Category: New Age

My Testimony: From Searching to Surrender

Published on by Editor

From New Age beliefs to finding truth, healing and new life in Jesus Christ.

I grew up in a dysfunctional, secular household, like many homes today, in a large town in England. From a young age, I always felt there was more to life than what I could see. I believed the spiritual realm was real because I experienced things in our home that I understood to be demonic activity. I never liked horror films because, to me, this stuff was real, not entertainment. Yet, despite those experiences, I was drawn to exploring spirituality and searching for answers.

My mother kept New Age books and materials at home, and I believe young, impressionable minds can absorb far more than we sometimes realise. Over time, I became deeply involved in the New Age movement. I read self-help books, explored astrology and tarot cards, visited mediums, and became interested in reincarnation, past-life regression, yoga, meditation, higher states of consciousness and different spiritual traditions. I believed there were many paths to God and that each person could choose whichever path felt right for them.

Looking back, my life was chaotic. I spent much of my time partying, clubbing, drinking, and being caught up with how others perceived me. I made reckless choices, mixed with the wrong crowds and often wore a mask to hide the hurt and insecurity beneath the surface. I struggled with low self-esteem and was constantly looking for something to make me feel fulfilled. I was, in many ways, running away from myself and from life.

I eventually became a life coach practitioner, working in a field closely connected to many of the beliefs I had embraced. But underneath it all, I was deeply unhappy. I felt depressed, overwhelmed and trapped. I reached a point where I questioned the purpose of living. I even had suicidal thoughts. I remember thinking that if this was all life had to offer, I didn’t want it.

Around that time, I went to stay with my grandmother, who was a Christian. She never imposed her faith on me. We simply spent time together, talking and watching her favourite TV shows. She wasn’t perfect, but she was kind, thoughtful and always thinking of others. Looking back, I can see how she reflected something of Jesus through the way she lived. She knew I was going through some sort of battle. She prayed for me and gave me prayers to read, which brought me some comfort at a time when I felt I was clutching at straws, hoping something would help. She was so patient with me.

Things began to escalate, and it felt as though life was closing in on me. Problems seemed to be mounting in every area of my life, until I reached the end of myself and cried out to God. I knew I had been going in the wrong direction and that I needed Him, even though I didn’t yet fully understand why. I told Him I was sorry for the things I had done. Although I didn’t yet fully understand what repentance meant in the Christian sense, I knew I had lived selfishly and needed His forgiveness. I told God that I no longer wanted to fight Him. I wanted my life to belong to Him, and I asked Him to take it and use it for something good.

That night, something happened that I can only describe as a profound encounter with God. I experienced an overwhelming peace that I cannot explain apart from Him. But there was something more. In that moment, I had a revelation of who Jesus really was. He was no longer simply the baby Jesus I associated with the traditional Catholic image, or Isa, the prophet in Islam, or just another one of my spiritual teachers. I suddenly understood that He was the living Son of God. It was a revelation that changed everything.

Psalm 34:18 reminds us that the Lord is near to those who have a broken heart and saves those who have a contrite spirit. I had cried out to God, and He had heard me.

The following morning, I woke up feeling different. The heaviness was gone, and my mind was clear, as though something had changed within me. I felt refreshed, like a new person.

Having received that revelation, I wanted to understand Jesus more deeply and discover what it meant to follow Him. I began reading the Bible and genuinely wanted to know the truth. Jeremiah 29:13 says, “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” I was beginning to discover more about the One I had encountered that night.

While working abroad, I met an American charity worker who was also a Christian pastor. I told him about my past and what had happened to me. Through Scripture, he helped me understand that there are spiritual laws and boundaries, and that Satan, the enemy, does not have free rein in our lives. As we see in the book of Job, he had to seek God’s permission. When we involve ourselves in things that belong to the enemy’s domain, we can give him a foothold by allowing legal access into our lives, often without even realising it, by the things we do, watch or listen to. I began to understand how my involvement in New Age practices had opened doors to spiritual influences I had not recognised or understood.

Colossians 2:8 and Deuteronomy 18 confronted me deeply. I realised that I couldn’t simply add Jesus to everything else I believed. I had to turn away from the things I had embraced, repent and renounce the New Age beliefs and practices that had deceived me. I also recognised that my work as a life coach practitioner was contrary to God’s Word, and I walked away from it. I could see that the direction of my life had been contrary to His plan and purpose for me.

I am grateful that this pastor spoke truth to me in love. His honesty helped me see things I had not recognised for myself, and I believe the Lord used that encounter at a very significant point in my life.

