Jesus and the religious superstars

"Jesus Teaches" by A. Bida

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Luke 19-20; Psalm 119:65-96

TO CHEW ON: “Then, in the hearing of all the people, He said to His disciples, ‘Beware of the scribes…’” Luke 20:45,46


The cat-and-mouse game the scribes and chief priests played with Jesus was serious. They wanted to get Him arrested, turned over to the governor, and sentenced (hopefully to death) for something.

They went to great lengths to try to make this happen.

• They sent spies who pretended to be righteous but with the intent to catch Jesus saying something seditious (Luke 20:21,22).

• They followed him around. It seems like wherever Jesus taught, there was a coterie of scribes, chief priests and Pharisees frowning and muttering in the background (Luke 20:20, 26, 39).

• They flattered him (Luke 20:21,39).

Jesus was never tripped up or intimidated. Just the opposite. To His disciples but in the hearing of everyone (Luke takes pains to point out) He condemned the scribes for their religious show, their love of being honored and deferred to, their sanctimonious prayers, and their hypocrisy (Luke 20: 46,47).

Just as Jesus wasn’t  awestruck or taken in by these first century religious superstars, neither should we be starstruck by the religious big names of our time, or try to become one of them.

When we find ourselves tempted to fawn over popular preachers, singers, or authors, or trying to impress others with our learning and insight let’s remind ourselves:

• God sees past education, cleverness, and talent. Let’s not be too impressed with these things in others or ourselves.

• Religious showing off is abhorrent to God. Let’s avoid it and not be fooled by it in others.

• In the end, each of us will stand with our own heart naked before Him. Let’s guard ourselves against sanctimoniousness, the love of human praise, and hypocrisy.

PRAYER:
Dear Jesus, Your insight into human nature and refusal to be impressed or intimidated by the religious big names of Your time is inspiring. Help me to live for Your approval, not the approval or praise of people. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 119:65-96

The Bible Project VIDEO: Luke ch. 19-23 (Gospel of Luke mini-series)



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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Cleaning the temple

Hezekiah cleanses the temple

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 2 Chronicles 28-31; Psalm 78

TO CHEW ON: "'Now sanctify yourselves, sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and carry out the rubbish from the holy place.'"  2 Chronicles 29:5

In Old Testament times decisions about faith and religious practice were usually made by political leaders and not individuals.  Kings Ahaz and Hezekiah are examples of this.

King Ahaz, Hezekiah's father, determinedly, pointedly, and openly turned away from God. When he was defeated by the Syrians he decided to start worshiping their gods: "'Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me'" - 2 Chronicles 28:23.

And so he destroyed worship objects of God Jehovah, locked the temple, made altars throughout Jerusalem, and high places to sacrifice to "other gods" throughout Judah (2 Chronicles 28:24-25). It was no secret who he was worshiping and I can only imagine the trouble his subjects would have got into had he discovered they were clinging to Yahweh.

When his son Hezekiah became king, he reversed those practices. Immediately on ascending to the throne, this 25-year-old opened the temple doors, gathered the priests, and put them to work cleansing the temple in the hope of restoring God-honoring worship. Soon the lamps would again burn and the smell of incense and the smoke of offerings would again fill the air.

Though our faith and practice may not have the public component of a central worship place with open (or locked) doors, lit (or unlit) lamps, pungent incense and smoky offerings, the principles of opening, cleansing and sanctifying still apply to our worship. Now, however, each one of us administers our own temple—the temple of our heart and physical body.

King Hezekiah's directive to his priests is an excellent place to start with this: "Now sanctify the house of the Lord … and carry out the rubbish from the holy place."

In New Testament terms:

"Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are" - 1 Corinthians 3:16,17.

and

"Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are God's" - 1 Corinthians 6:19,20.

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to keep my temple clean, myself set apart for You and Your purposes, as I administer my body, soul, and spirit—the temple of Your Holy Spirit. Amen. 

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 78

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New King James Version (NKJV) Used with permission. The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Enter Yahweh Sabbaoth, LORD of hosts

Triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem - James Tissot

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Jeremiah 40-44;  Psalm 24

TO CHEW ON: Who is this King of glory?
The LORD of hosts,
He is the King of glory."  Psalm 24:10

Imagine the scene. While the congregation waits inside, the King and His procession make their way to the gates. Those with Him call out to arouse the gatekeeper:

"Lift up your heads, O you gates! 

And be lifted up you everlasting doors!

And the King of glory shall come in."

The gatekeeper responds:

"Who is this King of glory?"

The answer rings from the procession:

"The LORD strong and mighty

The LORD mighty in battle.

Lift up your heads, O you gates!

Lift up you everlasting doors!

And the King of glory shall come in."

Gatekeeper: "Who is this king of glory?"

Procession:

"The LORD of hosts

He is the king of glory."

(I think they let Him in.)

"The LORD of hosts" in Hebrew is Yahweh Sabbaoth. He is the Lord of:

• The angelic heavenly hosts such as we see in Luke 2:13.

• The army of Israel—the captain of which Joshua met before the assault against Jericho - Joshua 5:14.

• The hosts of nations - Jeremiah 3:19.

• Everything in heaven and earth "…all the host of them" - Genesis 2:1.

Have we opened the gates of our lives to Him (Revelation 3:20)? Have we willingly made Him our Lord—the One to whom we give our loyalty, obedience and worship? If we haven't let's do it now, when we can do it by our own choice and have the rest of our lives to serve Him. For we will bow before Him as Lord someday in any case (Philippians 2:9-10; Revelation 19:11-16).


PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for this glimpse of You as King. Help me to lift You up as the LORD Sabbaoth of my life. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 24

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Spirit of harlotry

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Hosea1-5; Psalm 122

TO CHEW ON: "For the spirit of harlotry has caused them to stray. And they have played the harlot against their God." Hosea 4:12b

"Harlot" is a word we don't use a lot. It simply means an unchaste woman, a whore, a strumpet. "Harlotry" is the trade or behaviour of a harlot.

I am struck by the phrase "spirit of harlotry" in our reading. Hosea points his finger at that spirit or attitude as the underlying cause of Israel's straying. A close look at Hosea 3 and 4 give us information about such a spirit. Here are some of its characteristics:

1. God's law is ignored (Hosea 4:2,6).

2. There is an impact on the natural world of earth and animals (Hosea 4:3).

3. Respect for leaders is absent, replaced by argument and contention (Hosea 4:4-5).

4. Evil multiplies (Hosea 4:7).

5. Dissatisfaction is typical (Hosea 4:10).

6. Addiction is everywhere (Hosea 4:11).

7. People seek advice from occult sources (Hosea 4:12).

8. There is a proliferation of idolatrous customs and rituals (Hosea 4:13).

9. Both men and women are affected (Hosea 4:13b, 14).

10. A rebellious spirit rules the land (Hosea 4:16-18).

As I read that list and look at my own country, I am not reassured. It is uncanny how many of these attitudes are typical of Canada. Do you see any of these characteristics where you live?

What to do? Besides resisting these things in our own lives, I believe we need to focus our prayers against that spirit of harlotry in our own nation. Dick Eastman in his book Love on Its Knees says about praying for nations: "When praying for a nation, we should try to determine which satanic strongholds exist there, then exercise our God-given spiritual authority to confront these bastions."

He lists some general areas of strongholds and how to pray for them.

1. Government strongholds. Intercessors should pay special attention to the political characteristics of a nation...


2. Cultural strongholds. Every nation possesses behavioural characteristics. Collectively we refer to these as the culture of a people, and in some cases such characteristics restrict the spread of the Gospel....


3. Religious strongholds. This focus touches the spiritual characteristics of a land... In some countries of the world today it is virtually impossible to engage in open evangelism because of the religious restrictions...


4. Material strongholds. A final focus regarding strongholds in nations concerns the materialistic characteristics of a land. Some nations appear to be free and have experienced prosperity. Yet there is often lukewarmness in the churches of those nations. Soon apathy toward spiritual things moves a people toward humanism which puts the emphasis on human development and rejects spiritual values...." - Dick Eastman, Love On Its Knees pp. 110-112.

The result of this harlotry spirit for Israel was God's sober warning: "I will destroy your mothers ...forget your children...change their glory into shame" (Hosea 4: 5-7). The nation will be characterized by futility: "The wind has wrapped her up in its wings..." Hosea 4:19.

Let's pray for a turning from the spirit of harlotry in our land, lest we find ourselves setting up for the same fate.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to resist the spirit of harlotry in my own life. Then help me to see my country and people realistically and with spiritual insight so I can pray effectively and be salt and light in the ways You direct. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 122
 
The Bible Project VIDEO: Hosea (Read Scripture Series)








Andrew Peterson has written a powerful song called "Hosea." Hosea - the song - from Andrew Peterson's blog, with the lyrics

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Do we provoke God?

Elijah confronts Ahab - Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 Kings 14-16; Psalm 98

TO CHEW ON: "Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him. " 1 Kings 16:33

Provoking God? It sounds serious!

A brief survey of Bible passages that speak of provocation tell us some of the things that provoke God.

God is provoked by:

• Unbelief and refusal to act in faith—what the Israelites did when they balked at entering the Promised Land despite all the miracles along the way - Numbers 14:11.

• Rejecting His appointed leaders—the way Korah, Dathan and Abiram challenged the leadership of Moses and Aaron - Numbers 16:30.

• Rebellion—the way the Israelites often acted during their wilderness trek - Deuteronomy 9:7,8,22; Psalm 106:7.

• Idol worship - Deuteronomy 31:20,29; 1 Kings 14:9; 16:26,33 (our focus verse); Jeremiah 7:18.

• Scoffing at God's work—what Sanballat and Tobiah did over Nehemiah's wall - Nehemiah 4:6.

• Breaking covenant with Him and refusing to keep His law ("testimonies") - Deuteronomy 31:29; Psalm 78:56.

• Words against Him - Isaiah 3:8.

• Sacrilegious things in a holy place - Ezekiel 8:3.

The results of provoking God throughout Israel's history were serious:

• The Israelites were doomed to wander for 38 more years in the wilderness - Number 14:23

• Korah, Dathan, and Abiram and their families were destroyed for challenging God's appointed leaders - Numbers 16:31,32.

• Ahab's provocative ways led to three years of drought- 1 Kings 17:1.

• Nehemiah seemed concerned that the scorn of his detractors would lead to discouragement of the workers - Nehemiah 4:5.

• Israel's idol worship led to the temple's destruction by a foreign power - Ezra 5:12.

• Provoking God also led to Israel's exile - Jeremiah 8:19.

Though it's easy for us to look down our noses at the fearful and rebellious Israelites or idolatrous Ahab, another read-through of the list of things that provoke God in relation to our setting may demolish some of that smugness.

- Are we ever guilty of unbelief and refusing to act in faith?

- Have we ever rebelled against the leaders God has placed over us?

- Do we have idols? Not silver and gold images, perhaps, but other things like work, people's praise, money, etc. that compete with God for first place in our hearts?

- Have we ever scoffed at what others report as God's work?

- Have we ever been disdainful of sacred things—by what we've said?  By what we've done?

