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I have to interrupt my book posts to share an amazing story...
God is in control of all things. I was reminded of this on Friday morning. I was off from work to go deer hunting. I was about to go out the door for the morning hunt when my kids got into a heated argument. I decided now was not the time to leave and spent the next several minutes talking with them. By the time I got out the door the nighttime darkness was just starting to leave. To say I was upset is an understatement. Any good hunter knows you want to already be in your spot and settled when it starts getting light outside. Truth is this is how my hunting season had gone ever since it started. I had just had a conversation with my wife earlier in the week about my misfortunes. I told her, “I don’t know what God’s purpose is but my hunting season has just been awful.” As I walked out the door and headed into the woods on that cold, calm morning I prayed to God about it. I asked for Him to help me. Not long after I entered the woods I saw a flash of movement in front of me about 50 yards or so. As I had feared, the deer were already moving around because of my late arrival in the woods. Ordinarily, the deer would have been long gone. Today would be very different. I stood motionless on the path leading through the woods. The path is large and wide…about 8 feet or so across. I was hoping the deer would quietly leave without causing a lot of noise. Many times when they are alarmed they will make loud noises called blowing, to alert every deer in the woods of danger. I stood motionless for a couple minutes before I started to hear the deer coming towards me. I could just make out shapes coming my way. After three or four minutes the noises just stopped. I could no longer see the deer in the darkness as I strained my eyes as hard as I could. As precious time was wasting, I patience was running out. Thinking they may have slipped off without me knowing it, I slowly began to walk up the trail in the direction I heard them coming. I hadn’t taken two steps when I saw a large white flash not ten yards in front of me. It was one of the deer. I couldn’t believe it had been so close to me. It ran back several yards and just stopped. I continued standing there motionless trying to decide my next move when I again began hearing footsteps. I thought they were leaving but to my surprise the footsteps got closer and closer again only this time they were approaching on my left. After a couple minutes I was clearly able to make out the shape of one of the deer. It couldn’t have been more than 15 yards away eating from the ground. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I had no idea why it wasn’t running away but I wasted no time in getting ready for a shot. I pulled back my bow, steadied my aim, and released. I could tell by the noise my arrow made that I had missed. The deer got startled and ran back 20 yards or so in the direction it had come from and just stood there. I couldn’t believe it was not leaving. At this point it is only 30 or 40yards from me and I continue to stand on this very open path in the woods. I wasn’t concealed at all. It couldn’t have been a minute later and I again hear movement. This same deer is coming back. I couldn’t believe my eyes as I looked over to see it standing to the left of me at 15 yards again. I resisted the shot this time because of my last miss. There were some tree branches hanging in view and with the limited visibility, I didn’t want to risk hitting one so I waited. After 5 minutes or so both deer crossed over the ravine to my left and disappeared out of sight. I finally had the chance to walk to my stand without causing a lot of noise. I walked slowly and as quietly as I could through the dry leaves. I made it about 50 yards or so when I began to hear noises coming from the direction the deer had went. I looked through the ever increasing light to see these same two deer coming towards me. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I took a few more steps and stopped. I looked again and now they were 30 yards or so from me and they were looking directly at me. I sidestepped to my right and stood behind a tree trying to slow my speeding heart. The deer continued to get closer and began to eat 15 yards or so in front of me in the woods. Why did they travel over 100 yards to stand directly in front of me at 15 yards again? Why did they seem to be drawn to the sounds of my feet? I tried to find an opening through the tree limbs, pulled back anther arrow, and released. I knew for sure I had missed again when I heard a funning noise after I had shot. The arrow had deflected off a limb and was sticking in the ground pointing straight up. That was definitely a first. By this time you are thinking surely these deer are long gone right? Wrong. The deer went right back to eating, occasionally looking at me as if they were making sure I was still there. I pulled another arrow from my quiver and put it on the bow string. I can’t begin to explain all the thoughts going through my mind at this point. I didn’t understand what was happening but it all felt very surreal…almost like a dream. After the deer finished eating it decided to do the unthinkable, it was going to walk onto the trail I was standing on to give me a clear shot. There were no tree limbs and no trees to get in the way as it walked out directly in front of me at; you guessed it, 15 yards. The shot was such a slam dunk that I missed it. I stood in disbelief as the