Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority. [Colossians 2:8-10 (NLT)]
Without a globe, I allowed a random number to decide the nation for which I’d pray this week. Number 19 was Benin and I’m embarrassed to admit knowing nothing about this narrow strip of land in West Africa between Nigeria and Togo. These three nations once were part of the kingdom of Dahomey and it was in Dahomey that the ancient practice of voudon/vodun/vodou (commonly called voodoo) began. Now a republic, Benin is a severely underdeveloped nation, rife with corruption, where the life expectancy for men is just 60! A little over 40% of the population are Christian, nearly 30% Muslim, about 17% practice voodoo, and another 10% follow other indigenous/animistic religions. As a side note, ARDA (The Association for Religion Data Archives) stated that many of those identifying as Christian also practice voodoo.
Since my limited knowledge of voodoo comes from bad movies with zombies, hexes, and pins stuck into dolls, I did some research. The voodoo of movies and fiction bears little resemblance to real voudon beliefs or practices. Rich with proverbs, songs, and folklore, voudon includes belief in a universal energy, many spirits, a soul that can leave the body during dreams, spirit possession, and folk medicine. Nevertheless, even without the gruesome zombies, voodoo (no matter how you spell it) is incompatible with Christianity.
Voudon came to the New World with enslaved West Africans and is the only traditional African religion to survive here. While it’s the primary religion of a little over 2% of the Haitian population, ARDA noted that a much larger number of people identifying themselves as Christian continue to practice it. ARDA also found that a number of Christians in the Dominican Republic secretly practice witchcraft (brujería) or voodoo.
Converting isn’t easy and it’s not just voudon practitioners who have difficulty completely abandoning their culture’s traditions for Christianity. I had a Japanese friend who struggled to find a way to honor her ancestors without praying to them as she’d done for decades before converting.
Back in Paul’s day, the Colossians had difficulty preventing their new faith in Christ from becoming a mixed religion combining Christianity with elements of their Jewish roots and the popular philosophical movement of Gnosticism. What they ended up with were human traditions, circumcision, a requirement to observe both the Sabbath and the annual and monthly Jewish holy days along with dietary laws, the worship of angels, and even self-abasement—none of which were compatible with Christianity.
Rather than voodoo or Gnosticism, it’s belief in things like Kabbalah, tarot reading, astrology, manifesting, reincarnation, the spiritual energy of objects, psychic mediums, channeling, and crystals that have found their way into American Christians. Often called “new age,” there’s nothing new about them. While they may seem “spiritual” or self-affirming, they cut us off from God’s divine sovereignty, power, and purpose. Nevertheless, in 2018, Pew Research found that 61% of Americans identifying as Christian also believed in at least one of these things: reincarnation, astrology, psychics, or that spiritual energy can be in physical things.
Christianity doesn’t come with an ala carte menu. We don’t get to pick and choose individual dishes according to our preferences, make substitutions, or add a few extra sides because they’re intriguing, trendy, or promise earthly rewards. Christianity comes with a table d’hôte or prix fixe menu. Additions or substitutions aren’t allowed because the menu was set by God and Christ is all-sufficient.
Salvation is offered to everyone but, in Matthew 7, Jesus warned us that God’s gate isn’t wide enough for the addition of other beliefs! He continued with his caution when He said that some who expected to enter the Kingdom wouldn’t be allowed entrance; a similar warning is found in Luke 13. Those who identify as Christian but also follow voodoo or other non-Scriptural beliefs probably expect to enter through that narrow gate. I suspect they are mistaken and will find it shut tight.
As I prayed for Benin, I also prayed for all people who’ve combined false doctrine or pagan practices with their belief in Jesus. May they know and understand that the broad road leading to the wide gate is the road to destruction!
Yosemite Sam, the cartoon arch enemy of Bugs Bunny, used to exclaim “Jumpin’ Jehosophat!” I was an adult before learning that Jehosophat was the fourth king of the southern kingdom of Judah. It’s ironic that the king said to be jumping in Sam’s pseudo-swear is best known for standing still in 2 Chronicles!
When Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, over ninety years had passed since the first of the exiled Jews had returned to Judah. Although the temple had been rebuilt for seventy years, Jerusalem’s city walls and gates were still in ruins. Nevertheless, within fifty-two days of his arrival, the walls were reconstructed and new gates installed. That Nehemiah managed to accomplish in less than two months what hadn’t been done in ninety years is a case study in Management 101.
The books of Ezra and Nehemiah tell of the reconstruction of Jerusalem. Nearly fifty years after Jerusalem was destroyed, the first of the exiled Jews returned to the ruined city. Although his brother Hanani returned to Judah, Nehemiah, who served Persia’s King Artaxerxes as cup-bearer, didn’t. While his job included ensuring the safety of the king’s food and drink, Nehemiah was more bodyguard than waiter. In constant contact with the king, he served as both confidant and companion to Artaxerxes. He carried the king’s signet ring and possibly served as his chief financial officer.
Most trees begin life as a seed in the soil of the forest floor and most trees also observe proper forest etiquette by not killing one another. The strangler fig (Ficus aurea), however, is not your typical tree. Rather than starting in the soil where the fig’s seeds would struggle to germinate in the darkness of the dense forest’s floor, strangler figs usually begin life high up in the forest’s canopy. Blown there by the wind or deposited by animals in their droppings, the sticky fig seed usually begins its life in the bark crevices of a mature tree.
The Apostle Peter tells us that true prophecy isn’t a product of the prophet—prophets only speak God’s revelation. Directed by the Spirit, their words communicate the message the Lord wants sent. Sometimes, however, prophecy is difficult to understand and interpretations of Revelation go from one extreme to the other. Some, like that priest in Monday’s devotion, dismiss it as completely symbolic. To them, Revelation is an allegory about the conflict between good and evil with good winning in the end. On the other extreme, we find obscure theories, convoluted correlations, and implausible explanations of every symbol and metaphor along with sensationalism and unchecked speculation connecting Revelation to current events.
Devotions of the Heart 