Yes, God is long-suffering and merciful. Jesus has paid for these sins with His death. But still our provocations may have consequences.  What a shame to miss out on His best, to assign ourselves, by our attitudes, words, and actions, to seasons of wilderness wanderings, drought, and exile.

PRAYER: Dear Father, help me to be sensitive to what pleases and what provokes You. I have been guilty of unbelief, rebellion, idolatry and more. Help me to see these things that provoke, grieve and displease you—as sin. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 98

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Love and hate

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 Kings 11-13; Psalm 97

TO CHEW ON:  "You who love the Lord, hate evil." Psalm 97:10

Henry Blackaby's Experiencing God course is  challenging and inspiring. While going through the study some years ago, I marked up my workbook by underlining statements like:

"Obedience is the outward expression of your love for God" p. 74.


"If you have an obedience problem, you have a love problem" p. 75.

Though our focus verse from Psalm 97  doesn't contain the word "obey" or "obedience" isn't that what hating evil is all about? It's obedience in reverse. It's our negative response to evil which helps bring about our positive obedient response to God. And it's the litmus test of our love for God. (A footnote in my Bible says about this verse: "This is an extremely simple but an extremely accurate means of evaluating our regard for God" - New Spirit Filled Life Bible, p. 761),

What, then, is this evil we are to hate?

The Hebrew word for evil is Ra and is loaded with badness. In English the word evil is defined: "morally bad, wicked deeds causing injury, damage or any other undesirable result, wrongdoing, wickedness."

It is interesting that sin in relation to evil is a cousin word, a once-removed synonym. One of the definitions of sin in Hebrew  is to "miss the mark." This implies there is a mark or an objective standard to miss. I'm sure the psalmist had that at the back of his mind as he spoke of evil. For him evil included the sin of worshiping idols instead of God, neglecting to keep the ten commandments, and ignoring the rules of feasts and sacrifices.

As we read today's 1 Kings chapters we see just such a falling away in Israel. It started with Solomon and his thousand wives and concubines who drew his heart away from worshiping Yahweh to the worship of Ashtoreth, Chemoch and Milcom (1 Kings 11:5,6). It continued with Jeroboam, who led ten tribes to split from Judah and Benjamin then set up worship centers in Bethel and Dan with golden calf images, new feast days, and a rogue priesthood (1 Kings 12:31-33).

The evil we are to hate isn't all that different. Our obedience in keeping the ten commencements is a good start. But when we truly love God, we will go deeper, following the example of Jesus as we examine even the motives from which our actions spring (Matthew 5:21-32). We will begin to recognize sin's subtlety as it tempts us to wrest controls of our lives from the Holy Spirit, back into our own hands.

Blackaby has an interesting definition of sin:

"The essence of sin is a shift from God-centredness to self-centredness. The essence of salvation is denying self instead of affirming self. We must deny ourselves and return to God-centredness in our lives" Experiencing God, p. 32.

I ask myself, do I love God to the extent that I see loving and serving myself — with my seemingly legitimate plans, ambitions and desires — above loving and obeying Christ, as sin. It's sobering to realize that not my words  but the quickness with which I obey when He interrupts my day with a phone call or an emergency is the real demonstration of my love for Him.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to recognize selfishness/self-centredness as evil, and to hate it. Help me to prove my love for You with quick and enthusiastic obedience. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 97

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Revive us again

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 Samuel 25-27; Psalm 85

TO CHEW ON: "Will you not revive us again,
That Your people may rejoice in You?" Psalm 85:6

This is a happy psalm. The Son of Korah writer begins by listing ways God has shown favour to the Israelites. He has: 1] brought them back from exile; 2] forgiven and covered their sins; 3] turned away from showing His anger in the way their sin deserved.

But all is not perfect. We detect concern in his next request: "Will You not revive us again / That Your people may rejoice in You?'

Perhaps he senses superficiality in their worship. Perhaps he knows individuals who have divided loyalties. Perhaps he witnesses hypocrisy, where people are dressed all righteous and sanctimonious when they come to the temple but change into their everyday me-first duds as soon as they leave. Perhaps he knows they aren't really 'rejoicing' in God at all but in everything else, and it is just a matter of time before they'll be casting the same old sinful fruit because they are still living from a sinful root.

A brief look at some of the revivals in the Bible show such uprooting:

• Asa banned perverted persons and removed idols from the land - 1 Kings 15:12.

• Jehu and Jehoiada broke down the Baal altar and temple - 2 Kings 10:27; 2 Kings 11:18.

• Josiah took all the religious paraphernalia associated with idol worship out of the temple and burned it - 2 Kings 23:4. Then he insisted people serve God - 2 Chronicles 34:33.

• Jehoshaphat and Hezekiah removed the wooden images and high place altars from the land - 2 Chronicles 19:13; 2 Chronicles 31:1.

• Nehemiah stopped commerce on the Sabbath - Nehemiah 13:19.

• The people of Ephesus collected their occult books and burned them - Acts 19:19.

These drastic actions attacked deep loyalties and removed what was usually an idol of one kind or another. In our quest for revival, maybe we need to do some of the same life-altering uprooting:

• Confess and get rid of known sin.

• Sort out areas where we have mixed faith in God with beliefs from other religions (syncretism).

• Identify and remove idols—anything that claims our affection above God.

• Change our lifestyles to show our sensitivity to what does and doesn't  please God.

PRAYER: Dear God, I so glibly pray for revival, but do I really want the deep spirit work that the answer entails? May the prayer for revival be the honest cry of my heart. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 85

MORE: Modern idols

In her book Embracing Your Second Calling, Dale Hanson Bourke lists some modern idols—ones I know I've been guilty of bowing to (she attributes Tim Keller's book Counterfeit Gods for the original list):

• "Approval idolatry: 'Life only has meaning / I only have worth if I am loved and respected by …'

• Control idolatry: 'Life only has meaning / I only have worth if I am able to get mastery over my life in the area of …'

• Helping idolatry: 'Life only has meaning / I only have worth if people are dependent on me.'

