Pokémon
Pokémon
or "Pocket monsters" are cute little demon characters that are collected,
and made more powerful according to certain game rules. They capture and
hurt the pokémon of other kids. This translates to demonic warfare
among the kids themselves and the craving for more pokémon cards
and more power. I understand that more has been published although Harry
Potter seems to have taken over.
Harry Potter
A popular
fictional kid who is mentor to all readers of the books describing his
adventures in wizardry. These stories fascinate and teach. Children cast
evil spells on each other and enjoy Harry's world view of evil parents
who don't like the occult.
Halloween
We
discuss this on another page.
Our reason to
live
We
have a Creator who loved us enough to let us choose on our own to love
him. This is why evil is still in the world. He taught us to pray, "Thy
kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." Thus we look
forward to the day when all will have made their choice and evil will be
ended in the universe.
So
how do we choose God's way for ourselves and our children? * Understand
Jesus' victory, * stay away from temptation, * destroy ties to evil, and
* earnestly pray. The Bible shows how to do these things.
How Satan attacks
his victims
Satan
and his host of evil angels are real and ready to bring us temptation in
any way they can. In the current occult appeal, they want to destroy our
children and our homes. We discover Satan's approach in the third temptation
of Jesus in the desert: "And again the devil took him
to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and
their splendor. 'All this I will give you,' he said, 'if you will bow down
and worship me.'
"Jesus
said to him, 'Away from me, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord
your God and serve him only."'"
Satan
offered Jesus a way to avoid the terrible experience of the cross. He Promised
Him power right then. There would be no need to suffer on the cross. There
was only one "minor" requirement: worship Satan. So today the devil offers
our kids power! But at a terrible price: yielding to the control of evil
angels.
Safety from temptation
We
can understand by looking at the temptation of our first parents. The serpent
through which Satan spoke promised Eve knowledge and power like God has.
"He
said to the woman, 'Did God really say, "You must not eat from any tree
in the garden"?' The woman said to the serpent, 'We may eat fruit from
the trees in the garden, but God did say, "You must not eat fruit from
the tree that is in the middle of the garden . . . or you will die."' 'You
will not surely die,' the serpent said to the woman.'" (Gen. 3:1-4)
God
had provided safety from evil influence. Remember that Satan didn't talk
to Eve until she went to the forbidden tree. In the same way, playing with
the occult brings us onto Satan's ground. Then he captures our interest
until we become like him and no longer have a love for the good things
of God. What seems cute and interesting becomes a death trap. We need to
make wise decisions involving natural channels of influence: school, television,
and friends.
Resources
More
information on Pokémon and Harry Potter is available on the Internet.
After
describing the wild popularity of the Harry Potter stories, author Berit
Kjos tells why children these days are more vulnerable to the occult, then
he lists the following points in how to resist deception: Know the true
God, Shun other gods (Deut. 18:9-13), Remember history's lessons (Deut.
28, 1 Cor. 10), Share God's love with everyone, Don't apologize for your
faith, Remember that God is far greater [than the devil] and, Wear God's
armor.
Kjos,
however, has missed one key point. Satan lied when he told Eve, "You will
not surely die." Through the words of Harry Potter, he repeats his claim
to have the keys of death re0114.
Through misinformed religion, the soul is thought to be immortal living
in either heaven or hell for endless ages. Understanding the clear Bible
truth on this point, we and our children can quickly identify the
final deceptions just before us. (See links
on death deceptions.)
How to end a relationship
with the powers of evil
To
escape, follow the example of the Ephesian believers. "Many of those who
believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds. A number who had
practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly.
When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty
thousand drachmas." (Acts 19:19, 20).
If
the door to your heart or the hearts of your children has been open to
evil influences, immediately destroy those things that have given evil
angels license to control. Help your children renew their promise to follow
the Lord who offers us an eternity of joy and happiness.
Finally
pray
earnestly and find other activities.
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