If you’re new to my blog, welcome! This is certainly a one-off article as my blog is focused on guitar, bands, and Japanese music but….this is my blog, so I could do and write about whatever I want. I think the hardest part was naming this article as I cover quite a few, but I’m sure God will lead those who need to find it here…cause that’s just how He works 😛
I wasn’t even sure what photo I could use for this article that would still with with the theme of my blog, but then I remembered Superbook! I watched it on some Christian channel on TV growing up. In high school, I gave it a second gander after findout it was actually a Japanese made cartoon/anime. Japanese continues to amaze me. When you consider how small their Christian population is, it was really surprising. Anyone else watched this?
Anyways what led to the writing of this article is related to my last article where I shared my real experiences from the band and my goals for the new year. I started a rookie anime cover band from scratch and it took 3 years for it to get on stage, which was a dream/bucket list goal of mine since middle school.
While my heart was certainly in it, I was quite tired from their laziness when it came to learning the songs well so we never got as far as I’d hope. Then just before Christimas, right as I finally shared how I was feeling, I found out the new leader was plotting to create a whole new rival behind our backs. That was all I needed to finally quit.
Now I’m not angry at the members. I’ve forgiven and moved on in that aspect. They are who they are, and we don’t have the power to change people. But, I did have a bit of frustration for the situation as a whole, as I did put so much time and energy in this. I’ve advise and nudged them for so long, all while remaining patient and understanding over the year and some we practiced together. But then it all went downhill.
Last night after having my dinner, I was editing the article one more time, and it just brought up this intense frustration once again. I’ve honestly never felt so much frustration in my life, but to be fair, I didn’t really have a chance to really digest these feelings over the holidays, so I decided to sit with my feelings and play a new endless game as I dwelled and released those thoughts.
Before I knew it, it was 5AM. Yes, I was that frustrated. I had a thought that maybe I shouldn’t be feeling angry, but at the same time, I know God doesn’t have a problem with us expressing our emotions. He gets angry too sometimes…Jesus even flipped some tables ^^” So then I recalled this bible verse..
Ephesians 4:26-27 – “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.”
All I could think is….”Yup, Imma be up for quite some time”. I did chat with a friend for one last rant now that I had a bit more time to really digest my feelings and why I was feeling that way. The more I think about a conflict I had, the more things come to light. While I’m not surprised by their actions, I still didn’t expect them to be that selfish.
But then I jumped back into the spiritual discussion we were having. She thinks there is a god, but feels we just have to be good, and she does participate in tarot card readings. While it was interesting to hear her thoughts and views, it was the first time I really got to dig into the spiritual aspect of Christianity and why we shouldn’t consult in occult things like mediums and wiccans.
While she hasn’t really changed her views, I think God put her in my life to awaken me to this whole new side of the world, especially in regards to demons and witchcraft. The more I thought about it, the more I felt an urgent need to go back to how close I was to God at one point, and I even cried when I realized just how much he is doing for us…just how many times he has protected me from evil spirits and I didn’t even notice.
I shared a lot of revelations I came up with over the years, and even came up some new beautiful analogies. While I’m sure she heard me, it wasn’t enough to persuade her to seek the one true God. She, like many of us, chose her own wisdom and path in life, and I respect that.
Being the blogger I am, whenever my advice falls on deaf ears, I always feel inspired to write an article so others who may are seeking that information or who are looking for encouragement can find it. I know demons aren’t really discussed in churches (I for sure don’t recall hearing sermons that really address them), so I really felt compelled to write about them and my recent discoveries from research.
I started writing this around Noon…and it’s now 8PM. I haven’t slept a wink, haven’t eaten nor drank anything. I’m not an all-nighter person, but I was just feeling so passionate about this and got absorbed in writing, time just flew by writing, rearranging, embedding verses and so on. Regardless, I think I’ve finally shaken the frustration regarding the band and can seek through peace with God as I move forward.
Whether you’re a Christian or not, I think it’s worth the read if you have the time. You don’t have to read every section of this. If you don’t care to hear about my background, or you’d rather not know about demons, you can just skip to the God’s Love category, but for those who are dealing or know someone who is held captive by those things, or maybe you’re personally dealing with spiritual warfare, it may be worth checking out.
Please read with an open heart and mind. I know some concepts may be hard or new, but I always try to make my articles as easy as possible to understand, as you may see in my music theory lessons. All I hope is that I can plant a seed to someone, or push a lukewarm Christian to pursue a real relationship with Good soon <3
My Background & Why I’m Still A Christian
I grew up Christian, Seventh-Day Adventist to be specific, so I kept the Sabbath day (full day of rest between Friday sunset and Saturday sunset), didn’t eat pork or shellfish, was told to abstain from any kind of drug, including alcohol and caffeine, etc. I went to public school, so I was always used to being the odd one out among other Christians.
In high school, when I took biology, it blew my mind just how well crafted the world was. It blows my mind that anyone could think this was all an accident. Common, cells and DNA? How our bodies can regenerate itself. How male and female fit perfectly to make kids. The variety of plants and animals that exist, and how we all feed off each other or help each other live, like trees giving us oxygen and we give it carbon dioxide.
The tilt of the earth and it’s rotation causing seasons, and the perfect distance from the sun where we neither burn nor freeze. Like damn. Everything that exists has to come from something, just like how a book has a writer and a computer has a programmer. Humans, despite being weaker than most animals, clearly rule the earth. We walked on two feet, we wore clothes, we have schools and courts and malls, we created technology etc. We were always different, and only the bible explains why.
But then I took philosophy for a couple years. My Grade 11 high school class wasn’t too bad. We mostly discussed ‘what is a person?’. It’s easy to say a human, but as we dug deeper, there were some challenges like other animals having intelligence, or apes sharing similar genes to us. I also had a chance to discuss religion with some Muslim friends and that’s how I found out we had similar roots. This class was pretty open and chill.
I then took a university philosophy course while still in Grade 12 as part of a scholarship program. This class had a very atheistic professor and the main topic was ‘the meaning of life’. We started with theist professors who believed there was some kind of god, and how that fills our hole. How life could only have meaning with a god, and how morals and such only exist with a god. All was fine during this period.
But then we studied non-theist professors and let’s just say, they were depressing. They believed that meaning was just a delusion, and that we are just like other animals, here to survive, pass on our genes, and die. Of course they had their arguments and often used science to back it up, saying evolution is real, thus we are an accident, thus we really don’t have a meaning.
I personally wanted to believe in God, but I, like many Christians, only knew what I was told in church or by my parents. I had no way to defend my faith against science or logic because ‘the bible says so’ wasn’t a sound argument. It felt like I had no foundation for my beliefs, or shall we say ‘blind faith’.
I will admit, for a few weeks, our professor was able to plant some seeds of doubt and I was experiencing what the class referred to as an ‘existential vacuum’, which is “a loss of life interests and a lack of initiative and proactiveness, which can lead to deep feelings of meaninglessness”…aka depression.
Around the time school started, I was reading through the new testament on my own for the first time as I was preparing to get re-baptised on New Years Eve. However, as the doubt came in, I lost my drive to keep reading, and I didn’t read for a few weeks. While I was feeling quite down and depressed, Something was telling me to just read, just read one more page, just pick up the bible. Finally, I conceded. And within the next couple chapters, I came across this verse….
Colossians 2:8 – “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.”
I was stunned and shocked. For one, I didn’t think the word ‘philosophy’ would even be in the bible, but the timing was also impeccable. Just what I needed to hear at this point in my life. From then, I started to do more research to find the evidence I needed, not just for myself but so I could defend God in class and still get an A which would give me a $5000 scholarship.
