Glamour

Thank you for your prayers.

In the order for Christian baptism
we ask the candidates to renounce
the "glamour of evil."

One of the few places in the Bible that mention
women putting on their makeup
is the story of Jezebel.
Before she was thrown to her death
she painted her face, and put on her eyeliner.
One of the most ancient practices in the world
is the use of kohl
to line a woman's eyes.
It predates civilization.
Lining the eyes
makes them seductive
and intriguing.

Witchcraft gets its first hook in our lives
when we become enticed by it.
Once upon a time
churches banned attending movies
the opera,
and the theatre.
Now many churches show movie clips.

One time I played a game with a friend.
I called it "Seven Deadly Sins."
While we were watching TV
I turned the channel any time
we saw one of the seven deadly sins.
Pride, Lust, Envy . . .
My friend finally told me to stop it.
Constantly changing the channel
was making us sick.

There are a lot of churches
that rely on glamour to keep
bums on seats.
The big screens,
smoke machines,
good looking worship leader,
and slick preacher are not an accident.
This is how you draw a crowd for your show.

This is glamour.

Glamour
is evil.
It is about enticement.
It is about seduction.
And it looks innocent at first,
but glamour is all about manipulation.

Witchcraft=
manipulation,
to control,
to dominate.

I remember one day God told me
I had to turn from what I learned
in my ministry training.
"A lot of what you learned
was how to get people
to do things they didn't want to do
for you."

Ouch.

That subtle attraction
to the pretty thing,
That focus on the outward appearance
over the inner reality,
That ability to get results
through a smile,
the right connections,
and the polished performance,
are not the kingdom.
This is the world.
And the world
coddles the flesh,
and the flesh
leads you to the devil.

There is nothing glamourous about glamour.
It is just the hissing of the snake
in the garden.
"Did God really say . . ."

This is the first step down the road
to witchcraft.
And once you see it,
you see it everywhere.

Father,
I renounce the glamour of evil
and all the ways
the world tries to deceive me
into believing that satisfying my
fleshly wants is not costly.
Help me see everything the enemy doesn't want me to see.
Jesus
help me remember
that you were despised because
you were not enticing.
Amen.

He Never Fails,

We meet daily for prayer followed by Holy Communion on Zoom at 7am ET, Midday UK time. Each week the House of Artisans gather at 1:00 ET on the same Zoom link. 

Belonging House on Zoom

We are a 501(c)(3) organization through the Missionary Church International. You can support Belonging House International here.

Give to Belonging House here.