The psychics will never see this coming

If you’re in the market for a new career, how about one that will bring home almost $300,000 a year and require you to work only three hours a day (with weekends and 2 weeks off for vacation)?

The job? Pet psychic.

Nikki Vasconez, a former lawyer, started working as a pet psychic four years ago and even though she charges over $500 for a 90-minute consultation, she has a waitlist of nearly 8,000 clients.

Starting out, she made a video about a dog named Albie who she claims told her he didn’t like his nickname. She says he didn’t specify what it was, only that it made people think he was large and overweight.

“Those were his exact words”, she said. The dog’s nickname was “Big Al”.

According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, “Pet psychics are making their way from the fringe to socially acceptable. Those who tell others about their experiences with animal communicators say they are more likely to be asked for referrals than be mocked…People book sessions with animal communicators to unravel behavioral issues, to learn about preferences for end-of-life care, and when the time comes, to make sure their pets are enjoying the afterlife.”

Oh boy.

If pets aren’t your thing, how about becoming just a regular psychic? According to an article in the New York Post, people have become frustrated with seeing therapists and are now turning to psychics for advice.

One example is Aria D’Amore, 35, an artist and model living in Jersey City, who became dissatisfied with therapy after nearly 30 years, so she decided to seek help from an “intuitive healer” practicing tarot and astrology. D’Amore now consults with her healer/astrologer in hour-and-a-half sessions that cost her $125.

With animals costing over 4X as much as people, I’m guessing pets must be harder to read than humans.

Discernment needed ahead

According to a Pew Research Center survey, 15.0% of Americans consult a psychic or fortune-teller, with women more likely to visit psychics or fortune-tellers than men. If that statistic is true, given the current American population of over 300 million, that means tens of millions of Americans have gone to psychics.

And you thought the occult was just a niche thing.

With psychics (or anything paranormal for that matter), you basically have three possibilities staring you in the face with respect to what and who they really are.

First, they’re fake and they know they’re fake. Scammers are everywhere and despondent, misguided people looking for help and answers make for perfect prey. Personally, I think a pet psychic is a brilliant scam as there’s almost no way to falsify the “reading”. The only thing better would be dealing with inanimate objects (e.g., a house psychic: “Your home is telling me it wants a new roof.”)

Second, they’re fake but they believe they’re real. The pet psychics cited in the WSJ article, for example, truly seem to believe that their “readings” are legit.

Lastly, they’re real and they believe they’re real. This category is rare but does exist. More on this in a moment.

So why are way too many people seeking out occult practitioners these days? A New York Times article cites James Alcock, a professor of psychology at York University in Canada, who has spent his career looking at belief systems and debunking scientific studies of the paranormal. “If you look throughout history,” Alcock says, “whenever there has been some sort of upheaval or some sort of collective anxiety in society, interest in psychics has shot up. People experience a lack of control and anxiety.”

Thomas Rabeyron, a professor of clinical psychology and psychopathology at the University of Lorraine in France, agrees saying, “Psychics are barometers of social anxiety”.

Sadly, this is nothing new. A perfect Old Testament example of anxiety seeing out the occult is Saul visiting the witch at En-Dor when he was facing the onslaught of the Philistine army: “Seek for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her” (1 Sam 28:7).

Unfortunately for those who encounter the real thing, they think they’re dealing with something that’s helpful when it’s an entity more malevolent than they can imagine.

Stating the obvious, the need for discernment is off the charts in such cases because the power behind the psychic will do its best to appear as a bearer of good much like the possessed woman cited in Acts who tried to act as a herald for the Gospel message: “It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave-girl having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling. Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, ‘These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation’” (Acts 16:16-17).

The woman in question was a living, breathing example of what Paul would write later: “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore, it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness” (2 Cor. 11:14–15).

With the uptick in psychic visitations (now over a $2 billion industry), it isn’t out of the question to think it is one of the many signs of the clock ticking down to the final end times as Scripture says: “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons” (1 Tim. 4:1).

