Praying in Tongues The Supernatural at Work in Your Life Today

In one of the churches in the movement I am part of, a divine visitation took place one Sunday morning. The heavens broke open and angelic voices were heard filling the room where the people were worshiping. It was fearful. I remember hearing the tape, and just thanking God for allowing us to hear a glimpse of Heaven.
The Holy Spirit spoke within me, and said, "Every time you speak in tongues, you hear Heaven."
It is a heavenly language.
When Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:2 that we speak to God when we pray in an unknown tongue, that must mean we are speaking God's language. I am not saying that one must speak in other tongues to be heard or understood. Far from it. But there is no question that the Scriptural gift as outlined by Jesus Himself, Paul and others, is given to aid our fellowship with God. Furthermore, it is available for all believers, not a select few.
I was in Italy one time, staying with an Italian family. I don't speak a word of Italian, so it was very hard to converse. Conversation was limited, and as a result the depth of our communion and relationship together was hindered. Language (or lack of it) was the barrier.
Regarding our relationship with Him, God sorted this problem out when He gave tongues to believers. Whereas before we were limited by our natural speech, we now have a spiritual language. God is a Spirit (John 4:24). We need to speak spirit with Him, as well as in our known natural language or languages. Just as you must speak Italian to an Italian, Russian to a Russian and Spanish to someone from Spain, so we must speak spirit to the Spirit.

Praying in Tongues and Speaking in Tongues is a powerful and supernatural way to communicate with God.
You can find out more about the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Biblical teaching about tongues by reading the easy-to-read eBook 'Speaking God's Language' sampler available at http://jesuschrist.co.uk/tongues. Be Blessed.

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Is Speaking in Tongues a Prayer Language?

Many pentecostal churches teach that speaking in tongues is a heavenly language, the "tongues of angels". Is this what the Bible shows? Where does this teaching originate from?
The Greek words used in the New Testament for tongues, when used in relation to speaking, simply meant "language". The Greek "glossa" means "tongue, language," and the verb "laleo" means "to speak", producing the word "glossolalia". This always referred to an earthly or known language.
There is only one verse in the Bible that mentions the tongues of angels. It is 1 Corinthians 13:1(KJV) "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal". Is Paul really saying that he speaks in the tongues of angels? This verse needs to be viewed in context and also in relation to the translation from the Greek. The word that has been translated to "though" when translated and used in over 95% of all other places in the New Testament, has been more correctly translated to "if". Other Versions of the Bible do translate this correctly to "if I spoke in the tongues men and angels".
Regardless of this mistranslation, merely reading the following verses clearly reveal that Paul is speaking rhetorically, as had he been speaking literally he would be boasting that he understood all mysteries and knew everything, which we know is not the case. These verses read 1 Corinthians 13:2-3 "And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing". Paul is emphatically expressing his desire that the people should demonstrate love, generosity and charity, the important fruits of the spirit, because without these everything else becomes void. He is showing that love is the most important characteristic that God's people need to express in all aspects of their lives and their ministries. He is not saying that he really can speak in the tongues of angels and has all knowledge.
Isn't speaking in tongues used to edify ourselves?
It should be noted that all of the gifts of the spirit that God gave were related to building up the church. Evangelism, prophesying, teaching, preaching and speaking in tongues to reach the surrounding nations and rest of the world with the gospel message were all gifts to edify the church.
Paul writes 1 Corinthians 14:4 "He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church". Many preachers use this verse to prove that we should speak in tongues to edify ourselves and build up our faith. Is this what Paul is really saying? If we again look at this verse in context it can be seen that Paul is in fact rebuking the church at Corinth for their misuse of the gift of speaking in tongues, and telling them that it is of no use whatsoever if they speak in tongues and no one around them understands them. He says that prophesying is far more important, as that will build up the church.
1 Corinthians 14:5-7 "I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying. Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine? And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped?"
He continues on to say that they may as well be speaking into the air. 1 Corinthians 14:9 "So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air". These words are far removed from encouraging them to edify themselves? The whole purpose of his message was to encourage them to stop being self-centered and work on doing things that would build up the church.
The Bible makes it clear that speaking in tongues was for the purpose of witnessing to people in their own languages that they could understand and not speaking where no one knew the meaning of the words being spoken. 1 Corinthians 14:11-12 "Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me. Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church".
All Bible references are from the King James Version.

