Dabbling In the Occult

 

Isa 8:19 And when they say to you, "Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter," should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living 20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

Impending doom surrounding them, the temptation is strong to turn somewhere, (other than the Word of God) for answers. And there has never been a shortage of people who delight in steering people to the occult for answers.

 

Often well meaning people in your own life will suggest that you find answers in horoscopes, tea leaves, phases of the moon, enchantments, psychics, mediums, even seances. (Calling up the dead for answers) They will give you instances when these sources have given them the answers and guidance they sought. “What harm can an innocent look at a horoscope do anyway?

 

Beware my friend! The Bible warns us of these deceptions that will come upon us in these last days! 2Th 2:9,10 says, “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.”

If that warning is not enough for you, here’s another from Le 20:6 'And the person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his people.

Stop playing those silly little Facebook games, that tell you all the nice things that you want to hear about yourself. Truthfully, they are really nothing but gateways to dabbling in horoscopes and other tools of the occult.

 

Do you want answers? Isaiah says, “Seek God!” Do you want to know the truth about yourself? “To the Law and the testimony!” (The Bible!)

 

The truth is you and I are sinners in need of Jesus Christ. Ro 3:23 reminds us: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” and the very next verse points us to the answer for our dilemma….Jesus Christ!  24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

 

So the next time you are tempted to dabble in the occult, spiritism outside of the work of the Holy Spirit) remember these stark warnings from Scripture and flee to Jesus.

Ashamed

 

Ps 25:1 <<A Psalm of David.>> To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul 2 O my God, I trust in You; Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies triumph over me. 3 Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.

 Ps 25:20 Keep my soul, and deliver me; Let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in You.

When reading Scripture, it’s a good idea to look for words that are repeated. Repetition is a way of driving a point home. In this Psalm, the word, “ashamed,” is repeated four times!

Believe it or not, I used the word yesterday when bowling. One of my teammates rolled what is called a “sloppy strike,” and I jokingly blurted out, “you ought to be ashamed!” What was I trying to convey with that statement?

I was saying, “you ought to be embarrassed for even counting that as a strike!”But in the sport of bowling….it all looks good on paper!

 

Then, this morning during my devotional time, as I prayed, I asked the Holy Spirit to convict me of my sins and He immediately reminded me that I have been slow to have Jesus on my lips, almost like I am embarrassed to bring Him up in my daily conversations.

All right, “I agree with that Lord,” and so I spent time confessing that sin and receiving God’s promised forgiveness? Then I opened my Bible to my Psalm of the day…..the 25^th Psalm and look what spilled out.  “Ashamed!” Four times!

 

Wow! It’s one thing to repeat four times on paper (It looks good on paper as a bowler might say) but to bring it up two more times in my daily activity….well, it seems I may have a problem that needs to be dealt with.

 

In light of what Jesus has done for me, why am I so slow to release Him from my heart and my lips in my day to day living? Thankfully God decided to interrupt that tendency in my life as He brought the matter of being ashamed of Jesus to light: How did Jesus put it?

 

Lu 9:26 "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels.

For Signs and Wonders

 

Isa 8:17 And I will wait on the LORD, Who hides His face from the house of Jacob; And I will hope in Him. 18 Here am I and the children whom the LORD has given me! We are for signs and wonders in Israel From the LORD of hosts, Who dwells in Mount Zion.

Is there anything more difficult than waiting on the Lord in any given situation when He appears to have turned His face away? You know what I’m talking about. Those times when your soul cries out, “Where are You Lord?”

Isaiah has come to the point where he realizes God is judging His children. They have turned their backs on Him, and he, after giving them plenty of warning, is now turning His back on them.

But unlike the others Isaiah is holding onto hope. He is going to wait on the Lord, confident that the Lord will return. Assured that His face will once again shine on His people with grace and mercy.

His assurance came to him, through God’s gift of his offspring. The names of these two children, a prophecy in itself, given to Isaiah as a sign and wonder. The first son named Shearjashub, which means “the remnant shall return,” and the second, named Maher-shalal-hash-baz, which means “hasten to the spoil”.

 

Both names were assurances from God that Judah had nothing to fear from those planning an attack against Jerusalem. In the first place, God would use the Assyrians to take care of them as they would “hasten to the spoil,”  (Maher-shalal-hash-baz) and in the second place, in a more distant prophecy, (Shearjashub) would indicate that even when the children were carried off to Babylon, a remnant would return!

 

Isaiah was hanging his hat on the gift of these two children that God gave him, and the meaning of their names that God also supplied.

 

This would not be the only time that God would use a child and the name of that child as a sign and wonder:  Lu 2:12 says, "And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger." And this child of course was Jesus! Why named Jesus?  Mt 1:21 tells us: "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins."