On that point, Dr. Merril Unger, in his book The Haunting of Bishop Pike (that chronicles a horrific example of the peril psychics pose), speaks about the train-wrecking nature of “deceitful spirits” when he warns: “The essential thing to understand concerning all the phenomena of spiritualism, whether telekinesis, psychic visions, automatic writing, trance speaking, materializations, apparitions, excursions of the psyche, or whatever is that fact is used as a springboard to fraud … Satan’s masquerading as an angel of light is far more destructive than his forays as a devouring lion” (emphasis in the original).

Amen. Let’s hope those pursuing psychics for their pets or themselves come to this realization. If they don’t, trust me, they and their psychics will never see their end coming.

 

 

Robin Schumacher is an accomplished software executive and Christian apologist who has written many articles, authored and contributed to several Christian books, appeared on nationally syndicated radio programs, and presented at apologetic events. He holds a BS in Business, Master’s in Christian apologetics and a Ph.D. in New Testament. His latest book is, A Confident Faith: Winning people to Christ with the apologetics of the Apostle Paul.

 

 

Source: The psychics will never see this coming | Voice

Our Daily Bread — Priceless Results

Bible in a Year:

A cheerful heart is good medicine.

Proverbs 17:22

Today’s Scripture & Insight:

Proverbs 17:12–22

On every school day for three years, Colleen has been dressing up in a different costume or mask to greet her children as they exit the school bus each afternoon. It brightens the day of everyone on the bus—including the bus driver: “[She] bring[s] so much joy to the kids on my bus, it’s amazing. I love that.” Colleen’s children agree.

It all started when Colleen began fostering children. Knowing how difficult it was to be separated from parents and to attend a new school, she began greeting the kids in a costume. After three days of doing so, the kids didn’t want her to stop. So Colleen continued. It was an investment of time and money at thrift shops, but, as reporter Meredith TerHaar describes, it brought a “priceless result: happiness.”

One little verse amid a book of wise and witty advice, largely by King Solomon to his son, sums up the results of this mom’s antics: “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones” (Proverbs 17:22). By bringing cheer to all her kids (biological, adopted, and foster), she hoped to prevent crushed spirits.

The source of true and lasting joy is God through the Holy Spirit (Luke 10:21Galatians 5:22). The Spirit enables us to shine God’s light as we strive to bring joy to others, a joy that offers hope and strength to face trials.

By:  Alyson Kieda

Reflect & Pray

When has someone done something to bring you joy? What was the result?

Dear Father, thank You for giving me joy. Help me to spread it to others.

http://www.odb.org

Grace to You; John MacArthur – Passing the Test

“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac; and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he to whom it was said, ‘In Isaac your descendants shall be called.’ He considered that God is able to raise men even from the dead” (Heb. 11:17-19).

A willingness to sacrifice something precious to you is proof of genuine faith.

John Bunyan had a little blind daughter, for whom he had a special love. When he was imprisoned for preaching the gospel, he was deeply concerned about his family, especially that little girl. He wrote, “I saw in this condition I was a man who was pulling down his house upon the head of his wife and children. Yet, thought I, I must do it; I must do it. The dearest idol I have known, what ere that idol be, help me to tear it from Thy throne and worship only Thee.”

Despite his personal grief, Bunyan was willing to sacrifice the most precious thing he had, if God so willed. So it was with Abraham. Every promise God had made to him was bound up in his son Isaac.

Abraham believed God’s promises, and his faith was reckoned to him as righteousness (Gen. 15:6). But the moment of truth came when God instructed him to offer his son as a sacrifice. Abraham realized that to kill Isaac was to put to death God’s covenant. So he reasoned that surely God would raise Isaac from the dead. He believed in resurrection before the doctrine was revealed in clear terms.

God tested Abraham, and Abraham passed the test: He was willing to make the sacrifice. And that’s always the final standard of faith. Jesus said, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matt. 16:24). Romans 12:1 says, “I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”

I pray that you are willing to sacrifice whatever is necessary to minister most effectively for Christ.

