My wife and I were watching "The Fosters" the other night on Netflix... well, ok, to be honest, she was watching "The Fosters" and I was on Facebook, but we were in the same room, and I was kind of paying attention."The Fosters" is a show about a married lesbian couple, whose last name is "Foster" and they are foster parents to several teens and children. My wife works in the foster care field, and finds the show compelling. This is not to suggest she approves or agrees with all the messaging, but at times she applauds the show's willingness to show tough and realistic issues regarding foster children.In one of the episodes, the Fosters offered to adopt one of their foster children, whose mother had been killed in a tragic accident. The child didn't say yes right away.First, he wanted to ask his mother if she'd be okay with it. His dead mother.So if you are wanting to consult a dead person for advice or approval, what  would you do?

"Ouija" Spirit Boards

Yep. The show went there.Personally, I think foster parents that allowed foster children to consult spirits through a spirit board should lose their licenses, but that's just me.In The Fosters, the boy and another child used an Ouija Board to ask his dead mother if she'd approve, and the little crystal doohickey moved to "yes," thus implying the kid's dead mother was replying through it, granting her approval.Everyone say, Awwwhhh!Although the show left open whether the child was projecting his hidden desires to be adopted onto the board, thus "allowing" the yes response or if it was really some spirit, it illustrated a deep fascination in the pop culture with consulting the spirit world for advice.

My Personal Experience with a Spirit Board

I guess I don't get the fascination with using an Ouija (which is a trademarked name for a spirit board sold by Hasbro).When I was in high school, I lifeguarded each summer at the local swimming pool. One night, my sisters had a friend sleeping over.  That year, we were in a heat wave, and that particular night, I had a bad headache from guarding several days in a row in the intense heat.I had gone to bed early, but about 10PM, I got up to take some Tylenol.I went to the kitchen, and my sisters and their friend were in there playing with an Ouija board. They were bent over the spirit board on our kitchen table. I stood behind them, not three feet from them, but they didn't notice me, so intently focussed on the paranormal activity they were.I was mad. How dumb could they be, talking to spirits? But for some reason, I didn't say anything and without interrupting them, I turned to go back to bed. I suddently realized the air conditioning was too cold for me, and actually started shivering intensely by the time I made it back to my bedroom... we had a small house, so that was about 15 feet away.I shut the vent to the air conditioning and crawled under the covers.Sometime after midnight, my head was pounding unbearably, so I got back up to take that Tylenol.I made it to the kitchen - my sisters were in their bedroom now - shivering, opened the cabinet, took the bottle, bent over, and then collapsed. My sisters heard me fall and found me on the kitchen floor. My skin was hot, red, and dry to the touch. They ran to get my parents.My body temperature was 106.5 F... and rising: I was having a heat stroke.I was shivering, delirious, and confused. The next thing I knew, I was in the bathtub, clothes and all. My parents were bathing me in icy cold water, having dumped all the ice in the house in there, and rubbed alcohol on my body to help draw out the heat.  And of course they gave me water to sip. My temperature came down quickly. Within 30 minutes, it was down to 103, and in an hour, down to 101. (I ended up being sick for weeks).Meanwhile, my sisters were in their bedroom, crying and praying, worried I was going to die, and asking for forgiveness for talking to spirits.I realized I had not been staying hydrated like I should in the heat at the pool. My dad admonished me.I protested that the refrigerator for the guards had broken, but all I had that day was a Diet Coke. Pretty dumb for a trained Lifeguard Instructor who was also trained to teach CPR and First Aid, actually.I'm sure it was just a coincidence that the night I nearly died from a heat stroke was the only night my sisters ever played with a spirit board in our house...(As one of my favorite secondary characters in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine said, "I believe in coincidences. Coincidences happen all the time.  I don't trust coincidences.")

My Other Spirit Board Experience

A couple years ago, I received a Facebook message from a teenager who had visited my youth group one time with his girlfriend. (She took home a Bible, saying she would have to hide it because her parents forbade her from having one). He asked if I was familiar with exorcisms. I said I was:

 ...latly [n o spelling corrections have been made to this text] me and my girlfriend have delt with physical possesion by a demon... and it is getting stronger and stronger...when it hits one of us there is no controll of our human body.....last time [ name redacted] lost controll she was posessed for longer than 40 mins and in that amount of time i was talkin to it threw her voice, she ripped and threw the bible, she beat the hell outa me and her brother... she was 3 times stronger than me and threw me off the coutch she was on as i was trying my hardest to hold her down with cross's in both hands and ,much much more....

