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ARE YOU WORSHIPING THE ONLY TRUE ONE GOD?

  • Writer: Olufunmilayo Adekusibe
    Olufunmilayo Adekusibe
  • Jan 6, 2024
  • 4 min read

Today’s Reading:

Deuteronomy 18:9-14

“When you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium of a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations, the Lord your God drives them out from before you. You shall be blameless before the Lord your God. For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners, but as for you, the Lord your God has not appointed such for you.”

(Deuteronomy 18:9-14 NKJV)


 

In the ancient OT times and before the call of Abram (Gen. 12),  brilliant civilizations were already scattered around the Mediterranean Basin, spanning from the west to the east, from the north to the south from Mesopotamia to Egypt (including Ur of the Chaldeans, Canaan, Haran) from Anatolia, Troy to Macedonia, from the Greek city-states to Phoenician civilization, from Carthage to Rome and so on. But in all these places, God was not acknowledged as the Supreme Being who created the heaven and the earth, and evil dominated the customs of the people.  Examples are the builders of the Tower of Babel; the kings assumed the position of God. Evil was in the world, God regretted, and it grieved Him creating man in His image (Gen. 6:6). God’s intention for calling Abram out was to make a nation from his descendants to replace the heathen nations that do not acknowledge Him as God with their detestable customs. Also, to worship only one true God.


Before the Israelites settled in the Promised Land, they were in bondage in Egypt for 400 years, and they wandered in the wilderness. During this period they were led by God-appointed leaders, the chief among them was Moses (Exodus), Joshua, and the Judges. In several places of the Bible, the people were reminded of God’s promises, covenants, and commandments to keep them, and were asked to teach them to their children from generation to generation. One such reminder is our text for today. All through the decades Israel has kept rising and falling in disobeying God and going after these abomination practices of the heathen nations around them, for which reason God drove out the Canaanites from the Promised Land. On several occasions, God punishes the Israelites and sends them into captivity.  Unfortunately, today, people still go the opposite way of God’s plan for His creation.


The practices listed in verse 10 were common among the pagan religions. Apart from being detestable to God, these practices are dangerous; the participants are identified with pagan cults. Some sacrificed their children to their god, Molech (Lev. 20:2-5). Also, wisdom is sought through magical and spiritualistic means rather than from God. A soothsayer receives magical powers through incantations. A sorcerer would brew herbs to make magical potions to control circumstances as well as people. One who conjures spells, who ties knots, sought to bind people using magical spells and incantations. Cultic practices were used to communicate with evil and departed spirits (1 Sam. 15). The Israelites were curious about these pagan occult practices, of which Satan is behind the cults. And God strictly forbade Israel to take part in it.  It is a pity that up till today, Christians are fascinated by the practices.  The interest is born out of the desire to know and control the future and other people’s futures as well.  Satan is still the same from ancient times, during the time of Moses, up till today, and has hated humans with cruel hatred  In the Bible God has foretold all that will happen, and Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will tell us more.  Whatever information Satan gives will either be false or distorted.  With the trustworthy guidance of the Holy Spirit and the Bible, we do not need to turn to occult sources for faulty information.


The word of God is true and infallible.  It is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.  It is the only source of truth for all who believe, and the Holy Spirit is the only One who can lead us into the peace, joy, and victory in our everyday life that we seek.  The Holy Spirit can reveal deep and secret information about our generation's past, present, and future. Therefore, it is futile for any believer to visit these places to know the future that God alone has fixed.  We should trust and allow God to lead our future.

                                                                        OLUFUNMILAYO TITILOLA ADEKUSIBE



To surrender your life to Christ, say this prayer aloud: Father, thank you for Jesus Christ. Forgive my sins, take control of my heart, and lead me in your righteous path by the power of Your Holy Spirit.  Thank You, Lord. If you said the prayer, Congratulations! Prayerfully look for a living church and report to the resident pastor or priest.


Prayer:

  1. Forever O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven; Your faithfulness is unto all generation; You have established the earth and it abides.

  2. Father Thank You for calling me to Your holiness, dedicate and set me apart for Your use, in Jesus' name. 

  3. Thank You, Father, that You have not destined me to wrath, but for Your salvation, so that I might live with You in glory and have everlasting life, in Jesus' name. 

  4. O Lord, establish my steps in the way of Your word and do not let my weakness have dominion over me, in order not to be separated from You, in Jesus' name.

  5. Daily, O Lord, grant that I see You more clearly, love You more dearly, and be more closely walk with You, in Jesus' name.

  6. O Lord, keep me and my family under the canopy of Your love and mercy till the end, in Jesus' name. 

  7. Holy Spirit fill me afresh to overflowing, empower me, fill me with Your fire, and grant me Your enablement, Your anointment for Your service, in Jesus' name.

  8. Father, rescue, save, and deliver all that are perishing, in captivities, and bondages, in Jesus' name.

  9. Father, thank you for Your intervention in the leadership of our nation and for giving a new lease of life to the poor, the orphans, and the helpless and hopeless, in Jesus' name.

  10. O Lord let Your kingdom come, let Your rule begin, and break with Your iron rod the tyrannies of sin, in Jesus' name.

 
 
 

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