It’s the eternal struggle for Christian actors in Hollywood: Just how far do you go when it comes to representing something that goes against your faith?

Some, like perennial movie villain Neal McDonough, will go so far as to even refuse to do any kiss scenes with an actress.

(McDonough, a happily married Christian, claims Hollywood has blackballed him for that steadfast refusal.)

Others, like modern movie star Chris Pratt, simply choose to proudly tout their faith and spread the word of God through a large platform, while working for places — like Disney — that don’t always align with a Christian world viewpoint, but provide said platform.

Breaking News. Spirit-Filled Stories. Subscribe to Charisma on YouTube now!

And then there are outspoken Christians like star actress Candace Cameron Bure, whose status as a child actress adds some nuance to the original question.

That’s because Bure now has the hindsight to more critically observe the roles she took in the past, and there’s one small role that she doesn’t think she would ever take again.

Speaking on the Aug. 11 episode of “Pod Meets World,” a pop culture podcast run by the alum of beloved 1990s sitcom “Boy Meets World,” Bure opened up about the time she made a guest appearance on the show.

Bure is perhaps best known for her portrayal of D.J. Tanner in fellow 1990s sitcom “Full House.”

The longtime actress appeared in episode five of the fifth season of “Boy Meets World,” entitled “The Witches of Pennbrook.” Debuting in 1997, the episode featured Bure portraying Millie the witch, who was trying to seduce one of the male main characters to steal his soul, and use it to resurrect some demon lord.

In short, it’s decidedly something that goes against much of what Bure’s faith stands for.

And she’s aware of it.

“I remember when they asked me if I would feel comfortable, and they asked me to do that part, and they were like, ‘How do you feel about playing a witch?’” Bure recounted. “And I was like, ‘Well, I’m an actress, like [it’s] totally fine. This is fun. It’s sitcom. It’s great comedy. I’m good with that. So yeah, came in just feeling really fun.

“But now, watching the episode … like, huh.”

Get your FREE CHARISMA NEWSLETTERS today! Stay up-to-date with current issues, Holy Spirit news, Christian teachings, Charisma videos & more!

Later on in the conversation, podcast co-host Danielle Fishel broached the topic of the role, but specifically from the angle of Bure’s faith.

“Now we’ve alluded to it a little bit by talking about how it feels different looking back at it retroactively,” Fishel began. “You are very vocal about your faith and your values and how much they play a pivotal role in the jobs you act in and the jobs you produce.

To pre-order John Ramirez’s new book, “Exposing the Devil’s Playbook,” visit .

“Would you, if you were offered a role like that today, would you take it? Or do you think that’s something you pass on?”

“Here’s what I always say. I am an actor,” Bure said. “I’m not looking to play myself, right. So if there was a part that called for the evil witch, but it was redemptive at the end?

“That’s what I’m always looking for in my storytelling and stories of faith, whether they have faith or not. I just want redemption. So if the through line was like, ‘Evil is good, let’s keep practicing this,’ my answer would be, no.”

The podcast then collectively mused on what happened in that episode, before coming to the conclusion that Millie had no such redemption. She simply failed, and theoretically could move on to the next teenage boy’s soul.

Because of that, Bure claimed that she would “probably not” take the role today.

The wide-ranging podcast discussed a number of other topics, including the awkwardness Fishel and Bure both experienced when their respective sitcoms filmed episodes focused on their weight.

This article originally appeared on The Western Journal, and is reposted with permission.

Join Charisma Magazine Online to follow everything the Holy Spirit is doing around the world!

Does God speak to us through dreams?

Lisa Bevere had a prophetic dream warning she believes is critical for us right now. It was about the spiritual battle between women and dragons.

“I found myself in a dream where I was walking into a room of women. They were all different women of all different ages. And in my dream I felt like I knew these women, but I don’t remember any of them individually,” Bevere says.

Breaking News. Spirit-Filled Stories. Subscribe to Charisma on YouTube now!

Bevere reveals in this dream she knew something was off when she entered the room full of women. Then, she saw something shocking and horrifying.

