NEX-GEN Everywhere!

Part Three – Saul and the witch of Endor

“The Wizard of Oz” remains one of my favorite movies. It is the amazing journey of an orphan girl named Dorothy. In this movie there is a wicked witch of the west. As a child, she and her flying monkeys would send me into my mother’s protective arms. I loved it! But she was just a fake character in a classic movie.

In the Bible there is a real witch of the east living in Endor, which may or may not have had real powers.

Read the story from 1 Samuel 28:7-20:

“Saul then said to his attendants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go and inquire of her.” “There is one in Endor,” they said. So Saul disguised himself, putting on other clothes, and at night he and two men went to the woman. “Consult a spirit for me,” he said, “and bring up for me the one I name.” But the woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done. He has cut off the mediums and spiritists from the land. Why have you set a trap for my life to bring about my death?”

OK stop here for a moment. If this witch has the ability to contact the dead, does it make any sense that a disguise would fool her? Just read Saul’s deceptive mind witchie-poo, unless of course you are a fake! Read on:

“Saul swore to her by the LORD, “As surely as the LORD lives, you will not be punished for this.”

Why on earth is Saul swearing by the Lord? Isn’t he doing something totally against the Lord. Don’t worry God is about to freak everyone out. Read on.

“Then the woman asked, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” “Bring up Samuel,” he said. When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out at the top of her voice and said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!”

I must say this moment was a shock for everyone, even the so-called “witch”. Saul some how lost his disguise, the woman acts like this is the first time this has ever happened, which it most likely was. She calls Saul a deceiver and I say it takes one to know one. But God still has something to say. Read on.

“ The king said to her, “Don’t be afraid. What do you see?” The woman said, “I see a spirit coming up out of the ground.” “What does he look like?” he asked. “An old man wearing a robe is coming up,” she said. Then Saul knew it was Samuel, and he bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground. Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?”

Wait a minute. Why is this witch so afraid? Why didn’t Samuel refer to the witch as the one who brought her up instead of Saul? Perhaps Samuel arrived despite the woman’s counterfeit life, because she didn’t know who it was. I think it was God sending a message to Saul through the request of Saul. Perhaps God was the first to use “instant messenger”. Samuel does not need to hear what is on Saul’s mind because he seems to already have a message ready from God. Read on.

“I am in great distress,” Saul said. “The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has turned away from me. He no longer answers me, either by prophets or by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what to do.” Samuel said, “Why do you consult me, now that the LORD has turned away from you and become your enemy? The LORD has done what he predicted through me. The LORD has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors—to David. Because you did not obey the LORD or carry out his fierce wrath against the Amalekites, the LORD has done this to you today. The LORD will hand over both Israel and you to the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The LORD will also hand over the army of Israel to the Philistines.”

Seven times Samuel speaks about the LORD. This passage isn’t about a witch, a deceptive king or a dead prophet speaking, it is about the LORD and his final message to Saul. Is that your final answer? YES! I must say Saul would have felt better to not get this message. I am most amazed that God would allow Samuel to be disturbed, and surprise everyone with this freak moment in time. No one expected it except God, the sender of the messenger and message. I love the fact, that Samuel says, see you tomorrow.

“Immediately Saul fell full length on the ground, filled with fear because of Samuel’s words. His strength was gone, for he had eaten nothing all that day and night”.

So is she a witch? I doesn’t seem that see is able to actually talk to the dead, but she has deceived many to believe she could. This time see surprises herself. I believe she will be more careful next time. It is just not good for business if you let all your clients know that they are going to die the next day. No return customers . . . word gets around you know.

God has to get credit for this one I believe. If this was “myth-busters”, the witch myth would be BUSTED!

Dorothy in the “Land of Oz,” faces a supernatural wizard. She is standing next to a scarecrow with no brain, a tin man with no heart and a lion with no courage. There is fire and smoke, then the all-knowing and all-powerful appears. But he was just a little man hidden behind a curtain. To see him took no brains, heart or courage, just the desire to pull back the curtain of deception.

Living in a world of wonder with eyes wide open,

Dan Potter

PART TWO – Moses and the Magicians

Imagine me walking up to you with three random coins from around the world. They lay in my open hand. I ask you to place your finger upon one coin. You think hard and drop your finger upon the coin of your choice. I open the displayed paper in which I wrote my prediction and it matches your free choice . . . impossible!

You will look up at my eyes, step back, shake your head and laugh. I know because I have done it a thousand times. You will not think I have any supernatural abilities, but you will be amazed at the unexplainable moment.

