SUPERSTITION
By George W. Sinquefield
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By George W. Sinquefield
Acts 17:22 through Acts 17:23 (KJV)
22 Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. 23 For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
What is superstition? Webster defines it as "a belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, or trust in magic or chance." It is, "Unreasoning awe or fear of something unknown, mysterious, imaginary, especially in connection with religion. It is worship based on fear or ignorance."
Most intelligent people today indicate a measure of belief in superstition by their practices. They knock on wood, cross their fingers, etc. We'll deal more with their superstitious ideas later.
Dr. Hershel Hobbs, on "The Baptist Hour" said, "It may seem strange to speak to our sophisticated age about belief in superstition. But is it so out of place? Every one of you who places your faith for spiritual protection or salvation in a human being or in a thing is practicing faith in superstition. I hear someone over the radio telling people to send money to buy aprons that have been prayed over to send to the sick that thereby they may be healed. People buy crosses that glow in the dark that they may not be afraid. Many wear crosses or other items about their necks as charms. But you may say that you do not believe in such. Very well! But do you have a closed Bible on the table or a sign hanging on the wall saying, "God Bless Our Home" thinking that their very presence will ward off evil? Do not misunderstand me, a Bible on the table is good if it be used. The sign becomes a constant prayer if God be the welcomed guest in your home. But if their presence be regarded as nothing more than a fetish against evil then it is pure superstition.
Athletes are notoriously superstitious. One former baseball star was up to bat five times in the first game but struck out all five times. After the game he took a shower with his uniform on claiming he was washing away the evil spirits. In the second game he got three hits. After the game eight other players took showers with their uniforms on.
Dr. Bailey E. Smith in his book, Nothing But The Blood tells of being pastor of a church in Arkansas. He tells of a woman whose husband had died. He would always put the clothes he was going to wear the next day on the back of a chair in their bedroom -- pants, shirt, etc., on the chair and his shoes under the chair. During the night this man died and his wife, because of her superstition , did not allow anyone to move those clothes. "Dr. Smith said, "I have seen that arrangement. They remained the same for twenty five years>"
Here are a few of the old superstitious beliefs. There are thousands more we could learn by just listening to people.
Buried somewhere in the spirit of modern man there is evidently the residue of the old superstition that holds that number 13 is a very unlucky number. Perhaps some day our children will be taught to count like this -- 11, 12, 14, 15. They will skip number 13 because -- well you never know what might happen. Most hotels do not have floor 13 or room 13. A girl who handles reservations for one of America's major air lines reports that they have no row 13 or seat 13 on any of their flights. People are afraid to travel on the 13th.
A stockbroker received a call from one of his clients, "Either sell or buy one hundred shares of that stock you got me last week." The stockbroker asked, "Buy or sell -- either will be all right? I don't understand." The client said, "I just remembered that I won thirteen hundred shares and tomorrow morning I undergo surgery. I don't want to go under the knife owning 1300 shares. So either get rid of a hundred or buy a hundred."
President Franklin D. Roosevelt would not sit at a table set for 13 or dine with 13 at the table. He would not leave on a trip on Friday.
I found the following in a magazine article written by Juddi Morris, a free lance writer.
Ten million people the United States have paraskevidekatriaphobia. Although this sounds like some horrible disease, it's not. It is the fear of Friday the 13th. Though not an official holiday, man, does it cause havoc when one of these Fridays rolls around!
First the good news and then the bad: In each year, there will never be more than three days or fewer than one that fall on this date. Never the less, people who have this phobia are deadly serious about it and stay home. (Preferable under the covers.) As a result, $750 million is lost in businesses each Friday the 13th. There are no figures telling the number of people who have accidents at home that day.
Strangely enough, folks have always been superstitious about the number 13 and the day Friday. In ancient times, sea voyages never started on that date because sailors believed terrible things would happen if a ship left port that day. Lord Byron, the poet, scoffed at this belief and deliberately embarked on a trip to Greece on a Friday. You know what happened to him: he died in that country.
A group of ship owners made fun of this superstition and tried defying the custom by laying the keel of a new ship on Friday. They named the vessel "Friday" and hired a captain named Friday. The ship even sailed on a Friday. Talk about asking for it. The ship was never seen again.
