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Posts by Gaspar Anastasi

halloween unmasked

Unmasking the real spirit of Halloween

Why Christians should have no part in Halloween

You may think of Halloween as innocent fun for the kids, but it is also a “high holy day” for modern-day witches. Does that sound innocent? The celebration of Halloween originated with the Druids, an order of priests and sorcerers in ancient Europe. The Druids worshiped the natural and supernatural worlds. According to their Celtic calendar, October 31st was the last day of the year—New Year’s Eve. On this day, they held the festival called Samhain which marked the start of winter and honored Samana, the Lord of Death.  

Druids believed that on this one night Samana allowed demons and ghosts and other spirits to wander about freely. In hopes of frightening these creatures, the Druids recited special chants and lit bonfires. 

They also made offerings of special foods to appease these evil spirits. Even more significantly, Druids disguised themselves in masks and costumes so the spirits of darkness would not recognize them and do them harm. 

You don’t have to look very hard to see many of our own Halloween traditions in these early Druid rites. Even today, satanists celebrate Halloween as one of two high holy days. It has also become one of the four greater sabbats—a Sabbath day for modern day witches and warlocks.

Because we have for so long believed Halloween to be an innocent season of fun, we have unknowingly exposed our children to a spirit of fear and to the occult. Halloween is a day that honors and glorifies Satan. 

From the beginning, people have believed that invisible spirits  were closer at Halloween than at any other time of the year. Furthermore, they believed that evil spirits could help them predict the future. 

Many of the Halloween activities practiced today were originally used as methods of divination, (Jeremiah 27:9; Galatians 5:19-21). In fact, much of our “innocent” Halloween tradition actually comes from satanically inspired rituals.

Bobbing for apples was a method of fortune-telling. The winner of the contest was advised of certain things such as who they would marry, what occupation to pursue, etc.
Broomsticks, according to legend, were used by witches to fly on to meet with the devil on Halloween.
Black cats were thought to be witches themselves as well as being a witch’s constant companion.
Jack-o-lanterns can be traced back to an Irish folk tale of a man named Jack who was not allowed into heaven because of his sins; nor was he let into hell because he had played two tricks on the devil. So Jack was condemned to walk the earth with a lighted coal in a pumpkin. 
Simply put, Halloween glorifies everything God has called an abomination. It is a day that honors satan and his forces of darkness. And as a Christian, you have no business celebrating or participating in it!

God’s Word gives us clear instructions

Abstain from all appearance of evil
( I Thessalonians 5:22); 

…neither give place to the devil (Ephesians 4:27)

Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. (Eph. 5:11)

The acts of the sinful nature are… idolatry and witchcraft…drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Gal. 5:19-21)

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. (I John 3:8)

Choose this day whom you will serve. (Josh. 24:15) 

Christians should teach their children that…

There is a spiritual world filled with goodness from God and evil from Satan (Eph. 2:1-10);

Life with Christ has power over darkness (I John 4:4); and

Those who celebrate Halloween either are unaware of its roots, or are intentionally promoting a world where evil is lauded and viewed as an ultimate power.

To counter the evil influence of Halloween, we need to celebrate the reality of the heroic efforts of Christian saints over the evil in their day. Many leaders in the past—and present —have fulfilled the mandate of destroying the works of the devil through their sacrificial commitment to Christ and His Kingdom. Even more importantly, teach your children that this power belongs to them as well. Let them know that, as  Christians, we are on the winning side.

Teach them to celebrate good over evil and the triumph of God over Satan; to celebrate God’s protection, provision and purpose for our lives—rather than applauding the spirits of death and wickedness which Halloween promotes.…

boat on water

Breaking destructive life cycles

We’ve all developed bad habits that we wish we didn’t have to keep dealing with. I’m talking about bad habits that have eventually led to destructive cycles. Living with a critical spirit, an unforgiving heart, a poor self-image, gossiping, losing your temper, overeating, being lustful, etc. are all behaviors that set up destructive cycles and patterns. These cycles are detrimental to our success and especially detrimental to our witness as a Christian.

Mistakes we make

One of the great dangers of not breaking these deadly cycles is that we mistake activity for progress. We convince ourselves that staying busy for the Lord is a sign of our Christian maturity. Wrong!

