Changing the Atmosphere

We hear a lot these days about how the earth's atmosphere is changing. We also hear about geoengineering, in which man is intentionally changing the atmosphere. While that can and does occur in the natural realm, it can also occur in the spiritual realm.

Here is another illustration on a smaller scale that we can all relate to. Have you ever walked into a room and discovered that it had an odor you didn't like, and you decided to open some windows to refresh the air? That's just a simple example of one way to change the atmosphere in the natural realm. Likewise, there are times when the spiritual atmosphere needs to be changed, and there is a biblical way to do so, which we will examine together in detail here in this article.

Link Between the Spiritual and Natural Realms
As I explained in my previous article, The Link Between Two Realms, there is a direct connection between the natural and spiritual realms. Things that we do in the natural realm transfer over into the spiritual realm, and things that are happening in the spiritual realm transfer over into the natural realm. For example, if there is an oppressive spirit in a particular place, then it will be reflected in the way people feel. Consequently, their words, actions, and attitudes in that place will be in accordance with that oppressive atmosphere, unless they resist it. Likewise, if the music in a place glorifies satan, like the way rock music does, then there will be a tangible darkness in that place and the actions of the people there will be in accordance with it.

Conversely, if there is a spirit of faith in a given place, then it will lend itself to a tangible openness and a heightened expectation for miracles and healing to happen. I recall that it was this way on the Bible school campus that I attended at Zion Bible Institute in Barrington, Rhode Island. And indeed miracles were rather commonplace there. On the other hand, I have been to other places where there was a spirit of darkness, doubt, and unbelief. In Jesus' own hometown, even He was unable to do many miracles there, except lay His hands on a few sick people and heal them, because they didn't believe in Him. (Mar 6:4-6). In fact, He wondered at their unbelief.

Now let's give some examples from Scripture of changing the atmosphere.

Jesus Changed the Atmosphere
At the synagogue ruler's house, Jesus changed the atmosphere. Let's observe how:

"While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and knelt before him and said, 'My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.' Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples." (Mat 9:18-19, NIV)

"When Jesus entered the synagogue leader’s house and saw the noisy crowd and people playing pipes, he said, 'Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.' But they laughed at him. After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. News of this spread through all that region." (Mat 9:23-26, NIV)

Why did Jesus put the crowd out of the house? It was because they were noisily mourning the girl's death, playing sad and mournful music on the flutes, and the atmosphere was not one in which to raise her from the dead. It was not conducive--in terms of faith--to her being raised up, but a disorderly one that gave way to grief over the girl's death. It was an atmosphere of fear, doubt, and unbelief.

By putting them all out of the house, Jesus changed the atmosphere. That is also why he did not let anyone go in with Him except Peter, James, John, and the child's father and mother (Lk 8:51). Then He went in and took the girl by the hand, her spirit returned to her body, and she got up.

Perhaps you think that Jesus raised her from the dead, because He was God. Certainly He was God from His very birth and even before He was conceived in the womb (see Is Jesus God?). The apostle John says that in the beginning He was with God and He was God (Jn 1:1). But the apostle Paul also tells us that Jesus emptied Himself of the glory and power He had with the Father before He came to earth. He said, "Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness." (Phil 2:6-7, NIV).

This is known in Christian theology as His kenosis or self-emptying. In simple terms we can all understand, it was essentially His humiliation. He reduced Himself to the same level that all other men are at without ceasing to be God. It was like He tied both His hands behind His back in a sense, and had to do things the same way He expected His followers to do them, which is through prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit. That means that all of the miracles and healing He performed were done by the power of the Holy Spirit, as I wrote in my article, By the Spirit of God Alone. He Himself was baptized in water and with the Holy Spirit, and then declared that the Spirit of the Lord was upon Him, because He had anointed Him to preach the gospel, bring recovery of sight to the blind, and to set the oppressed captives free. (Lk 4:18). Therefore, He was our example in all things, and the way He went about doing things is the way we must go about them, too.

