Update on fortune telling class

I wrote yesterday about a situation that we have become aware of at our local library. A two-part class aimed at teenagers ages 12-18 was to be held on the subject of interpreting dreams, palm reading, and fortune telling.

Praise the Lord, the Library cancelled the class! Thank YOU for your prayers and concern!! Children were protected. Jesus' name was proclaimed in the secular arena. It is all good.

I can't overstress how serious the sin of divination is. (Explanation on what divination is at above link). Attempting to obtain information about our destiny, or about the other side apart from God revealing it to us is a horrific rebellion that He hates. He has called it an abomination, and forbids it in many scriptures in the Old Testament and the New.

Remember when Saul was told by God to kill all the Amalekites and their goods and cattle, but Saul coveted the cattle. His pride in victory over the fierce Agag pushed Saul to let Agag live and Saul took the cattle too. God was angry. He immediately rejected Saul as King. God said,

"For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king.” (1 Sam 15:23)

God likened Saul's outright disobedience to divination. Of course, both of those sins, rebellion and divination, are both acts that people perpetrate outside of God's bounds.

As for the fortune telling, I had had enough. I drew the line. As Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Captain of the Starship Enterprise famously said:

"I will not sacrifice the Enterprise. We've made too many compromises already, too many retreats. They invade our space and we fall back. They assimilate entire worlds and we fall back. Not again. The line must be drawn here! This far, no farther! And I will make them pay for what they've done!"

Of course God will punish, not me. One can only take a quote metaphor so far. But the line was drawn for me on this subject of fortune telling, palm reading, etc. No farther! We must protect our children. We must stand up for Jesus!

I listened to Stand up, Stand Up for Jesus today. I looked into the writing of that old hymn. Here is the story:  Episcopalian Reverend Dudley A. Tyng (1825-1858) was a dynamic preacher known for taking strong stands against evil, no matter what the cost. His sermon regarding the evils of slavery in America is still in print today. This sermon resulted in him being removed from one of his pastorates. On Tuesday, March 30, 1858, Tyng preached a sermon on Exodus 10:11, “Go now ye that are men and serve the Lord”, at a YMCA noon mass meeting. Tyng delivered his message to 5,000 men that day. More than 1,000 of those men responded to the altar call, to receive Jesus as their Savior. Just over a week later, Tyng lay dying as a result of a tragic accident. His final statement, whispered to friends and family, was “Let us all stand up for Jesus.”

Now we just have to remain vigilant around here that the class doesn't re-appear!

We all have our line in the sand. We make too many retreats. We make too many compromises. I will not sacrifice the children. I have nothing to fear wading into the battle, because Jesus is my Commander in Chief. And He has already won.

Calling all believers to a prayer request

Please see UPDATE here.

What is below is an actual letter I have sent to my local newspaper. I live in an area of the USA that is considered the "Bible Belt". See map at left. The Bible Belt is "an informal term for a region in the southeastern and south-central United States in which socially conservative evangelical Protestantism is a significant part of the culture and Christian church attendance across the denominations is generally higher than the nation's average."

Yet  in our Christian conservative evangelical area, satan has made bold and dastardly attempts to target our precious youth. See the explanation for my call to prayer in the following letter I've sent in:

There’s a local Summer Library Class for teenagers called “Enter Portentia”. In it, youths aged 12-18 will be taught “how to interpret your dreams, read palms, tell fortunes and become open to the portents (secret messages) around and within us.” 

We’re all intensely curious about the ‘other side’ aren’t we? I think it’s natural for people to wonder about the realms we cannot see. The fact that we do wonder is testament to the fact that we believe those realms exist. 

Before I was saved by Jesus’s grace, I used a Ouija board, went to a Tarot Reading, had my palm read, and had my Aura photographed. I was looking for answers to those secrets I knew were beyond my grasp. But to be honest, each time I felt a little silly. I didn't think that looking at my own palm’s flesh was going to reveal the secrets of the other side. For that, I needed to look beyond myself. Besides, how could I trust any information I got? What was the source of it? I remained uneasy. 

When I was born again, the messages from the other side became clear, because Jesus sends Holy Spirit to guide us into truth. The scales fell from my eyes, and questions about the other side were answered- in the bible. Jesus is the only reliable source! 

Any information we get from the other side that’s not from God’s Word is occult and is outside His bounds. Therefore it’s bad for us. 

The bible condemns activity such as the Portentia class in the strongest possible terms. Verses in both New and Old Testament call divination an abomination. I urgently request that the Library decision-makers stop this class. You are exposing children to realms that God condemned, because He knows to partake of them invites hell into your house. 

If you’re not a Christian and you’re reading this, don’t dismiss it. Divination is not a “harmless” activity. As a parent, if your daughter came home with Tarot cards and books on palm reading, do you say, “Goodie! I hope she makes a career out of it!”? Do you say, “What a relief, this is such a wholesome activity!” You don’t say those things, because in your heart you know that the uneasiness you feel is there for a reason. Kids who get sucked up into occult activity rarely come out the other side without experiencing a downward spiral first. 

The answer to what is on the other side is Jesus. If there are Christian participants and leaders of that class: Stop the class. Repent and ask Him to forgive you. He will. Non-Christian participants and teachers of the class: If you ask Him to forgive you of all your sins, He will do that too. You won’t need to read lines on your palm anymore, because you'll have an eternity to discover the secrets of the other side that Jesus is waiting to share.

Here are some resources on Divination and Spiritism:

Does the bible take a position on clairvoyance and parapsychology?

What kinds of things can open you up to demonic oppression?

Is there demonic activity in the world today?

What does the bible say about palm reading

The class is in two parts. The first part has already passed. The second class is scheduled to be held June 21. Would you please pray that the teachers of this class, the youth participants, and the Library Board's hearts would be changed? That this second class be cancelled? That any youth hooked by the first class would be released? And that those involved would repent, or become saved if they are not?

Though it is disheartening to me to be on a battlefield that has satanic ammunition constantly lobbed from any direction, at any time, I praise the Lord He gave us His Word, His armor, His Son, and His victory so that we can go forth in confidence and joy in doing His work. Thank you for your consideration on this personal request.