Another danger is if we try to change, but repeatedly fail and slip back into the same destructive life cycle, we give up trying. Then we make excuses and allowances for them. The worse thing we can do is make excuses for wrong attitudes and fleshly appetites and continue on as though we’ve dealt with them.

Keep it simple

I propose a biblical method that God guarantees will break those destructive cycles in your life forever. It’s so simple that we excuse it because of its simplicity. In fact many of you reading this are saying to yourself, I know if it’s too simple it can’t work. You’ll stop reading and shut yourself down to God’s guaranteed method to break destructive cycles.

We humans like to intellectualize everything and make it complicated, so when we do accomplish them we feel like we have achieved something. God, on the other hand, makes things so simple. He only requires that we have faith in His methods; so when it’s all said and done, He’s the one who accomplished something in our lives—not us. He tells us in Zechariah 4:6b, “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts.

Speak life!

Here it is…. are you ready to break the destructive and deadly cycles in your life? Change your speech patterns! We’ve all heard Proverbs 18:21many times before: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Well it’s true; you are the sum total of all the words you have spoken over your life for years and all the words others have spoken over you that you believed.

Changing what you say about yourself will eventually cause change in you and set you free from those destructive cycles. Yes, it’s really that simple! So, pick one area where a destructive cycle is manifesting and think about what you’ve been saying that’s brought you into agreement with it. If it’s self-worth, have you been saying or agreeing with words that put you down, belittle you, call you a failure or a mess up? When anything goes wrong, do you always say it’s because of you and nobody else?

Change course

After you discover what confessions have contributed to those destructive cycles do the following:

  1. Repent to God for demonically inspired words by breaking any agreement with Satan and his plans for your life.
  2. Receive God’s forgiveness and forgive yourself for saying them and repeating them over your life.
  3. Release what God says over you. Seek God’s plan for your life and replace Satan’s plans by confessing God’s word instead. Remember, your mouth speaks what’s in the abundance of your heart. Keep filling your heart and mind with God’s words, not what your temporary circumstances say.
  4. Break the curse of those destructive words you’ve been confessing over your life. Say, “I break the curse of all the words (name them) I’ve said that have caused this destructive cycle in my life.” And say, “I replace those words with this blessing (God’s word) over me. I declare that I’m blessed.”

That’s it! It’s that simple. Oh yes, you must guard your mouth and not speak those negative things again. If you do slip back, quickly repent and repeat the above process again. Within one month’s time you will be free from those destructive life’s cycles in your life. Try it, God guarantees it.


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Right decision

How to make the right decision

Everything we do begins with a decision and, every day, we make a multitude of them. Each decision brings with it good or bad consequences—consequences that will be compounded daily. It’s time to stop blaming everyone around us for where we are today and recognize that it’s because of our own decisions!

Although we can’t do anything about our yesterdays, we can still influence our today and tomorrow. The God of all creation has planned a great life with a great ending for us. However, bad choices can hinder those plans.

Know the consequences

In Deuteronomy 30:19-20, God reveals the incredible power and privilege of choice. And He encourages us to choose rightly. But, He also warns us of the serious consequences of choosing badly.

The responsibility of fulfilling God’s awesome plans and purposes for your life is squarely placed on your shoulders and no one else’s. Here are some obstacles to avoid in the decision-making process.

Know the obstacles to good choices

  1. People’s opinions probably influence our decision-making more than anything else. We make decisions (consciously or subconsciously) to please people. You can avoid this obstacle by realizing how special and valuable you are in God’s sight. When God made you, He threw away the mold. If He wanted you to be somebody else, He would have made you somebody else. A poor self-image directly influences your decision making, so spend time with God and allow Him to reveal your true identity.
  2. Faulty motives such as attention-seeking, personal approval, self-gain, ego and pride also influence our decisions. We need to ask God to search our hearts for the reasons behind our decisions. Galatians 6:8 says, “For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.” We should use our God-given freedom to make decisions that will advance His kingdom not our own.

