Joy and Peace?

Wow. I'm sitting here at my desk feeling more drained than I ever remember during a Christmas season. Debbie said something very similar this morning. And we got a phone call from an officer friend who was marveling about their tiredness this year. Must be something going around.

I'm not sure why this year would be so different. We've been doing this "kettle thing" for the last 25 years (with a short break during our 3 years at DHQ). We've got lots of good help here in Bangor that handle the majority of the kettle driving, application process and basket/toy/clothing distribution. But there's a whole lot more to this season for the Corps Officer than "just" kettles and baskets, so there's still plenty work to go around.

I think the long days are the hardest. Deb's up and out of the house before I even get up and I usually find her asleep when return at night. I think I remember what she looks like. I guess that's what pictures are for.

Today is our last distribution day (except for those who always come in at the last minute) and already I've heard of 2 people who are irate at us for various reasons. One was stealing from our Family Store and instead of being embarrassed, "goes off" on our employees! So she's ranting in the background while a cameraman is filming an informational item for the evening news.

Only 1 day left after today! Then we can pack everything up in the boiler room for another year and try to recuperate. The sound of bells and the phone ringing are not on my list of favorite things right about now!

[1 hour later . . .]

I'm just getting back from changing kettle workers at one of our stands. The worker we put there this morning called to tell us she "was cold." She's been a worker for us a few years, so she knows what it's like standing kettles in Maine. Quite simply, for those of you who don't know: it's cold! That's no secret.

The whole "kettle thing" wouldn't be so bad if you could put people out in the morning then just pick them up at night. But it's never like that. Every day is an exercise in creativity, trying to fill in for people who don't show up in the AM and figure out what to do when they call in telling you they want to go home. NOW. Linus (of Peanuts comic strip fame) once said: "I love mankind. It's people I can't stand!" He must have managed a Salvation Army kettle drive once or twice.

All of the above is a minor rant about some of my season so far. It's too bad we salvos have allowed ourselves to get so overworked and drained during the special season that exists to remind us of Joy and Peace. We say we do it so that others may experience Joy and Peace. But I wonder. Shouldn't there be a way to bring Joy and Peace without sacrificing the very same for ourselves?

That may sound a bit selfish, but it's not what I'm getting at. During the hustle and bustle and the commercialization of Christmas (which we so deplore), we salvos are the most hustled and bustled of them all. We should be better examples of what Christmas is really about.

One of these days I'm going to figure out a way to raise all the money we need and help others with things they need without sacrificing our health and sanity.

One of these days.

FREE Music (Does that Get your Attention?)!

For those of you who are regularly blessed by Phil Laeger's music, you'll want to get right over to his website and download his latest FREE(!) album, Pride & Glory, Truth & Beauty.

http://www.phillaeger.com/home.html

There are 4 cuts, each named after the album's title. I haven't had the chance to listen critically yet, but I have no doubt I will be blessed and challenged as usual. You will too, I'm sure.

So what are you waiting for? Click! Download!

I Wonder . . .

Ever since the long discussion about holiness a few posts ago, I have been thinking and wrestling a lot with . . . well, actually many things. I'm in one of those stages where my mind goes off on tangent after tangent and there are so many of them, I can't quite make sense of them all! I'm sure this is just one of the things that defines me as a thinking person, but through it all this time, I've been feeling almost as if I shouldn't be thinking as hard as I am. There must be something more- above my understanding and beyond my attempts to corral it into my tiny brain.

I'm almost finished reading Blue Like Jazz, by Donald Miller. This is a book that's hard to read straight through, because he gets you off on tangent after tangent thinking about very deep spiritual things. But it doesn't read like a "deep" book. His writing style is incredibly fun- I love it!

Anyway, I just finished reading chapter 17, in which he talks about worship and wonder. As I was highlighting most of his words (I should have saved money by buying the yellow paged book and a white highlighter!), I was particularly taken by his comment:

"Too much of our time is spent trying to chart God on a grid, and too little is spent allowing our hearts to feel awe. By reducing Christian spirituality to formula, we deprive our hearts of wonder."

Then he goes on to say:

"the chances of any of our theology being exactly right are a million to one"

and:

"All the wonder of God happens right above our arithmetic and formula. The more I climb outside my pat answers, the more invigorating the view, the more my heart enters into worship."

As intelligent as I think I am and as right as I believe I am on my theology, one thing I am sure of: I expect to find each one of us way off on some of our understanding of spirituality and God. No one has it all right (I just wonder how far off we all are?).

There are times when I MUST drop all my theology, all my thinking, all my attempts to understand God and just simply worship him in wonder.

I hope I figure out all the things I'm thinking about recently. In them, I believe God is trying to get some big things through to me.

But I can't forget to just drop it all every now and then (more often than not?) and bask in the mystery that is God.

Target a Snowflake!

Interested in making snowflakes? Or how about helping The Salvation Army? Well you can do both by visiting the following web site:

http://www.popularfront.com/snowdays/ You can look for MY snowflake by searching for Doug in Maine.

Nice.

Merry Christmas!

If Only The Salvation Army Had Been there for Anakin

Truth: Now THIS is Christmas!

I need some help (yeah, yeah- I know- opened myself up to this one! No comments Howie!).

I used to have an old Christmas album by the Christian music group Truth, titled "Truth: Now THIS is Christmas!" For the life of me, I can't find it. Not even the cassette tape I made to listen to the "LP" in the car (yeah- the olden days). It's an awesome Christmas album.

I've done a few Internet searches and all I've come up with is that the group disbanded a few years ago. Rats!

Can anyone out there help me find it again? I'd prefer a cassette tape, but I guess the 33 record would do. I can then get it into mp3 format. I'm fairly certain they never produced it on CD or I'd have found it out there by now.

Let me know.

Captain Kapp Meats Captain Janeway

Heh, looks like they're out of uniform on shore leave at Risa!

Christina, a friend of mine, went to a Trek convention on November 11 in the Jersey Meadowlands and got her picture taken with one of her "heroes." Apparently, Christina stood out enough to get Mulgrew's attention and she pulled her aside to chat personally. "There's more to you than just Star Trek- let's chat later."

Nice. And all this while I'm working my way through my Voyager DVD series.

Real Beauty?

As a certified computer geek, I subscribe to ALL of Kim Komando's newsletters. Kim Komando, for all you non-geeks, is the "digital goddess" (her phrase) of all things digital- computers, digital cameras, etc. She has a weekly radio show and website (www.komando.com) that helps people keep up to date with- well, you guessed it- all things digital.

