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Read Harry Potter – The Book About Halloween Type Dark Arts – To Better Grasp One Aspect Of The Christian Faith

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment
a statue of a soldier holding a yellow object
Photo by Cody Otto on Unsplash

Last time, I wrote here and here about why we should try to give a wide berth to the dark arts and the demonic or satanic.

This week, to confuse you, I will tell you that you SHOULD read the Harry Potter series. I didn’t say I would be consistent! Give me a break! Who has time for authenticity nowadays? We’re too busy scrolling social media to have time to figure out who we are! It’s easier to follow the crowd, anyway!

And since there are gross Halloween decorations in every major department store right now, let’s talk about why you might as well read Harry Potter, too, while you’re at it.

Ahem . . .

So, several years ago, I was huddled in a corner, trying to shut out the world with its scary stuff. Children held out their Halloween candy to me once and yelled, “Boo!” and I screamed, terrified. “We have to keep ourselves CLEAR of all of that stuff!” I yelled after them as they ran away, laughing.

Actually, that memory has exactly the same point as my recent posts, come to think of it! Stay CLEAR of demonic stuff!

So today, let’s run as far as we can in the opposite direction. What satanic stuff SHOULD we be holding onto and perhaps even incorporating INTO our lives?

Ha!

I bet you don’t hear that question every day! You’re welcome! Good luck!

Now let’s get started as we dig a bit deeper to unearth some insights so that we can travel on our spiritual paths free of BOTH:

  1. Weird satanic stuff that could overwhelm us (See the last post), AND
  2. Weird spiritual “rules” (I.e., what to read or not read) designed to make us appear more spiritual than others* but that also choke the proclamation of Christ’s love

We’re talking about Point #2 today, so that’s why we’re discussing which demonic stuff we want to incorporate into our lives.

Let’s start with Harry Potter. The books crawl with spider webs and warlocks, abuse of power, and fear-filled followers of evil (I.e., scary Death Eaters).

Surely, this stuff is a NO-GO! We must confidently assert.

Not so fast.

The Harry Potter series helped me to more deeply emotionally resonate with the choice Jesus Christ made to hang on a cross so we could be free.

What now? You’re wondering.

Yup. Here. Hold my popcorn because I need my hands to explain (I’m Italian).

Harry Potter discovered a prophecy that said he needed to die so that his world could be free of evil (I.e., the guy Voldemort). Harry’s struggle with what this sacrifice would cost him personally and what it would mean for everyone else’s freedom in his world was a palpable decision he struggled with that made my hands sweat, quite literally. The point is, the fact of Jesus CHOOSING to undergo such intense pain SO THAT I could be set free came home in a new way to me as I stayed up into the wee hours of the night with a flashlight trying to figure out how the story ends.

The Harry Potter series ends with freedom for everyone in his world because he CHOOSES to sacrifice his one life for them.

Exactly like in our world.

One look at him and people turned away.

We looked down on him, thought he was scum.

But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—

our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.

. . . God has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong,

on him, on him.

The Message

Can I have my popcorn back? I want to see how this movie ends.

Our movie here on earth, that is, with OUR actors, us.

Great literature must treat evil, sometimes in a base and repulsive form . . . as do the Christian Scriptures.

Three Faces of Evil: Christian Writers and the Portrayal of Moral Evil by Susan Wise Bauer in The Christian Imagination

Drawing by MY HOMESCHOOLED KID! (Because homeschooled kids are our hope)

Footnotes

*Wait – Isn’t that the goal of our spiritual lives? Dang! Now I’m confused again!

Advice: Stop Offering Satan Your Heart For Two Forgotten Reasons!

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment
black and white heart illustration

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

He was trained and expected to emerge as a teen rock idol.

Then, he died in a sudden air crash at a young age. Over 40 years later, his music is still popular, resonating deeply with our hearts*. And he had shaggy hair, a groomed beard and bell bottoms, so we know we can trust him!

(I’m a closet Hippie, too. How can you tell? One of my teachers didn’t seem to know my real name and called me “Hippie Chick” for four years of high school.)

And that’s how you can know you can trust me, too, because therefore, I MUST be cool, too!

And now that I have established my authority as someone who is MORE COOL than you, I’m sure you will be waiting in anticipation for my next words!

Ahem . . .

You MIGHT want to stop worshipping Satan.

This suggestion is just an idea. See this post for the beginnings of this argument. Now, before you SLAM your laptop closed in indignation, asserting to me, “I would NEVER do that, Loser!” can I have your ear for two minutes so we can challenge each other for a moment?