Peter Changed the Atmosphere
Following Christ's example, Peter also changed the atmosphere before raising Dorcas from the dead. All healing and miracles are done by faith, and he first removed all distractions that would interfere with faith, which meant the weeping mourners had to leave the room. Scripture states:

"Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which translated in Greek is called Dorcas); this woman was abounding with deeds of kindness and charity which she continually did. And it happened at that time that she fell sick and died; and when they had washed her body, they laid it in an upper room. Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, having heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him, imploring him, 'Do not delay in coming to us.' So Peter arose and went with them."

"When he arrived, they brought him into the upper room; and all the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing all the tunics and garments that Dorcas used to make while she was with them. But Peter sent them all out and knelt down and prayed, and turning to the body, he said, 'Tabitha, arise.' And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. And he gave her his hand and raised her up; and calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. It became known all over Joppa, and many believed in the Lord." (Act 9:36-42)

Elisha Changed the Atmosphere

Do you remember how Elisha changed the atmosphere? It was through music.

"Then the king of Israel said, 'Alas! For the LORD has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab.' But Jehoshaphat said, 'Is there not a prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of the LORD by him?' And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, 'Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who used to pour water on the hands of Elijah.' Jehoshaphat said, 'The word of the LORD is with him.' So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him."

"Now Elisha said to the king of Israel, 'What do I have to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother.' And the king of Israel said to him, 'No, for the LORD has called these three kings together to give them into the hand of Moab.' Elisha said, 'As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look at you nor see you. But now bring me a minstrel.' And it came about, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him." (2Ki 3:10-15)

He called for the minstrel to play his instrument, and when the minstrel did so, the hand of the Lord came upon him, so that he was able to prophesy. The music effected a change in the spiritual realm. Something changed in the atmosphere that made it conducive to prophesying. 

David Changed the Atmosphere

Not only did Elisha use music to change the atmosphere, but David did, too.  He did this in the presence of King Saul, who had an evil spirit that made him experience outbursts of anger.

"Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD terrorized him. Saul's servants then said to him, 'Behold now, an evil spirit from God is terrorizing you. Let our lord now command your servants who are before you. Let them seek a man who is a skillful player on the harp; and it shall come about when the evil spirit from God is on you, that he shall play the harp with his hand, and you will be well.' So Saul said to his servants, 'Provide for me now a man who can play well and bring him to me.' Then one of the young men said, 'Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is a skillful musician, a mighty man of valor, a warrior, one prudent in speech, and a handsome man; and the LORD is with him.'" (1Sa 16:14-18)

"Then David came to Saul and attended him; and Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor bearer. Saul sent to Jesse, saying, 'Let David now stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight.' So it came about whenever the evil spirit from God came to Saul, David would take the harp and play it with his hand; and Saul would be refreshed and be well, and the evil spirit would depart from him." (1Sa 16:21-23)

The Scripture says that whenever the evil spirit came to Saul, David would play his harp, and Saul would be well, and the evil spirit would depart from him. The music of his harp produced a change in the spiritual realm that changed the atmosphere such that the evil spirit would not want to remain there. Glory to God!

Praise Changes the Atmosphere

In the same way, praise changes the atmosphere. That can happen when someone is praising the Lord without musical accompaniment (i.e., a Capella), or it can happen when someone sings praises to the music of instruments. The reason is simple: God builds His throne upon the praises of His people. David wrote in the twenty second psalm, "Yet You are holy, O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel." (Psa 22:3). Therefore, when the praises go up, the glory comes down. He lives within the praises of His people. I encourage you to try it yourself. Praise His name and you will never be the same. The glory of the Lord will fill the place where you are.

When I was in the Army, I came to know Christ, and He set me free from my life of sin. Now I found myself living in a military barracks as a young, single man with other soldiers that were still bound by sin as I had been, yet they had no intention of changing. The rock music, pornographic videos and magazines, cigarettes and alcohol, course joking and foul language, were all around me. The atmosphere during off duty hours was similar to college dorm life in that respect, except with a little more discipline. One thing I did to cope with this dark and ungodly atmosphere was to wear a portable audio-cassette player clipped to my belt that I could carry about as I went about my tasks in the evening. That was before the days of CD players and MP3 players. I wore my light headphones and listened to Christian music that changed the atmosphere for me and made it one that glorified God, so that I was able to bear living in that environment.

