Before I was a leader here at Lincoln Young Life I was a leader at Swift Creek Middle School. I was once hanging out with the other leaders on that team and we were all going around a circle telling each other what we thought each individual’s spiritual gifts were. When the rotation came to me I was told that my greatest spiritual gift was passion. I really liked that answer. Ultimately because it’s just one of those things I take pride in but also I think she was right. God has blessed me with a passionate heart . To put support to this idea I’m going to ask you guys some questions about me.
Somebody, not a leader, what is my favorite TV show?
-LOST
Favorite movie?
-Lord of the Rings
Maybe a little harder favorite author?
-Stephen King
And maybe much easier favorite band?
-The Dave Matthews Band
Yes! The Dave Matthews Band! See I’m fully aware how annoying I can be about the things that I love but honestly I just don’t care. I love things so much that all I want to do most of every day is share those things with people or spend time with those things.
Usually when I begin to find love for something I just want to know everything about it.
I study it almost.
Take Dave Matthews Band:
I fell immediately in love with the music. And what do you do when you find a band you love? You listen to song after song over and over and over again. Then you would start to listen to the lyrics and memorize them so you could sing along. You’d learn the band members names. Which guitars were used for which songs. Then you would go and see them live! And then you would go see them live 21 more times all across the United States!!!
No?
You’re not like this?
Well for me and especially this music I was captured; fascinated. Fascination is a tool that draws you to dig deeper.
I would listen to the lyrics of the songs and hear lyrics like “bartender please fill my glass for me with the wine you gave JESUS that set him free after three days in the ground.” And I immediately would get excited because he’s singing about Jesus he must be a Christian! That’s awesome!
So from there I would study the man Dave Matthews. Read interviews, books, found out things like he is a big advocate for farmers, he has his own vineyard, he’s from South Africa and “that if there is a God, he’d like to punch him in the face.”
That’s an actual quote from this guy that I put so much admiration in to.
So Christian Dave is actually Agnostic Dave. Which means he neither confirms nor denies the existence of a God.
When someone asked him about God he said: ” I just can’t believe in a God who cares about us, that God is Impossible.
Ya know I get it. I understand why people think that way.When I was your age I thought that same thing.
For Dave his Father died when he was young. His sister was involved in a murder suicide.
You look around at the world. ISIS killed more Christians this week. Some guy decided to shoot Muslims at Chapel Hill. The other week a freshman student at Chiles was killed in a car accident. Your parents argue all the time. Your parents got a divorce. You were rejected. You didn’t make the team. You were told you’re not good enough. Somebody found out a secret about you and now it’s not a secret. Things like this happen. And too often we think God where were you?
If you’ve ever been extra close to me you know that the most profound experience with God in my life was rooted in that question. I was at a young life camp and angrily prayed to God “if you really care about me I need you to show it.”
I find it fascinating that the book that tells us about God actually has those questions in it.
People in this book asked those same questions.
In the Bible there is this awesome story of this woman who takes her most valuable possession, her perfume, and she pours it on Jesus’ feet. Jesus becomes friends with her and her family. And Jesus hears word that her brother is sick in a town called Judea. A few days pass and Jesus decides to go to this town even though not long ago the residents of Judea tried to kill Jesus.
During this time this woman, Mary, her brother dies to his illnesses. By the time Jesus arrived Mary’s brother had been in his tomb for four days. Mary, in her knowledge of the things Jesus had done in the past, asks Jesus of his care? In essence she asks “Where were you before when my brother was sick?” It says in John 11:
32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
35 Jesus wept.
36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
Jesus then steps before the tomb. He asks that it be opened. And he calls for their brother, Lazurus, to “come out!”
4 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
Ya know I don’t find that to be the most incredible part of the story. That Jesus raised a guy from the dead.
For me, it’s that one tiny verse, just two words.
“Jesus wept.”
In Colossians it says “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.”
If you ever want to know the character of God or what God is like, the bible says to look at Jesus.
Jesus, when seeing the sufferings of people, wept.
It is so easy to get caught up in the evil of this word and forget that there is tremendous good.
We get to gather together and just celebrate being kids. There are organizations all over the world raising money and acting upon putting an end to sex trafficking. Somewhere right now in Tallahassee someone is giving up something they own to help the homeless. People are painting beautiful pictures. Writing inspiring songs. Loving those it seems impossible to love.