For more information on this topic, please visit http://www.speaking-in-tongues.net Debra Lohrere is the author of Peace, Prophecy and False Fire http://www.lulu.com/content/333221 Her Homepage is http://debra.lohrere.com/home.shtml

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The History of Rosary Beads

The rosary beads date back to the twelfth century when Mary appeared to Saint Dominic. It was during this time that Mary vowed a promise to Dominic that if he spread the rosary's devotions, he would find peace. However, the original rosary held different beads from those of present time.
When the first sets of rosaries were crafted they contained 150 beads. This number mirrors the set of psalms that are contained within the bible. For those who didn't know or have access to the written psalms to pray on a regular basis, they could move through the string of beads and pray to God. This was especially beneficial for individuals who had no way of learning the written language, or blind.
Rosary beads however were not always strung together. The original sets of beads were stones carried in the pocket of an individual, and they would be sorted through as they prayed each prayer. It wouldn't be until much later that the actual beads were strung together.
The first Catholic rosaries were made from objects such a bone and stone. Over the course of time rosaries have evolved and have been crafted from wood, glass, metal, and precious stones. In poorer countries the Catholic rosary beads are usually made from seeds and dried flowers. More often than not the material used to create the rosary bead has some sort of religious significance. Sometimes they are crafted from wood directly from the Holy Land; others are glass beads that contain holy water, or religious relics. The purpose of these specially designed rosaries is to help the devoted bond closer with God. The string that would bind the rosaries together was most commonly made from silk. In recent times metal links have become a more common method of linking together the beads.
What some do not realize is that before the rosary the 'Hail Mary' didn't exist. Rather, the devoted would pray the 'Our Father' on their rosary beads. The prayer stemmed from an introduction of the angel Gabrielle was added just prior to the 'Our Father'. Over time the full prayer was added to the prayers of the rosaries the finalized version we say today coming into play in the sixteenth century. Those devoted that want to glimpse an original set of rosary beads can find one aboard the carrack Mary Rose.
In recent years, rosaries have become a stronger part of the Catholic religion. Originally in the 16th century, Pope St. Pius V made the church approved set of mysteries. However in 2002 Pope John Paul II announced that a new set would be prayed called the Illumines Mysteries. This brought the set to 20 mysteries. October 7 is the day used to celebrate the rosary.
Today we find that the Dominican rosary contains 59 beads. They are divided into ten sections which are called "decades". These beads are crafted with a larger bead used to say the 'Our Father' prayer followed by ten smaller beads used to say the 'Hail Mary'.

Baptism Gifts Now offers religious gifts for different occasions. That includes beautiful Baptism gifts, First Communion gifts, Patron Saint Medals, Religious Medals, Rosaries and our hundreds of other religious related gifts.
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rosary beads

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Psychic Dreams - The Weird Truth About The Spiritual Dreams MOST of Us Will Never Remember

