Confidence in Christ

Confidence means to have faith or trust in someone or something. We can have confidence in ourselves, others, or even worldly possessions- like money, cars or houses. Our true confidence should be in God. Jeremiah 17:7 says, But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.

When we have complete confidence in God we can trust in His purpose & plan for us. That trust turns religion & rules into relationship. Enabling us to walk in Gods will for our lives instead of what satans will for us is. 

John 12:31 calls Satin the ruler of the world.

Satans will for your life is destruction. Just look to the ways of World to see satans plan.  Just a few examples are the clothes in magazines, sex scenes in movies, drama from soap operas, models on runways. Mimicking & accepting these things always lead to despair, depression and destruction. 

Gods will for your life is exactly the opposite of satans.  He loves you and wants good things for you.

Romans 12: 2 says Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will. 

And 1 Corinthians 15:33 says Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character."

Remember, if it is consider good by the world’s standards you can pretty much do just the opposite & be safe. Here are some common false beliefs in the world. The more money you have the better your life is, sex before marriage is ok because I love him/her, when your the most popular your better than everyone else, the sexier I look the prettier I am.  Don't place your confidence in things like this- instead have confidence in Christ!

As believers we are the bride of Christ. We need to prepare ourselves for him because he is coming back soon.  He wants a Bride that is beautiful inside & out, spotless without sin, & shining with His glory. 

Heb. 12 directs us to throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.

I want to encourage you to be built up by Christ & find your strength & approval in Him. Spend quality time with God in prayer and studying His Word to build a relationship with Him. You can try to use many things to make your life seem fulfilled.  Like family & friend’s, being popular, drugs, drinking & smoking, sex & love from a boyfriend or girlfriend. But in the end Jesus Christ is the only thing that satisfies  And there is plenty of Him to go around, so don't wait let him fill you with life more abundant now!

Mission Trip to Venezuela

I had the privilege of going to Valencia, Venezuela and the surrounding area to minister for almost 2 weeks.  It was a phenomenal experience.  My team & I were obedient in what God directed us to do and because of that He really used us to touch peoples lives.  So much happened in such a short amount of time that there is no way I can write about it all.  But I will attempt to tell you about some of the highlights.  When I arrived in Caracas the first thing I noticed was how welcomed & loved I was.  The people there had so much love for others.  The family that let me stay with them would have given me the shirt off their back!  I now have a family I call my own in Venezuela & I love them so much.   

The first weekend I was there we taught church leaders about a prayer ministry tool called Wellsprings.  
wellspring-ministries.org  I have used and been through many different types of counseling and ministry sessions and I have by far experienced the most success with this.  I believe that's because it is all about praying and completely depending on God (not man) for healing and freedom. Another thing I love about Wellsprings is that it gives you the prayer 
tools to use for your own upkeep. :)  I taught on self bitterness and the occult at the church because I had a lot of experience with these in my past.  After we were done with teaching we offered people to come up if they'd like to receive prayer. Many people came up and God spoke to them.  Lots of people were saved and received the Holy Spirit.  Many of them fell out under the power of God.  I noticed while we were praying that more people were coming into the church to receive prayer.  I realized that the people who had gotten prayer were calling others to come because of the amazing way God was moving.  By the time we had finished praying the number of people had tripled.  It was amazing- but even more amazing to see their faith. 
We went to many prayer meetings, dinners, and other get together while we were there.  Each time God showed Himself.  
The second weekend I was there we went to a youth camp in the mountains.  It was so beautiful! The youth that we spent time with were so on fire for God.  I shared my testimony first.  I let them know the more I compromised the things of God in my life the less I recognized myself until I had completely changed into something horrible. I felt like I had chains holding me back every time I would try to change for the better.  At the end of my testimony most of the kids came up and wanted prayer afterward to have the chains that held them back broken off.  The presence of God was so strong!
The next day I taught them not to befriend the ways of the World but to stand firm in who God created them to be.  At the end one of the worker at the camp asked if I would pray for him.  As I prayed God told me that the man had back pain so I asked him if I could pray for that.  He was surprised but said yes.  As another guy from our team & I prayed for him we literally felt his backbone straighten!!! It was so crazy.  After his healing the worker received Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  We gave him a Bible and put him in contact with a leader from the church there.  He was so excited that his back had no pain that he told the other workers in the camp.  I noticed that they would all come and watch through the windows anytime we worshiped or had a teaching.  
The next day Nick the other guy in our ministry team shared his testimony.  It was so powerful and all of the kids really connected with what he shared.  Afterward many of them came up and asked for pray to help them forgive people that had hurt them in their past.  Some of the horrible things that these kids had gone through & wanted prayer for tore at my heart.  Many of them were broken before the Lord and received healing.  One guy had broken his toe that day playing games.  God told me to pray for him and when I was done I asked him if it felt better and he said not really.  As I began to walk away I heard commotion behind me and turned to see the boy unwrapping his foot and crying loudly.  He jumped up and ran over to me hugging me and crying for a long time.  When he let go all I could do was point up to God and give Him all the glory.
The last day of the camp we got to hear many of the youth share their revelations from God about certain scriptures. At that point I knew that they had truly gotten what God had sent us there to share.  We just encouraged them to take what they had learned with them and not leave it at the camp.  I can tell you that everything I received from Venezuela will always be with me.  As I watered I was also watered.  It was a life changing experienced!!!  