In past years, ocean liners scheduled to leave port on the 13th (Friday or not) would delay their departures until after midnight. Until the 1800's, Lloyd's of London would not insure a ship sailing on that date. Even today, the Navy will not launch a ship on Friday the 13th.
How did Friday the 13th get such a bum rap in the first place? Primitive men were terrified by anything they didn't see or understand. They counted by using their 10 fingers and two feet which amounted to 12. After 12 came the unknown. The number was not popular in Italy, either. In Ancient Rome, witches met in groups of 12 with the devil making the 13th member.
And Friday? Because of the Crucifixion, Friday became known as an unlucky day. Ancient manuscripts hint that Eve also fed Adam the apple on a Friday, and Cain is supposed to have slain his brother Abel on a Friday.
The fear of Friday the 13th still affects us today. Many ball players won't play on that day. Threats of computer viruses have started then. The Otis Elevator Co. reports that 90 percent of skyscrapers and hotels have no 13th floor. Airlines omit 13 as a seat number, and some airports have no 13 gate. Many apartment houses and hotels don't have a room numbered 13.
What about the black cat? There are many people who will turn around and go back home if a black cat crosses the road in front of them. They believe that cat is a sign of bad luck and they fear they'll have a wreck and get hurt or killed if they continue their trip.
When I was pastor I went home for lunch with a deacon and his wife and spent the afternoon with them. On our way to church that night a black cat crossed in front of us. He turned to his wife and said, "throw something out of the car." I wondered if that something might be me. I was about ready to get out because I didn't feel safe riding with a superstitious deacon.
Recently I visited a friend. As I walked from the car to his door, a black cat ran across the yard in front of me. When I started home another one ran across the road in front of me. I came on home and I never had any "bad luck." I have many weaknesses and faults but none of them, thank the Lord, is not superstition.
Dr. R. G. Lee used to say that if he had a hair on his head that wanted a drink of alcohol, he'd pull it out. If I had a drop of superstitious blood in my body I'd drain it out. How utterly foolish, how stupid, how sinful it is to believe and practice superstition. Now permit me to explain a little further. We, no doubt, do everyday things that a superstitious person says will bring "bad luck" if we do them. I mentioned, for example, that it is bad luck to put the left shoe on first. Which one do you put on first? I have an idea that you and most everybody else just pick up one and puts it on -- left or right. So you can easily see the stupidity of being superstitious. But the sad thing is that superstition is growing or increasing among the people of this country. According to a poll in 1978, 19 percent of American teenagers believed in witches, 28 percent in astrology. By 1988 (ten years later) another poll revealed that 29 percent (instead of 19) believed in witches and in astrology.
One preacher said, "When you note the growing interest in superstition today, you cannot help but wonder how much Christianity has really captured the hearts of men!
Bill Graham writes: "In China when my wife was growing up, frequently babies who died before cutting their teeth were thrown out to be eaten by parish dogs. The people feared that if evil spirits thought they cared too much for the children they would come and take another one. They tried to prove their indifference in this crude way."
We could see how the heathen might do such but not people who should know better, people who profess to be Christians.
The following Scriptures make it clear how God feels about witchcraft, sorceries, and superstition. It is very sinful and He urges His people to flee from such.
Exodus 22:18 (KJV)
Deuteronomy 18:10 through Deuteronomy 18:12 (KJV)
1 Samuel 15:23 (KJV)
Jeremiah 27:9 through Jeremiah 27:10 (KJV)
Malachi 3:5 (KJV)
Isaiah 47:9 (KJV)
Galatians 5:19 through Galatians 5:21 (KJV)
Revelation 21:8 (KJV)
Revelation 22:14 through Revelation 22:15 (KJV)
I. Why Is Superstition A Sin And So Displeasing To God?
Superstition is a denial of God's supreme revelation concerning Himself.
