. You shall not lack any thing in it. It is a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you may dig copper.

Promised Land living! A time when all of your provision is made and 'you have no lack'! Wow that is AWESOME! We talk about it a lot. Drinking out of wells we didn't dig and eating from vineyards we didn't plant. Mmmmm....

But that's our 'provision'. What about wealth? What if we want to be provided for, AND we want a little extra? Is that wrong for a Christian?

God isn't against you getting a little extra in the Promised Land. On the contrary, He is into 'abundance'. But, there's a small price to pay. You have to dig.

It's a land whose stones are iron, but you have to mine them, and then smelt them. There is a little sweat involved. Is copper more your gig? You don't have to steal it here. But you do have to find it, dig it up, and then you can make rolls of pennies out of it.

The blessing of God is so abundant! We feel guilty if we want a little extra. But He owns the cattle of a thousand hills! He has 'riches in Glory'! It can't be wrong to have a little! He has placed it before us to work for, which - by the way - is a far cry from the cursed land. The cursed land is a place where people have mined for years, but have never found a prize. The cursed land is a land where people toil and sweat for a paltry sum, and then they place it in a bag with holes. Seek the Promised Land! God intended it for all of us!

The Ultimate Ramez

Deuteronomy 8:3 LITV
(3) And He has humbled you, and caused you to hunger, and caused you to eat the manna, which you had not known, and your fathers had not known, in order to cause you to know that man shall not live by bread alone, but man shall live by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of Jehovah.

I've talked about the 'ramez' before. It's something that rabbis use as a teaching tool - it's an 'implication'. Jesus infuriated the 'wise' men of His time by constantly dangling these implications in their faces.

The above verse is one of my favorites - and there is so much in it, a book could probably be written. You'll notice in the above, I've italicized the word 'Word', which is likely italicized in your bible. This means it's not in the original text. However, the translators rightly included it and capitalized it. Read the verse without 'Word' in it.

The verse talks about manna. Manna means 'what is it?'. Jesus declared Himself to be the Bread from Heaven. But again, from even a logical standpoint, let's make this verse into an equation.

Man shall not live by bread alone. Of course! We must have Jesus. So mathematically,

Life (man shall not live without) = (bread alone) manna + (but by) _____ (that proceeds from the mouth of God)

Life = (manna + X) Notice... manna is part of the solution. It's integrated in.

The divine implication, of course, is Jesus Himself. Jesus is the Word that Proceeded from the mouth of God. Also notice this... we aren't told the name of Jesus outright (what is it?) but we ARE told that 'He' is equivalent to 'that which proceeds from the mouth of God'. So what does that phrase mean in the Hebrew?

'That proceedeth out' is the Hebrew word 'matsah'... yes Matzah (matzo)... as in Unleavened Bread.

H4161
מצא מוצא
môtsâ' môtsâ'
mo-tsaw', mo-tsaw'
From H3318; a going forth, that is, (the act) an egress, or (the place) an exit; hence a source or product; specifically dawn, the rising of the sun (the East), exportation, utterance, a gate, a fountain, a mine, a meadow (as producing grass): - brought out, bud, that which came out, east, going forth, goings out, that which (thing that) is gone out, outgoing, proceeded out, spring, vein, [water-] course [springs].

Look at all that imagery! It is 'all' Jesus. This is one reason a book could be written about this verse. It's also proof that Hebrew is a divinely inspired language that man could not contrive. Soak on this a while.

Do You Know You?

Deu 8:2 And you shall remember all the way which Jehovah your God has caused you to go these forty years in the wilderness, in order to humble you, to try you, to know that which is in your heart, whether you will keep His commandments or not.

Every time I read a verse like this, I have to double-take it. Does God really need to test us so that He knows what we're made of? I contend - no. I believe God wants US to know what we're made of. Especially when times get trying, it's crucial that we as believers have confidence that we can stay the course.

It's not a lot different than boot camp. It's unbelievably difficult, but when you're done with the training and the bullets start flying for real, you can know within yourself that you've passed hard tests before.

Does Your Sacrifice Stink?

I've had this verse lodged in my skull for quite a while now. It just looked... odd.

Matthew 3:11-12 LITV
(11) I indeed baptize you in water to repentance; but He who is coming after me is stronger than me, of whom I am not able to lift The sandals. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire,
(12) whose fan is in His hand, and He will cleanse His floor and will gather His wheat into the storehouse. But He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

We are talking about the Fire of GOD falling in our lives! This is a picture of sacrifice. Don't all Christians have a deep-rooted desire to be accepted of God? Even Cain had a desire to be accepted.

But the sacrifice is just a stinky carcass until His fire falls on it. ANY sacrifice is this way. It just draws flies. So if we are giving our all to the church but neglecting our family, His fire wont fall on it, and it will never be holy. In fact, the longer we pretend, the stinkier it will become until nobody wishes to be near us.

I was wondering... why did John say "baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with Fire"? Why that order? I've always thought I needed the fire so the Holy Spirit would come. But He comes so the fire will fall. That second verse reminded me of this verse:

Mal 3:3 LITV (3) And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; and He shall purify the sons of Levi and purge them like gold and like silver, that they may be presenters of a grain offering in righteousness to Jehovah.

