After wonder why I bumped into the two oppressed people this week, it became clear to me this Saturday when I went out to pray for people.  The two oppressed people both tried to discourage me from praying for people in the streets.  Thus, I have to admit and confess that I am not invincible and that when I went out today, I was to shaken up inside that I was unsure of my ability to approach people and ask them to pray for them.  The enemy really shook me up.  And, I was relying totally on God to see me through and to give me strength to pray for others as I did not have the strength myself to do it.

Then, something awesome happened.  When I went out relying even a little on my strength, I prayed for about three to five people.  Today, I went out relying totally on God and His Spirit as the attacks this week really got to me (read about them in the past four post or so).  And, the Spirit let me and the person with me to pray for about fifteen people.  God led us to these people.  People were open and receptive to us offering to pray for them and they were happy to see us sharing God's love in the neighborhood.  It was the Holy Spirit and His guidance all the way!  I am not taking credit for it, but at the same time, I want to make it clear to everyone that if you rely on God and His Spirit, He can lead you to pray for people.  So, anyone can do it if they turn to God and let God work through them.  Praise the Lord!

During the past week, I had received a few messages from the enemy to stop praying for people in the streets.  I knew what these messages were and how they were meant to discourage and to stop me from praying for strangers at this moment in time.  It is interesting how when I step out in power in words of knowledge and power evangelism that the agents of the enemy start to increase opposition against me.  This means that something incredible is about to happen, something awesome is about to happen, and the agents of the enemy are seeking to stop it from happening, and oppose the breaking in of the Kingdom.

So, you are probably wondering, "yeah, right.  He is just saying this.  Who is he to know that this is going to happen?"  There are certain observations that I made regarding the activities of the spiritual realms that leads me to this conclusion.  First and foremost, the opposition in the past few days tried to prevent the session of prayers today , which was threefold to fivefold in productivity, not that I care about the count, but it was encouraging.  We [I and another person] prayed for people who were worried about their father stressing out about their grandma who just had a seizure, for a person whose mother is struggling financially, for a person who has a disability and a heart condition, for a person who needed encouragement and focus to meet a deadline for a project at work, for a person who wanted peace for his friends and family, for a person who wanted his high school team to do well in sports, had an encouraging word for a person who is about to graduate, and prayed many other people.  When we [I and others] went out praying in the past, we usually pray for about three to five people each time.  This is a breakthrough in prayer for others and this is incredible.  We are showing God's love to others many times over and this was what the enemy was trying to stop and discourage this week beforehand (see the last two to three posts about the two encounters I had with others whom the enemy used to discourage me).  It also happened in an area that I never prayed for people even once, not even once.  There is something awesome happening.  God is doing something wonderful and the enemy saw it coming and wanted to discourage it.  Well, whenever something like this happens, whenever discouragement from the enemy seems to come one's way like this, it means that we are doing something right and that should push forward and continue to fight the good fight for it is written:

Joab said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you are to rescue me; but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will rescue you. Be strong, and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The LORD will do what is good in his sight.”

Then Joab and the troops with him advanced to fight the Arameans, and they fled before him. (2 Samuel 10:11-13, 1 Chronicles 19-12-14)

Here, I learn that we should not going into spiritual battle alone, but we should bring reinforcements.  I went out with someone today and the results were amazing!  Indeed, the word of God stands firm in the heavens (Psalm 119:89).  It is truth, solid as a rock.  Praise the Lord for teaching us His word and showing us firsthand what it truly means and for encouraging us to continue to pray for others and to encourage and show is unconditional love to the world.  Praise the Lord for guiding our footsteps and leading to the people who needed prayer and for us to pray for them.  Almost everyone we went up to ask for prayer today actually needed prayer.  Praise the Lord for His spiritual guidance and power!  Praise the Lord!