• Work idolatry: 'Life only has meaning / I only have worth if I am highly productive and get a lot done.'

• Achievement idolatry: 'Life only has meaning / I only have worth if I am being recognized for my accomplishments / excelling in my career.'"  

Embracing Your Second Calling, pp. 90, 91.

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

Food of obedience

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 Samuel 13-14; Psalm 81

TO CHEW ON: "Oh that My people would listen to Me,

That Israel would walk in My ways!

He would have fed them also with the finest of wheat;

And with honey from the rock I would have satisfied you." Psalm 81:13,16

The promise is for quality food — the finest wheat for bread, the staff of life — and honey, for energy and pleasure. Inspired Bible writer Asaph promises these blessings on behalf of God. They come as the result of acknowledging God and obeying Him.

Obedience is linked with plenty in other scriptures.
- It triggers the right weather and growing conditions (Isaiah 30:23; Ezekiel 36:30).
- The plenty that follows obedience is so marked that the year becomes one big harvest (Leviticus 26:5; Amos 9:13).
- Obedience results in God's delight in us generally, which adds His blessing to all of life so that not only do we have enough to eat, but our family and work prosper too (Deuteronomy 30:9; Psalm 132:15).

What specifically brings these blessings into a life (or shuts them out)? In today's psalm they are dependent on the people acknowledging God:
- As the One to worship (Psalm 81:9)
- As the One to credit for past success (Psalm 81:10).
- As the One who holds the future (Psalm 81:10).
- As the One whose voice they will listen to and obey (Psalm 81:11).

I ask myself, am I allowing anything in my life to become an object of worship--an idol? Do I acknowledge God's help in the past and His sovereignty over the future?

In our culture of salaries and superstores, where our lives are mere steps or a short drive removed from our food supply, the connection between obedience and enough to eat is easy to miss. Then again, our persistent, consistent need for refueling illustrates, every four to six of our waking hours, how tangible this connection could become.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to have a faith simple enough to connect the way I live with Your supply of my basic needs. Help me to worship You and acknowledge You in all of life — past, present and future. 

 PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 81


MORE: "Do You Know Why You Need to Eat?"

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Destructive cycles

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Judges 9-12; Psalm 73

TO CHEW ON: “Then the children of Israel again did evil in th sight of the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths…

So the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines …

And the children of Israel cried out to the LORD…

And the children of Israel said to the LORD, ‘We have sinned…’

So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD. And His soul could no longer endure the misery of Israel.” Judges 10:6,7,10,15,16).

In the depressing chapters of our reading today we see firsthand the living out of the summary of this book from Judges 2:

1] The people leave God to worship idols - Judges 2:11-13. 

2] God gives them over to plundering neighbours and nomads who wreck their land and livelihood - Judges 2:14-16. 

3] In desperation the Israelites pray to God for help - Judges 2:15,18. 

4] God sends a leader—a judge—to deliver them - Judges 2:16. 

5] They have peace during the judge’s lifetime but on his death revert back to idol-worshiping ways - Judges 2:19. 

6] The cycle begins again - Judges 2:20-23.

As we read today’s stories of Israel descending with every generation and judge into greater anarchy, chaos, and depravity, it’s easy for us to feel critical. How could they not recognize the self-sabotage in their cycles?

Yet I would submit that their actions are only an outworking of the condition of the human heart that by default rebels against God and looks for other deities.  And I’m not so sure we’re immune from these same kinds of cyclical reactions that keep us from freedom and forward motion.

Do we find ourselves in the same spot of joblessness or debt or hoarding or obesity or addiction or relationship problems that we’ve broken free from in the past? 

Could the answer to complete and final breakthrough be that we need victory over spiritual rebellion in some chamber of our own hearts? Are we returning to our own idols of self, indulgence, fear of not enough, lust, etc. 

Let’s pray for God to give us insight into our own destructive cycles.

PRAYER: The destructive cycles of Israel are not unfamiliar to me. Please help me to see and recognize the rebellions and idols of my own heart that have me going in circles. Please show me the path to breakthrough. Amen.
 
PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 73

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Thanks for reading! This year we are using The Bible Project "Timeless Reading Plan" to read through the Bible in 2018. If you'd like to read along in your own Bible, you can download a pdf of the reading plan HERE.

Witness stone

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Joshua 22-24; Psalm 69

TO CHEW ON: "And Joshua said to all the people, 'Behold, this stone shall be a witness to us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord which He spoke to us. It shall therefore be a witness to you, lest you deny your God.' " Joshua 24:27


Joshua had lived a long good life. At 110 years no doubt he sensed the end was near. Here we have his last words to the people he had led into the Promised Land. They are not instructions on how to be materially successful or remain militarily strong. Rather, they are words of spiritual advice that, if followed, will help them be successful in all areas.

He challenges them:
- To choose Yahweh above the idols of the land they now live in (Joshua 24:16).
- To demonstrate their choice by putting away every vestige of the idol-worshiping life and serve God only (Joshua 24:23).

The people covenant wholeheartedly to do this (Joshua 24:24).

Then Joshua, obviously aware of their fickle tendencies, writes their promise in the Book of the Law of God and sets up a memorial stone beside the "church" as a reminder to the people of this covenant day. I'm sure his whimsical depiction of that stone hearing their promise (Joshua 24:27) arrests their attention later when they enter the sanctuary.

If their consciences are clear, that stone will remind them of Joshua and God's miracles when they conquered the land. If they are again flirting with idols (and they do) that stone will prick their consciences about their broken covenant and be a warning of the dangers of two-timing God (Joshua 24:19).

