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.

Egocentric idols

Image: Microsoft Clipart

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Isaiah1-4; Psalm 109

TO CHEW ON:  "Their land is also full of idols;
They worship the work of their own hands,
That which their own fingers have made." Isaiah 2:8


John Piper takes a little swipe at a common interpretation of Jesus' command, "You shall love your neighbour as yourself (Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22:39):

"The popular misconception is that this command teaches us to learn to esteem ourselves so we can love others. This is not what the command means. Jesus does not command us to love ourselves. He assumes that we do." — John Piper, Desiring God, p. 209.

It seems to me there is only a short distance between healthy self-love and idolatrous self-love. I wonder if, in our rich, possession-obsessed society, we don't indulge in such idolatry more than we realize. We regularly look to the things we own to give us a sense of worth. We dote on their excellence and how their quality will reflect well on us. When we get down, we shop for more things to help us feel better.

Making an idol out of a car or house or pair of shoes is an easy kind of idolatry to identify. However, there are other ego-centric idols that are just as widespread, but may be harder to put their fingers on. Dale Hanson Bourke in a chapter on idols in her book Embracing Your Second Calling speaks of a Bible-study worksheet (written by Tim Keller) that probed her heart in this regard:

"...the worksheet contained a list of the types of idolatry many modern-day men and women embrace. In part, it included statements like:

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.'

...One suggestion from the study is to think about what you fear the most or what you worry about most often. If you follow that trail, you almost always arrive at the foot of an idol." -- Dale Hanson Bourke, Embracing Your Second Calling, pp. 90-91

These thoughts convict me. I need to sweep a spotlight into and through the tucked-away rooms of my heart to see what self-idols are hidden there. What about you?

PRAYER: Dear God, please show me where I am worshiping something/someone other than You. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 109

The Bible Project VIDEO: Isaiah 1-39 (Read Scripture 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.

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.

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.

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.

Preparing the way

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Mark 1:1-18

TO CHEW ON: “As it is written in the Prophets:
‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,
Who will prepare Your way before You
The voice of one crying in the wilderness
“Prepare the way of the LORD;
Make His paths straight.”’”  Mark 1:2,3

Mark’s quote is straight from Isaiah 40—part of our reading three days ago. As we complete reading today’s passage we discover that the author is referring to the message and messenger John the Baptist, Jesus’ way-preparer.

In Mark John’s message was to get ready to meet Someone mighty and worthy who had spiritual power. In Luke, where John’s beginning and ministry are described in more detail, we discover his message of preparation focused largely on getting his audience to repent. He even detailed what repentance would look like to various of his listeners in real life:
- To the general public: give to the needy.
- To the tax collector: do your work honestly.
- To the soldier: don’t abuse your position or power and be content with pay
(Luke 3:8-14).

During Advent, as we review the story Jesus coming to earth as God in human flesh we also focus on our readiness. How do we ready our lives for Him to live with us and in us more fully?

Of course we know there is nothing we can do to earn His presence and our salvation. It is a free gift. But we also know that there are things we can do to prepare a comfortable home within us for Him.

I like the four Steps of Readiness  suggested in my Thompson Chain Bible. To make a comfortable home for Jesus with us, we:

1. Abandon idols

“Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you return to the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths from among you, and prepare your hearts for the Lord, and serve Him only…” - 1 Samuel 7:3 (emphasis added).

2. Cleanse the temple (our lives)

 “And they gathered their brethren, sanctified themselves, and went according to the commandment of the king, at the words of the Lord, to cleanse the house of the Lord.  2 Chronicles 29:15. 

The whole story (2 Chronicles 29:1-17) is of Hezekiah the king purifying the temple so that Yahweh would again be among them and help them defeat their enemies in.

3. Return to the Lord

"He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” Luke 1:17 (emphasis added).

Here’s that “repentance” that John the Baptist admonished the people of his time to do. The words  quoted are what the angel told John’s father Zacharias, what his (John’s) role would be.

4. Pursue personal purity

“ Now in a large house there are not only vessels and objects of gold and silver, but also vessels and objects of wood and of earthenware, and some are for honorable (noble, good) use and some for dishonorable (ignoble, common). Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things [which are dishonorable—disobedient, sinful], he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified [set apart for a special purpose and], useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. 2 Timothy 2:20,21 AMP (emphasis added).