There has been an alarming increase in people visiting exorcists in the last several years. An exorcist is someone “who expels or attempts to expel a supposed evil spirit from a person or place”. For example, as mentioned here, over the last several years both the Catholic and Protestant churches have noted an alarming increase in the number of reported demonic possessions.

People are more frequently looking for hope in the dark arts.

Why is this?

The musician mentioned earlier, Keith Green, gives us a hint in the lyrics of his song “No One Believes In Me Anymore (Satan’s Boast)”

I’m drawing people just like flies ‘cause they like what they hear

Keith Green said (and we can trust him, as noted above because of his nice hair – remember?) that we are looking for hope in the wrong places.

Also, his words align with those who are intimate with these sorts of issues.

For example, in The Exorcist Files, which is among the top podcasts overall on Apple, Father Carlos Martins explains that many seeking hope turn to Spiritists etc. because they desperately want something. Power, unusual strength, knowledge of the future, or sometimes things as joyful as the hope of having a baby drive people to open the door to satanic practices.

This deep hope is also called worship.

Worship is where we show “reverence” or “deep respect.” It’s where we turn to for hope for our spiritual, emotional or physical ailments. We dabble. We dip. We sacrifice just a bit.

We toss a coin in the wishing well of the dark arts, hoping our wish comes true. And what emerges from this innocent hope is sometimes a dark shape that is much stronger than we anticipated.

And then we need help.

And so many more are returning to the church, but not as we expected. Not as congregants wondering if worship on Sunday will offer their soul’s peace, but as those seeking to be rid of the dark art’s hold on them. Bummer.

It’s better to steer clear of that stuff.

I’m just suggesting.

My opinion.

Hello World text

Photo by KOBU Agency on Unsplash

My job is getting easier because no one believes in me anymore

Keith Green – No One Believes In Me Anymore (Satan’s Boast)

And so, the two forgotten reasons we should stop giving Satanism our hope?

  1. The stuff is real.
  2. Satanism will eventually consume you, friend, not set you free.

More on that next time.

God, we pray you give us the wisdom to steer clear of and open our eyes to any dangers of Satanism.

To learn from real people who have been set free from demonic possession, consider listening to The Exorcist Files. Stories are based on the real experiences of Father Carlos Martins.

If we want to feel scared at Hallowe’en, we might as well fear REAL stuff!

You’re welcome!

Good luck!

As the song below plays, ask God, “Am I seeking hope in the wrong direction? Where can true hope be found to help me with my very real problems?” Consider chatting openly about your thoughts with one who is trying to walk in the footsteps of Jesus.

God is love . . . There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear.

The Message

Footnotes

*The music of Keith Green still comforts over 175,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, for example.

The Truth About Holy Spirit Attempting To Awaken You To Something More

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment

Photo by Kinga Howard on Unsplash

Yeah, so I might have had a slight touch of fear now and then over my lifetime.

OK, let’s admit it. Fear is paralyzing me, my constant friend.

Jesus walks over to me, crouches in the corner next to me, and offers me His arm. It is time to stand. I rise on quaking legs.

Click here to continue reading this post.*

* This post is part of our “Say-It-Again-On-Friday” blogpost series, where we say it again, on Fridays!

ADVICE: Worship A Good God Instead Of Foul Demons!

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment
person holding pink flower
Photo by Matthew Henry on Unsplash

So, I’ve been reading about becoming a successful and influential online figure that others look up to and admire.

Did I mention that yet?

Yesterday, I learned that we need to establish AUTHORITY that we KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON before we boss others around. “So THAT’S what I have been doing wrong!” I realized, slapping my head with this newfound wisdom. So today, I will ASSERT my AUTHORITY and EXPERTISE in the following sentence before I advise you:

I WAS VOTED ONE OF THE BEST DRESSED PEOPLE (!!) IN MY SMALL RED-NECKED HIGH SCHOOL SEVERAL DECADES AGO!!

And so, because of this obvious flair for fashion, you can now wholly trust me as I tell you about the cultural fashion trends I am currently observing!

As I sat in the new Mexican taco place last week, I was scratching my head and puzzling over the décor.

Why was this place decorated with skeletons and skulls?

The previous month, in another restaurant, when the 20-year-old kind waitress turned, her forearm flashed a skull tattoo. She didn’t look or sound like a terrifying “Hell’s Angel” motorbike member, cussing and starting fights. Or whatever scary biker guys do – I don’t happen to have any good friends who are active Hell’s Angels members, come to think of it!

