Many times when someone becomes a Christian, especially when being saved out of the occult or some other life crisis, they want to share the good news of the Gospel. Some of the reasons may be because they want to help others see what they could not see due to the darkness that surrounded them, they want to point people to the Truth and the Light, and for them to feel the pure joy, peace, and love of our Savior, Jesus Christ. They also may want to assist in freeing others by pointing to the one who can save them from eternal damnation in Hell.
The new Christian may be filled with passion and excitement to share the freedom of Christ with others. They may think, “Who wouldn’t want to hear the truth that will set them free? If they just knew the truth they would be thankful to hear it! I am going to post Bible verses all over social media so people can be saved and love God’s Word just like I did! I am going to share the Gospel with everyone that I know and meet!” A new Christian may want to be that person who shares the good news of the Gospel with the world! Sounds easy, right? Whoa, let’s hold on a minute and look at reality.
The tricky part is that if someone does not know that they need saving, how do we start that conversation and what do we do if they are not receptive to hearing the truth of the Gospel? Unfortunately, this is where many Christians with good intentions to point others to Jesus may stop, because sharing the truth of the Gospel can be difficult and met with resistance and conflict. Sharing the Gospel can place a strain upon or even end a relationship or friendship, because a blinded unbeliever may view scripture as hate speech and judgment instead of the freedom, truth, and love that it truly holds.
- “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14).
- “In their case, the god of this world [the Devil] has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4).
- “The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the words that I have spoken will judge him on the last day” (John 12:48).
Many Christians may say that the best way to share Jesus is to not “preach” to others, but to live by example, and pray that others will see Christ in them. This indeed may be what God uses in some circumstances. Unbelievers may see something different about a Christian based on their overall joy and peace that seems to pour out of them and throughout all areas of their life. An unbeliever may be drawn to that and want what that Christian has.
But, what about when a Christian sees someone that may be as blinded as they once were and is practicing the same sins they once did? God has given this Christian an experiential insight into a particular sin. For instance, I know that addiction in any form is a sin but my addiction to food may be a different life experience than another’s addiction to drugs. The overreaching umbrella of addiction is the same but I have no idea what extent of life experiences someone with cocaine, heron, or a meth addiction may go through or feel. I can gain that knowledge through education and research, but having experiential insight adds a level of connection, compassion, and understanding that books will never give.
For example, I was once speaking to someone close to me who was struggling with a drug addiction. I was speaking to this person about my addiction to food and how I used to hear these seemingly uncontrollable repeated thoughts, “Eat it. Eat it. Eat it.” Suddenly, their head turned with a quick snap and stared at me with a recognition in their eyes that had never been there before. The general connection of our addictions had been made, although the choice of our addictions were different.
Not everyone, including professing Christians, will believe that experiential insight gives an added layer to understanding the sin and life experiences of another. I recently had a fellow Christian, who claims to be of the reformed faith, disagree with me regarding experiential insight. The conversation started when, on social media, I saw comments between her and another Christian about a well-known occultist who turned Christian. The former occultist is now vocal on social media warning people about the occult, while also sharing God’s Word. With neither of those women having any experiential insight into the occult, they both speculated and decided that the former occultist was becoming legalistic and was motivated by fear instead of leaning on Christian liberty. (I will not go into the subject of Christian liberty here because it deserves its own blog.)
Because of my experiential insight, along with the former occultist’s posts that I had seen on social media, I commented on their post and said that the former occultist was not motivated by fear, but a desire to share the truth and warn others that what they may be doing is of the occult. I said that since I have experience with turning to the occult through my time as a psychic medium/healer, God had opened my eyes to certain things. This has given me more of a sensitivity to those things, so I can spot things like the “spiritualist’s lingo,” beliefs, practices, feelings, etc. quicker or easier than someone who has had no life experience in this type of sin. Because of all of these things, my conscious will not allow me to participate in anything that is knowingly of the occult. I also understood where the former occultist was coming from in their desire to warn others of occult practices being disguised as Christian practices.