I need a God who cares about us. And I have exactly that because all around me I can see Jesus.
I have a God who cries for me. I have a God who died for me. I have a God who created the world I live in and I have a God who created me.
Did you know:
[We get 99% of our energy from the sun. The earth is 93million miles from the sun. If we were 92million miles from the sun there would be no life on Earth. If we were 94 million miles from the sun there would be no life on Earth. Different from other planets in our solar system the Earth tilts on is axis at about 23.5 degrees. If it didn’t tilt one side of the earth would face the sun at all times and the earth would get hotter and hotter until there could be no life on earth and the other side that didn’t face the sun would get colder and colder until there could be no life on earth. It tilts because 40% of the gravitational pull comes from the sun and pulls it over one way and 60% of the gravitational pull comes from the moon. Without the moon, no life on earth. Scientists believe the moon was an asteroid floating through space that to put in in the simplest terms decided “this looks like a good spot.”
We can talk about the precision of hydrogen of oxygen, light, temperature, tides. All of these super precise things that add up perfectly to human life on earth. Just one of those things being a smidge different would mean no life on Earth.
-Everything is Spiritual]
A God who doesn’t care about us, and I’m sorry Dave Matthews, is IMPOSSIBLE.
Without Jesus maybe it’s difficult to see that. It’s why I NEED Jesus. He’s the proof that God cares about us. Because he’s the visible image of the invisible God. He’s the visible image that God completely and abundantly…cares.
One of my favorite things Jesus every said (and maybe it seems grim at first) but he said, “In this world you will have troubles…” The promise of being a Christian or person on this earth is not an easy life. Jesus said we will have troubles. But he also said DO NOT FEAR for I have overcome the world.
The visible image
of the invisible God.
Jesus wept.
DevonBailey.com 
Amen, brother!! 🙏😄
We would be fast friends. I love Jesus too, and I’ve seen Dave 21 times too.
22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV)
lol I read your article about Dave back in 2012 and here you are still talking about him. I love Dave as well. He was my idol all through high school and into half my adult life, until I actually realized that I was worshiping him. I had every album, live cd, rare album, ep, artifact and poster. Some people prided themselves because they owned the BTCS vinyl. I would laugh. “HA!” scoff in a Carlson tone and present the “Too Much / Jimi Thing VINYL 45 Dave Matthews Band rare promo single 7″ record” I later sold it on ebay for $450. Dave was my drug before drugs. I quit listening to him for a while but he will always be what music means to me. He is the reason why I play guitar. I played in a worship band at my church for years. Nobody knew me and the drummer were having a secret Dave concert every sunday and wednesday. People thought our alter call music was a gift from God when it was actually (insert any slow amazing Dave song). People thought I was a amazing because I could play every Dave song exactly like him and even Tim’s Stream. (It was only because I practiced it for 6 hours a day) I swear my friend (the drumer) was an incarnation of Carter. He was also an amazing bass player. Took lessons from Reggie Wooten (Vic’s brother) It was pretty bad. He moved on from church to play opening sets for John Mayer, Counting Crow’s, played many tours with “Big & Rich” and I went on to be a loser. (Well, continued to be)
I found my “jimi thing”. Dave introduced me to the “war on drugs” I got so confused as to why psychedelics like MDMA, Cannabis, Psilocyben, ect. could cure cancer and PTSD, Epilepsy, relieve pain, and also the fact that you could remove the psychoactive chemical THC from cannabis and cure people without them even getting high. I didn’t understand why God even made these things if He was supposed to be our healer and spiritual dependence (void filler). I eventually got into all kinds of drugs and altered states. I was very into DMT, shrooms, John Allegro, Rick Strassman, Terrance Mckenna, all religions. I was there supporting Amber Lyon when reset.me launched… Meditation, yoga, growing cannabis ect.. every “spiritual” thing you can think of. For years. I had read every book. I didn’t even trust anyone and learned to make all the drugs on my own except for things like LSD and MDMA but I knew how to test that stuff well.
I have since studied a lot of the bible and have realized through experience that the Holy Spirit is who controls your pineal gland and it’s nothing like DMT. I still am completely against the war on drugs and a huge supporter of illegal drugs to be used in the medical world and replace the pharma poison out there today. It’s all the same sorcery anyway. However I can already see this as a tool Satan will be using to bring in the 5th age. People will worship the mind, and altered states of consciousness. They will bow down to Mother Nature and Transhuminism. The undue prominence of marriage between them. Just like Gen 6.