deer ran 20 yards or so to my left and just stood there. My spirit was crushed. How did I just miss that shot? Why is this deer behaving like it has a death wish? So many thoughts were going through my mind. I was a mess. I did all that I knew to do. I prayed. I told God that if He could just bring that deer back one more time I could make a good shot. After the deer walked into the woods out of sight I walked back to retrieve my arrow. Why I didn’t go ahead and walk to my stand at this point is beyond me. Maybe my confidence was just too shaken. My honest answer is I am not sure. I walked the 50 yards or so down the wide open trail to retrieve my arrow. When I found it, just as I expected there was no trace of a hit. I had missed the deer cleanly. I placed the arrow into the quiver and pulled out another arrow and placed it on the bow string. I hadn’t been standing there 2 minutes when I began to hear noise from the direction the two deer had just gone. A moment later, from the woods immerged one of the deer. As soon as I saw it, it looked directly at me. I couldn’t get a shot but no worries, the deer would get into a good shooting position for me. She circled through the woods so she could again step out onto the same trail I was standing. Before she stepped out into the opening, she looked at me once again. This moment that only lasted for a brief second, is burned into my mind. In that moment I saw God. I saw the gift that He was giving me and I felt a love in the deepest parts of me. I pulled back my arrow, the deer stepped into the opening at 15 yards, and I released. The deer dropped to the ground and shortly thereafter, I dropped to my knees. I looked up to heaven, and with tears rolling down my cheeks, I thanked God for His amazing love. In that moment, all the frustration of the hunting season vanished. I don’t know why God does what He does sometimes but I do know He loves us with an amazing love. If you trust in Jesus He will change your life. What are demons? Most people agree that demons are fallen angels. Satan, in his prideful, selfish ways turned from God and according to Revelation 12:4, one third of the angels God created went with him to earth. Some people believe that demons are not fallen angels at all, at least not in the sense that most think. They believe Satan was created to represent evil. John 8:44 says “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” They believe because he was a murderer from the beginning, he was made that way on purpose.
Regardless of if Satan was originally created for good and then chose his own path of rebellion against God, or if he was created to test our loyalty to God, the fact remains that God lets Satan and his dark army roam free on the earth. Satan was allowed in the Garden of Eden when he tempted Eve to eat the forbidden fruit and Satan is allowed to tempt us today. The confusing and disturbing question for some is why would God allow Satan to mess with us? Why would He not just send him to hell and be done with it? To answer this question we must look at why God created us. We were created to worship Him. God could have created us like puppy dogs that no matter what you do to them; they always come back licking your face. God could have created a being that just bowed at His feet and praised His name for all of eternity without even choosing to do so, but God knew that wouldn’t be real worship. Real worship must be chosen by a free being and given out of love. So God gave us a choice to worship him by sending down some of His fallen angels to earth to serve as the opposition. Not only does God allow demons to roam the earth so we consciously choose Him, He also allows them here to increase our character and our faith. In James 1:2-4, Jesus’ half-brother states, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” From God’s perspective, having Satan and his demons constantly testing and tempting us is a good thing because it causes us to produce a better fruit. Remember our God is a perfect God and He knows what He is doing. A perfect example of this is Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” The scripture does not say in some things or in most things but in all things. In all things God is at work for the good of us that believe. DEMONS IN YOUR LIFE It is creepy to think about but demons are everywhere. They are watching you all the time. You cannot see them unless they want to be seen but that does not mean they are not there. They are the definition of evil and they are good at what they do. Their art is deception and they are skilled like Picasso and van Gogh. Demons are constantly telling lies. That is all they know to do. The lies are often times unrecognizable. Demons are wiser than man. They will take a truth and twist it just a little bit. Once you buy a little lie, you get tempted to buy another. And then another. Before you know what happened, you are further from God than ever before, doing things you never thought you would do. A perfect biblical example of this is the story of Lot in the Old Testament. Lot was blessed by God because of his father Abraham. Even though God had blessed Lot, he packed up his belongings and pitched his tent just outside Sodom, the wickedest place of the time. Soon after, Lot moved into Sodom and years later he became a leader in the sinful city. By the end of his time in Sodom, he freely offered up his daughters to the angry mob outside his house to have their way with them. How did Lot get so far from where he started? Lot fell, through the progressive