My wife Jennifer tells me of what she did on one particular occasion when she was a teenage girl experiencing a sense of darkness about her. At that time she was probably fifteen or sixteen years old. She went into her bedroom and put an album on her record player and the first song that came on was called "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus." The vocalist on the album began singing the opening lines that go like this:

O soul are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There's light for a look at the Savior
And life more abundant and free

Turn you eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace

So she knelt down beside her bed and turned her face upward, turning her eyes upon Jesus. As she did so, the atmosphere in her room changed and she experienced the light of His glory and grace upon her.

On another occasion when she was a young, single adult in graduate school at Regent University, she was in her apartment feeling rather depressed. So she turned on her radio in her bedroom and listened to a two-hour, praise-and-worship radio program. She occasionally prayed, but she mostly just sat and listened to the praise and worship music. At the end of that time, her friend Janice came and knocked at the door to her apartment to get her for work. They both worked for Regent University's Housekeeping Department cleaning apartments there in the village. When Jennifer opened the door, Janice took one look at her face and said something to the effect that, "Wow! What's happened to you? You're glowing!" What happened was that she changed the atmosphere through praise and worship.

Likewise, in our home today, our children change the atmosphere through praise and worship. Sometimes it is when one of them is going about her chores, sweetly singing praises to the Lord. At other times, it happens when they gather around together while one of them plays the guitar, and perhaps another plays the keyboard, while they all join in singing praises to God. It creates a wonderful atmosphere in the house, which I am able to sense even when I am downstairs in my office. Heaven comes down and fills the place.

Paul and Silas Changed the Atmosphere
When Paul and Silas were in prison in Philippi, they changed the atmosphere in that place through their prayer and praises. Prisons in those days were not like the prisons we have today, where there are beds, sinks, toilets, heating, and a cafeteria. They were cold, dark, probably dank, and infested with pests such as spiders, centipedes, perhaps lice, and various bugs, as well as mice, rats or bats. First they were beaten with many blows, and then after being thrown into prison, their feet were fastened in the stocks. Here is what happened in that place.

"But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were unfastened." (Act 16:25-26)

At midnight, they could have been complaining or sleeping, but they didn't yield to their flesh. Instead these two men chose as an act of their will to pray and sing praises to the Lord. Prayer and praise changed the atmosphere, such that it actually caused a sudden great earthquake that shook the foundations of the prison. What they did in the natural realm caused something to change in the spirit realm, which in turn affected a change in the natural realm in the form of an earthquake. Not only did the ground shake, but all the doors opened and everyone's chains were unfastened.

Scripture Reading Changes the Atmosphere
There are many other things that can change the atmosphere. One of them is reading Scripture aloud. When you begin to read the Word of God out loud or play back a recording of someone else reading the Bible, such as you can find on various audio Bibles available for free on the internet, you will notice that it changes the atmosphere. Light comes into that place. In fact, even if you read your Bible silently, it changes the atmosphere. When you open up the Bible, it is like a great flood light is shining up at you and as you read, that light will enter your soul. But reading it aloud is the best way to experience the most powerful effect of it.

Proclamations of Faith Change the Atmosphere
Another one is making proclamations out loud like the ones I have written about in my article, Personal Proclamations of Faith. If you begin to activate your faith and declare what you believe out loud, it will change the atmosphere. The demons fear your faith, and they will not want to be around if you keep boldly declaring those things aloud.

Thanksgiving Changes the Atmosphere
Finally, it will change the atmosphere when you begin to just give thanks to God for everything you can think of, such as I have written about in my article, Giving Thanks in Everything. Thanksgiving to God is a type of offering, and while it may be a sacrifice for you to do so, assuming you have your fair share of burdens and cares, it will bring a change in your environment. It will create an atmosphere in which the Holy Spirit feels welcome and God's presence envelopes you. Try it and you will see what I mean.

