The lure of the occult

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Leviticus 19-20; Psalm 36

TO CHEW ON: "Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God." Leviticus 19:31


What do we make of such a prohibition in our time of occult popularity? The paranormal is a movie and book genre of its own with a huge following. Many look at getting their palms or tea leaves read, or following their horoscope as a lark and entirely harmless. What about hanging onto objects that are supposed to ward off bad luck or attract good luck?

The Bible is very clear in its prohibition of witchcraft and related occultic activities.

• God is against it - Leviticus 20:6, 27; Exodus 22:18.

The story of King Saul illustrates this. 1 Samuel 28:1-24 tells the story of his desperate seeking out of a woman with connections to the spirit world when he no longer heard from God. 1 Chronicles 10:13 gives us God's perspective on what he did.

The story of Manasseh is another example. His avid pursuit of the occult brought calamity on the nation (2 Kings 21:1-17).

• Witchcraft defined: What exactly are we talking about? Deuteronomy 8:10-11 lists the activities that are called an "abomination" to God:

"For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering. And do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead" (NLT).

Isaiah describes the speech of a medium in these spooky words:

"You will speak out of the ground; your speech shall be low, out of the dust; your voice shall be like a medium's, out of the ground; and your speech shall whisper out of the dust" - Isaiah 29:4. 

• Sorcery is also condemned in the New Testament - Galatians 5:20; Revelation 21:8.

• Witchcraft's root: The sobering words I will end with, though, are Samuel's words to King Saul after he had committed blatant disobedience:

"For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry" - 1 Samuel 15:23.

If we follow the lure of the occult to its source, we find a familiar and perhaps not-so-foreign-to-us root: REBELLION. So even though we've avoided practicing blatant forms of occultism, we may not be as lily white as we'd like to think!

PRAYER: Dear God, I confess that I have been rebellious. Help me to see any heart rebellion for the serious issue that it is. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 36

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Thanks to God for what is and what is not yet

"Then the earth shall yield her increase" - Psalm 67:6

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 67:1-7

TO CHEW ON: "Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You." Psalm 67:3,5


This is Thanksgiving Monday in Canada. We are admonished by many voices to have a thankful attitude. But there is a curious lack in speaking of who to thank.

I suppose that's not surprising. In a society that has largely abandoned a belief in God, or at least in a God who is involved and interested in our personal lives, who or what is there to thank? Our lucky stars, a rabbit foot, the feng shui of our house?

The praise in this psalm is not a peon to capricious good luck, however, but to God—the God of creation, of covenant with forefathers, of story and history, of redemption, salvation, reclamation, and righteous endings. This is the God I too praise and thank.

As I read and re-read Psalm 67 I sense inner affirmation but also tension. Two of the things the psalmist names I can say a big "Yes" to:
- Thanks for salvation (Psalm 67:1,2).
- Thanks for the abundance that fills my life (Psalm 67:5-7).

But the middle item:

"O let the nations be glad and sing for joy!
For You shall judge the people righteously,
And govern the nations on earth."

raises objections. So many nations are not glad or singing for joy. Where is God, the righteous judge, in those places?  What if I lived in one of them? How would I testify to the truth of this?

I suppose we need to focus on the little word "shall" here ("For you shall judge the people righteously…"). It tells us this is something that hasn't happened yet but is still in the future. And so our thanksgiving becomes a matter of praising God not only for what we have, but for what we still look for Him, in faith, to be and do.

PRAYER: Dear God, we thank You that Your actions in the past have given us confidence to put our faith in You for the present and future. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

God-ordered steps

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 37:21-40

TO CHEW ON: "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord

And He delights in his way.

...The law of His God is in his heart;

None of his steps shall slip." Psalm 37:23, 31

I love to walk and try to get out for a walk almost every day. All my walking has shown me that I prefer some surfaces to others. I'd take a predictable concrete, asphalt or packed gravel path over an icy, muddy or tree-root-ridged one any day.

Our focus verses today use walking as a metaphor for life. Specifically, they talk about the very smallest parts of the walking motion — the steps. In walking, steps are the movements we need to make to get from here to there. In life, the steps would be the smallest increments of time, the moment-to-moment. David, makes some wonderful claims about God's involvement in our steps or moments:

• "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord," or as the Amplified Bible puts it: "...directed and established of the Lord." In other words, He does more than look on or stand back to observe how we're doing. He plays an active role in orchestrating the smallest details.

• "He delights in his way..." ("... He busies Himself with his every step" - Amplified). I imagine God like a proud parent watching me take my first tottering steps of faith, cheering me on as I learn to stride, jog, and run, keeping me from a total face-plant as He hangs onto my hand when I stumble ("Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him [her] with His hand" vs. 24).  

• "The law of his God is in his heart / His steps do not slip." Verse 31 carries on with the step imagery, cluing us in to our part. It is to make sure that we who are doing the stepping know God's principles and have them engraved on our hearts to the extent that we are on God's frequency, tuned in and moving sure-footed to His rhythms. If we don't we are in danger of finding ourselves on treacherous, unpredictable footing. Our steps may slip.

Do you believe this? Do I? It's easy to say "yes," when circumstances mesh in wonderful humanly unexplainable 'coincidences.' But what about when I break my molar on a popcorn kernel, like I did over Christmas, or forget to take something I had promised to bring back with me from our holidays? Is God even in what feel like missteps? Knowing He is puts a whole new spin on what I consider to be trouble!

PRAYER: Dear God, I am both amazed and comforted that You concern Yourself, delight in, and are busy with my every moment. Help me to be a student of Your ways so that I will walk sure-footed with You. Amen

MORE: What's wrong with this statement?

"Pray for Luck


I landed my first book deal because a publisher was looking to expand into new topics — and I matched their needs perfectly at the time. By the time we were working on our next project together, their needs had shifted once again.


This time I found myself outside of their plans.


You can't underestimate the importance of timing and luck in the writing business..."

This is a quote from a book (which I will leave unnamed) about the writing business. What surprises me is that the author, who seems to credit "luck" with an inordinate amount of power, is a theologian and the book "which matched their needs perfectly" is a book about theology!

However, I ask myself, don't I often live as if my circumstances were orchestrated by a capricious, impersonal force? How much better to remind myself that a sovereign and loving God, and not luck, is ordering all my steps.