Demons and Witchcraft in 2007

As we near 2008, witchcraft is still a major concern among african americans. To many this may seem like soemthing you only see in movies, but there actually are many people who still practice witchcraft, voodoo, and other demonic activities.

A Midnight Service Helps African Immigrants Combat Demons
By NEELA BANERJEE of the NYTimes



They sing. They pray fervently. Finally, they kick and shadowbox with what they contend is the real force behind life’s problems: the witches and devils whose curses they believe have ground down their families, towns, entire nations in Africa and that have pursued them to a new country, making it hard to find work, be healthy and survive.

“Some situations you need to address at night, because in the ministry of spiritual warfare, demons, the spirits bewitching people, choose this time to work,” said Nicole Sangamay, 40, who came from Congo in 1998 to study and is a co-pastor of the ministry. “And we pick this time to pray to nullify what they are doing.”

Founded by a Congolese couple, Spiritual Warfare is one of many ministries and congregations in the growing African diaspora in the United States and abroad grappling with witchcraft. In most other churches, Ms. Sangamay said, you could not even raise the issue, let alone pray to combat its effects.

The Spiritual Warfare congregants here said that because their ancestors were not Christians, they were cursed, Africa is cursed and the sins of their fathers are now visited upon all the children.

Ezekiel 18 (King James Version)
King James Version (KJV)
Public Domain



Ezekiel 18
1The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying,

2What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge?

3As I live, saith the Lord GOD, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.

4Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

5But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right,

6And hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbour's wife, neither hath come near to a menstruous woman,

7And hath not oppressed any, but hath restored to the debtor his pledge, hath spoiled none by violence, hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment;

8He that hath not given forth upon usury, neither hath taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity, hath executed true judgment between man and man,

9Hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord GOD.

10If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth the like to any one of these things,

11And that doeth not any of those duties, but even hath eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbour's wife,

12Hath oppressed the poor and needy, hath spoiled by violence, hath not restored the pledge, and hath lifted up his eyes to the idols, hath committed abomination,

13Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him.

14Now, lo, if he beget a son, that seeth all his father's sins which he hath done, and considereth, and doeth not such like,

15That hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, hath not defiled his neighbour's wife,

16Neither hath oppressed any, hath not withholden the pledge, neither hath spoiled by violence, but hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment,

17That hath taken off his hand from the poor, that hath not received usury nor increase, hath executed my judgments, hath walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live.

18As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, spoiled his brother by violence, and did that which is not good among his people, lo, even he shall die in his iniquity.

19Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live.

20The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

21But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.

22All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.

23Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?

24But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.

25Yet ye say, The way of the LORD is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?

26When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.

27Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.

28Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.

29Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the LORD is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal?

30Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.

31Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

32For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.

Mosaic Miami Churches - Bible Verse For The Day - 12-13-07

Prophecy:

"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS."

Jeremiah 23:5-6

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Fulfillment:

"Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

2 Corinthians 5:20-21

Mosaic Miami Church Website

Mosaic Miami Churches - Bible Verses For The Day - 12-12-07

Prophecy:

"He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation."

Psalm 89:26

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Fulfillment:

"All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him."

Matthew 11:27

Mosaic Miami Church Website
Mosaic Miami Church Blog

Mosaic Miami Churches - Bible Verses For The Day - 12-11-07

Prophecy:

"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:"

Jeremiah 31:31

Fulfillment:

And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body. And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it. And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many. Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.

Mark 14:22-25

Miami Churches - Bible Verses For The Day - 12-10-07

Prophecy:

"And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?"

Genesis 18:17-18b

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Fulfillment:

Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

Romans 5:18,19

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For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

1 Timothy 2:5,6

Mosaic Miami Church Website
Mosaic Miami Church Blog

Miami Churches - Bible Verses For The Day 12-9-2007

The Christ would both a King and a Priest
For Unto Us A Child Is Born...

Prophecy Fulfilled in the Person of Jesus of Nazareth

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The Christ (Messiah) would be a prophet...

Prophecy:

"I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. According to all that thou desiredst of the Lord thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.

And the Lord said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken. I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him."

Deuteronomy 18:15-19

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Fulfillment:

"And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee."

Matthew 21:11

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"Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world."

John 6:14

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"And he (Jesus) came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother. And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people."

Luke 7:14-16

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The Christ would both a King and a Priest

Prophecy:

"And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord: Even he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both."

Zechariah 6:12-13

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Fulfillment:

"On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord."

John 12:12-13

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"NOW of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;"

Hebrews 8:1

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Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift: Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God is the object of our faith; the only faith that saves is faith in Him.


Mosaic Miami Church Website
Mosaic Miami Church Blog

What Would Jesus Buy This Christmas?

What Would Jesus Buy? follows Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir as they go on a cross-country mission to save Christmas from the Shopocalypse: the end of mankind from consumerism, over-consumption and the fires of eternal debt!

Source of The Story here

Miami Church Announcements From Shari Sutherland

hey peeps,
for those who read last week,eagle peeps! ha ha!

well,thanksgiving has passed and we are on to the race of christmas...
our first presentation for consideration is...

ADVENT CONSPIRACY- this is an opportunity to fight against the machine of decadence and consumption,which has become the order of the day for the hoildays. at mosaic this week we talked about giving with genorousity relationally and giving the cash other directions. you can check out advent conspiracy if you google it on the web. packets on the back table of mosaic. there is also kiva.com for micro loans and the local sponsoring of micheal and erica's work in the grove called

LIFE GROUP-in the grove is going on studying acts 14 @ luanna,laurie,and andrea's place in the grove.address .730 start time.it's off of carter street. if you need directions call me 3054330163. next week i'll post the address again.great talks we have there!

