Got Ghost?

I’ve noticed a new trend on television lately other than the general lack of quality programming. There appears to be an explosive increase in the number of “paranormal investigation” themed shows.

I find the shows sort of humorous to be honest and have watched a few from time to time. The investigators on the shows have all sorts of theories for why a ghost might “get trapped” in a building or things along those lines.

While it is humorous should the Christian really buy into the whole paranormal theme? Is it possible that we could die and still be wondering around in our old haunts? No pun intended. The evidence gathered on some of the shows can seem rather convincing at times, so is there really something to all the so called paranormal business?

Scripture seems rather clear to me that when we die we either go to Heaven or to hell. If we have accepted Jesus as our Savior we go to be with the Lord. If we’ve rejected His offer of salvation then we are simply lost.

Hebrews chapter nine says very plainly in verse twenty seven, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment”. Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 states that if we are in the body we are absent from the Lord and goes on to say that if we are absent from the body then we are present with the Lord.

In Luke chapter sixteen Jesus told the story of Lazarus and the rich man. First, notice in the beginning of the story that Jesus says, ““There was a certain rich man who” and also states, “there was a certain beggar named Lazarus”. In the story Jesus was not making up a story to use as an example. Jesus as God was aware of a literal rich man and beggar named Lazarus that had died. He was telling us specifically what happened to both of these individuals when they died. You’ll notice in reading the story that neither of the men were roaming around in this world. They were in paradise or hell.

Scripture seems pretty clear to me that when we die we go to either Heaven or hell. Jesus said He was going to prepare a place for those of us that have placed our trust in Him.

So what about some of the seemingly paranormal things that happen on these shows then? Are they made up?

I don’t believe the paranormal things that happen are staged or made up. In fact I believe they are very real but I do question the source.

Scripture tells us, “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.” (Hebrews 13:2) It would seem in this statement of Scripture the strangers would be angels who were sent by the Lord to the earth to deliver a message or something along those lines, clearly scripture would not tell us to entertain something or someone not of the Lord. But we have to keep in mind that there were many angels that took part in the rebellion and subsequent fall of Satan. Would we assume that only the good angels can appear as strangers or pretend to be ghosts or other spirits?

Perhaps this explains a warning we are given in Scripture, “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:8)

Satan can appear as an angel of light when it serves his purposes and he is the master deceiver. I believe the people partaking in these investigations are simply being deceived by demons.

It can be a very dangerous task. There are numerous accounts in Scripture of demon possession and that is not something to play with any more than it is a good idea to play with fire.

For example, there is a show on the Travel channel called “Ghost Adventures”. The basic idea behind the show is three guys named Zach, Nick and Aaron go around doing paranormal investigations and filming what happens. They use all sorts of gadgets to try and document the existence of ghost.

On one episode the Ghost Adventures crew traveled to investigate the Moon River Brewery in Savannah, Georgia. At one point during this investigation Nick appears to become possessed by some manner of evil spirit. He claims not to recall for the most part several minutes of this but claims he heard voices in his head saying, “kill em, kill em, kill em.” He certainly seemed to change the appearance on his face to having a strange or even evil demeanor for a few minutes.

Demon possession is a road better left untraveled. I pray for these men because they are putting themselves in grave danger.

They believe themselves to be interacting with “spirits” and “ghost” but I believe they are having fellowship with demons and that is a very bad idea that can be very dangerous. I’ve had encounters with demons before and I don’t write about them for the most part because I am not one to be chasing after signs and wonders. I also have no desire to brag about these past encounters nor to try and call myself an anointed this or that like some in the hyper-Pentecostal crowd. However, I can tell you that if you have had an encounter with a demon it is not something you would seek out or have any desire to do again.

So other than pulling some would be investigators' chains from time to time, what’s Satan’s end game with the ghost stories and paranormal activity?

