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AVINU
Living Church Ministries
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Needless to say, that was a particular moment for me because to the Jewish Messiah; the highest form of faith is to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and spirit, and to demonstrate kindness toward the needy.
Stolen Valor-The Stolen Valor Act of 2005, signed into law by President George W. Bush on December 20, 2006, was a U.S. law that broadened the provisions of previous U.S. laws addressing the unauthorized wear, manufacture, or sale of any military decorations and medals.
The same should be true for our risen Savior whose valor is protected by the ones whom He has saved. The people in Ephesus claimed that Artemis the Pagan Reindeer Demigoddess was greater than Jesus Christ of Nazareth.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”20px”][vc_custom_heading text=”Victory Belongs to Jesus” font_container=”tag:h2|font_size:25|text_align:left|color:%23822a14″][vc_single_image image=”9721″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_shadow_3d”][vc_column_text]In the records of the Acts of the Apostles, the Ephesians supposed;
Acts 19:27-28
(NLT) —this magnificent goddess worshiped throughout the province of Asia and all around the world—will be robbed of her great prestige!”
28 At this, their anger boiled, and they began shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”27px”][vc_column_text]I have believed for decades that the Holy Spirit is teaching us how to recognize fairytale myths that have been repackaged and edited, to sound as though they came from the Holy Text. The devil has thousands of years of experience disgracing the children of Israel with imitation feasts that only honor Satan.
Likewise, the only thing that can undermine the Kingdom of Yeshua is when the Lord’s people agree with the inclinations of Satan, whether or not it is the result of sinfulness or fearfulness.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”10626″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_shadow_3d”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Believer’s daily goal is to seek the Will of the Lord and place Him higher, above anything else in our lives, unlike some in Ephesus, who worshiped the pagan Ancient Greek deity, Artemis.[/vc_column_text][vc_images_carousel images=”10647,10648,10649,10650,10651,10458,8758,8746,8748,8741″ img_size=”medium” autoplay=”yes” hide_pagination_control=”yes” hide_prev_next_buttons=”yes” wrap=”yes” title=”Images of Artemis of Ephesus or Dianna of the Book of Acts”][vc_column_text]2 Corinthians 6:14 – 7:1
(ESV) The Temple of the Living God
14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,
“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
17 Therefore go out from their midst,
and be separate from them, says the Lord,
and touch no unclean thing;
then I will welcome you,
18 and I will be a father to you,
and you shall be sons and daughters to me,
says the Lord Almighty.”
1 Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.
Paul had to remind the Ephesians about the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe in Him. And, to reintroduce Christ to them by saying:[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Ephesians 1:18-23
(NLT) 18 I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.
19 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power 20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. 21 Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. 22 God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. 23 And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”27px”][vc_custom_heading text=”The Ephesians worshipped the demigods of Wiccan and Forest spirit” font_container=”tag:h2|font_size:17|text_align:left|color:%23822a14″][vc_column_text]Because feast carries such powerful psychological impact on one’s morales, especially after being outnumbered with music, spectacles, and decor overloading the senses. Only a renewed mind, impacted by the Holy Spirit, could outlast such a storm.
After the Israelites gave in and accepted pagan Idols into their dwellings, they found that those artifacts amounted to Trojan Horses connected with demons visitation, turning their hearts away from Adonai, God of the Hebrews. The result of their lack of judgment resulting in a nation void of God including by the wrath of their God. Satan’s plan until the return of Yeshua is the contaminate the people of God with the teaching of wolves, with a half-hearted alliance with the Word of God. Deities overarching sexual immorality, Paganism, and Idolatry. If we want to know how the Holy Spirit lead the Apostles regarding Israel’s involvement in the customs of Gentle Nations, one example found in the Book of Galatians.
Galatians 5:19-21
(NLT) 19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Our homes are a Sanctuary for the Messiah and are our last stance of defense. As believers in the Jewish Messiah, we recognize the scriptures extracted from the story of the Holy birth of the Son of God from the Bible, and furthermore, we realize the Mythology that’s introduced in the story of Christ’s birth has its ominous purpose.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”10469″ img_size=”medium”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Within the phrase, “this is the most wonderful time of the year,” we hear a positive message, loaded with conjecture. To suggest the Winter holidays filled with important memories of warm and special days are accurate. However, a scientific study was done by psychologist Dr. Rick Hanson where he writes about the human brain’s power to hard wire itself to build new neural structures full of happiness, love, confidence, and peace. Wherein a message of hope and happiness is readily accepted by the human brain, preferably a message filled with Godly truth. The brain trusts comfortable passages much more natural than a list of rules.
Dr. Rick Hanson, a clinical psychologist
“Why is it easier to ruminate over hurt feelings than it is to bask in the warmth of being appreciated? Because your brain evolved to learn quickly from bad experiences, but slowly from good ones. You can change this.”
