Never Believe a Snake in the Grass
Bible Reading: Colossians 1:19-22
Now he has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through his death on the cross in his own human body. As a result, he has brought you into the very presence of God. Colossians 1:22
As Michael stood patiently in the grocery-store checkout with his dad, he couldn’t believe what was blaring from the mouth of the woman behind him. With total seriousness she chatted on and on with the next person in line about the amazing healing powers of quartz crystals, pretty little rocks that she hung around her neck, stones that glitter in the sun like diamonds. “I haven’t had a sniffle or a headache in over a year,” she declared.
The supermarket checkout line isn’t the only place you bump into these way-out ideas. You can find that way of thinking in books, newspapers, slick TV shows, and sometimes even at school.
Here are more ways people get involved with unusual miraculous powers:
• A quiet, smart-looking man says he can communicate with animals-whales, dolphins, birds—with musical notes and patterns.
• A TV talk show claims to help people talk to their dead family members.
• An executive uses ancient Chinese principles to make business decisions.
• Kids at a party use horoscopes and a Ouija board to answer questions about their classmates.
• A woman “remembers” being an English princess in the eleventh century.
These are all signs of the mixture of ideas and beliefs called the New Age movement. It isn’t an organized religion or group. It’s a way of thinking that takes many forms. But people who practice New Age teaching all share a common idea: They say that God is part of everything, so we are all God. It’s not hard to spot the problem with that thinking: If everyone were a god, we wouldn’t need the God of the Bible.
This mind-set is not new or true. It goes back to the Garden of Eden, where Satan appeared as a serpent and promised Adam and Eve that they would be like God if they ate the forbidden fruit. Satan lied.
The Bible has a one-of-a-kind message. You and I aren’t gods. We can’t become gods. The one true God became a human in the person of Jesus Christ and died for our sins so we could be friends with him. Isn’t that incredible news? You don’t have the power to become a god, but you can hang tight to the risen Christ!
TALK: Have you ever heard people talking about these or other New Age practices? How can you respond?
PRAY: God, you alone are God. And we put our trust in you to save us and help us through life.
ACT: Do you have friends who believe the false messages of the New Age movement? What wisdom can you share with them?