Last night, I had another encounter.  It was not pleasant.  When I pulled up to my place, I noticed a man running straight to the side of the car.  When he looked into the car, he noticed that I was not the person he wanted, so the turned and pretended to walk away.  I got out of the car and went into my place to pick up a few things before heading out again.  When I headed out again in a few minutes, I noticed the man waiting again in the same place.  Now, I know that the man lives in the building and he knows that I lived nearby, so I thought I'll just strike a conversation and make some friends with the neighbor, whom I never met or had a conversation with ever.  So, I came over and introduced myself.

He looked at me, shaking his arms violently in the air, and said, "F--- off, no one wants to talk to you.

I replied, "I am your neighbor, just trying to know the neighbors here around the neighborhood."

And, then his voice literally deepened, like in the movies, it was not as obvious as the movies, but it was subtle enough where you can tell.  He said, "Look, you mother f----er.  No wants to talk to you to in the streets.  And, you should not be talking to them in the streets.  Don't you get it?"

Then, I said, "God bless you, too."

He answered, "I don't need his blessings.  Get the f---- away!"

I don't know what it was, but I was beating myself up that night after I left.  I thought that when I met another demon oppressed person, I would deliver that person right there and then, but some of them are just plain violent.  Then, this passage came to mind:

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go...The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name. He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.  However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:1, 17-20).

Then, I realized that I had been beating myself up for not engaging them for maybe nothing.  Jesus sent the seventy-two out two by two for a reason, especially in the beginning when they were being trained.  The oppressed can be particular violent and downright dangerous and for no reason, no provocation at times.  It is better to out two by two and not alone.  Maybe, when experience reaches that of Saint Paul, it'll be possible to go alone, but at this point in my walk, I do feel like there is danger and that going out two by two is probably wiser.

Christenstein

The enemy had been discouraging me the past few days through a person that I had attempted to pray for and encourage in the subway.  Most of the time, my experiences encouraging people had been positive - there were times when some people were not receptive, but they never really got to me.  The man I wrote about yesterday told me to bug off in an intimate and personally way.  Not only did he know that Jesus gave me the word of knowledge, but he also knew that Jesus is my Messiah without me having told him anything.  I just told him that God gave me the word that he needed a job and that I should be praying for that.  This person spoke to me like I had been praying for him for a long time - "He can reach out all He wants.  It is annoying.  Tell Him to stop."  I cannot help but to sense that there is something about about the spirit speaking to me that gave me the impression that it knows me and what I had been doing all this time - I just have that feeling.  You can call it paranoia or whatever, but it does feel that way to me not only because it is the first I ever met this man, but also because he seems to know too much details about me, details that an ordinary person should not know.  Not only did the man look at me like he knew me when I had never seen him before, but he spoke to me like he knew I had been praying for people in the streets.  And, he told me to stop doing it.  To me, it was a show down between the spiritual forces.

That got me really guessing only because the other man stopped the man and told me that the man was "crazy."  However, whatever doubts I had were erased yesterday - totally erased.  I was at Qdoba with my friends, church planters, and we were just chatting.  I have many divine appointments with the homeless or the less fortunate and they always have words for me.  And, yesterday was no different.  So, when dinner was over and we were about to leave, the man asked us for money.  Now, it is my policy to never give out cash, but the man asked for 75 cents.  What is unique about this is that I rarely carry change in my wallet and how he knew I had change in my wallet today is beyond me, but the fact that he knew how many quarters I had was enough for me to pull my wallet out to give him my change.  After I gave me my change, 80 cents worth, my friend asked him if he wanted prayer.  He said, "sure."

We prayed for him.  And, I had a picture, but that's not important here.  What is important is that we connected to him and spoke about his struggles and helped him feel that we cared for him - we reached out and showed him the love of Jesus.  He then told us, "There are a lot of people out there who will not accept prayer, but I believe in Jesus and I accept prayer."