Anyway, today I received her "Cool Site of the Day" Newsletter and it included the following video on the Dove website. It is very interesting what happens on the "documentary." I won't spoil it for you, but make sure you catch the "photoshopping" (digital photo enhancement) of the final picture, before it hits the advertising billboard.

Is there any way we normal humans can compete with this?

http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.com/

I say, we don't need to compete. While I'm not necessarily pushing Dove's advertising campaign, I do agree with the message. It is not the outward appearance that makes a person beautiful.

(And let's not forget it's not just about the girls)

A Favorite Picture of Army Worship

Here is one of my all-time favorite pictures of Salvation Army worship. I know personally that this person can "worship up a storm!"

We use this picture every SonDay as a PowerPoint slide during our season of prayer.

Here's a fun little quiz:

1) Who is this person?

2) When was it taken (rough date)?

3) Where was it taken (be specific, not just the city)?

4) What was the film speed set at (just kidding!)?

5) What... is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow (Bwahahaha!)?

Holiness- Round 3 {ding}

In an attempt to pull things from my last 2 blog entries into one place, I offer the following to all who are involved in the discussion:

In some ways those of us in the thick of this holiness discussion are saying similar things. In other ways we're not at all. Without going point by point through everything I want you all to know that I totally understand what the dissenting views are saying. I also totally understand what TSA teaches on holiness. In fact I have been teaching it for years.

The problem is, even after many years I don't see it in my experience (or others' for that matter). I'm beginning to think we've somehow mixed something up in our understanding of what scripture teaches about holiness. Or are we so entrenched in what our TSA holiness teachers have said that we aren't looking for anything else that fits the pattern of truth? If holiness as we teach it is "right" then why are these beliefs such a small part of the Christian church? Why aren't more Christians living holy without a sin nature? Are we really the "only ones" to get it? The "rest of the church" teaches we need to be filled with the Spirit- sorta what I'm saying, but that's not all of it.

I've experienced the witness of the Spirit telling me I was holy (much like Andrew mentions). But after a time, I find the sin nature (that was supposed to be crucified) alive again and fighting much more insidiously. If the sin nature is supposed to be dead, how does it come back to life again? I've defeated it again and again (what a wretched man!). I know that temptation will always be there until heaven, but it's more than that- it's me. Temptation comes from without; my self comes from within. And that junk I fight against regularly, is from within.

I am totally bummed that people don't understand what holiness is! I have been trying for years to make it simple, but it doesn't seem to change anything. TSA's people are further away from actually living out holiness than ever before. People don't get it so they forget it. You might notice that of all the people who read my blog, very few have responded in my comments because they just don't understand what we're talking about. There are always a few who dig deep and try to understand it all, but if holiness is for everyone (and I believe it is), it should be for everyone and not just those studious ones. It shouldn't be rocket science.

I believe we can live without sinning. I believe that is what holiness is. I experience it, because I stay close to Jesus and listen to his Spirit- not because my sin nature is gone. I wish it was, but I cannot discount my experience based on what I want my theology to be. No matter how much I read that some think it is supposed to be that way.

I suppose some might be seeing this as defeatist, but I can live quite victoriously over sin (and do, often- with the ever-present possibility of never sinning again). God is always there to keep me from sinning even though my nature tends otherwise. I can and do live without sinning, but I see it as because of Jesus' blood and not that my sin nature is gone. In the center of sIn is "I." Same for prIde.

Do you experience a dead sin nature? Is it really gone for good? It's never come back at you again? Any sin is only from outside temptation (which is another can of worms, isn't it)? If the sin nature is gone, then we have been made just like Adam/Eve- that sounds too much like Sinless Perfection and TSA has fought against that as long as we have taught about holiness. We won't be made like Adam/Eve until heaven.

I wish we were all able to just sit down and chat. This blog stuff is very hard to do a long deep conversation effectively. Much like we're "looking though a glass darkly!"

I really want to understand AND experience holiness (I believe I do). But more than that, I want to see my people (and all Christians) experiencing it.

An Answer to Sin, if Not Our Depravity

After talking about what terrible sinners we are, I think it only right to give some equal time to what God has provided to help us with it. Besides his grace (which really is the keystone of our salvation), God has provided a way for us to live above sin. In The Salvation Army we call it holiness (sanctification, perfect love, Christian perfection [not Sinless Perfection], a subsequent blessing, fully saved, a clean heart, et al).

Before I go any further, I must reiterate that nothing good we do buys us anything toward our salvation. Our good works are basically filthy rags (I got that one from a guy named Paul). But once we see our depravity, we can come to God in repentance and he will freely offer his grace (Paul wrestles with our need to see our depravity in Romans 7). But when we're lifted up out of our sin, it doesn't change what we are- just how God sees us. We become justified (made right) by believing that Jesus' death paid the penalty of our infractions.

But what a terrible God Yahweh would be if he told us to be holy (live without sinning) and didn't provide a way for us to actually reach that lofty goal. And he does command us to be holy repeatedly throughout scripture (Leviticus 11:44, 45; 19:2; 20:7, 26; 1 Corinthians 1:2; Ephesians 1:4; Hebrews 12:14; 1 Peter 1:15, 16- not an exhaustive list).

However, in our discussion of holiness we are often confused with the untenable doctrine of "Sinless Perfection." Sinless Perfection is "Such a state as that of Adam before his fall, wherein, he being a perfect creature, was enabled to render a perfect obedience to the perfect law of God" (William Booth). We cannot reach that state because "An imperfect creature cannot perfectly obey a perfect law, and man, being imperfect both in body and in mind, is plainly unable to keep the perfect law of God" (Booth). We will always have a natural tendency to focus on ourselves, which is the core of the sin nature. In other words, we will never get back to that perfection and purity of nature until we reach heaven ("Finally Saved," again Booth).

Holiness also does not make it impossible to fall from grace: "Satan fell from heaven, and Adam from Paradise, and they both were perfect, in a sense in which we never can be in this life; and we do not see any state of grace revealed in the Bible as attainable in this life from which it is not possible to fall" (Booth).

What holiness does (as mentioned in my response to my previous blog) is attune us so closely with Holy Spirit, it becomes unlikely that we will sin- as long as we are in that constant communion with the him. In other words, if we are about to do something we shouldn't (or not do something we should- the sin of omission), Holy Spirit nudges us "back to our senses" (as it were) and we avoid that particular sin. Sin is an offense against God; something that hurts him. Therefore our close connection with Holy Spirit keeps us attuned so we know beforehand, what God wants or doesn't want from us. In that way, we can live without sinning on a regular basis- ie: be holy.

