Mickey Mouse Has Left The Building!
Hello friends.
I've been in a really great series on Sunday's concerning the Kingdom of Heaven and the very real conflict we are involved in with both seen and unseen forces that frankly; really don't have the best things in mind for us common folks.
And clearly from their perspective, the "low hanging fruit" is our children.
That the media, including the entertainment industry, and Christian values normally are harder to mix than oil and water is not a new secret. Conservatives and Christians have been lamenting the excesses of the entertainment industry and those presented as the highest achievement in human imagery for a very long time.
And frankly, the concerns have mostly been warranted.
And it hasn't gotten better. By a long shot.
I gotta tell ya. Today we are on steroids that are on steroids as far as our children being confronted with topics and subject areas that even adults shouldn't be talking about. There are many in multiple industries that want our kids to bathe in and ingest the cesspool of their ideas as much if not more than when they jump in the swimming pool to cool off on a hot July day!
"...but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea." Matthew 18:6
Jesus takes kids serious. You screw them up, and you're going to wish you were never born; all the while trying figure out how to get freed from those cement goulashes before your lungs turn into a fish aquarium!
This article contains two specific examples parents should consider...actually all of us...when cutting their little chickadees loose to watch Disney Channel for hours a day.
You may not know this, but they (Disney) are responsible for two shows I'll specifically mention here. These are not the only ones stretching the limits of what our children should be watching, but beyond a doubt they will illustrate the points I feel we must consider.
The first example is “Pauline”, which is about a teenage girl who gets pregnant on a one night stand. The father? Satan himself! What could go wrong?
How cool is that, right? I mean, we all know that Rosemary's Baby stuff was way over the top. Let me guess. I'll bet Pauline will have all those special powers from the devil that vulnerable teens watching with their friends at Friday night sleepover would certainly want to try themselves!
Think of how popular you'd be when you can turn your enemies into bullfrogs!
As a second example.
“Little Demon” is another animated gem. It’s a cartoon concerning Satan and the antichrist and all those wonderful demons they hang out with. There are episodes about possession and partying with Satan...yeah...the devil...he's a hoot for sure!
Now, don't take my word for any of this. If I was reading this, I wouldn't either. Look it up. Even Snopes…not known as a bastion of conservatism…label both claims as true. And you can look up "Little Demon" and see the description for each episode.
Just a heads up. I'm not a super picket sign boycott guy. I don't normally get on bandwagons. We live in a world that is messed up and well...sometimes "it is what it is." I have seen many a well meaning Christian look ridiculous while riding Ben Hur's chariot warning that a doll or Pokémon card is the next Y2K!
On the other hand, there are times to stand back, consider, and even react when something is egregious enough. At the very least, be good parents and guide and protect our kids.
Unseen Powers Are Actually Not Unseen!
"In that day the LORD will punish the gods in the heavens and the proud rulers of the nations on earth. They will be rounded up and put in prison. They will be shut up in prison and will finally be punished." Isaiah 24:21-22
Some, actually way too many, have not considered that there are fallen angels in the heavenly realms that collaborate with the proud rulers on the earth that decide to listen and cooperate with them. Both beings in both realms are malicious and meant to turn the hearts of mankind from God to at least themselves, if not the dark powers of those who left their place in God long ago. (Isaiah 24:21-22, Jude 6, Ephesians 3:10)
Jesus didn't mince words. He never does. The devil has been a murderer from the very beginning. He has been trying to kill us since he met Eve in the Garden of Eden. He wants humans dead. He wants you and I dead. All of his schemes are meant to result in this one thing.
Poison doesn't have to taste like poison to be poisonous and deadly!
Those shows mentioned above and many like them are a result, directly or indirectly, of entities that have undiluted hatred toward humans. They package these ideas and then speak them into the minds of those who will listen to their influences. The end game is to distribute and make available materials and ideas for the willing and ignorant that unfortunately, have no clue concerning the realities of these things.
Why would they want to do this and why are we humans hated so much?
Because we are created in the image of God. We are His imagers here on earth. And there are entities that hate this to the core of their being!
"And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ Acts 26:15-18
There is a power of Satan. The Scriptures are clear about that. Yet Jesus came that people would turn from the powers of darkness. Not sit in front of the TV and eat popcorn while you welcome it into your family living room with your children snuggled next to you!
The powers of the evil one are minuscule next to Jesus. Satan literally had no idea what hit him when Jesus shot out of the grave and returned to the right hand of the Father.
"...and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come." Ephesians 1:19-21
The Father and the Holy Spirit annihilated all the entities in the kingdom of darkness single handedly and all at once when they rose Jesus from the dead and returned Him to His proper place, far above any and all ruler or dominion that the devil has employed.
My friends. Our children need to be enamored with the God of the heavens…not the god of the earth. Let them learn of Him Who is so powerful He will fold up the heavens and the earth and toss them away in the same way I threw the towel on the floor after drying off from my shower! (Hebrews 1:10-12)
And it won't even cause HIm to strain!
I would rather hang with Him than disciples of the fallen ones that charges money to look into a glass ball or play poker with cards with strange pictures on them...
...or use their powers as executives and producers over worldwide corporations and media moguls to indoctrinate children into ideas that are not of earthly origin, and are meant to draw them away from a Creator and Savior that gave His life to have us return home to be with Him.
Besides…Jesus is much cooler to hang out with.
