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Rocky Mountain Ministries Articles
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Don and Wendy Francisco
I asked a young Christian couple to live in my house when I went on tour. When I came home, a small ceramic lion of mine was missing. It had been sitting on the hearth in front of the wood box by the fireplace. When I asked the couple about it, they said, "Your cat stared constantly at the lion. Since we know that witches use cats because they are spiritually sensitive, we realized that this statue was possessed. So we put it into a plastic garbage bag, took it out into the driveway and beat it into a powder with a hammer." I was speechless. I was so glad they hadn't killed the cat as well. Apparently the evil spirit who lived in the lion statue jumped to the wood box since the cat continued to stare in the same direction. I am sure it had nothing to do with the nest of mice I found in there. Since then I haven't hired house sitters.
A friend of mine saw a sculpture of a frog in a store and commented that frogs are worshipped in foreign countries and are therefore evil. She said that having a frog sculpture in your home would "stress the environment". (I am glad she didn't have a hammer with her!) Another friend of mine saw a rock which had crystal formations on it. He said crystals were used for healing by new agers and that Christians should not have them in their homes.
My question is, how much of God's creation should we hand over to Satan? When God made this planet, He called everything good. Even when different cultures assign certain meanings or powers to rocks, plants, or animals, ultimately, Christians have the most powerful God.... we can celebrate the magnificent variety on our planet without being fearful of stumbling over a forbidden item.
In the Bible, the illustration of a lion is used both for Jesus, and for Satan. Jesus is called the Lion of Judah. In this illustration, we are meant to assign the strength and nobility of this creature to our God. A lion is also used to describe Satan as one who issues a threatening roar, but then waits to see who he can frighten with his hot air. It is a totally different picture, yet the same animal. There is no inherent good or evil assigned to an actual lion. Lions are awe inspiring creatures designed by God. They play an important role in the balance of nature.
The most common symbol for Satan is a snake. Yet Moses lifted the figure of a coiled snake on a staff to release healing for the nation of Israel. There is no inherent good or evil in an actual snake. A snake is just a snake. You have to be careful of poisonous snakes when you hike. But a world without snakes would be a world filled with rodents.
What greater power could a sparkling crystal have than to inspire delight in a person. The rocks cry out in praise to God, the heavens declare His glory, and the trees of the fields clap their hands. Lets demystify all of the wonderful things God created. In so doing we are aligned with the God who created and then redeemed all things.
Myth number one? BUSTED!