Opening the door for the devil

Nice title huh?  I just came back from the Ark Encounter in Kentucky and the Lord laid on my heart to discuss the ways people open doors for the enemy when it comes to the supernatural. You might ask, what on earth does one have to do with the other? 

If you had someone come to your front door at midnight and ask to come in and you did not know them, in all likelihood you would not give them entrance into your home where your family was sleeping.  You may have a gut feeling about them, so the wise thing to do would be to deny them entrance. 

If you are surfing the web at midnight and you come across a questionable website, opening it up and exploring without discernment is the same as letting the stranger into your home.  You may wonder what harm would it cause, you are just looking. But you see, that is how the enemy gets a foothold in your life. 

Here are three specific cases where being casual about the occult is entering lives. First, I saw recently on social media where someone shared a woman who married a dead man, she calls herself a witch, and is practicing witchcraft. The article was pretty specific about her encounters with “him.”  Second, I saw T-shirts being sold with the message to conjure up demons.  And third, on one of my all time favorite shows on “Masterpiece Theater,” one of the characters consistently uses tarot cards.

Seriously, this is not a game you want to tinker with.  You can say to yourself, “I’m not promoting this stuff, I just think it is funny.”  The occult has been introduced into our society so carefully and strategically that at all levels —including our children’s movies and books—it would seem “normal.” But in reality it is the “paranormal.”  And the paranormal without God as the basis is evil, and might I add dangerous. 

So what does this have to do with the Ark Encounter?  In Kentucky a group has built a replica of what Noah’s Ark would have looked like. It is a massive structure and when you think that the original one was built 6,000 years ago without modern tools and equipment it is mind boggling. Noah heard from God that the world was going to be destroyed. He and his family alone on the ark, were going to be the only survivors along with the animals they brought.      

You can read the story in the book of Genesis. But to step foot inside the replica and hear the crashing waves and thunder and animal noises sent chills down my spine.  This was no easy undertaking for Noah and it took faith in the words of God to follow such instructions.  You see, He did it through Noah for us 6,000 years ago. 

Today we have the cross and I’m here to tell you, He doesn’t want you tinkering in the paranormal. What I mean is that Jesus loves you and wants the best for you and that is Himself . Not witches, demons and tarot cards.  Jesus in one hand and a Ouija board in the other—it just doesn’t add up.  And don’t think I don’t understand, because I get the quest for the supernatural, I really do.  So I’m here to encourage you to focus your attentions on being like Jesus, doing the supernatural miracles He did (and more), and craving the Spiritual Gifts, the authentic gifts from the Holy Spirit not the counterfeit ones of the enemy.  Part of it is knowing His word so you can differentiate and discern between the spirits.  And yes, they all exist, it’s not just a joke or a funny thing to explore.   My best advice is this find yourself a church that teaches the Spiritual Gifts if you don’t have one already, and ask God to open your eyes to see what He sees.

You would agree you would not let the enemy into your home at midnight.  Then your best defense is to fill your home with the presence of God and His Spiritual Gifts so there will be no room for a midnight visitor.