Tag Archives: psychologists

Paranormal Activity in the Bible

Posted on October 24, 2022 by expressyourself4him

While Paranormal Activity was a 2007 horror film, there have been several cable television spin offs based upon personal experiences with the spiritual realm, Ephesians 6:12. One of these newer shows is entitled Fact of Fiction where two different teams are sent to research and personally experience specific locations around the globe. While science has proven many to be coincidences or hoaxes, certain paranormal activity has been confirmed.

And when from a distance he saw Jesus, he ran and fell on his knees before Him in homage, 7 And crying out with a loud voice, he said, What have You to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? [What is there in common between us?] I [f]solemnly implore you by God, do not begin to torment me! 8 For Jesus was commanding, Come out of the man, you unclean spirit! 9 And He asked him, What is your name? He replied, My name is Legion, for we are many. 10 And he kept begging Him urgently not to send them [himself and the other demons] away out of that region. 11 Now a great herd of hogs was grazing there on the hillside. 12 And the demons begged Him, saying, Send us to the hogs, that we may go into them! 13 So He gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out [of the man] and entered into the hogs; and the herd, numbering about 2,000, rushed headlong down the steep slope into the sea and were drowned in the sea, Mark 5:6-13.

The Bible is filled with Paranormal accounts in both the Old and New Testament. One of the most intriguing cases is a man possessed by two thousand different demons. One of these demons caused this man to regularly cut himself, similar to the Self-Injury/Cutting phenomena that I came in contact with as a high school teacher. While psychologists still treat this condition today, do any attribute this to demonic influences?

Soon afterward, [Jesus] went on through towns and villages, preaching and bringing the good news (the Gospel) of the kingdom of God. And the Twelve [apostles] were with Him, 2 And also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had been expelled; Luke 8:1-2.

There are other encounters in the Bible when Jesus tried to confront demons. Jesus discovered that some of these demons caused elliptic seizures, a loss of body control, and stuttering. Other spirits were attributed to various diseases, illnesses, and medical conditions. While I have met a Christian author who has devoted his ministry to examining the role demons play in paranormal activity, demonology is still one of those topics most Christians shy away from. May today’s blog open your heart to what’s really behind modern paranormal activity.

by Jay Mankus

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When Something’s Gotta Give

Posted on February 1, 2018 by expressyourself4him

Depending upon where you reside, you might come in contact with individuals who exhibit alarming qualities.  Some people go through life pretending to possess certain beliefs, principles and virtues.  Unfortunately, these qualities are rarely demonstrated, cheap words void of action, behavior or any semblance of consistency.  To successfully confront these type of people, you have to speak in hypothetical terms.  Like a client during a session with a psychologist claiming they have a friend who has an issue, when in reality they are the person in the story.  Thus, you have to carefully approach certain situations in question with kid gloves.

David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die!  He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”  Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul, 2 Samuel 12:5-7.

This is the strategy the prophet Nathan takes in the passage above.  Nathan knew King David, a former shepherd, would respond to injustice committed against one of his previous occupations.  This story spoke to David, enraged by what the awful outcome.  Like a fisherman using the perfect bait for a specific fish, David bought the hypothetical analogy hook, line and sinker.  The illustration uncovered David’s act adultery with Bathsheba, the killing of her husband and eventual marriage.  When truth reveals the darkness of sin, something’s gotta give.

But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him, John 11:10.

As more and more people grow up without attending church, this upcoming generation uses the amoral excuse, not knowing right from wrong.  The Bible uses darkness or night as imagery to explain illustrate those who attempt to avoid following or live by rules in this life.  However, you can only be amoral for so long, Romans 1:2o.  According to the apostle Paul, there are countless invisible qualities that daily reflect the presence of God.  These signs like a sunrise, sunset or rainbow shine light into the darkness of this world.  Sooner or later, God will send someone into your life to challenge, convict or inspire you to come clean by confessing previous transgressions.  The next time light magnifies a blatant flaw in your life, something’s gotta give.  When it does, choose repentance over rebellion.

by Jay Mankus

 

 

 

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Worn

Posted on May 26, 2017 by expressyourself4him

Frayed, ragged, shabby and tattered are synonyms for worn.  While most people will visualize a physical condition, there are other ways to become worn.  Counselors, psychologists and therapists can become emotionally overwhelmed by a patients life.  Meanwhile, clergy, pastors and spiritual leaders may be shaken by the problems of their flock.