Again, I remind you, we MAY still sin, but we don't HAVE to. Holiness does not cause us to attain some kind of "higher" or better state of grace.

I remember a story told by Samuel Logan Brengle about a time in his life where he went 14 years without sinning. Then one day, he was heading to (I think it was) Old Orchard Beach to preach at a meeting and was running a bit late. His cab driver was being a bit poky and Brengle yelled at him for this. As he left the cab, he was smitten by the Spirit (in order to bring repentance), immediately repented and after the service, tried to find the driver to apologize (I'm not sure if he ever found him).

My point is, even after 14 years of living so close to God that you avoid sin (I believe it is possible), there is still that "something" in us that pulls at us. If we are ever less watchful; if we ever let our guard down, we will most likely sin. That's why we must stay ever so close to God's Holy Spirit.

In that closeness, we don't have to sin. We don't have to let sin get over on us like it used to, controlling us and causing us to "not do what we want to do, but what we don't want to do" (Romans 7).

I am grateful to God for providing his grace not only for our salvation, but also for our holiness. Salvation is all about his grace. Good thing, because there's nothing good in me without him.

Are You a Good Person?

Before reading on, answer my title's question . . .

Yes or no? Are you a good person? I bet you think you are, right? Now that you've decided, read on:

Most people today (especially Christians) believe they are good people. What a relief, huh? If you look around you at any time, you'll find you're surrounded by people who think they're good. Doesn't that make you feel . . . well, good?

But what does the Bible have to say about that?

There is no one righteous, not even one; Romans 3:10
All have sinned and fall (present tense) short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23

What does Jesus say?

No one is good- except God alone. Matthew 10:18

What does Paul say?

I am the worst of sinners. 1 Timothy 1:15

So why do we think we're good? 1) Because we don't want our conscience to bother us. 2) It comes from a poor understanding of our salvation. 3) We think doing good things makes us good people. {bzzz! Wrong answer! Thanks for playing!}

You see, it's all about Good People versus Good Things. This is important today because hell will be FULL of people who think they are good. Heaven will be FULL of sinners saved ONLY by grace. Where will YOU be?

1) We think we’re good because we don’t want our conscience to bother us. But that’s why we HAVE a conscience! It’s SUPPOSED to bother us when we sin!

Romans 7:7-13 tells us that the Law shows us what sin is. When we sin, our conscience goes off like an alarm! Then we feel bad. "Like an alarm" nothing, our conscience IS an alarm! When it goes off, we’re supposed to repent, so God can release his grace to save us from that sin.

BUT we’ve convinced ourselves we're good people and ignore our conscience. We never think we sin, so we never have to feel bad! Great trick, huh? But then we never repent and never received God’s grace. We head straight to hell all the while thinking were good people!

When was the last time you went to the Army altar? We salvationists believe the altar is one of our most precious symbols of grace- but some are too proud to "lower" themselves. That’s eternally sad.

Listen! If you think you’re a good person, you're fooling yourself and your conscience will never do what it’s supposed to do- show you what a wretch you are.

Oh, have I offended you? Those aren't my words, but the words of a familiar hymn: "Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me."

2) We think we’re good because of a poor understanding of our salvation. Fact: All humankind is Totally Depraved.

In the beginning God created two perfect human beings: Adam and Eve. They were pure and sinless, but they chose to sin. Ever since then, every single human is born a sinner (Except Jesus- and he’s the only exception). That means me. That means YOU! Disagree?

Answer truthfully: Do you gossip? That’s sin. Do you worry? That’s sin. Lie? Sin. Speed? Sin. Say mean things? Sin. Grumble and complain? Yep- sin. Get angry? Sin again. You think you’re better than others? Hate people? Sin. Are you jealous of anyone? Sin. Are you Selfish? Sin. I can go on here . . .

Salvation Army Doctrine #5 agrees that we are totally depraved. Sin is not just murder or BIG crimes. All sin is sin. Even "little" sins. God hates it; we do it. We ALL do it. We are NOT good. You know it. If you think different, you’re ignoring your conscience.

But Doug, I do all kinds of good things every day!

3) Doing good things does NOT make us good. Scripture says we were created to do good things (works), but it also says that we are not saved by our works.

Think Lucifer ever did any good things? You bet he did! You think he’s a good person? What about Judas? Hitler? Fidel Castro? Idi Amin? Doug Burr? If I collect all the good things I've ever done and stack them all in a big pile, I end up with a big pile of good stuff. I’m still a sinner and no closer to heaven. Same for you.

Paul saw the truth: he realized he was not a good person, rather the worst. Without this realization, we don’t think we need God and we never repent. You know what? ONLY God’s grace can save us.

What's my point? You are not a good person. Neither am I. No one is. When you think you are, you lift yourself above the need for repentance. That will send you to hell.

I’m writing to people who sin regularly; religiously even, yet how often do you go to your Army altar to deal with that? You have any idea how that breaks God's heart? We hold the altar as a special place where we can repent and receive God’s grace. We’re all going to need it. It’s the only way we reach heaven. In fact, it's ONLY by Grace we can enter.

Still think you're a good person? So what are you going to do about it?

Is That IT?

It's Halloween night and as it happens, both Debbie and I are home for the evening (NOT the par for the course!). So we've been taking turns answering the door and handing out candy to the Trick-or-Treaters.

Now before I go any further, let me comfort anyone freaking out that we participate at all in anything to do with Halloween: I take the opportunity to pray for each child (and parent) who comes to our door and speak God's blessing over them. This has been my practice for more than a few years. I'd rather have nothing to do with this "holiday," but since it brings people to our door to receive whatever I have to give them (including the blessing and prayer [as long as it is preceded by candy!]), I offer them a little more than they expected. Here's to using The Enemy's holiday to "reverse the curse," as it were!

{ding dong} I'm in the kitchen getting dinner and it's Debbie's turn to answer the door. As she puts the candy in the bag of the first kid, I hear him belt out: "Is that IT?" (Debbie's classic response was: "Most people just say thank-you").

That sure is a typical comment from our society of entitlement. We deserve the best, therefore we should have it, therefore other people should make sure we get it . . . et cetera, ad infinitum!

And don't we often approach God that way? Before we go to him in prayer with our request, we already KNOW what we want him to do for us. If we were writing the "scripture" for this part, we'd probably say it something like this:

"Before I even asked, I knew what your answer should be."

Is that IT, God? Is that ALL you're going to do for me? Aren't you forgetting something? Hey- I'm talking here!

Shaky ground indeed.

