The New Age

Day 5, Spiritual Warfare

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 1 John 4:1 (ESV)

              “What’s your birthstone, Mama?”

              “It’s a greenish stone called a peridot,” I replied.

              “What’s your horoscope animal?”

              “I think I’m a Leo, but I might be another one.”

              My youngest son proceeded to tell me all the different animals on the horoscope and which ones meant what. Then he told me what would happen if this certain animal married another one and how they were destined for fighting or romance or fame. At first, I sluffed it off. I learned all of that stuff as a kid and knew it was just suggestion. But when he came home again talking about it, he told me one of his friends believed all of it. She didn’t make any decisions without consulting the horoscope and refused to do certain things based on its guidance.  

              I sat down with my son and we had a talk. There are many things that seem harmless from the outside, but when they come into competition with God, we have a problem. Horoscopes might seem harmless to a person who sees them as bogus, but to the person who bases their whole life on it instead of God, that’s dangerous. Because God tells us in Deuteronomy 4:19 (ESV), “And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven.”  Most people would never say they are worshipping the stars, but anything we look to for daily guidance other than God would be taking his place of godhood in our lives.

              We talked about lots of things that day. I told him about yoga being such a great activity that involves stretching, breathing, and calming techniques. The techniques are really good for our minds and bodies. But if someone is practicing true yoga, many of the mind-clearing practices can open our minds up to dangerous places. Something that seems really good can be very dangerous.

              The last topic we tackled was psychics. “Wouldn’t it be cool if we knew our future?” my son asked.

              Fortune telling is warned against in scripture several times, but explicitly in Deuteronomy 18:10-12 (ESV). “ There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer  or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you.”  I’m of the opinion that psychics and mediums are not actually contacting the dead, but interacting with evil spirits who are pretending to be those people. Demons are fallen angels and have been roaming the earth since the Fall. Of course, they know people who have died. And again, this type of thing opens the door for Satan to march right through and bring us over to his side of the spiritual battle.

Do the Heart Work

1.      Have you ever considered the spiritual danger in some of these activities? Why or why not?

2.      Have you ever been taught about New Age practices in relation to the Bible?

3.      What are the dangers of leaving these things in your life unexamined?

Digging Deeper

Read Acts 19:11-20 (ESV)

And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them.  Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this.  But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?”  And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.  And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled.  Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices.  And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver.  So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.

The occult, witchcraft, voodoo, psychics, mediums, seances, horoscopes and even yoga can be entry points of the enemy into our lives. And once we invite him in, he can use us for his bidding. Not only did the people in this story stop their practices, they eradicated the remnants from their lives. Not even a trace left.

If You Get Spare Time

              Examine your thoughts and feelings about the topics discussed in today’s lesson. Research the origins if you want to get clarity. Ask yourself what place these things hold in your life. Do you rely on their guidance? If so, why would you seek those things instead of Christ?

              What about yoga? Maybe you are involved in the stretches and that’s all. But are you allowing any of the other teachings and practices to open up footholds for the enemy to step into your life? It never hurts to check ourselves and secure our weak spots.  We are in an active battle and the enemy will use anything he can to distract, sway, and turn you away from following God wholeheartedly.