Like the Israelites, it is easy for us to make promises to God in the heat of emotion. I know I've made pledges and covenants at the height of spiritual fervor that, when reviewed later, seem unreal. Did that really happen? Did I really say that?

Joshua's idea of setting up a memorial stone to remind the people of their promise may be something we should adopt too. A stone, a wall hanging, a fridge magnet, a key fob, a table ornament designed to help us recall our covenant may help to pull us back to spiritual reality from the apparent reality of this world and its idols.

PRAYER: Dear God, this story reminds me of my own wayward tendencies. Help me to not only promise to be loyal to You but to make good on that promise. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 69

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Seek your Lover

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Deuteronomy 4-6; Psalm 54


TO CHEW ON: "But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your soul." Deuteronomy 4:29

The Bible is a love story describing the wooing and pursuing, the back-and-forth between lovers—God and us humans. In many places Bible writers remind us of how God is seeking us. Here Moses prods Israel to seek God.

The little word "but" that begins our focus verse signals a change of thought direction. We see Moses is warning Israel in a prophetic way, that they will stray from following God. When they settle in Canaan they will serve idols and images (Deuteronomy 4:28). God doesn't give them up to these. If and when they seek Him, Moses promises, God will be there for them.

Moses goes on to remind them of all the reasons it makes sense to seek God over idols (a recitation of ways God has pursued them):

• Because of His merciful and faithful nature (Deuteronomy 4:31).

• Because of His creativity and power (Deuteronomy 4:32,33).

• Because He showed them special favor in Egypt when He helped them escape slavery with power signs (Deuteronomy 4:34-35).

• Because He guided them with His voice through the wilderness (Deuteronomy 4:36).

• Because He helped them gain independence from Egypt and other nations (Deuteronomy 4:37-38).

We can find many parallels between God's wooing of Israel and how He pursues us:

1. We too turn to Him from idols. No, these are probably not images of stone or gold, but things we serve more than Him (like success, money, fame, pleasure etc.). That turning may come when we get into trouble, or find ourselves dissatisfied, or over our heads, or any number of reasons.

2. When we return to God, He faithfully meets us with mercy, creativity, and power.

3. Our histories remind us of His faithfulness.

• This could be recent history. Many of his have faith-filled family members who have prayed for us, and whose prayers are answered by our return to God.

• It could be distant history, where we look back at the long story of God's work in our family, community, or nation through immigrants who came to experience freedom of religion, or missionaries who first brought the gospel.

For Israel and for us, the result of being rightly related to God is a future of well-being: "...that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may prolong your days" (Deuteronomy 4:40).


Where are you and I in relation to our lover, God, today? Do we sense He is pursuing us? Are we seeking Him?


PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for this reminder of Your love and pursuit of Israel and me. Please help me to see where I am being lured away by idols and to serve You with renewed vigor. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 54

The Bible Project VIDEO: SHEMA: Listen (Shema Word Study Series)



Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Superstition

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Leviticus 16-18; Psalm 35

TO CHEW ON: "They shall no more offer their sacrifices to demons after whom the have played the harlot. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations." Leviticus 17:7

Were these people knowingly sacrificing to demons? The word "demons" - "having the form of a goat or a satyr" has overtones of animism. The picture I get is of a people puzzled by and fearful of natural phenomenon. But instead of acknowledging God as the creator and sustainer of life, they are trying to appease some folk god (goat or satyr) thought to be in charge of these things.

However it came about, this false worship offended God at the deepest level. An end note in my Bible expands on this:

"The greatest sin in ancient Israel was idolatry (see Deuteronomy 32:17)...The essence of the Jewish monotheistic faith was contained in the verse, "Hear O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!" - Deuteronomy 6:4 (New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 153).

Though we ourselves may eschew any overt involvement with the demonic, I wonder if there remains a vestige of it even in the lingering hold superstitions have on us. Do we ever find ourselves thinking, after a day has got off to a bad start: There's bound to be more because bad things always come in threes? Or saying things like "Gesundheit" after a sneeze, or "Touch wood" after mentioning that things are going well? Or fearing Friday the 13th? Or avoiding black cats and walking under ladders? Or needing to wear certain lucky clothes and go through certain luck-generating routines before a sports event?

Any fear we feel, any changes in behaviour we make that are inspired by superstition show that at some level we're sacrificing — to what? Demons? God's prohibition to Israel through Moses's words in Leviticus ring across the centuries to us today: "They shall no more offer their sacrifices to demons..."

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to recognize false worship in my life in whatever form it takes. Please free me from bondage to superstition or anything else that would make me a slave to anyone but You. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 35

MORE: Do you believe in bad luck?

Well don't! As John Piper writes in article he wrote on a Friday that was also the 13th day of the month:

"In Christ there is no Bad Luck"

"Today is Friday the 13th! Bad luck day.

In case this or any other superstition frightens you or, worse, controls you, take the sword of the Spirit and kill it.

Here’s a few sword thrusts that I use.

There is no enchantment against Jacob, 
no divination against Israel; 
now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel, 
“What has God wrought!” (Numbers 23:23)

Does this apply to us Christians? Yes. Because “It is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham” (Galatians 3:7).  That’s us. We are Jacob. We are Israel.

And because we are, "all the promises of God find their Yes in him” (2 Corinthians 1:20).

So in Christ we cannot be cursed. There is no jinx or hex that can stick against those who are in Christ Jesus. 

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. (Galatians 3:13)

Christ took on himself every curse that is against me. God is for me and no one can successfully be against me.