nature of sin that Satan uses on all of us. Satan’s strategy reminds me of the story of the frog that most all of us have heard. If you put a frog in boiling water, it will instantly jump out. If you put that same frog in cool, pleasant water, and then slowly raise the temperature on the frog until it is boiling, it will never jump out and it will die. Sin is the same way. It usually starts out small and innocent but eventually, it will lead to death. (Romans 6:23) It is important to know that our mind, the connection between our consciousness and our spirit, is like the door that keeps Satan and his demons from entering us. Any time we freely give up this mind/spirit connection, we are at risk of demonic influence. The mind without the spirit is like a house with nobody home. If a thief walks by a house and sees no one is home, he will quickly enter the home to take its possessions. Demons are the same way. They will seize an opportunity. Many things can cause the door to be opened including meditation, hypnosis, alcohol, and drugs. Once we are no longer in control, a demon will gladly step into our place. 1 Peter 5:8 says "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may DEVOUR." Whether you are a believer or a non-believer, demons can still affect and influence you. But being a believer actually causes you to be under a more watchful eye from demons because of their hatred for God. A non-believer represents a sole that they have already won. They will fight day and night to destroy and win the soul of a believer. They despise a Christian’s worship of God. This fight between good and evil, known as spiritual warfare, is anything that takes the believers eyes off Jesus. Find a church where great things are happening for God and you can rest assured that Satan is working overtime to cause strife. Many times, a great controversy develops, causing the great momentum of the church to crumble. Pastors get fired for wrongdoing and longtime church members leave, leaving empty seats in a once crowded place of worship. This is not by coincidence or by accident. It is demons at work. Not only can demons mess with you mentally, they can also cause physical harm. In Luke 13:10-17, we learn of a lady that was a believer in God that had been crippled for 18 years, was healed by Jesus. The synagogue leader tried to condemn Jesus for healing her on the Sabbath and Jesus answered him, “Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” Satan’s powers are not infinite but he is capable of causing us physical harm and sickness. This is not to say that all causes of sickness and disease are from demons but they do have the power to inflict them upon you if God allows it. NEXT UP CHAPTER 4...NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCES See my previous blog post for chapter 1
CHAPTER 2 THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF PARANORMAL GHOSTS I have long been interested in ghosts. As a child, one of my favorite cartoons was Scooby Doo. Scooby Doo, which aired its first episode on September 13, 1969, is the longest running cartoon ever. Scooby and his gang also hit the big screen for a live action film in 2002, followed by a sequel in 2004. As of June, 2014, there were talks of a third movie in the works. So why does everyone love Scooby Doo? What keeps bringing young and old alike back year after year? Sure we all love Scooby and Shaggy’s antics. Some of us may have even tried a Scooby snack or two in our lifetime. But what really keeps us coming back is at the core of every episode, a mystery; the mystery of the unknown. My childhood fascination with ghosts continued into adulthood. In the last eight years I have watched over 200 different episodes of either ghost hunting or haunted house reenactments. I was fascinated by what other people have seen. I used to love to hear of their stories. I always had a gut feeling about what ghosts were but I always kept an open mind. So what are ghosts or what do most people think they are? In my research I found five common classifications or explanations.
Imagine that you have just spent the last two days in the hospital. Someone that you loved so deeply has just died. You are hurting beyond comprehension. You want to be comforted. You want to be able to speak to them again. This deep desire that we all have to hold onto what we love creates our fascination with the other side. When my own wife died in 2006, I had an overwhelming need to speak to her again. I missed her terribly and I hated not being able to tell her about my day. I wanted to see her again. This desire to see and talk to our loved ones again, has some searching for ways to do it. Some people, in their attempt to talk to their deceased family and friends, turn to the Ouija board. In 1886, The New York Daily Tribune reported on a new talking board being used in Ohio. The board described was homemade and the article described how to make one for yourself. By 1891, a patent was granted for the first talking board toy which came to be known as the Ouija board, which first retailed for $1.50. When William Fuld, the man who was producing the boards under the name of Ouija, died in 1966, his estate sold the business to Parker Brothers. In 1991, Parker Brothers was sold to Hasbro which still produces the game today. Many people that have used Ouija boards are amazed at how well they work. They ask questions that only a loved one would know and a spirit that they believe to be their loved one, answers correctly. They truly believe they contacted someone they loved