A person who wears a mask can not hide their secret intent from God.  The greatest of all pretenders is Satan, and he tricks others easily by wearing a costume of beauty, clever words, and enticements. The Deceiver is ever at work to confuse the innocent. He masterfully twists the truth, and many are persuaded by his cunning. He masquerades around through those willing to cheat a little, steal, and murder others with their ‘just kidding’ words. He has trapped many with lies. He is the religious know-it-all. BUT, with a download of wisdom from God, we rightly IDENTIFY a spirit not of God. Can a RELIGIOUS SPIRIT hide from the Holy Spirit? NO! The penetrating Word of God divides what is right and that which is of evil. He gives us a check in our spirit. People who do NOT believe the Bible are NOT outside of God’s reach. Our knowledge of the scriptures does not save anyone. Our education or deeds do not gain us special favor from God. Ask the Holy Spirit to give His revelation of what He knows is true. The content of the heart is fully known.

Mardi Gras, translates to “Fat Tuesday” in French. It begins and ends after much has been freely allowed. A celebration with deep, dark roots.  The Roman calendar prepares with mask making, parades, and a tradition of wearing beads. With great historical pride, a time of decadent indulgence begins. We have the freedom to participate or avoid it. Wisely we consider, would Jesus join in gladly?

Mardi Gras predates the church. It is linked to ancient pagan celebrations intended to welcome the arrival of spring. A time of feasting before the fasting. Lent is a time of making a sacrifice to honor Jesus by giving up a sweet. So just before Lent, those who believe Jesus sacrificed His life, follow the festival ritual of indulgence for ten long days. Much food and pleasures consumed before asking for God’s forgiveness during Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras promotes excessive consumption followed by a hangover of remorseful ash.

It is interesting that a long Carnival season begins on January 6th. A big deception occurred on Jan 6th and was cleverly covered up. Then a number of bell ringing celebrations lead up to Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday. Masquerade costumes, parades, and various festivities occur in mostly Catholic cultures. To effectively resist Fat Tuesday, the noise, and all the temptations, one must avoid central Ajijic or Chapala. Mardi Gras 2025 begins Feb 25th. It ends after 10 days of loud music and peace piercing, dog trembling fireworks.

Even if everybody is doing it, all things are not good. Halloween and Mardi Gras are plots of evil to tempt us to stiff arm God. Mardi Gras came to America by French colonists in the early 18th century. The city of New Orleans, founded in 1718, became a key site for these celebrations due to its French heritage. The first recorded New Orleans Mardi Gras parade was in 1837.  Social clubs formalized the parades to adopt a distinct theme. Other cities in the U.S. and around the world celebrate their own versions with cities such as Rio de Janeiro, Mexico, Brazil and the Caribbean. The holiday draws significant tourist attention, contributing to local economies. In summary, Mardi Gras is  rooted in ancient traditions, and dark cultural shifts.

Through humility we all do better. Choose to respond with humility not hate. As people of the Light, we are misunderstood but we are delivered from the lies of the devil. We encounter Jesus in His power. God’s people are free because we reverently FEAR GOD. Insults fly, but we rise high above the father of all lies. Seek God with all your passion, with all your mind and heart. We are to forgive as we are forgiven. We are to set boundaries and stand firm. Persuade others by the joy and peace of the Spirit visible in you during chaos. Look up for redemption,  grows ever near. That glory filled moment — that  twinkling-of-an-eye moment of the Rapture—is indeed imminent! There is one and only one way to go to Jesus in this glorious history making event.  When He calls—the one and only way of escaping the coming time of trouble such as people of the earth have never endured: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confess Jesus is Lord.” Romans 10:9

Heavenly Father, I humbly ask You to forgive me for my pride, my arrogance, and my false assumptions and judgments of other people. Forgive me for pretending that I am better than others because I can pridefully quote scriptures. Today I choose to cancel all counterfeit knowledge and repent for having believed a twisted doctrine. Because my Father graciously forgave me, out of obedience, I forgive myself. I choose to forgive those who have manipulated, controlled, and taught me a doctrine that denies that Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I cancel any debt of any teacher in my past or in my future who presents a false doctrine.   Holy Spirit uproot the spirit of pride and arrogance and renew my mind. Delete all false beliefs and replace them with Gods truth. Thank You for setting me free from all guilt and shame.  In the name of Jesus, I cancel all power and authority of Satan over me with regard to interpreting holy Scripture. Holy Spirit I rely on You for the truth and understanding. I command the Religious Spirit to leave me now. Come Holy Spirit, heal my heart and open my eyes to see what You reveal. Speak Your truth to me. Your humble servant is listening.

Psalm 22:10 “From birth I was cast on You; from my mother’s womb You have been my God.” ❤️ Psalm 51 “Yet You desired faithfulness even in the womb; You taught me wisdom in that secret place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” ❤️ “He who is in you is greater than the Liar, the Thief, the Deceiver, the Enemy of your soul.” 1 John 4:4

Forgive us Father for focusing on outward sins in other people, but accepting sins in us that are not so visible. – Forgive us for serving God out of an obligation rather than love for what marvelous works He has done. Forgive us for judging our brothers and sisters rather than loving and forgiving them.  Satan regularly attacks God’s people. He commits spiritual warfare against each of us. His tactics are ruthless and our world is full of wickedness. Stories of emotional, sexual, and physical abuse is a result of his scheme to destroy our faith in God. The Holy Spirit is our Teacher and we ask Him to reveal anything wicked in us, and to change us so that we can reflect the Light of the world, Jesus Christ.  During his rebellion against God Satan said “I will ascend about the heights of the clouds, I will be like the most High.” Isaiah 14:14  He is the false teacher who is the cause of religious conflict. Satan splits churches over unimportant matters that have nothing to do with salvation. God tells us the truth “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Matthew 16:26 and Mark 8:36.

THE RELIGIOUS SPIRIT: Satan is the master deceiver who seeks to counterfeit the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  The liar introduces doubt in the power of God to heal, to perform miracles, or to provide for all our needs. Satan is the father of lies. John 8:44.  Satan knows Scripture and he twists it to establish credibility by  puffing us up with PRIDE in our tightly held interpretations.