The day before Halloween, October 30, 2022 …
The airport shuttle was going to be crowded, so I moved to the back and stood as more passengers got on. Another man followed my lead and stood to let a lady have his seat. The trend continued as men stood next to open seats, while more mom’s with children entered and sat down. I smiled, the Holy Spirit was on the bus moving people to be kind.
A young family sat across the back of the bus. The mom sat in the corner with the youngest brother. Her husband sat next to her, and two more boys filled the bench. I thought of how fun it was when my boys were young and full of wonder. The parents were introducing them to life and different places.
The oldest brother was about eleven with blonde hair. On his lap was a book poking out of a bag. I could read the name of the author on the front cover, J.K. Rowling. Then I was sad. These boys had a big future ahead of them, and Satan was luring them into his world of darkness through stories of a young boy exploring witchcraft. Satan was tempting them with intriguing stories and hopes of special powers, if they learned to follow his ways.
I prayed to the True and Living God for help. The Holy Spirit responded, “Two Words.” Then I prayed for help to bridge the conversation to God in a positive way.
I asked the parents, “Is this a destination or are you home?” The mother responded that they were returning from Boise. I continued the pleasantries that I was returning from a wedding in Eugene. I looked at the window and said, “I was hoping to bring some rain home, but it hasn’t followed me.”
“Is that Harry Potter?” I asked turning my attention to the boys. The boy was glad to show me the book he was reading, so he pulled the book out of the bag to show the title. I replied, “That is a big book.” I could tell he was proud of the book he was reading. His parents were probably glad he had found a book and was applying himself to the skill of reading. So, I needed to be tactful.
“Did you know, there are two words that can break any spell?” I asked. The brothers looked at me with interest. “The two words are actually a name.” I paused for drama and to let them get really excited to hear the answer. “The name is Jesus Christ. Have you heard that name before?” The boys leaned forward to hear more and shook their heads. They had not heard about the Lord Jesus before. “Jesus Christ is King of Kings, Lord of Lords and Creator of all things. Jesus Christ is the name that can break any spell.”
The Father tilted his head downward, but the mom looked on with some interest. Because the Dad was sitting closer and signaled he wanted the conversation to end, I did not purse it. If he had been a little open, then I was planning to give him a Bible. I was hoping to share that “This is a book where you can learn more about Jesus Christ and His powerful name.” But the Dad had inflated his chest and raised his closest shoulder. I did not want the boys to see his anger. I had accomplished the goal of planting a seed in the young boy’s minds. There is something more powerful than the book of spells.
I had also wanted to encourage them to read Acts 19 in the Bible. There is the story of the face-off between the name of Jesus and the books of spells. Paul was a missionary telling people about the True and Living God in Ephesus …
Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, 12
so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick,
and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. 13
Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the
name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise
you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” 14 Also there were seven sons
of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so.
15 And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I
know; but who are you?”
16 Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them,
overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that
house naked and wounded. 17 This became known both to all Jews and
Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord
Jesus was magnified. 18 And many who had believed came confessing
and telling their deeds. 19 Also, many of those who had practiced
magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And
they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of
silver. 20 So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed. ~Acts
19:11-20