Have you ever had a recurring dream that made no sense....and yet you continued to have it, month after month or even year after year? What does it mean? Is your subconscious desperately trying to tell you something? And if dreams have no real meaning....but are only random firings of neurons in our brains that have no underlying significance, WHY do so many of us have so many of the same dreams, over and over? Even more perplexing? Why do MILLIONS of ordinary people have extraordinary experiences with precognitive dreaming....where things we see in our slumbering minds, come TRUE hours or days or even years later?
Some people believe that everyone has precognitive dreams and that most of us simply don't remember them. As a matter of fact, the psychic dream "counselor" that I use believes that many of us actually have a series of incredible experiences while we sleep that we don't remember when we awake, and that those experiences are truly the gateway into a wonderful world of spiritual truths and exciting inspirations that only a fraction of us will ever know.
Here are a few examples:
1 - Out of body and astral projection experiences. Many psychic practitioners believe that when we sleep, our "true selves" or conciseness is freed from the confines of our physical bodies, and is able to travel freely in unseen spiritual worlds, collecting information, having experiences and actually encountering other people, places and things that become embedded deep in our subconscious.
Believe it or not, as hokey as this may sound to YOU, much of the worlds population believes this as well, as astral projection and the "bardo realms" is a well accepted truth in most Eastern religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism and other spiritual traditions that believe in the attainment of "siddhi's" or psychic and supernatural powers.
2 - Spiritual Visitation Experiences
These happen most frequently to people who have lost a loved one, and are visited by that loved one in spiritual form....often either in deep sleep, or in the weird in between state that happens between light sleep and being fully awake. (often called a hypnogogic state) More than 75% of parents who lose a child at a young age will have this experience. About 50% of men or women who lose a spouse will have this experience as well.
There is also a well known phenomena called "crisis apparitions" or "after death communications" which also takes place in the dream state......and is where someone who has JUST passed away, or only recently crossed over (often with the person dreaming NOT knowing about it yet) will appear in a dreamlike vision to tell you not to worry, that they are "okay" and often to say goodbye.
This happened to ME many years ago, and was the key experience that changed me from a complete skeptic, to a true blue believer, almost overnight. (no pun intended!)
I was visited by a co-worker who lived on the other side of the country, while sleeping... and he told me not to worry, that all was okay, but he came to say goodbye "for now". I learned the next morning he had died suddenly the night before, at roughly the same time. Several weeks later, still not convinced it wasn't a huge coincidence, I spoke to a psychic medium by phone who told me exactly what had happened in the dream, how he had appeared, what he said...and why.....and from that point forward, my life and what I believe has never been the same!
(and now i look forward to my psychic dreams....so I can find out what they REALLY mean later!)

Are you struggling to understand your dreams? Talk to a Gifted Intuitive Dream Counselor HERE.
Discover Your True Life Purpose & The Secret to True Spiritual Freedom.

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Need Magical Herbs? Check Your Cabinets First