I believe his end game is simply if he can get you to buy that there are ghost then why would you have to worry about your salvation? Heck, wondering around in the places you used to hang out in and messing with would be investigators after you die doesn’t sound so bad. Might even be kind of fun at times, “hey Joe…I’m bored, let’s go mess with this guy who is still alive…”

If you buy into the existence of ghosts then it removes the concept of Heaven and hell. There is no longer a judgment or reason to accept the Lord’s offer of salvation via grace and that my friends is exactly the lie Satan is trying to sell you with paranormal activity.

Good intentions

I read this part of Scripture in my daily reading on June 27th but I have been kicking it around mentally on and off since then.

"Now it came to pass, when David was dwelling in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the LORD is under tent curtains.” Then Nathan said to David, “Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you.” (1 Chronicles 17:1-2)

I've been kicking around how sometimes we with completely understandable good intensions can be totally missing it regarding God's will.

In David's case thankfully he had a friend that listened to God (i.e. the prophet Nathan), even after giving him poor advice at first.

The Lord said it wasn't for David to build the Temple due to him being a man of war. But I noticed also in the subsequent chapters that during the remainder of David's reign he defeated the enemy on every side and in the process captured a lot of gold and other materials that were eventually used in the construction of the Temple.
God often works in "practical" ways and just a reminder to me that we have to strive to stay in His perfect will and His perfect timing.

I've noticed in the past that "little voice in my head" sounds logical enough at times and it is sure enough based on the best of intentions. However, it sure is easy to make a mistake and let the way that seems right to man slip in there.

God can't possibly love me?

Not so long ago, myself and a group of friends were witnessing to a man who claimed to be an atheist. After talking with this man for a while he finally told us something along the lines of, "My biggest problem I think is that God, if He exists, couldn't possibly love me."

I wonder how many with a "checkered past" have said that before as an excuse to reject Jesus' offer of free salvation?

If you have ever believed this type of logic you need to get rid of that "lie" from the devil. That is straight from the pit of hell.

"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

I have seen former cold blooded murders and drug dealers receive salvation and they are now such that you would not recognize them if you had known them in the past and not seen them in years.

Even my Pastor at one time was a drug user / dealer, but he came to really know Jesus in a relationship and has now been a pastor for close to 20 years.

"Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 18:9-14

"Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace." Philippians 1:6-7

You don't have to 'clean up your act' to receive salvation, you simply have to "believe" and "repent."

All one has to do is surrender their life to Jesus. If we surrender our lives to Jesus as our Lord then He will begin a "good work" in us and we have His promise that He will complete that work. It is not us, it is Him that completes it. Our only "job" is to believe and repent then surrender our lives to seeking after Him daily.

The Bible says our "righteous acts" are like filthy rags to the Lord. We couldn't "clean up our act" and "earn" favor with Him if we wanted to. It is by Grace through faith only.

If you want to know how you can be saved and come to know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, please visit the four spiritual laws that can save you today

I never knew you

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
(Matthew 7:21-23)

I was just thinking again about the above verses.

There is something that never ceases to amaze me about the verses. There are many wolves in sheep's clothes out there today that are convinced by their own counterfeit miracles that are accompanied by the preaching of a perverted gospel. The shocking thing is that they still won't "get it" to the point they will seek to try and argue with Jesus Himself when they are standing before Him to be judged. They remind me a bit of the rich man trying to argue with Abraham while in hell in Luke Chapter 16:

"And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ (see verse 30)

Talk about totally "missing it"...what a picture of so many today that are doing false signs and wonders in Jesus' name while perverting His Gospel to literally a different gospel.

You have to be pretty full of yourself to reach that sort of self delusion.

You also have to be very careful about the “Dangers of signs and wonders”

Signs and wonders do not always necessarily mean a ministry or a message is inspired by God or sharing the true Gospel of Jesus.

Beware of False conversion!

I have been reading a great book by Ray Comfort called, "How to Bring Your Children to Christ & Keep Them There"

It is worth the read even if you don't have children because a lot of what Ray shares is applicable to sinners in general.