Most Christians should just say "thank-you!"

Posting a Notice of Eviction!

Saturday we got to spend a little time with some good friends. Part of our purpose in getting together was to pray through their corps building to "oust" some evil spirits that had lodged themselves in places they were not welcome. We've done this kind of thing before, but the reason I write about this particular situation was a very interesting thing that happened while in the process.

First we walked through every room in the building listening to things God wanted to tell us about those rooms (this gives us the "road map" of where we're to go and what we're to do when we get to the actual praying part). Sometimes he tells us these things through our spiritual senses, but other times he tells us these things through our physical senses. It just takes some discernment to know what God is saying- especially when it could be the burrito you ate for dinner speaking instead of God!

The pertinent gift mix of those present included 2 prophetic gifts, 2 different types of discernment and 1 gift of deliverance. This is important to understand as you go into such a mission, because you need to know how each person will sense things and contribute to the task at hand. And each person plays a part in reaching the final outcome (sounds vaguely like a body, huh?).

The officers appointed to this particular corps were present- and this is vitally important, because they have the legal authority to extricate such unwanted squatters. They have this authority because of their official appointment by The Salvation Army, the entity that owns and resides (operates) in the property. They are the ones who must ultimately tell them to leave (demons are so legalistic! [which, by the way ought to tell you something about where legalism comes from]). Without that authority present and participating, it is near impossible to deal with such situations- demons just won't leave, because not just anyone has the right to make them. The corps officers do have that right, just as owners or renters of a house would have the right to deal with their property.

At one point we opened a door and immediately, 2 of us (with discernment) felt sick to our stomachs. I was also "afraid" to venture in the room. I put afraid in quotes, because I wasn't really afraid, I just felt like something was trying to make me feel that way. I sensed the fear in that room, even though I wasn't really afraid (I know my place in God's created order of things and my standing as a child of God, so there is no need to fear demons). In effect, it didn't want us in that room, so it was emanating fear, in the hope that we wouldn't go in and deal with it. I have found that demons know when their time is short and when backed into a corner, they fight fiercly. I knew this was such a situation and knew we had found the source of our infestation.

Later as we moved through the building praying and pushing the evil ahead of us (and finally out the back door), we reached that central room. Interestingly enough, it was central to the building and also central to the issue that had been plaguing this corps for many years. This was the room where it had all begun- who knows how many years ago.

Here's the part that I have never experienced before: All of a sudden we could smell a terribly foul odor in that room. All of us knew it was not there before that particular moment. THAT was a confirmation that what we were doing was right on target. And the fact that the odor left just as quickly as it had come after we finished praying in that room, had no small effect on our sense of victory!

And victory it was! When we were through, there was no more atmosphere of fear and lying (the ultimate root of the problems) hanging around that place. It was like a fresh rain had washed through the whole building and left behind a fragrant smell of flowers. I'm counting on the fact that there will be a lot of people almost confused at the different atmosphere from here on out!

Demons should have no right to influence our lives, but unfortunatly we often give them the right- usually without realizing it. And then for years we wonder what's going on! However, I am so glad God has provided for our freedom from such demonic guerillas.

If you're curious, check out how many times Jesus dealt with demons in the New Testament. He gives us a great example and we know his blood is all powerful!

PTL!

My Favorite Worship Leaders, Part 3

The worship leader I have most listened to over the years is Scott Underwood (apparently there is another singer named Scott Underwood, so know we're talking about the Scott Underwood associated with Jesus and The Vineyard).

Scott is probably the first worship leader I ever "noticed," but was frustrated in finding his music because Vineyard only used him in combination with other worship leaders on their CDs for so long. I believe there is 1 album of his (I don't own) titled: Take My Life, but just recently they released his second entire CD of his own: Tear Stained Eyes.

I like Scott's music so much, I actually compiled and burned 2 complete CDs of just his music which I've been listening to for years.

Immediately, you'll notice Scott's special anointing when you listen to his stuff- it almost seems God is in the very first notes! He's got a strong rock feel to most of his music, which I like a LOT. However it was a sad day when I discovered his penchant for country music. Every now and then, you get the distinct flavor of country popping up, but because of the strong anointing, I can actually listen to it and enjoy it (mostly)! Even the tunes that are totally country (although thankfully, there are only a couple). {sigh}

Check out his web site at http://www.scottunderwood.org/. It's set up very cool. I think you'll enjoy it.

You can go to worshipmusic.com to check out some albums he's on. http://www.worshipmusic.com/scottunderwood.html. I would especially recommend It's All About Jesus (extremely worshipful) and Shelter (if you like jazz/rock his first cut Hop on the Bus is incredibly fun!).

I've been recommending Scott Underwood as a worship leader for years, so listen up and let me know what you think about him.

My Favorite Worship Leaders, Part 2

Here pictured is Jason Upton, an incredible worshiper! I'm not as font of his music as I am of some of the others I'll be mentioning here, but I'm not critiquing music anyway- I'm talking about those leaders who bring us into God's presence by their anointing in worship. So I can't go any further without mentioning him.

I first experienced Jason Upton, like Lindell Cooley, at a conference I attended a few years ago. Also like Lindell, I have been collecting Jason's music ever since. Come to think of it, whenever I discover a worship leader that is powerfully anointed for worship, I seek out his/her music. I guess it's my M.O. (motis operandi) and why the size of my Worship CD collection has grown!

I feel Jason's music has a distinct flavor of seriousness. Unlike some others who get my feet tapping and my hands drumming (both styles are equally valuable and good), I must be on my face while listening to Jason Upton. I assume it's not the case with all of his music, just my thoughts at the moment.

If you'd like to read more about him, check out some Bio info at
http://www.worshiptogether.com/features/worship.aspx?iid=216451.

The most amazing story I can tell you about Jason Upton, actually comes on the CD sleeve of his album, Remember (my favorite and pictured below). I'll quote it directly here:

"There is no explanation for the last song, Fly, except that during the 'do you see what I see' portion you will hear a soaring voice over the top of the other voices (6 minutes and 11 seconds into this section). At first we thought it was an ambient microphone picking up an overtone. During mixing all of the channels were searched and we found that this "boys choir" type voice was not on any of the other microphones, but was bleeding through my own microphone (which would make it impossible for it to be an overtone because it was not present on any of the other open microphones). If you listen carefully you will hear it again later in this section; it's not quite as clear because, unfortunately, my voice is prominent on that microphone. Interestingly, a boy came up to me that night and told me that he saw an angel standing about fifteen feet behind me . . . and another one behind the drummer. At that time I doubted that; but after hearing the 'voice' alone during the mixing process with no other instruments around it, I do not doubt it any more. It was very humbling and convicting for me to realize that I had not believed the boy. I sometimes wrestle with why I so often disbelieve the supernatural (why would I first think it was something natural like an overtone, instead of believing it was an angel). The Bible tells us that we should not be surprised by angelic visitations; but I must admit, I was surprised!"

