Pokémon

F

Forre

New Member
Hey, i'm new here. :)

I've read these forums few times before and now I decided to register. :cool:

First, I must apologize my weak english. I hope you don't mind if I've made some mistakes. The main point is that you guys understand what I mean.

So, I have grown in a Christian family (hasn't still be an easy life, if somebody thinks so) and finally one week ago I got the biblical baptism in the name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit by my own will. Thank you Jesus!

Anyway, the problem I've got...

I'm a fan of Pokémon and I bought my first Pokémon game when I was 14- or 15-years old (soon i'm 20). When I was 8-years old, I wasn't so excited about Pokémon games while some of my friends played them.
The reason why I decided to buy Pokémon Pearl at that age was because I wanted to give a chance to that franchise again, when I thought I was able to understand the game better. Immediately after played some, I wanted to be the very best like no one ever was and so on... :D

Up to date I have played Pokémon games hundreds and hundreds of hours. I started to play competitively and have really liked it. I've got some friends to play with and we have discussed a lot about teams and stuff.

Anyway, I'm sure with my Bible teacher that I've got some kind of demon, that have caused many problems. For example, I've experienced much fear in the church, while there is nothing to fear about. This all started after I was in a very, very important hockey match a month ago, where I excited so much that it turned into fear. The whole thing went way too far. :S

I know pretty well how to vanquish demons and I have tried it by myself. There is a step where there must abandon everything, which is related to the occult. This step has really distressed me a lot, because some of games I own includes occultist things.

When I today tried to vanquish the demon/demons again, I experienced that I have to get rid of a game named Ôkami, which is much based to Shinto. I threw the game away and tried to vanquish again, but next Pokémon came up to my mind. I've never experienced so much fear and anxiety.

If I have to destroy all my Pokémon games (Silver, LeafGreen, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold, SoulSilver, Black and White), that makes me so sad, that it can be compared to the feeling when a loved dog dies or loss of the best friend.

Right now, I feel very, very bad. I want Jesus Christ more than anything, but destroying my favourite games... Oh no! What should I do? I've praid a lot, but haven't got peace. Do I really have to do that? What do I tell to my friends? Does that make them feel like Jesus is the best thing to have?

What I really want to do, is keep playing Pokémon with them and evangelize, when there's a perfect moment for that. But if they see me destroying my games... Oh man... This is so contradictory...

What do you guys think?

P.S. This topic isn't only for solving my problem!
 
I've read your post but don't have time to answer properly before work. Keep your chin up, and I'll try to get back to it later today.

Short version: Games (and demons) can't separate you from the love of God. You don't vanquish demons, God does. Every person's life and faith journey is different, though, so if the Holy Spirit tells you to give up something, do it.
 
To me It sounds like this is a demon you are willing to keep, or at least aren't willing to give up just yet.
If you feel the occult items/favorite games are impeding your walk with God, then you have to ask yourself what is more important to you.
Remember that if you do decide to destroy all your games, there is still a chance that you won't find the peace you are looking to attain, that the problem is else where.
I recommend that you take this slow and do more bible studying/praying, ask your peers and pastor about this, but ultimately the decision will be yours to make.
 
Alright, let me see if I can give you a more detailed response.

0) You need to obey God. If the Holy Spirit tells you to do something, do it. You will get more benefit from following God than you could possibly get from Catching 'Em All.


1) In the Bible it says that nothing can separate us from the love of God. Included in this list are demons and other spiritual forces, and anything that is part of the material world -- like video games.


2) I keep getting the verse in my head that says "perfect love drives out fear." When I read and re-read your post, I keep seeing anxiety in it. You've talked about having lots of fears of various kinds, and your post also mentions fear (of losing pokemon, of what your friends will think, etc.)

Perfect love drives out fear, and Jesus gives perfect love. You just have to trust Him.

I suggest disciplining your mind to say "...but Jesus loves me" in response to your fears. Example: If I give up Pokemon, my friends may feel that I'm a fanatic freak... but Jesus loves me. Remember, Jesus is in control of your life, your future, your relationships. And he does, really, love you. So, if you give up Pokemon, what's the worst that can happen?

