Do you believe in Spiritual Warfare?

     In recent weeks I have joined multiple discussions concerning the belief in spiritual warfare, ghosts, the supernatural, and demons. It amazes me that so many people refuse to believe in hell or evil spirits, and yet they believe in angels.
     Like the frog placed in the pot of cold water who never attempts to jump out as the water temperature rises to the boiling point, we have quietly allowed the enemy to fill our thoughts with acceptance and thirsted for more even though we know these things we are watching are wrong for us. Christians are flocking to the theaters to watch movies with explicit sex, witch craft and sorcery, and demons and entities we know we should avoid, but are somehow unwilling to turn away from. Like passing a traffic fatality we know we shouldn't look at, we are drawn to stare for the forbidden sight of the lifeless body sprawled on the pavement or twisted in the wreckage. Even small children watch cartoons that display the occult in every story.  I was recently reminded that every Disney Princess story featured a disfunctional family, single parent, or even magic and spells. So why should we be alarmed ?
     Like everyone else, I have enjoyed the antics of the adventures in Hogwarts, and wanted to find a forever love like Edward or Jacob in Twilight. I never thought for a minute there might be a subliminal message leading us to accept the temptations they offered. I grew up watching "The Wizard of Oz" every year as a tradition! As a girl I wanted to be like Tabitha on Bewitched. Casper was the cutest ghost we ever saw, and everyone wanted to be his friend. Isn't it only natural to want to watch ghost hunters looking for the unexplained?
     What concerns me is where did we start crossing the line? When did it become dangerous?
      How do we explain to our children that anytime you start playing with the dark side you are putting yourself at risk? Isn't that sort of like me telling my children not to talk to strangers...when I talk to everyone I see? I understand people who are afraid of the unseen not wanting to face that reality, but that doesn't change the fact that they are real.
     I have lived in haunted houses, seen the shadows that have no soul disappear into the night, and have watched door handles turn when no one is there to turn them. As a teenager, we used to go tell ghost stories in the old cemetary to scare ourselves...and saw things we never told to anyone after that. I remember someone bringing in a book of shadows and suggesting we try some rituals or spells just to see if they worked. It was surely just a coincidence that someone dove into a swimming pool at the same moment and broke their neck just as we repeated their name. That fatal car accident couldn't have been because we were angry at that girl and did a nasty little spell on her that night to get even...
     How do we explain the pictures we took that clearly showed a demonic face over the shoulder of a man who had sworn allegance to the devil himself and had a 666 tatooed on his neck in a barcode? Is there any way to reason why there are screams on the battlefields of Gettysburg in videos played back when the visitors returned home, or mysterious soldiers marching in time up to Roundtop as the tape recorded it? The evidence is clear, there is an unseen world we do not understand. Just as there are Angels there are the evil equivelent in demons. And there are those who died who are not at peace. We may never understand all of that until we get to Heaven.
     Before our children get wrapped up in a world beyond their control, I believe we need to teach them about spiritual warfare, and warn them about dabbling with the occult. It isn't a game of thrill, or a fun rush to pick up a boring week end.
     That is why I believe Thomas Smith's book "Something Stirs" has such an important message.  Sure it starts off with the stereotypical teenage foursome wanting a thrill and planning a seance to summons up a demon to to their bidding for them...but then it takes the next step. He reminds us that we do not have the power to control these entities...that comes through Jesus Christ alone.
     I remember hearing the furniture moving around in my living room and voices getting louder and louder. I stood and commanded them to leave in the mighty name of Jesus! They only got louder! I called on the blood of Jesus to save me from these frightening beings. He did, but they did not leave...I did. I moved the next day! This book could well be written from a real life event...it could have happened. If we are to fight the enemy we must recognise him and know what we are up against! Soldiers do not go into battle without wearing the armour they are issued, and undergoing training to understand their enemy...and neither should we!
     How well do you really know that abandoned house on the hill that the kids hang out in? Perhaps this story was based on your own neighborhood...how much do you really understand about the world of the undead? Are you sure that doll is where you left it and didn't arrive there on her own power? Is it strangely quiet in yor backyard these days? What really happened to the third of the angels of Heaven who joined allegance with Satan as he left Heaven? Do you know what your kids are planning to do this week end? Just asking...