I also came to understand that Jesus had not come to condemn me, but to save me. John 3:17 tells us, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” His goodness and mercy led me to repentance. I came to understand that salvation is found in Jesus Christ alone. He died for our sins and rose again, so that through faith in Him we can be forgiven, reconciled to God and receive eternal life. It was not through my own efforts or anything I could do to make myself right with God, but through His grace and what Jesus had done for me. I could see that He was calling me to a completely new life in Him.

I finished my overseas assignment knowing it would be my last. I had travelled and worked abroad partly because I was trying to run away from my life, but now I knew it was time to return home to England and begin a new chapter. I joined a church and was baptised.

However, that was not the end of my journey. It was the beginning of a new life.

I began to understand what it meant to be born again. God had given me new life through His Holy Spirit, renewing my heart and transforming me from the inside out. I also came to understand that being a Christian is about having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, knowing Him, learning to trust Him and walking with Him each day. It is not simply about following a religion, but about belonging to Him and allowing Him to shape our lives.

For much of my life, I had struggled with low self-worth, often feeling insignificant and questioning my purpose. Through reading God’s Word, I began to see myself differently. Psalm 139 speaks of how wonderfully we are made and how intimately God knows us, while Genesis 1:27 reminds us that we are created in His image. I came to understand that my worth was not based on my appearance, achievements, possessions or other people’s opinions, but on the fact that I was created in God’s image and known by Him. As 1 Samuel 16:7 reminds us, people look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. This changed the way I began to see myself and others. I wanted my heart to be pleasing to Him and to grow in my relationship with Him.

The Lord began healing wounded places in my life and restoring my sense of worth and identity. The emptiness I had tried to fill through partying, relationships, possessions, travel and spiritual experiences was being replaced by a fulfilment I found in Jesus. My desires and priorities began to change as He worked in me.

I continued to grow in my relationship with Jesus through prayer, reading His Word and learning to trust and follow Him. I discovered that His Word is alive and powerful. As Hebrews 4:12 reminds us, it is sharper than any two-edged sword. It reaches deep within us, exposing what needs to change, correcting and teaching us, and bringing healing and restoration. I often think of it as the Lord tending the garden of our hearts, removing the weeds and helping what is good to grow.

I also came to understand the precious gift of the Holy Spirit. God gives His Spirit to those who belong to Christ, to guide and strengthen us and help us live the life He calls us to.

I don’t get everything right. I still make mistakes, need to repent and have much to learn. I am a work in progress, and I know the Lord is continuing to shape me. As Galatians 2:20 reminds us, we are called to live by faith in the Son of God. I want to keep walking with Him, not in my own strength, but by His grace.

Over the years, I have also spent time in training and preparation for different areas of ministry. There were things I thought the Lord might be leading me towards, but some doors closed and others opened in unexpected ways. I have come to realise that following God isn’t about titles, platforms or recognition. It is about trusting Him, following where He leads and being faithful in the opportunities He places before us. Proverbs 16:9 says, “A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.” His Word says obedience is better than sacrifice.

There are many things close to my heart that the Lord has given me a burden for, and I want to remain open to His leading in how He wants me to serve Him. Above all, I want the way I live and the things I do to reflect His love and point others towards Him.

Looking back, I can see God’s mercy throughout my life. I thought I was searching for Him, but He was drawing me to Himself all along. What I once thought was the end of my life became the beginning of a new one. I was lost, and He found me. I was broken, and He met me there.

All glory belongs to Him, for His goodness, His patience, His mercy and the transforming power of His love.

~ Lori 💕

Read the related article: The Truth About New Age Spirituality: 40 Beliefs That Conflict With Scripture.

——————

*How to be saved: The Path To Salvation, please click: HERE / Photo by Amparo Aledo Vidal

Why Can’t Yoga Just Be an Exercise?

Published on by Editor
“There is a way that appears to be right,
but in the end it leads to death.” Proverbs 14:12

Someone asks: “While it’s true that most yoga positions are designed to be positions of worship to Hindu gods, I find it hard to believe that there’s any danger in practicing them when it’s just being done as an exercise.” Let’s look at this from a purely logical point of view. First of all, anyone who truly understands yoga (such as a Hindu) will tell you that yoga positions were never designed to be exercises. They were designed to do one of two things – worship one of more than three million Hindu gods and/or facilitate the flow of prana (life force energy) through the body. As Fr. Pacwa states in his book, “ . . . (H)indus did not devise these exercises for athletic limbering or muscle building. All were meant to lead the practitioner to enlightenment and awareness of his or her inner divinity.”

