"OH MY GOSH, I'M SO OFFENDED!"

“OH MY GOSH, I’M SO OFFENDED!”

I remember when my 12-year-old washing machine stopped working. When we went to buy a new one, the worker told me they had a new delivery service and could deliver within two days. But, they couldn’t tell me what time the delivery would happen, so someone had to be home all day. What?!  They expected someone to stay home all day waiting for the washing machine? That was crazy. I was appalled, offended that they would expect us to put up with such an inconvenience! Added to that, my roommate overheard two ladies in the store complaining about the delivery service, so we were ready for a hassle, but what could we do?

 

As it turned out, our offense was unfounded. The delivery service called us the evening before, and though we had to wait on the line for about 15 minutes, a very nice woman answered and gave us a 2-hour window for the delivery. Two very polite young men showed up right on time, installed the washer, took the old one, and finished the whole process in only 10 minutes! Our offense was totally out of line! Sorry, Lord!

 

These days, it seems that we are so easily offended by everything: the internet is too slow; the traffic is too fast; the radio isn’t playing the songs we like; the neighbor’s dog is barking, and so many other things I can’t even begin to name. If we started to count how many things annoy us or offend us in just one day, we’d probably shock ourselves.

 

Offense is bad for the heart. It’s bad for the nerves. It’s just bad for the universe in general. Matthew 24:10 tells us that when people carry offense, they “shall betray one another and shall hate one another.” Let’s make a real effort to change the course of offense in our world. It’s become quite a big problem. But this kind of problem doesn't get changed by an edict or demand. This kind of problem gets solved by one person, making one decision, one incident at a time. And you are that person, and I am that person. We can change our world, by changing the way we respond to it, one person at a time.

 

First Corinthians 13 is the chapter in the Bible on the love of God. Verse 5 tells us the love of God “is not easily provoked.” God’s love is like a river; when it comes to an obstacle, it just goes up and over or around. It doesn't stop and have a hissy fit, but just keeps flowing. We need to be more like that, to stay healthy and out of stress.

 

Jesus said this to His disciples: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). We need to not get so riled up about everything, but calmly and prayerfully observe, then engage in life from a Godly point of view, a God-loving point of view. The Lord will help us and guide us. I’m not saying it’s easy; I’m just saying we need to judge each event on its own merit and not jump to conclusions (especially negative ones) so quickly.

 

We have a real problem in America with critically biased news. But we all are plagued at times with certain biases in our everyday attitudes and actions. Jane and I were offended by our perception of what the washing machine delivery would be like. We were biased by what we heard and swayed to think negatively, and instead it turned out more than wonderful. We need to be more careful about letting offense go wild and ruling our actions, rather than letting the wisdom and peace of God rule.

 

The disciples of Jesus were offended because someone who wasn’t part of “their group” was healing people. But Jesus handled it.  John self-righteously declared, “Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him because he followeth not us. But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is on our part” Mark 9:38-40). Jesus had a way to so calmly answer the disciples with the truth and take away the source of their negative bias.

 

When my experience with the washing machine delivery turned out so great, I immediately got on the phone to the store where I bought it. I told the lady in the appliance department the whole story and that the only glitch was that you had to wait on the phone a little bit before someone answered. She was thrilled to hear it and asked me to fill out a short survey so that others would know the truth. I pray that this will help stop the negative talk in the store and help the delivery company with their business.

 

We have a challenge, and that is put to us in Philippians 1:10: “That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ.”

 

Our greatest goal is to love God above all else. That is the only answer to peace and the removal of offense. “Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them “(Ps. 119:165). Now that’s an awesome promise and challenge, wouldn’t you say?!

 

Love, Carolyn

 

M O R E of my TRUE STORIES ON CHRISTIAN LIVING: WINGS BOOKS AND BOOKLETS:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=BOOKS+BY+cAROLYN+mOLICA&crid=16D4X7I4BV76Z&sprefix=books+by+carolyn+molic%2Caps%2C450&ref=nb_sb_noss

 

FAMILIAR, BUT NOT YOUR FRIEND

FAMILIAR, BUT NOT YOUR FRIEND

In Jeremiah 20:10, God tells us about familiar spirits. Jeremiah exclaimed: “All my familiars watched for my halting, saying, ‘Peradventure he will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge on him’” (Jer. 20:10). Why revenge? Because if you are following the Lord and the teaching of the Bible, then the devil hates you because he hates the true God, and he gets back at God by going after God’s people.

