They have been ostracized, romanticized, popularized and now, economized. Vampires - love 'em or hate 'em, they have made their place in our literature for centuries, and they have made a comeback, as they seem to do every decade or so, primarily due to the allure of the TWILIGHT book series by Stephenie Meyer and its subsequent film franchise.


This franchise of films (TWILIGHT, NEW MOON, ECLIPSE) have grossed an outrageous amount of money. This alone should give us cause to sit back and look at why this could happen. Eighty percent of the viewing audience is female, and the majority of those females would be considered "tweens" and teens "looking for love in all the wrong places." They are looking for romantic heroes, and finding them in a "good" vampire and a "good" werewolf. (The Word of God tells us that we are to be transformed into the image of Himself. TWILIGHT tells us about trangressing into a beast. Go figure! Which one do you think is the right choice? And Bella wants to become one of them!)


Speaking from a surface level, I don't believe that the TWILIGHT series has captivated its audience through bloodlust (although there are certainly those demonically oppressed or obsessed who are drawn to the dark side of the story). The books and the films seems to appeal to the adolescent need for romance, and nothing is more appealing to a young woman than the need to nurture the outcast and unlovely...who, in this case, just happen to be beasties.


Harry Potter and The Hogwarts School is fading out. Twilight has replaced it. Why? Again, on a surface level, it's about teens in a normal high school setting. But it also presents the supernatural escape of another world, far more captivating than their own natural surroundings. What they don't realize is that there are indeed dark forces behind the books and the films. Doors have been opened to the demonic, and those who become obsessed with the phenomenon called TWILIGHT, can eventually become oppressed with spirits of darkness that will drag them into all kinds of dangerous demonically produced activities - all without their knowledge. Seems innocent enough, you might say, until you pull back the covers and see what's underneath. There are millions and millions of young people (and some older) who are totally under the spell of TWILIGHT, and it is a dangerous place to be. They are dealing with not only the demonic, but also the sin of idolatry.


INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE may have been the vampire sensation of the 1990s, but Anne Rice, who wrote the book while living in Berkely, California, changed her direction in 2002, consecrating all of her writing to God. She had a change of heart! The Holy Spirit has a wonderful way of changing the hearts of those who are diligently seeking truth.


What does God say about drinking blood? Read for yourself:

Leviticus 17:10-14 "Any one of the house of Israel or of the strangers who dwell temporarily among them who eats any kind of blood, against that person I will set My face and I will cut him off from among his people [that he may not be included in the atonement made for them].For the life (the animal soul) is in the blood, and I have given it for you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement, by reason of the life [which it represents].

Therefore I have said to the Israelites, No person among you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger who dwells temporarily among you eat blood. And any of the Israelites or of the strangers who sojourn among them who takes in hunting any clean beast or bird shall pour out its blood and cover it with dust.

As for the life of all flesh, the blood of it represents the life of it; therefore I said to the Israelites, You shall partake of the blood of no kind of flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats of it shall be cut off."

Cut off from what? From the Atonement. Need I say more? If you are a Christian, and you have allowed any of this darkness into your heart, you need to renounce it in the name of Jesus, ask for the Father's forgiveness and repent (change)! This is not something to be played with. It is an abomination to God.

Is it wrong to read TWILIGHT or see the movies? That is between you and the Holy Spirit. To not read it or see the movie would be going against the spirit of the world. It would be going against the tide. But isn't that what Jesus told us to do? Be in the world, not of the world? It's not a difficult question to answer if you have a heart of obedience to the Spirit of God.
Selah.

I really don't know who, if anyone, will read this (today or ever), but I feel compelled to begin my "blogging" on this Easter Sunday, April 8, 2007. Perhaps it is the fact that I am sitting at home, not going to a poignant and heartfelt Easter program at a church - or perhaps the fact that for the past three years, I have not been able to go to "church" because of my son's difficult and sporadic autistic behavior. Perhaps it is because for the past six months, I have spent about 70% of my time lying on my back in bed with acute fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue syndrome and all of the multitude of conditions that go with them. In a nutshell, I have given in to my circumstances.

My point is, it is time to receive the resurrection power which I (and all of us) have been given by Christ's death, burial and resurrection. Easier said than done, you say? Well, perhaps. But it is true all the same. Just because you don't believe something, does not believe that it is not true.

How many of you can relate to what I am saying? You feel like God has forgotten you, or that He is mad at you and left, or that you must have committed the unpardonable sin, or that you have taken your backslidings just a little too far this time? Let me tell you. For those of you who may be new believers, I am speaking from over twenty years of walking with the Lord - and you may need to get a few years under your belt before you can fully grasp this. Even those of us who are "called" into the ministry (which we all are), we, too, can feel like we are all alone in our trials; that God has left us or given up on us. This, of course, is a lie and contrary to God's word. And we must continually remind ourselves and fill ourselves with His word (and not our own fears and doubts).

He said that He would never leave us nor forsake us. But why, sometimes, in our most grueling trials, does He seem to be so far away or untouchable? You could literally drive yourself crazy trying to figure things out. That is when you just need to trust His word. You know it is truth. You know that you know that you know - so just defy common sense and what the world may tell you - and believe Him. When all else humanly possible fails, just believe God - plain and simple. Surrender to His word, to His will, and to His love.

Throughout my struggles and sufferings one thought has always been with me - that although I feel isolated and alone, He is just waiting for me to come to Him in Spirit and truth. He stands at the door and knocks. We get so wrapped up in our own misery (which sometimes cannot be helped, but can be overcome), that we unknowingly elevate our misery above the throne of God. (Sound familiar? This was one of Lucifer's goals.) Technically, this is called idolatry. So, without knowing it and certainly without meaning to, we have fallen into idolatry and put ourselves and our problems ahead of God. Oh my. Did I do that? I would never do such a thing, we say.

Well, I for one have decided that enough is enough. I am tired of allowing these hellish syndromes and conditions to dictate what I can and cannot do. If I don't succeed, at least I will have tried. Scripture does tell us that "the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead resides in us, and will quicken our mortal bodies." On that I will rely.

Any of you out there with fibromyalgia? Are you ready to break out of your "brain fog?" Ready to let God arise and quicken your aching and fatigued body? Let's go for it on this Resurrection Day. Pray for one another that we might be healed. Pray for the grace to accomplish our goal. Surrender to God's amazing love and let Him carry us through it to victory.

As one New Yorker once said, "it can't hoy-t." (hurt, in case you don't grasp the accent).

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