so dearly. Serving the same purpose, a newer piece of equipment that is used to contact loved ones is the digital recorder. Even better than the Ouija board, those looking for lost loved ones can sometimes hear the voice of those that have passed on. To those that are looking for hope, the EVP or electronic voice phenomenon, further proves that the deceased is not gone forever, but only in another world watching over them. The digital recorder is the same device that you see being used at universities to record lectures so how does it record those from another realm? No one is sure. Those looking to contact the other side press the record button and then ask a series of questions. Usually, no audible voice is heard in the room but when the recording is played back, there can sometimes be unexplained voices present. Konstantins Raudive and Hans Bender were two of the first to do research with EVPs. Together they published a book in 1971 titled, Breakthrough: An Amazing Experiment in Electronic Communication with the Dead. It is reported that they had over 100,000 recordings with captured EVP’s. As the popularity of ghost hunting shows on tv has increased, use of the digital recorder to capture EVP’s has also increased. Thousands and thousands of ghost hunters around the world hit record on their recorders and ask questions hoping to make contact with the dead. Another resource people use to find answers to the unknown is using so called ‘gifted’ people. These include physics and mediums. Mediums can either go into a trance like state to contact dead loved ones or they can use Ouija boards to do so. Physics are used more for looking into the future although they also claim to be able to talk to the dead. Remote viewing is another popular way that people use to find their answers. Remote viewing is a controlled use of ESP or extrasensory perception that allows the viewer to see a person, place, or thing that is in the past or future. Remote viewing is done by meditating or emptying your mind to create a black window. You are then to gaze into this window while keeping all thoughts and daydreams out. It is reported that many militaries throughout the world, including the United States, now use remote viewing as a way to try to gain a tactical advantage. ALEINS The original Star Wars movie created by George Lucas, was released in 1977. The movie series instantly became a phenomenon throughout the world. According to statisticbrain.com, as of January 1, 2014, total Star Wars franchise revenue had reached a staggering $27,000,000,000. You read that right. 27 Billion dollars. Probably for as long as man has been alive, we have looked up at the sky and wondered. We have wondered if we are alone. Aliens are everywhere. There have been dozens of movies made about them. The toy isles in the stores are filled with creatures from another galaxy. Sightings of UFO’s are occurring more and more every day. YouTube is filled with UFO videos. News stations are filming them and airing them on nightly news. The UFO hysteria is growing. The 2012 Canadian Ufology survey released a report that stated the number of UFO sightings in Canada had doubled since 2011. The sightings there, now at an all time high, has former Canadian defense minister Paul Hellyer calling on governments to disclose information about their UFO sightings. The National UFO Reporting Center in the US has reported a 42% increase of sightings from 2011 to 2012. The phenomenon is not just here in North America. Sightings are occurring with greater regularity all over the world. In March, 2014 a giant UFO was filmed approaching the International space station and the video was uploaded to YouTube, a popular video sharing website. In four months time, the video had been viewed 769,000 times, with users leaving over 750 comments. One comment left was from a very convinced viewer, “Most certainly a curious UFO coming to check out the ISS... Anybody who disagrees is foolish!!" But is he right? If there is in fact aliens living among us it could certainly disprove God’s existence. The Bible doesn’t talk about visitors from another galaxy. The Bible clearly states that God created only humans, angels, and animals with intelligence. In 2 Peter 3:10 God talks about the end days when He says, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.” If God had created another intelligent life form seemingly equal to us, would the sins of humans cause them to cease to exist as well? God states that the heavens and the elements will disappear along with the earth. If something else existed, it would surely be destroyed as well. If there were indeed aliens from other planets, the distances they would have to travel to visit earth would be astronomical. The nearest star to earth is 4.2 light years away. One light year is about 5.9 trillion miles. To travel to earth in a reasonable time frame, an alien traveling from this nearest star would have to travel at ludicrous speed, a speed made famous in the 1987 space movie, Spaceballs. But even at the ludicrous speed of 18,600 miles per second it would still take 43 years for them to reach their destination. ANGELS Look around you and you will undoubtedly see representations of angels. They are everywhere. There are professional sports teams that use them for their mascots. They are on greeting cards. They are on tombstones. They have even become one of, if not the most popular decorating item for the Christmas season. The city of Los Angeles is known as the city of angels. What is the fascination? What is the truth? The word angel comes from the Greek word aggelus which means messenger. The Bible mentions angels at least 108 times in the Old Testament and 165 times in the New Testament. Clearly angels are important to God. In the Holy Bible, angels carry out ten distinct tasks:
