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Since I take my job of safeguarding my children seriously, I want them to grow in their ability to discern good from evil so they're better able as Christians to tackle the culture head-on. Here's how our family does just that.

We've taught our kids some basic Bible truths:

• There's a cosmic force of intelligent evil called Satan, or "the evil one," who leads rebellious spirits called demons (Rev. 12:9).
• These spiritual forces aim to deceive, trap, and destroy humans (1 Tim. 4:1; 1 Pet. 5:8).
• Jesus fought against these "spiritual forces of darkness," and so must his followers (Mark 1:34; Mark 3:15; Mark 16:17; Luke 13:32).
• God is greater than Satan's forces. Therefore, Christians are protected by using God's Word and prayer in Jesus' name (Eph. 6:11-16).
• We must check the source of any supernatural power. If it doesn't agree with the Bible, it's not from God (Gal. 1:8,9; 1 John 4:1).

If you've glimpsed these spiritual forces in operation, illustrate these truths with your experience. For example, I've told my kids how as a new Christian and a teen, I attended a Renaissance Faire with some other Christians. We sat in a field to eat lunch, about a stone's throw from a row of tents used by fortunetellers. Before eating, we rather routinely prayed God would interrupt any forces of evil at work in the tents nearby.

Before we could take our first bite, a brightly clad woman burst through the tent panels, bellowing, "Who disturbed my aura?" We were stunned to realize our prayer in Jesus' name had had an immediate effect in the unseen spirit world. The fortuneteller shooed us away, but the lesson I learned that day has remained. I use it to illustrate spiritual truth to my kids.

When our kids tell us about other children having an intense fascination with anything dark, we don't just tell them what's wrong with their friend's behavior, we pray: "God, this kid seems to be under the influence of the evil one. In Jesus' name, we ask you to break through any such forces. Protect him from the powerful grip of any evil spiritual forces that hold sway in his life." Then we let our kids take turns praying. This way, they learn while practicing spiritual warfare.

Seeing results is the best teacher. One girl we've prayed for now feels uneasy with her involvement in the occult. She's started asking our 15-year-old daughter, Casey, about God, and has begun coming to church with us.

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