Now let me take you into a jungle area, where it is murky and we sit around a fire. A dark man in feathers and bells steps forward with three eggs of different colors. He stares at you and thrusts his hand into your face. People around you scream and shout. You are to reach out and grab one of the eggs. As you extend your arm, the people go silent. You pick up the red one. He quickly crushes the other two in his grip, rubs his hands together and only red drips from his hands. It is your chosen color. The crowd explodes in excitement as the man places his dripping red hands upon your head . . . impossible!

You freak out. You refuse to look into his eyes. You look to someone for some kind of help. Fear replaces amazement and you write home about this supernatural event.

Same trick . . . but a different atmosphere!

The coins and eggs were in the hands of people skilled in the art of illusion. I entertained and you laughed. The other, through natural means, manipulated your mind and emotions. Fear and mystery caused you see it as paranormal and you chose to believe the person had supernatural abilities. You even retold the story several times.

The impossible . . . fooled twice, but lied to you once. The lie grew and was retold by many, as a supernatural fact

I have heard so many people do this even with Bible stories. Take a look at a man called Moses. God had him perform several miracles, not illusions. The magicians of the time were asked to create the same effects, but they could only reproduce three. So people, even followers of Jesus, spread the lie that these magicians had supernatural abilities. But if people were to read on and use their brains they would see that they did not have supernatural abilities, only secrets.

Read the following verses and see how Moses refers to these events.

1. In Exodus 7:10-12 we are given the record of when God, through Aaron, and the magicians made snakes. I think rabbits or poodles would have been a better choice, but they make terrible sticks. Besides God, for some reason, likes using snakes. “So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts: Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs”. It wasn’t as if the magicians were standing there. They had time to get ready. I wonder what was slithering up their sleeves or what secret science project made their snakes paralyzed. I think it was drugs because they were so high that they didn’t even move away when one snake ate them all. I think God won this match. To bad for those magicians who had trained those snake to act like a stick for several years. Well they are now unemployed . . . actually dead!

1. Exodus 7:22 comes right after God, not Moses, turned the water in the Nile into blood. Oh why not cookies and cream ice cream? “But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts, and Pharaoh’s heart became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said”. To this I say, easy, easy, easy! If everything is blood just go with it man. I think the miracle would have been to find water that was not blood. It is not too difficult for a crafty deceiver to make this happen.

1. Next we have frogs of God everywhere. Imagine the amount of tadpoles God needed to pull this off, and where did He keep them until their grand entrance? That is a supernatural occurrence. Exodus 8:7 “But the magicians did the same things by their secret arts; they also made frogs come up on the land of Egypt”. Now if I get this right God makes several million frogs, so that they are everywhere. I love frog legs, they taste like little chickens. So if you open a jar one jumps out. If I reach in my pocket out comes another. Just kick a bunch of dirt upon the shore and say, “Abra-come-invertabrae” and those frogs are going to stick their heads up because they are stepping upon their mother-in-law. Buy the instructions for this trick at the dollar store.

1. Finally the magicians meet their match. God created gnats, those nasty winged bugs that go right up the nose. The magicians could not stop sneezing long enough to catch a few thousand for a really good trick. You try it, go try to catch 10 (and they did not even have vacuums back then). Exodus 8:18-19 states,“But when the magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts, they could not. And the gnats were on men and animals. The magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he would not listen, just as the LORD had said”. The finger of God! If it is just the finger imagine what He could do with his whole hand. What the magicians were saying is that there is more paranormal in one finger of God than all the magicians of Egypt. And for once I agree with them.

1. But God was not done with this deceptive lot of Charlatans. Exodus 9:11 makes it very clear, “The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils that were on them and on all the Egyptians”. OK boys what’s up your sleeve now? Perhaps it is the same thing that is up your pant leg? Boils are terrible, I can’t even imagine trying to multiply them. Happy scratching!

1. Finally we understand why God had this supernatural contest with the un-supernatural magicians. Exodus 9:16 “But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth”. In Exodus 14:31 after crossing the red sea this is recorded, “And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant”.

So if these “wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians” are the best of the best, they are in the same league as the jungle man. They all have secret arts, but not supernatural abilities. We shall continue our search, but thus far God leaves them all in the gnats . . . literally.

Living in a world of wonder with eyes wide open,

Dan Potter

PART ONE

I was sitting in a Brazilian grill in Asuncion, Paraguay with Suzie and some South American friends, when the table discussion switched from our amazing slabs of meat to unexplainable supernatural abilities. Several questions about the paranormal followed.

Being a magician, I use illusion and the art of deception, along with Suzie, to educate and entertain people of all ages. It takes much time to learn how to make the impossible look possible, but once these skills are acquired the average person is very easy to mislead. As a magician, I play the role of one with supernatural abilities, while making it very clear that any 9 year old could do what I do . . . with about 37 years of practice.