Suggestions for Prayer

  • Thank God for those you know who are passing the test of a sacrificial faith.
  • Pray for the courage and grace to follow their example.

For Further Study

Read the account of Abraham’s test in Genesis 22.

From Drawing Near by John MacArthur 

http://www.gty.org/

Joyce Meyer – Choose Encouragement Over Judgment

Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

— Matthew 7:1-2 (NIV)

Satan loves to put judgmental, critical, suspicious thoughts about other people into our minds. If you do have an opinion about someone, unless it is encouraging, keep it to yourself. Instead of gossiping, pray. How often do you give your opinion when no one has asked for it? I think we all do this to some degree, but at one time, I had a big problem with it. Thankfully, God has helped me to change, and I find that I am much happier now that I tend to withhold my opinion unless someone wants it.

Because we have God’s Spirit, we can recognize sinful behavior. Paul told the Galatians to try to bring the sinner to repentance and restoration, but to do so in an attitude of humility and gentleness and to …watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted (Galatians 6:1 NIV). I would never approach anyone about their sin unless I had prayed diligently and truly felt the Lord wanted me to speak with them.

Finding fault with others can cause us to ignore our own problems. I have known people who were very sinful, yet they were very judgmental and critical of others. I finally realized that they viewed and spoke about others so negatively because that kept them from having to face the truth about themselves.

Pray for people to see truth and be very careful about forming and sharing hasty or premature opinions.

Prayer of the Day: Father, I don’t want to judge people harshly or criticize them. Rather, I want to pray for them. Please help me to believe the best about others, but also to discern when You do want me to see something and deal with it. In Jesus’ name, amen.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Truth for Life; Alistair Begg – The Open Door

To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: “The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens. I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name”

Revelation 3:7-8

In the book of Revelation, the key is a symbol of Christ’s authority and the door is a symbol of an opportunity. So as He writes to the Philadelphian church, Jesus is declaring Himself to be the holder of the key that opens the door in to salvation and opens the door out to service. In other words, once we have walked through the narrow gate that leads to life, we discover that life to be a life of service.

The Philadelphians had entered the door into salvation but now were confronted by opposition and the threat of future tribulation. So far, they had “not denied [Christ’s] name”—they had not shrunk from declaring the truth about their Lord and Savior in the city He had placed them in. Yet, recognizing that the storm clouds were now gathering, they may have been tempted to simply circle the wagons, sound the retreat, and decide that it was not a good time for evangelism. Considering all that confronted them, they easily could have concluded that such a life of service would need to wait for a more opportune moment.

Christ, however, urged them not to turn back from their calling. The door was open; now they had to go through it! While they would not be spared from suffering, He promised to uphold them when they faced it. He told these hard-pressed believers that if they would boldly march through the door and be faithful to their calling, they would see converts from among those who opposed them (Revelation 3:9).

What about us? Are we prepared to walk through the door of opportunity, knowing that Jesus calls people to saving faith through the words of those who refuse to deny His name? Are we willing to say, “Lord Jesus Christ, I feel I have little strength, but anywhere, anytime, anyone, I’m ready to speak”?

Pray that when you meet the moment of opportunity, you will say and do something. Pray that you would be imaginative and creative, with one foot in the Bible and the other foot in the culture, so that you speak the truth about Jesus in a way that connects with those who are listening. If you do not shrink back but rather continue sharing the gospel imaginatively, humbly, sensitively, and creatively, then by the power of His Spirit and the might of His word, those who today see you as an enemy may one day become your brothers and sisters.

Questions for Thought

How is God calling me to think differently?

How is God reordering my heart’s affections — what I love?

What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?

Further Reading

Revelation 3:7-13

Topics: Evangelism Salvation Service

Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotionals by Alistair Begg

http://www.truthforlife.org

Kids4Truth Clubs Daily Devotional – God Is Available

“When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?” (Psalm 8:3-4)

Imagine that you are in London, England. You are visiting Buckingham Palace. Inside the palace, you see a beautiful painting of a sunrise over the London Bridge. You think it is the most beautiful painting of a sunrise that you have ever seen! You learn from the tour guide that the Queen of England herself painted that picture when she was still just a young princess.