Any question of a powerful anointing on Jason Upton now?

I currently have 5 of his albums (although Jenn fights me for them whenever she's home!). If you'd like to listen or purchase some of Jason Upton's CDs, you can check them out on worshipmusic.com as follows:
http://www.worshipmusic.com/jason-upton.html.

Please listen and tell me what you think.

We Interrupt this Series of Blogs to . . . Pray

Here I sit in my chapel in Bangor, Maine. It's SonDay at 8:10 AM and I've been here since 7:30. Lincoln Brewster (we'll talk about him as a worship leader soon) is playing over the sound system and although I am just finishing the necessary prep for the services (Turn the heat and lights on, get the computer and sound system up and running, etc). I have recently begun to come in on Saturday to do the majority of this prep because it has so easily taken over the time I would rather use for prayer on SonDay. You know, it's so easy to let other things take over my prayer time!

Anyone else out there understand that?

Even this entry, as important as it is, takes valuable time away from what I consider to be the MOST important use of my time- ESPECIALLY on SonDay AMs. And I was fighting off the urge very well this morning, until God spoke very clearly that right now, he wants me to write this word from him.

Where is my church? Where are my people? On the day they have set aside to worship me, so many are still in bed trying to get those last few "precious" minutes of sleep. I want to meet with you- even before the larger group gathers, to prepare you; to use you to prepare the atmosphere in my house for my people who don't yet know me and rid it of your enemy's presence which so often trips you up from my greater purposes and keeps you from reaching the heights of worship I desire.

Can you give up those precious minutes of sleep for me? Would you come to be with me just a little earlier? You'll never get there before me; I'm always there waiting for you. I have been waiting.

I'm still waiting.

You know, I've made it my practice to spend SonDay AMs in my chapel for the last 15 years. I fast and pray for God's people in my corps to experience God and let him change them. I've seen results. But mostly I've seen the change in my own life as I've come to cherish this special time with God.

Anyone out there listening? Anyone willing to put yourself out a bit, one day a week? Anyone willing to take up this challenge of mine; this request from your God?

Then start next SonDay. Get up early, get ready, skip breakfast and head to your corps chapel to worship and pray. If you don't have access at that time of morning, I'm sure you can get your CO or Sgt Major (praise God for faithful Sgt Majors!) to open up the building a bit earlier than usual for this purpose. If you're faithful enough, maybe they'll eventually give you a key. Maybe they'll join you. Maybe we'll start something that will spread all over the Army world and we'll see that revival that God has promised and so many of us have been praying for. Who'll be the first?

Trust me- God will already be there and he'll be glad you came.

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To anyone taking up this challenge, I'd appreciate it if you'd let me know. Keep me posted on what God is saying to you; what happens in your corps services; who joins you, etc.

My Favorite Worship Leaders

I love music! All kinds of music. Opera and Country are the only two styles I don't enjoy, so I listen to a wide variety. But over the last few years I have settled into listening to "Praise and Worship" more than anything else. I've developed quite an extensive CD collection of music and downloaded mp3 files that "put me into God's presence." And that's really why I listen to such music a lot- I want to be in God's presence and am interested in doing anything that will help me get there.

What I've noticed about Praise and Worship music is that the person singing and/or leading makes a HUGE difference in whether or not the music touches my spirit and ushers me into heaven's throne room. This comes as no surprise, since I've noticed over the years this same difference in performers of Army music- such as Black Dyke Mills band versus the Star Lake Band playing Resurgam. While Black Dyke is flawless in this incredible piece, when all is said and done, it doesn't touch your spirit like the Lake Band does even with all the errors.

Bottom line: the spirit of the person presenting the music makes all the difference in the outcome.

So herein, I'd like to take some space over the next few days to tell you about those Worship Leaders who hold a special place in my own times of worship.

Without a doubt, Lindell Cooley is #1 for me. He was the Worship Leader for the Brownsville Assembly of God Church in Pensacola, Florida during the incredible revival years. If you want more info on his life and ministry, here's a link for his biography http://www.mmi-inc.com/biography.htm.

I first heard him live at a conference I attended a few years ago and I was blown away by his fun music style(s) and amazing sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. In my experience, there is no one who I have seen so consistently usher a room of worshiping believers into God's holy presence. Here is an incredibly talented and gifted worshiper.

Ever since that first experience with Lindell, I've collected his CDs and often listen to them while praying SonDay AMs in my chapel in Bangor (and other times). Here is a page of his CDs from worshipmusic.com http://www.worshipmusic.com/lindellcooley.html#top.

It's hard to pick a favorite album, but here is one of them (pictured here) "Open up the Sky." There are many others right up there with it, like "Freedom," "Desperate for You" (awesome Gospel style), "Quiet Songs" (for meditation and prayer), "Send the Fire" and "Songs from the Great Revivals" (which includes an old Army favorite- "Send the Fire").

Take a listen to Lindell Cooley and let me know what you think.

I know, I know!

We've been quite busy the last couple of weeks so blogging has taken a back seat (a wedding, our Annual Harvest Auction, Special SonDay meeting guests, etc).

There was a time not too long ago when this blog took too much of a lead in importance to me and I did whatever I could to "get the daily blog up." I've since learned there are actually other things that take precedence . . . once in awhile! And I've learned to let it go without sweating too much. Ha!

You will want to know I've been collecting all kinds of good stuff to write about and I plan to get it up here soon. So get your thinking caps out and ready for heavy use.

Want to Learn How to Draw?

Check out this interesting website that will give you Free Drawing Lessons!

http://www.drawspace.com/

In this day and age of everything digital, take a moment (or many moments) to get a piece of paper and a pencil and get back to basics.

Fascinating!

Malcolm & Vicki Daniels

We just returned from Malcolm Daniels and Victoria Balcom's wedding. Now mind you- the day's not over yet- we still have The Celebration (party) to go to in a few minutes! I hear it's a big spread!

What a blessing to be asked to do the wedding of one of your old Junior Soldiers! And I must add, Malcolm was (and still is) one of my all-time favorites!