Exodus 3:13 through Exodus 3:14 (KJV)
Genesis 17:1 (KJV)
Job 42:2 (KJV)
Jeremiah 32:17 (KJV)
Matthew 19:26 (KJV)
During an earthquake, the inhabitants of a small village were very much alarmed. They were therefore greatly surprised at the calmness of an elderly woman throughout the entire ordeal. When things had settled down, one of the villagers asked her, "Weren't you afraid during that earthquake?" "No," she replied, "I wasn't. You see, I just rejoiced to know that I have a God who is powerful enough to shake the world."
A man said to his pastor, "I feel mighty small as I behold the universe." The pastor said, "It makes me feel larger. I know the universe is God's and I am His and thus I feel a oneness with the God of creation."
Jeremiah 23:24 (KJV)
Psalm 139:7 through Psalm 139:10 (KJV)
Some years ago a jester sat by a boy on a streetcar on his way home from church. The boy held a Sunday school paper in his hand. Said the jester, "Tell me where God is, little boy, and I'll give you an apple," to which the well taught boy answered, "Tell me where God isn't, and I'll give, you a barrel of apples."
A missionary was speaking on the love of God and how anxious He is to change the hearts of man -- to save him and fit him to live here and hereafter. A woman in the assembly spread her hand and cried most pathetically, "Oh God where are you, that I may know you." God is everywhere and can be found by those who seek Him.
Isaiah 46:9 through Isaiah 46:10 (KJV)
1 John 3:20 (KJV)
One theologian put it, "There are no after thoughts with God. He knows from all time past what is happening and will happen on through eternity."
Deuteronomy 7:9 (KJV)
1 Corinthians 10:13 (KJV)
2 Thessalonians 3:3 (KJV)
Hebrews 10:23 (KJV)
We can trust God to keep His promises because He never lies. The Bible says that God cannot lie -- that it is impossible for Him to lie.
Titus 1:2 (KJV)
Hebrews 6:18 (KJV)
1 Chronicles 29:11 (KJV)
Acts 17:24 (KJV)
Every superstitious practice is a proclamation that there are other forces in this world beside God, perhaps demons, or natural laws, or some other force that contribute to the ultimate outcome of our lives. When one is superstitious he is saying that God is not entirely in charge of all the events in the world. He dishonors God and denies that He holds the whole world in His hands.
One has said, "Superstition is a flagrant, blatant denial of all the Bible stands for. It is a devilish attempt to tear God from the throne of the universe and replace Him with the product of our own imagination."
1 John 4:7 through 1 John 4:8 (KJV)
John 3:16 (KJV)
In that great love chapter -- I Corinthians 13 we are told that love -- (the God kind of love) does not seek her own but it deeply concerned about the welfare of others.
Is God your Heavenly Father? He is if you have trusted His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior.
Galatians 3:26 (KJV)
II. Practicing Superstition Makes Us Liars In The Eyes Of Our Fellowman.
This is certainly true of many who profess to be God's child. They claim to have faith in God but their actions -- their lives prove them fake when they practice superstition. We used to hear a lot about God being dead and many superstitious people act as if He is.
It is said that Martin Luther, in his struggle for the reformation, had about lost faith that God was in the movement. His wife, noticing his plight and desiring to help dressed herself in mourning clothes and came into his room. "What does that mean?" he asked. She said, "God is dead and I am mourning His decease." "God is dead? What nonsense" he exclaimed. She said, "From the way you have been acting, one would think you so considered Him."
One has said: I remember seeing a picture that left a lasting impression of this truth in my mind. A small child sat weeping in front of a burned out house. The picture was one of despair and hopelessness. An old negro friend was leaning over the crying child saying, "Hush you crying child. God ain't dead yet."
God is very much alive and it behooves you and me to cease belief in and practice of superstition and trust Him.
III. The Practice Of Superstition Causes One To Live In Fear.
The word fear comes from the Old English, faer, meaning sudden danger. It refers to fright where fright is justified. It refers to danger that is concrete, real, knowable. In such cases fear is appropriate, and sometimes useful, if one is to escape harm. Such fear is the least of our problems, however.
We are more apt to be haunted by anxiety, worry, dread. Anxiety comes from the Latin, anxious, meaning a tight feeling in the chest. It is fear that stays with us even when there is no real, concrete, knowable stimulus. It is the fear of the uncertain, the possible, the "what if>" Anxiety comes not from without but from within.