“All of the women were holding something close to their chest, kind of like hiding it,” she explains. “Kind of coddling it, kind of stroking it. And as I got closer I realized that all of the women were holding different jewel-toned baby dragons.”

Bevere admits that this sounds completely wild, but the detail of the dragons had an even greater depth to it.

“These baby dragons were dressed in children’s clothing. They were sapphire and ruby red and emerald green and bright yellow. And in my dream I thought, ‘What is going on? Why would women be holding in a protective way, baby dragons?'”

To order Jonathan Cahn’s new book, “The Dragon’s Prophecy,” visit .

As the dream continued, Bevere went to each woman and asked if they realized they were holding a dragon. She says these women would bring comeback statements, as though she couldn’t understand the importance of these dragons to them.

“They would counter me and say, ‘These are different dragons. These are the wise, kind dragons.’ But I knew there was no agreement between daughters and dragons,” says Bevere.

In the dream, Bevere rose up in anger as the women wanted her to pet their dragons, but she knew this would’ve been a grave mistake.

So, what does this dream mean? What warning was God giving Lisa Bevere?

Get your FREE CHARISMA NEWSLETTERS today! Stay up to date with current issues, Holy Spirit news, Christian teachings, Charisma videos & more!

“That was in 2016. Time passed, and I began to watch what was unfolding. I began to realize that these rainbow-colored, jewel-toned dragons dressed in children’s clothing actually represent an attack and an alignment between the enemy of our souls and God’s daughters. Somehow, the dragons had tricked the women into thinking that they were allies when they are eternal enemies. And so, I decided I need[ed] to do a deep dive into what I saw. And I want you to know that dragons are very, very real,” she says.

Bevere points to Revelation 12:17 which reads: “Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and he went to wage war with the remnant of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

“What began between one woman, Eve, and a serpent in the garden, has now grown to a dragon and all those that hold to the testimony of Jesus Christ and keep His commandments. But there is a special hatred between women and dragons, women and serpents. We see it play out in Revelation 12 that there is a very angry dragon who is after our children and we need to wake up as women and understand that God is calling us to fight this dragon in the strength that He has given us as daughters of God,” Bevere continues.

To order John Bevere’s “The Bait of Satan,” visit .

There is a very real enemy who comes to steal, kill and destroy us at all costs. It is his goal to see the children of God crumble and fall to pieces. But through the power of the Holy Spirit, by the covering of Christ’s blood shed on the cross, we can overcome the fiery darts of the enemy.

Join Charisma Magazine Online to follow everything the Holy Spirit is doing around the world!

Abby Trivett is content development editor for Charisma Media.

Is There a Secret in the Bible that Reveals What’s Happening in Our World Right Now?

Is there is more to this world than meets the eye? Is there another realm that’s transforming our lives at this very moment—an ancient vision that unlocks what is really happening to our world … and what is yet to come?

Are we all players in a mystery that began long before we were born, that has spanned the ages and has, in modern times, threatened the future of our planet?

Jonathan Cahn answers these stunning questions and more in his latest blockbuster bestseller “The Dragon’s Prophecy: Israel, the Dark Resurrection, and the End of Days” released Tuesday of this week, Sept. 3, by Charisma Media.

The book will unveil the dangerous forces existent from ancient times and now moving and determining world events. “The Dragon’s Prophecy” will reveal the stunning mysteries of the Dark Resurrection; the Return of the Sea Peoples; the Revenge of the 3,000; the Black Sabbath; the Secret on the Mount; the Beast and much more.

Another Mystery Now to Be Opened

Amazingly, Cahn was working on a different book—the sequel to “The Return of the Gods”—when current events demanded that he switch subjects.

NEW RELEASE! Jonathan Cahn’s latest jaw-dropping book, “The Dragon’s Prophecy.” Find it at .

THANK YOU FOR VISITING . TO ENJOY THE REST OF THIS CHARISMANEWS POST, PLEASE VISIT THIS LINK. 

Is There a Secret in the Bible that Reveals What’s Happening in Our World Right Now?

