You must discuss this because your children will eventually try to answer it themselves (possibly) from sources other than the Bible: God's inspired word...and true confusion will follow. Prepare them. Show them in the Bible what God says about ghosts/spirits. It is written in black and white. God makes it clear that there are things we will not understand. There are spirits ~ good and evil (angels and demons-fallen angels). What we need to take away from this is that our focus is to be on the Holy Spirit and anything outside of Him is evil. Stay away from it unless you want to fall into utter confusion.
A few years ago, I began my research to see what the Bible had to say when a friend said that she was visited by her deceased Grandmother. She said her Grandmother spoke to her and gave information about another family member. I believe she saw something because of her character.
As a Christian, I knew that I needed to get into the Word (Bible) to see what God had to say about this. It was very clear!
Stay away from witchcraft, soothsayers, those who interpret omens, sorcerers, those who conjure spells, mediums, spiritist or those who call up the dead. (Deu. 18:10-13) It is an abomination to the Lord.
Satan is into confusing those who turn to these people/practices and that is exactly what they get…confused. There is definitely a spirit world, just read (Ephesians 6:10-20). Christians should remember that the Spirit they need to concentrate on is the Holy Spirit and if they do ever see what appears to be a ghost/spirit…speak it away in the name of Jesus Christ.
Here are some of the scriptures that will help you as you discuss this with your children:
Deuteronomy 18:10-13 ~ warning to stay away from these practices
Leviticus 19:31 ~ give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits
Leviticus 20:6-8 ~ the Lord will set His face against that person and cut him off
Leviticus 20:27 ~ mediums or who has familiar spirits will be put to death
2 Kings 17:17 ~ angers the Lord
2 Kings 21:6 ~ angers the Lord
Isaiah 8:19 ~ seek God not mediums
Isaiah 44:24-25 ~ the Lord frustrates the signs of the babblers
Jeremiah 29:8 ~ do not be deceived
Diviners "works" all in vain:
Zechariah 10:2
Isaiah 47:13-14
Daniel 2 ~ Nebuchadnezzar's dream only interpreted by Daniel by the power of God
Daniel 2:2,10 ~ magicians, astrologers nor Chaldean could not interpret
Stories dealing with divination, sorcery and fortune telling:
Acts 8:9-25 ~ Simon the sorcerer
Acts 13:6-12 ~ Bar-Jesus the sorcerer
Acts 16:16-18 ~Fortune telling girl
Acts 19:11-20 ~ Miracles Glorify Christ
1 Samuel 28:8-19 ~ Saul consults a medium at En Dor
As I researched further this morning I came across a very "well put" statement from another website. Michele wrote:
"We tend to forget that Satan is not in hell YET. He is wandering around on the earth. It stands to reason the other angels (wasn’t it one third?) that were kicked out with him are also wandering the earth.If the demons can convince people Heaven is a fallacy by confusing them with apparitions that look like deceased people, that is part of their mission. They don’t want people believing in God and reading the word and praying. So they do things like make themselves look like dead people "haunting" places, to confuse others. Remember that angels, both those of God and those who rebelled against God, are NOT human. They aren’t going to appear as themselves to most people. So they take on the form of a benign spirit to fool people,and when
they can’t fool them, they do things like haunt people and play tricks on people, sometimes even harming them physically.It’s another of Satan’s games. Don’t fall for it."
Let's get some dialog going about this. Do you feel like you understand what the Bible is saying about this subject now? What is your opinion?
Modern Language Association (MLA):
"spirits." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 21 Apr. 2008.
Modern Language Association (MLA):
"diviner." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 22 Apr. 2008.
This certainly makes you think, read (the Bible), and pray. The scriptures were really helpful.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much,
Jennifer W.
I couldn't agree more with this blog information. Satan is walking around and I can't wait for the day when he is in HELL forever!
ReplyDeleteSuch a popular question "Do you believe in ghosts?". I agree with the fact that there are definitely spirits, but not the kind that people think. Definitely, there IS spiritual warfare and our only defense is to pray and read the Word.
ReplyDeletenot so much our only spiritual warfare, in some way we have a borrowed authority. i have seen and experienced supernatural issues and, although i don't like it, it is very real.
ReplyDeleteas per ghosts, a great deal of pop poltergeisting is just for show--like old magician tricks in parlors. nevertheless, as your scriptures point out the witch at endor was actually able to conjure something spiritual. although note she was frightened; probably because she didn't expect it because she was really a fraud.
jamie
Okay, I'm going to try this again. I just wrote a long entry and somehow lost it instead of getting it posted.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts?? I think that we would be terrified if we could see all the spiritual activity going on around us all the time. The evil side trying to influence us or trip us up ... the good side trying to protect us.
As far as experiences, I've had both good and bad. My experiences have come in dreams. They're dreams but they are real experiences. It's something that has spiritually happened.
