“If you want favor with both God and man, and a reputation for good judgment and common sense, then trust the Lord completely; don’t ever trust yourself.
“In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success.” Proverbs 3: 4,5 and 6 [The Living Bible]

A lot of people pay fortune tellers to find out if good things are going to happen in their lives. Some people also read their horoscopes everyday to find out if they are going to have a good day. Does God want us to go to fortune tellers and to read our horoscope to find our direction for the day and for our lives?

Let me tell you about a girl in the Bible that was a fortune teller. In Acts 16 we read about a slave girl whose owners made a living by having her tell others their fortunes. The owners and the people who paid them for their fortunes believed whatever she told them was the truth. Her masters made a lot of money using her for this purpose. But who was telling her what to say? Was it God? Was it an evil spirit?

When Paul and Silas, who were missionaries, came to visit the city where she lived, she followed them around for days. As she followed them, she would cry out: “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.” [NKJV] This was true but it bothered Paul that the slave girl was bound to do this all day. He felt sorry for her and wanted to help her.

Finally, one day he turned to her and said to the spirit in her that made her say these things:”I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” [NKJV] And the spirit came out immediately. Her masters were very angry with Paul for doing this because now they couldn’t make money with her anymore.

Paul told the spirit to come out of this girl because people thought whatever she said was the truth and they would do it. It was not God who was telling her what to say but an evil spirit.

It is the same for us if we go to a fortune teller to find out what will happen to us in the future. Sometimes it seems that what they say really happens but it doesn’t always come true. Sometimes we make it happen because that’s what this person told us would happen.

In the Old Testament God chose certain people to be His prophets. He would tell the prophets what to tell the people to do. They were not fortune tellers. They spent a lot of time with God, praying and reading His Word. God would speak to them by His Holy Spirit. In fact, that’s how the Bible was written. The Holy Spirit would tell the authors what to write.

Prophets fore told that Jesus would be born and that He would die for our sins. They foretold that Jesus would also be raised from the dead. All this happened.

So we can know that the rest that they foretold will happen too: that Jesus is now sitting in heaven at the right hand of God; that one day He will come again for us, His children; and that eventually He will rule over the whole earth too. So we know we can believe the Bible and trust in God.

Memory Verse for this Week:
“And it is he who will supply all your needs from his riches in glory, because of what Christ Jesus has done for us.” Philippians 4: verse 19 [The Living Bible]

Going deeper as parents:

God had a rule about prophets. He said that if everything that the prophet said would happen did not happen a hundred percent of the time, then that prophet was not His prophet. He should be put to death.

In Leviticus 19:26 God warned the Israelites that they should not tell fortunes or go to fortune tellers. In Leviticus 20:27 He warns: “A man or woman who is a medium, or who has familiar spirits, shall surely be put to death.” [NKJV] A medium or someone with familiar spirits means the same as a fortune teller.

There is a reason why He doesn’t want us to know all about what will happen to us tomorrow or many years down the road. Maybe it would be too scary for us, or maybe it would make us lazy so we don’t make it happen but wait for it to happen.

If we go to a fortune teller we are not trusting God. God is in charge of our future. He will bring the best possible things to us. God is all powerful and directs the future and everything in our lives.

Ruth Willms

Author: The Lion Tree
http://ruthwillms.com
ruth.willms@gmail.com

Want to know more about how God can help you every day? Check out my new book The Lion Tree at http://ruthwillms.com

Look for my new unpublished story, An Anniversary Surprise, at http://ruthwillms.com