He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. (1John 4:4)

© 2011 Desiring God

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Unpopular restraint

Celebration around the Golden Calf - Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Exodus 32-34; Psalm 28

TO CHEW ON: "…Moses saw that the people were unrestrained (for Aaron had not restrained them…)." Exodus 32:25

If a royal commission had been struck to get to the bottom of how the golden calf incident could happen, a conclusion like Exodus 32:25 may well have been in the report.

[Restraint means to hold back from acting, proceeding or advancing; to keep in check, repress; to deprive of freedom or liberty; to restrict or limit - Funk and Wagnalls Dictionary.]

People-pleasing, want-to-be-liked Aaron would have found that hard to do. He wasn't the only one. The priest Eli didn't restrain his sons and this brought a sobering judgment on his family and eventually the whole nation (1 Samuel 3:13; 4:15-22). King David was another indulgent parent with at least one of his sons—Adonijah: "And his father had not rebuked him at any time by saying, 'Why have you done so?' " (1 Kings 1:6). Adonijah ended up trying to become king behind his father's back.

In our time, when the trend in parenting (and leadership in general) is to give more freedom than less, a parent or leader who disciplines and enforces restraint needs to be resolute to go against the grain. But the Bible supports parents and leaders in this.

• Discipline is really a manifestation of love - Proverbs 3:12; 13:24.

• Lack of early discipline leads toward destruction - Proverbs 19:18.

• Discipliners (fathers, parents) also need to be disciplined in the way they train their children- Ephesians 6:4.

• Paul tells Timothy that the ideal leader acts "… in humility, correcting those who are in opposition" - 2 Timothy 2:25.

Restraint—self-restraint, parental and leadership enforcement of restraint—may not be fashionable with our society but it is something God values and rewards. Let's take up our courage to buck the trend as we practice restraint in our own lives and teach it to those for whom we're responsible.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me first to restrain myself in thoughts, speech and actions. Amen. 

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 28

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Promises never claimed

Israel at Mt. Sinai - Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Exodus 23:20-35

TO CHEW ON: "'And I will send My fear before you, I will cause confusion among all the people to whom you come and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you.'" Exodus 23:27.

In exchange for obedience and a thoroughness in destroying idol worship in Canaan, God made a covenant with Israel at the foot of Sinai to:

• Lead them with His Angel (the cloud by day, pillar of fire by night) to the land He had promised them (Exodus 23:23).

• Bless their food and water (Exodus 23:25).

• Take sickness away (Exodus 23:25).

• Keep them from miscarrying (Exodus 23:26).

• Cause the people in the land to which they were going to be filled with fear and confusion (Exodus 23:27).

• Drive the inhabitants out before them, though slowly and in manageable amounts (Exodus 23:29,30).

What an exciting future of possibilities God painted for them. And they eagerly signed on:

"So Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, 'All the words which the Lord has said we will do'" - Exodus 24:3.

How sad to read then, perhaps a year or so later, the reaction of these same people to the report of the spies Moses had sent out to view Canaan before they began to enter it. The first ones who failed the faith test were ten of the spies themselves. They reported back what they tasted, heard, and saw but without taking into account any part of God's earlier promise. After talking about the land's agricultural wealth the conclusion of ten of the spies was:

"'Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong, the cities fortified and very large …'" - Number 13:28.

When Caleb, one of the two spies who saw things differently, said, "'Let us go up at once and take possession for we are well able to overcome it,'" the others argued him down with negativity, fear and doubt: "'The land … is a land that devours its inhabitants. … and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight'" - Numbers 13: 30-33.

But men, what did God tell you? Just the opposite—that these people are full of fear and confusion over you, not confidence. They are conquerable. Didn't you hear? Didn't you believe?

What a tragic consequence these Israelites were about to suffer. Because of their unbelief, they were doomed to spend forty more years wandering in the wilderness.

Let's remember this tragic example of unbelief next time we're tempted to face a life challenge with fear and negativity. In their places, let's review God's promises and put our faith in Him—not ourselves and what we see.


PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to have a long memory for Your promises and the wisdom to apply them to the challenges of my life. Amen. 

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 24

The Bible Project VIDEO: Exodus 19-40 (Torah Series)
 


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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Phinehas: a leader to follow

"Moab Leads Israel Into Sin"
1728 engraving 
by Gerard Hoet & Pieter Sluiter

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 106:24-48


TO CHEW ON: "Then Phinehas stood up and intervened,

And the plague was stopped.

And that was accounted to him for righteousness

To all generations forevermore." - Psalm 106:30-31

Phinehas is a minor Old Testament character to whom our psalm writer pays a major tribute. Let's delve into his life a bit.

This Phinehas (there is another in the Bible—the son of Eli, who was evil) was the noble grandson of Aaron (Exodus 6:25).

The deed that he did and which was "accounted to him for righteousness" was—well, grisly. The people of Israel, camping near the Midianites during the exodus, had fallen prey to their idol worship. It happened through Israelite-Midianite coupling. God spoke to Moses about rooting out this evil and Moses gathered the leaders and people in front of the tabernacle. Even as the assembled people were weeping there, an Israeli man (the son of a leader) traipsed past the crowd with a Midianite woman (the daughter of a Midianite chieftain) on his arm. It seems he may have even taken her into the tabernacle.

Phinehas saw it, took Moses' message to heart, and went into action (Numbers 25:7-8; read the whole story: Numbers 25:1-17). That act of zealousness for God's holiness stopped the plague of punishment from advancing and earned him the tribute ("accounted to him for righteousness") which only one other Bible character received. The same thing is said of only Abraham (Genesis 15:6, Romans 4:1-3, 9-19, 19-24, Galatians 3:5-7).

