Behind every curse that comes upon a person, there is a cause. Once we know the cause, then we are in a better position to deal with it effectively.
Proverbs 26:2 "Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest."
There are 6 major causes.
(1) Idolatry
The 1st commandment from Exodus 20:3-6 given to us by God.
"You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the 3rd or 4th generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations, of those who love me & keep my commandments."
To the world, the word 'jealous' is negative which means distrust, envy, grudging & resentful. But 'jealous' in the scripture expresses protection of rights & concerns for integrity. It is an aspect of God's holiness. 'Jealous' has the same linguistic root as zeal. God is zealous for us to maintain our integrity with Him & worships Him only so that we will not be judged.
You might say the judgement of God is severe because the consequence of idolatry is a curse that goes down to the 3rd & 4th generations. Look at it in the same way as our physical laws on earth. If you commit a crime, the police will come after you & put you in jail. Similarly, when you commit a sin, the spiritual laws will be set in motion & there is no way that God can stop that unless you repent & ask for forgiveness. By the way, repentance is NOT feeling remorseful or bad. It is saying "I shall have nothing to do with that & I'm turning my back on it."
So what is an idol? It is a carved image & the bible teaches that when people make offerings to idols, in fact, they are making offerings to demons behind the idol. The idol serves as a camouflage to deceive a person into worshipping the devil as he is after our worship.
My ancestors were steeped in idolatry. One of my uncles, a kungfu expert, died mysteriously one night while he was out. No one knew what happened to him. His body was found on the roadside beside his bicycle very late in the night. He worships everything from Buddha to animals - there were idols all over his home. Once, my family & I stayed at his home. I told my mum not to sleep in a particular room as it was unclean. She didnt believe me & that night, she was strangled by an invisible hand. She didnt take me seriously. Cant blame her, I was only 7 years old.
Idolatry can come in the form of a person, money, status or anything that takes all your focus away from God. The focus of our worship or devotion reveals what's important in our heart.
(2) Occult
God strongly opposes occultic practices! There are 3 main branches in the occult. I was v interested in the occult & dabbled in some things but I want to state here that I would not touch occult with a ten foot pole! It is dangerous.
(i) Witchcraft
It is the power branch of the occult. Its purpose is to manipulate, intimidate & dominate people & consequences. Galatians 5:20 - 21 warns us that anyone who practises witchcraft will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Casting spells is witchcraft. In the internet, there are shops that sell "Cast a Spell", "Retrieve a Lover" kit, "Money" spells & others. Some are quite ridiculous.. really.. there is 1 kit which teaches you how to cast spells on dogs to poo at the same place all the time! Voodoo spells still exist today coz I've counselled ladies who are affected by this. The witch sticks pins in a doll made in the image of the person usually with that person's hair, fingernail clippings & so forth. There is no power in the dolls, curses come to pass because of the demonic power that is operating through the witch speaking forth the curses!
Hypnotism is becoming popular to combat against tiredness, stress, bad health, negative emotions, just to name a few. Hypnotism is strictly forbidden coz we are not allowed to surrender our wills to anyone other than Jesus, no one can be trusted to rule our wills. Also, such surrender opens inner psychic doors that only Jesus can enter.
Martial arts, yoga & massage (like Shiatsu & Reiki) invoke spiritual power. Eastern meditation requires you to empty your mind; there is an emphasis on losing the personhood & individuality & merging with the cosmic mind to fulfil the longing to be free from the burdens & pains of this life. This is dangerous coz you open yourself up to receiving a spirit in the name of developing one's full potential. Christian meditation on the other hand is an attempt to fill your minds with the things of God. It has a continual focus upon obedience & faithfulness. Scripture memory is important to fill our minds so that no other doctrines can enter our mind to control our thinking.
Yoga is extremely popular. Yoga means to yoke with Brahman ie the universal spirit through an altered state of consciousness. I have no time to explain this but in a nutshell, if you think you are getting relaxation & exercise, think again, you are really getting Hinduism! The physical positions in Yoga come right out of the Hindu scriptures. Derek Prince himself was a yoga specialist & he said he would not go near yoga again, it's mislabeled & it's dangerous!
Yoga is extremely popular. Yoga means to yoke with Brahman ie the universal spirit through an altered state of consciousness. I have no time to explain this but in a nutshell, if you think you are getting relaxation & exercise, think again, you are really getting Hinduism! The physical positions in Yoga come right out of the Hindu scriptures. Derek Prince himself was a yoga specialist & he said he would not go near yoga again, it's mislabeled & it's dangerous!
Others include astral projection, mind control & blood pacts.
(ii) Divination
This is a branch which offers different forms of knowledge which cannot be obtained by natural means. This includes astrology, horoscope, tarot cards, ouija board, telepathy, tea leaves reading, palmistry & geomancy.
Geomancy is very common in Singapore. Often young Christians have no way of removing items or stop geomancy if they are living in their parents' home. It is not wise to remove items connected to geomancy, all they can do is to pray for protection in their room & nullify the effects of any items in their own room with the blood of Jesus. It is possible to do that coz God understands & will protect His children. Also, in offices these days, bosses get a geomancy master to come in & do a spiritual transformation in order to bring good luck & protection. As a christian, you can stand your ground & say that you are a Christian & that you are not allowed to give your birthdate & time of birth, etc to the master. Surprisingly, they understand so it's really not a problem.
Channelling is connecting with an evil spirit called a guide. You can simply attract a guide into your life whilst in deep meditation or in a trance. My friend's daughter went into it & talked to the spirits. Gradually it changes her whole personality & became a wild party goer.