Before you decide, ask yourself :

  • Will this decision promote God and His agenda or me and mine?
  • Will God receive all the glory from this decision?
  • Will this decision focus the attention on God or me?
  1. The power and lust of money can blind and control us if we’re not careful. Mark 6:24b says “You cannot serve God and mammon.” Money can be a huge factor in deciding who we hang out with or not; who we serve and who we don’t; who we will go out of our way for and who we won’t. We evaluate people based on their benefit to us.

Know what’s behind your choices

Many other factors affect our decision-making. Racial and ethnic prejudice, religion, tradition and faulty beliefs can influence us more than we realize. Making right decisions is more than simply saying “yes” or “no” to something. There is a lot behind every choice we make.

This issue is so critical to your destiny! Wouldn’t it be a good idea to take your time and not jump into any decision? Think through your choices and invite God into the process. He can reveal what’s really influencing you and help you discern whether it’s a “God decision” or just a good decision! Your destiny depends on it.


We love hearing from you! If this article has been a blessing to you, please leave a comment below.

Go get it back

Go and get it back!

Too many of us have settled for what we have instead of what God has promised us. The seeds of discouragement and hopelessness through the many disappointments of this past year have clouded our hearts and minds. Many of us have given up on expecting more than what we already have from God.

If this describes you, here are a few simple things you can do this New Year to jump-start your faith again.

Jump-start your faith

1. Remind yourself that God’s delay is not His denial. He has set an appointed time for every promise that you believe Him for to be fulfilled. Notice I said believe Him for. All of God’s promises are yes and so be it. But the only way to receive them is to believe that His promises are yours, even though you can’t see them at this moment. Keep on believing and expecting, for the best is yet to come!

2. Guard your spirit from hopelessness and discouragement. As your born again spirit goes, so goes your destiny. God starts and finishes all of His works in your life inside your spirit. Unfortunately, most of us pay very little attention to what goes on in our spirit. Proverbs 4:23 says (I am paraphrasing): “if you don’t guard with all diligence what enters your spirit, it will hinder how much God is able to work His miracle power in your life.”

Jesus said the gates of hell will not prevail against you. God has your blessing in storage, waiting for you to receive it. God’s promise this New Year is: “You’re going to get it back!”

Allowing seeds of hopelessness and discouragement to enter your spirit-man (or spirit-woman) will weaken you and hinder what God wants to do in you. As your spirit goes, so goes your life. The enemy is always looking to sow fear, hopelessness and discouragement into your spirit. In this New Year, make it your priority to guard your spirit by being aware of what you and other people are sowing into it. Remember, as your spirit goes so goes your life.

3. Refuse to write off your losses. When David was watching his father’s sheep, a lion attacked the flock and carried off one of the lambs in his mouth. David went after the lion (1 Samuel 17:35). He didn’t just say, “Oh well, that lion probably has torn the lamb to shreds. It’s too late.”

God is for you!

Yes, it’s Satan’s intention to steal, kill and destroy, but God held the lion’s mouth closed so David was able to kill him and rescue the lamb. Just because it’s out of your sight and in the lion’s mouth doesn’t mean it’s lost!

Jesus said the gates of hell will not prevail against you. That means God has your blessing in storage, waiting for you to receive it. God’s promise is: “You’re going to get it back!”

Some of you will get a job restored or a marriage renewed. Some will get a chance to go back to school. For others, your children will be set free from the enemy’s grip.

Two things to remember

First, one chapter of your life doesn’t write your whole story. The best is still yet to come!

Second, THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THE BAD NEWS IS WRONG!

Keep pursuing God’s promises for your life. You won’t be disappointed, and you will recover all.…

Baby believing God

What are you believing for?

Years ago, someone asked me, “How are you doing?” My answer and their subsequent response changed my life forever. I said, “Oh, I’m hanging on.” Their response was, “Don’t just hang on. Stand on the promises of God!” I suddenly realized that my faith wasn’t secure in any foundation. I didn’t know specifically what I was believing God for.

Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him.” Faith must be strongly founded on something to work. That foundation is our belief, trust and hope in God’s promises for our lives. God’s promises (His word made real to us) are always “yes and so be it (2 Cor. 1:20).” God’s promises don’t work just sometimes, or if you do everything perfect and right in His eyes. They shout “Yes and amen!” all of the time because His love is unconditional. No strings attached.