Phinehas was born into a family of leaders. But he proved to be a true leader by doing the difficult job of standing up for God's holiness and actually rooting out that evil. As such he became a stander-in-the-breach between God and the people—a type of Christ.

Leadership remains a difficult job. It is definitely not a place for people-pleasers. If we are leaders, we can learn a lot from the principled and fearless leadership of Phinehas.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me, wherever I lead, to seek Your approval and not the approval of people. Amen.

MORE: More about Phinehas

• After the above event, Phinehas led the people into battle against the Midianites with unusual weapons: "...the holy articles and the signal trumpets in his hand" - Numbers 31:6. How telling: spiritual weapons for a spiritual battle.

• Later, his leadership in breaching a potential rift between Reuben, Gad, Manassah and the rest of the Israelites averted a potential civil war. Read that story in Joshua 22:1-34.

• It was he who inquired and heard from the Lord as to whether to continue the war against the treacherous tribe of Benjamin. Read that story in Judges 20:1-48.

• He was a direct descendant of Levi, the son of Israel - 1 Chronicles 6:1-4.

• He was from a family of singers and worshipers whose descendants were still serving in that way at the time of David - 1 Chronicles 6:1-4, 31-33.

• He was also in charge of the gatekeepers of the tabernacle. In that capacity the Bible says of him "...the Lord was with him" - 1 Chronicles 9:19-20.

• Ezra was his descendant - Ezra 7:5.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Keeping the idols

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Genesis 35:1-21

TO CHEW ON: “So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and the earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree which was by Shechem.” Genesis 35:4



There is something that doesn’t feel quite wholesome about the way Jacob dealt with these foreign god idols. As the writer of my Bible’s notes points out;

“… yet the ‘foreign gods’ were hidden beneath a carefully identified ‘terebinth tree.’ Thus paganism remained deeply rooted in their hearts.” R. Russell Bixler New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 52.

Aren’t we sometimes guilty of the same thing, though? We trust God yet secretly hang onto things that fill some need or help us get by on our own: old letters, emails, or text messages that feed our outrage and keep us from forgiveness, those “how to” books, blog subscriptions, or articles that are full of advice on living life by our own wits, lists of contacts to call when we need outside help, lottery tickets, a glimpse at the day’s horoscope…

Or what about the more subtle “good” idols we serve. In her book Embracing Your Second Calling, Dale Hanson Bourke alerts us to them in a quote from a Tim Keller modern-day idolatry identification worksheet:

“Approval idolatry: ‘Life only has meaning / I only have worth if I am loved and respected by …’ 

Control idolatry: ‘Life only has meaning / I only have worth if I am able to get mastery over my life in the area of …’ 

Helping idolatry: ‘Life only has meaning / I only have worth if people are dependent on me.’ 

Work idolatry: ‘Life only has meaning / I only have worth if I am highly productive and get a lot done.’ 

Achievement idolatry” ‘Life only has meaning / I only have worth if I am being recognized for my accomplishments / excelling in my career’” - Tim Keller, quoted in Embracing Your Second Calling, p. 90,91.

I ask myself, what idols am I secretly keeping and serving? What about you?

And how foolish to think that God doesn’t know:

If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.- Psalm 139:11,12

Jesus: “ 'For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known.’” Luke 12:2

PRAYER: Dear Father, please help me to recognize and destroy any and all idols in my life. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Delivered from idols

All My Money - RGB Stock Photos

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ezekiel 37:15-28

TO CHEW ON: "They shall not defile themselves any more with their idols nor with the detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. Then  they shall be My people and I will be their God." Ezekiel 37:23


If you're at all familiar with the Old Testament you'll know how big the temptation to worship idols was for the Israelites and how often they capitulated to it. Here God makes the promise that when this exile finally comes to an end, they will be cured for good of their inclination toward idolatry.

We have only to observe how many Hebrew words there are for "idols"—Easton's Bible Dictionary lists 18—to realize how multi-faceted this problem was. The two expressions for idols here: "idols" and "detestable things" are gilluwl and shiqquuts. Besides meaning "idol" these words infer contempt, dung, refuse, filth and impurity. Another word for sin in our passage—"transgression" (pasha)—means "rebellion."

Their release from this ungodly worship, these impure practices and rebelliousness comes in two ways:

1. They are removed from the source of temptation: "but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places."

2. They are cleansed and set apart: "but I will … cleanse them" and from Ezekiel 37:28: "I the Lord will sanctify Israel" (sanctify means to set apart, declare holy). 

What does this have to do with us? Plenty.

We may not bow down to god-images of gold, wood or stone, but how easily we give our allegiance to other things than God. In the powerful book and video series Gods at War: Defeating the Idols that Battle for Your Heart, pastor Kelly Idelman exposes modern idols. What are these idols and how do we recognize them? From the book description:

"According to Idleman, idolatry isn't an issue it is the issue.

"By asking insightful questions, Idleman reveals which false gods each of us are allowing on the throne of our lives. What do you sacrifice for? What makes you mad? What do you worry about? Whose applause do you long for? We're all wired for worship, but we often end up valuing and honoring the idols of money, sex, food, romance, success and many others that keep us from the intimate relationship with God that we desire." (Emphasis added.)

Once we've recognized our false gods, we can begin to deal with them—and in the way God helped Israel do it:

1. Remove ourselves from the place of temptation. This brings to mind Jesus' words from the Lord's prayer: " 'Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil' " - Matthew 6:13. 

2. Ask God to change us / cleanse us and cooperate with Him through the process. I love verses from the previous chapter of Ezekiel in this regard:

"Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them - " Ezekiel 36:25, 26, 27.