Legendary guru B.K.S. Iyengar confirms this in his book, Light on Yoga, where he says that some yoga positions “are also called after gods of the Hindu pantheon and some recall the Avataras, or incarnation of Divine Power.” Having said all that, we come to a purely logical conclusion – it’s not possible to “just do them as an exercise” when the so-called “exercises” aren’t just exercises. That would be like saying the sign of the cross can be used as a triceps exercise. Sure, you can use it that way, but it’s not – and never will be – a triceps exercise. Like yoga positions, it can never be a mere “physical action” or “neutral” because it has a profound spiritual meaning.

Others attempt to lend Christian names to these poses while practicing them; however, none of these actions negates the intrinsic Hindu meanings in these poses, at least not according to Norberto Carerra. In his pastoral instruction on the New Age, Carerra writes: “However much proponents insist that these techniques are valuable as methods, and imply no teaching contrary to Christianity, the techniques in themselves . . . in their own context, the postures and exercises, are designed for their specific religious purpose. Even when they are carried out within a Christian atmosphere, the intrinsic meaning of these gestures remains intact.”

So even if you think you’re stretching your back, if you’re using the Sun Stretch to do so, whether you intend to or not, you’re still posing in a position of worship to the Sun god because that’s what this pose was designed to do. It was never designed as a back stretch. It works the same way with someone who uses the sign of the cross to work out their triceps. They may indeed be working out these muscles, but regardless of their intentions, they’re still working out these muscles by making a sign of profession of faith in the Triune God.

My advice is that if the idea of posing yourself in a position of worship to a Hindu god is even remotely bothersome to you, stop doing it. There are plenty of other exercises/stretches you can do that work just as well as yoga.

By Susan Brinkmann

Reprinted with the permission of  Women of Grace® www.womenofgrace.com 

**How to be saved: The Path To Salvation, please click: HERE

Popular Articles

A Clear Gospel Message

The True Gift

True or False Conversion

Once Saved Always Saved?

The Judge – Upholding what is right comes at a cost

What is a True Christian or Believer

Prayer Speaking to God

Forgiving Others as God has Forgiving you

Prayer for forgiving others

Living Right Today

What You Need to Know About New Age Beliefs

Published on by Editor
“Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.” Ephesians 5:11 ESV

New Age spirituality says: God is either in all things or he is all things.

Christianity says: “For by him all things were created … all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Col. 1:16-17). We worship the Creator, not what he’s created (Rom. 1:25).

Be wary of: Panentheism, which says “God is in the tree,” or pantheism, which says “God is the tree,” as opposed to theism (Christianity), which says “God created the tree and holds it together by his power.”

New Age spirituality says: We’re on a continual journey to “know all” by achieving cosmic consciousness (also referred to as Nirvana, “going clear,” Christ-consciousness, individual divinity, or fulfilling the dharma).

Christianity says: Satan tempted Eve with knowledge he claimed would make her like God (Gen. 3:4-5), but we can never know as much as God (Isa. 55:8-9, Job 38). While the God of Christianity doesn’t require us to numb our mind, he compels us to love him with all our heart and all our mind (Matt. 22:37).

Be wary of: Ideas or belief systems that promise you can become like God through acquiring knowledge. Ultimate spiritual truth can only be found through God’s Word, the Bible, and in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, who is the only “way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6).

New Age spirituality says: People work through their bad karma, or the overall effects of wrong actions, by being reincarnated, or physically reborn into a different body, until they achieve their divine destiny of becoming a god, or becoming one with the universe.

Christianity says: There’s no second chance after this life: “Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Heb. 9:27). There’s only one “divine destiny”—salvation—achieved only through Jesus Christ: “For there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12), and “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Eph. 2:8).

Be wary of: Any teaching that includes reincarnation or encourages works to reach a higher level of spirituality or to earn salvation.

New Age spirituality says: You can shape reality by the power of your thoughts, or by speaking something into existence.

Christianity says: “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. … Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that'” (James 4:13-15). “Whatever is true … think about such things” (Phil. 4:8).

Be wary of: Teachings that tell you you can project your thoughts or words into existence, rather than recognizing God is the source of all power to shape reality.

New Age spirituality says: One can separate consciousness from the body, or have an out-of-body experience in order to be connected with the “Universal Soul.”

Christianity says: God didn’t create our consciousness to be separate from our body. Rather, he created us to be conscious within our body (Gen. 2:7). Only through God’s Holy Spirit dwelling in us can we be connected to the Creator (John 14:26).