Who is the priesthood? It 'was' Levi, but now it's us! He purges us first - THEN we can be presenters of our sacrifice.

As born-again Christians, we have been empowered to do EVERYTHING that God commissioned us to do. He doesn't commission us then expect us to beg for the tools to do the job. We walk as Jesus did - having open heavens above our head. The power of Heaven is at our disposal. We do not have to 'earn' it, or become 'holy enough' to use it. We simply realize that it's there - for us - and grasp it in order to achieve our purpose of representing Jesus to everyone we meet.

Recognizing The Spirit

I've been spending a lot of time thinking about the Holy Spirit, and how important it is to recognize His voice. We need to know what He is saying, not simply 'what He said'. This thought process has taken me down some interesting avenues.

We believe the Spirit comforts us. He is the comforter. But what does He comfort us 'from'? Why do we need a comforter and the rest of the world doesn't? He comforts us because we are to go where things get uncomfortable. The rest of the world has no such commission. I always thought He comforted us when someone dies, or we lose a pet. He does, but that isn't the gift. The Holy Spirit is of such vital importance - but He doesn't step into His role two or three times in our lives (hopefully) when we experience grief or loss. That's not the point or the purpose.

He also convicts. How do we know that? Because we feel bad when we sin - and why else would we? That seems indirect, doesn't it?

He also teaches. How do we know that? Because we start realizing things that we know could not be revealed to us unless it was done supernaturally. Once again... the Holy Spirit is there - but we have 'deduced' His Presence.

He leads us, too, right? Why else did I take that turn back there and end up witnessing to the paper boy?

There must be more to Him than our ability to reason He is there. There must be a 'voice', and we MUST be able to hear Him.

I am not to the point where I'm making up things to explain away all the reasons why I don't hear Him. Granted, there aren't many people I can talk to about it - because most of them have made peace with the silence.

I'm determined to get to the quiet place.

Signs

There are a lot of conspiracy theories out there. A lot of folks think the government is up to something (mostly no good) and could be right. Many think it's the world banking system. Some think the Masons... some the Illuminati. Some think it's the CIA, or the EU, or the UN... everyone has an opinion of what is going on and who is behind it.

The best selling book ever written has the answers already, however. All of this is predicted and the outcome is very clear. What is uncertain are some minor details and an exact timeline, but it's plain to see we're coming to a head on most of it. The time draws near. It's time to be looking up.

Gettin' By

Aint good enough.

I was scanning the news online just a moment ago - looking for something that popped out as a commentary piece. It's all so disgusting. This is a prophecy commentary blog - and everything screams 'endtimes' to such a degree that it's easier to talk about daily experience. Prophetic news doesn't even stand out anymore. It used to be that an earthquake warranted conversation for a month. The wildfire in California? Boring. To everyone but the 10,000 people who may lose their homes.

That is STAGGERING. 2-4,000 homes?

Yeah but Qaddafi has designed a car.

Okay this takes a toll on our phyche if we aren't careful. It's not like life is 'easy' without all the constant (and I mean relentless) flow of bad news. That's why it's imperative that we, as Christians, live under open Heaven. We MUST realize that our citizenship is in an extra-terrestrial kingdom, and being as such, we can live in its reality as opposed to this mess here. It sounds escapist, I know, but that where the draw comes from. The lost world is attracted to those of us who have this peace to impart.

What else does it mean? It means that our perspective changes, if nothing else. Our economic situation, our social situation, our physical situation, and very much our spiritual situation are - or should be - affected by this perspective. Someone reading this is hurting. BE WELL!

Gettin' by aint enough. The world is gettin' by. We have to be sleeping in the boat through the storm (so we'll be rested when it's over).

Credentials In The Spirit World

The earthly realm is the chessboard for spiritual warfare. The good news is that the Kingdom of Heaven is growing, and the numbers of the demonic are staying the same. But, not unlike children, demons will do what they can get by with doing. Stewardship of the Kingdom and its progress has been granted to the Church. We expand Kingdom territory by the authority granted to us, not by our own might or power.

Here is a problem. Many Christians do not understand authority. They cannot - or will not - place themselves under the authority of a local church. They've never yielded to discipleship - or a spiritual mentor - or the guidance of a pastor. But this aside, they hope the Holy Spirit will grant them victory in the spirit realm.

The results can be catastrophic, as it very nearly was for the seven sons of Sceva. Acts 19 records the story of these men who were operating out of association, but not operating out of relationship. Had these sons subjected themselves to the authority of the Holy Spirit, they would have had His authority to cast the demons out. It's really a question of spiritual credentials. If someone knocks on my door and says, "You need to come with me by order of the President of the United States.", then I'm going to want to see credentials. If it's my next door neighbor, Ed, with a crayon colored ID tag, I'll probably go back to my knitting. However, if I know Ed works for the President, I'd go.

Demons know your credentials.

God is a god of order. He ordains the order, we follow it. If we do not, it is impossible to be spiritually victorious. IF we are in right-standing with the God and abiding in Him, then we are under His authority, which means we are also accountable to others in our spiritual walk. If our pride prevents us from doing this, it's best to stick with Sunday school hand puppets and stay away from the demonic.