The Bible presents the devil as a real, living entity who was once a powerful angel in the courts of heaven but who was cast down to earth because of his pride and wickedness.  Satan also has a host of demons who do his bidding and carry out his plans against the people of God. In addition to the demonic, there are men and women who have entered into covenants with Satan and who actively participate in Satan’s plans. These men and women function as witches, warlocks, Satanists, and sorcerers.  These are reasonably interchangeable labels for individuals who partner with darkness.  Just as Jesus has his disciples, Satan does as well.  Many Christians also believe the idea of witches, warlocks and sorcerers actually wielding power is fictional.  They consign those notions to Harry Potter and the tales of King Arthur. 

We know from Genesis, that the world before the flood became a cauldron of evil. If the “sons of God’ in Genesis 6, were fallen angels who married the “daughters of men” and spawned the Nephilim, evil and satanic practices had made their way deeply into the human gene pool. The Tower of Babel, which was erected to reach into the heavens, became the sight for Babylon which them became a byword in scripture for evil, rebellion and occult practices.  Those occult practices were built on centuries of demon worship.  Those practices spread out into the world so that wherever idol worship emerged, those who served those idols were knowingly or unknowingly partnered with Satan.  Now there is a proliferation of occult practices around the world and even in America. Go into any secular bookstore and you may see a larger section on witchcraft than you seen on Christian writings. 

We have numerous references in scripture that reveal the reality of the “dark arts” having genuine power. When Moses confronted Pharoah and demanded that he let God’s people go, Pharoah demanded a miracle from Moses.  At Moses’ direction, Aaron threw down his staff and it became a snake (Ex. 7:8-13).  But, we are told Pharoah summoned his sorcerers.  They threw down their staffs and they turned into snakes as well. When Aaron struck the Nile with his staff, the water turned to blood. Pharoah’s sorcerers did the same thing by “their secret arts.”  When Egypt was struck by a plague of frogs the sorcerers duplicated the miracle.  By the fourth plague, a plague of gnats, the sorcerers could not match what Moses was commanding and testified that the “finger of God” was producing that plague. My point here is that, although God has much more power than the enemy and those that serve him, they do have some authentic power in the supernatural realm.

In Numbers 22, the king of Moab called on a sorcerer named Balaam  to place a curse on Israel so he might defeat them in war.  God forbade him from doing so and sent an angel to kill him if he would not relent from declaring the curse.  The curse would direct demonic powers to afflict Israel.  God took the threat seriously and acted to prevent it. 

God has spoken very specifically about occult activities in scripture:

“Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his 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. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord, and because of these detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you” (Dt. 18:10-12).

“Do not allow a sorceress to live” (Ex.22:8).

“I will destroy your witchcraft and you will no longer cast spells” (Micah 5:12).

“Both of these will overtake you in a moment, on a single day: loss of children and widowhood. They will come upon you in full measure, in spite of your many sorceries and all your potent spells” (Isa. 47:9).

“…all because of the wanton lust of a harlot, alluring, the mistress of sorceries, who enslaved nations by her prostitution and peoples by her witchcraft” (Nahum 3:4).

In these verses and others, God acknowledges the reality and power of witchcraft, although his power is much greater. In Acts 8, we are introduced to Simon the sorcerer who had practiced witchcraft in a Samaritan city for some time.  We are told that he had amazed the people with his sorcery and was held in high esteem in that city.  The people even called him The Great Power of God.  That alerts us to the fact that some witchcraft may be attributed to the hand of God. In Revelation 22, we are told that those who cannot enter the city of God to eat of the tree of life are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, murderers and idolators. 

When I was a kid, witches were cast as evil. In Walt Disney films like Snow White, the witch was ugly and malevolent. But in recent years, Satan has led an effective PR campaign to open the door for the notion of good witches (Bewitched, Charmed, etc.) and good sorcerers (Harry Potter).  Wicca has taken on a respectable aura claiming it only empowers women and any incantations evoked by its members only produce good. Culture has drawn lines between white magic and black magic (good and bad). Eastern religions, psychics, tarot cards, horoscopes, etc.it seems  have all been assigned a neutral or acceptable status by society. 

