Avalon Chronicles #176: Do Your Batteries Need Recharging?

      Our world had begun to swirl about us with medical issues, various challenges, observations of the tinderboxes of areas of the planet and a sin-saturated society. In addressing our negative attitudes, my wife said, "We need our batteries recharged." That made sense and I opened the Book of Hebrews in two versions of the Bible. What follows is a modest rambling through of the thirteen chapters. My batteries got recharged!

     If our mind is not set on the future beyond our demise, then we are very short-sighted. If one says, "Is this all there is," then one will remain discouraged as to what this life is all about and question its worthiness. There are many thorns surrounding the rose bushes of every day life. 

     The Bible is a the best source for us to obtain a big picture of, "All that there is." The energy source to recharge our batteries is in those pages. We spend hours on the computer, updating ourselves on the political machinations of the secular world, watching movies, becoming engrossed in the latest new publications and reading the latest gossip of the pop culture. All undertaken substantially without real importance to our soul and only with its appeal to our secular selves. Before the Advent of Jesus Christ in the flesh approximately two thousand years, there had developed through Judaism a divinely-established religion that was based on devotion to God, the Creator of all. 

     God in His infinite wisdom knew that a flesh and blood example of Himself was  necessary for humanity to get the big picture of Who He was and to establish guidlines for worship of Him. The coming of the Christ on the world's scene established the perfect representation of a way of life, that, when followed, is a constant energy source for our batteries, when they start to get run down. Christianity in fact is replete with dos and donts. Every day we all confront challenges, behavioral, financial, governmental, criminality, etc. It is very easy to become discouraged, but the Word of God is in the pages of the Christian Bible. It defines a way of life that brings peace and the answer to the ultimate question of life on this earth. 

     There is life after physical death. Not all of us go up to Heaven. There is an alternative and that is into the fires of Hell. How does one ensure that they go up rather than down? It is simple. If one believes that Jesus is truly Who He said He was, the Son of God, and in faith appropriate and take action on that belief, then we go to Heaven. I have always had a multitude of prayers that need answereing. I focus on, "You know that your prayers are answered because you obey His Commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight." This becomes the basis for my daily life and how to live it. Belief that Jesus is the Messiah, comes first, confession by our mouth of that fact comes second, then a code of behavior comes third, then move on with the confidence, "That there is more, much more," when Christ becomes the center of one's life. I like keeping the batteries charged!!!.

Avalon Chronicles #175: The Importance of Confessing Our Sins to God

Source: The Reverend Hugh H. Morgan         www.hughsnews.com  5/6/25 

"But if we truly admit that we have sinned, we find God utterly reliable and straightforward-He forgives our sins and makes us thorouighly clean from all that is evil." (1 John 1:9, The New Testament in Modern English, J.B. Phillips).

I was six years old when I knew that I was a sinner as I read the Bible. My parents taught me that everyone has sinned and has fallen short of the glory of God. 

The Christian lady who led me in the process to confess my sins, to experience genuine repentance, and receive what Jesus offered me from the cross, occurred on the last day of a daily vacation Bible school I will never forget. We lived in East Lake, a community in the eastern part of Birmingham, Alabama. The day I was saved I became an instant evangelist.

As my sister, Mary Evelyn, and I walked home I told her. When we got home, I told my mother, and when my dad got home from work, I told him.

Then, I visited every family in our neighborhood and shared my salvation experience. I've never stopped telling the greatest story ever told. 

Not only do we confess our sins, and we get saved, we must continue to confess our sins to God. I call them "keeping short accounts with God."

God wants you to experience the abundant life that only Jesus provides.

Receive Jesus as your Savior and Lord of your life.

"But if we freely admit that we have sinned, we find God utterly reliable and straightforward-He forgives our sins and makes us thoroughly clean from all that is evil." (1 John 1:9, The new Testament in Modern English, J.B. Phillips).

Avalon Chronicles #174: A Morning Resolve

                                                         A Morning Resolve

                                   I will try this day to live a simple, sincere and

                                   serene life, repelling promptly every thought of

                                   discontent, anxiety, discouragement, impurity,

                                        and self-seeking; cultivating cheerfulness,

                                   magnanimity, charity and the habit of holy silence;

                                           exercising economy in expenditure,

                                   generosity in giving, carefulness in conversation,

                                           diligence in appointed service, fidelty to

                                           every trust and a childlke faith in God.

                                        In particular I will try to be faithful in those

                                   habits of prayer, work, study , physical exercise,

                                              eating and sleep which I believe the 

                                              Holy Spirit has shown me to be right.

                                   And as I cannot in my own srength do this,

                                   nor even with a hope of success attempt it,

                                           I look to thee, O Lord God my Father 

                                                  in Jesus Christ my Savior,

                                         and ask for the gift of the Holy Spirit.

                                                         Amen 

                                   anonymous

                                           

                      

Avalon Chronicles #173: "If I Were to Die Tonight,...."