That was when any iota of doubt whether the encounter with the man in the subway was demonic was erased.  Encouragement came back.  And, I felt like I could go out and pray again - that I was not a failure because I did not deliver that man from the demon, that I was not a failure because I walked away and let that man continue to suffer - the very thing that I sometimes slam my old church for, letting me suffer under demonic oppression for years after I had told them that a demon was attacking me.  I was beating myself up for letting that man suffer longer than he should have had to when I had the chance to deliver, the chance to free that man.  Perhaps, I was too hard on myself for missing the chance or perhaps, that was what the enemy wanted.  Whatever it was, the Spirit of God in this man we prayed for lifted it and in an instant it was gone.  Talk about spiritual warfare!

Christenstein

A few days ago, I had an interesting encounter with an interesting man in the subway.  When I saw him, he looked at me as though he recognized me, but not in the cordial "I have seen you before way," but in the "I have seen a ghost way."  I saw his eyes - they were really wide - it was as if he had seen a ghost, literally.  I got an impression that he needed a job.  He was dressed very nicely, not homeless.  There was no indication that needed a job at all.  I approached him to tell him about the impression as I do most of the time when impressions come to me.  He told me that he wanted another train pass so that he could find a job.  I answered him that God wants me to pray for him - that's why it is revealed to me that he needs a job.

The moment that I mentioned by whose authority the word of knowledge came to me, the man became violent, literally.  He started to yell at me and scream at me.  And, I am paraphrasing the words - "Tell Jesus, your Messiah, that I do not need His prayers.  I can pray for myself.  And, tell Jesus to stop coming.  I am sick and tired of this and it is getting annoying.  You go and pray for yourself."

I was stunned.  I did not expect that kind of reply, but at the same time, I did not expect such a suddenly change in mood on part of the man.  I looked at him and said, "Jesus is reaching out to you in love."

He answered, "He can reach out all He wants.  It is annoying.  Tell Him to stop."

I looked at the man and noticed that his teeth was clenched, his fists were ready to punch, and his eyes were wide.  I knew that a fight was about to ensue.  So, I walked away.  And, then he yelled at me.  "Tell Jesus to stop coming.  I don't need him."

A man came over to him and told him, "Stop bothering the guy."

He answered the man, "He bothered me first."

The man looked at me and said, "Don't talk him.  He's a little crazy."

The man kept looking at me with the wide eyes, fists, and clenched teeth.

After a few days, I had some time to think more about the encounter and more about what had happened.

During the first day of the conference (Friday), my best friend and I was about to leave and on my way out, I bumped into a lady whom we had never met.  There was something she wore that caught my attention, which I will not mention here because it will give away her identity.  I went over to her to strike a conversation.  During the conversation, I had a picture of her writing.

I asked her, "Do you write?"

She answered, "Yes, I am about to give up."

I answered, "I think God wants you not to give up and He wants me to pray for you.  Can I pray for you?"

She said, "sure."

I prayed for her.  During prayer, I felt that she had dreams regarding her writings and I felt that those dreams were from God.  There was an impression that the enemy was trying to take those dreams away, but God does not want that.  I felt the Lord wanting to encourage her and to remind that He loves her as a daughter, to pour out His unconditional love to her, and to show her that He cares about every detail of her life.

After the prayer, I asked, "Does the prayer mean anything to you?"

She said, "Yes, it means a lot."

I stood there listening to see if she had more to say about God reaching out.  When the silence went for a while, I smiled and told her that I was glad that I could pray for her and left.

The next day of the conference, my best friend and I bumped into her again.  This time, she told us about the spiritual warfare, how she was writing a novel, how she was writing about Christ, and how things seemed to be falling apart.  Almighty God was indeed encouraging her!  Praise the Lord!

There are many stories from the conference, but this one is just one, just one written down to remember what God has done for a writer who almost gave up on writing for His glory.  Praise the Lord!

