The Paranormal and The Sacred Radio Show

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Paul Missed You Soooo Much!

When Paul couldn't stand being away from his beloved Thessalonians any more, he sent his friend (and fellow Christian) Timothy to check up on them. Good news—Timothy reports back that all is well.Well, not totally. See, Christians are being persecuted just a little bit. Paul hopes that this isn't gonna shake the Thessalonians' faith in Jesus. They've gotta be rock solid in the face of opposition.But like Timothy said, everything is going pretty good. The Thessalonians apparently just accept that the whole being Christian thing is gonna come with a side of persecution pie. That's way less delicious than it sounds, BTW.Paul has also heard that the Thessalonians are anxious to welcome him back. That's kept him going through the tough times he's been facing in his travels. You know, getting throw into jail, beaten, and nearly stoned to death. All in a day's work for Paul.But all in all, Paul is super thankful for the Thessalonians and he can't wait to see them again. When he comes, he'll have a couple more pointers to give them, but no biggie, right?Paul prays that God will bring him to Thessalonica soon and that he'll build up the love the Thessalonians have for each other and every one in the world. (Wait, everyone? Even those persecutors? Yup. Paul's über inclusive.)He also hopes that they'll keep their records spotless so that they can be ready for the day that Jesus returns and starts kicking butt and taking names. Thanks to shmoop.com

I Thessalonians, Chapter 2

More greetings from Paul—What up, Thessalonica? Apparently, not much has changed since Paul last wrote. The Thessalonians are still keeping the faith, still loving, and still being persecuted. High fives all around! (Well, not so much for the persecution part.) However, there are a few points they need to go over. Some of them are wondering if "the day of the Lord" has come already. The answer is no. Apparently a lot of this end of the world stuff depends on a shady figure called the Man of Sin. He sounds scary, but no worries. Jesus is gonna wipe him out when he comes again. It's totally on his apocalyptic to-do list. Paul closes by reminding them not to tolerate any loafers in their midst. If folks aren't willing to work, then they're not gonna eat. Hardcore. Love, peace, and prayers to everyone back in Thessalonica. Paul out. Thanks to shmoop.com

Marcia Mack

Marcia Mack lives just outside of Chicago in a town called Lake Zurich. She graduated college from Columbia College Chicago majoring in Film and working in the business for several years after college. Currently she’s a Real Estate Broker by day, and a Paranormal Investigator by night, and you can imagine that her job sometimes takes her into some eerie homes and buildings. Marcia has been active in the paranormal field for over 8 years, specializing in EVP's (Electronic Voice Phenomenon). She has been passionate about the paranormal since she was a child having experienced spirits and ghosts first hand...and spending years looking for an explanation. Over the years Marcia has investigated many locations in different states throughout the country, and has worked with many great folks in the field like Chris Fleming and the Booth Brothers. Currently, she works with IPRA as their EVP specialist as well as working independently with various other investigators. Marcia strives to do keep learning, and keep communicating to find those answers…and today she is closer to those answers than ever before. She has been invited to conduct an EVP workshop this fall at the Chicago Ghost Conference, she also has a YouTube channel called Ghosthunter Marcia, and on her channel she has what she calls her “Video Files” that are very simple compilation videos of evidence clips at different haunted locations.

Thessalonica~Home of Those Getting it Right

The letter starts with a little intro—greetings from Paul and his co-writers Silvanus and Timothy. Three authors? Yeah, but this is still kind of the Paul show. 

Paul and friends are writing to a group of Christians in Thessalonica. And—good news—he's just tickled pink with how things are going there.

Paul says the Thessalonian Christians have been specially chosen by God. (Hey, we thought the Jews were the chosen people?)

They not only understood the message of the gospel that Paul brought last time he was in town, but they all have the Holy Spirit, too. 

Even though it hasn't been all smooth sailing when it comes to their relationships with the non-Christians in town, the Thessalonians are keeping the faith and inspiring other Christian communities through out Greece. These guys and girls are real theological trendsetters.

People everywhere keep telling Paul and company how awesome the Thessalonians are. They used to worship idols, and now they've put their faith in the one true God and his son. 

They're also anxiously waiting for Jesus to come back to Earth and rescue all the faithful before God lays the smackdown on the not-so-faithful. It's gonna be great…for the faithful, that is. Thanks to shmoop.com

Martha Hazzard Decker

Decker's been involved in investigating paranormal actively since 1999.  As a child Decker experienced a number of unexplained occurrences which triggered her long time interest in the unknown.  She retired in 2007 from law enforcement as assistant chief of police, negotiator, detective and instructor.  She founded East Texas Paranormal (ETP) in 2007. ETP often investigates private homes and businesses.  Decker has professional experience as an investigator; criminally and civilly, also as a writer and photographer. She had several of her photographs included in The Big Click coffee table photo book. Then in 1995, Decker received a first place award for specialty reporting from Associated Press. She decided to delve back into writing and photography and is working another nonfiction book along with writing for examiner.com as Dallas Paranormal.  She has articles in The Realm Paranormal Magazine and on other websites. Decker has two blogs, one on the paranormal and the other on life after 50. She has interviewed for newspaper and magazine articles.  Decker is commissioned through the Texas Supreme Court as a process server and serves documents for court appearances to individuals. She has been a guest on numerous paranormal radio shows and accepts speaking engagements for paranormal conferences. From the author, "After speaking on numerous radio shows and talking about investigations, Paranormal Profiling was born.  I added an assortment of information that includes interview questions, safety issues, a forensic kit and photographs from actual cases". Her book is available at Amazon: Paranormal Profiling

Welcome to Sacred Sunday! Today we are reading Colossians Chapter 4.

We Need to Pray.