 

When you think about it, every child is a wonder! A miracle that God knits together in the mother’s womb. And maybe there’s a lot of truth to this quote from the poet Carl Sandburg, who said, “a baby is God’s opinion that the world should go on.”'

 

Bind It and Seal It!

 

Isa 8:16 Bind up the testimony, Seal the law among my disciples.

What is the Bible if not the testimony of God spoken to the prophets through the Holy Spirit? 2Pe 1:21 tells us: “for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”

What is the Law if not the testimony of God concerning right living?

Ps 119:105 says: “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.”

 

Bind these words! Seal these words. They are not to be added to or subtracted from!

De 4:2 says, "You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.”

 And some of the last words of the Bible remind us: “For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. (Rev 22:18,19)

 

The binding up and sealing of these, as a roll, among his disciples, has a two-fold significancy: that they were to be hid from the apprehension of the people at large,  and that they should be carefully treasured up and preserved among God's true worshippers.

 

The Holy Spirit wrote  ALL the words of Scripture and it is only the Holy Spirit who can reveal them to the redeemed, (born again)  man. 1Co 2:14 says: “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

How rich then are these few words found in Isaiah. “Bind and seal the word of God.” It’s all we have…..it’s all we need. Jesus said in Mt 4:4, “It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'"

Gospel or Law?

 

Isa 8:14 He will be as a sanctuary, But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense To both the houses of Israel, As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And many among them shall stumble; They shall fall and be broken, Be snared and taken."

 

Last time, we looked at Jesus as our sanctuary, a refuge of ultimate safety that cannot be breached. You and I are safe as long as we remain in the nail-scarred hands of Jesus. (neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand ) (John 10:28)

BUT! Woe to those who reject this Cornerstone! He will be a “stone of stumbling, a rock of offense, a trap, and a snare!” This is not some ordinary kind of a catch and release trap, it is deadly. It is final! And that is the lot of those who reject Jesus as the Messiah.

 

The New Testament is rife with repetitions of this prophetic warning! Jesus said this to the Jewish leaders of His day:, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: 'The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD'S doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes'? 43 "Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. 44 "And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder." (Mt 21:42-44)

 

Good news for us Gentiles who have come to faith, bad news for those who continue to reject Him!

Simeon had this prophetic warning for those of Israel: "Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against.” (Luke 2:34)

The writer of Romans reminds us: “What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; 31 but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. 32 Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone.

 33 As it is written: "Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, And whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame." (Ro 9:30-33)

 

It’s the age old salvation battle of Gospel (righteousness by faith alone) versus Law (righteousness by works.) What will it be for you? Do you still believe that on Judgment Day, you will stand before God and convince Him that you have been “good enough” to earn heaven, or will you be relying on the righteousness of Christ through faith in His finished work on the cross?

 

Either, Or

 

Isa 8:14 He will be as a sanctuary, But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense To both the houses of Israel, As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And many among them shall stumble; They shall fall and be broken, Be snared and taken."

 

It’s an either-or situation isn’t it. This passage is quoted several times in the New Testament as it concerns Jesus. He is either a sanctuary, or a deadly snare, there is no in-between.

 

Let us first examine the sanctuary. The word in the Hebrew language means asylum. Now I don’t know what kind of word picture you get with “asylum,” but let’s look at the dictionary definition and see where that leads.

 

Asylum is defined as “an inviolable place of refuge and protection to criminals and debtors.” First of all, let me remind you that you and I are criminals from birth! The Bible tells us that we are conceived in sin! “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.” (Ps 51:5)

Further, the wage of our sin is death! Ro 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

 

We need refuge and protection from our sin and it is found through God-granted faith in Jesus who knew no sin and became sin for us that we might be righteous (pardoned in the eyes of God!) 2Co 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

When Jesus died on the cross, he said, “It is finished.” The word “finished” here is a financial term and it means “the debt has been paid.”

 

 His death makes the way for the release of our debt of sin and wipes out the charges of sin against us. By faith in Him, He is our sanctuary….our asylum. This sanctuary is inviolable. The devil can’t touch us when we remain in the faith. Jesus put it this way: Joh 10:28 "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. 30 "I and My Father are one."

Oh, the devil will try, he’ll buzz you and harass you like a mama blackbird, but as long as you remain in Christ, (your sanctuary) you are safe.

 

It’s either, or. There is no middle ground in the matter of salvation. It’s the safety of the sanctuary or the eternally deadly, “stone of stumbling.” May God grant you the safety of His sanctuary….faith in Jesus Christ.

A Personal Prayer

 

De 33:27 The eternal God is your refuge, And underneath are the everlasting arms; He will thrust out the enemy from before you, And will say, 'Destroy!'

 

Just received word yesterday that a dear friend and colleague of mine (Paul Nash)    has been hospitalized with Covid. (Not just him, but his son (Sam) has also been hospitalized with Covid.)