The Christian woman’s argument was that if someone studies the Bible extensively enough the Holy Spirit will give them the discernment to know those things. so experiential insight is not needed. She is partially correct. The Spirit of God will work within our hearts as we study his Word. He will open our eyes to see and understand scripture in a way that we never have before. He will, in the Bible, teach and show us what is evil and what is good–what sin is. But that is not where I was going with my comment and she did not seem to understand the point I was trying to make.
That woman’s previous comments and speculated opinions about the former occultist clearly exposed her hypocrisy. She had no former experiential insight in practicing in the occult. Even so, she and the other woman had decided that they knew the motivation of the former occultist’s heart and why they were doing the things they were doing. The Bible clearly says that God is the only one who knows the desires and motivations of our hearts. He knows us better than we know ourselves. “I the LORD search the heart and test the mind.” (Jeremiah 17:10)
The Bible also clearly says that there is no dabbling in the occult. The Christian women decided that the former occultist had become too “straight-lined” and legalistic. For a further and more precise conversation, I asked her to share with me examples of what she thought were ways that the former occultist was being too straight-lined and legalistic, but she declined my request to share them. God says that, as Christians, we cannot turn even a little bit towards the occult. To do that is considered by God to be a breach of faith (1 Chronicles 10:13). “No one can serve two masters, for he will either hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other.” (Matt 6:24)
If it could be this difficult to speak truth to a professing Christian, how much more difficult could it be to speak to an unbeliever? Is it worth the effort? Is it worth it if the relationship could possibly be severed or if the unbeliever becomes offended and mad at the Christian? God tells us in the Bible that our faith will cause division amongst people (Matt. 10:22). God also tells us that we are not to be fearful of man (Proverbs 29:25). If we are afraid of what a person will think of us because we are following the Lord, then we are not trusting in God; we are trusting in man. Even though God is where we should have our eyes and allegiance set, acting upon that outwardly in the form of sharing the Gospel with the potential of rejection, is harder than some can bear. I was recently tested in this very thing.
This particular day seemed like any other day. Before going to work, I had an appointment for a massage. I had been to several massage therapists over the years and the one I currently used is one of the best. When I walked into the lobby I realized that I was about five minutes early. Glancing around the office space, I saw they had already decorated for Halloween–not the Fall–Halloween. The shelves were lined with large orange, black, and purple glittery spiders.
Since my therapist was not yet ready, I sat in the gray fabric chair next to the hallway that led down to the massage rooms. Each therapist has their own room. I could hear a woman speaking very loudly to my therapist. I thought maybe she was her previous client. The woman was talking about her recent experience with some kind of energy healer. My ears instantly perked up to carefully listen, as I was also filled with dread. The woman spoke of a heaviness she was feeling in her solar plexus and how the healer intuitively hovered her hands over that area without her speaking of the heaviness. She said the heaviness seemed to be pulled out and disappear. She spoke about the healer’s use of crystals and their magical properties with abilities to heal, ward off bad energy, etc. She also spoke of how, while undergoing her healing, her mind began to drift off and the healer intuitively knew that and “brought her consciousness back” to the room, because she had been on an astral travel. I could hear the excitement in her voice while she spoke of how good she felt.
My therapist engagingly listened to her, laughed with her, and made a few comments. I did not get a clear indication from her comments that she practiced in the occult as well. Even so, I shook my head in disbelief and saw this as a test of faith. This is where the rubber was going to meet the road. To make matters even worse, when the conversation finished, the other woman walked down the hall and went into another massage room! I realized she was a massage therapist, not a client! What was I going to do? I finally found a massage therapist that truly fit my needs and I might have to walk away. I knew that if I said anything to my therapist it could potentially ruin our therapist/client relationship.