Ok, for the crazy part. I have not talked about these things before to anyone other than Rick because it makes me sound crazy.
First, the bad. I'll summarize because it would take too much time to go into all the details. I was a new believer when this occurred.
In my dream, I was trying to help someone who was trapped by Satan. Satan grabbed me and penned me against the ceiling. He got into my face and yelled .. DON'T YOU KNOW WHO I AM!!! DON'T YOU KNOW HOW POWERFUL I AM!!! I was terrified..extremely.
I said, YES, I KNOW WHO YOU ARE AND I KNOW HOW POWERFUL YOU ARE. BUT THERE IS NONE GREATER THAN THE NAME I CALL UPON. He immediately left. He did not return. I keep thinking ... what a powerful name ... Jesus Christ .. Wow .. how powerful ... and I am HIS !! Thank you GOD!
Now, for the good. I had a dear friend pass away. I was concerned about him because I was not sure of his salvation. He briefly appeared to me. He kept saying, "IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL! YOU ARE GOING TO LOVE IT HERE!". I knew his was describing Heaven. He was also transferring/radiating this euphoric love towards me. It was incredible. I did not want the experience to ever stop. He started looking over his shoulder and said he had to go. And then he was gone. I don't worry about him anymore. He is having a blast. Just like we will when our time comes to go home.
I know this is getting long but I also wanted to talk about tv. I used to like to watch the ghost hunter shows or horror movies. But then I reviewed God Word. It says to not focus on those things, to focus on Him. So I steer away from those things now. Think about it .. why would you want to invite those evil thoughts/influences into your life .. don't we already have enough of that without asking for more?
Just my thoughts & feedback.
Have a great day!
Lori B
Wow Lori! What a powerful testimony you have!!! God is so good and we do belong to Him. What good news that is. I used to like to watch spooky movies too, but I began to have REALLY weird dreams afterward. I know they where just an avenue for satan to mess with me. I would be so afraid in my dream that I would wake up and "feel a presence" around me. So I would pray, pray, pray. I would even try to think of worship songs to sing and scripture to speak. Needless to say that door has been closed shut!
ReplyDeleteJennifer~ Brett took the boys camping the weekend before Easter. Early Saturday morning God put it on his heart to discuss demons and what they can do. About 8:30am Keller, Cody and Blake went over to the marina to get something from the store and saw a guy sitting in a car. They told the guy at the store and he said he was probably just passed out from being drunk. They had gone again about an hour later and the guy was still there. Jake decided that he didn't like it so they all went back to the store and told the guy again. The guy said the same thing and then told them to go "mess with" him.
The kids didn't feel right about what was going on so they finally drove over to his brand new Jeep Landrover and took a look. The man had shot himself in the head!!!! So Jake called the police and the rest of the story went like you would expect. I found out today that his mom and sister had reported him missing and suicidal Friday night. I just thought that God was so good to really almost prepare the boys for what they were going to be seeing.
Brett shared that demons will manipulate the unsaved and cause things like suicide to take place. It took them a good while to come down from all they saw, but they are very resilient boys and are doing fine. It really gave them a deeper hate for satan!
Thanks Jennifer, Lecia, Stephania, Jamie, Lori and Christi for taking the time to share.
ReplyDeleteYou wouldn't believe the response I have received through email. (Lots of people are not sure how to use blogger comment, or feel more comfortable using email).
Most people share similar experiences and all agree that it is best to stay completely away from trying to connect with the dead.
Honestly, what's the point? Yes, we miss our loved ones...but Christians know that if their loved one had a personal relationship with Christ...they will be with them again one day.
Why risk calling up an evil spirit (or one posing as a familiar spirit)?
Lori ~ thanks for sharing your dream with us. I too have had dreams where the enemy tried to scare me...it only strengthened and grew my faith, knowing that Christ is greater than he who is in the world. Even in our dreams. Hopefully, someone reading this and experiencing these type of dreams will realize that they have power and control through Christ to begin praising God and wake up. Talk to you soon!
Christi ~ I know we have already talked on the phone about this experience with your boys, but I wanted you to know that I am keeping them in my prayers. I am so pleased to see young godly men who are not afraid to show compassion and concern for others. It is obvious that they were led by the Holy Spirit. Call when you get a chance!
So, to wrap this up, I want to share the main reason, again, for this blog entry. It is important to prepare ourselves to share the truth with our children. To teach them that there is a spiritual realm and what is to be avoided.
My uncle pointed out that he had not heard nor had much discussion on this topic before. I am glad that I did write about it. It should get us to thinking.
I was a little nervous at first to actually post on this subject...must have been the enemy not wanting those verses exposed. Most people shy away from discussing ghosts and hauntings, I think, because they really do not know what they even believe. Hopefully, this gave us all a chance to read God's word and pray.
Continually growing spiritually ~ Jennifer
Great dialog!