Putting it All Together
As I have just explained, there are positive ways that we can change the atmosphere we are in, according to the Word of God. They include removing the noisy voices of fear, doubt, and unbelief that are all around you, and entering into prayer, praises, and thanksgiving, as well as faith proclamations and Scripture reading, especially aloud. As you do these things, you will experience the shift in your environment. You'll be blessed because you did so. Something will change in the spirit realm and that will in turn be tangibly felt in that place.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from NASB, copyright the Lockman Foundation. Other Scriptures from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, where noted. Image by First Assembly Roxas Missions, Inc. in the Philippines is used according to Fair Use Act for commentary and educational purposes only. It may be subject to copyright.

Author's Note:  If you enjoyed this message,  you may also like other articles on the Home page of this blog. I recommend reading The Link Between Two Realms, Praise the Lord, Personal Proclamations of Faith, Crying out to God Loudly, Loud Voices and Shouting in God's Kingdom, Giving Thanks in Everything, Songs of the Holy Fire, and The Sudden Nature of God's Kingdom. I also invite you to visit my collection of blogs at "Writing for the Master."  Now let me ask you a very important question.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Against Entropy

My seventeen-year old daughter and I took an evening walk together hand-in-hand a couple days ago, and I asked her what she had been learning in school. She began to tell me what she was learning about entropy in science, so we discussed it a bit. Then this morning I had a dream in which I saw the words, "Against entropy," so I decided to write this article about it.

The second law of thermodynamics states that "the total entropy of an isolated system can never decrease over time. The total entropy can remain constant in ideal cases where the system is in a steady state (equilibrium), or is undergoing a reversible process." In order to understand that definition, you must know what entropy is.

Entropy is "a thermodynamic quantity representing the unavailability of a system's thermal energy for conversion into mechanical work, often interpreted as the degree of disorder or randomness in the system." So for layman's purposes, entropy could be defined simply as the degree of disorder in a system. Or entropy could be defined as "a lack of order or predictability; gradual decline into disorder." Some synonyms for entropy are deterioration, degeneration, crumbling, decline, degradation, decomposition, breaking down, and collapse.

Using my simplified definitions for entropy, my layman's definition of The Second Law of Thermodynamics, (which may not be technically and precisely correct), is that "the total degree of disorder in a system can never decrease over time, but generally increases." Put differently, "Everything is generally moving from a state of order to disorder." Or "All things are experiencing a gradual decline into disorder." We could also say that generally speaking, "Everything is undergoing some sort of deterioration, degeneration, crumbling, decline, degradation, decomposition, breaking down, or collapse."

This law should be fairly obvious to most people, as examples of entropy abound all around us. The body of a human or animal that dies decomposes. In fact, even while we are still living we are decomposing! According to kidshealth.org, "Though you can't see it happening, every minute of the day we lose about 30,000 to 40,000 dead skin cells off the surface of our skin. So just in the time it took you to read this far, you've probably lost about 40,000 cells. That's almost 9 pounds (4 kilograms) of cells every year!" Much of the dust you find in your home is made of skin cells. Another example is the way that meat and fruit spoil and decompose. Meat becomes rancid and bacteria grows on it as it decomposes. Fruit goes through a rotting process and ferments. Wood becomes brittle over time and crumbles. Wooden structures that become very old eventually collapse. Trees die and collapse, too. Metal goes through an oxidation process known as rusting, which can eventually leave holes in it. Computers eventually break down. Mental disorders occur, and when people get sick and grow weak, this too is an example of entropy.

We also see the effects of entropy in the world. To borrow the words from a song that was recorded of heavenly angels singing in China during the 1990's in the Mandarin language, "The famines are becoming more and more critical. There are more and more earthquakes. The situation is becoming more and more sinister. People are fighting against each other, nation against nation. Disasters are more and more severe. The whole environment is deteriorating. Disasters are more and more severe. People's hearts are wicked, and they do not worship the true God. Floods and droughts are more and more frequent. There is more and more homosexuality and incurable diseases. The climates are becoming more and more abnormal. The earth is more and more restless. The skies have been broken. The atmosphere is distorted."

