Halloween is springing up everywhere…in stores, neighborhood decorations, people wearing costumes early, and, of course, all over the internet. When I was a kid, it was just about my favorite holiday and according to some researchers, it is America’s favorite holiday next to Christmas. I guess the draw was the idea that I could put on a costume and move unknown from door to door scoring candy.  There was also the scare factor of some houses going all out to make the environment creepy and then coming to the door in creepy character.  Of course, television rolled out all the scary movies associated with Halloween and so we all eagerly jumped in to participate.  I no longer participate.

Twenty plus years of helping people deal with demons and spiritual attack have informed me that there are very real forces in the spiritual realm looking for open doors and access to the lives and even bodies of people…even God’s people. The enemy is called the “accuser of the brethren” (Rev. 12:10) iand we see several instances in scripture were Satan is standing in the courts of heaven bringing accusations against God’s people.  He is constantly searching for a “legal right” to afflict those he is accusing.

When ministering deliverance, we first look for the “open doors” that have given Satan and his demonic representatives a right to afflict the person to whom we are ministering. Those open doors can be unrepented sin, unforgiveness, occult involvement, and sometimes generational curses that have opened a door.  Those must be removed before the spirit can be expelled.  Here is the thing…we often create an open door without even realizing we have done so.  

When I was a kid, Ouija boards became the rage at parties.  They were passed off as fun and games and if you had a spooky experience that was a bonus.  We had no intention of coming under the power of Satan but because we were actually connecting with the occult, an open door was created for Satan.  If you cross a boundary unaware and enter into enemy territory, you are still in danger, even if you did not intend to cross that line.  When I was young and even when I was older, I was quite unaware of the spiritual realm.  Of course, I saw all the horror shows but they tended to convince me that supernatural events and things that go bump in the night were imaginary and existed only in fiction.  The rational part of me rejected their reality so I was careless with things that might connect me to the demonic realm.

In his letter to the church at Corinth, Paul was writing to believers who once offered sacrifices and participated in special days dedicated to their pagan gods.  After becoming believers, they still had friends, relatives, and business associates who would invite them to participate in their celebrations.  However, Paul declared, “but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons” (1 Cor. 10:20-21).  Even if they were only pretending to honor the false god by their presence, their participation still aligned them with Satan because they were willingly sitting at the table of demons.  

According to many Satanists and former Satanists, Halloween is the highest day of the year witches, warlocks, and those who participate in the occult.  They prepare for it, celebrate it, and offer blood sacrifices on Halloween.  The day called Halloween was begun by Celts centuries ago as a day that spirits wandered the earth.  The Catholic church coopted the day and called it All Hallows Eve when the saints were to be celebrated.  However, it belonged to Satan first and the traditions of costumes, jack-o-lanterns, and so forth have continued.

My view now is that when we participate in Halloween rituals, we are sitting at the table of demons whether we understand that or intend that or not.  We risk crossing a boundary into enemy territory which gives the enemy the right to afflict or torment us.  We may think it is harmless fun, but many believe tarot cards, Ouija boards, and psychic readings are harmless fun as well.  But each of those leads us into enemy territory where demonic spirits are waiting to lay claim to us.

I’m not saying that participating in Halloween is the unforgivable sin, but I am saying it may well put you and your children at spiritual risk.  Anything that honors Satan, intended or unintended, invites demons. I have talked to and heard the testimony of numerous men and women who were once high-ranking Satanists, but have now come to Jesus.  Without exception, they all say any participation is Halloween creates an open door for the enemy to attack you, torment you, or oppress you and your children.  They are totally baffled by any Christian who would take part in Halloween.

I realize this seems foolish and “hyper-spiritual” to those who do not take the spirit realm seriously.  It all seems like harmless fun.  But Satan appears as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14) and traps are always baited with the things that seem delicious and harmless.  I don’t intend this to be a judgment on those who participate, but a CAUTION for every believer to consider.  I encourage you to think about and pray about it before jumping in this year, because participating could well be hazardous to your spiritual health. 

