our fascination with the "Unseen world"

Two men were talking. The first said, “Know what? My cousin was so worried about some problems coming up in his life that he went to a local psychic and she told him what he could expect. And some of her predictions came    true. Now he goes to her all the time.”  Sound familiar? That conversation could have taken place last week around the water cooler. But the truth is it took place more than 3,000 years ago in the Middle East. lt was the openness of His people to these kinds of practices that caused the Lord God to say through Moses, “Do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations….Let no one be found among you who… practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead.  Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord, and because of these detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you” (Deuteronomy 18:10-12).

Isn’t it interesting that none of those ancient practices He mentions has ever really disappeared? Whenever the Person and Word of God is honored by any people these practices disappear back into the woodwork. But whenever people forget about God these practices immediately begin to fill the void left by His absence. There is a reason for that. These practices are a channel of communication that bypass the Lord and focus on “other sources” (which the Bible informs as are “demonic forces”).  We happen to be living in one of those periods where people around us are no longer interested in what God has communicated to us, but still they have a fascination with “other spirits.”  Make no mistake about it, we are not alone in this world. These “demonic forces” don’t just go away because we happen not to believe in their existence. They want nothing more than to be approached by the curious who have grown tired of God’s Truth. For this reason God wants His people to understand that these quaint and curious practices are not harmless little party games, but are, in fact, the doorway to things that are devoted to our destruction.

Our loving Father has called us to be separate from the pagan thinking that dominates our culture. This is not just our responsibility, but our opportunity.  For as our nation gets darker, our light in Christ shines brighter. Let it shine, and never be ashamed that you follow the One who has called you out of the darkness into His brilliant light.


 

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