I remember the following events in my walk with my Father --

1. After four years of full time work and part-time law school in the evening, Father God personally gave me a word of a season of rest and said that I should not be taking the bar exam in July 2010 with the rest of my graduating class (see post July 01, 2009). 
2. He wanted me to take the bar exam in February 2010.  He reaffirmed to me that this was Him by having the voucher issued on my spiritual birthday and the news of my failure on Good Friday.  The significance of this is that my career needed to be given to Him and that there would a spiritual rebirth and resurrection with it (see post April 6, 2010), which took away bondage and slavery (see post March 25, 2010). 
3. On February 27, 2010, He delivered a demon that was plaguing me (see post April 6, 2010).  
4. He clearly communicated later that He had faith in me and eventually told me through the Body of Christ to take the bar exam again in July 2010.  He revealed His Father heart (see post May 3, 2010). 
5. During the time between the failure and taking the bar again,
   1. He showed me His heart of justice in a up close and personal way, standing up for me and avenging injustice as He promised to me personally exactly one year from many memory stones (see post May 4, 2010). 
   2. He reminded of the choices that I had made for Him through His memory stones (see example May 13, 2010 and example May 14, 2010 and example May 18, 2010). 
   3. He revealed the spiritual world that I grew up in and experienced all my life to my best friend (see post July 6, 2010). 
   4. He went side-by-side with me as I finally, after a year, obeyed Him and started to take care of my body (see post July 11, 2010). 
   5. He foreshadowed the victory by stopping a thunderstorm by preventing rain from wetting a Netbook I needed to take the bar exam with (see post July 24, 2010). 
   6. He was with me during the bar exam - it was the first test taking experience where I was calm and did not panic at all - the peace of the Holy Spirit was with me and I will say that it was all HIM!  (see post July 29, 2010).

The voucher for the second bar exam was issued on my Grandpa's birthday.  This is symbolic...

My grandpa is about freedom.  He left the country where he was from because of freedom.  He was a refugee because he did not want to live without rights.  The new bar exam speaks to a birth of freedom (while the old bar exam spoke to a symbolic death and resurrection).  It reminds me of the reason why I am here in the United States, the reason why I went into this field of study, and the reason why studied and got through what I got through.  It was Father God honoring me for my pure intentions and my wanting to serve Him by showing and revealing to the world His heart for justice - and it was this pursuit of Him and His heart that pushed me forward and propelled me to continue.  It was He who motivated me to take it again.  He was His heart of justice that moved me forward, not the prestige, the honor, the smarts, the title, achievement (all those things were gone - they have disappeared when I failed the first time around).  The the second time, it was all about Him and Him alone.  And, that made all the difference - He spoke again.  And, I passed the bar exam on His power.  The news came on October 1, 2010.

I celebrate God's faithfulness.  His speaking to me, marking clearly the seasons.  The symbolic days of the voucher's issuance - my spiritual birthday the first time and my grandpa's birthday the second time.  The news of failure on Good Friday and the thunderstorm stopping.  The demon being delivered.  And, finally passing bar exam (having not studied the weekend into it and during it because had the peace of Christ) after seeing His presence in my life in personal and wonderful ways.

Praise the Lord for a wonderful church community and for a spirit empowered community.  Praise the Lord for being true and being present and faithful.  I love Him.  I love you all and could not have gone this far if it were not for the support of my brothers and sisters through Christ Jesus.  May the blessings of the Almighty God and all the saints continue to shine upon you.

May you know that Father God loves you and have plans for you.  As remember some of the significant events of this year, I want to remind myself of one thing...failing the bar exam is just as joyful as passing it.  Praise the Lord!

I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. (Phil 4:10-13)

Christenstein

During the last Friday of September, Father God gave me a picture, which He wanted me to communicate with an entire group of people.  He did not tell me what the picture meant and who the picture was for.  The picture was really confusing to me.  There was a struggle inside of me - I did not want to communicate the picture because I did not know the interpretation and knew that most likely, others will not have the interpretation also.  There was internal struggle within me that told me that if I were to communicate the picture, it would make me look like a fool.  No one understood what the picture meant.  Nevertheless, God wanted me to communicate the picture any way.  And, I remembered the time when He asked to give a word to someone.  When I refused, He stopped a train so that word would be given (God Stops a Train for a Word of Knowledge - June 14, 2010).  I did not want to have deal with that again and I knew that I should give the image.  He made it clear before that He should communicate what He wants me to communicate and I communicate what He wants me to do because I love Him and because of His love for me as He gave His one and only Son for me on the cross.