Is there is more to this world than meets the eye? Is there another realm that’s transforming our lives at this very moment—an ancient vision that unlocks what is really happening to our world … and what is yet to come?

Are we all players in a mystery that began long before we were born, that has spanned the ages and has, in modern times, threatened the future of our planet?

Jonathan Cahn answers these stunning questions and more in his latest blockbuster bestseller “The Dragon’s Prophecy: Israel, the Dark Resurrection, and the End of Days” released Tuesday of this week, Sept. 3, by Charisma Media.

The book will unveil the dangerous forces existent from ancient times and now moving and determining world events. “The Dragon’s Prophecy” will reveal the stunning mysteries of the Dark Resurrection; the Return of the Sea Peoples; the Revenge of the 3,000; the Black Sabbath; the Secret on the Mount; the Beast and much more.

Another Mystery Now to Be Opened

Amazingly, Cahn was working on a different book—the sequel to “The Return of the Gods”—when current events demanded that he switch subjects.

NEW RELEASE! Jonathan Cahn’s latest jaw-dropping book, “The Dragon’s Prophecy.” Find it at .

“This was not the book I had planned to write,” says Cahn. “But what happened across the world would combine with a strong leading in my spirit that the book I was about to write was for a future time. The Lord interrupted me and led me instead to write ‘The Dragon’s Prophecy.’ Another mystery was now to be opened.”

Cahn says this book is different from any other book he has ever written. “I’ve never written a book before that opens up the realm of end-time prophecy and even how there are actual developments and currents in world events that are connected to the book of Revelation,” he says. “I’ve never written a book about the prophecies of Ezekiel or about the Beast.”

But “The Dragon’s Prophecy” uncovers all that and more.

This book was also different in that amazing things kept happening as Cahn undertook writing it—current events kept unfolding so quickly that he could barely keep up. “This is the only book where, as I was writing it, I had to keep rewriting it to update it,” he says, “because what I was writing kept coming true.”

Attack on Israel Foretold

One of the mysteries in the book foretold the invasion of Israel with chilling precision.

“This mystery actually foretold the attack down to the exact time it happened,” says Cahn. “It was on the evening of Oct. 6, that I was led to speak of this mystery from the Bible at Beth Israel, the worship center I lead in Wayne, New Jersey.

“The mystery ordained that there would be an attack on Israel—that it would catch Israel by surprise, that it would happen on the Sabbath and on a Hebrew holiday—it would take place on the first Saturday in October 2023.  The very next morning was Oct. 7—it was then that it came true. That’s how specific and precise this is.  It’s one of the mysteries in ‘The Dragon’s Prophecy’ that may enable us to know events that are yet to happen and when!”

The Dragon

Cahn reveals that a dangerous force from ancient times is behind these calamitous events, and it’s operating in the world today.

“The Bible speaks about an angelic being that turned against God,” he says. “In Hebrew it’s called Hassatan; that’s where we get the word ‘Satan’ from. It refers to the entity that exists to oppose the purposes of God.

“At the same time, God created another entity, a nation, a people, created to fulfill the purposes of God— the Jewish people—Israel. They exist to bear witness of God and fulfill His purposes, to bring God into the world, to bring His Word into the world, to bring Messiah into the world and to bring the kingdom into the world that’s yet to come.”

A Supernatural Ancient War

So what happens when the one who is against the purposes of God comes in contact with those who exist to fulfill the purposes of God? “You’re going to have a war,” says Cahn. “If you want to understand what’s happened with Jewish history—and even what’s happened in the last year—you need to understand that it’s part of an ancient war. There is a real force.

“You cannot explain the war against the Jewish people, and what we’ve just seen in the world, by any natural means,” he adds. “This is supernatural. It goes back to this angelic being, Satan, and that’s why it never ends. Because the enemy doesn’t die.

“So it’s no accident that the most opposed, hated, persecuted people in the world are the Jewish people,” Cahn explains. “It has to be that way, because there is something satanic warring against them. Not only do the Jewish people bear witness of God, but they bear witness of the enemy too, because of what we have been through.

