The Gospel for Ghosts
October is typically a time of heightened spiritual awareness. So, I wasn't terribly surprised to hear a ghost story from the owner of one of my favorite coffee shops. You will understand why I don't share a link on the Internet, when you hear what she and others have experienced recently:
- She always locks up at closing time. Several times recently, she and others have found the door unlocked in the morning.
- She told me that she talked to the ghost and asked it, "Please don't unlock this door, because I don't want to lose my livelihood." The next morning, she found the deadbolt still in place, but the knob unlocked. "It was as if the ghost wanted me to know he was still here."
- She and others have several times heard a thump behind the counter, later to find a five-pound bag of coffee beans on the floor, six feet away from the shelf on which it is stored.
Now, I do hope that she doesn't get robbed. But more than that, I wanted to give her some hope, so I left her my card with a few thoughts:
I encourage you to look up those verses. 
For much of my life, I shied away from spiritual topics that touched on Halloween, ghosts, and the like. But I now know that Jesus is more powerful than anything "in heaven and on earth and under the earth" (Philippians 2:9-11), so I don't need to be afraid.
So, what about ghosts? Are they real? Could my favorite coffee shop be haunted? What does the Bible say?
There are two places in the Bible where the living see dead people.
Jesus himself talks to Moses and Elijah in Matthew 17:1-11. Granted, Jesus is God Almighty, who transcends time, so the question really is, "Aren't Moses and Elijah alive to God all the time anyway?" Jesus even said as much in Luke 20:38 🔗.
An example that's closer to our modern vibe with ghost stories is in 1 Samuel 28:3-25 🔗. King Saul, on the eve of his final battle, goes to consult a witch, in order to speak to the departed soul of Samuel, the prophet. The wild thing in this story is that it seems that Samuel himself shows up. (It is not a good thing, either.) But was it really Samuel, or a demon pretending to be Samuel? Here's a succinct article 🔗 about that; I agree with their Option 2.
If you've got a little more curiosity, take a look at what the Bible says about ghosts and hauntings.
A free short story for blog subscribers
Last week, I wrote about a "Reader Magnet," which is a free short story I will give away to those who sign up for my newsletter. I'm still working on that short story, but in the meantime, I have another story to share with anyone who subscribes to my blog (here!) via email.
This little 5-page story is entitled, "Wait! Stop! Look!" and it features a scientist and a glimpse into another world in the multiverse. (There's the sci-fi part.) I wrote this story in 2016, at the start of my writing journey. I'm happy to say that it has held up well. The story expresses the Gospel clearly, albeit a bit rushed, due to an emergency situation within the story itself.
I also built a sign-up page, which you can access at the bottom of this website.
Feel free to click the button and sign up! It's ready to roll. 