If you ever have any crazy tough bible questions, throw em at me. I use to think Lucifer was the real God and hated the “God of the old testament” till I started studying the bible along with the original greek and hebrew. The book “drunk with blood” messed me up for a long time. Although I know God did not choose the path I went down, it has actually been amazing because now I can answer many questions and relate to agnostics and people who are falling for the new coming 5th age of deception. The psychedelic, shamanism, familiar spirits, healing, meditation ect.
“familiar spirits” It’s not hard to meet them. They are demons. I learned later after I truly “woke up” that the bible as plenty to say about them. What you are seeing is very real. It is not a projection of your mind but a glimpse of the spirit realm, which is way more real than ours. It can be the most beautiful and awakening thing you have ever experienced but we were not designed to enter into that realm through the altering of our consciousness. All of that is unnatural and is all idol worship in reality.
You are fooled into worshiping the created instead of the creator. When you open your mind up in this way, you will meet familiar spirits.
2 Cor 11:14 – For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.
Leviticus 19:31 – Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I [am] the LORD your God.
Isaiah 8:19 – And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?
Isaiah 19:3 – And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.
2 Chronicles 33:6 – And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
Leviticus 20:6 – And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.
Revelation 22:15 – For without [are] dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
This is just a small example of areas in the bible talking about this.
The Hebrew word for Familiar spirits is “owb” – a mumble as from water skin because of its hallow sound; a bottle; a necromancer or ventriloquist. Translated “bottles” in (Job 32:19); and “familiar spirits” in (Lev 19:31; 21:6; 23:24; 1 Chor 10:13; 2 Chron 33:6; Isa 8:19; 19:3; 29:4). These are demon spirits possessing mediums – those who give their will to them, to imitate dead human beings, make predictions, promote doctrines, ect. (1 Tim 4:1-7). We have clear examples in Scripture. In 1 Sam 28 it seems that Samuel actually appeared to Saul, but in 1 Chron 10:13 it is clear that it was a familiar spirit imitating Samuel which appeared. The girl of Acts 16:16 had a spirit of python. It is said that persons under the operation of this demon would become swollen and give answers in a frenzied state of mind. Counterfeit demonstrations were made by ventriloquists, as suggested here, using bottles or large water skin.
Luke 12:29 elaborates on this. “seek not ye what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of a doubtful mind. The greek word used is “meteorize” – to raise in mid-air, suspend, fluctuate, be anxious, or be carried about as meteors moved about with the currents, tossed up and down between hope and fear. The rebuke concerns the heathen who superstitiously seek guidance by meteors, planets, signs of the zodiac and all the magic and whitchcraft and traffic with demons in the name of astrology, shamans, ect..
Acts 16:16 The girl with the spirit of divination in the greek is spirit of python or Apollo, Pytho was, according to the fable, a huge serpent that had an oracle on Mt. Parnassus, famous for predicting future events. Apollo slew this serpent and was called Pythius becoming celebrated as the foreteller of events. It was believed that all who pretended to foretell events were influenced by the spirit of Apollo Pythius. A priestess at his temple was called Pythoness. Through her, messages were delivered.
Satan has no power except through using humans who yield to him. Satan has to use our power because he has none. Christ took it away on the cross.
2 Cor 2:11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
Casting spells on someone is very real. It is call brainwashing and mind control. That is used through, music, tv, books, wrong friends who are spell bound and inadvertently infect you, ect.
The greek word used here is “numa” which means thoughts, imaginations, perceptions ect… in other words, Mind Kontrolle. Which is what quantum physics explains to us as “superposition” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_superposition
It is amazing how the bible tells you exactly how to defeat Satan and win at life and then quantum physics comes along and proves it. There is no choice in life that is not premeditated unless it is through trauma.
So why did I choose bad? Because I was immersing myself in the wrong things. Even though Dave seemed harmless, I was not mature enough yet to break the spell I had fallen into. Which is how you get blinded by the enemy. Luckily, God has designed us to overcome.
Every bit of this started back in Genesis 4:26.
If you ever have any bible verses or contradictions that you just can’t answer, try me. I would love to see if I can help. I’ve probably had the same question at some point.
Ecc 1:9
What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
Alice in Wonderland is pure evil and its roots are ritual abuse.