“There’s an ancient and cosmic war taking place on earth, on the stage of human history and before our eyes,” he says. “It’s been going on for 4,000 years. We have just in this last year seen the eruption of it, but it’s the same war—it’s part of an ancient mystery.”

You Can Overcome!

In “The Dragon’s Prophecy,” Cahn also reveals the dragon’s strategies against every Christian and what we need to know to overcome him—how the dragon wages war against each of us and what are the hidden keys to victory in the light of what’s coming.

“This is the secret of the end times, and there are ancient mysteries behind it all,” says Cahn. “The Bible speaks of the dragon as the enemy, and the enemy is against whatever is of God. That’s not only in the world, it’s not only in Israel, it’s not only with the church, but it’s in each of our lives. There is actually a war against each of us, and this book opens up the strategies to overcome the dragon in your own life.

“It was for that reason that I wrote ‘The Dragon’s Prophecy,’ to remove the veil behind what is happening our world—to expose the spiritual realm, the forces, the entities, the mystery, and to enable the reader to know the strategies of the Dragon, not only against Israel and the church, but against every person born in the image of God.  In the end times, this war will only intensify.  So the book is not only to reveal but to enable and arm the believer to stand, to prevail and to overcome the Dragon!”

Jonathan Cahn is known as a prophetic voice to our times. He leads Hope of the World ministry and Beth Israel/the Jerusalem Center, his ministry base and worship center in Wayne, New Jersey. He is a much-sought-after speaker and appears throughout America and the world. For more information go to .

Here’s a quick rundown of the top stories on :

Ministry Leaders Respond to Attack on Greg Locke’s Home

Ministry leaders are speaking out after a gunman targeted Pastor Greg Locke and his family late last night.

Locke shared the disturbing news on Facebook, including images of bullet holes which were marked across his truck and the family’s home, even damaging his daughter’s headboard. One of Locke’s children was at home during the incident, but thankfully they were in a different area of the house. The Locke family is safe and were escorted to a secure location.

Since this news broke, ministry leaders close to Locke and his family have spoken out about the situation and how the body of Christ should react to this heinous act of violence.

Breaking News. Spirit-Filled Stories. Subscribe to Charisma on YouTube now!

Gunman Targets Pastor Greg Locke’s Home in Shocking Attack

Pastor Greg Locke and his family were the targets of a gunman late on Tuesday night, Sept. 3.

Locke gave the update on Facebook to let people know that he and his family were safe and unharmed, by God’s miraculous grace.

It’s 2:00 a.m. and for the last three hours our home has been a full-blown crime scene. According to the security cam footage, we pulled into our driveway exactly ONE MINUTE after a madman unloaded an entire magazine of bullets from an automatic weapon into our house, garage and my truck. The sound on the video is truly horrific. Detectives will still be here for a good while tonight.

Get your FREE CHARISMA NEWSLETTERS today! Stay up to date with current issues, Holy Spirit news, Christian teachings, Charisma videos & more!

Beware: Spiritual Risks of Watching ‘The Deliverance’

Apostle Alexander Pagani, a deliverance minister, pastor and author, has issued a warning to believers regarding the potential spiritual dangers of viewing films like “The Deliverance.” He argues that such movies can open doors to spiritual influences that many Christians may not be equipped to handle.

Streaming now on Netflix, “The Deliverance” is one of the most viewed movies in America. The storyline is detailed by IMDB and lists it as a Horror/Thriller film.

In a case widely covered at the time, Latoya Ammons and her three children experienced strange incidents in their Gary, Indiana, home that grew progressively worse: the children were levitating, becoming violent with one another, and speaking in deep growls with no recollection afterward. Skeptics abounded, but the Gary Police Department, Department of Child Services and the local church and hospital all became involved, filing reports that took the supernatural occurrences seriously. Officers, doctors and social workers said they witnessed many of the incidents, including one in which Latoya’s 9-year-old son walked backward up a wall. The Indianapolis Star covered it closely as the Department of Child Services investigated it.

