Don’t Get it Twisted!

by Jessica Menendez

When you come to God, repent of your sin, and get a new life, new means NEW! You are not “adding God” to what you’re already doing. You must check to make sure you haven’t mixed anything else in.

In my neighborhood about half the people practice Santeria. Bloody chickens. Rituals. Potions. Idols. Santeria is a religion that began in West Africa and the Caribbean, then was mixed with Roman Catholic traditions. Followers kill animals and worship idols as part of their rituals. It’s basically witchcraft.

I had witchcraft in my background too. It wasn’t Santeria, but another kind. When I came to God, He made it clear that I couldn’t bring that along. I had a choice, and I decided to reject the witchcraft and get rid of all that was evil, and instead go with God totally. What you decide has a big impact on you, your children, and all those around you.

My friend up the block was raised in Santeria. She and her sister lived with their families in an apartment along with their mother. In the center of their apartment was a table with several statues and candles on it. They used to pray to these statues and do other rituals with them. I could feel the evil presence when I visited — a heaviness, a darkness I couldn’t see with my eyes, but I could feel it.

Another friend lived on the next block up. She also lived with her mother, siblings and kids and they too had statues and candles and practiced Santeria. They would often hear “something” in the kitchen opening up the cabinet doors and banging around, although no one was there. Even worse, something would try to choke the children at night while they slept. Who could sleep through that?

The first friend started going to my church with her children. She received Christ as her Savior. She learned that God says, “No idols! Don’t worship anyone but Me!” I didn’t know how she’d take it, whether she would try to keep the mixture or give up Santeria. A couple days later I went to her house, and all the statues and candles were gone! The evil presence was gone too! She got rid of that mixture.

The second friend went to church too. She acted as if she wanted to follow God too. But when it came down to it, she didn’t want to let go of that witchcraft. Her idols remained in her home. What stinks is that those evil spirits had free reign in her life, and she and her children kept on being abused and terrorized by them. That’s messed up! She got it twisted.

Don’t get it twisted. You can’t follow God and practice witchcraft at the same time.

Maybe your thing isn’t witchcraft or idol worship. You’re sitting there saying, “No, no, that’s not me.” But did you know that sex outside of marriage is not right? Lying, stealing — all these are things God hates. (He doesn’t hate you, but just those things that hurt you and are wrong.)

The Good News is that God helps us change. But first we have to notice what we may have mixed in with God. Then we must be willing to get rid of it. It could be something that you grew up with and feels normal to you, like it was for my friends and me. But that doesn’t mean it can remain.

Check yourself. Ask God to show you anything that needs to go. Then get rid of it. And don’t get it twisted.