A man was awakened by his wife. She heard a burglar downstairs. he slowly got up, went grumpily downstairs, and found himself staring into a gun. The burglar ordered him to hand over all the household valuables, then started to leave. The husband stopped him. "Before you go," he said, "I'd like you to come upstairs and meet my wife. She's been expecting you every night for over 30 years."
Some people live in constant fear that somewhere "out there" is something tragic that is going to happen to them or someone they love. We live in an age of fear. A business man, carrying an attache case, made a deposit at the bank before going to his office. Inadvertently, he left his case on the main floor. By the time he discovered his missing attache, the police bomb squad had smashed the innocent case and corded off the area. We live in an age of fear. The best selling prescription drug in the world is Tagamet, an anti-ulcer medicine that has posted annual sales of well over $800 million. One third of the American population has a sleep problem. Each year one billion dollars is spent on sleeping aids. Our fears are keeping the drug industry booming.
Missionaries tell us that one of the greatest reliefs which Christianity brings to the heathen mind and heart is the certainty that there is only one God. It is the heathen belief that there are hordes of gods, that every stream and river and tree and valley and hill and wood and every natural force has its own god. The heathen lives in a world crowded with gods. Still further, all these gods are jealous and greedy and hostile. They must all be pleased and a man can never be sure that he has not omitted the honor due to some of these gods. The consequence is that the heathen lives in terror of the gods. He is haunted and not helped by his religion.
So many like the heathen live each day in dread of evil spirits that haunt the air and direct their lives. Their activities are rigidly controlled by an all pervasive demonalogy. Their necks hang heavy with amulets, and charms for protection. They engage in many rites and practices designed to appease the forces that threaten them with destruction. They mutilate themselves, restrict their movements and dance in frenzy so that the spirits that shape their circumstances may treat them kindly.
The Bible tells us that "Fear hath torment" and I've known people who were so superstitious that they lived in fear and that is certainly not the Lord's will for His people. So many times He admonishes His people to live without fear.
Matthew 14:27 (KJV)
Matthew 17:7 (KJV)
Matthew 28:10 (KJV)
Mark 5:36 (KJV)
2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV)
Christians are not to live like the gentiles.
Ephesians 4:17 through Ephesians 4:19 (KJV)
IV. Those Who Believe In And Practice Superstition Are Guilty Of Idolatry.
Idolatry is worshiping or fearing some other god or power other than the true God. It is breaking the first commandment, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." Jesus said:
Matthew 6:24 (KJV)
The Holy Spirit through Paul admonishes Christians, "Wherefore my dearly beloved flee from idolatry." God is your Heavenly Father if you have been born into His family by faith in Jesus, the Savior. I know of nothing more wonderful, more thrilling, more encouraging than to know that God is my Father. He is the great Eternal God, the great omnipotent God, the great omnipresent God, the great omniscient God, the great sovereign God and the great God of love, and He is my Father.
We can sing:
18 Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.
10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, 11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. 12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
9 Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: 10 For they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish.
5 And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.
9 But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments.
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. 15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? 14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
2 I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.
17 Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:
26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.
7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
9 Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;
13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
3 But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.
23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
11 Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all.
24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. 8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
7 And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid.
10 Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.
36 As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe.
7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, 18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: 19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Some time ago, Abby told of a wife who had been married for twenty two years and she said she didn't really know her husband. After all those years he was almost a stranger. I fear that God, our Heavenly Father is almost a stranger to many who have been His children for years. Perhaps you need to get to know God better.
As you study the Bible, His Holy Word and follow Him daily and be obedient to His will for you, you will come to know Him better day by day. The Holy Spirit will teach you and enable you to live the Christian life.
John 14:13 through John 14:16 (KJV)
John 14:26 (KJV)
God, our Father, is deeply concerned about the welfare of His child. These scriptures make that very clear.