Join Charisma Magazine Online to follow everything the Holy Spirit is doing around the world!

Ministry leaders are speaking out after a gunman targeted Pastor Greg Locke and his family late last night.

Locke shared the disturbing news on Facebook, including images of bullet holes which were marked across his truck and the family’s home, even damaging his daughter’s headboard. One of Locke’s children was at home during the incident, but thankfully they were in a different area of the house. The Locke family is safe and were escorted to a secure location.

Since this news broke, ministry leaders close to Locke and his family have spoken out about the situation and how the body of Christ should react to this heinous act of violence.

Pastor Mike Signorelli took to YouTube for a livestream where he condemned the actions against Locke.

“I’m righteously angry,” Signorelli says.

Signorelli pointed to slander within the body of Christ as a stimulant for horrible actions to occur.

“For months and months I’ve been warning leaders in the body of ‘hey, look at the way that your people are acting in this comments section. Look at the way they’re talking. You need to correct that. You need to rebuke that. You need to discipline that.’ And many of them actually laughed at me and said, ‘It’s not that big of a deal.'”

“We are creating the conditions for these acts of violence. I’m talking ‘we’ as the body of Christ because we’re cooperating with the rhetoric of demons,” he continues.

Get your FREE CHARISMA NEWSLETTERS today! Stay up to date with current issues, Holy Spirit news, Christian teachings, Charisma videos & more!

“When I saw the pictures that Pastor Greg Locke posted, I thought to myself, ‘This is a life-altering event,'” he says.

Christian YouTuber Gabe Poirot also came out with a similar video, urging the body of Christ to speak and act more like Jesus.

“You cannot just be numb to what is going on around us because that’s exactly what the enemy is trying to do,” Poirot says.

“It is so important that we stop the bickering, we stop the criticism, we stop fighting against ourselves and that we would unite,” he continues.

Isaiah Saldivar also re-shared Locke’s Facebook, urging Christians to “pray for Pastor Greg Locke and his family!”

Breaking News. Spirit-Filled Stories. Subscribe to Charisma on YouTube now!

Jenny Weaver took to livestreaming as well to speak against slanderous speech.

“Enough is enough,” Weaver says. “I am asking for every minister, for every pastor, every person that is leading a group of people, you need to start to help your people ministers.”

Yesterday was the one-year anniversary of Pastor Locke’s Global Vision Bible Church National Deliverance Training Conference, where many people were set free through the power and the blood of Christ. It was also the release date of his new book, “The Generosity Journey.”

To order Greg Locke’s new book, “The Generosity Journey,” visit .

During this time, pray for the Locke family. This is the time for the body of Christ to heed these warnings so that we may not speak any unwholesome thing but rather speak words which elevate the name of Jesus.

THANK YOU FOR VISITING . TO ENJOY THE REST OF THIS MYCHARISMA POST, PLEASE VISIT THIS LINK.

Join Charisma Magazine Online to follow everything the Holy Spirit is doing around the world!

Abby Trivett is content development editor for Charisma Media.

Apostle Alexander Pagani, a deliverance minister, pastor and author, has issued a warning to believers regarding the potential spiritual dangers of viewing films like “The Deliverance.” He argues that such movies can open doors to spiritual influences that many Christians may not be equipped to handle.

Streaming now on Netflix, “The Deliverance” is one of the most viewed movies in America. The storyline is detailed by IMDB and lists it as a Horror/Thriller film.

In a case widely covered at the time, Latoya Ammons and her three children experienced strange incidents in their Gary, Indiana, home that grew progressively worse: the children were levitating, becoming violent with one another, and speaking in deep growls with no recollection afterward. Skeptics abounded, but the Gary Police Department, Department of Child Services and the local church and hospital all became involved, filing reports that took the supernatural occurrences seriously. Officers, doctors and social workers said they witnessed many of the incidents, including one in which Latoya’s 9-year-old son walked backward up a wall. The Indianapolis Star covered it closely as the Department of Child Services investigated it.

IMDB

Breaking News. Spirit-Filled Stories. Subscribe to Charisma on YouTube now!