You say to yourself, “Wow! I’d sure like to tell her how much I like her painting!” And the next thing you know, a guard with a really tall furry black hat is escorting you through the palace halls and right up to the Queen, sitting on her royal throne. There you are, standing astonished before the Queen of England herself! What a privilege! What an honor!

Can you imagine how amazing that would be? Unfortunately, that probably wouldn’t happen. And even if you were to go home and write a letter to the Queen to tell her how much you liked her painting of the sunrise, the letter would probably be opened by a secretary or an assistant. The Queen might never even see your letter, and she might not ever take the time to meet you or hear what you have to say to her. She is just too busy and too important.

Three-year-old Erika and her baby sister were going to the bakery with their mother. Erika pointed out the van window and said, “Mommy, look at the beautiful sky!” And there was a beautiful sunrise painted across the whole sky.

“You know, honey, God made that sunrise!” said her mother.

The little girl leaned her forehead against the window and said wistfully, “I wish I could tell Him ‘thank you.’”

“Oh, but you can tell God ‘thank you’ for that sunrise!” With a joyful smile, Erika’s mother explained to her that we can tell God anything we like, at any time. A queen might just paint a picture of a sunrise, and we could never even speak to her. But the God Who rules over the whole universe – the One Who actually made that sunrise and the sun itself and the stars – that God is available for us to talk to! Not only is He available, but He wants, invites, and commands us to talk to Him! Now that is astonishing! An open invitation to an audience anytime with the King and Creator of all!

In Psalm 8, David expresses the same kind of amazement when he says, “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?” In other words, the Creator of the universe not only cares about us, but He tells us not to be anxious about anything, because we can tell all of our requests to God through prayer. (Philippians 4:6)

If you had an invitation to speak to a queen and you could give her one request, you would probably spend several days just planning what you would say; and you would never be late or miss that appointment. But we are invited and even commanded to speak to the King of kings, God Himself! It is a joy and privilege to be able to come to His throne of grace everyday and to give all our requests to Him.

God is not too busy or important for His people, and He invites them to fellowship with Him.

My Response:
» What are some things I would like to talk to God about?
» What are things that discourage me from talking to God?
» How can I act like I believe in a God Who is not too busy or too important to fellowship with me?

Denison Forum – The latest on Gaza hostages and the conversion of a famous atheist: A vital question to begin Thanksgiving week

NOTE: Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter died yesterday at the age of ninety-six. I will be reflecting on her life and legacy in tomorrow’s Daily Article.

On November 4, 1979, Iranian students seized the US embassy in Tehran and captured fifty-two Americans, holding them hostage for 444 days. I remember the “Iran Hostage Crisis” very clearly. The hostages were headline news seemingly every day. Millions of us prayed for their safety, health, and release. Ten days after they were finally freed, they were given a ticker tape parade in New York City.

On October 7, Hamas terrorists took more than 240 people hostage. Among them are babies, children, women, the elderly, and the disabled.

Unlike the Iranian hostage crisis, Hamas’s hostages have been a back-page story in this unfolding crisis. When four were released and one was rescued by Israeli special forces, their stories made the news briefly, but the world’s attention has been far more focused on Palestinian civilians in Gaza and charges of genocide and brutality leveled against Israel.

Now we are learning that negotiators are nearing an agreement with Hamas to release fifty hostages in exchange for Israel allowing more aid and fuel into Gaza, along with a limited pause in fighting.

Why have the two hostage crises been reported and viewed in such starkly different ways?

What does this question say about our culture on this Thanksgiving week?

“What is the meaning and purpose of life?”

Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a research fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution and a former senior fellow at Harvard Kennedy School. She speaks six languages and has written numerous bestsellers. Raised a Muslim, she lived for many years as an atheist before announcing a few days ago that she is now a Christian.