I was glad to see that Ray spends a lot of time on the topic of "false conversion" and Ray goes into detail about how praying a prayer is not some magic incantation that can save you.

If you look you will not find a so called "sinner's prayer" anywhere in Scripture and I am very troubled at times. For example, I was out witnessing and doing "street evangelism" one night and shared the Gospel with a high school age young man and several of his friends. His friend (who attended the local 'sinner sensitive' mega church) said something along the lines of "dude, pray that prayer then you can do whatever you want and still go to Heaven when you die."

We had to have a little discussion at that point about "cheap grace" verse if you really understand the price Jesus paid on the cross and how God views your sin that there is no way you would go out and willfully sin against that kind of Grace. We also had to "chat" about what it means to be religious and still lost verses truly abiding in Jesus to bear fruit.

Having a true change of heart and a true awareness of your sin leading to repentance is what saves you. Repent = turn around 180 degrees and go the other way.

If I have ever disagreed with my pastor on anything it is the topic of baptism for really young kids, say a 4 year old I know. I don't honestly believe they truly understand sin or repentance at that age...I can "coach" a 4 year old to repeat anything in a prayer but it doesn't mean they would understand or comprehend what it all means. I know a 4 year old in my Sunday school class that has "prayed the prayer" and been baptized but I fear all it did was set this poor child up for a false sense of security.

I tend to agree more with Ray, that you don't "seek" a "decision for Christ" from your kids because you are likely doing a work of the flesh. You can be well meaning and sincere enough but if the Holy Spirit isn't doing a work in the child's heart right then you are not going to get them to Heaven by "honey, it is really urgent that you repeat this prayer with me so you can get to Heaven." A kid will repeat it, but that doesn't mean they will understand it.

What you seek is the Lord's leading on how to raise your kids in the way they should go and the Holy Spirit will bring them to a "real" decision for Christ that involves an understanding of sin and turning away from sin to make Jesus their Lord when the time is right and they are old enough to comprehend. There is a big difference between true salvation that involves turning from one's sin and making Jesus Lord and simply being a victim of religion and religious ritual that gives one a false sense of security.

If people are subject to a "false conversion" then it really is a bad thing. Later in life when they are in a mess they will say, "O'yeah, I tried the Jesus thing and it didn't work for me" or they could be speeding down the highway to hell like some I know and say, "Dude, I prayed the prayer so leave me alone...once saved always saved".

Once saved always saved while true does not mean you can spend 45 seconds praying a prayer then live worse then the world with the "conversion" not making more than 46 seconds difference in your life.

Therefore comfort one another with these words

I heard today that the father of someone I know passed away. This is not a “friend” of mine by any means and I have never met his father so it is not like I was overly upset by the news.

But it got me to thinking.

If someone dies and they were “in Christ” then really we should be celebrating.

We may be sad that we will miss them our remaining days here on earth but we really should be celebrating for them if they really knew Jesus, abided and Him and produced fruit in their lives to leave us no doubt they are now with the Lord.

“So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:6-8)

We know one thing for certain. A Christian can be in only one of two places. Either absent from the Lord in our earthly tents or in the presence of the Lord. And to be in the presence of the Lord is our hope and what we press on towards all our days of this life.

“And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You.” (Psalm 39:7)

There is little detail given about Heaven in the Bible really. We get some glimpses when John is taken up to Heaven in the book of Revelation. Paul was stoned to death one time, went to Heaven and then returned to his body. He stated that the things he saw and heard we so fantastic that they could not be properly conveyed with the words of man in such a way that a mortal man would even begin to comprehend.

Honestly, some days I think that those brothers and sisters in Christ who have gone home before us are in reality the lucky ones. They are not stuck here on this sin infested rock we call earth. They are in a place so fantastic that we cannot even begin to comprehend it this side of eternity.

But if that were not enough, it gets better. Our loved ones that died in Christ that we miss will not always be “gone.” One day we will see them again. As quickly as prophecy is coming to pass these days we might even indeed see them again very soon.

“Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)

When a love one dies, it is understandable that we would be sad because we are going to miss their company. But for them, we should rejoice and take comfort in the fact that we will see them again at some point in the future.

One of my grandfathers passed away in 1984. In this life, my grandfather was a simple man who lived a humble life and enjoyed picking his guitar and singing at church more than anything else.

I still miss him but I take comfort in two things. The first being that he is up in Heaven before the throne singing praises to Jesus with guitar in had as we speak. The second thing is the knowledge that one day I will be standing beside him to join him in signing praise.

“Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:17-18)

No man can serve two masters!

Someone was once quoted as saying, "Many words can be uttered; however a person's actions demonstrate sincere intention."

Isn’t it true?

I continue to be confused today why some just don’t “get it” in the church. What am I talking about exactly here, the topic of idolatry.

I don’t understand why people don’t see that you cannot pay lip service to God and call yourself a Christian. Sorry but the message of the Jesus, the Apostles and the early church was not, “pay lip service on Sunday when it fits into your schedule and live your life like hell on earth chasing after the things of this world with the rest of your time.”

Sorry but if you search you will not find a so called “sinner’s prayer” anywhere in the Scripture. We are told clearly that we are saved by Grace and only Grace but that does not mean we can expect to see Heaven when we die if we spend 45 seconds praying some canned prayer then go about same as always afterwards. Jesus is not some magical genie that we can “rub His bottle” by saying some prayer one time and expect to see Heaven when we die.

True salvation is about truly surrendering our life to Jesus and abiding in Him daily.

The message of the early church, Jesus, etc was believe and repent. If there is zero or even little change in a person’s life I sincerely believe they had better check in with Jesus to see why that is the case.

I fear personally they may know “about Jesus” and have “church membership” but they don’t really “know Jesus”. Jesus said a good tree bears good fruit and a bad tree bears the bad.

So many today are chasing after so many things. Some even make an idol out of that glowing box in their living room called a T.V.

One of the most common things that trip people up here in America that I see all the time is greed. The attitude is “praise God, but now I have to get back to keeping up with the Jones”

Jesus encountered the “rich young ruler” who had kept the law from his youth. But Jesus told the young man he still lacked one thing. Jesus told him to sell all he had and seek after the Lord. Does this mean having money is bad should the Lord decide to bless you?

No, not at all. But Jesus wants to be first in our lives and to have our hearts 100% committed to Him. If chasing after mammon and other things of the world is your prime focus in life…well personally I have just enough fear of the Lord that it would seriously concern me to be honest. Going through legalistic “religious rituals” such as keeping the law (or church attendance) just won’t cut it if your heart is wrong.

Jesus saw that with the rich young ruler it was a case where money was the young man’s “god” and there was no place in his heart to sincerely seek after Jesus when money was in reality the young man’s ruler.

Jesus was trying to tell the rich young ruler exactly what He had shared when telling the disciples the parable of the Sower:

“Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.” (Matthew 13:22)

The Bible has a lot to say about money and I have found that most of what the Bible has to say about money is not of a positive nature.

I found several verses on the topic of money with about five minutes of searching the on-line Bible:

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matthew 6:24)

“…He said, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (Luke 18:24-25)

“But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” (1 Timothy 6:9-10)

“So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain; It takes away the life of its owners.” (Proverbs 1:19)

“He who is greedy for gain troubles his own house, But he who hates bribes will live.” (Proverbs 15:27)

“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:36-37)

If one has any fear of the Lord in them whatsoever, I believe the verses above might really challenge them to check in with Jesus regarding their priorities and ask themselves a question.

Are you serving Jesus or have you kicked Him out of your life to serve your “stuff?”

The particular verses above are about money and material things but really I think they can apply to any idol we would seek to put in a place before Jesus in our lives.

The real bottom line is this:

“You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons.” (1 Corinthians 10:21)