Often I hear people claim that this magician or that mentalist has supernatural powers. These claims often come from a person’s inability to explain how an illusion was performed. It would be like me trying to explain how a satellite beam becomes a HD program on my TV. All I know is that it is not supernatural!

I will attempt over the next few weeks to prove the following:

1. Human beings do not have any supernatural powers, except those who from God alone, but have gifts for special purposes (making bunnies appear is not one of them).

2. Satan cannot give supernatural abilities or skills to people that he does not posses, and he possess very few.

3. God is the only one who is all knowing, able to be everywhere, holds all power, created all things and lives forever eternal.

I invite those of you interested in Unexplainable Supernatural Abilities to take this journey with me as I seek to EXPLAIN it from a magician’s point of view.

Our journey will include truths about the Supernatural. These truths are discovered in the Bible, human stories, and personal experiences. I hope to expose the deception, while valuing the mysteries of living in a world of wonder.

THE FIRST DECEPTION

Let us begin with the first recorded supernatural deception found in human history.

The first deception on earth appears in Genesis 3. Satan comes in the form of a serpent, (to me that is a pretty amazing way to enter the stage). He encounters Eve and Adam and tricks them, causing them to choose to believe an illusion. Of Satan it is said, he is crafty (3:1) and he is a deceiver (3:13). Both of these are marks of a grand illusionist. These are two skills which Satan possesses.

When I have encountered anyone who claims to have supernatural powers to see the future, predict the unpredictable, exhibit power over the elements or power to control people. I have found them to be “crafty” and “deceptive”. If they know that I am a magician they will not show me their “tricks” for I am trained in their skills and will be able to expose them.

Often people expect performing magicians to trick them; they even pay them for a show. But humans somehow believe the “deceivers” would not trick them, and after a few crafty demonstrations . . . “tricks not found in boxes” they like Eve and Adam choose to believe the illusions and are lead into a lie.

There is much more on this subject, but I will stop for now for I am trying to keep every entry under 500 words and I see that I am already way over. See you on the next leg of the journey.

Living in a world of wonder with eyes wide open,

Dan Potter

I am a Princess          by: Lisa Bruder 2009

Verse 1:
D                    A2 (Dmaj7)
Lord, you’ve created me.

         G                            C                 D

You formed my heart and gave me life.

D                                A2 (Dmaj7)

And you’ve made me beautiful.

         G                           C

You know my heart and everything I am.

Chorus:

  A2            D      A2           G

Now I can run into your arms.

                 D         A2             G

And you crown me with your love

          D        A2             Bm7        G

Cause I’m a child of the Highest King

             C                        D

I am a Princess – I am a princess.

Verse 2:

D              A2 (Dmaj7)

I can find love in you.

         G                         C                               D

Find peace in you and everything I need for life.

 D                          A2 (Dmaj7)

And I’m made complete in you.

   G                        C

You satisfy me and you make me whole

Bridge:

Em7                               G

You are my father, and you are my Daddy.

Em7                      C                        A2

Now I can say: I belong to you – I belong to YOU! 

Big Adventure: I am a Princess – a child of the highest King ~ by Lisa Bruder from Germany 2009

Day 1: Introduction/ God created us in his image

INTRODUCTION: This 30 days Big Adventure is about being a princess of God. It is a study about God, the king and about us, girls, who are the princesses and God’s beloved daughters. It is a study about how God created us and made us beautifully in His own image. You will also study about how you can live this life as royal priesthood and you’ll also look at some women in the Bible, who lived for Jesus. So take this time everyday, seek God and study the bible. Have fun discovering the word of God and how much he loves you, girl!

READ: Genesis 1, 26-28. Notice how God created the first human being on earth and what he tells humans to do. Isn’t that an amazing creation? Take a little time and create something right now - a picture, a song, a poem. Anything you want.

SPEAK: Talk to Jesus. Tell him everything that’s on your mind right now. Ask him what it means to be made in His image and thank him for creating you. Acknowledge that He is YOUR creator!

LISTEN: Let Jesus talk to you now. Try not to talk, but just listen to the God, who created you. He loves to spend time with you. He wants to reveal Himself to you. Listen carefully!

WRITE: Write down what God tells you. Write down what you think it means to be made in Gods image. Write down some characteristics about God, your creator.

Day 2: Made in Gods image

READ: Genesis 9:6 and James 3:9 to see again, that we are made in Gods image. Also read Romans 3:10 and Romans 3:23, which shows us, that men are still sinful and not like God in their morality. Where are you in your life? Are you living in Gods image? Take time to think about that.

WRITE: Try to answer some questions: In what ways are humans different than animals? In what ways are we like God? In what ways are we not like God? Write down some areas in your life, where you’re not living in Gods image.