She set her decision in cultural context:

Western civilization is under threat from three different but related forces: the resurgence of great-power authoritarianism and expansionism in the forms of the Chinese Communist Party and Vladimir Putin’s Russia; the rise of global Islamism, which threatens to mobilize a vast population against the West; and the viral spread of woke ideology, which is eating into the moral fiber of the next generation.

In her view, our secularized society’s response through military, economic, diplomatic, and technological means is failing. She explains why: “We can’t fight off these formidable forces unless we can answer the question: What is it that unites us?” Ali then answers her question: “The only credible answer, I believe, lies in our desire to uphold the legacy of the Judeo-Christian tradition.”

She finds in this tradition “an elaborate set of ideas and institutions designed to safeguard human life, freedom, and dignity—from the nation state and the rule of law to the institutions of science, health, and learning.” She cites Tom Holland’s book Dominion to claim that “all sorts of apparently secular freedoms—of the market, of conscience, and of the press—find their roots in  Christianity.”

She adds that she turned to Christianity because “I ultimately found life without any spiritual solace unendurable—indeed very nearly self-destructive. Atheism failed to answer a simple question: What is the meaning and purpose of life?”

“Christianity” nowhere appears in the Bible

Ali’s announcement has sparked two very different responses: while many Christians are happy for her and grateful for her endorsement of our faith, others have noted that her article focuses on Christianity as a contributor to society rather than on Christ. She says nothing about a personal experience with Jesus. Her conversion could be described as having faith in faith.

In a subsequent interview, Ali did in fact focus more on the story of Christ and its personal significance for her decision. But her article celebrating the social benefits of Christianity omits this central fact: there is no Christianity without Christ.

The word Christianity nowhere appears in the Bible. In fact, the word Christian is found only three times in Scripture: Acts 11:26Acts 26:28; and 1 Peter 4:16. The latter two references seem to suggest that the term was used derisively.

By contrast, the word disciple appears in the Gospels and the Book of Acts 261 times. Clearly, biblical Christianity is about following Christ as a learner follows their teacher. When we do this, Jesus produces in and through us the benefits of Christianity that Ali commends. Christians do not change the culture—Christ does.

It is when we are “in Christ” that we become a “new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17). It is “Christ in you” that is our “hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). The Bible says of Christ, “in [him] are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). His Spirit produces the “fruit” that our secularized society so desperately lacks, the “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control” that we need for cultural flourishing (Galatians 5:22–23).

A vital question to begin Thanksgiving week

When we truly love our Lord, we love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:37–39). People take precedence over politics.

And, with regard to my earlier question, hostages become more important than ideologies.

Tragically, in the decades since the Iranian hostages were released, our culture has been taken hostage by the “woke ideology” Ali describes as “eating into the moral fiber of the next generation.” People have become a means to the end of political narratives and personal advancement. Even among many Christians, as Dallas Willard noted, “The idea of having faith in Jesus has come to be totally isolated from being his apprentice and learning how to do what he said.”

Consequently, across this Thanksgiving week we’ll focus in my Daily Articles on Jesus. We’ll identify reasons to give thanks for who he is every day in every circumstance.

Let’s begin today. When last did you thank Jesus, not just for what he does, but for who he is?

When last did you tell him you love him?

Why not now?

Denison Forum

Hagee Ministries; John Hagee –  Daily Devotion

O LORD, You have searched me and known me.

Psalm 139:1

God forgets no one. Over and over, Scripture declares that God remembered His promises to His people.

God remembered Noah, and He closed the windows of heaven and shut off the fountains of the deep so the floodwaters could recede. God remembered Abraham, and He made him the father of many nations with descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky.

God remembered the Israelites, and He delivered them from slavery in Egypt. God remembered Rebekah, and He took away her reproach by opening her womb to give her a son.

The Psalmist declared that we are continually on God’s mind. If we were to count the sum of His thoughts towards us, they would be more numerous than the grains of sand on the seashore.

He knows every idea that passes through our minds. He is aware of every word we will speak before it rolls off our tongues. He is acquainted with all of our habits. Every one of our days was written down in His book before we lived one.