Freemasonry has been around for centuries. Nearly every town in North America of any size has a Masonic Lodge.The same is true of Europe, Australia and New Zealand. To most people, the Masonic Lodge is a group of men who meet, perform crazy rituals for fun, and serve their communities. It’s like a post-college fraternity. It is amazing how many people who attend Free Indeed have fathers, grandfathers, great grandfathers, along with uncles, etc. who have been Masons and whose women have been part of Eastern Star…the female counterpart of Freemasonry.

Some were just initiates who never went far in Freemasonry or “the lodge,” while others were 32nd or 33rd degree Masons, the highest ranks in the organization. There are, of course, all kinds of conspiracy theories related to secret societies headed by Masons that are dominating the world. Most people give little credence to those stories. However, by design the Freemasons are a fraternity hidden in secrecy. If you ask a mason, he will probably tell you that the lodge is a Christian organization formed to serve people in need and to do good works. He may even believe that.

In the past few decades, some serious research has been done that exposes the secrets of Freemasonry. Many have been revealed by those who left the lodge after climbing to its highest ranks. If you are considering joining the Freemasons or have had relatives who were involved, you may want to pay attention to some of the following concerns that are well documented in many places.

First of all, Freemasonry is a secret society. Those who join, swear allegiance to the lodge and take blood oaths to never divulge its secrets. Jesus warned us about taking oaths and those who operated in the dark… in secrecy. Satan works in the dark. In the end, Jesus promised that those things that were hidden in darkness will be brought into the light. When accused by the Pharisees, Jesus declared that he had taught openly in the temple and the synagogues. He did not operate in secret.

Secondly, true secrets and “meanings” of the lodge are only revealed as men climb higher in rank and earn the right to this secret knowledge. In many cases, Christian language is used and scripture is quoted, but the meaning of those terms is different from the biblical meanings and that understanding is not released until you have climbed higher in the organization and taken more oaths. Those who initially join and swear allegiance to the organization are not aware of all the things they are agreeing to. It is like signing a contract when you have only been allowed to read the first page of thirty.

In addition, though the lodge declares that is it Christian, it gives equal standing to all religions and declare that we all worship the same God. Their God as revealed in the writings of the lodge is not the God of the Bible and Jesus is not recognized as the only way to salvation. In some masonic writings, the lodge itself is offered as a source of salvation.

As members rise higher in the ranks, they must take additional oaths and swear allegiance to spirits that are not the Holy Spirit. They are required to swear allegiance to a spirit that is demonic and dedicate themselves and their descendants to serve this “god” in perpetuity. Of even greater concern is they take oaths that invoke curse on themselves and their descendants if they ever divulge the secrets of the lodge or fail to serve it. In many cases, membership is motivated by a desire for power and wealth. Freemasons are well connected and put members of the lodge ahead of serving or helping anyone else. A desire for power and wealth is not what Jesus called us to.

They take an oath that if they ever divulge the secrets or fail to serve the lodge, their throat should be slit, their tongue should be torn out and their body should be buried in the rough sands of the sea until the tide engulfs them. The allegiance they give to the lodge establishes a covenant of dedication between them and the spirits behind the lodge. The curses they invoked are passed down to their descendants because by their oath, they have given Satan a legal right to fulfill thew curses.If their descendants are not serving the lodge, the curses can be activated.

In many cases, the descendants of freemasons experience these curses as poor health, premature death, emotional distress, business failure, and so forth. These conditions are not usually remedied by medicine or psychology because they are initiated and maintained by demons. There is much more, but these things should be enough to sound the alarm.

For those under a curse because of having been dedicated to the Freemasons and, thus, to these spirits, these curses must be repented of and renounced on behalf of a person’s bloodline in the name of Jesus. They must renounce all dedications, covenants and agreements with the spirits of Freemasonry, and the curses must be nullified by the blood of Jesus. Then the demons enforcing these curse must be commanded to leave.