Angels

1. Simple definition of Angels

      1) Angels of Light are Spiritual beings created by God with the sole purpose to do His will.
*See Heb. 1:14  Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation.
      2) Angels of Darkness (or Demons) are Spiritual beings created by God with the sole purpose to do His will, but who chose to do their own will instead. Therefore they lost their place in Heaven.
*See Revelation 12:7-9 Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

2. Need to discern between angels of light and angels of darkness. 
*See 2 Cor. 11:14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.  
Give example.
      1) All spirits from God must acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ who came to the world to die for our sin and redeem us from Satan's bondage. An angel of God will always glorify God.
*See 1 John 4:1-6 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood. 
      2) Demons will have you to focus on themselves causing you to loose sight of God and become distracted from His will.  Holy angels do not draw attention to themselves. They work quietly, most often behind the scenes, then when the work is done, they leave.
      3) When an angel begins to tell you things that change God's Word, you know you are not speaking with a holy angel from God but a demon from hell. Satan misquoted the Scripture to Jesus. An angel from God will not give you instruction or guidance that deviates from what God has already said in His Word.
*See Galatians 1:8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God's curse!

3. They are not divine and are not to be worshipped!
*See Rev. 19:10 At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.”
      1) In this passage it says all who profess Jesus as their Christ are fellow servants to God.  Remember, an angels entire reason for existing is to serve God. So if we are fellow servants we are designed to serve God also. Therefore if we refuse to obey we will face the consequences just like the angels.
*See 2 Peter 2:4 & 9 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment; if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment.
      2) No where in the Bible do we see people praying to or directing angels. God's angels do not answer when you call to them! The angelic demonstration you will receive when you do this is from demons, disguising themselves as Gods angels. 
      3) They respond to the command of God. 
* See Psalms 91:11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;
*See Psalms 103:20 Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word.
      4) Even Jesus prayed to The Father for angels to come to his aid.
*See Matthew 26:53 Jesus said, Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? (a legion is between 4000 and 6000, which means at least 72,000 angels.)
Just remember, when you start calling to angels, you end up talking to demons!

<><  Shelly

Weekend Miracles

My family and I had the great honor and pleasure to minister at Christ Community Church in Lake City, Florida.  Terry Shivers is the extremely anointed and solid standing pastor of this Church.  You can check out his blog at the link above.  If you are anywhere near this church I would advise a visit asap!  They are experiencing an amazing move of God!  You can definitively feel the flow of The Holy Spirit!  It's rejuvenating to experience the gift of freedom that Jesus Christ has given us once we stop quenching The Spirit with our own Worldly thoughts and explanations!