Matthew 10:29 through Matthew 10:31 (KJV)
1 Peter 5:6 through 1 Peter 5:7 (KJV)
Romans 8:31 through Romans 8:32 (KJV)
Are you superstitious? Are you living in fear? Do you wish to be delivered from such a life? You can be and I'm delighted to tell you how. The only cure for anxiety, worry, dread is a new sense of identity -- a sense of knowing who we are. The psychologist Erickson contends that the most basic need of an infant is the development of a sense of trust. That is the most basic need of every adult as well. Those of us stricken by the spirit of fear, worry, dread need a faith lift. We need to know that we can lean back on the everlasting arms. We need to know that we have a Divine Friend who will never forget us or forsake us. "Anxiety increases," wrote Fulton J. Sheen many years ago, "in direct ratio and proportion as [a person] departs from God." He's right. The cure for our fear is a sense of our sonship or daughtership.
What are you afraid of? Forget about tomorrow and yesterday. Focus on today. Enjoy it to the fullest. Focus on those things you can control, not those you can't. Do the best you can and entrust the rest to God. Focus on your faith not your fears. Think on God's goodness and his power rather than frailties of your own flesh. Do not be enslaved to your fears any longer. Let Him help you break those chains with a new spirit of trust, of hope, of joy, of love. Rejoice in your new identity -- sons and daughters of God.
A little girl, visiting a farm, watched the farmer lead the sheep down to the river. As they approached the river she cried out, "Oh, he is going to drown the sheep." Her more understanding mother assured her, "No, he is only going to lead them to good water. He owns the sheep. Do you think he would hurt his own sheep?" What comfort it should be to remember we are God's creatures. He is mindful of us.
One shares this experience with us: Recently a woman in our church sang a moving song by Phil Johnson about God's care. I had never heard it before, so I asked her for the words. They are as beautiful as the music, and the stanza says:
13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
15 If ye love me, keep my commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.
6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
But it was the words of the chorus that were especially meaningful, for they express the surety of God's care even when we disobey Him. The chorus concludes:
What a wonderful truth! As God's people, in spite of our failures, we've never been out of His care.
YOU MAY FORGET GOD, BUT HE WILL NEVER FORGET YOU.
Sidney Lanier was a brilliant young poet who lived about a hundred years ago. When Lanier was in his thirties, he developed tuberculosis. He knew he wouldn't live long, for few survived that disease in those days. He went down to the coast of Glynn County, Georgia and sitting there one day; looking across the marshes, he wrote one of his finest poems, "The Marshes of Glynn." In that poem is this immortal couplet:
As the marsh-hen secretly builds on the watery sod,
You did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but have received the spirit of sonship. We are children of the King.
God help us to flee superstition and build our lives on Him and His many wonderful promises.
Psalm 34:15 (KJV)
Psalm 27:1 (KJV)
Psalm 33:18 (KJV)
1 John 4:4 (KJV)
Romans 8:31 (KJV)
Psalm 34:10 (KJV)
Psalm 34:15 (KJV)
1 Peter 3:12 through 1 Peter 3:13 (KJV)
Hebrews 13:5 (KJV)
Some time ago a giant jet liner burst into flame within minutes after take off. Twenty eight feet of the wing burned away and one engine dropped to the ground. By every rule of aerodynamics the plane should have crashed, but the skillful pilot brought it back to the ground without further mishap and saved 153 people. One reporter wrote, "The people survived because of the heroism, skill and, heaven knows, the luck of the pilot." Strange really, that the outcome of such an even as this was attributed to luck.
There is no such thing as luck, be it good or bad, in the life of a child of God. From the Christian's perspective, there is no such thing as chance (luck). God is either directly or indirectly invalued in everything that happens to us. He can therefore be trusted and obeyed in any circumstance, because even the smallest details are under His control.
Behold, I will build me a nest on the greatness of God.
15 The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.
1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;
4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
10 The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.
15 The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. 13 And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?
5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
One has said, "God is behind the scenes and controls the scenes He is behind."
Dear friends, I've written this message and I send it forth with a prayer that the Holy Spirit will convince you of the sin of superstition (that is if you are) and that He'll help you to turn from such sinful practices and put your faith in God and walk with Him. I'd like to close with this little bit of humor.
Burglar: "The police are coming. Quick, jump out of the window!"
Accomplice: "But, we're on the thirteenth floor!"
Burglar: "Do as I say. This is no time to be superstitious."
There is never a time for a child of God to be superstitious.