Angels are created beings. Colossians 1:16 explains this. “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.” Angels are spirits without bodies just like the human spirit but angels can take on the appearance of man if they chose to. Hebrews 13:2 says that angels are walking amongst us. “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” Angels can also appear like they did in Mathew 28:3. “His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.” Because angels are spirits, they can choose to not be seen at all. Truth is you may have angels around you as you read this book. Angels are superior to man. (Hebrews 2:7) They are stronger and they are wiser. Some angels are holy. Other angels are wicked and known as demons. Both from time to time cross over from the spirit world to earth. Angels play a part in our daily lives, usually without us even noticing. EVERYTHING ELSE The paranormal doesn’t stop at ghosts, aliens, and angels. Many other strange sightings occur every year all over the world. Unlike ghosts, aliens, and angels, these paranormal entities seem to have a small geographical range just like different species of animals. Some of the most popular include: BIG FOOT Big Foot is reported to be a large, hairy, ape like creature that has been spotted in all fifty states of the United States and also Canada. The first documented sightings occurred in the 1800’s in Western Canada and then later in the 1900’s in the Western United States. One of the Big Foot’s unique characteristics is its glowing eyes usually red, yellow, or orange. Big Foot sightings are often accompanied by a skunk like sulfurous smell. Other times, no scent is smelled at all. Often times, dead pets, livestock, or wild animals are found in the vicinity of the sightings. Despite no one ever being able to provide a deceased Big Foot as evidence, belief in the elusive creature is still high. According to an Angus Reid public opinion poll, 29% of Americans think Big Foot is definitely or probably real. In Skamania County Washington, Bigfoot is listed as an endangered species and a person convicted of killing one there could face a year in jail and a $1,000 dollar fine. Similar to the Big Foot is the Yeti in the Himalayan Mountains and Yowie in Australia. FOUKE MONSTER The Fouke Monster, also known as the Southern Big Foot, is a large, humanoid like creature with long dark hair and red glowing eyes. This creature first appeared in the small town of Fouke Arkansas in the early 1970’s and has only been reported seen in Arkansas. Several dead livestock in the area were blamed on the creature. In 1971, it was reported that the creature attacked a husband and wife at their farmhouse sending the man to the hospital for scratches on his back and shock. Tracks found where the creature was spotted outside their house showed three toed prints similar to an alligator and scratch marks were found on the couple’s front porch. Eyewitnesses of the creature report of its awful smell similar to a skunk. Several movies have been made about the creature with the first one released in 1972, The Legend of Boggy Creek. CHUPACABRA The legend of the Chupacabra began in the 1990’s in Puerto Rico when chickens and goats were found dead. But they weren’t just found dead. The animals were found with fang marks on their necks and their bodies were void of blood. Sightings of the vampire monster soon starting being reported in Mexico, Central America, and Southern and Western United States. The creature is described as a gray, lizard like creature with large fangs and a forked tongue. It is reported to be three to four feet tall with sharp quills running down its back. It walks upright on its powerful back legs. Eyewitnesses of the chupacabra report that the creature has glowing red eyes. Another common report is smelling a sulfur type pungent odor whenever the creature is present. MOTHMAN The Mothman was first reported seen in Point Pleasant, West Virginia in November of 1966. Within one year, over one hundred sightings had been reported. The flying winged creature was described as being six or seven feet tall with sunken, glowing red eyes. Eyewitnesses reported that he flew with ease and at times flew extremely fast. One group of eyewitnesses that were being chased by the creature, raced down the highway at over 100 miles an hour to escape but the Mothman remained with them the whole time. Another interesting feature of the Mothman is his ability to go straight up like a helicopter without even flapping his wings. One eyewitnesses of the Mothman in Point Pleasant West Virginia was recently interviewed. He reported waking up around 3am and looking to see a winged glowing creature of around six feet tall standing next to his bed. He was frozen in bed, so full of fear and dread he was unable to speak. He continually prayed to Jesus in his mind and soon the creature vanished into nothingness. After 1967, reports of the Mothman became less and less frequent but things didn’t settle down in Point Pleasant. Mothman was replaced with a rash of UFO sightings that had people there on edge. More recently, a similar winged creature has been reported in Santiago Chile. There, on September 29th 2013, a winged creature was seen flying from tree to tree. Other reports of