"I believe that God has my back," said the man asking for help, concerned by the demonic incursion into his life, and, especially, the life of his girlfriend.
He has no idea...yet.
A message received via Facebook Messenger by a local (San Jose) man who discovered my blog while researching demonic activity online, which he now faces in earnest, which is followed by my best, most effective answer:
In order to benefit from any kind of help, the person requesting it must be standing on firm ground prior to receiving it. At a minimum, that's defined by a roof over their head, food in their stomach, clothes on their back, good health, and freedom of movement (just think of being both incarcerated and a victim of demonic activity). It's also defined by self-control (being without controlling addictions to sex, violence or similar), and total abstinence from any and all means by which one can advertently or inadvertently support the agenda of the enemy. Don't know what that is? Before taking any action (or failing to take an action), consider whether you are acting in the spirit of love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and/or gentleness. If not, you're either about to make the wrong move (or to fail to make the right one).
As is inevitable, this person and his girlfriend are going to be challenged to make choices better than the ones they are being offered as they navigate the tricky waters of the world they are just now coming to know. As I can attest, it will feel like nothing shy of a miracle that better choices can be seen, let alone acted on; but, if you can't do both, any help offered to them is help given to the enemy.
The answer, then, to finding firm ground is faith. It is what faith is for, and not only has been used successfully by those facing the exact problem the man described to me, but is achieved by and through a Man who promises to fix that problem with it. My Bible notes explain as follows:
He has no idea...yet.
A message received via Facebook Messenger by a local (San Jose) man who discovered my blog while researching demonic activity online, which he now faces in earnest, which is followed by my best, most effective answer:
NOTE | This cry for help also provides an opening for my eventual, hoped-for coverage on the economic and strategic dependency on human trafficking for demons and their people. Victims are used by both right under your very nose, a fact to which that many of their people will proudly and openly attest, if asked.The help
In order to benefit from any kind of help, the person requesting it must be standing on firm ground prior to receiving it. At a minimum, that's defined by a roof over their head, food in their stomach, clothes on their back, good health, and freedom of movement (just think of being both incarcerated and a victim of demonic activity). It's also defined by self-control (being without controlling addictions to sex, violence or similar), and total abstinence from any and all means by which one can advertently or inadvertently support the agenda of the enemy. Don't know what that is? Before taking any action (or failing to take an action), consider whether you are acting in the spirit of love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and/or gentleness. If not, you're either about to make the wrong move (or to fail to make the right one).
As is inevitable, this person and his girlfriend are going to be challenged to make choices better than the ones they are being offered as they navigate the tricky waters of the world they are just now coming to know. As I can attest, it will feel like nothing shy of a miracle that better choices can be seen, let alone acted on; but, if you can't do both, any help offered to them is help given to the enemy.
The answer, then, to finding firm ground is faith. It is what faith is for, and not only has been used successfully by those facing the exact problem the man described to me, but is achieved by and through a Man who promises to fix that problem with it. My Bible notes explain as follows:
“We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth; So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:”
It is our blessed assurance that God is with us whenever we see faith and love work effectually against the soul-killing agenda of a world ruled by Satan, which prohibits its citizens from reaching anywhere beyond the ill-fitting roles into which they are molded, even while sanctioning discord among them by fostering the inevitable struggles for power in intentional short supply, but made necessary for survival (e.g., survival of the fittest, it's a dog-eat-dog world, etc.).
Christ died for you to give you a different life than that (the opposite, in fact). By offering His blood for yours, He made you free to fulfill the purpose for which God created you; and, He established a means by which you can enjoy and share that freedom with others all within His purview and power, His church:
"He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Achieving this life in the face of otherwise insurmountable obstacles requires faith in that fact, the proper exercise of which will guarantee success against all odds:
“For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.”
Perseverence and stamina in faith can be maintained by just one belief:
“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
The quest for faith starts with a sincere desire to ascertain your true identity and purpose and their relationship and meaning; it leads you to a proper understanding of the best who, what, when, where, why, how and wow that life has in store for you; it ends with a confident expectation of realizing that life:
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”
When your faith reaches full maturity, it becomes living proof to others of your inalienable right to be who you were made to be, particularly to those who would deny it:
“And in nothing [be] terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God.”Faith is seeded by the yearning of your soul to grow in the likeness of its progenitor, and by the promise of fulfillment, it sprouts:
“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”
It is planted in a willingness to surrender any contradictory notions about your life, both from others and you, as well as any expectations that fall short of the possible:
“Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.”
It buds by clarity of Truth (as given by and through the Word):
“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
It blossoms in the knowledge of righteousness, which enables you to see and make all the right choices for optimal growth:
“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
It produces the first fruits of a confidence sufficient to take hold of the life for which it was purposed:
“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
In season, it is the strength that paves the way for you to realize not just your best, but even better—resilient, hardy and fruitful in other-worldly proportions, and able to withstand all kinds of weather:
“Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”
It yields a harvest in such good measure (pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, in fact) that it can fuel the inspiration of others aspiring to that same life, and foster eternal friendships of unimaginable quality in the sharing:
"Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand."
A life of faith has been proofed by both time and testing, and those who were experts at imparting it to others, the Apostles, having been disciples of Jesus Himself, offered this prayer on your behalf:
"Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power: That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ."
(How is this prayer for you, even though you were yet to be born when it was prayed? It was received by a God who exists and whose power reaches from eternity to eternity, and was (and is) so answered.)So, that's what faith can do, which is to provide you with a life that can benefit from help, in that you can resist those who would countermand that help, and who would otherwise keep pushing you in the wrong direction.