Let's start with the Potato. I bet you have some at home. It can be used for image magic, grounding and healing. A Potato can also be used as a poppet. Think how easy it would be to quickly carve a Potato, instead of having to sew a proper poppet.
The Carrot is mostly associated with fertility and lust. Not that surprising when you think about its shape. Almost all roots with phallic shapes have this property. The Carrot was also considered a bane to the most evil of spirits, and was used to repel them.
The properties of Cucumber also include fertility (again the shape), but also chastity and healing. For a fertility spell, keep a Cucumber in your bedroom, and replace it every seven days.
A Tomato can be used for magic workings concerning protection, prosperity and love. When a Tomato is placed on the windowsill, or any other household entrance it keeps evil from entering. Place a large red Tomato on the mantle to bring prosperity into the home. Replace it every three days.
The Onion has properties like protection, exorcism, healing, money, prophetic dreams and lust etc. Combined with Garlic it's said to fend off witches, but who'd want to do that? Take a small white Onion, stick it full of black-headed pins, and place it in a window. This will guard your home against evil.
Since the Leek is used as an onion, it too has protective powers and can be used for exorcism, but it also has love as one of its properties.
Garlic is also used for protection and exorcism, and is featured in almost every vampire story there is (at least the older ones). It can also be used for healing, lust and to avoid theft etc. Eating and carrying Garlic is believed to enhance speed, strength, courage and endurance, and soldiers throughout history have used it for these properties when going into battle.
The Artichoke is said to aid in love and spells to increase sexual desire, and eating Artichokes apparently helps prevent wet dreams and wards off Incubi and Succubi.
There are many, many more vegetables with magical properties. You just have to remember to check the ones you've got. And then there are grains.
Wheat is associated with fertility and money. A sheaf of Wheat represents the divine harvest, and is often found on older peoples' gravestones. It can also represent the long and fruitful life enjoyed by the deceased. In hex signs of the Pennsylvania Dutch farmers, it symbolizes abundance and goodwill. You can also do Wheat Flour divination. First dampen a surface (wood is good), then sprinkle Wheat Flour onto the damp surface while concentrating on your future, then use unfocused eyes to see what patterns show up in the flour.
Rye is connected to love and fidelity. The Swedish expression 'råg i ryggen' (translates to 'Rye in the back') means that you're able to stand up straight, or that you're strong. Some say it comes from the slogan of a bread producer, but I believe it comes from the strong straw of Rye. Ergot, which is a very dangerous fungus, is especially common in Rye. So be careful and check that there isn't any on the Rye you're going to use.
Oats are useful in money and prosperity spells and in harvest rituals. They can be used on the altar in grain form or straw form, and the flour can be used to bake Oat cakes as offerings to the Goddess. Oats symbolize music, and I suppose you've all heard the expression 'sewing your wild oats'.
Barley can be used in love, healing, and protection work. It's thought to be a symbol of rebirth, or perhaps of birth period. Alphitomancy is an ancient method of determining the guilt or innocence of a suspect person by feeding him/her a specially prepared Wheat or Barley loaf or cake. If the person suffers from indigestion, or finds the loaf to be distasteful, this is interpreted as a sign of guilt. To undo a sorcerer's spell, one should eat Barley cakes over which an incantation has been said; but the cakes must be eaten on a Monday or Thursday, and never on Friday.
All of these grains can of course be used to make a corn dolly, although Rye is the favorite. To use one of these in your magic, you don't have to get hold of the grain itself. Most of you probably have some flour or liquor made from the grain at home, and that will do just fine.
The culinary herbs might be the first place you look for a substitute. There are so many culinary herbs and spices with magical properties, so I thought I'd just mention some uses for a few of the more common ones.
Let's start with Parsley. If eaten, Parsley induces lust and promotes fertility. It can also be used for protection. Parsley is also used in cleansing baths and to stop adversity.
Thyme is used for sleep, psychic energy, courage, healing, renewing personal energy, and for warding off negative energy. Thyme is burnt to cleanse spiritual rooms and spaces, as well as to bring good health and courage to the home. It can be placed in a sleeping pillow to help repel nightmares. They say that a place where wild Thyme grows is a particularly powerful energy center.
Cinnamon's properties include: spirituality, success, healing, power, psychic powers, lust, protection and love. When burned as incense, Cinnamon raises high spiritual vibrations, aids in healing, draws money, stimulates psychic powers and produces protective vibrations.
Dill is something we Scandinavians use frequently when cooking. Magically, it can be used for prosperity, protection, luck and lust. It's used in love and protection charms. It's effective at keeping away dark forces and useful for house blessing. Place some seeds in muslin, and hang in the shower to attract women. The scent of Dill is said to stimulate lust.
Basil is used for love, exorcism, prosperity, sympathy, and protection. It dispels confusion, fears and weakness, and drives off hostile spirits.
The lesson here is to take a look in your kitchen cabinets, before you run out and buy something more expensive. There's a good chance that you'll find a substitute there.

Linda Ursin
Soknedal, Norway
Sign up for Linda's introductory herb class 'Herblore 101' now, there's really nothing like it. http://heksebua.com/en/classes/herblore-101.html

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Ra The Sun God of Ancient Egypt