PRAYER: Dear Holy Spirit, please help to make my life a more welcoming and comfortable home for Jesus this Advent. Amen. 

MORE: Second Sunday of Advent

Today is the Second Sunday of Advent. The liturgy for the day begins with this prayer:

Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. 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.

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified^® Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

Worship tug-of-war

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Micah 7:1-20

TO CHEW ON: “Therefore I will look to the LORD,
I will wait for the God of my salvation
My God will hear me.” Micah 7:7

Micah’s hopeful declaration: “I will look to the LORD; I will wait …My God will hear” comes out of a deep desire to see Judah turn back to God.

Micah prophesied at the same time as Isaiah. They preached between when Israel was divided into two (Israel and Judah) and the destruction of the temple. Canaanite idolatry was popular. Though King Hezekiah had legislated reforms and had won a victory over Assyria, the people were still spiritually enslaved to idols. Micah knew: “Judah was bound to fall unless the nation turned back in wholehearted repentance” - Willard S. Elijahson, “Introduction to Micah,” New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1201.

And so Micah’s prophecies are full of warnings of what will happen if the people persist in worshiping idols versus enticements to come back to God. What “carrots” did he hold before the people of his time?

• God would be their teacher - Micah 4:2.

• God would be their righteous judge - Micah 4:3.

• God’s fair judgments would bring peace and security - Micah 4:3,4.

• If they repented God would shine light into their darkness - Micah 7:8,9.

• God would shepherd them and lead them to good places - Micah 7:14.

• With mercy and compassion God would forgive their sins - Micah 7:18,19.

We live in a time when idolatry looks different but is no less real. We are tempted to worship and trust in ourselves, our wealth, education, entertainment, science, technology, government, the democratic process, our legal system etc. But these things are, finally, no more reliable or efficacious than the images, high places, and divining ceremonies of the ancients. They will never deliver us from existential angst—that hole in our spirits that drives us to lust, greed, selfishness, pride, deception, etc., which inspire personal and interpersonal turmoil. Ours is a hole that can only be filled satisfactorily with God and a relationship with Him.

Let’s focus all our worship on God, who will also be these things (teacher, righteous judge, source of peace and security, light, shepherd, forgiving and merciful Saviour) to us.

PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for faithful Micah whose words are still relevant today. Help me to see through the allure of false worship and to put all my trust in, give all my worship to You. Amen.
MORE: First Sunday of Advent

Today is the first Sunday of Advent! Today’s liturgy begins with this Collect:

Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. 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.

Spiritual weapons for spiritual battles

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Exodus 12:1-14

TO CHEW ON: “‘For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.’” Exodus 12:12

What I find interesting in this passage is that this night was to be a night of judgment “against all the gods of Egypt.” God’s pronouncement here reminds us of the war between God and Satan declared in Genesis 3:15 when God told Satan:

"'And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise your head
And you shall bruise His heel.'”

I believe that spiritual battling continues to be present in the conflicts around us in greater measure than we realize or like to admit. From petty arguments between individuals to national riots and international wars, there is a “gods of Egypt” (read ‘spirit of whatever country and age we’re in with its accompanying deities’) element involved.

God judged these spiritual “gods of Egypt” with spiritual weapons—a slaughtered animal, blood, food prepared in a prescribed way, eaten within a time frame, and then the leftovers burned. Who would predict victory from this? It makes no logical sense.

Are there spiritual weapons we can use to oppose the “Gods of Canada” (or whatever place you live)?

Yes there are. Here are some of the verses that speak of the weapons we use to confront the spiritual foes in our lives and the world system around us, collected from the “Victory” section of my recipe card verse collection:

"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ”- 2 Corinthians 10:4,5

"For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" - 1 John 5:4,5.

"But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts" - Romans 13:14

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  Ephesians 6:10,11,13-18.

"Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  James 4:7,8

And finally, here’s one that takes us right back to today’s passage:

"And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death" - Revelation 12:11

PRAYER: Dear Father, please open my eyes to the spiritual battle behind the conflicts in my life and world. Help me to habitually pick up spiritual weapons to fight these battles. 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.

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.

Double-mindedness

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Psalm 119:113-128

TO CHEW ON: “I hate the double-minded
But I love Your law.” Psalm 119:113

Double-mindedness is mentioned in various places in the Bible.

