Spiritual Warfare

This week I have become aware that the community of Watts is demonically oppressed. Gasp if you must but it's true. I don't know how else to explain the child abuse, sexual molestation, and ultimate neglect of my students, generational drug and alcohol abuse as well as gang affiliation, and an overall sense of hopelessness and stagnant behavior. I find myself in a spiritual war every time I exit Wilmington from the 105 freeway and turn right on Grape Street. My cousin (who is moving to Watts with me this summer) and I had a long talk about the issues our students faced each day and its connection to the spiritual realm.

We realized that we would be behaving much differently if we had glasses that let us see into the spiritual realm. If we put on those glasses every day when we went into Watts and think we would see something like this:

As I turn on Grape Street, there would be so many demons hovering over the projects that I would not be able to make them all out. It would just look like a black cloud descending. Demons would be coming in and out of individual apartments as people moved about. They would be grabbing onto people's ankles, making them walk slowly and feel downtrodden. The would slip into children's backpacks as they got ready for school. They would possess parents causing them to abuse and neglect their children. In the classroom, demons would be making children tired and distracted. Children possessed by demons would have blank stares on their faces and would appear as if they were literally the living dead. Demons would be doing anything to the children (causing them to get into fights, have sex in the bathroom, tag on the walls etc.) to make them fail.

No more! I have come to realize that I can not see this community as merely one with physical needs. This is not a physical battle (although I am will be in the middle of a literal war zone); it's a spiritual battle (all out warfare). The demons are staring me down asking, "What are you going to do about it?"

That's a good question! I will PRAY! I will denounce Satan's foothold on this community and in my current classroom. I will cast demons out of my classroom in the name of Jesus and while I'm at it, I will cast them out of my students in the name of Jesus.

All I'm going to say is WATCH OUT SATAN! NOW THAT I SEE WHAT YOU'RE DOING, YOUR POWER OVER THIS COMMUNITY WILL BE RENOUNCED IN THE NAME OF JESUS. YOUR DAYS OF CONROL OVER THE COMMUNITY OF WATTS ARE LIMITED. PACK YOUR BAGS AND BE GONE!