There is a lot going on in our
world today – wars, rumors of wars, domestic violence, abuse, murders, theft, and a broken economy that is spiraling
out of control. Countless people have lost their jobs, losing or have lost their homes, and don’t know which way to
turn. The United States made history by electing the first African American president, and the people thought they were electing
a savior – the president isn’t God – nor can he make our country whole. The sooner we understand that there
is a connection between the global crisis that we are experiencing and man’s rejection of the God of heaven –
perhaps we will repent and seek His face. But that is not going to happen – at least not on a universal scale.
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Personal disbelief in Jehovah,
charlatans in the pulpit, and the influence of the devil himself are primary reasons why many seek their own spiritual path;
and mix and match religious and spiritual beliefs and practices. Perhaps this is a way for many to prove that they are inherently
good people, but a people who reject traditional mainstream religious views. Given the confusion concerning spiritual matters
and the Bible, it isn’t hard to understand that divisions in the body of Christ have caused many to seek other alternatives
to inner peace, and eternal life.
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Spiritual well-being is and
should be important to all who seek it. The problem is this, when we place too much trust and emphasis upon the shoulders
of man, we lose sight of the One and only Somebody that can bring us real, and everlasting inner peace. Too often we allow
the mistakes and evil from the pulpit to cause us to turn away from Jehovah God. We then start looking for spirituality within
the stars, nature, animals, idols, mysticism, New Age, and ultimately – the forbidden. According to Deuteronomy 29:29, "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may
observe all the words of this law.”
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The “secret things”
basically are the unknown. We are naturally curious human beings, who desire
to be in control of our lives and the future. We have many questions concerning what is going to happen next, but not enough
faith and trust in God to work things out for our good, (Romans 8:28). This is especially true of those who seek immediate answers to life’s problems. Each day unfolds with events that
we have some control over, and the others often frustrate us. So we seek out those who claim to know the future, and are able
to answer questions concerning marriage, promotions, riches, enemies, and when we will die – as if we could alter the
universe and ward off certain undesired life events.
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God gave mankind free will,
the right to choose. Sadly, it is often abused and viewed as an inconvenience. With free will there are boundaries set by
God, however, our sinful natures reject restrictions to pleasure and gratifying behaviors. So what happens is, we put Jehovah
on a shelf, or never acknowledge His existence, and seek those who practice deeds of darkness to interpret our dreams, give
us guidance and direction, and the feeling that power is not way out there somewhere, but within ourselves. We desire to be
our own little gods, masters of our finite universe, and to possess the ability to manipulate God’s plans in favor of
our own.
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FORTUNE TELLERS
“Starting this week, fortune tellers in Warren, Mich., must be fingerprinted
and pay an annual fee of $150 - plus $10 for a police background check - to practice their craft. The new rules are among
America's strictest on palmists, fortune readers and other psychics, part of a growing push to regulate a business that has
never been taken, or overseen, very seriously. But officials in Warren, a town of 138,000 near Detroit, say it's time to weed
out tricksters. "We had no mechanism of enforcement to protect people against unsavory characters," Warren city-council
member Keith Sadowski says. "We want to be sure there is some recourse in case we do get somebody who is not legitimate."2
If you really
want to know if fortune tellers are legit, consult the Word of God.
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After many years of oppression,
Israel was delivered from the tyrannical rule of Pharaoh, (read the book of Exodus). On the way to the Promised Land, Jehovah
set His laws in place, and admonished the Israelites not to adopt the ways of the heathen nations that He would drive out
of their future home-Canaan. In spite of witnessing first-hand the miraculous hand of God, they still lacked faith and disobeyed
His commands.
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The Canaanites were dispossessed
of the land because of their detestable practices that infuriated God. Not only did they worship man-made gods, they practiced
sorcery, witchcraft, consulted mediums, and every kind of evil that led to their destruction. Israel was admonished by Jehovah
not to learn their evil ways to avoid being defiled by the forbidden:
“The nations you are about
to displace consult sorcerers and fortune-tellers, but the LORD your God forbids you to do such things.” (Deuteronomy 18:14 – New Living Translation)
“For these nations, whose
land you are taking, give attention to readers of signs and to those using secret arts: but the Lord your God will not let
you do so.” (Deuteronomy 18:14 – Bible in Basic Eng.)
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Spiritism Forbidden
“When you enter the land which the LORD your
God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations. “There shall not be found among
you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft,
or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the
dead. “For whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD; and because of these detestable things the LORD your
God will drive them out before you. “You shall be blameless before the LORD your God. “For those nations, which
you shall dispossess, listen to those who practice witchcraft and to diviners, but as for you, the LORD your God has not allowed
you to do so. (Verses 9-14)
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1http://bible.cc/deuteronomy/29-29.htm - Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
2http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20100906/us_time/08599201567600