 

We see in the above verse that Jeremiah calls these spirits “my familiars.” Why? Because they are spirits

that are like stalkers. They are familiar with people as individuals. They are evil and concentrate on weaknesses in a person’s character, calling in other spirits that have affected the person and hurt them before.

 

Familiar spirits know your parents, your grandparents, and all your family history. They know what illnesses you may be prone to. They know how you act when you’ve had one too many shots of Jack Daniels. They know your triggers. They know what sets you off, what makes you angry, what makes you sad, and what makes you sick. They are familiar, but they are not your friends.

 

God has given us the truth about familiar spirits, and He’s given us ways to get rid of them.

 

And God tells us to stay away from those who communicate with them: “Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God” (Lev. 19:31). Real psychics operate by communicating with familiar spirits. When a person goes to a psychic, they tap into the unseen world and hear from the familiar spirits that have been watching and influencing the person and their family for a lifetime and longer.

 

A familiar spirit that followed your grandfather can tell the psychic exactly what your grandfather might tell you right now if he was alive. The psychic may even be able to know the exact phrases he would use and the psychic can even channel a similar dialect and the voice of your grandfather as well.

 

So what’s so bad about that? Satan uses just enough accuracy to get you to believe that the psychic knows you and can even see into your future. Then they’ve got you. Then the psychic can predict something for you.

 

But what do they predict? They now know enough from the familiar spirits, to know what kind of things you’ll believe. They will say some promising things, but they’ll also say things to mislead you and get you to walk into Satan’s traps.

 

Remember, your familiar spirits are only there to bring you harm, as much as the devil demands of them.

 

 

How do the familiar spirits operate? They are like the coaches on the devil’s football team. They call certain evil spirits onto the field when they see there’s an open door.

 

For example, when things go badly at work, they may call in spirits of dread, rejection or fear, whatever they know from the past, of things that work negatively on you. Hypothetically, they may say, “Hey, spirit of dread, come on over in the morning when he’s half asleep and lay heavy on him. He’s in the perfect frame of mind for you to really get some influence. You’re going to love it.”

 

Or for another person, maybe it’s hypochondria. “Hey, spirit, Jesse is starting to see some people getting sick around him. Just get a few of them to come by and cough a little. I’m sure that’s just the trigger that will get Jesse to take the sickness. He’ll have pneumonia in a week, just like the last time.”

 

Familiar spirits know exactly what spirits to call into their game to block us or hurt us. They feed off our weakest mental, emotional, and physical characteristics, calling in other evil spirit players to “steal, and to kill, and to destroy us,” as Jesus said in John 10:10, the first part of that verse.

 

Just to name a few of those demons: cancer, arthritis, oppression, jealousy, covetousness, anger, depression, low self-esteem, addictions, arrogance, pride, rejection, sicknesses, viciousness, apathy, fear, and on and on. All these spirits were cast out of heaven with Lucifer when he turned against God. But God had a plan for us and a way to send those spirits packing.

 

When I first learned about familiar spirits being the ones who rally up the demon troops against us, I heard that familiar spirits hang around us all our lives, so I wrongly thought that we couldn’t get rid of them. Also, I falsely believed that we only had one. After studying the Bible on familiar spirits, I learned they are usually in groups. So, if you get rid of one, be awake, because you may have to get rid of more.

 

Then I woke up to the truth of Philippians 2:10 and James 4:7. “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth.” And, “submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Neither of these verses says that familiar spirits are excluded from the demons that must bow and flee.

 

If I am resisting and rebuking any kind of spirit, using the frequency of the name of Jesus Christ or the frequency of the blood of Jesus to cast them out and send them away, the Bible says they have to flee. That includes familiar spirits! And as I’ve shown you in other preach letters, if a spirit doesn’t obey, it’s off to chains under darkness with no “get free cards!”

 

So, when I realized I could get rid of any familiar spirits around me, I did it. I rebuked a familiar spirit that kept calling in a spirit of dread. I ended up having to give it a one-way ticket to chains under darkness, and it has never bothered me since. Praise God.

 

I hope you’ll think about this, and when you recognize that certain evil spirits have been summoned into your life, you kick them out, along with the familiar spirit that brought them in! Freedom is that close.

 

Jesus said: “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10b). Part of the more than abundant life is getting free from those familiar spirits. Instead of letting them be familiar, let’s make them total strangers and send them far away!  