As I dug, it turned out that there was evidence for various stories in the bible, including the flood. Historians, including non-religious historians all acknowledge that Jesus was a real man who walked the earth. Records were kept pretty diligently back then and there were many witnesses and accounts for them. The bible itself also does well at accounting for bloodlines and locations.
Any argument philosophers had, like ‘The Problem of Evil’ ultimately leads to us having free choice. We are sinners, born into sin. Anything bad that happens is due to our own selfishness, anger, lust, envy, etc. I always say, if God stepped in all the time, then we wouldn’t have free will at that point. It would have like having a helicopter parent that you’re scared of cause they got the belt in their hand.
Anyways, I got an ‘A’ and I continued to study my bible diligently. When I was done the New Testament, I went and read through the old testament daily. My eyes were certainly opened. I was able to see just how much false things go on in variety of churches, verses that were taken out of context, getting the full story and not just the ‘children story’ version. But most of all, I got to see God’s character, how much he cared for humanity and how he fought for those who put their faith in him.
Like most new fired up Christians, we don’t do very well when it comes to preaching the gospel. Of course, we do care and we feel inspired to share so people could be saved, but we may use fear tactics unintentionally, like saying you’re worshipping the wrong God or you’re a sinner and your bound for hell.
I also ended up in a lot of online debates trying to argue against atheists but they will never budge. When people tell you off, it can certainly be discouraging….but I understand them now. If someone came to me and went off about Christianity being wrong and this and that, I’d probably be offended and defensive as well.
But on that note, isn’t it interesting that Christians are the only one trying to share the good word about the free gift of salvation? Just a thought. Jesus said you will be hated for my name sake, persecuted like he was, and it’s crazy how many people love to mock his name or immediately say ‘gods not real’ to any comment that mentions him. But that’s a topic for another day.
Now, I certainly held a pretty ‘good person’ image compared to the world. I was always a good student, never did drugs, never got drunk, don’t care for parties. I really don’t care to lie as I think honest is the best policy etc, but even then, I had a bit of pride in my youth. I did steal some small things as a child. I definitely had hate and some jealousy in my heart for certain people. Also broke the Sabbath a few times (The 4th commandment). But as for being an adult, my main sin would certainly be related to lust and fornication.
I had my first kiss months after my rebaptism, and the same guy quickly tried to take things to the next level. I was so innocent and clueless, but I did trust him and wanted to be close to him. Before I knew it, we were both naked in his room and he was close to taking my virginity. I was frozen, didn’t know what to do, I just knew I didn’t want it…at least not now, not to him. All I could do was pray in my head….and he backed off immediately. He also felt bad for pushing me and ghosted me.
I had no idea what happened that day, and being the curious person I am, I started watching p-rn. Not daily or anything, but it was enticing. And while I said I would stay single for life in high school, I was now desperately searching for love and intimacy, for a real relationship…but my desperation led to be me being pushed and manipulated by boyfriends, and I was vulnerable enough to be even r-ped by a family friend.
I was still convicted by the Holy Spirit. I knew fornication (sex before marriage) was wrong, but like many, the temporary pleasures and the intimacy was tempting. I didn’t sleep around or anything that promiscuous, but regardless, I fornicated more than a handful of times, even though I knew it was a sin, which makes even worse than someone who doesn’t know the law in the eyes of God (James 4:17/Hebrews 10:26)
My blog has always been truthful, I’m just telling my story. I have no reason to act like I’m perfect cause I’m not. My pride is gone and I’ve been humbled. I’m a sinner, and even on my best days, I may still sin with my thoughts. It amazes me that people think they are ‘good’ or ‘good enough’, but they have yet to compare themselves to the God of the universe and his standard.
Continuing on, I’ve taken a lot of leaps of faith since 2018. I was in a field that wasn’t fulfilling, was quite scared of the outside world since I grew up in ‘the hood’, never crossed anything off my bucketlist and I accepted it may just not be in the cards. I had the victim mentality where the world determined my future.
But when I really thought about it, I was like…’what’s really holding me back?’ I’m boring in this beautiful free country where I have so much privilege and opportunities. I can take the bus, go to school, vote etc. I was born health and capable while so many kids spend their lives in hospitals. Heck, I knew kids who died before the age of 20. Life is short. I don’t know when I’ll die or get a chronic disease or lose a limb, but I don’t want to live with regrets. So I decided I was going to start living and took a lot of leaps of faith.
I took a shot and pursued my true childhood dream job, the one my parents and adults always told me was ‘unrealistic’ growing up. Sent emails and got a job at a startup where I did everything. I started writing articles in that field, gained more authority, created a resource centre during the pandemic, and through that, I got an amazing position at one of the oldest agencies. I was just a fill in for a girl who went on maternity leave, and I lost my job temporarily when she came back, but within a month, she left and it’s now my permanent position 🙂
While I was scared of planes due to watching a lot of MayDay on Discovery Channel, and I knew Japan was prone to earthquakes and tsunamis, as much as it’s been a dream to go, I considered never going. I had friends who wanted to go but they were always busy or broke. When I finally paid off my debts and had a decent savings, I decided I’m going to go alone. Went and got back safely. Did a couple other solo trips to Halifax and Yellowknife, explored more of my country, did cool activities, got to see the northern lights etc.
Through that, I definitely had the faith and courage to pursue my band dream again. While I failed twice before and had a group of beginners this time around, I was feeling good about it. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13). While it didn’t end on the best note, I finally got to perform on a stage with a band, and that’s all that mattered. With that and going hang gliding a bit after, I finally crossed everything off my bucket list. Only through God <3
In the last couple months of 2022, I started getting into more spiritual discussions with a good friend of mine and I’m going to talk about that in the next section of this article but let’s just say, I had my wake up call. It’s easy to go along with temptations knowing (assuming?) you’ll be forgiven later, but knowing now about soul ties and how even masturbation is a portal for demons….I have no desire.
I already started reading my bible earlier in the month as I got into a habit of waking up early and actually having a schedule, spent the last week of the month, let’s just say I went down the Youtube train of Christian videos, especially regarding demons and how this world works and it just…I’m now alert about spiritual warfare and I’m not putting God second anymore. I’m not taking that chance with my soul.
My Recent Discoveries Regarding Witchcraft, Mediums, & Demons
I’m sure like most people, the title for this section sounds like something of fiction. I mean there are many popular shows and movies out there like Harry Potter, Sabrina The Teenage Witch, Hocus Pocus, Twiches, yada yada, but since those are fictions, the topic must be fiction….right? Even if not directly about witches and the supernatural, it may include powers, transformations, just something unnatural.
For me, I grew up watching quite a few of those shows. Not just fiction, but real life shows as well. One show that I remember playing on YTV was Ghost Trackers in which real life kids in teams will spend their time checking out a ‘haunted location’ with tools and try to I guess…find the most evidence?
When I became a true Christian, mentally, I understood that ‘if God and angels exist, so must demons and that kinda stuff’ but I never experienced it to really process or digest it spiritually. Like I acknowledged, and I didn’t think those stories or experiences were completely bullshit, but like many, I was critical and trying to be realistic.
Besides my experience with God and the Holy Spirit which came in my teenage life, I never had any experiences with demons or anything of that world…thankfully. I’m sure the prayers of my mom, the church, and other loves one have kept me safe even before I was saved. Or at least my family was never involved in the occult nor had certain objects around us to invite them into our lives.
But of course, while having discussions with my friend and doing more research and watching testimonies and such, I personally knew and understood that, people wouldn’t really or purposely seek out demonic spirits. Yeah, some may play around with a Ouiji board thinking its all fun and games, but anyone else who creates a friendship with a spirit or has some kind of spirit guide must have had the impression that they were good.