News flash: Because Jesus loves you, what the worst that can happen, won't.

I feel that what you need is to trust Jesus more. Your fears are feeding off a lack of trust. It seems (from my limited perspective,) that you're not trusting that Jesus can handle your soul, protect you from demons, and fulfill your needs, be they needs for friends or for fun.


3) You do not need to give up Pokemon in order to allay your fears. Sorry, but Pokemon does not save you. Not playing Pokemon doesn't save you, either. Nor does it jeopardize your salvation. You are saved by grace, not by not playing Pokemon. You were bought with a price -- and God doesn't go back and get refunds.

Occult things are scary, and demons are scary, but they don't stand a chance before the wrath or the love of God. He saved you, and he will continue to save you again and again.


4) Pokemon isn't "Occult" in the sense that it is not 1) set up to glorify itself against God, and 2) it is not something that wants you to trust itself instead of God.

See, the thing about occult practices is that they are practices set up against God. When people read horoscopes, it's because they want to know what the future holds and don't want to trust that God holds the future. The same is true for most occult things -- they contain elements that take our trust away from God and try to solve it some other way. They try to get at knowledge of God's business without asking (or trusting) him.

For the most part, Pokemon is a game, although it can be addictive and therefore can be an obsession.


5) I know I said this before, but you need to obey God. If the Holy Spirit tells you to do something, do it.

Everyone's faith walk is different. The Holy Spirit knows what it is that he wants to do in your life and that is good.

Perhaps for you Pokemon is getting in the way of you growing as a Christian. Or maybe it is vying for your time and thoughts to a level that it is pushing out thoughts of God. Or something.

Even if you are wrong and it wasn't the Spirit of God that prompted you to throw out the games, and you do it, God is not going to fault you for wanting to follow him!


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When it comes down to it, I believe that in your heart you want to follow Christ! Don't worry too much about your salvation --> He honors your desire for you, loves you, and will come through for you.
 
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To build on what Nerai has said, are you sure the voice you're hearing that's telling you to give stuff up is the Holy Spirit?

John 10:4 says "And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers."

It sounds like what you are experiencing is making you want to flee, not giving you any peace about following. And if you have a specific plan to evangelize using Pokemon, really it's more in the devil's interests to try to stop you than God's.
 
Thank you very much for replying.

After the post I sent, it took few days before it was accepted and published. Meanwhile God has led me through some things.

I haven't played Pokémon since then, but haven't destroyed anything neither. There have been more important things to do than playing Pokémon.

The problem I had with Pokémon was that I was a slave for that. While I believed in God and loved Him, I wanted more to build my teams and improve my skills than serve Him. It took some time to fully understand that.

So I had not understood the full meaning of the Biblical baptism, so God began to teach me, what I really have done. :D

But it's not the least painful way, because fully surrendering to God means, that I have to bury my old self: Go where God wants me to go. That includes the facts, that what I have wanted to do and go, must be denied if God tells so. He has a perfect plan for me, and us all (our own different faith journeys, like you wrote), and the best thing to do is to just obey Him. Then we can experience something so good, that we have never been able to even imagine such goodness.

So I become to want to surrender to God more and more, step by step, now after the baptism: I didn't surrender before the baptism and that's why God leads me this way, I think.

Demons have been vanquished from the sections what I have fully understood. I think I am not yet fully free, but the freedom I feel now is very great when compared to the day of my earlier post.

I have to tell, that I have got some abilities which was hidden in my old self. After some demons have gone, the "really me" has became to shine. It feels so great and life is more enjoyable!

Very important thing is to put the God's whole armor on: Belt of Truth, Breastplate of Righteousness, Feet Fitted with Readiness, Shield of Faith, Helmet of Salvation and Sword of the Spirit.
If those are really equipped, the Devil is powerless. I experience, that with that gear on, I can do anything without scaring. I can face different people, different movies, different games and anything with the love of God and never be afraid.

