Most people would say Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year.  It seems everyone is filled with more joy, more smiles, and an enormous giving spirit.  It’s a time of compassion and it seems for a brief moment, most everyone puts others before themselves. 
 
Why would this time of year be so wonderful?  Why do people enjoy it so much?  Why on Christmas do others feel so good for putting others first?  Could it be that we love the season because we are truly doing what we were made to do?  The closer are spirits are in line with God’s spirit, the more joy, peace, and love we will feel.  It feels so good because it is so right.
 
Too often when Christmas ends, we return back to trying to do things our own way.  As our spirits begin to drift away from the meaning of Christmas, we get caught up in a spiritual tug of war.  Far too often, our busyness gets in the way of living like we should be living.  We no longer put others first.  We get selfish.  We live for what the world has to offer.
 
I challenge anyone that reads this to not let the spirt of Christmas leave you.  Every day can be like Christmas if you are living every day for Jesus.  That is why Jesus came into this world.  He came to give us freedom, peace, joy, and the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit that lives in anyone that knows God, enables us to live Christmas 365 days a year.  Christmas never has to end.  Let your light shine year round.  Give.  Love.  Serve.           
 

I was quiet for so long.  It feels so good to be sharing again.

What do you think of when you think of an angel?  Angels in my mind are almost like spiritual superheroes, flying to the rescue of those that believe in Jesus in their time of need.  The writer of Hebrews tells us they indeed help believers.  Hebrews 1:14 “Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?”  What an amazing gift believers have among them as they live on earth.  Imagine what it would look like to see inside the spiritual world while you were living on earth.  I don’t think you would ever look at your life the same way again.

Sure, angels help believers but what is God’s ultimate purpose in creating them?  He created them to serve Him.  When I think of angels, I think of a holy, loving spirit that never stops working.  They are constantly serving, constantly worshiping, constantly doing God’s will.  I am in awe when I think about their devotion.  Can you imagine them taking a ‘break’ from God and not intervening in the life of a Christian when they needed it most?  Can you imagine a group of angels getting together to watch a marathon of their favorite tv shows  while a Christian was suffering heart ache and grief?  Can you imagine an angel banging their head to a death metal song while the rest of their angel friends were busy singing their Lord’s praises?

Why were we created?  Were we not created to serve God?  Sure we have responsibilities that angels don’t have because we live in a flesh world but how many of our responsibilities are necessary?  Which ‘responsibilities’ have we added on because we thought they were important or just because we wanted to do them?  The world wants you to believe that many things are important and exciting because the world is controlled by satan.  Whenever a person is focused on one thing, their devotion and passion is immeasurably grand for that thing.  When a person focuses on two things, their devotion and passion starts to fall to some extent in each thing.  When someone focuses on many things like sports practices, meetings, their favorite tv shows, watching the big game, appointments, after school activities, and even church activities, their devotion to each thing drops dramatically.  It can get to the point that all you can possibly focus on at one time is your current event.  Even at that event, your mind can start drifting to what event is next and you may start wondering if you are going to have enough time to get there. 

In the blink of an eye, our life can go from being a sacrifice to God to being a checklist of things to do.  Is that what God intended our lives to look like?  The only way we can constantly be focused on God is if we are not constantly focused on other things.  Things belong to this world.  People that love things belong to this world.  Christians belong to God.  Live your life constantly praising, constantly serving, and constantly loving.  Live like an angel.  One day believers will join them in Heaven.  What a day that will be.     