The bible does say that Satan has hid himself well, even as an Angel of light, and that many are ignorant/unaware of Satan’s schemes and tactics (2 Corinthians 2:11, 11:14). And now the verse that ‘we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against powers and rules of darkness’ (Ephesians 6:12) makes a lot more sense to me.
When it comes to Satan and his demons, the less we know, the better. That’s how criminals, scammers, narcissist and other bad guys work. They’re often subtle, gaining your trust through cunning and charismatic techniques, ie human engineering. The more we know about how they operate, the more alert we will be on a day to day basis, and the easier it will be to see the signs and keep ourselves from their traps.
Adding on, if someone wasn’t born in religious faith or had no direction when it comes to God and His purpose for us, one can get caught up with their own thoughts or ‘truth’ on how the world works and/or be persuade by anything that sounds logical or helpful enough. Heck, if a non-believer sees any kind of miracle with their own eyes, it’s very easy to start believing whatever that person claims. The bible even says that ‘the god of this age (satan) has blinded the minds of unbelievers (2 Corinthians 4:4),
But even now that I’m more aware that demons really do partake in our world, I’m not afraid because Psalm 23:4 states “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
But that’s not where my story ends. I was still a kid once, who was also influenced by shows and moves. In high school, thanks to the movie X-men, I got really curious if the mind held real power, and if so, I wanted to learn. I did some research, started meditating, learned to make psiballs (look it up), and was working hard to learn telekinesis…but was for the most part unsuccessful.
While it was cool and exciting to learn that, along with an interest in martial arts and such, I did confront myself. While I did want to learn these things to help people and protect myself, I will admit, I wouldn’t have minded some glory or attention for it should it come. While I was comfortable being a weirdo in school, I wouldn’t mind if people thought I was kinda cool haha
But ultimately, it revealed that I didn’t have much faith in God to protect me. Inside, I was afraid and I wanted to be prepared. But what if I was up against much bigger or stronger enemies? I decided then that He is stronger and more powerful, so I’d rather rely on Him than myself. And he came through in my story above with the guy.
Recently, I was talking with a friend who was into tarot cards. She didn’t think of it as witchcraft and said she’d never dare to mess with that kind of stuff, but she valued tarot cards and readings, both in person and through Youtube videos.
Being a Christian, I knew the bible said not to mess with those things, but I wanted to look a bit deeper to see what attracts people to that and maybe figure out if it’s ‘just some cards’ or related to anything demonic. She’s not the first friend who was attracted to it.
I started going down my usual thought/logic trail when trying to understand people and why they do things. I figured the most obvious reason would be wanting to find answers, for the world, for the future, anything like that. They are lost and confused, and trying to find meaning. Others, may also seek power and control, and they hope to be able to manipulate people or the world. Like lil ol’ me thought, it is desirable.
Instead of seeking God for answers, they wanted to find their own answers…and be like a god…kinda like how Eve ate of the tree in the garden because Satan said she’ll be wise like God….is that why wiccans (and my friend) seem so attached to nature and being ‘one with the world’? Hold up hold up…
Something just clicked. I knew people wouldn’t be into things like ouiji bored or tarot cards if there wasn’t some kind of truth or power to it. People aren’t that naïve or dumb (for the most part anyways). But, one can quickly be deceived by demons in disguise as that’s what they’ve always done. You really think they’d come to you as a scary ghost or terrifying monster? Of course not! They’ll come to you as your guide and act like your friend.
Remember, lucifer was once the most beautiful angel in the heavens. He eventually had so much pride wanting to be a god himself that he rebelled againts the One who created him. He even managed to convince other angels to follow his lead. He then approached Eve as a Snake, which we will talk about in a bit. He then attempted to use out of context scripture to tempt Jesus (Matthew 4:1-11).
Those who don’t know better, or at least can’t discern between good/heavenly or bad/demonic spirits can easily fall for their disguise, especially if those spirits say favourable things or make pleasurable promises. They’re smarter than we think, especially since they’ve been here much longer than we have. That’s why the bible says “Be sober-minded, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)
We as humans don’t have powers…and that’s saying a lot from me who once attempted to gain power through my mind. But if we are actually able to do physical things through spiritual or supernatural means, a spirit must be involved. While we do have souls, it is bound to our physical bodies. If you’re not seeking God’s help for spells or guidance, there’s only one other kind of spirit. That spirit is either for God or against Him. There’s no in between.
And yes, before you say anything, evil spirits/demons can ‘help you’ and make ‘good’ things happen. I say ‘good’ in quotes because it may be your definition of good, what you want to happen. Maybe you got our wish of having your crush fall in love with you, or maybe you even won the lottery! But are those truly good things? Let’s take it a step deeper, shall we?
Hasn’t it been said that many artists sell their souls to the devil? For fame, money, power? I don’t even follow Western artists, but I’ve seen some videos via other Youtube videos and let’s just say, the amount of darkness and blasphemy seen, especially in regards to sex, is so blatant. Point is, whatever earthly desires one may crave, Satan has dominion over this earth and can give you what you want if you follow him, or at the very least, not obey or follow God.
Those thoughts made it click along with the representation of the apple. I’m aware the bible doesn’t say ‘apple’ but that’s what humans have been referring to it as. I’ve been a casual fan of Kpop for the last decade. Friends introduced me, but I only really watch dance rehearsal videos so I can learn them. I never really watched MVs or followed or worshiped the girls/idols like others do. I could never fantasize over another flawed human being, especially one I never met in person. But anyways…
In 2020, two groups that I followed released songs around the same time. One was “More and More” by Twice, which uses the apple to represent Eve in the garden and how she/they want more. And then there was “Apple” by Gfriend, in which they say falling for the temptation of the apple is embracing one’s darkness and impurities, and being a siren/witch conveys confidence in one’s selfish desires.
While the storylines and imagery are different, I was thinking about how ironic that they both used the apple when referring to different things…but now it’s like….Eve pursuing her own desires by turning way from God and eating of the fruit, is really not that different from a witches desire for power and freedom.
Now that I’m thinking about it more deeply, Gfriend always had a pure concept and nostalgic feel with their beautiful instrumentation. Combined with their powerful and insync dances, they were my favourite Kpop group ever. While other groups were trying to be cool or sexy, and some went on about ‘being the best’ and such, Gfriend stuck to their unique concept and ended up winning many awards.
After their agency was acquired by BigHit/Hybe (BTS’s agency), they started changing to a more mature concept. After “Apple” above, they then released “Mago” which means “Magic”. It was their most popular comeback internationally, but they disbanded suddenly a few months after. But it’s ironic how the West didn’t like their pure sound but suddenly become fans when they get dark….I’m just sayin~
Anyways, with this apple hint, I just had to do more research into pagan and wiccan origins. I started looking into the church of Satan again (first time was after I watched this video by Buzzfeed where a Christian and Satanist were handcuffed for 24 hours), along with more Christian videos on demonic portals (ie ouiji boards, dreamcatchers, crystals) and how having certain things in your home could make you more vulnerable to attacks.
Even on 6Buzz around that time, they shared a video of a woman stating that ‘masturbation is witchcraft’ and it opens a portal to demons. I’m sure many thought she was crazy but I was already getting into the topic so I looked into that too, and it’s true. The fact that we do those things in the dark, the way it makes you loose some control is like being under a spell. Many do feel guilt or disgusted after….you really have to wonder.
But yes, I’ve come to really acknowledge the spiritual world and the forces behind the scenes. But even evil spirits can do ‘good’ things and cause miracles to happen, which is why so many are deceived into pursuing witchcraft or following false prophets. It’s very important for people, especially Christians to read the bible and know the truth so they can test and discern between good and bad spirits and actors (1 John 4:1).