The god Ra was believed to have created every thing on Earth.
Ancient Egyptians thought the sun not only gave light also warmth and expansion.
The sunlight disk in ancient Egypt was seen as the body or eye of Ra.
The ancient Egyptian God Ra, was depicted in various ways. The most well-liked was a man with the head of a hawk with a solar disk on top. Other portrayals were, a man with the head of a beetle, a man with the head of a ram, and also as just a ram, beetle, phoenix, heron, serpent, bull, kitten, and maybe even a lion.
Ancient Egyptians thought Ra journeyed on two boats; Mandjet Early morning motorboat, and also Mesektet nighttime boat.
The people believed this is how the god journeyed between the sky and the underworld.
At night, the Mesketet boat woud take him to the underworld and then journey east for Ra's rebirth.
Ra was reborn each early morning by the sky goddess Nut.
In the fourth dynasty, pharaohs were considered Ra's creations on earth, so they became known as Sons of Ra.
In the fifth dynasty Ra became a national god. The kings made obelisks, solar energy temples as well as pyramids in his deference.
In the First Pyramid Texts, Ra became a significant component in the journey of the pharaoh to the underworld.
Throughout the Middle Kingdom, Ra started to merge with other popular gods of the times. Ra merged with Horus and became Re-Horakhty, this god was believed to lead the sky, the planet, and the underworld. He was portrayed by a falcon or hawk.
During the New Kingdom, the god Amun was the popular god of the time, so this deity was blended with Ra to become Amun-Ra. Amun-Ra was said to carry the prayers and good things of the living with the souls of the dead.
The primary region that worshipped Ra was Heliopolis, where they combined with the neighborhood sun-god Atum.
Atum was a god closely linked with the sun as well as a creator god of the Ennead. Ra as well as Atum were father of the gods as well as pharaohs and also were worshipped all around Egypt.
The Pyramid Texts state that Ra emerged from the waters of Nun as a benben stone. He then spat out Shu , and Tefnut. Tefnut gave birth to Geb and Nut . Nut then gave birth to Osiris, Set, Isis, Nephthys, and Horus.
When Christianity rose up during the Roman Empire, this caused the end to worshipping Ra for ancient Egyptians.

To find out more about Ancient Egypt, like the pyramids, and many gods and goddesses, check out my website http://www.about-ancient-egypt.com

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Ancient Egyptian Mummies

Ancient Egypt mummies were created with the intent of keeping the soul of the individual together for the afterlife. The procedure of mummification took a ton of time and effort. However it was done so the body would not decay in the afterlife.
Priests and Mummification:
Just priests were allowed to make ancient Egypt mummies.
Mummification priests were highly trained, and the ritual aspects of the process were just as very important as the medical methods made use of at the time.
Priests were not permitted to develop mummies in the town temples. As an alternative this ritual process had to be carried out at a Wabet, which was a very clean separated place.
Anubis:
Anubis was the god to worship doctors and healers, and during the procedure of mummification a mask of Anubis was worn by the head priest.
The Egyptians believed that Anubis would lead the priests not just in the ritual but also the surgical part of the mummification.
When ancient Egypt mummies were being produced it was important that the priest did not make any unintentional cuts during the procedure.
Preciseness and a high level of skill were called for, since the Egyptians believed if the body was scarred or ruined, the soul would not know who it was. And if this was ever to take place, the soul would be forced to wander forever.
The Mummification Procedure:
In ancient Egypt, mummies were created in a series of steps.
The first part of the mummification process began with cutting into the left section of the dead pharaoh's abdomen, where the ribs were found.
A special ritual knife was utilized to make the first cut, but after the first cut, all remaining cuts came from a normal knife.
The body organs were than removed from the mid-sections and positioned in special jars canopic jars.
These canopic jars were inscribed with spells and signs to aid the body organs journey back to the body. Only the lungs, liver, intestine, and tummy were kept.
Preserving Mummies:
Ancient Egypt mummies were preserved almost completely each time.
The process began with the brain, which was removed throught the nose of the dead pharaoh, then it was discarded.
A funnel was used to pour resin down the nostrils after the brain was taken out. This helped conserve the head form and prevent any type of collapse.
All of the body parts were kept, and either preserved to stay with the body or given away to family members.
The hearts of the ancient Egypt mummies were never taken out.
The Egyptians thought that the heart was required for Anubis to weigh in the underworld.
The heart needed to be weighed because it directed the soul to where it deserved to go.
Other Steps that Mummies Underwent:
During the final actions of the mummification procedure, spices and natron salt were used to dry out the body and body organs.
A mix of these active ingredients were jam-packed into the body and rubbed into the skin.
Ancient Egypt mummies took time to make, the whole entire process took about two and half months to finish.
Over time the body might dry into leather without decaying, and the priests would continue to rub the spices and salt all over the skin.

To find out more about Ancient Egypt, like the pyramids, and many gods and goddesses, check out my website http://www.about-ancient-egypt.com

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