Saturday afternoon we broke up into groups and went on a "Treasure Hunt."  Before we departed we all prayed separately and asked God to give us some clues to find whoever He would have us to minister to that day.  (John 10: 27)  We wrote everything we heard on a piece of paper that had these categories on it: Location, Description, Prayer Needs, and Other.  I will tell you the clues I remember our group getting as we go.  Next we compared notes and decided what direction to go in first.  The man in our group had park listed under Location so we took off in that direction.  Directly before we turned down the street to the park there was a bridge with a sidewalk on the side of it that I had had a vision of and had written as my location.  There was no one on the bridge so we took that to mean that we were headed in the right direction.  As we approached the park there was an African American woman sitting in a van with a bright green shirt on.  Under description I had bright green shirt, & the man in our group had African American woman.  So we decided we would go talk to her to see if she was the treasure.  She was very nice and let us explain to her what we were doing.  She agreed to answer some of our questions.  First we asked her name, "she said Lisa."  That was one of the names I had on my sheet.  I was able to show her my sheet and she was blown away by what all matched.  Under prayer needs I had listed mother & mental illness.  She explained that she had recently reluctantly moved back to Lake City from Jacksonville to take care of her mother (Mary) due to her mental illness!  Mary was the name that the other lady in our group had on her list.  Lisa told us that her brother (Micheal- also a name on my list) had been diagnosed with HIV and she also helped take care of him.  She said she knew 100% that Jesus had sent us to pray for her not only because of the overwhelming evidence that we showed her on all of our sheets but also because of what she had been doing that day.  About this time 2 boys on bike cycles rode by (I had bike cycle on my clue sheet).  Lisa said that she had gone to the lake to pray (I also had water on my sheet under location) but she had to leave there because of the bugs.  She said that's why she was at the park but that she couldn't muster up the faith to pray for herself so she believed God sent us to do it for her!!!  At that time I asked her if I could ask her a personal question without her getting offended.  She said yes so I told her that as she may have seen I had listed backslid Christian listed under other and I asked if that also applied to her.  She said yes it does.  We were able to explain that Jesus wanted an intimate relationship with her again and that was partially why he made her our "treasure."  She was blown away by the fact that Jesus cared so much about her that He would give complete strangers such personal information about her just to remind her how much He cares.  We prayed for her and she was very touched.


When we left the park the other sweet woman on our team said that she had the mall under location on her sheet.  So the man (who knew the area well and was our team leader) began driving in that direction.  When we walked in we saw a red and white canopy over Bath and Body Works and she said that she had seen that in a vision while we were praying so we began looking in that area for a woman in a yellow shirt (because she had a woman named Mary and a yellow shirt on her sheet.)  There was on woman in a yellow shirt with another woman in a wheel chair and a baby in a stroller.  So we walked over to her and told her what we were doing.  She was receptive and told us her name was MARY!!!  We showed her the sheet that had all of that info on it and she looked shocked.  I told her that her baby was adorable and asked his name.  She said Jonahn and that she had adopted him.  My oldest son Sean was on our team.  He is 8 years old and he had also prayed and filled out a sheet.  He got excited and said mom I have the name Jonah on my sheet!  So we showed her that as well.  Then we asked if there was anything specific she needed prayer for?  She said yes that she would take all the help she could get.  She said that she had severe neck and back pain due to lifting a wheel chair for over 30 years and now her new baby (I had physical pain listed on my sheet under prayer needs.)  The other woman with her in the wheelchair was her daughter.  I asked her if she knew Jesus and she said no.  Then I asked if she had ever read the Bible also no.    So I explained that the Bible says that if we lay hands on the sick they shall recover.  (Mark 16: 18)   I asked if I could place my hand on her neck to pray and she said OK.  I did and we all said a short and simple prayer.  Then I asked her to try and mover her neck.  She did and started to look scared.  I asked her if the pain was still there ans she said NO!!  We told her that Jesus had taken away her pain.  


We talked with her some more then went & sat at a table to write down what had happened.  Then a man walked over to us and asked if we had any girl scout cookies.  We looked at the sign on the table and realized that's what it advertised.  We apologized for not having cookies but told him we have something better instead.  He allowed us to pray for him for a job (which the other woman had listed under prayer needs on her sheet.)


It was getting close to time to be back at the church to share testimonies about what had happened so we planned to head back.  But as we were leaving the mall my 8 year old son spoke up and said we didn't go to my location.  He said he had the airport listed.  The leader of our group handled that great!  He said OK I know where a small airport is, well go there.  So we took off in the opposite direction from the church.  As we were about to leave the mall parking lot we saw this big orange racing truck and the man in our group said, "Wow I like that truck."  He was looking at it as we rode by and realized he knew who the woman was driving it.  He said that's Louise I know her!  Sean (my son) showed me that name was on his paper!  So I spoke up and we stopped to speak with her.  She was excited once we told her what we were doing.  She told us that she had over come cancer many times throughout her life. So we prayed that it not reoccur.  She also had us pray for and elderly woman who she helped periodically who had experienced some trauma that morning.  Her name was Lucy (also a name on Sean's paper!)  This woman was a believer in Jesus and was just thrilled that He had led us to her.  