One news story that I remember following while it was happening was when the Chilian workers mine collapsed in 2010. 33 miners were trapped 2,300 feet underground. The miners were down there for 69 days! While I didn’t remember the full story, one part that stuck out to me was when they said they all saw a butterfly and that gave them hope that they will be rescued. In this article I’m referencing, they even said that God was the 34th miner and they credit God for protecting them <3
As I told my friend, one way we can tell if miracles are of God or not depends on the purpose of the miracle and who gets the credit. If someone did something spectacular, like levitating. That’s cool and all, but what’s the purpose besides getting personal praise and glory? I’ve heard stories of mediums or wiccans giving readings and such, and while it may give that person hope and direction, they do it for money. Some even have a show in which they’ll get fame and money anyways.
While Jesus was on earth, He only really healed the sick, casted out demons, and forgave sins, which gave people peace and made them believers of God. While Jesus was God himself, He never cared bout personal praise. He was still humble and helped anyone who came to Him, anyone who had faith. His only purpose here was to win souls for God and die for our sins. More on that in the last section of this article.
My Experiences With People Who Take Part In The Occult Or Deal With Demons
Now while all this information on demons and how they work is all new to me, I have met and been friends with people who claim to be part of that realm. They told me directly then that’s what they do, but I don’t think I really registered just how deep or serious that stuff is because I’ve never faced a demon nor recall an experience where I felt haunted or cursed…I mean, thank God!
My middle school best friend of 3 years told me early on that her mom (and maybe her) were wiccan. It was like ‘oh, okay’. That was the first time someone in real life mentioned it but I didn’t think it was real or anything to be concerned. She didn’t bring it up after that for me to even question it. But who knows, maybe the couple times we fought, they might have tried to curse me…we lived in the same building too, so it wouldn’t be hard, but I’ve been safe.
When I was 13, I volunteered at church for their summer camp as a leader in training. There was one young girl, maybe like 7 years old who said she was seeing ghosts in the basement of the church (where the washrooms were) and she was terrified. I’m sure the other leaders dismissed her but I believed her. Not that I believed in ghost, but I could tell her feelings and fear were genuine, so I’d always take her when she needed to go there.
In college, I had a classmate/friend who told me she was a medium. Not sure how many people she informed in that class, but I’m sure it’s something many keep private. She said she felt good vibes from me and felt I could be trusted, thus why she let me in the loop. There were certainly times she’d come to class knowing certain rare information, but I don’t think anyone thought much of it.
I’m someone who’s curious about everyone, so I may have asked her like ‘how did she know’, about her experiences as a child and what it’s like, but I never consulted in her. I already read through the bible at this point. There is a Saul who consulted a medium (1 Samuel 28) so I’m aware their powers are real, but God made it clear not to consult in them as you will be defiled by them (Leviticus 19:31).
Before that, I did watch Long Island Medium quite a bit in high school, along with Criss Angel (a past fave of mine, I’m not gonna lie). I remember looking into the shows to see how they do it, and many people would say it’s just tricks or camera angle, but a part of me believed it. I don’t know how, and yes it’s crazy. Trust me, I’m a very logical person but I didn’t think they could all be tricks, or that every featured or in the audience were always a paid actor.
Anyways, from the show, it seems most mediums would just go up a person and start sharing the information they received from the ‘ancestral spirit’ (demons can be around for generations and recall information from them), but I guess I didn’t have any demons around me for my classmate to gather information from even if she wanted to….but maybe that’s also why she felt comfortable around me. Who knows?
But as for recent experiences, with my new found wokeness I was just…feeling a little uneasy. Not scared but let’s just say…things that I once dismissed were now so obvious. Even featuring such thing in shows will make people believe it’s fiction but for others, it may be the spark needed to dive into that realm. The symbolism for Satan is crazy these days. It’s everywhere, especially in music videos, and we just ignore it!
A good 8 years ago, I had a guitar friend who introduced me to the host of one of his shows. She hosted another Jpop dance event and I asked if I could dance since I did some solo Jpop covers in the past, and we got closer after that. In 2022, she invited me to a few of her events now that she works at a venue, the first one being her birthday party, and later, my band got to perform at another Jpop event.
She’s a really sweet person, as most of my friends are, but she does maintain a creepy Halloween aesthetic and theme. More recently, she has grown her team of ‘monster magical girls’ who join her and dance with her. I never celebrated Halloween, never really wore costumes, so it’s all kinda new to me. It’s so easy to dismiss because the world is obsessed with creepy customs, and it’s usually ‘just for fun’.
So in December, she hosted a Spooky Xmas Maid Cafe event and she asked if I could help out with the door, checking tickets and giving wristbands. Since I don’t have costumes, I just wore black pants, a red blouse and a Santa hat that I found on the premises. The other girls were more into character. After the event, I did a little research and let’s just say, their aesthetic is full on ‘demoncore’. Demon horns, Bat wings, Blood, Weapons, etc.
The host also made an announcement a few days before that a drag queen was going to perform. I already agreed to help out so it’s whatever. It was my first time seeing a performance cause I don’t watch or go to shows like that. I even remember walking downtown with my friends and RuPaul came out of a car. They were so excited and ran up to him, took some pictures or got an autography or something (I didn’t move, I just waited). And after they had their fan moment, I’m like “…who?” I’m clueless about that world.
But back to the story, while I knew God doesn’t like that kinda thing (Deuteronomy 22:5), I still watched cause they’re a guest and I’ve always been respectful of people. It’s whatever. Nothing’s going to happen to me just cause I watch something like that. But thankfully it was just one short performance.
Now before anyone says anything, I’ve always had quite a few LGBT friends. The same RuPaul fans above included a lesbian couple. Even had gay coworkers who felt comfortable talking to me about anything including their dates. However, all my gay friends know I’m not an ally. Growing up in Toronto, we’re all pretty open about sharing our beliefs, culture, etc. You don’t have to accept it, you just have to respect and tolerate everyone.
There was a gay kid in my high school who was disliked/avoided (not cause he’s gay, no one really cared, but he smelled and was quite intrusive and annoying) but I was one of his only friends, and this was over a decade ago before most people knew or accepted the LGBT community. He did change for a while, went to a Christian college, got baptised etc, but when a friend shared his Instagram last year, it looks like he’s a drag queen too. Everyone struggles in some way.
Anyways, they all know my beliefs and views and that I think it’s a sin, but we’re all sinners. Fornication (sex outside of marriage) and adultery are all condemned under sexual sins (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). But like a Christian should do, they love everyone and treat them all as people. As the saying goes (not a verse) ‘Love the sinner, hate the sin’. Usually we end up having similar interests in Japan and anime.
Anyways, I was willing to dismiss all the smaller symbols at this event. “It’s just people sharing their interests, like anime fans who cosplay”. But the last straw was when the venue then played background music on the projector and the songs clearly stated ‘satan/devil’ in the title, also had the baphomet (satana sign) for the video and and I’m like ‘yeaaah…I shouldn’t be here’.
After the event, I was waiting for my cousin to pick me up but he wasn’t replying. I got hungry, so I headed out for food and went to the nearby A&W as it was the only thing open after 12am. I ended up in the line behind the drag queen and his +1. Since we recognized each other, we ended up chatting, and they invited me to sit at their table. We had a really fun and chill conversation for a good hour.
They too, ironically, liked Japan and anime (I’m seeing a trend now haha). I shared a bit about my trip. We also discussed Toronto vs LA where he worked, and about transit and growing up and all that. I didn’t know anything about drag queens before, but I’m curious about any person’s interests as I said before. I love learning why they got into it, special stories, just anything they’re passionate about or anything new and interesting. And then I’ll feel more ready and informed talking to the next person who brings it up.