Pagani contends that movies like “The Deliverance” should not be taken lightly by believers, emphasizing that they often contain content that could “open a door” to demonic influence. “For some Christians, it’s dangerous,” Pagani says, referring to the movie’s portrayal of possession and exorcism. He believes that engaging with such material, even passively through entertainment, can have real spiritual consequences.

Order Alexander Pagani’s book, The Secrets to Maintaining Your Deliverance” on !

From a biblical perspective, Pagani’s concerns align with Scriptural warnings against exposing oneself to ungodly influences. The Bible warns in Ephesians 6:12, “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world.” Movies that depict demonic activity in a sensationalized manner may desensitize believers to the reality of spiritual warfare, causing them to be less vigilant in guarding their hearts and minds.

Pagani further highlights the deceptive nature of horror films that portray exorcisms as entertainment. “We have to be discerning,” he advises, noting that the Bible encourages Christians to be sober and vigilant because “your adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour,” (1 Pet. 5:8). The minister argues that movies like this could numb viewers to the reality of spiritual warfare, making them more vulnerable to the very entities the films depict.

Get your FREE CHARISMA NEWSLETTERS today! Stay up-to-date with current issues, Holy Spirit news, Christian teachings, Charisma videos & more!

Ultimately, Pagani does not recommend “The Deliverance” for Christians, citing the potential risks to their spiritual well-being. “Don’t see the movie,” he states plainly, “don’t open that door.” For Pagani, the potential cost of exposure to such material far outweighs any entertainment value it might offer.

In a culture where the lines between demonic dangers in reality and fiction are increasingly blurred, Pagani’s warning is a call for believers to remain spiritually vigilant and to guard their hearts against influences that could lead them astray.

Join Charisma Magazine Online to follow everything the Holy Spirit is doing around the world!

James Lasher is staff writer for Charisma Media.

Tragedy struck a north central Georgia high school Wednesday morning, when a gunman opened fire at Apalachee High School in Barrow County, Georgia, northeast of Atlanta.

According to the Barrow County Sheriff, “At approximately 10:23 a.m., officers from multiple law enforcement agencies and Fire/EMS personnel were dispatched to the high school in reference to a reported active shooting.”

The suspect is reportedly alive and has been taken into custody.

Breaking News. Spirit-Filled Stories. Subscribe to Charisma on YouTube now!

Four deaths have been confirmed by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, with the exact number of wounded in a constant state of flux amid the chaos of the event.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has responded to the tragedy saying, “I have directed all available state resources to respond to the incident at Apalachee High School and urge all Georgians to join my family in praying for the safety of those in our classrooms, both in Barrow County and across the state.”

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens released a statement saying: “My prayers are with the high school students, staff and families affected by the senseless act of violence in Winder, Georgia.

“I have been in contact with Chief Schierbaum, and the Atlanta Police Department has been working with the Atlanta Public Schools Police Department to bolster patrols around our schools for the rest of the day out of an abundance of caution.

“APD has also been on standby in case law enforcement agencies need assistance with this incident. May God comfort the victims and their loved ones in the difficult days ahead.”

Get your FREE CHARISMA NEWSLETTERS today! Stay up-to-date with current issues, Holy Spirit news, Christian teachings, Charisma videos & more!

Meanwhile, as reported through Yahoo News, President Biden first expressed not concern for the victims, injured, students and families affected by the tragedy, but with a statement condemning gun violence, while White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre cravenly seized the political opportunity to push for gun bans while the tragedy was barely hours old.

Now is the time to pray over our decaying nation. To pray for the hearts of her citizens to turn back to the Lord and to bind the enemy seeking to snuff out life as though it was worthless. Changing people’s hearts will bring about positive change in the world, not surrendering our freedoms for the false promise of governmental protections.

This is a developing story, please follow Charisma News for further updates.

Join Charisma Magazine Online to follow everything the Holy Spirit is doing around the world!

James Lasher is staff writer for Charisma Media.

Ruslan KD is a podcaster, performer, influencer, refugee and, most importantly, a believer.