Be wary of: Any teaching that includes leaving your body or allowing a “spirit guide” to enter it.

New Age spirituality says: The essential doctrines of the truth of life are within man.

Christianity says: “He who trusts in himself is a fool” (Prov. 28:26). The cause of the fall of man was our desire to become our own master, to determine for ourselves what’s good and bad instead of relying on God’s teachings found in the Bible, the only true source. Yoga and New Age teach the same lie Satan tempted Eve with in the Garden of Eden: “You will be as God” (Gen. 3:5), which was designed to keep her (and us) away from the one true God (John 17:3).

Be wary of: Basing your beliefs on what you sense is true, what you “hear” God saying in your mind, or any emotional experience without making sure your thought is in agreement with the Bible.

By Jan Brown

Copyright © 2001 by the author or Christianity Today/Today’s Christian Woman magazine.
Click here for reprint information on Today’s Christian Woman.

**You can read my personal testimony of being saved out of the New Age religion HERE

**How to be saved: The Path To Salvation: HERE

Why I Don’t Celebrate Halloween

Published on by Editor

Key Quotes

“Christians must have no contact even remotely with witchcraft in any form, because it will open them up to the god of this world (the devil) – and he is far shrewder than all men.”

“Western culture today seeks to make witches and witchcraft seem normal. Whether with the concept of good witches, or the wildly-popular Harry Potter novels/movies, Western culture is increasingly accepting of witchcraft. And the fun and carefree festival of Halloween acts as a perfect springboard to aid in this acceptance. I am convinced that Halloween is the “fun gateway” that Satan has opened for people to eventually dabble in the spiritually-evil practices of witchcraft.”

“Christians who walk in the Light of God’s Word alone are uniquely equipped to overcome these forces”

One of my children recently came home reciting this rhyme learned while at school. “Witches, ghosts, and goblins, walking down the street Knock on every doorway, ‘Trick or treat!’”

I was shocked by how my child, in all innocence, could sing so casually and trivially about such scary things. I also noticed that this song grouped ghost and goblins which are not real, with witches. I realized that this song sought to group witches into that same silly, not-real category.

Some people think of witches as women with pointed-hats and a broom, or witch-doctors in a jungle. But there is a very active and fast-growing religion called Wicca, where its witches (and wizards) seek to cast spells. Wicca is not some ancient Gaelic religion from the middle ages. It is an active religion practiced across the world today, and very present in the areas where many of us live. Some statistics indicate that Wicca is one of the fastest-growing religions in the U.S.A.

And here is what Wikipedia says about Wicca and Halloween:

Wiccans celebrate a variation of Samhain (October 31) as one of the yearly Sabbats of the Wheel of the Year. It is deemed by most Wiccans to be the most important of the four “greater Sabbats”. Samhain is seen by some Wiccans as a time to celebrate the lives of those who have died, and it often involves paying respect to ancestors, family members, elders of the faith, friends, pets and other loved ones who have died. In some rituals the spirits of the dead are invited to attend the festivities. It is seen as a festival of darkness, which is balanced at the opposite point of the wheel by the spring festival of Beltane, which Wiccans celebrate as a festival of light and fertility. Wiccans believe that at Samhain the veil between this world and the afterlife is at its thinnest point of the whole year, making it easier to communicate with those who have left this world.

As Christians, we must be careful that practices from the religious festivals of Wicca do not influence us in any way. We do not find Hindus mixing the practices of Muslims in their festivals that honor Vishnu. Neither do we find Muslims adopting the practices of Hindus in their celebration of Ramadan. Different religions believe very different things, and have different practices.

The Bible is very clear that witchcraft is real and powerful and also evil (Read Revelation 21:8; 1 Samuel 15:23; Deuteronomy 18:10-13; Isaiah 8:19; and 1 Chronicles 10:13-14).

As Christians, we know that there are powers of darkness in the spirit world. So what must we do when the world trivializes what the Bible describes as evil? It should trouble us deeply. And even more so when we see the god of this world system (the devil) seeking to influence our highly-impressionable children, and to write his values into their minds. When I later told all my children that Jesus instructed us to have nothing to do with witches, a response I got was stunning: “But there are good witches, Dad!” That was also something that had been picked up from school!! This un-Biblical point of view had slipped in. So I realized that I had to stand guard against the dangerously-deceptive logic of this world system.