I think we should all learn to just listen and understand people first instead of being so quick to condemn them for a small part of their life. Afterwards, I thought about how Jesus ate with sinners, prostitutes, tax collectors, and how the Pharisees judged him for it (Matthew 9:10-17, Mark 2:15-22, and Luke 5:29-39). I don’t think most churchy Christians would have sat at their table, or at least not without harsh judgement.
Anyways, the host later invited me to her New Years Eve event. I was kinda planning to stay home as I’m not really a night/party kinda person, but at this point in time, it was more than that. After looking more into it, I did let her know up front that I do like her, and that we are still friends, we can still call and hang out…but I don’t think I can attend those spooky events anymore after learning about demons and seeing these symbols and this and that.
She said she understands as she knows I’m Christian. She grew up that way but is ‘clearly not that anymore’. She always worried I’d be uncomfortable, and she thanks me for my honesty. I’m not going to lie or beat around the bush, make her wonder how I came to the venue 5 times this year but suddenly won’t come out. I wouldn’t want her to think she did something wrong. We just gotta be honest with each other! No reason to lie as I said earlier.
And finally, regarding my own family, I have a little cousin who’s going through a rough patch. In 2020, when she was about 8yo she visited my family and saw my guitar. She was intrigued and I taught her the basics. That’s when I found out she likes anime and also K-on! which my first band actually covered. She asked her parents for a guitar, they said ‘no’ as she was already in piano, but after hanging with me, she was able to get one.
Earlier in 2022, I suddenly get news that she’s in the hospital for attempting suicide. I haven’t seen her since then but I stunned and reached out. Her mom said that memory meant a lot to her and I said I’d love for her to visit and we can learn guitar together, watch anime, hang out etc. She came by about 2-3 times earlier in the year but didn’t see her since summer.
Then December, she came by and she was very happy to share her new interest in Harry Potter (which is alright, I also grew up watching that but now I get why some Christian parents hate it). Then I asked bout her music taste, and she was…more hesitant. She said she knows her mom won’t like it, but I pushed cause like, I wanna teach her music she likes….and like…one was about ‘fucking your mom’ and one was about the devil and I’m like….*sigh*. More so cause she admits to causing trouble, skipping class, etc.
I didn’t confront her then or anything. She’s young and she’s not my child. She has a tendency to change her interests quite frequently, it may just be a phase. Forcing people to do or not do something may just make them rebel and close up, but I’ll be keeping an eye on her and encouraging her for sure. Now that I know about demons and how they work, especially with her past, of course I’m concerned.
Not just for her though. Since high school, it seems like most of my friends are struggling with a mental illness, usually depression and anxiety, even an ex with bipolarism. I get that it’s hard being a millennial, I know it’s hard finding a job you love or paying the bills and such, but…outside of that short period in my philosophy course, I never really dealt with depression or wanting to die.
Since young, I always had a thankful heart. Every year, I find more things to be grateful for. In fact, I was often called smiley by teachers, and had many people ask ‘why I’m smiling’, like why wouldn’t I be smiling?
I was born with all my limbs, organs, and mind intact. I get to grow up in Toronto Canada, where I’m around so many other minorities and don’t really stick out. I get to go to school, I don’t have to pay for the doctor, I can work as a woman and travel wherever with public transit.
Yes, my family struggled big time financially, we didn’t have internet most of my childhood, lost our cable, phone kept getting cut off, eviction letters every other month…but we somehow always had a roof over our head, always had food to eat.
Lots of bad things happened to me, betrayal, sexual assault, being punched and called names by a sibling for ages…but life could always be worse. Like, I never allowed myself to focus on the bad things for too long cause there were always so many great things to be thankful for. I always count my blessings.
But it makes sense that the demon targets those who don’t have hope, joy or faith as they can feed off that negative energy. The bible even says in the last days, people will be lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient, ungrateful, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, etc (2 Timothy 3:1-4:22). Even if we don’t act on this hate and jealousy, God says those who hate his brother commit murder in their heart (1 John 3:15).
As much as we can act good on the surface, our minds can be the darkest of places. If we complain instead of giving thanks, if we have envy instead of gratefulness, if we gossip and wish the worse on our neighbour instead of being kind and living them up….the devil will have a grip on you and it will be hard to shake off. More so if you have pride and feel you are better or deserve more though you haven’t earned it….like Satan feeling he was greater than the Person who made him and wanted praise.
More so if you never admit your bad actions or thoughts, having pride and keeping things a secret. It only makes you feel more alone and afraid of being found out. Kinda like a kid who hides his bad grades from his parents, or teens who have bulimia, or adults who cheat on their wives and so on. It’s so easy to act like everything is right in your life, to lie and have people admire or look up to you, but hiding your sins will only make things worse in the long run.
I cried quite a bit over the last week thinking about people who are dealing with demons. Like…real demons. I thought about all the songs where people mention they are ‘battling demons’, but I always thought it was just a phrase, just an analogy for something else that they’re struggling with, like depression or drugs but no….some people are actually dealing with that.
When I watch testimonies on people who have had demons surrounding them or even dealt with possession, they often talk about depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts from these demons as they wanted blood to grow stronger. And after hearing that masturbation is also a portal and seeing the sense of it, I was done. I wasn’t even interested.
One Buddhist was haunted, and his priest kinda said ‘it is what it is’, and he went to pills. But thankfully, he and the others went to Christ and were delivered. I also saw a comment from a Christian doctor who got a patient. The patient said from the beginning he has 4 demons in him, but other doctors thought he was crazy and gave him pills. The doctor was the first who prayed for him. All these people are now happy, free, and thankful to be alive.
But now let’s go back to my friend who I was discussing these matters with. Like her, many doubt God, or they believe there is a god, but they believe their sole purpose is to just be good people, or be one with the world/nature, to gain enlightenment, be one with their intuition, stuff like that. They don’t really know anything, like they can’t say with confidence if there is an afterlife or where they’re going, but they seem comfy maintaining that stance. I could never take that gamble man.
I did end up making some wonderful points which wasn’t enough to really change her new world beliefs, but I touched my own heart writing them, often crying thinking about them, so perhaps it could touch someone else’s heart. Someone who is desiring a relationship with God but who struggles to understand his ways.
Cause honestly, whenever I think of God, thinking and knowing he’s a real ‘person’ with his own feelings and thoughts and such, all I can do is feel for Him. My heart breaks thinking of all he’s done for us and how the majority of us will never acknowledge him, thank him, or love him back.
Understanding God & His Love For Humankind
One thing I heard from a video recently that just really awoken another thought I had is just how amazing it is to be human. For some reason, we think it’ll be cool to be a warewolf or fairy, but humans are so special! God spoke every other thing into existence. He said let there be light, let there be trees, let there be birds and crawling things…and they were there (Genesis 1).
But for humans, He said “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” (Genesis 1:26)
He then proceeded to mold us with his own hands and breath life into our nostrils (Genesis 2:7). He also felt it wasn’t good that man be alone so he wanted to make him a helper. He took a rib from Adam and molded Eve as well (Genesis 2:22).
While angels exist to serve God, and even be ministering spirits to those of us who will (Hebrews 1:14). He made us with the sole purpose of fellowship (1 John 1:3). His only desire with human beings is to have a relationship with us, to be our heavenly Father (2 Corinthians 6:18)…like how sweet and beautiful is that?
Unlike some parents who have kids out of pressure, for status, so you can chase their dreams or take care of them when they’re old…God created you with hopes that he can have a relationship with you. That’s all he has ever really desired from mankind (though of course he had to request to help of some of us to spread the message or save others due to the sinful nature of the world).