Actually, there is one scary-looking biker guy who attends our church, but his heart is so kind and full of a desire to love like Jesus that I forgot he’s frightening.

a man in a santa hat holding a cat
Photo by Petrebels on Unsplash

Anyway, this young waitress had a kind smile and a genuine desire to see us be well served.

She just happened also to like skull tattoos. “Why did she like a skull tattoo so much that she wanted it engraved into her arm, never to come off?” I wondered, scratching my head, trying to figure out this new fad.

Now, as proven here I am a very cool person, and with only a BIT of imagination, I am even CLOSE to attainting the title of “Cool Surfer Dude!” At least, this is the case in my imagination. (Now – What is my editor yelling at me again for anyway? – And something about “Authenticity”? She’s a bother!)

We can all define ourselves the way we want, and I am definitely cool.

Anyway, since I am, as proven above, so VERY cool, you’ll want to sit down and listen to me when I talk about tattoo fashion trends and current decoration styles in the public space.

The only problem is, with this ONE vogue trend of demonic fashion decor, I have absolutely NO idea what is going on. (I’m SURE there are NO other cultural fashion trends for which I am confused – Rest assured!)

The point of this post?

We’ve tossed the church as the source of a beautiful gate leading to God’s heart. The gate has cobwebs, and the path beyond it seems dark and foreboding.  We have added stuff to Christ’s message so that The Way isn’t as brightly lit, especially in contrast to other paths that flash their bright neon lights and claim The Way to God. And so, people are gently turned away from the beautiful gate by the cultural forces of progress. “Travel here,” the dark shapes seduce us.

“Life comes from death”, they whisper, stroking our heads to keep us calm, like a parent to a small child.

It is true that life comes from death.

Unless a grain of wheat is . . . dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over.

Jesus Christ, the guy 1/3 of the world claims to follow

We sense hints of the divine in the symbol of the life of a flower emerging from the skull of symbolic death, so we blindly walk in that direction.

And so, we allow ourselves to be steered down a path of partial truth, which has always been the path to the most destructive of lies.

There is a profound truth within this metaphor, but blindly embracing all demonic symbolism is a path leading in the wrong direction.

Wake up, friends!

Let the bathwater of unhealthy Christian culture wake you as we toss it in a panic. Ah! Let’s throw out everything that doesn’t reflect the love Jesus showed us as He washed His friends’ feet and hung on a cross! Let’s toss the dirty bathwater of some parts of Christian culture! And may many wake up by this water splashed in their faces as we toss it, friends.

But let’s keep the baby.

A virgin will get pregnant and bear a son; They will name him Immanuel (. . .for “God is with us”)

The Message

Let’s polish that beautiful gate and allow Christ to transform our hearts so they are bright enough, full enough of selfless love that our hearts on fire light the way for others to see the path to God, too.

But let’s stop turning to demons, friends, to show us the path to God.

Let’s worship God instead!

The reasons why we may want to worship a beautiful God who wants to set us free in joy instead of foul demons that will eventually devour us will be discussed in the next couple of posts!

You’re welcome!

Good luck!

The Truth About 3 Lies That Are Often Found Deep In Our Hearts -It’s Time To Toss Them

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment
A man holding a stick on top of a sandy beach
Photo by Harsh Aryan on Unsplash

So I went to church the other day.

A kind fellow welcomed me by taking off his hat and bowing to me. Then he slapped me upside the head and told me that I had to believe a political ideology as well before they would welcome me into their church.

They’ll make a show of religion but behind the scenes they’re animals. Stay clear of these people.

The Message

I left the church and got into that church through another entrance because I knew how to look for another door. But many of you don’t. Many of you turn away, saddened, looking for another path to God.

“That path is not in the church,” many of us assert.

Have we replaced our primary sense of belonging . . .to [Jesus] . . . with politics…?

Christianity Today

So we stay home the following Sunday and watch TV or ask questions online, wondering, “Where is God?” Our hearts are stirred at night as God tries to wake us from spiritual slumber. We hear stories and wonder, “Maybe?” and then we are again distracted by our lunch and phone notifications.

But our hearts are a black hole that attracts the supernatural, often against our will or our reason.

Let’s dig deep down in our hearts today, friends, and see what we find deposited there in the depths. Like a vacuum attracting dust and debris, cultural beliefs swirl around in our hearts and sometimes settle there even though these ideas are simply filth, cluttering our minds. Instead, we need to find thoughts and questions that are food to fuel our spiritual journeys.