“Life isn’t easy, and having a brain wired to take in the bad and ignore the good makes us worried, irritated, and stressed, instead of confident, secure, and happy. But each day is filled with opportunities to build inner strengths and Dr. Rick Hanson, an acclaimed clinical psychologist, shows what you can do to override the brain’s default pessimism. Hardwiring Happiness lays out a simple method that uses the hidden power of everyday experiences to build new neural structures full of happiness, love, confidence, and peace.”Dr. Rick Hanson, psychologisthttps://www.bing.com/search?q=hardwiring+happiness+the+new+brain+science+of+contentment%2c+calm%2c+and+confidence+rick+hanson&filters=ufn%3a%22hardwiring+happiness+the+new+brain+science+of+contentment%2c+calm%2c+and+confidence+rick+hanson%22+sid%3a%22624c7bc3-b0b3-5b4e-54ed-5f46968e4723%22&FORM=SNAPST[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Maintenance of what is Holy.
So, we see how powerful the emotion of happiness, love, and peace are welcomed in the human psyche and is hardwired for direct arousal stimulation. Unfortunately, on the flip side, a person’s happy zone in their brain might give them too much of a sense of satisfaction and may set them up for spiritual ruin.
Ephesians 4:23-24
(CWSB) 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
4151. νεῦμα pneúma; gen. pneúmatos, neut. noun from pnéō(G4154), to breathe.
(I) Breath.
(A) Of the mouth or nostrils, a breathing, blast (2 Thess. 2:8, “spirit [breath] of his mouth,” spoken of the destroying power of God; Sept.: Is. 11:4). Of the vital breath (Rev. 11:11, “breath of life” [a.t.]; Sept.: Gen. 6:17; 7:15, 22 [cf. Ps. 33:6]).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Ephesians 4:27
Neither gives place to the devil (διάβολος).
Satan knows that no power of any classification can separate us from the love of God (Ephesians 4:27). With this said, how is it that some of the early Churches around the city of Ephesus
fell for Satan’s inducement of pagan worship of the Ancient Greek deity, Artemis?
In other words, the devil employs the method of repackaging and releasing, a package that would entice human fascination. Lucifer knows he has to avoid, at all cost any confrontation with our Lord, Yeshua. So he waits for an apathetic or lukewarm Christian to exhibit behavior that is conducive to his nature.
If we are to maintain a place in our lives for the Lord, then the favor of God is with us. We should understand, our conduct attracts either
the Kingdom of Darkness or the kingdom which I am shielding this place from behavior or conduct, by creating an atmosphere for God. So, if I can change the spirit of a room by my lousy behavior, I give the glory to Jesus Christ of Nazareth, who has given us a new mind and the ability to live out a new life.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Idolater Worshiping” font_container=”tag:h2|font_size:27|text_align:left|color:%23822a14″][vc_column_text]Again, the Grecians religion was saturated in Greek Methodology with Artemis or Dianna was one of the most widely revered of the Ancient Greek deities. Artemis, in Greek mythology, the goddess of wild animals, the hunt, and vegetation, and of chastity and childbirth; the Romans identified her with Diana. Artemis was the daughter of Zeus and Leto and the twin sister of Apollo. Among the rural populace, Artemis was the favorite goddess. Her character and function varied greatly from place to place, but, apparently, behind all forms lay the goddess of wild nature, who danced, usually accompanied by nymphs, in mountains, forests, and marshes. Artemis embodied the sportsman’s ideal, so besides killing game, she also protected it, especially the young; this was the Homeric significance of the title Mistress of Animals.
Artemis as a huntress, Classical sculpture; in the Louvre, Paris.
Alinari/Art Resource, New York
The worship of Artemis probably flourished in Crete or on the Greek mainland in pre-Hellenic times. Many of Artemis’ local cults, however, preserved traces of other deities, often with Greek names, suggesting that, upon adopting her, the Greeks identified Artemis with nature divinities of their own. The virginal sister of Apollo is very different from the many-breasted Artemis of Ephesus, for example.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Artemis-Greek-goddess
Cernunnos, the Wild Celtic God of the Forest – ThoughtCo
https://www.thoughtco.com/cernunnos-wild-god-of-the-forest-2561959
Cernunnos is a horned god found in Celtic mythology. He is connected with male animals, particularly the stag in rut, and this has led him to be associated with fertility and vegetation. Depictions of Cernunnos are found in many parts of the British Isles and western Europe.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_images_carousel images=”10474,10441,10443,10429,10431,10179,10162″ img_size=”medium” autoplay=”yes” hide_pagination_control=”yes” hide_prev_next_buttons=”yes” wrap=”yes” title=”Images of Cernunnos is a horned god found in Celtic mythology Forest demigod.”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]