This world is filled with deception.  Jesus said, seek and you will find.  The last few years I have been seeking and God has certainly been true to His word.  At times its overwhelming…looking at this world from the new perspective I have been given.  Very little in this world is at it appears.  Satan from the very beginning has been twisting and manipulating the truth in hopes he can bring us to destruction.  In all honesty, he has done exactly what he intended to do and he is good at what he does.  He has deceived the nations.  It is impossible to not be deceived if you are not in God’s word daily.  Things that appear ok are bad.  Things that appear good are bad.
Only in a world controlled by the evil one would people be more interested in saving the planet and saving animals, then saving babies from being exterminated because they are not wanted.  Is it any wonder that leaders today say that the earth warming is our greatest concern?  If you believe this, you believe man could end the world before God wants it to end.  God’s plan for mankind was in place before man existed.  His plan will happen exactly like He wants it to happen.  If the world warms, it’s because the creator of the earth wanted it to warm.  Global warming is deception from satan. 
Aliens have come with many messages concerning our planet.  They have told people that if we didn’t change our ways, earth would not be able to sustain life for much longer.  Their messages often sound similar to those that want to save our planet from impending doom.  Why would this be?  In my book ‘Demonic Deception’ that is free on my website, I explain how aliens are demons.  Knowing that demons are giving this same message should give us concern.       
Even modern day prophets that claim to hear from God himself claim that God told them we are destroying the planet.  If someone says God said it, it must be true right?  Wrong.  In my book I also talk about how demonic deception has infiltrated the church.  I am yet to find a person that claims to be a modern prophet that doesn’t have messed up theology.  When we stray from God’s word, spirits other than the Holy Spirit, enter us.  So again, if someone claims he is a modern day prophet, yet he does not speak God’s truth, we know he has a different spirit.  Matthew 7:15 "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.”  When Jesus said inwardly they are ferocious wolves, he meant they contained a different spirit.  2 Corinthians 11:4 “For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.”
Hold on to Jesus.  Cling to His word.  Search for the truth.             

Many times when listening to preachers in the charismatic church, I saw a strong neglect of the Old Testament.  One popular healing evangelist went so far as to say you could pretty much throw out the whole Old Testament if it wasn’t for a couple of the books in it.  Throw out God’s word??  I remember thinking what a strong statement that was but at that time I was blinded by the powerful grip evil had on me.  Interestingly, it was my wife’s mention of the people in the Old Testament that freed me from the grip evil had on me.
 
The other day God directed me to a few verses in Deuteronomy.  I randomly opened the Bible and the words I read hit me hard.  Those words couldn’t be more clear about modern healings and miracles done by the hands of men.  The verses clearly say that demons can and will perform signs and wonders to get you to follow after them.  This is exactly what we see in many of today’s religions that do not point to the one true God.   That is not to say that God doesn’t still produce miracles today.  God is God and He has been and always will be in control of everything.  Like a good earthly father, God often gives good gifts to the humble and meek that seek Him. 
 
If I remember correctly, my wife had pointed out these verses to me as I wrote my book on demonic deception but somehow I forgot to include the powerful words:  Deuteronomy 13:1-3 If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder spoken of takes place, and the prophet says, “Let us follow other gods” (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul.
 
There is no doubt when looking at populations of different religions around the world, that billions and billions of people have been fooled by demonic deception.   In just one religion today, there is an estimated 1.5 Billion people that are being led astray by a false God.  It’s truly sad that many of these deceived people think they are following after the one true God.  Demons will lead many to their eternal torment.   Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
 
So how do we pass God’s test?  What does it mean to love God with all our soul?  To know and to love God is to know and love His word and His people.  If we are truly seeking Him, He will draw near to us.  His word will become clear to us as His spirit that lives in us will reveal truth to us that the world cannot see.  We will see the world clearly from a heavenly perspective rather than from a clouded earthly perspective.  We will have the fruits of the spirit… love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,   gentleness, and self-control.  Those with the Holy Spirit can and will make mistakes because they are not perfect, but they will know deep in their hearts what is truth and what is a lie.  It is impossible for someone with the Holy Spirit to not feel a tugging at their heart when they do wrong.  I didn’t feel this tugging when I first started commanding miracles, but I did feel it a few times before it finally became too much to bear.      
 
The time is coming; the time is already near, when Jesus will return to this earth.  We must draw near to Him so we can withstand all the attacks of the enemy in this ever increasing evil world.  Psalm 18:2 “The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”