I took a course called Angelogy, which is the study of good and bad angels (also known as demons).  It was a requirement for those headed for the ministry. 

The angel portion was awesome and comforting.  The demon portion was eerie and disturbing.

One dreary night I needed to borrow a book for my research project.  So, I ambled over to the school library, which was housed in an old converted home.  The building was locked and empty except for a fellow classmate who I hoped would let me in.

I knocked and then watched for him through the window.  He didn’t show.  So, I tried hitting the doorbell in machine gun fashion.  The chime was one of those that had 3 gong-like tubes that sounded like something from the Adams Family.  

He heard me this time.  I watched him cautiously creep into the hall, but he wasn’t looking toward the door where I stood.  His tense face was nervously searching for the source of the sound. 

Now this amused me greatly – so I did the machine gun with the doorbell again.  And he jumped like a snake had bit him on the heel.  He then pointed down the hall with a trembling hand and screamed, “Satan, I bind you in the name of Jesus Christ.” 

Thank goodness he cast the demon out of that doorbell!  

________

Some people suspect there’s a demon behind every tree, while others have banished such notions to the myth pile.  Are demons real and if so, what do we do about them?

Real they are!  Jesus interacted with or spoke of demonic entities over a dozen times in the Gospel of Matthew.   His adversaries are as real as Jesus Himself.  They aggressively opposed the agenda of God then, and still do today. 

In Haiti, where demons are celebrated, their presence is overt and eerie and scary.  In my neighborhood, however, their subtle presence is mostly experienced as they tease that broken part of us, until it gives birth to sin. (James 1:15)

So how do we protect ourselves?

– Deny them your attention!

A band of misdirected angels arrogantly coveted the place of God.   They rebelled and God cast them to earth in judgment as demons.  But they still crave attention.  Some of us are happy to offer it to them.  We go demon hunting and often give them more credit than they deserve. 

In truth, Satan and his minions are like dogs.  They sense our fear and will use it to their advantage.  Treat them like the bullies they are and just ignore them and they will look elsewhere for the attention they crave.

– Draw closer to Jesus! 

When Jesus encountered demons, they responded in fear.”  Luke 4:33-34 says, “Now in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, “Ha! Leave us alone, Jesus the Nazarene! Have you come to destroy us?”  

          That demon wanted nothing to do with Jesus.  The same was true of the demon in Luke 8:28. He said, “Leave me alone, Jesus, Son of the Most High God! I beg you, do not torment me!”  Demons are not comfortable in the presence of Jesus.  They would rather be elsewhere. 

          Fortunately, Christ indwells the believer and the apostle John said, “…the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”  (1 John 4:4) Christ within us, is far greater in power than the evil ones around us.

And His powerful presence still repels the demons.   So, dig deep, and cultivate an intimate relationship with Jesus and you’ll do well. 

Scripture tells us to “flee immorality” but never the devil.  James on the other hand wrote, “resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7) He and his disabled diabolical forces are toothless and pose no threat to the person who is “strong in the strength of the Lord’s might (Ephesians 6:10)

Beware, however, of pranksters with doorbells!

A PRAYER: Lord help us to strike a balance in this area of spiritual warfare.

Scripture references are from the NET Bible ®