We went back to church and shared our experiences.  The entire weekend was wonderful.  The messages about the importance of mentor-ship and all of the words that were bought seemed well received.  
It was phenomenal!

The Truth About Mardi Gras

Origins 
The history of Mardi Gras began long before Europeans set foot in the New World. In mid February the ancient Romans celebrated the Lupercalia, a circus like festival not entirely unlike the Mardi Gras we are familiar with today. When Rome embraced Christianity, the early Church fathers decided it was better to incorporate certain aspects of pagan rituals into the new faith rather than attempt to abolish them altogether. Carnival became a period of abandon and merriment that preceded the penance of Lent, thus giving a Christian interpretation to the ancient custom. 
Mardi Gras came to America in 1699 with the French explorer Iberville. Mardi Gras had been celebrated in 
Paris since the Middle Ages, where it was a major holiday. Iberville sailed into the Gulf of Mexico, from where he launched an expedition up the Mississippi River. On March 3 of 1699, Iberville set up a camp on the west bank of the river about 60 miles south of where New Orleans is today. This was the day Mardi Gras was being celebrated in France. In honor of this important day, Iberville named the site Point du Mardi Gras. 


The Late Eighteenth Century 
During the late 1700's, pre2Lenten masked balls and festivals were common in New Orleans, La. while it was under French rule. However when New Orleans came under Spanish rule the custom was banned. In 1803 New Orleans came under the U.S. flag. The prohibition against masked festivals continued until 1823 when the Creole populace convinced the governor to permit masked balls. In 1827 street masking was again legalized. 


Mardi Gras In Mobile, Al. 
This festive event was started in Mobile and according to some accounts, dates back to 1703. The celebration was originally called Boef Gras (Fat Beef).  
The well2known Mardi Gras in Mobile was begun by Michael Krafft. On New Year's Eve, 1830, Krafft and his friends were reluctant to end a dinner party at the customary time. They raided a nearby hardware store, took up rakes, hoes and cowbells and proceeded to wake the town. They soon formed the Cowbellion de Rakin Society, the first of Mobile's many modern mystic organizations. The Cowbellions presented their first parade, complete with floats and theme, in 1840.  The Civil War brought revelry in Mobile to an abrupt halt. Joseph Stillwell Cain, on Fat Tuesday of 1866, donned full Chickasaw Indian regalia, dubbed himself Chief Slacabamorinico. Cain and six friends set out to raise the morale of citizens in the defeated city. Dubbing themselves the "Tea Drinkers", and fired up by drink much stronger than tea, they took to the streets in a decorated coal wagon pulled by a mule. Cain was a founder in the Order of Myths, the organization which today holds the final Carnival Season parade Mardi Gras night. He also helped organize many more parading societies. Cain's role in reviving Mardi Gras is observed each year on the Sunday before Mardi Gras Day, "Joe Cain Day." On "Joe Cain Day" thousands of Mobilians in costume and on individually designed floats parade through the streets of downtown Mobile.  


The Nineteenth Century 
During the early 1800's public celebrations of Mardi Gras centered around maskers on foot, in carriages and 
on horseback. The first documented parade occurred in 1837. Unfortunately, Mardi Gras gained a negative 
reputation because of violent behavior attributed to maskers during the 1840's and 50's. The situation became 
so bad that the press began calling for an end to the celebration. 
In 1857 six New Orleaneans saved Mardi Gras by forming the Comus organization. These six men were 
former members of the Cowbellians, an organization which had put on New Year's Eve parades in Mobile 
since 1831. The Comus organization added beauty to Mardi Gras and demonstrated that it could be a safe and festive event. Comus was the first organization to use the term krewe to describe itself. Comus also started the customs of having a secret Carnival society, having a parade with a unifying theme with floats, and of having a ball after the parade. Comus was also the first organization to name itself after a mythological character. The celebration of Mardi Gras was interrupted by the Civil War, but in 1866 Comus returned.
In 1870 the Twelfth Night Revelers made their appearance. In 1871 they began the custom of presenting a 