Indeed, the message went on and on, but you get the idea. They came to church. He ended up much more demonized than she was. If you want to read about the deliverance experience, I describe part of it in the interview with an adult seer post.The kid admitted the heavy demonic influence began sometime after they began using a spirit board. They actually burned it (a homemade one) as part of their deliverance.

The Lure

These kids enjoyed the thrill and power of talking to spirits. The spirits revealed things to them. They could control the spirits.Yeah right.In some cases, the activity related to spirit boards is no doubt faked or are merely a manifestation of a subconscious desire of the user. But let's set that aside for now. We're dealing with the reality of the spirit realm and how it interacts with the physical.Seers can sometimes see the spirits swarming around these boards, but ultimately spirit board is just a tool to focus people to interact with the spirit realm.While they may be dealing with the spirits of the human dead, they are probably dealing with wicked spirits who are impersonating the human dead.  These wicked spirits are probably demons.I know that some people claim to talk to Satan through a spirit board or to fallen angels.Come on. Satan is running a dominion that is losing a long defeat to Jesus: he's not wasting time dealing with people through spirit boards. Neither are his cosmic powers, spiritual forces or territorial spirits.No... these people are dealing with actual minions - not cute ones from Hollywood movies, but intelligent, animalistic and hungry dark spirits looking to feed on the deception of their victims.In other words, demons with hidden agendas interact with people through spirit boards. People who deal with them through a spirit board cannot tell when they're being lied to or not.Do you understand this? You cannot tell when a demonic or human spirit is lying to you or telling you the truth.It's what drives me insane about that scene in "The Fosters." The kid wanted supernatural knowledge to help guide his decision: so he asked a spirit through the board, and got a "yes." By what measure is he trusting the spirit? How does he know it's really his mother? How does he know the mother wasn't being oppressed and abused by demons, who were mocking him with the yes?He doesn't. And neither do people who trust information spirits give them through spirit boards, seances, or other means of talking to spirits.I know it's just a show, but it illustrated a real phenomena and a true hunger people have to have a supernatural experience with the spirit realm, and people all over the place are trying it, and opening powerful portals to demonic influence in their lives: demons who want to kill, steal, and destroy.In other words: bad idea.

Spirit Guides? Ascended Masters? Really?

Some people consult spirit guides or other enlightened beings.Another bad idea. Why?Because you don't have a barometer of Truth to tell you when the spirit guide is telling you... the Truth! You just trust it for no good reason? Based on your feelings? What if your feelings are lying to you?? What's the spirit's agenda? To help you achieve enlightenment? Really?The fact is, you can't tell what the spirit's agenda is.Look. There's nothing wrong with wanting to consult a wiser spiritual entity for advice or even to seek a supernatural connection with a personal entity. You were designed with this desire!The Designer was hoping you'd turn to Him for the advice! He is the embodiment of Truth, Life, Light and Love.The person who is ready to give you the advice you need is Jesus, and the spirit guide He offers is His Own Spirit: the Holy Spirit.And we know His agenda. He's preserved it in sacred scriptures given through prophets and mystics, rooted in actual historical events.  And He's ready to give you a personal encounter with the supernatural. Seriously.Ok. Here are some links to follow up on:1. What are Ghosts? Yes, it's possible people are consulting the spirits of dead humans when they use spirit boards. They are probably demons, but perhaps they are dead humans.  It's a remarkably bad and selfish idea, but check the article out for more information.2. What are Demons? Read this, and just tell me: do they have your best interest in heart?3. Who is Jesus? You want a spirit guide? He's your guy.

Prayer and Prophecy

There's nothing wrong with wanting to seek a higher spiritual authority for advice about a decision you're making. There's nothing wrong with seeking God's wisdom and words for you, with seeking his heart for your situation, and his advice for the choices you're thinking about. This is called" prophecy."So how do we ask Jesus? How do we listen to God? How do we receive a prophetic message from God?Well, you don't use a spirit board. And you don't give someone money for it. Think about it: when you talk to a spirit, you're praying to it. You don't actually need a board for that. You need your own voice.

Pray Out Loud

People gladly will use a spirit board, and then speak out loud, but they're afraid or feel awkward praying to God outloud. Ridiculous. Speak to him. Like he's in the room.Honestly, it's best to hear God in a community of believers, because God will speak to you through others.  That's how prophecy works, actually.Talking to a spirit that isn't God is like putting a loaded gun to your head... more dangerous in fact.  Destroy the spirit board that's calling your name, and ask God to speak to you, and then listen. He'll speak... he's always speaking.