December 2007

Greetings to all,  

Earlier this year I felt a strong impression from the Lord that I was to write a book about deception   The book includes the chapters about self deception, the spirit of error and the spirit of truth, exercising discernment, the power of suggestion, and the church – the safest place.  The false religions of Islam and Mormonism are also discussed.  (Click on this link to read excerpts from Be Not Deceived.)   

One just has to turn on the news to see that deception is running rampantly through the world.  There was recently an article posted on www.telegraph.co.uk (12/12/2007) entitled: “Muslim apostates threatened over Christianity,” by Alasdair Palmer.  The article told the story of a Muslim woman (Sofia Allam – not her real name) who left the Muslim faith for Christianity and the response from her family which was one of persecution and threats.  The article also described that laws are being set in place that require the death penalty for apostasy. Excerpts from the article:  

·          “Sofia Allam simply could not believe it.  Her kind, loving father was sitting in front of her threatening to kill her. He said she had brought shame and humiliation on him that she was now "worse than the muck on their shoes" and she deserved to die.”

·          "He said I was damned for ever. He insulted me horribly. I couldn't recognise that man as the father who had been so kind to me as I was growing up. 

·          "My mother's transformation was even worse. She constantly beat me about the head. She screamed at me all the time. I remember saying to them, as they were shouting death threats, 'Mum, Dad - you're saying you should kill me… but I'm your daughter! Don't you realise that?'?"  They did not: they insisted they wanted her out of their house.  After three weeks of bullying, and just before her parents physically threw her out, Sofia left. "They put their loyalty to Islam above any love for me," she says, her voice faltering slightly.

·          …a significant portion of British Muslims think that such behaviour is not merely right, but a religious obligation: a survey by the think-tank Policy Exchange, for instance, revealed that 36 per cent of young Muslims believe that those who leave Islam should be killed.

·          There is considerable support, from the Koran and other sacred Islamic texts, for that position - which may explain why, out of the 57 Islamic states in the world today, seven have a legal code that punishes Muslims who leave the religion with death.

·          That number may soon increase: Pakistan is currently considering a Bill that would make apostasy a capital crime for men and one carrying a sentence of imprisonment for women.

·          "all four schools of Sunni law, as well as the Shia variety, call for the death penalty for apostates. Most Muslim scholars say that Muslim religious law - sharia - requires the death penalty for apostasy.

This is real!  Islam is not something we just consider and tolerate.  It is a threat of death to us as a Christian nation.  May the Lord help us understand that we have people running for the highest office in this land that represent this faith (if you want to call it that) and also someone who is just as much an apostate under the Mormon religion that certainly do not have an agenda of freedom that Jesus came to bring to us.  This election coming up is a crisis situation and the enemy is raging for control of this nation.  Would you be willing to be a voice for the Lord and contend with these spirits?  

Thank God, He will guard our minds from the power of suggestions that might lead us to deception.  I pray that God will stir the gift of discernment in our lives and that we will be open to receive from Him.  God, speak to us, we are listening.  

As I previously wrote, the year 2008 is a year of gates.  I feel we will meet the enemy at the gate, but the battle can be turned at the gate as we believe God to open gates that have been closed and to close gates that need to be shut.  I feel this is a time of Reformation for the Church that will allow Jesus to build HIS church – the one that the gates of hell cannot over power.  I recommend The Gate of Prayer as a tool for helping us through this season.   

Praise Reports:

      After weeks of political wrangling, the United States Senate finally cried uncle on an unpopular plan to attach "hate crimes" legislation to the Defense Authorization bill.  (Reported by the Family Research Center, www.frc.org)

      The U. S. House just passed a resolution introduced by Rep. Steve King (IA) recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith (H. Res 847). It is a wonderfully written and powerfully worded recognition not only of the birth of Christ but also of the impact of Christianity in the world and especially in the history of the United States.~ David Barton, Wallbuilders

 

In Him we press on,   

Martha Lucia

(Be Not Deceived and The Gate of Prayer may be ordered at http://ciresourcecenter.com/shop/)

 

Excerpts from Be Not Deceived

When you hear the word deception what comes to mind?  Trickery?  Fraud?  A delusion?  Deceit?  Dishonesty?  Most dictionaries use these words to describe deception.

Discernment on the other hand can mean judgment, sensitivity, shrewdness, discrimination, wisdom.  Christians today need more than ever to use godly discernment—becoming extremely sensitive in the spirit realm to learn to distinguish between truth and falsehood or between what is right and what is wrong.

We also need to discern when God has an assignment for us.  Times come when we hear an impression—we know it is God but we don’t press on to find out what He means when He talks to us.  We listen, but we don’t act. 

Today you can rarely pick up a newspaper without reading of some blatant deception.  There are many other subtle ways the enemy is deceiving the world.  We must become alert to deception.

Deception will even be rampant in the church in the last days and we are commanded to watch out that no one deceives us.  When Jesus was asked by His disciples, "what will be the signs of your coming,” He answered:  

"Watch out that no one deceives you.  For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.” (Matthew 24:4)

When we discern the times, we should be recognizing He is at the door.  His coming is soon.  But too many people have gotten tired and weary.  Many have quit praying and believing for His return.  Maybe you know some who used to sit beside you on Sundays but now spend Saturday night hanging out in a downtown bar drinking.