 

Love, Carolyn

 

 

You can find my books on Amazon. You’ll enjoy awesome spiritual adventures and wisdom from the Bible that is perfect for applying to our current lives.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=BOOKS+BY+cAROLYN+mOLICA&crid=16D4X7I4BV76Z&sprefix=books+by+carolyn+molic%2Caps%2C450&ref=nb_sb_noss

 

THE LORD CONFIRMS HIS WORD WITH SIGNS FOLLOWING

THE LORD CONFIRMS HIS WORD WITH SIGNS FOLLOWING

This event happened in 2015 when the Lord confirmed to me the stress-releasing power of the Word of God. I was grinding on some fiberglass sculptures. It was really hard work; there was lots to do, and we were in a rush to get the project done. I was taking it way too personally, as if I had to get it all done by myself, and I was stressing out. There were only two of us working on it, and my partner was feeling sick, so he wasn’t able to work as quickly as usual.

 

My arms were getting so sore from grinding, and I noticed that my shoulders were super tense. I had them raised up by my ears in a tight and pinching way. Mentally and emotionally, I was worrying and stressing out, questioning whether I could keep this up. Was this going to end in total failure?

 

Then I remembered the scripture Jane and I repeat every morning in prayer: “And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing” (Isa. 10:27).  The Lord Jesus told me to physically put my shoulders down. I let them ease down as the next thoughts rolled in: “This is not my responsibility. The burden is off my shoulders.”

 

For the rest of the day, I continued grinding, and the whole time my physical shoulders were at ease, relaxed. At the end of the day, the painting boss came over and told me he was sending all his guys over to help with the grinding so we could get the project done on time. It was amazing. I thanked the Lord for what happened.

 

From that time on, I noticed that I stopped the mental stressing, and my shoulders stayed at rest. The few times I started to hunch them up, I quoted the scripture again from Isaiah 10:27, and they instantly released. The “burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder.”

 

To literally have my shoulders relax back down from being hunched up around my ears was a sign—a confirmation that I was truly released from all the stress.

 

In the next week and a half of work, there were more opportunities to get stressed, but my shoulders weren’t hunching. I believed that the burden had been removed just like Isaiah10:27 says, and I had a physical confirmation that I was free mentally and emotionally, and it was GREAT!

 

From that one incident back in 2015, I learned a lesson I’ve used over and over in situations where I would have gotten stressed: physically put your shoulders down in a relaxed position, and claim Isaiah 10:27. It really works.

 

As Christians, we should be expecting righteous signs and confirmations. The Bible tells us that when Jesus gave instructions to His apostles to preach the gospel, “they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word with signs following” (Mark 16:20).

 

We often just hope we’re doing the right thing and never really ask about confirmation. But here it is in scripture saying that when the Lord works with us, He also confirms His word so that we can see the results. We have a relationship with God, and our Lord Jesus, where we can ask for confirmation. And here it is in scripture saying that He is totally able and WILLING to do it! “He confirms with signs following.” What an exciting and reassuring promise!

 

As I was thinking about the Lord confirming what the Bible says, God showed me that even Mary needed to get some confirmation about what the angel told her about having the Christ child. She went to visit her cousin, and sure enough, Elisabeth confirmed the angel’s words with a prophecy over Mary: “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb…that the mother of my Lord should come to me” (Luke 1:42-43).

 

Mary believed in her spirit, but it was only after Elisabeth’s confirmation that Mary got her soul in line and, in her entirety, really truly believed. “And Mary said, ‘My soul doth magnify the Lord” (vs. 46). Her mind, emotions, and decisions were now settled and in solid agreement. (Read Luke 1:26 – 56).

 

The Lord Jesus confirmed that the work burden was off my shoulders. He gave me the physical sign of releasing those tight shoulder muscles. Mary, the mother of Jesus, got a confirmation in the form of a prophecy from a relative.

 

The Lord knows that sometimes we have difficulty hearing and believing the things spiritually said to us and done for us, so he gives us confirmation, which is a promise we can learn to ask for and expect. What was done for the apostles is for us too: “The Lord working with them and confirming the word with signs following” (Mark 16: 20).

 

I pray that as we do our best to live and preach the good news of Jesus this week, we will see God’s wonderful confirmations in our own lives, too. Have a great week.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

You can find my books on Amazon. You’ll enjoy awesome spiritual adventures and wisdom from the Bible that is perfect for applying to our current lives.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=BOOKS+BY+cAROLYN+mOLICA&crid=16D4X7I4BV76Z&sprefix=books+by+carolyn+molic%2Caps%2C450&ref=nb_sb_noss