My therapist came down the hall and walked me back to her room. I nervously entered the room and discussed my massage needs. When she left the room, I looked around the ocean themed room for any indication of “spiritual” tools or signs that she practiced in the occult that maybe I had not noticed before. Not seeing anything obvious, I laid facedown on the table, prayed, and waited for her arrival. “Lord, please help me. I choose you over my massage therapist. I know this may be my last visit and I may have to walk away. I don’t know what to do or what to say. I know I have to speak with her, but when? What do I say? How do I speak to her about this in a loving way, while also speaking truth? Please show me what to say.”
I had decided that I would speak to her after the massage when I made payment. God was faithful and placed upon my heart the words to say. Without accusation, I would start with a question. After the massage was finished I prayed again and nervously walked out to the lobby and sat in front of the desk that all the therapists shared for check-out purposes. After I made payment, I hesitated for a moment and said, “I need to ask you something. Earlier, while I was waiting in the lobby, I heard that woman speaking to you about the healer.”
She said, “Oh, yeah, that’s Jamie.”
Taking a deep breath, I continued, “Do you believe in all of those things she was talking about? Do you practice those things?”
Smiling, she leaned back in her chair and replied, “Oh, no. I just let her talk. I don’t believe in any of that stuff. I don’t understand half of the things she talks about. Plus, she is a Christian.”
Relief coursing through my veins from hearing her answer, I said, “She is a Christian? I did the same thing. I considered myself to be a Christian, but also dabbled in the occult. But, in the eyes of God, we can’t do that. We are either for him or for the Devil.”
“I want to get along with her, she stated, but how do you even talk to someone about that kind of thing?”
“Well, here is something you can try,” I replied, “You could show her a picture of my book and say, ‘While my client was waiting in the lobby she heard you talking about your healing session. She is a Christian, used to be a psychic, and wrote a book about it. She thought you might like to read it.’ This way you are kind of taken out of the equation. And if she would like to talk to me I would be happy to speak with her about everything.”
We continued to talk about Christianity and the occult for almost thirty minutes. I do not know the extent of her faith, but I did learn that she believes that the Bible should be enough instead of searching for something more. Satisfied with what I learned, I said, “Thank you for speaking with me about this. This turned out a lot better than I thought it would. I was concerned that this was going to be my last session with you.”
“Oh, no. I wouldn’t want that to happen,” she responded, “You would be amazed at how many massage therapists practice in the occult. Most of them are. But, it is hard because I work with them.”
“Oh, I understand,” I said, “It is hard when something like this comes up in your place of business.”
I happily booked my next appointment and left to head to work. I stepped into my black exterior and interior SUV and took a moment to thank God for all he had just done.
While this conversation had a favorable ending, not all do. I have reached out to a few people that have displayed their occult practices on social media. Their responses were typical of the blind unbeliever, “What the psychic told me answered my questions and made me feel good,” or “I know what I am doing.”
Just because something from the occult makes you feel good or does good things in your life, does not mean that it is good and from God in Heaven. How else could the Devil turn people away from God in Heaven? The Devil is a cunning deceptive liar that uses trickery to lure people away from God and into Hell with him.
I am perplexed by the people who do not take my time in the occult as a reliable source for truth about the occult and occult things disguised as a Christian tool. Even though people may be blinded to hearing truth from me, that does not mean that God is not working. We must do what God calls us to do. We plant the seed by sharing truth and the Gospel, and then trust that God will grow the seed if that person is his. He may instantly grow that seed, take 3 years, or 30 years.
How do we begin that difficult conversation? I highly recommend starting with a question, really listening to the response, and continue asking questions until you understand the existence or lack of faith, their motivations, and where their beliefs come from. With answers to those questions, the direction of the conversation is set in place. In this way, instead of talking “at” them, you will be in a two-way invested, genuine, and caring conversation.
To read more about my time in and out of the psychic occult realm, my book, Heaven’s Joy: The Seeking and Saving of a Runaway Psychic, is available on my website, susanmcceldry.com in hardcover and e-book form.
*names have been changed to protect the identities of the people in this story. Recalled conversations are written from memory and may not be exact or word for word from the conversation that originally took place.
