A Pretty Neat Thing That Just Happened

One of the Spiritual gifts I have is giving. I was inspired this summer to give my sister’s family an ice cream maker – so I saved that to my gift ideas spreadsheet for this Christmas. I did not talk with them about it, other than surreptitiously making sure they didn’t have one already. This Christmas, they asked my sister’s mother in law for one of several gifts including a specific ice cream maker, but she chose to give a different gift. I sent them not only the exact model they were looking for, but the exact color they requested.

What a cool divine bit of inspiration to get to participate in!

The Things I’ve Seen

On the heels of yesterday’s post, I want to lay out as many of the different things that I believe I’ve seen. Some of these things I’m more sure are true than others.

  • There is something very demonic at the heart of the Democrat Party, among the party and thought leaders. Most voters and party members get in for good reasons, but it’s a slippery slope that leads to something that is actively malevolent – with each and every policy, although I don’t think there’s any one person coordinating everything in some conspiracy way. As far as the political actors, it’s much more about collusion of aligned interests. But don’t make the mistake of thinking that this makes Republicans “right” or “good”. Some are, some aren’t.
  • The easiest to see tell right now is the abuse of children: whether the enthusiasm for abortion, the push to normalize MAPs, the elites & Epstein & Nassar, sex trafficking across our border, the push to trans the children, Drag Queen story hours…
  • There’s something demonic that really loves to deface God’s image in us. Piercings, tattoos, even certain haircuts or hair coloring or makeup…Certainly not every tattoo or piercing, but it’s significantly more present than in those who don’t go for any of that stuff. And almost all drag (except for pretty much when it’s used as satire or comedy).
  • God was/is using TDS – on both sides of the aisle – to do something. To push around the pieces on the table, to make people entrench fully into positions they half held…Trump is not Godly (he has done some good and some bad things), but God has very much used him.
  • God is shaking the church of its debris, refining off the dross.
  • There’s a global ripening of people’s hearts. An expectation for something new.
  • There’s a tension in the air, a building confrontation between not just the globalists vs the people (as witnessed in protests throughout U.S., Brazil, Canada, Netherlands, China, so much of the rest of Europe)…but confronting something like the post modern atheistic philosophy…
  • The greater Boston area, where I primarily live, has a spiritual atmosphere like a weighted blanket on your heart.
  • Washington D.C. has a spiritual atmosphere that is very dark and complicated/sophisticated.
  • Satan seems to work most at the edges. When an object rusts, usually the rust seems to start at the edges and work its way in.
  • There’s a demonic unreality bubble, largely created by the media, over most of our society. It pervades everything and every discussion. How safe and effective are the vaccines? Are black men being hunted by cops? How many people are crossing our southern border, and is that number worse or better under Biden? One can literally bring up the scientific articles to someone in the bubble by the people they claim to respect that go directly against the points they’re claiming as true, and it will entrench their position, not refute it. However – those who have escaped the bubble, which is mostly but not entirely on the political left, are stuck grasping at each and everything outside the bubble hoping it’s true, and much of it is conspiracy nonsense that just doesn’t happen to be one of the untruths the bubble has decided to enshrine. I’m more convinced every day that it’s not about debating which trivial point is scientifically true or not, but bringing THE truth back into the scene. We must rebuild from the foundation. Which isn’t to say that there isn’t truth to be found in science, but society is currently living on untruths, including in science.

The Gift Of Spiritual Discernment

Over Thanksgiving week God chose to do that thing he does where he has multiple people come and tell you something to make sure you actually get the point. And what he was telling me was that I fundamentally misunderstood the gift of Spiritual Discernment. I always understood Discernment as the practice of acting with Wisdom, but Spiritual Discernment is a different gift altogether, and is mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:10:

to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.

1 Corinthians 12:10

Spiritual Discernment is that ability to distinguish between spirits, and it seems to be one of the most commonly misunderstood gifts. And I most definitely have this gift. I’m not sure to what extent, and I probably has a lot of honing and work to do, but I can definitely feel the spiritual atmosphere of certain places, and some of my previous blog posts are about what I’ve been experiencing are directly on this topic. What was driving me a little bit crazy was how few Christians seemed to be seeing the same thing I was and how they didn’t feel the same way I did about certain environments, and now I understand that it’s like the majority of the world is colorblind – I’m not crazy for being able to see these things. This also helps me realize that some of the things I feel are an external atmosphere pushing against me, and it is my duty to resist – in particular in this vein, I’ve had several other people with discernment tell me that Boston has a relatively well known atmosphere of glumness that I’m not the only one who feels as soon as I land at Logan. Knowing its an external force gives me a much easier stance to resist it over thinking it’s an internal depression.

I’m still searching for resources on this, but here’s one ebook I found that seems to be both practical and biblically solid.

I’ve also discovered that my father has the same gift, and one of my sisters does not. And for her, not having it lets her go into places that I might have trouble doing.

Meet Loab

Yes, I do believe this is demonic. Although less likely a specific demon and more probably along the lines of Ouija Boards, it’s an open invitation for any passing demon to try and mess with you.

Procedurally generated art (by “A.I.”, although it’s really not) I don’t believe is demonic – it’s just a tool. But it’s a tool that lets us easily indulge creative fantasies and desires, and that’s where the danger lies.

God’s Sense Of Humor

Twice now in the past few years I’ve had God answer prayer requests with the exact same sense of humor that I often respond to coworkers’ requests with: one prayer request was for our car to make it through the holidays without breaking down. It broke down on January 2, while driving to work. More recently, I had a prayer request that God would make an upcoming job change apparent for his choice for me — and I have never experienced so many technical glitches, calendar conflicts, and dropped meetings as when interviewing the last few months.

I love that God not only cares about me, but relates to me with a personal touch that shows he knows me through and through.

You Can’t Unsee It

I am finding it remarkable how much the demonic has suddenly gone from covert to overt. The left is openly embracing satanism, and while society collapses all around us on so many practical levels, suddenly the most important issue is openly sexualizing children, taking them to drag bars, and celebrating drag queens. And with the open embrace of the satanic, one starts to see so many characteristics among those who have fully embraced it that you start to pick up the whiff of it among so many others…

Christians are called to bring the fragrance of Christ with them wherever they go. The opposite side also has a fragrance for those who can smell it…

Why God’s Call For Our Worship Does Not Make Him A Narcissist

Several months ago the thought occurred to me that it was odd that we were called to worship God. If I could create a universe, I have no desire for it to worship me. In some ways, God’s call for our worship makes God seem narcissistic. But the reason why it is not is when we look at the broader picture:

God is the perfect embodiment of everything good, including beauty. The universe isn’t created just to be off on its own – look at it like a piece of jewelry – God is the perfect gemstone, with the universe created as a beautiful setting – it is all meant to point to and reflect off of his beauty. Or perhaps view God and the universe like a winning dish on a certain episode of Top Chef – the challenge was to cook an elevated dish that starred brisket barbecue. Brisket is delicious and amazing on it’s own, and the dish that won didn’t try and overshadow the brisket, but everything in it highlighted and echoed different aspects of the brisket, showing it off in new and unique ways.