ATTACHMENTS- for john stiefel trip to egypt and project truth and learning in the grove are following....i really hope! :)

MUSIC SCHOOL- miami music school is going on @ the methodist church across from bayside shopping center downtown @ 2pm. you can still sign up and start. guitar,drums,bass,voice,and piano.free....

WORSHIP PRACTICE- this thursday night @ mosaic w richard from lighthouse @ 7pm.

IAM- international artist movement was last night. but meets again in two weeks @ fox's @ 7ish.


blessings!
shari sutherland

Mosaic Miami Church Website
Mosaic Miami Church Blog

About Suffering

Miami Churches - Bible Verses For The Day - 10-25-07

Freedom from sin... walking in the light
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Galatians 6:7-9 NIV

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(Speaking to the woman caught in the act of adultery)

And Jesus said, "I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more."

Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life."

John 8:11,12 NASB

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For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth.

Ephesians 5:8,9 KJV

_________________

Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift:
Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God
is the object of our faith; the only faith
that saves is faith in Him.

Mosaic Church - Mosaic Community Church Seguin Texas

I found another Mosaic Church today. They are starting everywhere. People are finally realizing the difference between a traditional church and one that follows a path guided by reaching out to nonbelievers and others who have lost interest in tradition. The new mosaic church is located in Seguin, Texas and you can visit this mosaic church blog here.

Below you will find the about me information for this pastor.

Jim Taylor
I pastor an emerging church (Mosaic Community Church) in Seguin, Texas. Mosaic has a vision to live within the creative imagination of God.

As we see it, that means embracing Christ, embracing one another in Community, and embracing the rest of Creation. Nothing gets pushed out except for the resistance of His dream.

We know it's messy, that's life, but there is Good News! God is for us ... Jim pastors a transitional church on its way into a spiritually postmodern world. After eight years of journey, they believe they're on a good path.

Visit Jim's Mosaic Church Blog

Miami Churches - Bible Verses For The Day - 10-22-07

If God is for us, who shall stand against us?
Whoever listens to me will live in safety
and be at ease, without fear of harm.

Proverbs 1:33 NIV

________________

They will no longer be a prey to the nations, and the beasts of the earth will not devour them; but they will live securely, and no one will make them afraid.

I will establish for them a renowned planting place, and they will not again be victims of famine in the land, and they will not endure the insults of the nations anymore.

Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people, declares the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel 34:28-30 NASB

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The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?

The LORD is the strength of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?

When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes,
came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.

Though an host should encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear:
though war should rise against me,
in this will I be confident.

Psalm 27:1-3 KJV

________________

Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift:
Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God
is the object of our faith; the only faith
that saves is faith in Him.

Miami Churches - Too Busy for a Friend...

Too Busy for a Friend...

One day a teacher asked her students to list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name.

Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down.

It took the remainder of the class period to finish their assignment, and as the students left the room, each one handed in the papers.

That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper, and listed what everyone else had said about that individual.

On Monday she gave each student his or her list. Before long, the entire class was smiling. "Really?" she heard whispered. "I never knew that I meant anything to anyone!" and, "I didn't know others liked me so much," were most of the comments.

No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. She never knew if they discussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn't matter. The exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students were happy with themselves and one another. That group of students moved on.

Several years later, one of the students was killed in Vietnam and his teacher attended the funeral of that special student. She had never seen a serviceman in a military coffin before. He looked so handsome, so mature.

The church was packed with his friends. One by one those who loved him took a last walk by the coffin. The teacher was the last one to bless the coffin.

As she stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as pallbearer came up to her. "Were you Mark's math teacher?" he asked. She nodded: "yes." Then he said: "Mark talked about you a lot."

After the funeral, most of Mark's former classmates went together to a luncheon. Mark's mother and father were there, obviously waiting to speak with his teacher.

"We want to show you something," his father said, taking a wallet out of his pocket "They found this on Mark when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it."

Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times. The teacher knew without looking that the papers were the ones on which she had listed all the good things each of Mark's classmates had said about him.

"Thank you so much for doing that," Mark's mother said. "As you can see, Mark treasured it."

All of Mark's former classmates started to gather around. Charlie smiled rather sheepishly and said, "I still have my list. It's in the top drawer of my desk at home."

Chuck's wife said, "Chuck asked me to put his in our wedding album."

"I have mine too," Marilyn said. "It's in my diary"

Then Vicki, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out her wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group. "I carry this with me at all times," Vicki said and without batting an eyelash, she continued: "I think we all saved our lists"

That's when the teacher finally sat down and cried. She cried for Mark and for all his friends who would never see him again.

The density of people in society is so thick that we forget that life will end one day. And we don't know when that one day will be.

So please, tell the people you love and care for, that they are special and important. Tell them, before it is too late.

And One Way To Accomplish This Is: Forward this message on. If you do not send it, you will have, once again passed up the wonderful opportunity to do something nice and beautiful.

If you've received this, it is because someone cares for you and it means there is probably at least someone for whom you care.

If you're "too busy" to take those few minutes right now to forward this message on, would this be the VERY first time you didn't do that little thing that would make a difference in your relationships?

The more people that you send this to, the better you'll be at reaching out to those you care about.

Remember, you reap what you sow. What you put into the lives of others comes back into your own.

May Your Day Be Blessed As Special As You

Miami Churches -Meditation

Weekly Meditation 10/14 - 10/20 The Lord's Servant NLT

Listen to me, all of you in far-off lands!
The LORD called me before my birth;
from within the womb he called me by name.

He made my words of judgment as sharp as a sword.
He has hidden me in the shadow of his hand.
I am like a sharp arrow in his quiver.

He said to me, "You are my servant, Israel,
and you will bring me glory."

Isaiah 49:1-3 NLT