There is no such thing as a “good witch” for Christians. The Bible tells us that God alone is good and that witchcraft is evil. Good and evil are polar opposites. So a “good witch” is just the devil coming as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). Christians must have no contact even remotely with witchcraft in any form, because it will open them up to the god of this world (the devil) – and he is far shrewder than all men. Only the Holy Spirit can help a Christian against the tactics of Satan. All our good intentions will not help us, if we disobey the Scriptures. So no matter how good we may think we are (and no matter how sincere we may be), we can still be destroyed if we don’t hate all evil and stay far away from it (See Proverbs 14:12).

The Western world’s view of Halloween is greatly influenced by the religious values of Wicca. Halloween is a celebration of darkness in the world today. A walk down my neighborhood or a visit to the local grocery store around Halloween time readily confirms this. The world is preaching a Halloween that aligns itself with Wicca.

Western culture today seeks to make witches and witchcraft seem normal. Whether with the concept of good witches, or the wildly-popular Harry Potter novels/movies, Western culture is increasingly accepting of witchcraft. And the fun and carefree festival of Halloween acts as a perfect springboard to aid in this acceptance. I am convinced that Halloween is the “fun gateway” that Satan has opened for people to eventually dabble in the spiritually-evil practices of witchcraft.

So what must we Christians do with a holiday that another religion celebrates as the “festival of darkness”?

As Bible-believing Christians, we give freedom to other religions to do as they see fit. But we must not associate with evil, in any way. We must live with great discernment in our time – because deception is increasing everywhere (See 2 Timothy 3:13). We must nip the normalization of witchcraft early on and stand strong against every attempt of the devil to slip this religion of Wicca into our homes.

When another religion celebrates darkness and focuses on communicating with dead spirits, what does the Lord expect us to do? Can we just go along with the external fun of this holiday, when we know that at its core, this is a festival that explicitly glorifies the powers of darkness and the enemy of our souls?

The devil has masterfully sought to rebrand Halloween as harmless, so that he can encourage people into the blatant pursuit of evil. He did the same thing when he got Adam and Eve to sin (Genesis 3:1-6). October 31st is a day where darkness is openly and blatantly pursued. But many “Christians”drown themselves on that day in an ocean of candy and dress-up costumes. This is textbook-deception: Satan is saying, “I’ll numb you with candy and gifts on Halloween, so that you are distracted from fighting the spiritual havoc I am causing through the glorification and open practice of witchcraft! And eventually, I will rob you even of eternal life.” (Eternal life being the increasing knowledge of God and of Jesus – John 17:3).

I am convinced that only one group of people can fight these supernatural powers of darkness: Christians who walk in the Light of God’s Word alone are uniquely equipped to overcome these forces (1 John 1:3,7)!

So let the world call us narrow-minded or radical. We will remain alert and watchful against all deception. And we will teach our children also to be alert to these Satanic deceptions (even if their friends at school laugh at them or consider them weird). Satan seeks to work on children, slowly and craftily over the years, to the point where they will become increasingly comfortable with open darkness and evil. Our children need to learn from an early age how to combat Satan’s deceptions; and our children are watching us, their parents, to see how we do it!

What shall we say then to Christians who want to celebrate Halloween? At a minimum, I would suggest that you clearly determine why and how you celebrate it. Ask yourself whether you would do things differently if you knew that your neighbors and the folks on your street were Wiccans celebrating the spirits of darkness on Halloween. Judge yourself and ensure that you walk in the light that God gives you. That is all that you are asked to do. You will be judged based on the motives and intents of your heart, and whether you lived by your conscience.

America as a culture seems to live mostly unaware of the spirit world. I have seen that cultures that are more open to idolatry, are much more aware of the spirit world. I grew up in India, and I saw witchcraft and evil spirits several times. I even watched as a neighbor hired a witch to sit in their backyard and cast spells on us (the spells didn’t work and had an opposite effect; they served to show me the powerful protection available in Jesus Christ, who defeated Satan on the cross – Colossians 2:14-15)!

I will not be surprised if rationally-obsessed people laugh off my thoughts about the spirit world. But that world is real and more powerful than most people imagine. And I don’t base this statement on my own experience. The Bible is crystal clear about it. Our Lord Jesus drove out evil spirits from people more than anyone else did.

If I succeed in getting you to honor Jesus Christ on October 31st in a bigger way than before, then I would have achieved my primary purpose in writing this.

May God open your eyes more and more to these realities in the spirit world.

**By Sandeep Poonen © Copyright – Sandeep Poonen. No changes whatsoever are to be made to the content of the article without written permission from the author. https://www.cfcindia.com/ 

————————————————-

A Clear Gospel Message