a human looking flying creature in the Santiago area have since come in. THUNDERBIRD Similar to the Mothman is the Thunderbird. The legend of the Thunderbird goes back to the mythology of Native American Indians. According to their legend, the Giant Thunderbird could shoot lightning from its eyes. Sightings of giant birds have been reported throughout history but it wasn’t until 2001 in Pennsylvania that several sightings occurred and were reported. Eyewitnesses of the giant bird describe a bird that is between five to six feet long with a dull gray glowing body and red eyes. The estimated wing span is between fifteen to seventeen feet. Both the Mothman and the Thunderbird do not have to flap their wings to fly. WEREWOLF Belief in Werewolves had been around for hundreds of years. Like the Salem witch trials in the US, in the 1500’s France held trials for suspected werewolves. Sightings of the beast have been reported all over Europe and the United States. On October 31, 1999 in Southeastern Wisconsin, a woman got out of her vehicle after hitting an animal in the road. While looking for the animal on the dark road, she saw a large hairy beast racing towards her. She jumped back in her car and sped away. Many other reports in Wisconsin started to appear after the incident. The beast was described as gray or brown in color, with sharp fangs, and was usually seen with glowing red eyes. One eyewitness reported seeing one standing on its back legs and others reported werewolves chasing after them. In some instances, mutilated livestock was found near sightings. MONKEY MAN In May of 2001, a creature was reported to be attacking people at night in the capital city of New Delphi, India. On May 14th, 50 attacks were reported with two people jumping to their deaths to elude the creature. Dozens others have been said to have been injured including being scratched. Descriptions of the creature vary wildly with some saying the creature is a four foot tall monkey looking creature with fur, while others claim it wears a black uniform with three buttons on its shirt and has a height of around five and a half feet. The creature is reported to have claws. Some eyewitnesses have reported the creature with flaming red eyes. Witnesses have reported seeing the creature leap straight up four stories and others have reported seeing it disappear before their eyes. Up Next...Chapter 3 Demons I finished my book this past summer and for no apparent reason, I lost all interest in it. I prayed about it many, many times but I still had no idea why . Recently I ran across a website of a guy explaining how he had written a book but decided to put it online instead of publishing it. Without even thinking about it, I knew why I never published the book. I was to give it away. It has not been professionally edited but I believe the content is legible and fairly organized. My goal is to upload one chapter a week for the next 20 weeks. I pray God works in the hearts of those that read it and I pray my research and experiences open eyes to what is going on all around us. All the glory to God for what He had done in my life despite my many imperfections.
PREFACE We were driving through Wilder Kentucky when it hit me. I have to write this book. It wasn’t by accident that we were in Wilder. Even though it wasn’t out of our way to drive through there on our way home from our trip to Virginia, there was a specific reason we went there. That specific reason was Bobby Mackey’s Music World. Bobby Mackeys, a country music bar that sits along the Licking River, is considered one of the most haunted places in America. It is referred to by many as ‘the portal to hell.’ We had just come from the famous bar where we stopped to take a couple photos from the car, when I felt God told me to write the book. I had considered writing it before but I was only going to do it if I had too. You see, I had made a deal with demons. Weeks earlier my wife and I had visited the historically haunted Savanah Georgia. While we were there, we had many paranormal encounters. After arriving home in Indiana, we realized that we were still having paranormal encounters. The ghosts had followed us home. It was a very unsettling time in my life. I found it hard to pray. I found it hard to be happy. It felt as if a stone wall had been built between me and God and I didn’t have the energy to carry the stones away. I felt drained, alone and isolated. Every shadow in my house brought with it strong feelings of fear. Every sound that I heard had me looking over my shoulder with dreadful anticipation. I was scared to be in my own house. As a grown man, I didn’t want to be alone there. I became so frustrated and overwhelmed one day, I threatened the demons. I told them with goose bumps going down my spine, if they didn’t leave us alone; I was going to write a book. I was going to expose them for who they were. I was going to tell every one of the many ways they deceive people. I didn’t know it at the time, but God was going to be showing me other ways in which demons deceive in the coming months. I was shocked and blown away at what God revealed to me during this 14 month life-changing journey. At a time in which I felt I was becoming an expert in demonic deception; God humbled me when I fell for yet another one of the devil’s deceptions. And this great deception, the deception I consider the greatest of them all, would be inside the church. This is a book of my experiences and of my mistakes. I am not a biblical scholar nor do I consider myself a great teacher. Because