These are serious matters in the spiritual realm and there is more to be said, but I wanted to alert anyone connected to Freemasonry of the spiritual dangers that they face. If you have that history and have seen patterns of illness and death, mental illness and failure, you may want to seek help in breaking the curses that may have come down to you. We can help and other Christian ministries can as well. Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth, and by his name you can be set free from the bondage that can occur through Freemasonry. If you need help you can contact us at Mid-Cities Community Church in Midland, Texas.

Blessings in Him!

There is a truth that I believe we need to heed as followers of Jesus. First of all, we are saved and our salvation is quite secure in Christ. However, there are things we can do or not do as believers that will give the enemy access to us so that he can torment us, afflict us, or oppress us. I’m not saying that we lose our salvation if we are under demonic attack, but that the enemy can make this life harder than it needs to be if we give him an opening.

I think we understand that principle when it comes to obvious sin in our lives that goes unconfessed and unrepented. If we are living a life of sexual sin, we might recognize that as an open door for the enemy. If we begin to dabble in witchcraft or new age thinking, we might agree that those pursuits would open us up to the enemy as well. A lifestyle of drunkenness, drug addiction, adultery, theft, pornography, etc. can do the same. Most of us would recognize the spiritual danger in those lifestyles.

However, there are three verses that really challenge me and I think three things we might do or fail to do as believers that often go unnoticed while giving the enemy a legal right to afflict us. Let me quote these verses and then make a few comments.

For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. Matthew 6:14-15

Do not judge or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Matthew 7:1-2

Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment. James 2:12-13.

All three of these scriptures apply to believers and, ultimately, reflect the condition of our hearts. When I take time to review my day, I often find that I have been guilty of these things in subtle ways. Have I really forgiven a person who I feel has wronged me or slighted me or do I maintain my distance as a subtle message of offense? Have I even tried to reconcile any issues between me and that person or do I prefer to just keep my distance? Oh, I can certainly justify my distance and my refusal to warm up to that person, but am I actually violating Christ’s commands to forgive, show mercy, and refrain from judgment? If I am failing in those areas, even though I have “my reasons,” Satan can use that in the courts of heaven to gain legal access to me.

Judging others can also be a tricky business. Is that just when I have judged someone I know (a spouse, a boss, a pastor, a neighbor) so that I put myself in a position of assumed moral or even intellectual superiority over another? Or is it at other less noticeable moments? How often do Christians sit in restaurants and even church and judge those around them whose children or unruly, who are dressing somewhat immodestly, who are too loud, etc. If we sit there and make snide or critical comments to our companions about those people we don’t even know, we have judged them to somehow be less than we are. Jesus says that our judgment against others will come back to us. To some degree, it may come back as demonic affliction because I am living out a subtle lifestyle of judgmentalism without repentance.

And then what about mercy? Mercy is an extension of grace and compassion to those who don’t have it coming. It is the story of the unmerciful steward who could not repay his master, was on the verge of being sold into slavery to pay the debt, and the master, in moment of mercy, simply forgave every cent that was owed. Do we withhold a generous tip because the waitperson didn’t refill our tea or got our order wrong? Or do we go ahead and tip well because we are going to be generous without cause because Jesus has been generous to us without cause? When someone borrows money from us and can’t repay, do we ever just forgive the debt because Jesus has forgiven our debt? That is the nature of mercy and Jesus warns that if his mercy has not touched our hearts so that we gladly extend it to others, we may face judgment without mercy.

That judgment may be in this life as a form of discipline, rather than when we stand before the Lord, but I would rather avoid the discipline of the Lord and would rather keep the enemy from gaining some legal access to harass me or my family. We live in such a culture of open criticism, pride, slander, and unrestrained verbal outbursts that we sometimes fail to recognize our own more subtle actions as sin. In comparison to the world around us, we feel pretty good about our thoughts and words, but the Word of God is our standard of comparison, not the people of the world.

I need the Holy Spirit to give me a solid nudge when I fall into a mindset that rationalizes withholding forgiveness, judging others, or withholding mercy. Those are open doors for the enemy that I can often fail to recognize. I know I am vulnerable to those things and, perhaps, you are too. I thought I would just run up the flag on this one and see if anyone else needed the reminder. I personally need to extend a great deal of mercy in this world because I have received so much from the Lord and so many others in my life. Remember, mercy triumphs over judgment.

