Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

-
One True God and People of other Faith
Deuteronomy 18: 9-13

Joseph Kurian Ph. D
Carmel MTC, Boston MA 
13 You must be blameless before the Lord your God.
Imagine the Israelites were about to enter the Promised Land, after 40 years of life in the wilderness. Moses offers an advice to them in verses 9-11. He forbids them to follow some detestable practices of the local community. The list includes but is not limited to child sacrifice, divination (the art of telling the future), sorcery (the art of controlling evil spirits), omen interpretation, witchcraft, spell casting, Medium (calling the spirit of the dead) etc. Examples of divination are astrology, horoscope, palmistry, soothsaying, oracles, wizards, black magic, taboo, hoodoo, devilry, tarot cards, exorcism, witchcraft etc.  There is a common characteristic among all these practices, namely deception. Deception and ignorance leads to superstition and worship of other Gods. In verse 12 we read: “Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you”.

Throughout the Bible there is explicit narration of these practices. In 2 Kings 21:6 we read, “And he burned his son as an offering and used fortune-telling and omens and dealt with mediums and with necromancers.  He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger”. Exodus 7:11-12, 11 “Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts:” 12 “Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs”. Acts16:16-18, 'Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved”. She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her! At that moment the spirit left her’.

As far as the Israelites are concerned, Moses wants: 13 “You must be blameless before the Lord your God”. In order to be blameless before the Lord one must keep away from all such evil. But in modern times, it is inevitable for us to live among people of all faiths.  Are we imitating or promoting these detestable practices? We read in 2 Corinthians 5:17, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone the new is here!  But we must not lose our focus. Paul advises us in Romans 12: 16 “Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited”. Our ultimate goal must be to lead a Christ like life.

PRAYER


Heavenly Father, we live in a time when people of other faith have already become part of our family, or we are members of their family. Through Your divine grace guide us to meet the challenges of the times so that we will be blameless before Your Lordship. In Jesus name we pray. Amen

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
If we are forced to dissociate with someone, it should be only as a last resort, and not as the first option! 

Popular posts from this blog

Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

-
  Constant, patient and welcoming love of God   St. Luke 15: 11-32  V.21: And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ The parable of the ‘Prodigal son’ is one of the most frequently quoted parables that Jesus told His disciples. The parable contains the rich mine of human virtues and emotions. This parable is lived and re-lived in progressing civilizations from time immemorial and continuing. It brings out in vivid detail the pathetic depth of human sinfulness and the glorious heights of God’s forgiveness.      As a story of human nature, fathers are generally merciful to their children in any circumstance. They are very protective and are eager to provide for and secure the lives of their offspring. Jesus is telling this parable to underscore the superlative love of God to His children. The nature of such love is reiterated by Jesus in Matthew 7:11. Humankind wh...
Read more

Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

-
Revelation for Liberation Acts 27:18-26 Sherine Thomas Long Island MTC, NY 20  When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest raged, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned. “After winter comes the summer.  After night comes the dawn.  And after every storm, there comes clear open skies” so said a Scottish clergyman from the 1600s. It’s been said, that hope can sometimes be the most dangerous weapon.  However, it’s sometimes the hardest weapon to carry when you’re living with the loss of a loved one, something that almost feels like a terrible nightmare that’ll never go away.  It’s a weapon difficult to carry when day in and day out no one seems to hear or see those tears that are shed or silent cries that are made during a heartfelt prayer. It’s a weapon difficult to carry as you see your loved one lying on that hospital bed.  It’s a weapon difficult to carry as you search and seek out answers to tel...
Read more

Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

-
PRIESTHOOD: THE ANOINTED MINISTRY Exodus 40:12-16 Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting... wash them with water. Then dress Aaron in the sacred garments, anoint him and consecrate him so he may serve me as priest (Exodus 40: 12-13). Priesthood among the people of God was a divine command and initiation. God wanted some people to be separated for the special ministry among his people. God appointed Aaron and his descendants to take up this kind of ministry among the people of God. Priests are always separated and appointed as channels that connect God with his people. All throughout the history of Israel, priests played an important role in connecting people with God and to lead and guide them in the statutes of God. But there are incidents in the Bible where the priests failed in their duties and that led the people to go away from God. So the priests have a special and significant ministry to perform in this world among his people. Two important things...
Read more