He knows us more intimately than anyone else ever has or ever will…and He still loves us so deeply that we cannot even comprehend the breadth or depth of His commitment to us. Even when you feel forgotten and deserted, He remembers you. God forgets no one.

Blessing

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you and give you His peace. God remembers you, and His heart is overwhelmed with love for you. Every promise that He has spoken is YES and AMEN to the glory of God through you.

Today’s Bible Reading: 

Old Testament

Ezekiel 40:28-41:26

New Testament 

James 4:1-17

Psalms & Proverbs

Psalm 118:19-29

Proverbs 28:3-5

https://www.jhm.org

Turning Point; David Jeremiah – Angelic Chauffeurs

Finally, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to sit beside Abraham at the heavenly banquet.
Luke 16:22, NLT

 Recommended Reading: Luke 16:19-23

Some people mistakenly believe we become angels after we die. The Bible nowhere teaches such a thing, but it does tell us that angels will accompany believers on their journey to heaven at the moment of death. In His story of the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus said that when the beggar Lazarus died, he “was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom” (Luke 16:22). In other words, the angels escorted him to be with Abraham and all the rest of God’s children in the heavenly places.

It’s normal to be apprehensive about dying but knowing Jesus as Savior turns the experience into an adventure. Death isn’t a drop into darkness. It’s a quick journey into the presence of Christ and our loved ones with angels as chauffeurs, bodyguards, and companions.

As you anticipate heaven, remember none of us will take the journey there alone. The Bible says that angels escort us to heaven. What a comforting truth!

Death for the Christian cuts the cord that holds us captive in this present evil world so that angels may transport believers to their heavenly inheritance.
Billy Graham

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

Harvest Ministries; Greg Laurie – Our Place of Safety

This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. 

—Psalm 91:2

Scripture:

Psalm 91:2 

The plagues had grown progressively worse. God’s plague on the Nile River was a blow to everyone, but the Egyptians adapted and got by. The frogs were a horrible nuisance too. But the third plague brought physical pain that seemed almost unbearable.

In the third plague, God afflicted the Egyptians with gnats. This was especially difficult, because the Egyptians were fanatics about cleanliness, but they were covered with these insects. The gnats also penetrated their nostrils and ears, which would have been very painful.

Interestingly, while Pharaoh’s magicians duplicated the Nile turning to blood and the plague of frogs, they couldn’t duplicate this one.

This reminds us that although the devil has considerable power, there are limitations to it. We might think that just as God is omnipotent, so is Satan. And just as God is omniscient, so is the devil. But that is not true.

God knows everything; Satan has limited knowledge. God has all power; Satan clearly has limited power.

Even after these plagues, Pharaoh’s heart continued to harden. So, God sent the fourth plague: an invasion of flies. Exodus 8:24 says, “And the Lord did just as he had said. A thick swarm of flies filled Pharaoh’s palace and the houses of his officials. The whole land of Egypt was thrown into chaos by the flies” (NLT).

Meanwhile, God intervened in an amazing way for His people. From the fourth plague on, God protected the land of Goshen in Egypt where the Israelites lived. While other people in Egypt suffered through the plagues, God protected this area.

Psalm 91 gives us this promise: “Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you. Just open your eyes, and see how the wicked are punished” (verses 7–8 NLT).

These are wonderful, comforting words. But they are conditional. This psalm contains a series of conditional promises that are ours—if we do our part. God promises that He will protect us. He promises that His angels will be around us.

But what do we need to do? We must “live in the shelter of the Most High” (verse 1 nlt). We must also “make the Lord [our] refuge” and “the Most High [our] shelter” (verse 9 NLT). When we do that, the promises of Psalm 91 are ours.

God wants to be our hiding place. This means that God will protect the believer. What may happen to nonbelievers as they reap the consequences of their sin won’t happen to believers because they are seeking to live godly lives.

Does that mean Christians won’t suffer? No.

Does that mean Christians won’t die? No.

But it does mean that Christians won’t die before their time. They will die when their day has come and not a second before. And when death does come for Christians, God promises they will be taken into His presence in Heaven. God will protect us. He will protect us on earth until our final day.