If we quit and let Satan have more of a foothold in our personal lives and in the earth today, then Satan has accomplished his plan of wearing down the saints.  The Bible speaks of the evil one who “will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One” (Daniel 7:25).   

Mormons  

Many so called religions skillfully weave the Scriptures into their theology so that people are caught in a snare.  Scriptures taken from context are netted together so they seem to be Biblically sound when in reality they have been distorted by false doctrines and men’s misuse.  But truth comes from God.  A prime example of the spirit of error is in the Church of the Latter Day Saints (LDS) of Jesus Christ, commonly known as the Mormon Church.

According to Don Koenig’s website (http://www.thepropheticyears.com/cults/mormons.HTM  By Don Koenig) errors are found in this church. 

The Church of the Latter Day Saints has a different Jesus than the Jesus of scripture.  They use Christian terms like born again, saved, trinity, Father God, etc., however, the meanings they put on these Christian terms are entirely different.  The Mormon message supposedly was given to them by the angel Moroni.  The apostle Paul warned about angels with false doctrine in Galatians 1:8, 9, "If an angel from heaven proclaims any other gospel than the one you received let him be cursed by God".

The Mormons have added to the word of God by adding to the canon their Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price and the Book of Mormon.  The books have contradictions with each other and with the Bible.  Mormons believe that Jesus and Lucifer are spirit brothers.

Most of the following bullet statements were extracted from the “Kingdom of the Cults,” by Dr. Walter Martin

·         The Mormons believe in many gods - these gods procreate spirit children

·         Mormons believe that we were preexistent souls before we were born in the flesh

·         LDS believe that God the Father was and is a man of flesh and bone who once lived on another planet and who progressed to become the God of this world

·         The LDS doctrine of the trinity is perverted and is nothing like the trinity of orthodox Christianity.

·         The LDS have corrected obvious errors in books that they say are inspired inerrant holy books.  There have been 4000 documented word changes in the book of Mormon alone since 1830.

·         Mormons believe that Jesus and Lucifer are spirit brothers

·         The LDS teach the doctrine of universal salvation and that there is no eternal hell except for those who will not progress.  Hell only applies to those who leave Mormonism or will not become Mormon in the next life

·         The LDS doctrine of salvation is not by faith in Jesus alone.  To be saved one must have faith, be baptized by immersion, keep the teachings of the Mormon Church, do good works and keep the commandments.

·         LDS teaches a limited atonement; Brigham Young said "the blood of Jesus was ineffective for the cleansing of some sins.  Those that believe it will lose their salvation"

·         Mormons believe that the family unit will endure unto eternity and some go through baptism rituals in the temple to save unbaptised dead.

·         The LDS have three heavens - one for the heathen, one for the Christians and one for good Mormons.  When Mormons progress enough to be gods they will get a planet of their own to rule

·         The Mormons have added to the word of God by adding to the canon their Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price and the Book of Mormon.  The books have contradictions with each other and with the Bible 

·         The prophet Joseph Smith of Mormonism has documented false prophecies

·         The LDS say that all Christian sects are wrong and that all their creeds are an abomination

·         Mormons are told to wear holy underwear with mystical Masonic markings to protect them from harm

In The God Makers, (Ed Decker & Dave Hunt, Harvest House Publishers Eugene, Oregon 97402 Copyright 1984) you read a shocking expose of what the Mormon Church really believes.  The writers explain that most people think that Mormonism is an extreme form of Christian fundamentalism.  “Nothing is further from the truth.  On the contrary, Mormonism is a modified form of paganism which is so carefully camouflaged with a façade of Christian terminology that it even deceives most Mormons,” they write. 

Other quotes from their book include:

Jesus called Satan “a liar and the father of it” -- i.e., the father of the lie.  No greater lie could be conceived than that humans could become gods. 

It’s not too hard to understand that Mormons would be willing to surrender their minds to church leaders in exchange for the coveted prize of godhood.  This is why the Mormon dare not flinch in his loyalty to the Mormon Church, its founder Joseph Smith, and his successors who now control it. 

The pressure from the church and Mormon doctrine upon the LDS woman is staggering.  Swearing an oath of total obedience to her husband in the Temple ritual, she must be perfect.  Each wife who has been through the Temple has a secret name that only her husband and she know.  He uses this to call her out of the grave on the day of resurrection; and there seems to be no remedy for her if he purposefully or forgetfully fails to do so. 

That Latter Day Saints must prove their worthiness and earn eternal life by obedience to thousands of laws and ordinances, and repetitive performances of secret Temple rituals.   This is because Mormonism denies that Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, died for our sin and thereby purchased eternal life to be given as a free gift of God’s grace to all who receive Him by faith.  Because they reject the full value of Christ’s blood poured out in death for sin on the cross, Mormons take bread and water at their communion services instead of bread and wine (or grape juice) as Christ commanded; and they display no cross inside or outside their chapels and Temples, but do display many Masonic and other occult symbols.  Mormons have an almost fanatical aversion to the cross and the shed blood of Jesus.  

Brigham Young said that, “any man or woman, who violates the covenants made with their God, will be required to pay the debt.  The blood of Christ will never wipe that out, your own blood must atone for it.”