Now, while many still see ‘sin’ as just ‘doing bad things’, I’d like you to change that perspective for just a bit. Consider sin as ‘disobedience to God’. And why does that matter? Because God sees us as His children and He wants us to see Him as our heavenly Father. He doesn’t look at us as slaves or minions, but as His children (Romans 8:17). He loves us and wants to bless us and guide us and do good for us. ‘Sin’ is essentially anything that is against his nature, and thus turns us away from him (Isaiah 59:2).
In the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were able to access God freely, and I’m sure they loved their time with Him. They were naked the whole time but were not ashamed (Genesis 2:25). They were able to be free in this beautiful garden where they could eat a variety of yummy fruit and hang with the animals. There was peace.
I know many people ask why God would give us free will along with a test if it was going to lead to all the sin and destruction we have now, but you need to understand….love only comes from free will. If we were just robots programmed to ‘love’ him, it wouldn’t be genuine, like a doll that says ‘I love you’. When you’re looking for a romantic partner, don’t you want someone who has gotten to know you, who developed feelings for you, and who has choose to be with you?
But with free will obviously comes the option of disobedience. God is good (Psalm 145:17) and He is perfect (Psalms 18:30). When we ‘sin’ we are either going against his rules or his character. God does not lie, he is not hateful, so when we lie or are hateful, we are going against who He is. And like a child who has disobeyed, it iss natural to run, ride and/or lie about it. We are only afraid when we do something wrong.
Eve had a choice, yes. She probably didn’t even pay attention to the tree for the months or years she lived in Eden. There were probably hundreds of other trees, along with her husband and the rivers and animals and all these other things to admire and enjoy. It was a peaceful and relaxing life where everything she could ever need was taken care of.
She had no reason for that banned tree. She was perfectly fine without it…But Satan tempted her, saying she’ll be wise and be like a god (Genesis 3:5), and suddenly she wanted a taste. After eating, she then gave it to her husband to eat. Like many men in the bible, they fall due to their weakness or lust towards women(ie. David and Bethsheba, or Samson and Delilah). Right after they ate, they saw their nakedness and was ashamed…and they hid (Genesis 3:7).
God searched for them and called out to them (Genesis 3:9). God already knew where they were and what they did, but He still called out to them and asked them what happened. He listened to them explain. And while He still loved them, like a good parent should do in the pursuit of raising a child the way they should go, they must punish/train their child (Proverbs 13:24). It is only right and just. Could you imagine if we let every criminal go cause of ‘love and forgiveness’? If you think our world is bad now…ha!
God had to kick them out of the garden as well as the garden contained the tree of everlasting life (Genesis 3:23-24). And boy, I for one would not want to live on this earth forever, that’s for sure. Consider it a blessing. Sure, He could keep them there but if they couldn’t follow his rule the first time, how can He ensure they’ll keep it a second time? As a quote says, ‘God’s rejection is God’s protection’.
But continuing on, when we do sin, we are, in a way, killing ourselves. God is love, light, but most of all, He is life and gives life to all that is living (Acts 17:25). Angels are perfect so they can live forever. But us as humans, once we decided to disobey and turn away from him, we are essentially choosing death. Life is good. God said it was good when he created the world and every living creature in it (Genesis 1). Choosing to sin and going against God is choosing bad which is the opposite of life.
Through Adam and Eve, we are born into sin. We all sin (Psalm 53:1–3, Psalm 14:1, 1 John 1:8-10 ). Not only is it a generational curse that we can’t escape since we are born in the flesh, but Satan also rules the earth (Matthew 4:8-9). The earth and people of the world loves things that aren’t good or of God. As the years go by, it’s crazy how blatant Satan worship is in the media, even painting Lucifer in a positive light.
You can also see just how dark our world is becoming year by year as people become more selfish, more hateful, more sex-obsessed, more depressed etc. We are all hurt inside. Sin makes the world very hard for many of us, and many of us suffer from things out of our control, like little girls who are sold into sex trafficking.
Yet despite seeing all this evil, we still choose to live a life without God in the picture. Many of us are aware there’s some god out there, but we don’t seek him, nor care to follow Him. God sees our hearts (1 Samuel 16:7). He knows that we all have selfish thoughts and desires, that we all crave worldly things like fame, fortune, that big house or expensive car, etc, and that’s why he tells us that we should not conform to the patterns of this world (Romans 12:2).
He knows that we are incapable of being perfect. He knows that. He created laws for his people (aka the Israelites/Jews), so that they can be a great nation that pleases Him through their righteousness. God knows things we don’t, especially in the past before science books and health guides, so He protected His people from potential diseases as well. They, however, still made mistakes and needed to provide animals as a sacrifice for their sins because without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22).
What I find funny though, is that people who never cared to get to know God still want or aim to go to heaven. It’s one thing if you’re an atheist and the concept doesn’t exist to you, but its concerning that many try to do good or be good for heaven without questioning why they try. According to philosophy, if we’re just like animals, we’re justified to kill and r-pe and so on for survival and to carry on our bloodline. You don’t see animals being locked up cause it’s just nature or instincts.
But adding on, they’re making salvation way harder than it has to be. They do good out of fear instead of out of obedience and love, kinda like how one doesn’t kill to avoid jail as opposed to because they love their neighbour. This is why judging our own hearts and questioning why is so important.
Additionally, it takes God out of the picture. They think of heaven as just some eternal place for souls, but they don’t realize that heaven is God’s home. It’s His palace under His dominion and thus it operates under His rules. God is an omnipotent being, but he has a big personality and feelings too. If you refuse to acknowledge God nor care to have a relationship with Him, nor care to follow His rules……why would you want to live there anyways?
If you had a child that rebelled in every way, and they told you straight up that they ‘hated you and don’t want to live with you or follow your rules’, will you force them to stay and let them be a bad influence on the rest of your kids? Or would you respect their wishes and let them be free? Sure, you love them, and yes you want the best for them, but if they don’t love you back nor want to heed your orders, then you let them go. Otherwise, they will just rebel more because you’ve taken away their right to choose, no?
Could you imagine heaven if God just took everyone as they are because ‘He loves them’? Wouldn’t that just be another earth?? For those who so badly desire peace and a life away from pain, why would you want to share another world with evil people who show no remorse or love for their fellow being?
I get that it can be hard to hear that some people will go to hell, but you got to realize that hell is simply the farthest place from heaven and God, and he makes it clear those who don’t choose him will face eternal punishment (Matthew 10:28, Matthew 25:46, Revelation 14:9–11). Let’s not fool ourselves. God is loving, but he is also just and right, and like a judge, he can’t just let the guilty walk freely.
That person had their whole life to make a choice, but they decided they didn’t want God. They decided they didn’t want to change into a righteous person nor listen to his commands. So who is God to force them to live there with Him for the rest of eternity? Wouldn’t God be taking away that person’s free choice to live in sin if he did so?
And okay, lets say he decides to take them into his heavenly, righteous kingdom. Does God then a) let them whine and complain for decades cause they never wanted to be there but God’s too nice to let them go, or b) force them to follow his righteous rules in which they may come to hate God even more cause they didn’t want to be there in the first place?
Either way, that person will be not happy. God can’t change a soul that doesn’t want to change, just like how He can’t make a soul love Him. They have to choose God first. If not, God simply respects their wishes. Isn’t that fair? Would YOU want a stranger coming into your own and causing all kind of destruction and pain to you and your family? I didn’t think so.
Adding on, what people don’t realize is that as human beings, we’re all going to have our own definition of what is ‘good’ or ‘right’. For example, some are against all kinds of drugs as they are unnatural, but some see no issue with weed, alcohol and cigarettes since they are legal. Or say we can eat anything and everything because ‘why would God put it on the earth if he didn’t want us to enjoy it?’