 Resource: Booklet The Lord's Prayer by Rev. Jon Redmond 

                  First Baptist Church, Pasadena, Tx     www.fbp.org                                                                   

     Usually we all consider ourselves a member of a "family." If I were to die tonight, the most important message in my so far 173 Avalon Chronicles messages is this one. It tells you how to join the Family of God. 

     When you sincerely accomplish that, you have the original and most important Father of all time and all places in your corner for the challenges of life and your well-being. We all sin, but we have a way for those sins to be forgiven because two thousand years ago, give or take five years, a Holy Man walked in the land which was to become Israel today. Earthly history previous to that was one great big constant conflict of fighting and dying amongst humanity. The Creator of all on earth, our Heavenly Father, God, had a plan. He sent His Son Jesus, born to a simple Hebrew woman by immaculate conception, meaning she was a virgin. He only had a three year ministry, but that period would change the world and humanity forever! Of course, Jesus was feared and reviled by secular society, but revered by those, whose lives He touched. The most important decision you will EVER make is to make God your ultimate Father. You can do that by praying this prayer.

    "Dear God,

              I need you. I am sorry for my sins. Please forgive me. I believe Jesus died on the cross in my       place and that He rose again from the dead. I ask you now to save me. I ask Jesus to come into my life and make me a Christian. And I receive Him by faith as my Savior and Lord. Thank you for adopting me into Your family. And thank you for becoming my heavenly Father.

                                                                                                      In Jesus' name I pray, Amen." 

     If you prayed that prayer, God just became your heavenly Father and you are prepared to pray the Lord's Prayer and grasp it in all its magnificent significance. "While we won't be perfect until we get to heaven, our lives should be such that we are pursuing holiness, godliness, purity, and peace with others now." We are now in a royal family with all its requirements and benefits. Jesus was crucified, died and was buried, but, ROSE FROM THE DEAD. There will be a time when He will return and bring ultimate peace for His 1000 year reign. All the turmoil, the killing, the uproar will disappear. Believing in Jesus does not mean we will no longer have problems, but, it means we have a Father in Heaven to pray to in order to assist us to unravel our daily challenges and issues. It beats counselling and psychotherapy(which I tried year after year on planet earth). I pray I will be bound to the Mind of Christ and have imparted to me from the Mind of Christ the Wisdom, Insight, Discernment, Knowledge and Maturity (WIDKM) that I encounter each day. That becomes practical application. GO WITH GOD. It is better than anyone or any alternative. Try it unless you have a better alternative that works!!!!!

Avalon Chronicles #172: Triage for Physical/Spiritual/ Soulful Emergencies or Conditions

     Triage: "A system of establishing the order in which acts are to be carried out in an emergency, esp.acts of medical assistance." Webster's New Dictionary and Thesaurus. 2002. Wiley Publishing, Inc. Cleveland, Ohio.

     Triage on the battlefield or after a disaster consists of an examination of the wounded/injured with a view toward treatment of those, who can be saved. All of humanity incurs issues related to body, soul and spirit and how to sort through a direction to addressing/healing our issues.

      First steps in triage relate to a question for each of us as to our spiritual state. Have we confessed all sins of thought, word and deed, known and unknown, in the Name of Jesus, with repentance and our intention to sin no more. Secondly, have we forgiven all others, whether or not we are still wounded and suffering the slight and do not desire to forget the hurt. This is mandatory. We can forgive the source, but not the hurt. Our Lord and His Trinity of Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit will not address our wounds until we do our part to be cleaned up to put it very bluntly. 

     1. ISSUES RELATED TO THE PHYSICAL: Some issues relate to physiology: issues of body, limbs, and living organism. Simply put, we incur accidents with injury or conditions of ill health. Admittedly accidents may occur due to negligence by us or others. Medical conditions may be a result of poor hygiene or eating habits, infection or poor health. This type of issue lends itself possibly to divine intervention by God through prayer. We can call for the elders of the church or friends or ministers to join us in agreement prayer for our healing. This need for healing goes way and beyond typical medical attention. I have asked God for healing and sometimes the condition is never healed or is delayed. 

      2. ISSUES RELATED TO PERSONALITY OR ACTIONS: There may be turmoil in one's life due to our personality or interpersonal relations. If this is prevalent, we must "Bind ourselves to the Mind of Christ and request impartation from the Mind of Christ for the Wisdom, Insight, Discernment, Knowledge and Maturity" to have divine understanding of wherein we should change our attitude or behavior.

      3. ISSUES RELATED TO THE SOUL AND SPIRIT: In past writings and in the future I will address extensively the wounds caused by the eternal enemy of all of God's people, that caused by Satan, the god of this world. Satan left Heaven in rebellion and was accompanied by one third of the angels. In military terms they are defectors and traitors to God. However, these demonic entities have the legal authority to enter us and work us over to cause turmoil in us if we have unconfessed sin and unforgiveness. These issues are much more complex and relate to an arena termed "spiritual warfare," which, unfortunately, certain denominations totally refrain from understanding and are engaged in sermons that focus on the "loving God," which He is, but ignore the antagonist from Creation, his soldiers, the demons, and the havoc we create by ourselves or was created by our ancestors through sin and wrong decisions.  (To Be Continued)

Avalon Chronicles #171: "Who are these guys sent to torment us?" Part Two

 Reference: Larson's Book of Spiritual Warfare,. Bob Larson. Thomas Nelson Publishers. 1999.

