Insights Into the Intangible: Perceptions of the Invisible Realm

By Jason L. Hansford

Why bother to pray? Are angels actually near you? Why do I always feel strangely uncomfortable when I go to certain places?

These are all questions that deal with some of the intangible aspects of life. We all have circumstances in our lives that make us recognize that there is more than just our physical world. Although it is odd to discuss, the spiritual world does actually exist.

Do you want to know that praying has a real effect? Do you want to have assurance that there are angels around you? Do you want to have spiritual confidence regardless of where you go?

This book gives some insights into these questions and many others related to the invisible realm. Based on a relationship with Jesus Christ, Jason L. Hansford combines the intellectual with the experiential in order to encourage you in your own relationship with God.

Following difficulties adjusting back to "normal" life after the military, Jason began having frequent and intense experiences with the intangible. Like many people, he experienced circumstances that weren't easily explained by physical processes. Despite his three graduate degrees, Jason found that living in peace and understanding required more than "head knowledge." As his relationship with God grew, Jason found that both Scripture and the Holy Spirit could shed light on what he was going through.

Now he distills what he has learned from the invisible realm and uses it to practically help others in whatever capacity he is in. He has learned how spiritual realities affect his work in an office, relationships, growing as a father, and speaking at civic, religious, and veterans' events. Be encouraged as you are able to relook at your own experiences through a new lens by reading this enlightening book!

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Jun 13, 2019
• ISBN: 9781543971170

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Copyright © 2019, Jason Hansford

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the author via the website below:

www.insightsbyjason.com

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-54397-116-3 (print)

ISBN: 978-1-54397-117-0 (ebook)

Contents

Introduction

A Disclaimer on Apologetics

Tangible versus Intangible

Vocabulary

Human Identity

Spiritual Beings

The Good

The Evil

Spiritual Constructs

Practical Spiritual Effects

Dreams and Visions

Holy Spirit Speaks

Speech

Prayer

Worship

Relationships

Conclusion

Useful Resources

Acknowledgments

About the Author

1

Introduction

I was five years old living with my young parents in New Jersey. I was sleeping in my comfortable bed (probably dreaming of cars and robots) when someone in the room startled me. I quickly realized it wasn’t either of my parents—it was a tall, glowing, translucent figure that looked like a person over by the wall at the other side of my room. I yanked the sheets over my head thinking maybe it’s a dream, and it will go away when I look again. I cautiously peered over my sheets and felt a strange combination of being-in-the-presence of something glorious and total dread. I must have been as white as my sheets when I realized the figure had moved close to my bed, only a few feet away. The figure’s shoulders were as tall as the ceiling, so the ceiling seemed to block me from being able to see the head of whomever or whatever was standing near me. All of a sudden, the figure bent down speaking to me in a friendly voice that I could somehow hear inside my head, but I knew it wasn’t me doing the talking or thinking –Hello. I am slightly embarrassed to say that I did not hold a conversation with the first angel I saw like Gideon or Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. Instead, I yelled in astonishment and fear and then dove back under a blanket. My mother heard me yelling and came in my room to find out what was the matter. I recounted the experience of seeing the sparkling, see-through giant person in my room. She said that I probably had seen an angel.

Fast-forward over three-decades, again I was sleeping in my comfortable bed (this time more likely to be dreaming of some type of food) when I realized someone was in my room. I quickly realized it wasn’t any of my children and it wasn’t my wife. It was a dark, creepy-looking figure attempting to scare me with some type of combination of a disgusting face and surge of memories and regrets that came to my recollection all-of-a-sudden. Having a better understanding of what was going on, I jumped out of bed, boldly proclaiming the victory of Jesus and His love…actually, no. I moaned and rolled back over, mumbling a go away in the general direction of whatever it was that was interrupting my precious beauty sleep. In this instance, it was not my guardian angel, but I will explore that later.

First, please allow me to admit that I don’t have all the answers. I get distracted in my relationship with Jesus, grumpy with my family (my wife seconds that), and sometimes say things for which I need to say an apology. This book will be about some weird things, such as spiritual beings, God communicating with people, and the interactions of the tangible and intangible. But I expect it won’t be as weird when you are done and you realize you have had similar experiences and just saw it differently behind the scenes.

I recognize that it is easy to feel down and doubt in the future when terrible things come to light through the news and other media outlets. Personal tragedies and disrespect from other people wear on one’s hope for humanity. Without looking at these issues through the eyes of Jesus, it is easy to see why some people should be cursed or punished. However, when looking at all of these issues with the spiritual environment in view, it is easy to see how the enemies of Jesus manipulate humanity. These enemies of Jesus are where the real struggle lies.

