In Jesus’ ministry, He regularly cast out demons. It wasn’t considered “superstitious” – it was a reality. Today, many Christians regularly dismiss demons as something archaic, or only occurring in Jesus’ day. We’ve bought into naturalistic thinking that there must be some “biological disorder” in a person who does evil or crazy things. So, we look to a medical label to place on disturbed people, when we should consider a “spiritual disorder” in some cases.
“I just felt like something was pressuring me to do it,” 17-year old John LaDue told police after his arrest. It was discovered by a passer-by in the Spring of 2014 that John had been storing explosives in a storage unit in Minnesota, planning to bomb his local high school. Through the grace of God, this event was thwarted.
A journal of John’s was found, detailing his plans to not only kill his family and explode a bomb at his high school, but he was going to set fires and shoot students and staff members. The threat was real. He had been practicing blowing up bombs in nearby open areas. He had studied previous profiles of school shooters. He had guns and had been trained to use them. In a twisted way, John wanted people to pay tribute to him upon detonating his plans.
During his interrogation, John was quoted as having questioned the validity of God and proclaimed himself an atheist. Yet his parents were Christians. He lived a normal family life. No one saw this coming.
Just days before the arrest of his son, David LaDue, told CNN about a dream he had. This is what he remembers:
“John was a little boy. Father and son sat beside each other on the ledge of a five-story building. Dad sensed something wrong. A dark force tugged at them. His son asked to climb in his lap, even begged, but Dad told his boy to sit still. To stay put.
Dad looked around to gauge what was happening. Suddenly, his son fell. Down, down, down. The father watched. Helpless. He sprinted down a stairwell.
John smashed onto a patio. He was still breathing, but his body shattered.”¹
David weeps as he recalls the dream. He had been praying for his son, asking God to intervene in John’s life. He believes his prayers were answered by the prevention of this planned tragedy.
The Bible tells us to fill our minds with things that are noble, good, and righteous (Phil. 4:8). When we don’t, as John confessed to spending the past couple of years filling his mind with violent videos, we become what we behold. John became fixated on his plot for mass murder after filling his mind with the horrors of murder, grotesque autopsies, etc.
So, what does society do in the case of a foiled attempt at mass killing? Instead of trying John as an adult and being sent to prison where he’d get little treatment to reverse this dark thinking, it was thought the public would be best served if he was tried as a juvenile to receive therapy aimed at helping him deal with his emotions and to act responsibly.
John has been given a second chance. He must receive 10-years of court-ordered treatment for autism spectrum disorder. However, if prayer doesn’t accompany this therapy, the demons that inhabited his soul may return with a vengeance. Share on X
“When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none,”(Matt 12:43). Jesus goes onto say that if a person doesn’t fill that space in their spirit with things of God, the unclean spirit will make a second attempt to possess the man. If finding him empty, unclean spirits may bring more demons with to fill the void! If we are not willing to change by truly repenting and filling our minds with righteousness and holiness, a person could be worse off than at first. God expects true reform from sin, and the power of prayer is a necessity to deliver us.
This is a good reminder to all parents to make sure they know what their children are filling their minds with—be proactive and make sure your kids understand the effect of watching vile videos which can demonize minds and souls.
