How do I know if my child is in cult practices?

The National Weekender
FAITH

Danger signs to look out for in teen behaviour and possible connections to cults activities.

By Ps PETER AGLUM
MY recent Weekender articles on sorcery-related violence and cult practices in schools have attracted a lot of calls and text messages.
Some of the common questions asked were:

  • How would I know that my child is involved in cult practices?
  • What are the signs and symptoms of a child being involved in cult practices?
  • If my child is involved in cult practices then how can he or she be delivered?

Due to these questions asked by those who are interested, I decided to outline and explain in simple terms for you to understand and deal with the issues of cult practices and other related issues at home.
It is very hard to deal with spiritual problems and issues affecting our lives because spirits do not have flesh and blood. However, they do exist and are a powerful force operating in hierarchy starting from the least powerful to the most powerful which is Lucifer himself. Their activities can be seen, felt and experienced in the homes and lives of people. Therefore, it is very important to know these demons and know how they operate in our lives and the lives of our children.

Who are the demon spirits?
They are the agents of Satan. They carry out instructions in descending order.
They have knowledge – Mk 1:24, 5:7, Acts 19:15.
They have will -Mt 12:44
They have feelings and emotions
They can speak – Mk 1:24, 5:7,

What are the works of the demon spirits?
They destroy the lives of the people. – John 10:10a
They stop people from coming to Jesus. – 2Co 4:4
They destroy peace. – Gen 3:1-13
They inflict/cause sickness and pain. – Luke 13:11-16
They keep people in bondage. – Rom 8:15
They tempt people to commit sin. – James 1:14-15
They lie. – 1Timothy 4:1
They confuse peoples’ minds and inflict fear. – 2Tim 1:7
They keep people in bondage and they submit to the demons commands. – Luke 8:29
They defile people’s hearts and minds. – Titus 1:15

How do the demons enter a person?
We open the doors ourselves. – Ecc 10:5, Lev. 19:31
Through inherited sins – Ex 20:5, 34:7, Num 14:18, Deut 5:9
These sins may be in the form of disobedience, hatred, fear, lust, addiction, witchcraft, magic and the occult,
These are activities that the young people are engaged in.
Young people are in the age of discovery so during these stages, they decide to explore the world by getting into all forms of activities. Some of the activities that they engage in are; smoking, taking illicit drugs, alcohol including home brew consumption, revelry or uncoordinated parties and outings, sexual activities, cult/occult practices, witchcraft, graffiti, stealing, street and gang fights.
These and many other illegal activities that the young people do today are mostly for pleasure. There is a force in them that arouses them to do these things; these forces are the demons. Once they take hold of them, they bring them into captivity and hold them under bondage of certain activities. They become addicted to the evil practices as the Bible states in Prov 4:16 “For they do not sleep unless they have done evil; and their sleep is taken away unless they make someone fall.”
Once they are taken captive, their bodies are used by the demons to do evil. They will not stop to do evil. Nothing will stop them from doing any evil that they intend to do, even putting them in prison.
It is only through coming to Jesus Christ that they will be delivered from bondage and be set free. John 8:36 states: “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. 2Cor 5:17 declares: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

Activities to look out for at homes
It is very important to look for the following signs in your own household:
Avoiding eye contact. Look straight into the eyes of your children and talk to them. When they avoid looking straight in your eyes, they might be possessed.
They love dark places.
They stay up late and talk to themselves. You will hear them talking to themselves where there are no persons around. They talk, laugh, giggle and argue by themselves.
Avoid calling the Name of Jesus Christ. During family fellowship or devotion, they avoid calling the name of Jesus Christ and sometimes they feel uneasy during fellowship and devotion times.
Become very aggressive and rebellious towards family members
Engage in sexual activities among close family members within the same house.
Move in and out of the house during odd hours.
Get involved in some kind of illegal group activities.

Getting help
When you identify some of the points mentioned above or have seen some unusual behaviour in your children, quickly investigate and find out. If you are a Christian, pray and ask God to reveal and expose the evil conducts of your children. If you suspect them of being involved in a cult activity, quickly consult a deliverance minister. Not all pastors know how to handle such cult activities. Only those who are called to this special ministry will help you deliver your child.
Engaging any church pastor who does not handle the victim properly will backfire and all parties involved will be in a lot of problems. Those who are really called into this ministry will drive out the demons and deliver the victim and cleanse the home. Mishandling will have negative consequences in the lives of many people.

Precautionary measures
To prevent our children from getting involved in cult activities, the following measures must be taken seriously.
Make it compulsory to pray cover over your children every morning when they leave the house.
Conduct family devotions daily or weekly.
Check your children’s facial reactions when they come home. Are they looking good? Any signs of bruise or attack on their bodies?
Make random checks once every month in your children’s rooms, bags, suitcases, etc and look for cult or occultic materials and objects such as books, clothes, barks, stones, leaves, oil, movies, bones, CDs& DVDs, rings, necklaces, armbands etc.
Check and see your children’s friends and get to know them, their backgrounds and families.
Discourage your children from teaming up with children who have attitude problems.
Check out for cult or occult drawings and tattoos in their bodies.
Give time to your children and listen to them. Let them express themselves and share with you their experience or problems.
Every thing starts at home. When parents turn a blind eye on their children and never have time to listen to their problems or identify signs and symptoms at the early stage, our children can be taken captive by the demons. It is important that parents and guardians must monitor the movements and activities of the children in and out of the homes. Lack of discipline and monitoring will leave open doors for the children to go into cult and other evil activities.
Discipline starts at home and a good nation comes from a healthy and discipline family. It is the responsibility of every parent to make sure the child is raised to be a responsible and good citizen of the society and the country.

  • For more information or questions, please do not hesitate to contact me on: phone: 71185033/75202371;
    email: [email protected]