We see it lived out in Old Testament times in Samaria which was resettled with foreigners when Israel came under Assyrian domination. These settlers from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, and Sepharvaim brought their religious practices and idols. When wild lions killed some of them, the solution was to re-introduce the “rituals of the God of the land.” This meant that priests of God joined idol-worshiping priests in sacrificing. The society became double-minded, serving God and idols - 2 Kings 17:32,33,41.

Jesus talks pointedly about double-mindedness:

“‘No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other, or else he will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon’” - Luke16:13. [Mammon means  wealth, treasure, riches.]

Paul mentions double-mindedness in relation to celebrating the Lord’s Supper and making sacrifices to idols. He ssays, in effect, choose one or the other. Doing both provokes God’s jealousy - 1 Corinthians 10:18-22.

James speaks of double-mindedness too. A double-minded man, he says, is unstable - James 1:8. Further, double-mindedness makes our hearts and hands impure and is a barrier to intimacy with God - James 4:8.

Are we in danger of being double-minded? We’re probably not tempted to worship physical idols like the Isrealites and early Christians coming from paganism were. But Jesus’ warning that we cannot serve God and money certainly hits a chord. And in our culture, where we’re encouraged to depend on and serve anything and everything but God (money, of course, and our own wits, science, social connections, society’s moral standards in the areas of marriage and sexuality, etc.) , double-mindedness is a real danger.

The psalmist sets double-mindedness against loving God’s law. Perhaps that’s the answer for us too. As we soak ourselves in Scripture, we begin to see where we are serving two masters and where we need to choose faith and loyalty to Jesus above all other options.


PRAYER: Dear Jesus, help me to recognize and eliminate the double-mindedness within me. I want You as my only master. 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.

Our necessary separation

"The blessing of Abraham" by Julius Schnorr

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Genesis 12:1-20

TO CHEW ON: “Now the LORD had said to Abraham:
‘Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land I will show you.’” Genesis 12:1

Why did Abraham need to live his country / family / father’s house? One reason was certainly to separate himself from the idolatry that had infiltrated his clan. A sidebar article in my study Bible explains:

“Genesis 12:1-3 indicates that God separated Abraham from his idolatrous family in order to make him and his descendants the messianic nation which would bring salvation to all earth’s families” - Dick Mills, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 20.

The theme of God wanting His people to be separate from their idol-worshiping neighbors runs through the Old Testament.

• Moses told the Israelites to utterly annihilate the idolatrous Canaanites when they entered the promised land - Deuteronomy 7:2.

• Joshua, the leader who followed Moses, told the people at his farewell address to not let the names of the Canaanite gods even cross their lips - Joshua 23:7.

• Israel failed utterly in this. In Judges we have the playing out of their disobedient mercy. As a result: “They  (the idolatrous nations) shall be thorns in your sides and their gods shall be a snare to you” - Judges 2:2,3.

• Intermingling of Israel with idol-worshiping people carried on. We see examples in the lives of Kings Solomon (1 Kings 3:1), Ahab (1 Kings 20:32), and Hezekiah (2 Kings 20:13), until finally the remnant of the Israelites who remained were taken into exile.

• Years later, on their return to the land, their leader Ezra attempted to reinforce that separation from the heathen people and practices that continued to plague them - Ezra 9:1, 12:10,11.

In the New Testament, though, Peter had a vision where he was commanded to eat unclean foods and interpreted this as God showing him that no man was common or unclean - Acts 10:28. Does that mean all barriers are down? The nation of Israel has played her role in giving the world Jesus the Messiah. And Jesus certainly died for all and invites anyone and everyone of whatever race, creed, or religion to Him for salvation - John 3:16.

But sin is still just as dangerous, contagious, sneaky, and sly. And so for us too, the principle of separation from all that is opposed to God still applies. Does the old saw we bandy about so freely actually apply here: “Love the sinner but hate the sin”?

• We are not to be yoked together with unbelievers - 2 Corinthians 6:14.

• We are to stay away from the “unfruitful works of darkness” - Ephesians 5:11.

• We are to withdraw from the disorderly Christian brother - 2 Thessalonians 3:6.

• John tells us “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” 1 John 2:15.

Separation from sin, the world, and the idols of our time is still a necessary aspect of our Kingdom of Heaven citizenship:

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (KJV)

PRAYER: Dear Father, please teach me how to live in the world but not of it, to love everyone but hate and avoid sin wherever it makes an appearance. 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.