And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. Acts 16:16-18 (KJV).
I was disappointed to read in the local press that a medium was being sponsored by that same local newspaper, and meetings being held in the town hall. How far have we fallen as a God fearing country when this kind of charlatan is not only able to fill a town hall, but is also encouraged and abetted by the newspaper, and the council?
The Bible is very clear about the dangers of spiritism, or spiritualism, or a medium. You can call them by many names, and some will appear very 'nice' and convincing in their defence of the 'good' they do for their clients. Most of us will know someone who has been along to such a meeting, and will usually come away with a statement like, “How else could they have known such a fact”? We should not be taken in. The devil is at work, and feeding on sensitive and searching people, who are desperate to hear from a loved one who has died.
The messages passed to the worried loved one, will always be that they are in a happy place, and at peace, and that their family should not worry. It would seem that there are no dark places, or dare I say, hell, where the person is speaking from? Messages are also preceded by very general questions to find a victim, or should I say, client. A number, a colour, a place, a hobby, all can be used to reel some poor unsuspecting person in. Also, there is no doubt that they will leave the place feeling better about their loved one, and glad they went.
What does it say about our common sense, never mind being far from God as a nation? The victims of these mediums are not bad people, just very sad, and anxious about the loss of a person they held dear. It is a comfort to hear that they are well, and safe, and in no pain, and in a good place, and happy. Who wouldn't want to hear that about a dear one who has now passed away? I don't think we realise the danger these charlatans are to us all. They lull us into a false sense of 'everything will be ok' and so we don't have to worry too much about this life, or what we do with Jesus. There are no consequences from leading a sorry life here, because this 'place of light' will be waiting for us too when we die.
In contrast to that uncertainty, as Christians we can know where our loved ones are, without a doubt. Heaven is a lovely place, and to be pursued while here on this earth. We should not be frittering away our time here, so that a loved one thinks they have to go to a medium to know how we are, or where we are. Our faith in Jesus guarantees our place at the big meal table, set out on the garden in heaven. I love that analogy given by our pastor some time ago. All we have to do here, is live like we already have our reservation!
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