The world is experiencing many fearful events, including plane crashes, severe weather, volcanoes, and terrorism. Many strange signs are occurring throughout the world, such as mass animal deaths and water turning blood red. For more on this, please see my articles The Land Mourns in the Last Days, The End Time Plagues, Wars and Rumors of Wars, Cosmic Rays Intensifying, Fukusima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster, The Contractions Are Coming Closer and Closer Together, Something's Going on in 2013, and Something's Going on in 2018.

Who can deny that society is becoming more and more disorderly and that there are more random acts of violence, school shootings and riots in the streets? The crime rates are increasing, divorce is on the rise, families are breaking down, and the love of most is growing cold. For Jesus Himself predicted this would happen in the last days before His return. He said, "Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold." (Mt 24:12, NIV). That too is a type of entropy.

Entropy in Scripture
The Bible speaks of this process. For example, the apostle Paul said, "For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now." (Rom 8:20-22). Put simply, all of creation (i.e., everything in the natural realm including plants, animals, bodies of water, the sky or atmosphere, and the earth itself) is subjected to futility and is presently in bondage to corruption. Everything is in slavery to decay, which is exactly what the Second Law of Thermodynamics states.

Grass and flowers are good examples, too. Isaiah prophesied, "The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever." (Isa 40:7-8).

According to the prophet, we as humans are undergoing that same process as the grass and flowers. Likewise, God said to Adam in the garden, "By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return." (Gen 3:19). This is fate of all people, "All came from the dust and all return to the dust." (Ecc 3:20b).

Hell is a place where entropy never ends. Every moment is filled with pain, torment, sorrow, regret, loneliness, and fear. It stinks terribly in hell, because of all the rotten, decaying flesh. The intense heat is unbearable, and the atmosphere is stifling, so you feel like you are suffocating. There is no water to drink, so there is nothing to quench your thirst. It's a place of outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth (Mt 8:12, 22:13, 25:30), where the worms that eat them do not die, and the flames are never quenched (Mk 9:44,48). Don't go to that terrible place! Repent and put your faith in Jesus Christ to save you.

The Lord spoke about the things men treasure on earth that are destined to rust, rot, decay, or be stolen. He said, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal." (Mat 6:19-20)

The apostle Peter said, "Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires." (2 Pe 1:4, NIV). This means that there is corruption in the world, which is caused by evil desires or lusts. Sin has brought about death to mankind and all creation. But the Lord has given us promises whereby we may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world. This means that we can defy entropy.

Defying Entropy

While our earthly life may not last forever and we eventually die, we can have eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." (Joh 3:16). The Lord said, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die." (Joh 11:25-26a).

The apostle Paul taught that eternal life is a gift from God given through Jesus Christ to those who believe in Him. He stated, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom 6:23). On the one hand, sin brings death to people and the rest of creation. This is a kind of pay back for sin. But God has not left us hopeless. He has given a gift that you cannot earn, but can only receive by faith in Jesus Christ, and that gift is eternal life. Hopefully you can see how that defies entropy.

Up in heaven there is no entropy at all. Everything is living. As I said in my article, To Sin or Not to Sin, in heaven there is no death, no pain, no tears or sorrow (Rev 21:4). The city is made of pure gold, as pure as glass (Rev 21:18). Even the great street of the city is made of pure gold (Rev 21:21 ). It's walls are decorated with every kind of precious stone (Rev 21:19). The city shines brightly with the glory of God (Rev 21:11,23). There is a pure river of the water of life there that is clear as crystal, and there are many mansions (Jn 14:2). The tree of life is there, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month (Rev 22:2). There are countless myriads of holy angels, as well as the spirits of righteous men made perfect (Heb 12:22-23; Rev 5:11). There is no sin there, because nothing impure may enter that place, and nobody who does what is shameful or deceitful will ever enter it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life (Rev 21:27). God is reigning over the universe there on his throne at the center of it all, and Jesus Christ sits at his right hand with great power and glory -- with angels, powers, and authorities in submission to Him (1 Pe 3:22).

