Occult Practices Forbidden

 When the Israelites came to the land of Canaan, they did not realize all of the pagan practices they would encounter. They were used to the idols and paganism of Egypt, but they were about to be inundated by many more occult forces. That is why God was giving Israel the land of Canaan. God was angry with the people there for rejecting Him and for practicing such Satanic things. Therefore, He was going to use Israel to punish those peoples by driving them out of the land completely. That is why God told Moses to warn the people to stay away from all of the occult practices of the Canaanites. (Deuteronomy 18:10,11) The people were forbidden to sacrifice their children, practice divination, tell fortunes, interpret omens, practice sorcery, cast spells, consult mediums and spiritists, or inquire of the dead. These things were very dangerous, and they are still forbidden for believers today.

Satan is very smart. He knows how to appeal to our flesh and how to tempt our imagination in such a way to get us to open our hearts and minds to him. Yes, even believers can come under the influence of Satan by engaging in occult practices. (Ephesians 4:27) I know some people think these things are harmless, but they are not. They lead us to listen to Satan, not the Holy Spirit. They lead us to trust in demons, not the Lord. They promise to give us insight into the future, but God is the Only One who knows the future. Therefore, we need to decide once and for all that we will listen to God's Word and stay away from any of these practices in any form. If we want to know anything, we can pray, and God will give us wisdom, as He has promised. If we need power in our life, we need the power of the Holy Spirit, not the power of the devil or demons. I pray we will all heed this important warning, and stop opening our lives to the influence of Satan in any way.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read Deuteronomy 19-21.