PRAYER: Dear God, please make me sensitive to my own idols. Help me to avoid temptation and cooperate with You as You show me my sin and soften and change my heart by Your Spirit. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Jerusalem's story - part 2

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ezekiel 16:23-43

TO CHEW ON: "You are an adulterous wife who takes strangers instead of her husband." Ezekiel 16:32

Yesterday we saw how God rescued Jerusalem from her hopeless beginnings as an unwanted newborn. He nourished her until she was grown, then took her as His wife. He dressed her in extravagant garments, adorned her with expensive jewelry, and pampered her with the finest food. She was His queen (Ezekiel 16:1-14).

Today we read her heartbreaking response. Confident in her beauty and secure in her position, she began misusing her husband's benefits to cheat on Him. Our reading is a list of how she did that.

• She flung herself at whoever would have her.

• She used her royal garments to decorate "high places"—shrines where she worshiped idols.

• She recast the precious metal of her jewelry into idol images.

• She used the cosmetics and food her Husband supplied as idol offerings.

• She offered the children of their union to idols.

• She wasn't a normal prostitute who took payment for her services. Instead she was so intent on getting new lovers, she paid whoever would come to her.

Yesterday we likened ourselves to Jerusalem, seeing how we are like that cast-out helpless newborn who God rescued, redeemed, and married.  But we would never act like today's unfaithful wife, would we?

How close we come. For don't we:

• Misuse God's benefits to us, employing them to gratify our desires and establish our own little empires. To impress? To be entertained?

• Push our children toward the idols we serve, idols of money, fame, beauty, success, sensuous gratification, leisure, sports, etc.?

And notice how innocently it all begins: by trusting in our own abilities and achievements, and misusing our blessings ("But you trusted in your own beauty, played the harlot because of your fame…" Ezekiel 16:15) forgetting from whom they come and for what purpose they were given.


PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to recognize within myself the tendencies toward unfaithfulness to You. May it never be said of me, "You are an adulterous wife who takes strangers instead of her husband." Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Could goals be an idol?

Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Isaiah 42:14-25

 TO CHEW ON: “They shall be turned back,
They shall be greatly ashamed,
Who trust in carved images,
Who say to the molded images
‘You are our gods.’” Isaiah 42:17.

This section of Isaiah 42, says my Bible’s study notes, is a “… lament looking back on the disobedience that led to God’s judging anger. The fundamental problem leading to the judgments was trust in carved images (Isaiah 42:17)” - Nathaniel M. Van Cleave, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible notes on Isaiah, p. 992.

Here at the beginning of a new year, the internet is full of hints on how to make resolutions that we’ll keep and goals that we’ll accomplish. The pristine calendars of 2017 ooze with optimism. So much could fill their pages!

For me there is in this a temptation to a 21st century brand of idolatry—not of the worship of molded images but of the worship of oneself—one’s own abilities, determination, agenda, 5-year-plan, productivity.

Now I’m not against writing down resolutions and goals for the new year. But I must always guard against making them and the accomplishing of them the main thing. I realize that what must trump them for me is the willingness to change all, or maybe not to make them in the first place, when the shepherd says something different.

My “one little word” for 2017 is LISTEN. My verses for 2017 are the words of Jesus in John 10:3,4,11: “‘To him (the shepherd of the sheep - John 10:2) the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. … I am the good shepherd.’”  

May all my / our idolatrous supports and confidences for 2017 lose their siren appeal as we listen for and obey the Shepherd’s voice.

“Get into the habit of saying, ‘Speak Lord’ and life will become a romance” - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest - January 30 reading.

“Obey Him with glad reckless joy … ‘Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it’” - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, March 28 reading.


PRAYER: Dear Father, help me to recognize the idols in my life and turn from them for good. Amen.
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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

What's the name of your god?

Micah Foretells Christ - Gerard Jollain

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Micah 4:1-5:1

TO CHEW ON: "For all people walk each in the name of his god, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever." Micah 4:5

Micah's thoughtful little statement in our focus verse is as true now as it was in 700 B.C. In our culture we don't worship idol statues, but we do each have a god and we demonstrate who it is  by our lives (or as Micah says it, "we will walk each in the name of his god").

Wealth, power, attention (how many followers we have on Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, etc.), praise, a gorgeous home, a well-toned body, career, recreation — all these and more can be gods (one of the definitions of god: any person or thing made the chief object of one's love, interest or aspiration").

A little overview of some Bible references to false gods helps us understand them, and the process and folly of worshiping them.

1. They are impotent (Jeremiah 10:5) and inferior to the God who can create (1 Chronicles 16:26).  Though they may appear attractive and powerful, someday their fate will be that of the Philistine god Dagon in the presence of the ark  — broken and in pieces on the floor (1 Samuel 5:4).

2. The work of one's own hands can be a false god (Isaiah 2:8). Though Isaiah was referring to worshiping idol statues that people had carved, we readily, and I think correctly, identify such worship with putting supreme value on ourselves and our own achievements (Secular Humanism), a prevalent value in our society today.

3. False worship may draw us into some strange activities (Ezekiel 21:21).

4. Who/what we worship is a choice we make. We make that choice by who or what we serve. We can't have two masters at once (Matthew 6:24). We choose to worship something or someone other than God when we ignore His commands (1 Kings 18:18). It is also possible to turn from God, back to the things we served before (Galatians 4:8-10).

5. Refusing to bow down to the gods of our culture may make us stand out and could even prove dangerous (Daniel 3:12-18).

6. But we can decide for God. Let's affirm, with Paul, "yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live." (1 Corinthians 8:6).

Or, as Micah says it:

"We will walk in the name of the Lord our God."

PRAYER: Dear God, in the crush of life, when my mind is so easily taken up with all that I need to do,  help me not to make a false god out of anything, even ministry and Christian service.  Amen. 

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.