of my many mistakes, I have a story to tell and I feel God wants me to tell it. I pray my mistakes, my experiences, and all that I have learned can free others from the powerful life-sucking grip that Satan has at his disposal. But this is far more than just a matter of life and death. It’s a matter of eternity. Life is a battle that decides eternity. Choose your side wisely. CHAPTER 1 THE SEARCH FOR ANSWERS It’s no secret that America is becoming more and more fascinated with the paranormal. Look through the guide on your TV and you will find dozens of shows relating to ghosts, aliens, mediums, and Bigfoot. We all want answers. We all want to know what happens when we die. Regardless of what religion we belong to, most all of us live with the hope that living on earth is only the beginning. What is the paranormal? The definition of paranormal is: not understandable in terms of known scientific laws and phenomena. Paranormal represents the unknown. We live in a world where there is an answer for almost everything. Through the years science has helped us to learn many of life’s great mysteries. It’s kind of ironic in an age when we are more advanced and have more knowledge than ever before, we seem to be seeking the answers to life more than ever before. Perhaps, the more we learn through science, the less we think about God. At times it seems we want science to prove His existence. According to a poll done in 2009, and later shared by Dan Harris via World News, the percentage of Americans that consider themselves Christians dropped from 86% in 1990 to 76% in 2008. Dave Olson, the director of church planting for the Evangelical Covenant Church, stated in 2002 that only 18.7% of people attending orthodox Christian churches attended regularly. This fall from the Christian church and from God has many people searching for answers and the further we fall from God as a nation, the more lost and confused we will become. As we search for answers, a lot of people will undoubtedly look in all the wrong places. Throughout history, when we didn’t know or understand something, we filled in the blanks with educated guesses but sometimes these guesses weren’t educated at all. For example, since the world doesn’t appear round, it must be flat. In ancient times, stars were thought to be holes in the sky. Migraine headaches were once treated by hand drilling a hole in a person’s skull to relieve the pressure. We know for a fact once someone dies, they are gone from this earth. But we cannot prove where their spirit goes or if it goes anywhere at all. The deceased cannot tell us what the experience is like or where they end up. Like everything else we don’t know or understand, we are left to fill in the blanks. We can choose to use our own educated guesses or we can choose to believe in the Word of God. In the January 4th, 2014 edition of the UK Telegraph, it was reported that there is a growing demand for demonic exorcism all around the world. The Catholic Church in Milan recently nominated seven new exorcists. In 2013, Spain chose eight priests to undergo the special training, and Antonio Maria Rouco Varela, the archbishop of Madrid, stated that there was an unprecedented rise in cases of demonic possession. In the last ten years, the number of Vatican trained priests in the United States has tripled. Why the change? In a February, 2014 edition of the National Catholic Register, Father Vincent Lampert, an exorcist for the Catholic Church, had this to say about the apparent surge in demonic activity. “I don’t think the devil has upped his game. I think people today are more apt to play his game.” While there is a surge in demonic activity all over the world, there is a decline in the Christian church. This is not by coincidence. God created a desire in all of us to need him. Turning from Him creates a hole in us and we yearn to have this hole filled. Some try to fill this void with materialistic things. Others turn to sex, drugs, and alcohol. Still others turn to things such as Wicca, channeling, remote viewing, psychics and mediums, and black magic. These alternative ways of filling the void have become more and more popular as we fall farther and farther from God. There are some practicing mediums and psychics that claim their gifts are from God. God clearly speaks against such things in Deuteronomy 18:10-11 “Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead.” The popular growing religion Wicca is a form of witchcraft. Instead of worshipping a god, they worship a god and a goddess. These gods are often represented by the sun and moon. Not by coincidence, ancient Babylon in the Old Testament, worshiped the sun, fire, and the serpent. According to the-ten-commandments.org, the founder of Babylon and the originator of sun worship was the wicked Nimrod, great grandson of Noah. He envisioned a way to rule all of humanity through a secret religion. This new religion was Satan’s attempt to defy God. Satanism, or the opposition religion, was Satan’s way to distract people from the one true God. The fall of Babylon, a once great city, was prophesized by Jeremiah in 51:37 “And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling-place for dragons, and astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant." God knew of Satan’s evil plan. He knew that Satan was leading his people astray through worshiping ‘things’ rather than worshiping Him. Next up... CHAPTER 2 THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF PARANORMAL |
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