Everything went extremely well. Everyone looked great- especially the bride (of course, she was radiant)! It was certainly my honor to officiate. And as one of my responsibilities, I was asked to pray over them and offer a blessing during the ceremony. Here are my prayerful words:

Malcolm & Vicki's Blessing
When people all around you feel as though God has left (and they will), you will know for certain he has not. That's because you know when people turn away from God, he redoubles his efforts to get through to us.

When the road gets dark because of trials and difficulties (and it will), you will know Yahweh is always near to lean on. You will know the darkness only serves to strengthen you. And it is merely temporary.

You are strong- together. As a cord strengthens with each strand added, so combining your spirits makes you a formidable weapon against The Enemy. That strength is God's plan and you will be an example of how that unified strength has changed you both.

You are swift to see injustice and do something about it. Together you are a refuge for the lost and your home is a safe haven for those in need. Many will come to know of Yahweh's love for them by your loving example.

You have been down a difficult path, but your experience will be used by God to teach faith in Him and good decision-making in those who look up to you. You are an example of Yahweh's amazing grace; the more he pours into you, the more you will flow over into those around you.

Your communication skills will blossom as you resolve conflict thrown at you by The Enemy. His attempts to divide you will not be successful; you will always see him coming from afar and deal with him long before he even gets a chance to get his foot in the door.

God has a leadership role in store for you. Watch for his leading. He is sending a number of people your way and he desires that you will show them the way. You both naturally accept people where they are. This is a great starting point you should develop to its fullness, for it is placed in you by Yahweh himself for his grand purposes.

Know this: You have not even begun to experience the amazing ways God plans to use you both! This marriage will be a beacon to all.

It is good. And God is pleased.

- - - - - -

God bless you, Malcolm & Vicki!

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PS: Here's their wedding website.

Not Really Funny

If this weren't so true, it might be funny.

How can people not see this brash enemy who kills thousands of children right under our noses? And we either turn our heads or fight for the right to continue this practice.

BLESSING:
May your eyes be opened to the destruction all around you caused by our great Enemy. May his plans be clear to all and his ways deemed shameful and appalling. May your heart be broken until you actually get up the courage to do something about it all. You can make a difference; may you start today.

Prayer Ammo for Africa

Paul & Sherry Pelletier recently went on missionary service to Kenya, Africa. We miss having these good friends nearby, but we do keep in touch through email.

Below is self-explanitory, by Paul. If you desire to pray for their ministry (or anyone's ministry in Africa) here is some good prayer ammo for your arsenal.

- - - - - - - -
Greetings,

I picked up a good book at the book fair. Foundations of African Traditional Religion & Worldview by Yusufu Turaki. I would like to share the basic theological and philosophical views that are crystallizing the big picture of African life for me.

Fundamental Theological Beliefs:

1. Belief in Impersonal Mystical powers: Activities of mysterious higher powers, personal or impersonal, that generate or deposit power in things or objects (I found this similar to new age thinking and various sorts of pantheistic, Hindu faiths. In the African context witchdoctors and other type of folks attempt to harness this power whereas wicca and new age have folks who try to master crystal energy and things along these lines).

2. Belief in Spirit beings: Mystical power is not only attributed to objects and things but spirit beings, spirits, dead ancestors, etc. Similar to the above it is believed these spirits can inhabit inanimate objects such as rocks and contributes to the mystical belief in powers that need to be harnessed. There is much more to this but the general idea can be understood.

3. Belief in many Divinities: African terminology prefers divinities or diety's to "gods." There is debate over whether these diety's are worshipped or merely serve as intermediaries, (similar to the saints in the Catholic Church). Some divinities are from African legends, and like many other polytheistic faiths, have divinities for various parts of life; health, harvest, sun, moon, rivers, etc.

4. Belief in a Supreme Being: It can be established that many Africans believe in a supreme being but that direct worship of this supreme being who is over the lesser beings does not really happen. The first three areas of belief mentioned are the areas that mostly effect the daily life of Africans. The supreme being in traditional African life is not so much concerned about the affairs of men who are to seek out lesser powers to meet their chief desires. A person may actually acknowlege the God of Abraham as a supreme being and never worship Him as such.

5. Belief in a Heirarchy of Spiritual Beings and Powers: All spirit beings for part of an order, but the distinction between the levels is vague and fluid. Africans respond to these spirit beings according to each spirits place in the hiearchy.

Fundamental Philosophical Beliefs

1. Holism: It is a complex interdependency where each part of an organism has a function. Everything is connected, spirits, sky, earth, etc. There are no clear boundaries between the physical and material. Western dualism creates serious theological problems for traditional Africans. Africans do not live in a confused world of non-integrated parts. Life is a mysterious, but in is part of a whole. The whole is governed by a law of harmony, the goal of which is to maintain a state of agreement or peacefulness (while there are some positive lessons to be learned here one can also see how this leads to pantheism; similar to new age).

2. Spiritualism: The traditional African philosophist might slightly differ with the notion that there is no real difference between the physical and spiritual world but might say the world is more spritual than material; (which we can see tempts into a gnostic view). It is believed that whatever happens in the physical realm has a spiritual coordinate. The response to life situations is spiritual; in sickness, the organic issues is overlooked and a spiritual solution is sought for. This is a combination of pantheism and polytheism.

3. Dynamism: Given the understanding of holism and spiritualism; dynamism is a way to communicate with the spiritual world. There is a desire for power to be
harnessed from the spiritual world to deal with life's troubles and desires. There are rituals, sacrafices, offerings, festivals, ceremonies, witchcraft and sorcery. Whatever is empowering is right and since man's needs cannot be met without power then a powerless religion is valueless.

4. Communalism: People are not individuals, living in a state of independence, but part of a community. One does not claim individual rights as in a Western approach Some author's claim there are at least 40 characteristics of communalism that contrast with Western individualism. The concept of community is not restricted to human beings alone but embraces the world of spirits and ancestors. Villages of different clans with various histories are what make up the essential community first then the household of parents and children.

At the root of kinship is a belief shared that there is a common ancestor which estalbishes a certain legend or tradition about that community. Within the community each clan has its own name, identity and social function; such as custodian of religious affairs, warfare, or hunting.

Each clan is made of the individual corps family of parents, children, grandparents, etc. This system of relationships has been seriously disrupted
by the introduction of universal religions such as Christianity, Islam, and modernism.

Communalism is not restricted to human relationships but the spirit world. Communal life can be considered ancestrally chartered.

It is important to avoid offending the spirits just as it is to avoid offending human beings. However, if one should offend the sprits or human beings
the communal system says the community must also bear responsibility and cosequence for the offense. This belief can result in the denial of individual responsibility for one's own actions.