Scripture, however, makes no differentiations.  Anyone reaching into the spiritual realm who is not calling on the Holy Spirit is partaking of an unholy spirit whether they know it or not.  The tree of The Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden, represented a supernatural,  alternative source of wisdom and knowledge…a source that excluded God…which is the definition of occult practices.   Concerning psychics, mediums and necromancers, God asked why man would inquire of the dead rather than inquiring of the living God. 

Satan’s strategy from the Garden until now has been to get men to seek life, power, revelation, wealth, significance, direction, etc. from any source apart from God. When I see believers dabbling in these things or letting their children choose “good witches” or “good sorcerers” as role models, I cringe.  

Satan is real and so are his demons.  Witches are real and so is witchcraft.  Some dabble in it while others are fully immersed.  Either approach opens up a believer or their children to demonic deception and influence.  As the world gives approval to these “God alternatives,” I believe we need to be clearer with the lines we draw for ourselves and our children.  Because something is a work of fiction, does not mean it does not convey values and perspectives that bleed over into the non-fiction world.  Without trying to impose some legalistic line of lists of movies and books to cancel, let me encourage you to pray about these things and ask the Lord to show you where to draw the line. 

Thousands of witches covens operate in America currently.  Colleges promote classes on Eastern religions and practices (including healing practices) that invite demonic spirits into a person’s life. Some get involved out of curiosity while others are looking for something to provide power and control for their lives.  Others dabble just for fun.  Whatever the motive, the outcome is a real and threatening connection with Satan and those who serve him.  We should not be silent on this matter as the church or as parents to our children.  God considers every aspect of the occult to be detestable and so should we.  Please be aware and wise in relation to every form of the occult, regardless of how it is packaged. 

Reading through Genesis once again, I was struck by God’s call on Abram.  “The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Gen. 12:1-3).

In essence, God commanded Abram to cut ties with everything that defined who he was.  We don’t know with certainty, but it was likely he and his family had significant standing in his community.  Like all of us, his sense of significance was rooted in his culture, his relationships, and his reputation.  God was calling Abram to give up everything that had defined him and that had given his life significance and security to make a journey where he had never gone before. 

I’m not sure what motivated Abram to walk away from his country, his people and his father’s household, but thankfully he did. Perhaps, it was simply an uncommon wisdom that chose the greater thing. Look at the promise.  If you will walk away from everything that anchors you to this world, I will make you great in heaven. I will bless you and the world through you.  I will make your name great and your descendants uncountable. God was offering Abram a new identity, a greater identity than he had ever known.  But to take on this new identity, he had to surrender everything that defined who he was before his encounter with God.

In the same way, Jesus calls each of us to uproot ourselves from this world to seek his kingdom: 

“Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Mt. 10:37-39). 

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matt. 6:33)

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt. 6:19-21).

For us to find greatness in heaven and to receive the true riches of the kingdom, we must be willing to walk away from country, people, households, riches, and reputation rooted in this world. Too often, we want to maintain our love and status with the things this world offers and simply tack on our identity in Christ.  We think we can keep one foot in the world and one in the kingdom, but Jesus declares we cannot serve two masters.

I typically cringe every time a celebrity “comes to Christ” and suddenly is given celebrity status by some Christian leader.  It typically ends poorly and reflects negatively on our faith because they bask in the limelight of their “new life” in Christ for a while, but then are entangled in the same old sins they had been walking in before.  Part of the failure is that no one has been discipling the new believer and no one has told him/he that, compared to Jesus, they must hate their old life and old ways. 

In all of this, I’m not saying that a believer must walk away from any measure of success or influence they have achieved in the world, but must be willing to do so if God calls them out of that. Certainly, if they are involved in careers and pursuits that are sinful, they must give that up and trust God to provide as they build a new life in the kingdom.  