What we find often surprises us when we dig deep, deep down, hitting the depths of the heart.

Here’s some everyday clutter that we dig up and can inspect from all angles before DECIDING, with our MINDS, whether these ideas should be treasured in the depths of our hearts or thrown far, far away into the night, never to wake us again with their mischievous badgering. Sometimes, the wrong thoughts keep us awake at night. What do we toss, and what do we hold onto of the musings deep in our hearts, friend?

Here are several ideas:

  1. When we reach into our pants pocket, we pull out the plastic figurine of Jesus that we’ve carried all our lives. It’s time to toss him.
  2. When we reach into our other pants pocket, we pull out the counterfeit $20 bill we’ve also carried all our lives. This is our experience of church thus far and assumptions based on this experience. It’s time to toss it.
  3. Like the useful “Pensive” in the Harry Potter series, which allows the extraction of memories for in-depth study, we must also extract memories buried deep in our hearts. You also have a memory of another guy who slapped you upside the head, as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, before offering you a seat in one of the pews at church. “No thanks,” you said, running from the building and locking the door behind you. It’s time to toss the key to the door you locked.

Why?

A counterfeit Jesus, counterfeit rules, and counterfeit beliefs POINT TO THE TRUTH THAT SOMEWHERE OUT THERE, THERE IS “THE REAL” OF EACH OF THESE THINGS.

No one counterfeits items that hold no value.

The fact that someone bothered to counterfeit these items hints at the truth that the accurate, authentic, valuable versions are out there somewhere.

Don’t turn away from your path to God just because someone slapped you upside the head a bit.

Find the other entrance.

Why Whining Is Remarkably Preferable To Actually Acting Maturely *

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment

Photo by Marco Aurélio Conde on Unsplash

*(Boring) Administrative Announcement: Hello! I sent this same post from my Substack yesterday. However, I have recently realized that some prefer reading posts here on WordPress instead of Substack. ALL FUTURE POSTS WILL BE SENT FROM WORDPRESS unless I hear otherwise from you. Thank you so much for supporting me so I can feel important!

I prefer whining, usually.

It’s less risky. 

Plus, it’s safer on my ego to point the finger and deride others than to realize that we’re the ones who’ve accidentally fallen on our rears. 

My example:

Hear us whine:

“Hallowe’en is a lot more disgusting than it used to be in years past, etc,” we said. And so we bury our mouths in tubs of candy, fix our eyes on the latest movie, close our ears to the kids knocking upstairs, and hide in our basements, waiting for November, when all is right once more with the world. (Isn’t it? But I digress. . . )

Hoisting oneself by the seat of the pants and leaving the house:

So we asked the grocery store manager to please remove the DISGUSTING display of realistic, cut-off body parts sitting on top of the oranges. These were their “decorations” during October.  “Yes!  Of course!” she exclaimed, running off to remove them before we finished speaking.

And then came another fall on my rear with the following sentence from this store manager, “You are the first person who has said anything about these decorations in ten years.” 

Ouch. Doing the mental math as I sat on my rear after the fall, I quickly realized I had shopped in that store for that long. I have complained every year and yet never once spoke out in love.

And the store manager?

She wasn’t a fierce wolf waiting to attack the foundations of excellence in our culture. But she was a confused sheep, head in her hands, crying, waiting for someone to shine a light on a mess in her store that she couldn’t quite see but knew intuitively needed cleaning up. She had longed for someone to give her a reason to take down the decorations that the rising tide of culture had deposited in her store.

The other thing is – I didn’t create an enemy in this store manager but the reverse happened.

She opened up to me about her cancer struggle and her search for God. Years later, during COVID-19, when the sign at the grocery store exit said in bold letters, “WE WILL NOT HELP YOU CARRY ITEMS TO YOUR CAR”, I didn’t ask for this service, but she carried items to my car. We shared some love in the way that strangers do when they talk about God together (This is another post).

But the point?

Maybe it’s time to grow up a little?

Nah.

I’ve got a bag of candy I’m enjoying tonight (Yes, sugar is a poison – what is your point?), as I watch another episode, and whining is easier, frankly.

But as my joints become enflamed from all this candy, and my spiritual life shrinks with me as I hide in the corners of my culture and complain, I wonder if I should get up off the couch, again?

a woman sitting on a couch holding a cup of coffee

Photo by Julian Bock on Unsplash

How about you?

Should we help each other put down our candy and get up?

