“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,” 1 Peter 3:15 NIV Read full chapter
With Love, Cindy
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When I was a teenager, I participated in a seance with friends. They said there would be someone there who really knew how to do it. That night, I was overcome by an intense fear that I had never experienced before or since. I knew I was doing something I shouldn’t be doing.
I repented of this sin and I would never, never do it again. I learned my lesson well.
If you know someone who is troubled by unusual fear, make sure they are not opening the door to the occult in some way. If they are, they need to study the Scripture, pray, and repent.
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 NIV
Every Christian should know that divination is an abomination to God. But do they?
1 Chronicles 10 is the story of King Saul’s last day on Earth. He is wounded by the enemy and then kills himself to keep from being captured. The next day, the Philistines stripped him and cut off his head. Verses 13 and 14 say,
“Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord; he did not keep the word of the Lord and even consulted a medium for guidance, and did not inquire of the Lord. So the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.”
There are many Scriptures that make it clear that all types of divination are a sin and an abomination to God. Here are a few.
“When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, 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.” Deuteronomy 18:9-11 NIV
“I will set my face against anyone who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute themselves by following them, and I will cut them off from their people.” Leviticus 20:6 NIV
“Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.” Leviticus 19:31 NIV
God calls these things detestable. Yet people swarm to fortune tellers and psychics by the millions. According to an article by Paul Thagard, PhD in Psychology Today, “4 out of 10 people believe that psychics are effective and billions of dollars are spent yearly by people desperate to have psychics help them with their problems.”
Dr. Thagard explains the deceptive practices psychics use, but I’d like to point out that whether the psychics use trickery or not is immaterial. God says it is an abomination to consult them.
Christians should look to God for guidance, not demons. Consider these verses from Acts 16:16-18 (NIV):
“Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.”
The devil will entice God’s people to sin any way he can. One of his favorite ways is to make the sin seem innocent. (It’s just for fun!) But it’s not innocent fun, and sin has consequences.
Some methods of divination include psychics, tarot cards, ouija boards, reading tea leaves, astrology, horoscopes, zodiac signs, the occult, fortune tellers, drug use and others.
I believe that people can open a door to evil spirits by participating in these things. (Paul associates fortune-telling with demons in Acts 16 above.)
Remember, sorcery of any kind is not innocent fun. God’s Word is our guide.
“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.” James 1:5-6 NLT
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take.” Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT
The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.
I will advise you and watch over you. Psalm 32:8 NLT
“Your word is a lamp to guide my feet
and a light for my path.” Psalm 119:105 NLT
With Love,
Cindy
This Is My Journey Unscripted.
Do you want to become a Christian? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
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Paul Thagard, Psychology Today, Should You Believe in Psychics? April 24, 2019
Photos from Unsplash and Pexels
“… we must pay much closer attention than ever to the things that we have heard, so that we do not [in any way] drift away from truth.” Hebrews 2:1 AMP
With Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
Photo by Joel Muniz on Unsplash
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“The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40: 28b-31 NIV Read full chapter
With Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
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“So, if we only lead one soul to Christ, we may set a stream in motion that will flow on when we are dead and gone …”
D.L. Moody
With Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
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“so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11 NIV Read full chapter
With Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
realchristianwomen.blog
“Though the mountains be shaken
and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
nor my covenant of peace be removed,”
says the Lord, who has compassion on you.” Isaiah 54:10 NIV Read full chapter
With Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
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“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV Read full chapter
With Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
Photo by Zdeněk Macháček on Unsplash
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“I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.” Acts 13:22
The key to being a man or woman “after God’s own heart” is to be surrendered to His will and to put your trust in Him alone.
Stand outside tonight and ponder the stars. Those stars were scattered across the sky by God’s mighty hand. They are so far away that even though many of them are larger than the sun, they look like tiny points of light.
Did you know that our galaxy, the Milky Way, has approximately 100 billion stars? But the Milky Way is not the only galaxy in the universe… There are about 10 billion galaxies in the observable universe!¹
Just imagine the enormity of what we can’t even see! Our God is a mighty God. This is the God that we know and trust!
How can we know what God wants us to do? How can His plan be carried out if we don’t know what it is?
We must trust the Lord, study the Word ,and spend time in prayer.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
God reminds me that “we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” (Psalm 100:3) Sheep aren’t that smart. They need endless attention and oversight. They are unable to take care of themselves. They need a shepherd. It’s not by accident that Scripture compares us to sheep.
David was a shepherd boy. He learned about God as he cared for his flocks. He knew everything about the relationship between the shepherd and his sheep. He writes, “The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.” Psalm 23:1
The sheep know the shepherd’s voice. Jesus said, “The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” John 10:2-5
As we spend time in the Word and in prayer, He leads us.
Jesus declared, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. (John 10:11)
If we are surrendered to the Lord, if our heart seeks after Him, we are doing our part. God will carry out His plan. He will do it. He will make that happen. He is the Good Shepherd. He has promised to lead us and we can trust Him.
With Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
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This is a repost from 2020.
References: 1 https://scienceline.ucsb.edu/index.html
Photo by Alexandru Zdrobău on Unsplash
How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
who bring good tidings,
who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
“Your God reigns!” Isaiah 52:7 NIV Read full chapter
With Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
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Real Christian Women 