So if people can be reached by games, I don't see reasons why we should be separated from the games and communities, even while games includes magic and other stuff, which isn't good in real life.
I think it's all about real life and real people. God has much more power than any games or creatures.

Things are looking good! I have learned things incredibly fast, but I must still be patient, because there can be some times, when God doesn't teach things so fastly. It's important to not go above God in life. Waiting next journey by playing with friends is time well spent. :)

Btw, one of my friends, from that community I wrote about, comes today to visit me. He stays 2-4 days and it's gonna be a blast! There is tomorrow a little event, where young people (more like teenagers) gather to hear some God's Word and then play some board games and watch movies. I'm going to ask if he wants to go there with me. It would be so awesome!
This guy told me that he doesn't see enough good reasons to believe in God, so in there he could be curious and get some good supported answers!
^That's a good pray request. :)

God bless you and thanks again! I sure have more things to write about, but this should be enough for now.
And sorry again about my weak english. I have to post more so that I force myself to learn it. :D
 
Demon? I don't know if that is the case, it could be, but it sounds to me like Pokemon is more of an idol.

My two cents.
 
TDWfan said:
Demon? I don't know if that is the case, it could be, but it sounds to me like Pokemon is more of an idol.

My two cents.
Click to expand...

Yes, Pokémon was an idol for me, but I had to brought up demons so that you could understand my whole situation better. :)

The guy I talked about went with me to the "youngster's night" and next day to our local church to hear some gospel music. So now he has heard some God's word and he knows what it is like to be a Christian. He said those were ok, so now I pray and hope that he's interested even a bit about these things. That guy is a very nice person and I hope he could find Jesus and live a wonderful life with Him.

^This is a story about how people can be reached by games. Doesn't involve into Pokémon, but had to mention. :cool:
 
Hi again!

After those last posts, I tried playing Pokémon, but didn't feel so good and I thought the problem wasn't solved.

I think it would be good to tell a bit more about me, so you could comprehend this situation better.

Last years of my life has been all about video games. Someone could say I had given my life to Nintendo and that's pretty much correct. It was about 4 years ago when I decided to start collecting Nintendo games and consoles, so that I could be "something" and respected. I spent almost all my earnings from summerjob to games. Furthermore almost every time when Nintendo published a new game, I bought it even if I wasn't interested to play it. And every time Nintendo published a new console, I bought it. So yeah, for example, I have DS, DS Lite, DSi, DSi XL and 3DS. The only consoles I don't have is Virtual Boy, G&W's and now 3DS XL.

So after I went to get my baptism, God has really taken me seriously and things has really happened.

In May 12th we went to a Super Smash Bros. Melee meeting with that friend of mine, which I early wrote about. When there was a dinner break, I walked to Subway with two guys I haven't met before. While walking, God clearly asked me to ask, if the other guy had read the Bible. I was astonished and didn't want to open my mouth about that. Afterward I feel ashamed about that...
Later in the night we played a game called Bang! which is kinda board game, but more of a card game. In that game there is a Bible card to avoid getting hit from a bullet. One guy said "you should not be atheist if using that". :D
And when we were going to sleep, that same guy asked for a Bible and started to read some Old Testament for everyone. I was totally surprised. When he returned to his place, I asked that did he read some of the Old Testament. He answered "I don't know" with a shameful voice (I guess he maybe felt shame about believing in the Bible).
That guy is too a good friend of mine and he plays Mario Kart Wii and Melee very actively. Now he even knows that I believe in Jesus, but because he swears pretty much, I don't know if he has decided to believe in Jesus.

Anyway, while that meeting, I felt I fail God if I just play games and don't ask His opinions about all of them. So soon when I returned home, I gathered all my games and packed them to bags and took them out to our storage. Games were there about three months and in that time I learned, how it is like to live without games. :D
Well, it was wonderful, but my friends and other people asked me to return to games, and I didn't feel good to tell, that I'm not playing anything yet.