     Readers of this blog must believe that demons do exist. As a military veteran I was schooled in "chain of command." Who reports to whom? In the spiritual realm, Lucifer, Satan, the devil, spurred on by jealousy and pride left Heaven in rebellion. On a chart of an evil chain of command the devil is at the top. It has been his original purpose from eternity back to stop the birth of our Savior, Jesus the Christ and torment humans, whether or not we have accepted Jesus as Savior.  Until the End Times, documented in Revelation, Satan has had enormous power in the world. When the fall of Adam and Eve happened in the Garden, he was given dominion over the world system.

     Satan has command of the "demons," his foot soldiers that are a constant thorn in humanity's side. Author Larson writes, "In all my years of dealing with demons, I have never encountered a case that contradicts my conclusion about the origin of evil spirits: They are angels who fell from their estate as did Lucifer (Ezek. 28;11-19; Isa. 14:12-15). Approximately one-third of all created angels succumbed to the devil's pleas of insurrection against God (Rev. 12:4), and they are now his emissaries of evil (Matt. 25:41-'the devil and his angels')." (46). There is belief that some of these angels are already inhabitants of hell. However, the ones we humans must pay attention to are the ones, who actively work us mere humans over. 

     Larson's writes of three theories to describes these "shock troops" in Satan's chain of command. "Pre-Adamic race, mongrels, or fallen angels. (45). In the first case there is the theory that there occurred before Adam and Eve another original created perfect earth, which was judged by means of a cataclysm, a judgment by God due to evil humanity. "The spirits of this wicked race were disembodied and roamed the earth seeking humans to possess." (45). There is a second theory set forth in the Enoch book of the Apocrypha, "...which theorizes that fallen angels sexually commingled with certain human females before the Flood. This perverted union resulted in mongrels, who were part human and part demonic, the genetically mutated giants of Genesis 6:4." (45). The offspring were called the Nephilim. They caused so much horror and depravity that God caused the Flood which , "...destroyed the natural bodies of these monsters, leaving their spirits to seek human possession and habitation." (45). Larson believes they were sent to a hellish prison.  

     My study and beliefs come to a more easily accepted conclusion that the "demons" are the angels, who left Heaven with Satan and became the soldiers reporting to their "Commander in Chief." They are humanity's enemies. Stay tuned as to learn about their modus operandi and from what they derive their power. Think about Points of Entry. 

Allen Clark     allenbclark@aol.com

  

Avalon Chronicles #170: "What you need to know about demons-your invisible enemies" Part One

 Resource: They Shall Expel Demons by Derek Prince. Chosen Books. Grand Rapids, Michigan 1998.

     My wife and I became acquainted with author Prince perhaps two decades ago. We have become big fans of his teachings and writings. His father was an officer posted to India in the British Army. He was educated in British schools culminating with honors graduation from Cambridge University. As an Army veteran I was especially intrigued with his service in the ambulance corps in North Africa in WWII. 

     I have had extensive exposure to demonology through the study of spiritual warfare. In an interview I watched recently the interviewee said he had been in church in America for forty years and had never heard the preacher talk about demons in a single service. This is a sad commentary on the church in the United States. God sent His Son Jesus to earth in human form two thousand years ago to break the power Satan had acquired by his successful temptation of Adam and Eve. That success by Satan gave him the legal power to be the God of this world. His instruments of evil and tormenting us are the "angels," who left the heavenly realms with him upon his rebellion. Perhaps in some future writings I will cover the earth's pre-flood time that comprised the period dominated by the controversial Nephilim. "Jesus came to the help of suffering humanity, working miracles by healing the sick and casting out demons."(8).

     It is distinctly probable for all of us that many of our seemingly unmanageable soulful issues are acquired by us through our lives and we are in a daze to understand how to be healed. During Jesus' ministry on earth for three years there are many accounts of His "casting out of demons." When He left the confines of his earthly ministry, He told His disciples that He was transmitting His authority to them to cast out demons. That authority has been passed along to us also. Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!

     Derek Prince writes of the two opposing spiritual realms, Kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. Since the creation of humankind there has been and is an ongoing battle of these opposing powers. Prince writes, "...some people are under demonic oppression who do not know how to get free and are enduring the various degrees of torment that demons inflict." (11). Prince himself was besieged by depression on his own. He recognized, "...the mental, emotional and physical torment is as severe as that of people imprisoned and tortured in totalitarian prison camps or gulags." (12). Jesus' Gospel is what provides humanity the hope and release we need from our torments of demonology. 

     I was in my early fifties when I first became aware of this aspect of our faith walks and the healings and release from the demonic spirits that has a grip on us. In my own writings that follow I will spend extensive time in extending and teaching on what I have learned by reading and studying what ministers have learned and appropriated for healing from demonic oppression. Stay tuned!