“Man is also chastened with pain upon his bed, and with continual strife in his bones;” Job 33:19.

When disease, illness or sickness strike individuals, just getting up for a moment can make someone exhausted.  Depending upon the severity of a condition, physically features may be altered.  Without a cure or medicine to improve, bodies will continue to deteriorate.  In the passage below, time has a way of wasting away bodies.

His flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen; and his bones which were not seen stick out, Job 33:21.

Currently, I find myself in a different state of worn.  One that involves a loss of energy, passion and vigor for life.  Trying to keep any type of positive momentum is a grind.  Thus, I struggle to experience joy in this life.  Perhaps I need to remember the words of the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 12 embracing my weakness so that Christ may be strong.

by Jay Mankus

 

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Empty

Posted on August 14, 2015 by expressyourself4him

Air Supply, a popular soft rock group from Australia was in its prime during the 1980’s.  One of Air Supply’s greatest albums, Love in Love featured three classic songs which made the top 100 billboard charts.  The highest, All Out Of Love, reached number two in the early 1980’s.  After reading through the lyrics, this song refers to an individual who is tapped out, unable to muster the strength necessary to love.  Essentially, this soul is empty.

I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the Lord, who does all these things, Isaiah 45:7.

This week I attended a Wilmington Blue Rocks game, a local Class A minor league affiliate of the Kansas City Royals.  My sister’s company usually rents out one of the boxes or suites so I enjoy spending the night with family.  However, on this particular night the ballpark was empty.  While the full capacity is over 2000, there might have been two hundred people sitting in the stands.  Normally, the heat of summer would be an excuse, except it was 80 degrees with little to no humidity.  Either people are too busy, don’t have the extra money to spend or are simply empty, losing their love for America’s summer pastime.

But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint, Isaiah 40:31.

Baseball is not the only thing in life people have grown cold toward.  The stress to provide for your family, struggle to fit in and the worries of each day can suck the life out of individuals.  Thus, people like me endure periods of feeling numb.  Though psychologists may call this depression, I think sometimes in life, people need to sort things out on their own.  When the malaise ends, you can snap out of it.  However, don’t be surprised when someone you love is quiet for a while until emptiness is replaced by joy.

by Jay Mankus

 

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What Is Causing So Many To Pull the Trigger?

Posted on July 27, 2015 by expressyourself4him

In the hours following the latest mass shooting, it’s hard to believe that Thursday night’s tragedy at a Lafayette, Louisiana movie theater is becoming a normal occurrence.  Although the scene may vary between a business, mall or school, the outcome is the same, leaving behind a trail of death, injuries and scarred souls.  These weekly acts make me wonder “what’s causing these individual’s to pull the trigger?”

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them, 1 John 2:15.

The alarmist might blame this on Shoot Em Up Video games.  Psychologists may point toward stress, troubled emotions or unsettled issues from the past.  Preachers will likely reference a culture turning away from God, a sign of the end of days.  Yet, something inside of me thinks demons are preying on vulnerable hearts and minds searching for a way to take out their frustrations on a life that hasn’t turned out the way they hoped.

For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world, 1 John 2:16.

Though no one will know the actual answer until this is revealed in heaven or on Judgement Day, it’s difficult for me not to overlook powers of darkness.  Cain killed his brother over jealousy.  David planned the death of Uriah out of lust for a married woman.  Judas Iscariot committed suicide brought on by guilt.  If all this happened in the past, why isn’t it logical to believe that spirits are planting seeds of evil inside human beings.  While not every situation is the Devil’s fault, fleshly desires, pride and worldly influences all play a role in causing individual to exercise free will by pulling the trigger.