Many people lie, some for convenience, some out of habit, but if one’s a compulsive liar, narcissist or catfish, suddenly lying is an issue. At one point, many were against sex outside of marriage, but now that’s the norm and it’s considered shameful to be a virgin. Some say all killing is bad, but other’s say it’s justifiable if it’s for self protection, or if one was abused for too long.
There’s a lot of double standards when it comes to what’s right vs what’s wrong, and that’s why rules differ from country to country. We’re all going to have our own opinion based on our own lives and opinions. For someone who grew up on the street, homeless and without any parents, they feel justified to steal if it means survival. There’s even that question on if Robin Hood is good or bad because he takes from the rich and gives to the poor.
So who is really good or right in a world where everyone sins? When we all have a decent balance of good and bad, who makes the cut into heaven? Let’s imagine that 90% of people made it to heaven because most of us haven’t killed anyone and we lived pretty ‘good lives’, if we should say so ourselves. I’m sure we’ll all be looking at each other like, ‘how the hell did you make it here?’
That’s why I’d only allow God, the one who created the world to lay down the law. If he says something is wrong, end of story. If you did it, confront yourself and take accountability. Otherwise, we will all feel pride, feel righteous and judgeful, cus ‘hey, I only did that sin 1 time, and I had an excuse, okay? But that person does it all the time! Clearly I’m not as bad as them’. Oh. how we fool ourselves. To God, you’re both sinners, and even 1 sin means you deserve hell. End of story.
Once you finally drop your pride and realize all your wrong doings, all the ways you’ve rebelled against God, hurt your brother, and did other sneaky things out of convenience and selfishness, only then does true repentance occur. Repentance is more than ‘oh that was a one time thing, never again’, it’s ‘damn, I’m horrible. I’ve sinned, I feel so much guilt. Please forgive me Father for I am wrenched, please change my spirit so I won’t even even dare to do that again’.
It may seem a little extreme for ‘a little white lie’ or ‘cheating on a little test’, but we have to realize that no sin is small. Eve ‘just ate a fruit’ when we think about it. What’s wrong with eating a fruit? Fruit are good and God made it, right? But that’s not the point. She thought it was good for food in that moment (Genesis 3:6) even though God told her directly ‘don’t eat of it’. She disobeyed and that’s why it’s a sin and that’s why she deserves punishment.
But do you know what the #1 commandment is? God said ‘have no other gods before me’ (Exodus 20:3). This can me a literal god like Buddha or Zeus, but it can also be a celebrity or Kpop idol. It could be your husband or your kids, your money, house, or car…it could even be yourself! Maybe it’s your phone and social medias. Maybe you spend all day playing games or binging shows. Anything that takes up most of your time, energy, or love is your god.
God wants to be your heavenly Father. He wants a connection with you and he wants to do great things for you, but he wants/needs your whole heart in return (Luke 10:27). Not just half of it, not just once a week, or when you need help, but a real daily relationship like what you’d give your best friends or your significant other.
To have a real connection with Him, you need to read His word, and He wants to hear you too through prayer. Just like any human relationship, you need to put in time and effort, not just every blue moon, but preferably everyday day, every waking moment. He should be part of your life, like a best friend.
He has so many blessings for you should you choose to reach out and follow Him (2 Corinthians 9:8). His rules are only to protect you and keep you safe, to ensure you don’t end up heartbroken or behind bars. To ensure you don’t end up in tough situations, whether in the physical world or spiritual realm. The bible isn’t just some old story, it’s his life guide and love letter to you.
Why Jesus Is So Special & Why He’s Essential
But yes, no one is perfect (Luke 6:31) We can’t be perfect even if we tried. If even one sin is punishable by death, then we all deserve to die. We all did something (usually hundreds of things, in our actions or our thoughts) that are not Godly in character. Hell is a place that is absent from the presence of God and that’s what we get from turning away from Him and his goodness (2 Thessalonians 1:7–9)
But thankfully, God is aware that we are incapable of being perfect since we are born into sin (Romans 5:12). As mentioned earlier, He created humans to have fellowship with us. That’s all he wants. Even though we’ve sinned more times than we can count, He still so desperately wants to spend time with you (James 4:8). He wants it so much that he sent his son Jesus to live here as a lowly human, and be crucified on the cross (John 3:16).
God is a jealous God (Exodus 20:5), and when I think about it, it’s…kinda sweet and cute. God isn’t so distant that He doesn’t know or care about us. He knows us so well that the hairs on our head are numbered (Luke 12:7), and He makes it clear we are more loved and more special than animals (Matthew 6:26). He aims to protect us (Isiah 41:10) and He says all things work together for good to them that love God (Romans 8:28).
Now, while the New Testament is certainly loved, and many people are aware of Jesus, it is clear that many people don’t really understand all he did or what his sacrifice means. I was watching this video where a Youtuber went around asking people, even Christians what Jesus means to them and they had no clue. It concerns me that the churches are doing such a poor job at sharing the gospel :/
The same friend who’s conversation led to the writing of this article claimed “Jesus was miserable for a few days of torture….the rest of his life was exciting…saving people and being a guide. While I feel like I suffer emotionally everyday of my life” and I was like ‘where in the world did you get that impression?’
Let’s just take a moment to really consider Jesus’s life. He is God (John 8:58). He was here before everything and He helped create the universe from scratch. He has infinite power and is untouchable (Psalm 147:4-5). He doesn’t owe us anything.
He could have stayed in heaven. He could have made us atone for our own sins, or even just get rid of us. He can do whatever he wants. But instead, He came as one of us and lived a perfect life despite facing the temptations we do, just so he can die for us and show us just how much he truly loves us (John 3:16).
He was born as a regular human being….well, probably less off honestly. He was born in pretty much a barn, and if you’ve ever been to a barn, you know how much they smell. His parents were on the run since then as King Herod sought to kill him after hearing the news (Matthew 2:16–18). God knew so he told Mary and Joseph to flee.
As a child, he was probably like you and me. Playing with the neighbours, being upset at times, maybe had a crush, who knows honestly. He was in the flesh like the rest of us, but he just didn’t sin. He then learned to be a carpenter from his dad (Mark 6:3, Matthew 13:55) and worked a humble job until he started his ministry around the age of 30 (Luke 3:23).
But even while doing ministry, he was pretty much homeless the whole time, walking from city to city, spending nights in the wilderness etc. He was on his feet all day and all night with the mission of spreading the gospel.
Over the next few years, he taught us about God’s character, how we should live, and what heaven is like. He also healed the sick, made the lame walk, helped the blind see again (Matthew 11:5). But above all, he gave forgiveness to those who were being hunted by their sins and their own guilt (Matthew 9:2, Luke 5:17-26, Luke 7:36-50, Luke 23:39-43). Sure, he was invited to some parties/weddings, but that should show you how human he was.
He wasn’t under the guise of being an unapproachable, omnipotent God, he would knock at the door like everybody else. Jesus faced everything a regular human would while on earth. Temptation, pain. He’s been lied to, been betrayed, had His heart broken by those who rejected him. While He may speak with authority and portray strength at times, He was empathy and deep compassion for humanity.
One story that makes you realize His humanity was when he showed up too late to heal his personal friend Lazarus. By too late, I mean he was dead for 4 days! Mary and Martha were obviously upset at Him for coming so late, and others were also mourning his passing. Jesus is full of compassion and love and like other empaths, “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). He mourned with everybody else, even though He knew He and His father were going to resurrect Him.
