DEVDAS AND THE GREAT SPIRIT

Many years ago in native America, there was a great Indian chief named Kanuna. He was the husband of a beautiful young woman named Salani. One day the Great Spirit blessed them with a wonderful baby boy. On the seventh day after his birth, Kanuna dedicated the baby to the Great Spirit and called his name Atsadi. His parents were so proud of him. The boy grew up and became a great man that the whole tribe loved, and respected. In adulthood, he became known as Devdas. When chief Kanuna died suddenly, everyone expected Devdas to become chief, but he refused. He chose another great man named Ashwin to take his place as chief. This was not the way of the tribe, but Devdas had known for some time that the Great Spirit had other plans for his life.

Many moons before his father, chief Kanuna died, Atsadi had a dream. In the dream, he saw a man in a white robe walk into his village. The man walked up to him and handed him a small black book and told him that the Great Spirit sent him and wanted Atsadi to share the book with all his people. The very next day, a group of Christians came to the village. They told the tribe about a God who loves everyone and became a man and lived on earth, and sacrificed himself to save the world. When they showed them the Bible, Atsadi knew the Great Spirit had sent the men, and he knew what he had to do. So, instead of preparing to become chief, he chose to follow Jesus and teach his people about him.

Atsadi was baptized in Fox River and became a Christian. He began translating the Bible into his native tongue and teaching his tribe about Jesus. He established a church there and started traveling to neighboring clans preaching and teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. In a few short years, he had planted eight churches and introduced thousands to Jesus, including his friend Ashwin, and chief Kanuna.

It’s amazing how God works to spread the gospel across the world and there are many other stories like this one. I heard one story about an evangelist who went to a large city and preached to large crowds of people night after night for a week. At the end of the week, only one young man accepted Jesus and was baptized. The preacher felt like a failure. In the eyes of many, he was a failure on that trip. But God doesn’t measure success or failure by numbers. That young man went on to become an evangelist himself, and over his lifetime, he led thousands to Jesus. We don’t know exactly what God has planned for our lives, but we do know that he has a plan. All we need to do is follow him, and allow him to use us in his plan.

Many times it may mean changing plans we have laid out for ourselves, or even giving up our dreams. We may have to abandon a long line of tradition like Atsadi did. In Bible times, many people even changed their names when they met God like Atsadi did. By the way, Atsadi means fish. Devdas, the name he embraced as an adult, means Servant of God.

Today, when we commit our lives to following God, we get a new name. We become “Christians” which means “Christ-Like”, or “Like Christ.” The name, in and of itself, doesn’t make us anything. Our commitment to God and the new nature he gives us are what count. As born-again believers, we have our names in the Book of Life, and if we endure until the end, we will live forever with him (Matthew 24:13). That will more than makeup for anything we may have to give up or change.

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THE GHOST IN THE CLOSET

I attended a small country school when I was young. There were eight grades in the two-story, brick building but the basement held the restrooms and the lunchroom and kitchen, supplies, and other miscellaneous things. The second and third grades met in the same room and had the same teacher while the first grade met in a small mobile home that had been converted into a classroom. I was in the first grade at the time.

One day at recess, I saw a couple of kids run from the room screaming. They told me there was a ghost in the closet in the second and third-grade classroom. I didn’t believe them, though. I don’t think I even believed in ghosts then because I had never seen one. They talked me into going into the closet and looking to see for myself. The ceiling of the closet was very high. When the door closed, I looked up like they had told me to. That’s when I saw it. Something large and white was coming down toward me. Naturally, I started screaming and trying to find the doorknob. When I finally got out of there, I ran back downstairs and out of the building, and into my own classroom without ever looking back. I was scared to death.

As I grew older, I heard lots of ghost stories and saw scary movies and TV shows. I had a few more personal experiences of my own and pretty soon, I became very afraid of ghosts.

I remember seeing a strange-looking bug with wings resting on the screen door one night at my aunt’s house. The next day, I happened to notice it again, but this time it was white and wasn’t moving. It was a ghost. That’s what I thought, but after a few more years of experience, I realize that what I thought was the ghost of that bug was only a skin that it had shed.

When I became a Christian and spent more time reading and praying, God revealed many things to me. Many of the “encounters” I had experienced over the years were made clear. Fear can make us imagine all sorts of crazy things. Sometimes what we see is not imaginary but we misinterpret what it is, based on preconceived ideas. Many times, misunderstanding can lead to fear. Remember when the disciples of Jesus were out on the lake in a boat one night and saw Jesus walking on the water? They didn’t know it was him, and they were scared because they thought he was a spirit. That is, an evil spirit.

The Bible teaches that there is no such thing as a ghost. At least, not what we think of as ghosts, like the spirits of dead people. The Bible teaches that when a person dies, they are asleep (John 11:11-14), and they do not know anything (Eccl. 9:5-6; Job 14:12,21). People stop thinking when they die (Ps. 146:4), they will never return to their house again (Job 7:9-10), and they don’t have anything to do with the goings on here on this earth (Eccl. 9:5-6).

If we encounter a “ghost,” it’s not someone who has died. Even if it looks like someone we know who has died, it’s not them. It’s an evil spirit; An evil angel; A demon. All three of these are the same thing, not something different as some people believe. The Bible is full of stories where demons possessed people. They do it today as well. We have to be careful not to entertain demons. In Hebrews 13:2, we are told that many have entertained angels and did not know they were angels. The same is true for the evil angels. The best defense against these demons is to be filled with the Holy Spirit of God. Stay in constant communication with Jesus and read and study his word, the Bible every day. We also need to avoid things that are not pure, such as certain movies, video games, and music. We don’t need to allow things into our minds that make us venerable to demons.

I have had several experiences with demons over the years including one with a Ouija board when I was in my teens. I know demons are real and they do not have our best interest in mind. They want to make us fearful and ultimately destroy us, and they will if we don’t rest in the protective arms of Jesus. So, if you’re not there, beware, and fill your mind with holy things. Remember what God’s word says in 2 Timothy 1:7 and 1 John 4:18. God doesn’t give us a spirit of fear, and God’s perfect love will expel all fear.

Watch these 2 videos about Ghosts and Dead People 

Ghosts And Spooky Spirits 

Are The Dead Really Dead?

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My Blogs
https://teddylynn.blogspot.com
https://teddylynn.wordpress.com

© 2018 Teddy Lynn – All Rights Reserved

My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @ 
https://www.amazon.com/Teddy-Lynn/e/B01MZDB6L6