The people in heaven are all young and healthy, and the grass is all green with no brown spots or withering of any kind. Since there is no death, decay, or entropy of any kind in heaven, there is no dust, dirt, grime, or disease. There is no garbage or waste of any kind. There is no rust, but everything is shiny and new. And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." And He said, "Write, for these words are faithful and true." (Rev 21:5).

The kingdom of heaven is at hand, according to the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." (Mt 3:2, NIV). Consequently, when the kingdom of heaven is at hand, we experience the effects of it here and now. One of those effects is that His kingdom comes into our midst and His will is done on earth as it is in heaven. The glories of heaven are manifested here and now. When the kingdom of heaven is near, it reverses the usual effects of entropy, whereby disorder is normally increasing, not decreasing, and some unusual things can happen. The impossible now becomes possible. Let me give you some examples.

Free Not to Sin

In addition to having eternal life, there is a way to defy entropy while we are still alive on earth. I have alluded to one of them at the end of the last section, which is that the followers of Christ participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world. We have been set free from the law of sin and death and now live by the law of the Spirit of life. "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death." (Rom 8:2). Once you have been set free from the law of sin and death, you no longer have any obligation to sin. You are free not to sin! "So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed." (Joh 8:36). Your mind is set on the Spirit. which brings about life and peace. "For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace." (Rom 8:6).

Abundant Life

As I said in my article, To Sin or Not to Sin, abundant life is a gift that those of us who know Jesus get to enjoy while we are still on earth before we die and go to heaven. Since I came to know Christ thirty-two years ago, I have experienced an abundant life in Christ filled with more joy, laughter, and fun than I could have ever imagined. There have been times when the Holy Spirit has come upon me and I have experienced a holy laughter that was pure and wonderful, unlike anything this world has to offer. Being baptized with the Holy Spirit and living the Spirit-filled life has been far more enjoyable than living that old life of sin and shame. I'm so glad I decided to give my life to Jesus and follow Him in this abundant life, rather than stay in sin. If I had remained in sin, I would never have come to know such joy unspeakable and full of glory! I would have probably ended up dead or in jail eventually, but instead he has blessed me with a wife and children and all the happy moments that we have enjoyed together. He has blessed me with the joy of preaching the gospel in countries around the world, as well as here in the United States, seeing people give their lives to Jesus. I have experienced the glory of His manifest presence, as well as the wonder of seeing people miraculously healed and set free from demons. I am able to sing and rejoice with a clear conscience. Nothing I had before Christ could ever compare with the abundant life He has given to me. This, too, defies entropy, because now there is order and peace, where there once was disorder and confusion.

"For God is not a God of disorder but of peace" (1 Cor 14:33a, NIV). So when you are right with God, order and peace replace disorder and confusion. It is the devil, not God, that brings disorder. The devil comes to kill, steal, and destroy, but Jesus comes that you may have life and that more abundantly (Jn 10:10). 

Casting Out Demons

When demons are cast out, then whatever disorder they have brought into a person's life is also removed. When Jesus cast out the legion of demons from the demoniac, it went completely against the second law of thermodynamics (Mk 5:1-20).

The demons had brought such disorder to that man's life that he was miserable. "Constantly, night and day, he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and gashing himself with stones." (Mar 5:5). He was like a wild, rabid animal. Nobody could go near him for fear he would hurt them. For a long time the man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. Once Jesus cast the demons out of him, the demons with the Lord's permission went into the roughly two thousand pigs in the nearby herd. Once the demons entered into the pigs, they rushed down a steep embankment into the lake and drowned. Just imagine how miserable that man's life must have been with all those demons inside of him! It's no wonder he acted the way he did. Even the pigs went crazy and hated their lives so much that they all wanted to commit suicide. The demons drove them mad. It was not a good outcome for the pigs that day.

