DFO 139010/7/78

1. IF THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND THE GOSPEL, IF THEY REJECT IT, THEN THE LORD ALLOWS THE DEVIL TO SORT OF BLIND THEIR EYES. What does it say? Read it again. (Maria: "In whom the god of this World hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." [2Cor.4:4]) Having rejected the Gospel‚ the Lord allows the Devil to then blind them & give them strong delusion that they might believe a lie‚ that they might be damned. (2Th.2:10-12) They don't deserve it anymore. When they reject it, they've rejected the Holy Spirit & committed the unpardonable sin—rejecting Jesus Christ. (Mt.12:31,32)

2. A LOT OF THE DEVIL'S RELIGIONS ARE VERY GOOD. They can be mostly good & just lack one thing, like Islam, receiving Christ as Saviour. (Maria: So you can take their whole counsel & just put Jesus with it?) Well, that's possible, I wouldn't say it includes everything. (Maria: Like you said about this woman's book, you may not be able to tell whether her source was actually the Devil or the Lord unless you knew whether she believed in Jesus, because her counsel sounds good about everything.) It can be mostly good & yet doubt the Lord. (Maria: That's why we as Christians can take good counsel even from worldly things if we add Jesus to it.)

3. CHRISTIAN SCIENCE HAS GOT A LOT OF GOOD PSYCHOLOGY IN IT, FOR EXAMPLE‚ & NEW THOUGHT. My Mother used to be into that stuff. Those old psychological types of religions use a lot of good psychology‚ like "think on good things," positive thinking & that sort of thing. Psychology & a lot of the Oriental religions stress positive meditation, positive thinking. Like that book, The Power of Positive Thinking, there's a lot to it.

4. IF YOU OBEY GOD'S STANDARD, LAWS & RULES OF CONDUCT, WHETHER THEY BE PHYSICAL‚ SPIRITUAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL OR EVEN FINANCIAL, YOU WILL REAP SOME GOOD RESULTS‚ even if you're not really saved or a believer. Like I've said‚ I've heard of unsaved businessmen who tithed because they knew it blessed their business! (Maria: So God still blessed them even though they weren't doing it for the right motive?) Just like you keep the laws of physics etc. You can't defy His laws & get any benefit out of them, but if you keep His laws, the Lord Himself says in the Scripture that if they, being without the law—don't know the law—yet do those things which are according to the law, He as good as says that He blesses them for that!—That they'll be judged without the law. (Rom.2:12-14)

5. SO YOU CAN GATHER A LOT OF GOOD THINGS FROM PSYCHOLOGY, PSYCHIATRY, POSITIVE THINKING‚ MEDITATION, ORIENTAL RELIGIONS, ETC. (Maria: Like you've said about yoga, even, some of the relaxing exercises can be used for childbearing.) It's when they get into some of those spiritual things where they're supposed to get in certain strange positions, make certain gruesome faces & blank out their mind, they're really getting themselves into a receptive position to be susceptible to evil spirits or become demon-possessed.

6. THIS IS WHY THE YOGIS CAN DO MIRACLES, like throwing ropes straight up in the air & having little boys climb up the rope! My Grandfather saw them do it, & they still do it.—Levitation, float right up to the ceiling, what have you, by the power of the Devil! They've got power, all right, & that's what they're seeking. The Yoga books say you get into yourself & you receive power! They don't, of course, ever mention the Devil or demons, they say you will magnify the personal powers of your own ego, the unknown you that's within you. (Maria: It always gives the credit to yourself.) Self-realisation, "you've got more power in yourself & in your spirit than you realise," blah, blah! Yes, well, if they yield to the Devil they sure will!

7. THE DEVIL PREACHES A LOT OF TRUTH & A LOT OF GOOD, JUST SO PEOPLE WILL STEER CLEAR OF JESUS! I mean, he even preaches God as long as they don't mention Jesus.—Like the Jews! Even the Muslims come so close, they even receive Jesus as a great prophet & teacher, good & all of that—they give Him more credit than some of the Jews will give Him—but then they won't accept that He's the Son of God or the Saviour.

8. SO THE DEVIL PREACHES LOTS OF TRUTH & LOTS OF GOOD. HE EVEN QUOTED JESUS SCRIPTURES! (Mat.4) He's a great quoter of Scriptures. I've had him use Scripture on me lots of times. (Maria: So if a verse comes into your mind about something, it's not necessarily the Lord.) Not always, unless you know it's really the Lord. He even used Scripture on Adam & Eve! He said, "God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, & ye shall be as gods‚ knowing good & evil." (Ge.3:1,5) He always uses half-truths, & that makes the deceit all the more clever. What he promises as half good & half truth, there's always a hidden lie & hidden evil in it!

9. THAT'S WHY JESUS IS THE TEST! Try the spirits! Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God! (1Jn.4:1‚2) I'd like to know the author personally & find out what her stand is on Jesus before I'd recommend that what she is getting is really from the Lord. It still might be good & it might even be true, but most religions are counterfeits. They're not exact opposites, they're deceptions. The Devil was an Angel of Light.

10. YOU DON'T KNOW UNTIL YOU CAN ASK THEM, "WHAT THINK YE OF JESUS WHO IS CALLED THE CHRIST?" That's the corker‚ that's the question! What think ye of Jesus? I've asked a lot of people things like that who wanted to argue religion & everything else‚ & I'd say, "Just tell me what you think about Jesus!" There's no use arguing about anything else at all‚ you just need to know whether they receive Jesus, accept Jesus, believe in Jesus or not.

11. SOMETIMES THEY CAN BELIEVE IN JESUS & HAVE ALL KINDS OF CRAZY HAYWIRE DOCTRINES on Bible Prophecy & a lot of other things, a lot of Christians do, but what difference does that make? I'm not going to try to spend my life straightening them out on that! You could argue yourself blue in the face & not change their thinking & interpretation of Bible Prophecy. The only thing we have to worry about is whether they're saved or not‚ whether they've received Jesus.

12. LIKE THAT BUM I WITNESSED TO THAT TIME, I was in a hurry, due to teach a class at the Mission & I finally couldn't wait any longer. So I said‚ "I don't have time to argue, but do you want Jesus or don't you?" He said, "Oh, you don't really love me, you don't care!" It was just like a demon speaking! "I guess I'll just go down & jump in the Miami River!" I said, "Go right ahead! You might as well, if you don't want Jesus"—& I went on my way!

13. SO THAT'S THE CRUX OF THE WHOLE THING, WHETHER THEY WANT JESUS OR NOT! If they say they believe in Jesus, I don't care whether they're Catholics, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-day Adventists or nothing, if they really claim to believe in Jesus as the Son of God, their Saviour, & receive Him as such, then okay!—They're saved, regardless of their other odd doctrines!—Amen? Let's not argue over doctrine‚ let's get'm saved!—Then if possible try to straighten'm out.

14. IT REMINDS ME OF A STORY Fred used to tell: He was arguing with this guy who didn't believe in Hell.—Finally he said, "Why don't we drop that awhile & you just get saved?"—And the guy did! So afterward Fred said, "OK, now what about Hell?"—And the guy said, "Never mind, I'm not goin' there anymore!" PTL!

15. GIVE'M JESUS!—He can solve all their problems! Amen? GBY! ILY!

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family