Sometimes I hear authors, teachers, speakers, pastors, etc., say something really important and profound about a way to live life or explain something in a Scripture. Oftentimes they clarify, we don’t actually know what is going on behind the scenes but you can trust that God is working things out or something to that effect. I would like to engage with some of these important points from the behind the scenes point of view. Of course, I realize no person knows everything that goes on in the spiritual realm – that would be overwhelming. I can tell quite a bit in the spiritual realm even though it is not always practical or helpful that I do anything about it in every situation. I guess you could call it situational awareness. I don’t expect everyone to see in the spiritual realm and I don’t actually think it is always healthy to want to see in the spiritual realm (it is very easy to lose your focus on Christ). But I do think it is essential to our relationship with Christ that we can trust Him and have confidence that He backs up what He has told us. If I feel strongly like God wants me to tell someone a specific word of encouragement, but I don’t expect God to do anything, how much faith and love am I conveying to the receiver of that word of encouragement? Reading examples from faith in Scripture and seeing God move in your own experiences gives you a healthy expectation that God really does move, He really does change hearts, and He really does release captives from sin. If you are questioning how to really believe God is moving behind the scenes or you are seeking God and asking for faith to be used by Him, then I feel that this book can encourage you to move in faith and do what you sense the Father is doing in your particular situations.

This book will relate some of what gives me hope when I can see things from both the physical and spiritual perspectives. If you pray and already have faith in Christ Jesus, then I hope this book is able to give you some insights into the spiritual realm and why you can be confident in following what God is calling you to do for His Kingdom. If you do not have faith in Jesus, but you know some of the realities of the spiritual realm, I pray you choose to align yourself with God’s purposes and put your faith in Jesus Christ. If you have faith in Jesus but are skeptical about the supernatural for whatever reasons, I hope that I can convey a healthy perspective of the supernatural that logically identifies that it is real without allowing a focus on the supernatural to eclipse our focus on Christ. However you feel while starting to read this book, I pray you finish feeling confident in God’s holiness, His goodness, and His love for people.

2

A Disclaimer on Apologetics

I have observed that Christians often feel compelled to use apologetics to convince others of their spiritual perspectives. In other words, Christians can use reasonable arguments to support a specific religious view that may be challenged by someone else. Christians debate each other as well as Atheists, Agnostics, etc., I do not intend to provide much in the area of apologetics due to, by my own admission, mostly everything I am writing about is related to my personal experiences. I can support certain themes and ideas using external evidence, such as Scripture, anecdotal examples, and other people with similar experiences. However, this is not strong objective support for anything I am discussing. I would rather you, as a reader, experience peace in knowing that God has worked through many followers who love and know Him. That opens hope up for you to consider the possibility that God can work through you, as well.

If you and I would have a conversation about how our weeks are going, I’d most likely mention my wife and children at some point. I’d probably say something funny about what one of my kids did or how my wife became annoyed with me about repeating a (not-so-funny) dad-joke for the fourth time that week. If you told me about how you are interested in music, I’d probably try to convey interest and commonality by mentioning something about how my kids are all learning various instruments and everyone knows how to play at least one instrument fairly well in my immediate family.

If you do not know my wife or children, you’d have to choose whether to take my word that I’m telling the truth about my family. If I make a reasonable claim, such as my kids all know how to play instruments, it is likely that you’d believe me since I am old enough to have children who are old enough to learn complex tasks like performing on an instrument. Now if I claimed they all know how to play multiple instruments, you may not believe me unless you know some type of background about my wife and I, what we do at home, or know from experience that we do have them playing multiple instruments. Similarly, you may not believe that my idea of knowing how to play is the same as your idea (e.g., maybe they just know how to play the ABCs on piano, so I am really just trying to make myself look good). You may also conclude that I have an element of truth on being able to play, but that I am exaggerating if I claim they are concert pianists, especially since I’d be prone to exaggerating as a proud father.

I can see how anything I write in this book could be viewed with skepticism in mind. Plenty of well-educated, powerful, rich, intelligent (use any attribute you like) people have exaggerated in order to gain favor in some way, so it is logical to view personal claims with a healthy dose of caution and skepticism, especially if details don’t seem to line up. I am okay with that. My point is to open up the possibility in your thinking that maybe you’ll personally see God move in a way where He can allow you to experience something that builds your faith.

I personally know my wife and kids, so I am realistic that they are all at least pretty good at music. You can tell me they aren’t, but it doesn’t really sway my opinion of them. I may feel one of my children is strongest at piano, guitar, baritone, etc. For you to argue with me about them being able to play is unreasonable, especially if you don’t even have a personal relationship with me, my wife, or children. You not believing what I say about my children does not shake my belief that I have children or that they all play music. Similarly, a relationship with God is personal through Jesus. I know that I know Jesus personally in the same way I know my family personally. I know that God has