Nah.

Oh OK! I’ll tell you about the next time I do something like this in another post. Now leave me alone so I can finish my candy and movie, ok?

(Thanks.)

I’m Moving! Don’t Worry! I’m Taking You With Me!

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment

“What is she going on about now,” you ask each other.

Change is in the air! Fall has arrived, and I’m moving to a different website. I’ll explain next week.

You don’t have to do anything, but there will be no posts again this week.

(You can stop crying now).

See you next week!

Happy fall and first day of school, homeschoolers (and others)!

Remember homeschooling parents – Your brain is still bigger than theirs! For now, anyway! Use every advantage you’ve got!

Good luck!

You’re welcome!

How To Begin The Dance With God – 3 Hints Found In What God Repeatedly Says

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment

Sometimes, God says the same things over and over.

It’s because we’re too dumb or deaf or arrogant to hear the first time.

That’s ok!

He repeats it! Maybe we’ll bother to pick up the words that will heal us this time! When we pick them up and insert these words into our ears, the peace and joy are like beautiful music!

This reminds me of the point of this post – God sometimes speaks through music, and when we stoop to pick up the words He dropped and put them into our ears, we often find joy and a song to dance to.

Take this song:

This song spoke to me in the same way the other song did in the last post, in these three ways:

1.The sun shines on every patch of ground of earth.

Lyric from Who Am I by NEEDTOBREATHE: You won’t let go

God won’t let go of us – of me, of you, regardless of what we have done, haven’t done, what we have seen or have failed to see.

This is hope, friend.

2. Winter carries the promise of spring.

Lyric from Who Am I by NEEDTOBREATHE: You grow your roses in my barren soil

He grows an amaryllis from a 20-year-old neglected pot! He grows a lilac after ten years on a (perceived) dead bush! He grows a peony in a 13-year-old weed-filled “flower garden”. He can grow beauty through my barren life, too!

This is hope, friend.

3. Surrendering the throne of my life to its rightful owner, to God, instead of to the insecure, bossy child (me), is what releases life.

Lyric from Who Am I by NEEDTOBREATHE: I push you away, but you won’t let go

Sometimes, we push God away without even realizing it, pushing Jesus aside in our rush to get out the door when He has been standing there all night, knocking. Maybe it’s time to set aside the fact that we know best and let Him steer the ship.

This is hope, friend.

And this is how we begin the dance with God. He takes one step toward us, offering hope in the form of a flower, and we take one step toward him by receiving the good gifts He offers us. Ready yet to take another step on your adventure?

How To Be A Moth In Darkness Since God Is Light – 3 Hints

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment

If we’re honest, we’re all lost and directionless in the snowstorm of life.

And we should be honest because truthfulness with ourselves and God about how lost and scared we often feel is like being a moth in the darkness and then finding a light source and being drawn together.

When we can no longer see because we’ve put blinders over our eyes again, we can sometimes hear God calling us softly through the gobs of earwax we forgot to clean out. (Sorry for the gross illustration, but one of my exceptional talents is producing immense quantities of earwax. This metaphor has an arresting punch for me).

Do you hear God calling?

This song was like a megaphone God used through another’s voice when I was too deaf again to hear him speak.

During my last winter season (spiritually speaking), God whispered in this song in a way that touched my heart, if not my ears in the following ways:

1. The sun shines on every patch of ground on earth. The following lyric was like a knife touching the hardened parts of my heart, the sections that God could not break through with the warmth of his breath because I had locked and sealed it off. God seemed to breath on this lyric, waking a deep part of my soul:

Melt the ice of this wild soul

2. Winter carries the promise of spring. This lyric would quicken my heart and bear the baby of faith:

If you’re not done working, God, I’m not done waiting

Have you been waiting for an exceptionally long time for the voice of God to whisper more clearly to you, too, friend? God might be digging around your soil, preparing to transplant you to a sunnier location, to a spot where you can feel the sun’s rays a little more easily before he breathes on your ears, restoring them. (He’s not done working).

3. Surrendering the throne of my life to its rightful owner, to God, instead of to the insecure, bossy child (me), is what releases life. The voluptuous blossoms in your life will look different than what you imagined.

Like a seed you [Jesus] were sown, for the sake of us all. From Bethlehem’s soil grew calvary’s sequoia

The full blossom of Jesus’ life was the cross, dying to set you free so your ears can be opened to the voice of God and you are free to soar.

Ready to pick up the gift He left for you, friend?

Ready, yet to be awakened?