Here is our self-check.  Are we investing in our spiritual life and eternity in heaven significantly more than in this world? Like Abram, have we uprooted ourselves from the world and planted ourselves, our identity, and out significance firmly in heaven? Am I more concerned about how God views me or how people view me, especially those who don’t follow Jesus? 

I have seen a lot of successful people who see themselves as faithful Christians but who pursue wealth and the accolades of this world much more that serving in the kingdom. For some, if they were judged on the basis of their Facebook posts, there would be little indication that thy had made the body of Christ and the kingdom of heaven a greater priority than all the pleasures offered by the world. God wants to be our greatest desire and not simply an afterthought when it is convenient.  From time to time, we may want to evaluate how far we have left the world behind and how far we have travelled in our journey with Christ. 

Our God is a jealous God.  He wants to bless us but not share us with the gods of this world. I believe he wants to bless us and others through us as he did Abraham.  He wants us to produce spiritual descendants for the kingdom of heaven.  He wants us to trust him in the journey by holding loosely anything that is anchored in this world.  We may not recognize how tied to this world we are, so I encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit and spiritual friends to point out any blind spots so that we might surrender those to the Lord as well.  Ultimately, like Abraham we will choose who we trust in and what we trust in.  Hopefully, we will make the same decision as Abram did when he encountered God.

But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you.

Luke 11:20

One of the spiritual skills we need to develop is the capacity to recognize the moves of God in our lives on a daily or even hourly basis.  In the Luke passage quoted above, the religious leaders had witnessed the hand of God right in front of them but did not recognize it as such.  Jesus was casting out demons, but the religious elite attributed the deliverance to Satan rather than God.  Even Pharoah’s magicians recognized the finger of God when Aaron struck the dust of Egypt with his staff and turned the dust to gnats (Ex. 8:19), but the Pharisees and Sadducees missed it.  In those moments of deliverance, Jesus not only pointed to God but made it clear that the power of the Father could flick a demon off with his finger as if swatting a bug.

One of the great faith-builders of a believer is the recognition of how often God speaks to them in various ways or intervenes for them in small ways as well as great ways on a regular basis.  King David took note of God’s intervention on his behalf and drew on that record when he needed an upgrade in faith. When Saul questioned his ability to face the Philistine champion Goliath, David responded that, as a shepherd, God had delivered him from a lion and a bear and believed God would do the same for him as he faced the enemy.

I think we often adopt the view that God inly intervenes in big moments of crisis when we are facing the giants of death, cancer, persecution, job loss, divorce, etc.  But God provides our daily bread. Any loving Father wants to bless his children in multiple ways.  In David’s 23^rd  Psalm, he praises the Lord for providing abundance in the midst of his enemies and being led through the Valley of the Shadow of Death. But he also he speaks of being led daily to green pastures and still waters.  There is that sense of thanksgiving for his “daily bread” which, perhaps, we take for granted as an ordinary experience of life.  David clearly saw God’s hand in that.  If you believe God provides the ordinary blessings of life on a daily basis, it is easier to believe when giants are knocking on the door.

I heard a preacher say that whatever we are thankful for, heaven provides more of.  That makes sense.  As a parent, I know that when my children were truly thankful and delighted about something, I found ways to make sure they received more of that.  When they had an attitude of entitlement or indifference, I wasn’t so motivated to provide special blessings.

I want to have faith that God is the source of every good thing in my life, so I notice those things and give thanks for those things throughout the day.  Some may think it foolish but I thank God for sunrises that reveal his glory, for sprinkles of rain in a dry land, for parking spaces that are handy, for cars that start, and squirrels that make me laugh. Although my health isn’t perfect, I thank him for the health I do have.  Noticing the hand of God in my everyday life gives me faith for the moments of crisis that come. 

Believing that he is orchestrating my day, makes me more sensitive to encounters with people that may need encouragement or a prayer.  It makes me mindful that I am representing Jesus to those I connect with throughout the day, so I treat them a bit better and speak a better word to them.  Every time I have faith that God is blessing me and revealing himself to me through the “ordinary” circumstances if life, I have more faith for the “giants” that raise their heads from time to time.  My awareness and thanksgiving help me see God as a good God who loves me and consistently wants the best for me.  When hard times appear, I remember that he is not the author of the pain in my life, but is still a good God who will walk me through the fires. 