So, I gave the image of a dove with an olive branch on its beak with different colored flames circling the beak and no one claimed it.  It was frustrating because I wanted the interpretation.  It is no fun getting images and not knowing what they meant.  It is no fun been a radio - playing and relaying messages for Him, not knowing what those messages mean, how it affects the receiver/stranger, and wondering.  When I gave my life to Christ, I definitely did not sign for this, but this is what He wants to use me for.  Sometimes, I feel like a radio, like I am not part of the conversation between and the person He tries to reach.  And, this is perhaps, something that I need to deal with, something that I have to come to terms with, and something that I have to give up as a living sacrifice to Him.  As we all know that this life is not about me, but about Him.  And, as I walk further and further into my Christian walk, He asks more of me because to whom much is given much is indeed expected.

So, I was frustrated for a while until I spoke to T later that night and God revealed that the picture was for T.  As the week went on, it was revealed further what the picture meant and how it applied.  The the dove represented the Holy Spirit and the olive branch peace.  The different colored flames represented different chaos, with varying degrees, in T's life; however, God had it under control and arranged them in a circle as to provide T peace through His Spirit.  The picture was not for that time, but for the future - to comfort.  Talk about encouragement from God - that God so understands T that He provides an image to comfort and encourage her.  He even reproduced the image of the dove again in a latte T made Tuesday night one week later before Bible study.  How loving is He that He confirms that message for His child, T.  That's God all the way!

To top that off, He confirmed further that the image is from Him when we went out praying on Monday night two weeks later.  We prayed for a person T approached.  After talking for a sometime, B asked what song was playing.  The person listened to his music device and said, "Wings of Dove."  There is was again, another confirmation from God - that the dove image from from Him.  I was struck by the Holy Spirit again.  We were walking home, but the man followed us and offered to let us hear the song.  T listened to the song, then I listened to the song and it was joyful, joyful because the Holy Spirit was present and the lyrics to the song was exactly like the image God gave to the group.  How wonderful is the Lord!  What wonderful confirmation!  Praise the Lord for comforting His children not only through one source -- dove image given, but through many more sources of confirmation -- dove image in a latte and dove song through a random stranger T offered to pray for. 

Praise the Lord for that!  And, I...well, I should be more humble to the Almighty God and know that He is knows what He is doing and not be frustrated with not knowing and be at peace with Him knowing.  That is total reliance on Him, having faith in Him even when I do not the answers - that is to stand still and love Him and abiding in Him.

We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. But the man who loves God is known by God. (1 Corinthians 8:1-3)

Then, I realized how much God loves me, too, preventing me from becoming prideful by keeping the interpretation from me (as the knowledge could have puffed me up) as not to know the future and the situation that this person is going to deal with, so that I would yield to Him and know that it is He, instead of Me.  Another friend gave me a word during my frustrations that last Friday night of September - my friend said I was dealing with my brokenness and that others and I should learn from that.  And indeed, it is true - God deliberately kept the interpretation from me so that I could see my brokenness and learn to from it and know it is there.  He kept the interpretation from me not because He wanted to torture me and frustrate me that night, but because He loves me and wanted the best for me.  He did not want me to stumble and fall into temptation, going off about the future that this person would face just because He revealed it to me - He knew that if I knew about the future, I would have gone off about it and there would have been consequences, consequences that I have seen happened before with others.  That is the loving God I serve, the God I love, and the God who redeemed me.  He is coaching me on which words to give, what to give, how to give them, when to give them, how to time them, and what to do with them to make His words more effective for His purposes, not for my purposes or for the purposes of puffing myself up because I am in the know.

Praise the Lord for showing His love for both T and me!

