False Prophets

In January of 2013 I did some rummaging around on the internet and came up with a series of “psychic predictions” for the new year. These are people who make their living from predicting the future—in the old days they’d be called seers or prophets. I’ve always wondered how these people maintained their aura of authenticity when their prophecies never panned out so, out of curiosity, I saved their predictions. In the past, when I went to look for previous years’ prophesies, they had somehow been deleted (I wonder why). So this time, I made sure I’d have access to them a year later. But then I forgot all about it.

Prophets, seers, whatever you want to call them, have only three possible sources for their predictions: God, their overactive imaginations, or demons. If God is the one speaking, we’d do well to pay attention. However, if the prophets are making things up or, worse, if they’re in contact with spirits or other evil powers, we listen at our own peril:

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Which Way Now, God?

Decorated trees are sprouting in living rooms around the country, carols are playing in the mall, and shoppers eagerly await packages from Amazon. It’s that time of year again—time for my birthday. As usual, we’re so busy with seasonal activities—Christmas parties, the Audubon Christmas Bird Count, more parties—that I barely have time to celebrate. That’s all right. In December, I prefer to focus on Someone else’s birthday.

As I’ve mentioned in the past, I tend to ignore New Year’s Eve and the start of the calendar year. It seems so arbitrary. Instead, I use my birthday as a time to mull over the year past and the year to come. What did God tell me to do last year? Did I do it? And what about the year to come? Is He directing me in any particular direction?

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