Necromancy is consulting the dead for future events. My mother consulted my dead father & that explained why there were spirits of death in her house. God had mercy on her & she was saved when she accepted Jesus into her heart.
Fortune telling is also deadly. My close & trusted friend for many years had her fortune told. She was told that she would not have any sons but daughters & she would die at the age of 40. The pronouncement affected her & she lived with that fear until she accepted Jesus into her life. When she conceived her 1st child, she & her husband prayed fervently that she would have a boy as an indication that God had broken the curse for her. She did & went on to have her 2nd son. When she conceived her 3rd child, her fear came back as she would be 40 by the time she gave birth to her 3rd son. She had horrible dreams to remind her of her impending death. Nearing delivery, she dreamt of 2 coffins - 1 big & 1 small & that was the last straw. She begged God to reveal Himself to her. That Sunday morning, Ps Caleb released a word from Ps 128 ".. you will live & see your children's children." Isnt that amazing? On that delivery day, a pastor saw 3 angels walking into the theatre & although she was trembling, it left her the minute she was wheeled into the operating room.
After the delivery, the devil still taunted her. Called her by her chinese name when she was sleeping & the phone would ring but there was no one on the other side. Only her room's electricity went off but other parts of the hospital was ok. Why? She had opened the door to fear. When she went back home, she was determined that she would not be a victim anymore & commanded the spirit to leave her in Jesus name. It never bothered her again. God fulfilled a lifetime desire of having a girl & her daughter was born in her mid 40s.
Here, the lesson is this : You do not allow anyone to pronounce negative things about you. I had gone to fortune tellers before but I broke every single prophesy whether positive or negative over my life. The devil does not control my destiny only God.
Here, the lesson is this : You do not allow anyone to pronounce negative things about you. I had gone to fortune tellers before but I broke every single prophesy whether positive or negative over my life. The devil does not control my destiny only God.
(iii) Sorcery
A person who practises sorcery uses material objects or some other means to carry or release demonic powers. Some egs would be clothing & jewellery which have occultic designs, pictures & symbols on them. I had to get rid of a beautiful white carpet & more than a dozen plates & bowls which had dragon designs on them, given by my mother in law. The bible says that the serpent & the dragon symbolizes satan & I asked myself, "Why would I want to advertise satan in my living room & dining area?"
Others include amulets, charms, talismans crystals used for healing, birthstones, tatoos & other religious artifacts. Chanting, incantation (series of words spoken or sung as a magic spell), drug abuse & certtain forms of music (hard rock & heavy metal) attract evil spirits seeking to destroy the home.
Occultic drawings are called watchers. They are familiar spirits & they are placed at particular sites to maintain watch over a certain area. These pictures sometimes contain eyes or at least one eye. My friends & I once told someone to remove a $2,000 picture that shows a person with half of his face as a human & the other half as a devil. He had dangling arms, & his legs were not connected to the body.
When we left the place, we forgot to cleanse ourselves after house cleansing. The demonic spirit from that picture followed my friend home. That night, her children drew pictures of a man's face - half human & half devil with dangling arms. They innocently asked their mother if their drawing represented some great artist like Picasso coz they had never drawn such a picture before. That was the demonic INFLUENCE that came upon the children & my friend drove that spirit out of her house.
Breaking curses & deliverance have nothing to do with high flying spirits. It is simply normal Christianity. Christians will do well to remember this; even Jesus cast out demons in his everyday activity and it also has become part of my Christian walk too. Having said that, we are not to place too much attention on the devil; he loves the attention. We just need to know that he exists & how he operates in people's lives so that we can be delivered from his clutches. A normal person will not go around thinking & talking about germs all the time. That's weird. Likewise, we dont go through life looking for the devil in every bush but our focus is ALWAYS JESUS.
Luke 10:19 I have give you authority to trample on snakes & scorpions & to overcome all the power of the enemy, nothing will harm you." That's Jesus' promise to us.
With Love, Mum
P/S I dont know if I have time to write the next blog, I have 4 more causes to go. Today is EW so I'm really tight up.
Occultic drawings are called watchers. They are familiar spirits & they are placed at particular sites to maintain watch over a certain area. These pictures sometimes contain eyes or at least one eye. My friends & I once told someone to remove a $2,000 picture that shows a person with half of his face as a human & the other half as a devil. He had dangling arms, & his legs were not connected to the body.
When we left the place, we forgot to cleanse ourselves after house cleansing. The demonic spirit from that picture followed my friend home. That night, her children drew pictures of a man's face - half human & half devil with dangling arms. They innocently asked their mother if their drawing represented some great artist like Picasso coz they had never drawn such a picture before. That was the demonic INFLUENCE that came upon the children & my friend drove that spirit out of her house.
Breaking curses & deliverance have nothing to do with high flying spirits. It is simply normal Christianity. Christians will do well to remember this; even Jesus cast out demons in his everyday activity and it also has become part of my Christian walk too. Having said that, we are not to place too much attention on the devil; he loves the attention. We just need to know that he exists & how he operates in people's lives so that we can be delivered from his clutches. A normal person will not go around thinking & talking about germs all the time. That's weird. Likewise, we dont go through life looking for the devil in every bush but our focus is ALWAYS JESUS.
Luke 10:19 I have give you authority to trample on snakes & scorpions & to overcome all the power of the enemy, nothing will harm you." That's Jesus' promise to us.
With Love, Mum
P/S I dont know if I have time to write the next blog, I have 4 more causes to go. Today is EW so I'm really tight up.