During Memorial Day, I got a prophetic word from one of my friends.  My health, for some odd reason was deteriorating at that time, the time when I was stepping into a new relationship and the Kingdom of God was breaking through in my life in a very big way.  Satan knew what was going on in the spiritual realms, so he attacked and the attacked was severe.  I had a severe allergy reaction, one that I never had since over ten years ago.  My friend told me that God will rescue me, but I needed to do my part and cooperate with Him.  He will manifest His power through me, but I needed to do my part.  That was the prophetic word given to me on Labor Day, which I did not write about, but eluded to in my writings on July 14th (See Post July 14th).  God wanted me to reduce my caffeine intake and to pay attention to my health (which He told me to do a long time ago, but I did not listen and did not surrender to His Spirit to do), which was more than 1000 mgs a day at that time.  This amount was not good for anyone.  After having obeyed Him and reduced the caffeine, I lost weight and become healthier.  His Holy Spirit came in and helped me have more self-control with the food I ate.

I lost enough weight to warrant buying new clothes.  My best friend (another friend) told me that it was time for me to buy new clothes because the old clothes were getting too big.  I have written here that God told me that He will provide for my needs and that I do not need to ask Him (See Post February 22, 2009 and See Post February 21, 2009).  It is, thus, no surprise to me that when my weight went down and I needed new clothes - God provided new clothes in His perfect timing.  He told me that He would and He is true to His word, always.  In fact, God provided me most of the clothes I have (See Post April 21, 2010).  Seriously, I do not buy much of my clothes.  I seek His Kingdom the best I could and He provides for my needs just the scriptures says He would.  His word is His word.  And, once again, the Almighty God confirms that His Word as true in my heart.

Praise the Lord!

http://www.albertmohler.com/2010/09/20/the-subtle-body-should-christians-practice-yoga/

The basic premise of the above article, written by Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, says that yoga and Christianity does not comport with each other. He states that yoga comes from Hindu roots and is a form of meditation that empties the mind and connects to the divine. He goes onto further state that Christians are not called to empty the mind to connect with the divine.

I certainly do not what Bible he is reading, but the Bible I am reading says that I should be transforming my mind and replacing it with the mind of Christ. Thus, emptying my mind of the things of the world and then, replacing it with the things of Christ to connect to Christ is a very Christian thing to do, in my opinion. And, this is what Christians do, they meditate on the word of God, essentially emptying their minds of the world's thoughts and replacing it with the word of God.

That's besides the point here as there are other points in the comments regarding food sacrificed to idols, acknowledging the power of demons over the power of the resurrection, and other concerning points of the Mohler's blog. (Added September 23, 2010).

What is dubious about this is that Mohler believes that yoga should not be practiced by Christians at all. He states 

Christians who practice yoga are embracing, or at minimum flirting with, a spiritual practice that threatens to transform their own spiritual lives into a “post-Christian, spiritually polyglot” reality. Should any Christian willingly risk that?

I disagree. I disagree because yoga is a means to an end. The Hindus use yoga as a means to reach a consciousness to connect to their divine. Christians, likewise, can use yoga as a means of emptying their mind of the world's thoughts, then reflecting and meditating on the word of God.

What do you think, in the context of Christianity, do you think it is hypocritical for a Christian to practice yoga? What do you think of Mohler's thesis?

Other Sources

Here is another article, however, Saint Paul does tell us that he is convinced that he can eat all foods even food offered to idols because the idols have no power and the power of Christ Jesus is supreme!

http://www.cbn.com/health/fitness/bagby_yoga-alternative.aspx

This is my favorite one, published in Christianity Today - Yoga Yes - Compared to food offered to idols.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/article_print.html?id=34603

Other Yoga Yes viewpoints Articles

http://onemorecup.wordpress.com/2007/10/01/is-it-sin-can-christians-do-yoga/

http://christianyogamagazine.com/yoga-and-catholicism/christians-today-practice-yoga-because-they-need-it/

Edit: September 23, 2010, Posted September 22, 2010