I Question Your Little Witch

There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you. You shall be blameless before the Lord your God. For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the Lord your God has not appointed such for you. Deuteronomy 18:10-14

The following remarks are for the Christian.

• Read the Deuteronomy passage above.
• What does God say about witches and witchcraft?
• Notice the terms, ‘shall not’ and ‘abomination to the Lord.’ What do they mean to you?

Now read the Romans passage below.

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. Romans 1:28-32

Meditate on the last portion of the last sentence for a moment, “…Those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.”

Did you notice the two distinct groups of people who are deserving of death?

1. Those who practice such things.
2. Those who approve of those who practice them.

Today’s blog presupposes that you are a) a follower of Jesus Christ and, b) you don’t practice these abominations to the Lord, at least I certainly hope that is the case.

But I’ve noticed something. There are far too many Christians who approve of those who do practice such things. Be warned. According to God, such acceptance is worthy of death. In light of the truth…

Why do you dress up your children as witches and warlocks?  Why do you have cutesy witch decorations in and around your home?  Why in the world would you embrace books and movies that glorify witchcraft?

“Dave,” you say, “just calm down; you are overreacting.”

If you believe these observations are an overreaction, do you also believe that God arbitrarily inserted these verses into His Word the Bible and that they have no meaning or justification? I submit to you that He did not–God means what He says and a wise person should give heed to His word.

Stop

Stop trying to justify your actions. Simply obey the Lord and in so doing you will discover that your walk with the Lord is easy and fruitful. In contrast, the anxiety Christians often experience comes when we struggle against the truth. Surrender to the Way and receive from God the peace that surpasses all understanding.

You know the whole witch-thing is wrong. You always have. For God’s sake, just let it go.

What are your thoughts?

 

 

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You’ve Just Been Told You’re Going to Die

Now this is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. Deuteronomy 33:1Now What?

Did you know this is the first time in the Bible the phrase ‘man of God’ is used? In autobiographical fashion and under the inspiration of God the Father, Moses writes this about himself. How come? Numerous reasons I suppose, but the passage from Deuteronomy 33, I believe, sums up the intent most excellently. Moses was, as best as any one can be, a selfless man; his heart and love for Israel an expression of God’s own heart and the final reason God directs him to record it.

What Did He Do?

God had just informed Moses that he was not going to enter the Promised Land ~and~ that he was going to die—like immediately. Moses already knew about the first part, but what’s this death-stuff he had to wonder. Yes it’s true, Moses was 120 years old, but the Bible tells us he was in great shape. He could have complained or at the very least attempted to intercede on his own behalf, but what does Moses choose to do? Nothing. Instead he turns and pronounces a blessing upon those who would be entering into the Promised Land; the nation of Israel.

What Would You (or I) Have Done?

Don’t tell me, but that’s why God has given us an opportunity to read this account of Moses—so we will know what to do when tribulation smacks home. Moses had no forewarning (and the reason that makes his case extra special), but we do—God has given us His word and in it He instructs us how men and women of God are to react. And why would we want to respond like Moses? Because it is what men of God do—we live to bring honor, glory, and praise to our Lord and Savior, with the deepest gratitude we can muster.

We don’t have to, we get to.

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Someone Has to Die

Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 1 John 3:15-16We Know

The born-again Christian knows intuitively—we might not always be able to verbally express it, but we know. And when you think about it, much of our spiritual-walk revolves around the concept of knowing Jesus better. Amazingly, as we grow spiritually, we recognize that we do not ‘have to’ do much of things associated with our faith, but rather that we ‘get to’ do them. Somehow the Lord plants a seed of desire [for us] to be in His Word, to be in fellowship, and to be in communion with Him. In so doing we learn more about ourselves as God reveals our true hearts to us.

You have heard that it was said to those of old, ’You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. Matthew 5:21-22

Jesus taught us that we can kill with our words as well as our actions. Have you ever stopped to think what actually occurs when we mockingly roll our eyes when someone else speaks? In a very real sense it operates the same as an evil word or gossip—whether it is true or not, that other person becomes whatever it is we say (or gesture) about them. Jesus tells us we are committing murder and Proverbs 18:21 serves to remind us that…

Death and life are in the power of the tongue…

Someone’s Gotta Die

As we grow in the Word we gain a deeper understanding of what Christ did for us, and in so doing, we gain ability (and a desire) to do similarly for others. Again, all the more reason to be in the Word, in fellowship, and in prayer. However, with all this knowledge we soon learn that there is an obstacle that lies in the path of actually applying it—our flesh. With Jesus as our example we discover someone is going to have to die.

What?

I am not talking salvation here (Jesus died once for all men—this deed does not have to be repeated), but we are talking about reconciliation. In order for there to be peace (for God’s love to flow freely), the Christian needs to die to self; the selfish needs of the Christian need to be willingly (not grudgingly) put aside. In order for love to gush forth, our agendas need to be pushed off the stove, not merely shoved to a back burner. While it sounds difficult, in reality we know it is not.

Nothing to Lose

But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? 1 John 3:17

In a very real sense, the Christian has it all, or at least we should understand we have all that we need. When we have a dispute with another person, what is it we are really holding on to and truly, what is it we are afraid to give away. It is in these times we need to ask the Lord to examine our hearts so that we might see the silly, prideful thing we selfishly cling to. We can say we love folks all we want, but if we are unable to express this love by letting go of something that is near and dear to us (like our pride), how true is our love? Does Jesus ‘really’ abide in such a person?

My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. 1 John 3:18

 

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