"The Origins of a Chain Letter"

SCRIPTURE:

Psalm 107:14

He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness, and broke away their chains.

Psalm 86:13

For great is Your loving devotion to me; You have delivered me from the depths of Sheol.

Psalm 116:16

Truly, O LORD, I am Your servant; I am Your servant, the son of Your maidservant; You have released my bonds.

Chain Letter Origins (In a Nutshell!)

In 1888, a Methodist women’s missionary group was having serious cash flow problems. Additions to their facilities had added up to an astounding $16,000. While the group leaders prayed for assistance, they also acknowledged they might need to take the initiative.

Just when all hope seemed lost, a woman who had heard of their troubles said that she had a possible solution: Someone had told her that arranging for a chain letter could be a possible avenue to financial reward. Around the same time, the church received a chain letter requesting funds for another now forgotten object, sent to them by someone who thought it would work for this group as well. The head of the congregation, Lucy Rider Meyer, took the suggestions seriously and drafted a letter that contained both a solicitation to send her one dime and to send a copy of the letter to three friends, who would (hopefully) repeat the process.

Meyer dashed off 1500 copies and waited. The responses came pouring in. The missionaries eventually raised $6000, with many people sending more than a dime and others even using the letter as the inspiration to join their flock. In spirit and cold cash, the chain letter had been a success. While most recipients were happy to either contribute or disregard the letter, a few took the time to write back and complain about being targeted multiple times. One irritated addressee wrote:"To tell the plain truth, I am exasperated with this plan. I am a very busy woman, and this is the third benevolence I have been asked to help in this way."Others took a more direct way of holding on to their cash:"I have figured up, and you must already have an abundance of money for the house. So I won’t send any."The missionaries dubbed the chain letter a “peripatetic contribution box,” a kind of postal hat-passing that immediately began growing in popularity. Newspapers like the New York World printed forms to raise money for a memorial for Spanish-American war soldiers; in 1898, a 17-year-old volunteer for the Red Cross devised a chain that solicited money for ice to send to troops stationed in Cuba. So many thousands of letters poured in that they choked her Babylon, New York post office, prompting her mother to issue an open plea to stop people from sending any more.While potentially annoying to some, many of these letters were altruistic in nature—an attempt to drum up financial support for what was considered to be a worthy cause. But it didn’t take long for the template to be adapted to a less noble pursuit: conning people out of money.At the height (or low point) of the Great Depression in 1935, the city of Denver became the epicenter of a massive chain letter campaign known as the Send-a-Dime effort. In a time of severe financial strife, recipients were urged to send along money to a list of names, with their own fortune coming when their turn arrived in the queue.People in desperate need of hope began to rely on a promise of prosperity, populating chain letter brokerage firms that sold shares in names due to hit it big. The brokers made thousands; the letter writers made nothing. Western Union was sued for over $27 million for helping perpetuate the fraud, and the postal service threatened prosecution under anti-lottery and anti-solicitation statutes. Although dime letters have since fallen by the wayside, chain letters were never totally stifled.

When I was a little girl growing up in Pennsauken, New Jersey. My family have encountered too many times of chain letters. In fact, I remember one day, my oldest sister opened the mail that was addressed to her, it told her, that if she didn't write another letter and send it off to someone, that she would die in the next few days. These letters only ended up in our trash! When I became a teenager, being a newly born Christian, I encountered some letters myself! But you see, I knew the "Creator of all things" who had my back! So, they too ended up on our garbage! What people didn't know, we had a large population of Wiccans in Pennsauken. They even had a lodge that was centered at the end of town right before you entered Camden, New Jersey. Today, I don't know if they still exist! It would be a shame if they did! With the movement of the Holy Spirit in that area with some churches, the devil should of gave up by now!

Today, it seems we have a new wave of chain letters, that have inundated the Web! Especially, Facebook! I received them on messenger every single day! I know that my well meaning brothers and sisters in Christ are trying to send an "encouraging word" that wishes me a "blessed day" or "prosperity is coming your way" and to "pass it on" so I can get my "miracle" from God!

BUT, Don't you see, IT'S STILL WITCHCRAFT!!!!!!!!

You see, it's the spiritual origin behind of it all!

We do this with Halloween as well! We just call them "Harvest / Creation Parties." But, think about it? Why are you entertaining demonic activity that the real true origins glorify the devil?

Let's be clear about this!

I get messages that tell me "If I send three people a message." Then, I will receive a "blessing" from God! Don't you think I know my blessings? (Romans 10:9-14; Deuteronomy 28:2-14; James 1:17; John 1:16; Jeremiah 29:11-14) I have a plethora of scriptures that already promises me HIS KIngdom! So, why do I need to entertain you?

Don't you see??

It's still has it's demonic origins! Even, when we think that it is innocent! The is the devil is sly in the way he tries to get you to compromise the way you think. How he makes the lie to be "trifle" in your thoughts, trying to get you to believe that this is the way to "prosper", gets God's "attention" or even "salvation!" These lies try to make you believe, that it has no significance in the spiritual realm. WE SHOULD BE SO SMART!!

You see, If I am "Born Again." Then, I don't need to send YOU anything! I HAVE the ONLY TRUE ONE! And, HE was SENT for ME and to ME! Can you guess???

I want you all to think about this.......

We have the "Sender" Creator/God! We have the "Link / Chain" Lord Jesus Christ!" We have the "Letter" the ONE TRUE LIVING WORD, the BIBLE! Not to mention who is the ONE TRUE LIVING WORD?? The HOLY SPIRIT! (John 1:1-5)

So, what I am trying to encourage you all?

To say this.....

We as Born Again Christians tried to use "Christian" overtones to cover what is exactly "witchcraft." We were taught wrong to think, that as long as we use "Christian jargon" that we are encouraging our brothers and sisters in Christ. Actually, what we are doing, is giving place to a fleshly spirit entertained by lusty individuals that refused to repent before God! ONE DAY THEY WILL !

WHAT WE SHOULD DO??

STAY TRUE TO THE GOD THAT CALLED YOU INTO EXISTENCE! WALK IN THE POWER OF GOD'S WORD ONLY! WALK IN THE HOLY SPIRIT YOU KNOW! (I John 2,3,4,5)