His powerful cultural commentaries are seen around social media, offering powerful, biblical takes on the issues of the day. But it’s his origin story some might not be familiar with — a journey filled with pain, doubt and eventual surrender.

“I’m … ethnically Armenian,” Ruslan recently told CBN News. “My father is full Armenian. My mother is adopted by an Armenian family in Azerbaijan — Baku. So, that’s the city we come from is Baku, right in the Middle East, off the Caspian Sea.”

Ruslan noted this region is well-known for its tensions, with Armenians being mistreated, targeted and even killed. The Armenian Genocide, which began in 1915, is one of the most horrific examples of the dire situations that have plagued the region.

Breaking News. Spirit-Filled Stories. Subscribe to Charisma on YouTube now!

The Armenian Genocide unfolded during World War I and led to Turkey — which has historically denied these events occurred — killing 1.5 million Armenians. Troubles for the Armenians have since persisted, with Ruslan’s family suffering amid the chaos.

“As the Soviet Union was starting to go through things in the ’80s and things are becoming tumultuous … my father, my grandfather … pretty much all the men had to get out of there as quickly as possible,” he said. “And they, at one point, borrowed police uniforms from their friends to just dress up and just try to get on the train and get out of there as quickly as possible.”

Ruslan and his mother stayed behind while his dad went to Moscow.

“And that is where we kind of saw some pretty gnarly … stuff of … soldiers coming to our house, people coming to our house, getting reports that we were Armenian,” he said. “And my mom saying, ‘Hey, no, no, we’re not Armenian. We’re Russian.’ And to the point where our physical health was in danger.”

Ruslan said “by the grace of God” they were able to get out of Baku and stayed in Moscow before immigrating to the United States in 1991 when he was just 6 years old. The family had applied for refugee status in Israel, Australia and America, thus Ruslan said his life could have gone many different ways.

This experience and the opportunities America has afforded Ruslan have made him “substantially more appreciative” of the U.S.

To order Mondo De La Vega’s “My Crazy Life,” visit .

Despite eventually becoming a well-known Christian influencer, Ruslan, at one point, struggled with belief and essentially rejected God.

“In Baku, we never went to church,” he said. “I don’t remember anything about church.”

But, in America, he and his family joined the Armenian Orthodox Church, which became a community hub for them. Ruslan was christened and even became an altar boy.

But something happened that shattered Ruslan’s experience. He said a group of older boys who were teenagers when he was just 7 or 8 years old abused him.

“[They] ended up showing me same-sex porn and then re-enacting the things that they saw in the videos on me when I was a child,” Ruslan said. “And that really, really jacked me up. But what jacked me up even more was the way the church responded — or didn’t respond. It was kind of brushed under the rug. No one really wanted to talk about it. There was no real accountability for them.”

Get your FREE CHARISMA NEWSLETTERS today! Stay up-to-date with current issues, Holy Spirit news, Christian teachings, Charisma videos & more!

The teens reportedly made it seem like Ruslan, a small child, was the aggressor.

To top off the chaotic events unfolding in his life, Ruslan said his parents split up and his mother spiraled into an amalgam of alcoholism and relationships with toxic men, with additional family chaos unfolding.

The church also reportedly allowed Ruslan’s father to marry another woman despite his mother’s claims there was no official divorce, further creating contention, frustration, and confusion.

“My mom is telling me that the church is wrong for doing this,” he said. “And, so I became very, very hardened to the idea of God to the point where I’m … full-on an atheist.”

In the midst of Ruslan’s personal chaos, he had to do some community service hours. It turns out a woman named Sheree — the mother of his friend, Steven — got into legal trouble and had to do hours alongside him. In jail, Sheree became a Christian and, in turn, started impacting her entire neighborhood.

“She ends up doing a couple years in jail, and in jail, she ends up getting radically, radically converted,” he said. “While she gets radically converted, she leads … most of our apartment complex to start going to church with her.”

While doing community service with Sheree and two other neighbors, Ruslan heard the Gospel — and the seed was planted.