SPEAK: Tell God about the areas you are struggling with. Ask for His help and His forgiveness. He is there for you. Tell him what’s on your heart, your sorrows, thoughts, feelings.

LISTEN: Now stop talking, stop thinking and try to listen to Jesus. Listen to what he has to tell you today.

Day 3: God made me and he knows me. Psalm 139

READ: Psalm 139: 1-6 and see how well Jesus knows you, whatever you do and wherever you are., he knows your heart, cause he created You. Isn’t that great?

SPEAK: Thank God for being always with you and knowing you. Tell Jesus how you feel at this moment. Tell him your thoughts about these verses. Be close to Him and trust Him.

LISTEN: Know, that Jesus is with you and knows you in this very moment, and try to just rest in his Presence right now. Let your almighty God speak and answer you.

WRITE: Write down what you hear from God and how you feel at the moment. Write down your thoughts. Your fears and desires. Think about situations in your life, where you could really see, that God knows you so well – write it down. How well do you know God? What do you know about Him?

Day 4: Do you hide from God sometimes?

READ: Psalm 139:7-12. Notice what David writes about hiding from God. Did you ever try to hide before God?

SPEAK: Speak to God. Tell him how you feel. Think about God’s open arms for you. And about his hands that are here for you to hold on to. Tell Him about the things you’re afraid of and that make you want to run away. Ask Him for His guidance in those specific areas.

LISTEN: Listen to Jesus now. The God, who loves you unconditionally and is right by your side. He longs for you and he wants to be with you! Let Him speak now.

WRITE: Write down where you have been trying to hide things from God or where you tried to run away from Him. Write about your observations in your own life and in the lives of the people around you. Write down the things you don’t want to forget in the future.

Day 5: You are beautifully made.

READ: Psalm 139: 13-16. Think about how God made and created you. Notice what it tells you about how much God knows you. Image how God formed you in your mother’s womb and look at you know. You are so beautiful and unique.

SPEAK: Wow. Isn’t that so amazing? Tell God your thoughts about that. Thank Jesus every day for making you beautiful and wonderful. He has created and formed you. If you don’t feel made beautifully, pray that God might show you this. Ask Him to show you how much he loves you. Tell Him how you see yourself. And ask Him to help you see yourself through His eyes.

LISTEN: Now stand in the presence of the One who thinks you are beautiful and the one, who has made you wonderfully. Let him show you how much he loves you and cares for you, cause you’re his beloved daughter! Listen to your father in heaven.

WRITE: Write down what God is telling you today and try to answer some questions: Do You feel loved by God? Do you feel that Jesus made you wonderfully and beautifully? Is there something that you don’t like about yourself? What do you really like about yourself? Tell Jesus everything about you and your daily fight in some areas. Surrender it to Him. You can rely on Him alone.

Day 6: God has precious thoughts about you

READ: Psalm 139:17-18. Try to think about the thoughts that God has for you right now. Think about the grains of sand and compare it with the number of Gods good thoughts about you. What kind of thoughts does God has for you? What kind of thoughts do you have for yourself? What are the thoughts of other people over you? To which voice are you listening?

SPEAK: Tell Jesus what you think at the moment. His thoughts about you are so precious. He thinks you are just beautiful. And if you can’t think about yourself as a beautiful daughter of God, ask Jesus to see yourself through His eyes again and love yourself with His heart. Bring also all your prayer requests before Him.

LISTEN: Ok, now let Jesus tell you his thoughts about you! He wants to share his precious and good thoughts about his beloved child! Listen to God now. Focus on Him. Come before Him with open ears and an open heart.

WRITE: Write down what God was telling you and what YOUR thoughts are about God. Remember moments, where your thoughts about other people or about yourself were not precious. Write down your experiences and everything else you are observing and experiencing.

Day 7: Mary – Jesus’ Mother

READ: Luke 1: 26-56. We want to look at Mary, the mother of Jesus, today. She was a woman that glorified God. Write down, your first impressions about her, while you read. Write down, what you find out about her and what makes her so interesting. Also think about in what ways Mary could be an example to you.

SPEAK: Talk to God, as he would sit right next to you. Tell Him about the Highlights and Lowlights of today. You can pour out your heart to Him. Cause he knows you anyways. Remember, he formed you and knows all of your thoughts. Talk to Him about Mary as well and what you like about her. Praise God like Mary praised God.

LISTEN: Let Jesus talk to you now. Try to let every thought go and open your heart to receive from Him. Open your ears to hear from Him.

WRITE: Now write down, what you can learn from Mary. How can she be an example to you? Mary said: “I am the Lords servant”. Can you also say that? How are you serving God with your life? Write down what you experienced in your life, with God and with people around you.