Living in harmony with nature is also part of the communal system.

5. Fatalism: The traditional worldview considers that one is either born with or given at birth a destiny or a guardian spirit. This destiny whether good or challenging is to be accepted with gratitude and one's life has spirits about them to ensure the destiny that has been given. One's destiny is fixed but can be
interupted by others and where consulting power to reverse any disruption in a destiny is sought. The concept of destiny can also be manipulated by others (here I would caution that being in charge of Africans is not a career oppportunity). Some groups claim a destiny of power of other groups even among Africans (this is sort of a caste mentality) these types of beliefs lead to areas of violence, conflict, and tension.

Well, hope this overview assists some of you in praying and understanding about the African context a little more.

Don't Stop!

In New England, we just completed our annual Prayer & Fasting weekend (Fullness) at Camp Wonderland. It was a powerful time of fellowship, learning, worship and warfare! I believe much was accomplished in the heavenlies this weekend- especially since we were joining a world-wide prayer effort this year. Much thanks to Janet Munn for her God-anointed leadership in our territory (talk about a God-inspired appointment for us all!).

Great things took place and I'm sure I could blog for days about it, I only point out that God started this event a few years ago and it is just now beginning to break out into . . . (yeah- you guessed it) fullness! I understand that this year there are 8 divisions in our territory out of 12 (and what about the other 4?) who have scheduled such events. Incredible! God is ramping things up- get ready for the explosion!

I have a few others things to share with you today:

1) I want to make a clarification regarding my blog AGAINST human trafficking. While we should pray AGAINST the Enemy, his demons and their plans (like the trafficking of human beings), we should not pray against people. God loves every last one and desires that none would turn against him and lose his plan of salvation for their lives.

Our prayers for people should always be that they see God's love for them, repent, believe in Jesus and let Holy Spirit regenerate them into new creations.

2) Here are some specifics we can pray for in our war against human trafficking:

The Victims
The victims families
Careers and counselors
Police and immigration services
Lawmakers and governments
Media awareness
Those who abuse women
Those who profit from slavery and the sex trade
Against the Enemy and his evil plans

3) While our special weekend of prayer regarding Human Trafficking is quickly coming to an end, please don't let your prayers end as quickly! For the church to make a serious dent in such degradation we need to be persistent in prayer.

Ask and KEEP asking. Seek and KEEP seeking. Knock and KEEP knocking. If we will continue this attack on Satan's kingdom it is sure to fall and we will be witnesses to a HUGE victory for God. This is because our God is greater than even this problem. All he needs is our help in doing our part.

You're a part of the answer- don't shirk your duties. Pray!

Praying the Bible Against Human Trafficking

Psalm 10 (NIV)

Why, O Yahweh, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

2 In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,
who are caught in the schemes he devises.
3 He boasts of the cravings of his heart;
he blesses the greedy and reviles Yahweh.
4 In his pride the wicked does not seek him;
in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
5 His ways are always prosperous;
he is haughty and your laws are far from him;
he sneers at all his enemies.
6 He says to himself, "Nothing will shake me;
I'll always be happy and never have trouble."
7 His mouth is full of curses and lies and threats;
trouble and evil are under his tongue.
8 He lies in wait near the villages;
from ambush he murders the innocent,
watching in secret for his victims.
9 He lies in wait like a lion in cover;
he lies in wait to catch the helpless;
he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.
10 His victims are crushed, they collapse;
they fall under his strength.
11 He says to himself, "God has forgotten;
he covers his face and never sees."

12 Arise, Yahweh! Lift up your hand, O God.
Do not forget the helpless.
13 Why does the wicked man revile God?
Why does he say to himself,
"He won't call me to account"?
14 But you, O God, do see trouble and grief;
you consider it to take it in hand.
The victim commits himself to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked and evil man;
call him to account for his wickedness that would not be found out.

16 Yahweh is King for ever and ever;
the nations will perish from his land.
17 You hear, O Yahweh, the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.

Prayer Against Human Trafficking

Today is the start of The Salvation Army's special weekend of prayer for victims of Human Trafficking (September 29 - October 2). I want to go one step further and suggest prayer AGAINST human trafficking.

We have a VAST arsenal of weapons at our disposal through prayer and one of them is praying AGAINST the Enemy and his tactics. Perhaps you think there's not much difference, but in reality praying FOR someone and praying AGAINST the Enemy's plan is at opposite ends of the prayer spectrum. ALL prayer is war, but your prayer "stance" is certainly more aggressive when praying directly against the Enemy.

So this weekend, while you're praying for the victims, don't forget to take your stand and pray AGAINST human trafficking.

Field Notes

I added a new blog to the right- Field Notes, by Josh Lyle in Derry, NH. You'll want to take a look for a few reasons:

1) Josh & Cat have the 2 cutest kids in the whole world!

2) Josh & Cat have planted a corps the way it should be done. There's room for a lot of growth (as there should be), but they started by getting connected to the people of Derry. Josh took his love of sports and started coaching local teams. Through this venue, he met kids, people, families- practically everyone in Derry until he's widely known. And NOT just as Josh the coach, but as Josh the Salvation Army guy. Look for great things from Derry.

3) Josh has a unique perspective on things, so I'm betting this blog will get you thinking. There's already some good stuff there to get you started.

4) He's posted pictures of the 2 cutest kids in the world!

Of course sadly, he's a Yankees fan, so you'll have to put up with any of that you may see posted. Go Rays!

Thanks God!

Over the last week, I observed a friend as he discovered that prayer is all about talking to a friend, not some college elocution professor.

We were praying in my office and when he finished, I said something to the effect of: "Had some trouble there putting all those big words together, huh?" Then we started talking about just regular conversation with God- "you know, like we're talking right now."

At that moment, I watched a large light bulb go off over his head. It was awesome seeing that new understanding light up behind his eyes! He was so excited, he spent the whole week practicing.

This week in my office it was a whole new person speaking when it came time to pray. Nothing fancy, no big words or anything. Just real, live connection with God. It wasn't a long prayer either, but it had a simple power that can grab your attention- it did mine.

Thank-you God for allowing me to witness that. It made my day!

The Red Book Sessions

I'm listening to the new CD by The Singing Company called "The Red Book Sessions." Nice! Perfect group name; great Album title! The 13 new arrangements are fresh with a variety of interesting contemporary sounds. Keri Shay's strong, pure voice is a highlight for me.

