Thanks Brandy, for your question.
Things that you can do to help a new Christian that came from witchcraft start with prayer. That’s where they end also. Prayers for God’s love and power to cover them as well as yourself.
Now that you know the beginning and the ending… let’s look at some things in the middle. They are people, same as you. They have a past that Jesus has saved them from, same as you. Yes, they will have special challenges along the way, since Satan likes to hit us where he got us before. Encourage them to read the Bible and pray, and perhaps get into a bible study. In times of extreme stress, pray more for them. Be willing to pray with them.
Please understand that much of what the church thinks about witches just doesn’t fit the reality of most that I have met. One thing that may follow them even after they have turned to Jesus though, is they may remain sensitive to the spiritual realms around us. Above and beyond many people. This can lead to confusion, sometimes seriously so. What you can do to help with this is show them about prayer and the shield of faith. The last thing we want is for them to think that the only way they can defend themselves spiritually is with what we learned on the magic paths. Getting closer to God is a much better option.
Another thing would be to neither buy into or spread the various church myths about witches and Halloween…They are mostly wrong anyway. Those are some of the things that can be done, then again, we end in prayer.
Thanks for the post. It is very helpful. I can only imagine what it is like for people just coming out of the occult. Like I said before, I was just into Wicca a little and had actually grown up in church. After I have my life to Jesus Christ I was pulled emotionally back to the things that had excited me the most…it would happen randomly for a few yrs. Scripture helped me the most–reading it and praying it into my thoughts and life. Isaiah 44, Hebrews 11, Romans 6 (especially 21-23), 1John 2: 25-29, and the account of the Exodus to name a few.
These accounts help me remember that I don’t want to settle for a cheap imitation of what my Groom wants to give me. Satan is a copy cat and cannot fulfill what I can only get in a close relationship with Jesus.
I’m sure each person will have to find out what Scripture resonate with their own experiences and temptations.
Thank you for all the great work you do for our Savior and for confused, hurting people. God bless!
Well Brandy, as to what it is like coming out of the occult and
into the path of Jesus: it is -interesting-.
For starters you will feel like you’re getting shot at from both sides in the spiritual battle. To go along with that you won’t have much idea where the armory is, this leads to you wandering
around unarmed on the battlefield anyway.
So another thing you can do to help a newly minted EX-witch would be to show them the passages relevant to prayer and drawing closer to God.
The closer we get to Him the harder it is for Satan to trip us up. A good passage to point them towards is James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
I have found that reading the Psalms also helps.
Mark
Thank you. Yes, I do love the Psalms. I imagine it must be hard. I had the advantage of growing up in church so I hasn’t considered that a new believer might not be that familiar with Scripture or what kind of shield and weapon it can be for us when we go to it…that it is alive! So, again, thank you for your insight. God bless! And I would ask you to also pray for me as I try to witness to a last in my community who is a witch currently.
Sorry, that was suppose to say, “lady” not “last”.
Mark, I was wondering something. What was it that gave you the light–that aha moment when you realized Jesus was the truth and the way? And do you or does anyone out there ever struggle with randomly questioning if you’ve chosen the right side? I use to…I would know intellectually what was true, but would suddenly wonder if God was the imposter. I would become emotionally fearful. It would pass, of course, as I clung to the truth of my testimony of God’s love for me and resisted the debate trying to go on in my head. And I don’t battle with it now, but I wonder if others have experienced any similar attack?
Brandy,
It clicked for me while a friend was telling me about Jesus… unfortunately I let myself get driven away again for a few years.
As to questioning whether or not I’ve been taken in, that hasn’t been much of an issue for me. With me it has tended to be temptations to go back for more power. Holding fast to God and His word when any such trial hits is the key to getting through it.