Aside from keeping a household structure that's totally conformed with 1st-century Roman life, what else are Christians supposed to do? Well, pray. Thank God in prayer. And pray that Paul gets out of prison soon. Seriously, the food in the slammer is terrible. They also need to be smart when it comes to non-believers. A Christian certainly can't deny the truth about Jesus, but that doesn't mean he or she has to stir up trouble. In other words, pick your battles very carefully. Friends of Yours, Paul? Paul is sending along this letter with his friend Tychicus (you may remember him from such biblical letters as Ephesians). He's gonna give the Colossians all the updates on Paul. No worries. Tychicus is also coming with Onesimus (you'll also see his name in the Epistle to Philemon). Aristarchus sends his best wishes from lock up. Barnabas's cousin, Mark, does, too. Jesus (who people call Justus, probably so he doesn't get confused with the way more important Jesus in Paul's life) also says hi! These three dudes are Jewish-Christians, and Paul's been really glad to have them around. Epaphras, who's a Gentile-Christian, is hanging out, too. He's the one who founded the church in Colossae, so he's really hoping things work out there. Luke and Demas say howdy, too. Paul wants them to pass along his best to everyone in Laocidea. Especially Nympha (she hosted church in her house). Once this letter has made the rounds in Colossae, they can send it onto the churches in Laodicea. Everyone gets a taste of Paul's goodness. Paul ends the letter by signing his own farewell. He tells his readers to "remember my chains." Not as catchy as kthxbai, but it's totally Paul's style.

They Used to Be Bad to the Bone

Basically, Paul doesn't want Christians to worry about all the petty things going down on Earth. Just stay focused on Jesus and all will be well. That means no sex outside of marriage. Don't do impure or lustful stuff or desire evil things. And definitely don't be greedy. It's a tall order. Back when the Colossians were Gentiles, they did all this bad stuff. But now that they're believers, things are different. They shouldn't be angry or cruel or mean or gossipy. They also shouldn't lie. Well, unless a fellow Christian asks if her toga makes her look fat. Christians basically have a whole new wardrobe. They need to put on their holiest ensemble and not those sinful rags from last season. The awesome part is that this means that everyone is equal in God's eyes. He doesn't see a difference between Greeks or Jews or foreigners or slaves or free people. Jesus is cool with everyone. Group hug! Really, just do good stuff. Be compassionate, kind, humble, meek, and patient. Forgive other people. . Don't forget to love. Bottom line, according to Paul: let Jesus be a part of your life, and you'll be happy and awesome and thankful for everything in your life. How about some thoughts for the ladies? Wives, obey your husbands, just like you would obey God himself. But gents, love your wives and don't be huge jerks to them. Kids, listen to your parents. Yeah, they can be lame, but it's the right thing to do. Dads, don't be cruel to your children. You might actually push them to rebel and that would not be good.  Just pretend that you're slaving away for God. You'll get your reward in Heaven! We guess that's one thing to look forward to. Don't forget, though—anyone who does the wrong thing will be punished. Fingers crossed that God actually has the whole "owning humans" thing under this "wrong stuff" category.

Curtis Don Vito and Kelly Magee, Part II. The Illuminati

Curtis Don Vito is a singer, songwriter, artist and front man for the independent rock band SNEW. Curtis is a visionary, psychic, and clairvoyant.  Curtis has spent his entire life communicating with angels, guides and spirits from other dimensions. He is the only person I know who I can have a six hour conversation with and call him right back for more because it was so interesting!  Curtis Don Vito will be sharing his experiences and insights into the power of the spiritual, and personal freedom verses Illuminati attempts at control from the highest levels. He is sharing with us his knowledge and theories on the New World Order with his SNEW band mate, Kelly Magee. Kelly Magee is a lifelong musician, former Golf Teaching Pro and most importantly a guy who threw away his television set for good in 2005. Kelly has been reading and studying about the world power matrix and their manipulations via alternative media a minimum of two hours a day since 2005. Together they will be discussing Illuminati, which means "enlightened ones" in Latin. It appears that the Illuminati’s main goal is to destroy national identities of countries, the Catholic Church, control others and eventually to establish the New World Order. We will be discussing this and more tonight! Contact: www.facebook.com/snewyou

Pauline Prison Blues

Prison is fine, but it's not a total cakewalk. Go figure. It's mostly a bummer because Paul can't get out to see any of his fellow Christians. He has to settle for writing letters. Luckily, he's pretty good at that. Paul wants all his Christian friends to know that the key is Jesus. He's the source of all God's wisdom and knowledge. He might not be physically present, but Paul's there with them in spirit. Time for a Clean Slate Just keep living lives in Christ and everyone will be fine, says Paul. Paul warns them not to be swayed by false teachers who swoop in with their fancy theories and lead nice Christians astray. Human traditions and ideas don't mean anything. It's the stuff that God tells us that really matters. The Christians in Colossae used to be non-believing Gentiles. That means they weren't circumcised like Jewish guys. They knew and understood God through Jesus, not through thousands of years of Jewish law, scripture, and traditions. After Jesus died, God didn't worry so much about all the laws and traditions that he had made such a big deal about starting way back in Exodus. God took those rules and the sins of the world and he nailed them to that cross with Jesus. Watch Out for False Teachers. They also shouldn't panic about what foods they eat, or which festivals they celebrate or what they should and shouldn't be doing on the Sabbath. God  just wants everyone to put their faith in Jesus.  Besides, if Christians are dead to the world, then why would they need to worry so much about all the worldly things they're doing? No bacon? No work on the Sabbath? No touching unclean things. They think they're being holy when they do these things, but in reality, following these rules doesn't have any effect on a person's heart, says Paul. Sorry, law-lovers.