However, I must tell you, after reading the article in YS Magazine about it, even though I wanted to buy it immediately, I couldn't, because they didn't tell you where to get it! Bummer! So I searched the Internet until I found it on ArmyBarmy.com. Cheap as I am and not wanting to pay postage from Canada (since the CD is from the USA), I kept looking, but came up empty. I must admit I was surprised! It MUST be available in the US, so if anyone out there knows where, please let us know.

I assume it will one day be available on www.thesingingcompany.com, but their site is still in development. Check it out anyway and when they do get up and running, you'll want to drop by for sure. Check out their flower logo with the 8 point Army star in the middle (I didn't miss it, guys)!

But until we do know where else to get it, don't wait (I couldn't)- get over to ArmyBarmy and buy it now! Of course if you're not from the USA, shipping is not going to be an issue anyway- buy it from ArmyBarmy and help support their awesome mission.

If you're a Salvo, you will want this album ASAP. Hey, even if you don't bleed Yellow, Red and Blue, you'll still want to get your hands on this one. It's fun, challenging to your spirit and a real blessing to your soul.

BloodNFire!

Combat Faith

This is a book recommended by Chuck Missler on one of his teaching mp3s I've been listening to lately. I looked it up on AllBookStores.com and thought it sounded like I'd like it. I do!

I've been using it as my devotional book, so I read a chapter most mornings. Mr. Lindsey often talks about "cracking the faith barrier" and reminds us of many biblical instances of God teaching his children to have faith in his leading.

I am learning a lot about faith from his insights and have even gotten a good sermon (so far) from his thoughts. At the moment, I am thinking about today's reading where I highlighted most of the chapter!

Here's a quote:

"The deliverance at the Red Sea has a tremendous application to our lives today. Though the LORD may allow us to be led into a similar impossible situation, His will is that we boldly stand against the odds and claim His promises. When we do, He delivers us.

"In most cases, as soon as we react to a trial with faith in the LORD's promises, He removes it. If He doesn't, then we know that there is some greater lesson He desires to teach us concerning perseverance in faith. Remember that though God's leading may be unexplainable for the moment, His ultimate purpose is to teach us to believe Him so that we may have inner peace, joy and effective service for Him now and great rewards in eternity."

Good stuff, huh (or "good stuff, eh?" for our Canadian friends)?

Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). Therefore we should all be giving our best efforts to increase our faith. However, it seems God is so interested in developing our faith he "goes out of his way" to provide us with MANY opportunities to do so!

I could write much more based on my thoughts right now, but let's save some for future blogs and not make Travis too uncomfortable with a long blog! {heh, heh}

If you're interested in the book, click the title above (or the picture) to be directed to where you can purchase it. I highly recommend it.

BLESSING:
May you please God with the way your faith is growing. May you choose to believe he is leading no matter what happens in your daily life. May the tough situations you find yourself struggling through only allow God to prove himself you and to those around you, because you stand boldly on his promises and refuse to be defeated. And may God receive all the glory both now and forevermore!

Technorati Anyone?

Today Debbie gave me a page torn from a magazine titled: "How to Write a Blog Post." Gee thanks! Anyway, one of the 10 items listed was "tag it" and gave the reference of

www.technorati.com

So I checked it out (wanting to be able to post good blogs and all). What I found was a site that categorizes and links blogs from all over the place (I think).

So I signed up (again, hoping it'll make me able to write a good blog post). When finished, I discovered some bloggers out there who referenced a blog or two of mine and a few I didn't know have linked my blog on their blog. Cool!

Now I'm "officially" listed and I hope to figure out what else later. You can find my Technorati profile here:

Technorati Profile

The question still remains: "Is this a good blog post?"

Another Biblical Reference to Territorial Spirits

I've been doing some research lately about the Nephilim mentioned in scripture. If you're like most people, the word "Nephilim" doesn't ring a bell, so look up these references: Genesis 6:4 and Numbers 13:33 if you're interested. You won't get too much, which is why I'm having to do research!

Not intending to write about Nephilim today, I mention this to get your appetite whetted for a possible future entry on such. And it is the starting place for my musings today, because during this search I found the following which is ultimately providing information about Territorial Spirits/Authorities:

"The passage in Deuteronomy (32:8) reads 'When the Most High apportioned the nations, when he divided the sons of man. He established the borders of the peoples according to the number of 'the sons of Israel'.' The weird thing about this passage is how can the borders of all the peoples be established according to the sons of Israel when Israel hadn't already been established? The end seems to contradict the beginning. This contradiction doesn't appear in all Bibles, like the RSV based on the Greek Septuagint (dated from the 3rd century BCE), which state 'according to the number of the Sons of God.' This is also the wording in the Hebrew DSS version, which is now the oldest version of Deuteronomy we currently have, & what scholars now believe as the most authentic. "The implications are that the Sons of God are not just present at the beginning of the world, but also figure prominently in dividing nations. That implicates that while Yahweh chose Israel as his nation, each of the other Sons of God also received a nation to rule over."
(posted 12/25/02 by Krista on deliriumsrealm.com /delirium/articleview.asp?post=3)

[By the way, I don't agree with everything mentioned in this article and this is NOT a website I recommend. I place the reference information here only to give proper credit. One must realize that all Truth is God's Truth and sometimes we will find it in unusual places. It's really too bad that those who follow The Enemy know more about some things than we do. However, we can learn from them if we are careful in sorting out truth from lies. We must always be careful not to throw out the baby with the bathwater!]

What truth I am interesting in today is that we have scriptural mention of God dividing up the nations among his angels (children of God). Whether or not they were each given rule over these nations or they were given charge to cover them, we don't know. But we do see other references to this allotting territories when we read of Michael being one of the "Chief Princes," the "Prince of Persia" and the "Prince of Greece" in Daniel.

When God set these princes in charge is not specifically mentioned in Scripture. But based on how many nations have turned out, we can assume there were angels who were given charge of nations who eventually revolted against God and fell from his grace- whom we now call demons. I seriously doubt God would have given them charge of nations after they had fallen. The fact that Michael had to come and help Daniel's angel fight to get through the Princes mentioned above, shows they were/are obviously against God.

We can see how these Territorial Spirits are in charge of certain areas of physical land. Where those lines are drawn can often be observed based on the obvious spiritual changes one can sense (someone gifted in discernment) when moving from place to place, thereby crossing these lines of demarcation. There are documented cases of people being violently opposed to hearing the Gospel on one side of a street, but wonderfully open on the other side!

These divisions don't have to be just countries, but can also be states, counties, cities, and even areas of cities, etc.

Bottom line: there are spirits assigned to the geographical areas we live in. It would be wise for us to discern who they are and what they do so we can better learn how to defeat them.