young woman with a golden bean hidden in a cake. This young woman was the first queen of Mardi Gras. This was also the origin of the king cake tradition. 
In 1872 Grand Duke Alexis Romanoff of Russia visited New Orleans. This year the krewe of Rex made their 
debut and began the tradition of the "King of Carnival." Rex also introduced purple, gold and green as the 
official colors of Mardi Gras. Rex was the first krewe to hold an organized daytime parade and introduced "If 
Ever I Cease To Love" as the Mardi Gras anthem. One of the high points of Rex is the arrival of the Rex King 
on a riverboat. 1872 also saw the debut of the Knights of Momus on New Year's Eve. 
Ten years later in 1882, the Krewe of Proteus made its debut with a parade themed after Egyptian mythology. In 1890 the first marching club, The Jefferson City Buzzards, was organized. In 1894, the Original Illinois Club was formed as the first black Mardi Gras organization. In 1896 Les Mysterieuses appeared as the first female organization. 


Mardi Gras in the Twentieth Century 

crown. He arrived on on oyster lugger instead of a steamboat. Zulu was destined to become one of the most 
popular and beloved of all krewes. 
Mardi Gras was canceled during the dark years of 1918 and 1919 when the United States was involved in the bloody fighting of the First World War. The celebration struggled through the 1920's and early 30's, which saw Prohibition and The Great Depression. 
The krewe of Alla brought carnival to the West Bank in 1934. 
With the rise of mass produced automobiles, random truck riders had become part of the Mardi Gras scene. In 1835 they organized themselves into the Elkes Krewe of Orleanians. The Krewe of Hermes appeared in 1937 and the Knights of Babylon in 1939. 
Mardi Gras prospered during the 1940's, although it was canceled during the war years. In 1949 Louis 
Armstrong was King of the Zulu parade and was pictured on the cover of time magazine. 
In 1950 the Duke and Duchess of Windsor visited New Orleans during Mardi Gras. They honored the New 
Orleans Mardi Gras tradition by bowing to kings of Rex and Comus at the Comus ball. The Korean War put a damper on festivities in 1951, but several krewes joined forces to parade as the Krewe of Patria on Mardi Gras day. The Fifties also saw the replacement of mule drawn floats with ones drawn by tractors and the formation of several new krewes including Zeus. Zeus was the first krewe to parade in Metairie. 
In 1961 Pete Fountain founded the Half2Fast Walking Club, an immediate hit with the crowds. Zulu came under pressure from portions of the black community who thought the krewe presented an undignified image. The king resigned and the parade was almost cancelled, but Zulu survived and was a main attraction by 1969. The Sixties ended with the debut of Bacchus. Bacchus aimed to bring national attention to Mardi Gras with gigantic floats and a Hollywood celebrity (Danny Kaye) riding as its king. Bacchus replaced the traditional ball with a supper to which tickets could be purchased by visitors and locals. 
The Seventies saw the debut of 18 new krewes and the demise of 18 others. More than a dozen krewes 
followed the lead of Bacchus by placing celebrities in their parades. In 1974 Argus became the first Metairie 
parade on Fat Tuesday. This year also saw Endymion's rise to super krewe status. The Seventies brought a 
ban on parading in the French Quarter, ending a 117 year tradition. Mardi Gras made national headlines at the close of the decade with a police strike which cancelled 13 parades in Orleans Parish. 
In the 80's Mardi Gras gained 27 new parades and lost 19. St. Bernard Parish suffered a net loss of parades 
while Jefferson and St. Tammany Parish experienced continued growth. By the end of the decade Jefferson 
Parish was experiencing an attendance rate of 600,000 people at its parades on Fat Tuesday. 
The 1980's were  good times for Mardi Gras. In 1987 Rex brought back the custom of Lundi Gras, the arrival of the Rex King on the Mississippi River which had been celebrated from 1874 through 1917. The traditional tableau ball, however, lost popularity. Once considered essential, only 10 krewes continued the tradition of masked balls by the end of the decade. Doubloons also lost some of their popularity when several krewes stopped producing them. 



More About the Seed and Root of Mardi Gras  
 As we see, Mardi Gras did not originate in the USA as many believe. Mardi Gras actually started in the 
Roman Empire around the year 753 BC under another name, Festival of Lupercus. Let’s learn more about “the pagan roots”. 