I find that even most Christians are skeptical about God loving them unconditionally. Why? Because it’s spiritually discerned, not naturally. They doubt His promises to them because they lack the solid foundation of belief necessary for their faith to work.

He doesn’t do anything outside of your faith. And your faith is not operating if you don’t believe God for a specific promise that He revealed to you in His word. In fact, He commands us to remind Him of His promises, giving Him no rest (Isaiah 62:7).

The reason I responded to “How are you doing?” with “Oh, I’m hanging on” is because:

  1. I didn’t know God’s promises to me regarding my present circumstance or condition.
  2. I wasn’t convinced that God loved me unconditionally. The people in the church I attended loved one another conditionally. They declared Jesus Christ, but they were judgmental, critical and performance-oriented. So that’s how I perceived God’s love for me.
  3. I lacked the assurance that says If God said it, I believe it and that settles it for me! Like many of us, I had no foundation for my faith to work from. Yes, I was praising God, shouting with the best of them, but I wasn’t standing on His promises.

Are you just “hanging on” like I was, hoping for something good to happen? Or is your faith built on the strong foundation of belief in God’s promises personally to you? That’s what allows Him to release blessings into your life. Don’t deceive yourself into thinking that just going to church regularly, reading your bible and living the best you can for God will earn His blessing. Many people live their Christian lives like that, hanging on for dear life, hoping God will see their desperation and move on their behalf.

Know your God! He isn’t moved by your circumstances or condition, but only by your faith. Sure, He cares what you go through and He hurts when you hurt. But His method of blessing is through faith that is based on a strong foundation. So the next time someone asks, “How are doing?” your answer should be, “I’m standing on the promises of God!” Then confess what they are. What are you believing God for?…

Lonely woman

Discover the Cure for Loneliness

You don’t have to be single to be lonely. I know quite a few married folk who are extremely lonely. God created each of us for an intimate, personal relationship with Himself first and then with one another. When that doesn’t occur, it brings emptiness inside our spirit, producing feelings of loneliness.

When we spiritually and emotionally connect to our Creator and other humans, we feel fulfilled and whole and are strengthened to handle our problems with greater success. By and large, lonely people don’t handle stress well and are more prone to break down emotionally. They are also more susceptible to depression, suicidal thoughts and sickness. But, married or single, loneliness doesn’t have to be your plight.

Here are some things to help cure loneliness:

  1. Stop looking for another person make you happy and fulfilled. That’s too much pressure for any one person to bear. Look to God. He alone gives true fulfillment, joy and happiness. He will use other people, but He is the source of life and the antidote for loneliness. Many married couples suffer severe loneliness because they look to each other for what only God can supply!
  2. Recognize that you are valuable all by yourself. Too many singles look for affirmation through anyone who’s available. In their quest for acceptance and personal value, they make poor choices in friends and soul mates. Two wounded, unfulfilled individuals don’t make a whole relationship. Quite the contrary!

God wants you to connect with other people. However, you will never conquer feelings of loneliness until you first connect with your creator God and recognize how valuable you are as an individual in Him.

Instead, find your identity in Jesus Christ. Know that when He made you He didn’t make junk. Connect with His plans for you by giving Him access to your heart. That connection comes from reading His word daily and believing what He says about you. For instance, Ephesians 3:20 says: “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” The power that works in us is faith in God’s word. I recommend you search for scriptures that tell you who you are in Christ and all you can accomplish in Him. Philippians 4:19 says: “I can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens me”.

  1. Take the pressure off those you’re relying on to fill your void. Release them right now and place your eyes, trust and hope in God.
  2. Take inventory and count your blessings. Too often, we focus on what we don’t have, instead of what we do have. Taking inventory of all God has given you will make you realize how much He loves you.
  3. Finally, take dominion over your thought life. Loneliness is produced by a series of thoughts about your past, present and future. Don’t let the devil play with your mind. As a man thinks in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23:7). Decide today to make Jesus Lord over your thoughts.

Every time feelings of loneliness overtake you, stop and realize that the problem is in your mind. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the thoughts that are plaguing you. Then, with His help, tear them down and replace them with God’s thoughts (His word).

God wants you to connect with other people. However, you will never conquer feelings of loneliness until you first connect with your creator God and recognize how valuable you are as an individual in Him.…

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