Hear. No. Evil!

It’s amazing the subconscious effects that the things we expose ourselves have on us. We may not even be paying the radio any attention, but the words of music playing in the background plants subliminal seeds. We may be laughing at the sitcom, but the imagery is affecting our thoughts.

Ever wake up in a bad mood? What were you watching/listening to before you went to sleep?

Ever have a weird dream or nightmare… what station did you leave the TV on and what was playing while you were sleep?

Ever been in traffic ready to slap somebody…which one of Luda’s road rage songs was just on the radio (Move or I Feel Like Slapping Somebody Today)?

Philippians 4:8 tells us to think on things of truth, honesty, righteousness, purity, love, and of good report. So...if we are allowing our heads to be filled with mess, are we in obedience to the Word?

We may not want to admit it, but we are affected by our surroundings. Garbage in = garbage out. So when the minister of our Singles Ministry suggested a day where we fast from any and all music that doesn't glorify God I was all in.  I’d already fasted from the Hip Hop station for a while, and I spend part of my drive to work in silence, so I was going to take it a step further. I was going to fast from any music, TV and movies that suggested sex, violence, drugs, drama, etc, etc….for a week. I wasn’t even going to watch the news…cuz we all know that’s depressing.

Man, I’m telling ya’ll I started off STRONG. Woke up Saturday morning, turned my computer on gospel and cleaned house. Went for a run in the park, put my MP3 player on Kirk and got it in. Drove to a wedding in Alabama and bumped Tye the whole way there and back. I was on it!

Sunday: Gospel while getting dressed. Walt Baby’s Gospel Tracks on the way to church. Got a good word in. Had some soul food with friends after church. I mean I’m feeling GOOD.

Here’s where it goes south: It’s a beautiful day out and I definitively don’t want to go home ( esp since I can’t watch tv, Netflix or the computer)…Called a friend to go hang in the park but they’re busy…so I go see “Hall Pass” with some friends. Mistake #1. It was a comedy so that kinda overshadowed the obvious strong sexual content…but it was there…darn those seeds.

Whew, shook that off. Call a different friend and went to the park. Had a good talk. Gave her some advice she probably won’t take. First friend called back, said she wanted to go to the movies. Out of the 2 she suggested I picked the one I hadn’t seen…but I didn’t know what it was.

I get to the theater and ask her to point out the poster for the movie. Insidious. Mistake #2. I started praying as soon as I saw the possessed image of the boy on the wall. The things I let these women talk me into (darn you Eve!). 

We get in the movie and of course there are images of demons, spirits and even the devil himself. My reaction to these images is what surprised me. Not a reaction of fear, but of prayer. And not for the people in the movie...they're fictional! But for me, I knew I was covered by the Blood but I prayed for the Spirit to cover & protect me from the spirits behind those demonic images subconsciously affecting me.

I was really PISSED that they were trying to combat demons physically and technologically; but as they were on screen battling physically, I was right beside them battling spiritually. I mean I was really PRAYING!

Ephesians 6:12 states that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Apparently they didn’t get the memo... (Spoiler Alert!) They lost.

I would say my attempt at a week of fasting from media was a #epicfailure but we as Christians always talk about how when we’re hard headed we get showed how much we need to grow in Christ. Every once in a while it’s good to be shown how much you already have.

Manifestation #612 that I’ve grown in Christ: I prayed AT the movies