Adventures in Denver: Elijah's Birfday Plans

Sunday, July 08, 2007

Elijah's Birfday Plans

Hello, All!

For those of you who may not know, Elijah is turning 3 years old this Friday, July 13th. And so, in honor of the little rascal, we are having a little party on Saturday, July 14th at noon. It will be extremely fun for him, and everyone else will get to enjoy pizza and cake and watch a very entertaining three year old all hopped up on lots of sugar.

The party will be in Lawrence at our apartment, so if anyone can make it and needs directions please e-mail me or if you happen to run into my mom or sister they also know our address. Ooh, also please leave a comment that you are able to come or send me an e-mail so that I know how much food is needed. (on a side note...we fixed the comment box so you don't have to register but it still can seem a little complicated because it asks you to sign in using your google account, but for those without a google account all you have to do is choose the circle marked 'other' and type your message in the box and then type your name in the name space and that's it.) So anyway, we hope to get to see everyone, but understand if you can't make it. :)

Also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to all who have July birthdays! (aunts and uncles and Will and dad and my crafty friend, Larissa's, son Donovan who just turned one today) Yay for birthdays.

3 comments:

Kristen said...: Count us three in, although Julienne will have neither pizza nor cake. :); 8:38 AM, July 09, 2007
Anonymous said...: hey, decided to take a look at this and lucky thing too! of course, we'll be there. all three of us. and Elijah looks really sharp in that picture!; 10:24 AM, July 09, 2007
Anonymous said...: What a handsome little guy, We can't wait to come for Elijah's Birthday. Tell him we will be there. xxx ooo; 9:26 PM, July 09, 2007

Coming to a Place of Deception

By Michael Wells

James 1:14, “But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.”

Galatians 5:16-17, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.”

I am starting to believe that people are deceived because there is something in them desiring the deception. First, if Satan has the ability to deceive all men, then all men would be deceived. Obviously he does not have that kind of power. So what does he look for in a man that would allow for a deception? Satan is looking for something in the heart of man where the deception can begin. It would be impossible for Christ to deceive any person, for there is nothing in Christ that the flesh desires. True Christianity cannot deceive, for again, nothing in the flesh wants anything at all to do with Christianity.

Christianity has one message for my flesh: “Move over!” So what is it that makes man’s heart open to deception? I believe it is the desire of a heart that says, “I can be God.” Rephrased, it is the desire of the heart to be independent from God. This is why the Mormon religion is so successful; it is cleverer than the early Catholics who embraced the local gods of the people, or just gave them different names. As you know, many “Catholic” countries are rife with blends of Catholicism and witchcraft. Haiti is an example. However, the Mormons offer something more: man can actually become a god. Man can invite his wife to his celestial kingdom, where she can be eternally pregnant. This “deception” has incredible drawing power to those who have suffered under the hand of their unjust god, or who have served a god all of their lives. After all, who would not want to believe that he could become the one who hands out punishment and receives gifts from others?

Such a person is deceived with a ludicrous teaching, but moving past the cobweb to the spider, we see at the root a heart that says, “I want to be God.” Deceptions all offer the flesh something, and Christ is always taking something away from the flesh. When someone converts to Mormonism, or any of the other “-isms,” I never feel that the Mormons won one while the Christians lost one. Instead, I believe that the person, in believing the deception of Mormonism, actually revealed a heart previously hidden that is anti-Christ. Again, we see that nothing is working against us. God is permitting all the “-isms” for the revelation of hearts. The germ of every cult is this promise of keeping the flesh alive through some kind of God-playing. The amazing thing is that it holds any attraction, when it is so much easier to have a God than to play God.