In the 21st Century, many of us have forgotten or do not want to dwell on the fact that there is a spiritual realm just as real as the physical realm. We live through our natural eyes, ears and the senses of taste, touch and smell. We rarely if ever pay attention to the spiritual unless there is a spiritual awakening to seek after God. In addition, there is great spiritual blindness even among those who claim to be spiritual.

I say this primarily because of the reign of the spirit of murder among and in us. If we look at the world today, there is such great violence against humanity, against the innocent, against the helpless, against each one of us – such violence that it rips out your heart. Weeping and tears fill our world as the blood flows. We see such devastation in the name of power, religion, politics- just plain evil.

I understand that the beliefs and convictions of many vary from region to region but there is one common denominator- we are humans. And as humans, we are driven by the same desires of love, hope and faith. We may ultimately have different ways of expressing these, but human kindness and love, compassion and hope, faith in the hope that we can live in peace and see our families grow is a common denominator all of us- sometimes even the worst of us.

Reflecting on the words of Jesus in Matt 5:21-25 (NET Bible) –“You have heard that it was said to an older generation, ‘Do not murder,’ and ‘whoever murders will be subjected to judgment.’ But I say to you that anyone who is angry with a brother will be subjected to judgment. And whoever insults a brother will be brought before the council, and whoever says ‘Fool’ will be sent to fiery hell. So then, if you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother and then come and present your gift. Reach agreement quickly with your accuser while on the way to court, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the warden, and you will be thrown into prison. I tell you the truth, you will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny!

This scripture clearly indicates where murder originates… IN OUR HEARTS. The fire of murder is stoked by our perception of the world around us, by perceived wrongs, by anger and it is all the ammunition that the spirit of murder requires to take root. When Cain was angry at Abel, God told him in Gen 4:6 (NET Bible)- Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why is your expression downcast? Is it not true that if you do what is right, you will be fine? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. It desires to dominate you, but you must subdue it.”

Anger provides an entrance to a spirit that seeks blood. It requires a blood sacrifice for appeasement. Many times throughout the ancient world, we see the ancients perform blood sacrifices to appease the gods- even to the sacrifice of their own children. In our modern world, we sometimes balk at this apparently ignorant and foolish act and tell ourselves that we know better.

But the human heart remains vulnerable to these spirits whether we live in the ancient world or in modern times. We see the murders in war and are horrified. We see the genocides, homicides and honor killings and ask ourselves- what really defines us to commit these acts? For those walking in a spiritual fog- we can somehow rationalize that they need to be awakened to understand the monstrosity of their actions.

But we also we see it among the very people who say they are spiritually awakened. Among those who say they follow Christ. If we do not take heed to the words of the Master, we fall prey to the very spirit that rules those who do not follow the Master.

To whom much is given- much is required. Jesus instructs us as to why we need to pay attention to the condition of our heart- Matt 5:13-16 (NET Bible)- “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its flavor, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled on by people. You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill cannot be hidden. People do not light a lamp and put it under a basket but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good deeds and give honor to your Father in heaven.

If we are the salt of the world- we season, we flavor, we succinctly change the nature of the those around us by being different. But if we harbor the same attitudes, the same strongholds of those around us and if we nurture hate and anger in our hearts to commit spiritual murder of our brethren- then we have certainly lost our savor.

Change begins at  heart of those whose destiny is to change others so that they can be spiritually awakened. But if we continue to harbor the spirit of murder- continually defend it and secretly feed it- then the monster will show itself and has shown itself. Everyday, we have to deal with the spirit of murder. We long for deliverance, to escape the onslaught of the spirits of this world. LET US REMEMBER THIS- FOR DELIVERANCE TO COME- WE NEED TO CAST OUT THE SPIRIT OF MURDER IN OUR LIVES. Jesus has pointed out how to do this- He gives us a roadmap.

1. The Lord’s prayer specifically tells ” Forgive me as I forgive those who sin against me”Matt 6:12 (Deal with it the heart first)
2. Then follow through “go and be reconciled to your brother ” Matt 5:24 (Be proactive- seek to make things right. Don’t let it sit and fester. Doing nothing brings about corruption of the mind.
3. “Reach an agreement” Matt 5:24- If we have to humble ourselves in order for reconciliation to suck out the poison of anger- then we have to do it. We cannot allow the toxins of hate and unforgiveness to permeate our heart. Whatever the offence- it is not worth losing the ability to be the “salt of the earth”
4. Fasting and prayer- this is certainly intended to de-tox our spirits.
5. Use the sword of the Spirit- Eph 6- which really is two edged- the word of God and praying in the Spirit. We need to fight! Not with carnal weapons but with the weapons God has given us and they are certainly different from our natural understanding. DIFFERENT is the key word.

Let us seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and learn the methods of warfare against the kingdom of darkness. It is not a physical thing that we can use our five senses to fight. The war we fight is a spiritual war requiring spiritual weapons. Let us deal with the spirit of murder first in our lives, and then around us- ONLY THEN will we experience true deliverance.

My oh my. How the plot has thickened in the presidential race and the true colors of those who run this country has been revealed. While the politics of evil has been masked in sweet words and rhetoric aimed at blinding the eyes of the masses by spinning story after story, headline after headline  that the truth cannot seem to rise up- the real story has finally emerged. It is not about Donald Trump so much as the waves of attacks and the criticism of him and his followers that is the real story.

So much time is spent on stopping this man -it makes you wonder ….REALLY? Are the American people so easily beguiled that they will fall for any conman? The problem is that the elite and those in government has conned the population so long that it is incomprehensible that someone else should speak the truth. The coup d’etat of the outsider is feared so much that those in power will do anything. Now Mr. Cruz- the pretender, supposedly a champion for the downcast,  cannot seem to dust off himself the fact that he is in league with those he has condemned and railed against- a mark of a hypocrite I think- where the end justifies the means. Ah and Mr. Kasich- how he is hoping that the stage will not implode beneath his feet. Both aiming now for the GOP elite to pick them at the convention. Cruz, Kasich platform- another loser combo being proposed by the GOP establishment.

In the days to come, we shall soon see the true colors of they that run this country. They seem to be shouting out- “Hey you minions of America- you think you have a say but you don’t. You think you have a right to rule this country- you don’t. Do you not realize that the American Republic has long ago been hijacked by those who rule – the moneyed bigwigs? You cannot and will not ever be able to have  say.  We will have our way and guess what minions- you lose again.”

They continue to taunt us. They continue to wage war on our minds. They continue to bleed us in every way possible. But America will break free one last time. In the year of Jubilee, 2016, the slaves of politics, mind control and evil marketing, will be freed and mercy will rain down on us. We have been in bondage too long. Deliverance in one form or the other will come. It just has too.