“I ask you, My children, to guard your hearts. The enemy of your soul is taking great pains to destroy My people with confusion and compromise. Be careful to whom you listen. What is the fruit of their lives? What is the treasure of their hearts? Are they pursuing Me as their only ambition? Where do you seek wisdom? When you seek counsel, seek wise counsel. Make sure that the counsel you seek spends enough time in My Word and with Me to hear My heart, rather than the logic of the world.

“How can wisdom come from carnal ideas? How can wealth come from a bankrupt spirit? Guard the hearts and minds of your children. Make sure that you are a covering over what they see and to whom they listen. Protect their tender minds with My Word. Instill the goal of holiness in them. I have given them to you so that they will be safe.

“In this day, be on guard for those who call themselves by My Name but follow the ways of the world. The tactic of the enemy is to befriend you with foolish sheep who have nothing holy to offer you. They are most dangerous. They have long ago turned their backs on My kind of road to travel and have decided to go their own way. They have quieted My voice for so long that they can no longer hear. Why would you listen to their counsel? Do not open your heart to them nor give your children to their care. Now is the time for discernment. Be careful what you are hearing. Be careful of who is saying it.”

Prov. 22:6 AMP

Train up a child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent], and when he is old he will not depart from it.

Mark 4:24 AMP

And He said to them, Be careful what you are hearing. The measure [of thought and study] you give [to the truth you hear] will be the measure [of virtue and knowledge] that comes back to you…

The Lord has often shown me my responsibility as a father. Over the years, He has made it clear to me that His hand is on my daughter, and that He considers her heart and life very special. Before she was born, Merry and I knew that He had plans for her life. We’ve taken great measures to guard her heart. She’s a wonderful daughter.

That being said, we noticed one day when she was about eight, she had begun to act differently. Merry and I sensed a spirit of rebellion, far more evident than the normal actions of a strong-willed child. Because we both sensed it at approximately the same time, we began to pray. The words “rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft” (1 Sam. 15:23) kept coming to my mind.

As we traced our actions over the days previous to our awareness, we remembered that she had stayed overnight at the house of a Christian friend. When we asked questions about some of the activities that transpired, my daughter could come up with little that would give us caution. In the course of conversation, however, she said that she didn’t like the idea that the family was watching a Harry Potter movie - a movie about witchcraft - in the other room while she and her friend played in the bedroom. My wife and I looked at each other in amazement. How could that go on in a Christian household?

We thought that we had done our homework as parents. Obviously, the Lord was calling us to a better stewardship. Because someone “talks the talk” doesn’t mean that they can be trusted. I know that it is important to give mercy and grace to those who have not yet found out the dangers of flirting with the world, but it is also very important to be wise and not fall into harm’s way. From then on, we were much more careful about where we allow our daughter to spend time, especially overnight. She simply is too valuable to be exposed to the rubbish of the world whenever it can be averted.

By the way, we prayed, and the joy, peace, and love came back into our household. Our daughter even said that she felt clean again. She could tell that she felt different after being there but didn’t know what to do about it. Prayer works!

Needing to see clearly and trust Jesus,

Jim Corbett