After three months the games had to be taken back, because I moved away from my mom to a town to study data processing (led by God \o/).

While the games were in the living room in the new home, I got an idea to try some New Super Mario Bros., because that's not so "spiritually hurtful" game, and I had a blast. I told to my friends, that I played some Mario again, and they were like "yay, the boycott is over". However, when I was about to get closer to those more "spiritually hurtful" games, I suddenly experienced, what it could be like to live without Pokémon. It was a huge feeling of disappointment, but VERY peaceful at the same time. I think it was a message from God.
But because the disappointment was so huge, I couldn't even start to think about me destroying the games. Then the "less peaceful" feeling (demon?) came back.

The reason I felt disappointed was because if I destroy all my Pokémon games and games which includes Pokémon, my friends could be angry, disappointed and start to mock me and God. Furthermore I couldn't join Super Smash Bros. tournaments, meetings and see people there (and experience things I experienced early in that one meeting), get new friends and evangelize through those games (even while I'm not yet so brave to open my mouth about these things...) .

So now I'm in a situation like this and don't know what to do. It's true that I should be 100 % ready to obey God as a follower of Christ, but to be honest I'm not... :(

If this is a situation like where I have to choose God or Pokémon, I of course want to choose God, but I want to really be sure, that destroying those games is the right thing to do. I also want to really be ready to let them go and be prepared to tell my friends...

A short time ago I saw Joyce Meyer's Facebook post: "We don't have to understand everything that God asks us to do. We just need to do it."

^A suitable message from God to this situation?

Has anyone ever experienced anything like this? I ask you to help me by prayings and pro tips. Thanks.
 
Greetings Forre, and welcome to the forums.

I am just going to take this from the top and make some comments.

On Games

Do I believe a game can have an evil attached to it? Yes, absolutely! There was a time many years ago now when I picked up a game in ignorance because it was recommended to me as a good play. Let me tell you, for the three days that I had the game in my home, I did not sleep. I was woken up each night with feelings of absolute terror, and terrible feelings of oppression. These left immediately when I took the game out in the backyard and burned it.

Does this mean Pokemon is evil? No.

As someone who is asked quite often how I can play the computer games that I play and still follow Christ, I will tell you that the way in which to determine whether a game is alright or not is by how it affects your peace.

In John 14:27, Jesus makes a point to tell us that He is leaving us His Peace as a gift. When you think about it, for Him the God of the Universe to leave us with Peace, it must be important.
He also instructs us to not let our hearts be troubled or to be afraid.

Now this is one of the first areas that the enemy will ever try to attack, and this is how we can judge certain things.

If anything -- even a game -- begins to trouble you and rob you of peace, then it needs to but removed and cut off. This tends to be different for each person, but all that matters is how it affects you and your peace from Jesus.

On sharing Christ and fear

It's funny, I counseled someone else recently who described a situation similar to yours, where she felt that God wanted her to say something, but she was afraid and embarrassed and so she never spoke up. She later found out that someone else spoke to that person and said the exact same words which she was originally told to say. She felt more ashamed after that knowing that she missed something which God had told her to do.

The point here is that we should never pass up an opportunity given by God. It sounds like in your case, God gave you a second chance to speak to this person (during the card game), and I'm glad that you took it! Your words may lead to this person coming to know Christ. And we never know, you could be the only one to ever reach out to this person. And that would be a great honor.

The enemy will often try to bring us fear or shame to keep us silent about Christ, but that feeling is only temporary, and it is a much better feeling knowing that you could have a part in saving a soul from death.

One more thing

Pray about all of this, let Go speak to your heart with His soft voice of wisdom and peace. Whatever He leads you to do will be right.

If your friends question you about your decisions it may actually lead to you talking to them about Christ. They may criticize you at first, but the seed of Christ may still take hold of them in time.

I'll remember you in my prayers.
 
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If it feels wrong to you, then it's best not to do it. Only God knows you best and what activities will be a downfall for you personally. It's best to heed your conscience on this particular topic as it may be how God is providing the answer to your question.
 
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