Paul is the former Home Missions director of the AFLC (Association of Free Lutheran Congregations) and currently serves as the director of a men’s ministry called Shamgar.

 

Though our Home Missions Church (Living Word Lutheran) closed its doors 12 years ago, Paul and I have remained in touch. I know he was one of many who prayed fervently for my own healing from Covid last November.

 

Paul is a prayer warrior and I still have his personally crafted and God-inspired format for a healing service taped inside my Ambassador Hymnal. At the bottom of this service, I have added the verse which you see above from Dt 33:27. The eternal God is your refuge, And underneath are the everlasting arms; He will thrust out the enemy from before you, And will say, 'Destroy!'

 

 

This is my prayer for Paul and Sam. Would you join with me and pray it on their behalf and on behalf of others you may know right now struggling with this plague?

“Father, You are our refuge. Place your everlasting arms under your servants Paul and Sam. Thrust out the enemy we call Covid from before You. Say the word “destroy” and it will be done, for You alone are our healer. In Jesus name, Amen

The Lord of Armies

Isa 8:13 The LORD of hosts, Him you shall hallow; Let Him be your fear, And let Him be your dread.

The Lord of hosts! The Lord of heavenly armies. Let Him be your fear!

What does a heavenly army look like? We get a glimpse in 2Ki 6:15 And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?"

 

Did you pick up on the fear exhibited by Elisha’s servant? His morning was greeted by a view of a huge military army surrounding the city. Horses and chariots and all the weapons needed for conquering. “Alas! What shall we do?

 

What are you up against today? A health crisis. Financial? Relationship? Work related? Are you throwing up your hands and echoing the servants fearful cry, “Alas, what shall I do?” Listen to Elisha’s answer:

16 So he answered, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them."

 

Really Elisha? Easy for you to say, but all I see is impending disaster! Look what Elisha does next: He prayed! He prayed and God answered big time! And the servant saw that the Lord of hosts army, far surpassed the army that the city was facing.

 17 And Elisha prayed, and said, "LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

 

This is my prayer for you today. I pray that God would open your eyes to the truth that God, (the Lord of hosts) is able to trump anything the devil throws at you today.

Therefore fear Him! Hallow Him!

Maybe you could pray that prayer for someone you know today who needs that reassurance!

Conspiracy Theories

 

Isa 8:11 For the LORD spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying: 12 "Do not say, 'A conspiracy,' Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy, Nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled. 13 The LORD of hosts, Him you shall hallow; Let Him be your fear, And let Him be your dread.

Who says the Word of God is not relevant today? Conspiracy theories abound in our world today. They have always been around, but they seem to flourish in the hotbed of social media. Who do you believe?

Conspiracy theories awaken fear in the souls of men and when fear is awakened, we often panic and forget who is ultimately in control.

In this text, Syria and the Northern Kingdom have conspired to conquer the Southern Kingdom, and King Ahaz and his subjects were all atwitter (pun intended) with fear! What to do? God gives us the answer that is good for all conspiracies for all time: “Nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled. 13 The LORD of hosts, Him you shall hallow; Let Him be your fear, And let Him be your dread.”

 

Conspiracy or not, bottom line always begins with the fear of the Lord. As Jesus said  in Mt 10:28 "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

There IS one conspiracy that we should be acutely aware of as we travel this sod.  The devil and his demons have conspired to separate you from the love of God. Know this and hold onto this truth:

Ro 8:38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God Is Never Thwarted

 

Isa 8:9 "Be shattered, O you peoples, and be broken in pieces! Give ear, all you from far countries. Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces; Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces. 10 Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing; Speak the word, but it will not stand, For God is with us."

Biblical interpretation 101 tells us that when an item is repeated it is something of great emphasis. Today we have repetition of the phrase, “ Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces;” Strange emphasized statement isn’t it?

 

But we can take great comfort in this biblical truth because in essence God is saying, His plans cannot be thwarted. This prophecy was meant for Syria and the Northern Kingdom who at the time were planning to invade and conquer the Southern Kingdom (Judah) God told them, “Go ahead, gird,” make all your plans, be at the ready, but I’m telling you that you will be broken in pieces. Your planning will come to nothing. Say what you will about how strong you are, but it’s only words and they will not stand in My way.”

 

Why? Because “Immanuel” “God is with us.”

 

It is as the Psalmist wrote in Ps 2:1-4, “Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, 3 "Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us." 4 He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision.

 The world we live in right now is not very pretty. There is danger all around, but God’s got this. His plans cannot be thwarted. Jesus is coming again, and when He does, all things will be made knew. The wicked (those without Christ) and the righteous ( those in Christ) will be dealt with in accordance with God’s perfect justice. He always has the last say. So persevere my brothers and sisters…..persevere.