God is above death. We as believers of God should not fear death nor be too heart broken when a saved loved one passes because death is not the end. Jesus is the resurrection and the life (John 11:25)
During His time in ministry, Jesus constantly had Pharisees and Scribes who were judging him, rejecting him, and constantly testing him, hoping that he will trip and they would have an excuse to prosecute him. They really did not like Him. They tried many devises but were unsuccessful cause Jesus did nothing wrong. They tried to prosecute him of healing on the Sabbath (John 5:1-18), but he replied is it wrong to do good on the Sabbath? (Matthew 11:12)
People would even bring a sinner to Him, like the prostitute. They judged her and were eager to destroy her. They assumed Jesus would think the same. But what did Jesus say instead? “He who is without sin, cast the first stone” (John 8:7). One by one the people left. Isn’t it funny how quick they were to judge despite knowing they weren’t perfect? But God, the one person who has every right to cast the stone, told her that He does not condemn her either, go and sin no more (John 8:10-11).
But eventually His haters were able to accuse Him of something: ‘Blashpemy’ for claiming He was God/the song of God…which was true but you know….even now, people still don’t believe that.
Pontius Pilate was in charge of the trial and He seemed unsure with the accusations. He had to ask the people if they’d rather save Jesus or Barabbas, a robber, murderer or rebel…and they chose to release Barabbas. He didn’t find any fault in Jesus so he gave Jesus to the people and told them to crucify him. Later, Pilot put the sign “King of the Jews” above Jesus on the cross. Others said he should change it to say ‘he claims to be’, but Pilot was like ‘I said what I said’ (John 19).
“Jesus was brutally beaten with a whip of leather straps embedded with metal. And the soldiers also wove thorn-branches into a crown and set it on his head and placed a purple robe over his shoulders. Then, one by one, they came in front of him to mock him by saying, “Hail, to the king of the Jews!” And one after the other, they repeatedly punched him in the face.” (John 19). Did you ever take the time to imagine or emphasize how that must have felt?
It is said to be one of the most painful and most humiliating punishment ever, going on for hours and hours…but Jesus didn’t even deserve the punishment! Heck, He was God! He created every being there and had the power to destroy the world. He loved them so greatly, and that’s how they treated Him. But regardless, while on the cross, He said ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not that they do’ (Luke 23:34).
Jesus gave himself up, was tortured in the worst way possible, just so He could bridge the gap between God and human beings. The wages of sin is death, and He died in our place. Our sins have been paid for. We don’t have to be perfect because Jesus was perfect and switched places with us. We don’t have to hide from the shame and guilt either! All we need to do is repent from our sins and accept Jesus as our saviour, accept his free gift of salvation,
Romans 8:38-39 states, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
We, like Adam and Eve, fled and hid due to our sin. Some go as far as ignoring God’s existence or saying He’s distant distant so we won’t feel bad for sinning and seeking worldly pleasures. Some may even worship false gods who align with their own principals or what they feel is right, how they feel the world should run, or who say their sins aren’t bad. We always want thing to be our ways.
Just like Satan, instead of being humble and admitting his sins against God, he chose to be prideful and sin even more. He wanted things to be his way and that’s how he runs the world. Satan roams the earth (Job 1:7) and he loves to deceive and tempt as many people to destroy them as well (John 10:10) As long as you’re not following God, as long as you don’t seek His light and love, the devil is happy. He wants to take you down with him (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10).
So instead of being prideful, why not take a look at yourself and repent. Through repentance, we develop humility which makes us teachable. (2 Chronicles 7:14). If we are willing to change, He can then provide us with the Holy Spirit which will make us more like Him from the inside out. That’s why God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). Only the humble will reject themselves, listen and follow his example (Mark 8:34).
Yes, you may not have the same reputation among the crowd, especially if people saw you as perfect or the best but…isn’t it better to have a relationships with God, the one who knows you inside and out and still loves you and wants the best for you? Wouldn’t it be better to spend a life with Him in heaven than to suffer in hell, a place that is far from His light and goodness? I guess that question is subjective,
For you lukewarm Christians, there is something that is making you hold on to that title. Yes, you grew up in the church, but you’re free to label yourself as agnostic or atheist if you really don’t care for God. BUT, if you do, it’s time to seek a relationship with him. Not next month or next year, not after you’ve had your fun and you’re old, but asap.
We really don’t know when the world will end, we don’t know the day or the hour (Matthew 25:13) but we are to be alert and ready. The bible says it as well, it will be like the days of Noah where people were eating and getting married like normal, but suddenly the flood came and wiped away everything (Matthew 24:37-39).
Noah was building that ark for over 100 years. There was a long drought so I’m sure many people saw him working day by day and just mocked him. They even saw the animals walk on the boat, yet none of them decided to take a leap of faith. Suddenly, it was too late. God shut the door (Genesis 7:13-16) and he flooded the earth. And no, don’t think it was possible to swim and survive cause it rained for 40 days and it took a good year for the earth to try up afterwards. Noah and his family was on that boat for a very long time.
Don’t take that gamble with your life and soul. God is right by you waiting for you to turn to Him. You really don’t have to do anything to earn God’s favour. You don’t have to be perfect for him to open his arms to you. They are already open. Like the prodigal son who left and made himself dirty, his father was on lookout everyday hoping his son will return to him. When he saw his son in the distance, he ran out to hug him (Luke 15:11–32).
Once you earnestly seek God, He will draw close to you and reveal himself to you (1 Chronicles 28:9). God says “For I know the plans I have for you, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.” (Jeremiah 29:11-12)
Not only that, but He will give you the Holy Spirit which will open your eyes and give you wisdom (1 Corinthians 2:10-11), and that will make it easier to turn away from sin and follow His Ways. He’ll also give you other spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:7-11). With time, you’ll notice the fruits of the Spirit growing in you, and you’ll be full of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
Heaven is a free gift from God, not one of works lest one shall boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). There’s a lot of lukewarm Christians out there who have yet to repent, but they think they’ll be saved cause they’re ‘a pretty good person’, or because they attend church and pay their tithes. But many are like the Pharisees, judging those who don’t do the same, and looking down more notable sinners all while not seeing their own sins nor repenting from them.
Don’t fool yourselves. We are all sinners (Romans 3:23-24), and no one comes to the Father except through Jesus Christ (John 14:6). A true Christian knows they are bad to the core and accepts that on their own, they would be deserving of death and hell. They know they cannot save ourselves because they could never live a perfect life (Romans 4:1-12)
We were born into sin (Psalm 51:5) and are racking up tallies daily. The only way you can pay for your sins is through death. But just as we all became sinners thanks to one man (Adam), we can all be saved through one man, Jesus (Romans 5:12) simply because He died in our place.
He could have stayed in heaven, but he decided to die because only a perfect person, only God, could be a big enough sacrifice for us. We could never be good enough to earn salvation on our own, let alone die for each other as we have our own sins to atone for. Thus it’s only through Jesus’s sacrifice that we are free from the chains of sin and have true hope (Romans 15:13).
Conclusion
We all need to read the bibles for ourselves and see what the word says and what God is asking of us. Don’t just rely on word of mouth from your parents or an out of context scripture from your pastor or friend.
Despite growing up in the church, I learned and understood way more after I started reading the bible for myself. Only then did I truly seek repentance and a relationship with God. Only then was I able to see who was telling the truth and who was just trying to deceive me.
I’ve corrected quite a few older church folk who love to preach and judge but have clearly never read through the bible on their own to realize their thinking or views are not godly. I’ve confronted myself and I stand by God’s standard of righteousness. I’m not going to twist his word or convince myself that it only applies to people in the past. God is the same today, tomorrow, and for all eternity (Malachi 3:6 and Hebrews 13:8).
Those who don’t care to know God or don’t claim to be a Christian are under no obligation to follow God’s rules or his path for your life, but just know that He loves you soooo dearly, and like a real loving father, He wants to hold you in his arms, bless you and guide you…but it comes down to you. He gave us free choice, and He will respect your decision, whatever it may be.
Just some food for thought. Thanks for reading!
I hope it has blessed your soul and gave your mind something deep to meditate on <3