Blessings in Him.

I posted a version of this topic a few months ago, but felt prompted to bring it back with some additions and some discussion that I believe will be helpful.  In order to do that, I will present this as a series of blogs rather than just one.  Some of these thoughts were framed from an excellent article by Jentzen Franklin, while much of it will be my own thoughts and observations.

Clearly, not every obstacle in life is a demonic attack.  Jesus said that in this world we will have trouble.  Many of our troubles are just the consequence of living in a fallen world in which we will face hard circumstances that we simply have to deal with or outlast.  However, Paul also said that we should not be unaware of the devil’s schemes and that our real struggle is not against flesh and blood but the spiritual powers of darkness.

There are times when demonic forces are actively attacking us and divine weapons will have to be employed to overcome those forces.  This series will present ten indicators that you or others you know and love may be under spiritual attack, if these conditions are prolonged.   Being passive will not get you the freedom or victory you need. Even prayer alone may not be enough because we have been ordained to trample on snakes and scorpions (demons) and to overcome all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19). We are called to heal and cast out demons not just pray about it, so many times we must take the fight directly to the enemy if we want victory.

At times, we will not be sure whether or not we are facing a spiritual attack. The devil is most effective when spiritual attacks come on us slowly so that we begin to feel that the oppression or affliction we are experiencing is simply a natural condition. If we were to experience these things suddenly, we would probably see them as the spiritual attacks they are.  But when these things creep up on us over a period of months, we begin to think it is just our “new normal” and begin to simply live with it rather than fight it.  We should pause from time to time to evaluate the challenges in our lives to see if we simply need to endure something for a season or go face-to-face with the enemy.  The following indicators may help you with that evaluation.  These indicators are not arranged in any particular order of importance.

Indicator One

Your spiritual passion and desires have subsided.  You find yourself without the desire to read the Word, pray, worship, attend church, or even serve in your calling without any apparent reason.  You are marked by apathy and indifference and can’t seem to shake it.

We all go through seasons of depleted passion, burnout, and distractions.  But if the season drags into months rather than weeks, you may be under attack.  There are a number of spirits that can attach themselves to us in order to drain our energy, passion, and commitment.  Spirits of stupor, discouragement, fatigue, or heaviness can affect us physically or whisper thoughts that all our efforts have accomplished nothing or that our prayers make no difference.  Sometimes the enemy discourages us through others, who judge us and criticize us so that we feel condemned and begin to doubt ourselves. When we find ourselves in this place, we need to begin to rebuke the enemy and command him to take his hands off of us. In the name of Jesus we should cancel any assignment of the enemy against us and command any unclean spirit to leave and never return. If we feel that we cannot muster the faith or the righteous anger to stand against the enemy, then we should ask others to command the enemy on our behalf. 

Indicator Two

You are experiencing a season of physical and emotional exhaustion, even though you are being reasonably responsible with your health.   Maybe you are experiencing lingering illnesses that are not clearly diagnosed and for which treatments have not been affective.  Perhaps, you get treatment, feel better for a while, but then revert back to the symptoms you have been dealing with.

In the gospels, men and women were often afflicted by spirits of infirmity that mimicked real diseases and conditions and gave life to those things while attached to the person. Blindness, deafness, muteness, seizures, back trouble, etc.  were all dismissed and the person healed through deliverance.  Others with the same symptoms were healed from physiological conditions or disease, but it seems that nearly as many were afflicted by a spirit of infirmity.  No treatment will bring lasting healing as long as the spirit is present.   If there have been traumatic injuries from violence, abuse, a car wreck, etc., sometimes spirits of trauma settle into the wound or injury and keep in from healing correctly as well. It is always wise to command a spirit of infirmity to depart whenever there is an illness or infirmity in a person.  Sometimes, we cannot be certain if a spirit is operating, but it is wise simply to cover that base to see if any spirit is present. 

More Indicators Next Week