However, look at the outcome for the man who had been demon-possessed and was now delivered. Scripture says that the man was sitting down, clothed and in his right mind (Mar 5:15). No longer was he naked and out of his mind as he had been, but now he was dressed and well composed. He was experiencing total peace the way God intended for him. How wonderful!

Likewise, God has given to those who believe in Jesus the power to cast out demons. He has given us the power to defy and reverse the effects of entropy in specific instances. I have seen and experienced such things firsthand, so I can testify it is really true. Jesus said, "These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." (Mar 16:17-18). That passage gives us an excellent picture of how we, by God’s power, can reverse various processes resulting from the second law of thermodynamics.

If you believe in Jesus and have received the baptism with the Holy Spirit, then you will have power to be His witness. Jesus said, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."(Act 1:8). Besides the power to cast out demons, here are some other effects of the kingdom of heaven coming near and the power of the Holy Spirit being manifested.

Healing the Sick

Another example is healing. For the Lord promised that those who believe in His name will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. As I said, I have seen this first hand many times, and all the glory belongs to Jesus. The gospels and the book of Acts are full of many examples of Jesus and His apostles healing people of incurable sicknesses and diseases, such as leprosy (a skin disorder), as well as paralysis, blindness, deafness, muteness, hemorrhaging, lameness, and epilepsy (seizures). The Scripture says:

"And immediately after they came out of the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon's mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and immediately they spoke to Jesus about her. And He came to her and raised her up, taking her by the hand, and the fever left her, and she waited on them. When evening came, after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were demon-possessed. And the whole city had gathered at the door. And He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who He was." (Mar 1:29-34)

Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb 13:8), so He is still performing healing and miracles like that in the world today through His disciples. Some people deny this and think that everyone with a gift of healing or miracles is a huckster that is pretending to do these things in order to take people's money. That is simply not true. As I said, I can testify to what I have seen with my own eyes, and I can produce other witnesses who can do the same. I know that I am not lying but speaking the truth. Why is it so difficult for people to believe that God can do anything and that He changes not?

Even under the Old Covenant, God made this promise: “The Lord will keep you free from every disease. He will not inflict on you the horrible diseases you knew in Egypt, but he will inflict them on all who hate you.” (Deut 7:15). If God could do this for those under the Old Covenant, who’s to say He can’t do that under the New Covenant, which is founded on better promises, and has a better high priest, and better blood? Why would anyone say that such things that were possible under the Old Covenant are not possible under the New Covenant? The answer is lack of faith and unbelief.

All God’s promises are ‘yes’ in Christ, but we must say the ‘amen.’ The apostle Paul said, "For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God." (2 Cor 1:20, NIV). God has already given us many great and precious promises through which we may participate in the divine nature, and all we need to do is claim them by faith (2 Pe 1:4). As Jesus said, "Everything is possible for him who believes" (Mk 9:23, NIV). And on another occasion He said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God." (Mk 10:27, NIV). Therefore, God still has the power to heal the sick and do anything He likes, even reversing entropy. And those who believe in Jesus are still able to lay hands on the sick and see them recover, but often times we limit Him by our own unbelief.

For more on healing the sick, please see my article The Power of God to Heal.

Drinking Deadly Poison Without Harm
Another example of defying entropy is drinking deadly poison with no ill effects. Jesus said that one of the signs that would follow those who believe in Him is that if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them (Mar 16:17-18). This does not mean we are to be presumptuous and try drinking deadly poison to see what will happen. But if per chance we drink it, He promised that it would not hurt us. This is obviously impossible without God, since deadly poison causes death when it enters the human body.

For those who think that this Scripture is spurious and that we do not see it happening today where Christians are unharmed by deadly poison, let me share just one example of a case in point where it happened fairly recently. My brother and dear friend Michael Sambo, who is a preacher in Nigeria, was captured by Boko Haram terrorists while traveling on ministry. After they had already killed another one of their captives, who was lying dead right there beside him, they blindfolded him and made him drink poison. He drank it and suffered no ill effects, which proves that the passage in Mark 16 is true, and the power of God is able to defy entropy.