The Ancient Pagan Festival of Lupercus, Roman God of Fertility the true beginning of Mardi Gras 
LUPERCALIA, a very ancient, possibly pre2Roman, pastoral festival in honour of Lupercus. Its rites were under the superintendence of a corporation of priests called Luperci, whose institution is attributed either to the Arcadian Evander, or to Romulus and Remus. In front of the Porta Romana, on the western side of the 
Palatine hill, close to the Ficus Ruminalis and the Casa Romuli, was the cave of Lupercus; in it, according to 
the legend, the she2wolf had suckled the twins, and the bronze wolf, which is still preserved in the Capitol, was placed in it in 296 B.C. But the festival itself, which was held on February 15th, contains no reference to the Romulus legend, which is probably later in origin, though earlier than the grecizing Evander legend. The 
festival began with the sacrifice by the Luperci (or the flamen dialis) of goats and a dog; after which two of the 
Luperci were led to the altar, their foreheads were touched with a bloody knife, and the blood wiped off with 
wool dipped in milk; then the ritual required that the two young men should laugh. The smearing of the
forehead with blood probably refers to human sacrifice originally practised at the festival. The sacrificial feast 
followed, after which the Luperci cut thongs from the skins of the victims and ran in two bands round the walls 
of the old Palatine city,. the line of which was marked with stones, striking the people who crowded near. A 
blow from the thong prevented sterility in women. These thongs were called februa, the festival Februatio, and 
the day dies febraiatus (februare = to purify); hence the name of the month February, the last of the old Roman year. The object of the festival was, by expiation and purification, to secure the fruitfulness of the land, the increase of the flocks and the prosperity of the whole people. The Lupercal (cave of Lupercus), which had fallen into a state of decay, was rebuilt by Augustus; the celebration of the festival had been maintained, as we know from the famous occurrence of it in 44 B.C. It survived until A.D. 494, when it was changed by Gelasius into the feast of the Purification. Lupercus, in whose honour the festival.was held, is identified with Faunus or Inuus, Evander (Eiiavnpos), in the Greek legend being a translation of Faunus (the "kindly"). The Luperci were divided into two collegia, called Quinctiliani (or Quinctiales) and Fabiani, from the gens Quinctilia (or Quinctia) 2 and Fabia; at the head of each of these colleges was a magister. In 44 B.C. a third college, Luperci Julii, was instituted in honor of Julius Caesar, the first magister of which was Mark Antony. In imperial times the members were usually of equestrian standing.  
As early as the fourth century B.C., young men left their love to chance, drawing their partners by lot during the Lupercalia festival, a Roman celebration to celebrate spring and fertility. Through the love lottery, a man won a woman's companionship and sexual pleasuring until the next year's drawing. It is believed that Valentine’s Day originated by this practice. 
Imagine running around town in a goatskin tunic, whipping young women with a rawhide thong smeared in dog blood. This is what people did until 496 A.D. Happy Lupercalia!



Conclusion 
In conclusion there is nothing family oriented, Christian, or good about Mardi Gras. Actually it represents 
diabolic roots and compromise of true Biblical Christian beliefs. It actually taints the testimony of “Christians” to the unbelieving world but thousands of so called “Christians” that participate in this pagan festival.  
 “Abstain from all appearance of evil.” 1Thesalonians 5:22 
May God have mercy on the sick church.  
It is time that the True Body of Christ stand for what is true and Holy and be an example to the world of what 
Jesus and God are really about not a watered down gospel.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that 
believethM” Romans 1:16   “For which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. 
Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 

That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.” 2Ti 1:12214 


What should we do as Bible believing Christians? 
Pray, fast, and declare truth. 


Pray :

1. For Professing Christians. That they would not compromise the testimony of Christ by 
participating in Pagan Holidays including Mardi Gras. That they will practice the Word of God 
not just know it. 
2. That Christians will speak the truth in love to all. Without the proclamation of truth people will 
believe lies and be deceived.  
3. Against the seductive and evil spirits that are loosed in our country during this time. Christians 
should be a spiritual covering and protection for our country but when we compromise the truth 
holes are put in the spiritual umbrella and the evil spirits have a right to enter. 
4. That Christians will be a witness when doors are open and stand firm on beliefs even before 
authorities. 
5. Against principalities, powers, and spiritual wickedness over our city, state, and country 
(Ephesians 6: 11218). 


Sources:
King James Version of Bible 
Encyclopedia Britannica 
Clear Channel Communications 
The Daily Review 
Article by Jim Davis in Communities Online Inc.
Jerry Morris- TheFathersHouseMobile.com