The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever, 1 John 2:17.

by Jay Mankus

 

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From the Penthouse to the Manager

Posted on December 18, 2014 by expressyourself4him

Money has  a way of influencing how people behave.  The term affluenza is a socially transmitted condition of overload, causing individuals to always want more without experiencing any sort of satisfaction.  After a teenage driver killed 4 people while driving drunk in Texas, psychologist Dick Miller appeared as an expert eye witness, claiming affluenza kept this boy from comprehending the full consequence of his actions.  When money is unable to purchase the life or in this case the verdict you desire, people go from the penthouse to the manager overnight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT1i3MlOAWA

The manger in the Bible is similar to a feeding trough, made out of wood.  As the census draw near, the only housing Joseph could afford was a barn, filled with animals.  Despite this lowly scene, visitors would soon arrive to see the One was left the Penthouses of heaven for a manger.  While 3 magi, experts in the star continued their journey, shepherds of the fields greeted a new born babe.  This experience strengthened their faith as God’s 400 years of silence finally ended.

Before I found my way in life, I lived in the cellar of my sister’s inner city home, sleeping on a couch.  Working 6 months to make what I do now in one pay check, I was forced to develop a keen faith.  With money and power absent from this equation, I started a journey similar to that of the Magi.  However, I wasn’t following a star that I could see.  Rather, I began to rely on an unseen Spirit, Galatians 5:25, leading me one step closer to where I am today.  Nonetheless, I long for the day when this trek will be made complete, John 14:2-4, going in reverse from the manger to a penthouse in heaven.

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life, 1 John 5:13.

by Jay Mankus

 

 

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Faith Like a Yo-Yo

Posted on May 21, 2013 by expressyourself4him

The 2008 film Faith Like Potatoes reveals the inspiring true story of Angus Buchan.  Prior to his move to South Africa, Angus was a farmer with a hot temper.  However, when God intervenes using a few unlikely friendships, Angus begins a journey of faith.  Irrational at times, Angus follows a calling to plant potatoes, risking the future of his farm in one desperate attempt to make an honest living.

Of the 11 million Americans who are currently unemployed based upon the April 2013 Job’s Report, 4.4 million have been out of work for over 27 weeks.  When the fruits of your labor come back empty, faith is something you put to the curb, set to be recycled until good news returns.  Thus, faith is like a yo-yo whose string has broke, leaving behind a plastic wheel without the resources to accomplish its original purpose.

Psychologists often  refer to 7 signs of emotional melt downs.  These signals point to people who have or are about to reach their breaking point, where their faith string is about the snap.  The tension of experiencing consistent ups and downs place undue strain, pulling at the fibers of one’s soul.  Therefore, the next time you want to throw in the towel or raise the white flag, remember the words of Matthew 15:21-28 so that your faith will climb from the bottom to the top like a yo-yo!

by Jay Mankus

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Under the Power of the Devil

Posted on May 11, 2013 by expressyourself4him

An addiction starts off as a habit which can lead to an obsession, causing individuals to fall prey to compulsions and cravings.  Such behavior can develop into sinful patterns, tendencies that slowly become the norm for one’s life.  While psychologists may narrow in on a few possibilities, Luke has another explanation in Acts 10:38.  In his day, many souls were clearly under the power of the devil.

Based upon the accounts within the 4 gospels, demons and or spirits can attribute to various medical issues.  Beside the obvious, demon possession, like the case in Matthew 15:22, spirits can influence hearing, movement and speech, Matthew 8:16, Mark 9:17-18 and Luke 13:11.  Although I am not an expert; nor did not spend the night at a Holiday Inn Express, yet I do believe there is a correlation between good health and being under the power of the devil.

Some where between fiction and reality lies the spiritual realm.  While unseen, Ephesians 6:12 mentions a place where dark and supernatural powers exist.  Author Frank Peretti has used a series of novels: This Present Darkness, Piercing the Darkness and The Oath to illustrate this mystery.  Though fiction, no one has been able to capture this spiritual dimension like Peretti.  Therefore, if you have tried everything in your power to resolve your current problem like the disciples in Matthew 9:19, rely on prayer to free you from the power of the devil, Matthew 9:29.

by Jay Mankus

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