To read the full story, visit our content partners at Faithwire.

Reprinted with permission from . Copyright © 2024 The Christian Broadcasting Network Inc. All rights reserved.

Join Charisma Magazine Online to follow everything the Holy Spirit is doing around the world!

Who the Son sets free is free indeed.

Jac Marino Chen spent years caught up in all kinds of demonic, supernatural occurrences. Now, in an interview with Allie Beth Stuckey, Chen is sharing how she got out of the darkness and into the light.

As a child, Chen had an encounter with entities which she originally believed were angels, later on to discover that they were actually aliens. As a teenager, Chen was drawn to New Age beliefs like the law of attraction and how she could control her reality. Eventually, Chen found herself deep into occultic practices.

“I started being influenced by these entities,” Chen says. “One thing led to another led to another until I joined in an occult order called The Golden Dawn where we practiced ritual magic in a Freemason lodge, and it was there that Jesus Christ met me in that darkness and saved me.”

Get your FREE CHARISMA NEWSLETTERS today! Stay up to date with current issues, Holy Spirit news, Christian teachings, Charisma videos & more!

Before Chen was saved by Christ, she found herself in a relationship with a man based on the concept of “twin flames.” This ideology leads people to believe that they are supposed to be together no matter what, regardless of important factors like marital status. The belief is that these two people are the same as one another and have no other option than to be together.

“He taught me that we lived hundreds of lives and we were each other,” Chen says. “And that in some of them we sadly were sent on different quests but we were the same being, ultimately.”

“Ultimately, I made this man my god,” she continues. “He became my religion, teaching me about the New Age.”

To order your copy of John Ramirez’s new book “Exposing The Devil’s Playbook,” visit .

As Chen’s life continued to spiral downward, learning about paganism, polyamory and taking psychedelic drugs to communicate with demonic entities, she eventually found herself joining an occult order.

“I was walking down the street and I saw a Freemason Lodge and [it] glowed,” Chen says. “So that got me more into the Masonic texts, cabalistic is a secret society, ultimately, I think that it has a lot to do with idolatry and gnosticism.”

While Freemasonry is known for being a brotherhood, according to Chen, there are Masonic orders for women as well.

“I ended up being led to the Golden I ended up being led there because I saw these tarot cards that were glowing and they ended up being the tarot deck by a man named Alister Crowley, and he’s known as the most wicked man to have ever lived,” Chen says.

Chen says that when she went to become initiated into the Freemason order, she was dressed in a black robe and red socks, and was encouraged to meditate before it took place.

“I was hoodwinked so I couldn’t see, and it was very dark. A lot of it had to do with taking John 15 out of context, that you’re going into the darkness to shine the light of knowledge in it, the secret knowledge,” Chen says. “There was a sword put to my neck swearing that I would never share what I learned.”

Breaking News. Spirit-Filled Stories. Subscribe to Charisma on YouTube now!

Chen would soon learn the darkness of blood rituals, including the secret behind abortion.

“…blood in general [was considered] powerful for magic practices. So when I see people doing things like abortion it as a practice as something magical, it makes sense with the lies that I was believing back then.”

As dark as this phase of Chen’s life was, Christ was able to break through even these horrendously dark parts.

“I got out my Bible and I started reading it, still thinking I had the secret knowledge, but it didn’t matter because as I was reading it was like I was being filled,” Chen says. “Every other thing would leave me hungrier and emptier and I would keep searching and searching, always learning, never coming to the knowledge of truth. But with this it was like satisfying me. And I just kept reading it and reading it.”

Chen learned about God’s holiness and what sin truly meant. She discovered what the price of sin cost, with Christ laying down His life in exchange for her redemption.

“I knew that the Lord was with me and spoke to me through His Word and I could run to Him in prayer,” says Chen.

Chen’s testimony is a reminder of how there is absolutely nothing greater than Jesus Christ, and it is Him and Him alone where we can find complete fullness, joy and deliverance.

Join Charisma Magazine Online to follow everything the Holy Spirit is doing around the world!

Abby Trivett is content development editor for Charisma Media.