More than one of the terrorists also shot at him with assault rifles at close range while standing in front of him, but even though he heard the sound of the guns, none of the bullets touched him. In fact, God sent an angel to help him escape, just as He did for the apostle Peter when he was in prison. There are witnesses to corroborate his story, and I know him to be an honest man. Since this incident occurred, he has visited me and eaten in my home in the US, along with one of the witnesses, and I know that he would certainly not lie about this. For the full story, please see my article, Angelic Escape from Terrorist Assassins.

Raising the Dead
Jesus also raised the dead during His earthly ministry. There are many examples of this.

One example is when He raised the twelve-year old daughter of Jairus the synagogue official from the dead. The man had asked Jesus to come and lay His hand upon the girl, who was sick, so that she would be healed. But by the time Jesus arrived, she was already dead and people were mourning. Scripture says:

"Taking the child by the hand, He said to her, 'Talitha kum!' (which translated means, 'Little girl, I say to you, get up!'). Immediately the girl got up and began to walk, for she was twelve years old. And immediately they were completely astounded." (Mar 5:41-42)

He also raised others from the dead like the son of the widowed woman (Lk 7:11-17), who was in a coffin, and Lazarus who had been in the tomb for four days (Jn 11:38-44). In the case of Lazarus, his body was already starting to stink from decomposition, but when he came forth at the command of Jesus and they removed the grave cloths, he was perfectly well.

And Jesus commissioned His disciples to do the same thing. He said, "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give." (Mt 10:8, NIV). The apostle Peter also raised Dorcas from the dead (Ac 9:36-42), and the apostle Paul raised Eutychus (Ac 20:7-12). If there was ever a perfect example of reversing the effects of entropy, raising the dead is one of them. 

Resurrection of Christ

Then there’s Jesus’ resurrection, which is the greatest example of all. If you want to talk about reversing entropy, just consider how He was raised from the dead. He had been beaten beyond recognition. His face was disfigured (Is 52:14). He had been scourged so much that the flesh on His back was ripped open and in shreds. He was nailed to the cross (Mt 27:35) and was left to hang there for six hours until He gave up His Spirit. His disciples took down His body, wrapped it in clean linen, and placed it in a tomb. But His body did not see decay.

The apostle Paul said, "God raised Him from the dead so that He will never be subject to decay. As God has said, ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.’ So it is also stated elsewhere: ‘You will not let your holy one see decay.’ Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed. But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay." (Ac 13:34-37, NIV).

Putting it All Together
Since this world and the universe and all that is in them are subject to the second law of thermodynamics, they are in a state of gradual decline. There is entropy on every side -- physical entropy, mental entropy, social entropy, and even moral entropy. One thing you can count on is that entropy is not on your side. It's a bad thing, not a good thing.

Thanks be to God that Jesus Christ is the risen Savior of the world, who has brought the kingdom of heaven near to us. It is now at hand, and His disciples who believe in Him can and do receive power from His Holy Spirit to reverse the effects of entropy in specific instances right here on earth. This includes healing, miracles, casting out demons, drinking deadly poison without any ill effects, and even raising the dead. Those who have received the gift of eternal life through faith in Christ will spend eternity in heaven with Jesus, where there is no disorder or decay. That's good news for mankind. Repent, therefore, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Attribution notice: Scripture taken from the NASB, copyright the Lockman Foundation. Other Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible NIV where noted. Images used according to Fair Use Act for commentary and educational purposes only.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, you may also like reading The Kingdom of God is Like This, Baptized with the Spirit, The Power of God to Heal, The Role of Demons, The Cause of Disease, Demonology 101, The Link Between Two Realms, To Sin or Not to Sin, The Land Mourns in the Last Days, The End Time Plagues, Wars and Rumors of Wars, Cosmic Rays Intensifying, Fukusima Daiichi Nuclea Disaster, The Contractions Are Coming Closer and Closer Together, Something's Going on in 2013, and Something's Going on in 2018. Here is a link to the audio recording of Angels Singing in China. For more articles like this one, please see the Home Page of this blog. You can also find my complete collection of blogs at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.