Let me encourage you to begin and end each day with an eye toward seeing the finger of God in your life.  Most often he is subtle like the “still small voice” in Elijah’s cave.  But when we train our hearts to notice even the “little kisses” from heaven, our faith and our peace will increase. 

“So, as the Holy Spirit says: ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.’” (Heb. 3:8)

I think we all go through seasons of hearing God more or less clearly.  Hearing God’s voice is an integral part of being led by the Spirit and being led by the Spirit is essential to a relationship with Jesus.  Paul wrote, “Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God^” (Rom.8:12-14). The corollary to that statement is those who are not led by the Spirit are not sons of God.  If those things are true then we must guard our hearts against the condition of hardening. The hardening of a heart is dependent on our responses to the voice of God as he speaks to us day after day.  He speaks in many ways and we want to stay alert and submitted to his voice when he presents himself to us. Two primary things can cause us to push back on God’s voice or ignore it all together:  sin and woundedness.

The most obvious is unrepented sin.  Because God is committed to making us into the image of his Son, his Holy Spirit will push us toward repentance whenever sin begins to take root. Paul warns us, “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire” (1 Thess. 5:19). It is possible to quench the fire and influence of the Spirit in our life.  Indifference towards the Kingdom and indifference towards sin can harden our hearts so that we no longer feel the promptings or the leading of the Spirit.  The Bible speaks of calloused hearts that no longer respond to God.  It is the idea of skin becoming so thick that it loses its sensitivity to those things that prick or rub against it.  Our hearts can lose their sensitivity to the Spirit and to the voice of God as well.

Scripture declares in another place, “It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tastedthe heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace” (Heb. 6:4-6).  The writer of Hebrews is issuing a practical warning for every believer.  

He is not saying that God will no longer forgive but, in essence, we are told that we can resist the Spirit of God long enough that we will lose our capacity to repent.  Our hearts may become so calloused and hard, that even the promptings of the Spirit will no longer touch us.  By our own choices, we can develop a kind of spiritual neuropathy so that we can become numb and oblivious to the pricks of our conscience and the voice of the Father. When we nurture sin, we must push back on the promptings of the Spirit and, as we do, we lose sensitivity to his leading, Hardened hearts do not make good receivers for hearing the voice of God.  

Although sin heavily contributes to hardening, emotional scars may also hinder our hearing.  Many of us have been deeply wounded by life. As a result, we have developed extensive defense mechanisms to guard ourselves from being wounded again. We become emotionally guarded and distrustful. We are rarely open and vulnerable even with those closest to us. We still keep our deepest fears, hopes, and feelings to ourselves because fear rejection.  We work hard to stay in control of every situation in order to feel safe. We may even succumb to the temptation to lie and manipulate to avoid blame or rejection of any kind. 

When wounded, we may view God with the same suspicion and distrust. We are not open with him.  We offer partial confessions and tend to be inauthentic before the Father. We shy away from being honest about our fears, our unbelief, our lust, our bitterness and so forth.  We may fear his rejection and correction so we don’t truly want to hear his voice.  As we anticipate rejection from others, we may anticipate it from him as well so we keep our distance and have little faith that he will say “yes” to our prayers. 

If your heart has been hardened by life so that you are guarded, distrustful or controlling, ask God to dissolve those strongholds and give you a softened and responsive heart to his love and his Word. If you are choosing sin over a relationship with him, then repent. God is aware of your brokenness and your fear and is willing to heal those hurts. He is aware of your sins and eagerly forgives when we sincerely seek his forgiveness.  Remember, time is your enemy.  As we resist the voice of God for whatever reason, our hearts are becoming hard.  That is why the Spirit pleads, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts’” (Heb. 3:8)

Blessings in Him.